One of the chapters in Veller’s novel is a monologue that Lenin addresses to Trump, teaching him how to carry out a real MAGA revolution (the novel was published in 2022). It’s so funny, I had to stop the car (I’m listening on Audible) to avoid crashing because tears of laughter were blinding me.
The novel is, of course, very postmodernist. Anything that is literature in Russian is this way. Between 1935 and 1985, it was impossible to publish anything in Russian that wasn’t social realist. As a result, you can’t write anything realist in the language and not sound like a Soviet apologist. I’m often annoyed with postmodernist literature but I don’t mind Veller’s postmodernism.
It’s really funny that he created a truly American novel with a deep understanding of American culture but who will be his audience? He’s a Russian-language author and can’t become anything else at his age.
Clarissa's Blog 
Why don’t you translate it? Do you think it would be enjoyed by English speakers? I thought you did quite a bit of translation in the past and more recently. I am not at all aware of how that business works, but just a thought.
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This is a huge time commitment because the novel is almost 900 pages long. I’d need a commitment from publisher, Passage Publishing or Vaubon Books, that they would print it. It has to be a conservative publisher because the book is very un-PC. Words fail me to describe just how un-PC.
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Veller says everything we think but don’t dare even to whisper alone in a room. It’s very hardcore.
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Now I want to read it!
Directions as to how to get the Russian-language text, please!
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The author placed the novel in open access:
Click to access MVellerOstrovDlaBelyx.pdf
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I actually had the same thought as anonymous. Maybe there will be an opportunity for you to do so in the future.
In a somewhat off-topic news, today I found out that our University is closing our main library for over three months as soon as the semester ends. Who does that? They have some excuse about upgrading something, but three months is an awfully long time. I am quite upset.
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I know somebody who’s friends with the author. I’ll ask if there are plans to translate into English.
Our library was also closed for a remodel which ended up in books being removed and exercise equipment installed instead. I hope this doesn’t happen to yours.
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You should definitely ask about the plans to translate the book. Hopefully, these people have enough good sense to ask you to do that.
The thought of the library removing books has crossed my mind. I may make a trip or two there before they close it and borrow some more books. They claim it is an infrastructure update (electrical), not a significant remodel, but the length of the closure is suspicious. They have the most delightful collection of books from my area of expertise from 1960ies and 1970ies. They are the most interesting books with a lot of super-useful but nowadays somewhat obscure information. These books are not digitized, so most of our students and colleagues do not read them anymore. I just talked to my colleague today about it today and we agreed that as a field, we are just getting dumber despite all the new fancy technology at our disposal.
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One can guess that pretty easily from the title, tbh
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What ultimately defines Torah faith?
A simple כלל: Monotheism invalidates, profanes, the 2nd Sinai commandment not to worship other Gods. The first two Sinai commandments, their k’vanna defined by the 611 commandments thereafter.
Love that’s a very abstract term. Do not support Greek rhetoric which promotes that people should rely upon their fuzzy logic to interpret the intent of word meanings. Obama declared “CHANGE” for 8 years! It drove me crazy that he got away with such shallow phoney baloney.
Xtian theology interprets agape as a selfless, unconditional, sacrificial love. As opposed to eros (romantic/sexual love); philia (friendship/brotherly love) or storge (familial affection). The Jewish tradition totally and completely different. Every year Jews light the Hanukkah lights. Where we commit to interpret our common law legal system through inductive common law legal precedents. This Jewish logic primarily inductive reason whereas Greek logic essentially deductive reasoning. Japanese and Chinese traditional medicine would refer to these two opposing reasoning methods as Yin vs. Yang. Jews understand and interpret love as “ownership”. A person does not “love” that which he/she does not actually own.
In Deuteronomy 6:5 — “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and might” — the Hebrew word is “ahavah”, which carries a sense of attachment, commitment. In a word: ownership. A theif sells stolen good for pennies for the dollar. Whereas the Talmud teaches that a persons’ property, actually contains a portion of that persons’ soul.
How does a Man/Woman “own” God? This question the Talmud never asks. Why? Because the Torah defines faith question as the pursuit of justice. Justice directly tied to judicial common law court rooms! Xtianity defines faith as belief in the theology that Jesus is the Son of God. Hence for Xtians agape love makes perfect sense. Whereas for Jews agape love amounts to pie in the sky utter non sense Greek rhetoric propaganda used to control the mob democracy masses of Athens.
Classic jurisprudence of common law practiced by Jews relies upon legal precedents to interpret the intent of prophetic mussar rebukes. A precedent for love being the Case/Rule of the legalities of marriage. The precedent for marriage learns from the Case/Rule of Avram cutting an oath alliance at the brit between the pieces. Recall Avram had no children. Hence that significant oath alliance established the idea of the Chosen Cohen people. Hence Jewish marriage, known as kiddushin (Hebrew verbs usually 3-letter roots ק-ד-ש, the foundation of the term kiddushin means ‘holy’.
The Hebrew inductive reasoning resembles Hegel dialectic reasoning. Both learn from the opposite meanings. In this case “prostitute” – also contains the root letters ק-ד-ש. So how does a man “acquire” his wife? Tradition says a man “acquires” his wife through money, a contractual obligation, (something like writing a check) and sex. So what separates an acquired wife from a prostitute or slave? Both types of chattel property acquired through some kind of business transaction. Therefore a man loves his wife, in Jewish tradition by acquiring her Nefesh O’lam Ha’bah (her world to come soul). What does that even mean? Answer: the husband/baal acquires Title to the children which this union will in the future produce.
When childless Avram cut the oath alliance cut between the pieces — he acquired his future born Cohen children unto all generations of eternity! So too when a Jews marries a woman and follows the tradition known as “kiddushin”, he acquires ownership/title to the children born unto the future of this marriage. Jewish legal tradition, particularly as it is found in the Talmud, is built on inductive reasoning. This means that, rather than deriving legal principles from a set of abstract rules or deductions (as in Greek deductive reasoning), Jewish law develops through case law—or precedents—which evolve based on interpretations of prior rulings and scriptural exegesis.
In this context, the legal system and principles of Jewish law are continually evolving, adapting based on what earlier sages and courts have established. In many ways, **Jewish legal reasoning mirrors the common law system found in the West, where precedents (case law) influence future decisions.
For example, prophetic rebukes (such as those from Mussar teachings) often challenge individuals to live ethically and justly, but the interpretation of these ethical commands is done inductively through legal reasoning. This means that Jewish jurisprudence often interprets moral commandments (such as love, marriage, or justice) in light of historical cases and real-world applications, which the Talmud defines as ritual halachic mitzvot.
Jewish law doesn’t work from a top-down system of abstract principles, as is often seen in deductive reasoning (e.g., Greek philosophy or formal logic). Instead, Jewish legal tradition follows inductive reasoning, where legal principles are built over time through interpretation, application, and adaptation of existing laws, precedents, and scriptural exegesis.
This inductive nature of Jewish law is what allows it to adapt to different circumstances and challenges, without losing sight of its foundational texts, such as the Torah and the Talmud. In this way, Jewish legal scholars (the Rishonim, Acharonim, and modern scholars) do not simply apply static rules but interpret them based on real-life cases and evolving societal needs. Hence the difference between Greek deductive logic vs. Jewish inductive logic – the difference between static engineering required to build a bridge which spans a river; to dynamic engineering required to understand the mathematics required to determine the orbit of a rocket launched from the Earth to fly to the moon.
Euclid’s plane geometry a static logic. Deductive reasoning begins with a set of fundamental axioms or universal truths and applies them to derive specific conclusions. This reasoning process known as a syllogism 3 part way of thinking. Jewish inductive reason compares to Newtons fluxions/derivatives of the late 17th century. For example how does a Jew slaughter an animal? Answer this Jew requires “fear of heaven”. Meaning that this butcher does not slaughter cattle primarily for profit but rather he has chosen the profession of slaughtering cattle to build his good name reputation. How to correctly slaughter requires knowledge. But knowledge how to slaughter plays a secondary role to the dedication of a Jews to protect his good name reputation. This latter primary driving force known as “fear of heaven”. Hence an atheist and a observant Jew both have knowledge how to correctly slaughter an animal. Yet the atheist animal slaughter considered treif/unfit which the observant Jew animal slaughter considered kosher/fit.
By integrating moral character and spiritual intention into every action, Jewish law transcends the mechanical application of rules and becomes a guide for ethical living. Thus, the dynamic nature of Jewish law, similar to the application of fluxions, requires ongoing adaptation and real-time moral interpretation—ensuring that the law remains relevant, spiritually grounded, and contextually appropriate to each situation. This crucial distinction defines Av tohor time oriented Torah commandments – which require k’vanna. Lower order positive and negative commandments, as found in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Books of the Torah – do not require K’vanna. However a Jew can learns these secondary Torah commandments by using them as precedents to derive the prophetic mussar intent/k’vanna of a mitzva, as i did in the matter of both kiddushin and ritual slaughter of animals, to elevate a commandment which does not require k’vanna to an Av tohor time oriented Torah commandment which does require the k’vanna of prophetic mussar.
A critical in understanding how Jewish law connects moral character, spiritual intention, and everyday actions with Talmudic halachic religious ritualism. The intention behind every mitzvah or action can elevate it from a mere ritualistic task to an act that transforms the individual spiritually. This transformation known as תמיד מעשה בראשית/the continual act of creation. Meaning its the observance of Av tohor time oriented commandments which create from nothing, in all generations the chosen Cohen “children” by which Avram swore a oath alliance with HaShem at the brit cut between the pieces.
Hence the day night distinction between faith vs faith. Xtianity and Islam refer to the son of God or the prophet of Allah as “in the past”. Whereas Torah refers to the righteous pursuit of judicial common law justice which strives to dedicate court restoration of fair damages which Party A damaged Party B, as a faith lived in all future generations unto eternity. Hence the Torah revelation of the 2nd Sinai commandment understood as avoda zarah or foreign worship.
Judaism’s focus on justice as a living faith is a key distinction that shapes its understanding of religion and ethics. The Torah teaches that true worship of God is not merely about rituals or beliefs but about how one lives in the world, specifically through justice and ethical action. The court system and the role of judges in Jewish law are seen as a reflection of the divine will. When the Torah speaks about justice, it is not just referring to the abstract or philosophical notion of fairness; it is about the actual application of law to right the wrongs between people. This is central to the idea that faith in Judaism is future-oriented—it is about how faith is lived in the world, especially as it relates to the restoration of fairness, and the restoration of damages when one party harms another.
The judicial model in Judaism, rooted in Torah law and common law principles, is an expression of faith in action. It’s about the living pursuit of justice and ensuring that the actions of one individual toward another are corrected and made right. This process is not just about compensation or punishment; it is a spiritual act, where the repair of relationships and the restoration of justice is seen as a reflection of divine order in the world.
Idolatry, as defined in the Torah, is not just the physical act of worshipping statues but includes the spiritual act of replacing the living God with any substitute. This is significant because, in Jewish thought, avoda zara can also be understood as the elevation of any created thing—whether an idea, ideology, or figure (e.g., a past event or person)—above the living God and the eternal pursuit of justice as defined in the Torah.
Xtian and Islamic faith often look to past revelations, and in this sense, can be seen as grounding faith in something “fixed in time”, whereas Judaism focuses on a living faith that is expressed in the future-oriented pursuit of justice and righteousness in everyday life. Idolatry in this context could be understood as elevating any specific past event or historical figure to the level of ultimate truth, instead of viewing the divine law (as revealed in the Torah) as a continuous, living force that shapes the future and the ongoing actions of the individual.
In Judaism, faith is always evolving in its relationship to both God and humanity. The Torah, rather than being a closed book focused on a singular moment in history, is seen as a dynamic text that guides the future. Through the observance of mitzvot and the pursuit of justice, Jews engage in an ongoing act of creation that continually aligns them with the divine will. Thus, Judaism views the living faith as an active pursuit of moral perfection, expressed in the legal system, ethical actions, and the dedication to creating a just and holy society.
In this way, Judaism’s faith is about living the law in every generation, not as something set in the past but as an ever-present and active process of restoration, justice, and creation. This stands in contrast to the other Abrahamic religions, which may define faith more in terms of belief in specific past revelations or figures.
In Judaism, faith is not bound by a historical moment or figure but is about living in accordance with God’s commandments and the pursuit of justice through everyday actions. The Second Commandment’s prohibition of idolatry (avoda zara) reinforces this point by emphasizing that no past event or figure should take the place of the ongoing, living pursuit of justice as dictated by God’s law. In this way, the Torah reveals a faith lived out in all future generations, not by focusing on a past event or revelation but by actively participating in the process of repairing the world and ensuring justice in all aspects of life. Hence the Torah described as “A mountain hanging by a hair”, Baba Kama (55a). What “hair” dangles the “mountain” in the air, like the string of a yo-yo? Doing mitzvot לשמה – the first commandment of the Sinai revelation.
The Torah, then, is not just a record of divine commands but an eternal guide for how to act justly in every situation, and the performance of mitzvot, when done Lishma (((With a dedicated tohor middot of the Horev Oral Torah revelation of the 13 middot, the k’vanna of all Torah oaths and blessings: known as מלכות or kingship.))), ensures that this guide is alive and effective in the world. This is what keeps the mountain hanging by a hair—the connection between human action and divine will—always intact.
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Well, at least this is somewhat relevant since Veller is a Ukrainian Jew.
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The leader of the SA Communist Party was a Lithuanian Jew. Most SA Jews originate from Lithuanian, which probably explains why they had rather strong opinions on Nazis vs Soviets, although some seem to be questioning this history.
http://www.sajr.co.za/lithuanias-uncomfortable-truth/amp/
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Its almost Israeli Independence Day, Jews prior to this celebration remember the bitterness of our exile which exceeded 2000 years.
Job 21 — Job’s Seventh Speech: A Response to ZopharThe problem of the prosperity of the wicked. Important to understand that the T’NaCH has 3 divisions. The Holy Writings serve the identical role that the Gemara makes a case/din commentary to the Mishna. The T’NaCH, like the Mishna, both instruct משנה תורה common law. Meaning, a person does not read T’NaCH or Mishna as if it were a novel or some work of fiction read for pleasure. Rather, the Holy Writings within the T’NaCH, they function as the בניני אבות\precedents by which scholars learn and interpret the mussar k’vanna of the NaCH prophets. In their turn the NaCH Prophets serve as precedents to interpret the mussar k’vanna of the Book of דברים or משנה תורה which means “common law”. The Book of D’varim serves the role of Gemara to the other 4 Books of the Written Torah/Mishna.
It’s this precise sh’itta – methodology of learning – by which a person can study the Torah, NaCH, Holy Writings, Mishna, and Gemara and Midrashim as ONE Common Law Constitutional Basic Law of the Jewish Cohen Peoples’ Republic. The purpose of this common law legal system, to affix and establish the culture, customs, even minhagim of the chosen Cohen people throughout the generations our people walk upon the face of this Earth. Therefore, avoda zarah, understood as the arousal of the Yetzer Hara which pursues tuma middot spirits within the hearts of the Jewish people. Specifically, as expressed through the sex drive: to copy, embrace, and assimilate to non Cohen cultures, customs and practices – specifically through intermarriage with Goyim who reject the revelation of the Torah at Sinai.
Herein concludes this preamble to the Book of Job.__________________________________________________________________________________The Jewish people in Israel have a custom learned from the Goyim to stand in a moment of silence as a way to remember national tragedies. This behavior compares to war against Moav and Bila’am where Israelis captured vessels made by these Goyim who reject the revelation of the Torah at Sinai. Moshe instituted that Israel purify these Goyim made vessels and garments by plunging them through water and fire. Any figure of a Goyim god required removal. Therefore it seems to me that the same applies to standing in a moment of silence. Jews should learn from the precedent of ליום הזיכרון Rosh HaShanna.
This Yom Tov, affixed to the Neshama Name of אל dedicated during every 3rd day of the week. Tefillah a matter of the heart. The lungs blow air, but the heart blows spirits. On the 3rd day of the week, the Neshama spirit of אל – dedicated when a man calls Adonai with his lips. This Yom Tov, Yom HaDin upon the Brit remembers the rebuke of the sin of the Golden Calf. When the assimilated Jewish ערב רב attempted to replace missing Moshe with a Calf replacement theology. Replacement theologies the essence of all avoda zarah rather than simply graven images. The new testament, koran, book of mormon, and scientology all represent replacement theology avoda zara.
The t’shuva made on Rosh HaShanna not the t’shuva made on Yom Kippur. The latter recalls the Divine t’shuva which annulled the vow to make from Moshe the chosen Cohen people to replace the oath sworn to the Avot. Hence the two Yom Tov book ends of t’shuva to one another. (The siren just sounded remembering the fallen soldiers killed in the wars Israel has fought to establish and maintain our national independence as the Cohen nation in the Middle East. Standing during the siren blast, focused within my heart to remember the oath sworn by Avram at the brit cut between the pieces; the oath of Yitzak sworn at the climax of the Akedah; and the oath sworn by Yaacov when Yitzak caused him and not Esau to inherit the oath britot which create the chosen Cohen people from nothing in all generations through Av tohor time oriented Torah commandments – as applicable in this case, the wailing of the siren to remember our fallen soldiers. Elevating an action which does not require k’vanna, like positive and negative Torah commandments to an Av tohor time oriented Torah commandment – the essence of breathing Torah life from generation to generation.)
The Book of Job depicts a fictional story of g’lut aggadah. Hence this Book serves as the Gemara commentary made upon the NaCH prophet Yirmiyahu-Mishna. The study of common law precedents therefore compares Yirmiyahu 12:1-3 to Job 21. The logic of פרדס learns NaCH prophets through the 13 Horev Oral Torah middot. Hence the T’NaCH has the name – Kabbalah. Just as the Gemara learns the Mishna by means of comparative precedent, so too NaCH prophets learned through בנייני אבות precedents. The Talmud serves as the authoritative codification of Oral Torah common law.
A disciplined study of the Talmud, based upon how Rabbeinu Tam learns, requires making a search, not found on the dof of Gemara, of other similar precedents. The Baalei Tosafot a common law commentary to the Talmud. The commentary of Rashi, primarily a dictionary of terms explained and defined – called p’shat. Rashi p’shat on the Talmud does not compare nor resemble Rashi’s common law commentary he made on the Chumash. Why did Rashi switch his sh’itta of learning?! Answer: the hatred of the church toward the Talmud. Rashi feared that if he wrote, like Rabbeinu Tam, a common law commentary to the Talmud – the church priests might grasp the wisdom, how to correctly study the Oral Torah as common law.
Church violence and repression against the Cohen Jewish people forced Rashi to teach Torah learning wisdom, as a secret and concealed kabbalah. In like manner the sages split how to study the Talmud, whether to prioritize judicial common law interpretation of separate unique case/law vs. codifying halacha into rigid and fixed legal classifications and simplified codes of religious ritual observances. The difference between the opposing sh’ittot dynamic judicial interpretive laws vs. static religious ritual rote laws. The latter prioritization prevailed, the opposite of what occurred during the civil war remembered through the Hanukkah lights.
The church threw Jews into ghetto gulags throughout the Middle Ages of European barbarism. The 30 years war almost obliterated the population of Germany. Catholic vs Protestant barbarism perhaps inspired the Cossack barbarism which resulted in the mass slaughter of Jews who fled the Pope’s ghetto gulag UN-like-Bull, only to wind-up slaughtered by Cossack barbarians, whose vicious mobs crossed the flat plains of Ukraine and joined the chaotic Polish political anarchy, which withered the Cossack revolt unto its ultimate defeat. The plains of the Ukraine – ideal for Cossack cavalry horsemanship skills. Poland – carved up by vicious great power imperialism – another matter altogether different.
The Book of Job depicts the bitter realities which daily confronted life as a stateless refugee who has no political or social rights – like the Palestinian dhimmi Arab populations today. Jewish g’lut travails, like a woman giving birth, throughout their vain attempts to harmoniously live within European lands – they never in 2000 years received nor witnessed fair judicial justices for damages inflicted upon them by church controlled governments and mobs. Job’s cry for justice reflects Israel, beaten by the officers of Par’o who withheld the straw they require to meet their quota, tally of bricks – Shemot 5:6–19.
A בנין אב precedent for Yirmeyahu 12:1-3…6:22-30. Compare employing the inductive logic of פרדס, Job 21 also to D’varim 16:21,22. Now compare the inductive kabbalah פרדס wisdom B’reishit 5:28 -6:4. The reputation of those giants – an utterly evil reputation to this day.
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Why does T’NaCH Judaism absolutely flat out reject Greek metaphysics while Xtianity and Islam behave as a whore in heat and passionately embrace Monotheism?
In Hebrew heart spelled as לב. However the Torah, also known as the Chumash, (Chamesh is the #5 and the Torah contains 5 Books), the Torah spells heart as לבב. Our tradition teaches that two opposing spirit inclinations live within the heart, hence the two ב’s in heart. The tohor Yatzir vs the tumah Yatzir. The word Yatzir interpreted by me as meaning “spirit”. Spirituality in Hebrew Ruachneus. The root of this word ruach like as in רוח הקודש which the Xtian theologians declared as the 3rd part of their Trinity God. LOL Ya can’t make this wacko stuff up! A spirit not a word. The gospel of John totally missed the boat when he declared “and the word is God”. LOL
Mishna Chagigah 2:1 teaches the mussar: “Anyone who gazes at four things, it would have been better for him had he never been born: what is above, what is below, what is before, and what is after.” Greeks love their metaphysics/witchcraft. The Greeks addiction to philosophy and metaphysics Jews totally rejected in the Hanukkah revolt against the Syrian Greeks with their philosopher Aristotle. Greek metaphysic explores questions of existence, the nature of the universe, and the divine. In contrast, the Mishna, a complete and total rejection of Greek philosophy, emphasizes a more practical approach to life and spirituality, focusing on ethical behavior and the observance of commandments. The Mishna totally abhors and rejects speculative metaphysics concerning the nature of the Gods.
The Mishna’s teaching in Chagigah 2:1 reflects a broader Jewish perspective that prioritizes practical ethics and the observance of commandments over speculative inquiry into metaphysical questions. This approach is rooted in the belief that human beings should focus on their actions and responsibilities in the world rather than getting lost in abstract philosophical debates that may lead to confusion or despair.
Greek culture shaped and dominated Roman culture on par with how Roman legions conquered Greek militarily. Xtianity strongly favors the theology known as monotheism today. Monotheism an exact representation of inquiry into metaphysical questions. The T’NaCH literature commonly addresses foreign peoples’ belief in their Gods. Yet both Xtianity and Islam pretend that the T’NaCH commands belief in One Universal God. When in point of fact mesechta Avoda Zarah opens with teaching that early on prior to Noach man kind had rejected the brit faith as taught by Avraham Yitzak and Yaacov.
The Xtian bible compares to the gospel metaphor of a wolf dressed in sheep clothing. The idea of Old Testament vs New Testament serves as a subtle jab of both replacement theology and revisionist history. Traditional T’NaCH Judaism utterly rejects monotheism which highlight both Xtian and Muslim belief systems. Islam’s Tawhid monotheism rejects the Xtian Nicene Creed Trinity metaphysics. Its koran serves as the Muslim replacement theology which rejects both the Hebrew T’NaCH and the Xtian new testament.
T’NaCH classic Judaism does not restrict belief of other Gods to graven image idols as both Xtianity and Islam translate Hebrew “avoda zarah”. T’NaCH Judaism emphasizes the God of the Jews as a local tribal God. This God worship through the oath brit between the chosen Cohen people – alone.
The priests and pastors both declare that the church has replace Christ-killer Cain-Israel and the new chosen people. Muslims reject the new testament and declare Muhammad as the final prophet. The language “God of Israel” describes a local tribal God. Israel originally the 12 Tribes who conquered Canaan and forged a Jewish Republic of Tribes. Israel only has an oath brit with the God that took us out of Egypt. But to declare the metaphysics of “Monotheism”, this absurd notion fit only for the insane asylums.
T’NaCH Judaism established the Mishna, Gemarah, Talmud. It never developed a metaphysical theology concerning the Gods. Rather T’NaCH Judaism addresses only Jewish common law jurisprudence. That’s it and nothing more. Brit does not correctly translate into covenant. Both Xtian and Islamic theology attempts to superimpose their substitute super-sessionist covenant and erase the oath brit of the T’NaCH. T’NaCH Judaism has a very narrow focus. Torah common law and prophetic mussar function as the defining characteristic of Jewish thought. The avoda zarah of Xtianity and Islam knows nothing not of the one or the other. T’NaCH Judaism rejects, emphatically rejects Greek metaphysical or theological speculations which attempt to define the Gods limited to such absurd notions as monotheism, Trinity or Tawhid.
Greek metaphysics: not about the ‘nature of God’… that’s revisionist history. rather about the ‘nature of the Gods’. Greek philosophical thought, particularly in the works of philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, engaged with questions about the divine, the nature of reality, and the relationship between the gods and the world. In ancient Greek thought, the gods were often seen as anthropomorphic beings with human-like traits, emotions, and behaviors. Philosophers explored the nature of these gods, their interactions with humanity, and their roles in the cosmos. This exploration included discussions about the divine hierarchy, the nature of divinity, and the relationship between the gods and the material world.
Greek metaphysics encompassed a wide range of inquiries, including the nature of existence, causality, and the fundamental principles that govern the universe. While some philosophers sought to understand a singular, ultimate reality (as in the case of Aristotle’s “Unmoved Mover”), much of the discourse involved multiple deities and their attributes.
T’NaCH Judaism rejects Greek metaphysics which delves into the nature of the Gods. Xtianity and Islam limit their metaphysics to Monotheism. Two different ways to say the word potato. T’NaCH Judaism teaches Jewish common law and nothing more. Jews have no covenant with the Gods of either Xtianity or Islam. This practical approach, indeed a defining characteristic of Judaism, emphasizing the importance of law and communal responsibility.
Emphasizing the focus on law and prophetic mussar, this key priority advocates and encourages non Jewish recognition of the unique aspects of Jewish thought, which does not align with the metaphysical or theological constructs of other faiths – specifically the Greek metaphysics encapsulated in the religions of Xtianity and Islamic theologies.
Discerning between like from like, defines “Understanding”. For example: the differences between Zen Buddhism and Daoism. The latter revolves around the central axis of Chi, whereas the former did not develop the concept of Chi. T’NaCH Judaism absolutely rejects Greek metaphysic theology, as remembered and celebrated every time Jews light the Hanukkah lights. Whereas both Xtianity and Islam avidly and passionately embraced the cultural assimilation to ancient Greek philosophy.
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