Jewish exceptionalism explored in provocative NY Mag essay

A recent essay in New York Magazine asks the question: Are Jews exceptional?

"The question is of Jewish exceptionalism, and it is, to understate it, a thorny one," writes Alana Newhouse.

It's an excellent, provocative and concise rendering of the paradox in Jewish life. We often claim we are an exceptional people when we produce, create and achieve greatness. But when we (Bernie Madoff, Solomon Dwek, etc.) do bad things, then we claim we're quite ordinary, no different from any other ethnic or religious entity.

The author argues that we can't have it both ways, and that ultimately the Jews are exceptional. She explains historically why this is true, and what it means for contemporary Jewish life.

"There can be no debate that various historical factors—including a communal reverence for intellectual acuity, along with centuries of marginalization—primed Jews for, first, survival, and then uncommon achievement. The rub is that those very same factors might have predisposed them to distinction in less-savory domains. Maybe we can’t have Philip Roth and Leonard Bernstein without Bernie Madoff and the informant behind the Jersey busts, Solomon Dwek."

Well worth your time reading the essay in its entirety (and the comments - most of which thrashed the essay and its creator).

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