Day: May 25, 2004
Parallel Quotes
I [Rabbi Ephraim Oshry] explained to the adoptive father that his reward would be immense without recognition of having the boy called to the Torah by his name, for he had saved this child from death about which our sages say, “Whoever maintains one Jewish life is considered as if he had maintained the whole world.” G-d will doubtless reward him for his righteousness in raising the boy and educating him in the way of goodness, and grant him many blessings and bounty. Oshry, Efroim, and B. Goldman. Responsa from the Holocaust. Rev. ed. New York: Judaica Press, 2001. On…
Who to blame (redux)
So it looks like Professor Osgood is helping me make up my mind about who to blame regarding Abu Ghraib. Here is a graf from what he wrote in today ‘s Washington Post: Military sociology has at its core two powerful insights. First, military organizations reflect in many ways the societies from which they emerge. If a society condones brutality and lewdness, you will find soldiers beating prisoners and copulating with one another while their comrades take souvenir snapshots. If a society has no norm of chief executives accepting responsibility for their corporations’ moral and financial failures, do not expect…