tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post7266444156356420763..comments2023-03-29T09:40:29.908-04:00Comments on Frum Heretic: Einstein - The Secret Weapon Against Assimilation?Frum Heretichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17815538809825229710noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post-10314519347761882552010-02-21T19:07:57.003-05:002010-02-21T19:07:57.003-05:00Hey She was Serbian and we are Orthodox.Hey She was Serbian and we are Orthodox.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post-30062882528911087932008-11-27T23:43:00.000-05:002008-11-27T23:43:00.000-05:00I did a little quote mining exercise last week, se...I did a little quote mining exercise last week, see my result <A HREF="http://penned-in.blogspot.com/2008/11/einstein-said-to-assume-existence-of.html" REL="nofollow">here</A>. The clearest thing he ever said on this I think was "My position concerning God is that of an agnostic."Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14729915503531616087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post-49449656130864162442008-11-27T23:39:00.000-05:002008-11-27T23:39:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14729915503531616087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post-36868147038625077962008-11-05T14:19:00.000-05:002008-11-05T14:19:00.000-05:00Einstein comes into it because he was one of the s...Einstein comes into it because he was one of the smartest guys who ever lived and he was a Jew. True, he wasn't frum (and he was intermarried), but they're grasping at kiruv straws-- if Einstein makes you proud to be a Jew, then we'll talk about Einstein's Jewishness.<BR/><BR/>Non-religious Jews aren't really going to connect with Moshe Feinstein, and Lazar Kaganovich isn't exactly the kind of role model you want.<BR/><BR/>This isn't a dispassionate scientific investigation-- it's propaganda.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post-10273114146892040892008-11-05T08:00:00.000-05:002008-11-05T08:00:00.000-05:00Re Einstein & Buddhism: thank you for pointing...Re Einstein & Buddhism: thank you for pointing that out. Although the intention of the post was to show the absurdity of using Einstein as a shining example of how great it is to be Jewish (see also Garnel's comment) and not to bash Judaism itself as fundamentally irrational, here is one of Albert's quotes:<BR/><BR/><I>Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and spiritual; and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity.</I>Frum Heretichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17815538809825229710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post-6374243269407120862008-11-04T23:18:00.000-05:002008-11-04T23:18:00.000-05:00There are some quotes where he says he singles out...There are some quotes where he says he singles out Buddhism and the Quakers as the most rational or most attractive of the faiths.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14729915503531616087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post-66808186319167686702008-11-02T21:59:00.000-05:002008-11-02T21:59:00.000-05:00Kiruv is all about proselytizing. I love when kiru...Kiruv is all about proselytizing. I love when kiruv rabbis tell me, "Oh, no, we are not missionaries. We only talk to the Jews." Ah, so you're selective missionaries. They couldn't care less about what's true. They know that people won't think too hard about their claims, and as long as they get you hooked by making you believe that you need their "product" and that it will change your life for the better, they're good to go. People will believe anything if they think that they cannot go on without it or that it will be utopia.<BR/>I did kiruv when I was frum and I now experience people constantly trying to be mekarev me. It's marketing and they work with your emotional needs more than any rationality, because they know that they make no sense. <BR/>Nice post. Einstein was a brilliant man who contributed a lot to the world we have now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post-68331618071066767002008-11-02T20:38:00.000-05:002008-11-02T20:38:00.000-05:00I guess I agree with both of you (sounds like a Je...I guess I agree with both of you (sounds like a Jewish joke). Kiruv organizations are very selective in their use of famous (non-frum) yidden, and it is usually in the cause of making sweeping generalities about the greatness of the Jewish people all out of proportion to their numbers. But often when one looks more closely at these famous examples that they exhibit the exact opposite character traits than the midot that Judaism claims are desirable. It's a very mixed message.Frum Heretichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17815538809825229710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post-14555061978618629912008-11-02T17:13:00.000-05:002008-11-02T17:13:00.000-05:00But I don't understand why a non-frum example like...But I don't understand why a non-frum example like Einstein or Allen would work. After all, they simply prove that you can be remembered as a famous Jew and that millions of Jews will identify with you without any need for observance on your part.<BR/><BR/>Success and failure, fame and infamy, are not reasons for becoming frum. I think that's why I never clicked with kiruv.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post-74808055395594546012008-11-02T16:24:00.000-05:002008-11-02T16:24:00.000-05:00Kiruv is not about telling the unfiltered honest t...Kiruv is not about telling the unfiltered honest truth, but rather what works. The mentioning of Woody Allen is quite ironic because the the students and adults who come to Kiruv seminars are probably filled with Jewish guilt...I know I was. They want to feel a connection with their Jewish heritage, but they feel guilty that they don't so. So, the Rabbis work off and play on that, giving them whatever is the most immediate reason to feel Jewish pride, in this case being famous Jews and Nobel Prize winners (I personally prefer Natalie Portman and Scarlet Johannson, but to each their own.) You can credit a whole host of psychological defense mechanisms and other things to this regard, but that's quite an analysis in it's own right.<BR/><BR/>People aren't going to think too much into it, FH, you know that. Yes, Einstein was somewhat deist, Krum as a Bagel, but he at least has ideas, sayings and facts you can cherry-pick off (and so does Ms. Portman mind you.) Strangely enough, as someone who's been around enough Kiruv things, I would say actually yes, it works to some extent, though not as well as the rabbis claim. People who get mekareved usually become more irrational before possibly returning to some point of rationality (and questioning perhaps.)LonelyManhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07315564855152299196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310633442210374868.post-82418505208311045782008-11-02T16:09:00.000-05:002008-11-02T16:09:00.000-05:00Okay, okay, so he should have picked Woody Allen i...Okay, okay, so he should have picked Woody Allen instead!<BR/><BR/>LOLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com