1984 and the Language of Confusion
Sixty years after Orwell’s masterpiece, his message is more prophetic than ever.
And my apologies for the typo in the fifth from the last paragraph. Essays on language should be pristine.
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Perspectives
Dawn to Destiny:
Exploring Jewish History and its Hidden Wisdom
By Rabbi Yonason Goldson
A comprehensive overview of Jewish History from Creation through the redaction of the Talmud, illuminating the intricacies and complexities of Torah tradition and philosophy according to the sages and classical commentaries, spanning the length and breadth of Jewish experience to resolve many of history’s most perplexing episodes, offering profound insights and showing their relevance to life in the modern world.
How did the sin of Adam transform mankind and the world? How were the prophecies of Noah fulfilled through the rise of the Greek Empire? Why did lifespans shrink so dramatically after the Flood? How did the builders of the Tower of Babel believe they could wage war against G-d? Why did the Torah have to be given in both written and oral form? What was King David’s transgression regarding his involvement with BasSheva? Why did some Jews oppose the construction of the Second Temple? How can we trust the transmission of Torah if our scholars engaged in such fierce disagreements? These and many other questions are answered in this unique volume.
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Mission Statement for the Jewish People — from the extraordinary wisdom of Rav Shraga Feivel Mendelovitz, founder of Torah education in America.
Why Jews are Liberals — the origins of ideological confusion, and a follow-up piece exploring the practical applications.
The End of the Age of Reason — the sages’ vision of a future that is at our doorstep, and a follow-up piece in response to, and including, some colorful comments.
Israel: History, Politics, and Ideology — Answers to the attacks of apologists and antagonists.
Defining “Objective” History — How can we determine the accuracy of historical records? How do we resolve contradictions in history?
Evolution Forum — Is it possible to have a civil debate on the subject?
The Language of Confusion — 60 years after 1984, Orwell’s prophetic dystopia remains more relevant than ever.
The Final Battlefield – The current economic crisis foretold a thousand years ago and the climax of the ultimate ideological war. Also, variations on a theme inspired by Pink Floyd and this recipe for the only truly secure investment.
The Fallacy of Moral Relativism — How I taught a class of cynical teenagers the illogic of unrestricted personal freedom.
Hurricane Season– With meteorologists predicting more hurricanes on the scale of Gustav, Ike, and Katrina, these thoughts on the Pacific Rim Tsunami are worth another look.
Talking the to the Wall Department — My efforts to engage an ideologue in civil discourse. Draw your own conclusions, and feel free to weigh in … respectfully.
Insights into the weeky Torah Portion
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It was a great essay. I saw it at Jewish World Review. I have great sympathy for you as a teacher trying to get that concept through the heads of current American high school students. Leo Strauss worked very hard to do that in the last generation of academia. Keep up the good (and hard) work.
Comment by Yehoshua Friedman | June 17, 2009
I am a gentile Christian who rejoiced in the truth of this article and look forward to reading other articles you have written. Absolute Truth is awesome!
Comment by charlie | June 17, 2009
Dear Rabbi,
Regarding your article “1984 and the Language of Confusion,” you have certainly written about a complicated subject with much clarity. Our most recent presidential election has occurred because of the epitomy of the language of confusion.
Comment by Keith Albers | June 17, 2009
Dear Rabbi,
I’ve greatly enjoyed your essays, particularly “1984 and the Language of Confusion”.
The typo in this piece, which mixes up singular and plural, is less confusing than the one in the second paragraph from the end in “The Happiness Quotient”.
Are you including typos to remind us that even rabbis are imperfect?
Comment by Wim de Vriend | June 18, 2009
Very few people need help remembering that rabbis are imperfect.
Comment by torahideals | June 18, 2009
Rabbi:
With regard to your statement on abortion-I thought that Talmud did not recognize the soul of a fetus embryo until quickening no earlier than 40 days after conception and thus aboriton to that poitn was acceptable-Am I incorrect? And while I know the Catholic Church does not accept abortion even in the case of the life of the mother-I am told that even Orthodox Jews accept it. Right?
Comment by Norm Pressman | June 19, 2009
The Talmud does teach that the neshoma (soul) enters the embryo 40 days after conception. However, life itself begins at conception, so abortion is prohibited any time. Even the male sperm and unfertilized female ova have sanctity because they are potential life, thus prohibiting the use of birth control under normal circumstances.
However, as in most cases, there may be exceptions — always in accordance with Talmudic law and precedent. In cases of potential harm to physical or mental health, birth control may be permitted after rabbinic reveiw. In cases of extreme degenerative disease detected early enough (or, perhaps, cases of conception from rape), abortion may be permitted within the first 40 days, again after review by a rabbinic authority competent in these matters (which I am not).
Finally, abortions are always permitted when necessary to save the mother, since her life takes priority until the moment the baby’s head emerges, for the simple reason that until birth, the baby depends upon the mother for life and not vice verse.
These are the broad outlines of an extremely complex body of Torah law. Individual cases must always be decided in consultation with a qualified Torah authority.
Comment by torahideals | June 19, 2009