What happens when the sacred victim becomes the sovereign nation?

We delve into a provocative exploration of Jewish identity and otherness in this week's episode. Drawing inspiration from the Torah portion Balak and a thought-provoking essay by Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, we challenge long-held beliefs about Judaism's role as the quintessential "other" in society.

Have we been misinterpreting our own history?

Key Takeaways

1. The concept of Jews as universal "others" may be more modern than we realize
2. Embracing particularism might be more authentic to Jewish tradition than universal symbolism
3. Zionism can be seen as a return to Jewish particularity rather than just a political movement

Timestamps

• [00:00] Introduction to the episode and the theme of “The Jew as Other”
• [01:45] How the term “other” appears in this week’s Parsha and Moab’s fear
• [03:50] Biblical context: Egyptians and Haman’s perspective on Jews
• [06:45] Jewish laws and their role in antisemitic narratives
• [09:30] Rabbinic interpretations and perceived Jewish separateness
• [12:15] Rabbinic blame of God for antisemitism through Jewish laws
• [14:30] Evolution from oppression to loving the stranger in Torah
• [17:00] Introduction of Hussein Aboubakr Mansour’s argument
• [20:15] Breakdown of the Jew as metaphor and object of culture
• [28:00] Zionism’s rejection of “otherness” and affirmation of sovereignty

Links & Learnings

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Safaria Source Sheet: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/661213

Hussein Aboubakr Mansour‘s Substack article

https://open.substack.com/pub/critiqueanddigest/p/the-jew-after-otherness

Transcript on episode web page: https://madlik.com/2025/07/09/understanding-anti-semitism-through-history/