The Other

This chapter attempts to both describe traditional Jewish attitudes toward non-Jews and also stake out a novel position privileging one set of those attitudes over others. The author sets himself the challenge of preserving the category of the other without overly “otherizing” the other and without becoming an out-and-out relativist, believing, as he does, that truth matters and that epistemological and moral relativism are self-contradictory and dangerous. The ultimate goal is to show that one can use traditional Jewish sources to lessen the traditional tendency of “othering the other” without diluting those sources beyond recognition. The Jewish tradition has both universalist elements and particularist elements. The former emphasize the commonality of all human beings as created in the image of God; the latter emphasize the (alleged) special nature of Jews and the special nature of the Jews’ relationship with God. In the Conclusion, the author sketches out a messianic justification for emphasizing Jewish universalism and for maintaining certain Jewish teachings.