Luke, John, Josiah, Zeke, and Mack (names straight out of central casting) won the hearts of our congregation with their cowboy hats, boots, oversized belt buckles, and their “Aw shucks, Ma’am, I am just doing my job” attitude. But the sheer number of people who showed up to see them was what was most interesting to me. I think the best explanation is that we Jews are so desperate to be loved, starved for it really, that when we do meet gentiles who truly do love us, we go out of our minds. …

When it comes to Israel, it seems that while many Jews in the Diaspora are happy to be involved, they are too chicken to be committed. Infinitely more important than “standing with Israel” is “standing in Israel,” and I do not see the wide-scale commitment that I would expect at this time. When the war broke out, far too many American Jewish students left Israel instead of flocking to it. The yeshivot, day schools, and college campuses in the US that sent busloads of their students to the pro-Israel rally in Washington are simply not enough. Every single Jew who was physically able to make the trip should have gone.