[Bill23274]

From the outside, it appears that Jews have a higher level of coherence than most other groups -- in spite of the notion that the coherence may mean little in a Jew's daily life -- in spite of truisms about 12 Jews having 13 strong opinions. Is it true that Jews living in strongly Jewish communities usually have access to a 'safety net' which is by-Jews-for-Jews? ... a social network where personal worth is judged on different criteria than AFDC or other governmental agencies use? e.g. criteria like 'character', service to others, honor, etc? These things seem to be available to others in other communities, but no communities seem quite as effective as Jewish ones. For example, regarding immigrants, I believe that there are both formal and informal organizations which WELCOME Jewish immigrants in most large cities. I don't expect that they're handed huge gifts, but I do expect that they are counseled and advised how to take fullest advantage of public resources and maximize the effectivenes of their limited personal resources. Generally speaking, people who have the initiative to get up and leave a bad situation elsewhere are willing to work some to make it here. In the extreme case, it seems that Israelis are using Russians as Americans used poor Europeans: to serve as squatters who repel others from the land. But I don't mean that to start a flame war, it just seems an extended form of the symbiosis between citizens and immigrants which Jews seem to manage better than most others. (certain Asians excepted) I generally attribute the coherence to Jews' long and unbroken written record, to the rationalizing effects of codifying behavioral guidelines, to the breadth of the Torah's influence on Jewish society, and to the high scholarly standards of those who are empowered to edit those societal guides. Also, except for its baser abberations, Jewish culture seems more egalitarian, more focused on learning, questioning, and challenging than most. Jews seem more attuned to the power of ideas and the notion that powerful ideas may come from otherwise unimpressive people. But the green grass is always greener on the other side to the fence. Can you shine any light on these points?

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Name : Bill23274, City : Taos, State : NM Country : United States, 

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