A theme that courses through all of Jewish history is the theme of liberation. The story of the Israelites escape from Egyptian slavery and its return to its homeland under the leadership of Moses resonates with many oppressed minorities. That particular escape from tyranny long resonated with black slaves and was incorporated into their liturgy and gospels. Jews have always been a people on the move — usually not by their own choice. The Romans dispersed them after they rebelled against Roman imperialist rule. This was the genesis of the Diaspora. Jewish communities were chased from one European nation to another in a brutal "whack a mole" view of Jews. The Inquisition was just one manifestation of this history. The tragic history of the Jewish experience reached its apotheosis in the Holocaust, when many in Europe tired of the game and just decided to eliminate its Jews.    The brutality also lead to one of the most spiritual events of the modern era: a return...(Read Full Post)