ABSTRACT
The questions have not always been put verbally. The mere presence of the Jewish community as an all-too-visible exception to a nation’s spiritual and cultural homogeneity has stated them more eloquently than words. Needless to say, such questions, whether verbal or implicit, are not always welcome to those who prefer to leave the waters of a religious or cultural unity unruffled. Jewish “differentness” and the awkward queries it implies for others have given Jews much suffering. But they have persisted in making the question felt and have thereby also pressed human society not to settle for partial truths.
