The Gifts of the Jews

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Thomas Cahill's "The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels," a radical reinterpretation of what Jews have brought to western civilization and a retelling of Biblical stories. It discusses how the theme of the books seems to be revisioning the history of the Jews, who are usually thought of as a beleaguered wandering tribe of peoples who were the victims of unthinkable horror and unbelievable hatred. It sets out to show that we owe the Jews the shape of western civilization. It looks at how the Jews gave us freedom, a day of rest and the concept of monotheism.

From the Paper:

"Cahill makes many interesting points. One of them is that the reason the Bible has those long, incantatory, and often narcoleptic genealogies, is that by listing individual's names, even women's names, the Jews are saying that every individual counts. Their history and contribution counts. he Bible is remarkable for how often it tells the stories of "ordinary people." In a way, this is reminiscent of the meaning and success of Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. Each name has meaning, and that meaning builds as the list of names builds. As the Jewish saying goes, "If you save one life, you save the world entire.""

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