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Culture War Roundup for the week of May 15, 2023

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So what made the prior generations of Jews to put down their Talmud’s and join society?

If modern society leads to low tfr it would seem beneficial to have a 6-7 tfr isolated community that occasional dumps a bunch of their people into broader society.

What is so interesting about the Talmud? I kind of want to read it if some of the smartest people in the world continuously devote their lives to reading it.

So what made the prior generations of Jews to put down their Talmud’s and join society?

They didn't have a welfare state to exploit. They may have been zealots (so to speak) but they weren't going to starve just to study the Talmud.

Hindu and Buddhist scholars have spent thousands of years studying their own ancient texts, to much the same outcome. You could spend a lifetime studying The Lord of the Rings.

You're selling your people a bit short here. Reading Orthodox Jewish commentaries really does feel like "big-brain shit" in a way that say, reading Christian commentaries doesn't.

Any examples you can point at? I am curious now.

So what made the prior generations of Jews to put down their Talmud’s and join society?

Socialism. Well, at least in many cases.