All posts by Miriam Hoffman

Professor Miriam Hoffman is a world-renowned scholar of Jewish and Yiddish culture, with a 60-year academic career that includes 25 years as professor of Yiddish language and Jewish culture at Columbia University. Her 700-page “Key to Yiddish” textbook is a standard for Yiddish educators worldwide. She is an award-winning playwright, author, and columnist for The Forward, having published thousands of articles over 35 years. Her collaboration with the late Broadway impresario Joseph Papp allowed for the creation of a Yiddish Theater bearing his name.

 Judaism’s Meltdown or The End Result of the American Melting Pot – by Miriam Hoffman

Since Abraham, forefather of Judaism smashed all the idols in his father’s  lucrative idol showcase business which consisted of wooden deities, fertility gods, big and small idols promising provisions, as well as idols that assured health and wealth, this was the precise time when Abraham decided that there is no man-made visible god, but one who dwells up above, in the Celestial Heavens, the God that promised to protect and demanded of his Chosen People loyalty, humanity, wisdom and above all knowledge of their past history.

As time was overlapping one another, his people obeyed and disobeyed, were loyal and betrayed Him, stuck by Him through thick and thin not to mention those who abandoned him altogether.

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