The Scandal of Particularity: Particularity and the Public Square (Viewpoint Essay)

A personal note Thank you for the opportunity to join your exploration of the Scandal of Particularity, specifically as it focuses on Particularity and the Public Square. David Novak may share my sense of being a ger who has passed over a border, entered a very special land, and been welcomed as a member of your extended family. Your gracious hospitality notwithstanding, I am aware that you have developed bonds of kinship and understanding, the nature and depth of which are unknown to me, even as my own nephesh in large part is unknown to you. Out of my desire to move from the alienation of the stranger toward the communion of a fellow pilgrim on the fascinating journey you have been taking, I am going to share a few thoughts regarding my faith tradition and the bearing it has on the over-arching theme of your Joint Project, particularly its starting point in the challenge presented by the "erosion of center."