{"id":45712,"date":"2018-12-15T19:30:57","date_gmt":"2018-12-15T17:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=45712"},"modified":"2022-07-08T16:51:51","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T13:51:51","slug":"priestly-populism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/priestly-populism\/","title":{"rendered":"Priestly Populism \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[480,772,631],"acf":{"old_id":"45712","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":36423,"related_cahpter":"111","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Merit matters, but only if it makes us all feel worthy","content":"

The United States has long been an uneasy meritocracy. Built on the notion that success is something to be grasped on the prairie or the stockroom, the meritocratic ideal was not only a description of social mobility but also a statement of self-understanding and definition. If that system has faltered in recent years because of issues related to both globalism and governance, it seems to threaten not only our competitiveness, but signals something is amiss at the core of our identity. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, there has always been a current in American life, one that vibrates with verve now, that remains inveterately skeptical of the whole idea of merit in the first instance. For these Korach-populists, caste is corrupt, however its admissions policies are formulated. \u00a0To champion merit is to walk the finest of lines between equality and inequality, inherent worth and demonstrated value. To admit to the value of merit is to acknowledge the need for a judge, and who indeed should sit in judgment?<\/span><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s chapter tells us what makes the kohanim<\/em>, the priests, different, and in so doing adumbrates them as a class. Many of these laws are framed as obligations rather than rights; the greater the restrictions, the greater the call to holiness. But still, they are a caste, with their own supplementary legal code. This would hardly have been unusual in the ancient world, where priests were a recognized and cognizable subgroup in nearly every society. Here, however, they are meant to serve rather than rule. There would come a time when the kohanim would ossify into an aristocracy, dispensing patronage and partying with prelates. In the clarity of the desert, however, we can see the link between privilege, service, and obligation. <\/span><\/p>\n

To those whom much has been given, much is expected. Merit matters, but only if it makes us all feel worthy. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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