The Framework Of Hug And Kiss

    Back in the mid to late 90's I starting taking a Hebrew from scratch class offered by the Loudoun Jewish Congregation of Loundoun County.  Before they got their building,  we met at the public library.  Those days bring back good memories-learning the alef-bet (Hebrew alphabet) from scratch as a young adult was the beginning of a long and fruitful adventure.
    Having come across an article about the cooperation of Jews and Muslims in my hometown of Sterling, Virginia, it has made me nostalgic for those days when Hebrew (and Judaism) was a much simpler matter.
    Initially the LJC, which became conservative, used a church as a meeting place.  As far as a remember, a reform congregation broke off from them, which maybe the one described in the article.  The fact that Jews and Muslims there cooperate shows how marginalized they are in a rough Christian setting like the western part of Northern Virginia.  Interestingly enough, Loundoun County has the largest per-household income in the US.  In addition, a police officer from Virginia told me that every terrorist involved in the 9/11 hijackings had come through the Northern Virginia area at one point or another.


Has Pluralism Hit NOVA?
Obama took Virginia in this past election-a notable event for a Republican state.  Are the wolf and lamb cohabiting?  American Islam is probably not the same as its Middle Eastern counterpart-just as American Judaism is not the same as it is here in Israel.  However, somehow I think that pluralism means an increasing gentile population together with a declining Jewish one.  A Jewish population that is committed to accommodating "the other," while at the same time being oblivious to its own decline.