SAPIR JOURNAL
The Allure of Powerlessness
by Ruth R. Wisse
Summer 2021

Two jews in a wagon are traveling along a narrow country road when suddenly their horse rears to a stop. A boulder is blocking their path. The Jews begin trading ideas on what they ought to do. As they sit there deliberating, another wagon approaches from the opposite direction and stops across from them. Two peasants jump down, roll up their sleeves, and heave the rock out of the way. “There’s goyish thinking for you,” says one Jew to the other; “Always with force.” READ MORE