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The Daily Dish - 2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan

Tzadik?

By The Daily Dish
Oct 28 2008, 5:37 AM ET

A reader writes:

Is Gelernter absolutely insane? I grew up in the Orthodox community and attended numerous Yeshivot, and the word Tzadik was reserved for the most learned, most pious, and most sincere people in our community. It's a word reserved for Rebbe's and Heads of Yeshivot. For great leaders in the Jewish community. No one would ever dream of calling someone a tzadik if they had called their wife the c-word in front of reporters. He might be a really good guy, but we have a special word for that in Judaism too. A Mensch. And you can make mistakes and still be a mensch. McCain hasn't been much one of those during this election, but I wouldn't mind saying that over his life he's been a pretty decent guy. But a tzadik?



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