In To Mend the World, Emil Fackenheim famously dares to issue to the Jewish community a “614th Commandment.” It’s an audacious proposition. As far back as the medieval scholar Maimonides, Jewish rabbis have spoken of the Torah containing 613 commandments. But precisely because of the enormity of the Holocaust experience, Fackenheim tells his fellow Jews they must now add one more law to their ancient Torah—a 614th commandment. Commandment 614 is simply this: Thou shalt not give Hitler any posthumous victories. Elaborating on the 614th Commandment, Fackenheim says, “We are forbidden to despair
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