MARCH 14 • 2024 | 55

of pure power.
In another essay, published in
1944, Singer addresses a differ-
ent challenge to morality based
on the philosophical or scien-
tific concept of determinism. If
all our actions are determined,
then we have no free will, and
nothing remains of “the Ancient
Jewish Notion that Good and
Evil Are Always Battling Inside
Us.
” Religious Jews, according
to Singer, believe that we have
a good angel that prompts us
to do good, and an evil angel
that prompts us to do evil, but
that we have free will to choose.
Some thinkers who do not
believe in angels, still believe
that “good and evil inclina-
tions exist within humankind.
”
However, “a long line of philos-
ophers believed that people do
not have free will.
” Causes with-
in our bodies determine our
actions. “If we knew the human
body precisely . . . we would see
that this person had no choice.
”
Even determinists recog-nize
that we need courts of justice.
Though criminals “had to com-
mit their crimes,
” the judge and
jury have to convict them.
Singer explores paradoxes
that follow from determinism.
Marxists, for example, identify
as pure materialists, and believe
the future is deter-mined by
objective forces. Even so, “No
Marxists ever reached the point
where they left everything up to
history.
” Every Marxist has “to
accept the necessity of agitation
somewhere.
” However much
of what he writes is based on
determinism, “Practical life has
shown us, at every step of the
way, that if you take an action
you may reach your goal, and
if you take no action you reach
nothing. No one can exist on
philosophy alone. “
Singer contrasts the psycho-
analytic approach to the evil
angel within us, that we should
get to know our darkest impuls-
es, with what he sees as the

classical Jewish approach: Tame
the evil spirit, don’t try to kill it,
and don’t try to concentrate on
it. When you decide that your
impulse to act comes from the
evil angel, “keep it bound up
and shut its mouth . . . Why
analyze the Devil when you
can ignore him? The entirety
of Jewish ethics is built on this
viewpoint.
”
Some modern scientists still
argue about whether we need
to resort to randomness in
order to understand the phys-
ical world; if we do, scientists
can dispute whether that leaves
room for free will; but, as Singer
noted decades ago, even deter-
minists act as if they believe
they have free will.
Several of Singer’s essays
express his anxiety about the
survival of Yiddishkayt, a word
with many nuances. Stromberg,
the translator, explains that “it
can mean Judaism, Jewish life,
anything having to do with
Yiddish culture or language,
and, in its most vague sense,
can be Jewishness or even
Yiddishness.
”
Can Jews who have never
learned at Cheder, never read
classic Jewish texts, never par-
ticipated in a rich Jewish cul-
ture, never even spoken good
Yiddish, succeed in transmitting
anything to the next generation?
Or will coming generations
inevitably consist of Jews pro-
gressively more ignorant and
indifferent to Jewish culture and
to other Jews?
White Goat Press, a relatively
new publishing house dedicated
to presenting important works
of Yiddish literature in new
English translation, and David
Stromberg, translator of these
journalistic columns, deserve
our thanks for making this
fascinating collection available
to us. Keep alert for the appear-
ance of the next two volumes of
translations of Singer’s percep-
tive essays.

J

ust in time for Purim,
at 7 p.m. on March 20,
the Eastern Michigan
University’s Center for
Jewish Studies will bring
comedian Ariel Elias to
perform at the Sponberg
Theatre at Eastern Michigan
University.
In October 2022, stand-up
comedian Ariel Elias was
performing her act on stage
when a group of customers
heckled her for “voting for
Biden” and threw a beer
bottle at her. Elias, with
unflappable cool, told the
customers off and then
picked up the thrown beer
and drank it. A clip of this
incident went viral, catapult-
ing Elias’ career.
A slew of famous come-
dians and celebrities praised
her publicly for how she
handled the incident. She
has since had her debut on

Jimmy Kimmel Live and is
touring widely. She has been
featured in Rolling Stone,
the Washington Post and
was named a “New Face”
at the 2021 Just For Laughs
Comedy Festival and as one
of the Best Comedians of
2022 by Paste Magazine.

In her act, Elias mines
humor from her struggles
with body dysmorphia and
from growing up Jewish
in Kentucky. In one classic
bit, she talks about how her
name, Ariel, is pronounced
by Jews and then by people
in the South, where it is
basically “Earl.” Elias has
a prominent presence on
social media and is a come-
dian with a rising profile.

In partnership with Hillel, this event

is free. To register, email rerlewi2@

emich.edu. Robert Erlewine is

director for the Eastern Michigan

University Center for Jewish Studies.

Stand-up comedian Ariel Elias
to put on free show March 20.

An Evening of
Comedy at EMU

ROBERT ERLEWINE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

COMEDY

Ariel Elias