So, there was your Rabbi struggling with what to name this episode. At first, I thought of calling it “Even Poor People Deserve Compassion”. Then, I thought we’ll call it “Especially, Poor People Deserve Compassion”. Then, I thought about “We Love Poor People”. As you can see, the ideas were flowing fast and furious, but I was worried about appearing to lack compassion—one of the very worst sins in today’s secular theology. So, then I came up with “Poor People Means Virtuous People”. If you want to know why, in the end, I chose the title I did use, listen on. Now, for those of you who plan to write to me in righteous indignation, howling in protest at this podcast; I will save you time and trouble. Just cut and paste from what follows: “Doesn’t your faith command you to care for the poor? How dare you deny their existence! You’re such an ignoramus, you don’t you even know that over 30 million Americans live below the poverty line. I suppose you think it’s their fault. That’s called blaming the victim, you heartless human being.” There, see how helpful I can be? Now, if you invest the time to listen, you’ll hear the answers to all of those questions and many others you may not have yet thought of.

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