A pretty woman who converted to Conservative Judaism told me once, “Jewish men don’t know their own level. Non-Jewish men know their level and they don’t approach women out of their league but every Jewish male is raised by a mom who tells him he can be president of the United States.”
In his sixth lecture on Genesis in 1992, talking about the Tower of Babel story, Dennis Prager says: “In Judaism, making a name for yourself is not considered a sin. Humility is a virtue, but modesty isn’t, which certainly Jews live up to. Jews are not the most modest ethnic group. If you compliment a Jew, they normally ask you for more. I have it from ten years of Religion on the Line. Jews have a fairly good sense of self while if I compliment a Protestant minister or Catholic priest, they’ll say, oh no, Dennis. No, Dennis. What are you talking about? They don’t want to think well of themselves. It’s the sin of pride.”
