From The Bimah: Jewish Lessons For Life

The law of unanticipated consequences. As Micah Goodman shares with Danny Gordis in this utterly fascinating conversation about Israel today (35 minutes and well worth it), conservative leaders are chastened and restrained by the law of unanticipated consequences. Since we never actually know what will ensue from our conduct, the wisest course is humility and restraint lest we unintentionally unleash a hurricane that we never saw coming. Micah offers two examples: What is the unanticipated consequence of birth control being readily available in Europe? Answer: Radicalized xenophobic, racist, far-right politics. How? Because of the pill, European families had smaller families, which led to fewer workers, which led to increased immigration to fill those worker slots, which led to Muslim immigration, which led to complexity and navigating cultural difference, which led to a conservative backlash against Muslim immigration, which led to the ascendancy of far-right xenophobic parties in Europe. Unan