Rachel, I couldn't have asked for a better coeditor and I will truly miss you next semes ter. Only you have I loved of all the families of the earth, therefore will I recall upon you all your iniquities. One talented and full of promise, the other slow-witted and delinquent. You catch them both cheating on exams. Even though other nations have certainly deserved punishment more, the Jewish people have suffered Hashem's punishment more than any other people.
Privilege has no meaning without responsibility.
For their sake, the world was created. They have been chosen to be a sign to all peoples. Israel is the heartbeat of the world, and therefore, necessarily, its responsibility is gr eater. When the Jewish people sin, they blemish the whole creation, and therefore they are judged more exactingly - because, even though their small infractions may seem insignificant, the consequences are cosmic. Any item which was muktzeh when Shabbat started remains muktzeh throughout Shabbat, even if the reason for it being muktzeh no longer exists .