by Rabbi Yisrael Rutman I don’t know whether to call it a trend or an epidemic, but lately there seems to be an unusually high incidence of discussion concerning Jewish intelligence. When Micheal (sic) Ray Richardson, coach of the Albany Patroons in the Continental Basketball Assn., was asked recently by sportswriters about his contract negotiations,
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by Rabbi Yisrael Rutman

“Plagiarism is not a big moral deal,” according to Stanley Fish’s article of the same title in his latest New York Times column. Fish is a professor of law and humanities, so he should know, right?

Well, much as I enjoy his column for its intelligence, candor and literary style, this one seems to be morally obtuse. Professor Fish argues that the concept of plagiarism has no basis in morality. Rather, he says, it’s an “insider’s obsession,” a convention of academe or journalism; rules of the game one must play by.