Being Jewish
What does it mean to be Jewish? What does it mean
to be Jewish in the diaspora? Is a Jew first and foremost, a Jew, or is he first a citizen of the country
in which he abides? Definitions and defining limits of what constitute "Jewishness" have been debated since there have been Jews. Even today in Israel, orthodoxy stands in constant conflict with conservative, reform and 'secular' Judaism, and all stand in conflict with "messianic" Judaism. Even when all definitions and inclusions are clarified, there remains the difficult questions of 2000 years of 'diaspora' or the dispersion of the Jewish nation amidst other nations, what is correct, true and 'safe' behavior and enculturation. The problems have occurred in every generation, but reached a zenith in the Shoah.
The Jewish 'Enlightenment': Alexandria, Spinoza and Mendelssohn
Alexandria and 'Hellenization"
While a lengthy philosophical history cannot be covered here, there are a few historical antecedents which have played such a role in Jewish history that they must be mentioned as foundational to the Jewish "Weltenschaunng" or "world view" during and before the Holocaust. Questions of the 'rightness' or 'wrongness' of abandoning centuries old traditions are not clear cut, but certain formative ideas which have affected Jewish participation in other cultures since the first century and before are critical for contemporary understanding.When Alexander marched across the empires, conquering and replacing the national effects of the Medo-Persians, Babylon, and Egypt, he brought with him an influence which is termed 'hellenization' which greatly influenced the Jews. Greek culture became the social currency, and even cultures steeped in tradition and carefully defined, to a degree adopted the new social and 'academic milieu.' Alexandria in Egypt became a great world center of mixed influence, and many Jewish scholars, artists, and philosophers were influenced more than previously in history by a new 'openness' to ideas, and often an admixture. Because of its metropolitan nature, and nearness to worldwide seaports, Alexandria saw the introduction and synthesis of many ideas from India and Asia, Greece and Egypt, the Jews and Palestine and other significant cultures and philosophies. The result was traditional points of view which became integrated with others, and while this was celebrated as a new 'enlightenment' it often resulted in the introduction of 'heretical' views into Judaism and later Christianity, such as gnosticism, or Augustine's influence by Manicheism, a Persian philosophy of extreme 'Determinisn'. The Jewish philosopher 'Philo' was from Alexandria, and the Great Alexandrian University and Library were influential as well. When Constantine ordered 50 copies of the Bible from Eusebius in the 4th century, they came from Alexandria, not Antioch, and were tainted with gnostic thought and fables.
The Importance to the Jews of this 'hellenization ' process has been felt throughout the centuries. Many feel the influence has been good, providing light and balance on traditional ideas and practices. Others have seen it as threatening and compromising; a move to liberalization and the abandonment of the mores and commandments of God, and a 'watering' down of Judaism. The Orthodox Jews have more often held the latter position, while modern day Reform Jews and Conservative or moderate Jews allow more liberty. In the extreme, both positions pose problems: adherence to a new liberalism and synthesis of ideas and other religions, is warned of in the Torah as a severe sin, and the wrath of God is noted particularly against those who intermarry, transgress the Law, or bring other forms of worship into Israel. On the other hand, an opposite 'enemy' of Judaism (as well as Christianity) has been a distorted 'legalism' in which the spirit of the Lsw or commandment is rejected in favor of cold hard expositions of thousands of burdensome rules and subregulations. The 'hellenization' of turn of the first millenium became a pivotal point of division and wisdom over the 2000 years of diaspora.
Dispersion & Community: the Jews as "Guest-Citizens"
As Jerusalem was sacked and over the first century the Jews were expelled from their homeland of Israel and other communities such as Rome, and expelled again the Edict of Milan, the Jews were dispersed into any nation which would accept them, always as 'guest-citizens'. Tradition has it in Europe,that God directed many Jews towards Poland, deriving the name from 'polin' meaning 'abide here'. In every country they took up residence, they provided an edifying influence, building up the banking and economic systems, the arts, academics and other disciplines: where they were large in numbers, countries flourished. Oddly, though,while building the nations they abode in, they were almost never seen as completely integrated or synthesized:the history of is lengthy and complex. Hatreds and prejudices based upon religious distinction, national identity appearance and culture often entered in, leaving the Jews for centuries past the dispersion as sequestered and separated as a social group despite the best efforts of enculturation. In the early church, in a document called Peri Pascha , the Bishop of Sardis, Melito, calls for the first time in history for the Roman Government to consider the Jews and Early Christians,including many Jews, separately for punishment and banishment: before this time, they were persecuted as one group. While the call of Melito resounds with an attempt to have the Jews see God's love for them in the Cross of Golgotha, it is a document which nonetheless marks the historical position of claiming the Jews as guilty of 'deicide' or the death of God. While not the only turning point, it is clear that from the first few early centuries, there did come to be a significant difference in the treatment of Jews and Christians. As the "Holy Roman Empire" and the "holy See" became one the Roman Church went on to become firmly established in power and breadth and increase in riches, there was little persecution of the visible Church which had become a mixture of pagan practices and the Gospel. The Church which adhered to the Word of God as the foundation and end for faith became branded as heretics by the Roman Church, and actually remained persecuted much in the same way the Jews were throughout the centuries through pogroms, confiscation of property. exile and martyrdom. Additionally, Christian sects fragmented into different groups, some such as the Waldensians and Bretheren groups in Europe staying close to Biblical Christianity and others such as the Albigenses staying close on most points of doctrine,but introducing by report some commonly agreed heresies such as arianism, which posits Jesus as a man inhabited by God but mortal.The trouble with documents and reports about both Jews and Early Christians and their beliefs and charges against them in this period, is that they all came from their persecutors, the Roman Church who deemed both and all heretical, and often devised charges which would accomplish certain objectives such as establishment of the Church and property confiscation.Blood Libel and Separation
In the Middle Ages and beyond, the Jews, now dispersed in most of the communities of Europe and the rest of the world in smaller numbers, became ostracized, separated and deemed the 'Christ-killers' of history, leading to the phenomena of Blood Libel in which the Jews were the azazels for the sins of others, and which created an involuntary out-group status of the Jew.(A Story of blood libel) This enforced separation of the Jewish community in many parts of Europe was marked by segregated living and burial space, and occasional clothing such as hats or armbands, not unlike what occurred in the holocaust. This segregation and libel led to severe anti-semitism; it was often hastened by attitudes and edicts within the Church. A one point Jews were seen as more than heretics: they were seen even on the level of witches and demons, and were forced to recant their faith or perish: the practice of which was intense for the 600 years of the Inquisition.While for much of Europe and the rest of the world, the Jews found an allowance for residence and sometimes citizenship, they were though often not seen still as full citizens. Laws for Jews and Christians often were different, and Jews notoriously often had less access to courts, schools, office and the like. It is however equally important to note that there were some communities in which the Jews had full protection, and received special status as under the protection of a King: in these communities, especially in Czechoslavakia, Poland, Belarus and Bohemia, Jewish communities thrived, and Jewish citizens often brought prosperity to the communities through thier contributions.
The Question of Jewish Identity, Separation & Citizenship
The above discussion is not meant to merely iterate the thousands of events of Anti-semitism throughout history, but rather to look generally at the progression of separation and ostracism of the Jewish community. Once segregated, it was easy to see the Jews as odd, eccentric, dangerous and vile. The response to Jewish citizens was often negative, even seen as a religious duty. Further, because many of the the Jews of Europe, the "Ashkenazic ", were orthodox or hasidic, they often saw Torah justification for separation as well: both the Torah (as well as the Christian New Testament) advocate an "in the world, but not of the world"1 position. The Torah saw God chastise Israel, sometimes even in destruction and captivity for the adoption of false worship and foreign gods, and intermarriage with foreign wives. Just as Gentile communities saw the Jews as violating their religion and as 'anti-christs'; the Jews also saw the gentile community as a threat to the ways of God and their community. The question and principle that came to be debated and formed over the past 3 or 400 years, was whether to integrate and assimilate in the national life and social milieu as citizens first, and Jews second, or whether the Jewish identity as a Chosen people was so critical, as to not be questioned or compromised. These debates were intense, and centered on the arts, religious separation, doctrinal adherence, and the question of whether a devout Jew could learn, entertain and integrate worldly philosophies and doctrines with Judaism and still beDescarte, Reason & Enlightenment
ENLIGHTENMENT-An eighteenth-century movement that placed great emphasis on the use of reason in the development of philosophical, social, political, and scientific knowledge. Enlightenment philosophers include Bayle, Hume, Wollstonecraft, Kant, and many lesser figures. -Philosophypages.comIn the 1700s, philosophy saw an advent of intellectual reason and tolerance, eminently through such philosophers as Rene Descarte. While this was not particularly focused on the Jew, the focus on rationale and the equality of men, or the equity of races became a prominent theme. For some, this was across the board, for others, it included tolerance for all but the Jew. A new 'renaissance' of reasoning emerged exploring ontology, or the study of 'being' and existence, superceded religious and cultural considerations of ideology. This 'transcendence' allowed for a more tolerant and open view of differences, based upon human reason, the new deity.
The Jewish Enlightenment
The Great "Age of Reason" in which rather than religious or social mores dominating philosophical discussions, a more pristine human reasoning came forefront saw concurrently advances in science, medicine and other academic endeavors and eventually influenced the development of the modern university and academic disciplines. What is termed the "Jewish Enlightenment " is a school of thought and theology greatly influenced by Cartesian thought, in which reason and rationale freed (or divorced) itself from traditional religious constraints and boundaries, applied Cartesian methods of reasoning and sought redefinitions of Jewish identity in light of a 'modern' world. Questions of what constituted Jewish Identity were raised and an 'integration' of traditional Jewish values became mixed with contemporary philosophical rationale. Among the most central questions raised by those in the Jewish Enlightenment, including Moses Mendelssohn and Spinoza,was the question of the Jew's place and role in society, and whether traditional separation was appropriate versus 'enculturation'or 'assimilation'. Some in the Jewish enlightenment movement posited that a Jew should see himself first as a citizen of whatever country he resided in and assimilate into the social milieu in the same way as any other ethnic group, others argued that a Jew should retain his identity as a Jew, but live among others as an equal citizen, and the more traditional views maintained that as the Jews had kept their ways, mores, laws, and identity as the Chosen people before the God of Israel, they should not change at all and changes were considered anathema. Spinoza, in the development of his more liberal ideas, was even excommunicated from the Jewish community in Amsterdam.The question of Assimilation of the Jewish people into other cultures is a critical one, and a discussion which emerged in a pronounced way, as early as in the reign of Alexandria, in which some felt that hellenization was a positive and forward move, and others felt it robbed the Jews of a national identity, and could even pose the end of a national Jewish identity. (See Above). The debate was present in every Jewish generation. The Torah commands separation: intermarriage with other nations was forbidden, and in fact at the Babylonian Return, led by Ezra and Nehemiah, the Jews were rededicated in Israel and commanded to 'put away' or divorce foreign wives. The Jewish people were commanded not to have anything to do with the idolatry, worship and practices of the 'heathen' or 'nations' [goyim]; and in the separation of the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel, the great 'sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat' were those of division, idolatry, worldly worship and foreign alliances; those sins were repeated over generations. For the Orthodox or Chasidic Jew, whose world view and life is based upon the Torah and related principles, the assimilation of the Jews was more than a philosophical difference, to many complete assimilation would spell the end of the Jews in modernity. Many of those who proposed assimiliation believed just the opposite: they believed that unless the Jews enculturated into the peoples and societies of their respective nations, their existence would be gone from persecutions, pogroms, oppression and slaughters. The more liberal thinkers who integrated academics, philosophy and Jewish teachings, are often credited with founding the modern reform movement in Judaism, and even today, debates among Conservative, Orthodox, and Reform Jews rage regarding who is a Jew and who is not and what fundamentally constitutes Jewish identity, and among Jews who can practice certain aspects of Judaism such as burial, marriages, and so on.
Formidable among the philosophers of the Jewish Enlightenment were Moses Mendelssohn and Spinoza. Both were trained in Judaism since childhood, and attended Jewish Education. Mendelssohn after much study and even some Christian influence, rejected Conversion, but developed a position of tolerance and liberation for Jewish thought and identity. Said Mendelssohn,
" Adopt the mores and constitution of the country in which you
find yourself, but be steadfast in upholding the religion of your fathers.
Mendelssohn was unwilling to completely dismiss the traditions and culture of Judaism as it had been practiced for centuries, but he sought what he felt was a move towards Jewish liberty and 'acceptance' in the community. Spinoza, raised in traditional Jewish home was exposed later to a variety of influences including a Catholic Latin Jesuit scholar. Influenced by others in the enlightenment and in 'colleges' or small meetings to assess ideas in Amsterdam, Spinoza began to broaden the limits of his thought. Proposing an integration of Jewish thought and popular secular thought, Spinoza along with others in the Jewish enlightenment began to entertain the integration of the Jew into his society. Some of his ideas though strayed so far from the Orthodoxy of his youth, that he was excommunicated from the Jewish religious community of Amsterdam, and later took up residence in Turkey, where he lead a synagogue more open than most in Europe. Spinoza remained controversial throughout his lifetime. These men and others integrated Cartesian 'enlightenment' with Jewish thought and culture and were cornerstones in what is termed "The Jewish Enlightenment". It gave rise to more modern concepts in Reform Judaism. While many laud the idea of 'enlightened' and expanded Jewish participation in the nations of their citizenship and a new openness to ideas and theologies from other disciplines, philosophies and religions,, others criticized these men and their contemporaries as introducing a new hellenization, and saw their move towards liberality anathema.
Voltaire: The Great Non-Jewish Tolerance
Voltaire (1694-1778), was the consummate atheist. He once remarked that the Bible would be out of print and obsolete in his lifetime,
although its printing lasted far beyond Voltaire. Voltaire presented a paradox in philosophical and social thought. He
was one of the eminent proponents of a New "Tolerance" in which persons from varied ethnic, religious and social backgrounds
would be given an new and viable equality....with one exception: the Jews. He was also known for his championing of political and
religious freedom. Why Voltaire saw no inconsistency in his thought
lack of extension of tolerance to the Jews is quizzical: his remarks on the Jews are harsh and bigoted. For example,
Voltaire notes:
"’You [Jews] have surpassed all nations in impertinent fables, in bad conduct, and in barbarism. You deserve to be punished, for this is your destiny. ‘" (Potok, Wanderings (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1978) 482-483)
or
"’They are all of them, born with raging fanaticism in their hearts, just as the Bretons and The Germans are born with blond hair. I would not be in the least bit surprised if these people would not some day become deadly to the human race.’" Voltaire wrote nearly nothing about the Jews that was kind. He held them suspect because of their "moneylending" activities, a traditional stereotype, without acknowledging that that vocation came often from the barring of the Jews from other occupations. His prejudices, like Europe's were both economic and religious. John Adams, former president of the US, noted his opposition to Voltaire's position in 1808, sayingVoltaire Notes
How is it possible [that he] should represent the Hebrews in such a contemptible light? They are the most glorious nation that ever inhabited this Earth. The Romans and their Empire were but a Bauble in comparison of the Jews. They have given religion to three quarters of the Globe and have influenced the affairs of Mankind more, and more happily, than any other Nation ancient or modern."The contrast in opinion just following the dawn of the general "Enlightenment" 35 years past the death of Voltaire shows the discussion was continuing, and now in the newly founded America. Discussions founded in the thinking of Descarte, (1596-1650) 150 years previously had taken root. Voltaire though, had provided the groundwork for a new acceptable Anti-Semitism against a backdrop of tolerance for all other races. Rational thought and inquisition and the belief that the universe in microcosm or macrocosm could be known empirically (Descarte expresses it as 'mathematically') took hold in an advent of "Reason" as the emerging deity. Jewish scholars and theologians incorporated the new 'rationalism' and 'tolerance' into an broadening of Judaism in which Reason superceded tradition, although some saw it as human reason being given precedence over divine wisdom and guidance. In both the Cartesian "Enlightenment" and Jewish Enlightment, the beginning place of human existence and reason was to capture even ideas of God, instead of God-revealed knowledge. It is not unlike the rationalism of Aquinas in Scholasticism. Whether the Roman Church, the Evangelical movement and church or Judaism, though, a central issue has been the debate between the starting place for knowledge: human reason, or God-breathed knowledge in the Word of God. Voltaire's major tenets of "Enlightenment" were as follows:
Known as the "father of the French Revolution", his progressive egalitarian position led to the overthrow of a monarchy,but in utter hypocrisy, it did not include the Jew. This pattern would continue often in Western thought over the next 300 years."
- 1. Autonomy of reason
- 2. Perfectibility and progress
- 3. Confidence in the ability to discover causality
- 4. Principles governing nature, man and society
- 5. Assault on authority
- 6. Cosmopolitan solidarity of enlightened intellectuals
- 7. disgust with nationalism. "[direct quote]Voltaire Notes:2
The TURN OF 20th CENTURY
Germany, Zionism, and Assimilation in the Early 20th Century
While the traditional era or school of "Jewish Enlightenment" followed on the heels of its namesake, the issues of assimilation, Jewish identity and secularism would follow the Jews of Europe into pre-war Germany. At the turn of the century, the Jews were in transition in Europe. The industrial age saw a re-definition of class structure, and while an undercurrent of anti-semitism prevailed, as evidenced in the Dreyfuss Affair in France in which a French Jewish officer was scapegoated for espionage in feeding government documents from France to Germany, with the indication of Jewish conspiracy. After an illegal trial and disposition to Devil's island, he was championed by several significant persons who showed his innocence and the proven set up by the Military including the introduction of false documents and his denial in court to examine the documents. Emil Zola brought the undercurrent to light. Pogroms and persecutions also continued in Russia and its satellites, and a general historical ill-feeling in Europe towards the Jew prevailed. At the same time in Europe, University and theological communities came forefront and issues proposed in the Jewish Enlightenment were renewed. The 'Zionism' of Herzl re-introducing the hope of a Jewish State in Israel, and the British introduction of the Balfour declaration calling for a Jewish homeland in 1917 appeared, ( partly in gratitude for the work of a British Jew which greatly aided the victory in WWI) as attitudes towards the Jews saw both ameliorative and pejorative moves. The German Christian Church (Lutheranism) and other Protestant groups were moving away from traditional Christian doctrine. A re-emergence of a new 'marcionism' , a heresy denying the importance or relevance of the Old Testament for doctrine or Christian life appeared, as did 'higher criticism' which involved a de-"mythologizing" {according to its proponents) of the miracles and supernatural occurences in Scripture. Archetypes became more important than historical accuracy. In some ways, the Jews were lessened in importance and their role in Biblical history, and in other ways, a new semi-tolerance also appeared allowing Jews more integration in the vocations and social life of Europe.A corollary development was the emergence of a new Jewish Enlightenment , or at least a more recent one, including such persons as Freud, who totally redefined Jewish identity in atheist possibilities in which one could be a cultural Jew, participating in ritual, but not holding to religious tenets, Buber who sought a balanced but full and rich theology of Jewish identity, living in the world but also in the fullness of historical Judaic identity and the earlier Herzl, dying in 1904, who in his work "The Ghetto" brought open the discussion of enculturation and assimiliation of the Jew into the nation he resided in while calling for a Jewish homeland. All of the above was the backdrop up to the 30's when Hitler rose to power, equating the Jews with Bolshevism, and declaring them degenerate and dangerous. The most succinct statement that can be made is that the Christian Church was in flux regarding the identity and relations to the Jews, the Society and Academe was in flux regarding the same, the Jewish community was in flux and conflict regarding Jewish identity and assimilation, and the government became increasingly anti-semitic and wished to see virtually no assimilation of the Jew into German Society. Hitler rising to power in 1933 immediately began to declare the Jews as first "guest-citizens" and after the Enabling Act and Nuremberg Laws, and non-citizens and undesireable.
The Holocaust and the Enlightenment
In 1933, all of Germany, including the Churches and Universites were mezmerized by the rise of the new great German experiment rising on the horizon. Lutzer in a book called Hitler's Cross3 notes :
He did far more: a new mixing of techology, progress, German ingenuity , eugenics, and the mythology and culture ofGermany was brought to bear in a Wagner-like inspiring nationalism. Even those tolerant of the Jews in pre-war Germany saw the policies of the Third Reich as potentially harmful, but like many, including the Jews themselves, did not believe that a 20th century nation was capable of the extremes to which the Reich would go. The voices of 20th century prophets who saw the rise of genocide were quickly exiled or silenced, and many were executed without public attention. At the onset of Hitler's reign in 1933, the writing was on the wall, and many Jews knew there would be trouble, not imagining how serious it would become. Wealthier Jews and those with family abroad expatriated. Some stayed expecting to weather Hitler's time in office. The consolidation of power though, and burning of the Reichstag, gave the Third Reich an opportunity to immediately enforce civil rights restrictions, and within the year they were able to cast the Jews as "guest-citizens", remove prominent Jews from Government positions, positions in the arts and entertainment and academia; separate Jewish from non-Jewish children in public schools and allow Hitler the power to make unilater decisions even over the legislature."He revived a collapsed economy in 5 years He erased the shame of Germany's defeat in WWI by reclaiming the Rhineland and disarding the unfair Treaty of Versaille He gave millions of Germans attractive vacations through his Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy) program. he established training schools for those who were unskilled and brought the nation to full employment He brought crime under control He built freeways and promised the production of a car that ordinary Germans would soon be able to afford. He gave Germans a reason to believe in themselves to believe that they could become great again."
How did the Jewish Enlightenment affect the early events of the Holocaust or Shoah? In many ways although the influence of those thinkers which contributed to it, were felt far in advance. One of the first noticeable effects, in the Jewish community which was met with sharp concern, was a move towards secular education for the Jews of Europe. For centuries due to anti-semitism and segregation, Jews were mostly exclusively educated within their own communities, school in Hebrew, the Torah and Talmud, Jewish writings and basics of education: higher education still bore a traditional Jewish air. In the 1800s, though, following the Enlightenment, many Jews began to venture into more secular education with non-Jewish teachers, including tutelage in the humanities, the Classics, Greek, Latin, the Sciences and Arts. Expose to a wider variation of ideas, many such as Spinoza, Mendelssohn and Marx (later, and less educated in Judaism) began to form integrations of traditional Jewish thought with secular thought, giving birth to the ideas of the Jewish Enlightenment which could be compared at some point with the scholasticism of Aquinas. As mentioned before, though, these integrations which led much later to contemporary Reform and Humanistic Judaism, was seen by many in the Jewish community as 'hellenization' and the death knell for Judaism.
Distinct in the Jewish Enlightenmentwere the following ideas:
1. An Accomodation and Assimilation of Secular Thought with Judaic thought 2. A foray and redefinition of the Jewish role in society, moving away from segregation 3. A political view placing Judaism second or in connection to the nationality of the Jew 4. A corollary re-identification of the Jew with 'personhood' in view first, and Judaic heritage second(although for some very important and for others not important.) 5. A general move towards academic, spiritual and personal freedom. 6. A move towards human initiative in the re-establishment of a Jewish homeland, versus a providential wait. 7. A redefinition of Judaism as a philosophical and cultural heritage apart from theological requirement.