Anti-Judaism The Western Tradition by David Nirenberg

Professor David Nirenberg of the University of Chicago has re-framed Antisemitism in the context of the Western tradition as a natural progression in the history of ideas.  He starts with pre-Christian and pre-Islamic eras to show that an animus toward not just Jews but also "Judaism" has existed from the beginning of the emergence of Western Thought.  He describes personages, Manetho and Apion (from ancient Greece and ancient Rome respectively) as harboring anti-Jewish opinions.  He shows his power of exegesis in explaining the disagreements of the emerging Christian church and how the Jewish rejection of Jesus translates into a progression of thought that counters a Jewish world outlook. Christianity defines itself in contradistinction to Judaism.  Its philosophy develops turning away from the Jewish path.  Similarly, the professor shows a similar pattern occurs with the rise of Mohammed and the advent of Islam.  Jewish rejection of Mohammed develops into deep animus toward the Jewish religion.  Professor Nirenberg guides the reader through the ages showing with virtuoso power of interpretation how during the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the Renascence and the Enlightenment Jewish constructs are created and perceptions of Judaism set up only to be torn down.  The author often notes that these constructs are often devoid of real Jews.  A simple example would be that Jewish Law represents material and Christian Love represents spiritual, the "Jewish" temporal pitted against the "Christian" eternal, one being of course superior to the other.  Throughout our Western tradition Jewish constructs or "Judaism" are set up only to be torn down or at least held as a example of what is least desired.

What I found annoying about the Professor's style was his determination to state almost constantly that his interest was not to evaluate the truth of these Jewish constructs nor to state whether these constructs had any relevance to real Jews, but rather to take seriously the existence of such perceptions.  Reality in many ways is determined by perception.  His style for me was so difficult, I had trouble understanding where the author stood on the issue of Antisemitism.  His determined effort to preface Church fathers with Saint or never allowing the name Jesus to dangle alone without the Christian assumption of his being gave me pause to wonder whether the author was taking sides in the discussion of Anti Judaism by being a Christian or merely a secular scholar who was just using common terminology.

I sensed some opinions and prejudices.  Why the author needed to inject that a Palestinian narrative was understandable based on his exegesis of the progression of Anti Judaism seemed unnecessary and the praise of Edward Said seemed gratuitous.  When referring to actual Jewish communities from Eastern Europe migrating to the USA, the author calls them "yammering in Yiddish" to emphasize their strangeness and only glossing over the reasons for the migrations by saying they left for "a variety of reasons"  Why the author restrained himself from commenting on the difficult animus coming from the Czar was baffling to me.{Or perhaps Czarist animus was omitted because old fashioned antisemitism stemming from "Deicide hatred" does not fit the author's thesis}

It was only in the epilogue that the author's intent became more clear to me.  He lamented the lack of critical reflection about the Jewish constructs and "Judaism".  That the university, a place for free expression of ideas could be so marred by antisemitism and anti Judaism.  He called for critical reflection.  Unfortunately for me, this read was frustrating.  No doubt one could discern great learning and understanding, even profound exegesis of the Western Tradition by the author.  I expected, however, to hear outrage or condemnation or at least where the thinkers of the past got Judaism wrong, so that one could not go away from reading the book being complacent about the existence of Antisemitism.

My own thoughts on the subject are somewhat basic without claiming the authority of a professional historian.  I am not surprised at the animus toward "Judaism"nor did I ever think that Professor Nirenberg's thesis could not be easily proven.   Jewish civilization poses a unique manifestation in the history of the world.  In ancient Greece, Hellenism swept the world with everyone assimilating to Greek ways until Hellenism comes to the land of Israel.  Upheaval ensues because of Jewish rejection of Hellenism (even though the Jewish world suffered a rupture of civil war about the adoption of Hellenistic ways)  Separateness out of rejection results in animus.  The same happened with ancient Rome.  Who had the audacity to reject the Roman juggernaut?  Even Josephus thought that his own people were on a suicide course. The Jews revolt and reject Rome and although defeated, the Jewish people do not go off into the sunset. The Roman reaction is cruel and violent destroying and negating the Jewish identity of Israel no longer calling it "Judea" but rather "Palestine".  In their exile they, the Jewish people continue to be separate rejecting the outside or at least adapting to the outside without divorcing there own value system.  Why such a small insignificant people command such attention in the world?  Because the Western tradition defines itself in contradistinction to that small civilization of the Jews.  The Jews refuse to be Christian or Muslim much like they reject Hellenic and Roman civilizations.  The key is not what the Jewish people do but the absence of doing the expected. For example, the Jewish community in Brooklyn NY is one that rejects the outside and instead of being left alone with a "live and let live" attitude. animus can be sensed against them by the surrounding non Jewish communities. Separateness out of rejection results in animus.  Such animus is irrational because the Jewish people do not do anything to deserve the animus.  Although simply stated, the sentence is quite complex psychologically.  One can see this theme in Luther's life (he expected them to do something - convert) and even in Voltaire's life (the Jews refuse to "be human" like everyone else).  The hatred is not rational because it is based on someone else's expectation.  It is not a legitimate reaction to an actual salvo of invective. The animus morphs, however, into thoughts and ideas of us/them, good/ bad, ideal/wanting  etc.  {The Biblical book of Esther expresses this idea.}

There is irony in the fact that Marx called the USA "Jewish", negatively addressing the nature of capitalism.   The USA is one of the least Antisemitic countries founded on the principle of "live and let live" in terms of religious freedom.  In the USA, there has been little animus by comparison of Europe against the Jews because "separateness" in America is a value.  The USA is a salad bowl of culture, of ethnic diversity: its ok to be different.

Driving Mr. Yogi by Harvey Araton

Driving Mr. Yogi is a story of friendship between two former Major League baseball players.  One who played in the late 1970's and the other who played in the 1950's and 60's.  More importantly it is a warm introduction to the oldest living NY Yankee, Yogi Berra.  What makes this a delightful read is that the subject is a great personality.  In an age of great wealth, great egos and arrogance that comes with great wealth, the reader is introduced to a warm unaffected personality in Yogi Berra.  The book centers around the seasons that Yogi Berra, retiree joined the Yankees in their Spring Training facility in Florida with Ron Guidry being Berra's personal driver.

It is a story of the reconciliation of George Steinbrenner, the contentious Yankee owner with an impulsive tendency to fire managers in an unreasonable manner.  When he fired Berra, he did not give him the courtesy of a personal meeting but rather assigned an underling to the task.  Berra's reaction was a demonstration of protest by boycotting the Yankee organization until amends would be made.  It would take a 14 year boycott of the organization before Mr. Steinbrenner approached Yogi Berra at his museum and learning center to apologize.

What makes Berra a great man is his ability to forgive and forget because after that apology Berra conducted himself as if the "Boss" was a close friend.  He stayed at the owners Hotel in Florida and enjoyed the occasions during which they met and dined.

Talking Baseball is Berra's life.  He can talk to anyone!  He has no pretenses.  He can talk to those in the hair salon in the same manner he  talks to people at a restaurant.  He rarely refuses an autograph - only when mobbed with unreasonable fans at a restaurant will he refuse by getting up and finding and another place to eat with little interruption.  In Florida, he would rotate restaurants with Mr. Guidry so that fans would not congregate to disturb.

Yogi Berra observed talent and his role in Tampa was to give his impressions of the young players and enjoy the general environment of Baseball.  He did not impose his views but rather responded when asked, being a true gentleman.  He gave hitting tips to slumping players effectively.  He befriended difficult people easily because of his affability. (When Derek Jeter struck out on a high pitch out of the strike zone, Yogi asked him why he swung at such a bad pitch?  As Jeter quipped "But you swung at the those pitches!" Berra rejoined adroitly "Yea, but I HIT them!")

In a world of ego maniacs, hedonism and culture lacking values, Yogi Berra stands out as an example of the simple values of friendship, loyalty, modesty and lack of pretensions.

Unschooling Rules by Clark Aldrich

This contribution toward education undermines the traditions and models of the current "educational industrial complex".  The book encourages parents to take control over their children's education and take advantage of the explosion of new technologies and social networks.  It attacks traditional school as antiquated, inefficient, and too expensive.  According to the book, traditional school caters to the common denominators and not to the individual, tests don't work, and homework is a waste of time that could be utilized for 'real learning'.  The concept being a "drop off" parent can be devastating to a child's development and the author encourages that care givers be those that love the child like a grandparent instead of a hired nanny.

The author is a believer in observation and discovery and informal outdoor education (one learns so much more at a summer camp then during a whole year at school).  He believes that observing animals as microcosms is more valuable than listening to a teacher drone on about societies.

Mr. Aldrich encapsulates and conceptualizes learning to three directions: Learn to be, learn to do and learn to know.  These three concepts will guide anyone's curricula of study.  We want our children, for example, to be good citizens, morally and ethically aware.  We want our children to be able to do things, developing skills to succeed.  Knowledge is required for both.  If one would use these three concepts as their guide one will discover traditional school is not at all necessary.

Mr. Aldrich claims that our grandparent's generation got it right when the core learning consisted of 'reading, writing and arithmetic'.  Those three areas are essential to success in life.  One needs to be able to research a subject of interest, one needs to be able to correspond socially and one needs to be able to make purchases and balance a checkbook.  He encourages projects likes creating a business or creating or planning an event to replace classroom learning because that is what happens in real life! The amount of time spent learning literature is waste for most and should be only be encouraged to those that LOVE literature.  Calculus should be part of History and only a math subject for those that show LOVE of mathematics.   Math should include 'the spread sheet' as a requirement because it is essential in every business.  He claims the ideal classroom size is 5 students not 25.  The interaction of 5 is so much more intimate and real then organizing 25 people.

This book is really for those committed to homeschooling, those willing to devote much time to the development of one's child's growth.  Those parents willing to remove their child from the common educational industrial complex and allow the child freedom to explore the world on one's own terms. [My wife and I pulled our children out of their elementary school one year to homeschool them until we were satisfied that the school changed sufficiently.  That year we connected with an accredited Charter School, homeschooled them and admittedly our children learned more in one year then their previous years of schooling. Socially, however, our children felt they suffered, they felt isolated from their friends and missed the school culture to which they were already accustomed and they were happy to return to their school.] Although Mr. Aldrich would like to see a major change to traditional school, he understands that the majors changes he encourages are not going to happen in the near future.  His ideas nevertheless should be taken into account by every educator.

I am personally taken by his three concepts of learning (to be, to do and to know) because they immediately remind me of a Torah education of the most traditional kind.  A Torah observant person learns to Be a good Yehudi, he learns to Do the mitzvos and is devoted to (as the Rambam says) KNOW Hashem.  The traditional Yeshiva model fits perfectly into Mr. Aldrich's conclusions about education.  Traditional Yeshiva students are actually well educated for success because they have mastered the skills behind learning to be, learning to do and learning to know!  With the conclusions of Mr. Aldrich, one should not be so quick to dismiss traditional Yeshiva education.

Our Crowd by Stephen Birmingham

This richly researched study of an American Jewish aristocracy shows that the USA is truly a land of opportunity, and reinforces the idea that assimilation, the disappearance of Jewish identity is associated with its high society and culture.  Mr. Birmingham traces the fantastic rise of some prominent 19th century German Jewish immigrants from poor beginnings to astronomical wealth.  It is a study of timing and opportunity, being in the right place at the right time with the appropriate ambition and talent.  The family names of Seligman, Lehman, Guggenheim, Schiff, Loeb and Warburg are highlighted in this very readable study.

The Lehmans started out in the South as cotton brokers and survived the Civil War to eventually develop a commodity trading house that evolved into the investment house of Lehman Bros.  The Guggenheims started out peddlers and sold successfully copper polish and eventually developed the mining business in states like Colorado.  Jacob Schiff as a young German immigrant joined the investment banking of Kuhn, Loeb and eventually eclipsed the founders' success as a result of his vision of the railroad industry and representing one the most successful railroad barons.  Joseph Seligman and his brothers started out as pre-Civil War peddlers, yet developed an investment banking house that practically mirrors the famous and most powerful Rothschilds by placing brothers strategically in European cities.

Jacob Schiff's leadership in the Jewish community is so profound that he becomes the address for philanthropy during the wave of massive Eastern European immigration of 1880's through almost the first quarter of the twentieth century.  His rigid principles and integrity serve him well.  WWI, however becomes a curious dilemma for him when he makes a stipulation that his loan to Britain and its allies may not in anyway be utilized by Czarist Russia.  Schiff, angry at Russia's treatment of Jews had loaned money to Japan to successfully win its war against Russia earlier. He can not bring himself to see that such a hard line stipulation would be interpreted as German sympathies.  He is falsely accused of hoping for a German victory.

Otto Kahn, also a partner of Kuhn, Loeb, is an example of opulence and the culture of New York City because he nurses to health the NYC opera company.  According to the book, the street, 5th Ave. of NYC basically begins as a row of Jewish built mansions.

In most of these cases Jewish identity becomes blurred or becomes unimportant with the generations that inherit the incredible wealth.  The lure of materialism and hedonism along with the desire for social acceptance seem to ravage these once religiously identified orthodox Jewish families to become a secular almost Protestant group - when asked about her Jewish identity, one heiress replied that perhaps she was once married by a rabbi.

This book, nevertheless, demonstrates that the USA has been a tremendous land of opportunity open to all and lacks the profound anti-Semitism of European history.  This book shows that some prominent Jews play a key role in building up its cities and developing the culture of America.

Tradition and Reality: the impact of History on Modern Jewish Thought by Nathan Rotenstriech

Since the emergence of the Jewish people into modernity from their Ghettos of Europe, their intellectual class has grappled with the tension between a unique Jewish Tradition the implies obligations and commandments from a Divine Authority and precludes the outside world vs. the joining of the common historical process of the outside surrounding nations.  From the 19th century onward, beginning with the Science of Judaism, one has seen a gradual withdrawal from a fundamental religious tradition centered around Hashem's commandments given at Mount Sinai to a secular national identity reduced to a common ancient language (Hebrew) centering around the modern concept of the state, specifically the modern State of Israel.  Professor Rotenstreich shows how far adrift the Modern Jew is from his authentic Jewish Tradition.

With a discussion of Zunz's and Krochmal's determination in finding the unique conceptualization of the eternity of the Jewish people, calling upon the "eternal spirit" or perennial cyclical upheavals, one understands a tension being uncovered when applying critical 'scientific' methods to studying Jewish History.  Abraham Geiger understood that historicism inevitably creates changes in Tradition.  With Henrich Graetz, Jewish tradition is reduced to a strict process of History in a Hegelian sense.  With Ahad HaAm and Nachman Bialik history turns nationalistic in a strict cultural way turning off the path of a rigorous historical process.

According to Professor Rotenstreich the Modern Jew has gone far away from Jewish Tradition, yet, he yearns to retain somehow his unique Jewish Identity.  Mr. Rotenstreich expects that the modern Jew must come to terms with his authentic Tradition and come back to it.  He does not advocate in any one direction but rather, he sees that the sociological experiment with the study of History has run its course.  

Written in 1973, this book is somewhat prescient because now one has seen somewhat of a renaissance of Jewish Tradition among the secular and Reformers who are now encouraging more adherence to Jewish Tradition.

Rebecca Gratz - Women and Judaism in Antebellum America by Dianne Ashton

Professor Ashton has written an excellent American Jewish history surrounding the outstanding personality of Rebecca Gratz of Philadelphia. Gratz is famous probably for the legend about the character, Rebecca of York in the Sir Walter Scott historical novel Ivanhoe.  In the novel, Rebecca of York is invited to stay on with Ivanhoe and his wife, Rowena as court doctor on condition that she converts to Christianity.  The sympathetic Jewish character delivers a formidable defense of remaining true to her people and religion in declining the offer.  In real life, Rebecca Gratz devotes her entire life promoting traditional Judaism and arguing against conversion and intermarriage despite the fact that even some of her siblings marry Christians. During this period of Antebellum America, Evangelicalism keeps pressuring Jews to convert; Gratz only demands respect for her own convictions without preventing her from carrying on close correspondences with her gentile sisters in law.

Gratz was a member of the Philadelphia elite.  Her father and uncle were patriots (Ben Franklin even contributed to the building of their synagogue, Mikva Israel).  Her home was essentially a salon to a literary class - Washington Irving was a frequent guest.  She was a voracious reader and enjoyed writing poetry and excelled at correspondence.  She was a remarkable voice against Reform.  Not believing in parochialism, nevertheless, she understood the need for Jewish education and founded the first Hebrew Sunday School system patterned after the Protestant model.  She also founded the first Female Hebrew Benevolent Society and also the first Jewish Foster Home in Philadelphia.

Antebellum America (first half of the 19th century) was an environment that lacked Jewish Scholarly leadership.  Often times, a Rabbi's credentials could not be verified.  What made Gratz extraordinary was the fact that she did not know Hebrew, but was content with a Siddur with English translation on the opposite side of the page, that her devotion to Judaism was Bible centered with little rabbinic insights.  She was, nevertheless, an implacable foe to any changes to Jewish practice and could not identify with the leaders of Reform, David Einhorn and Isaac M. Wise. She believed that Jewish people had no reason to feel inferior to Christians; that American values demanded equality and respect for all. The dearth of educated Jews was acutely felt because without Jewish education one could not intelligently respond to the arguments of Evangelicalism.  Her clergyman, Isaac Leeser, also acutely understood the need for Jewish education and vigorously defended Traditional Judaism in his influential periodical, The Occident. 

The uniqueness of Rebecca Gratz lies in her benevolent work and her spinsterhood.  Although considered an outstanding beauty, she remains single but that does not lead her into a lonely life lacking traditional domesticity.  She often has to care for her immediate family and raise her nieces and nephews when they become orphaned. She expresses a deep love for children and articulates deep affection through her correspondence for her extended family. She is also clearly a powerhouse, an organizational leader in the benevolent community.

Why Rebecca Gratz did not marry remains a curious mystery. As an orthodox Jewess, often defending Judaism, she must have understood the value of marriage.  There is evidence from her correspondences, however, that perhaps she was skittish about entering into a bad marriage.  This is speculation (based on little evidence) that her suitors were gentile and she refused to marry for religious reasons. Unfortunately, why she remains single is a mystery.

At the end of this fine history, Professor Ashton ruminates on the lessons learned from Rebecca Gratz's individuality, single-hood and her legend making some interpretations that serve as examples for modern Jewish women who remain single or deviate from traditional domesticity . I feel her interpretations are difficult. The interpretations take Gratz out of context of her milieu and position. The motivation for Gratz's single-hood is unknown.  The fact of single-hood should not be enough to serve as a meaningful model.  One who defends tradition, advocates no changes (meaning that the Torah is sufficient to inspire everyone and needs no improvement) would seem to me hardly an example to inspire those that have strayed from Traditional Jewish practices.

Salvation by Sholem Asch

This complex historical novel covers the period after the Napoleonic wars during the polemics against Hasidism and end of the Kotzker Rebbe's life and beyond.  It is about a simple son who yearns to learn Torah and to succeed in the spiritual realm of fear of Hashem.  He develops into a highly sensitive person able to empathize with the simple folk. In spite of the scholarly elite's ridicule, this son grasps the meaning of saying Psalms with the community of the ignorant. With the Kotzker's blessing Psalms becomes the vehicle for gaining an understanding of Jewish thought and fear of Heaven.  The Yiddish title of the book is "The T'hiliner Yid" (the Psalm Jew).  His empathy, sincerity, and ability to understand people catapults him unwillingly as the leader, a rabbi of the ignorant community.  Ironically, his reluctance to give advice mirrors the reluctance of the Kotzker to give advice claiming unworthiness.

The basic plot follows the career of the T'hiliner Yid who is told by the Kotzker that one can actually go very far through Psalms and one should not despair about one's learning.  Slowly but surely he gains much understanding and becomes a unique leader of a non - scholarly community.  The rabbi is approached with a demand to guarantee a child to a childless couple.  The demand coming from a highly unscrupulous horse trader is not simple but with strings attached that will help the poor.  The T'hiliner Yid makes the promise that Hashem will deliver, however, not without sacrifice: his own wife and newborn die in childbirth.  The rabbi becomes known as a miracle maker by also nursing a poor man back to health who claims that the rabbi gave back feeling to his feet, the rabbi cured his frostbitten feet and becomes his servant.

The promised child, a daughter grows up only to fall in love with a gentile peasant.  Although she is pledged to a Jewish scholar, the plan is to ride off with the gentile to the convent to be baptized and be entered into the Catholic faith and then marry the gentile.  With tremendous angst and turmoil, the child has doubts about carrying through with her apostasy, nevertheless the nuns and priest deny exit from the convent without conversion.  Eventually, the daughter commits suicide without leaving the faith of her ancestors. The rabbi, however, who throughout his life refuses to believe that the Divine could be anything less than good has a crisis of faith and wants to abandon his role as rabbi to the community.  He argues that one with little faith can give no serious advice.  Yet he overcomes his crisis with the argument of simple piety: one is not to question the Almighty but rather one is only to believe in His goodness.  Some questions are not meant to answered and thus should not be asked.  The book concludes with the rabbi predicting a very good year after Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.  The rabbi expires with the conclusion of Yom Kippur.

The symbolism of this book is overwhelming.  This is a story of tension between father and son, tension between the learned and ignorant and the tension between rich and poor.  It is a scathing criticism of scholarly arrogance.  The book also touches on the tension between Judaism and Catholicism.