World Religion Research Paper

Judaism

Modern Judaism

1

Introduction

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Jews began to be liberated from the medieval ghettos many lived in, and granted rights and freedoms. Some began to interact with non-Jews in many lands, and study the learning of non-Jews. Many Jewish scholars began to question much of their traditional learning. Others began to compare traditional Jewish services with Christian services, and found them undignified and morally unedifying. Efforts were began to modernize Judaism. Some were horrified by these attempts, others believed them necessary to preserve the Jewish people. Some argued whether Jews were a people or a religion, and if one could be ethnically Jewish but not religiously Jewish. As we will see when we look at Christianity and Islam, all religions, all peoples have had to deal with the currents and changes brought by modern ideas and inventions. Perhaps that explains the worldwide popularity of the musical Fiddler on the Roof. It deals with a Jewish community in early 1900s Russia being buffeted by the changes of modernization. Without tradition, without the old rules, Tevye the milkman fears, life would be as shaky as, as, as:

A Fiddler on the Roof. 2

Haskalah—The Jewish Enlightenment

• Jews in many countries were emancipated during the Enlightenment (@1650-1800), and a Jewish Enlightenment occurred called Haskala ("enlightenment" or "education") .

• This was an extensive intellectual movement among the Jews mainly of Central and Eastern Europe from the 1770s to about the 1880s.

• The Haskala advocated integration of the Jews into their surrounding societies, encouraging among others the adoption of local vernaculars, secular studies and being productive economically.

• The movement promoted a Jewish cultural revival, manifested mainly in the creation of modern Hebrew literature.

• In its various stages, the Haskala had a key role in the modernization of European Jews. It would help create the Reform Movement.

3

Spinoza

One of the greatest forerunners of the Enlightenment was Baruch Spinoza. He was a Sephardi Jew raised in the Netherlands (1632-71). Spinoza began to disagree with many tenets of Judaism, and was expelled from the community— excommunicated. His philosophy has been called Classical Pantheism, but he believed in God, though a rather different God than traditional Judaism. He is considered a great rationalist.

4

Moses Mendelsohn

Moses Mendelssohn (1729-86) was the son of a Torah scribe, and since he could not go to university—Jews weren’t permitted—he was largely self-taught. He wrote much on philosophy, and this gained the attention of many non-Jews. He translated the Hebrew Bible into modern German. He is remembered for his defense of religious freedom, as well as a defense of the Jewish faith, in a work called Jerusalem (1783).

He called for tolerance, and argued all “higher religions” share certain common beliefs.

Judaism, he argued, was distinctive in its sacred legislation, the Torah, and its emphasis on doing God’s will rather than professing correct ideas about God or the afterlife.

The essence of Judaism, he argued, was orthopraxy, (correct conduct or practice), not orthodoxy, (correct beliefs or ideas) . Many argue that Islam is similarly an orthopraxy. It should be noted, whatever the truth of this observation, that there was one belief—belief in one God— that was held by both religions and was considered vital. While more conservative Jews had problems with Mendelsson’s argument, more secularized Jews liked it.

5

Beginnings of Reform

In the early nineteenth century in Germany, many secularly educated Jews, hoping to be treated as full members of the German nation, felt embarrassed by their religious services, which were so different from German church services. They were loud, the singing was non-Western and non-German, and there seemed to be little that was edifying—no sermons except at the High Holidays. Traditional Jewish education consisted of learning the Bible and the Talmud, and the early Reformers found little moral education in the traditional education methods. Reformers began to replace the traditional schools with schools modeled on Protestant schools, and the Bar Mitzvah with a “Confirmation” ceremony, which indicated the boy—or girl—had received a certain minimum moral or ethical education. It was hoped that the changes—Reform—might check the wave of conversions to Christianity that had begun in Germany.

To the right—an early Reform temple in Seesen Germany

6

Leopold Zunz

In 1815, after Napoleon's defeat, Jews lost the rights of citizenship in several countries. Many Jews became Christian to retain those rights. Thoughtful Jews realized that many of these changes took place not because of a dislike of Judaism by the converts, but to obtain better treatment. Many rabbis believed the way to address this was to force Jews to keep away from Christians and give up public schools and universities. This didn't work. Leopold Zunz proposed something else. He suggested that Jews study their history and learn of the great achievements of the past. While Zunz was implementing his ideas, a movement began to make religious services better understood, by incorporating music and the local language. Local Rabbis, however, persuaded the government to close the test synagogue.

7

Abraham Geiger

Shortly after the closing of the test synagogue, Rabbi Abraham Geiger suggested that observance might also be changed to appeal to modern people. Geiger, a skilled scholar in both Tanach and German studies, investigated Jewish history. He discovered that Jewish life had continually changed. Every now and then, old practices were changed and new ones introduced, resulting in a Jewish life that was quite different from that lived 4,000 or even 2,000 years before. He noticed these changes often made it easier for Jews to live in accordance with Judaism. Geiger concluded that this process of change needed to continue to make Judaism attractive to all Jews.

8

Early Reform Practices • Between 1810 and 1820, congregations in Seesen, Hamburg and Berlin instituted fundamental

changes in traditional Jewish practices and beliefs, such as mixed seating, single day observance of festivals and the use of a cantor/choir. Sermons modeled at first on Christian sermons were added to ordinary services, and were given not just at High Holiday Services or when an itinerant preacher (a Maggid) was in town.

Many leaders of the Reform movement took a very "rejectionist" view of Jewish practice and discarded traditions and rituals. For example:

• Circumcision was not practiced, and was decried as barbaric. • The Hebrew language was removed from the liturgy and replaced with German. • The hope for a restoration of the Jews in Israel was officially renounced, and it was officially

stated that Germany was to be the new Zion. • The ceremony in which a child celebrated becoming Bar Mitzvah was replaced with a

"confirmation" ceremony. • The laws of Kashrut and family purity were officially declared "repugnant" to modern thinking

people, and were not observed. • Shabbat was observed on Sunday. • Traditional restrictions on Shabbat behavior were not followed.

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Rabbi Isaac Wise

American Reform Judaism began as these German reformers immigrated to America in the mid -1800s. The first "Reform" group was formed by a number of individuals that split from Congregation Beth Elohim in Charleston, South Carolina. Reform rapidly became the dominant belief system of American Jews of the time. Reform Judaism was molded by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise. Rabbi Wise came to the United States in 1846 from Bohemia, spent eight years in Albany, NY, and then moved to Cincinnati on the edge of the frontier. He then proceeded to: 1. Write the first siddur (prayer book) edited for American worshipers, Minhag American (1857). 2. Found the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1873. 3. Found Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1875. 4. Found the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) in 1889.

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Rationalism and Reform

Many of the Reformers were also affected by the Higher Criticism, the historical study of ancient texts in their historical context. Higher Criticism cast doubt on the traditional origin of the Torah as God’s word transmitted through Moses. As one Rabbi said, “I could no longer in good conscience at services hold up the Torah and say ‘this is the Law that God gave to Moses at Mount Sinai’”. They began to rewrite the prayer book to make it more rationalistic, and began to emphasize the moral and ethical teachings of the prophets. By 1885, they began to argue that it was the duty of Jews to begin to solve the problems and injustices of the world.

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Rabbi Kaufman Kohler

In 1885, Rabbi Kaufman Kohler drafted a set of principles and objectives—the Pittsburgh Platform of 1885—which rejected the Biblical ideas of a direct, finite, and exclusive revelation from God—the Torah. They adopted instead an evolving and universal revelation, an idea gleaned from the writings of Moses Mendelsohn. Kohler renounced kashrut and other “Mosaic legislations”, such as circumcision and rigorous Sabbath observance, because they were “not adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization”. The platform also rejected the idea of returning to Israel, and declared that Jews were no longer a nation.

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Pittsburgh Platform 1885 While never formally adopted by an official Reform organization, this document, issued by a conference of Reform rabbis, became the basis of

much of modern Reform. It rejects Jewish laws which have a ritual, as opposed to a moral basis

• We recognize in every religion an attempt to grasp the Infinite, and in every mode, source or book of revelation held sacred in any religious system the consciousness of the indwelling of God in man. We hold that Judaism presents the highest conception of the God-idea as taught in our Holy Scriptures and developed and spiritualized by the Jewish teachers, in accordance with the moral and philosophical progress of their respective ages. We maintain that Judaism preserved and defended midst continual struggles and trials and under enforced isolation, this God-idea as the central religious truth for the human race. • We recognize in the Bible the record of the consecration of the Jewish people to its mission as the priest of the one God, and value it as the most potent

instrument of religious and moral instruction. We hold that the modern discoveries of scientific researches in the domain of nature and history are not antagonistic to the doctrines of Judaism, the Bible reflecting the primitive ideas of its own age, and at times clothing its conception of divine Providence and Justice dealing with men in miraculous narratives. • We recognize in the Mosaic legislation a system of training the Jewish people for its mission during its national life in Palestine, and today we accept as

binding only its moral laws, and maintain only such ceremonies as elevate and sanctify our lives, but reject all such as are not adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization. • We hold that all such Mosaic and rabbinical laws as regulate diet, priestly purity, and dress originated in ages and under the influence of ideas entirely

foreign to our present mental and spiritual state. They fail to impress the modern Jew with a spirit of priestly holiness; their observance in our days is apt rather to obstruct than to further modern spiritual elevation. • We recognize, in the modern era of universal culture of heart and intellect, the approaching of the realization of Israel s great Messianic hope for the

establishment of the kingdom of truth, justice, and peace among all men. We consider ourselves no longer a nation, but a religious community, and therefore expect neither a return to Palestine, nor a sacrificial worship under the sons of Aaron, nor the restoration of any of the laws concerning the Jewish state. • We recognize in Judaism a progressive religion, ever striving to be in accord with the postulates of reason. We are convinced of the utmost necessity of

preserving the historical identity with our great past.. Christianity and Islam, being daughter religions of Judaism, we appreciate their providential mission, to aid in the spreading of monotheistic and moral truth. We acknowledge that the spirit of broad humanity of our age is our ally in the fulfillment of our mission, and therefore we extend the hand of fellowship to all who cooperate with us in the establishment of the reign of truth and righteousness among men. • We reassert the doctrine of Judaism that the soul is immortal, grounding the belief on the divine nature of human spirit, which forever finds bliss in

righteousness and misery in wickedness. We reject as ideas not rooted in Judaism, the beliefs both in bodily resurrection and in Gehenna and Eden (Hell and Paradise) as abodes for everlasting punishment and reward. • In full accordance with the spirit of the Mosaic legislation, which strives to regulate the relations between rich and poor, we deem it our duty to

participate in the great task of modern times, to solve, on the basis of justice and righteousness, the problems presented by the contrasts and evils of the present organization of society.

13

Expansion of Reform Judaism

Reform Jews pioneered a number of organizations, such as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, (based on the YMCA), the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith. By 1880, more than 90 percent of American synagogues were Reform. This was the time of the major Eastern European immigration, which was heavily Orthodox and non -German, as contrasted with the strongly German Reform movement. Many of these East European Jews rejected Reform, remaining Orthodox or joining the Conservative movement. Others drifted away from Judaism. Many Reform congregations –often called “temples”– of this time were difficult to distinguish from neighboring Protestant churches. Preachers wore robes, there were pews with mixed seating, choirs, organs and hymnals. Like their counterparts in Germany, American Reform rabbis adopted a radical approach to observance. Although early American Reform rabbis dropped quite a bit of traditional prayers and rituals, there was still a "bottom line." In 1909, the CCAR formally declared its opposition to intermarriage. And, although decried as "archaic" and "barbarian," the practice of circumcision remained a central rite.

By the 1930s, many Reform Jews began to think that they had been too extreme in rejecting traditional Judaism, and began to restore many rejected practices. By that time, they had been joined by two other movements—Conservatism and Orthodoxy.

To the right—Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan, an early Reform “temple”.

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CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM

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Conservative Judaism: Rabbi Zecharias Frankel

Despite its name, Conservative Judaism is actually the moderate variety. The reforms of Reform Judaism were too extreme for many of the Jews who were arriving in America in huge numbers. Many felt that while some change was needed, Reform was throwing the baby out with the bath water. Conservative Judaism offered a third way between strict Orthodox Judaism and Reform. It relaxed halachah somewhat, and saw it as evolutionary, while maintaining many traditional Jewish beliefs and practices. Its ancestral founder was Rabbi Zacharias Frankel, who had broken with the German Reform Judaism movement in 1845 over its rejection of the primacy of the Hebrew language in Jewish prayer. In 1854, Frankel became the head of the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau. At the seminary, Frankel taught that Jewish law was not static, but rather has always developed in response to changing conditions. He called his approach towards Judaism "Positive-Historical," which meant that one should have a positive attitude towards accepting Jewish law and tradition as normative, yet one should be open to developing the law in the same fashion that it has always historically developed. On the one hand, Frankel rejected the innovations of Reform Judaism as insufficiently based in Jewish history and communal practice. On the other hand, by using modern methods of historical scholarship to develop rabbinic law, Frankel differed with neo-Orthodox Judaism, which was concurrently emerging under Samson Raphael Hirsch. 16

The Trefa Banquet

The differences between the more modern and traditional branches of American Judaism came to a head in 1883, at the "Trefa Banquet“at the Highland House entertainment pavilion, where shellfish and other “treif” (non-kosher) dishes were served at the celebration of the first graduating class [of rabbis] of Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. Several rabbis rushed from the room on seeing the non-kosher shellfish served to them. The adoption of the radical Pittsburgh Platform in 1885 created a permanent wedge between the Reform movement and more traditional American Jews. In response, the Jewish Theological Seminary was founded as a more traditional alternative to Hebrew Union College. Briefly affiliated with Orthodoxy, this link was severed in 1898 because the JTS was considered too academic by the Union of Orthodox Congregations.

To the right: The banquet’s menu includes clams, dairy mixed with meat, frog’s legs and other violations of Jewish dietary laws.

17

Solomon Schechter

In 1902, the distinguished scholar Solomon Schecter became President of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, which was trying to train moderate rabbis. He attracted a distinguished staff, and the United Synagogue was founded. Schecter is considered the founder of the Conservative movement, and many religious schools are named after him. Schechter emphasized the centrality of Halakha in Jewish life in a speech in his inaugural address as President of the JTSA in 1902:

"Judaism is not a religion which does not oppose itself to anything in particular. Judaism is opposed to any number of things and says distinctly "thou shalt not." It permeates the whole of your life. It demands control over all of your actions, and interferes even with your menu. It sanctifies the seasons, and regulates your history, both in the past and in the future. Above all, it teaches that disobedience is the strength of sin. It insists upon the observance of both the spirit and of the letter; spirit without letter belongs to the species known to the mystics as "nude souls" nishmatim artilain, wandering about in the universe without balance and without consistency...In a word, Judaism is absolutely incompatible with the abandonment of the Torah.“

Schechter, on the other hand, believed in what he termed "Catholic Israel.“ The basic idea is that Jewish law, Halacha, is formed and evolves based on the behavior of the people. This concept of modifying the law based on national consensus is an untraditional viewpoint.

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Conservative Judaism Today

Much of the membership of the Conservative movement came from Eastern European Jews. They wished to be freed from many of the restrictions of traditional Judaism, but keep much more of the traditional liturgy and other customs than Reform. By the 1950s, Conservatism’s numbers rivaled but did not surpass the Reform movement. By the 1990s, it was the largest denomination but there has been much shrinkage since 2000. It was strongly supportive of Zionism and Israel. The liturgy tends to be traditional, as Conservatism seeks to preserve much traditional Jewish practices. However, references to sacrifices in the prayers are deemphasized, and in recent years non-genderized language has been used. [Our Parent, Our Ruler instead of Our Father, Our King, for example.] In recent years, women rabbis have become prominent, and mixed seating is found everywhere. A historical critical approach to Tanakh and Talmud is used, and there is a serious commitment to observance of halachah, though there is significant adaptation to modern life. For example, while not driving on Sabbath is preferred, going to synagogue is also preferred—hence, many Conservative Jews will drive on Sabbath because they live too far from a shul. Practice does not always match theory. While many Conservatives will keep kosher in synagogue and wear a yarmulke there, they might not at home, or might not be as strict in kashrut observance as an Orthodox Jew.

God is personal—that is, a being, not a force or moral sense, and the soul is believed to be immortal. 19

OTHER LIBERAL JEWISH DENOMINATIONS

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Reconstructionist Judaism

Reconstructionism is based on the teachings of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. It began to emerge as a movement within Conservative Judaism in the 1930s, and formally split into its own group in the 1960s. The idea that Jews were a separate and distinctive civilization was central to Rabbi Kaplan’s belief system. Thus, as many traditional “folkways”—such as kashrut and circumcision—as modern Jews found meaningful should be retained. In agreement with Orthodox theology Kaplan affirmed that God is not anthropomorphic in any way. As such, all anthropomorphic descriptions of God are used metaphorically. Kaplan's theology went way beyond this to claim that God is not personal, in that God is not a conscious being nor can God in any way relate to or communicate with humanity. Furthermore, Kaplan's theology defines God as the sum of all natural processes that allow people to become self-fulfilled:

To believe in God means to accept life on the assumption that it harbors conditions in the outer world and drives in the human spirit which together impel man to transcend himself. To believe in God means to take for granted that it is man's destiny to rise above the brute and to eliminate all forms of violence and exploitation from human society. In brief, God is the Power in the cosmos that gives human life the direction that enables the human being to reflect the image of God.

God is not a noun…. 21

Reconstructionist Platform, Major Points

• Judaism is the result of natural human development. • There is no such thing as divine intervention; • Judaism is an evolving religious civilization; • Zionism and aliyah (immigration to Israel) are encouraged; • Reconstructionist Judaism is based on a democratic community where the laity can

make decisions, not just rabbis; • The Torah was not inspired by God; it only comes from the social and historical

development of Jewish people; • The classical view of God is rejected. God is redefined as the sum of natural powers

or processes that allows mankind to gain self-fulfillment and moral improvement; • The idea that God chose the Jewish people for any purpose, in any way, is "morally

untenable", because anyone who has such beliefs "implies the superiority of the elect community and the rejection of others."

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Humanistic Judaism

Humanistic Judaism was founded in 1963 by Rabbi Sherwin Wine. As a Reform rabbi, with a small secular, non-theistic congregation in Michigan, Wine developed a Jewish liturgy that reflected his and his congregation’s philosophical viewpoint by emphasizing Jewish culture, history, and identity along with Humanistic ethics, while excluding all prayers and references to God. In 1969, the Society for Humanistic Judaism was formed. The Society currently has about 10,000 members in 30 congregations spread throughout the United States and Canada. Wine strove to achieve philosophical consistency and stability by creating rituals and ceremonies that were purely non-theistic. Non-theistic services were created for Jewish holidays and festivals, and they often reinterpreted the meaning of the holiday to bring it into conformity with Secular Humanistic philosophy. Humanistic Judaism was developed as a possible solution to the problem of retaining Jewish identity and continuity among the non-religious.

To the right—the Humanorah, symbol of Humanistic Judaism.

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ORTHODOX JUDAISM

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Introduction

The Orthodox movement emerged as traditional rabbis fought against the new Reform movement. Many supported some of the Jewish Enlightenment, or Haskalah, but wanted to defend traditional Jewish concepts.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch commented in 1854:

'Orthodox' Judaism does not know any varieties of Judaism. It conceives Judaism as one and indivisible. It does not know a Mosaic, prophetic and rabbinic Judaism, nor Orthodox and Liberal Judaism. It only knows Judaism and non-Judaism. It does not know Orthodox and Liberal Jews. The Orthodox believe that they are continuing Jewish tradition reaching back to Moses, but some of their practices are relatively recent.

What unifies various groups under the "Orthodox" umbrella is the central belief that Torah, including the Oral Law, was given directly from God to Moses at Mount Sinai and applies in all times and places. As a result, all Orthodox Jews are required to live in accordance with the Mitzvot and Halacha.

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Modern Orthodoxy

In general, Modern Orthodoxy holds that Jewish law is normative and binding, while simultaneously attaching a positive value to interaction with contemporary society. In this view, Orthodox Judaism can "be enriched" by its intersection with modernity; further, "modern society creates opportunities to be productive citizens engaged in the Divine work of transforming the world to benefit humanity". At the same time, any area of "powerful inconsistency and conflict" between Torah and modern culture must be avoided.

Modern Orthodoxy is pro-Zionist. It also practices involvement with non-Orthodox Jews that extends beyond outreach, or kiruv to continued institutional relations and cooperation.

Other "core beliefs” are a recognition of the value and importance of secular studies, a commitment to equality of education for both men and women, and a full acceptance of the importance of being able to financially support oneself and one's family.

To the right—First female Doctor of Talmud at Yeshiva University.

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Yeshiva University Yeshiva University in New York is inspired by Modern Orthodoxy’s belief in both Torah study and engagement with the secular world, combining both Torah and academic study. It has several Division III sports teams. Unfortunately, dreidel is not yet recognized by the NCAA as a sport.

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Haredi Jews

Haredi Judaism advocates segregation from non-Jewish culture, although not from non-Jewish society entirely. It is characterised by its focus on community-wide Torah study. Haredi Orthodoxy's differences with Modern Orthodoxy usually lie in interpretation of the nature of traditional halakhic concepts and in acceptable application of these concepts. Thus, for example, engaging in the commercial world is a legitimate means to achieving a livelihood, but individuals should participate in modern society as little as possible. While non-Zionist, many Israeli Haredis will cooperate with and accommodate the Jewish state when need be. However, some Haredis are very anti- Zionist—sometimes violently.

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Chassidim The Chassidim are Orthodox, and close to but different from Haredi. Some groups, such as the Lubavitch shown here, engage in outreach activities to other Jews.

Lubavitcher World Headquarters, Crown Heights Brooklyn

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Orthodox relations with other branches of Judaism

The Orthodox Jewish movements consider all non-Orthodox Jewish movements to be unacceptable deviations from authentic Judaism; both because of other denominations' doubt concerning the verbal revelation of Written and Oral Torah, and because of their rejection of Halakhic precedent as binding. However, many Modern Orthodox have worked together with other branches, believing they offer a differing and inferior product, as the other branches have attempted to deal with the challenges of modernity.

To the right: Not all interactions between Orthodox and non-Orthodox have gone well….

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Varieties of Modern Judaism Summarized

• Orthodoxy:

• Torah true, believe in divine revelation at Sinai and rabbinic interpretation

• Belief in afterlife, immortality of soul, resurrection of dead, Messiah

• Attitudes to Israel and Zionism differ; some opposition especially to secular Zionism

• Genders separated in synagogue and no women rabbis • Hebrew as language of prayer and adherence to traditional

methods of prayer

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Conservatism • Positive-Historical Judaism; Scriptures divinely inspired, historical

process in formation of halacha • Serious commitment to observing halacha, but adapted to

circumstances of modern life • Historical critical approach to Tanakh and Talmud • Generally “non-literal” belief in the afterlife, immortality, and

resurrection • Hebrew main language of prayer, and most traditional prayer activities • Innovations such as Bat Mitzvot for girls • Mixed seating in synagogues, female participation in services, and

women rabbis • Enthusiastically Zionist and pro-Israel.

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Reform • Progressive Judaism, evolutionary view of Jewish

belief and practice • Skeptical of literal views of afterlife, messiah, etc… • Liberal on halacha, Sabbath and kashrut are optional

observances • More Hebrew used in services in recent years • Initially opposed to Zionism, much more enthusiastic

recently • Gender equality. First women rabbis were Reform.

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Reconstructionism

• Humanistic Judaism; Torah is expression of the religious creativity of the Jewish people

• Respectful but liberal view of halacha • This is combined with belief that religious practices are

“folkways” and facets of Judaism as a civilization • Agnostic as to a personal God, combined with a belief in

creative potential of human beings • Jewish “peoplehood” and pro-Zionist • Gender equality and mixing; First movement to support

the Bat Mitzvah

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Humanistic Judaism

• Secular Humanist and non-theist • Liturgy removes all references and prayers to

God • Egalitarian as to sexes; first ordained rabbi was

a woman • Celebrates Jewish culture without

supernatural underpinnings • Does not follow laws on Kashrut

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THE HOLOCAUST OR SHOAH

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Introduction As the story of Haman helps show, throughout history there have been attempts to wipe out the Jewish people. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Nazis tried to wipe out European Jewry and came close to succeeding. Jews have often debated whether they were a people or a religion. The Nazis decided that they were a “race”—an ethnic group. They legally defined Jews to include people who had little to no connection with Judaism, but who had a Jewish ancestor. As Jews were a race, there was no way to convert to escape anti-Semitism. If a Jew became a Lutheran, he was legally considered to still be a Jew. And by the mid-1940s, being a Jew meant you would go to a death camp.

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Nazi Race Theory

Hitler, having praised blonde, blue-eyed Aryans as being creative supermen, set out his views on the Jewish people in 1925’s Mein Kampf [My Struggle]:

“The mightiest counterpart to the Aryan is represented by the Jew…Not through him does any progress of mankind occur, but in spite of him… He scoffs at [a state’s] history and past, and drags everything that is truly great into the gutter… Culturally he contaminates art, literature, theatre…Religion is ridiculed, ethics and morality represented as outmoded, until the last props of a nation in its struggle for existence in this world have fallen….” Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf

To the Nazis, Jews were both Communists and evil rich people. They were an Other. And this difference was inborn—in the genes. Jews were not creative; they were destroyers and parasites —and it was in their genes. Conversion would not change their destructive nature. To the right: Poster for a 1940 Nazi “documentary” on Jews

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The Nuremburg Laws The Nazis instituted “public health laws” to prevent the Aryan bloodstream from being “polluted” with the “inferior” genes of Jews. Marriage between Jews and Germans were prohibited, as was sex. Jews could not have women under 45 working for them, to limit the possibility of a child with Jewish genes being born.

Under these laws, Jewishness was virtually the equivalent of a disease, transmittable to the next generation.

Jews were deprived of citizenship, and Jews were defined by ancestry. Jews could not serve in the public service

You could be blonde, blue-eyed, a Lutheran minister, and have voted for Hitler—if one or your great grandparents was a Jew, you were a Jew, or a half-Jew (Mischling).

Aryans had great difficulty getting birth control info or abortions—not a problem for Jews, Gypsies, or others.

To the right: Chart of who is a Jew under the Nuremburg laws.

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Kristallnacht—The Night of Broken Glass Jewish businesses were boycotted, and in 1938, an organized attack on Jewish businesses and synagogues was made. So much glass was broken the day became known as the Night of Broken Glass, or Kristallnacht. Many Jews tried to emigrate and their property was confiscated—some Jews even became

virtual slaves. This is generally considered the beginning of the Holocaust…

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Yellow Stars

As Germany moved into Poland and Russia, it entered areas with large numbers of Jews. Jews were concentrated into ghettos in Warsaw and Lodz, among other places in Poland. Jews were forced to wear yellow stars to identify them as Jews. This was a revival of an old medieval practice. Very early in the regime, the Nazis had established prisoner camps. These became the basis for the concentration camps, where “undesirable populations” and people could be concentrated. The Nazis began to move Jews to these places. Other groups, such as Gypsies and homosexuals, were also sent to these camps. Homosexuals had to wear triangles. Potential leaders of conquered countries such as Poland also went there.

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Einsatzgruppen

When the Nazis invaded Russia, special SS [Protection Squad] units called Einsatzgruppen were sent to seek out Jews and kill them. The SS were true believers in Nazi race theory. They were considered the Nazi elite. Whenever possible, the Nazis used the SS to kill Jews, as ordinary German soldiers had difficulty killing women and babies. While for the SS: —the SS believed that such things were necessary to create their utopia of a world without Jews ruled by the Master Race. There were mass killings of Jews. The most famous of these was Babi Yar, near Kiev. Thousands of Jews were shot and thrown into a pit and buried.

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The Final Solution

A conference was called for January 1942 to discuss the Final Solution of the Jewish “problem”. The Nazis thought that the Jews could finally be taken care of once and for all under cover of war. SS and other Nazi officials were appalled at the reports they were hearing of Babi Yar and other places. The Jews were being thrown in to pits and buried. Their clothes, jewelry, money, shoes, gold teeth were being lost to the war effort. It was to the Nazis an appalling waste—but not for the reasons most people would find it appalling. Surely, a more efficient method could be found to kill the Jews and preserve their valuable property and gold for the use of the Third Reich? At the Wannsee Conference, it was decided to move the Jews to camps under the guise of resettlement. At these camps, the bulk of the Jews would be killed immediately, while the rest would be worked to death while fed at starvation levels.

To the right—the Wannsee Conference was held in this villa near Berlin. 43

Auschwitz

The death camps were set up. This represented the industrialization of death. Jews were transported from all over Europe to the death camps, where often music played as they arrived. The Jews probably thought they were going to work camps—over the gates of Auschwitz were the words: “Arbeit macht frei” --Work will set you free. They were then separated—60% were killed immediately—often women and children first, as well as the old— The rest worked in factories on starvation rations—rotten cabbage soup, often— until they died. About 6 million Jews and over a million others died in these camps. The Nazis were fighting two wars: the military war and one against the Jews, a war which used up resources needed for the military war.

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Auschwitz 2 The bodies of the corpses were burned in specially-designed ovens. By war’s end, the Nazis did not have time to burn the bodies, and threw many of them into mass

graves.

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Six million If you have trouble imagining six million deaths, imagine a football stadium full of 60,000 people. Imagine everyone is gassed to death. Repeat

this process one hundred times. Six million is one hundred football stadiums. Six million is larger than most American cities. Many countries have a population of six million people or less.

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Images from the Holocaust

Einsatzgruppen Shoes collected from victims of Shoah

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The Shoach and Jewish conceptions of God

Shoach means “whirlwind,” and many Jews prefer it to holocaust, which is a divinely ordered sacrificed.

What did this terrible event mean for religious beliefs? How could a loving God have permitted this to happen?

Some have argued it was a divinely willed sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. (Ignaz Maybaum)

Others argue the Holocaust challenges the fundamental Jewish belief in a just and benevolent Creator who values every life. Indeed, Richard Rubenstein argued that God, or at least Judaism’s historic concept of God, is Dead . Others argue that God is “hidden”—after all, why did he wait 400 years to redeem the slaves in Egypt— or they argue about the consequences of human freedom— Humans are free to choose Good and Evil, and some choose poorly. God must restrain Himself so humans may be free to exercise their moral wills—even if that results in disaster. But very few argue the ancient Biblical, prophetic argument that the Shoah was an instance of merited and Divine Punishment. It was not an example of Jews being punished for their sins. This is a major break in Jewish thought—after all, the traditional conception was that the Jews were exiled from their land because of their sins… Heschel argues that God needs and yearns after humankind, but this does not annul evil’s reality or our “terrible’ freedom.

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Final Thoughts on the Holocaust

When Eisenhower, Allied Commander-in-Chief saw the camps, he ordered film taken, pictures taken, and many troops marched through them so no one could claim it never happened.

While some individual events may perhaps be questioned, the fact of the Holocaust and the multi-million death toll it incurred should be beyond question.

There is so much evidence of the Holocaust, denying that it occurred is like denying there was slavery in the United States.

Those who deny the Holocaust are at best ignorant.

To the right--Eisenhower at Dachau

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ISRAEL

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Zionism In the 1890s, a Jewish soldier was accused of selling French military secrets to Germany. The “Dreyfus Affair” divided France, and exposed an ugly strain of anti-Semitism in French society. Theodor Herzl , a Jewish journalist covering the Dreyfus Affair, was disturbed by the anti- Semitism that the affair exposed, as rallies of French people shouted “Death to the Jews. “

Herzl concluded Jews should not assimilate, but leave Europe and create their own state where they could be truly free. He published these ideas in 1896’s The Jewish State.

Zionism, as the idea became known, was thus a variety of nationalism—the belief that a people should have its own state where it could work out its destiny. But Jews were scattered throughout the world. The obvious place for the homeland was the ancient Biblical homeland. Jews began to move to Palestine. The immigration began to upset the local Arabs, who saw it as colonization. This would lead to problems….

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Jewish settlement in Palestine

In the late nineteenth century, many Jews began to move to Palestine, as the lands of the Bible had been known since Roman times. Zionism accelerated this. Tel Aviv was founded in 1909. In 1917, British Foreign Secretary Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration, which said in part:

His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people…

This led to a great increase in Jewish settlement. Many of the settlers were not religious Jews, but socialists who established collective communities called kibbutzim.

Arabs objected, seeing Jewish settlement as colonization. Violent clashes occurred between the two groups.

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1947 Partition Plan

As it became clear that the two groups could not get along, the United Nations decided to split Palestine into a Jewish and Arab State. Jerusalem, sacred to all Abrahamic religions, was to be administered by the United Nations. Many Palestinian Arabs, and the Arab League—which included countries like Egypt and Jordan—were bitterly opposed to the creation of a Jewish state in territory they considered Arab. On May 15, 1948, the British Mandate ended and Israel, as the Jewish State was to be called, became independent. Several hours later, the Arab League attacked the state.

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War of Independence

Much to everyone’s surprise, Israel won the war. At war’s end in March 1949, Israel had gained part of Jerusalem. Many Palestinian Arabs had fled the fighting. Arab states controlled areas that were supposed to become part of the Arab State, but no state was created. The West Bank of the Jordan was annexed by Jordan, and the Gaza Strip’s Palestinian government was ended by Egupt in the late 1950s. Many Palestinian refugees remained in camps for decades. Israel has fought several wars with its neighbors in the decades following independence. Establishing a true peace between the groups has proved incredibly elusive over the decades.

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WOMEN

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Women in Judaism I

Traditionally, women were respected but subordinate. All rabbis were male—just ask Yenta. Jewish men would pray “Thank you for not making me a woman,” while Jewish women would pray “Thank you for making me according to your will”. Jewish women were exempt from most obligations, such as praying three times a day, since that could interfere with their main duty of raising the kinder and maintaining the home. Women could bake challah, attend the Mikveh, and it was generally their duty to light the Sabbath candles. Women could go to shul, but had to be separated from males, either by a Mechitzeh, or wall, or by being in a balcony. It was feared they would distract the men. Mechitzot still remain in Orthodox congregations, but not in the more liberal denominations.

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Women in Judaism II

in the more liberal congregations, much of this has changed. There are women rabbis, and prayers and prayerbooks have tried to use gender- neutral language, at least in the English. For example, Avinu Malkeynu, “Our Father Our King” may be translated Our Parent our King, or Land of our Fathers may be Land of Our Ancestors. Prayers have been revised. For example, in some Conservative prayer books, both men and women pray “Thank you for making me according to Your will.”

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