Judaism is a very interesting religion. Having survived for over 2000 years (depending on how you count) and transformed itself in the process, it often seems to be - or "the Jews" seem to be - at the heart of historical developments. Not so much during the Middle Ages, granted, but increasingly so today. In fact, one could rather easily write an entire Judeocentric history of the world, and I suppose that may already have been done, at least so far as they teach children History in Israel.
As a student of History of Religions, I often lamented the fact that it was difficult to get a first-hand experience of Judaism, simply because one did not usually meet a lot of religious Jews. (There are supposed to exist some 20,000 Jews in Sweden, many of whom are not religious.) At the same time, I was never really attracted to Judaism in the same way that I was attracted to other faiths - it is simply not a religion you are attracted to from the outside when looking for spiritual nourishment. At the same time, I do wish I had a better understanding of it from the outside. At some point, I should read up on it a bit more thoroughly.
Just now, however, I read a piece titled American Pravda: Oddities of the Jewish Religion over at The Unz Review. Ron Unz is an interesting author and intellectual who often has an alternative perspective on things, running a rather fringe website while somehow managing to preserve his respectability public-wise (as far as I can tell from across the Atlantic). It is my impression that many of the articles appearing on his site are not of the finest quality, but his pieces usually stand out as being both thoughtful and well researched. This time I suspect that he has fallen over the cliff though. He cites the book Jewish History, Jewish Religion by Israel Shahak, and he takes it in a rather far-off direction. Having read the book myself, I should like to make a few comments on the article.
In the book, Shahak (himself a secular Jew), exposes the nature of Judaism as one of intolerance, hatred for non-Jews, magic, occultism and "lack of Monotheism" in case of the teachings of the Kabbalah. Many of the things Shahak describes - such as a Jewish man who refused to help a dying non-Jew on the Sabbath out of piety - are certainly alarming. There is also no doubt that many Orthodox Jews see themselves as set against the world, and among some Jews there are teachings saying that non-Jews do not have souls, highly disturbing of course (yet admittedly a rather fascinating form of piety). My main issues with Unz' article (and thus with Shahak) are the following:
Shahak, despite his Jewish background, and whatever his other merits, was not a scholar of Judaism. Neither am I - which is why I try to rely on those who are. Also, anyone knowledgeable about Judaism is very welcome to comment on this post, if you have something to contribute to the issues at hand.
There sometimes seems to be an unspoken choice that people have to make as right-wing intellectuals: either you have a problem with Islam, in which case Israel is an ally; or you are hostile to Judaism in which case you say nothing of Islam. I do not see the need for this. Both Judaism and Islam are highly complex traditions with plenty of diversity, featuring both some good and some truly horrid people, all drawing on their respective traditions for a great variety of ends.
As a student of History of Religions, I often lamented the fact that it was difficult to get a first-hand experience of Judaism, simply because one did not usually meet a lot of religious Jews. (There are supposed to exist some 20,000 Jews in Sweden, many of whom are not religious.) At the same time, I was never really attracted to Judaism in the same way that I was attracted to other faiths - it is simply not a religion you are attracted to from the outside when looking for spiritual nourishment. At the same time, I do wish I had a better understanding of it from the outside. At some point, I should read up on it a bit more thoroughly.
Just now, however, I read a piece titled American Pravda: Oddities of the Jewish Religion over at The Unz Review. Ron Unz is an interesting author and intellectual who often has an alternative perspective on things, running a rather fringe website while somehow managing to preserve his respectability public-wise (as far as I can tell from across the Atlantic). It is my impression that many of the articles appearing on his site are not of the finest quality, but his pieces usually stand out as being both thoughtful and well researched. This time I suspect that he has fallen over the cliff though. He cites the book Jewish History, Jewish Religion by Israel Shahak, and he takes it in a rather far-off direction. Having read the book myself, I should like to make a few comments on the article.
In the book, Shahak (himself a secular Jew), exposes the nature of Judaism as one of intolerance, hatred for non-Jews, magic, occultism and "lack of Monotheism" in case of the teachings of the Kabbalah. Many of the things Shahak describes - such as a Jewish man who refused to help a dying non-Jew on the Sabbath out of piety - are certainly alarming. There is also no doubt that many Orthodox Jews see themselves as set against the world, and among some Jews there are teachings saying that non-Jews do not have souls, highly disturbing of course (yet admittedly a rather fascinating form of piety). My main issues with Unz' article (and thus with Shahak) are the following:
- According to Kabbalistic teachings, God reveals himself through ten successive emanations, one for each level of creation. This is presented by Shahak (and Unz) as if there was a question of fundamentally different gods. Thus Shahak concludes that Judaism is not Monotheistic (unless the same can be said for Hinduism). My problem with this statement is both that it is presented in a sensationalist manner, but more importantly that Shahak does not give any sources for this claim, despite an endless number of sources stressing the inherent Monotheism of Judaism. I have not found any support for his position, either in academic literature or on relevant websites.
- Orthodox Jews are supposedly taught to worship both God and Satan. But this claim does not make any sense as Jews generally do not believe in an omnimalevolent being. Satan in a Rabbinical Jewish context is God's servant; like the adversary in the Book of Job, he does not act on his own. His role is closer to that of the Quranic Iblis, being permitted by God to tempt mankind (though the latter is of course fallen), than to a Christian devil that tries to struggle against God for supremacy (even though he surely loses). So whatever "worship of Satan" could mean for some Jews (I personally have no clue), it is nothing like a Christian worshipping the devil.
- As for Jewish hostility towards non-Jews, this is of course troubling when it occurs, but let's be honest here: it is hardly a phenomenon unique to Judaism. I personally still have relatives who believe - doctrinally if not at heart - that all who are not Christian in just the right way will suffer eternal damnation in hell. That is a rather worse prospect than simply being killed off or remain as a servant to the Chosen People. Again, I dislike the sensationalist streak that I find with both Shahak and Unz, because it tends to undermine the will to understand something on its own terms in all its complexity in exchange for mere shock value.
Shahak, despite his Jewish background, and whatever his other merits, was not a scholar of Judaism. Neither am I - which is why I try to rely on those who are. Also, anyone knowledgeable about Judaism is very welcome to comment on this post, if you have something to contribute to the issues at hand.
There sometimes seems to be an unspoken choice that people have to make as right-wing intellectuals: either you have a problem with Islam, in which case Israel is an ally; or you are hostile to Judaism in which case you say nothing of Islam. I do not see the need for this. Both Judaism and Islam are highly complex traditions with plenty of diversity, featuring both some good and some truly horrid people, all drawing on their respective traditions for a great variety of ends.
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