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1995 Menorah Review (No. 34, Spring, 1995)

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• NUMBER 34 • CENTER FOR JUDAIC STUDIES OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY SPRING 1995

For the Enrichment of Jewish Thought

(i.e., cases of spiritual experiences involv­ ing others that one's own true character ing only God and the isolated individual arises, matures and flourishes. Thus Buber figure) do spring to mind: the burningbush speaks of even the infant in the crib as of Moses; the voice of God as heard by occupied in an aesthetic I-Thou encounter Francis of Assissi and the revelatory dreams with the wallpaper of his room, for the wall­ of, say, the Native American B.1ack Elk­ paper bespeaksthe Thou of its designer, just what could be more private than these? Still, as the designer bespeaksthe eternalThou. In Buberand Rotenstreich are correct in insist­ fact, unless a person enjoys I-Thou relations, ing on the social dimension of spiritual cul­ he can know neither his own self nor the tivation because, unlessMoses, Francis and eternal God. Black Elk had first stoodin I-Thou relations Philosophers dispute whether Descartes' with their fellows, they could hardly become pronouncement was an immediate intuition participants in an I-Thou encounter with or a logical deduction: Did he know that he God. But not just any kind of regard for the existed immediately-asone knows straight­ other will suffice. For example, Rotenstreich away that -A is A-or did he know it only Nathan_Rotenstreich has written a explains that Buber relegates empathy to a after a series of inferences? In Buber's case, thought-provoking, critical analysis of the position significantly below an I-Thou rela­ there is no question about his meaning; an 1- nature of Martin Buber's I-Thou relation. tion because the former is seen to involve a Thou encounter refers to a direct (i.e., unme­ Everyday examples abound to demonstrate lapse into a kind of estheticismthat involves diated) meeting. For him, from "the begin­ that the significance of such relationships a loss of individuality. In short, the relation­ ning" there is an incipient relation, an un­ can hardly be exaggerated. For instance, ship is asymmetrical or one-way, for the bornThou that engages the I. No ratiocina­ Buber holds that the doctor is truly a doctor empathizer excludes the concreteness of her tion precedes and sustains it. Thus, the pre­ if and only if he or she feels an identity with self fromthe absorption. Buber sees I-Thou reflective infant experiences a yeaming for his or her patient, not the alienation that relations with humans and I-Thou relations relation. We are relational creatures who marks an I-It relationship. Indeed, to be a with the divine as mutually enhancing; for carry the seed of the other within us; in member of the human family is necessarily the former are a prerequisite for the latter; in Buber'swords: "the innate Thou is realized to engage in I-Thou meetings, for as philoso­ turn, participation in the latter enriches and in the Thou we encounter." Accordingly, phers since Aristotle have argued, we are deepens participation in the former. Con­ one may challenge Rotenstreich's charac­ irreducibly social creatures. Buber main­ cerningwhich I -Thou relation-thatbetween terization of the I and Thou: "each of them tains that even the way to meet God is social the I and others or that betweenthe I and the has an independent or semi- independent sta­ (i.e., through entering into relations ofreci­ eternal Thou-is primary, Buber's dialogi­ tus." Instead, Buber's I is fundamentally procity with other persons). It follows that if cal philosophy must maintain that the two incomplete without a Thou. an individual cannot discern the divine in a are inseparable. Most basically" and persistently, finite Thou, the eternal Thou will forever Not only are I-Thou relations essential Rotenstreichasks: Is theI-Thou relation, _as elude him. Not surprisingly, Buber faulted for meeting the eternal Thou but they are Buber held, one in which there is an imme­ Soren Kierkegaard, a father of Christian essentialfor self-realization. Thus, Socrates' diate rapport between human beings? Or existentialism, because he spoke as if one's injunction to "know thyself' becomes in­ does this relation require mediation and, in meeting with the divine was necessarily a separable from "know the other." While particular, reflection or discursive thought? one-on-one encounter rather than a social Descartes posited "I think; therefore, I am," Affirming Hegel's view that we may not phenomenon. Of I-Thou meetings with oth­ Buber substitutes "I relate; therefore, I am." realize the supposedly immediate is medi­ ers, Buber said: "That the lines of these It is not as though one first cultivates an inner ated, Rotenstreich insists that relations are relations intersect in the eternal Thou is nature and then may enter into the company grounded on distance. But Buber insists that grounded in the fact that the man who says of others; rather,it is precisely by encounter- relations are not in ordinary time or space. Thou ultimately means his eternal Thou." Distance, whether spatial or psychological, Rotenstreichagrees: "The meeting between is inapplicable to such meetings. On being God and man, it can be said ... occurs in the asked about his first meeting withT.S. Eliot, coming together of human beings and not in B uber replied that when he met someone he their lonely or solitary position." Also op­ was not concerned aboutopinions but with posed to the idea that only the solitary indi­ the person. Buber criticized Socrates for vidual can enter into essential relation with overestimating the import of abstract ideas God, it might be_ observed that even indi­ as opposed to individual, concrete experi­ viduals who practice meditation or silent ences. Similarly, he faulted Hegel for sup­ prayer often like to do so in a community. planting concreteness with reason and ab­ Of course, possible counter-examples stractions, thereby leaving no roomfor trust 2 Menorah Review, Spring 1995 in his system. But Rotenstreich criticizes it does not follow that it must be so estab­ can escape conceptualization. When two Buberfor not recognizing that to even iden­ lished. Intuition may have been at work. individuals come together, each distinguishes tify a Thou requires reflection. In other After all, Buber is drawn to the risk-taking of between her respective self and the other, words, Rotenstreich accuses Buber of fail­ intuitive leaps rather than the security of but as they meet, intuition renders all dis­ ing to see that merely to acknowledge the system-building (i.e., the erecting of com­ tinctions, bifurcations, dichotomies or divi­ other presupposes intellectual. activity. prehensive, abstract systems or philoso­ sions as penultimate in face of the intact Buber's reply is that discursive thought is phies). Clear metaphysical differences are relation that surfaces. This is just to say that, not the only kind of awareness; far surpass­ apparent in that Buber regards faith as an while distinctions precede the I-Thou en­ ing it, there is a consciousness that is marked entrance into reality and Rotenstreich re­ counter and follow during any analyses of it, by a transcendent immediacy. In effect, the plies, " ...we cannot but wonder as to the they need not be constitutive of the relation ordinary rational categories of space and meaning of that entrance since the human itself with its characteristic immediacy of time are superseded by an eternal present; being is already, in reality, in his primary union. thus, Buber speaks about the "total accep­ situation and does not have to enter it." Of While Rotenstreichargues interestingly tance of the present." As with aesthetic course, Buber is positing a deeper, intuitive for his thesis that the I -Thou relation is a transport, to have the spiritual, I-Thou en­ realization in which one's primary situation mediated one, his case falls short of being counter requires disengagement from the is itself grounded. When Rotenstreich ar­ compelling. Rather, his scholarly contribu­ ordinary notions of time and space; any time gues that Buber's distancing of the I from the tion lies in the thoughtful questions he asks and any place will do. There is no special Thou necessarily entails reflection as op­ and the diverse criticisms he offers. For time and place; thus Buber remarks, "I do posed to immediacy, his reasoning can be instance, he wonders how the I-Thou orien­ not find the human being to whom I say You sketchy and unconvincing: "A looker is at a tation can be both a priori-having a formal in any Sometime and Somewhere." Any distance and, because of that, he reflects on status-and endowed with holiness (i.e., moment will suffice because any moment his position and setting." Surely lookers can concrete and not formal). One reply is that can become an eternal present in which the become immersed in their object of atten­ the relation is a priori because it is a condi­ categories of past and future do not obtain. tion, interfused with it. Buber's lookermeets tion of full-fledged human experience and, Hence, mystics speak of living in the eternal the other and enters into an immediate rap­ thus, logically presupposed by it. Moreover, now, of transcendingtime and space, much port that is beyond the reach of reflection as it is possessed of a concrete quality for, as as the aesthetic experience may suspend such. has been noted, it is a yearning to relate to considerations of time and place. Buber Favoring the term "participation" over specific Thous, beings that manifest asserts the subordination of time and space "intuition," Buber categoricall y declares the personhood and nourish the cultivation of before the spiritual: " ...prayer is not in time primacy of immediacy: "Only when every one's own person. Other salient questions but time in prayer, the sacrifice is not in means has collapsed does the meeting come include: "Is self-realization a matter of the I space, but the space in the sacrifice ... " The about." To the contrary, Rotenstreich sub­ realizing that it differs from the Thou and, I-Thou bond transcends time and space-­ mits that no contradiction exists between the therefore, is dependent on reflection? Is and cannot be put in order as can an I-It I as reflective and the I as realized in the distancing prior to the I-Thou relation or relation. reciprocity of human relations. In fact, he continuous with it? Is the relation between Contrary to Rotenstreich's view, rejects the possibility of relation without the one's own being and one's relation to the Buber's mutuality is a supra-conceptual re­ importance of ideas to it; thus, he concludes other a basic dichotomy? Is the I or the lation and, as such, is the antithesis of specu­ that reason is a prerequisite for relations. relation primary? In short, can the I exist lative thought with its inevitable objectifica­ Buber, however, identifies reason not as a autonomously or does it come to be only in tion of the other. Instead, the I-Thou en­ basis of relations but as an obstacle to them relations? Speaking about Israel, counter with nature--Buberwrites provoca­ since reason coincides with the I -It, manipu­ Rotenstreichasks how the meeting between tively of taking up an I-Thou relation with a lative orientation of science. As Rotenstreich particular humans culminates in a nation or tree--resembles Edward Abbey's apprecia­ himself recognizes, "Dialogue is imbued people. Rotenstreich also wonders about the tion of the desert in which he eschews the with faith or certainty that requires no dem­ possibility of a synthesis between imme­ conceptual: "I want to beable to look at and onstration or proof." It is not merely that diacy and distance, both of which figure into a Juniper tree, a piece of quartz, a proof is unnecessary but that proofis impos­ importantly in Buber's I-Thou relation. vulture, a spider and see it as it is in itself, sible; after all, argumentation involves de­ Another of Rotenstreich' s strengths is his devoid of all humanly described qualities, tached reasoning, ratiocination or the re­ insight into Buber's estimate of other phi­ anti-Kantian, even the categories of scien­ moval of an I-It posture. losophers as when he notes that Buber criti­ tific description." While Immanuel Kant, Rotenstreich questions if relations­ cized Henri Bergson, a champion of intu­ Rotenstreich'sintellectual precursor, thought whether between humans or between hu­ ition, because he did not emphasize the sta­ we could only know the world as filtered mans and God---can be possessed of imme­ tus of the Thou without whom intuition is (i.e., mediated) by the forms of our own diacy (i.e., devoid of reflection or interpreta­ unfocused. intellectual apparatus, the mystic (and surely tion: " ... a relation is an isolation or separa­ Rotenstreich offers a representatively Buber had his season of mysticism) holds tion from reality at large or reality as per­ telling criticism of Buber for attempting to that the true self, as opposed to the ego, is ceived by the person or persons involved." locate reciprocity in Spinoza's philosophy. capable of a direct insight into reality, an Therefore, to be in relation to another is to Clearly, mutuality presupposes otherness apprehension that does not transform that draw distinctions between oneself and the (i.e., two discrete substances who interact), which it receives. By contrast,Rotenstreich other, to affirm that the two are mutually but Spinoza has only one substance, namely, declares that "the relationship between a exclusive entities. But Buber identifies the God. Again, Buberlocates love in reciproc­ human being and Godcannot be experimen­ Thou as the locus of total inclusion. Every­ ity, but Spinoza's intellectual love of God is tal." Of course, the mystic purports toknow thing lives in the Thou (i.e., takes on fresh necessarily unrequited, for his God is not God directly. Rotenstreich further declares significance in virtue of its light). For ex­ personal. According to Rotenstreich, "Reci­ that "the very position of the Thou as a non­ ample, a lover may find that familiar piece of procity does not go along with self-suffi­ It. . .is already a conceptual position by way music suddenly acquires fresh import be­ ciency." The former is anthropocentric, the of comparison or exclusion, explicit or not." cause it is grounded in the Thou of the latter theocentric. That God enters into a But this may beg the question, for from the beloved. Perhaps, there is a temporal solu­ covenant or an agreement implies some factthat a position is described conceptuall y tion to the problem of how I-Thou relations measure of reciprocity. Indeed, it would Menorah Review, Spring 1995 3 seem that God needs humans for how could That the reputation of the Philistines is strated that the earliest theories regarding even the divine be just or merciful if there rescued is but a by-product of a much larger the origin of the Philistines,mostly based on werenot creatures towardwhom to be just or investigation for the Dothans. Historians the few available historical sources and liter­ merciful? For Buber, it is in this reciprocity and archaeologists still are trying to under­ ary approaches to the Bible, could not alone that man and God delight; moreover, there stand the wave of destruction representedin solve the mystery. The answers would be need be no conceptual barriers between the archaeological strata from the end of the found in the stratified layers of ancient city­ I and the Thou, though both are supported by Late Bronze Age (1550-1200 B.C.) at sites mounds. Trude and Moshe Dothan have the eternal Thou that is above, below, be­ from Greece to Turkey to Palestine. The been personally involved with some of the fore, behind and within all. period was characterized by political up­ earliest and most important excavations in heaval; the disruption of internationaltrade; Palestine to "read the record" the Philistines Earle 1. Coleman is professor of philosophy large-scale population movements; and the had left buried in the ancient city-mounds of at Virginia Commonwealth Universityand a end of several great empires, including the the Near East. contributing editor. collapse of the Mycenaean empire of the "Just as the Medinet Habu reliefs and Aegean, Hittite control over Anatolia, and inscriptions offered us information the withdrawal of Egyptian influence and from the Egyptian perspective and the presence from Canaan. It is also from this Biblical accounts offered information period thatseveral groupsof what are called from the Israelite, the excavated Phi­ "Sea Peoples" began migrating around the listine settlements offered us the un­ Mediterranean by land and sea, eventually wri tten historical records of the Philis­ settling on the coastal plains of the eastern tines themselves." (p.88) Mediterranean from Turkey to Libya. The People of the Sea: The Search fo r the Philistines represent the largest of these Philistines represents nearly 40 years of groups and are the best known because of investigation into the Philistines. It not only their role in the Biblical narratives where traces the Dothans' extensive excavation they are seen harassing the Israelites from a experience at sites like Hazor, Ashdod, well-organized group of Philistine city-states, Ekron, Akko, Deir el-balah, Tell Mor, Azor the Philistine Pentapolis, which included and Tell Qasile but also presents a personal Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath and Gaza. overview of some of the earliest excavations What was not well understood until the completed by many of the greatest archae­ present work is where exactly the Philistines ologists ever to excavate in the Mediterra­ originated, what was the reason for their nean. Most people have come to know the leaving and what role they played in the In 1948, Trude Dothan was invited to Philistines as an uncultured group of barbar­ turmoil of the Late Bronze Age. For the excavate at Tell Qasile under one of the most ians who were the main adversaries of the Dothans, searching for clues to explain the prominent Israeli archaeologists, Dr. Ben­ Israelites. This legacy is not only preserved origin of the Philistines and other groups of jamin Mazar. Evidence would be found, or in the Biblical narratives but also in modem Sea Peoples is a key to understanding the rather not found, that shed new light on the English usage. The Oxford Dictionary of transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Philistines as "invaders and destroyers" of Current English defines a Philistine as "un­ Iron Age. Canaanite culture. Whereas at most sites cultured, commonplace, prosaic." We bster's The first historical reference to thePhi- with Philistine occupation, preliminary re­ Ninth New Collegiate Dictionarystates that 1istines outside the Bible, would suggest to mains reaffirmed the Philistines as "invad­ ' a Philistineis "a crass prosaic often priggish scholars that they were the cause of turmoil. ers" hypothesis but at Tell Qasile things individual guided by material rather than Reliefs and accompanying inscriptions found were different. "No earlier settlement had intellectual or artistic values." at the Medinet Habu Mortuary Temple of preceded the Philistines. The city had actu­ This reputation is up for consideration Ramesses III (1190-1165 B.C.) in Thebes, ally been founded by them." (p.82) More­ in the work of two Israeli archaeologists, Egypt, depict the Egyptian king's efforts to over, the evidence suggested a peaceful ex­ Trude and Moshe Dothan. In their book, ex pelseveral groupsof invading Sea Peoples, istence at every occupational level. In other People of the Sea: The Search fo r the including the Philistines, fromthe Nile Delta words, there was no city to destroy; the Philistines, they successfully rehabilitate the at the beginning of the Iron Age (1200-600 Philistines had come as settlers to this site. reputation of these Biblical "evil-doers." B.C.). By mentioning places previously "The Philistines at Tell Qasile had cho­ Emphasizing the archaeological record, the conquered by the Philistines, scholars could sen to live on a previously unoccupied Dothans let the actual remains of Philistine trace their point of origin to the Aegean. The ridge overlooking a fertile valley. This culture speak. City planning, architecture, outcome of these reliefs would portray the level producedno signs of weapons or material culture and extensive pottery analy­ Philistines as invaders from the Aegean who fortifications, only flint sickle blades sis provide the necessary evidence to re­ were finally defeated by the Egyptians and for harvesting grain, underground si­ evaluate the Philistines and their role in then settled on the coast of Canaan. los for storing it and millstones for history. What emerges is a new picture of " ... it was believed that the Philistines grinding it into flour." (p. 83) Philistines as cultured, city dwellers, per­ had arrived in Canaan as hostile invad­ As to the question of what part of the haps more advanced than the hill-residing ers, either destroying the Canaanite Aegean was the point of origin for the Philis­ Israelites: cities that lay in their path and settling tines, it would takeextensive examinationof "They were accomplished architects on their ruins or, in some cases, finding the most telling of all materialremains found and builders; highly artistic pottery employment as mercenaries in Egyp­ at Philistine sites-pottery. At an early makers, textile manufacturers, dyers, tian-controlled garrison towns .. .it was stage, Trude Dothan saw the importance of metalworkers, silver smelters; and generally believed that,whatever their a more complete investigation of these ce­ farmers, soldiers and sophisticated ur­ specific Aegean origin, the Philistines ramic remains. She became "fascinated ban planners. They played no small had indeed brought only ruin and up­ withthe aesthetic qualities of Philistinepot­ part in influencing the culture and po­ heaval to Canaan at the end of the Late tery and hoped to concentrate on the rela­ litical organization of their neighbors." Bronze Age." (p.82) tions between art, archaeology and cultural (p. 259) The science of archaeologyhas demon- interconnections." (p. 88 ) It would be this 4 Menorah Review, Spring 1995 work that would beher greatestcontribution . The evidence and material cultural re­ ing. Louis Feldman's Jews and Gentiles in to the area of Philistine studies. mains studied by the Dothans suggest that the Ancient World is a major study of Jewish Excavations at sites with Philistine oc­ the Philistines were Mycenaean-Greeks who and Gentile interaction in the Hellenistic and cupation have uncovered a unique ware very had migrated,in mass, to the coast of Canaan Roman eras. Featuring a vast mastery of different from the local Israelite and at the beginning of the Iron Age. Perhaps sources and a systematic interpretation,this Canaanite forms. The potterycan begrouped they were responsible for the destruction of book will certainly be a standardin its field. into two styles representing two different some cities but the emerging consensus is Masterful Jewish historians are nothing chronological phases and perhaps, as the that the Philistines came as a "civilizing new, especially for the Greco-Roman pe­ Dothans suggest, two groups of Sea Peoples force, bringing a high level of culture to riod. However, there is a subtle, new ap­ (p. 212). The fIrststyle, found in the earliest Canaan after the destruction of Mycenaean proach in Feldman's book, which may not at stratum,was a simple decoratedmonochrome cities at the end of the Late Bronze Age." (p. first strike the reader, perhaps because the ware while the second was a highly stylized 55) Nearly 40 years of investigation, culmi­ book has no introduction per se (although red and black ware that seemed to be a nating in this book, have demonstrated that there is a very useful summary chapter). continuation of the first. The latter form, the Philistines were involved in a greater Feldman's approach contrasts notably with known as Philistine bichrome ware, fea­ Aegean and Near Eastern historical context Professor Saul Lieberman's in his two sig­ tured antithetic spirals,painted checkerboard than simply the limited role of a people nificant works of a half century ago, Helle­ patterns, birds, fish and other geometric de­ harassing the Israelites in the Biblical narra­ nism in Jewish Palestine and Greek in Jew­ signs. Comparison of both styles of pottery tives. ish Palestine. with other cultures revealed that the closest To be sure, new information gained Liebermanargued that the influence in stylistic parallel was the Mycenaean-Greek fromarchaeological research creates as many Judea of Greek language and culture was pottery tradition. That this pottery had not questions as it answers. For example, what greater than historians had believed. The been imported from Mycenaea was shown happened in the Aegean homeland to pro­ Jewish masses knew some Greek, and syna­ by modem techniques in clay analysis (p. duce the migration? How can the pottery gogue preachers cited Greek translations of 168). This pottery had been produced lo­ differencesbe reconciled? Do thetwo types the Hebrew Bible in their sermons. Rab­ cally from clays in Palestine by potters ex­ represent two different groups of Sea Peoples binic scholars elucidated Biblical events in tremely familiar with the Mycenaean ce­ as the Dothans suggest or an internal transi­ the light of Greek sources and many words ramic tradition. tion from one Philistine style to another as arid passages in Rabbinic literature can be That the Philistines were Greeks is fur­ Dr. Lawrence Stager suggests? Answers to comprehended correctly only when one ther suggestedin the last section of the book these and the many other questionsare wait­ knows passages in Greek or Roman works where excavational remainsfrom two of the ing for archaeologists in the stratifiedlayers that deal with the same event. "The Jews of cities of the Philistine Pentapolis, Ashdod of ancient city-mounds. For now, People of Palestine were by no means isolated from and Ekron, are presented. Excavation of the Sea: The Search fo r the Philistines the ancient Mediterranean civilized world. Ashdod was completed by Moshe Dothan in offers a readable overviewof thehistory and They shared many of its beliefs, conceptions 1972 while Trude Dothan and Seymour Gitin, theories of the Sea Peoples and, more spe­ and patterns of behavior. " Thus, Lieberman director of the W.F. Albright Institute of cifically, the Philistines. In this work, the leaned toward depicting the Jews as part of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, co­ Dothanshave succeeded in illuminating one Mediterranean life, absorbing and assimilat­ directed the excavation of Ekron in its 10th of the great mysteries of Biblical history and ing much of its Hellenizing influence. season. The evidence from these sites, in­ have helped the Philistines "emerge from a For Professor Feldman, however, the cluding fIgurines-some modeled with ani­ web of myth onto the stage of history." (p. theme is quite different-how, in view of the mal features while others, such as the fIgu­ 259) tremendous strength and attractiveness of rine "Ashdoda" were styled like human­ the various pagan cults, did the Jews manage ceramic kernoi (tubular rings with attached Jonathan Waybright is a staffmember ofthe to avoid assimilation in the Land of Israel animal-shaped spouts), hearth rooms, pot­ Leon Levy expedition of Harvard University and especially in the Diaspora? In fact, the tery and a cylindrical cui tic stand, all reflect at Ashkelon. Jews remained self-confident, vigorous and a Mycenaean-Greek style. It would be hard productive even into the 4th and 5th centu­ to imagine that whoever produced these ries, producing the Talmud and Midrash as material remains were not Mycenaean well as attracting converts and sympathizers Greeks. despite the lack of an organized missionary As a professional staff member of the program. Feldman objects to the "lachry­ Harvard Semitic Museum's excavation of mose" conception that sees Jewish his tory as Ashkelon, I have been involved and inter­ a narration only of uninterrupted suffering ested in Philistine culture and theory for and weakness. severalyears. Not surprisingly, the Ashkelon This book is thorough and comprehen­ finds of 1992, found after the publishing of sive, and Feldman 's command of the sources the Dothan book, continue to reaffirm the is immense. Many of the sources will be reassessment of the Philistines and affirm a familiar to the knowledgeable reader, but Mycenaean-Greek origin. This viewpoint is many are not since they were gleaned from now accepted by most scholars, including a wide range ofJ ewisfi,Christian and Greco­ the director of the Leon Levy Expedition at Roman writings and inscriptions. Ashkelon, Dr. Lawrence Stager of the Let us deal with several of the book's Harvard Semitic Museum. It is importantto main themes. Earlier writers, such as note that the fInds at Ashkelon, although The relationship between the Jews and Lieberman, Hengel, Kraussand others, have speaking highly of Philistine culture, still their neighbors has been a matter of interest postulated important interaction between oI)ly represent the end of the Philistine pe­ and importance from early antiquity until Hellenistic and Jewish worlds, pointing to riod. As earlier layers are reached, it is our today. The Crown Heights riot of 1991, the the almost 3,000 Greek loan words in the hope that more information concerning the growth of Neo-Nazism in Germany and of Rabbinic literature, to Talmudic statements arrival and settlement of the Philistines will right-wing reactionism in Russia remind us praising Greek language and to early con­ be revealed. that anti-Semitism is still fresh and threaten- tacts between Hellenistic and Jewish leaders Menorah Review, Spring 1995 5 in Judea and Alexandria. Feldman, how­ Christianity, the Roman governmenttried to ever, arguesthat the Greek loan words are of avoid alienating the Jews, who constituted mundane matters, never intellectual or philo­ an important and loyal part of the populace sophical, and that Judean rabbis speak of during a time when the Empire was facing minor, local philosophers like Romulus and barbarian invasions from without and cor­ Remus but seem to know nothing of Socrates, ruption and decay from within. Plato or Seneca. Indeed, it is possible that, The world population of Jews rose from especially in the early years, Jewish reli­ about150,000 at the end of the First Temple gious thought, as expressed in works like period to about 8 million in Roman times, Koheleth and Ben Sira , was more aware of and some of their increase was attributed to Persian ideas than Greek, and the Dead Sea conversion. Judaism apparently was able to documents too knew little of Greek. In compete with the eastern mystery cults in general, Judean Jews wrote much in Hebrew gaining converts during a time of religious and Aramaic but almost nothing in Greek. uncertaintyin the early RomanEmpire. Even Indeed, the influence of Hellenism among in the 4th and 5th centuries, conversion the non-Jews of the Near East was also no seems to have continued despite the opposi­ War plays a vivid and important role in more than superficial. In Alexandria, Jews tion of boththe government and the Church. the Hebrew Scriptures. Some of the most used the Greek language and were appar­ Christian spokesmen, such as John compelling and recognizable stories con­ ently familiar with Greek activities such as Chrysostom, expressed constant concern cern particular battles, war heroes and criti­ sports and theater. At least some Egyptian aboutthe attraction of Judaism to non-J ews. cal moments within a campaign. The con­ Jews were not religiously observant and Did Jews participate actively in mis­ quering of the Promised Land, the walls of Rabbinic authority was not strong. How­ sionary work like some modem Christian Jericho, David and Goliath, and Joshua mak­ ever, there is little evidence of actual apos­ denominations? Feldman cites a number of ing the sun stand still in the sky are all stories tasy or intermarriage, and Jews lived to­ sources that suggest that converts were wel­ that give us some insight into the varied gether in Jewish quarters and not among comed and, perhaps, even actively sought perceptions of war held by the Scriptural Greeks. Also, there is evidence of strong although there is no clear evidence of orga­ writers. Jewish communities in Asia Minor, espe­ nized missionary acti vity. This is notable in The tales usually are meant to inspire in cially in the coastal cities, and pagan writers light of Rabbi Alexander Schindler's recent some way. They either show the results of were well aware of the Jewish Sabbath and urging of Jewish missionizing. faith in God or serve to give warning of the dietary practices, which they must have seen A number of sources mention the God­ results of certain types of behavior. How­ Jews observing. fearers, or sebomenoi, who were people in­ ever, the stories may be derived from very Anti-Semitism was a problem in antiq­ terested in Judaism but were not actually different rituals and traditions. While some uity, and non-Jews criticized Jews for their Jewish. Inscriptions found in 1987 in of the stories show mercy and honor in the wealth and business success as well as their Aphrodisia, Asia Minor, seem to indicate course of the battle, others, indeed the most poverty, for being misanthropic and intoler­ that these God-fearers may have constituted memorable passages, show instances of mass ant of other religions, for their laziness in not a group of their own who accepted some destruction and the killing of the loser's working on the Sabbath and for not eating Jewish practices andinteracted closely with populace down to the last man, woman, pork. On the other hand, some writers ad­ Jews, but theywere not formally converted. child and, sometimes, even livestock. mired Jews on exactly these points, praising The sebomenoi held important positions in In Susan Niditch's book, War in the their temperance in eating and drinking, Aphrodisia, where 54 were listed as having Hebrew Bible, the author attempts to put into their devotion to justice and to the service of sat on the city council. Other cities of Asia perspective the different wartime traditions God, and their love of wisdom. Pythagoras, Minor likely housed similar groups. within the HebrewScriptures. As the author one of the most revered Greek philosophers, Jews andGentiles in the Ancient World herself states: was cited as saying the Greeks had borrowed is a serious scholarly book that concentrates "This ongoing identification between much from the Jews, and Numenius of on dealing carefully with a vast array of contemporary situations and the war­ Apamea (2nd century C.E.) wrote, "What is primary source materials. Feldman wisely ring scenes in the Hebrew Bible is a Plato but Moses speaking Attic Greek?" avoids didactic suggestions as to how any of burden the tradition must guiltily bear. Moses, in fact, received much attention, this might apply to modem Judaism. Yet, The particular violence of the Hebrew usually favorable, from pagan writers like his picture of a vigorous, successful Judaism Scriptures has inspired violence, has Hecateus, Diodorus and Pompei us Trogus, in antiquity stands strangely in contrast to served as a model of and a model for who praised him as a great lawgiver, al­ the trendof assimilatingand Americanizing persecution, SUbjugation and extermi­ though their descriptions seem not to come that the German-Jewish immigrants to the nation for millennia beyond its own directly from the Hebrew Bible or other United States developed in the mid-19th reality." Jewish books but from secondary sources. century and that they passed to the Eastern She not only attempts to place the phi­ Relations with the Roman government European Jews of the great immigration losophies of war found in the Hebrew Scrip­ were generally friendly, other than during wave. Feldman notes thatthe Diaspora Jews tures into the proper relation to currentusers the period of the Great Revolt and the Bar of antiquity were more deeply Hellenized but also attempts to place them in proper Kochba War. Jews held public office under than those in the Land of Israel, but theylost relation to each other. She points out that the Ptolemies in Egypt and later in the Ro­ relatively few adherents, whether because of there are several war philosophies present man Empire. TheEmperorElagabalus (218- Jewish economic and social advantages or within the Scriptures in question, some 222) is said to have had himself circumcised because anti-Semitism strengthened their closely derivative, some almost diametri­ and to have abstained from pork. Alexander stubbornness. Jews tended to continue main­ cally opposed. The differences in philoso­ Severus (222-235) kept a bust of Abraham taining a consciousness of being Jewish and phy are more often borneout in the telling of in his private chapel. Another story claims an identification with the Jewish community the tale than in its subject. That is, the that a certain Calixtus, later to become Pope, (p. 445). writer's own personal interpretation of the was exiled to Sardinia for breaking into a eventsof a legendary battle reflectsnot only synagogue in Rome and disrupting a Sab­ Matthew B. Schwartz is professor of history the writer's philosophy but the ideas preva­ bath service. Even after the triumph of at Wayne State University and a contribut- lent at the time of its initial recording. 6 Menorah Review, Spring 1995

To support her thesis, the author very ever, and the ban was reinterpreted as God's eliminating the roots of the problems that effectively uses the methodsof literary criti­ justice and punishment for sin. Those killed could lead to war. The chapter details four cism and illustratesthe subtle differences in under this interpretation of the ban deserved similar stories, one from Genesis and three the telling of the same war tales in different their fate through their transgressions. from Judges, dealing with victory through places within the Scriptures. A slight change The otherwar philosophies discussed in various methods of deception. here, an omission there leaves the basis of the book are handled in a concise and thor­ Unlike the bardic tales, there is no ritual the story. virtually unchanged, yet drasti­ ough manner that makes for some interest­ and no honor. Unlike the ban texts, there is cally alters the story's feel and its ultimate ing reading. From this point, the author no holy cause. The rape of Dinah, the story meaning. Therefore, the Biblical writers compares each new ideology with the previ­ of Jael, Samson and the Timnites, and the pass on not only the "seed" of the story but ously covered ban traditions,something that story of Ehund and Eglon are the four ex­ also something that is at least as important. the reader, after spending so much time amples given in this tradition. All of these They pass on clues that help flesh out the learning about the ban, does as well. With stories depict the "hero" as the underdog and history of an idea over time and the ability of the ban traditions established as the most the party disposed through deceit as the the people of one era to rationalize the ac­ familiar war philosophy in the HebrewScrip­ "establishedpower." The killing commonly tions of those of another. tures, the remaining ideologies are better eliminates what could eventually be a major Dr. Niditch's examination begins with viewed when placed against it. problem while it is still a minor one. the in-depth analysis of the ban and itstwo For instance,an ideologyfound in Num­ The similarities in these stories do not different uses within the war texts of the bers 31, which the author defines as the stop at their method of dispatch. Within Hebrew Scriptures (indeed, a full third of the priestly ideology, so called because of the each of the tales are elements of extreme book deals with this subject). The ban, the number of rituals administered by the priests violence (usually impalement) and overt systematic killing of all men, women, chil­ both before and after the battle, is easily sexuality (usually implied gender reversal). dren and even livestock, seems to be the compared to the ban tradition. The events These basic aspects serve to bring them to a most troubling of the Biblical war philoso­ recorded there are so similar to the ban text human level; that is, one that is much more phies covered by the author. Also, it seems that it is often seen as just that. However, of the flesh than of the spirit. There is little to be themost popular. The citing of Biblical there are important differences that show a holy here; it is more realistic in its portrayal instances of total annihilation coupled with world view quite apart from that of the of a violent, bloody death through deception divine support or approval has been used by traditional ban stories. than the previous "glorious" battle scenes everyone from Cotton Mather to Bernardof The passage deals with God's com­ discussed earlier. Clairvaux to agitate and inspire thepopulace mand to Moses to "avenge the Israelites The final ideologyDr. Niditch covers is during times of war or social conflict. upon the Midianites." When the battle is one that she calls the ideology of expedi­ While extremely effective in a military won, Moses puts everyone under the ban ency. This philosophy basically states that sense, it does not seem to correspond with except the virgin girls. The author believes while it is best not to engage in war, if it must other beliefs found within the Scriptures, it is this exception that separates this text be done, do whatever is necessary to win as sometimes within the same passage. How from the traditional ban text. This view of decisively and quickly as possible. If inno­ does the all-encompassing and quite violent sexually active women as temptresses who cents must be killed or a campaign of terror ban fit in withthe life-affirming rules found lead men of Israel into sin andidolatry and, must be waged, so be it. This, coupled with elsewhere? In her study, the author attempts therefore, are worthy of their fate while the idea of thenecessity of a just cause for the to show the relation of not only the two ban virgin women are no threat and treated as war, is an ideology adopted by those power­ philosophies but also of the place these and war spoils is a vastly different world vision ful enough to use professional force to im­ other war traditions held in early Hebrew than the ban tradition relates. pose their will on those perceived as the society as a whole. Another of the "lesser" war traditions enemy. The best example of thisideology is The initial manifestation of the ban that discussed is that which the author calls the Jepthah's battle with the Ammonites as de­ is examined is that of the ban as God's bardic tradition. This is a new tradition scribed in Judges 11. portion. That is, the lives of the conquered entirely, different in almost all respects from This mosaic of war philosophies, some populace are God's "spoil" from the battle the ban texts. This ideology is derived from quite different from others, yet existing side and, therefore, they are dispatched in His an oral and courtly story-telling tradition by side, points to a long and quite complex honor. The author believes that the ban concerning the exploits of "mighty men" history of the issue. As the author notes: grows from the blood sacrifice tradition and who engage in a highly codified battle un­ "Thereis more than one variety of ban is meant to thank Yahweh for His favors in dertaken as sport among warriors of equal ideology,and various war ideologies battle. ability. The stories originally served to co-exist during any one period in the This philosophy grants to those slain a glorify a young nation state, its king and the history ofIsrael. The priestly ideology certain dignity and value as one does not heroes of its prior generations. of war has much in common with the sacrifice the worst item or the weakest live­ There is a most chivalric aspect to the ideology of the ban as God's justice stock to God; one sacrifices the best and the proceedings. Instances of the tradition usu­ while the violent pragmatism of the most important. Therefore, the sacrifice ally begin with a "taunt," a challenge of sorts ideology of expediency is reflected under the ban is acknowledging the victim's that results in a meeting of the warriors, also in the ideology of tricksterism. worth. In this way, the Biblical writers were followed by the "duel." In almost all cases, Those whose courts produced the en­ able to justify such mass killing with an the rewards for challenging a taunt and nobling bardic tradition may well have ideology that affirmed the importance of besting the taunter is glory, fame and, per­ practiced the brutal ideology of expe­ human life. haps, some material reward. By far the best diency." The second interpretation of the ban known example of this tradition is that of What the author attempts to clarify,and arose, according to the author, as later writ­ David and Goliath. David is taunted by succeeds to do, in my opinion, is the way in ers were uncomfortable with the idea of a Goliath, he goes forth to meet the challenge, which Hebrews, in particular, but humans, God that would demand such mass killing as wins and is forever remembered as a hero. in general, deal with the death of a great a sacrifice. The details of the ban were The next ideology discussed is the exact number of people during war. As a rule, the almost identical: the loser's populace, every opposite of the bardic tradition. The author death of a vast number of people, either by man, woman and child, was killed. The calls it the ideology of tricksterism. The our own hands or by the hands of our ances­ ideology behind the killing was altered,how- solutions are pragmatic and realistic ways of tors, has an affect on our perception of our- Menorah Review, Spring 1995 7 selves. It is something that is seen, in most cases, as wrong and, as such, it must be BOOK BRIEFINGS justifiedor rationalizedso that we are able to deal with whatever guilt may be involved. Editor's Note: Inclusion of a book in "Briefings" does not preclude The attitudes uncovered in this book its being reviewed in afuture issue of Menorah Review. show the attempts of the Hebrew Scripture writers to do just that. More, they show how Anti-Semitism: The Longest Hatred. By Robert S. Wistrich. New York: Pantheon Books. the Scripture writers reflected the society Paranoia, fantasy and political cynicism throughout history have worked to tum Jews into aroundthem and, at the same time, molded demons in the public mind and played a major role in bringing on the Holocaust. Yet, barely the self-perception of the society. This valu­ 50 years later,anti-Semitism is still front-page news. Why? Wistrichtakes a sweeping look able resource allowed the reader then and at the phenomenon of anti-Semitism from the beginning of its appearance to the present. allows the modem reader to better relate to Walter Laquer calls this book "the most comprehensive, succinct and well-written one­ his cultural foundations and their continuing volume treatment of the subject now available." From Haman to Hitler, Wistrich examines influence. whether there was anything different or new to the endless accusations these men waged Dr. Niditch allows the reader to dis­ against the Jews and whether the time in history may have laid particularly fertile ground cover these ideas while guiding him or her for these seeds of hate to grow. Informed by a profound knowledge of history, the author through the various texts and pointing out charts the course of anti-Semitism, focusing on the frightening re-emergence of anti­ the subtleties. Her frequent noting of Bibli­ Semitism in the wake of the collapse of Communism. He also gives the reader a country­ cal citations of events allows one to follow by-country analysis, showing the resurgence of anti-Semitism throughout the world. along with the investigation of the ideolo­ gies smoothly. Stopping at each citation to The Meaning of Jewish Existence: TheologicaIEssays 1930-1939. ByAlexanderAltman, read the corresponding Scriptural passageis editedby Alfred L. Ivry. Hanover, NH : University Press of New England. Hitler's early time-consuming but, like her book, quite campaign against German Jews was not only a matter of political and economic boycott but illuminating. also one of excluding them from a culture they had long embraced. In response, the Jewish community mounted a "spiritual resistance" by organizing an elaborate network of Walter Chalkley directs an immigrant refer­ educational and cultural activities that affirmed the intellectual and religious heritage of ral service in Washington, D.C. Judaism. Altman played a central role in this effort by articulating anew for his generation the inner spiritual world of traditionalJudaism as grounded in the Halachah, which he held REDEMPTION-PESACH, 1985 to be the wellspring of authentic Jewish spirituality. In essays published in the 1930s, he initiated a renewal of Jewish religious thought that addressed modem Jews from the depths Lord without our matzoh brei of Israel's ancient traditions and deepened their understanding of Jewish existence and its Israeli chocolates Pesedich pop values. These essays are of value as primarydocuments from a dark period andalso for their would we so readily abstain intrinsic worth as important scholarship by a great thinker. from seven days of bagels and lox? Habad: Th e Hasidism of R. Shneur Zalman of Lyady. By Roman A. Foxbrunner. Without our drugs, vitamins, orthopediC shoes, Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. Hasidism evokes heated controversy among electric coffee makers scholars trying to analyze the movement and its significance. Foxbrunner makes great could we still survive 40 years in the desert? strides in increasing understanding of this major force in Jewish life through a careful, Are we made of the same stuff as our fore· thorough examination of the work of Shneur Zalman of Lyady. Zalman assimilated the bears or even those who only 40 years ago died teachings of the BeSht as well as the Maggid and saw himself as the third of a single line of with the prophets' words still warm on their lips? Hasidic masters. His Hasidismis profoundand paradoxical. Foxbrunner uses all the extant Or are we now too soft, too chosen-what does teachings of Zalmanand his masters to examine thecharacteristic features of Habad: service the ancient watchword mean to a media Jew­ motivated by contemplative love and fear of God, self-nullification, and joy in God's for what Kabbalistic code or secret mantro could intellectually apprehended nearness. deprogram the fear of nuclear destruction­ Does it help to merely rec�e like robots Ido latry. By Moshe Halbertal andAvishai Margalit. Cambridge,MA: Harvard University 'Thou shalt love' and 'The Lord is One'- Press. The Biblical injunction, "You shall have no other gods before Me," marks one of the most decisive shifts in Western culture: away from polytheism and toward monotheism. Do these words wipe out visions of Despite the implications of such a tum, the role of idolatry in giving it direction and impetus overturned schoolbuses, hijacked planes? is little understood. This book examines the meaning and nature of idolatry-and, in doing so, reveals much about the monotheistic tradition that defines itself against this "sin." This In the marketplace of souls, how could we be brilliant account of a subject centralto our culture also has much to say about metaphor, myth anything but small change if our reason to live and the application of philosophical analysis to religious concepts and sensibilities. Its is only to play the Sweepstakes for a insights into pluralism and intolerance, into the logic and illogic of the arguments religions Nassau cruise or any escape from our K-Mart aim at each other make Idolatry timely and valuable in a time of religious indifference. tyranny of TV soaps, shrinks and booze-

Lord, undo the shackles of boredom Tradition and Crisis: Je wish Society at the End of the Middle Ages. By Jacob Ka tz, snatch our complacency, burn our fetishes translated by Bernard Dov Cooperman. New York University Press. This is the first and toughen us with the passion of praise complete English version of the Hebreworiginal initially published in 1957. This book has so that in the final version of the revised stood the test of time, and this new rendering increases its usability as an introduction to a Haggadah, the story will be told crucial era in Jewish history. It focuses on the 16th through 18th centuries, a period not of a comic book Elijah or Superman Moses considered partof themodem era in general European history but the end of the Middle Ages but our own struggle with ourselves to start over. in the context of Jewish history. The book descri bes a stagein the development of the Jewish peoplein which cracks began to appear in the unifying conceptualization that had informed And in the list of weaknesses to overcome, Judaism almost from the start. The entire Jewish past is implicit in this translation from make longevity for its own sake a curse. "tradition" to "crisis," and the tension between these two forces continues to be a major -CarolAd ler problem in our own day. Katz's classic work helps us to understand contemporary problems in the Jewish community and provides rich background to the issues we face today. 8 Menorah Review, Spring 1995

Gray Dawn: The Jews of Eastern Europe in the Post-Communist gratification, between procreation and pleasure. With broadhistori­ Era. By Charles Hoffman. New York: HarperCollins. For Eastern cal strokes, the book pursues the tension between procreation and European Jews who survived the Final Solution, the defeat of Hitler sexual desire in a culture that required that everyone marry. The afforded only temporary respite. Traumatized by the Holocaust, author shows that from the period of the Talmud onwards, Jewish they soon found themselves living under repressive Communist culture continually struggled with sexual abstinence, trying to find governments. With the crumbling of Communism, it is possible, for ways to incorporate the virtues of celibacy within a theology of the first time, to assess the recent historical experience and diverse procreation. The contemporary dilemmas of Jewish desire, from prospects of the Jewish communities in Poland, East Germany, intermarriage to the meaning of erotic pleasure,have their analogues Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. Hoffmanunder­ in the past. takes this task with a sure grasp of the painful ironies of postwar Jewish history in EasternEurope. He identifies general trends while Th e Jews in Palestine in the Eighteenth Century. By Jacob Barnai. skillfully tracing the unique shape they take in each of the countries Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. Despite financial he considers. His discerning portrait of the Jewish communities in and physical hardships, the Jewish settlements ofJerusalem, Hebron, these countries dispels the idea that they are a "vanishing remnant" Tiberias and Safed gained a foothold in Palestine-the Yishuv-in the 18th century. The continuous immigrations of Jews to Palestine Understanding the Old Testament (4th edition). By Bernhard contributed topopulation stability in this region; theseimmigrations Anderson. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Completely over difficult routes and through hostile countries often were inter­ revised and rewritten, this new edition takes full advantage of the rupted by wars. Because there were few means of independent latest archaeological findings and changes in Biblical interpretation. support, many immigrants to Palestine-mainly Torah scholarsand The author interweaves historical, literary and theological elements devout Jewsdepended a great deal on the financial support of the of the Hebrew Bible in an inclusive presentation that appeals to all Diaspora. readers, regardless of their social or religious position. The book Their success was, in large part, owing to the efforts of the helps the reader appreciate the historical, literary and religious Istanbul Committee of Officials for Palestine who, after 1726, dimensions of the Scriptures that have had, and continue to have, a oversaw the collection of support money for the Yishuv, managed profound influence on Western civilization. the Palestine community's budget, established regulations for gov­ erning the communities and settled disputes between Jews and the Eros andtheJews: From Biblicallsraelto ContemporaryAmerica. Gentiles. The importance of the Yishuv in the spiritual life of the By David Biale. New York: Basic Books. In a myth-shattering Diaspora alone could not ensure the continuation of the Jewish journey through the sexual culture of the Jews, Biale demonstrates settlement in Palestine, and the contribution of the Istanbul officials that Jewish traditionfrom the Bible and the Talmud through modem was crucial. This book is a major contribution to our understanding America is a story of persistent conflict between asceticism and of these issues during the Ottoman period.

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Menorah Review is published by the Center for Judaic Studies of Virginia Commonwealth University and distributed worldwide. Comments and manuscripts are welcome. Address all correspondence to Center for Judaic Studies, P.O. Box 842025, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284-2025.

Editor: Jack D. Spiro Editorial ConSUltant: Herbert Hirsch Production Manager: Kay W. Brill Contributing Editors: EarleJ. Coleman Frank E. Eakin Jr. Cliff Edwards David Ellenson Peter J. Haas Herbert Hirsch James E. Lindsey Rafael Medoff Robert Michael Rochelle L Millen Louis E. Newman Matthew B. Schwartz Richard E. Sherwin Melvin I. Urofsky Sarah B. Watstein Leon J. Weinberger linda W. Williams Steven F. Windmueller Editor'sNo te: Inclusion ofa bookin "Briefings " do es not preclude its being re vie wed in a fu ture iss ue ofMenor ah Review.

Yeshayahu Leibowitz: Judaism, Human Values and the Jewish The Broken Staff: Judaism Through ChristianEyes. By FrankE. State. Edited by Eliezer Goldman. Cambridge, MA : Harvard Manuel. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press. In this UniversityPress. Since the early 1940s, Leibowitz has been one of masterful history, Manuel ranges over thecenturies, from antiquity the most incisive and controversial critics of Israeli culture and to recent times, analyzing the diverse responses of European politics. In these hard-hitting essays, he considers the essence and Christendom-Catholic, Protestant and free-thinking-to the cul­ character of historical Judaism; the problems of contemporary ture and religious thought of the Judaismthat survived, even thrived, Judaism and J ewishness; the relationship of Judaismto Christianity; in its midst. It is a history of marked contrasts. Though prolific in .the questions of statehood, religion and politics in Israel; and the role the outpouring of diatribes, European writers never agreed about of women. Together these essays constitute a comprehensive Jewish thought and religion. Manuel shows us the "rediscovery" of critiqueof Israeli society as well as politics anda probing diagnosis historical Judaism by Renaissance humanists alongside the vicious of the malaise that afflicts contemporary Jewish culture. His attacks mounted by Reformation leaders. He surveys the Christian understanding of Jewish philosophy is acute, and he brings it to bear Hebraists in the period that followed, and he discusses the many on current issues. This translation brings a much-needed, lucid ends-missionary,poli tical, eschatological, Judeophobic-to which perspective on the present and future state of Jewish culture. Christian thinkers turned their learning. This rich and penetrating account substantiates the author's view that there never has been Six Days in June: How Israel Won the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. By what is now blithely called a "Judeo-Christian tradition." This book Eric Hammel. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Adistinguished will be of interest to readers intrigued by the history of ideas, as well military historian becomes the fIrst chronicler of the 1%7 Six Day as to students of Judaica and Christian thought. War to unite the story of development of Israel's bold brand of . military training and planning with a detailed narrative account of People of the Body: Jews and Judaism From an Embodied her breathtaking victories in Sinai, Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Perspective. Edited by Howard Eilberg-Schwartz. Albany: State Golan Heights. Hammel decisively disprovesthe myth that Israel's University of New York Press. By shifting attention from the image stunning 1967 victory was a "miracle" or "fluke." He explains how, of Jews as a textual community to the ways Jews understand and by necessity and in secret, a tiny Third-World nation developed a manage their bodies-forexample, to their concernswith reproduc­ First-World military force that has become the envy of all the tion and sexuality, menstruation and childbirth-this volume con­ world's nations. His book seamlessly meshes classic military tributes to a revisioning of whatJ ews and Judaism are and have been. history with the human drama of Israel's "finest hour." The projectof remembering the Jewish body has both historical and constructive motivations. As a constructive project, this book Redemption and Utopia: Jewish Libertarian Thought in Central describes, renews and participates in the complex and ongoing Europe. By Michael Lowy. Stanfo rd, CA : Stanfo rd University modem discussion about the nature of Jewish bodies and the place Press. Toward the end of the 19th century, ta generation of Jewish of bodies in Judaism. intellectuals appeared in CentralEurope whos� work marked mod­ em culture. Drawing on German Romanticism andJewish Messian­ The HumanRace. By Robert Antelme, translated byJejf rey Haight ism traditions, their thought was organized around the kabbalistic andAnnie Mahler. Marlboro, VT: The Marlboro Press. As a young idea of Tikkun-redemption. Lowy uses the concept of "elective man, Robert Antelme joined a Resistance group formed by friends. affinity" to explain the surprising community of spirit that existed Arrested by the Gestapo and deported in 1944, Antelme was between redemptive messianic religious thought and the wide rescued, thanks in part to Francois Mitterand who, visiting the variety of radical secular utopian beliefs held by this group of liberated Dachau in his capacity of French Secretary of State for intellectuals. He outlines the circumstances that produced this Refugees, Prisoners and Deported Persons, recognized Antelme, unusual combination of religious and non-religious thought, illumi­ then on the verge of succumbing. He returned to Paris in a state of nating the common assumptions that united such seemingly dispar­ physical ruin, having lost the desire to live and with feelings of guilt ate figures as Buber, Kafka,Walter Benjamin and George Lukacs. for having survived at all. If he did manage to pull through, it was chiefly for the sake of pursuing what was then his single aim: to try What is the Use of Jewish History? By Lucy S. Dawidowicz. New to put into words the "experience" he had just undergone. L' espece York: Shocken Books. What is the use of Jewish history? Of history humaine, originally published in 1947, now presented in English for in general, for that matter? When one of the best-known Jewish the first time, is a book unlike any other. Maurice Blanchot has historians asks this question at the end of a long career, we can be spoken of it as "the simplest, the purest and the nearest to that sure of an answer that is profound, passionate and personal. This absolute, the human race, of which it serves for us as a reminder." posthumous collection of Dawidowicz's essays presents her pub­ lished articles on contemporary uses and misuses of the Holocaust If I Am NotForMyselJ: The Liberal Betrayal of the Jews. By Ruth as well as material relating to her last work-in-progress, a major R. Wisse. New York: The Free Press. Jews have beendriving force history of American Jews. A testamentto the historian'scraft by one behind liberal politics. Recent evidence suggests that their commit­ of its great practitioners, it will inspire all those who see in the ment has not waned, but the liberal commitment to the Jews is not writingof history a primary vehicle for the preservation of culture. continued, next page 2 Menorah Review Supplement. Spring 1995

nearly so strong. Liberals have been slow to defend Jewish rights sources on sexuality, ranging from extreme asceticism to a frank and have preferred to hold the Jews responsible forthe persistence celebration of love and sexuality. Some of the issues he considers of their enemies. The explanation, says Wisse, is the survival and are marital, non-marital and extramarital sex; pornography; rape success of anti-Semitism. Unwilling to suspend their optimistic and incest; masturbation; homosexuality; birth control; abortion; view of man as a benevolent and rational being to combat a mortal new reproductive techniques; and sex education. He applies Jewish enemy, most liberals conclude that Jews themselvesmust be respon­ responsesto the post-pill, AIDS -conscious world Jews live in today. sible for the continuing wars against them. Wisse shows how and This book is a frank, honest approach to sexual ethics. why anti-Semitism became the 20th century's most successful ideology and reveals what people in liberal democracies wouldhave Fighting Back: A Memoir 0/ jewish Resistancein World War II. to do to prevent it from �nce again achieving its goal. By Harold Werner. New York: Columbia UniversityPress. This is the extraordinary memoir of a survivor who was a leader of a large jewish Civilization: The jewish Historical Experience in a and successful Jewish resistancemovement in Poland during World Comparative Perspective. By SN. Eisenstadt. Albany: State War II, ultimately controlling large stretches of countryside. Ag­ University of New York Press. This volume explains why the best gressively conducting military operations against the German army way to understand the Jewish historical experienc;e is to look at in occupied Poland, the unit of young Jews (men and women) Jewish people, not just as a religious or ethnic group or a nation or received air drops from the Russians, wiped .out local garrisons, "people" but as bearers of civilization. This approach helps to blew up German trains and even shot down German planes. The explain the greatest riddle of Jewish civilization-namely, its con­ book is a rare combination of military victory and humanitarian tinuity despite destruction,exile andloss of political independence. efforts in successful large-scaleJewish resistance against the Nazis. The major question the author poses is to what extent the character­ Werner's compelling work: is a moving portrayal of the difficulties �stics of the Jewish experience aredistinctive, in comparison to other faced by Eastern European Jews trying to fight the Nazi campaign ethnic and religious minorities incorporated into modem nation­ of annihilation and the overwhelming anti-Semitism they faced in states, or other revolutionary ideological settler societies. He their own country before, during and after the war. demonstrates through his case studies the continuous creativity of Jewish civilization. The GreatC hasidic Masters. ByAbraham YaakovFinkel. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson Inc. This volume offers selections from the Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls. Edited by Hershel Shanks. writings of the toweringgiants of Chasidism. The original worksof New York: Random House. This book traces the scrolls' often these masters are not readily availableand have never beenrendered Byzantine path from their initial chance discovery in 1947 by into English. Finkel provides us with a doorway to a world that is Bedouin shepherds to their status as what Bible scholar Harry for many either closedor difficult to enter. A clearerinsight into the Thomas Frank calls "the most sensational archaeological discovery mindset of the chasid and a deeper appreciation of the sublime of the century." Cloak-and-dagger antiquities trading, conspiracy greatnessof the chasidic mastersemerge from this unique encounter theories and front-page battles for access to the scrolls' secrets all with the words of Torah. contribute to the intrigue. This collection addresses the primary question raised by the scrolls: What do they tell us about early From Prejudice to Persecution: A History 0/ Austrian Anti­ Christianity and developing Rabbinic Judaism? Was Jesus an Semitism. By Bruce F. Pauley. Chapel Hill: The University of Essene? Did John the Baptist live with the Qumran community that North Carolina Press. Pauley provides a general history of Austrian wrote the scrolls? Is the Temple Scroll the 1st sixth book of the anti-Semitism and the Jewish response to it from the Middle Ages Torah? Is the Copper Scroll a map to hidden temple treasures? What to the present, concentratingon the periodbetween the start of World do the nearly 200Biblical scrolls tellus about the development ofthe War I and the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938. He Hebrew Bible? explains why anti-Semitism was stronger in Austria than anywhere else in Central or Western Europe, and why Austrian Jews were so Love, Marriage and Family in jewish Law and Tradition. By vulnerable politically, economically and socially on the eve of the Michael Kaufman. Northvale. NJ: Jason Aronson Inc. The Holocaust. Pauley demonstrates that anti-Semitism affectedevery comprehensiveexploration of love, marriage and human sexuality aspect of Austrian life and was by no means limitedto the Austrian as viewed by Jewish tradition is more than an introduction to its Nazi Partyor proponentsof the Auschluss of 1938. All the country's subject. It is also a detailed study designed to present the richness major politicalparties were anti-Semitic, as were many private and and profundity of Jewish wisdom regarding human relationships. professional organizations. The author examines the ideas of Judaism as well as the down-to­ earth teachings of Jewish practice. Some books representing a Ellis Island to Ebbets Field: Sports and the American jewish religious view are true to the letter of the law; others are true to the Experience. By Peter Levine. New York: Oxford University Press. spiritof the law. Kaufman does not ignore one at the expense of the Levine explores the importance of sports in transforming Jewish other. He is deliberate in his effort to representboth the spirit and immigrants into American Jews. Drawing on interviews, he re­ the letter. He demonstrates that within Jewish tradition, Jewish law counts stories of many who became Jewish heroes and symbols of is none other than a concretization of the abstract ideas and ideals the difficult struggle for American success. Their experiences found at the core of Jewish faith. illuminate a time when Jewish males dominated sports such as boxing and basketball, helping to smash stereotypes about Jewish Does God Belong in the Bedroom? By Michael Gold. Philadel­ weakness while instilling American Jews with a fierce pride in their phia: The Jewish Publication Society. This book examines Jewish strength and ability in the face of Nazi aggression, domestic anti­ sexual ethics for today. We live in an age of sexual confusion when Semitism and economic depression. This book reveals a community the traditional guidelines, evolved in simpler times, no longer where sports served as a middle ground between generations of answer all our modem questions. Does Judaism offerappropriate people who were actively determining for themselves what it meant guidelines to the intimacy of the bedroom? Can we bridge the gap to be American Jews. Recreating that world through marvelous between tradition and the dilemmas of our time? Gold turns to the stories, anecdotes and personalities, Levine enhances our under­ Torah, the wisdom of the Rabbis in the Talmud, Midrash and other standing of the J ewish-American experience as well as the struggles classic Jewish sources. He explores the vast reservoir of Rabbinic of other American minority groups.