The Judaism of Samuel David Luzzato By NATHANIEL KRAVITZ Translated from the Yiddish by William Shure AMUEL DAVID LUZZATO (1800-1865) was the medium of the philosophical theories Sa distinguished philologist and gram­ and attitudes that held sway in his time. marian, historian, Hebrew poet, and He accepted the Masoretic Texts; but as religio-ethical philosopher. His views on Ju­ a scholar he opposed the German school of daism were in direct contrast to those of biblical criticism which was dissecting the such contemporaries of his as Nachman Bible as though it were a cadaver. He put Krachmal, Solomon Judah Rappaport, forward his own interpretation of Judaism Shneur Sachs, and Yorn Tov Leopold Zunz, which is still valid, perhaps more so in our all of whose views on Judaism were more or day, when the Christian world is beset with less typical of the period in which they lived. so many great crises. He was as well informed on the culture of The central theme of Luzzato's world-view his day as any of his contemporaries, but was is that modern culture is the result of two a thorough-going individualist. He was criti­ opposite philosophies -Atticism and Juda­ cal not only of the famous men of his own ism - a synthesis of Hellenic and Hebraic generation but attacked also the views of elements. Atticism denotes the Attic-Spartan such revered spiritual giants as Maimonides, culture which has come down to us from Abraham lbn-Ezra, and Spinoza, declaring classical Hellas - elements of which had with fearless consistency and logic that they passed through the prism of Rome as one had imported an alien fire into the temple phase, and through that of Christianity with of Judaism and therewith were leading many yet other modifications. Judaism is repre­ Jews toward the Gentile way of life. Such sented by those elements which Christianity courage in a scholar in a generation of schol­ had absorbed from the Bible and the Torah ars, when enlightenment was the battle-cry as a whole. of the day, itself commands respect. What is the heritage of Atticism in mod­ To defend the "old" in a generation of ern culture? It is philosophy, science, the innovations was neither easy nor convenient, arts, system and method, love of beauty, and especially when the defender himself was a of the grandiose, and a morality based on scholar in the full meaning of the word. reason. This last-mentioned element is espe­ With great vigor Luzzato opposed the re­ cially significant in Luzzato's world-view. formers' extremism as represented by such Judaism gave us monotheism-the belief in men as Abraham Geiger and Ludwig Phil­ one God, the cosmic view of the unity of ippson. He even went so far as to maintain man, the universe, and God, but mainly the that if, in order to attain complete political "morality of the heart," compassion toward emancipation, Jews should reject some as­ one's fellow-man, the unselfish love of the pects of Judaism, they should avoid creating good, and the urge to elevate and sanctify a breach in the historical development of life through good deeds and purity of soul. Judaism. Certainly, he wished for equal In his letter to Luli Ahud, dated January rights for all Jewry, yet not at the expense of I, 1864, Luzzato states his position even Judaism. He was essentially opposed to the more concisely: leaders of the Galician Haskalah, though he I shall tell it to you in two words: Man is en­ dowed with heart and reason. In my view, Judaism stood close to them-those who knelt before essentially develops the heart, while Atticism whets the gods of the new day, operating through the mind. But this does not mean that Judaism is 141 THE CHICAGO JEWISH FORUM opposed to reason or that Atticism suppre~ses or elements of religious morality that are not inferior destroys altruistic sentiments. Ne~ther system_ 1s abso­ to the morality of Judaism. lute. I simply assert that Judaism emphasizes the Luzzato, however, was not denying this. He heart, and Atticism stresses the mind. considered only the main tendencies of both The "superman" of Atticism is the states­ Judaism and Atticism. The uprightness of a man, the martial leader, but mainly, the Socrates was not characteristic of the lives philosopher; that of Judaism is the saintly of many other philosophers of fame in Hel­ one, the prophet. In Atticism, the chief las. As regards Plato and Aristotle, surely honors go to speculative thought; in Juda­ neither had reached the moral plane of the ism, to good deeds. Atticism relies more on shepherd Amos nor of the prophet Jeremiah. reason, while Judaism teaches not to trust Luzzato adduces some examples that char­ reason unconditionally, because reason and acterize Judaism. A few of these are as wisdom are fallible. Atticism is not incom­ follows: Whereas all nations of antiquity patible with aggressiveness, but Judaism regarded war captives, whether male or fe­ honors modesty. The fundamental principle male, as lower than animals, and whereas that runs throughout the Torah like a scarlet the captor possessed the right to sell them thread is the principle of mercy, compassion into slavery, to inflict upon them bodily toward one's fellow-man. The ethics of rea­ torture, or to put them to death without son is cold, calculated, often selfish. Judaism legal sanction, even for the least offense, the teaches integrity, piety, sanctity; Atticism Torah enjoined a thirty-day period for a speaks of the freedom of desire, thereby fos­ female captive to permit her "mourning for tering atheism, scepticism, agnosticism. The her father and mother." During such time garden of Judaism nurtures faith, upright­ the captor was forbidden to marry her; and ness, charity, and justice; conflict and war after marriage he no longer was permitted are inherent in Atticism, while concord be­ to sell her. No such law is known to have tween men and universal peace are the ideals been contained in the legal system of any of Judaism. other nation in antiquity. Even in France as In Atticism, Luzzato declared, the well­ late as 1845, the law prescribed that a run­ turned phrase and the logically-founded away slave had to be handed over to his thought enjoy the supreme position. Indeed, master, whereas the Torah, millennia ago, order and system are seen in the philoso­ forbade this; moreover, runaway slaves were phers' doctrines about life, yet their own to be aided and protected. In Rome, up to conduct did not always agree with their the time of Emperor Hadrian, the abuse and teachings; Judaism's highest goal was to even the killing of a slave were not punish­ practice the preachment of the ideal. No able by law. Hadrian merely forbade the Tanah, or anyone of prominence in Israel, killing of a slave without sufficient cause. or any Gaon would be looked-up to unless According to Talmudic law, a laborer had he was righteous and saintly. In a letter to to be paid in full even if he had caused any Vashan of Candia Luzzato says: loss to his employer in the course of his Greek philosophy did not make men better, n~r work, as, for example, breaking a vessel con­ impel them to gentler manners. On the contrary, 1t perverted the heart of man; all of the higher values taining wine. Not only was the employer in modern culture derive from Judaism. Only these forbidden to deduct the loss from the labor­ Judaic elements can save a Europe from sinking into er's wage, but he had to pay in full for the moral degradation. time during which the damage had occurred. In his History of the New Hebrew Litera­ What was the underlying principle of such ture, where he speaks respectfully of Luz­ laws? Luzzato finds that their basis was com­ zato, Dr. Klausner remarks: passion. Compassion and mercy are at the It is not necessary to say that nowadays we no root of the philanthropy which impels us to longer regard Greek philosophy negatively. Plato, Aristotle and their followers were also great moral do good without any thought of reward. personalities. The classical Greek drama also contains Judaism hold the view that good deeds THE JUDAISM OF SAMUEL DAVID LUZZATO 143 should be their own reward, rather than that him. Zunz regarded Judaism as a culture in they should be motivated by the expectation its last stages of decay, and his studies were of receiving honor or even of attaining to aimed at recording for posterity that deterio­ Paradise. "The reward of a mitzvah is the rating culture before its inevitable disappear­ mitzvah." This is the living spirit of Judaism, ance. which demands that "one should suffer Luzzato, on the other hand, did not re­ along with his fellow-man and not rest until gard Judaism as an archaeologist regards he has bound up his wounds and healed his some remains of antiquity, but rather as a ulcers." The purpose of Judaism is not to vital force that contains within itself the give the Jew "a share in the world to come," potentiality of ascendancy and the reflection but to make man truly human and to elevate of godliness. He not only saw the differences him nearer to God. between Atticism and Judaism, but also In contrast, Atticism strove to make man envisioned the eventual triumph of Judaism a thinker, provided he possessed the neces- over the pagan cults, whose influence had sary capability; to develop in him the desire been transmitted to modem culture through for beauty, to stimulate his individual de- Atticism.