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Part One: Jewish Culture
Chapter One: Judaism and the Bible
Before proceeding to discuss the Holocaust, we will first look at what it
meant to be a Jew and what Jewish culture was. Doubtless as among all groups of
persons and in any culture, there were ‘bad’ people and cultural imperfections, but
this chapter will focus on the positive side. This is not a distortion. Human beings
and their culture are fundamentally good. Indeed, Jewish culture is much more
demanding in its ethical standards than most, and not afraid to admit and
acknowledge wrongdoing. In this it is a model that many other peoples can learn
from.
The story takes us back to over 4,000 years ago. For the first half of this
period we have one of the most remarkable literary achievements in the world: the
Jewish Bible Torah (Law), Neviim (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings). In this
chapter we shall present a sketch of the history that lies behind the Bible and then
examine the book itself according to the parts distinguished by Jewish writers. Since
the Bible has an intimate relationship with festivals, the chapter will also set out the
chief festivals observed by Jews. Finally, we will look at the places of worship
where Jews meet, their synagogues.
Biblical History
The term ‘Jew’ comes from the country ‘Judah’, which is named after the
son of one of the patriarchs. An earlier name for the people, found in Egyptian
records, is Hebrew and this is the name still given to their literary language. While
remembering that the Biblical account is not history in the modern sense of the
term – it does not try to set out an objective account in chronological order of
everything that happened – it is nonetheless remarkable in early literature for its
avoidance of myth and legend. According, then, to the sparse account handed down,
the ancestor of the nation is an Iraqi sheepfarmer, Abraham, who feels called by his
personal god to leave his ancestors’ lands and travel across the fertile crescent by
way of the Tigris and Euphrates and into the land now called Israel. Abraham’s
family still keep their roots with their relatives, going back to find brides from
among them, but in the time of his grandchildren, they move into Egypt. Here they
increase in numbers for some four centuries, until they are put to work making the
pyramids.
Resentful of the slave-labour, they leave Egypt and join up with other
‘relatives’ who have remained in the more remote parts of ‘Israel’. Coming together
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Holocaust Sketches
they are able to overthrow the urban communities in the area and establish their own
kingdom after some hundred years of strife. The year 1000 BCE is the time of King
David, who establishes Jerusalem as his capital city, plans a temple there and lays
the foundation for the liturgical life of Judaism. The kingdom flourishes under his
son and the temple is built, but after the death of his son, it divides into two: in the
north Israel and in the south Judah.
Both kingdoms are caught between more powerful neighbours, Egypt in the
south and Syria/Babylon/Persia in the north. The northern kingdom falls first, in 721
BCE; a hundred years later, in 587 BCE, the south also falls. The temple is
destroyed and it looks as if the culture is wiped out. But in this moment of crisis,
efforts, which had already begun, to commit the culture to writing are intensified. It
is a period of reflection and editing that is responsible for the basic shape of the
Bible that we have today.
In 583 BCE Persia allows Judah to re-establish itself, with a new temple, but
no king. Politically the small state tries to cut itself off from the surrounding culture,
developing its religious and ethical identity. While successful to a degree, it cannot
match the power of Macedonian conquest and the Greek culture that comes with it.
Again the temple is destroyed, but again the dispersed Jews reflect on their
experience, translating the Bible, now increased in size, into Greek and thus
engaging in dialogue with the dominant culture. Within Judah religious revival is
possible but political control slips into the hands of the Romans.
The next major turning-point is the claim by Jesus of Nazareth and his
followers that he is the Messiah. This leads many Jews to become his followers
(Christians) and thus begins a new chapter: Christianity. Other Jews do not accept
him as the Christ but their life too is radically changed when the Romans finally
destroy the temple in 70 CE, leaving only the lower wall (the weeping wall) in place.
Tanach1
By this time the Jews had assembled their sacred books in what is known in
English as the Jewish Bible and in Hebrew as ‘Torah’, ‘Neviim’ and ‘Ketuvim’ (The
Law, Prophets and Writings). The first letters of the three parts are often joined to
form the acronym: Tanak or Tanach. Hence the Hebrew Bible is known in Hebrew
as the Tanach.
1
This section on the Tanach and the following one on Festivals are based on Trepp, Leo, Die
Juden: Volk, Geschichte, Religion, Wiesbaden: Maria Verlag, 2006, 212~250; 342~374.
Biblical quotations are from the Jerusalem Bible, London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1966.
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Chapter One: Judaism and the Bible
The Torah is the most sacred part of the Tanach. Each year opens with the
reading of the first book and closes with the last words of the fifth book so that the
whole five books are read throughout the year.
Torah
Bereshit In the Beginning [Genesis] introduces the key theological themes of
creation, sin and redemption and recounts the history of Abraham and the patriarchs;
Shmot Departure from Egypt [Exodus] introduces Moses and the covenant God
makes with the people (the ten commandments);
Wajiqra And He called [Leviticus] gives the rules for the priests and calls on the
whole people to be holy as God is holy;
Ba-Midbar In the desert [Numbers] recounts preparations for entering the promised
land;
Devarim Words [Deuteronomy] is set as a speech by Moses and calls for obedience
to God and observance of the feastdays.
Neviim
In the synagogue today only extracts from this part of the Bible are read
aloud. It is divided into two parts:
Earlier Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel 1 and 2, Kings 1 and 2
Later Prophets:
Great prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezechiel
Small Prophets: Hose‘a, Joel, Amos, Obadia, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habaquq, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zacariah, Malachi.
The division between great and small simply refers to the length of the
books. The name ‘prophet’, ‘Nabi’ in Hebrew means “One who is called by God”.
In fact the section named ‘earlier prophets’ recounts the history of the people from
the time of Moses until the destruction of the monarchy in the 6th Century BCE.
Samuel 1 and 2 are noteworthy for the presentation of King David, the model king
and Messiah of Israel and Judah. Kings 1 is notable for the stories about Elijah, the
archetype of the prophet.
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Ketuvim
Tehillim Praises [Psalms] comprises 150 poems, many used in the temple liturgy
itself. In the temple particular psalms were assigned to each day and this practice
continues in the synagogue today. Ps 92 is read on the Sabbath2; Ps 113~8 the Hallel
is read on feastdays3; Ps 6 is read everyday and the words “Good and merciful God,
I have sinned before you” are added.4
Masali [Proverbs of Solomon] and Job are wisdom books.
Shir ha-Shirim The Great Song of Solomon [Song of Songs] is the first of the Five
Scrolls. It is read at Passover, in the Spring, as a celebration of God’s love for the
world and human beings.5
Ruth is the Second Scroll and is read at Shavuot (Pentecost), which is the harvest
festival.6
Eicah The Lamentations is the Third Scroll and is read on the day commemorating
the destruction of the temple, which generally falls in July or August;7
Qoheleth The Preacher is the Fourth Scroll and is read at Sukkoth, the Feast of Tents.
Its opening refrain “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity” expresses the emptiness of
winter.
Esther is the Fifth Scroll and is read at Purim, the Feast of the Deliverance of the
Jews, and tells how the Jews were saved from a plot to massacre them.8
Ps 92 has a note, which reads ‘for the Sabbath’. It opens with the lines: “It is good to give
thanks to the Lord, to play in honour of your name, Most High, to proclaim your love at
daybreak and your faithfulness all through the night.” The psalm is one of joy in God.
3
Ps 118 in particular is noticeable for its opening lines of praise: “Give thanks to the Lord
for he is good, for his love is everlasting!”
4
Ps 6 opens with a plea for God’s mercy: “Lord do not punish me…” This becomes a prayer
for rescue: “Come back, Lord, rescue my soul.” The psalmist is worn out with grief and
attacked from all sides. Finally, he/she acknowledges that the Lord will hear his/her prayer:
“The Lord has heard my petition; the Lord will accept my prayer.”
5
The Song of Songs is a series of love poems, which are traditionally interpreted as an
allegory of God’s love for Israel. The second poem is particularly apt for Spring: “Come then,
my love, my lovely one, come. For see, winter is past, the rains are over and gone. Flowers
appear on earth. The season of glad songs has come, the cooing of the turtledove is heard in
our land.” (Song 2: 11~12).
6
The key part of Ruth relates how Boaz befriends and later marries Ruth at harvest time.
7
There are five poems elaborately constructed in alphabetical sequence. They were written
in the Holy Land after the Temple was destroyed in 587 BCE and were used in the liturgy
performed on the ruined site.
8
The story is set in Persia. The earliest historical reference to the book is in 160 BCE.
2
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Chapter One: Judaism and the Bible
Finally the Hebrew Bible includes Daniel (but not those parts that were only
preserved in Greek by Jewish communities in Egypt), Ezra and Nehemia and
Chronicles.9
Festivals
All but one of the Jewish festivals are mentioned in the Tanach. 10 The
exception is Hanuka, the Festival of Lights, which commemorates the restoration of
the temple after it had been desecrated by Syro-Greek rulers in 167 BCE. The
Jewish year is a lunar year and hence ten days out of step with the solar year. A leap
month is added every seven years to correct the calendar. The year begins with the
New Year, which like the ancient Chinese New Year occurs in the autumn. The
ram’s horn summons the believers to prayer on New Year’s eve. They return again
the next morning, the men dressed in the white robes in which they will be buried.
The next day is a day of fasting. The New Year stress on death, repentance and
fasting is intended to remind the people that all comes from God’s mercy. The New
Year memorial reaches its climax nine days later in the Day of Atonement. This is a
day for a 24-hour fast. The people pray that God will open the door of his mercy to
allow them to enter in. It is one of the holiest days in the calendar.
Hosea 14 is read on New Year’s Day and on the Day of Atonement.11 Its
message of repentance is seen as a reminder that the New Year is a time to amend
one’s life and begin again. On the afternoon of the Day of Atonement the Book of
Jonah is read, as it proclaims the mercy of God in the face of the people’s
repentance.12
The Feast of Tents commemorates the period after the people had been
delivered from Egypt but before they had entered the Promised Land. It is a time in
the desert when the people build huts in their gardens and live there for a week.
9
Other Books preserved only in Greek are Ecclesiasticus, Tobit and Judith. While the
Hebrew Book of the Maccabees are accepted as part of Jewish literature but not part of the
Tanach.
10
For a guide to the dates of the Jewish festivals during the holocaust, see the following table.
11
“Israel, come back to the Lord your God; your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words and come back to the Lord. Say to him, ‘Take all iniquity away
so that we may have happiness again and offer you our words of praise…” (Hosea 14: 2~3).
12
Jonah is an allegorical tale written around the 5th century BCE. It proclaims salvation for
all. Indeed, the most likeable characters in the tale are the non-Jewish sailors, who finally are
forced to throw Jonah into the sea, where he is rescued by a whale, and the people and
animals of a great pagan city, who all repent.
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Holocaust Sketches
Table of Major Jewish Feasts 1940~194513
Hebrew
Name
English
Name
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
Fast of
Esther
Sat 23
March
Wed 12
March
Mon 2
March
Sat 20
March
Wed 8
March
Mon 26
February
Purim
Deliverance
of the Jews
Sun 24
March
Thurs 13
March
Tues 3
March
Sun 21
March
Thurs 9
March
Tues 27
February
Pesach
Passover
Tues 23
April
Sat 12
April
Thurs 2
April
Tues 20
April
Sat 8
April
Thurs 29
March
Last Day of
Passover
Mon 29
April
Fri 18
April
Wed 8
April
Mon 26
April
Fri 14
April
Wed 4
April
Shavuot
Pentecost
Wed 12
June
Sun 1
June
Fri 22
May
Wed 9
June
Sun 28
May
Fri 18
May
Tisha
B’Av
Destruction
of the
Temple
Tues 13
August
Sat 2
August
Thurs 23
July
Tues 10
August
Sat 29
July
Thurs 19
July
Rosh
Hashana
New Year
Thurs 3
October
Mon 22
September
Sat 12
September
Thurs 30
September
Mon 18
September
Sat 8
September
Yom
Kippur
Day of
Atonement
Sat 12
October
Wed 1
October
Mon 21
September
Sat 9
October
Wed 27
September
Mon 17
September
Sukkoth
Feast of
Tents
Thurs 17
October
Mon 6
October
Sat 26
September
Thurs 14
October
Mon 2
October
Sat 22
September
Simchat
Torah
Joy in the
Torah
Thurs 24
October
Mon 13
October
Sat 3
October
Thurs 21
October
Mon 9
October
Sat 29
September
Hanuka
Festival of
Lights
Wed 25
December
Mon 15
December
Fri 4
December
Wed 22
December
Mon 11
December
Fri 30
November
The last day of the Feast of Tents is known as Simchat Torah, rejoicing in
the Torah. On that day the Torah scrolls are taken around the synagogue in joyful
procession. The reading is that of the last passage of the fifth and last book of the
Torah, recounting the death of Moses. It is immediately followed by the reading of
the first words of Genesis, to indicate that a new cycle of reading has begun. In this
way the whole Torah is read each year.14
Hanuka is a joyful festival of eight days. A special eight-branch candlestick
with a ninth candle in front is used. The ninth candle is used to light each of the
13
This table is set out using the Western calendar months rather than the Hebrew months, for
the convenience of the reader. The information has been compiled from
http://www.timeanddate.com (accessed 16 March 2007).
14
The Torah ends, “Since then, never has there been such a prophet in Israel as Moses, the
man the Lord knew face to face…” (Dt 34:10~12). The opening is well-known: “In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gn 1: 1).
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Chapter One: Judaism and the Bible
eight until by the last day all eight are alight. In fact traditionally oil was used rather
than candles.
Children in Purim Costume at the S.M. Gurewicz Gymnasium in Vilna 193315
The feast of Purim is preceded by a day of fasting to commemorate the
fasting of Esther. On the day itself people give each other gifts as a sign of
15
Salamander, Rachel, Die Jüdische Welt von Gestern: 10 Bildpostkarten, Vienna: Christian
Branstätter, 1993.
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Holocaust Sketches
friendship. During the reading of the book of Esther, children shake wooden rattles
every time the name of Haman is mentioned. It is he who plotted to kill all the Jews
in the Persian Empire.
Passover is celebrated in the Spring. It recalls the day when God saved the
Hebrews from Egypt and is thus one of the defining moments of Jewish religion.
Since Biblical times it has been combined with a celebration of Spring. The high
point of the feast is the solemn meal at home. The table is laid out with eight
symbolic objects. In first place is the Haggadah or account of the departure from
Egypt as recounted in the Bible (Ex 12). Next to it is a cup, which will be filled with
wine four times as a reminder of the four saving actions of God noted in Ex 6:6~7:
I will free (hozeothi) you of the burdens the Egyptians lay upon you; I will
release (hizzalthi) you from slavery to them; and with my arm outstretched
and my strokes of power, I will deliver (noalthi) you; I will adopt
(laqachthi) you as my own people, and I will be your God.
A second cup is placed for Elijah, the prophet who is to come again and prepare the
way for the Messiah.16 The Christian Bible’s Old Testament ends with the relevant
verse from Malachi:
Know that I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before my day comes,
that great and terrible day… (Mal 3:23)
At the Passover meal, this Elijah cup stands for the salvation of all nations, not just
the Jews. It is not drunk because that time has not yet come.
At the top end of the table three loaves of unleavened bread, called Matzot,
are placed to represent the Priests, Levites and the Israelites as a whole, the three
groups of Jews in Biblical times. Next to the bread is a lamb chop, which recalls the
paschal lamb of the first Passover. It is not eaten because since the destruction of the
Temple in 70 BCE there are no longer any animal sacrifices in Judaism. Next to it is
an egg, which is also not eaten, and which recalls new birth.17 A sprig of green and a
dish of salt water are placed next to the bread, recalling the tears of the Hebrew
slaves in Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea, by which they left on dry ground.
Finally, there are bitter herbs, again a sign of slavery, and Charosset, a mixture of
16
Christians believe that John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Messiah and came in the
spirit of Elijah, cf. Mt 17: 12~13 Jesus said, “I tell you that Elijah has come already and they
did not recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of Man will suffer
similarly at their hands. The disciples understood then that he had been speaking about John
the Baptist.” Elijah has a very important place in Judaism. For instance, at a circumcision, an
empty seat is reserved for him as here at the Passover meal.
17
In Christian tradition the egg has become the Easter egg, recalling Christ’s resurrection
from the tomb.
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Chapter One: Judaism and the Bible
nuts, apples, wine and cinnamon, which recalls the mortar they had to mix to make
bricks for the pyramids.
Passover celebrations last eight days. At this time the readings in the
synagogue include Ezechiel’s vision of the resurrection of the dry bones (Ez
37:1~14), passages from Isaiah recalling God’s leading the people into freedom (Is
12: 1~2, 6)18 and the Song of Songs. The first and last days of Passover are both
major festivals. In Israel today, six days after the last day of Passover, there is a day
of Commemoration of the Holocaust and Resistance. The day is chosen in honour of
the Warsaw uprising, which took place during Passover week. Seven weeks (ie. 7 x
7) after Passover, the Feast of Weeks is celebrated. On that day the Ten
Commandments are read as well as Ezechiel’s vision of God’s glory (Ez 1) and the
beautiful tale of Ruth.
The Commemoration of the Destruction of the Temple recalls the destruction
both of the first and second temples. It is a day of fasting and mourning. In the
synagogue all hangings are removed from the Torah shrine and lectern. The
Lamentations are read on the vigil and the following morning sorrowful songs
recalling persecution throughout the ages are sung. However, it is also believed that
the Messiah will be born on this day; in the midst of death there is always hope in
God’s power to save.
Apart from these major feasts, one must not forget the important weekly
feast, the Sabbath. This, the seventh day of the week, falls on Saturday in the
Christian version of the calendar. As with other festivals it begins on the vigil of the
previous evening (Friday). It is a day set apart for God though the strictness of its
observance varies from group to group.
The Synagogue
The destruction of the temple by the Romans led to two new developments
for Judaism. Some Jews accepting Jesus as the Messiah embraced all nations into
their assembly (in Greek/Latin ecclesia or Church). The Jerusalem temple was no
longer necessary because it was replaced by Jesus himself. Liturgical action was
thus the remembrance and re-enactment of what Jesus had done. It was carried out in
private homes, at the shrines of martyrs and later in public buildings, churches.
“That day, you will say: I give thanks to you, Lord, you were angry with me but your
anger is appeased and you have given me consolation. See now, he is the God of my
salvation. I have trust now and no fear, for the Lord is my strength, my song. He is my
salvation.” (Is 12: 1~2); “Cry out for joy and gladness, you dwellers in Zion, for great in
your midst is the holy one of Israel.” (Is 12: 6).
18
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Those Jews who did not accept Jesus also learnt to live without the temple. Since
there had always only been one temple in Jerusalem (Israel had had a temple in
Samaria but it was razed earlier), Jews were accustomed to meeting in Gathering
Places (Synagoge in Greek) where the Bible texts were kept and read, parts were
sung and sermons were given, interpreting the texts for the congregation. The
disappearance of the temple thus led to a development of the synagogue as the focus
of the community. Just as Christianity could cope with dispersal from Jerusalem, so
too the non-Christian Jews had the synagogue as the instrument which enabled them
to form communities no matter where they lived.
Few medieval synagogues survive, but in the town of Sopron in Hungary,
not far from Vienna, a medieval synagogue has been restored.19 It can give us some
idea of what a synagogue would have been like during early times. It was set back
from the main road, as all synagogues were, because the Christians did not want the
Jewish synagogue to be too visible, a sign of prejudice. One enters through a narrow
passage on the north side. The main hall is to the left, down three steps, recalling Ps
130: “Out of the depths have I cried to you, O Lord.” In the centre is a hexagonal
lectern (bima) from which the readings are given. The Torah scrolls are kept in the
Aaron which is on the east wall and reached by three steps up.20 The cantor stood
near the south-east corner against the east wall. The west wall has window slits in it.
On the other side of this wall is a long low room where the women sit. The three
window slits provide an opportunity for them to see the Aaron and the bima. Their
room is set above the height of the main hall. Sopron is one of the earliest examples
of a separate prayer room for women. In later synagogues the women often sat in the
balcony that ran round the main hall.
In the courtyard outside, to the north, is the ritual bathhouse (mikhwe or
Tuckhaus in German). Women were obliged to wash three times after each
menstruation and after child birth. Theoretically the water should be flowing water
and reach a depth of 1.2 m though hot water could be added to this natural source. In
Amsterdam the Grand Synagogue collected rainwater into its two baths, which were
so constructed that the water naturally reached the required height. Given that
European Christians did not wash the Jews were far more advanced in matters of
19
On the synagogue of Sopron see Ferenc, Dávid, Sopron: Ó-Zsinagóga, Budapest:
Cartographia, 1994.
20
The shape of the bima and the number of steps up to the Aaron could vary. A photo of the
Great Synagogue in Amsterdam taken in 1935 shows a square bima and six steps up to the
Aaron. See van Voolen, E. (ed.), Joods Historisch Museum Amsterdam, ’s-Gravenhage: SDU,
1988, 28.
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Chapter One: Judaism and the Bible
hygiene than the Christians. 21 In medieval Europe Jewish baths outnumbered
synagogues, though few now survive.
Next to the synagogue was a house for the warden and a hostel for travellers.
The synagogue in Sopron would have been used by some 10 to 16 households. One
of them became rich enough to build another, private synagogue not far away. It was
indeed not uncommon for several synagogues to be built close together. Amsterdam
had four: the Great Synagogue (built in 1681) was used by the leading Jews; the
Upper Room (1685) and Third Room (from 1700) were for the ordinary people;
whilst the New Synagogue (1752) was built to cope with a further increase in the
Jewish population.22
Synagogues needed leaders and some guide as to orthodoxy in disputed
matters. This was provided by rabbis, whose task it was to interpret the texts for
their congregation whilst maintaining tradition. In the course of history the
balancing act of tradition and interpretation has not been easy. Indeed, on the eve of
the holocaust, Judaism was by no means a monolithic entity. Yet, the duty of
interpreting texts and relating them to daily life, led Judaism to develop exegesis,
hermeneutics and legal procedures. With law as the main way to regulate social life,
application and interpretation of law became an important part of Jewish life. In the
next chapter we will examine how Judaism developed in Europe and formed a new
European Yiddish culture.
Features of Jewish Religion
Jewish culture contributed at least three major elements to world culture:
monotheism, combination of religion and ethics and the idea of linear time.
Abraham felt called by his god to leave his home. He worshipped one God
but probably still had the idea that his god was only one among many. The growth
of Hebrew religious consciousness, gradually led to the realisation that there could
only be one God. The so-called other ‘gods’ were either partial understandings of
this one God or else simply not God at all. The prohibition on images of God, on
statues, and the exclusive worship of one God was something which needed to be
upheld against tendencies to syncretism or accommodation with the multifarious
gods of neighbouring peoples.
21
It is told how astonished Mozart was on visiting England and finding that people washed
there once a week, something unthinkable even in eighteenth century Austria. This
information comes from the exhibition at Mozart’s house in Salzburg.
22
See van Voolen, E. (ed.), Joods Historisch Museum Amsterdam, ’s-Gravenhage: SDU,
1988, 25.
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Holocaust Sketches
This one God was considered ‘holy’, a notion which implied that God was
fundamentally different from anything or anyone in the world. This led to the idea of
creation, that all things which existed depended for their existence on the will of
God. The holiness of God had profound implications for social life as well. It had to
be lived out in daily customs. Most famous of these was the Sabbath, the day of rest
or holiness dedicated to God. But the notion of holiness as a distinctive otherness
pervaded all levels of life, for instance in dietary rules that forbade the eating of pork.
It also implied that the Jewish people saw themselves in relation to other peoples as
specially chosen, as holy.
Monotheism is carried on by Christianity and by Islam. It may be that other
religions too have had a sense of one God above others but only in the Judaic
religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) is this sense of monotheism so clear-cut.
The sense of being a holy people was also taken up by Christians and Moslems, but
neither of these religions were ever so bound to one particular people as was
Judaism. While Islam, for instance, developed among Arabs, it soon spread to
Berbers, Turkic peoples, Chinese and later among south-east Asians, making
Indonesia the largest Islamic state today. Christianity too no longer saw itself bound
to its Jewish founders and embraced all nations. The Jews, however, retained their
sense of being a holy nation, a chosen people, among all the nations of the world.
Indeed, this sense of identity is so strong that it has enabled them to hold together
even without political power.
A second important element in Judaism is the union of religion and ethics.
In the Ten Words given by God to Moses and known by Christians as the Ten
Commandments, the first three are devoted to God and the last seven to inter-human
relationships. Indeed, in the course of history critics of contemporary worship and
politics, known as Nabi in Hebrew or ‘Those who speak out’ in Greek, prophets,
(the term is poorly translated into Chinese as ‘those who know beforehand’), took
ethical conduct as the standard by which to judge true religion. In modern English
the ceremony for worshipping God even in Christianity, is referred to as ‘service’,
and the word must be understood as including service both to God and to other
human beings. The two are inseparable.
Again this element was maintained by Christianity and Islam. Both
developed social service and care for the marginalised in society, typified as the
widow and orphan. While it is true that other religions, such as Buddhism for
instance, have also highly developed ethical norms, the intimate combination of
ethics and religious worship is a special feature of the Jewish tradition.
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Chapter One: Judaism and the Bible
Finally, Judaism broke with Egyptian or Greek patterns of cyclical time. In
particular with the political failure of the monarchy, Judaism became a religion
oriented in expectation of a future leader. This leader was known as the Anointed
One. At the time of David, anointing with oil was the sign of special selection and
hence the term, the Anointed One (Messiah) was synonymous with that of the King
(Melek). With the failure of the kings, the ideal became more spiritualised,
sometimes understood as a worldly political figure, sometimes as a bringer of
spiritual revival. In whatever form, Judaism became oriented towards the future.
History had a meaning as development and progress. It was not simply a matter of
repetition or harking back to a golden age in the past. The golden age, the time of the
Messiah, was in the future.
While some Jews believed that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed this Messiah
(Christos in Greek), this idea of looking forward to the future was still retained in
Christianity, only now it was understood as awaiting the Second Coming of the
Messiah. Islam, Judaism, waiting for the Messiah, and Christianity, waiting for the
second coming, all retained the idea that history was linear, progressive and that the
future held more promise than the past.
In secularised versions, these ideas have given rise to all kinds of creative
thought from evolution to political liberalism and Marxism. Indeed, Saul Friedländer
even talks about Nazism as a form of redemption philosophy, the idea that once the
world was rid of the Jews, it would be a better place. Needless to say he totally
disagrees with such a perverse idea. Indeed, many of these secularised versions are
unworthy of their religious roots.
The Jews also had another unique feature in their culture: self-criticism.
Most nations like to recall their heroes and sages and boast of their success in battle.
The Jewish Bible is the most self-critical work in the whole cultural and literary
history of humankind. It castigates the Jews as sinners, as unrepentant, as a hopeless
case. Even heroes such as King David are shown to be adulterers and power-hungry
(promoting a census so that he can boast of the size of his kingdom). And yet, they
believe God has not rejected them. The Bible is a call to turn again (repent), to come
back to God, who is merciful as well as holy. In thus publicly acknowledging their
inadequacy, the Jews thus demonstrate an honesty that puts all other peoples to
shame.23
23
We need only look back to the readings assigned for the festivals. As noted above
everyday Ps 6 is read with an addition by which the person praying acknowledges he/she is a
sinner. Indeed what other nation will celebrate New Year with these words: “Lord, do not
punish me in your rage, or reprove me in the heat of your anger.” The sincerity and humility
that can be seen here are testimony to the greatness of Israel.
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Holocaust Sketches
Conclusion
This chapter has tried to present a positive image of Judaism based both on
its past and on its present. Such a picture has to contend with two factors that
militate against such a positive image. The first is the legacy of a Christian reading
of Judaism as something that belongs only to the past, that was closed and hostile to
Jesus. In Part Two we will examine this image in more detail. The second factor is
that most people are unlikely to meet living Jews or interact with them to any great
extent. Hostility and ignorance thus combine to build up prejudice. Yet, once we
look at Judaism without these two factors impeding our vision, we find a religion
steeped in respect for God, honest and inspiring, from which we can all learn with
profit.
What has been presented here is but a sketch, as will be the case for this
entire book, but one that should be constantly kept in mind. Judaism is a living and
life-giving religion and way of life. Its divine origin is surely attested by its
resilience in the face of so much opposition and misunderstanding. We can thus
fittingly end this chapter with the words of Moses that are put at the door of each
Jewish house:
Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord. You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. Let
these words I urge on you today be written on your heart. You shall repeat
them to your children and say them over to them whether at rest in your
house or walking abroad, at your lying down or at your rising. You shall
fasten them on your hand as a sign and on your forehead as a circlet. You
shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.24
24
Dt 6: 4-9.
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