Sunday, April 25, 2010
"the Jew is even more man than Jew...."
In his 1781 treatise "On the Civil Improvement of the Jews" von Dohm adjures the Prussian government both to know the religion of Judaism and to create conditions that help weaken Jewish specificity in favor of promoting a more general (that is, universally available) morality. In suggesting--strongly--that his audience not judge the whole of Jews through the actions of a few, Dohm not only elevates the role/value/significance of the individual but also he signals a reorganization of the ways in which non-Jews and Jews should perceive one another. Instead of knowing one another as communities, Prussians of all creeds show know one another as human beings. Sounds great, right? But the drawbacks are plentiful. What kind of negative repercussions does Dohm's piece invoke (however unwittingly)?
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It's an interesting issue, I cannot help but draw a contemporary link to Madoff. When the story broke, I remember my mother, along with many others, dismayed by the fact that Madoff was Jewish. Her reaction and that of others reflects a fear that his actions reflect on the entire Jewish community. It's the way that so many of us read the headlines on the front page, we look for Jewish names and hope the non-Jewish majority will not paint us with the same brush. But this reaction also speaks to the fact that despite the individualism of American society, we still see ourselves as a people, we still see ourselves as connected to other Jews. Surely we have more individual freedom and autonomy today than von Dohm could ever have imagined.
ReplyDeleteUniversalism vs. particularism is an interesting issue that Judaism has constantly wrestled with. Before the haskalah, it appears as if Jews were content living as Jews. Ideas of chosenness can be seen in the Bible and the liturgy. Unless there was a threat from the outside, Jews could continue to live and believe in a particularistic understanding of Judaism. Once the shtetl walls come crumbling down, Jews have no choice but to adopt universal ideas of morality etc.
ReplyDeleteWhile this equalization in status may have been good at the time when emancipation began to sweep through Germany, it is not good in the long term. The bottom line is that the things that are distinctly Jewish will no longer be unique. This model, as we know, can lead to confusion, assimilation, and ultimately loss. Judaism must strive to retain what makes it unique while continuing to embrace modernity. As Beau says, this is clearly easier to balance in the United States today than in 1781 Prussia (Germany).
(on behalf of Sara)
ReplyDeleteWhile Dohm was likely an "enlightened" writer of his time, his promotion of equality for the individual Jew lies is the disarming the Jew of his/her "otherness." Although he recognizes that the Jews may not be intrinsically flawed and that the Jew's less desirable characteristics stem in part from the oppression that he/she has endured, nevertheless, his idea of equality for Jews arises from the condition that they become more like the Christians. What must be lost in order to gain equality for the Jews is their particularity. In losing their particular tradtion, they will be able to gain entree into the Christian society, thus becoming less problematic. Equality for the individual take place ideally by each Jew adapting to the Christian norm.