Death and Birth of Judaism by Jacob Neusner
Death and Birth of Judaism by Jacob Neusner
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The Impact of Christianity, Secularism, and the Holocaust on Jewish Faith (Studies in the History of Judaism)
Discusses Christianity's rise to power in the 4th century, with concomitant Jewish powerlessness, as decisive factors in forming Torah Judaism, which was the Jewish way of life until the impact of secularism. Ch. 6 (pp. 225-253), "Zionism: Reversion to an Invented Past, " stresses Jewish self-emancipation as a response to the failure of Europe's promise to emancipate the Jews. Zionism called for a Jewish state, where all Jews could live and be free of antisemitism. Claims that history proved that Zionism was right regarding the danger that led to the Holocaust; thus, Zionism increasingly gained adherents, especially after World War II. Ch. 7 (pp. 254-284), "The American Judaism of Holocaust and Redemption, " focuses on the centrality of the "myth" that connects the Holocaust and the State of Israel. Against the background of American antisemitism in the 1930s-40s and the lethal Nazi antisemitism, stresses how third-generation Jewish Americans construct their identity and way of life. American Jews accept their Jewishness, since antisemitism has proved there is no escape from being a Jew. After the Holocaust, American Jews view themselves as being among the "saved" but do not believe they need to make aliyah, as the Zionist response to antisemitism requires. Instead, they busy themselves with sacred activities related to surviving as Jews, especially preserving Israel as a refuge from antisemitism.
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