,,ten ,,essays ,,on ,,zionism ,,and ,,judaism ,printed in ,great ,britain by ,st4 ,stephen's ,printing ,works1 ,bristol1 ,england4 ,,ten ,,essays ,,on ,,zionism ,,and ,,judaism ,,by ,,achad ,,ha-,,am ,,translated ,,from ,,the ,,hebrew ,,by ,,leon ,,simon ,author of ,studies in ,jewish ,nationalism ,,london ,,george ,,routledge ,,sons1 ,,ltd4 ,,broadway ,,house1 #fh-gd1 ,,carter ,,lane1 ,e4,c4 #aibb ,,contents ,,translator',s ,,introduction vii ,,the ,,wrong ,,way 7#ahhi7 #a ,,the ,,first ,,zionist ,,congress 7#ahig7 #be ,,the ,,jewish ,,state ,,and ,,the ,,jewish ,,problem 7#ahig7 #cb ,,pinsker ,,and ,,political ,,zionism 7#aijb7 #ef ,,the ,,time ,,has ,,come 7#aijf7 #ia 8,,when ,,messiah ,,comes0 7#aijg7 #aad ,a ,,spiritual ,,centre 7#aijg7 #abj ,,summa ,,summarum 7#aiab7 #acj ,,the ,,supremacy ,,of ,,reason 7#aijd7 #afb ,,judaism ,,and ,,the ,,gospels 7#aiaj7 #bbc ,,index #bed ,,translator',s ,,introduction ,the present volume of translations from the ,hebrew of ,achad ,ha-,am#a differs in character from the volume of ,selected ,essays published in #aiab by the ,jewish ,publication ,society of ,america4 ,the earlier selection was confined1 by the express desire of the publishing ,society1 to essays dealing with the broader aspects of ,judaism and ,jewish thought2 essays of a more polemical character1 in which the author has defined his attitude to the modern ,jewish national movement1 were designedly omitted4 ,of the ten further essays included in the present selection1 only two belong to the former category1 and these have been placed1 out of their chronological order1 at the end4 ,the other eight essays all deal with one aspect or another of ,zionism1 and they form a series which will enable the ,english reader who is interested in the ,zionist movement to follow its history under the guidance of one who is at the same time among its staunchest pillars and its most unsparing critics4 ,the first#b of the eight--which is also the first essay written by ,achad ,ha-,am--belongs to the early years of the ,jewish national movement1 when the ,zionist ,organisation was unborn1 and the very name 8,zionism0 uninvented4 ,the last of the eight--and the most recent of ,achad ,ha-,am's essays1 for the war and ill-health have made him silent of recent years--records his impressions of the practical results achieved by ,zionism in ,palestine up to #aiaa4 ,as the background of these essays is for the most part unfamiliar to ,english readers1 it will not be out of place to give here a brief sketch of the phases through which the ,zionist movement has passed1 in so far as that is necessary for a proper understanding of the criticisms and allusions in the essays themselves4 ,the first organised form of ,zionism took shape in ,russia under the stress of the pogroms of #ahhj-ha4 ,those pogroms1 following a period during which the ,russian ,government had seemed to be working sincerely towards the emancipation of the ,jews1 and themselves followed by a whole code of restrictive legislation known as the ,may ,laws1 awoke into a blaze the national sentiment which had slumbered but had not died in the ,russian ,ghetto4 ,they revealed the evils of galuth--exile1 life outside ,palestine--in all their hideousness1 and turned men's minds to the active accomplishment of that escape from galuth for which during many centuries the ,jew had only prayed4 ,chibbath ,zion 7,love of ,zion7 became an organised movement1 and throughout ,russia groups of ,chovev ,zion 7,lovers of ,zion7 began to work for the settlement of ,jews on the land in ,palestine4 ,at the head of the movement stood ,dr4 ,leo ,pinsker1 who in his pamphlet ,auto-,emancipation had outlined an ambitious scheme for the emigration of ,jews en masse to some territory 7not necessarily ,palestine7 where they could be their own masters4 ,his proposal found no response among the emancipated ,western ,jews1 to whom it was addressed2 and as its realisation was obviously beyond the power of the oppressed and persecuted ,russian ,jews1 its author turned to ,chibbath ,zion as the only means open to him of working for a national regeneration of ,jewry4 ,events soon showed that ,chibbath ,zion was as yet unable to achieve so large an aim4 ,the difficulties in the way of settling ,jews on the land in ,palestine were enormous1 and the resources of the ,chovev ,zion were painfully limited4 ,the national sentiment was not sufficiently alive in the ,jewish masses to induce large numbers of them to brave the hardships and privations of life in ,palestine for the sake of a national ideal4 ,any ,jew whose primary object was to escape from pogroms and ,may ,laws and to better his individual position would naturally prefer some country1 like the ,united ,states1 where economic life was already developed4 ,the ,chovev ,zion attempted1 rather unwisely1 to make ,palestine attractive to the less idealistically minded by exaggerating the possibilities of individual self-advancement which it held out4 ,the natural result was disappointment and disillusion2 and the ,palestinian agricultural settlements 7or colonies1 as they are generally called7 would have faded away altogether but for the generous assistance of ,baron ,edmond de ,rothschild1 of ,paris4 ,thanks to him the first colonies pulled through1 and after many vicissitudes were set on the road to independence4 ,but the whole colonisation movement remained small and poor1 and any hopes which might have been entertained of its bringing about even the beginning of a solution of the material problem of galuth were dissipated at an early date4 ,meanwhile1 however1 the ,chovev ,zion contributed to a national work of the first importance by helping to lay the foundations of a revival of the ,hebrew language1 especially in ,palestine--a development which1 while it had nothing to do with the solution of any material problem1 had very much to do with the stimulation of that national sentiment which is the only possible basis of a national as distinct from a purely philanthropic or economic movement4 ,in #ahie1 when the colonisation work was at a low ebb1 the ,jewish world was startled by the appearance of ,der ,judenstaat1 a pamphlet in which a brilliant ,viennese journalist and playwright1 ,dr4 ,theodor ,herzl1 advocated1 as a solution of the ,jewish problem1 the establishment of an autonomous ,jewish ,state in some suitable territory 7not necessarily ,palestine74 ,herzl's scheme was 7unconsciously7 more or less a reproduction of that of ,pinsker2 but it met with a different fate1 largely1 no doubt1 thanks to the silent growth of the national sentiment which had been brought about during the intervening years by the awakening--albeit to little purpose from a purely practical point of view--of ,jewish interest in ,palestine4 ,while the ,western ,jews were for the most part as deaf to ,herzl's call as they had been to ,pinsker's1 many of the ,chovev ,zion found in his pamphlet a new inspiration1 and their pressure induced him to take in hand himself the practical realisation of a scheme which he had meant to leave others to carry out4 ,the result was the ,zionist ,organisation1 which was founded at the first ,zionist ,congress at ,basle in #ahig4 ,this organisation1 though the great body of its supporters was drawn from the ranks of the ,chovev ,zion1 reflected the outlook and ideas of ,herzl and his handful of friends and supporters from the ,west4 ,there was to be no more waste of time and effort on 8petty colonisation40 ,instead1 there was to be a political organisation of ,jewry1 with a large ,national ,fund1 which would first of all buy ,palestine from the ,turk under a ,charter guaranteed by the ,european ,powers1 and would then proceed to settle in ,palestine all those ,jews who could not be happy where they were4 ,this beautiful dream roused the ,jewish masses for a time to a kind of ,messianic fervour2 it was so much more alluring than the hard realities which the ,chovev ,zion had had to face4 ,but after a few years the inevitable awakening came4 ,realities remained realities1 and the ,charter remained a distant vision4 ,herzl passed away untimely in #aijd1 and with him and his wonderful personality passed the only force which could make the dream-world appear for a time real4 ,he had1 indeed1 obtained from the ,british ,government an offer of a territory in ,east ,africa 7commonly1 though incorrectly1 located in ,uganda7 for a quasi-autonomous settlement of ,jews2 but this triumph of the ,zionist ,organisation only served to bring out the essential difference1 hitherto more or less successfully kept in the background1 between the head of the ,organisation and its body4 ,the ,chovev ,zion1 however they may have erred in attempting to further the colonisation of ,palestine by appeals to individual self-interest1 had at any rate remained sufficiently nationalist to feel that a national ,jewish settlement could by no possibility have any other home than ,palestine4 ,they had seen to it that the ,zionist ,organisation put ,palestine and no other country into its programme4 ,now1 when they found their trusted and beloved leader attempting to divert them to ,east ,africa--though he averred solemnly that ,east ,africa was only intended as a temporary refuge1 a ,nachtasyl1 and ,palestine remained the real goal--they felt that they had been betrayed4 ,herzl's enormous influence averted1 at the ,congress of #aijc1 a direct refusal of the ,british ,government's offer3 a ,commission was appointed to study the proposed territory4 ,but when the next ,congress met1 in #aije1 ,herzl was no more1 and the opponents of ,east ,africa--the ,zion ,zion1 8,zion-,zionists10 as they were called--carried the day4 ,there was of course a violent reaction3 the masses swung away from ,zionism1 now that it no longer held out to them the hope of a refuge from persecution and poverty1 and some of the minority party founded a new body1 the ,jewish ,territorial ,organisation1 to search the globe for a home of refuge4 ,this was all to the good1 for the ,zionist ,organisation was purged of ,messianism and was able to face realities again4 ,the framework1 and to a large extent the phraseology1 created by ,herzl were retained1 but essentially the ,zionist ,organisation became perforce an instrument for the realisation of the national ideal along the two lines on which alone real advance is possible--the lines of ,palestinian development and national education4 ,it was only during the war1 which brought on the one hand the ,balfour ,declaration1 with its promise of a ,national ,home for the ,jewish people in ,palestine1 and on the other hand untold suffering and loss to the ,jewish masses in ,eastern ,europe1 that ,messianic hopes were again aroused--again to be followed by the inevitable disillusionment and reaction4 ,on the position created by the recent developments of ,zionism ,achad ,ha-,am has commented in a brief introduction1 written in ,june1 #aibj1 for a new edition of his collected essays in ,hebrew4 ,as the question of the scope of the ,balfour ,declaration is still much debated1 and has a special interest for ,english readers1 ,i reproduce here the greater part of that ,introduction4 8,when10 he writes1 8,i returned from ,palestine in #aiab1 and my ,summa ,summarum aroused violent anger in various quarters1 ,i wrote an explanatory note by way of supplement to that essay2 and ,i should like to remind my readers on this occasion of some of the things that ,i said then1 because they seem to me relevant at the present time4 #8,there must be1' ,i wrote1 #8some natural connection of cause and effect between an object and the means by which its attainment is sought3 we must be able to show how this object can be attained by these means4 ,so long as that connection does not exist1 so long as we cannot attempt to justify our choice of means except by such vague phrases as 0,perhaps 444 you never can tell 444 times change 4440--we may speak of cherished hopes and an ideal for the distant future1 but we cannot speak of a practical object which can serve as a basis for a systematic plan of work4 ,for every systematic plan of work must necessarily be based on a clear conception 7whether intellectual or imaginative7 of the chain of cause and effect which connects the various activities one with another1 and all of them together with the object4444 ,no doubt1 we cannot foretell the future2 no doubt it is possible that unforeseen things may happen and may change the face of reality4 ,but a possibility of that kind cannot be made the basis of a systematic plan of work1 and we are dealing no longer with an objective of immediate activity1 but with a vision of the future4' 8,about two years after these words were written and published the world-war began1 and led to those results which we know3 #8unforeseen things happened and changed the face of reality4' ,our own life1 too1 was caught in the maelstrom of world-happenings2 and the face of our own reality1 too1 was changed as a consequence4 ,much might be said1 and has already been said1 about the character of these changes1 about their good and their bad side1 about their significance both for the ,diaspora and for ,palestine4 ,i cannot now deal with this subject fully1 and ,i wish for my part only to say a word or two on one of the principal features of the changed situation--,i mean the widening of the horizon of our work in ,palestine through the famous ,declaration of the ,british ,government1 which has recently been confirmed by the ,supreme ,council1 and thus has ceased to be merely the promise of a single ,government and has become an international obligation4 ,this ,declaration has provided a new #8basis for a systematic plan of work1' and has set up #8an objective of immediate activity'--activity on a large scale1 such as has been hitherto only a theme for the anticipations of orators and essayists1 with no real basis in the present4 ,but at the same time the ,declaration has winged anew the imagination of those who were already accustomed to build castles in the air1 without regard to the realities of this earthly life4 ,that is1 ,i fancy1 one of the reasons why there is still a demand for this book1 though much of its contents does not fit the realities of to-day4 ,it is not so much the contents that matter as the point of view from which ,i have tried to deal with the various questions as they arose4 ,i have tried to judge not on the basis of that #8you-never-can-tell' attitude which shrouds itself in the mists of the future1 but on the basis of present realities1 or of impending realities which can be prognosticated from existing conditions4 ,even to-day this point of view needs reiteration4 ,for once it has happened1 as by a miracle1 that what was wildly improbable a short time ago has become to a certain extent actual3 and this #8miracle' has led those who were always waiting for miracles to claim a victory1 and to insist on maintaining their attitude for the future also1 and on laying down as the one principle of policy this perverted axiom--that if such a thing has happened once in exceptional circumstances1 its like may happen again1 and we can therefore construct our world as we please1 regardless of present realities1 and relying on a repetition of the miracle when we need it4 ,there is a ,jewish proverb which says3 #8,a mistake which succeeds is none the less a mistake4' ,so a plan of work which turns its back on realities1 and relies on the possibility that something out of the ordinary may turn up and change realities to its advantage1 is a mistaken plan1 even if it succeeds for once in a way4 ,and if it goes on banking on the element of chance1 which does in fact interfere occasionally with the normal course of events1 and continues to act accordingly1 it will end in disaster1 despite its initial success4 8,all the details of the diplomatic conversations in ,london which led to the ,declaration have not yet been made public2 but the time has come to reveal one #8secret1' because knowledge of it will make it easier to understand the true meaning of the ,declaration4 8#8,to facilitate the establishment in ,palestine of a ,national ,home for the ,jewish people'--that is the text of the promise given to us by the ,british ,government4 ,but that is not the text suggested to the ,government by the ,zionist spokesmen4 ,they wished it to read3 #8the reconstitution of ,palestine as the ,national ,home of the ,jewish people'2 but when the happy day arrived on which the ,declaration was signed and sealed by the ,government1 it was found to contain the first formula and not the second4 ,that is to say1 the allusion to the fact that we are about to rebuild our old national home was dropped1 and at the same time the words #8constitution of ,palestine as the national home' were replaced by #8establishment of a national home in ,palestine4' ,there were some who understood at once that this had some significance2 but others thought that the difference was merely one of form4 ,hence they sometimes attempted on subsequent occasions1 when the negotiations with the ,government afforded an opportunity1 to formulate the promise in their own wording1 as though it had not been changed4 ,but every time they found in the ,government's reply a repetition of the actual text of the ,declaration--which proves that it is not a case where the same thing may be put equally well in either of two ways1 but that the promise is really defined in this particular form of words1 and goes no further4 8,it can scarcely be necessary to explain at length the difference between the two versions4 ,had the ,british ,government accepted the version suggested to it--that ,palestine should be reconstituted as the national home of the ,jewish people--its promise might have been interpreted as meaning that ,palestine1 inhabited as it now is1 was restored to the ,jewish people on the ground of its historic right2 that the ,jewish people was to rebuild its waste places and was destined to rule over it and to manage all its affairs in its own way1 without regard to the consent or non-consent of its present inhabitants4 ,for this rebuilding 7it might have been understood7 is only a renewal of the ancient right of the ,jews1 which over-rides the right of the present inhabitants1 who have wrongly established their national home on a land not their own4 ,but the ,british ,government1 as it stated expressly in the ,declaration itself1 was not willing to promise anything which would harm the present inhabitants of ,palestine1 and therefore it changed the ,zionist formula1 and gave it a more restricted form4 ,the ,government thinks1 it would seem1 that when a people has only the moral force of its claim to build its national home in a land at present inhabited by others1 and has not behind it a powerful army or fleet to prove the justice of its claim1 that people can have only what its right allows it in truth and justice1 and not what conquering peoples take for themselves by armed force1 under the cover of various #8rights' invented for the occasion4 ,now the historic right of a people in relation to a country inhabited by others can mean only the right to settle once more in its ancestral land1 to work the land and to develop its resources without hindrance4 ,and if the inhabitants complain that strangers have come to exploit the land and its population1 the historic right has a complete answer to them3 these newcomers are not strangers1 but the descendants of the old masters of the country1 and as soon as they settle in it again1 they are as good as natives4 ,and not only the settlers as individuals1 but the collective body as a people1 when it has once more put into this country a part of its national wealth--men1 capital1 cultural institutions and so forth--has again in the country its national home1 and has the right to extend and to complete its home up to the limit of its capacity4 ,but this historic right does not over-ride the right of the other inhabitants1 which is a tangible right based on generation after generation of life and work in the country4 ,the country is at present their national home too1 and they too have the right to develop their national potentialities so far as they are able4 ,this position1 then1 makes ,palestine common ground for different peoples1 each of which tries to establish its national home there2 and in this position it is impossible for the national home of either of them to be complete and to embrace all that is involved in the conception of a #8national home4' ,if you build your house not on untenanted ground1 but in a place where there are other inhabited houses1 you are sole master only as far as your front gate4 ,within you may arrange your effects as you please1 but beyond the gate all the inhabitants are partners1 and the general administration must be ordered in conformity with the good of all of them4 ,similarly1 national homes of different peoples in the same country can demand only national freedom for each one in its internal affairs1 and the affairs of the country which are common to all of them are administered by all the #8householders' jointly if the relations between them and their degree of development qualify them for the task1 or1 if that condition is not yet fulfilled1 by a guardian from outside1 who takes care that the rights of none shall be infringed4 8,when1 then1 the ,british ,government promised to facilitate the establishment in ,palestine of a national home for the ,jewish people--and not1 as was suggested to it1 the reconstitution of ,palestine as the national home of the ,jewish people--that promise meant two things4 ,it meant in the first place recognition of the historic right of the ,jewish people to build its national home in ,palestine1 with a promise of assistance from the ,british ,government2 and it meant in the second place a negation of the power of that right to over-ride the right of the present inhabitants and to make the ,jewish people sole ruler in the country4 ,the national home of the ,jewish people must be built out of the free material which can still be found in the country itself1 and out of that which the ,jews will bring in from outside or will create by their work1 without overthrowing the national home of the other inhabitants4 ,and as the two homes are contiguous1 and friction and conflicts of interest are inevitable1 especially in the early period of the building of the ,jewish national home1 of which not even the foundations have yet been properly laid1 the promise necessarily demands1 though it is not expressly so stated1 that a guardian shall be appointed over the two homes--that is1 over the whole country--to see to it that the owner of the historic right1 while he does not injure the inhabitants in their internal affairs1 shall not on his side have obstacles put in his way by his neighbour1 who at present is stronger than he4 ,and in course of time1 when the new national home is fully built1 and its tenant is able to rely1 no less than his neighbour1 on the right which belongs to a large population living and working in the country1 it will be possible to raise the question whether the time has not come to hand over the control of the country to the #8householders' themselves1 so that they may together administer their joint affairs1 fairly and justly1 in accordance with the needs of each of them and the value of his work for the revival and development of the country4 8,this and no more1 it seems to me1 is what we can find in the ,balfour ,declaration2 and this and no more is what our leaders and writers ought to have told the people1 so that it should not imagine more than what is actually there1 and afterwards relapse into despair and absolute scepticism4 8,but we all know how the ,declaration was interpreted at the time of its publication1 and how much exaggeration many of our workers and writers have tried to introduce into it from that day to this4 ,the ,jewish people listened1 and believed that the end of the galuth had indeed come1 and that in a short time ,palestine would be a #8,jewish ,state4' ,the ,arab people too1 which we have always ignored from the very beginning of the colonisation movement1 listened1 and believed that the ,jews were coming to expropriate its land and to do with it what they liked4 ,all this inevitably led to friction and bitterness on both sides1 and contributed much to the state of things which was revealed in all its ugliness in the events at ,jerusalem last ,april4#c ,those events1 in conjunction with others which preceded them1 might have taught us how long is the way from a written promise to its practical realisation1 and how many are the obstacles1 not easily to be removed1 which beset our path4 ,but apparently we learned nothing2 and only a short time after the events at ,jerusalem1 when the ,british promise was confirmed at ,san ,remo1 we began once more to blow the ,messianic trumpet1 to announce the #8redemption1' and so forth4 ,the confirmation of the promise1 as ,i said above1 raised it to the level of an international obligation1 and from that point of view it is undoubtedly of great value4 ,but essentially it added nothing1 and the text of the earlier promise remains absolutely unaltered4 ,what the real meaning of that text is1 we have seen above2 but its brevity and vagueness allow those who so wish--as experience in ,palestine has shown--to restrict its meaning much more--indeed1 almost to nothing4 ,everything1 therefore1 depends on the good will of the #8guardian1' on whom was placed at ,san ,remo the duty of giving the promise practical effect4 ,had we paid attention to realities1 we should have restrained our feelings1 and have waited a little to see how the written word would be interpreted in practice4 8,i have dwelt perhaps at undue length on this point1 because it is the fundamental one4 ,but in truth we are now confronted with other questions1 internal questions1 which demand a solution without delay2 and the solutions which we hear from time to time are as far from realities as are the poles asunder4 ,it will not be long1 however1 before these visionary proposals1 which are so attractive1 have to make way for actual work1 and we have to show in practice how far we have the material and moral strength to establish the national home which we have been given permission to establish in ,palestine4 8,and at this great and difficult moment ,i appear before my readers--perhaps for the last time--on the threshold of this book1 and repeat once more my old warning1 on which most of the essays in this book are but a commentary3 8,do not press on too quickly to the goal1 so long as the actual conditions without which it cannot be reached have not been created2 and do not disparage the work which is possible at any given time1 having regard to actual conditions1 even if it will not bring the ,messiah to-day or to-morrow40 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is because ,achad ,ha-,am has consistently driven home the lesson reiterated in these last words1 and because that lesson is so strikingly apt at the present time1 that one feels justified to-day in producing a translation of some of his essays which1 as regards their actual subject-matter1 are somewhat out of date4 ,the point of view from which he approaches ,zionist questions--that of an idealism guided but not subdued by a sternly objective apprehension of realities--is not out of date1 and never will be until either human beings or external realities change very much4 ,and that point of view is capable of a wider application than is expressly given to it by the ,lover of ,zion1 concerned primarily with the problems and the destiny of his own people3 for it is true of any other ideal movement no less than of ,zionism that it is endangered not alone by those who oppose it1 but also by those who adhere to it only because they expect it to work miracles4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the translations in this volume1 like those in its predecessor1 have had the advantage of revision by ,achad ,ha-,am4 ,the few foot-notes which the translator has added are enclosed in square brackets4 ,i am much indebted to ,mr4 ,fisher ,unwin and to ,messrs4 ,paul ,goodman and ,arthur ,d4 ,lewis for permission to include in this volume the translation of 8,a ,spiritual ,centre10 which first appeared in ,zionism3 ,problems and ,views1 and to the ,union of ,jewish ,literary ,societies for permission to reprint that part of 8,the ,time has ,come0 which appeared in the ,jewish ,literary ,annual for #aijg4 ,my best thanks are due to the ,editors of the ,jewish ,review1 ,messrs4 ,norman ,bentwich and ,joseph ,hockman1 who have kindly allowed me to include 8,judaism and the ,gospels0 and 8,summa ,summarum0 from the ,jewish ,review4 ,i have also to thank the ,jdischer ,verlag1 which now owns the copyright of the ,hebrew original1 for consenting to the publication of this volume of translations4 ,,leon ,,simon4 ,footnote #a3 ,achad ,ha-,am 7 8one of the people07 is the pen-name of ,asher ,ginzberg1 a famous ,hebrew thinker and essayist1 born in ,russia in #ahef1 who has lived in ,london since #aijh4 ,his biography 7up to #aijb7 is given in the ,jewish ,encyclopdia4 ,for some account of his teaching ,i may refer to the essay called 8,one of the ,people0 in my ,studies in ,jewish ,nationalism 7,longmans1 #aibj74 ,footnote #b3 ,this essay 78,the ,wrong ,way071 when first published1 had to be expressed somewhat obscurely so as to pass the ,russian ,censor4 ,it was altered subsequently1 when the first collection of ,achad ,ha-,am's essays was published in book form1 but it still lacks somewhat of the absolute clarity which distinguishes his usual style4 ,footnote #c3 ,the anti-,jewish riots of ,april1 #aibj1 in which many lives were lost4 ,in a footnote at this point the author recalls that as far back as #ahia he drew attention to the ,arab question1 and pointed out the folly of regarding the ,arabs as 8wild men of the desert10 who could not see what was going on around them4 ,,the ,,wrong ,,way 7#ahhi7 ,i ,for many centuries the ,jewish people1 sunk in poverty and degradation1 has been sustained by faith and hope in the divine mercy4 ,the present generation has seen the birth of a new and far-reaching idea1 which promises to bring down our faith and hope from heaven1 and transform both into living and active forces1 making our land the goal of hope1 and our people the anchor of faith4 ,historic ideas of this kind spring forth suddenly1 as though of their own accord1 when the time is ripe4 ,they at once establish their sway over the minds which respond to them1 and from these they spread abroad and make their way through the world--as a spark first sets fire to the most inflammable material1 and then spreads to the framework of the building4 ,it was in this way that our idea came to birth1 without our being able to say who discovered it1 and won adherents among those who halted half-way3 among those1 that is1 whose faith had weakened1 and who had no longer the patience to wait for miracles1 but who1 on the other hand1 were still attached to their people by bonds which had not lost their strength1 and had not yet abandoned belief in its right to exist as a single people4 ,these first 8nationalists0 raised the banner of the new idea1 and went out to fight its battle full of confidence4 ,the sincerity of their own conviction gradually awoke conviction in others1 and daily fresh recruits joined them from ,left and ,right3 so that one might have expected them in a short time to be numbered by tens of thousands4 ,but meanwhile the movement underwent a fundamental change4 ,the idea took practical shape in the work of ,palestinian colonisation4 ,this unlooked-for development surprised friends and foes alike4 ,the friends of the idea raised a shout of victory1 and cried in exultation3 ,is not this a thing unheard-of1 that an idea so young has strength to force its way into the world of action8 ,does not this prove clearly that we were not mere dreamers8 ,the foes of the movement1 on their side1 who had hitherto despised it and mocked it1 as an idle fancy of dreamers and visionaries1 now began grudgingly to admit that after all it showed signs of life and was worthy of attention4 ,from that time dates a new period in the history of the idea2 and if we glance at the whole course of its development from that time to the present1 we shall find once again matter for surprise4 ,whereas previously the idea grew ever stronger and stronger and spread more and more widely among all sections of the people1 while its sponsors looked to the future with exultation and high hopes1 now1 after its victory1 it has ceased to win new adherents1 and even its old adherents seem to lose their energy1 and ask for nothing more than the well-being of the few poor colonies#d already in existence1 which are what remains of all their pleasant visions of an earlier day4 ,but even this modest demand remains unfulfilled2 the land is full of intrigues and quarrels and pettiness--all for the sake and for the glory of the great idea--which give them no peace and endless worry2 and who knows what will be the end of it all8 ,if1 as a philosopher has said1 it is melancholy to witness the death from old age of a religion which brought comfort to men in the past1 how much more sad is it when an idea full of youthful vigour--the hope of the passing generation and the salvation of that which is coming--stumbles and falls at the outset of its career6 ,add to this that the idea in question is one which we see exercising so profound an influence over many peoples1 and surely we are bound to ask ourselves the old question3 ,why are we so different from any other race or nation8 ,or are those of our people really right1 who say that we have ceased to be a nation and are held together only by the bond of religion8 ,but1 after all1 those who take that view can speak only for themselves4 ,it is true that between them and us there is no longer any bond except that of a common religion and the hatred which our enemies have for us2 but we ourselves1 who feel our ,jewish nationality in our own hearts1 very properly deride anybody who tries to argue out of existence something of which we have an intuitive conviction4 ,if this is so1 why has not the idea of the national rebirth succeeded in taking root even among ourselves and in making that progress for which we hoped8 ,writers in the press give us two answers to this question4 ,some blame the ,chalukah#e with its ,rabbis and scribes1 others 8the ,baron0#f with his agents and administrators in ,palestine4 ,all alike try to fasten the blame on certain men1 as though but for them the ,jewish problem would have been solved for all time2 and the only point at issue is whether it is ,a4 and ,b4 or ,x4 and ,y4 who stand in the way of that consummation4 ,but such answers are not at all satisfying4 ,they simply raise a further question3 ,how is it that certain individuals1 be they who they may1 are in a position to obstruct the progress of the whole nation8 ,must it not be a sorry 8national movement0 which depends for its success on the generosity of a philanthropist and the kindness of his agents1 and cannot withstand the miserable ,chalukah1 which is itself fighting for its existence with what strength it has left8 ,we must look1 then1 for the cause of all the evil not in isolated facts1 in what this man or the other does1 but much deeper4 ,if we do that we shall find1 ,i think1 the true cause to lie in the 8victory0 which the idea has achieved prematurely through the fault of its champions4 ,in their eagerness to obtain great results before the time was ripe1 they have deserted the long road of natural development1 and by artificial means have forced into the arena of practical life an idea which was still young and tender1 neither fully ripened nor sufficiently developed2 and thanks to this excessive haste their strength has failed them1 and their labour has been in vain4 ,this judgment will certainly not be widely acceptable1 and ,i will therefore endeavour in what follows to explain it so far as ,i am able1 and so far as the nature of the subject permits4 ,every belief or opinion which leads to action must necessarily be founded on the following three judgments3 ,first1 that the attainment of a certain object is felt by us to be needed2 secondly1 that certain actions are the means to the attainment of that object2 and thirdly1 that those actions are not beyond our power1 and the effort which they require is not so great as to outweigh the value of the object in our estimation4 ,the first of these judgments is based on feeling1 and needs no proof2 the second and third are based on knowledge of facts and phenomena outside ourselves1 and therefore need the assent of reason4 ,when1 therefore1 a new idea summons us to a new course of action1 it may be simply discovering new methods of attaining an object which we valued before1 and may at the same time be able to demonstrate by conclusive proofs1 whether theoretical or practical1 that these methods really lead to the attainment of the object1 and are commensurate with its value and with our resources4 ,a new discovery of this sort belongs entirely to the sphere of reason1 and therefore its sponsors need put their case only before people of intelligence and good judgment4 ,if such men pronounce the new idea right1 and proceed to act as it bids1 its victory among the masses is assured3 for gradually the masses will follow in the right course4 ,but it will be different if one of these conditions is lacking--if1 that is1 the object which the new idea sets before us is one that we do not already value1 or one not valued proportionately to the difficulty of its attainment2 or again if it cannot compel reason1 by convincing arguments1 to admit the correctness of its judgment as regards the connection between the means and the object1 and as regards the resources and the effort necessary for the attainment of the object4 ,in either of these cases the new idea must rely for its success not on reason1 but on sentiment4 ,for the growth of a feeling of affection and desire for the object will carry with it not only a strengthening of the determination to strive after its attainment1 no matter how great the effort required1 but also an increasing intellectual belief in the possibility of its attainment1 in spite of the absence of conclusive evidence that it is attainable4 ,hence those who originate an idea of this kind have not1 at the outset of their activity1 any concern with the intellectuals1 the men of dry logic and cold calculation3 it is not in that quarter that they will find support4 ,they must turn only to those whose sensibilities are quick1 and who are governed by their feelings2 they alone will listen4 ,and for that reason the originators of the idea must themselves be above all things men of keen sensibility1 temperamentally capable of concentrating their whole spiritual life on a single point1 on one idea and one desire1 of devoting their whole life to it and expending in its service their last ounce of strength4 ,by doing their work competently and with absolute devotion they will show that they have themselves boundless faith in the truth of their idea1 and infinite love for its service2 and that will be the only sure means of awakening faith and love in others4 ,in that way1 and not by mere talk1 will they gain wide support for their idea4 ,and if they appeal in this way to sentiment1 then there is a chance for the idea 7provided that it does in some way correspond to a current need7 to spread gradually and to win many adherents who will be devoted to it heart and soul4 ,it is true that such adherents1 being strong mainly on the side of feeling1 are not generally fitted1 for all their good will1 to carry out a difficult undertaking1 which needs strength1 discernment1 and experience2 but that matters not at all4 ,for in course of time1 as the idea strikes root more and more firmly in the heart of the people1 and makes its way into every house and every family1 it will at last capture the great men1 the leaders and the thinkers4 ,they1 too1 will begin1 whether they like it or no1 to feel the workings of the new force which envelops them on every side4 ,their opposition will grow feebler and feebler1 until at last they will succumb and take their place in the van4 ,then the idea will become a force to be reckoned with in practical affairs1 and its originators1 setting out on the task of its realisation1 with the confidence born of strength1 and with the necessary equipment of knowledge and skill1 may achieve brilliant results1 and have the laugh of the intellectuals and the sceptics who used to scoff at them as dreamers4 ,the history of ideas and beliefs afford actual examples of all that has been said above4 ,but it is time to return to our immediate subject4 ,the idea which we are here discussing is not new in the sense of setting up a new object of endeavour2 but the methods which it suggests for the attainment of its object demand a great expenditure of effort1 and it cannot prove the adequacy of its methods so conclusively as to compel reason to assent to the truth of its judgments4 ,what it needs1 therefore1 is to make of the devotion and the desire which are felt for its ideal an instrument for the strengthening of faith and the sharpening of resolution4 ,now the devotion of the individual to the well-being of the community1 which is the ideal here in question1 is a sentiment to which we ,jews are no strangers4 ,but if we would estimate aright its capacity to produce the faith and the resolution that are needed for the realisation of our idea1 we must first of all study the vicissitudes through which it has passed1 and examine its present condition4 ,all the laws and ordinances1 all the blessings and curses of the ,law of ,moses have but one unvarying object3 the well-being of the nation as a whole in the land of its inheritance4 ,the happiness of the individual is not regarded4 ,the individual ,israelite is treated as standing to the people of ,israel in the relation of a single limb to the whole body3 the actions of the individual have their reward in the good of the community4 ,one long chain unites all the generations1 from ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob to the end of time2 the covenant which ,god made with the ,patriarchs he keeps with their descendants1 and if the fathers eat sour grapes1 the teeth of the children will be set on edge4 ,for the people is one people throughout all its generations1 and the individuals who come and go in each generation are but as those minute parts of the living body which change every day1 without affecting in any degree the character of that organic unity which is the whole body4 ,it is difficult to say definitely whether at any period our people as a whole really entertained the sentiment of national loyalty in this high degree1 or whether it was only a moral ideal cherished by the most important section of the people4 ,but at any rate it is clear that after the destruction of the first ,temple1 when the nation's star had almost set1 and its well-being was so nearly shattered that even its best sons despaired1 and when the elders of ,israel sat before ,ezekiel and said3 8,we will be as the heathen1 as the families of the countries10 and 8,our bones are dried1 and our hope is lost0--it is clear that at that time our people began to be more concerned about the fate of the righteous individual who perishes despite his righteousness4 ,from that time date the familiar speculations about the relation between goodness and happiness which we find in ,ezekiel1 in ,ecclesiastes1 and in many of the ,psalms 7and in ,job some would add1 holding that book also to have been written in this period72 and many men1 not satisfied by any of the solutions which were propounded1 came to the conclusion that 8it is vain to serve ,god10 and that 8to serve the ,master without expectation of reward0 is a fruitless proceeding4 ,it would seem that then1 and not till then1 when the well-being of the community could no longer inspire enthusiasm and idealism1 did our people suddenly remember the individual1 remember that besides the life of the body corporate the individual has a life peculiarly his own1 and that in this life of his own he wants pleasure and happiness1 and demands a personal reward for his personal righteousness4 ,the effect of this discovery on the ,jewish thought of that epoch is found in such pronouncements as this3 8,the present life is like an entrance-hall to the future life40 ,the happiness which the individual desires will become his when he enters the banqueting-hall1 if only he qualifies for it by his conduct in the ante-room4 ,the national ideal having ceased to satisfy1 the religious ordinances are endowed instead with a meaning and a purpose for the individual1 as the spirit of the age demands1 and are put outside the domain of the national sentiment4 ,despite this change1 the national sentiment continued for a long time to live on and to play its part in the political life of the people3 witness the whole history of the long period which ended with the wars of ,titus and ,hadrian4 ,but since on the political side there was a continuous decline1 the religious life grew correspondingly stronger1 and concurrently the individualist element in the individual members of the nation prevailed more and more over the nationalist element1 and drove it ultimately from its last stronghold--the hope for a future redemption4 ,that hope1 the heartfelt yearning of a nation seeking in a distant future what the present could not give1 ceased in time to satisfy people in its original form1 which looked forward to a ,messianic ,age 8differing from the life of to-day in nothing except the emancipation of ,israel from servitude40 ,for living men and women no longer found any comfort for themselves in the abundance of good which was to come to their nation in the latter end of days1 when they would be dead and gone4 ,each individual demanded his own private and personal share of the expected general happiness4 ,and religion went so far as to satisfy even this demand1 by laying less emphasis on the redemption than on the resurrection of the dead4 ,thus the national ideal was completely changed4 ,no longer is patriotism a pure1 unselfish devotion2 no longer is the common good the highest of all aims1 overriding the personal aims of each individual4 ,on the contrary3 henceforward the summum bonum is for each individual his personal well-being1 in time or in eternity1 and the individual cares about the common good only in so far as he himself participates in it4 ,to realise how complete the change of attitude became in course of time1 we need only recall the surprise expressed by the ,tannaim#g because the ,pentateuch speaks of 8the land which the ,lord swore to your ancestors to give to them40 ,in fact1 the land was given not to them1 but only to their descendants1 and so the ,tannaim find in this passage an allusion to the resurrection of the dead 7,sifr74 ,this shows that in their time that deep-rooted consciousness of the union of all ages in the body corporate of the people1 which pervades the whole of the ,pentateuch1 had become so weak that they could not understand the words 8to them0 except as referring to the actual individuals to whom they were addressed4 ,subsequent events--the terrible oppressions and frequent migrations1 which intensified immeasurably the personal anxiety of every ,jew for his own safety and that of his family--contributed still further to the enfeebling of the already weakened national sentiment1 and to the concentration of interest primarily in the life of the family1 secondarily in that of the congregation 7in which the individual finds satisfaction for his needs74 ,the national life of the people as a whole practically ceased to matter to the individual4 ,even those ,jews who are still capable of feeling occasionally an impulse to work for the nation cannot as a rule so far transcend their individualism as to subordinate their own love of self and their own ambition1 or their immediate family or communal interests1 to the requirements of the nation4 ,the demon of egoism--individual or congregational--haunts us in all that we do for our people1 and suppresses the rare manifestations of national feeling1 being the stronger of the two4 ,this1 then1 was the state of feeling to which we had to appeal1 by means of which we had to create the invincible faith and the indomitable will that are needed for a great1 constructive national effort4 ,what ought we to have done8 ,it follows from what has been said above that we ought to have made it our first object to bring about a revival--to inspire men with a deeper attachment to the national life1 and a more ardent desire for the national well-being4 ,by these means we should have aroused the necessary determination1 and we should have obtained devoted adherents4 ,no doubt such work is very difficult and takes a long time1 not one year or one decade2 and1 ,i repeat1 it is not to be accomplished by speeches alone1 but demands the employment of all means by which men's hearts can be won4 ,hence it is probable--in fact almost certain--that if we had chosen this method we should not yet have had time to produce concrete results in ,palestine itself3 lacking the resources necessary to do things well1 we should have been too prudent to do things badly4 ,but1 on the other side1 we should have made strenuous endeavours to train up ,jews who would work for their people4 ,we should have striven gradually to extend the empire of our ideal in ,jewry1 till at last it could find genuine1 whole-hearted devotees1 with all the qualities needed to enable them to work for its practical realisation4 ,but such was not the policy of the first champions of our ideal4 ,as ,jews1 they had a spice of individualism in their nationalism1 and were not capable of planting a tree so that others might eat its fruit after they themselves were dead and gone4 ,not satisfied with working among the people to train up those who would ultimately work in the land1 they wanted to see with their own eyes the actual work in the land and its results4 ,when1 therefore1 they found that their first rallying-cry1 in which they based their appeal on the general good1 did not at once rouse the national determination to take up ,palestinian work1 they summoned to their aid--like our teachers of old--the individualistic motive1 and rested their appeal on economic want1 which is always sure of sympathy4 ,to this end they began to publish favourable reports1 and to make optimistic calculations1 which plainly showed that so many dunams#h of land1 so many head of cattle and so much equipment1 costing so-and-so much1 were sufficient in ,palestine to keep a whole family in comfort and affluence3 so that anybody who wanted to do well and had the necessary capital should betake him to the goodly land1 where he and his family would prosper1 while the nation too would benefit4 ,an appeal on these lines did really induce some people to go to ,palestine in order to win comfort and affluence2 whereat the promoters of the idea were mightily pleased1 and did not examine very closely what kind of people the emigrants to ,palestine were1 and why they went4 ,but these people1 most of whom were by no means prepared to submit cheerfully to discomfort for the sake of a national ideal1 found when they reached ,palestine that they had been taken in by imaginative reports and estimates2 and they set up--and are still keeping up--a loud and bitter outcry1 seeking to gain their individual ends by all means in their power1 and regardless of any distinction between what is legitimate and what is not1 or of the fair name of the ideal which they dishonour4 ,the details of the story are public property4 ,what wonder1 then1 that so great an ideal1 presented in so unworthy a form1 can no longer gain adherents2 that a national building founded on the expectation of profit and self-interest falls to ruins when it becomes generally known that the expectation has not been realised1 and self-interest bids men keep away8 99 99 99 99 99 ,this1 then1 is the wrong way4 ,certainly1 seeing that these ruins are already there1 we are not at liberty to neglect the task of mending and improving so far as we can4 ,but at the same time we must remember that it is not on these that we must base our hope of ultimate success4 ,the heart of the people--that is the foundation on which the land will be regenerated4 ,and the people is broken into fragments4 ,so let us return to the road on which we started when our idea first arose4 ,instead of adding yet more ruins1 let us endeavour to give the idea itself strong roots and to strengthen and deepen its hold on the ,jewish people1 not by force1 but by the spirit4 ,then we shall in time have the possibility of doing actual work4 8,i shall see it1 but not now3 ,i shall behold it1 but not nigh40 ,,ii 8,let us not theorise too much1 or slacken our efforts4 ,let us avoid impatience and undue haste4 ,let us increase our devotion to our people and our love for our ancestral land1 and the ,god of ,zion will help us40 ,these are the concluding words of the long criticism of my first essay which appeared in ha-,meliz4#i ,it might be inferred that my advice to the ,chovev ,zion was that they should confine themselves to theory1 give up practical work1 proceed with undue haste1 and refrain from increasing devotion to our people and love for our ancestral land4 ,but any attentive reader of my article will not need to be told that as regards the two last points ,i said the exact opposite3 that we should not1 through undue haste1 attempt to achieve by the appeal to self-interest things which are not yet ripe for achievement by force of the ideal itself1 because so long as ,chibbath ,zion is not a living and burning passion in the heart of the people we lack the only basis on which the land could be regenerated1 and for that reason we must strive with all our might to increase our devotion to our people and our love for our ancestral land4 ,but as regards theorising and neglecting action1 ,i may really have left my meaning uncertain through excessive brevity4 ,though ,i said explicitly that propaganda could be made only by work competently done1 and not by speeches alone1 it is possible that ,i ought to have added--what is really self-evident from the context--that so long as the time is not ripe for the actual carrying out of our idea1 the object of everything that we do on a small scale ought to be simply to win adherents to our cause2 that by that test and that alone we ought to distinguish between what is well and what is ill done both in ,palestine and outside it2 that therefore quality and not quantity must be our concern1 and we must not confine our efforts to the improvement of the colonies1 but must use all the many and various ways of appealing to the people4 ,it is therefore futile for my critic to labour to prove that the ,chovev ,zion had no right 8to defer action until they had created a new state of mind in the ,jewish masses and awakened their national consciousness40 8,idea and action10 he says1 8are not separated in our minds2 it requires deeds to convince us4 ,how then could the idea of resettlement gain acceptance with the masses if it were not accompanied by action80 ,all this does not touch my position1 because ,i did not demand deferment of action4 ,on the contrary1 ,i demanded that everything possible should be done to awaken the love of ,palestine1 and from that it follows that when the champions of the idea themselves cultivate the ,holy ,land with the sweat of their brows and their hearts' blood1 as an example1 they are doing the very best propaganda work4 ,but the settlement as it is to-day--can it be regarded as propaganda work of this kind8 ,my critic himself says that 8the champions of the idea did not do the work with their own hands10 but 8talked in four languages20 and what they said was calculated only to incite those who were out for material advancement to go to ,palestine and do the work4 ,such men did in fact go to ,palestine1 and we know what they did and what happened to them and what the settlement has become4 ,no wonder1 then1 that the idea has gone on losing its influence on the minds of the people1 and that the heart of the ,jew does not glow at the vision of ,jewish farmers hoeing and ploughing the land of our fathers1 as in the days of ,david and ,solomon4 ,neither the deeds nor the doers are such as to inspire enthusiasm in a people whose heart is chilled by age and trouble4 ,but my critic joins issue with me in principle as well4 ,he maintains that by no possible means can we succeed in arousing a strong national sentiment among our people1 because ever since we became a nation 8the sentiment of nationality has been foreign to the spirit of our people1 and the individual ,jew seeks rather his own good and his private advantage20 and it is vain for us to fight against the spirit and natural character of the people1 8for nothing avails against national character40 ,hence the ,chovev ,zion chose the line of self-interest1 not because they preferred it1 but because no other was open4 8,the ,jewish masses do not properly understand the language of the national sentiment4 ,our endeavour must be to make actions speak to them in a language which they do understand--the language of self-interest4 ,then calculation will succeed where sentiment cannot40 ,now 8the language of self-interest0 is the language of the struggle for existence1 which speaks to each individual in the particular style adapted to his position and ambitions1 and to no man in a speech which his neighbour understands2 and ,i for my part am unable to see how it can serve us instead of the unvarying appeal of the national sentiment1 which unites all hearts for one aim and one purpose4 ,even the ,utilitarians1 who tried to trace all moral and social tendencies to the pursuit of individual advantage1 were concerned only to explain the first cause of these tendencies1 and to show how they came into existence and developed1 as against those who attributed their presence to a direct interposition of ,providence4 ,but it is universally admitted that self-interest alone1 as it is in itself1 cannot provide a basis for any organised society or any great collective effort4 ,let us1 however1 waive that point1 and let us hear from our critic's own lips what is the language of self-interest in this matter4 8,national sentiment10 he says1 8is foreign to the spirit of our people4 ,the way to convince them is to show by figures that any industrious and peaceable man will find what he wants in ,palestine1 provided he has physical strength and capital40 ,he admits1 then1 that only a man who has capital and physical strength1 and is industrious and peaceable to boot1 will find in ,palestine what he wants--that is to say1 his individual advantage4 ,now it is difficult to find the last-named qualifications in a ,jew who has capital1 and is accustomed to make his living easily and to have a great regard for his own dignity2 and apart from that1 we have to remember that such a man will not easily find what he wants in ,palestine4 ,for a man with capital wants not merely plain food and raiment3 he wants also the luxuries and pleasures to which he has been used4 ,and if he is thinking of his individual advantage1 he will certainly come to the conclusion that it is folly to lay out his capital in purchasing a piece of land in ,palestine1 where at the very best he will have to work hard without being able to find satisfaction for even a half of his desires4 ,to the truth of this statement our critic himself bears witness4 ,he tells us that 8in those days also 7i4e41 in the beginning of the colonisation work7 the movement existed principally among the poor1 who hoped to be established by the generosity of others2 and the rich held aloof1 then as now40 ,again3 8,in the winter of #ahha-hb the first emissary travelled to ,palestine1 bearing written authority from a number of men in good circumstances to purchase land on their behalf4 ,he bought the land of ,rishon-le-,zion1 but those who had authorised him to buy for them changed their minds40 ,and again3 8,of those who bought plots of land in the colony just mentioned it was only the poor who went to ,palestine2 the rich remained at home40 ,finally3 8,the net result of the whole movement was that1 with few exceptions1 those who remained in ,palestine were men in the last stage of poverty40 ,experience1 therefore1 teaches us that men of capital1 if they understand no language except that of individual self-interest1 will not go to find in ,palestine 8what they want10 because they want more than they will find there4 ,who is there1 then1 whom figures can persuade or to whom self-interest can recommend ,palestine1 if those who could go will not1 and those who would cannot8 ,i asked in my article why the idea lost ground among our people from the time when it began to take practical shape in the land4 ,our critic answers with a sigh3 8,our impatient people saw that a long time and a great deal of money would be needed to put the colonies which had been founded into a satisfactory condition1 and their courage failed them4 ,for eighteen hundred years we found it possible to exist without moving a finger for the colonisation of our land and the salvation of our people2 but now that we have not been able to make our colonies all that they should be in six years1 we lose heart4 ,are we not an impatient people80 ,he does not realise that what he attributes to impatience is simply an inevitable result of the appeal to self-interest4 ,for eighteen hundred years we did not move a finger for the colonisation of our land1 because we did not expect it to bring us advantage as individuals4 ,in recent years we have paid attention to the colonisation of our land1 because reports and statistics have led us to hope that it will bring us advantage as individuals4 ,but now1 when we see that a long time and a great deal of money will be needed to put the colonies already founded into a satisfactory condition1 it becomes clear that from the point of view of individual self-interest the thing is not worth while2 and so we have quite justifiably lost heart1 and the colonisation of our land has become a charitable affair1 which affords a scant subsistence to some hundreds of people 8in the last stage of poverty40 99 99 99 99 99 ,such1 then1 is the language of individual self-interest4 ,had our critic really been able to adduce convincing arguments in support of his severe judgment that there never was and never will be any national sentiment among the ,jews1 and that individual ,jews will never be able to rise above 8private advantage and individual self-interest10 then we might as well throw up the sponge4 ,we should have no right to be called a people or to lay claim to a land4 ,but1 luckily for us1 his arguments are not so dangerous4 ,as a general rule1 ethnological investigations into the characteristics of different people are extremely speculative and hazardous4 ,one ethnologist set about to collect the opinions of the foremost authorities as to the characteristics of the ,arabs1 and this is what he found4 ,some maintain that the ,arab is a man of action1 concerned only with concrete things1 and very weak on the side of imagination2 while others assert that both the ,arabs and the ,hebrews are strongly imaginative1 and that among the ,arabs the imagination is always more powerful than the reason4 ,on the other hand1 ,sprenger regards it as self-evident that the predominance of the imagination over the reason is a characteristic opposed to the ,arab spirit1 and lays it down as a truth universally recognised that the spirit of the ,semitic peoples generally is objective2 whereas ,lassen1 and after him ,renan1 regard it as universally recognised that the fundamental characteristic of the ,semitic peoples is subjectivity4#aj ,if there are these differences of opinion as regards the characteristics of the ,arabs1 who have never been uprooted and driven into exile1 can anybody have the assurance to dogmatise about the characteristics of a people like our own1 which has been scattered among different peoples these two thousand years8 ,can anybody be so all-knowing as to distinguish with precision between those characteristics which are innate and original in us1 and those which have been produced in us by our own environment in exile2 to trace one by one all the mutations which the original and the acquired traits have undergone in the passage from generation to generation and from land to land2 to forecast which of our characteristics may or may not change with a change of environment8 ,why1 here is our critic laying down the law about the ,jewish character as though it were something fixed and unchangeable by time or place1 while one famous modern writer has picked out the ,jews to demonstrate the truth of his theory that national characteristics depend more on environment and social conditions than on heredity1 because he finds that our characteristics differ in different countries and change at different periods1 according to our environment and the spirit of the people among whom we live4#aa ,this being so1 ,i will not enlarge on the details of our critic's theory as to ,jewish characteristics1 but will confine myself to that one dangerous characteristic which he attributes to us--the innate lack of national sentiment4 ,in my essay ,i argued thus3 ,seeing that the ,law of ,moses is entirely based on the welfare of the whole nation1 so much so that it has no need to appeal to belief in future reward and punishment 7a belief which was known in ,egypt in very early times7 in order to satisfy the individual1 we are justified in inferring the existence at that time of a very strong national sentiment in the whole people1 or the most important section of it2 and it was only through historical circumstances that this sentiment afterwards lost its force4 ,thus we are at liberty to believe that by appropriate means it is possible to revive to-day in our people a sentiment which it already had in ancient times4 ,to this our critic replies3 8,if the ,law looked only at the general good1 that is not because at a certain time the spirit of individualism did not exist in ,israel1 but because the ,law is practical and reckons with facts4 ,we see that the individual is exposed to all kinds of accidents and misfortunes4 ,how1 then1 could a practical ,law like ours guarantee individual happiness1 which is unrealisable80 ,i have tried my hardest1 ,heaven knows1 to discover what this means1 but in vain4 ,it simply proves my point4 ,for if ,judaism is realistic1 and if the happiness of the individual on earth is unrealisable1 and if at the same time there was no national sentiment1 and the people attached no great importance to the well-being of the nation as a whole--then how could ,judaism be content with promising a reward which could not have much value as an incentive to right living1 when it might have done as other religions have done1 both before and since1 and as it did itself at a much later period1 in response to the needs of the time3 namely1 have promised every individual a reward in heaven8 ,and our critic gets himself into all this difficulty simply because he finds it stated by ,chwolson that all ,semites are individualistic by nature4 ,if that is so1 we cannot admit the existence of a national sentiment in ,israel at any period4 ,now we have seen above how much reliance can be placed in such matters on the statements of well-known authorities4 ,but if we examine carefully the passage which our critic quotes from ,chwolson1 we shall be even more surprised at his finding in it sufficient ground for passing such a sweeping judgment on his people4 ,chwolson says3 8,there was scarcely ever a strong bond of union between the ,jewish tribes4 ,a full national consciousness has never developed very far among ,semites4 ,each tribe is a unity1 the members of which are closely bound together among themselves2 but there is no feeling of unity between the different tribes40 ,the explanation1 according to ,chwolson1 lies in that individualism 8which is especially characteristic of the ,semites40 ,but who can show how 8a full national consciousness0 differs in character from a feeling of love for and attachment to a single tribe8 ,and if it was individualism--and not external circumstances--which prevented the ,jewish tribes from being joined by 8a strong bond of union10 how is it that this individualism allowed each tribe to become a closely-knit unity8 ,surely1 when a man feels it necessary and possible to subordinate his individual interests to those of the larger unit to which he belongs1 even if that unit is only a petty tribe1 he has already got beyond individualism1 and is therefore capable even of 8a full national consciousness10 provided that there are no external obstacles2 and the only difference between the national sentiment of a ,frenchman and the tribal sentiment of a ,montenegrin lies in the magnitude of what inspires the sentiment1 not in the character of the sentiment itself4 ,and1 in fact1 it does happen in all periods1 under suitable conditions1 that tribal patriotism expands into national patriotism4 ,the ancient ,greeks were at first divided into small tribes1 continually at war with one another1 and it was only at a late period that they acquired the sentiment of national unity4 ,in the ,middle ,ages the ,italian cities were separate and mutually hostile1 and yet at last the ,italians developed a strong national sentiment4 ,and1 to come to recent times1 who does not know what the ,germans were until a few decades ago8 8,we still remember10 says one of their great writers1#ab 8the time when we were justly reproached with being conspicuous among all the civilised peoples of ,europe for our lack of a strong and healthy national sentiment40 ,and look at the ,germans now6 ,in a word3 the contention that ,semites in general1 or the ,jews in particular1 cannot have a national sentiment 7a sentiment of which one of the greatest scientists#ac finds traces even in animals7 needs to be supported by weightier evidence4 ,and until such evidence is forthcoming1 8let us not slacken our efforts1 and let us avoid undue haste4 ,let us increase our devotion to our people and our love for our ancestral land1 and the ,god of ,zion will help us40 ,footnote #d3 i4e41 ,jewish agricultural settlements in ,palestine4 ,footnote #e3 ,chalukah--lit4 8division0--is the ,hebrew name for the stream of charity which flows--or flowed before the war--into ,palestine from all quarters of the ,jewish dispersion4 ,intended primarily for the support of scholars1 it has in practice done much to pauperise the ,jewish population in the cities of ,palestine1 and has created a problem which it may take a generation or more of economic progress to solve4 ,footnote #f3 ,baron ,edmond de ,rothschild4 ,footnote #g3 ,the ,jewish teachers of the period 7roughly7 from #bjj ,b4,c4 to #bjj ,c4,e4 ,they were responsible for the ,mishnah--the first ,code of ,jewish ,law after the ,pentateuch--and for the earliest commentaries on the ,bible or parts of it1 one of which is called ,sifr4 ,footnote #h3 ,a ,turkish measure about acre4 ,footnote #i3 ,the ,hebrew paper in which this and the foregoing essay originally appeared4 ,footnote #aj3 ,a4 ,mller1 ,zeitschrift fr ,vlkerpsychologie1 ,,xiv41 p4 #dce4 ,footnote #aa3 ,henry ,george1 ,progress and ,poverty1 p4 #ceb4 ,footnote #ab3 ,ed4 ,zeller1 ,vortrge1 ,,ii41 p4 #dcd4 ,footnote #ac3 ,du ,bois-,reymond1 ,reden1 ,i41 p4 #cji4 ,,the ,,first ,,zionist ,,congress 7#ahigad7 ,the ,congress of the ,zionists1 the subject of a controversy which has filled the emptiness of our little world for some months past1 is now a piece of history4 ,about two hundred ,jews1 of all lands and of all parties1 met at ,basle1 and for three days 7#bi-ca ,august7 from morning till evening they discussed publicly1 in the sight of the whole world1 the establishment of a secure home for the ,jewish people in the land of its ancestors4 ,thus the national answer to the 8,jewish problem0 came out of its retirement into the light of day1 and was proclaimed to the world in ringing tones1 in clear language and in manly fashion--a thing the like of which had never happened since the ,jews were exiled from their land4 ,that is all4 ,the ,congress could do no more1 had need to do no more4 ,for--why deceive ourselves8--of all the great objects of ,chibbath ,zion 7or1 as they call it now1 8,zionism071 there is only one towards the accomplishment of which we have at present the strength to approach in any appreciable degree1 and that is the moral object--the emancipation of ourselves from the inner slavery and the spiritual degradation which assimilation has produced in us1 and the strengthening of our national unity by joint action in every sphere of our national life1 until we become capable and worthy of a life of dignity and freedom at some time in the future4 ,everything else lies at yet in the realm of idea and imagination4 ,those who oppose the 8,jewish ,state0 doubt whether it will be possible to obtain the consent of the nations1 and especially of ,turkey1 to its establishment4 ,but it seems to me that there is a still more difficult question4 ,if we had this consent1 should we1 in our present moral condition1 be fit to accept it8444 ,nor is that all4 ,one may even doubt whether the establishment of a 8,jewish ,state0 at the present time1 even in the most complete form that we can imagine1 having regard to the general international position1 would give us the right to say that our problem had been completely solved1 and our national ideal attained4 8,reward is proportionate to suffering40#ae ,after two thousand years of untold misery and suffering1 the ,jewish people cannot possibly be content with attaining at last to the position of a small and insignificant nation1 with a ,state tossed about like a ball between its powerful neighbours1 and maintaining its existence only by diplomatic shifts and continual truckling to the favoured of fortune4 ,an ancient people1 which was once a beacon to the world1 cannot possibly accept1 as a satisfactory reward for all that it has endured1 a thing so trifling1 which many other peoples1 unrenowned and uncultured1 have won in a short time1 without going through a hundredth part of the suffering4 ,it was not for nothing that ,israel had ,prophets1 whose vision saw ,righteousness ruling the world at the end of days4 ,it was their nationalism1 their love for their people and their land1 that gave the ,prophets that vision4 ,for in their day the ,jewish ,state was always between two fires--,assyria or ,babylon on one side1 and ,egypt on the other--and it never had any chance of a peaceful life and natural development4 ,so 8,zionism0 in the minds of the ,prophets expanded1 and produced that great vision of the end of days1 when the wolf should lie down with the lamb1 and nation should no longer lift up the sword against nation--and then ,israel too should dwell securely in his land4 ,and so this ideal for humanity has always been and will always be inevitably an essential part of the national ideal of the ,jewish people2 and a 8,jewish ,state0 will be able to give the people rest only when universal ,righteousness is enthroned and holds sway over nations and ,states4 ,we went to ,basle1 then1 not to found a ,jewish ,state to-day or to-morrow1 but to proclaim aloud to all the nations that the ,jewish people still lives and desires to live4 ,we have to proclaim this in season and out1 not in order that the nations may hearken and give us what we want1 but primarily in order that we ourselves may hear the echo of our cry in our inmost hearts1 and perhaps be roused thereby from our degradation4 ,this function the ,basle ,congress fulfilled admirably in its opening stages2 and for this it would have deserved eternal commemoration in letters of gold--had it not tried to do more4 ,once again our impatience1 that curse which dogs us and ruins all that we do1 had full rein4 ,if those who convened the ,congress had armed themselves with patience1 and had begun by stating clearly that the ,messiah was not yet in sight1 and that for the moment we could achieve nothing beyond what words and enthusiasm could do--the revival of our national spirit1 and the announcement of this revival in a public manner--then1 no doubt1 the ,congress would have been much less well attended than it was1 and one day would have sufficed for its business instead of three3 but that one day would have been worth whole generations1 and the delegates1 the chosen of our people 7for only the chosen of our people would have been interested in such a ,congress7 would have returned to their several homes filled with life and determination and new-born energy1 to impart their life and determination and energy to the whole people4 ,but as it is4444 ,the founders of this movement are 8,europeans10 and1 being expert in the ways of diplomacy and the procedure of latter-day political parties1 they bring these ways and procedure with them to the 8,jewish ,state40 444 ,emissaries were sent out before the ,congress1 and various hints were spread abroad in writing and by word of mouth1 so as to arouse in the masses an exaggerated hope of imminent redemption4 ,thus was kindled the false fire of a feverish enthusiasm1 which brought to the ,basle ,congress a rabble of youngsters--in years or in understanding--and their senseless proceedings robbed it of its bloom and made it a mockery4 ,councils large and small1 committees without number1 a sheaf of fantastic proposals about a 8,national ,fund10#af and the rest of the haute politique of the ,jewish ,state--these are the 8practical0 results of the ,congress4 ,how could it be otherwise8 ,most of the delegates1 representing the down-trodden ,jews who long for redemption1 were sent for one purpose and on one understanding only--that they should bring redemption back with them4 ,how could they return home without being able to announce that the management of the 8,state0 in all its various branches had been put in good hands1 and that all the important questions connected with it had been raised and examined and solved8 ,history repeats itself4 ,seven years ago our people looked to the ,executive ,committee#ag at ,jaffa as it looks now to the ,basle ,congress4 ,a large number of people went to ,palestine1 thinking to buy the land and to build dozens of colonies in a single day4 ,hope and enthusiasm grew day by day1 not less than now4 ,then also haute politique--though in a different form--was our undoing4 ,the leaders of the movement aroused an artificial exaltation in the people by promises and expectations which were not destined to be fulfilled2 and this exaltation could not last long4 ,the dream fled1 eyes were opened1 and disappointment begat despair4 ,at that time1 in the midst of the hubbub and enthusiasm1 ,i ventured to tell the public the bitter truth1#ah to warn the people not to be led astray by false hopes3 and many regarded me as a traitor to my people1 as one who hindered the redemption4 ,now we have seen these same men1 the 8practical0 men of that day1 among the delegates at ,basle1 crowning the new movement with wreaths1 and making game of 8practical colonisation0--as though they had completely forgotten that the responsibility for what has happened to the colonisation work lies not on the work itself1 but on them1 because they carried it on by crooked methods and turned it from its true purpose1 in order to create a great popular movement at a single stroke4 ,at ,basle1 as at ,jaffa1 ,i sat solitary among my friends1 like a mourner at a wedding-feast4 ,but now1 as then1 ,i may not hold back the truth4 ,let others say what they will1 out of too much simplicity or for worse reasons3 ,i cannot refrain from uttering a warning that danger is at hand and the reaction is close upon us4 ,to-day1 as before1 the enthusiasm is artificial1 and in the end it will lead to the despair that follows disillusionment4 ,seven years ago the delegates returned from ,jaffa full of good tidings4 ,redemption had come to the land1 and we had nothing to do but wait till the vine bore its fruit4 ,now the delegates return and tell us that redeemers have arisen for ,israel1 and we have nothing to do but wait till diplomacy finishes its work4 ,and now1 as then1 the eyes of the people will soon be opened1 and they will see that they have been misled4 ,the fire suddenly kindled by hope will die down again1 perhaps to the very last spark4 ,could ,i command the waters of ,lethe1 ,i would see that everything that the delegates saw and heard at ,basle was effaced from their recollection1 and would leave them only one memory3 that of the great and sacred hour when they all--these down-trodden ,jews who came from the ends of the earth--stood up together like brothers1 their hearts full of sacred emotion and their eyes lifted up in love and pride towards their great brother-,jew1#ai who stood on the platform and spoke wonders of his people1 like one of the ,prophets of old4 ,the memory of that hour1 were it not that many other hours which followed dimmed the purity of the first impression1 might have made this ,congress one of the most momentous events in our history4 ,the salvation of ,israel will be achieved by ,prophets1 not by diplomats4444 ,footnote #ad3 ,this note on the first ,zionist ,congress evoked a storm of indignation1 which led the author to explain his views more fully in the essay on 8,the ,jewish ,state and the ,jewish ,problem40 ,as to the unwonted harshness of some expressions in the ,note1 see the concluding paragraph of that essay 7p4 #ee74 ,footnote #ae3 ,a familiar quotation from the ,talmud--,aboth1 ,v41 #bc4 ,footnote #af3 ,the capital then suggested was ten million pounds6 ,footnote #ag3 ,of the ,chovev ,zion4 ,footnote #ah3 ,the reference is to an article called 8,the ,truth about ,palestine10 written after the author's first visit to that country in #ahia4 ,footnote #ai3 ,dr4 ,max ,nordau4 ,,the ,,jewish ,,state ,,and ,,the ,,jewish ,,problem 7#ahigbj7 ,some months have passed since the ,zionist ,congress1 but its echoes are still heard in daily life and in the press4 ,in daily life the echoes take the form of meetings small and big1 local and central4 ,since the delegates returned home1 they have been gathering the public together and recounting over and over again the wonders that they saw enacted before their eyes4 ,the wretched1 hungry public listens and waxes enthusiastic and hopes for salvation3 for can 8they0--the ,jews of the ,west--fail to carry out anything that they plan8 ,heads grow hot and hearts beat fast2 and many 8communal workers0 whose one care in life had been for years--until last ,august--the ,palestinian settlement1 and who would have given the whole world for a penny donation in aid of ,palestine workmen or the ,jaffa ,school1 have now quite lost their bearings1 and ask one another3 8,what's the good of this sort of work8 ,the ,messiah is near at hand1 and we busy ourselves with trifles6 ,the time has come for great deeds3 great men1 men of the ,west1 march before us in the van40--,there has been a revolution in their world1 and to emphasise it they give a new name to the cause3 it is no longer 8,love of ,zion0 7,chibbath ,zion71 but 8,zionism0 7,zioniyuth74 ,nay1 the more careful among them1 determined to leave no loop-hole for error1 even keep the ,european form of the name 78,zionismus07--thus announcing to all and sundry that they are not talking about anything so antiquated as ,chibbath ,zion1 but about a new1 up-to-date movement1 which comes1 like its name1 from the ,west1 where people do not use ,hebrew4 ,in the press all these meetings1 with their addresses1 motions and resolutions1 appear over again in the guise of articles--articles written in a vein of enthusiasm and triumph4 ,the meeting was magnificent1 every speaker was a ,demosthenes1 the resolutions were carried by acclamation1 all those present were swept off their feet and shouted with one voice3 8,we will do and obey60--in a word1 everything was delightful1 entrancing1 perfect4 ,and the ,congress itself still produces a literature of its own4 ,pamphlets specially devoted to its praises appear in several languages2 ,jewish and non-,jewish papers still occasionally publish articles and notes about it2 and1 needless to say1 the 8,zionist0 organ#ba itself endeavours to maintain the impression which the ,congress made1 and not to allow it to fade too rapidly from the public memory4 ,it searches the press of every nation and every land1 and wherever it finds a favourable mention of the ,congress1 even in some insignificant journal published in the language of one of the smaller ,european nationalities1 it immediately gives a summary of the article1 with much jubilation4 ,only one small nation's language has thus far not been honoured with such attention1 though its journals too have lavished praise on the ,congress3 ,i mean ,hebrew4 ,in short1 the universal note is one of rejoicing2 and it is therefore small wonder that in the midst of this general harmony my little ,note on the ,congress sounded discordant and aroused the most violent displeasure in many quarters4 ,i knew from the start that ,i should not be forgiven for saying such things at such a time1 and ,i had steeled myself to hear with equanimity the clatter of high-sounding phrases and obscure innuendoes--of which our writers are so prolific--and hold my peace4 ,but when ,i was attacked by ,m4 ,l4 ,lilienblum1#bb a writer whose habit it is not to write propos des bottes for the sake of displaying his style1 ,i became convinced that this time ,i had really relied too much on the old adage3 ,verbum sapienti satis4 ,it is not pleasant to swim against the stream2 and when one does something without enjoyment1 purely as a duty1 one does not put more than the necessary minimum of work into the task4 ,hence in the note referred to ,i allowed myself to be extremely brief1 relying on my readers to fill in the gaps out of their own knowledge1 by connecting what ,i wrote with earlier expressions of my views1 which were already familiar to them4 ,i see now that ,i made a mistake1 and left room for the ascription to me of ideas and opinions which are utterly remote from my true intention4 ,consequently ,i have now to perform the hard and ungrateful task of writing a commentary on myself1 and expressing my views on the matter in hand with greater explicitness4 99 99 99 99 99 ,nordau's address on the general condition of the ,jews was a sort of introduction to the business of the ,congress4 ,it exposed in incisive language the sore troubles1 material or moral1 which beset the ,jews the world over4 ,in ,eastern countries their trouble is material3 they have a constant struggle to satisfy the most elementary physical needs1 to win a crust of bread and a breath of air--things which are denied them because they are ,jews4 ,in the ,west1 in lands of emancipation1 their material condition is not particularly bad1 but the moral trouble is serious4 ,they want to take full advantage of their rights1 and cannot2 they long to become attached to the people of the country1 and to take part in its social life1 and they are kept at arm's length2 they strive after love and brotherhood1 and are met by looks of hatred and contempt on all sides2 conscious that they are not inferior to their neighbours in any kind of ability or virtue1 they have it continually thrown in their teeth that they are an inferior type1 and are not fit to rise to the same level as the ,aryans4 ,and more to the same effect4 ,well--what then8 ,nordau himself did not touch on this question3 it was outside the scope of his address4 ,but the whole ,congress was the answer4 ,beginning as it did with ,nordau's address1 the ,congress meant this3 that in order to escape from all these troubles it is necessary to establish a ,jewish ,state4 ,let us imagine1 then1 that the consent of ,turkey and the other ,powers has already been obtained1 and the ,state is established--and1 if you will1 established vlkerrechtlich1 with the full sanction of international law1 as the more extreme members of the ,congress desire4 ,does this bring1 or bring near1 the end of the material trouble8 ,no doubt1 every poor ,jew will be at perfect liberty to go to his ,state and to seek his living there1 without any artificial hindrances in the shape of restrictive laws or anything of that kind4 ,but liberty to seek a livelihood is not enough3 he must be able to find what he seeks4 ,there are natural laws which fetter man's freedom of action much more than artificial laws4 ,modern economic life is so complex1 and the development of any single one of its departments depends on so many conditions1 that no nation1 not even the strongest and richest1 could in a short time create in any country new sources of livelihood sufficient for many millions of human beings4 ,the single country is no longer an economic unit3 the whole world is one great market1 in which every ,state has to struggle hard for its place4 ,hence only a fantasy bordering on madness can believe that so soon as the ,jewish ,state is established millions of ,jews will flock to it1 and the land will afford them adequate sustenance4 ,think of the labour and the money that had to be sunk in ,palestine over a long period of years before one new branch of production--vine-growing--could be established there6 ,and even to-day1 after all the work that has been done1 we cannot yet say that ,palestinian wine has found the openings that it needs in the world market1 although its quantity is still small4 ,but if in #ahia ,palestine had been a ,jewish ,state1 and all the dozens of ,colonies that were then going to be established for the cultivation of the vine had in fact been established1 ,palestinian wine would be to-day as common as water1 and would fetch no price at all4 ,using the analogy of this small example1 we can see how difficult it will be to start new branches of production in ,palestine1 and to find openings for its products in the world market4 ,but if the ,jews are to flock to their ,state in large numbers1 all at once1 we may prophesy with perfect certainty that home competition in every branch of production 7and home competition will be inevitable1 because the amount of labour available will increase more quickly than the demand for it7 will prevent any one branch from developing as it should4 ,and then the ,jews will turn and leave their ,state1 flying from the most deadly of all enemies--an enemy not to be kept off even by the magic word vlkerrechtlich3 from hunger4 ,true1 agriculture in its elementary form does not depend to any great extent on the world market1 and at any rate it will provide those engaged in it with food1 if not with plenty4 ,but if the ,jewish ,state sets out to save all those ,jews who are in the grip of the material problems1 or most of them1 by turning them into agriculturists in ,palestine1 then it must first find the necessary capital4 ,at ,basle1 no doubt1 one heard nave and confident references to a 8,national ,fund0 of ten million pounds sterling4 ,but even if we silence reason1 and give the rein to fancy so far as to believe that we can obtain a ,fund of those dimensions in a short time1 we are still no further4 ,those very speeches that we heard at ,basle about the economic condition of the ,jews in various countries showed beyond a doubt that our national wealth is very small1 and most of our people are below the poverty-line4 ,from this any man of sense1 though he be no great mathematician1 can readily calculate that ten million pounds are a mere nothing compared with the sum necessary for the emigration of the ,jews and their settlement in ,palestine on an agricultural basis4 ,even if all the rich ,jews suddenly became ardent 8,zionists10 and every one of them gave half his wealth to the cause1 the whole would still not make up the thousands of millions that would be needed for the purpose4 ,there is no doubt1 then1 that even when the ,jewish ,state is established the ,jews will be able to settle in it only little by little1 the determining factors being the resources of the people themselves and the degree of economic development reached by the country4 ,meanwhile the natural increase of population will continue1 both among those who settle in the country and among those who remain outside it1 with the inevitable result that on the one hand ,palestine will have less and less room for new immigrants1 and on the other hand the number of those remaining outside ,palestine will not diminish very much1 in spite of the continual emigration4 ,in his opening speech at the ,congress1 ,dr4 ,herzl1 wishing to demonstrate the superiority of his ,state idea over the method of ,palestinian colonisation adopted hitherto1 calculated that by the latter method it would take nine hundred years before all the ,jews could be settled in their land4 ,the members of the ,congress applauded this as a conclusive argument4 ,but it was a cheap victory4 ,the ,jewish ,state itself1 do what it will1 cannot make a more favourable calculation4 ,truth is bitter1 but with all its bitterness it is better than illusion4 ,we must confess to ourselves that the 8ingathering of the exiles0 is unattainable by natural means4 ,we may1 by natural means1 establish a ,jewish ,state one day1 and the ,jews may increase and multiply in it until the country will hold no more3 but even then the greater part of the people will remain scattered in strange lands4 8,to gather our scattered ones from the four corners of the earth0 7in the words of the ,prayer ,book7 is impossible4 ,only religion1 with its belief in a miraculous redemption1 can promise that consummation4 ,but if this is so1 if the ,jewish ,state too means not an 8ingathering of the exiles10 but the settlement of a small part of our people in ,palestine1 then how will it solve the material problem of the ,jewish masses in the lands of the ,diaspora8 ,or do the champions of the ,state idea think1 perhaps1 that1 being masters in our own country1 we shall be able by diplomatic means to get the various governments to relieve the material sufferings of our scattered fellow-,jews8 ,that is1 it seems to me1 ,dr4 ,herzl's latest theory4 ,in his new pamphlet 7,der ,baseler ,kongress7 we no longer find any calculation of the number of years that it will take for the ,jews to enter their country4 ,instead1 he tells us in so many words 7p4 #i7 that if the land becomes the national property of the ,jewish people1 even though no individual ,jew owns privately a single square yard of it1 then the ,jewish problem will be solved for ever1 ,these words 7unless we exclude the material aspect of the ,jewish problem7 can be understood only in the way suggested above4 ,but this hope seems to me so fantastic that ,i see no need to waste words in demolishing it4 ,we have seen often enough1 even in the case of nations more in favour than ,jews are with powerful ,governments1 how little diplomacy can do in matters of this kind1 if it is not backed by a large armed force4 ,nay1 it is conceivable that in the days of the ,jewish ,state1 when economic conditions in this or that country are such as to induce a ,government to protect its people against ,jewish competition by restrictive legislation1 that ,government will find it easier then than it is now to find an excuse for such action1 for it will be able to plead that if the ,jews are not happy where they are1 they can go to their own ,state4 ,the material problem1 then1 will not be ended by the foundation of a ,jewish ,state1 nor1 generally speaking1 does it lie in our power to end it 7though it could be eased more or less even now by various means1 such as the encouragement of agriculture and handicrafts among ,jews in all countries72 and whether we found a ,state or not1 this particular problem will always turn at bottom on the economic condition of each country and the degree of civilisation attained by each people4 ,thus we are driven to the conclusion that the only true basis of ,zionism is to be found in the other problem1 the moral one4 ,but the moral problem appears in two forms1 one in the ,west and one in the ,east2 and this fact explains the fundamental difference between ,western 8,zionism0 and ,eastern ,chibbath ,zion4 ,nordau dealt only with the ,western problem1 apparently knowing nothing about the ,eastern2 and the ,congress as a whole concentrated on the first1 and paid little attention to the second4 ,the ,western ,jew1 after leaving the ,ghetto and seeking to attach himself to the people of the country in which he lives1 is unhappy because his hope of an open-armed welcome is disappointed4 ,he returns reluctantly to his own people1 and tries to find within the ,jewish community that life for which he yearns--but in vain4 ,communal life and communal problems no longer satisfy him4 ,he has already grown accustomed to a broader social and political life2 and on the intellectual side ,jewish cultural work has no attraction1 because ,jewish culture has played no part in his education from childhood1 and is a closed book to him4 ,so in his trouble he turns to the land of his ancestors1 and pictures to himself how good it would be if a ,jewish ,state were re-established there--a ,state arranged and organised exactly after the pattern of other ,states4 ,then he could live a full1 complete life among his own people1 and find at home all that he now sees outside1 dangled before his eyes1 but out of reach4 ,of course1 not all the ,jews will be able to take wing and go to their ,state2 but the very existence of the ,jewish ,state will raise the prestige of those who remain in exile1 and their fellow citizens will no more despise them and keep them at arm's length1 as though they were ignoble slaves1 dependent entirely on the hospitality of others4 ,as he contemplates this fascinating vision1 it suddenly dawns on his inner consciousness that even now1 before the ,jewish ,state is established1 the mere idea of it gives him almost complete relief4 ,he has an opportunity for organised work1 for political excitement2 he finds a suitable field of activity without having to become subservient to non-,jews2 and he feels that thanks to this ideal he stands once more spiritually erect1 and has regained human dignity1 without overmuch trouble and without external aid4 ,so he devotes himself to the ideal with all the ardour of which he is capable2 he gives rein to his fancy1 and lets it soar as it will1 up above reality and the limitations of human power4 ,for it is not the attainment of the ideal that he needs3 its pursuit alone is sufficient to cure him of his moral sickness1 which is the consciousness of inferiority2 and the higher and more distant the ideal1 the greater its power of exaltation4 ,this is the basis of ,western ,zionism and the secret of its attraction4 ,but ,eastern ,chibbath ,zion has a different origin and development4 ,originally1 like 8,zionism10 it was political2 but being a result of material evils1 it could not rest satisfied with an 8activity0 consisting only of outbursts of feeling and fine phrases4 ,these things may satisfy the heart1 but not the stomach4 ,so ,chibbath ,zion began at once to express itself in concrete activities--in the establishment of colonies in ,palestine4 ,this practical work soon clipped the wings of fancy1 and made it clear that ,chibbath ,zion could not lessen the material evil by one iota4 ,one might have thought1 then1 that when this fact became patent the ,chovev ,zion would give up their activity1 and cease wasting time and energy on work which brought them no nearer their goal4 ,but1 no3 they remained true to their flag1 and went on working with the old enthusiasm1 though most of them did not understand even in their own minds why they did so4 ,they felt instinctively that so they must do2 but as they did not clearly appreciate the nature of this feeling1 the things that they did were not always rightly directed towards that object which in reality was drawing them on without their knowledge4 ,for at the very time when the material tragedy in the ,east was at its height1 the heart of the ,eastern ,jew was still oppressed by another tragedy--the moral one2 and when the ,chovev ,zion began to work for the solution of the material problem1 the national instinct of the people felt that just in such work could it find the remedy for its moral trouble4 ,hence the people took up this work and would not abandon it even after it had become obvious that the material trouble could not be cured in this way4 ,the ,eastern form of the moral trouble is absolutely different from the ,western4 ,in the ,west it is the problem of the ,jews1 in the ,east the problem of ,judaism4 ,the one weighs on the individual1 the other on the nation4 ,the one is felt by ,jews who have had a ,european education1 the other by ,jews whose education has been ,jewish4 ,the one is a product of anti-,semitism1 and is dependent on anti-,semitism for its existence2 the other is a natural product of a real link with a culture of thousands of years1 which will retain its hold even if the troubles of the ,jews all over the world come to an end1 together with anti-,semitism1 and all the ,jews in every land have comfortable positions1 are on the best possible terms with their neighbours1 and are allowed by them to take part in every sphere of social and political life on terms of absolute equality4 ,it is not only ,jews who have come out of the ,ghetto3 ,judaism has come out1 too4 ,for ,jews the exodus is confined to certain countries1 and is due to toleration2 but ,judaism has come out 7or is coming out7 of its own accord wherever it has come into contact with modern culture4 ,this contact with modern culture overturns the defences of ,judaism from within1 so that ,judaism can no longer remain isolated and live a life apart4 ,the spirit of our people strives for development3 it wants to absorb those elements of general culture which reach it from outside1 to digest them and to make them a part of itself1 as it has done before at different periods of its history4 ,but the conditions of its life in exile are not suitable4 ,in our time culture wears in each country the garb of the national spirit1 and the stranger who would woo her must sink his individuality and become absorbed in the dominant spirit4 ,for this reason ,judaism in exile cannot develop its individuality in its own way4 ,when it leaves the ,ghetto walls it is in danger of losing its essential being or--at best--its national unity3 it is in danger of being split up into as many kinds of ,judaism1 each with a different character and life1 as there are countries of the ,jewish dispersion4#bc ,and now ,judaism finds that it can no longer tolerate the galuth#bd form which it had to take on1 in obedience to its will-to-live1 when it was exiled from its own country1 and that if it loses that form its life is in danger4 ,so it seeks to return to its historic centre1 in order to live there a life of natural development1 to bring its powers into play in every department of human culture1 to develop and perfect those national possessions which it has acquired up to now1 and thus to contribute to the common stock of humanity1 in the future as in the past1 a great national culture1 the fruit of the unhampered activity of a people living according to its own spirit4 ,for this purpose ,judaism needs at present but little4 ,it needs not an independent ,state1 but only the creation in its native land of conditions favourable to its development3 a good-sized settlement of ,jews working without hindrance#be in every branch of culture1 from agriculture and handicrafts to science and literature4 ,this ,jewish settlement1 which will be a gradual growth1 will become in course of time the centre of the nation1 wherein its spirit will find pure expression and develop in all its aspects up to the highest degree of perfection of which it is capable4 ,then from this centre the spirit of ,judaism will go forth to the great circumference1 to all the communities of the ,diaspora1 and will breathe new life into them and preserve their unity2 and when our national culture in ,palestine has attained that level1 we may be confident that it will produce men in the country who will be able1 on a favourable opportunity1 to establish a ,state which will be a ,jewish ,state1 and not merely a ,state of ,jews4 ,this ,chibbath ,zion1 which takes thought for the preservation of ,judaism at a time when ,jewry suffers so much1 is something odd and unintelligible to the 8political0 ,zionists of the ,west1 just as the demand of ,r4 ,jochanan ben ,zakkai for ,jabneh was strange and unintelligible to the corresponding people of that time4#bf ,and so political ,zionism cannot satisfy those ,jews who care for ,judaism3 its growth seems to them to be fraught with danger to the object of their own aspiration4 ,the secret of our people's persistence is--as ,i have tried to show elsewhere#bg--that at a very early period the ,prophets taught it to respect only spiritual power1 and not to worship material power4 ,for this reason the clash with enemies stronger than itself never brought the ,jewish nation1 as it did the other nations of antiquity1 to the point of self-effacement4 ,so long as we are faithful to this principle1 our existence has a secure basis3 for in spiritual power we are not inferior to other nations1 and we have no reason to efface ourselves4 ,but a political ideal which does not rest on the national culture is apt to seduce us from our loyalty to spiritual greatness1 and to beget in us a tendency to find the path of glory in the attainment of material power and political dominion1 thus breaking the thread that unites us with the past1 and undermining our historical basis4 ,needless to say1 if the political ideal is not attained1 it will have disastrous consequences1 because we shall have lost the old basis without finding a new one4 ,but even if it is attained under present conditions1 when we are a scattered people not only in the physical but also in the spiritual sense--even then ,judaism will be in great danger4 ,almost all our great men1 those1 that is1 whose education and social position fit them to be at the head of a ,jewish ,state1 are spiritually far removed from ,judaism1 and have no true conception of its nature and its value4 ,such men1 however loyal to their ,state and devoted to its interests1 will necessarily regard those interests as bound up with the foreign culture which they themselves have imbibed2 and they will endeavour1 by moral persuasion or even by force1 to implant that culture in the ,jewish ,state1 so that in the end the ,jewish ,state will be a ,state of ,germans or ,frenchmen of the ,jewish race4 ,we have even now a small example of this process in ,palestine4#bh ,and history teaches us that in the days of the ,herodian house ,palestine was indeed a ,jewish ,state1 but the national culture was despised and persecuted1 and the ruling house did everything in its power to implant ,roman culture in the country1 and frittered away the national resources in the building of heathen temples and amphitheatres and so forth4 ,such a ,jewish ,state would spell death and utter degradation for our people4 ,we should never achieve sufficient political power to deserve respect1 while we should miss the living moral force within4 ,the puny ,state1 being 8tossed about like a ball between its powerful neighbours1 and maintaining its existence only by diplomatic shifts and continual truckling to the favoured of fortune10 would not be able to give us a feeling of national glory2 and the national culture1 in which we might have sought and found our glory1 would not have been implanted in our ,state and would not be the principle of its life4 ,so we should really be then--much more than we are now--8a small and insignificant nation10 enslaved in spirit to 8the favoured of fortune10 turning an envious and covetous eye on the armed force of our 8powerful neighbours02 and our existence as a sovereign ,state would not add a glorious chapter to our national history4 ,were it not better for 8an ancient people which was once a beacon to the world0 to disappear than to end by reaching such a goal as this8#bi ,mr4 ,lilienblum reminds me that there are in our time small ,states1 like ,switzerland1 which are safeguarded against interference by the other nations1 and have no need of 8continual truckling40 ,but a comparison between ,palestine and small countries like ,switzerland overlooks the geographical position of ,palestine and its religious importance for all nations4 ,these two facts will make it quite impossible for its 8powerful neighbours0 7by which expression1 of course1 ,i did not mean1 as ,mr4 ,lilienblum interprets1 8the ,druses and the ,persians07 to leave it alone altogether2 and when it has become a ,jewish ,state they will all still keep an eye on it1 and each ,power will try to influence its policy in a direction favourable to itself1 just as we see happening in the case of other weak states 7like ,turkey7 in which the great ,european nations have 8interests40 ,in a word3 ,chibbath ,zion1 no less than 8,zionism10 wants a ,jewish ,state and believes in the possibility of the establishment of a ,jewish ,state in the future4 ,but while 8,zionism0 looks to the ,jewish ,state to provide a remedy for poverty1 complete tranquillity and national glory1 ,chibbath ,zion knows that our ,state will not give us all these things until 8universal ,righteousness is enthroned and holds sway over nations and ,states03 and it looks to a ,jewish ,state to provide only a 8secure refuge0 for ,judaism and a cultural bond of unity for our nation4 8,zionism10 therefore1 begins its work with political propaganda2 ,chibbath ,zion begins with national culture1 because only through the national culture and for its sake can a ,jewish ,state be established in such a way as to correspond with the will and the needs of the ,jewish people4 ,dr4 ,herzl1 it is true1 said in the speech mentioned above that 8,zionism0 demands the return to ,judaism before the return to the ,jewish ,state4 ,but these nice-sounding words are so much at variance with his deeds that we are forced to the unpleasant conclusion that they are nothing but a well-turned phrase4 ,it is very difficult for me to deal with individual actions1 on which one cannot touch without reflecting on individual men4 ,for this reason ,i contented myself1 in my note on the ,congress1 with general allusions1 which1 ,i believed1 would be readily intelligible to those who were versed in the subject1 and especially to ,congress delegates4 ,but some of my opponents have turned this scrupulousness to use against me by pretending not to understand at all4 ,they ask1 with affected simplicity1 what fault ,i have to find with the ,congress1 and they have even the assurance to deny publicly facts which are common knowledge4 ,these tactics constrain me here1 against my will1 to raise the artistic veil which they have cast over the whole proceedings1 and to mention some details which throw light on the character of this movement and the mental attitude of its adherents4 ,if it were really the aim of 8,zionism0 to bring the people back to ,judaism--to make it not merely a nation in the political sense1 but a nation living according to its own spirit--then the ,congress would not have postponed questions of national culture--of language and literature1 of education and the diffusion of ,jewish knowledge--to the very last moment1 after the end of all the debates on rechtlich and vlkerrechtlich1 on the election of ,x4 as a member of the ,committee1 on the imaginary millions1 and so forth4 ,when all those present were tired out1 and welcomed the setting sun on the last day as a sign of the approaching end1 a short time was allowed for a discourse by one of the members on all those important questions1 which are in reality the most vital and essential questions4 ,naturally1 the discourse1 however good1 had to be hurried and shortened2 there was no time for discussion of details2 a suggestion was made from the platform that all these problems should be handed over to a ,commission consisting of certain writers1 who were named2 and the whole assembly agreed simply for the sake of finishing the business and getting away4 ,but there is no need to ascertain the attitude of the ,congress by inference1 because it was stated quite explicitly in one of the official speeches--a speech which appeared on the agenda as 8,an ,exposition of the basis of ,zionism10 and was submitted to ,dr4 ,herzl before it was read to the ,congress4 ,in this speech we were told plainly that the ,western ,jews were nearer than those of the ,east to the goal of ,zionism1 because they had already done half the work3 they had annihilated the ,jewish culture of the ,ghetto1 and were thus emancipated from the yoke of the past4 ,this speech1 too1 was received with prolonged applause1 and the ,congress passed a motion ordering it to be published as a pamphlet for distribution among ,jews4 ,in one of the numbers of the ,zionist organ ,die ,welt there appeared a good allegorical description of those ,jews who remained in the ,national ,german party in ,austria even after it had united with the anti-,semites4 ,the allegory is of an old lady whose lover deserts her for another1 and who1 after trying without success to bring him back by all the arts which used to win him1 begins to display affection for his new love1 hoping that he may take pity on her for her magnanimity4 ,i have a shrewd suspicion that this allegory can equally well be applied1 with a slight change1 to its inventors themselves4 ,there is an old lady who1 despairing utterly of regaining her lover by entreaties1 submission and humility1 suddenly decks herself out in splendour and begins to treat him with hatred and contempt4 ,her object is still to influence him4 ,she wants him at least to respect her in his heart of hearts1 if he can no longer love her4 ,whoever reads ,die ,welt attentively and critically will not be able to avoid the impression that the ,western 8,zionists0 always have their eyes fixed on the non-,jewish world1 and that they1 like the assimilated ,jews1 are aiming simply at finding favour in the eyes of the nations3 only that whereas the others want love1 the 8,zionists0 want respect4 ,they are enormously pleased when a ,gentile says openly that the 8,zionists0 deserve respect1 when a journal prints some reference to the 8,zionists0 without making a joke of them1 and so forth4 ,nay1 at the last sitting of the ,congress the ,president found it necessary publicly to tender special thanks to the three ,gentiles who had honoured the meeting by taking part in it1 although they were all three silent members1 and there is no sign of their having done anything4 ,if ,i wished to go into small details1 ,i could show from various incidents that in their general conduct and procedure these 8,zionists0 do not try to get close to ,jewish culture and imbibe its spirit1 but that1 on the contrary1 they endeavour to imitate1 as ,jews1 the conduct and procedure of the ,germans1 even where they are most foreign to the ,jewish spirit1 as a means of showing that ,jews1 too1 can live and act like all other nations4 ,it may suffice to mention the unpleasant incident at ,vienna recently1 when the young 8,zionists0 went out to spread the gospel of 8,zionism0 with sticks and fisticuffs1 in ,german fashion4 ,and the ,zionist organ regarded this incident sympathetically1 and1 for all its carefulness1 could not conceal its satisfaction at the success of the ,zionist fist4 ,the whole ,congress1 too1 was designed rather as a demonstration to the world than as a means of making it clear to ourselves what we want and what we can do4 ,the founders of the movement wanted to show the outside world that they had behind them a united and unanimous ,jewish people4 ,it must be admitted that from beginning to end they pursued this object with clear consciousness and determination4 ,in those countries where ,jews are preoccupied with material troubles1 and are not likely on the whole to get enthusiastic about a political ideal for the distant future1 a special emissary went about1 before the ,congress1 spreading favourable reports1 from which it might be concluded that both the consent of ,turkey and the necessary millions were nearly within our reach1 and that nothing was lacking except a national representative body to negotiate with all parties on behalf of the ,jewish people3 for which reason it was necessary to send many delegates to the ,congress1 and also to send in petitions with thousands of signatures1 and then the ,committee to be chosen by the ,congress would be the body which was required4#cj ,on the other hand1 they were careful not to announce clearly in advance that ,herzl's ,zionism1 and that only1 would be the basis of the ,congress1 that that basis would be above criticism1 and no delegate to the ,congress would have the right to question it4 ,the ,order of ,proceedings1 which was sent out with the invitation to the ,congress1 said merely in general terms that anybody could be a delegate 8who expresses his agreement with the general programme of ,zionism10 without explaining what the general programme was or where it could be found4 ,thus there met at ,basle men utterly at variance with one another in their views and aspirations4 ,they thought in their simplicity that everybody whose gaze was turned ,zion-wards1 though he did not see eye to eye with ,herzl1 had done his duty to the general programme and had a right to be a member of the ,congress and to express his views before it4 ,but the heads of the ,congress tried with all their might to prevent any difference of opinion on fundamental questions from coming to the surface1 and used every 8parliamentary0 device to avoid giving opportunity for discussion and elucidation of such questions4 ,the question of the programme actually came up at one of the preliminary meetings held before the ,congress itself 7a ,vorkonferenz72 and some of the delegates from ,vienna pointed to the statement on the ,order of ,proceedings1 and tried to prove from it that that question could not properly be raised1 since all the delegates had accepted the general programme of ,zionism1 and there was no ,zionism but that of ,vienna1 and ,die ,welt was its prophet4 ,but many of those present would not agree1 and a ,commission had to be appointed to draw up a programme4 ,this ,commission skilfully contrived a programme capable of a dozen interpretations1 to suit all tastes2 and this programme was put before ,congress with a request that it should be accepted as it stood1 without any discussion4 ,but one delegate refused to submit1 and his action led to a long debate on a single word4 ,this debate showed1 to the consternation of many people1 that there were several kind of 8,zionists10 and the cloak of unanimity was in danger of being publicly rent asunder2 but the leaders quickly and skilfully patched up the rent1 before it had got very far4 ,dr4 ,herzl1 in his new pamphlet1 uses this to prove what great importance ,zionists attached to this single word 7vlkerrechtlich74 ,but in truth similar 8dangerous0 debates might have been raised on many other words4 ,for many delegates quite failed to notice the wide gulf between the various views on points of principle1 and a discussion on any such point was calculated to open people's eyes and to shatter the whole structure to atoms4 ,but such discussions were not raised1 because even the few who saw clearly and understood the position shrank from the risk of 8wrecking40 ,and so the object was attained2 the illusion of unanimity was preserved till the last2 the outside world saw a united people demanding a ,state2 and those who were inside returned home full of enthusiasm1 but no whit the clearer as to their ideas or the relation of one idea to another4 ,yet1 after all1 ,i confess that ,western 8,zionism0 is very good and useful for those ,western ,jews who have long since almost forgotten ,judaism1 and have no link with their people except a vague sentiment which they themselves do not understand4 ,the establishment of a ,jewish ,state by their agency is at present but a distant vision2 but the idea of a ,state induces them meanwhile to devote their energies to the service of their people1 lifts them out of the mire of assimilation1 and strengthens their ,jewish national consciousness4 ,possibly1 when they find out that it will be a long time before we have policemen and watchmen of our own1 many of them may leave us altogether2 but even then our loss through this movement will not be greater than our gain1 because undoubtedly there will be among them men of larger heart1 who1 in course of time1 will be moved to get to the bottom of the matter and to understand their people and its spirit3 and these men will arrive of themselves at that genuine ,chibbath ,zion which is in harmony with our national spirit4 ,but in the ,east1 the home of refuge of ,judaism and the birthplace of ,jewish ,chibbath ,zion1 this 8political0 tendency can bring us only harm4 ,its attractive force is at the same time a force repellent to the moral ideal which has till now been the inspiration of ,eastern ,jewry4 ,those who now abandon that ideal in exchange for the political idea will never return again1 not even when the excitement dies down and the ,state is not established3 for rarely in history do we find a movement retracing its steps before it has tried to go on and on1 and finally lost its way4 ,when1 therefore1 ,i see what chaos this movement has brought into the camp of the ,eastern ,chovev ,zion--when ,i see men who till recently seemed to know what they wanted and how to get it1 now suddenly deserting the flag which but yesterday they held sacred1 and bowing the knee to an idea which has no roots in their being1 simply because it comes from the ,west3 when ,i see all this1 and remember how many paroxysms of sudden and evanescent enthusiasm we have already experienced1 then ,i really feel the heavy hand of despair beginning to lay hold on me4 ,it was under the stress of that feeling that ,i wrote my ,note on the ,congress1 a few days after its conclusion4 ,the impression was all very fresh in my mind1 and my grief was acute2 and ,i let slip some hard expressions1 which ,i now regret1 because it is not my habit to use such expressions4 ,but as regards the actual question at issue ,i have nothing to withdraw4 ,what has happened since then has not convinced me that ,i was wrong3 on the contrary1 it has strengthened my conviction that though ,i wrote in anger1 ,i did not write in error4 ,footnote #bj3 ,one of a series of three essays on 8,political ,zionism40 ,footnote #ba3 ,die ,welt1 the ,german organ founded by ,herzl4 ,footnote #bb3 ,the first ,secretary of the ,chovev ,zion1 and an opponent of the 8spiritual0 ideas of ,achad ,ha-,am4 ,footnote #bc3 ,see my essay ,imitation and ,assimilation4 ,selected essays by ,achad ,ha-,am1 pp4 #ajg-abd4 ,footnote #bd3 ,galuth--8exile0--is the word commonly used by ,jews to denote the condition of the ,jewish people so long as it is not in its own land1 ,palestine4 ,footnote #be3 ,the 8political0 ,zionists generally think and say that they were the first to lay it down as a principle that the colonisation of ,palestine by secret and surreptitious means1 without organisation and in defiance of the ruling ,power1 is of no value and ought to be abandoned4 ,they do not know that this truth was discovered by others first1 and that years ago the ,chibbath ,zion of ,judaism demanded that everything should be done openly1 with proper organisation and with the consent of the ,turkish ,government4 ,footnote #bf3 ,after the fall of ,jerusalem in #gj ,c4,e41 ,titus asked ,rabbi ,jochanan1 one of the leading ,jews of the time1 what he wanted4 ,the reply was1 8,give me ,jabneh and its scholars40 ,the ,rabbi understood--though the ,roman conqueror did not--that in the conditions then existing a centre of ,jewish learning would do more to preserve ,israel than political institutions4 ,footnote #bg3 ,in ,imitation and ,assimilation4 ,footnote #bh3 ,the reference here is to the schools of the ,alliance ,isralite ,universelle1 which were ,french in spirit4 ,many years after this essay was written1 in #aiac1 the ,germanising tendencies of the schools maintained by the ,hilfsverein der deutschen ,juden in ,palestine led to an acute conflict between that body and the ,zionists4 ,footnote #bi3 ,the phrases in inverted commas are taken from my note on the ,congress4 ,as my critics have misinterpreted them1 ,i have taken this opportunity of explaining their true meaning4 ,footnote #cj3 ,the fact mentioned is familiar to many ,chovev ,zion in all the towns which the emissary visited with a letter from the headquarters of the movement4 ,in my ,note ,i only alluded to it briefly1 and ,i am sorry that the denials of my opponents have compelled me here to refer to it again more fully4 ,,pinsker ,,and ,,political ,,zionism 7,to the memory of ,dr4 ,pinsker1 on the tenth anniversary of his death7 7#aijb7 ,the #bast of ,december last 7#aija7 was the tenth anniversary of the death of ,dr4 ,leo ,pinsker4 ,a decade is a long time in our days1 when everything keeps changing with extraordinary rapidity2 when events come pell-mell1 pushing and jostling one another1 with a new sensation every day2 when men rise and fall one after the other1 famous to-day and forgotten to-morrow1 rising to the top in an hour1 and going under in the next2 when the tumult of to-day is so loud that men have no time to pause and look calmly back on yesterday4 ,pinsker is one of those men of yesterday1 whom the men of to-day have already had time to forget4 ,he died ten years ago1 and in these ten years things have changed1 and we with them4 ,new birds have come and brought new songs4 ,they pipe in a loud and strident chorus1 in the din of which who shall remember the forlorn lay of a lonely songster whom earth knows no more8 ,in his day ,pinsker was head of the ,chovev ,zion1 and he worked hard for ,palestinian colonisation4 ,but in the interval ,chibbath ,zion itself has given place to ,zionism4 ,petty colonisation1 the result of the 8infiltration0 policy1 which absorbed the time and energy of ,pinsker and the ,chovev ,zion of yesterday1 is to-day a source of merriment even for the merest tyro in ,zionism4 ,everybody knows that ,herzl has enlarged the narrow horizon of his predecessors by basing the ,zionist ideal on a broader foundation--on politics and diplomacy1 on the ,bank and the ,charter4 ,twenty years ago ,pinsker wrote a small pamphlet of thirty-six pages1 called ,auto-,emancipation4 ,in its day this pamphlet made a certain stir and evoked some response4 ,but who pays attention now to a little pamphlet that dates from before the new dispensation8 ,have we not now the ,judenstaat1 and ,reports of four ,congresses1 full of debates and speeches1 as well as a heap of pamphlets and leaflets in every language1 explaining and expounding ,zionism in every aspect and every detail8 ,yes--,pinsker was a great man in his day2 he was one of the 8precursors0 of ,zionism--so much even the new ,zionists admit4 ,and when they have occasion to recount the history of the ,zionist idea to non-,zionists1 they begin1 in the most approved scientific manner1 with the 8embryonic0 period4 ,here they commend in one breath all the worthy men who came before the birth of ,zionism and prepared the way for it1 not forgetting ,pinsker and other leaders of the ,chovev ,zion who were contemporary with him4 ,but all this is for them simply by way of introduction to the main theme1 which enters with the year #ahif--the year when ,herzl revealed himself in his pamphlet ,der ,judenstaat4 ,here they draw a line1 as who should say1 8,thus far the embryonic period of ,zionism1 the period of its preparation for birth4 ,now behold ,zionism itself in all its glory and magnificence40 ,how is it1 then1 that many people have now suddenly remembered that ,pinsker died ten years ago1 on the #bast of ,december2 and that in so many places there have been prayers recited for the peace of his soul1 and memorial addresses delivered in his honour1 on this sad anniversary8 ,truth to tell1 it is only because the work of the 8petty colonisation0 movement still maintains its existence1 and there is still a ,society which works for the support of the colonies4 ,for that reason1 and for that reason alone--because he stood at the head of those who worked for the ,palestinian ,colonies1 and afterwards of the ,society formed for their support--,pinsker is remembered by his colleagues1 the original ,chovev ,zion of his own country1 whose privilege it was to know him personally and to work with him4 ,it is they who have made the anniversary a matter of public interest4 ,if not for this1 the new ,zionists1 whose calendar begins with the birth of political ,zionism1 would not have remembered the man who1 fifteen years before ,herzl1 worked out the whole theory of political ,zionism from beginning to end1 with a logical thoroughness and an elevation of style unequalled by any subsequent work4 ,how indeed should these new ,zionists remember him1 seeing that they know nothing at all of ,pinsker as the author of the theory of political ,zionism8 ,and whence should they know of him1 if their leaders have never yet told them1 explicitly or by implication1 in print or on the platform1 in ,zionist ,congresses or outside them1 who was the true author of that theory1 the real if unacknowledged fountain from which all who came after him have drunk8#ca ,pinsker's pamphlet in the original ,german is already out of print and rare4 ,while a stream of new pamphlets1 mostly poor and tasteless rechauffs1 is daily poured forth and spread among the people with the assistance of the ,zionist organisation and with the concurrence of its leaders1 for propaganda purposes1 this pamphlet of ,pinsker's1 which is uniquely capable of attracting intelligent ,jews in every country to the ,zionist idea1 has not been honoured with a new edition to this day2#cb and many of the new ,zionists1 especially in the ,west1 have never seen it1 nor even heard of its value4#cc ,all that they hear is that there were ,zionists even before ,herzl1 but they were poor1 simple-minded dreamers1 who--incapable of comprehending a great political idea--thought to solve the ,jewish problem by founding a few colonies in ,palestine and supporting them with halfpence2 and as for ,pinsker--well1 he was the leader of these poor visionaries4#cd ,i doubt whether the time has yet come to restore to ,pinsker the place of honour in the ,zionist movement that belongs to him of right4 ,we are in the thick of the tumult and the shouting1 and as yet there is no room for a true and unbiassed judgment4 ,that must be left for later history1 for the time when 8the tumult and the shouting dies10 and the influence of personality and fleeting circumstance gives place to a national motif more general in scope and more permanent in character4 ,but as the memory of ,pinsker is now in the public mind--be it but for a moment--we may not improperly take advantage of the opportunity to recall the message which ,pinsker brought to his people1 but for which he has not yet received the credit4 ,that message is1 as ,i have said1 the message of political ,zionism4 ,pinsker was the first to lay down a clear theoretical basis for political ,zionism4 ,he was also the first to work out--though only in outline--a definite practical programme for the realisation of the idea4 ,it is this programme1 or the fundamental points in it1 that the new ,zionists have laid hold on2 it is because of this programme that they call themselves 8political10 denoting thereby1 as they believe1 the original feature which distinguishes them from their predecessors4 ,pinsker compressed all his teaching1 theoretical and practical as well1 into his one small pamphlet1 which is characterised by conciseness of style and absence of systematic arrangement4 ,his outraged feelings were too strong for the cold processes of thought1 and did not allow him to arrange his ideas systematically4 ,pinsker did not write a scientific treatise2 he uttered a loud1 bitter1 heart-felt cry1 fraught with indignation and grief at our external and internal degradation4 ,for that reason he must be studied with close attention before one can put together the scattered fragments of ideas--some repeated time and again with a wealth of poetic eloquence1 others no more than briefly hinted at by the way--and discover the full import of his teaching4 ,this is what ,i propose here to attempt4 ,but first of all ,i must point out--what might not be self-evident to all my readers--that my object is only to explain ,pinsker's teaching in its relation to present-day political ,zionism4 ,i am not here giving a statement of my own views on political ,zionism in general4 ,what ,i had to say on that subject has been said in various essays1 which will be familiar to many of my readers2 and these previous utterances absolve me1 ,i think1 from the necessity of commenting here on every point with which ,i am not in agreement4 ,in this essay ,i take for granted the fundamental standpoint of political ,zionism1 which was ,pinsker's standpoint also1 though1 as we shall soon see1 he gave it a peculiar turn1 making it approximate more to that ,zionist ideal which is nowadays called 8spiritual ,zionism40 ,pinsker1 like all subsequent political ,zionists1 arrived at the idea of ,zionism not through the problem of ,judaism--through the necessity of seeking for a new foundation for our national existence and unity1 in place of the old foundation1 which is crumbling away--but through the problem of ,jewry--through a definite conviction that even emancipation and general progress will not improve the degraded and insecure position of the ,jews among the nations1 and that anti-,semitism will never cease so long as we have not a national home of our own4 ,but it is worth while to examine particularly the way in which he arrived at this conviction of the eternity of the feud between ,israel and the nations1 because it is a different way from that of the later ,zionists1 and it is this difference that gives a peculiar colouring to ,pinsker's message4 ,pinsker finds three principal causes which lead to our being hated and despised more than any other human beings2 and for each of the three there is no remedy except a separate ,jewish ,state4 ,the first cause is a national one1 and its roots lie deep in human psychology4 ,we cannot know whether that great day will ever arrive when all mankind will live in brotherhood and concord1 and national barriers will no longer exist2 but even at the best1 thousands of years must elapse before that ,messianic age4 ,meanwhile nations live side by side in a state of relative peace1 which is based chiefly on the fundamental equality between them4 ,each nation1 that is1 recognises and admits the national existence of the other nations1 and even those which are at enmity or even at war with one another are forced to recognise each other as equals1 standing on the same plane of nationhood1 and therefore entertain each for the other a certain feeling of respect1 without distinction between large nation and small1 strong and weak4 ,but it is different with the people of ,israel4 ,this people is not counted among the nations1 because since it was exiled from its land it has lacked the essential attributes of nationality1 by which one nation is distinguished from another--has lacked 8that original national life which is inconceivable without community of language and customs and without local contiguity40 ,it is because we lack these attributes that the other nations do not regard us as on the same plane with themselves1 as a nation equal to them in integral value4 ,true1 we have not ceased even in the lands of our exile to be spiritually a distinct nation2 but this spiritual nationality1 so far from giving us the status of a nation in the eyes of the other nations1 is the very cause of their hatred for us as a people4 ,men are always terrified by a disembodied spirit1 a soul wandering about with no physical covering2 and terror breeds hatred4 ,this is a form of psychic disease which we are powerless to cure4 ,in all ages men have feared all kinds of ghosts which their imaginations have seen2 and ,israel appears to them as a ghost--but a ghost which they see with their very eyes1 not merely in fancy4 ,thus the hatred of the nations for ,jewish nationality is a psychic disease of the kind known as 8demonopathy02 and having been transmitted from generation to generation for some two thousand years1 it has by now become so deep-rooted that it can no longer be eradicated4 ,the primary object of this hatred is not ,jews as individuals1 but ,judaism--by which is meant that abstract nationality1 that bodiless ghost1 which wanders about among the real nations like something apart and different1 and arouses their latent faculty of demonophobia4 ,hence we see on the one hand that individual ,gentiles live in peace and amity with their ,jewish acquaintances1 while retaining their deep-seated animosity against ,jews as a people1 and on the other hand that1 throughout all the periodical changes of national tendencies and international relations1 all nations remain at all times the same in their hatred of the ,jews1 just as they remain always the same in their hatred of the other kinds of ghosts in whose existence they believe4#ce ,what1 then1 must we do to escape from this national hatred8 ,assimilate with the nations8 ,if real assimilation be meant--the assimilation that reaches to the very soul and ends in annihilation--that is a kind of death which does not come of itself1 and we do not wish to bring it on by our own efforts4#cf ,but the surface assimilation which is the panacea advocated by a certain section of ,jews can only make matters worse for us4 ,pinsker himself does not draw this conclusion in so many words2 but it is a necessary consequence of the idea just mentioned4 ,for1 seeing that the source of anti-,semitism lies in our lack of a concrete national existence1 which would compel the other nations to recognise in us a nation equal to themselves in status1 it follows plainly that the more we assimilate--the more we imitate our surroundings and whittle away our national distinctiveness--the less concrete and the more spiritual will our national existence become2 and the more1 therefore1 will the ghost-fear which begets anti-,semitism grow in intensity4 ,there remains1 then1 but one means of destroying anti-,semitism4 ,we must become again a real nation1 possessed of all those essential attributes of nationality by virtue of which one nation is the equal of another4 ,these attributes are those mentioned above--a common land1 a common language and common customs4 ,it is the combination of these that makes 8an original national life40#cg ,the second cause of our degradation is political in character4 8,generally speaking10 says ,pinsker1 8we do not find any nation over-fond of the stranger4 ,this is a fact which has its foundation in ethnology1 and no nation can be blamed for it40 ,now since the ,jew is everywhere regarded as a stranger by the native population1 we should have no right to grumble if our hosts in the various countries treated us like other strangers who settle permanently among them4 ,but in fact we find that people everywhere dislike ,jews much more than other strangers4 ,why is this8 ,for the same reason--replies ,pinsker--for which men behave in different ways to a well-to-do guest and to a penniless beggar4 ,the first comes as an equal2 he too has a house in which he gives hospitality--no matter whether we ourselves or others enjoy it--and therefore we recognise it as our duty to give him a welcome1 even if we are not altogether delighted with his company2 while he on his side is conscious that he has a right to demand such treatment as the conventions of polite society dictate1 just as in his own house he extends that treatment to others4 ,not so the homeless mendicant4 ,he on his side is free from the obligations of hospitality1 since he has no opportunity of fulfilling them4 ,hence his request for our hospitality is a request for pure charity4 ,it is not the appeal of an equal to the principle of equality of rights and duties2 it is the appeal to compassion of one weaker and humbler than ourselves1 who can receive but cannot give4 ,hence1 even if we are so compassionate as to welcome the poor man and treat him with affection and respect1 like one of ourselves1 the equality is only one of external appearance4 ,in our heart of hearts we feel1 and he feels too1 that we are doing him a kindness1 that we are treating him well out of our goodness of heart1 and doing something that we might have forborne doing if not for our charitable and benevolent disposition4 ,this feeling alone suffices to create a wide gulf between us1 and to lower his worth in our estimation and his own4 ,which picture represents ,israel among the nations8 ,not that of the well-to-do guest2 for ,israel has no place of his own where he can fulfil the obligations of hospitality towards other nations4 ,israel is like the mendicant who goes from door to door1 asking others to give him what he does not give to others4 ,and therefore the other nations do not regard the ,jew as their equal1 and do not recognise any duty to show him that decent behaviour which they practise towards all the other foreigners who live among them4 ,if1 then1 they are kind enough to make room for him1 it is only by an act of charity1 which degrades the recipient4 ,when their generosity goes to the furthest extreme1 they give the poor visitor the greatest boon that they can give--that of equal rights4 ,but the mere fact that the grant of equal rights is an act of generosity1 and not a duty based on the real equality of the two parties1 robs the boon of its moral value1 and makes it merely a piece of legislative machinery4 ,the giver can never forget that he is the giver1 nor the receiver that he is the receiver4 ,for this reason ,jewish emancipation in all countries has been and must always remain political only1 not social4 ,the ,jew enjoys equal rights as a citizen1 but not equality as a man1 as one who takes his part in the intimate life of society4 ,the non-,jew and the ,jew alike are conscious of this fact1 and so1 despite his equal rights1 the ,jew remains an inferior even in his own estimation1 and in non-,jewish society he endeavours to hide his ,judaism1 and is grateful to non-,jews when they do not remind him of his origin1 but behave as though it were a matter of indifference to them4 ,the conclusion is that the ,jews can never attain to true social equality in ,gentile countries unless they cease to be always recipients and rise to the rank of respectable visitors1 who can give to others what they ask for themselves4 ,in other words1 the ,jews must once more possess themselves of a native land of their own1 where they will be masters and hosts4 ,then their place in the estimation of other nations will improve automatically1 and wherever they set foot they will be regarded as equals by the natives1 who will consider themselves in duty bound to treat the ,jews with the same respect which they show to other strangers who come to stay among them4#ch ,besides the two causes explained above1 there is a third cause1 economic in character1 which gives a practical turn to ,gentile hatred of the ,jew1 and brings it into actual operation in the form of physical restriction and persecution4 ,in the life of civilised nations the struggle for existence assumes the form of peaceful competition4 ,in this sphere every ,state distinguishes to a certain extent between the native and the stranger1 and gives the native preference where there is not room for both4 ,this discrimination is practised even against the honoured stranger1 whom the native regards as his equal2 and it stands to sense that there will be a vastly greater amount of discrimination against the poor vagrant1 whose existence in the ,state is tolerated only out of kindness and charity4 ,if you have a large house1 with room enough and to spare for your family and for respectable visitors1 you do not begrudge the beggar his corner1 but let him live with you as long as he likes4 ,but when the family grows and the house begins to feel cramped you will at once look askance at the beggar-guests1 whom you are under no obligation to respect or to feed4 ,and if you see that they do not squeeze up and make room for you1 but1 on the contrary1 endeavour to get more elbow-room for themselves1 regardless of the fact that they are crowding you1 then you will resent the impudence with which they forget their place1 and in the heat of anger you will turn them out neck and crop1 or at least drive them back into their own corner1 make it as small as possible and confine them rigidly to it for the future4 ,but the respectable guests will still be treated with deference1 and though you may secretly dislike them for occupying valuable room1 you will not permit yourself to overstep the limits of politeness and to turn them out into the street1 save in exceptional cases where they themselves overstep the mark and your patience gives out4 ,thus we find that even where the number of ,jews is small1 they bring down on themselves the resentment and hatred of their neighbours because of their success in the struggle for existence1 and the advantage which their ability and pertinacity gain for them over their competitors in the various walks of life2 and where the ,jewish settlement is considerable1 anti-,semitism finds its food--even without any success on the ,jewish side--in the mere fact of their existence3 for their existence is bound1 poor and cramped though it be1 to lead to competition which their neighbours will feel4 ,in either case the native population does not consider itself obliged to restrain its feelings and behave with perfect politeness to a miserable nation which is allowed to live among the other nations only on sufferance1 and is so ungrateful as to jostle its benefactors without shame4#ci ,this cause also1 then1 cannot be removed except through the removal of the other causes mentioned before4 ,we must build a house for ourselves1 and then1 even in foreign countries1 we shall have the position of respected guests1 and our competition with the native population will not arouse their resentment and jealousy more than the competition of other strangers4 ,but the economic cause differs from the other causes4 ,our national and political degradation is a moral fact1 and requires only a moral remedy--that we stand higher in the estimation of the world1 as a nation with a concrete life of its own1 and with a land in which it can extend to others that hospitality which it receives elsewhere4 ,but in order to remove the economic cause we must of necessity diminish the competition between ,jew and non-,jew in places where that competition is excessive4 ,for even the respected guest has economic freedom only within certain limits4 ,if he oversteps these limits1 and his competition presses too hard on the native1 the native is forced to protect himself1 either by legislative restriction of the foreigner's rights1 or sometimes even by force4 ,it follows that if we succeed in establishing a separate ,state for our people1 the two first causes of anti-,semitism will be removed1 even if the ,state is very small1 and even if most of the ,jews remain where they are1 and only a very small minority goes to settle in our ,state4 ,for the mere fact of the existence of a ,jewish ,state1 where ,jews would be masters1 and their national life would develop on lines of its own in accordance with their spirit--this fact alone would suffice to remove from us the brand of inferiority1 and to raise us in the world's estimation to the level of a nation equal in worth to the other nations1 sharing alike their privileges and their duties2 and the attitude of the other nations to us would no longer be different from their attitude to each other4 ,but the economic cause1 though its working may be mitigated to some extent when the wandering mendicant is transformed into a well-to-do guest1 cannot be got rid of until the number of ,jews in every country declines to the limit dictated by the economic condition of the native population4 ,until that time hatred of these foreign competitors will continue1 and the native population will continue to persecute them with restrictive laws and even with violence1 even though there exist somewhere or other a separate ,jewish ,state1 and even though all nations respect the ,jewish nationality which has in that ,state its concrete expression4 ,thus we arrive at a further condition of the solution of our problem4 ,what we need is not simply a ,state1 but a ,state to which the majority of the ,jews will emigrate from all their present homes--to such an extent that their numbers in every country will decline to the extent demanded by local conditions--and a ,state extensive enough and materially rich enough to maintain so large a population4 ,and here we come to the ,achilles' heel of political ,zionism4 ,granted that we have it in our power to establish a ,jewish ,state3 have we it in our power to diminish thereby the number of ,jews in every country to the maximum which the economic condition of the country can bear without their arousing anti-,semitism8 ,this question the opponents of the new ,zionism1 which promises to put an end to the ,jewish problem by the establishment of the ,state1 are continually asking3 but so far we have not received from the ,zionists a clear and satisfactory answer4 ,during the last twenty years1 for instance1 at least a million ,jews have left ,eastern ,europe for ,america and ,africa4 ,that is a very large number1 sufficient for the establishment of a ,jewish ,state4 ,yet this emigration has had no perceptible effect on the economic condition of the countries from which it has taken place1 and the relations between the native population and the ,jews in those countries have not improved4 ,the reason is that the emigration has not in fact lessened the number of ,jews in those countries1 the loss being always counterbalanced by the natural increase of those who remain4 ,if1 then1 ,pinsker's idea had been carried out as soon as his pamphlet was published1 and all these emigrants had gone not to ,america or ,africa1 but to the ,jewish ,state1 the ,state might by now have been successful and flourishing1 and national life might be developing there in a satisfactory manner1 so as to bring great honour to our people wherever ,jews are2 but none the less the ,jewish problem in the lands whence the emigration proceeded would remain exactly where it was1 because economic competition between the ,jews and the native population would be just as keen as before1 and would still be felt by the latter to an intolerable degree4 ,if1 therefore1 a ,jewish ,state is really to solve the ,jewish problem on its economic side for good and all1 then hundreds of thousands must emigrate to it every year from the lands of the ,diaspora1 so that the diminution in the number of ,jews in those lands will be patently perceptible1 and their influence on economic life will decrease from year to year1 till it ceases to be a cause of hatred and jealousy on the part of the native population4 ,we must therefore ask ourselves first of all1 whether it is really possible to transport such a vast number of people in a short time1 and to open up for them new sources of livelihood in a new ,state1 wherever it may be4 ,i doubt very much whether any responsible person will answer this question in the affirmative4 ,but this criticism1 which is fatal to the new ,zionism1 as expounded by ,herzl and his followers1 does not seriously affect ,pinsker's ,zionism4 ,the new ,zionists make the political and economic problem the be-all and end-all of their strivings4 ,their primary aim is to improve the hard lot of the ,jews as individuals4 ,they regard such improvement in exile as out of the question1 since ,jews are regarded as strangers in every country1 and the competition of the stranger exposes him to the resentment of the native population4 ,hence they demand that the ,jews shall establish a separate ,state for themselves1 where they will not be strangers and their competition will not be a crime4#dj ,but this idea can be justified only if the ,state is able to improve the lot of all the ,jews or most of them2 that is1 if all or most of the ,jews can leave foreign countries and settle in their ,state4 ,unless this condition is fulfilled1 the amelioration will be only partial2 it will affect only that fortunate minority which succeeds in establishing itself in the ,jewish ,state4 ,the majority will remain as badly off as before--hated and persecuted foreigners in strange lands4 ,where1 then1 is the promised annihilation of the ,jewish problem through the establishment of the ,state8 ,but with ,pinsker it is different4 ,the loss which he mourns is primarily the loss of ,jewish national dignity4 ,he weeps for a nation which is not regarded and respected by the other nations as an equal1 and whose individual members are treated everywhere not merely as foreigners1 but as beggars in receipt of charity4 ,with him the question of national dignity comes first of all4 ,of the three causes to which he traces the ill-feeling between ,jews and ,gentiles1 the first one1 which lies in the degraded position of the ,jews as a nation--a point not mentioned by the new ,zionists--is the most important in his own view1 and occupies most of his attention4 ,next to it stands the political cause2 and this cause also1 unlike the new ,zionists1 he regards from the point of view of the problem of national dignity4 ,he is not much troubled by the fact that we are treated as aliens in every country3 that fact1 no doubt1 harms us as individuals1 but in itself it does not imply any contempt or inferiority4 ,the root of the trouble is that we are not treated as aliens in the ordinary political sense1 but are regarded as wandering mendicants1 as inferior beings1 who are not entitled to demand respect and consideration as of right4 ,so with the third cause1 the economic one4 ,its sting lies for ,pinsker chiefly in the fact that here also we ,jews are differentiated from other aliens--that in consequence of the low esteem in which we are held our competition causes more resentment than that of other aliens4 ,pinsker1 therefore1 has more right than the new ,zionists to regard the establishment of a ,jewish ,state as the absolute solution of the ,jewish problem--that is1 of the problem of the dignity of the ,jewish nation and of its members1 who1 even if most of them remain scattered among the nations1 and even if they continue to be hated and persecuted in various countries because of their economic competition1 will at any rate no longer be exposed to the contempt of their neighbours1 and to the taunt that they are not a nation1 but a pack of beggars wandering about in a world which is not theirs1 and existing only on sufferance4 ,on the other hand1 ,pinsker raises another question1 which does not trouble the new ,zionists very much3 the question of the national consciousness4 ,if we assume1 as ,herzl does in his pamphlet1 that the ,jewish ,state will contain all the ,jews1 and will offer to every individual ,jew the possibility of living comfortably among his people1 then we need not be much concerned about the anterior development of the national consciousness as an incentive to the establishment of the ,state4 ,we have ready to hand another and a stronger incentive in the natural desire of every individual to improve his position4#da ,but if from the outset we accept the fact that even a ,jewish ,state will not absolutely solve the ,jewish problem on its economic side1 and that the chief purpose for which we need a ,state is a moral one--to gain for our own nation the respect of other nations1 and to create a healthy body for our national spirit--then we are bound to face the question whether the national consciousness is so strong among us1 and the honour of our nation so dear to us1 that this motive alone1 unalloyed by any consideration of individual advantage1 will be sufficient to spur us on to so vast and difficult a task4 ,now ,pinsker1 candid here as always1 does not conceal from us that1 as things are1 the national consciousness among us is not nearly strong enough for our purpose4 8,our greatest misfortune is that we do not form a nation3 we are merely ,jews40 ,the galuth life has compelled every ,jew to put all his strength into his individual struggle for existence2 and in that struggle we have been compelled to use any kind of weapon that came to hand1 without enquiring too closely whether it was consistent with our national dignity4 ,thus1 as time went on1 both our sense of nationality and our sense of dignity became dulled2 and at last we ceased to feel the need of restoring our dignity1 national or individual4#db ,we left it to the ,deity to perform that ideal task by bringing us the ,messiah at the proper time1 and buried ourselves in affairs more necessary for our immediate physical survival4#dc ,even in modern times1 when the breeze of modern culture has blown on us and begun to awaken our dormant sense of dignity1 we try to find satisfaction in a strange delusion of our own invention--that the people of ,israel has a 8mission10 for the sake of which it must remain scattered among the nations3 8a mission in which nobody believes1 a privilege of which1 candidly1 we should be glad to be rid1 if at that price we could wipe out the name of #8,jew' as a title of shame40#dd ,this loss of self-respect on the one side aggravates the contempt in which we are held1 and on the other side is itself the greatest stumbling-block on our path of progress4 ,for what1 except a strong national consciousness1 can induce our people to bend all its energies to the task of restoring its national dignity1 and to fight unceasingly and unwearyingly against all the obstacles with which it is confronted8 ,that those obstacles are many and serious--this again ,pinsker does not conceal from us4 ,at the best1 several generations must elapse before we can attain our end1 8perhaps only after labour too great for human strength40 ,only1 as we recognise that this is the one road to our national salvation1 we must not turn back faint-heartedly because of the danger or for lack of confidence in the success of our efforts4#de ,but such language is intelligible only to a thoroughly awakened national consciousness1 which can intensify the desire to attain the end in proportion to the heaviness of the task1 can flame up for one instant in the heart of the whole people1 and produce a 8national resolution10 a sacred and unbending resolve to take up the work of revival and to carry it on1 generation after generation1 till its completion4 ,and 8where10 asks ,pinsker1 bitterly1 8where shall we find this national consciousness80 ,pinsker found no satisfactory answer to this question4 ,he made this national consciousness a categorical imperative1 a conditio sine qua non2 but he did not show how it was to be supplied4 ,for this reason the whole of the practical scheme which follows gives one the impression of being formulated conditionally--subject1 that is1 to the emergence among our people1 no matter by what means1 of a national consciousness strong enough to enable them to carry out the idea in practice4 ,pinsker's practical scheme1 as ,i said above1 is only an outline4 ,but its general lines are very similar to those laid down by ,herzl in the pamphlet which is the basis of present-day ,zionist policy4 ,as we cannot hope for another leader like ,moses--8history does not vouchsafe such leaders to the same people repeatedly0--the leadership of the movement for national rebirth must be taken by a group of distinguished ,jews1 men of strong will and generous character1 who 8by their union will1 perhaps1 succeed in freeing us from reproach and persecution1 no less than did the one great leader40#df ,herzl uses very similar language about this collective negotiorum gestor1#dg and he and ,pinsker alike look for its members among the upper-class ,jews2 but ,herzl has his eye especially on the ,jews of ,england1 while ,pinsker looks generally to the great organisations already in existence4#dh ,herzl calls this governing body 8the ,society of ,jews02 ,pinsker calls it 8the ,directorium40 ,herzl pictures the formation of the ,society of ,jews in a very simple manner4 ,the best of the ,english ,jews1 having approved the project1 come together without any preliminaries1 and form a 8,society of ,jews40 ,herzl sees no need to call a ,national ,assembly first3 the general consent which is necessary to give the ,society proper standing with the ,governments will come afterwards spontaneously4#di ,but ,pinsker wanted the various organisations to call 8a ,national ,congress1 of which they themselves would be the nucleus40 ,only in the event of their refusing to do this does he suggest that they should at least constitute a special 8national institution0 called a 8,directorium10 which should unite all forces in the national work4 ,the principal and immediate object of this institution would be 8to create a safe and independent home of refuge for that superfluity of poor ,jews which exists as a proletariat in various countries1 and is disliked by the native population40#ej ,all other ,jews1 not merely in the ,west1 8where they are already naturalised up to a certain point10 but also 8in those places where they are not readily tolerated10 can remain where they are4 ,unlike ,herzl1 ,pinsker does not think it possible that all the ,jews will leave their homes and go to their own ,state2 nor is this necessary for his real object1 as ,i have pointed out above4 ,economic pressure is under present conditions causing the 8superfluity0 to emigrate year by year from every country where there is a superfluity2 and thousands of ,jews leave their homes because they can no longer maintain themselves4 ,at present these emigrants escape one trouble to fall into another4 ,they wander from country to country1 and find no proper resting-place2 and the large sums of money expended by various organisations on the migration of ,jews and their settlement in new homes produce no real benefit1 because the new home also is only a temporary lodging4 ,when the number of ,jews in the new country reaches the 8saturation-point10 the journey will have to be resumed2 the ,jews must move on to yet other countries4 ,but if we can prepare1 while there is yet time1 a single secure home of refuge instead of the many insecure ones1 the superfluity will gradually find its way thither1 and its inhabitants will increase from year to year1 till at last it becomes the centre of our national life1 though the bulk of the people will remain1 as hitherto1 scattered in strange lands4 ,the first act of the 8,directorium0 would be to send an expedition of experts to investigate and find the territory best suited to our purpose from every point of view4 ,when he wrote his pamphlet ,pinsker did not yet regard our historic land as the only possible home of refuge2 on the contrary1 he feared that our ingrained love for ,palestine might give us a bias and induce us to choose that country without paying regard to its political1 economic and other conditions1 which perhaps might be unfavourable4 ,for this reason he warns us emphatically not to be guided by sentiment in this matter1 but to leave the question of territory to a commission of experts1 who will solve it after a thorough and detailed investigation4 ,but on the whole he thinks that the desired territory will be found either in ,america or in ,turkey4#ea ,in the latter alternative we shall form a special 8,pashalik10 the independence of which will be guaranteed by ,turkey and the other ,great ,powers4 8,it will be one of the principal functions of the ,directorium10 writes ,pinsker1 for all the world like an orthodox adherent of 8diplomatic0 ,zionism to-day1 8to win for this project the sympathy of the ,porte and the other ,european ,governments40#eb 8,and then1 but not till then10 he warns us once again1 the ,directorium will enter on its work of buying land and organising colonisation4 ,in this work it will need the assistance of 8a group of capitalists10 who will form 8a joint-stock company0--exactly as in ,herzl's scheme1 where side by side with the ,society of ,jews there is established the ,jewish ,company1 a company of capitalists1 to direct the material affairs of the settlement4 ,pinsker next proceeds to describe in outline the progress of the new settlement--how the land will be parcelled out in small plots1 some to be sold to men with capital1 and some to be occupied by men of no means with the assistance of a ,national ,fund established to that end2 and so forth4 ,but for our present purpose we need follow him no further4 ,what has been said above will suffice to make it plain to all who wish to see that it was ,pinsker who worked out the whole theory of political ,zionism1 and that his successors1 so far from adding anything essential to his scheme1 actually took away in large measure its ideal basis1 and thus so seriously impaired its moral value that they had to have recourse to various promises which they could neither fulfil nor repudiate4 ,this will become abundantly clear to anybody who will compare the two pamphlets1 ,pinsker's and ,herzl's4 ,pinsker1 as we have seen1 puts the emphasis on the moral aspect1 ,herzl on the material4 ,hence ,pinsker wishes to found only a national centre1 ,herzl promises a complete 8ingathering of the exiles02 ,pinsker finds the motive power in a strong national consciousness1 ,herzl in the desire for individual betterment4 ,for this reason ,pinsker does not find it necessary to minimise the difficulties3 on the contrary1 he repeats many times1 with emphasis1 that only at the cost of infinite sacrifice will the goal perhaps--mark that 8perhaps06--be reached4 ,similarly1 he recognises that it is not work for one generation alone4 8,we have to take only the first step2 our successors must follow in our footsteps1 with measured tread and without undue haste40#ec ,not so ,herzl4 ,he is bound to make light of the difficulties1 because otherwise he would have to face the question3 8,if we are looking for betterment as individuals1 how can we waste so much energy on a task that will take generations to accomplish1 and may not be accomplished at all1 when we have so many pressing needs which can be more or less met if we devote that energy to them80 ,hence ,herzl is never tired of promising that it will be very easy to carry out his project in a short time1 if only we want it4 8,let us but begin1 and anti-,semitism will at once die down in every country3 for this will be our treaty of peace with it4 ,once let the ,jewish ,company be established1 and the news of it will spread in one day to the ends of the earth1 and our position will immediately begin to improve4444 ,thus the work will proceed1 rapidly yet without convulsion40#ed ,the same difference is evident in the general scheme of the two pamphlets4 ,pinsker devotes most of his pamphlet to showing how low we have sunk as a nation1 and how badly we need a ,state of our own to save our dignity4 ,only at the end does he explain briefly how he pictures to himself the practical realisation of his idea4 ,this is because from his point of view the essential thing is that we resolve that our dignity absolutely demands this course of action1 cost what it may4 ,we have no need to spend much thought at the outset on the question whether we shall succeed1 or how and when we shall succeed1 because1 if we suppose that the task is beyond our strength1 we must none the less take it up1 in order to wipe out our reproach4 ,the question of dignity brooks no calculation4 ,but ,herzl deals very briefly with fundamental principles and reasons1 because1 from his materialistic point of view1 there is really no need to enlarge on them4 ,can anybody doubt that the position of the ,jews in exile is very bad1 and that it would be better for them and for their neighbours if they went and established a separate ,state for themselves8 ,even our 8assimilationists0 would certainly agree for the most part1 if they only knew with absolute certainty from the start that the project could be carried out without too much trouble1 8rapidly yet without convulsion40 ,the root question is1 then1 whether the goal can in fact be reached under such comfortable conditions4 ,for this reason ,herzl gives most of his attention to this question1 and explains his practical scheme in minute detail1 with the object of showing that it demands no great sacrifices1 whether material or spiritual1 and that everything from ,a to ,z will be achieved with ease1 rapidity and universal satisfaction4 ,all the emigration to the ,jewish ,state1 up to the time when the whole people is gathered there1 he describes almost as though it were a holiday excursion4 ,and in the ,state itself everybody lives in comfort and prosperity4 ,nobody will need to forgo even the minor habits of his ordinary life2 and the immigrant will not even have to miss his friends and relations1 because the ,jews will leave the different countries in 8local groups10 and will be settled in their own land on that basis1 so that each man can attach himself to the group which is closest to him geographically and spiritually4 ,the working-classes1 on whose strength the ,state will be built up1 will work only seven hours a day1 and even the ,jewish ,company1 which is to direct the whole work with its capital1 will not incur any financial risk1 because its investments will be sound and will produce an exceptionally good return4#ee ,if1 further1 we take into account the wide difference between the two pamphlets in style1 we may see that ,herzl's pamphlet has the air of being a translation of ,pinsker's from the language of the ancient ,prophets into that of modern journalism4 ,yet the name of ,pinsker1 as the originator of the political ,zionist theory1 is almost forgotten4 ,he is mentioned as a rule only in connection with the work of 8petty colonisation0 in ,palestine1 as though his horizon had been bounded by his activity in that sphere4 ,ordinary men1 for whom the real is the visible1 remember only things that are done3 and the thing that ,pinsker did--that to which he devoted all his subsequent work--has really no direct relation to the message which he began by enunciating4 ,i have shown elsewhere how it was that ,pinsker came to take part in the work of the ,chovev ,zion1 despite the political character of his theory4 ,he understood perfectly well that their work was very far removed from the great project of which he dreamt2 but he understood also that without a 8national resolution10 proceeding from a strong national consciousness1 and without unity and an organisation embracing the whole people1 it would be impossible to carry out his great idea4 ,the consent of the ,powers1 the favour of the ,sublime ,porte1 even a ,charter signed and sealed--all this cannot help us in the least1 so long as we are not a single people1 strong by virtue of our unity and our indomitable will1 penetrated through and through with a sense of our present national degradation1 and prepared to sacrifice our all for a nobler future4 ,hence1 when ,pinsker saw that national indifference was the rule in every section of the people2 when he saw how faint an echo his pamphlet raised in the hearts of the ruling classes1 whom he confidently expected to be the first to rally to his banner2 and when he saw a small group of men with insignificant means1 or none1 putting forth every possible effort to carry out a national project1 small and poor though it was in comparison with his own ideal--,pinsker could not help lending a hand to those who were engaged in this work1 seeing in them the nucleus of an organisation1 and the small beginning of the 8national resolution40 ,for ,pinsker the work done in ,palestine was not the beginning of the practical realisation of his programme1 but only the beginning of the preparatory stage--the beginning of the revival of the national consciousness1 and of the union of the people under the banner of a common ideal4 ,he hoped by means of national action on a small scale to arrive ultimately at that national resolution on the part of the whole people for which he looked in his pamphlet2 and then the real work would begin4 ,it is abundantly clear that this is exactly the course which the new ,zionists too are taking to-day1 though as yet1 it would appear1 unconsciously4 ,how great1 for instance1 is the gulf between the ,jewish ,company of ,herzl's vision--possessing a capital of fifty millions sterling1 and undertaking not only to plant the settlers in the ,jewish ,state1 but also to sell the property and transact the business of all the ,jews in the ,diaspora--and the small ,bank1 with its quarter-of-a-million1 which has now been opened1 after infinite labour1 to carry on some simple and unimportant business operations in ,palestine and ,russia6 ,or again1 is there any sort of relationship between the ,society of ,jews which ,herzl describes in his pamphlet--a ,society which is to stand at the head of the whole people and manage all its national affairs1 as ,moses did--and the ,actions ,committee which now stands at the head of the ,zionist organisation8 ,and how shall we be brought to the ,jewish ,state--that free ,state guaranteed by all the ,powers--by such minor concessions as it is possible to obtain now1 according to the ,zionist leaders1 at ,yildiz ,kiosk for a certain price8 ,the plain truth is that all this work1 which the new ,zionists regard as 8political0 work par excellence1 has as little to do with the theory of political ,zionism as had the petty colonisation work which ,pinsker took up4 ,in the one case as in the other1 the whole value of the work lies in its effect on the people1 which it educates gradually in the direction of unity1 organisation1 national resolution4 ,in other words1 we are still1 as we were in ,pinsker's day1 at the first stage1 the preliminary stage of preparatory work4 ,it must be admitted1 however1 that in the practical sphere--even confining that to preparatory work and propaganda--,pinsker did little1 and did not achieve in his ten years of work half as much as the leader of the new ,zionism has achieved in five years4 ,pinsker was purely a theorist3 he worked out the theory of ,zionism better and more fully than his successor1 but1 like all theorists1 he was of little use when it came to practical work4 ,men of his type1 simple-souled and pure-minded to a degree1 innocent of the tricks and wiles of diplomacy1 knowing nothing but the naked truth--such men cannot find the way to popular favour4 ,their words are too sincere1 their actions too straightforward4 ,those only can attract the mob and bend it to their will who can descend to its level1 pander to its tastes1 and pipe to it in a hundred tunes1 choosing the right one at the right moment4 ,pinsker had none of these arts4 ,if1 for example1 he had gone to ,yildiz ,kiosk to negotiate for the colonisation of ,palestine1 and had been told there3 8,if you have two million pounds you may have so-and-so2 otherwise--nothing0--what would he have done8 ,without a doubt he would have replied at once3 8,we have not such a large sum of money1 and have at present no prospect of getting it40 ,then he would have returned home empty-handed1 and the public at large would have known nothing of his going or of his returning2 or1 if it had been impossible to keep the matter quiet1 everybody would have known that 8certain steps had been taken0 at ,yildiz1 but had come to nothing4 ,this1 of course1 would have made a bad impression1 and have helped in some degree to weaken the energy of his few supporters4 ,but we all still remember how the ,zionist leaders behaved on a similar occasion last year4 ,leadership on these lines cannot satisfy those who have a liking for the plain truth2 but from a pragmatic point of view it undoubtedly has the advantage4 ,first of all1 people heard only the glad news 7it 8spread in one day to the ends of the earth07 that the ,sultan had given the ,zionist leaders a favourable reception and made them certain promises1 but that the details could not yet be published4 ,this news aroused widespread attention3 friends and foes alike waited breathlessly for the curtain to be drawn4 ,then1 after the news had become public property and enlivened the hopes of the ,zionists1 the leaders made the further announcement that the great promises had been made conditionally1 and could not be fulfilled unless they had two million pounds4 ,everybody who knew the true state of things understood at once--and certainly the leaders understood it1 even while they were having audience of the ,sultan--that this condition could not be met1 so that the promises were mere empty words4 ,and yet the first impression was not altogether effaced1 and it served to strengthen in many people the belief that something great could be done if only all sections of the people were ready to put all their strength into it--the kind of belief which is calculated to intensify the energy of the workers1 and to spur them on to put forth greater efforts4 ,in a word3 theory and practice are two departments which no doubt depend on each other1 but each one needs special abilities and different qualities of mind1 which can with difficulty be combined in one man4 ,we must therefore honour every man according to his value in his own department4 ,if ,i might borrow an illustration from religion1 ,i should say that ,pinsker was the originator of the gospel of political ,zionism1 and ,herzl its apostle2 ,pinsker brought the new dispensation1 and ,herzl gave it currency4 ,but it is usual for the apostle to recognise the originator and to acknowledge his greatness3 as he spreads the gospel1 so he publishes abroad and sanctifies the name of him who brought it4 ,had the ,zionist apostle followed this custom1 ,pinsker would now have a world-wide reputation1 and would be venerated by all whose watchword is ,zion4 ,but ,herzl would not be satisfied with the practical mission which was in reality his mtier4 ,he must needs 8originate0 the gospel itself over again--in an inferior form1 it is true--so that it should be all his4 ,thus the odd result has come about that the further the gospel spreads1 the more completely is its true originator forgotten4 ,but it is not for ,pinsker's reputation that ,i am concerned4 ,in his lifetime he was so far from the desire for notoriety and ascendancy1 that ,i have no doubt that if he were alive to-day1 he would rejoice wholeheartedly at the wide vogue given to his idea1 and not a shade of displeasure would pass over his face because of the injustice done to himself personally4 ,my only regret is that ,pinsker's wonderful pamphlet has sunk with him1 and the ,zionist gospel itself has become more superficial and more materialistic4#ef ,zionism is a faith1 and1 like every other faith1 it needs one authoritative 8,bible10 to be conned by the true believers1 to be their fountain-head of spiritual influence4 ,at present ,zionism has no 8,bible40 ,great as is ,herzl's influence with the new ,zionists1 his pamphlet could not attain that high dignity4 ,but its general spirit pervades all the other brochures and speeches on which ,zionists live1 and from which they derive their faith2 and that spirit1 as we have seen1 is not calculated to raise the masses above material interests1 and render them capable of making great sacrifices for a higher national ideal4 ,pinsker's pamphlet is the only one that is worthy to take the first place in the literature of ,zionism1 and to be revered by the party as the fons et origo of all its views and policies4 ,if this pamphlet were disseminated among ,zionists1 and made familiar to them1 it would undoubtedly help to educate them in its spirit--a spirit of pure idealism1 which sets more store by the dignity of the whole people than by the advantage of the individual1 never flinches in the face of danger1 is never impatient1 and demands no certainty of success4 ,then the leaders would not have to be always looking for some means of keeping the fervour up to the required temperature1 nor to entangle themselves in exaggerated promises and self-contradictions1 which only the blindness of enthusiasm can fail for a moment to detect4 ,enthusiasm1 however1 is a flame which spreads rapidly but does not last4 ,it is only the slow-burning fire1 with its steady flame1 that can create the enormous strength required for such a national task in many successive generations4 ,for this reason ,i believe that there will yet come a day when all the external show and parade will no longer satisfy those who thirst for a national ideal2 and in that day many will once more remember ,pinsker and his pure and lofty message--a message of work without limit and sacrifice without reward1 for no other object than to restore the dignity of our people1 and to enhance our value for humanity4 ,footnote #ca3 ,we hear now that ,herzl commended ,pinsker and his pamphlet--for the first time--at one of the sittings of the ,fifth ,congress4 ,that ,congress met at ,basle some weeks after the ,chovev ,zion in ,russia had given prominence to ,pinsker's name on the anniversary of his death4 ,this is evidence that the ,president of the ,zionist ,congress still sometimes pays attention to the public opinion of ,russian ,jewry4 ,but1 of course1 this does not affect what is said above4 ,footnote #cb3 ,a second edition was published about a year after the appearance of this ,essay4 ,footnote #cc3 ,here is an incident which illustrates the extent to which the contents of ,pinsker's pamphlet have been forgotten1 even in ,russia4 ,a short time ago1 some of the ,jewish periodicals in ,russia published a letter of ,pinsker's dating from #ahhc1 which was found among the papers of the ,odessa ,committee4 ,the letter contains only a few headings of the ideas which are explained in detail in his pamphlet4 ,but the periodicals were surprised1 and found it necessary to remark that it appeared from this letter that so long as twenty years ago ,pinsker had 8foreseen1 as it were10 the ,zionist movement of our day4 ,footnote #cd3 ,in ,austria the ,chovev ,zion used to call themselves 8,zionists0 long before ,herzl's time4 ,i believe that ,dr4 ,birnbaum invented the name in his journal ,selbst-,emanzipation4 ,herzl mentions the 8,zionists0 a few times in his brochure1 and satirically represents them as trying to raise a heavy load by the steam of a tea-kettle 7,judenstaat1 p4 #d74 ,footnote #ce3 ,autoemancipation1 pp4 #a-g #g-aa in the second edition1 #aijc4 ,footnote #cf3 ib4 p4 #ae #ag4 ,footnote #cg3 ,pinsker died before the days of what is now called 8spiritual nationalism10 the view which denies the need for a distinct national territory1 believing it possible that sooner or later we shall obtain equal rights in the lands of our dispersion as a nation3 that is1 shall be allowed to carry on our distinctive national life in these lands1 just as we have already obtained equal rights1 as citizens1 in many countries3 that is1 have been allowed to take part in social and political life like the other inhabitants4 ,but ,pinsker lays the foundation for this view1 by demanding--for the first time--national equality1 and substituting the formula of spiritual nationalism3 8the same rights for the ,jewish nation as for the other nations0 78die ,gleichstellung der jdischen ,nation mit den anderen ,nationen0--,autoemancipation1 p4 #g #aa7 for the older formula of the protagonists of emancipation3 8the same rights for ,jews as for the other citizens40 ,it is1 however1 fundamental to ,pinsker's view that national equality is unattainable so long as we lack the concrete attributes of nationality4 ,a nation which is a nation only in the spiritual sense is a monstrosity which the other nations cannot possibly regard as their compeer2 it follows that they cannot recognise its title to demand the same rights as those enjoyed by the real nations4 ,footnote #ch3 ib4 pp4 #g-aj #aa-ac4 ,footnote #ci3 ib4 pp4 #aj-aa #ac-ad4 ,footnote #dj3 ,judenstaat1 pp4 #bd-bf4 ,footnote #da3 ,the question1 8,what will induce the ,jews to found their ,state and to settle in it80 is answered by ,herzl quite simply3 8,we can trust the anti-,semites to see to that40 7,judenstaat1 p4 #ei47 ,footnote #db3 ,autoemancipation1 p4 #ab #ae4 ,footnote #dc3 ib4 p4 #af #ah4 ,footnote #dd3 ib4 p4 #ai #bj4 ,as the sequel shows1 ,pinsker's criticism is aimed only at those who make the 8mission0 the moral end of our dispersion4 ,they think that we can fulfil our mission only if we are thoroughly scattered3 whereas the fact is precisely the reverse4 8,so far the world does not regard us as a genuine firm1 and allows us little credit40 ,if1 therefore1 we really wish to benefit the world by fulfilling a mission1 we must first of all establish our national position1 so as to enhance our credit with the rest of the world4 ,footnote #de3 ib4 p4 #bj #ba4 ,footnote #df3 ib4 p4 #bf #be4 ,footnote #dg3 ,judenstaat1 p4 #gj4 ,footnote #dh3 ,he means1 apparently1 the ,alliance ,isralite ,universelle and its sister organisations in ,england and ,austria4 ,the ,jewish ,colonisation ,association had not yet come into existence4 ,footnote #di3 ,herzl shows1 in his pamphlet1 no great liking for large meetings1 even for propaganda purposes4 8,there is no need0--so writes the founder of the ,zionist ,congress--8to summon special meetings with a lot of palaver40 7ib4 p4 #eg47 ,footnote #ej3 ,autoem4 p4 #bg #be-bf4 ,elsewhere 7p4 #cd #cj7 ,pinsker insists that the home of refuge must be secured by political means 78politisch gesichert407 ,footnote #ea3 ,herzl also1 in his pamphlet1 does not decide on a territory2 but he also looks to ,america and ,turkey1 and suggests the ,argentine or ,palestine 7,judenstaat1 p4 #bi74 ,footnote #eb3 ,autoem4 p4 #cj #bh4 ,footnote #ec3 ib4 p4 #ce #ca4 ,footnote #ed3 8,eilig und doch ohne ,erschtterung0 7,judenstaat1 p4 #he74 ,in one place ,herzl says that the emigration of the whole people from the various countries to its own ,state will take 8some decades0 7p4 #bg71 but does not say how many4 ,elsewhere he is more definite2 the emigration will last 8perhaps twenty years or perhaps more0 7p4 #gi74 ,footnote #ee3 ,it is worth pointing out that ,pinsker1 too1 hints that the company of capitalists1 which is to co-operate with his ,directorium1 may expect a good profit4 ,but as soon as he has mentioned this expectation he adds3 8,whether1 however1 this act of national redemption will be more or less good business or not--that question is not of great moment in comparison with the importance of the undertaking for the future of our people40 7pp4 #cb-cc #cj47 ,footnote #ef3 ,even in his lifetime ,pinsker was not understood1 and his pamphlet was not appreciated at its full value4 ,smolenskin1 in his critique1 saw nothing in the pamphlet beyond the superficial ,chibbath ,zion which had then a wide vogue in ,hebrew literature1 and could find nothing to say in its praise except that it was written in ,german--a language in which 8such ideas 444 have never been expressed before40 ,,the ,,time ,,has ,,come 7#aijfeg7 ,you are right1 my friends3 8,now the time has come to begin planting our literature in the land of its birth and on its own native soil40#eh ,but it seems to me that there is a wider and a deeper foundation for this statement than you give to it in your announcement4 ,the time is ripe for your enterprise not merely 8because there is already a considerable number of ,jews in ,palestine and the neighbouring countries1 and so ,hebrew literature1 its language being common to the ,jews of ,palestine1 has a function to perform in the sphere of national culture40 ,if that were the only reason1 we ,hebrew writers outside ,palestine1 though we should certainly have welcomed the new adventure and have been glad to enjoy the literary fruit of ,palestine1 should not have felt it our duty to take an active part in a local ,palestinian literary movement1 created only for the ,jews in ,palestine1 whose circumstances are known to us only by hearsay1 or from the visitor's brief experience4 ,if none the less ,i feel--and ,i am sure that other writers will feel the same--that it is my duty to take part in your undertaking1 that can only be because it is not merely the condition of the ,jews in ,palestine1 but the condition of our people in general that now convinces us of the necessity of reuniting our land and our language--those sundered halves of a single whole1 those twin main pillars of our national life1 which are both so near to us and so far from us--and of making them both together1 by the establishment of a worthy literary centre in the land1 a single mighty channel through which the influence of our national spirit should be carried to all the lands of our dispersion4 8,now convinces us10 ,i say3 although it is already many years since we began to recognise that the ,hebrew spirit is yearning towards its own land1 because its life in exile is not a healthy and a complete life4 ,but this recognition itself could not get free all at once from the fetters of galuth1 and did not prevent us from dreaming all those years of the revival of our language and literature outside ,palestine4 ,now realities have shown the futility of our dream1 and we learn perforce from experience what we would not learn willingly from logic1 that just as the ,hebrew spirit cannot develop as it should without a free centre 8on its own native soil10 so1 too1 are its outer vestments1 our language and literature1 under the same disability2 and all our efforts to revive them on strange soil will not avail except for a short time--until the hammer of an alien environment strikes out a spark which will destroy in a moment what we have spent many years and the last remnant of our strength in building up4#ei ,how slow is the development of an idea in the human mind6 ,every new idea is born with great travail1 and even after its birth there is a long lapse of time and a heavy loss of force between its dawn and its noontide splendour4 ,at first it appears shrouded in mist1 luminous yet obscure1 and its faint rays shimmer on the surface of the human spirit without being able to penetrate to the depths below4 ,only little by little1 after much labour and hard struggling1 is the mist dispelled1 and the light of the idea grows stronger and floods all the dark corners of the mind4 ,then we look into these corners1 and wonder at ourselves for not having been conscious before of the chaos of error and contradiction which held its own there while the light was already playing on the surface above4 ,hard were the birth-pangs of our national idea in the form of 8,zionism10 and the mists shrouded it at its birth4 ,in the last generation the ,jewish people had settled down to its exile2 it waited for the mercy of ,heaven and the kindness of the world1 scarcely felt how its limbs were being torn asunder and scattered in all directions1 and asked no great boon of the future1 except a peaceful life and a livelihood among the nations4 ,then a hurricane arose1 and thunderously swept away the hope of kindness from the world1 yes1 and even the hope of mercy from heaven4 ,and the clarion-call went forth among the exiled people3 ,you wish for a peaceful life and livelihood8 ,then get you up and go to your national land1 and look no more for crumbs from strangers' tables3 for there is neither peace nor livelihood except for each people in its own land4 ,that was the dawn of our new idea4 ,the memory of our historic land1 which had become a lifeless thing1 a mere book-memory1 became once more a living emotional force1 and in its re-birth awoke our love for the rest of our heritage1 which now appeared in a new light to many for whom it had lost all actual value4 ,if we say--so these men reasoned--that we have a national land1 to which we wish to return in very deed and not only in prayer1 then we admit1 and want others to admit1 that we are actually a nation1 and not merely a ,church4 ,and if we are a nation1 then we must have a national spirit1 which distinguishes us from other nations1 and we must value and protect it as every other nation does with its national spirit4 ,and if we value our national spirit1 where shall we find it if not in the heritage of our past1 and especially in our national language and literature1 in which each generation stored up its spiritual treasure1 and left to its heirs in the next the best fruits of its thought1 its secret longings1 its half-uttered sighs8 ,thus ,chibbath ,zion began by giving an impulse to the 8spiritual revival0--the fostering of our language and literature1 the establishment of national schools1 and so forth--not as a separate and distinct ideal1 but as a necessary consequence of the ideal of a peaceful life in ,palestine1 as a sort of proof of our being really a distinct nation and possessing all the attributes of a nation1 and being therefore both in need and deserving of that which we have not now--our national land4 ,but gradually the ,zionist idea began to get clearer1 and events in ,palestine and elsewhere helped it to emerge from the mists of visionary hopes4 ,then some of its followers reversed the sequence of ideas4 ,it is not the case1 they said1 that the redemption of the people is the goal of all our efforts1 and the spiritual revival only a means to it1 and a branch of it4 ,on the contrary1 the spiritual revival is our real object1 whether we know it or not1 and the whole purpose of the settlement to be built up in ,palestine is merely to serve as its basis4 ,it is true--such was the train of reasoning of this dissident section--that galuth is a very evil thing1 and that the only way to escape the ills which are inevitably bound up with it is to escape from galuth itself4 ,but this truth of itself tells us nothing1 if we cannot at the same time discover the way to 8the only way40 ,to say to a poor man3 8,if you want always to be sure of a meal1 get rid of your poverty and become rich60 or to a sick man3 8,if you want to be free of your pains1 get up from your bed and be well60--to say this is to say nothing1 unless at the same time you show the poor man how to get rich1 and the sick man how to get well4 ,now ,zionism has not shown us how to get out of galuth4 ,for all the sophistication in the world cannot do away with the cruelty of hard facts1 which do not allow us to picture to ourselves1 even approximately and in a general way1 how our work in ,palestine1 even if in time it develops up to the very maximum of what is possible1 and covers the whole land with gardens and orchards and factories1 can accomplish this unprecedented miracle3 that so small a country as ours should absorb hundreds of thousands of immigrants at a time1 year by year1 without coming to such a crisis as would drive out its old and its new inhabitants in even greater numbers4 ,but if this miracle does not happen1 and the ,palestinian settlement develops only little by little1 concurrently with the development of the country's economic resources1 then it is impossible to deny that its gradual expansion will not diminish the number of ,jews in other countries 7since their natural increase will offset the exodus to ,palestine71 and will not put an end to their wandering and scattering to all the corners of the globe under economic and social pressure1 which is brought to bear on them from time to time in every country in which they become too numerous4 ,in other words3 the hope for an 8ingathering of the exiles0 has no basis in reality2 and even in that distant future to which we look forward1 when the ,palestinian settlement will have reached its full development1 and the ,jews there will grow and multiply and fill all the land and make it their own by their work--even then the majority of ,jews will be scattered in strange lands1 and their life in those lands will even then depend on the good-will of the peoples among whom they live as a small minority1 and the dominant peoples will even then look askance at the growth of this 8alien body0 in their midst if it dares to rise above a certain level3 and finally galuth in the physical sense will still be with us1 and only a part of the people will have escaped from it--that comparatively small part which will have had the good fortune to rebuild the waste places of our land and to attain national freedom there1 while all the rest of the people1 scattered in strange countries1 will remain as to its external condition just as it is1 and no fleet will set sail from ,palestine to protect it from persecution4 ,but if this is so1 have we a right to regard the rebuilding of ,palestine as an ideal for the whole nation1 and its success as vital to the hopes of the whole nation8 ,we have6 ,for galuth is twofold--it is material and spiritual4 ,on the one hand it cramps the individual ,jew in his material life1 by taking from him the possibility of carrying on his struggle for existence1 with all his strength and in complete freedom1 like any other man2 and on the other hand it cramps no less our people as a whole in its spiritual life1 by taking from it the possibility of safeguarding and developing its national individuality according to its own spirit1 in complete freedom1 like any other people4 ,this spiritual cramping1 which our ancestors used to call1 in their own fashion1 8the exile of the ,divine ,presence10 and for which they shed not less tears than for the exile of the people1 has become especially painful in our time1 since the overthrow of the artificial wall behind which the spirit of our people entrenched itself in past generations1 in order to be able to live its own life2 and now we and our national life are enslaved to the spirit of the peoples around us1 and we can no longer save our national individuality from being undermined as a consequence of the necessity of assimilating ourselves to the spirit of the alien life1 which is too strong for us4 ,now it is this problem of spiritual galuth which really finds its solution in the establishment of a national 8refuge0 in ,palestine3 a refuge not for all ,jews who need peace and bread1 but for the spirit of the people1 for that distinctive cultural form1 the result of a historical development of thousands of years1 which is still strong enough to live and to develop naturally in the future1 if only the fetters of galuth are removed4 ,and though the refuge contain only a tenth part of the people1 this tenth part will be sacred to the whole people1 which will see in it a picture of its national individuality1 of what it is like when it lives its own life1 without external constraint4 ,and who can estimate in advance the strength of the influence which this national centre will exert on all the circumference1 and the radical changes which that influence will produce in the life of the whole people8 ,some of the ,chovev ,zion arrived at this idea1 as ,i have said1 some eighteen years ago4#fj ,had they succeeded in making it common property1 it might have saved both the people and the land from many mistakes4 ,but ideas do not develop quickly in the human mind1 and this idea1 like others1 met with formidable obstacles1 which did not allow it to penetrate fully into men's minds4 ,when this opinion of a minority was made public1 a shudder went through the ,zionist camp1 as though the presence of a destructive enemy had been detected4 ,nor was this instinct wholly mistaken4 ,the movement was then only just beginning to spread among the masses1 and here was an attempt to give it a form which must alienate the masses1 who want above all things an escape from their material troubles6 ,it is possible that men did occasionally say to themselves3 8,what does it matter8 ,those few who can really find a quiet life and a livelihood in ,palestine at the present time--will they refuse to go there unless they are assured beforehand that they are bringing complete redemption to the whole people8 ,and the men who work for the ideal--they are of course bound to get quite clear in their own minds about the real purpose of their work1 with due regard to actualities1 so that they may set about their task in the way best suited to achieve their purpose40 ,it may be that people occasionally indulged in such reflections in secret4 ,but we live in the age of democracy1 and everybody believes that only the masses are the source of light and of progress1 and that any ideal which the masses cannot grasp is mere nonsense4 ,while it is true that in those days the democratic character of ,zionism was not proclaimed from every house-top1 as it is to-day1 yet even the early ,chovev ,zion were unconsciously democrats in this sense1 that they regarded the masses not merely as material for the national building1 but as conscious architects1 deliberately intent on making such a building as the national purpose required4 ,hence they were scared by the idea that their propaganda would not go down with the masses if they put forward the spiritual revival as their only object2 and they went on telling the masses that redemption was at hand if only they would give their whole-hearted support4 ,but in spite of all this they did not succeed in creating a real mass-movement1 because the masses not only heard what they said1 but also saw what they achieved--and what they achieved was not calculated to confirm the belief that this was the way to redemption4 ,it was only when western ,zionism came and proclaimed that it had found a new and 8practical0 way to achieve the object--the way of diplomacy in the courts of ,east and ,west--that the masses followed its flag for a short time1 believing in their simplicity that diplomatic documents would be the 8paper bridge0#fa over which they would soon pass to the land of their fathers--and then an end to galuth and its miseries4 ,but when the hopes of diplomacy were disappointed1 the masses once more lost faith in the possibility of escape from galuth2 and when at the same time they saw a slight chance of an improvement of their condition in the land of their exile in a not distant future1 they turned in that direction4 ,so the masses are deserting the ,zionist flag before our eyes1 and--what is still more painful--they sometimes take the ,zionist flag with them and tack it on to the flag of another camp4 ,when the history of ,zionism comes to be written1 the historian will not be able to pass in silence over an extraordinary inconsistency of contemporary ,zionist propagandists and writers4 ,when they are trying to attract the people to their flag1 they wax enthusiastic over the lofty mission of ,zionism1 which is to end our exile and to deliver the ,jews from all their troubles2 and at the same time they gird or scoff at the 8spiritual0 ,zionists1 whose unfeeling hearts soar skywards while their brethren are afflicted and their blood is shed like water--and so forth1 and so forth4 ,but these same men1 when they confront the opponents of ,zionism1 who ask to be told clearly how ,zionism can end our exile if it cannot gather all our scattered hosts into ,palestine--then they take refuge in the spiritual mission of ,zionism1 and instead of 8blood shed like water10 they expatiate on our spiritual slavery and the impossibility of developing our spiritual powers in exile4 ,this jumping about from one side to the other1 which shows clearly how weak is the belief in a material redemption of those who stand up for it1 has become especially noticeable since the question of 8,uganda0 came up and since the birth of 8,territorialism10 which was really latent in the ,zionism of material redemption4 ,all those who had become ,zionists only for the sake of saving the people from persecution could not understand how it was possible to reject the ,uganda proposal1 or any other similar proposal which seemed to offer us the desired salvation--8a secure home of refuge0--merely on the ground that we wanted ,palestine and ,palestine only1 though we did not know when1 if ever1 it would be given to us4 ,and what was the answer of the 8,zion-,zionists0 7a name1 coined in the ,uganda period1 which also will interest the future historian78 ,did they try to show that our scattered hosts could be gathered more quickly and more easily into ,palestine1 or that in ,palestine we should be better able politically to protect the ,jews of the ,diaspora8 ,no6 ,they had recourse to the 8spirit10 and openly admitted the bitter truth that neither in ,palestine nor in any other territory could we gather all our exiles from the four corners of the globe2 that the object of ,zionism was only to establish 8a secure home of refuge0 for a minority of the people1 which should become the centre of the whole people and influence it spiritually2 and that this object could be achieved only in ,palestine1 the birth-place of our national spirit1 and in connection with our historic memories and so forth4 ,in fact1 they adopted the whole philosophy of the 8skyward soaring0 school1 only adding a few misplaced 8political0 phrases for form's sake4 ,but after the ,seventh ,congress1#fb when the doubters had left the organisation and the 8,zion-,zionists0 were left to themselves1 with nobody to ask awkward questions1 they reverted to their old tactics2 and now once more they dangle before the people the old promises of 8an end to galuth40 ,meanwhile1 however1 a general movement for liberty1 affecting all the nations in the ,empire1 arose in the land of our exile#fc2 and in our own midst new propagandists began to hold out to the people new promises and to speak to it in a new language1 which the masses found very agreeable4 ,and so the ,zionists began to change their tune1 so as to win over the masses4 8,political work in the ,diaspora8--,of course6 ,it is an essential part of ,zionist work4 ,revolution8 ,why1 who so revolutionary as the ,zionists8 ,socialism8--,the very basis of ,zionism60 ,and not alone that1 but even the ,palestinian work1 to which in the end the ,zionists returned1 after they had awoke from the dreamland of diplomacy1 took on a new epithet3 8real work in ,palestine40 ,the public must understand that ,zionists are not 8reactionaries0 pursuing a 8spiritual0 will-o'-the-wisp1 but genuine 8realists10 and their work in ,palestine is 8real0 work4 ,but if at the ,eighth ,congress the opponents of 8real0 work 7there are still such among ,zionists7 propound their doubts again1 and demand an explanation of the value of such work from the point of view of the ingathering of the exiles and the redemption of the people1 then1 ,i fear1 the champions of 8real0 work will be compelled once more to have recourse to the 8spirit0 in order to justify their 8realism40 ,for the fact is that all work in ,palestine1 of whatever kind1 material or spiritual1 so long as it is properly done1 is 8real0 7that is1 calculated to achieve its object and in harmony with actual conditions7 only from the point of view of the spiritual redemption1 because whatever strengthens our material and spiritual position in ,palestine is a source of added strength to our corporate national spirit1 and therefore brings us nearer by much or by little to our spiritual goal4 ,but as for the redemption of the people and the end of galuth--that 8real0 goal is no more brought nearer by all this 8real0 work than we get nearer to the moon by jumping4 ,thus ,zionism is always running after the masses--and the masses run away from it4 ,a well-known economist has correctly indicated one of the principal causes through which the doctrine of ,marx made greater headway than similar doctrines before it4 ,marx1 he points out1 made his socialistic movement the movement of a definite section of society--the 8proletariate0--whose condition and wants inevitably produce in each of its individual members a deep-rooted and powerful desire for a change in the social order1 and which is therefore really fitted to fight unitedly and patiently for the attainment of the ideal that promises the satisfaction of their common demands4 ,his predecessors in the development of ,socialism1 on the other hand1 appealed vaguely and in general fashion to 8the people10 8the poor10 and similar undefined entities4#fd ,a similar statement may be made about ,zionism1 though in a negative sense4 ,one of the principal causes that have prevented ,zionism hitherto from finding a firm and secure foundation is the fact that it has not so far succeeded in recognizing and defining its own 8proletariate0--its natural body of supporters1 which is really fitted to fight unwearyingly for the ,zionist ideal1 without being turned aside to follow any other4 ,from its inception until the present day1 ,zionism has appealed to 8the people0 generally4 ,but 8the people0 is not its natural support1 because the only want of which the great majority of the people is sufficiently conscious--the want which alone1 therefore1 can form the basis of common national work--is the need for freedom from material pressure4 ,so soon as we leave this common ground1 we find the people divided into parties and classes1 whose conscious demands differ in each case1 and whose relation to our national life1 therefore1 in each case takes on a different form4 ,if1 then1 ,zionism could really point the way to our material regeneration1 it would doubtless unite under its banner the whole people1 without distinction of party or class1 except1 perhaps1 that small minority which is already 8emancipated0 from all national ties1 and stands on the threshold of another way of escape from galuth4 ,but1 as ,i have already said1 the people does not see in ,zionism the way to its material regeneration1 and cannot see it there1 because it is not there4 ,the unsophisticated masses have always a 8feeling for reality0 that prevents them instinctively from believing in promises inconsistent with the reality before their eyes4 ,it is only occasionally1 in times of deep distress from which there is no escape1 that the masses will listen to a promise of redemption that lets a ray of comfort into their hearts2 but they turn away and disregard it so soon as they see hope of a remedy more in touch with actualities4 ,it is not strange1 therefore1 that ,zionism1 brief though its life has been1 has already experienced many a sudden rise and many a sudden fall in the popular estimation1 its fortune varying with circumstances4 ,but is a people subject to such changes fitted to be the rank and file of a movement based on a long history1 confronted by numerous obstacles1 and demanding strenuous1 wisely-directed1 ordered effort1 without sudden leaps backwards and forwards8 ,i think1 then1 that the course of events will compel ,zionism to come gradually to understand itself and its supporters3 to understand itself as a national movement of a spiritual character1 whose aim is to satisfy the demand for a true and free national life in accordance with our distinctive spirit2 and to find its supporters in that nationalist section which is sufficiently conscious1 in all its individual members1 of this demand1 and which in a certain sense may be called a 8spiritual proletariate40 ,for1 in spite of all the numerous latter-day sections of ,jews1 with their abbreviated names1 it is still doubtful whether among all our 8,s4,d40 and 8,s4,s40#fe with their ceaseless talk about their 8proletariate psychology10 there is really any considerable number of members who can properly be held to belong to the proletariate in the ,socialist sense of the word4 ,the mission of the proletariate is to hasten the ,socialist solution by the concentration of wealth2 and this mission can be fulfilled only by those who work in large industrial undertakings4 ,the work of the master-workman and his assistants is not proletariate work1 because1 so far from hastening1 it hinders that solution4 ,now the working-class ,jew has practically no place in the large industrial undertakings2 generally speaking1 the so-called proletariate section of the ,jews belongs to the class of master-workmen4 ,but1 on the other hand1 there is among the ,jews1 and only among them1 a proletariate in another sense--in the sense indicated by the combination of 8national0 and 8spiritual40 ,the position and the needs of this proletariate1 which are common to all its individual members1 compel it to feel a deep-rooted and powerful desire for a change in the established order2 but the change desired in this case is not a concentration of the means of production1 but just the opposite4 ,what is wanted is a new means of production1 wherewith to create a product of a special character4 ,among all civilised nations ours is the only one that has no special means of production of its own wherewith to create its spiritual and intellectual wealth1 but is compelled to make use of the means provided by other nations--their languages1 their literatures1 their schools and universities1 and so forth--and thus to enrich the owners of these means of production by its work4 ,but the proletariate that produces material wealth receives in payment at least a part of the wealth produced by its labour1 and only the surplus is left to the owner of the means of production2 whereas in our case almost all the result of our toil goes to swell the wealth of others4 ,our own national treasury is impoverished and empty2 our own distinctive spirit dwindles and dwindles4 ,and yet we are rich in spiritual and intellectual powers1 and do productive work in every branch of life4 ,this condition of things is distressing to all ,jews whose kinship with their people is not one of blood merely1 but whose national consciousness and general culture have developed to such a point that they can both understand and feel the deep tragedy of this national degradation4 ,for the people so degraded produced thousands of years ago1 for itself and with its own means of production1 a store of spiritual wealth from which the world still draws sustenance2 and it is impossible for them to imagine that all the endless sacrifices1 with which for two thousand years our people has paid for the preservation of its spirit and its own form of life1 are to have no result except to bring us at the present day to a condition of spiritual emptiness1 the end of which will perhaps be a contemptible death4 ,this constant feeling of distress necessarily impels these men to work for the freeing of our spirit and the products of our labour from alien dominion4 ,where there is a real want1 be it physical or spiritual1 there is a solid basis for a union of forces in joint work for the satisfaction of the common demand4 ,and so it is the men who are really conscious of this want who form the only section specially fitted to support the ,zionist movement1 and to work for it unitedly1 patiently1 in an organized manner1 until its goal is reached4 ,i am fully aware that not all who feel this need are as yet convinced that they must unite under the banner of ,zionism4 ,many of them still believe in the possibility of freeing the ,jewish spirit1 and continuing its internal development1 even without a national centre4 ,but they will change their minds when that spiritual freedom in exile1 for which they wait1 is attained1 and when they see the net result of their hoping to 8sing the ,lord's song in a strange land40 ,in ,western ,europe and in ,america1 where the desired freedom has already been granted1 and its effect on our national life is obvious1 the conviction is already spreading that external freedom1 the removal of the heavy hand of oppression1 is not in itself sufficient to free our innermost spirit from its moral bondage to the strange environment that surrounds us on all sides in our exile4 ,and this conviction will inevitably spread in ,eastern ,europe also when the external chains are broken there4 ,our people will then be able1 within certain limits1 to live a national life1 in accord with its own spirit1 just so far as it wills to do so4 ,but it will not be able so to will4 ,the will itself does not depend on free choice4 ,a man may wish to will1 and yet be unable1 because at that particular moment the necessary conditions are absent1 without which the will cannot become an active force4 ,so1 too1 in the case of a nation4 ,there can be no active national will to live a distinctive spiritual life1 even though permission be given under the hand and seal of the ruling power1 where the individuals who compose the nation are surrounded by a spiritual atmosphere foreign to them1 and breathe this atmosphere whether they will or no1 without seeing in the whole world even a square yard of ground which their national spirit1 and theirs alone1 pervades1 subject to no foreign overlord1 and in which it creates with its own means of production enough spiritual wealth to satisfy the whole people4 ,i am aware also that the section that desires to free our national spirit1 whether by means of a national centre in ,palestine or without it1 is not numerous1 taken all together1 at the present time4 ,but this fact need not make us despair1 as though in truth the death of our spirit were at hand1 because it has no people to make it manifest in the world4 ,the ,hebrew spirit never sought its strength and power in numbers4 8,the ,lord did not 444 choose you because ye were more in number than any people2 for ye were the fewest of all people40 ,the ,god of this nation1 when ,he saw it 8turn quickly from the way10 did not fold up ,his ,law and get ,him gone1 but said to the one man who remained faithful to ,him3 8,let ,me alone 444 that ,i may consume them3 and ,i will make of thee a great nation40 ,it is a mistake to think that the national spirit is an abstract idea1 which designates the sum of all the spiritual principles that manifest themselves in the life of the people in each generation1 and that when this manifestation ceases it no longer exists4 ,the national spirit is in fact a collective idea only in relation to the manner in which it came into being1 as a result of the common life of a body of individuals closely connected with one another1 and continuing through generations under certain conditions4 ,but when it has once come into being1 and has found root in men's souls by virtue of a long history1 then it becomes part of the psychology of the individual3 its truth is vindicated in the individual1 and does not depend at all on anything external to him4 ,if ,i feel the ,hebrew national spirit in my heart1 and it gives a distinctive form to my inner life1 then that spirit does exist in me1 and its existence does not cease even if all the other ,jews in my time no longer feel its existence in their own hearts4 ,i assert1 therefore1 that if the majority of our people are unconsciously becoming more and more estranged from the national spirit1 and if its children born in exile have made for themselves new gods like the gods of the peoples around them1 and only a few remain faithful to our national idea in its historic form1 and desire for it freedom and development3 then these few are the heirs of our national possessions at the present time2 it is they who hold the thread of history1 and do not allow it to be broken4 ,so long as there is a single ,jew who holds the thread1 we cannot tell what its end will be4 ,perhaps the conditions of life will change1 and the small remnant will again become 8a great nation40 ,but how is it possible that the conditions of our life in exile should change in the manner necessary for the revival of the ,jewish spirit8 ,what power has a small party to strengthen and hasten this possibility8 ,what security have we that the change1 if it come about1 will be firm and lasting8 ,these questions demand an answer not in words1 but in deeds4 ,verbal answers we have given times without number4 ,there is only one way1 we have said1 to change the conditions of our national life fundamentally1 so that it shall become our life indeed1 and not a passing shadow of the life of other people2 and that way is the foundation of a centre for our national spirit 8on its own native soil40 ,further1 we have promised more than once that this way of ours1 like every new path1 will be made and prepared by the few for the many1 who will afterwards follow of their own accord4 ,but when we came to turn our words into deeds1 then it became clear that there was still chaos in the depths of our spirit1 although the light of the idea played on the surface4 ,whoever knows by experience how dear ,palestine is still to every plain ,jew1 how his heart swells--sometimes even to the point of joyful tears--when he reads or hears of the revival of the ,hebrew language among the children in ,palestine1 or of the success of the ,hebrew colonies there--whoever knows this cannot deny that the actual work of building up a centre in ,palestine1 even before it approached its goal1 could have had a wonderful influence on the spirit of the people in the lands of our exile4 ,the truth is1 that even now the majority of our people cherish their national inheritance1 and desire its eternal preservation2 but the bondage of galuth1 material and spiritual1 cramps the heart1 and renders the national feeling and will incapable of becoming an effective force in action4 ,and yet1 if our work in ,palestine had been such as to show clearly that there is really a prospect and a fair hope for the life of our spirit and our national possessions in the land of their birth2 if the people had seen the foundations of the building laid by expert hands1 one complete stone upon another1 though the stones had been but small3 then the people would have sought and found here a new source of life for its dormant national sentiment1 and a new strength of will to protect more effectively its spiritual possessions in exile4 ,but as things are1 how can we prove the correctness of our answer8 ,what are the results of our twenty years and more of work in ,palestine8 ,with regard to material work1 we have only unsuccessful attempts to show2 and as for spiritual work1 we cannot even show such attempts 7except1 perhaps1 the school at ,jaffa71#ff for in fact scarcely anything has been done4 ,those who desired the 8ingathering of the exiles0 have laboured all these years1 first of all in founding philanthropic colonies1 and then in political talk2 they have had neither the time nor the will to meddle in spiritual matters4 ,those1 again1 who desired the 8revival of the spirit0 have also dissipated all their time and their strength in spiritual work in the ,diaspora2 in all this time they have not created in ,palestine one single spiritual product that could awake an echo in the nation's heart4 ,it is as though they had forgotten the first principle of their own faith1 that the revival of the spirit in exile can come about only through the influence of a national centre in ,palestine4 ,they have1 indeed1 said a great deal about the need for founding universities and schools1 and other such needs1 the satisfaction of which is beyond their power at present4 ,but they have not done that which was both necessary and possible4 ,here1 for example1 is an attempt to found a small literary organ in ,palestine4 ,i ask myself3 ,why was this not done long ago8 ,in the ,diaspora a large number of literary plants have bloomed and faded during the ,zionist epoch2 they have borne fruit1 and have left some good behind them1 whether it was much or little4 ,in ,palestine1 meanwhile1 since the beginning of the movement there has not been published a single literary miscellany which has made its mark in our literature4 ,yet we did not feel that something was lacking4 ,we constantly told the people that only in ,palestine could our national spirit flourish and produce fruit after its kind2 yet at the same time we were not ashamed to think that the people did not see in ,palestine even a shadow of the fruit of its spirit1 and that the little fruit that did grow was growing in other countries4 ,it is true that ,palestine is still poor in spiritual forces generally1 and in literary forces particularly2 but that simply proves the truth of my contention4 ,if we had always had a full and clear conception of the nature of our object1 if we had always remembered that what we are seeking to build in ,palestine is a refuge for our spirit1 we could never have refrained from doing all that was possible to increase the spiritual wealth of ,palestine1 and to increase1 little by little1 its moral influence on the people4 ,in that case we should undoubtedly have striven among other things to establish in ,palestine a literary organ1 an altar on which all our best national writers would have felt it their duty to offer their best1 in order to win for it affection and honour in ,jewry4 ,an organ such as this1 though it would have been at first an artificial creation1 would certainly have uplifted the spirit and fostered literary talent in ,palestine itself2 perhaps also it would by now have become a true1 natural literary centre for us1 drawing sustenance from the forces which it had called to the land and developed there4 ,but it is as ,i said3 in the human mind no idea springs from darkness into light at one bound4 ,it was necessary for experience to teach us how slender is the thread on which hangs all our spiritual work outside ,palestine1 before we could be made to remember that in reality we had no need of such experience1 since it only taught us that which was implied in our idea from the very first4 ,it is just at this moment that you come and tell us3 8,the time has come to begin planting our literature in the land of its birth40 ,need ,i express my feelings when ,i read these words8 ,yes1 the time has come to begin planting1 and planting not alone our literature1 but also our spirit in all its aspects4 ,all that now runs to waste in exile1 voluntarily or involuntarily1 must be gathered together and planted 8on its own native soil10 and every man in whom the ,jewish spirit lives is bound to help in this planting to the utmost of his power1 because therein lies our life and our last hope4 8,romanticism10 our young men will say with a smile4 ,let them smile--until they grow old enough to understand life as it is1 and not as it appears through the glasses of a ready-made doctrine4 ,then they will understand that what they contemptuously call 8romanticism0 is the crown of life and the source of man's superiority over the brute4 ,they will understand1 too1 that this very anti-romantic doctrine has its attraction principally because of its romantic element--because it offers scope for devoted service in the cause of a distant ideal4 ,but if ever there comes a day when that ideal is realised1 and romanticism disappears entirely1 then there will arise a new generation1 which will curse that day for the hunger it has brought--a hunger not for bread1 but for romanticism1 for some ideal striving which can once more give scope for exaltation1 for sacrifice1 and so fill the emptiness of a life of peace and plenty4 ,footnote #eg3 ,a letter to the editors of ,ha-,omer1 a ,hebrew miscellany which began to appear in #aijg--the first of its kind in ,palestine4 ,footnote #eh3 ,from the preliminary announcement of ,ha-,omer4 ,footnote #ei3 ,this ,essay was written at the end of the period of the movement for freedom in ,russia1 which attracted almost all the educated ,russian ,jews1 with the result that our national work and ,hebrew literature were greatly impoverished4 ,footnote added in #aiac4 ,footnote #fj3 i4e41 in #ahhi4 ,footnote #fa3 ,an allusion to an old ,jewish legend4 ,footnote #fb3 #aije4 ,it was at this ,congress that the split on the question of ,east ,africa 7often loosely referred to as ,uganda7 took place4 ,some of the minority seceded and formed the ,jewish ,territorial ,organisation4 ,footnote #fc3 ,russia4 ,footnote #fd3 ,sombart1 ,socialismus und sociale ,bewegung 7#aije71 p4 #fa4 ,footnote #fe3 ,s4,d4 ,social ,democrats2 ,s4,s4 ,zionist ,socialists4 ,footnote #ff3 i4e41 the ,chovev ,zion ,hebrew ,school4 8,,when ,,messiah ,,comes0 7#aijg7 8,when ,messiah comes1 impudence will be rife40 ,this ancient saying has been used so often as a weapon of controversy1 that familiarity has robbed it of its sting4 ,for this reason let me say at the outset that ,i quote it here for no controversial purpose1 but wish1 on the contrary1 to point out that it really draws attention to a natural and permanent connection between two phenomena of human life1 whereof the one is an inevitable consequence of the other4 ,and like every objective truth1 it neither censures nor reproves1 but simply states a fact4 ,what we call 8impudence0 is not as a rule an original1 inborn vice1 but a quality which develops after birth out of a man's exaggerated belief in his own worth1 strength1 wisdom or what not4 ,this exaggerated opinion of himself makes a man hold himself more proudly than he ought before his betters1 and censure and decry everybody who will not accept him at his own valuation4 ,now most men1 in times of normal tranquillity1 cannot help seeing that knowledge and experience are necessary for the conduct of human affairs1 and that not all men have attained an equal degree of development or an equal level of ability and judgment4 ,and so this 8impudence0 comes to be regarded as a bad thing1 because it indicates either an excessive conceit of oneself--as though one were superior to the whole world in learning and experience1 and were above criticism--or an excessive stupidity--as though one were unaware that there is anything in life which calls for learning and understanding1 and that not everybody is equally competent to pronounce judgment on everything4 ,but this quality wears a different aspect 8when ,messiah comes0--that is to say1 when a certain body of men1 no longer able to submit quietly to life's tribulations1 find or invent some ,messiah who is to release them from all their troubles4 ,whether the ,messiah is conceived by them as an individual1 or as a collective body1 or even merely as a new theory--the result is the same4 ,believing firmly in their ,messiah1 seeing in him the fountain of salvation1 and consequently also the symbol of truth and goodness1 and regarding themselves simply as his followers and his disciples1 they naturally cease to recognise distinctions between man and man1 or to admit any superiority in wisdom over folly1 or in age over youth4 ,for all alike are as dust compared with the ,messiah1 and all alike receive 7or ought to receive7 his teaching with passive acquiescence and unquestioning faith4 ,no need any longer for superior knowledge or long experience in order to be able to distinguish between truth and falsehood1 between good and evil4 ,all can come in on equal terms and take truth and good ready-made from the ,messiah's storehouse4 ,whoever disagrees with what comes out of the storehouse1 be he never so old and learned1 is obviously a fool1 an old heretic whom any stripling is entitled to despise4 ,those who stand outside the ,messianic camp are astonished at this sudden decay of morals1 at this upsetting of the proper relation between young and old1 between the nobodies and the somebodies4 8,impudence10 they cry indignantly4 ,but the ,messianists themselves do not1 and cannot1 see anything wrong in their conduct4 ,for it is in truth only an inevitable consequence of their fundamental belief that the ,messiah puts great and small on one level1 and that there are no longer high and low1 but only brothers in ,messiah and enemies of ,messiah4 ,thus the appearance of a ,messiah and the growth of impudence are naturally and inevitably connected2 and we therefore find that they have always appeared together1 in every country and at every time1 from the earliest days until the present4 ,when an individual ,messiah arose in ,israel at the end of the period of the ,second ,temple1 his first devotees--mostly very simple folk--rejected their national leaders and sages with scorn and contempt3 precisely as did later the devotees--not less unlearned--of that corporate ,messiah which was revealed to them in the form of the ,tsaddikim1 who1 as intermediaries between ,israel and his ,god1 were to lighten the burden of galuth and hasten the redemption4#fg ,both have their parallel in this present generation1 which also has its ,messiah1 or rather ,messiahs4 ,but the modern ,messiahs and the modern impudence are rather different in form1 as is only natural1 seeing that times have changed4 ,the ,messiah of old was above reason and above nature1 and faith in the redemption which he was to bring about was based not on logical demonstration1 but on miracles1 like the confounding of destiny and the upsetting of natural laws4 ,hence his followers needed no great cleverness in order to meet criticism4 ,they met every possible objection by a single argument4 8,he who can overthrow nature is not precluded from accomplishing a supernatural redemption1 and therefore any difficulty based on natural laws is out of court40 ,any child can master this simple argument in a trice--and straightway he is of ,messiah's company1 one of his followers and evangelists1 like all the other believers4 ,for this reason the 8impudence0 of the ,messianists of old was similarly simple and obvious1 and had no need to force itself into an artificial mould4 ,so-and-so denies the truth or the power of the ,messiah3 is there any room for discussion8 ,the fellow1 be he who he may1 is a scapegrace1 and all honour to whoever is first with an insult or a stick4 ,to-day things are different4 ,four centuries of free thought and the unravelling of nature's mysteries have left their mark on the human race4 ,to-day even a ,messiah cannot defy reason and nature1 but is compelled to base his redemption on logical demonstrations1 and to put his message in the form of a system founded on nature and experience4 ,essentially1 indeed1 everything is as it used to be3 the real basis of ,messianism1 now as then1 is faith in a speedy redemption1 a faith which has its roots not in reasoned demonstration1 but in the craving to be redeemed4 ,but the exigencies of our age do not allow faith any longer to ignore the demands of reason and nature4 ,even faith is compelled to speak their language if it would satisfy the modern man4 ,so we get scientific systems of a ,messianic character1 which1 differing one from another1 have all this much in common1 that their scientific soundness is very much open to question1 but leaves no doubt in the minds of the believers1 who really need nothing more than the phraseology of science1 as a seemly outer cloak for their faith4 ,as the necessary phraseology is there1 and the cloak is ready to hand1 the believers hold on to the cloak with the utmost tenacity2 every one of its threads is sacrosanct1 and woe to him who disturbs a single one4 ,they seem to feel unconsciously that if there is too much handling of their cloak1 too much examination of its threads in the light of reason and genuine science1 it will not be long before it is torn to tatters--and then what will become of their faith8 ,whence we find in all ,messianic camps1 to-day no less than of old1 a fierce hatred of any attempt at criticism from within1 and unlimited impudence towards those who stand without3 but whereas this hatred and this impudence used to appear undisguised and unashamed1 to-day they cloak themselves in reason and science1 and so appear to be different4 ,you must not think that ,x4 is pilloried and jeered at because he has attacked their ,messiah4 ,heaven forbid6 ,freedom of opinion is their first principle4 ,no3 his crime is that he has an axe to grind1 and perverts scientific truth--which is1 of course1 solely and only that which is set forth for all time under hand and seal in this ,manifesto or that ,programme1 and beyond it there is nothing4#fh ,have we a right to complain of the ,messianists for all this8 ,can we blame them because their yearning for redemption is so deep that it begets this blind1 all-conquering faith8 ,no3 we ought not to complain of them1 but to envy them4 ,happy men--be their name ,political ,zionists1 ,social ,democrats1 or any other of the familiar names6 ,happy indeed1 for ,messiah stands on their threshold1 and redemption knocks at their door1 and truth is crystal-clear to them all1 great and small alike4 ,but how hard is life in our days for one who is not of their number2 for one who cannot follow blindly after one ,messiah or the other2 for one who does not hear the voice that announces redemption and complete salvation1 either close at hand or far away1 either for his own time or for the days when his grand-children shall lie in their graves2 for one who still looks upon ,science and ,reason as divine powers1 which stand above all sects and judge them all impartially1 and not as standard-bearers and trumpeters in the service of a ,messiah6 ,footnote #fg3 ,the ,hebrew word translated above 8devotees0 is chassidim 8pious ones40 ,this name is specifically given to a mystical sect which arose early in the #ahth century4 ,the ,rabbis of this sect were called by their followers tsaddikim 7 8righteous ones07 and were credited by them with supernatural powers4 ,footnote #fh3 ,as ,i write these words some of the best ,german ,social ,democrats are making public confession that by sins of this kind their party has alienated many of its supporters1 and that to this cause is due in part the great defeat which it suffered in the last elections4 ,but this repentance will not save them from the same sin in future1 because the sin is inherent in every ,messianic movement4 ,we ,jews have only to look at what is happening around us1 to be convinced that the characteristic in question is not peculiar to ,germany or to the ,social ,democratic ,party4 ,a ,,spiritual ,,centre 7#aijg7 ,it has been observed that if men always remembered the true meaning of every word that they use or hear1 disputes would be infinitely rarer4 ,the truth of this remark is known by experience to anybody who happens to have promulgated some idea which the contemporary 8reading public0 did not like1 and to have had his 8heresy0 exposed by the literary mouthpieces of that public4 ,the hapless creature's first feeling is one of incredulity and astonishment4 ,how1 he thinks1 is it possible so to pervert things1 so completely to confuse ideas and to advance arguments which so fail to touch the point8 ,he puts it down to the malevolence of his opponents1 believes that they are purposely twisting his words1 and complains bitterly to that same reading public in the name of truth and fairness4 ,but later1 when he finds that complaint is unavailing1 and that the same thing happens time after time1 so that malevolence alone cannot be responsible--then he is driven to the conclusion that there must be some more universal explanation of what he has experienced4 ,the explanation is that the connection between a word and the idea contained in it is not so strong in the human mind as to make it impossible for a man to hear or to utter a word without immediately having a full and exact conception of the associated idea4 ,hence1 when a man hears an opinion which runs counter to his way of thinking1 he is apt unconsciously to grasp the novel opinion in an incorrect form3 he will change the meaning of this or that word until it becomes not difficult for him to refute the opinion by unsound arguments1 in which again one word or another is used incorrectly4 ,and all this counterfeiting is done by the thinking apparatus automatically1 without the knowledge of its owner1 by virtue of its inherent tendency to work at any given moment in accordance with the dominant requirements of the subliminal self at that moment4 ,i doubt whether there is any contemporary ,jewish writer who is more familiar with this experience than myself4 ,were ,i to count up all the disputes with which1 for my sins1 our literature has been enriched--most of them simply glaring instances of the phenomenon in question--the account would be long indeed4 ,but ,i wish here to adduce only one instance of a dispute which began fifteen years ago#fi and has continued to this very day4 ,fifteen years ago there appeared for the first time an idea that afterwards occasioned endless expenditure of ink4 8,in ,palestine10 ,i wrote1 8we can and should found for ourselves a spiritual centre of our nationality40 ,my literary experience was not yet extensive1 and ,i overlooked this important consideration3 that in putting before the public an idea which does not accord with the general view1 one must not merely put it in a logically clear and definite form1 but must also reckon with the psychology of the reader--with that mental apparatus which combines unrelated words and ideas according to the requirements of its owner--and must try one's utmost to avoid any word or expression which might afford an opening for this process of combination4 ,i confess now that in view of this psychological factor ,i ought to have felt that the formula 8a spiritual centre of our nationality0 would afford a good opportunity to those who wished to misunderstand1 although from the point of view of logic it is sufficiently clear and is well adapted to the idea which it contains4 8,centre0 is1 of course1 a relative term4 ,just as 8father0 is inconceivable without children1 so is 8centre0 inconceivable without 8circumference02 and just as a father is a father only in relation to his children1 and is merely ,so-and-so in relation to the rest of mankind1 so a centre is a centre only in relation to its own circumference1 whereas in relation to all that lies outside the circumference it is merely a point with no special importance4 ,when we use the word 8centre10 metaphorically1 in connection with the phenomena of human society1 it necessarily connotes a similar idea3 what we mean is that a particular spot or thing exerts influence on a certain social circumference1 which is bound up with and dependent on it1 and that in relation to this circumference it is a centre4 ,but since social life is a complex of many different departments1 there are very few centres which are universal in their function--that is1 which influence equally all sides of the life of the circumference4 ,the relation between the centre and the circumference is usually limited to one or more departments of life1 outside which they are not interdependent4 ,thus a given circumference may have many centres1 each of which is a centre only for one specific purpose4 ,when1 therefore1 the word 8centre0 is used to express a social conception1 it is accompanied almost always--except where the context makes it unnecessary--by an epithet which indicates its character4 ,we speak of a literary centre1 an artistic centre1 a commercial centre1 and so on1 meaning thereby that in this or that department of life the centre in question has a circumference which is under its influence and is dependent on it1 but that in other departments the one does not exert nor the other receive influence1 and the relation of centre and circumference does not exist4 ,bearing well in mind this definition1 which is familiar enough1 and applying it to the phrase quoted above--8in ,palestine we can and should found for ourselves a spiritual centre of our nationality0--we shall find that the phrase can only be interpreted as follows3-- 8,a centre of our nationality0 implies that there is a national circumference1 which1 like every circumference1 is much larger than the centre4 ,that is to say1 the speaker sees the majority of his people1 in the future as in the past1 scattered over all the world1 but no longer broken up into a number of disconnected parts1 because one part--the one in ,palestine--will be a centre for them all1 and will unite them all into a single1 complete circumference4 ,when all the scattered limbs of the national body feel the beating of the national heart1 restored to life in the home of its vitality1 they too will once again draw near one to another and welcome the inrush of living blood that will flow from the heart4 8,spiritual0 means that this relation of centre and circumference between ,palestine and the lands of the ,diaspora will be limited of necessity to the spiritual side of life4 ,the influence of the centre will strengthen the national consciousness in the ,diaspora1 will wipe out the spiritual taint of galuth1 and will fill our spiritual life with a national content which will be true and natural1 not like the artificial content with which we now fill up the void4 ,but outside the spiritual side of life1 in all those economic and political relations which depend first and foremost on the conditions of the immediate environment1 and are created by that environment and reflect its character--while it is true that in all those relations the effect of the spiritual changes 7such as the strengthening of national unity and increased energy in the struggle for existence7 will show itself to some extent1 yet essentially and fundamentally these departments of life in the ,diaspora will not be bound up with the life of the centre1 and the most vivid imagination cannot picture to us how economic and political influence will radiate from ,palestine through all the length and breadth of the ,diaspora1 which is co-extensive with the globe1 in such manner and to such degree as would entitle us to say1 without inexact use of language1 that ,palestine is the centre of our people in these departments also4 ,now1 at the time when ,i first used the phrase under discussion1 ,i knew beforehand that ,i should excite the wrath of the ,chovev ,zion 7in those days it was they who held the field74 ,but looking1 as ,i did1 solely at the logical side1 ,i was sure that the brunt of their anger would fall on the word 8centre02 for the use of that word involved a negation of the idea of a return of the whole people to ,palestine1 and so clipped the wings of those fantastic hopes which even then1 in the days before the first ,basle ,congress1 were proclaimed as heralding the end of the galuth and a complete and absolute solution of the ,jewish problem in all its aspects4 ,the epithet 8spiritual0 seemed to me so simple and clear1 as a necessary logical consequence of the assumption involved in the world 8centre10 that it never remotely entered my mind that here might be the stumbling-block1 and that ,i ought at once to file a declaration to the effect that1 although the centre would be spiritual in its influence on the circumference1 yet in itself it would be a place like other places1 where men were compounded of body and soul1 and needed food and clothing1 and that for this reason the centre would have to concern itself with material questions and to work out an economic system suited to its requirements1 and could not exist without farmers1 labourers1 craftsmen1 and merchants4 ,when a man uses1 for example1 the expression 8literary centre10 does it occur to him to explain that he does not mean a place where there is no eating or drinking1 no business or handicraft1 but simply a number of men sitting and writing books and drinking in the radiance of their own literary talent8 ,imagine1 then1 my surprise when ,i found that my critics paid no attention to the word 8centre10 but poured out all the vials of their wrath on the epithet 8spiritual10 as though it contained all that was new and strange in the idea3 as who should say1 8,a spiritual and not a material centre8 ,can such a thing be80 ,but my amazement soon died away when ,i remembered the 8psychological apparatus40 ,it was bound to fasten on some word or other in order to make my unpopular theory appear absurd2 and since the word 8centre10 if the critics dwelt on it and led the minds of their readers to analyse its meaning1 was calculated not to serve that end1 but1 on the contrary1 to make it clear where the absurdity really lay1 they found it best to give 8spiritual0 all the emphasis4 8,a spiritual centre6 ,now do you understand what these people want8 ,they care nothing for a material settlement1 for colonies1 factories1 commerce3 they want only to settle in ,palestine a dozen batlanim1 whose business shall be spiritual nationality40 ,great indeed is the power of psychology4 ,this interpretation spread abroad1 was accepted1 and remains to this day a matter of course4 ,even those ,zionists who have not got their knowledge of my views from the pamphlet literature which has flooded the world in recent years1 but have read them in the original--even they are certain that that is what spiritual ,zionism means4 ,it has availed them nothing to read immediately afterwards1 in the same article1#gj that the spiritual centre must be 8a true miniature of the people of ,israel10 and that in the centre there will appear once more 8the genuine type of a ,jew1 whether it be a ,rabbi or a scholar or a writer1 a farmer or a craftsman or a business man40 ,it has availed nothing1 because psychological factors dominate not only the person judging1 but also his memory4 ,three years ago1#ga ,i remember1 after ,i had published in some journal a protest against the favourable reports about the condition of the ,palestinian colonies that were then being spread abroad1 for diplomatic purposes1 a writer in the camp of the political ,zionists became angry with me1 and determined to shatter with one blow all my views on ,zionism1 and so remove a dangerous heresy4 ,this idea he carried out in an elaborate article1 which was continued through many numbers of the same journal4 ,the details ,i have forgotten3 they were but the old arguments dished up in different words4 ,but ,i still remember one thing1 which provoked not only a smile but also reflections such as those which are the subject of the present essay4 ,after proving conclusively that material factors are of great importance1 and cannot be lightly brushed aside1 our author reaches the conclusion that it is for that reason idle to confine our work solely to the foundation of a spiritual centre for our nationality3 we must found in ,palestine an economic and spiritual centre4 ,it escaped his notice that so soon as he used the word 8centre0 he became himself a 8spiritual ,zionist10 and in adding the epithet 8economic0 added exactly nothing4 ,the journal in question appeared in ,warsaw1 which was also at that time the home of our author2 and in order to understand the matter aright he had only to go into the street and ask any intelligent ,pole3 8,what is ,warsaw to the ,polish people as a whole8 ,is it a spiritual centre of the nation1 or a spiritual and economic centre80 ,the answer1 ,i think1 would have been something like this3 8,for the ,polish people as a whole this city is certainly a spiritual centre of their nationality4 ,here the national characteristics find their expression in every department of life1 here the national language1 literature1 and art live and develop2 and all this1 and what goes with it1 influences the spirit of the ,poles1 binds them1 wherever they may be1 to the centre1 and prevents the spark of nationality in the individual from becoming buried and extinguished4 ,but an economic centre of the nation8 ,my good sir6 ,how could ,warsaw be an economic centre for all the millions of ,poles who are scattered over different lands1 and whose economic lives depend on entirely different centres1 where ,polish economic conditions do not count at all80 ,i should not have advised our author1 after getting an answer of that kind1 to ask3 8,how so8 ,are there not in ,warsaw1 besides spiritual things1 ever so many factories and shops and other material things1 without which it could not develop its spiritual side8 ,and is it not therefore an economic and spiritual centre80 ,i should not have advised him to ask that question1 because ,i could not guarantee that the intelligent ,pole would waste words on such a questioner4 ,but amongst ourselves 8the economic centre0 has become a current phrase with many people who on the one hand want to do their duty by the economic side of ,zionism 7that is de rigueur nowadays71 and on the other hand cannot achieve the imaginative eagle-flights of 8,proletarian ,zionism10#gb which promises to create in ,palestine a national economic system so healthy and so vast that it will be able to provide room and work for all those ,jews who are being more and more completely elbowed out of the best branches of industry in the lands of their exile 7that is1 for almost nine-tenths of the people74 ,zionists like these1 in order to get rid of the difficult question as to the possibility of settling the majority of our people in ,palestine1 even when their new economic system becomes a fact1 consent to accept half the loaf1 and want to regard ,palestine as merely an economic centre4 ,but herein they escape one snare to fall into a worse3 they have got rid of an external problem1 which depends on arguments from experience1 and are caught instead in an inner contradiction1 which mere logic can expose4 ,with the 8,proletarian0 formula one can still argue3 one can demand1 for instance1 a somewhat clearer explanation of that 8internal process0 by which the economic system of ,palestine will become able to absorb immigration on a scale unparalleled in history3 but at all events there is no self-contradiction4 ,whereas the conception of 8an economic centre of the nation10 when applied to a people scattered over the whole world1 leaves no room for argument or questioning1 because its refutation is in itself4 ,but psychological combinations of this kind are a good sign4 ,they show--in common with other clear signs--that the 8centre0 as an idea is making headway and is leading to various deductions which could not have been imagined some years ago4 ,and that is the all-important thing4 ,in time the deduction which is involved in the word 8spiritual10 when rightly understood1 will also be drawn1 and it will no longer be possible to suppress it by psychological means4 ,true1 all this will not do away with the old nonsense about 8spiritual ,zionism02 on the contrary--and this is even now unmistakably evident--the more the substance of spiritual ,zionism prevails1 the more will psychology try to distinguish the victorious tendency from its hated name4 ,but what of that8 ,let the name be beaten1 so but the idea prevail6 ,footnote #fi3 i4e41 in #ahib4 ,footnote #gj3 i4e41 the article 8,dr4 ,pinsker and his ,pamphlet10 from which the phrase under discussion is quoted4 ,footnote #ga3 i4e41 in #aijd4 ,footnote #gb3 ,the name given to a ,zionist doctrine based on ,marxian ,socialism1 which had a vogue in ,russia1 especially among the younger generation1 at the time when this article was written4 ,the 8internal process0 7mentioned later7 belongs to the terminology of this doctrine4 ,,summa ,,summarum 7#aiab7 ,this is a summary not of facts and figures1 but of impressions stored in my mind in the course of sixty days during which our national work enveloped me in its atmosphere and engrossed my every thought3 ten days at ,basle during the ,tenth ,congress1 and fifty days afterwards in ,palestine4 ,fourteen years have passed since ,i saw a ,zionist ,congress 7the first71 and twelve years since ,i witnessed the condition of our work in ,palestine4 ,my object in revisiting both the ,congress and the land was not1 as before1 to go into details1 to collect material1 in the shape of facts and figures1 for the solution of certain practical problems4 ,on this occasion ,i opened my mind wide to the different impressions that crowded in on me from all sides2 ,i allowed them to enter and to dissolve of themselves into a single general impression--a kind of mental summary of all that ,i saw and heard in connection with our movement and our work in and out of ,palestine4 ,i am of those who stand on the threshold of age and look back on many long years of work and struggle1 of victories and defeats1 of pain and of joy4 ,a man in this position finds it necessary at times to turn his thoughts for a while from questions of detail1 and to take a more comprehensive view1 so that he may find for his own satisfaction an answer to that broad1 fundamental question which occasionally disturbs his sleep3 ,what is the purpose1 what the result1 of all this work which has occupied your life and consumed your strength8 ,it was this necessity that took me on this occasion to ,basle and to ,palestine4 ,and let me confess that it is a long time since ,i spent such happy days as those of my travels4 ,not that all is now right with the movement2 not that the sun has shone on our work1 and driven away the shadows1 and spread light and joy everywhere4 ,we are still a long way from such a happy consummation4 ,even to-day the shadows are many2 if they are less in one place1 they are more in another4 ,but one fact is becoming increasingly clear3 our work is not an artificial product1 a thing that we have invented to give the people something to do1 as a palliative for the national sorrow4 ,that idea might be entertained if aim and achievement corresponded1 if the work were done for the purpose of attaining that result which it is in fact attaining4 ,if that were so1 one might doubt whether the attainment of this result were really necessary for the nation1 and whether the whole business were not artificial4 ,but that is not the case4 ,since the beginning of the movement the workers have had one goal in view1 and have been unconsciously approaching another4 ,this dualism is the surest sign that the driving force is not reasoning reflection1 but something much deeper3 one of those natural instincts which work in darkness1 and make a man do their will whether he likes it or not1 while he believes that his action is directed to the object which his reason has set before him4 ,this driving force is the instinct of national self-preservation4 ,by it we are compelled to achieve what must be achieved for the perpetuation of our national existence2 and we follow it--albeit without clear consciousness1 and by crooked paths--because follow it we must if we would live4 ,i used to be distressed by this dualism2 ,i used to fear that we might lose the right path--the path of life--through making for a goal to which no path can lead4 ,but now that ,i have seen the results of the work so far1 ,i have no such fears as to its ultimate fate4 ,what matters it that the work is professedly directed to an object which it cannot attain8 ,l'homme propose4444 ,history does not trouble about our programme2 it creates what it creates at the bidding of our 8instinct of self-preservation40 ,whether we ourselves understand the true import and purpose of our work1 or whether we prefer not to understand--in either case history works through us1 and will reach its goal by our agency4 ,only the task will be harder and longer if true understanding does not come to our aid4 ,that is the real state of the case4 ,all that ,i saw and heard at ,basle and in ,palestine has strengthened my conviction that the 8instinct of self-preservation0 slumbers not nor sleeps in the nation's heart4 ,despite our mistakes1 it is creating through our agency just what our national existence requires most of all at present3 a fixed centre for our national spirit and culture1 which will be a new spiritual bond between the scattered sections of the people1 and by its spiritual influence will stimulate them all to a new national life4 ,to miss ,basle during the ,tenth ,zionist ,congress was to miss seeing an extraordinary medley of languages and ideas--the result of an internal crisis of which everybody was conscious1 but which everybody tried hard not to see4 ,throughout the ,congress there was a struggle between two sections1 the 8political0 and the 8practical40 ,you hear the 8politicals0 declare that they1 too1 are really 8practical10 only that they do not forget 8the political end02 you hear the 8practicals0 protest that they1 too1 are really 8political10 only that they do not forget 8the practical means40 ,and both sections alike protest that the 8,state0 has really been given up1 but the ,basle ,programme has not been given up to the extent of a single comma4#gc4444 ,in the end the 8practicals0 won3 that is to say1 the essential work of ,zionism was pronounced to be the extension of the ,jewish settlement1 and the furthering of education and culture1 in ,palestine4 ,thereupon the victors stood up and promised to guard faithfully the ,basle ,programme and 8the ,zionist tradition developed during fourteen years40 ,but all this confusion was only an inevitable consequence of the state of mind in which the two sections came to the ,congress4 ,the ,zionism of the 8politicals10 most of whom were brought into the camp not by a heartfelt longing for the persistence and the development of ,jewish nationality1 but by a desire to escape from external oppression through the foundation of a 8secured home of refuge0 for our people--their ,zionism is necessarily bound up with that object1 and with that alone3 take that away1 and it remains an empty phrase4 ,for this reason they cannot help seeing that the 8practical work0 which their opponents make the basis of ,zionism is not calculated to hasten that end which is1 for them1 the only end4 ,they still remember the estimate which they heard in the opening speech of the first ,congress3 that the colonising work of the ,chovev ,zion will bring the exiled people back to ,palestine in nine hundred years6 ,but the course of events during recent years has destroyed their hope of reaching that goal more quickly by means of that 8political0 work which is the foundation of 8the ,zionist tradition40 ,hence they were in a quandary at this ,congress1 and did not know how to extricate themselves4 ,they came with empty hands1 and professed devotion to an object which there were no means of attaining2 they could only fall back on the hope of a vague future1 when external conditions may perhaps become more favourable to 8political work40 ,this explains also the excessive shyness which they displayed4 ,they did not go out to battle1 as they used to do1 with trumpetings and loud alarums2 there was scarcely a mention of those familiar flourishes1 which they used to utter with such boldness and vigour1 about the salvation which ,zionism is to bring to all oppressed and persecuted ,jews4 ,even ,nordau1 in his speech on the condition of the ,jews1 changed his tune on this occasion4 ,the whole idea of his speech1 which has been given at the opening of every ,congress1 and has become an essential part of the 8,zionist tradition10 was to justify ,zionism on the ground of anti-,semitism4 8,you see0--such1 in effect1 used to be his argument--8how perilous is your position all over the world2 there is no way out4 ,and therefore1 if you wish to be saved1 join us1 and we will save you40 ,but on this occasion ,nordau contented himself with describing the evil1 and dealing out reproaches to ,jews and non-,jews4 ,the essential thing--the 8therefore0--was lacking almost entirely4 ,and throughout the ,congress there were heard speeches which openly opposed this ,zionism based on anti-,semitism1 and the speakers were not shouted down1 as they certainly would have been in earlier years4 ,the 8practicals0--mostly ,eastern ,jews and their ,western pupils1 for whom national ,judaism is the very centre of their being1 and who are ruled unconsciously by the 8instinct of national self-preservation0--they came to ,basle in a very different frame of mind4 ,they brought with them a complete programme of 8practical work in ,palestine10 embracing both colonising and cultural activity2 and they came with a settled conviction that all the various branches of this work were the proper means to the attainment of the end--,,the end--the one and only1 yet undefined4 ,the 8politicals0 raised their old question3 8,do you honestly believe that the occasional purchase of a small piece of land1 the foundation of a tiny colony with infinite pains1 a workmen's farm without security of tenure1 a school here1 a college there1 and so forth--that these are the means of acquiring a #8home of refuge' as understood by the #8,zionist tradition'--a refuge which will end our troubles by ending our exile80 ,the 8practicals0 had no satisfactory answer4 ,none the less1 they stood to their guns1 and stoutly maintained that work in ,palestine is the only road that leads to the end3 but4444 ,at this point they broke off abruptly1 and did not complete their thought--for a very good reason4 ,they dared not expressly repudiate that article of faith which alone has made ,zionism a popular movement--8the redemption of the nation40 ,they dared not recognise and acknowledge that the end of which they speak to-day differs from that of the 8,zionist tradition40 ,what they are working for is not 8a home of refuge for the people of ,israel10 but 8a fixed centre for the spirit of ,israel40 ,all branches of the present work in ,palestine1 be it buying land or founding schools1 are sure means to the attainment of that end1 but have nothing to do with the other4 ,the 8practicals0 were inwardly conscious of this truth even while the 8politicals0 still had the upper hand1 and for this reason they joined with the 8politicals0 in fighting it bitterly and angrily4 ,it was a disturbing factor1 of which they would fain be rid4 ,but now that the star of 8political0 ,zionism had waned1 this conviction had grown stronger in the minds of the 8practicals10 and had become a real driving force4 ,as yet1 however1 they lacked the moral courage to intensify this subconscious whisper into a clear profession of faith4 ,thus the real object remained beneath the threshold of consciousness1 while above the threshold there wandered about1 like disembodied spirits1 here means without an object1 there an object without means2 and imagination tried hard to combine the two4#gd ,but while the 8makers of history0 inside the ,congress ,hall were in the dark1 it was outside the ,hall1 among the crowds attracted to ,basle by the ,congress1 that ,i saw quite clearly what history has really been doing4 ,in the fourteen years since the first ,congress we have been joined by a body of ,jews of a new kind3 men in whom the national consciousness is deep-rooted1 and is not measured by ,shekalim#ge or limited by a ,programme1 but is an all-pervading and all-embracing sentiment4 ,jews of this type came to ,basle from all the ends of the earth2 they returned to their people out of the gulf of assimilation1 most of them yet young in years1 able and willing to work for the national revival4 ,when ,i saw these men--our heirs--outside the ,congress ,hall1 ,i said to myself3 ,never trouble about those who are inside6 ,let them make speeches and pass resolutions and believe that they are hastening the redemption4 ,the distant redemption may not be any nearer2 but the estranged hearts are drawing near4 ,in spite of all1 history is doing its work in this place1 and these men are helping1 whether they know it or not4 ,this same historical tendency1 dimly discerned at ,basle through the dark cloud of words1 ,i found in ,palestine clearly revealed in the light of facts4 ,the more ,i travelled and observed1 the more evident it became to me that what is happening in ,palestine--despite all the contradictions and inconsistencies--is tending broadly towards a single goal--that goal which ,i mentioned above4 ,no doubt we have a long journey to travel yet2 but even an untrained eye can see our destination on the distant horizon4 ,if any there be for whom the horizon is too narrow1 and the goal too petty1 let him go to ,zionist meetings outside ,palestine3 there he will be shown a wider prospect1 with larger aims at the end of it4 ,but let him not go to ,palestine4 ,in ,palestine they have almost forgotten the wider prospects4 ,realities are too strong for them there3 they can see nothing beyond4 ,take the ,national ,bank1 which was intended to provide a foundation for 8the redemption of the people and the land0 by political means4 ,what is the ,bank doing8 ,needless to say1 its political object has been abandoned and forgotten4 ,but even in the mere work of colonisation it neither does nor can achieve great things4 ,its business consists--and must consist1 if it wishes to survive--in dealings with local tradesmen1 ,jews and non-,jews1 and its profits are derived chiefly from the latter4 ,all that it does for ,jewish colonisation1 or all that it could do--if we agree with its critics that it could do more than it does--without danger to itself1 is so little1 that one cannot even conceive any possible connection between it and the 8larger aims10 or imagine it to be moving at all along the road that leads to the complete 8redemption40 ,by this time1 apparently1 there are many people outside ,palestine as well who have ceased to hope much from the ,bank in the matter of land-settlement2 and they now look for the solution to an ,agrarian ,bank4 ,but possibly it would be worth while first of all to examine what little the existing ,bank has done in the way of loans to the colonies1 in order to learn what this experience has to teach as regards the problems of agrarian credit in ,palestine4 ,it is not enough to adduce examples from other countries1 where the conditions and the people are different1 to demonstrate what agrarian credit can do4 ,credit is a very useful thing if it succeeds1 but a very harmful thing if it fails4 ,everything depends on local conditions and the character of the people4 ,the existing ,bank has followed precedent in its attempts to help the colonies already in existence--and with what success8 ,the colonists will tell you4 ,no doubt ,i shall be told that ,i am drawing a false analogy1 for such-and-such reasons4 ,but ,i am not here attempting to express an opinion on this question of an ,agrarian ,bank1 which has already been much discussed1 and of which the merits and demerits have been fully canvassed4 ,my purpose is merely to hint at the difficulties of the project1 even if it is carried out on a very modest scale1 so as to suggest that it is premature at the present stage1 when the ,agrarian ,bank is not even in sight1 to talk about the great things that it is going to do4 ,our colonisation work in ,palestine is carried out under conditions of such multifarious difficulty1 that even small things have to be done with extreme care1 and precedent alone is no safe guide4 ,if the proposed ,agrarian ,bank is really going to aim high--to aim1 that is1 at something considerable in relation to 8the redemption of the people and the land0--we cannot yet say whether in the end it will help or hurt4#gf ,then there is the ,national ,fund1 and its work for 8the redemption of the land0 by commercial means1 for which purpose it was created4 ,the ,fund has already spent a great deal of its money3 and how much has it redeemed8 ,how much could it have redeemed if it had spent many times as much8 ,a few scattered pieces of land1 lost in the large areas of land not redeemed4 ,meanwhile1 the price of land in ,palestine is going up by leaps and bounds1 especially in districts where we gain a footing1 and the amount of land which it is in the power of the ,fund to redeem with the means at its command grows correspondingly less and less4 ,and there is another factor1 independent of finance1 which lessens its possibilities still further4 ,many natives of ,palestine1 whose national consciousness has begun to develop since the ,turkish revolution1 look askance1 quite naturally1 at the selling of land to 8strangers10 and do their best to put a stop to this evil2 while the ,turkish ,government--be its attitude to our work whatever it may--is not likely to irritate the ,arabs for our sakes3 that would not suit its book4 ,thus the purchase of land becomes more and more difficult1 and the idea of 8the redemption of the land0 shrinks and shrinks1 until no ,palestinian whose eyes are open can see in the ,national ,fund what it was in the imagination of its founders--the future mistress of all or most of the land in ,palestine4 ,it is clearly understood in ,palestine that many years of hard work1 with the help of the ,national ,fund or by other means1 will achieve no more than this3 to win for us a large number of points of vantage over the whole surface of ,palestine1 and to make these points counterbalance by their quality the whole of the surrounding area4 ,for this reason1 people in ,palestine do not talk much about the coming 8redemption02 they work patiently and laboriously to add another point of vantage1 and another1 and yet another4 ,they do not ask3 8,how will these save us80 ,they all feel that these points themselves are destined to be1 as it were1 power-stations of the national spirit2 that it is not necessary to regard them as a first step towards 8the conquest of the land0 in order to find the result worth all the labour4 ,then1 again1 there are the ,colonies already established1 which were born in pain and nurtured with so much trouble4 ,they also do not fire the imagination to the pitch of regarding them as the first step towards 8the redemption40 ,it is true that the great progress which has been made in most of the ,colonies is matter for rejoicing4 ,twelve years ago one knew what to expect on entering a ,jewish ,colony in ,palestine4 ,from the farmers one would hear bitter complaints about their intolerable condition1 charges of neglect of duty against the hard-hearted administrators1 and last1 but not least1 a long list of requirements1 involving large sums of money1 for the proper equipment of each farmer4 ,the administrators on their side would rail against the farmers1 call them lazy schnorrers1 who were always asking for more1 though their condition was not at all bad1 and denounce the schedule of requirements as a fabrication4 ,to-day there is no echo of these recriminations in most of the ,colonies4 ,during the intervening years the administrators--it is but just to them to say so--have done all that they could to remedy their earlier mistakes4 ,they have extended the ,colonies wherever it was possible to buy land in the neighbourhood2 they have founded new ,colonies for those who could not find room in the old2 and in general they have endeavoured to finish their work1 to free the ,colonies gradually from their own supervision1 and to transfer the management and the responsibility to the farmers themselves1 so that they should at last realise that the man who wants to live must work and look after himself1 instead of depending always on external help4 ,no doubt one cannot yet speak of the complete emancipation of the ,colonies as an accomplished fact4 ,the strings are still there1 and the absentee ,administration still holds them4 ,but it no longer pulls the strings1 as it used to do1 and1 consequently1 its existence is hardly noticed4 ,so1 if one visits one of these ,colonies to-day1 one hears quite another tune4 8,we are independent0--that is the first thing they tell one1 with the pride of men who know the value of freedom4 ,this pride makes them exaggerate the present blessings1 just as they used to exaggerate the evil4 8,all's right with the ,colony4 ,it is strong and secure1 and pays its workers well4 ,no doubt some people are badly off4 ,but what of that8 ,there are failures everywhere4 ,the man who cannot succeed leaves1 and makes room for another4 ,the great thing is that the ,colony as a whole is able to exist and to develop properly4 ,true1 it lacks this1 that1 and the other1 and we cannot yet supply the deficiencies2 but in course of time they will be supplied4 ,we need patient work1 and everything will come in good time40 ,that is the prevailing note of what ,i heard in nearly all the ,colonies which ,i visited4#gg ,any visitor to ,palestine who brings with him1 as ,i did1 painful and humiliating recollections of years ago must rejoice beyond measure at all this1 and must be inclined to take an extremely optimistic view of the development of the colonisation movement in general4 ,but all this is highly satisfactory only so long as one regards this colonisation movement as something good in itself4 ,think but once of the 8political aim10 of the first article of the ,basle ,programme1 and the optimism vanishes at once1 and gives place to a depressing feeling of poverty and emptiness4 ,thirty years' experience of the life of the ,colonies must finally drive us to the conclusion that while ,hebrew ,colonies can exist in ,palestine1 and in large numbers1 ,hebrew agriculturists--those who are to be the foundation of the 8home of refuge0--cannot be made even in ,palestine1 except in numbers too small to bear any relation to so large an aim4 ,the ,jew is too clever1 too civilised1 to bound his life and his ambitions by a small plot of land1 and to be content with deriving a poor living from it by the sweat of his brow4 ,he has lost the primitive simplicity of the real farmer1 whose soul is bound up in his piece of ground1 whose work is his all1 and who never looks beyond his narrow acres3 as though a voice from above had told him that he was born to be a slave to the land with his ox and his ass1 and must fulfill his destiny without any unnecessary thinking4 ,that agricultural idyll which we saw in our visions thirty years ago has not been and cannot be realised4 ,the ,jew can become a capable farmer1 a country gentleman--of the type of ,boaz--who understands agriculture1 is devoted to it1 and makes a living out of it3 the sort of man who goes out every morning to his field1 or his vineyard1 to look after his workmen as they plough or sow his land1 plant or graft his vines1 and does not mind even giving them a hand when he finds it necessary4 ,a man of this type--close to the land and to nature1 and very different in character from the ,jew of the city--a ,jew can become4 ,but at the same time he wants to live like a civilised being2 he wants to enjoy1 bodily and mentally1 the fruits of contemporary culture2 the land does not absorb his whole being4 ,this excellent type is being created before our eyes in ,palestine1 and in time it will certainly reach an uncommon degree of perfection4 ,but of what use is all this for building a 8home of refuge08 8,upper-class0 farmers of this kind1 who depend on the labour of others1 cannot be the foundation of such a building4 ,in every ,state the foundation is the rural proletariat3 the labourers and the poor farmers1 who derive a scanty livelihood from their own work in the fields1 whether in a small plot of their own1 or in the fields of the 8upper-class0 farmers4 ,but the rural proletariat in ,palestine is not ours to-day1 and it is difficult to imagine that it ever will be ours1 even if our ,colonies multiply all over the country4 ,as for the present1 we all know that the work is done mostly by ,arabs from the neighbouring villages1 either journeymen1 who come in the morning and return home in the evening1 or regular labourers1 who live in the ,colony with their families4 ,it is they who are doing for us the work of the 8home of refuge40 ,and as for the future1 the number of the ,colonies will grow1 in so far as it grows1 through men of capital1 who will found new ,colonies of the same 8wealthy0 type4 ,colonies for poor men can only be founded by organisations1 and their number must be so limited that they can count for nothing in comparison with the need of creating a rural proletariat to cover the whole country and win it by manual labour4 ,even an ,agrarian ,credit ,bank will not make much difference from this point of view4 ,such a bank--despite all the great things prophesied for it--will be much better able to help in the foundation of 8wealthy0 ,colonies than to found ,colonies for poor men with its own means4 ,perhaps its inability to increase the number of such ,colonies will really be a blessing in disguise4 ,for if they existed in large numbers they must all be full of men quite unfitted for such a difficult task4 ,only if they are very few can we hope for their survival and development through a process of natural selection1 by which the man who has not the necessary qualities will make way for another1 and in time these ,colonies will gather to themselves all the small body of born agriculturists which is still left among us4#gh ,however that may be1 this is not the way in which our rural proletariat can be made4 ,it may be said that it will be made in ordinary course in the 8wealthy0 ,colonies1 through the natural increase of the inhabitants and the consequent division of the land2 that the sons or grandsons of the farmers will themselves become poor labourers1 living by the work of their hands4 ,but experience shows that this1 too1 is a vain hope4 ,the children who are born in the ,colonies have also the cleverness of the ,jew4 ,when the son sees that his paternal inheritance will not be sufficient to make him a substantial farmer1 and that he is doomed to be one of those pillars of society1 the agricultural labourers1 he quickly leaves the ,colony1 and goes to seek his fortune overseas1 where he is content to work like a slave1 so long as he is free from bondage to the land1 and is able to dream of a prosperous future4 ,but it would be doing these sons of the ,colonies a grievous wrong to imagine them lacking in love for ,palestine4 ,most of them do love the country1 and long for it1 even after they have left it4 ,some of them return to it in after years1 if they have succeeded abroad in acquiring enough money to enable them to settle comfortably in ,palestine4 ,but the trouble is that love of the country alone cannot breed agriculturists2 for that you must have also love of the land4 ,the genuine agriculturist feels that leaving the land is like giving up life4 ,the inherited link between himself and the land is so strong and deep that he cannot sever it4 ,he therefore prefers to endure poverty and want1 to live all his life like a beast of burden1 rather than to leave the land4 ,but this trait of the genuine agriculturist disappears gradually even in places where it exists1 so soon as it comes into contact with a cultured environment4 ,it is clearly impossible to create it where it does not exist1 and most of all in a people like ours1 in which two thousand years of wandering have implanted traits of an exactly opposite character4 ,there remains1 then1 only one hope3 the young labourers who come to ,palestine with the intention of devoting their lives to the national ideal1 of 8capturing labour0#gi in ,palestine and of creating in our existing and future ,colonies that rural proletariat which is so far non-existent4 ,it is significant that the 8labour question0 has latterly become almost the central problem of our colonisation work4 ,it is felt on all hands that bound up with this question of labour is a still larger question--that of the whole aim of ,zionism4 ,if these labourers cannot succeed in supplying what is lacking1 that proves that even national idealism is not strong enough to create the necessary qualities of mind and heart2 and we must therefore reconcile ourselves to the idea that our rural settlement in ,palestine1 even if in course of time it develops up to the maximum of its possibilities1 will always remain an upper stratum1 a culturally developed minority1 with the brains and the capital1 while the rural proletariat1 the manual labourers who form the majority1 will still not be ours4 ,this1 of course1 involves a complete transformation of the character and aim of ,zionism4 ,no wonder1 then1 that there have been so many suggestions for improving the condition of the labourers4 ,everybody sees that so far the labourers have not succeeded very well in their mission3 in recent years many of them have left the country1 while few have arrived there1 and the position of those who remain is insecure4 ,the general tendency is to put the blame on certain external difficulties1 and to look for ways of removing those difficulties--as1 by persuading the colonists to give ,jewish a preference over ,arab labourers2 by making things more comfortable for the labourers in the matter of food and lodging2 and many other familiar suggestions4 ,the ,zionist public consoles itself with the belief that when all these steps are taken the number of ,jewish labourers will steadily increase with the increase of work1 and that as the settlement grows and the amount of work increases1 so will our labouring rural proletariat increase1 and thus the 8secure home of refuge0 will be built up by our own hands1 from the foundation to the roof4 ,now it seems to me that the time is not very far distant when the external difficulties will no longer stand in the way of the labourers1 or1 at least1 will be reduced to such small proportions that it will no longer be possible to regard them as an insurmountable barrier4 ,the ,national ,fund and other institutions are already trying hard to improve the position of the labourers1 and there is no doubt that little by little everything that can be done will be done4 ,even the greatest difficulty--that of the strained relations between the labourers and the colonists--is visibly growing less4 ,on the one side1 most of the labourers now see that it is unfair to demand of any man that he should receive with open arms those who look down on him and make no attempt to conceal the hatred and contempt which they feel for him as a 8bourgeois02 and so they try to adopt a more conciliatory attitude than hitherto4 ,on the other side1 the colonists are beginning to see that it is not only their duty but also their interest to increase the amount of ,jewish labour in the colonies 7there is no need here to labour this point1 which has been often made before72 and so we see in the colonies the development of a certain tendency to employ ,jewish labour as far as possible4 ,it is true that most of the colonies still believe that the possibilities of employing ,jewish labour are very small 7again for reasons too familiar to need explaining here71 and an outsider who has paid a brief visit to ,palestine cannot express a definite opinion as to the soundness of their judgment on this point4 ,speaking generally1 however1 ,i have no doubt that the more the colonists become inclined to employ ,jewish labour1 the greater will the possibilities automatically become1 until they reach their real limit4 ,but after the removal of those external difficulties which we ourselves can remove we shall find out that the way is beset with more formidable difficulties1 which do not depend on our own will4 ,in every colony and farm which ,i visited1 ,i talked a great deal with the labourers1 and listened attentively to what they said4 ,they expressed many different and conflicting opinions1 and were not always all agreed even on the most important questions4 ,this notwithstanding1 all these conversations left on my mind one general impression1 and that impression did not encourage me to believe in the ability of these young men to accomplish the great task which they had set before themselves4 ,these young labourers1 who come to ,palestine with the idea of 8capturing labour10 mostly bring with them from abroad the hope of becoming independent farmers after some years of work2 only a few come with the fixed intention of remaining labourers all their lives4 ,all alike work for a certain time with enthusiasm and devotion1 but after a while the question of their future begins to exercise their minds4 ,those whose hope from the beginning was to become farmers are1 of course1 discouraged when they see how remote is the chance of attaining their ambition2 that was only to be expected4 ,but even those who came with the intention of remaining labourers begin to feel that a life such as theirs is all very well for a time1 but is more than they can endure as a permanency4 ,the civilised man in each one of them begins to clamour for self-expression1 and cannot reconcile himself to the idea that he must go on digging or ploughing from morning till evening all his days1 and at best be rewarded for all his toil by a meagre subsistence4 ,so the weaker among them leave the country with bitterness in their hearts1 and the more obstinate remain in the country with bitterness in their hearts2 and you may see them wandering from one colony to another1 working in one place for a time1 then suddenly leaving it for another1 not because they want a better job1 but because they are restless in spirit and have no peace of mind4 ,the labourers at present in ,palestine may be divided1 broadly speaking1 into four classes4 ,there are first the unskilled labourers1 who do simple work such as digging1 and with difficulty earn enough to satisfy their most elementary needs4 ,this class is very far from being contented2 many of its members have left the country1 many more will leave1 and the rest will for the most part pass into the other classes4 ,secondly1 there are labourers who are expert at certain kinds of work 7such as grafting7 which require skill and care4 ,they earn good money1 and their position is not bad4 ,yet they are mostly anxious to pass into the third class1 that of the farmer-labourers1 who have each his own small holding in the neighbourhood of some colony1 and work on their own land1 but eke out a livelihood by working for others in the colony2 or--where the holdings are very small--work mostly for others and only a little for themselves4 ,this experiment has been started by various institutions1 which have bought land in or near to a colony and have given plots of it to selected labourers4 ,in some places there are labourers who do well with their holdings1 and therefore are already hoping that before long they will cease to be labourers and become independent farmers4 ,fourthly1 there are the labourers who have already attained this ideal of becoming independent farmers1 and no longer work for others1 but are still sometimes counted as labourers because they maintain certain relations with their former 8party40 ,the members of this class are few1 and most of them are men whom the ,jewish ,colonisation ,association settled in ,lower ,galilee on the tenant-farmer system4 ,their holdings are comparatively large1 and they have neither time nor need to work for others2 on the contrary1 they themselves need labour at certain seasons1 and then these ex-labourers1 having become employers1 do not invariably employ ,jewish labour6 ,this last-mentioned phenomenon gave me much food for thought all the time that ,i was in ,palestine4 ,among these farmers ,i knew some young men who had previously been regarded as among the pick of the labourers1 not only from the point of view of efficiency1 but also from that of character and devotion to the national ideal4 ,if these men--,i said to myself--could not stand the test1 then perhaps it is really impossible for anybody to stand it1 and whether it be for the reasons which the farmers suggest1 or for other reasons1 the fact is there all the same4 ,but when ,i put this problem to labourers who had not yet become farmers1 they replied that these comrades of theirs1 when once they had become farmers1 had lost their proletariat mentality and acquired a different psychology4 ,then ,i asked further3 8,if so1 where is the solution8 ,you yourselves tell me that most of your comrades came to ,palestine in the hope of becoming farmers in course of time1 and that as this hope grew fainter 7because the ,jewish ,colonisation ,association changed its system1 and ceased to settle on its land labourers who had not a certain amount of money7 the number of new arrivals grew less4 ,but if the labourers come with the hope of becoming farmers1 and then1 when they have achieved their ambition1 lose their idealism and employ non-,jews on their own land1 how can you ever #8capture labour1' and what is the good of your efforts80 ,to this question the labourers nowhere gave me a satisfactory answer6#hj 99 99 99 99 99 ,such is the condition of 8practical work in ,palestine10 and such its relation to 8the redemption of the people and the land40 ,the hope of a future redemption is an age-long national hope1 still cherished by every ,jew who is faithful to his people1 whether as a religious belief or in some other form4 ,every man can picture the realisation to himself as it suits him1 without regard to actual present conditions3 for who knows what is hidden in the bosom of the distant future8 ,but if men set out to achieve the redemption by their own efforts1 they are no longer at liberty to shut their eyes to the facts4 ,there must be some natural chain of cause and effect between what they do and what they wish to attain4 ,between 8practical work in ,palestine0 and 8the redemption of the people and the land0 this chain of causation may be imagined to exist by those who are at a distance2 but in ,palestine itself even imagination cannot find it4 ,in ,palestine the possibilities of practical work are too clear4 ,it is possible to buy bits of land here and there2 but it is not possible to redeem the land as a whole1 or even most of it4 ,it is possible to found beautiful ,colonies on the 8redeemed0 land2 but it is not possible to settle in them more than a very few poor ,colonists4 ,it is possible to produce in the ,colonies an 8upper-class0 type of agriculturists1 whose work is mostly done by others1 and perhaps it is possible also to create a small labourer class for the finer kinds of work1 which are comparatively easy and well paid2 but it is not possible to create a real rural proletariat1 capable of monopolising the rougher1 more exacting1 and worse-paid kinds of work1 which alone can support a rural proletariat with its thousands and tens of thousands4#ha ,this being the case1 we should expect every visitor to ,palestine whose standard is that of the 8home of refuge0 to return home in grief and despair4 ,yet every day we find just the opposite4 ,orthodox ,zionists1 who wax grandiloquent at home about 8the redemption of the people and the land10 come to ,palestine1 see what there is to see there1 and return home in joy and gladness1 full of inspiration and enthusiasm1 as though they had heard ,messiah's trumpet from the ,mount of ,olives4 ,that is exactly my point4 ,on the surface the ,programme is supreme1 and all its adherents seem really to believe that their work is bringing the redemption4 ,but beneath the surface the unacknowledged instinct of national self-preservation is supreme1 and it is that instinct that urges them on to work--not for the accomplishment of the ,programme1 but for the satisfaction of its own demands4 ,when our orthodox ,zionist comes to ,palestine1 and sees the work and its results1 his whole being thrills with the feeling that it is a great and a noble thing that is being created there2 that whether it leads to complete redemption or not1 it will be an enormous force for our national preservation in all the countries over which we are scattered4 ,then the 8redemption0 idea finds its proper level3 it becomes one of those cherished hopes which are not yet ready to be mainsprings of action2 and the real object1 the object which is actually being attained by practical work in ,palestine1 appears large and splendid enough in itself to provide inspiration and enthusiasm4 ,my respect for my readers and for myself does not permit me to explain once more in detail--after more than twenty years of explanation after explanation--what exactly is the object to which ,i allude here4 ,but ,i think it no shame to avow that on this occasion ,i seemed to myself to see my dream of twenty years ago in process of realisation in ,palestine1 though naturally with differences of detail4 ,what has already been accomplished in ,palestine entitles one to say with confidence that that country will be 8a national spiritual centre of ,judaism1 to which all ,jews will turn with affection1 and which will bind all ,jews together2 a centre of study and learning1 of language and literature1 of bodily work and spiritual purification2 a true miniature of the people of ,israel as it ought to be 444 so that every ,hebrew in the ,diaspora will think it a privilege to behold just once the #8centre of ,judaism1' and when he returns home will say to his friends3 #8,if you wish to see the genuine type of a ,jew1 whether it be a ,rabbi or a scholar or a writer1 a farmer or an artist or a business man--then go to ,palestine1 and you will see it4'0#hb ,no doubt the time has not yet come1 nor will it soon come1 when the traveller returned from ,palestine1 speaking of the 8genuine type of a ,jew10 can say to his friends1 8,go to ,palestine1 and you will see it40 ,but he can say1 and generally does1 8,go to ,palestine1 and you will see it in the making40 ,the existing ,colonies1 although they depend mainly on non-,jewish labour1 strike the ,jew of the ,diaspora as so many little generating stations1 in which there is gradually being produced a new type of national life1 unparalleled in the ,exile4 ,so soon as he enters a ,jewish ,colony1 he feels that he is in a ,hebrew national atmosphere4 ,the whole social order1 all the communal institutions1 from the ,council of the ,colony to the school1 bear the ,hebrew stamp4 ,they do not betray1 as they do in the ,diaspora1 traces of that foreign influence which flows from an alien environment and distorts the pure ,hebrew form4 ,of course1 he does not find everything satisfactory and commendable4 ,he discovers--if he has eyes to see--many defects in the communal life and in that of the individual4 ,even the schools in the ,colonies are still for the most part very far from perfection2 and even the much-vaunted predominance of the ,hebrew language in the ,colonies is as yet but half complete--it extends only to the children4 ,but everything--he tells himself--is still in its infancy2 the process of free development has only just begun1 and it is going on4 ,many of these defects will be remedied in time2 and whatever is not remedied must be a defect in ourselves1 with its roots in our national character4 ,if we want to create a genuine ,hebrew type1 we must accept the bad with the good1 provided that both alike belong essentially to the type1 and that the type itself is not corrupted as in the ,diaspora4 ,the ,jewish visitor travels from ,colony to ,colony1 and finds them sometimes many hours' journey from one another1 with alien fields and villages in between4 ,but the intervening space seems to him nothing more than an empty desert1 beyond which he reaches civilisation again1 and breathes once more the refreshing atmosphere of ,hebrew national life4 ,days pass1 or weeks1 and he seems to have spent all the time in another world--a world of the distant past or the distant future4 ,when he leaves this world he says to himself1 8,if it is thus to-day1 what will it be one day1 when the ,colonies are more numerous and fully developed80 ,at such a time he realises that here1 in this country1 is to be found the solution of the problem of our national existence2 that from here the spirit shall go forth and breathe on the dry bones that are scattered east and west through all lands and all nations1 and restore them to life4 ,but from this point of view the term 8practical work0 does not apply only to the agricultural colonies4 ,this national ,hebrew type may have1 and indeed has1 its generating stations outside the agricultural settlement4 ,many ,zionists criticise the ,directors of the ,national ,fund for sinking a good deal of their capital in the building of ,jewish quarters in towns 7such as ,tel-,aviv in ,jaffa74 ,from the point of view of the ,programme these critics are certainly right4 ,the ,fund was created for 8the redemption of the land0 in the widest sense of the term1 and not for the purchase of small pieces of urban land1 and the erection on them of houses for ,jews4 ,but1 as ,i have said1 the work is directed not by the demands of the ,programme but by the promptings of an instinct4 ,if our visitor from the ,diaspora remains some days in ,tel-,aviv1 observes its life1 and sees the ,hebrew children who are growing up there1 he will not criticise the ,national ,fund for having made it possible to found such a generating station4 ,he will wish with all his heart that the ,directors would commit the same fault again1 and create similar stations in the other towns of ,palestine4 ,and need it be demonstrated that the ,hebrew schools in ,jaffa and ,jerusalem are centres of unremitting activity in the creation of 8the genuine type of a ,jew08 ,this educational work1 again1 does not fit in very well with the ,programme4 8,what use10 it is often asked1 8is there in educating the children in the national spirit1 so long as the land is not redeemed1 and the nation does not come to the land1 and many of these very children may not remain there8 ,to redeem the land1 extend the settlement1 capture labour--that is the way to realise the ,programme4 ,but education8 ,when the number of ,jews in ,palestine is large1 national education will follow as a matter of course4 ,at present we have no right to use for spiritual purposes the resources which are needed for more important things40 ,i doubt whether this criticism can be reasonably and logically answered on the basis of the ,programme4 ,but what can logic do when instinct pulls the other way8 ,the very men who promise to bring about the redemption by means of 8practical work in ,palestine0 are using a great deal of their energy in educational work in the country2 and ,zionists generally value such work and turn to it more and more4 ,to learn why1 one has only to listen to the speeches at a ,zionist meeting during a debate on 8cultural work0 in ,palestine4 ,the 8redeemers0 forget for a time the ,programme1 the 8home of refuge10 and all their other catchwords1 and begin to extol 8the revival of the spirit10 and the creation of a new ,hebrew type4 ,they prophesy that this type will in future be a connecting link between all the scattered parts of the nation4 ,they point to the beneficial influence already exerted by the schools in ,palestine on education in the ,diaspora4 ,and so forth1 and so forth4 ,eighteen years ago ,i saw the beginnings of this educational work in ,palestine1 and ,i could not then bring myself to believe that the individual teachers who stood for the great ideal of a ,hebrew education in the ,hebrew language1 and had begun to put it into practice with their limited resources1 could really succeed in producing such a spiritual revolution4 ,but at the same time ,i saw how bent they were on the attainment of their object1 and how confident of success3 and ,i said1 8,who knows8 ,perhaps this confidence will be able to work miracles40#hc ,now ,i have seen that confidence has indeed worked miracles4 8,a ,hebrew education in the ,hebrew language0 is no longer an ideal in ,palestine3 it is a real thing1 a natural1 inevitable phenomenon2 its disappearance is inconceivable4 ,no doubt there are some scattered fortresses which have not yet been captured2 but these1 too1 will surrender1 as others have1 to the demands of the age4 ,take1 for instance1 the educational institutions of the ,german ,hilfsverein in ,jerusalem1 from the ,kindergartens up to the ,teachers' ,seminary4 ,all in all1 they have sixteen hundred pupils of both sexes1 and these are being trained--despite the still visible remnant of ,german education--in the ,hebrew spirit and the ,hebrew language4 ,all who know how things used to be must confess that there has really been a revolution in ,palestine1 and that the ,hebrew teacher has won4#hd ,of course1 there is still much to be done before the victory can be complete even internally--that is to say1 before ,hebrew education can find the right road in every department1 and before its defects1 which are still numerous1 can be removed4 ,but the conqueror has already shown his patience and his devotion to his ideal2 and we can surely trust him not to rest until he has so perfected ,hebrew education in ,palestine as to make it a worthy model for ,jews throughout the world1 a standard type of national education1 to which they will endeavour to approximate so far as the conditions of the ,diaspora allow4 ,yet another urban generating station of a different kind has been created of late years1 also by the unbounded confidence of an individual2 and the ,zionists and the ,national ,fund have not refrained from helping it and enabling it to live and to develop1 although it is very difficult indeed to bring it within the scope of the ,programme4 ,i mean1 of course1 the ,bezalel4#he ,true1 its great object--the development of ,hebrew art--has so far been attained only to a slight extent1 and it has not yet touched the higher branches of art4 ,but its achievements in the domain of handicraft justify the belief that here also confidence will work miracles4 ,whatever may happen1 the ,bezalel has already become the source of a spiritual influence which makes itself felt in lands far distant from ,palestine4 ,who can tell how many estranged hearts have been brought back to their people1 in greater or less degree1 by the beautiful carpets and ornaments of the ,bezalel8 ,all these generating stations1 whether in the country or in the cities1 are welded together in our thought1 and appear to us as a single national centre1 which even now1 in its infancy1 exerts a visible and appreciable influence on the ,diaspora4 ,hence a man need not believe in miracles in order to see with his mind's eye this centre growing in size1 improving in character1 and exerting an ever-increasing spiritual influence on our people1 until at last it shall reach the goal set before it by the instinct of national self-preservation3 to restore our national unity throughout the world through the restoration of our national culture in its historic home4 ,this centre will not be even then a 8secure home of refuge0 for our people2 but it will surely be a home of healing for its spirit4 ,and afterwards8 ,ask no questions6 ,in our present state of spiritual disorganisation we have no idea of the volume of our national strength1 nor of what it will be able to achieve when all its elements are united round a single centre1 and quickened by a single strong and healthy spirit4 ,the generations that are to come afterwards will know the measure of their power1 and will adjust their actions to it4 ,for us1 we are not concerned with the hidden things of the distant future4 ,enough for us to know the things revealed1 the things that are to be done by us and our children in a future that is near4 ,footnote #gc3 ,the first article of the ,basle ,programme1 formulated in #ahig1 reads3 8,der ,zionismus erstrebt fr das jdische ,volk die ,schaffung einer ffentlich-rechtlich gesicherten ,heimsttte in ,palstina40 ,until the ,ninth ,congress 7#aiji7 this was generally understood as involving the creation of an autonomous 8,jewish ,state0 in ,palestine4 ,footnote #gd3 ,it may be worth while to mention here an article written at ,basle during the ,congress and printed in the ,jewish ,chronicle 7#be ,aug41 #aiaa71 as it is a striking example of the confusion of thought which reigned at this ,congress4 ,the writer regards the victory of the 8practicals0 as an abandonment of the national ideal1 and expresses his surprise that ,hebrew occupied so prominent a place at such a ,congress4 ,the ,herzlian ,zionists1 he thinks1 standing as they do for a national ideal1 naturally desire the revival of the national language2 but these 8practicals10 who have turned their backs on the national ideal1 and made ,zionism merely a colonising scheme--what interest have they in the revival of ,hebrew8 ,could not ,jews live comfortably in their ,colonies in ,palestine even if they spoke other languages1 like the ,jews of the rest of the world8--,i should advise those against whom this argument is directed not simply to dismiss the paradox with a smile1 but to ask themselves how it came about that their aims could be so misunderstood4 ,footnote #ge3 ,the ,biblical ,shekel 7plural ,shekalim7 has been adopted as the unit of contribution to the ,zionist ,organisation4 ,footnote #gf3 ,the ,agrarian ,bank is still 7#aiba7 only a project4 ,footnote #gg3 ,i speak 7here and further on7 only of the ,colonies in ,judea and ,lower ,galilee4 ,i did not visit ,upper ,galilee on this occasion4 ,there are1 indeed1 two or three ,colonies in ,judea which are exceptions2 but special reasons have made them unprosperous and kept their inhabitants in the old rut4 ,we are not here concerned with these individual problems4 ,footnote #gh3 ,the ,colonies of this type1 founded during the last few years1 have already been left by many of the first settlers1 whose places have been taken by others4 ,footnote #gi3 i4e41 securing the exclusive employment of ,jewish labour on ,jewish-owned land4 ,footnote #hj3 ,there is a further class of 8contractor-labourers10 called in ,palestine k'vutzoth 7groups71 who work ,national ,fund land in some places on a co-operative basis4 ,but the results of this experiment are not yet clear1 and in any case the system cannot be expected to develop so far as to be able to bring about a radical change in the labour problem4 ,recently1 too1 ,yemenite ,jews have been coming to ,palestine1 settling in the ,colonies1 and working as labourers2 and the ,zionists are already proclaiming that the ,yemenites will build up the land4 ,but this is another experiment on which judgment cannot yet be passed4 ,many people in ,palestine think that the ,yemenites are not physically strong enough for hard work2 and1 moreover1 their level of culture and their mentality are so different from ours that the question inevitably presents itself whether an increase in their number will not change the whole character of the settlement1 and whether the change will be for the better4 ,i have here touched only on the question of the possibility of 8capturing labour40 ,but an answer is still awaited to another question--whether it is proper for us1 who are 8bottom dog0 everywhere1 to aim at a monopoly of labour1 and whether they are not right who maintain that this policy will prove to be our most serious obstacle4 ,footnote #ha3 ,in ,petach-,tikvah1 for instance1 it is possible for three or four hundred labourers at most to earn a living by the finer kinds of work2 whereas the unskilled labour employs at times thousands4 ,footnote #hb3 ,the quotation is from an ,essay called ,dr4 ,pinsker and his ,pamphlet1 written in #ahib4 ,footnote #hc3 ,from the ,supplement to an ,essay called ,truth from ,palestine 7,,ii71 written in #ahid4 ,footnote #hd3 ,i cannot refrain from mentioning here a small incident which illustrates the present position excellently4 ,i visited one of the classes of the ,hilfsverein school at ,jaffa during the ,german reading lesson4 ,the pupils were puzzled by the word aufheben1 and the teacher tried to explain it by ,german synonyms1 which they equally failed to understand4 ,at last the teacher's patience was exhausted1 and he exclaimed angrily1 in pure ,sephardic pronunciation1 8levatel60 ,all the pupils understood at once6 ,footnote #he3 ,a ,hebrew school of ,arts and ,crafts in ,jerusalem4 ,,the ,,supremacy ,,of ,,reason 7,,to ,,the ,,memory ,,of ,,maimonides7 7#aijd7 ,at last1 after the lapse of seven hundred years1#hf the anniversary of ,maimonides' death has been raised to the dignity of an important national day of memorial1 and has been honoured throughout the ,diaspora4 ,in earlier centuries our ancestors do not appear to have remembered that so-and-so many hundred years had passed since the death of ,maimonides2 still less did they make the anniversary a public event1 as we do now1 although they were in much closer sympathy with ,maimonides than we are--or1 to be more correct1 because they were in much closer sympathy with him than we are4 ,they did not feel it necessary to commemorate the death of one whom in spirit they saw still living among them--one whose advice and instruction they sought every day in all their difficulties of theory and practice1 as though he were still in their midst4 ,in those days it was almost impossible for an educated ,jew 7and most ,jews then were educated7 to pass a single day without remembering ,maimonides3 just as it was impossible for him to pass a single day without remembering ,zion4 ,in whatever field of study the ,jew might be engaged--in halachah1#hg in ethics1 in religious or philosophical speculation--inevitably he found ,maimonides in the place of honour1 an authority whose utterances were eagerly conned even by his opponents4 ,and even if a man happened to be no student1 at any rate he would say his prayers every day1 and finish his morning prayer with the 8,thirteen ,articles03 how then could he forget the man who formulated the ,articles of the ,jewish religion8 ,but how different it is to-day6 ,if a ,jew of that earlier time came to life again1 and we wanted to bring home to him as forcibly as possible the distance between ourselves and our ancestors1 it would be enough1 ,i think1 to tell him that nowadays one may spend a great deal of time in reading ,hebrew articles and books without coming across a single reference to ,maimonides4 ,and the reason is not that we have satisfactory answers to all the spiritual questions which troubled our ancestors1 and have therefore no need for the out-of-date philosophy of ,maimonides4 ,the reason is that the questions themselves are no longer on our agenda3 because we are told that nowadays men of enlightenment are concerned not with spiritual questions1 but only with politics and hard1 concrete facts4 ,if ,maimonides in his day accepted the dictum of ,aristotle that the sense of touch is a thing to be ashamed of1 we in our day are prone to accept the dictum that 8spirituality0 is a thing to be ashamed of1 and nothing is worth notice except what can be touched and felt4 ,when1 therefore1 we were reminded this year that seven hundred years had elapsed since the death of the man with whom the spiritual life of our people has been bound up during all the intervening period1 the fact made a profound impression throughout the length and breadth of ,jewry4 ,it was as though our people were quickened by this reminder1 and stirred suddenly to some vague yearning after the past--that past in which it was still capable 7despite all the ,judennot#hh7 of looking upwards and seeking answers to other questions than those of bread and a ,nachtasyl4 ,be that as it may1 ,maimonides has become the hero of the moment and a subject of general interest4 ,many an address has been delivered1 many an article has been written in his honour this year2 but nobody1 so far as ,i have seen1 has yet used the occasion to unearth1 from beneath that heap of musty metaphysics which is so foreign to us1 the central idea of ,maimonides1 and to show how there sprang from this central idea those views of his on religion and morality1 which produced a long period of unstable equilibrium in ,judaism1 and have left a profound impression on the spiritual development of our people4 ,since none else has performed this task1 ,i am minded to try my hand at it4 ,if even those who are expert in ,maimonides' system find here some new point of view1 so much the better2 if not1 no harm is done4 ,for my purpose is not to discover something new1 but to rehearse old facts in an order and a style that seem to me to be new1 and to be better adapted to present the subject intelligibly to modern men1 who have not been brought up on medieval literature4 ,i ,can ,maimonides claim to be regarded as the originator of a new system8 ,this is a question which has exercised various authors2 but we may leave it to those who attach importance to names4 ,we may give ,maimonides that title or not3 but two facts are beyond dispute4 ,on the one hand1 the fundamental assumptions on which he built up his system were not his own1 but were borrowed by him almost in their entirety from the philosophy of ,aristotle as presented at second hand by the ,arabs1 who introduced into it a good deal of neo-,platonic doctrine4 ,but1 on the other hand1 it is indisputable that ,maimonides carried to their logical conclusion the ethical consequences of those assumptions1 as the ,greeks and the ,arabs1 with whom the assumptions originated1 did not2 and in this way he did say something that was new and hitherto unsaid1 though it was logically implied in the fundamental principles which he took from other thinkers4 ,if1 then1 we would understand the ethical system of ,maimonides1 we must set clearly before our minds the metaphysical assumptions on which it was built4 ,those assumptions are so far removed from the philosophical and scientific conceptions of our own time that the modern man can scarcely grasp them4 ,but in those days even the greatest thinkers believed these airy abstractions to be the solid truths of philosophy1 rock-based on incontestable evidences4 ,hence it is not surprising that ,maimonides1 like the rest1 was convinced beyond doubt that this 8scientific0 teaching was the uttermost limit of human understanding1 and could never be changed or modified4 ,so absolute1 indeed1 was his conviction that he went so far as to put this teaching in a dogmatic form1 as though it had been a revelation from above4#hi ,the following is an outline of his dogmas1 so far as is necessary for our purpose3 8,all bodies beneath the firmament are compounded of matter and form40#ij ,but 8form0 here is not 8form as vulgarly understood1 which is the picture and image of the thing02 it is 8the natural form10 that is to say1 the reality of the thing1 8that by virtue of which it is what it is10 as distinct from other things which are not of its kind4#ia 8,matter is never perceived without form1 nor form without matter2 it is man who divides existing bodies in his consciousness1 and knows that they are compounded of matter and form40#ib ,for since the form is the reality1 by virtue of which the thing is what it is1 it follows that matter without form would be a thing without a real existence of its own3 in other words1 a mere intellectual abstraction4 ,and it is superfluous to add that form without matter does not exist in the sublunar world1 which consists wholly of 8bodies40#ic 8,the nature of matter is that form cannot persist in it1 but it continually divests itself of one form and takes on another40 ,it is because of this property of matter that things come into being and cease to be1 whereas form by its nature does not desire change1 and ceases to be only 8on account of its connection with matter40 ,hence 8generic forms are all constant10 though they exist in individuals which change1 which come and go2 but individual forms necessarily perish1 since their existence is possible only in combination with finite matter4#id 8,the soul of all flesh is its form10 and the body is the matter in which this form clothes itself4 8,when1 therefore1 the body1 which is compounded of the elements1 is dissolved1 the soul perishes1 because it exists only with the body0 and has no permanent existence except generically1 like other forms4#ie 8,the soul is one1 but it has many different faculties10 and therefore philosophers speak of parts of the soul4 8,by this they do not mean that it is divisible as bodies are2 they merely enumerate its different faculties40 ,the parts of the soul1 in this sense1 are five3 the nutritive1 the sensitive1 the imaginative1 the emotional1 and the rational4 ,the first four parts are common to man and to other animals1 though 8each kind of animal has a particular soul0 special to itself1 which functions in it in a particular way1 so that1 for instance1 the emotion of a man is not like the emotion of an ass4 ,but the essential superiority of the soul of man lies in its possession of the additional fifth part--the rational3 this is 8that power in man by which he thinks and acquires knowledge and distinguishes between wrong actions and right40#if ,thus the soul of man differs from the souls of other living things only in the greater variety and higher quality of its functions4 ,in essence it is1 like 8the soul of all flesh10 simply a form associated with matter1 having no existence apart from the body4 ,when the body is resolved into its elements the soul also perishes with all its parts1 including the rational4 ,this extreme conclusion had already been deduced from the teaching of ,aristotle by some of his early commentators 7such as ,alexander ,aphrodisius74 ,there were1 indeed1 other commentators who1 unable to abandon belief in the survival of the soul1 tried to explain ,aristotle's words in conformity with that belief by excluding the rational part from the 8natural form0 and attributing to it a separate and eternal existence4#ig ,but ,maimonides was too logical not to see the inconsistency involved in that interpretation2 and so he sided with the extremists1 though their view was absolutely opposed to that belief in personal immortality which in his day had come to be generally accepted by ,jews4 ,had he been content with that view alone1 he would inevitably have gone back to the conception of primitive ,judaism1 as we find it in the ,pentateuch3 that immortality belongs not to the individual1 but to the nation2 that the national form persists for ever1 like the generic form in living things1 and the changing individuals are its matter4 ,in that case his whole ethical system would have been very different from what it is4 ,but ,maimonides supplemented the teaching of ,aristotle by another idea1 which he took from the ,arabs2 and this idea1 amplified and completed1 he made the basis of his ethical system1 which thereby acquired a new and original character1 distinguished by its fusion of the social and the individual elements4 ,the idea is in substance this3 that while reason1 which is present in a human being from birth1 is only one of the faculties of the soul1 which is a unity of all its parts and ceases wholly to exist when the body ceases1 yet this faculty is no more than a 8potential faculty10 by virtue of which its possessor is able to apprehend ideas2 and therefore its cessation is inevitable only if it remains throughout its existence in its original condition--in the condition1 that is1 of a 8potential faculty0 whose potentiality has not been realised4 ,but if a human being makes use of this faculty and attains to the actual apprehension of ,ideas1 then his intellect has proceeded from the stage of potentiality to that of actuality3 it has achieved real existence1 which is permanent and indestructible1 like the existence of those ,ideas which it has absorbed into itself and with which it has become one4 ,thus we are to distinguish between the 8potential intellect10 which is given to a human being when he comes into the world1 and is merely a function of the body1 and the 8acquired intellect10 which a human being wins for himself by apprehending the ,ideas4 ,this acquired intellect 8is not a function of the body and is really separate from the body40 ,hence it does not cease to exist with the cessation of the body2 it persists for ever1 like the other 8separate ,intelligences40#ih ,now since the form of every existing thing is that individual essence by virtue of which it is what it is and is distinguished from all other existing things1 it is clear that the acquired intellect1 which gives its possessor immortality1 is the essence of the human being who has been privileged to acquire it3 in other words1 his true form1 by which he is distinguished from the rest of mankind4 ,in other men the form is the transient soul given to them at birth2 but in him who has the acquired intellect even the soul itself is only a kind of matter4 ,his essential form is 8the higher knowledge10 8the form of the soul10 which he has won for himself by assimilating 8,ideas which are separate from matter40#ii ,thus mankind is divided into two species1 the difference between which is greater than that between mankind as a whole and other kinds of animals4 ,for man is distinguished from the rest of animate nature only by having a distinctive form3 in quality his form is like the forms of other living things1 seeing that in his case as in theirs the individual form perishes4 ,but the distinctive form of the man who has the acquired intellect is distinct in quality2 for it persists for ever even after its separation from matter4 ,its affinity is not with the other forms in the lower world1 but with those 8separate forms0 in the world above4#ajj ,thus far ,maimonides followed the ,arabs4 ,but here the ,arab philosophers stopped3 they did not probe this idea further1 did not carry it to its logical conclusions4 ,maimonides1 on the contrary1 refused to stop half-way2 he did not shrink from the extremest consequences of the idea4 ,first of all1 he defined the content and the method of the intellectual process by which man attains to 8acquired intellect40 ,if we say that the intellect becomes actual and eternal by comprehending the ,ideas and becoming one with them1#aja it follows that the content of the ,ideas themselves must be actual and eternal4 ,for how could something real and eternal be created by the acquisition of something itself unreal or not eternal8 ,thus we exclude from the category of ,ideas by the apprehension of which the acquired intellect is obtained3 7#a7 those sciences which contain only abstract laws and not the explanation of real things1 such as mathematics and logic2 7#b7 those sciences which teach not what actually exists1 but what ought to be done for the achievement of certain objects1 such as ethics and sthetics2 7#c7 the knowledge of individual forms1 which have only a temporary existence in combination with matter1 such as the histories of famous men and the like4 ,all knowledge of this kind1 though it is useful and in some cases even necessary as preparation1 is not in itself capable of making the intellect actual4 ,what1 then1 are the ,ideas by the apprehension of which the intellect does become actual8 ,they are those whose content is true and eternal ,being4 ,this ,being includes 7going from lower to higher73 7#a7 the generic forms of all things in the lower world1 which are1 as we know1 constant2 7#b7 the heavenly bodies1 which1 though compounded of matter and form1 are eternal2 7#c7 the forms which are free of matter 7,god and the separate ,intelligences74#ajb ,all this relates to the content of the intellectual process2 but there is also a very important definition of its method--a definition which is implied in the conception itself4 ,the result must be achieved by the intellect's own activity3 that is to say1 man must apprehend the truth of ,being by rational proofs1 and must not simply accept truth from others by an act of faith4 ,for apprehension by this latter method is purely external2 reason has had no active part in it1 and therefore that union of the intellect with its object1 which is what makes the intellect actual1 is lacking4#ajc ,and now let us see what are the ethical consequences of this idea4 ,the question of the ultimate purpose of the universe is for ,maimonides an idle question1 because it is not within our power to find a satisfactory answer4 ,for whatever purpose we find1 it is always possible to ask3 ,what is the purpose of that purpose8 ,and in the end we are bound to say3 8,god willed it so10 or1 8,his wisdom decided so40 ,but at the same time ,maimonides agrees with ,aristotle and his school that the proximate purpose of all that exists in this world of ours is man4 ,for in that 8course of genesis and destruction0 which goes on in all the genera of existing things we see a kind of striving on the part of matter to attain to the most perfect form possible 78to produce the most perfect being that can be produced072 and since 8man is the most perfect being formed of matter10 it follows that 8in this respect it can truly be said that all earthly things exist for man40#ajd ,now if man is the proximate purpose of all things on earth1 8we are compelled to inquire further1 why man exists and what was the purpose of his creation40 ,maimonides' view of the human soul being what it is1 there is1 of course1 a ready answer to this question4 ,the purpose of man's existence1 like that of all material existence1 is 8to produce the most perfect being that can be produced03 and what is the most perfect being if not the possessor of the 8acquired intellect10 who has attained the most perfect form possible to man8 ,the purpose of man's life1 then1 is 8to picture the ,ideas in his soul40 ,for 8only wisdom can add to his inner strength and raise him from low to high estate2 for he was a man potentially1 and has now become a man actually1 and man before he thinks and acquires knowledge is esteemed an animal40#aje ,but if this is so1 can we still ask what is the highest moral duty and what is the most perfect moral good8 ,obviously1 there is no higher moral duty than this3 that man strive to fulfil that purpose for which he was created2 and there is no more perfect moral good than the fulfilment of that purpose4 ,all other human activities are only 8to preserve man's existence1 to the end that that one activity may be fulfilled40#ajf ,here1 then1 we reach a new moral criterion and a complete 8transvaluation of values0 as regards human actions in their moral aspect4 ,every action has a moral value1 whether positive or negative1 only in so far as it helps or hinders man in his effort to fulfil the purpose of his being--the actualisation of his intellect4 8,good0 in the moral sense is all that helps to this end2 8evil0 is all that hinders4 ,if we determine according to this view the positions of good actions in the ethical scale1 we shall find that higher and lower have changed places4 ,at the very top1 of course1 will stand that one activity which leads direct to the goal--the apprehension of eternal ,being by rational proof3 that is to say1 the study of physics and metaphysics4 ,below this the scale bifurcates into the two main lines of study and action4 ,in the sphere of study1 mathematics and logic have special moral importance1 because knowledge of these sciences is a necessary preliminary to the understanding of ,being by rational proof4 ,below them come subjects which have a practical object 7ethics1 etc473 for the actions with which these subjects deal are themselves only means to the attainment of the supreme end1 and therefore the study of these subjects is but a means to a means4#ajg ,in the sphere of action1 again1 there are different degrees4 ,those human actions which have as their object the satisfaction of bodily needs have positive moral value only in a limited sense3 in so far as they effectively keep off physical pain and mental distraction1 and thus allow a man to give himself untroubled to the pursuit of the ,ideas4#ajh ,above these are actions which are connected with 8perfection of character10 because that perfection is necessary for the attainment of true wisdom4 8,for while man pursues after his lusts1 and makes feeling master over intellect1 and enslaves his reason to his passions1 the divine power--that is1 ,reason--cannot become his40#aji ,hence even perfection of character has no absolute moral value1 any more than other things which appertain to practical life4 ,the moral value of everything is determined by its relation to the fulfilment of the intellectual purpose1 and by that alone4#aaj ,starting from this standpoint1 ,maimonides lays down the principle that virtue is 8the mean which is equidistant from both extremes40#aaa ,this principle is taken1 of course1 from ,aristotle's doctrine of virtue4 ,but ,aristotle did not set up a higher moral criterion by reference to which the mean point could be determined in every case4 ,for him all virtue was really but a code of good manners to which the polite ,greek should conform1 being enabled by his own good taste to fasten instinctively on the point equidistant from the ugliness of the two extremes4 ,not so ,maimonides1 the ,jew4 ,he made this principle the basis of morality in the true sense1 because he coupled with it a formulation of the supreme moral end4 ,this moral end1 for which the virtues are a preparation1#aab compels us and enables us to distinguish between the extremes and the mean4 ,for the extremes1 being apt to impair physical health or mental peace1 prevent a man from fulfilling his intellectual function2 the mean is that which helps him on his road4#aac ,but with all this we have not yet a complete answer to our question about the purpose of the existence of the human race as a whole4 ,we know that the human race really consists of two different species3 8potential man0 and 8actual man40 ,the second species1 indeed1 does not come into existence from the start as an independent species1 but is produced by development out of the first4 ,but this development is a very long one1 and depends on many conditions which are difficult of fulfilment1 so that only a few men--sometimes only 8one in a generation0--are privileged to complete it1 while the great majority of mankind remains always at the stage of 8potential man40 ,thus the question remains3 ,what is the purpose of the existence of the great mass of men 8who cannot picture the ,idea in their souls08 ,for when we say that all material things exist for the sake of the existence of man1 we do not mean that all other things are but a 8necessary evil10 an evil incidental to the production of the desired end--in other words1 merely ,nature's unsuccessful experiments in her struggle towards 8the production of the most perfect being that can be produced10 like the many imperfect specimens of his art that the inexpert artificer turns out before he succeeds in creating one that is perfect4 ,we cannot so regard them in the face of the evidence that we have of the wonderful wisdom of creative nature1 which proves that the ,artificer can do his work in the way best fitted to achieve his object4 ,we must therefore assume that 8things do not exist for nothing02 that ,nature1 in her progress towards the production of the most perfect being1 has formed all other things for the benefit of that most perfect being1 whether for food or 8for his advantage otherwise than by way of food10 in such a way that the sum-total of things in the inferior world is not merely a ladder by which to ascend to the production of man1 but also a means to secure the permanence of man when once he has been produced4 ,it follows1 therefore1 that all the millions of men 8who cannot picture the ,idea in their souls0 cannot be void of purpose1 like the spoilt creations of the artist1 which1 not being suited to their object1 are left lying about until they perish of themselves4 ,there must of necessity be some advantage in their existence1 as in that of the other kinds of created things4 ,what1 then1 is this advantage8 ,the answer is implied in the question4 8,potential man10 like other earthly things1 exists without doubt for the benefit of the 8perfect being10 of 8actual man40 ,in conformity with this view ,maimonides lays it down that 8these men exist for two reasons4 ,first1 to serve the one man 7the #8perfect'73 for man has many wants1 and ,methuselah's life were not long enough to learn all the crafts whereof a man has absolute need for his living3 and when should he find leisure to learn and to acquire wisdom8 ,the rest of mankind1 therefore1 exists to set right those things that are necessary to them in the commonwealth1 to the end that the ,wise ,man may find his needs provided for and that wisdom may spread4 ,and secondly1 the man without wisdom exists because the ,wise are very few1 and therefore the masses were created to make a society for the ,wise1 that they be not lonely40#aad ,thus the existence of the majority of mankind has a purpose of its own1 which is different from that of the existence of the chosen minority4 ,this minority is an end in itself--it is the embodiment of the most perfect form in the inferior world2 whereas the purpose of the majority lies not in its own existence1 but in the fact that it creates the conditions necessary to the existence of the minority3 it creates1 that is1 human society with all its cultural possessions 7in the material sense71 without which it is impossible that wisdom should spread4 ,thus we have introduced into ethics a new element--the social element4 ,for if each man could attain the degree of 8actual man0 without dependence on the help of human society for the provision of his needs1 the moral criterion would be purely individual4 ,each man would be free to apply for himself the formula at which we arrived above3--all that helps me to fulfil my intellectual function is for me morally good2 all that hinders me is for me morally evil4 ,but if the attainment of the supreme end is possible only for the few1 and is possible for them only through the existence of the society of the many1 which has for its function the creation of the conditions most favourable to the production of the perfect being3 then we are confronted with a new moral criterion1 social in character4 ,all that helps towards the perfection of society in the manner required for the fulfilment of its function is morally good2 all that retards this development is morally evil4 ,this moral criterion is binding for the minority and the majority alike4 ,the majority1 whose existence has no purpose beyond their participation in the work of society1 can obviously have no other moral criterion than the social4 ,but even the minority1 though they are capable of attaining the supreme end1 and have therefore an individualistic moral criterion1 are none the less bound to subordinate themselves to the social criterion where the two are in conflict4 ,for as society becomes more perfect1 and the material basis is provided with less expenditure of effort1 so much the greater will be the possibility of producing the perfect being with more regularity and frequency4 ,hence from the point of view of the supreme end of the whole human race--and that is the source of moral duty--the well-being of society is more important than that of an individual man1 even though he belong to the perfect few4#aae ,from this point of view all branches of man's work which further the perfection of society and the lightening of the burden of life's needs have a moral value1 because they help more or less to create that environment which is necessary for the realisation of the most perfect form in the chosen few4 ,hence1 to take one instance1 ,maimonides reckons the fine arts among the things that further the attainment of mankind's end 7though naturally beauty has in his system no independent value73 8for the soul grows weary and the mind is confused by the constant contemplation of ugly things1 just as the body grows weary in doing heavy work1 until it rest and be refreshed1 and then it returns to its normal condition3 so does the soul also need to take thought for the repose of the senses by contemplating pleasant things until its weariness is dispelled40 ,thus 8the making of sculptures and pictures in buildings1 vessels1 and garments0 is not 8wasted work40#aaf ,to sum up3 society stands between the two species of men and links them together4 ,for the 8actual man0 society is a means to the attainment of his end2 for the 8potential man0 it is the purpose of his own being4 ,the 8potential man10 then1 being in himself but a transient thing1 which comes into being and ceases to be1 like all other living things1 must content himself with the comforting knowledge that his fleeting existence is after all not wasted1 because he is a limb of the social body which gives birth to the immortal perfect beings1 and his work1 in whatever sphere1 helps to produce these perfect beings4 ,thus ,maimonides gets back to the view of early ,judaism1 which made the life of society the purpose of the life of the individual1 although at first he seemed to diverge widely from it in setting up the one 8perfect man10 the possessor of 8acquired intellect10 as the sole end of the life of humanity at large4 ,it is possible1 indeed1 at first sight to find a certain resemblance between ,maimonides' ethics and another doctrine which has recently gained such wide currency--the doctrine of ,nietzsche4 ,both conceive the purpose of human existence to lie in the creation of the most perfect human type2 and both make the majority a tool of that minority in which the supreme type is realised4 ,but in fact the two doctrines are essentially different1 and the resemblance is only external4 ,in the first place1 ,nietzsche's ,superman is quite unlike ,maimonides' ,superman in character4 ,nietzsche1 ,hellenic in spirit1 finds the highest perfection in a perfect harmony of all bodily and spiritual excellences4 ,but ,maimonides1 true to the spirit of ,judaism1 concentrates on one central point1 and gives pre-eminence to a spiritual element--that of intellect4 ,and secondly1 the relation of his 8actual man0 to society is different from that of ,nietzsche's ,superman4 ,the ,superman seeks an outlet for his powers in the world outside him2 he strives to embody his will in action1 and tolerates no obstacle in his path4 ,he is therefore eternally at war with human society2 for society puts a limit to his will and sets obstacles on his path by means of its moral laws1 which have been framed not to suit his individual needs1 but to suit the needs of the majority4 ,maimonides' 8actual man10 on the contrary1 aims not at embodying his will in the external world1 but at perfecting his form in his inner world4 ,he demands nothing of society except that it satisfy his elementary wants1 and so leave him at peace to pursue his inner perfection4 ,he does not therefore regard society as his enemy4 ,on the contrary1 he sees in society an ally1 without whose aid he cannot attain his end1 and whose well-being will secure his own4 ,,ii ,so far ,i have purposely refrained from bringing the religious element into the ethics of ,maimonides1 with the object of showing that he really based his view of human life on philosophy alone1 and did not give way a single inch in order to effect a compromise between his philosophy and the religious ideas which were accepted by ,jews in his time4 ,none the less1 there is no doubt that ,maimonides was a religious man1 and believed in the divinity of the ,law of ,moses3 only his idea of the nature of religion1 its function and its value1 was a new one1 and differed entirely from the accepted idea1 because here also1 in the sphere of religion itself1 he remained faithful to those fundamental axioms on which he based his moral system4 ,does philosophy leave any room for a belief in the existence of a revealed religion--that is to say1 in a ,law given to men by ,god through a supernatural revelation of himself to one or to many individuals8 ,this question turns on another3 ,is the existence of the world independent of time and external cause1 or is it the result of a creative act of ,god1 as the ,pentateuch teaches8 ,according to the first view1 8everything in the ,universe is the result of fixed laws1 ,nature does not change1 and there is nothing supernatural40 ,there is therefore no room for revelation1 which upsets the order of nature1 and 8the whole teaching of ,scripture would be rejected40 ,but if the world is the result of a creative act1 and nature is consequently nothing but a revelation of the divine will1 made in such time and place as ,god's wisdom decreed1 then it is no longer impossible that the divine will should one day reveal itself a second time in a supernatural manner4 ,hence1 8accepting the ,creation1 we find that 444 revelation is possible1 and that every difficulty in this question is removed40 ,for if we ask3 8,why has ,god inspired a certain person and not another8 ,why has he revealed his ,law to one particular nation1 and at one particular time80 and so forth--8,we answer to all these questions3 ,he willed it so2 or1 ,his wisdom decided so4 ,just as he created the world according to his will1 at a certain time1 in a certain form1 and as we do not understand why his will or his wisdom decided upon that peculiar form1 and upon that peculiar time1 so we do not know why his will or his wisdom determined any of the things mentioned in the preceding questions40#aag ,maimonides gave much thought to the question of the creation of the world1 and examined it from every side4 ,he tried to ascertain whether there was anything conclusive in the evidences adduced by his predecessors in favour of the eternity of the world or of its creation2 and he did not scruple to avow that if he had found a convincing proof of the eternity of the world he would not have rejected it out of respect for the ,torah4 ,but purely philosophic investigation led him to the conclusion that there was really no convincing proof one way or the other4 ,seeing then1 he says1 that 8the eternity of the universe has not been demonstrated1 there is no need to reject ,scripture10 and we may believe in the creation theory1 which has 8the authority of ,prophecy10 without any sin against our reason4#aah ,but when once we have adopted the creation theory1 revelation becomes possible1 and there is nothing to prevent our holding the belief which our nation has accepted throughout its history3 that at a definite point in time the ,law was given to our people from heaven through the instrumentality of the chief of the ,prophets1 who received a unique inspiration from the divine source1 and was taught what to tell his people in the name of ,god4#aai ,it is not relevant 7as we have seen above7 to ask why this ,law was given to us and not to others1 at that particular time and at no other4 ,but it is relevant to ask what is the purpose of this ,law and what benefit it was meant to produce4 ,for it can scarcely be supposed that ,god would interfere with the order of nature for no advantage or object2 and if we cannot understand the working of the divine wisdom in every detail1 we must and we can form for ourselves some general conception of the object for which the divine teaching was given to us and the way in which it can help men to attain their end4#abj ,now it is clear that the divine teaching1 whether on its theoretical or on its practical side1 cannot lead a man straight to his supreme goal--the raising of his intellect from potentiality to actuality4 ,for this goal1 as we know1 is to be attained not by good actions1 and not even by the received knowledge of truth1 but only by the activity of the intellect itself1 which must arrive at truth by the long road of scientific proof4 ,and if religion cannot raise its followers to the stage of 8actual man0 in a direct way1 we must conclude that its whole purpose is to prepare the instrument which is necessary for the attainment of that end3 to wit1 human society1 which creates the environment of the 8actual man40 ,the aim of religion1 then1 is 8to regulate the soul and the body0 of society at large1 so as to make it capable of producing the greatest possible number of 8actual men40 ,to this end religion must necessarily be popular3 its teachings and prescriptions must be aimed not at the chosen few1 who strive after ultimate perfection1 but at the great mass of society4 ,to this mass it must give1 in the first place1 true opinions in a form suited to the intelligence of the many2 secondly1 a code of morals1 individual and social1 which makes for the health of society and the prosperity of its members2 and thirdly1 a code of religious observances intended to educate the many by keeping these true opinions and moral duties constantly before their minds4#aba ,in these three ways--the third of which is merely ancillary to the other two--religion aims at raising the cultural level of society1 so as to make a clear road for the perfect individual3 to provide him from the beginning of his life with an environment of correct opinions and good morals1 and save him from the necessity of frittering away his strength in a twofold battle--against the evil conditions of a corrupt society1 and against false opinions implanted in himself by that society4 ,religion is there to save him from this battle against corruption without and falsehood within3 to secure that as soon as he shows the ability and the will to attain perfection he shall find favourable conditions prepared for him1 and proceed towards his goal without let or hindrance4 ,this was how ,maimonides conceived the function of the divine religion2 this was how he was bound to conceive it1 his philosophy being what it was4 ,but as he was also persuaded by various reasoned proofs that the ,law of ,moses was the divine religion1#abb he could obviously have no doubt that this ,law must contain on its theoretical side the 8true opinions0 7that is1 those philosophical opinions which he considered true71 albeit in popular form1 and on its practical side a moral doctrine for the individual and for society which was adapted to the end desiderated by his philosophy1 together with the form of religious observance best calculated to educate society in the right opinions and the right morality4 ,it is at this point that ,maimonides' task becomes difficult4 ,armed with this a priori judgment1 he comes to close quarters with the ,torah3 and he finds that in many matters1 both of theory and of practice1 it is1 if taken at its face value1 diametrically opposed to what his pre-conceived ideas would lead him to expect4 ,the beliefs embodied in the ,torah seem to be directly opposed to the most fundamental philosophical truths of ,maimonides' system2 the actions prescribed in the ,torah contain much that it is difficult to reconcile with the social purpose of the divine religion as conceived by that system4 ,what course1 then1 was open to ,maimonides8 ,to compromise between philosophical and religious truth1 as many had done before1 was for him impossible4 ,for every compromise means simply that both sides give way2 and how could ,maimonides1 with his conviction that the attainment of truth by means of proof is the end of human existence and the only way to eternal happiness1 give up one jot of this truth for the sake of another truth1 of inferior value inasmuch as it has come to us only through tradition8 ,thus he has but one possible course4 ,necessity compels him to subdue religion absolutely to the demands of philosophy3 in other words1 to explain the words of the ,torah throughout in conformity with the truth of philosophy1 and to make the ,torah fulfil in every part the function which philosophy imposes on it4 ,this necessity worked wonders4 ,by dint of enormous labour ,maimonides discovered various extraordinary ways of interpreting the ,torah2 with wonderful skill he found support for his interpretations in words and phrases scattered about the ,scriptures and the ,talmud2 until at last he succeeded in making religion what it had to be according to his belief4 ,this is not the place to explain ,maimonides' methods of exegesis in detail4 ,for us to-day they are but a sort of monument to the weakness of the written word in the face of a living psychological force which demands that 8yes0 shall become 8no0 and 8no0 be turned into 8yes40 ,this psychological force led ,maimonides to turn the 8living ,god0 of the ,torah into an abstract philosophical conception1 empty of all content except a collection of negations2 to make the 8,righteous ,man0 of ,judaism a philosopher blessed with 8acquired intellect02 to transform the 8future world0 of the ,talmud into the union of the acquired intellect with the 8active intellect02 to metamorphose the ,biblical penalty of 8cutting off0 into the disappearance of the form when the matter is resolved3 and so forth4 ,all this he did in conformity with his 8philosophic truth10 of which he refused to change one atom4#abc ,so1 too1 with the practical side of religion4 ,only in a very roundabout way could practical religion be brought under the general principles which ,maimonides deduced from his philosophy4 ,the difficulty was especially great in the case of the laws of religious worship1 many of which have no apparent educative value as a means of confirming true opinions and morality4 ,but here also necessity did its work1 and ,maimonides managed to find educational 8reasons0 for all the religious laws1 not excepting those which seem on the face of them actually to confirm false opinions and to arouse inclinations opposed to morality--such as1 for instance1 sacrifices and the accompanying rites4#abd ,none the less1 he was compelled after all his hard labour to lay down this strange axiom3 that there is a reason for the commandments in a general way1 but not for their details1 these having been ordained only because there can be no universal without particulars of some kind or other4#abe ,maimonides had an easier task in bringing the moral laws of the ,torah within his system4 ,in themselves these laws demanded as a rule no heroic exegesis to show their utility for the social order3 indeed1 the ,torah often emphasises this utility1 which in any case is self-evident in most commandments of this class4 ,but in arranging these commandments in order of moral value ,maimonides was compelled to coerce religion by his characteristic methods into conformity with his system1 according to which good actions--whether moral or religious--are of an inferior order1 having no value except that of a necessary preparation of the individual and of society for the attainment of the supreme moral good1 the perfection of intellect4 ,this attitude of ,maimonides towards moral actions1 which we have met already as a philosophical postulate1 is just as strongly maintained after such actions have been invested with a religious sanctity4 ,hence religion affects ,maimonides' philosophical ethics only to this extent1 that it makes all the observances of religious worship a moral duty1 equal in value to the other moral duties1 because religious worship is one way of leading mankind to the attainment of the supreme moral good in the chosen individuals4 ,what1 then1 is the 8divine religion0--that is to say1 the teaching of ,judaism--according to the system of ,maimonides8 ,on its theoretical side it is popular metaphysics1 and on its practical side social ethics and pdagogics4 ,it cannot bring man to his ultimate perfection2 its whole function is to regulate society--that is1 the masses--in accordance with the requirements of the perfect man4 ,hence religion is not above reason1 but below it3 just as the masses1 for whom religion was made1 are below the perfect man4 ,reason is the supreme judge2 religion is absolutely subordinate to reason1 and cannot abrogate one jot of its decisions4 ,for ,god1 who implanted the reasoning faculty in man1 that by it he might attain truth and win eternal ,being1 could not at the same time demand of man that he believe in something opposed to that very truth which is attained by reason1 and is the goal of his existence and the summit of his happiness4 ,even if a ,prophet works miracles in heaven and earth1 and requires us therefore to believe that there has been prophetically revealed to him some 8divine0 truth which is opposed to reason1 we must not believe him nor 8regard his signs40 8,for reason1 which declares his testimony false1 is more to be trusted than the eye which sees his signs40#abf ,but all this does not detract from the general and eternal duty of observing in practice all the commandments of the divine religion4 ,religion1 like nature1 is a creation of ,god1 in which the divine will is embodied in the form of immutable laws4 ,and just as the laws of nature are eternal and universally valid1 admitting of no exception1 though their usefulness is only general1 and 8in some individual cases they cause injury as well10 so also 8the divine guidance contained in the ,torah must be absolute and general10 and does not suffer change or modification 8according to the different conditions of persons and times40 ,for the divine creation is 8that which has the absolute perfection possible to its species02 and that which is absolutely perfect cannot be perfected by change or modification1 but only made less perfect4#abg ,religion1 it is true1 was given through a ,prophet1 who received the divine inspiration2 but when once it had been given it was placed outside the scope of creation1 and became1 like ,nature after its creation1 something independent1 with laws which can be investigated and understood by the function of reason1 but cannot be changed or abrogated by the function of prophecy4 ,it may happen1 indeed1 that in accordance with the divine will1 which was made an element in the nature of things when nature was created1 the ,prophet can change the order of the universe in some particular detail for a moment1 so as to give a sign of the truth of his prophecy2#abh and similarly the ,prophet can sometimes abrogate temporarily some point of the ,law1 to meet some special need of the time4 ,but just as the ,prophet cannot modify or change completely any law of nature1 so he cannot modify or change completely any law of the ,torah4 ,nor can he1 by his function of prophecy1 decide between opposing views on a matter which is capable of different interpretations1 because his opinion on a question of this kind is important by virtue of his being a wise man1 and not by virtue of his being a ,prophet1 and it is therefore no more decisive than that of another wise man who is not a ,prophet4 ,and 8if a thousand ,prophets1 all equal to ,elijah and ,elisha1 held one view1 and a thousand and one wise men held the opposite view1 we should have to follow the majority and decide according to the thousand and one wise men and not according to the thousand venerable ,prophets40 ,for 8,god has not permitted us to learn from ,prophets1 but from wise men of reasoning power and knowledge40#abi ,what ,i have said so far1 in this section and the preceding one1 is sufficient1 ,i think1 to give a clear idea of the fundamental beliefs of ,maimonides as to the function of man and his moral and religious duties4 ,but before we pass on to consider how ,maimonides tried to make these ideas the common property of his people1 and what mark his system has left on the development of ,judaism1 it is worth while to mention here that ,maimonides himself has given us the essence of his system in a perfectly unmistakable form1 by dividing men into various classes according to their position on the scale of perfection4 ,he compares the striving of man after the perfection of his form to the striving of a king's subjects 8to be with the king in his palace02 and using this simile he finds in mankind six successive stages1 as follows3-- #a4 ,men who are outside the country altogether--that is1 savages 8who have no religion1 neither one based on speculation1 nor one received by tradition40 ,they are considered 8as speechless animals40 #b4 ,men 8who are in the country10 but 8have their backs turned towards the king's palace1 and their faces in another direction40 ,these are 8those who possess religion1 belief and thought1 but happen to hold false doctrines1 which they either adopted in consequence of great mistakes made in their own speculations1 or received from others who misled them4 ,because of these doctrines they recede more and more from the royal palace the more they seem to proceed4 ,these are worse than the first class1 and under certain circumstances it may become necessary to slay them1 and to extirpate their doctrines1 in order that others should not be misled40 #c4 8,those who desire to arrive at the palace1 and to enter it1 but have never yet seen it40 ,these are 8the mass of religious people2 the multitude that observe the divine commandments1 but are ignorant40 #d4 8,those who reach the palace1 and go round about in search of the entrance gate40 ,these are 8those who believe traditionally in true principles of faith1 and learn the practical worship of ,god1 but are not trained in philosophical treatment of the principles of the ,torah40 ,on the same level with them are those who 8are engaged in studying the ,mathematical ,sciences and ,logic40 #e4 ,those who 8have come into the ante-chamber0--that is1 8those who undertake to investigate the principles of religion10 or those who have 8learnt to understand ,physics40 #f4 ,those who have reached the highest stage1 that of being 8with the king in the same palace40 ,these are they 8who have mastered ,metaphysics--who have succeeded in finding a proof for everything that can be proved--who have a true knowledge of ,god1 so far as true knowledge can be attained1 and are near to the truth wherever only an approach to the truth is possible40#acj ,in this classification ,maimonides sets forth his ethical system in plain terms1 with perfect coldness and calm1 as though there were nothing startling about it4 ,we of the present day feel our moral sense particularly outraged by his cruel treatment of the second class--8those who happen to hold false doctrines0--though we can understand that a logical thinker like ,maimonides1 who always went the whole length of his convictions1 was bound to draw this conclusion from his philosophical system4 ,for that system regards 8true opinions0 as something much more than 8opinions03 it attributes to them the wonderful power of turning the reasoning faculty into a separate and eternal being1 and sees therefore in the opposite opinions a danger to life in the most real sense4 ,but in ,maimonides' day the persecution of men for holding false opinions was a common thing 7though it was done in the name of religion1 not of philosophy72 and even this piece of philosophic ruthlessness created no stir and aroused no contemporary protest4 ,what did stir contemporary feeling to its depths was another conclusion involved in his classification3 namely1 8that philosophers who occupy themselves with physics and metaphysics are on a higher plane than men who occupy themselves with the ,torah40#aca ,whoever knows in what esteem our ancestors of that period held the study of the ,torah will not be surprised that 8many wise men and ,rabbis0 were driven to the conclusion that 8this chapter was not written by the ,master1 or if it was1 it should be suppressed1 or1 best of all1 burnt40#acb ,poor1 simple men6 ,they did not see that this chapter could not be either suppressed or burnt except in company with all the other chapters of ,maimonides' system1 which led him inevitably to this extreme conclusion4 ,but there were other men in ,israel who saw more clearly1 and actually condemned all the chapters to the fire4 ,to them we shall return later4 ,,iii ,the supremacy of ,reason6 ,can we to-day1 after the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries1 conceive how tremendous1 how fundamental a revolution the phrase implied in the time of ,maimonides8 ,we all know that the outstanding characteristic of the human mind in the ,middle ,ages was its negative attitude to human reason1 its lack of faith in the power of reason to direct man's life and bring him to the goal of real happiness4 ,reason was almost hated and despised as a dangerous tempter and seducer3 it led men away from the pursuit of truth and goodness1 and was to be eschewed by all who cared for their souls4 ,fundamental questions about life and the universe had to receive super-rational answers4 ,the simpler and more reasonable the answer1 the more suspect and the less satisfactory it was2 the stranger the answer1 the more violently opposed to sane reason1 the more cordial was its welcome and the more ready its acceptance4 ,the famous ,credo quia absurdum of one of the ,church fathers was the cardinal rule of thought for all cultured nations1 ,christian and ,mohammedan alike4 ,nor had ,judaism escaped the sway of this principle4 ,not only the mass of the people1 but the leaders and teachers1 generally speaking1 believed in the literal sense of the ,scriptures and the ,talmud1 even where it was plainly contrary to reason4 ,the coarsest and crudest ideas about the nature of the divine power and its relation to men1 and about the soul of man and its future in 8the world to come0--ideas which reason cannot tolerate for a moment--were almost universally held2 and even those learned in the ,law staunchly maintained these ideas1 because so they had found it written in ,bible or ,talmud1 and that which was written was above reason1 and no attention should be paid to that impudent scoffer4 ,it followed naturally from this fundamental point of view that the important things in the sphere of morals were to know and to perform all that was written4 ,the function of reason was not to understand life and the universe1 but to understand what was written about life and the universe4 ,the thing best worth doing for a ,jew was to ponder on the written word and to work out its details1 theoretically and practically1 to infinity4#acc ,no doubt some ,jewish teachers before ,maimonides had tried to introduce into ,judaism more rational principles1 which they had derived from ,arabic philosophy4 ,but these attempts only affected details2 the cardinal principle remained untouched4 ,reason remained subordinate to the written word2 its truths were still discarded for the higher truth of religion4 ,the ,gaon ,saadiah1 the greatest of the earlier ,jewish religious philosophers1 explains the relation of reason to religion by the following simile3 8,a man weighs his money1 and finds that he has a thousand pieces40 ,he gives different sums to a number of people1 and then1 8wishing to show them quickly how much he has left1 he says that he has five hundred pieces1 and offers to prove it by weighing his money4 ,when he weighs the money--which takes little time--and finds that it amounts to five hundred pieces they are bound to believe what he told them40 ,but there may be among them a particularly cautious man1 who wants to find the amount left over by the method of calculation--that is1 by adding together the various amounts distributed and subtracting their sum from the original amount4#acd ,religion1 of course1 is the weighing process1 which gives us the truth at once1 by a method which is direct and cannot be questioned4 ,reason corresponds to calculation3 a cautious man with plenty of time may use it to establish a truth which has already been proved to him by the short and certain method of weighing4 ,but obviously calculation cannot change the result which weighing has already given2 and if there is any difference in the results1 the weighed money will neither be increased nor diminished1 and the mistake must be in the calculation4 ,this way of regarding reason and its relation to religion was common to all the ,jewish thinkers who laboured1 before ,maimonides1 to reconcile religion and philosophy4 ,they regarded their labour only as a necessary evil4 ,they shouldered the burden because they saw that it had to be done2 but in their heart of hearts they were wholly on the side of religion1 and it never occurred to them to give reason precedence4#ace ,in this respect they were like the ,arabic religious philosophers2 and like them they chose the philosophical views which confirmed their religious faith rather than those which were confirmed by reason4 8,they did not investigate10 writes ,maimonides1 jeering at 8philosophers0 of this kind1 8the real properties of things2 first of all they considered what must be the properties of the things which should yield proof for or against a certain creed40 ,they forgot 8that the properties of things cannot adapt themselves to our opinions1 but our opinions must be adapted to the existing properties40#acf ,if we remember that this was the general attitude of mind1 we cannot help asking how it could happen that in such a period and in such an atmosphere ,maimonides arrived at the doctrine of the supremacy of reason in its most uncompromising form4 ,no doubt1 if we care to be satisfied with any answer that comes to hand1 we may say that ,maimonides1 starting out with a predisposition in favour of the ,arabic version of the ,aristotelian philosophy1 and a sternly logical mind1 could not stop half-way1 or fail to see the logical consequences of ,aristotelianism4 ,but when we observe how1 with a devotion far greater than that of his non-,jewish teachers1 he set himself to develop and extend the idea of the supremacy of reason till it became a complete1 all-embracing theory of life2 and when we remember also his love for the teachings of ,judaism1 which ought to have induced in him a disposition not to extend the empire of reason1 but to restrict it3 we are forced to confess that logic alone could never have produced this phenomenon4 ,there must have been some psychological force1 some inner motive power1 to make ,maimonides so extreme and uncompromising a champion of reason4 ,we shall discover what this motive power was1 ,i think1 if we take account of the political position of the ,jews at that time4 ,it was a time when religious fanaticism was rife among the ,moslems4 ,in many countries to profess another religion meant death1 and large numbers of ,jews1 who could with difficulty change their place of abode1 accepted ,mohammedanism1 though but outwardly4 ,one of these countries was ,southern ,spain1 the birthplace of ,maimonides1 who was a boy of thirteen when religious persecution broke out in that country4 ,it may or may not be true1 as recent historians maintain1 that he and his father and the whole family changed their religion under compulsion3 the question has not yet been definitely settled4 ,but there is no doubt that even if he was saved by some means from an open change of faith1 he was at any rate forced to conceal his ,judaism1 for fear of oppression1 so long as he lived in ,spain and in ,fez 7where religious persecution first started1 and fanaticism had its stronghold74 ,it was only in ,egypt that his troubles ceased1 and when he reached ,egypt he was already about thirty years of age4 ,this1 then1 was the terrible position in which ,maimonides spent his years of development4 ,he was surrounded by lying and religious hypocrisy2 ,judaism had to hide from the light of day2 its adherents had to wear a mask whenever they came out of their homes into the open4 ,and why8 ,because ,mohammed had called himself a prophet1 had performed miracles1 according to his followers1 to win their faith1 and by virtue of his prophetic power had promulgated a new ,law and revealed new truths1 which all men were bound to believe1 although they were contrary to reason4 ,this state of things was bound to make a profound impression on a young man like ,maimonides1 with his fine nature and his devotion to truth4 ,he could not but feel every moment the tragedy of such a life2 and therefore he could not but become violently opposed to the source of religious fanaticism--to that blind faith in the truth of prophecy which relies on supernatural 8evidence10 and despises the evidence of reason4 ,it was this blind faith that led the ,moslems to force the ,jews into accepting the teaching of the new prophet2 and it was this that led many of these very ,jews1 after they had gradually become accustomed to their new situation1 to doubt of their ,judaism and ask themselves why they should not be able to believe in ,mohammed's prophecy1 just as they believed in that of ,moses4 ,if ,moses had performed miracles1 then surely ,mohammed might have done the same2 and how could they decide between the one teaching and the other with such certainty as to pronounce one true and the other false8#acg ,these impressions1 which were constantly influencing ,maimonides' development in his childhood and youth1 were bound to swing him violently over to the other side1 to the side of reason4 ,ultimately he was led to subject man--and ,god too1 if one may say so--to that supreme ruler3 because ,judaism could trust reason never to allow any new prophet with his new teaching to work it harm4 ,when once ,judaism had accepted the supremacy of reason and handed over to reason the seal of truth1 it would never again be difficult to show by rational proof that the first divine religion was also the only divine religion1 never to be displaced or altered till the end of time2 and then1 even if ten thousand prophets like ,mohammed came and performed miracles beyond telling1 we should never believe in their new teaching1 because one proof of reason is stronger than all the proofs of prophecy4#ach ,perhaps1 too1 ,maimonides' rationalism is traceable to yet another cause1 which lies like the first in the situation of the forced converts of that period4 ,these men were no doubt able to observe the ,jewish law within their own homes2 the ,moslems did not1 like the ,christians later1 invent an ,inquisition to pry into every hole and corner4 ,none the less1 ,maimonides himself makes it clear that the ,jews were often compelled to break the commandments of their ,law1 when they could not observe them without arousing suspicion in the minds of the authorities4 ,this naturally caused the unfortunate ,jews great distress1 and drove some of them to despair4 ,what1 they asked themselves1 was the use of remaining true to their ancestral faith at heart1 if they could not in practice keep clear of transgressions both great and small1 and must in any case merit the pains of hell8#aci ,it is reasonable1 therefore1 to suppose that this painful feeling also helped to lead ,maimonides--though unconsciously--towards the doctrine of the supremacy of reason1 which teaches that man's 8ultimate perfection does not include any action or good conduct1 but only knowledge0#adj--thus implying that man may win salvation by attaining to true opinions1 though he is sometimes forced in practice to transgress the commands of religion4 ,however that may be1 whether for these reasons or for others1 we do find that ,maimonides had his system perfected and arranged in all its details even in his early days1 when he first came out of his study into public life1 and that he made scarcely any change in it from that time till the day of his death4#ada ,all his efforts went to the propagation of his teaching among his people1 and to the endeavour to repair by its means all the shortcomings which he found in contemporary ,judaism4 ,these shortcomings were great indeed4 ,judaism1 as ,maimonides found it1 was by no means fulfilling its function as 8the divine religion40 ,it was not 8true opinions0 that the people derived from ,judaism3 on the contrary1 they had come1 through a literal acceptance of all that it taught1 to hold false ideas about ,god and man1 and had therefore by its means been removed still further from perfection4 ,even the practical duties of morality and religion could not easily be learnt by the people generally from their religious writings4 ,for in order to deduce practice from theory it was necessary to navigate the great ocean of the ,talmud1 and to spend years on minute and tangled controversies--a task for the few only1 not for the masses4 ,here1 then1 was an odd state of things4 ,the whole purpose of religion was to improve society at large1 to speak to the masses in a language which they understood2 but if the masses could not understand the language of religion1 and could learn from it neither true opinions nor practical duties1 then religion was not fulfilling its function in society1 and its existence was useless4 ,this state of affairs produced in ,maimonides1 while he was still young1 an ardent desire to stand in the breach and make ,judaism fit to fulfil the double function--theoretical and practical--which it had as the only 8divine religion40 ,for this purpose it was necessary on the one hand to show the whole people1 in a form suited to its comprehension1 the 8true opinions0 contained in the ,torah1 and on the other hand to rescue the practical commandments from the ocean of ,talmudic disputation and to teach them in a short and simple manner1 so that they should be easily remembered and become familiar to the people4 ,but in those early days ,maimonides had not the courage to strike out a new line and to present the whole content of religion in an entirely fresh manner in conformity with his philosophical system4 ,hence he chose a line which was already familiar1 and decided to supply the need of his own age by the help of a book which in its time had been intended to fulfil a somewhat similar purpose--the ,mishnah4 ,thus it was in the form of a ,commentary on the ,mishnah that he tried to give his contemporaries what they lacked3 to wit1 clear doctrine and a plain rule of practice4 ,wherever the ,mishnah leaves a point in doubt1 he gives the decision laid down in the ,talmud2 and wherever the ,mishnah hints at some theoretical opinion1 he takes advantage of the opportunity to explain the 8true opinions40#adb ,this latter process was1 of course1 especially important to him2 and he sometimes expatiates on the subject at much greater length than is usual in a ,commentary of the ordinary kind4#adc ,thus he was able to introduce into his ,commentary1 besides a mass of scattered notes1 complete essays on questions of faith and philosophy in the form of ,introductions to different sections of the ,mishnah4#add ,maimonides gave a great deal of work to this ,commentary1 which he began and finished in his years of trouble and wandering4 ,in the result he produced a masterpiece1 which remains to this day superior to all later ,commentaries on the ,mishnah4 ,but he did not achieve the principal object for which he took so much trouble3 he did not make religion effective4 ,his ,commentary did not become widely known1 and made no great impression2 still less did it bring about a revolution in popular opinion1 as its author hoped that it would4 ,and it failed of its object on the practical as well as on the theoretical side4 ,many of the later laws1 which have no basis in the ,mishnah1 could not be included in it2 and those that were included were scattered about in no proper order1 because the ,mishnah itself has no strict order4 ,but as ,maimonides grew older and reached middle life1 years brought him wider knowledge and greater confidence in himself4 ,this self-confidence gave him courage and decided him to approach his goal by another road4 ,he would produce a work of striking originality1 such as no ,jew had ever produced before4 ,so he set to work on his ,mishneh ,torah4 ,instead of a ,commentary on the ,mishnah of ,r4 ,jehudah1 ,maimonides now produced a ,mishnah of his own1 new in content as in arrangement4#ade ,here he sets forth all the practical laws of religion and morality and all the 8true opinions0 in the form best adapted to the understanding of ordinary men1 in beautiful and clear language and in perfect logical order4 ,everything is put in its right place2 decisions are given without hair-splitting arguments2 opinions are set out untrammelled by arguments or proofs4 ,in a word1 the book presents all that the divine religion ought to give in order to fulfil its function1 and presents it in precisely the right manner4#adf ,this time ,maimonides was justified in supposing that he had fulfilled his duty to his people and his religion1 and had attained the end which he had set before himself4 ,within a short time this great book spread through the length and breadth of ,jewry1 and helped considerably not only to make the practical commandments more widely known1 but also to purify and transform popular religious notions4 ,views distinguished by their freedom and their antagonism to current religious ideas appeared here in the innocent guise of canonical dicta2 and as they were couched in the language of the ,mishnah and in the familiar terminology of the old religious literature1 people did not realise how far they were being carried1 but swallowed the new ideas almost without resistance4 ,if the dose was accepted not as pure philosophy1 but as religious dogma1 that was precisely what ,maimonides intended3 for according to his system religion was to teach philosophical truth to the masses in the guise of 8divine0 truth which needed no proof4 ,but ,maimonides' work was not yet completed4 ,in the ,mishneh ,torah he had reformed religion so far as its social function was concerned3 that is to say1 so far as the needs of the common people demanded4 ,he had still to reform it from the point of view of the function of society itself3 that is to say1 to meet the needs of the chosen few4 ,for the common people it was necessary to clothe philosophical truth in religious garb2 for the few it was necessary to do just the reverse--to discover and expose the philosophical truth that lay beneath the religious garb4 ,for this minority1 consisting of those whom 8human reason had attracted to abide within its sphere0--who had learnt and understood the prevailing philosophy of the time with all its preambles and its proofs--could not help seeing the deep gulf between philosophy and ,judaism in its literal acceptation4 ,it was impossible to hide the inner contradiction from such men by means of a superficial gloss1 or to harmonise discrepancies of detail by a generalisation4 ,what then should one of these men do if he were not only a philosopher1 but also 8a religious man who has been trained to believe in the truth of our ,law08 ,he must always be in a state of 8perplexity and anxiety40 8,if he be guided solely by reason 444 he would consider that he had rejected the fundamental principles of the ,law2 444 and if1 instead of following his reason1 he abandon its guidance altogether1 it would still appear that his religious convictions had caused him loss and injury4 ,for he would then be left with those errors i4e41 those derived from a literal interpretation of ,scripture1 and would be a prey to fear and anxiety1 constant grief and great perplexity40#adg ,if we remember ,maimonides' conception of the 8actualisation0 of intellect1 and how it obtains independent existence through understanding the ,ideas1 we shall see that he was bound to regard this perplexity of the 8perfect individuals0 as being in itself not merely something undesirable1 but a grave danger from the point of view of the supreme end of mankind4 ,for how could these perplexed men attain to the summit of perfection1 to 8acquired intellect10 if they doubted the truth of reason because it did not square with the truths of religion1 with the result that subject and object could not be united in them and become a single1 indivisible whole8 ,if the divine teaching itself brings 8loss and injury0 to the chosen few1 the harm that it does more than outweighs the good that it has done in improving the multitude and thus removing social obstacles from the path of the few4 ,this grave evil required a remedy2 the 8perplexed0 had to be satisfied that they could devote themselves peacefully to the acquisition of the ,ideas1 without being disturbed by the thought that in so doing they were rejecting the fundamental principles of the ,law4 ,this was the task which ,maimonides set himself in his last book1 the ,guide for the ,perplexed4 ,the book is in a way his own confession of faith2 it shows his perplexed pupils the method by which he has succeeded in escaping from his own perplexity4 ,after what has been said above1 we need not here deal with this book at length4 ,the 8true opinions0 which it contains have already been explained in outline2 the method by which these opinions are discovered in the ,torah has been broadly indicated1 and the details are not essential to our present purpose4 ,it does not matter to us how ,maimonides subordinated religion to reason2 the important thing is that he did subordinate it4 ,from this point of view we may put the whole teaching of the ,guide in a single sentence4 8,follow reason and reason only10 he tells the 8perplexed10 8and explain religion in conformity with reason3 for reason is the goal of mankind1 and religion is only a means to the end40 ,had ,maimonides written the ,guide before he wrote the ,mishneh ,torah1 he would certainly have been pronounced a heretic1 and his book would have made no deep impression either in the orthodox camp or in that of the doubters4 ,the orthodox would have turned their backs on it and have striven to blot out its memory1 as they did with so many other books which they thought dangerous to their faith2 and the doubters would not have accepted its views as a perfect doctrine1 but would have regarded it as merely an attempt on the part of one of their fellow-doubters to escape from his perplexity1 and an attempt which in many details had failed and could not give entire satisfaction4 ,but in fact the ,guide was written after the ,mishneh ,torah1 when ,maimonides was already considered the greatest exponent of the ,law1 and enjoyed an unequalled reputation throughout the ,diaspora4 ,hence even the ,guide could not dethrone him from his eminence4 ,willingly or unwillingly1 his contemporaries accepted this further gift at his hands4 ,the believers stormed and raged among themselves1 but did not dare to attack ,maimonides openly so long as he lived4 ,the doubters welcomed the book with open arms2 they did not stop to test or criticise1 but drank eagerly of the comforting draught for which their souls had been thirsting4 ,it was not some sophist1 but the greatest sage in ,israel1 the light of the ,exile1 who went before them like a pillar of fire to illumine their path4 ,how could they but be satisfied with such a guide8 ,but things changed when ,maimonides' death freed the zealots from the restraint of fear4 ,a fierce conflict broke out about him1 and raged for a hundred years4 ,the religious leaders1 long accustomed to ban every book that did not suit their views1 could not possess their souls in silence when they saw1 for the first time in ,jewish history1 that revolutionary books like the ,guide and the ,book of ,science were spread abroad without let or hindrance1 and were more popular and more esteemed by the people at large than almost any of the other books which the teachers and sages of ,israel had placed in the treasury of ,judaism4#adh ,the details of this conflict are familiar to scholars1 and it is not my intention here to write the history of that period4 ,but it is worth pointing out that most of ,maimonides' opponents at that time did not recognise clearly the fundamental change which he had introduced into ,judaism4 ,no doubt they all felt that his teaching meant a complete revolution in the national outlook2 but they did not all understand what was the pivotal issue of the revolution4 ,for the most part they merely pointed to certain details in which they found heresy1 such as the denial of resurrection1 of hell and paradise1 and so forth4 ,only a few of them understood that ,maimonides' teaching was revolutionary not because of his attitude on this or that particular question1 but because he dethroned religion altogether from the supreme judgment-seat1 and put reason in its place3 because he made it his basic principle that 8whenever a ,scripture is contradicted by proof we do not accept the ,scripture10 but explain it in accordance with reason4#adi ,this emancipation of reason from its subordination to an external authority is the great and eternal achievement which has so endeared ,maimonides to all those of our people who have striven after knowledge and the light4 ,the theoretical system at which ,maimonides worked so hard from his youth to the end of his life has long been swept away1 together with the ,arabic metaphysics on which it was based4 ,but the practical consequence of that system--the emancipation of reason--remains1 and has left its mark on the history of ,jewish thought up to the present day4 ,every ,jew who has left the old school and traversed the hard and bitter road that leads from blind faith to free reason must have met with ,maimonides at the beginning of his journey1 and must have found in him a source of strength and support for his first steps1 which are the hardest and the most dangerous4 ,this road was traversed not only by ,mendelssohn1 but also by ,spinoza1#aej and before and after them by countless thinkers1 many of whom won golden reputations within ,judaism or outside it4 ,s4 ,d4 ,luzzatto's criticism of ,maimonides1 on the ground that his views on the nature of the soul led to the degradation of reason in ,jewish thought1 is superficial4 ,maimonides1 according to him1 8laid down what we must believe and what we must not believe10 whereas before his time there was no rigid dogma1 8and there was no ban on opinions to prevent each thinker from believing what he thought true40#aea ,now this is not the place to show how far ,luzzatto was from historical accuracy when he credited pre-,maimonidean ,judaism with freedom of thought4 ,to understand the true nature of that freedom we need only remember how ,maimonides' opponents--who were certainly faithful to the older ,judaism--spoke and acted in the period of conflict4 ,but as regards ,maimonides himself1 ,luzzatto overlooks the fact that1 while his psychological theory no doubt led him to regard certain opinions as obligatory1 he placed the source of the obligation no longer in any external authority1 but precisely in human reason4 ,that being so1 the obligation could not involve a ban on opinions4 ,for as soon as other thinkers are persuaded that human reason does not make these particular opinions obligatory1 they are bound1 in conformity with ,maimonides' own system1 to believe each what he thinks true1 and not what ,maimonides erroneously thought true4 ,in other words3 if we wish to judge ,maimonides' system from the point of view of its effects on ,judaism1 we must look not at the ,thirteen ,articles which he laid down as obligatory principles in accordance with that system1 but at the one principle which underlies all others--that of the supremacy of reason4 ,a philosopher who frees reason from authority in general must at the same time free it from his own authority2 he cannot regard any view as obligatory except so long as it is made obligatory by reason4 ,imagine a man put in prison and given the key3 can he be said to have lost his liberty8#aeb ,,iv ,here ends what ,i wished to say about the supremacy of reason in ,maimonides' system2 and here ,i might conclude this ,essay4 ,but ,i should like to add some remarks on another supremacy--on that of the national sentiment4 ,in these days we cannot discuss the thought of one of our great men1 even if there are seven hundred years between him and us1 without wanting to know whether and to what extent his thought reveals traces of that sentiment which we now regard as the most vital element in the life of ,judaism4 ,but this question really contains two different questions1 which have to be answered differently so far as ,maimonides is concerned4 ,the first question is3 ,did ,maimonides recognise the supremacy of the national sentiment in the spiritual life of his people1 and allow it consciously and of set purpose an important place in the teaching of ,judaism8 ,the second is3 ,do we find traces of the supremacy of the national sentiment--as an unconscious and spontaneous instinct--in the mentality of ,maimonides himself8#aec ,the first question cannot be answered in the affirmative3 the evidence is rather on the negative side4 ,had ,maimonides recognised clearly the strength of the national sentiment as a force in ,jewish life1 and its importance as a factor in the development of ,judaism1 he would undoubtedly have used it1 as ,jehudah ,halevi did1 to explain the numerous features of ,judaism which have their origin in the national sentiment4 ,at any rate1 he would not have endeavoured to invest those features with a universalistic character4 ,for instance1 in seeking reasons for the commandments he could easily have found that many of them have no purpose but to strengthen the feeling of national unity2 and he would not have said of the ,festivals that they 8promote the good feeling that men should have to each other in their social and political relations40#aed ,nor would he have said1 in dealing with the future redemption1 that 8the wise men and the prophets only longed for the days of the ,messiah in order that they might be free to study the ,torah and its wisdom1 without any oppression or interference1 and so might win eternal life40#aee ,no doubt we do sometimes find in his ,letters1 and especially in those that were written to encourage his people in times of national trouble1 feeling references to the fortunes and the mission of the ,jewish people4#aef ,but despite these isolated and casual references1 only one conclusion can be drawn from the general tenor of ,maimonides' teaching3 that he did not recognise the value of the national element in ,jewish life1 and did not allow that element due weight in his exposition of ,judaism4#aeg ,on the other hand1 various indications show that in ,maimonides himself the national sentiment was1 without his knowledge1 a powerful force3 so much so1 that it sometimes actually drove him from the straight road of logic and reason1 and entangled him--of all men--in contradictions which had no ground or justification in his theory4 ,we shall always find in the psychology of even the most logical thinker1 despite his efforts to give to reason the undivided empire of his thought1 some remote corner to which its sway cannot extend2 and we shall always find a rebel band of ideas1 which reason cannot control1 breaking out from that point of vantage to disturb the order of its realm4 ,of this truth ,maimonides may serve as an example4 ,it is particularly evident in regard to the dogmas of ,judaism which he laid down1 accompanied by a declaration that 8if any man rejects one of these fundamental beliefs1 he severs himself from the community and denies a principle of ,judaism3 he is called a heretic and an unbeliever1 and it is right to hate him and to destroy him40#aeh ,as we have already seen1 it is an inevitable consequence of ,maimonides' teaching that the dogmas of religion must be formulated clearly and made obligatory on the whole people4 ,but in strict accordance with his system ,maimonides ought to have included among the dogmas only those 8true opinions0 without which religion could not have been maintained or have fulfilled its function4 ,and in fact all his dogmas are of that character1 except only the two last--those which assert the coming of the ,messiah and the resurrection4 ,how1 then1 did he come to include these two8 ,this question was raised soon after ,maimonides' own time 7especially in regard to the belief in the ,messiah72 and his critics rightly pointed out that before laying down dogmas one must define exactly what is meant by a dogma1 so that we may know how to distinguish between what may and what may not be properly so called4#aei ,it is indeed strange that ,maimonides forgot so elementary a rule of logic1 and still more strange when we remember that elsewhere1 in enumerating the six hundred and thirteen commandments of the ,law1 he was fully alive to the necessity of explaining first of all 8the principles which it is proper to take as a criterion10 in order to select from the multitude of ordinances in the ,torah those capital commandments from which the rest are derived4 ,for this reason he fell foul of the earlier enumerations1 which he regarded as ignorantly made and full of mistakes2 and for his own part he first laid down fourteen 8principles10 and then proceeded to enumerate the commandments according to those principles4#afj ,but if this procedure was necessary in dealing with the practical commandments1 surely it was even more necessary in the case of the dogmas of faith4 ,how1 then1 did it happen that ,maimonides embarked on so important a task as the enumeration of dogmas without first laying down some principle by which to guide himself8 ,it seems to me that we have to do here not with a casual mistake1 but with one of those facts which indicate that the national sentiment was strong enough in ,maimonides to conquer even logic4 ,if ,maimonides had set out to define the term 8dogma0 in its purely religious sense1 he could not have found the slightest justification for regarding the national belief in a future redemption as a dogma4 ,but he felt that a national hope was necessary to the existence of the nation2 and without the existence of the nation the continuance of its religion is unthinkable4 ,it was this feeling that made him for once oblivious of logic1 and prevented him from clearing up in his own mind the nature of religious dogmas in general1 so that he might be able to include among them that national belief on which the nation depends for its existence1 although it has no direct relation to the maintenance of religion as such4#afa ,so also with the belief in resurrection1 by which our people has always set great store in its exile4 ,every individual ,jew has suffered the pain of exile not merely in his own person1 but as a member of his people2 his indignation and grief have been excited not by his private trouble only1 but by the national trouble4 ,he could find personal consolation in the hope of eternity in paradise2 but this did not blunt the edge of the national trouble1 which demanded its consolation in the prospect of a bright future for the nation4 ,in those days the individual ,jew was no longer1 as in ancient times1 keenly conscious that successive generations were made one by the organic life of the nation2 and he could not therefore find consolation in the happiness which awaited his people at the end of time1 but which he himself would not share4 ,hence he clung to the belief in resurrection1 which offered what he required--a reward to himself for his individual share of the national grief4 ,just as every ,jew had participated1 during his own lifetime1 in the national sorrow1 so would every ,jew be privileged in the future to see with his own eyes the national consolation and redemption4#afb ,thus the belief in resurrection was complementary to the belief in the ,messiah4 ,united1 they gave the people heart and strength to bear the yoke of exile and to battle successfully against a sea of troubles1 confident that sooner or later the haven would be reached4 ,when1 therefore1 ,maimonides found it written in the ,mishnah 7beginning of chapter ,chelek7 that he who denies resurrection forfeits eternal life1 he did not feel any need to explain this statement in a sense opposed to its literal meaning1 as he usually did when his system so demanded1 but took it just as he found it1 and made it a dogma4 ,he satisfied his heart at the expense of his head4 ,strangely enough1 ,maimonides himself was perplexed over the question of resurrection1 and could not explain why he clung to a belief which it was not easy to combine with his own theory of the soul and the future life4 ,when he formulates the dogmas in his ,commentary on the ,mishnah1 he passes hurriedly over this one1 and dismisses it in a few words1 as though he were afraid that if he lingered at this point logic would catch him up and ask awkward questions4 ,in the ,mishneh ,torah1 again1 he does not explain this dogma at all1 either at the beginning of the book1 where he deals with the ,foundations of the ,law1 or at the end1 where he discusses the ,messianic ,age4 ,this omission led some of his critics to suspect that he did not really believe in a literal resurrection of the body1 but explained it in the sense of the rebirth of the soul hereafter 7on which he enlarges very often74 ,this suspicion made him very indignant1 and he wrote a whole treatise to prove that he had never intended to take resurrection in any but its literal sense4 ,on the contrary1 he maintained that the belief must be accepted literally1 and that it was in no way inconsistent with what he had written or with his general view4#afc ,but the arguments in this treatise are all very weak1 and the general impression which it leaves is that he did not clearly understand his own mind4 ,he felt instinctively that he could not give up this belief1 though it was foreign to his system2 but it was only with great difficulty that he could explain why he allowed it such importance4 ,it was1 of course1 impossible for a man like ,maimonides to admit to himself that he was following feeling rather than reason4 ,he tried therefore to justify his standpoint on rational grounds1 but without success4#afd ,we find the same struggle between philosophical system and national sentiment in ,maimonides' attitude to the ,hebrew language4 ,from the point of view of his system he naturally saw no difference between one language and another3 what matters is the idea1 not its external dress4 ,hence he lays it down that speech 8is not to be forbidden or allowed1 loved or despised1 according to the language1 but according to the subject4 ,that which is lofty may be said in whatever language2 that which is mean may not be said in any language40#afe ,practising what he preached1 he wrote most of his books not in ,hebrew1 but in ,arabic1 because he thought that by being written in the ordinary language of his age and his surroundings they would be of greater use from the point of view of their subject-matter4 ,the only book that he wrote in ,hebrew was the ,mishneh ,torah2 and here also he was guided by practical considerations4 ,he chose the language of the ,mishnah because he wanted his people to regard the book with respect as a kind of second ,mishnah4 ,the beautiful ,mishnaic language would carry off the 8true opinions10 which needed the help of a sacred language to make them holy and bring them under the gis of religion4 ,thus far ,maimonides the philosopher4 ,but in his letters we find clear indications that after he had finished his work his national sentiment proved stronger than his philosophy1 and he regretted that he had not written his other works in ,hebrew as well4 ,not only that1 but he actually thought of translating them into the national language himself1 so as 8to separate that which is precious from that which is defiled1 and to restore stolen goods to their rightful owner40 ,but the decline of his powers in old age did not permit him to carry out this intention1 and the ,hebrew translation had to wait for other hands4 ,some of it was done in his lifetime2 and his letter to the translator of the ,guide shows how pleased he was4#aff ,but there is really no need to look for the influence of the national sentiment in particular parts of ,maimonides' work4 ,his work as a whole cannot be fully understood unless we allow for this sentiment4 ,of course1 as we have seen1 ,maimonides' efforts to improve religion were the result of his philosophy1 which taught him that religion must be made fit to fulfil its function in the spheres of theory and practice2 and for his own part he certainly believed that he was actuated solely by this conviction1 and was doing1 as needs he must1 what reason demanded of him4 ,but we1 who look at things in the light of modern psychology1 which tells us that intellectual conviction is not sufficient to produce sustained effort unless it is accompanied by a strong emotion1 whereby the will is roused to conquer all obstacles--we cannot conceive the possibility of arduous work without a compelling emotion4 ,and when we look for the emotion which is most likely to furnish an explanation in this particular case1 we shall find none except the national sentiment4 ,for we know1 on the one hand1 that religious laws were for ,maimonides nothing but an instrument of education--a means of confirming people in true beliefs and good habits of life4 ,moreover1 he regarded many of them 7sacrifices and the ceremonial associated with sacrifices7 as merely a necessary evil1 designed to restrict a bad practice which had taken root in the national life at an early period1 and could not be abolished entirely2 and even this justification applied only to the laws as a whole1 while their details1 as we saw above1 were in his opinion wholly without meaning or significance4 ,and yet1 holding such views1 he worked day and night for ten years to collect all these laws and arrange them1 with meticulous exactness1 down to their smallest details4 ,whoever realises the enormous labour that it required to get together the mass of legal prescriptions1 scattered over an extensive literature1 must admit that no man can be qualified for the work 7even if he recognises its usefulness from a certain point of view7 unless the work itself has a strong attachment for him4 ,to see the usefulness of the work is not enough2 it must be a real labour of love4 ,what then can have kept ,maimonides to his task if not the national sentiment1 which made him love his people's ,law and ancient customs even where his philosophy did not attach to them any particular importance8 ,and on the other side1 ,maimonides could not have laboured to turn ,judaism into a pure philosophy without the help of the national sentiment4 ,we can understand the religious philosopher who tries to effect a compromise between religion and philosophy4 ,the impelling force is his religious feeling3 anxious to save religion from the danger threatened by rationalism1 he adopts the familiar expedient of dressing religion in the trappings of philosophy1 so as to safeguard its essential meaning4 ,but when a philosopher starts1 as ,maimonides did1 with the conviction that there is no room for compromise1 but that religion is compelled1 willy-nilly1 to teach only what reason approves and when he labours indefatigably to purify religious belief of all super-rational elements1 and to turn its essential content into a pure philosophical system1 and all this by long and devious methods1 which reason cannot always approve3 then we are bound to ask what emotion it was that gave him the strength and the will-power required for so difficult a task4 ,religious emotion certainly gained nothing from a process by which religion was driven from its own throne and deprived of its letters patent as a guide to eternal happiness along a private road of its own4 ,philosophical emotion--if the term may be used--might have gained more if ,maimonides had accepted and prescribed the method adopted by free-thinkers before and after him--that of leaving faith to the believing masses and being satisfied for his own part with reason alone4 ,but the national sentiment did gain a great deal by the transformation of the ,jewish religion--the only national inheritance which had survived to unite our scattered people in exile--into philosophical truth1 firmly based on rational and 7as ,maimonides sincerely believed7 irrefragable proofs1 and consequently secure for all time against assault4 ,so we come finally to the conclusion that ,maimonides1 too1 like the other ,jewish thinkers1 had as the ultimate aim of his great work 7though perhaps he did not realise it clearly7 the shaping of the content and form of ,judaism into a fortress on which the nation could depend for its continuance in exile4 ,there is only this difference3 that whereas his predecessors held ,judaism secure because it was above reason1 ,maimonides came and said3 8,no6 ,judaism is secure because it is reason40 ,footnote #hf3 ,maimonides died on the #acth ,december1 #abjd4 ,footnote #hg3 ,jewish ,law4 ,footnote #hh3 ,allusion to well-known speeches at ,zionist ,congresses4 ,footnote #hi3 ,mishneh ,torah1 ,foundations of the ,law1 chaps4 i4-iv4 ,footnote #ij3 ,ibid41 chap4 iv4 #a4 ,footnote #ia3 ,guide1 ,part ,i41 chap4 i4 ,in rendering quotations from the ,moreh ,nebuchim 7,guide for the ,perplexed7 the translator has used ,dr4 ,friedlnder's ,english version so far as possible4 ,footnote #ib3 ,foundations of the ,law1 ibid41 #g4 ,footnote #ic3 ,in the upper world ,aristotle's philosophy postulates the existence of forms divorced from matter3 they are the 8separate ,intelligences10 which emanate one from another and are eternal 7see ,foundations of the ,law1 ibid41 and ,guide1 ,part ,,ii41 chap4 iv474 ,footnote #id3 ,guide1 ,part ,,iii41 chap4 viii4 ,footnote #ie3 ,foundations of the ,law1 ibid41 #h and #i4 ,footnote #if3 ,eight ,chapters1 chap4 i4 ,footnote #ig3 ,see ,munk1 ,le ,guide des ,egars1 ,i41 pp4 #cjd-h 7note74 ,footnote #ih3 ,guide1 ,part ,i41 chaps4 lxx4 and lxxii4 and passim4 ,for details see ,munk 7ibid471 and ,dr4 ,scheyer's monograph1 ,das ,psychologische ,system des ,maimonides1 ,frankfort a_/,m1 #ahde4 ,footnote #ii3 ,foundations of the ,law1 chap4 iv41 #h1 #i4 ,footnote #ajj3 ,there is some ground for thinking that ,maimonides thought of the eternal existence after death of the possessors of 8acquired intellect0 not as personal1 but as a common existence in which they are all united as a single separate being4 ,see ,guide1 ,,iii41 chap4 xxvii41 and ,foundations1 ibid41 and chap4 ii41 #e-f4 ,this has been pointed out by ,dr4 ,joel in ,die ,religionsphilosophie des ,mose ben ,maimon1 ,breslau1 #ahgf 7p4 #be1 note74 ,footnote #aja3 ,guide1 ,i41 chap4 lxviii4 ,footnote #ajb3 ,according to the division of the sciences current in those days1 all this knowledge of true ,being is contained in ,physics and ,metaphysics4 ,footnote #ajc3 ,all this teaching is scattered up and down ,maimonides' works1 partly in explicit statements and partly in hints 7see1 e4g41 ,guide1 ,,iii41 chap4 li474 ,dr4 ,scheyer was the first to work out these definitions in detail 7ibid41 chap4 iii474 ,in general it must be remembered that ,maimonides nowhere explains his whole system in logical order1 and we are therefore compelled1 if we would understand his system as it was conceived in his mind1 to make use of scattered utterances1 hints1 and half-sentences written by the way1 to explain obscure statements by others more precise1 and to resort freely to inference4 ,footnote #ajd3 ,guide1 ,,iii41 chap4 xiii41 and ,introduction to ,commentary on the ,mishnah1 section ,zera'im4 ,footnote #aje3 ,introduction cited in last note4 ,footnote #ajf3 ,ibid4 ,footnote #ajg3 ,guide1 ,,iii41 chap4 li4 ,maimonides does not there emphasise the difference between practical studies on the one hand and mathematics and logic on the other1 because this is not germane to his purpose at the moment4 ,but the distinction is necessarily implied4 ,footnote #ajh3 ,guide1 ,,iii41 chaps4 xxvii4 and liv42 ,hilchoth ,de'oth1 chaps4 iii4 and iv4 ,footnote #aji3 ,introduction to ,zera'im4 ,footnote #aaj3 ,maimonides' attitude to perfection of character is most clearly revealed by the fact that he calls it 8bodily perfection10 in contrast to 8perfection of the soul10 which is intellectual perfection 7,guide1 ,,iii41 chap4 xxvii474 ,footnote #aaa3 ,see ,hilchoth ,de'oth1 chap4 i42 ,eight ,chapters1 chap4 iv4 ,footnote #aab3 ,guide1 ,,iii41 chap4 liv4 ,footnote #aac3 ,see ,eight ,chapters1 end of chap4 iv4 and beginning of chap4 v4 ,lazarus 7,ethik des ,judentums1 ,i41 chap4 xiv47 fails to notice this difference between ,aristotle and ,maimonides1 and therefore finds it strange that ,maimonides introduces ,aristotle's doctrine of the mean into ,jewish ethics4 ,footnote #aad3 ,introduction to ,zera'im4 ,footnote #aae3 ,see ,guide1 ,,iii41 chaps4 xxvii41 xxxiv4 ,maimonides is not explicit on the relation of the minority to social morality2 but his view on this question is evident from what he says in the chapters quoted1 and passim4 ,footnote #aaf3 ,eight ,chapters1 chap4 v4 ,footnote #aag3 ,guide1 ,,ii41 chap4 xxv4 ,footnote #aah3 ,guide1 ,,ii41 chaps4 xxv4 and xvi4 ,footnote #aai3 ,maimonides explains his views on the methods of divine revelation and the nature of prophecy in general1 and of the prophecy of ,moses in particular1 in several places3 especially in ,guide1 ,,ii41 chaps4 xxxii4-xlviii41 and in ,mishneh ,torah1 section ,foundations of the ,law1 chap4 vii4 ,but for our present purpose we need not enter into these speculations4 ,it suffices to say that here also he was true to his own system4 ,the ,prophet is for him the most perfect 8actual man02 and the divine inspiration reaches the ,prophet through that separate ,intelligence 78active intellect07 which is1 according to the philosophical system adopted by ,maimonides1 charged with the guidance of the world and with the raising of all forms 7including the form of the soul7 from potentiality to actuality4 ,footnote #abj3 ,see ,guide1 ,,iii41 xxvi4 ,footnote #aba3 ,ibid41 chaps4 xxiii4 and xxviii42 see also ,,ii41 chaps4 xxxiv4 and xl4 ,footnote #abb3 ,see ,guide1 ,,ii41 chaps4 xxxix4 and xl42 and especially the ,iggereth ,teman4 ,footnote #abc3 ,all this is explained in many passages throughout ,maimonides' books1 which are too numerous to be particularised4 ,footnote #abd3 ,for the 8reasons of the commandments0 see ,guide1 ,,iii41 chaps4 xxvi4-xlix4 ,footnote #abe3 ,for instance3 there is a reason for sacrifices in general4 8,but we cannot say why one offering should be a lamb1 whilst another is a ram2 and why a fixed number of them should be brought4444 ,you ask why must a lamb be sacrificed and not a ram8 but the same question would be asked1 why a ram had been commanded instead of a lamb1 so long as one particular kind is required4 ,the same is to be said as to the question why were seven lambs sacrificed and not eight2 the same question might have been asked if there were eight40 ,guide1 ,,iii41 chap4 xxvi4 ,footnote #abf3 ,introduction to ,zera'im4 ,footnote #abg3 ,guide1 ,,ii41 chap4 xxxix41 and ,,iii41 chap4 xxxiv4 ,footnote #abh3 ,see ,guide1 ,,ii41 chap4 xxix42 ,eight ,chapters1 chap4 viii4 ,footnote #abi3 ,introduction to ,zera'im2 see also ,foundations of the ,law1 chaps4 ix4 and x4 ,footnote #acj3 ,guide1 ,,iii41 chap4 li4 ,footnote #aca3 ,see ,r4 ,shem-,tob's ,commentary on the ,guide1 loc4 cit4 ,footnote #acb3 ,ibid4 ,footnote #acc3 ,maimonides himself describes the contemporary state of culture among his people in several places4 ,see1 for instance1 the ,treatise on ,resurrection4 ,footnote #acd3 ,emunoth v' ,deoth1 ,preface4 ,footnote #ace3 ,r4 ,jehudah ,halevi1 despite his profound knowledge of contemporary philosophy1 says categorically3 8,he who accepts this the ,law completely1 without scrutiny or argument1 is better off than he who investigates and analyses0 7,cuzri1 ,,ii41 xxvi4 ,dr4 ,hirschfeld's translation74 ,footnote #acf3 ,guide1 ,i41 chap4 lxxi4 ,footnote #acg3 ,as to the state of mind of the forced converts at that time see what ,maimonides says in the ,treatise of the ,sanctification of the ,name and the ,iggereth ,teman4 ,footnote #ach3 ,see ,section ,,ii4 above4 ,note especially what ,maimonides says about prophecy in the ,introduction to his ,commentary on the ,mishnah 7written at the time when he lived among the forced converts74 ,some of this is quoted in ,section ,,ii4 ,he writes there with such incisive force as to make it clear that he has left the realm of pure speculation and theory1 and has a practical object connected with actual circumstances which had stirred him deeply at the time4 ,footnote #aci3 ,all this is clearly hinted in ,maimonides' ,treatise of the ,sanctification of the ,name4 ,footnote #adj3 ,guide1 ,,iii41 chap4 xxvii4 ,footnote #ada3 ,we find all the principles of his system in the ,introduction to his first book 7the ,commentary on the ,mishnah71 and again at the end of his last book 7,guide1 ,,iii41 chap4 li474 ,footnote #adb3 ,see ,introduction to ,commentary on the ,mishnah4 ,footnote #adc3 8,this is not the place to treat of this matter2 but it is my intention1 wherever a matter of belief is mentioned1 to explain it briefly4 ,for ,i love to teach nothing so much as one of the principles of religion0 7end of ,berachoth74 ,footnote #add3 ,especially important in this connection are the ,introductions to ,zera'im1 to chapter ,chelek 7where he brings in all the principles of religion71 and to ,aboth 7,eight ,chapters74 ,footnote #ade3 ,his ,preface makes it clear that he regarded his book as a sort of ,mishnah in a new form2 and it seems 7though he does not say it in so many words7 that he intended to hint at this idea by the title of the book--,mishneh ,torah4 ,footnote #adf3 ,there were many writers who suspected that ,maimonides' idea was to do away altogether with the study of the ,talmud4 ,but this suspicion could arise only from failure to understand clearly the real purpose of the book4 ,even theories are presented here in dogmatic form2 but could it possibly be imagined that ,maimonides wanted to do away with the study of philosophy by the long method of argument and proof--that study which he regarded as the purpose of the human race8 ,the truth is that he had in view the social function of religion1 and for this reason he set forth both theories and practical commands in brief and in a manner suited to the comprehension of ordinary men4 ,he left it to the chosen few to study the principles of both the theoretical and the practical law1 and to obtain from the original sources a knowledge of the reasons for both4 ,footnote #adg3 ,guide1 ,introduction4 ,footnote #adh3 ,after the publication of the ,guide many people discovered that its opinions were already contained in the innocent-looking dicta of the ,mishneh ,torah1 especially in its first part 7,the ,book of ,science71 and from that time onward they regarded that book also as heretical1 and waged war on it as well as on the ,guide4 ,footnote #adi3 ,see the letter of ,r4 ,jehudah ,alfachar to ,kimchi3 ,collected ,responses of ,maimonides 7ed4 ,leipsic71 ,part ,,iii41 p4 #a1 et seq4 ,footnote #aej3 ,see ,dr4 ,joel's monograph1 ,spinoza's ,theologisch-,politischer ,traktat auf seine ,quellen geprft1 ,breslau1 #ahgj4 ,footnote #aea3 ,see ,kerem ,chemed1 ,,iii41 pp4 #fg-gj4 ,footnote #aeb3 ,i may remark in passing that ,luzzatto 7ibid47 accuses ,maimonides of yet another disservice to ,judaism4 ,by making opinions the essential element of perfection ,maimonides1 according to him1 abolished the difference between the righteous man and the wicked4 8,the philosopher10 he says1 8may commit theft1 murder1 and adultery1 and yet attain eternal life3 salvation does not depend on merit40 ,this charge was already brought against ,maimonides by his medieval opponents1 but it is quite mistaken4 ,maimonides insists1 over and over again1 that until a man has moral perfection it is impossible for him to reach intellectual perfection to the degree necessary for the attainment of acquired intellect4 ,see1 for instance1 the passage from the introduction to ,zera'im quoted above 7p4 #agd74 ,footnote #aec3 ,though the conception of 8nationalism0 in its current sense is modern1 the national sentiment itself has existed in our people at all times2 and its existence and value have been realised in our literature in every period1 from the ,bible and the ,talmud to the literature of ,chassidism1 though it used to be called by other names 78the love of ,israel10 etc474 ,but the sentiment and its expression do not appear to the same extent or in the same form in all ages and in all individuals1 and it is therefore legitimate to ask what was the attitude of any particular age or any particular thinker to the national sentiment4 ,an interesting book might be written on the history of the national sentiment and consciousness in ,israel1 dealing with their different manifestations in different ages1 their growth and decline1 and their expression in the life of the nation and the thought of its great men in each period4 ,footnote #aed3 ,guide1 ,,iii41 chap4 xliii4 ,similarly in chap4 xlviii4 ,footnote #aee3 ,end of ,mishneh ,torah4 ,footnote #aef3 ,see the ,iggereth ,teman and the ,treatise of the ,sanctification of the ,name4 ,footnote #aeg3 ,a ,german ,jewish scholar1 ,dr4 ,d4 ,rosin1 in his monograph on the ethics of ,maimonides 7,die ,ethik des ,maimonides1 ,breslau1 #ahgf71 finds under the heading of 8,nationalism0 7p4 #adh7 only two laws in the whole ,mishneh ,torah which allude to the duties of the ,jew to his people4 ,but in fact the two laws which he quotes 7,hilchoth ,t'shubah1 chap4 iii4 #aa1 and ,hilchoth ,matnath ',aniim1 chap4 x4 #b7 emphasise rather the unity of the members of one faith4 ,footnote #aeh3 ,introduction to chapter ,chelek4 ,footnote #aei3 ,see ,albo1 ,ikkarim1 ,part ,i1 chap4 #a4 ,footnote #afj3 ,see his ,introduction to the ,sepher ,hammitzvoth4 ,footnote #afa3 ,i remarked on this point years ago in 8,past and ,future40 ,see ,selected ,essays by ,ahad ,ha'am1 p4 #hg4 ,footnote #afb3 ,cf4 supra1 p4 #aj4 ,footnote #afc3 ,see the ,treatise on ,resurrection4 ,footnote #afd3 ,luzzatto 7ubi supra7 seems to suspect that ,maimonides' whole treatment of resurrection was insincere1 and that he was deliberately throwing dust in the reader's eyes1 in order to conceal his heresy4 ,but this suspicion is absurd3 ,maimonides was a man who was not afraid openly to reject even the immortality of the soul1 and to recast all the fundamental beliefs of ,judaism4 ,any unbiassed reader of the treatise must realise that ,maimonides defends resurrection with perfect sincerity1 but that he is unable to find the real grounds of his own conviction1 because he looks for them in his reason and not in his feelings4 ,footnote #afe3 ,commentary on the ,mishnah1 ,aboth1 chap4 i4 #ag4 ,footnote #aff3 ,see his letters to ,joseph ben ,gabar1 to the community of ,lunel1 and to ,r4 ,samuel ,ibn ,tibbon 7,collected ,responses of ,maimonides 7,leipsic71 ,part ,,ii41 pp4 #af1 #bg1 #dd74 ,,judaism ,,and ,,the ,,gospels 7#aiaj7 ,english ,jewry is at ease4 ,there are no doubt traces here and there of anti-,semitism1 nor are there wanting in the inner life of the community indications of what may be called 8servitude in freedom40 ,but when all allowances are made1 the ,jews enjoy a firmer and a more secure position here than in other countries1 and anxiety for the future1 with all that it involves1 plays a smaller part in their mental life4 ,hence their internal development is more 8normal0 than elsewhere2 it is less at the mercy of external and accidental influences2 it is rather determined by the spiritual and cultural resources of the community itself1 and corresponds at any given time to the extent of those resources4 ,to this circumstance is due the comparatively late appearance of the ,reform movement in ,anglo-,jewry4 ,true1 in the heyday of the ,german ,reform movement a few people in ,england attempted to follow the ,german example2 but their small experiment never grew to considerable dimensions1 or showed any capacity for development4 ,the reason is that whereas in ,germany there was an external1 political impulse towards ,reform--the desire to combat anti-,jewish feeling1 and thus to facilitate the attainment of civil and political rights--in ,england this motive was less felt4 ,for though certain political restrictions were still in force1 the position of the ,jews was much better1 and their relations with non-,jews were much more satisfactory1 than in ,germany4 ,but in more recent years education and the circumstances of life have brought about a change in the internal1 spiritual condition of the ,anglo-,jewish community3 a new generation has arisen1 which is very far removed from the spirit of ,judaism4 ,it is this internal change in the ,jews which has called into being the ,reform movement which we now see developing before our eyes4 ,to the difference in origin corresponds a difference in character4 ,in ,germany the ,reform movement1 practical in its motives1 took a practical shape4 ,geiger and other ,reformers endeavoured1 on the one side1 to alter the religious practices1 and to bring them into conformity with what they conceived to be the needs of the time2 but on the other side they laid stress on the grandeur of the religious and moral principles on which ,judaism peculiarly was based1 and tried to emphasise the difference between ,judaism and ,christianity4 ,but in ,england the ,reform movement springs from a spiritual cause--from a conviction on the part of many ,jews that they are spiritually akin to their ,christian environment4 ,it is not merely the external observances of traditional ,judaism that fail any longer to appeal to them2 its innermost spirit1 the fundamental ideas by which it is distinguished from ,christianity1 have lost their hold4 ,hence the movement here aims right at the heart2 it wants to change the spirit of ,judaism1 and to overthrow its historical foundations1 so as to reduce its distinctive features to a small compass1 and to bring it as closely as possible into accord with the ,christian ideas of the non-,jewish community4 ,thirteen years ago this movement was begun in ,england by a body of young men1 who thus straightforwardly and clearly expressed their aim3 8444 ,our triumphant emancipation is now working out its natural result upon us4 ,constant intercourse with non-,jews and extensive secular education must materially affect our opinions4 ,we1 who are young and earnest lovers of our religion1 are struggling with new ideas which we hardly dare to formulate1 because they are contrary to all accepted traditions4 ,such are the notions that our separateness seems now merely external and artificial1 our racial distinctiveness often scarcely perceptible1 and our religious ideas almost identical with those of ,theists and true ,unitarians40#afg ,but as it was difficult for them1 in spite of everything1 to abandon ,judaism altogether1 and to join the 8,theists and true ,unitarians10 they conceived the idea of attaining their object in the reverse way4 ,they would transform ,judaism itself1 until it should contain nothing but the fundamental ideas of the 8,theists and true ,unitarians10 and then--so they fondly imagined--these latter would come and find shelter in ,judaism1 and so the 8external and artificial0 distinction would be comfortably and pleasantly removed6 ,this movement did not take definite shape at the time1 and after a while it disappeared and was no longer heard of4 ,but the causes which had given it birth did not cease to work silently beneath the surface2 and quite recently it has come forth again into the light of day1 to play its part in the visible life of ,anglo-,jewry4 ,this time it appears in a more concrete form and with a clearer consciousness of the goal for which it is making4 ,its promoters have come to see1 after all1 that even if their ,judaism is to teach the very doctrine of the 8liberal0 ,christian sects1 there will still be an 8external and artificial0 distinction between themselves and the non-,jew1 so long as they do not accept the source of that doctrine--so long as they do not admit1 with the 8liberal0 ,christians1 that the ,new ,testament is the last word in religious and moral development1 and ,jesus the most perfect embodiment of the religious and moral ideal4 ,for in matters of religion men value not alone the abstract beliefs in themselves1 but also--and perhaps more highly--the historical and psychological roots from which those beliefs have grown up in their hearts4 ,it was well said many years ago by ,steinthal that if ever a new religion1 a philosophical religion1 suited to modern times1 should unite ,jews and ,christians1 they would still be divided on the question whether the ,old ,testament or the ,gospels had contributed in greater measure to the birth of the new religion4 ,our ,english ,reformers1 therefore1 have decided to remove even this stumbling-block from the path which leads to unity1 and have decreed that the ,new ,testament 7or at least the ,gospels7 must be considered a part--and the most important part--of ,judaism1 and that ,jesus must be regarded as a prophet--and the greatest of the prophets--in ,israel4 ,this pronouncement is certainly a step forward along a certain line of development1 of which we are not yet at the end4 ,we need not therefore be surprised if these ,reformers do not realise the strangeness of their attitude1 with its combination of contradictory and mutually destructive postulates4 ,whereas revolution overthrows the old at a single stroke1 and puts the new in its place1 evolution destroys and builds in sections1 so that1 until its work is complete1 it is full of contradictions and inconsistencies--the old and the new jostling one another in confusion1 and creating by their unnatural juxtaposition the impression of a caricature1 which is obvious to the onlooker1 but not to those who are engaged in the work4 ,so this ,reformed ,judaism1 which wants to be two opposites--,jewish and ,evangelist--at once1 has its place as a rung in the middle of the ladder1 a step on the road of evolution to its final goal4 ,at this stage of the journey our ,reformers still think that it is possible to put the ,gospels beside the ,old ,testament and the ,talmud4 ,but when they reach the next stage they will recognise that the two cannot exist side by side1 but only one above the other1 and that when one stands the other falls4 ,the early ,christians went through the same process3 they regarded their 8message0 at first simply as a part of ,judaism2 but when they had travelled the full length of their development1 they saw that the ,gospels meant the overthrow of the very foundations of ,judaism1 and then they left it altogether4 ,if anybody is doubtful about the true character and tendency of this movement1 let him read the commentary on the ,synoptic ,gospels recently published by the leader of the movement1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,g4 ,montefiore4 ,the author makes no secret of the fact that the book has been written for ,jewish readers1 with the object of convincing them that the ,new ,testament ought to occupy an important position in ,judaism at the present time1 albeit from a ,jewish point of view4 ,the claims of the 8,jewish point of view0 he thinks to satisfy by his frequent efforts to show that the ,law of the ,rabbis was not so bad as it is painted by the authors of the ,new ,testament and its commentators1 and that in many respects the old ,judaism rose to the level of the ,gospels1 nay1 had in certain details actually more of truth4#afh ,but the general atmosphere of the book is so utterly alien from the essential character of ,judaism as to make one fact clear beyond a shadow of doubt to any ,jew in whom ,judaism is still alive--that the ,gospels can be received only into a ,judaism which has lost its own true spirit1 and remains a mere corpse4 ,the author is doubtless correct in saying that a ,jewish commentary on the ,new ,testament is needed at the present time4#afi ,living in a ,christian environment1 we imbibe a culture in which many ,christian ideas and sentiments are inwoven1 and it is therefore necessary for us to know their source1 so as to be able to distinguish between them and the universal elements of culture4 ,but this ,jewish commentary must be far removed from any polemical propagandist intention on one side or the other4 ,its sole object must be to understand thoroughly the teaching of the ,gospels1 to define with scientific accuracy its character1 the foundations on which it rests1 and the differences which distinguish it from ,judaism4 ,what is needed is not the 8scientific accuracy0 of the ,christian commentators 7that spring from which ,mr4 ,montefiore drinks with such avidity71 who set out with the preconceived idea that the teaching of the ,gospels is superior to that of ,judaism1 and use their 8science0 merely to find details in support of this general belief4 ,when a writer claims to be 8scientific10 he must recognise above all that in the field of religion and morality it is impossible to set up a universal scientific criterion1 by which to measure the different teachings1 and to pronounce one superior to another4 ,in this sphere everything is relative1 and the judge brings to his task a subjective standard of his own1 determined by his temperament1 his education and his environment4 ,we ,jews1 being everywhere a minority1 are always subject to various influences1 which counteract and weaken each other2 and we1 therefore1 are possibly better able than others to understand objectively ideas which are not our own4 ,hence it was indeed right that there should be a ,jewish commentary 7not a ,jewish panegyric7 on the ,new ,testament4 ,such a commentary might perhaps have enabled ,jews of our author's stamp to recognise that it is possible to treat with seriousness and justice a religion which is strange to us1 without shutting our eyes to the gulf which separates it from ourselves4 ,i should like to dwell for a brief space on the nature of this 8gulf40 ,so large a subject needs a whole book for its full treatment2 but something1 it seems to me1 ought to be said just at this moment--and perhaps the need is not confined to ,england4 ,if the heathen of the old story1 who wished to learn the whole ,torah standing on one leg1#agj had come to me1 ,i should have told him3 8#8,thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness'--that is the whole ,torah1 and the rest is commentary40 ,the essential characteristic of ,judaism1 which distinguishes it from other religions1 is its absolute determination to make the religious and moral consciousness independent of any definite human form1 and to attach it immediately to an abstract ideal which has 8no likeness40 ,we cannot conceive ,christianity without ,jesus1 or even ,islam without ,mohammed4 ,christianity made a god of ,jesus1 but that is not the important fact4 ,even if ,jesus had remained the 8son of man10 had been only a prophet1 as ,mohammed is to the ,mussulmans1 that would not have affected the thing that really matters--the attachment of the religious and moral consciousness to the figure of a particular man1 who is regarded as the ideal of absolute perfection1 and the goal of men's vision2 to believe in whom is an essential part of a religion inconceivable without him4 ,judaism1 and ,judaism alone1 depends on no such human 8likeness40 ,god is the only idea of absolute perfection1 and ,he only must be kept always before the eye of man's inner consciousness1 in order that many may 8cleave to his attributes40 ,the best of men is not free from shortcomings and sins1 and cannot serve as an ideal for the religious sentiment1 which strives after union with the source of perfection4 ,moses died in his sin1 like any other man4 ,he was simply ,god's messenger1 charged with the giving of ,his ,law2 his image was not worked into the very fabric of the religion1 as an essential part of it4 ,thus the ,jewish teachers of a later period found nothing to shock them in the words of one who said in all simplicity3 8,ezra was worthy to be the bearer of the ,law to ,israel1 had not ,moses come before him0 7,sanhedrin1 #ba;a74 ,could it enter a ,christian mind1 let us say1 to conceive the idea that ,paul was worthy to be the bearer of the 8message10 had not ,jesus come before him8 ,and it need scarcely be said that the individual figures of the other ,prophets are not an essential part of the fabric of ,judaism4 ,of the greatest of them--,hosea1 ,amos1 ,isaiah1 and others--we do not even know who or what they were2 their personalities have vanished like a shadow1 and only their words have been preserved and handed down from generation to generation1 because they were not their words1 but 8the word of the ,lord that came unto them40 ,this applies equally to the ,messiah1 who is awaited in the future4 ,his importance lies not in himself1 but in his being the messenger of ,god for the bringing of redemption to ,israel and the world4 ,jewish teachers pay much more attention to 8the days of the ,messiah0 than to the ,messiah himself4 ,one of them even disbelieved altogether in a personal ,messiah1 and looked forward to a redemption effected by ,god ,himself without an intermediary2 and he was not therefore regarded as a heretic4 ,this characteristic of ,judaism was perhaps the principal obstacle to its wider acceptance4 ,it is difficult for men in general to find satisfaction in an abstract ideal which offers no hold to the senses2 a human figure much more readily inspires enthusiasm4 ,before the triumph of ,christianity the ,greeks and the ,romans used to accuse the ,jews of having no ,god1 because a divinity without 8any likeness0 had for them no meaning2 and when the time came for the ,god of ,israel to become also the ,god of the nations1 they still could not accept ,his sway without associating with ,him a divine ideal in human form1 so as to satisfy their need for a more concrete and nearer ideal4 ,this is not the place to discuss the origin of this distinctive preference on the part of ,israel for an abstract religious and moral ideal4 ,be the reason what it may1 the fact remains true1 and has been true these thousands of years2 and so long as ,israel undergoes no fundamental change1 and does not become something different1 it cannot be influenced on the religious side by a book like the ,gospels1 which finds the object of religious devotion and moral emulation not in the abstract ,godhead alone1 but first and foremost in a man born of woman4 ,it matters not whether he be called 8,son of ,god10 8,messiah10 or 8,prophet03 ,israel cannot accept with religious enthusiasm1 as the word of ,god1 the utterances of a man who speaks in his own name--not 8thus saith the ,lord10 but 8,i say unto you40 ,this 8,i0 is in itself sufficient to drive ,judaism away from the ,gospels for ever4 ,and when our author speaks in glowing terms of the religious and moral exaltation which spring from attachment to ,jesus as the ideal of holiness and perfection1 meaning1 as is evident from his tone1 to introduce this attachment into ,judaism 7pp4 cvii1 #baj1 #ebg71 he is simply proving that he and those who think with him are already estranged from the essential nature of ,judaism1 which does not recognise ideal holiness and perfection in man4 8,ye shall be holy1 for ,i the ,lord your ,god am holy0--that is ,judaism4 8,ye shall be holy1 because the ,messiah 7or the ,prophet7 is holy0--that is an ideal better calculated1 no doubt1 to inspire enthusiasm and exaltation among the peoples2 but it will never kindle the religious fire in ,israel unless the very last drop of true ,judaism be dried up4 ,it was not for nothing that our ancient teachers called ,god 8the holy one1 blessed be ,he03 for ,judaism absolute holiness exists only in the one ,god4 ,we have had no doubt1 at various periods1 our mystic sects1 which1 influenced consciously or unconsciously by foreign ideas1 have here turned aside more or less from the ,jewish road4 ,but the sect is only a temporary and partial phenomenon1 pointing to some internal disease which affects the national life in a given period4 ,our history shows that the end of these sects is to die out1 or to leave ,judaism4 ,sects come and sects go1 but ,judaism remains for ever4 ,this fundamental tendency of ,israel to rise clear of 8any likeness0 in its religious and moral life is evident not only in relation to the religious and moral ideal1 but also in relation to the religious and moral goal4 ,there is no need to dilate on the well-worn truth that the ,law of ,judaism sees its goal not in the 8salvation0 of the individual man1 but in the prosperity and perfection of the general body2 that is to say1 of the nation1 and1 in 8the latter end of days10 of the whole human race--a collective idea which has no defined concrete form4 ,in the most fruitful period of ,judaism1 the period of the ,prophets and 8the giving of the ,law10 it had no clear idea on the subject of the survival of the soul and reward and punishment after death4 ,all the enthusiasm of the ,prophets and their disciples was derived not from this source1 but from the conviction of their being children of 8the chosen people10 which was entrusted by ,god 7as they believed7 with the mission of embodying religion and morality1 in their highest form1 in its national life4 ,even in later times1 when the ,babylonian exile had destroyed the nation's freedom1 and the desire for individual salvation had consequently come to play a part in the religious consciousness1 the highest good of ,judaism still remained collective4 ,scholars will need no proof of this fact4 ,for those who are not scholars it will be sufficient to examine the daily and festival prayer-books1 in order to realise that only a small part of the prayers turns on the particular needs of the individual1 while most deal with the concerns of the nation and the human race in general4 ,which of these two goals is 8superior08 ,this question has already been endlessly debated2 and the truth is that we cannot here establish a scale of values4 ,a man may attain to the highest eminence in his religious and moral life1 whether he pursues this goal or that4 ,but individual salvation is certainly nearer to the hearts of most men1 and is better suited to kindle their imagination and to inspire them with the desire for moral and religious perfection4 ,if ,judaism1 as distinguished from other religions1 prefers the collective goal1 this only means that here also there makes itself felt that tendency to abstraction and to the repudiation of the human image which is peculiar to ,israel4 ,so long as this tendency remains--so long1 that is1 as our people does not lose its essential character--no true ,jew will be able to feel any great fondness for the doctrine of the ,gospels--a doctrine which rests 7despite our author's endeavours to present the matter in a more favourable light1 cf4 pp4 #baa1 #iah7 wholly and solely on the pursuit of individual salvation4 ,the tendency of ,judaism which ,i have mentioned shows itself in yet one other matter1 and this perhaps the most important--in the basis of morality4 ,it is an oft-repeated formula that ,jewish morality is based on justice1 and the morality of the ,gospels on love4 ,but it seems to me that not all those who draw this distinction fully appreciate its meaning4 ,it is usual to regard the difference only as one of degree1 the moral scale and its basis being the same in either case4 ,both doctrines1 it is supposed1 are directed against egoism2 but the ,christians hold that their religion has reached a higher stage1 while the ,jews refuse to admit their claim4 ,thus the ,christian commentators point proudly to the positive principle of the ,gospels3 8,whatsoever ye would that men should do to you1 do ye even so unto them0 7,matt1 vii4 #ab2 ,luke vi4 #ca71 and thereby disparage ,judaism1 which has only the negative principle of ,hillel3 8,what is hateful to thyself do not unto thy neighbour40 ,mr4 ,montefiore debates the matter1 and cannot make up his mind whether the positive principle really embraces more in its intention than the negative1 or whether ,hillel and ,jesus meant the same thing4 ,but of this at least he is certain1 that if ,hillel's saying were suddenly discovered somewhere in a positive form1 the ,jews would be 8rather pleased10 and the ,christians would be 8rather sorry0 7p4 #eej74 ,but if we look deeper1 we shall find that the difference between the two doctrines on this point is not one of less or more1 but that there is a fundamental difference between their views as to the basis of morality4 ,it was not by accident that ,hillel put his principle in negative form2 the truth is that the moral basis of ,judaism will not bear the positive principle4 ,if the positive saying were to be found somewhere attributed to ,hillel1 we should not be able to rejoice2 we should have to impugn the genuineness of a 8discovery0 which put into ,hillel's mouth a saying opposed to the spirit of ,judaism4 ,the root of the distinction lies here also1 as ,i have said1 in the love of ,judaism for abstract principles4 ,the moral law of the ,gospels beholds man in his individual shape1 with his natural attitude towards himself and others1 and asks him to reverse this attitude1 to substitute the 8other0 for the 8self0 in his individual life1 to abandon plain egoism for inverted egoism4 ,for in truth the altruism of the ,gospels is neither more nor less than inverted egoism4 ,altruism and egoism alike deny the individual as such all objective moral value1 and make him merely a means to a subjective end2 but egoism makes the 8other0 a means to the advantage of the 8self10 while altruism does just the reverse4 ,now ,judaism removed this subjective attitude from the moral law1 and based it on an abstract1 objective foundation1 on absolute justice1 which regards the individual as such as having a moral value1 and makes no distinction between the 8self0 and the 8other40 ,according to this view1 it is the sense of justice in the human heart that is the supreme judge of a man's own actions and of those of other men4 ,this sense must be made independent of individual relations1 as though it were some separate abstract being2 and before it all men1 including the self1 must be equal4 ,all men1 including the self1 must develop their lives and their faculties to the utmost possible extent1 and at the same time each must help his neighbour to attain that goal1 so far as he is able4 ,just as ,i have no right to ruin another man's life for the sake of my own1 so ,i have no right to ruin my own life for the sake of another's4 ,both of us are men1 and both our lives have the same value before the throne of justice4 ,i know no better illustration of this point of view than the following well-known ,b'raitha3 8,imagine two men journeying through the desert1 only one of whom has a bottle of water4 ,if both of them drink1 they must both die2 if one of them only drinks1 he will reach safety4 ,ben ,p'tura held that it was better that both should drink and die1 than that one should witness the death of his comrade4 ,but ,akiba refuted this view by citing the scriptural verse1 #8and thy brother shall live with thee4' ,with thee--that is to say1 thine own life comes before thy neighbour's0 7,baba ,m'zia1 #fb;a74 ,we do not know who ,ben ,p'tura was1 but we do know ,r4 ,akiba1 and we may be sure that through him the spirit of ,judaism speaks4 ,ben ,p'tura1 the altruist1 does not value human life for its own sake2 for him it is better that two lives should perish1 where death demands but one as his toll1 so long as the altruistic sentiment prevails4 ,but ,jewish morality regards the question from an objective standpoint4 ,every action that leads to loss of life is evil1 even though it springs from the purest feelings of love and mercy1 and even if the sufferer is himself the agent4 ,in the case before us1 where it is possible to save one of the two souls1 it is a moral duty to overcome the feeling of mercy1 and to save4 ,but to save whom8 ,justice answers--let him who can save himself4 ,every man's life is entrusted to his keeping1 and to preserve your own charge is a nearer duty than to preserve your neighbour's4 ,but when one came to ,raba1 and asked him what he should do when one in authority threatened to kill him unless he would kill another man1 ,raba answered him3 8,be killed1 and kill not4 ,who hath told thee that thy blood is redder than his8 ,perhaps his blood is redder0 7,p'sachim1 #be;b74 ,and ,rashi1 whose 8sense of ,judaism0 generally reveals to him the hidden depths of meaning1 correctly understands the meaning here also1 and explains thus3 8,the question only arises because thou knowest that no religious law is binding in the face of danger to life1 and thinkest that in this case also the prohibition of murder ceases to be binding because thine own life is in danger4 ,but this transgression is unlike others4 ,for do what thou wilt1 there must here be a life lost4444 ,who can tell thee that thy life is more precious in the sight of ,god than his8 ,perhaps his is more precious40 ,if a man brought a question like this to a ,christian priest1 the priest would certainly begin to expatiate in glowing terms on the duty of a man to sacrifice his life for another1 to 8bear his cross0 in the footsteps of his 8,messiah10 so that he might win the kingdom of heaven--and so forth4 ,but the ,jewish teacher weighs the question in the scales of objective justice3 8,seeing that in either case a life must be lost1 and there is none to say which of the two lives is more precious in ,god's sight1 therefore your own danger does not entitle you to break the sixth commandment4 ,be killed2 kill you must not60 ,but suppose the case reversed2 suppose the question to be 8,another is going to be killed1 and ,i can save him by giving my life instead of his1 what shall ,i do80 ,then ,raba would have replied3 8,let such a one be killed1 and do not destroy thyself4 ,for do what thou wilt there must here be a life lost2 and who hath told thee that his blood is redder than thine8 ,perhaps thine own is redder40 ,from the standpoint of ,judaism every man's blood is as red as any other's1 every soul is 8precious in the sight of ,god10 be it mine or another's1 therefore no man is at liberty to treat his life as his own property2 no man has a right to say3 8,i am endangering myself2 what right have others to complain of that80 7,maimonides' ,code1 ,laws of ,murder1 ,,xi4 #e74 ,the history of ,judaism can tell1 indeed1 of many acts of self-sacrifice1 the memory of which will remain precious and holy for all time4 ,but these are not cases of one life given for the preservation of another similar life1 they are sacrifices of human life for 8the sanctification of the ,name0 7the religious ideal7 or for 8the good of the community0 7the religious goal74 ,and justice demands that we rise above sentiment not only in deciding as between the self and another1 but also in deciding as between two other persons4 ,forty years ago ,abraham ,geiger--the man in whom our latter-day 8,reformers0 see their spiritual father--pointed out that the ,jewish commandment 8,neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause0 reveals a morality of unparalleled loftiness4#aga ,all other moral codes warn us only against favouring the persons of the rich and the powerful2 and the ,gospels1 as is well known1 favour the persons of the poor1 and have much to say of their merits and their future greatness4 ,all this is very well from the point of view of the heart2 but a morality based on justice rises above sentiment1 and teaches that it is our duty to help the poor man if we are able1 but that mercy must not induce us so far to sin against justice as to favour the poor man in his suit4 ,herbert ,spencer anticipates1 as the highest possible development of morality1 the transformation of the altruistic sentiment into a natural instinct1 so that at last men will be able to find no greater pleasure than in working for the good of others4 ,similarly ,judaism1 in conformity with its own way of thought1 anticipates the development of morality to a point at which justice will become an instinct with good men1 so that they will not need long reflection to enable them to decide between different courses of action according to the standard of absolute justice1 but will feel as in a flash1 and with the certainty of instinct1 even the slightest deviation from the straight line4 ,human relations and social grades will not affect them in the least1 because the 8true judge0 within them will pronounce justly on each deed1 swayed by no human relation to the doer or the sufferer1 considering not whether this one or that is the self or another1 is rich or poor4 ,and since ,judaism associated its moral aspirations with the 8coming of the ,messiah10 it attributed to the ,messiah this perfection of morality1 and said that 8he will smell and judge0 7,sanhedrin1 #ic;b71 on the basis of the scriptural verse3 8,and shall make him of quick understanding ,heb4 8smell0 in the fear of the ,lord2 and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes40 8,because the smell is a very delicate sense1 he gives the name of smell to the most delicate feeling 444 that is to say1 the ,messiah with little attention will feel which men are good1 and which evil0 7,isa4 xi4 #c1 with ,kimchi's commentary74 ,but this development lies far ahead in the hidden future4 ,at present the human race still lacks the instinctive 8sense of justice10 and even the best men are apt to be blinded by self-love or prejudice1 so as to be unable to distinguish between good and evil4 ,at present1 therefore1 we all need some touchstone1 some fundamental principle1 to help each of us to avoid weighting the scales of justice to suit his own ends or satisfy his personal inclinations4 ,such a principle ,hillel gave us3 8,what is hateful to thyself do not unto thy neighbour40 ,altruism teaches3 8,what thou desirest that others should do unto thee1 that do thou unto them40 ,in other words3 take the circle of egoism1 and put in its centre1 instead of the 8self10 the 8other02 then you will know your whole duty4 ,but ,judaism cannot find satisfaction in this substitution1 because it demands that justice shall be placed at the centre of the circle--justice1 which makes no distinction between 8self0 and 8other40 ,now in the circle of egoism there is no place for justice except in a negative form4 ,what egoism does not wish for itself--that1 certainly it will be just not to do to another4 ,but what egoism does wish for itself is something which has no limits2 and if you oblige a man to do this to others1 you are inclining the scales of justice to the side of the 8other0 as against the 8self40 ,even that 8great principle in the ,law0 7as ,r4 ,akiba called it71 8thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself10 though in form it appears to be positive1 is in reality1 if rightly understood1 negative4 ,if the ,torah had meant that a man must love his neighbour to the extent of sacrificing his life for him1 it would have said3 8,thou shalt love thy neighbour more than thyself40 ,but when you love your neighbour as yourself1 neither more nor less1 then your feelings are in a state of perfect equilibrium1 with no leaning either to your side or to your neighbour's4 ,and this is1 in fact1 the true meaning of the verse4 8,self-love must not be allowed to incline the scale on the side of your own advantage2 love your neighbour as yourself1 and then inevitably justice will be the deciding factor1 and you will do nothing to your neighbour that you would consider a wrong if it were done to yourself40 ,for proof that this is the real meaning we have only to look further in the same passage of ,leviticus1 where we find3 8,and if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land1 ye shall not vex him4 ,but the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you1 and thou shalt love him as thyself 7,lev4 xix4 #cc1 #cd74 ,here it is evident that to love the stranger 8as thyself0 means to carry out the negative precept 8ye shall not vex him02 and if the stranger is expressly placed on the same footing as the native1 this shows that in relation to the native also the intention is only that self-love must not prove a stronger motive than justice4 ,but in the ,gospels the commandment 8,thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself0 receives an altruistic sense3 it means that your own life is less important than your neighbour's4 ,hence it is possible to find some small justification for the habit which ,christians have of attributing this verse to the ,gospels1 as though it appeared there1 and not in the ,mosaic ,law1 for the first time4 ,it is true that the meaning which they put on the verse belongs not to our ,law1 but to the ,gospels4#agb ,but it must be remembered that in addition to the relation of individual to individual1 there is another and more important moral relation--that of nation to nation4 ,here also some 8great principle0 is needed to keep within bounds that national egoism which is fraught1 perhaps1 with even greater danger to the collective progress of humanity than individual egoism4 ,if we look at the difference between ,judaism and ,christianity1 in regard to the basis of morality1 from this point of view1 we shall see at once that the altruism of the ,gospels is in no way suited to serve as a basis for international relations4 ,a nation can never believe that its moral duty lies in self-abasement1 and in the renunciation of its rights for the benefit of other nations4 ,on the contrary1 every nation feels and knows that its moral duty is to keep its position and use its powers as a means of creating for itself satisfactory conditions of life1 in which it can develop its potentialities to the utmost4 ,since1 then1 ,christian nations could not base their relations one with another on the moral basis of their religion1 national egoism inevitably remained the sole determining force in international politics1 and 8patriotism10 in the ,bismarckian sense1 attained the dignity of the ultimate moral basis4 ,but the ,jewish law of justice is not confined within the narrow sphere of individual relations4 ,in its ,jewish sense the precept1 8,thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself10 can be carried out by a whole nation in its dealings with other nations4 ,for this precept does not oblige a nation to sacrifice1 for the benefit of other nations1 its life or its position4 ,it is1 on the contrary1 the duty of every nation1 as of the individual human being1 to live and to develop to the utmost extent of its powers2 but at the same time it must recognise the right of other nations to fulfil the like duty without let or hindrance1 and 8patriotism0--that is1 national egoism--must not induce it to disregard justice1 and to fulfil itself through the destruction of other nations4#agc ,hence ,judaism was able thousands of years ago to rise to the lofty ideal expressed in the words1 8,nation shall not lift up sword against nation40 ,this ideal is1 in fact1 only an inevitable logical consequence of the idea of absolute justice1 which lies at the foundation of ,judaism4 ,many pages might be filled with the further development of these general ideas2 and as many more might without difficulty be given to an exposition of the differences between the two doctrines in points of detail1 in such a way as to show that the detailed differences are but the outcome of the broad and fundamental difference between ,judaism and ,christianity1 and that all the compromises and concessions whereby ,mr4 ,montefiore tries to make peace between the two creeds have no real value1 either theoretical or practical4 ,but it is not my purpose here to write a book1 and ,i will content myself1 so far as general principles are concerned1 with the brief hints above set forth4 ,as for details1 ,i will touch here on only one point1 to which our author himself attaches more than ordinary importance1 and will leave the reader to draw his own conclusions as to the rest4 ,the ,gospels1 unlike ,judaism1 forbid divorce1 either absolutely1 as in the version of ,mark 7x4 #b-ab71 or with an exception in the case of unfaithfulness1 as in the version of ,matthew 7xix4 #c-ab74 ,at the present time1 when all ,christian nations are struggling with the prohibition of divorce1 which came to them from the ,gospels1 and are trying to annul it or restrict its operation within narrow limits1 it may be taken as fairly evident that the recognition of divorce1 even on other grounds than unfaithfulness1 is demanded by the conscience of society4 ,nor is it surprising that ,judaism1 with its essentially social aim1 has been true to its general spirit in its attitude on this question1 and has decided1 with the school of ,hillel1 that divorce is permissible not alone on the ground of unfaithfulness1 but also when there is from other causes a rupture of the bond of sympathy between man and wife4 ,the important thing here is not the cause1 but the effect--the rupture within the home1 which must lower the moral tone of the life of the family1 and interfere with the proper upbringing of the children4 ,long experience has taught ,judaism that there is no reason to go back on this decision4 ,even the enemies of ,israel cannot deny that ,jewish family life has reached a high level of morality2 and a result like this does not come about by a miracle1 in the teeth of the national code of law1 least of all in the case of the ,jews1 whose life has always been so profoundly influenced by the prescriptions of the ,torah4#agd ,it must indeed be admitted that at first only the husband had the right of divorce1 and no wife could divorce her husband4 ,in conformity with the primitive view 7a view still widely accepted all over the world7 that man alone is important1 and woman is but 8an help meet for him10 it was demanded above all things of the husband that his position in the home should correspond to his moral obligations as the father of the family1 and that he should not be compelled by law to live with a woman who was distasteful to him1 and to become the father of 8children of a hated wife40 ,but when once it came to be recognised that married life cannot tolerate constraint1 this recognition1 limited at first to the side of the husband1 was bound to be gradually extended to the wife4 ,hence arose the provisions under which a man may be compelled to divorce his wife 7,k'thuboth1 ch4 vii74 ,these provisions enabled the wife to obtain a divorce against the husband's will1 by decree of the courts1 on many and various grounds4 ,thus it is impossible to assert that ,judaism does not allow a woman to divorce her husband4 ,in the cases just mentioned it is1 in fact1 the wife who divorces1 though the bill of divorcement is technically given by the husband4 ,what matters is not who performs the legal action1 but whose wish it is that brings about the divorce4 ,this tendency to emancipate the wife reached its highest development in the dictum of ,maimonides1 that if a woman says 8,my husband is distasteful to me1 and ,i cannot live with him10 although she gives no specific reason for her dislike1 the husband is yet compelled to divorce her1 8because she is not like a captive woman1 that she should consort with a man whom she hates0 7,laws of ,marriage1 xiv4 #h74 ,here we see the ,jewish attitude to marriage in its full development4 ,marriage is a social and moral cord1 the two ends of which are in the hearts of husband and wife2 and if the cord is broken at either end--whether in the husband's heart or in the wife's--the marriage has lost its value1 and it is best that it should be annulled4 ,it is true that the jurists who came after ,maimonides could not rise to the conception of so perfect an equality of the sexes1 and did not wholly accept his dictum4 ,but the mere fact that the greatest authority deduced this decision from the ,talmud 7and the ,talmud1 in fact1 affords ground for his view--see ,maggid ,mishnah ad loc47 is proof conclusive as to the real tendency of the ,jewish law of divorce1 and shows whither it leads in the straight line of development4 ,but the ,new ,testament view of marriage and divorce reveals a very different tendency 7,matthew and ,mark1 locc4 citt42 ,paul1 ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians1 vii474 ,as in all the teaching of the ,gospels1 so here the important thing is individual salvation4 ,for the sake of his individual salvation it is better that a man should not marry at all1 but should 8suffer10 and be 8a eunuch for the kingdom of heaven's sake40 ,but he who has not strength to suffer may enter into the covenant of marriage with a woman2 only this covenant1 too1 is an individual matter1 based on religious mysteries1 not a social and moral act1 and therefore it can never be annulled1 even if it results in injury to the life of society4 8,he which made them at the beginning made them male and female and said 444 they twain shall be one flesh4 ,wherefore they are no more twain1 but one flesh4 ,what therefore ,god hath joined together1 let not man put asunder40 ,from this standpoint it is immaterial whether there is love or hatred between the couple1 whether their union is or is not a good thing for the life of the family and of society4 ,all this does not affect the real point3 ,god has united them1 and how shall man dare to separate them8#age ,the ,catholic ,church1 correctly understanding the ,gospel teaching1 has built countless houses of refuge for celibates of both sexes1 and has forbidden divorce absolutely1 without regard to all the evil results of this prohibition in the embitterment of the life of families and the moral corruption of thousands of men and women4 ,other ,christian ,churches have stopped short of this extreme1 but have still been unable to free themselves from the ,gospel standpoint1 so that until recently they have tried to restrict and render ineffective the recognition of divorce4 ,but now at last all ,christian nations are beginning to see that this standpoint is not productive of good to the world1 and are approaching nearer to the ,jewish view4#agf ,but ,christian theologians1 in commenting on the ,gospels1 cannot give up that great principle of theirs1 that the ,gospel teaching is always based on a higher morality than that of ,judaism4 ,and in this case1 too1 they have found a way--rather far-fetched1 it is true--of establishing the truth of their principle4 ,in forbidding divorce1 they say1 ,jesus only meant to protest against the injustice of ,judaism to the wife1 who could be divorced but could not divorce4 ,he therefore took the right of divorce away from the husband1 so that he should have no advantage over the wife4 ,here1 then1 is moral 8progress10 a battle on woman's behalf against the oriental barbarism of the ,jews1 and so forth4 ,we might perhaps point out that there was a more sensible way of bestowing equality on the wife1 if that was ,jesus' object--to wit1 by giving the wife also the right of divorce4 ,and we might ask1 further1 how it is that ,matthew1 who allows the husband to divorce his wife for her unfaithfulness1 never hints at any right on the part of the wife to demand a divorce from the husband on the ground of his unfaithfulness4#agg ,where1 in fact1 is the vaunted assertion of the wife's rights8 ,the commentators vouchsafe no answer to these plain and simple questions4 ,but1 indeed1 there is no need of much questioning4 ,it must be perfectly clear to all who read these passages in the ,gospels without pre-conceived ideas that ,jesus1 in prohibiting divorce1 had not the remotest notion of fighting the wife's battle4 ,the plea is from beginning to end a theological invention1 designed to bolster up the theory4 ,let us now see what our ,jewish commentator has to say on this subject 7pp4 #bce-db1 #ejh-aj1 #fhh-ib74 ,whoever has not the leisure or the inclination to read the whole eleven hundred pages of ,mr4 ,montefiore's book will find it sufficient to read the pages given to this question1 in order to obtain an adequate idea of the real spirit which prevails among our author's following4 ,as he repeatedly pours out the vials of his wrath in harsh and crude denunciations of the ,jewish law of divorce1 his tone is that of a monk just emerging1 ,gospel in hand1 from his retreat1 who has no desire to know anything whatever as to the views which prevail at the present day in the world around him4 ,it is 8to his eternal dishonour0 that ,hillel allowed divorce on other grounds than that of unchastity2 it is 8most unfortunate0 for the ,rabbinic law that it endorsed his decision4 ,but 8the unerring ethical instinct of ,jesus led him to put his finger upon the weak spots and sore places of the established religion10 and 8of all such weak spots and sore places this was the weakest and the sorest40 ,hence 8in no other point was the opposition of ,jesus to the ,rabbinic law of profounder significance0 7p4 #bce74 ,in this strain our author continues1 with a varied selection of choice phrases4 ,nor does he forget to adopt from the ,christian commentators the theory that the ,gospels were fighting the wife's battle2 he repeats it several times1 here also in a tone of harsh condemnation of ,judaism and grateful praise of ,jesus 7p4 #bdj and elsewhere74 ,it does not occur to him that the ,christian commentators were driven to invent this theory because they saw that from the standpoint of our own age the prohibition of divorce is not in itself a sign of moral progress4 ,but if the recognition of divorce on other grounds than that of unfaithfulness is 8an eternal dishonour10 then of course there is no need to invent this plea of a battle for the wife's rights1 the mere prohibition being sufficient proof of 8progress40 ,nay1 there seems to be more lost than gained by this 8battle10 for if that was really the intention of the prohibition of divorce1 then the prohibition must of necessity be absolute 7to the exclusion even of the ground of unfaithfulness71 since otherwise we are at a loss to understand why the wife1 too1 was not permitted to obtain a divorce on that ground4 ,but our author himself admits that the prohibition of divorce in case of unfaithfulness had very evil results 7p4 #bdb74 ,where1 then1 is the 8unerring ethical instinct08 ,there are other similar difficulties1 and even plain inconsistencies1 to be found in our author's treatment of this subject4 ,but we have already dwelt on it at sufficient length4 ,whoever reads all the related passages in the book will be satisfied that there is here neither logic nor 8science10 nor true1 unbiassed judgment1 but such partiality to ,jesus and the ,gospels as the most pious ,christian might envy4 ,it may be worth while1 by way of completing the picture1 to add just one further point4 ,when our author reaches the end of the passage in ,matthew1 where the 8eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake0 are extolled1 he finds himself in some perplexity 7pp4 #fij1 #fia74 ,clearly1 his moral sense is revolted4 ,but how gentle is his language6 ,you will find nothing here about 8eternal dishonour0 or the like4 ,he lowers his voice in submissive reverence1 and tries to find excuses for the ,gospel1 so that you cannot recognise in him that 8higher tribunal0 which condemned without mercy what he thought the 8weak spot0 in the law of his ancestors4 ,true1 this fact demands no comment2 but ,i am reminded of the author's anticipation 7,introduction1 p4 xix7 that ,christian critics would find him too ,jewish1 and ,jewish critics too ,christian1 and ,i merely wish to remark that this difference of attitude will stamp him1 even in the eyes of ,jewish critics1 as1 in one respect at least1 too much of a ,jew4 ,after what has been said above1 it may perhaps appear to many that it was not worth while to give so much attention to such a book1 and possibly from the point of view of scholarship and literature they are right4 ,but1 as ,i have already hinted1 the book deserves special attention as a revelation of the psychology of a certain section of ,jews4 ,it shows us a new kind of ,jew1 hitherto unknown to history1 who has lost every trace of the mighty sorrow which his ancestors felt for the exile of the nation and the exile of the ,shechinah1#agh and who yet has a sorrow of his own--the sorrow of a meaningless isolation4 ,he sees that the world has gone its own way1 leaving the ,jews alone with their ,torah4 ,this isolation is not unbearable so long as the ,jew understands or feels that it is necessary to the preservation of his sacred ideals2 but the real need for it can certainly not be felt by those ,jews who think that the difference between themselves and their neighbours is 8external and artificial10 and for whom ,judaism is nothing but a dear inheritance1 which must be preserved out of respect for their fathers4 ,hence they seek in various ways to escape from their isolation4 ,thirteen years ago they believed that they could attain their object by basing ,judaism on certain universal beliefs of the ,theists4 ,now they recognise that this is not enough2 they go a step further1 and tack on ,jesus and the ,gospels4 ,this development appears clearly from many passages in the book under notice1 of which ,i will quote here one of the most explicit3 8,dogmatic ,christianity in the course of centuries may disappear2 ,trinitarianism may be succeeded by ,unitarianism2 but the words of ,jesus will still continue to move and cheer the heart of man4 ,if ,judaism does not1 as it were1 come to terms with the ,gospels1 it must always be1 ,i am inclined to think1 a creed in a corner1 of little influence and with no expansive power4 ,orthodox ,jews would1 ,i suppose1 say that they want no more4 ,liberal ,jews should be less easily satisfied0 7p4 #ijf74 ,we can certainly understand the state of mind of these ,jews2 but they themselves ought also to understand it aright4 ,they would then see that their state of mind has no relation to the question of 8orthodox0 and 8liberal0 ,judaism in the usual sense of the words4 ,a ,jew may be a liberal of liberals1 without forgetting that ,judaism was born 8in a corner0 and has always lived 8in a corner10 apart from the great world1 which has never understood it1 and therefore hates it4 ,such was the lot of ,judaism before the rise of ,christianity1 and such it has remained since4 ,history has not yet satisfactorily explained how it came about that a tiny nation in a corner of ,asia produced a unique religious and moral point of view1 which has had so profound an influence on the rest of the world1 and has yet remained so foreign to the rest of the world1 unable to this day either to conquer it or to surrender to it4 ,this is a historical phenomenon to which1 despite a multitude of attempted answers1 we must still attach a note of interrogation4 ,but every true ,jew1 be he 8orthodox0 or 8liberal10 feels deep down in his being that there is something in the spirit of our people--though we know not what it is--that kept it from the high-road taken by other nations1 and impelled it to build up ,judaism on those foundations for the sake of which the people remains to this day confined 8in a corner0 with its religion1 being incapable of renouncing them4 ,let them who still have this feeling remain within the fold2 let them who have lost it go elsewhere4 ,there is no room here for compromise4 ,footnote #afg3 ,jewish ,quarterly ,review1 ,january1 #ahig1 p4 #ahg4 ,footnote #afh3 ,notes of this kind are found right through the book 7see e4g4 pp4 #dih-ejc1 #fia-c1 and many other places72 and it is unfair of some ,jewish critics to have passed over this fact in silence1 and to have described the book as though it were throughout simply an attack on ,judaism4 ,footnote #afi3 ,introduction1 pp4 xvii4 xviii4 ci4 ,footnote #agj3 ,the story is that a heathen made this demand of ,hillel1 whose reply was3 8,what is hateful to thyself do not unto thy neighbour--that is the whole ,torah1 and the rest is commentary3 go thou and fulfil it40 ,footnote #aga3 ,das ,judentum und seine ,geschichte 7#bnd edition71 p4 #bf4 ,footnote #agb3 ,john ,stuart ,mill writes3 8,in justice to the great ,hebrew lawgiver1 it should always be remembered that the precept to love thy neighbour as thyself already existed in the ,pentateuch2 and very surprising it is to find it there0 7,three ,essays on ,religion1 #bnd edition1 p4 #ih74 ,had ,mill understood the precept in its original sense1 he would certainly not have been surprised to find it in the ,mosaic ,law4 ,but even so logical a thinker could not free himself from the influences of his education and his environment1 and he did not see that a meaning had been read into this verse which was opposed to its literal sense4 ,footnote #agc3 ,the ,russian philosopher ,vladimir ,solovioff was the first1 if ,i am not mistaken1 to attempt to find a moral basis for international relations in the precept 8,thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself10 taken in the sense mentioned above4 ,this philosopher was an untiring student of ,judaism1 for which he had an appreciation unusual among ,christians--a fact not without its significance4 ,footnote #agd3 ,mr4 ,montefiore1 indeed1 does not admit this4 ,in his opinion the morality of ,jewish family life is a fact not because of the laws1 but in spite of them4 ,if you ask how such a thing is possible1 he replies somewhat as follows3 ,it has already been remarked that ,judaism does not obey the laws of cause and effect1 and we sometimes see a certain tendency in ,jewish life which ought logically to have certain effects1 but has in practice just the opposite results 7p4 #cce74 ,truly an easy and comfortable 8philosophy of history06 ,footnote #age3 ,even ,matthew1 who permits divorce on the ground of unfaithfulness1 makes this exception 7as some ,christian commentators have pointed out7 only because the sanctity of the marriage is profaned by the sin1 and the divine union is annulled of itself4 ,the point of view is essentially the same in both versions4 ,footnote #agf3 ,in ,england the question has become so acute that the ,government has appointed a ,commission to find means of making divorce easier4 ,men of knowledge and experience1 in evidence before the ,commission1 have expressed the opinion that the restriction of the possibility of divorce has very evil results4 ,footnote #agg3 ,in ,england the law to-day is still in the spirit of ,matthew2 the wife's unfaithfulness is sufficient ground of divorce for the husband1 but the reverse does not hold good4 ,footnote #agh3 ,divine ,presence4 ,see p4 #ig4 ,,index ,abstract ideal--a characteristic of ,jewish religious and moral outlook1 #bcj sqq41 #bce sq4 ,achad ,ha-,am1 vii1 viii1 xii1 xxii ,agrarian ,credit ,bank1 #ach sq41 #add ,akiba1 ,r41 #bcg1 #bda4 ,alliance ,isralite ,universelle1 #df 7footnote7 ,altruism inverted egoism1 #bcf1 #bdj-c ,anti-,semitism1 #db sq41 #fa sqq41 #fg sqq41 #ha1 #acd sq41 #bbc ,arabs1 xx1 #add1 #adg ---- ,national characteristics of1 #bj ,assimilation1 #be1 #ej1 #ed1 #fd1 #ig1 #ajf sqq41 #bbc ,assimilationists1 #hb ,auto-,emancipation1 viii1 #eg2 analysed1 #fa-hj2 compared with ,der ,judenstaat1 #ha-hc ,balfour ,declaration1 xii sqq4 8,baron10 ,the--,see 8,rothschild0 ,basle ,programme1 #acc1 #adc1 #aed1 #aeh ,bezalel 7,school of ,arts and ,crafts71 #afj ,british ,government and ,zionism1 xiv sqq4 7,see also 8,uganda07 8,capturing labour10 #adf1 #adi1 #aeb ,centre1 spiritual1 #abj-abi 7,see also 8,palestine07 ,chalukah1 #c1 #d ,charter1 xi1 #eg1 #hd ,chibbath ,zion1 viii sq41 #ae1 #be1 #cb sq41 #da sq41 #dd 7footnote71 #de1 #dh1 #ed1 #ef1 #hi 7footnote71 #id ,chovev ,zion1 viii sqq41 #ae sqq41 #bi1 #db1 #eb1 #ee sqq41 #hd1 #ig sq41 #aaa 7footnote71 #abd1 #acd ,christianity1 #bbd sqq4 ---- and ,judaism1 #bbi sqq4 ,chwolson quoted1 #bc ,collectivism1 ,jewish1 #h1 #ahj1 #bcc sq41 #bci ,colonies1 ,palestinian1 ix1 #b1 #ad1 #ai1 #cf1 #eh1 #ada-aec1 #aee-g ,colonisation of ,palestine1 ix1 xi1 #b1 #ac1 #ah1 #bi1 #ch1 #dd 7footnote71 #acj sqq41 #ach sqq4 ,congress1 ,zionist3 #ast1 x1 #be sqq41 #cb sqq41 #ce1 #ch1 #dh sqq41 #abd1 #acj ---- #gth1 #aja ---- #ajth1 #acj sqq4 ,culture1 ,jewish national1 #de1 #dg sqq41 #ia1 #aeg-afj ,democracy1 #ih 8,demonopathy10 #fc ,diaspora1 xiv1 #ci1 #dd1 #he1 #aja1 #aaa1 #abc sq41 #aee sq41 #afj1 #afb ,die ,welt 7,zionist organ71 #cc 7footnote71 #ej1 #ec ,diplomacy1 #bh1 #ca1 #ii ,divorce1 ,jewish and ,christian attitude to1 #bdd-i ,egoism1 #aa ---- attitude of ,judaism and of ,christianity to1 #bce1 #bdj-c ,emancipation1 viii1 #dc1 #ej1 #ff sq41 #ajg ,english ,jewry1 #bbc sqq4 ,english ,jews1 #gh galuth1 viii sq41 xx1 #dd1 #ge1 #ib1 #ie ---- twofold character of1 #if sq41 #ii1 #aja1 #ajd1 #aaj1 #abc sq4 ,geiger1 ,abraham1 #bci ,ghetto1 exodus of ,judaism from1 #dc 8,golden ,rule10 positive and negative forms of1 #bce sq4 ,gospels1 #bbf sqq41 #bcd sqq41 #bdb sqq41 #bdg sqq4 ,hebrew education in ,palestine1 #aeg-i ,hebrew language1 x1 #cc1 #ia sqq41 #aaj1 #acf 7footnote71 #aee-f1 #aeh sq41 #bah sq4 ,hebrew literature1 #ia sq41 #aab sq4 ,hebrew type of life in ,palestine1 #aee sq41 #aeh ,herzl1 ,dr4 ,theodor1 x sqq41 #cc1 #ch1 #ci1 #dh1 #ec1 #eg1 #ei1 #gd1 #gg sqq41 #hh sq4 ,hilfsverein der deutschen ,juden1 #df 7footnote71 #aei ,hillel1 #bbi 7footnote71 #bce1 #bdj1 #bde1 #bdi ,ideas1 new--conditions necessary for their success1 #e sqq4 ---- misunderstanding of1 due to psychological causes1 #abj sq4 ---- process of development of1 #a1 #ib sq41 #aab ,impudence1 #aad sqq4 ,individualism1 ,christian1 #bcd ---- ,jewish1 #i sqq41 #ag1 #bb 8,ingathering of the ,exiles10 #ch1 #ha1 #if1 #aaa ,jesus1 #bbf1 #bcj1 #bdh sqq4 ,jewish ,chronicle1 #acf 7footnote7 ,jewish ,colonisation ,association1 #aea 8,jewish problem10 x1 #be1 #cd sqq41 #fa sqq4 ---- moral aspect of1 #ce1 #dj sqq41 #fi1 #gc sqq41 #ha1 #abd1 #afd ,jewish ,quarterly ,review1 quotation from1 #bbe 8,jewish ,state10 x1 xx1 #bf sqq41 #ce sqq41 #de sqq41 #ed1 #fb1 #gj sqq41 #gh1 #hb sq41 #he1 #acc ,jewish ,territorial ,organisation1 xii1 #aja 7footnote7 ,jochanan ben ,zakkai1 ,r41 #de ,judaism and political ,zionism1 #de sqq41 #dh ---- and the ideal of internationalism1 #bdb sqq4 ----1 problem of1 #db sqq41 #fa ---- spirit of1 #dd1 #bbd1 #bbi sqq4 ,judaism and ,christianity1 #bbd1 #bbi sqq4 ,judenstaat1 ,der1 x1 #eg1 #gd1 #gg sqq41 #ha sqq41 #he1 #hi ,justice1 basis of ,jewish morality1 #bcd sqq4 ---- in international relations1 #bdc-d ,kimchi quoted1 #bdj ,labour problem in ,palestine1 #adf-aeb ,law of ,moses1 #h1 #aa1 #bb1 #aha sqq41 #bdb 8,liberal0 ,judaism1 #beb sq4 ,lilienblum1 ,moses ,leib1 #cd1 #dg ,love1 basis of morality of ,gospels1 #bcd sqq4 ,luzzatto1 ,s4 ,d41 his criticisms of ,maimonides1 #baj1 #bah 7footnote7 ,maimonides quoted1 #bch1 #bdf ---- his commanding place in ,jewish thought1 #afb-c ---- his philosophical system1 #afd-aha ---- his attitude to revealed religion1 #aha-aid ---- supremacy of ,reason in his system1 #aid-bjb1 #bji-baa ---- his principal works1 #bjc-bjg ---- his 8heresy10 #bjh-i ---- his attitude to the national sentiment1 #bab-bbb ---- his attitude to the ,hebrew language1 #bah-i ,may ,laws1 viii sq4 ,messiah1 xxii1 #bg1 #cb1 #aad sqq41 #aec ---- in ,maimonides' system1 #bae sqq41 #bca sq4 ,messianic ,age1 #aj1 #fb ,messianism1 xi sq41 #aag sqq4 ,mill1 ,john ,stuart1 quoted1 #bdb 7footnote7 8,mission0 of ,israel1 #ge sq4 ,montefiore1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,g41 #bbg sqq4 #bcd1 #bdd1 #bde 7footnote71 #bdi sqq4 ,moses1 #gg1 #he1 #bcj 7,see also 8,law of ,moses07 ,national characteristics1 #bj sqq4 ---- consciousness1 #gd1 #gf1 #hd ---- idea1 #a sqq41 #ag ---- sentiment1 ix sq41 #c1 #h sqq41 #ae1 #ah1 #ba sqq41 #bab sqq4 ---- spirit1 #ib1 #ig1 #aja sq41 #ajf sqq41 #aac1 #acf1 #adj1 #bec 7,see also 8,culture07 ,national ,bank1 #ach ,national ,fund1 xi1 #bh1 #cg1 #hj1 #aci sq41 #adh1 #aef-g1 #afj ,national ,home1 xii1 xv sqq4 ,national rights1 #fd-e 7footnote7 ,nationalism1 ,jewish1 birth of1 #a1 #ic ,new ,testament1 #bbf sqq41 #bdg ,nietzsche1 #ahj ,nordau1 ,dr4 ,max1 #cj1 #cd sq41 #acd ,palestine as spiritual centre of ,jewry1 #dd1 #ig1 #aja1 #aaj1 #abj-abi1 #acb1 #acf1 #aed-e1 #afj ,pentateuch 7,see 8,law of ,moses07 ,petach-,tikvah1 #aec 7footnote7 ,pinsker1 ,dr4 ,leo1 viii1 x1 #ef-ij ---- his pamphlet1 #fa-hc ---- his merits and his reputation1 #hd-ij ,pogroms1 viii sq4 8,proletarian ,zionism10 #abh sq4 ,prophets1 #bf sq41 #cj sq41 #de1 #hc1 #bca1 #bcc ,rashi quoted1 #bcg ,redemption1 xx1 #cj1 #ch1 #ajj sqq41 #acg1 #aeb sqq41 #aeg sq4 ,reform ,movement in ,judaism1 #bbc sqq4 ,religion as common bond of ,jews1 #c ---- satisfies individual needs1 ib4 ---- in ,maimonides' system1 #aha sqq41 #bbj sqq4 ,resurrection1 belief in1 #aj1 #aa ---- in ,maimonides' system1 #bae sqq4 ,revival1 #ab1 #id1 #ii1 #aji sqq41 #aef ,rishon-le-,zion1 #ah ,romanticism1 #aac ,rothschild1 ,baron ,edmond de1 ix1 #d ,self-preservation1 instinct of1 #aca sq4 ,shechinah 7,divine ,presence71 #ig1 #beb ,shekalim1 #acg ,smolenskin1 ,perez1 #hi 7footnote7 ,socialism1 #ajb1 #aje1 #aah 7footnote71 #aai1 #abh 7footnote7 ,solovioff1 ,vladimir1 #bdc 7footnote7 ,sombart1 ,w41 #ajc ,spencer1 ,herbert1 #bci 8,spiritual0 7,see 8,centre10 8,revival10 and 8,zionism07 8,spiritual proletariat10 #aje ,subliminal self1 #aba1 #abf1 #acf 8,summa ,summarum10 xiii ,synoptic ,gospels1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,g4 ,montefiore's1 #bbg sqq4 ,tel-,aviv1 #aeg 8,territorialism10 #ajj 8,the ,wrong ,way10 vii 8,thirteen ,articles10 #afc ,torah1 #bbi1 #bde 7,see also 8,law of ,moses07 8,uganda10 xi1 #ajj sq4 ,utilitarians1 #ag ,vlkerrechtlich1 #ce1 #cg1 #di1 #ec ,western ,jews1 ix sq41 #cb1 #dj sq41 #ea1 #ed ,yemenite ,jews1 #aeb 7footnote7 ,zionism1 8political10 #be1 #bg1 #cb sq41 #cg1 #ci sqq41 #de1 #dh sqq41 #eg sq41 #fj sq41 #ga sqq41 #hj1 #hf sqq41 #ii sqq41 #abf1 #acb sqq4 ---- 8practical10 #acb sq41 #ace sq4 ---- 8spiritual10 #fa1 #ajj1 #ajd1 #abf1 #abi 8,zion-,zionists0 7,zion ,zion71 xii1 #ajj sq4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores 7italics74 ,footnotes have been moved to follow the essays in which they are referenced4