To Be A Jew in the Free World. Lesson 1 Review
Introduction For most of history, external factors, such as communal cohesion and antisemitism, helped Jews accept their own identity without need for reflection. With the advent of the modern age, personal identity, including Jewish identity, seem to fall into the arena of personal choice.
For the first time in our history, we have the responsibility to identify ourselves. The recent Pew Survey of Jewish Life in America shows a picture of a Jewish people struggling with this responsibility. How do we approach our unique situation? Napoleon & Jewish Identity When Napoleon swept across Europe promising freedom and emancipation, there were conflicting opinions in the Jewish circles. Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Chabad Rebbe, felt that Napoleon's promise of freedom posed a great threat to the future of Jewish life.
His concern was that the strings attached to Napoleon's promise of freedom held conditions that would make it very difficult to maintain a Jewish identity. Those issues give us direction in the present day. Being Jewish cannot be described as merely a religious, national, or ethnic identity. Jews are a family. Jewish identity is not imposed and incidental; it is inherent and integral to a person’s spiritual makeup. One’s actions cannot affect his or her status as a Jew. Napoleon wanted the Jews to change their core identity to be Frenchmen, whose loyalties belong to France and Napoleon. French citizens who are practicing Judaism. No longer were they to be a unique nation within a nation. This is what Rabbi Schneur Zalman fought against. For as long as our primary identity is a Jew, we have the personal independence to remain loyal to our Jewish life in all circumstances. When we change our primary identity, then we are at risk of losing ourselves and fading away into the society that we live in. Conclusion Judaism can thrive in freedom and was designed to be practiced in freedom. However to do so we must always make being a Jew our primary identity.