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July 24, 1964 - Image 15

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1964-07-24

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

Agus' Two-Volume 'Meaning of Jewish History' Wine Ceremony After the Wedding
BY RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX
makes the occasion for the nuptial
Stimulates Debate Over Jewry - s World Status (Copyright,
1964, Jewish Telegraphic
blessings while the nuptial bless-
Agency, Inc.)

Dr. Jacob Bernard Agus, the dis-
tinguished rabbinic scholar, author
of several evaluative and scholarly
Jewish books. has a new approach
to- the issues in-
volved in Jewry's
cultural, e thnic
and regilious
status, in the
two - volume
"The Meaning of
Jewish History,
published b,
Abelard - Schu-
man (6 W. 57th,
NY 19).
Dr. Agus
In a total of
500 pages, Rabbi Agus thoroughly
reviews many important and in the
main little-known facts about the
ancient, medieval and modern pe-
riods in our history and draws
conclusions some of which are
certain to result in debates either
over the validity or the pragma-
tism of his conclusions.
In a foreword to this two-volume
study, Prof. Salo W. Baron says
it is "refreshing," because of the
trends of the time, "to read Dr.
Agus' reconstruction of the fun-
damental lines of the Jewish his-
toric evolution." Dr. Agus has, in-
deed, "raised many fundamental
problems" which must stimulate
thinking and debate.
At the outset, Rabbi Agus re-
iects the "gratuitous assumptions"
of the eminent Christian student
of Jewish affairs, Dr. James Parks,
who believes • that the secret of
Jewish life is in their racial char-
acter, the nationalism of the Sem-
ites and their being "strange" to
"modern man." Explaining the
"strangeness", Dr. Agus writes:
"The rabbis were concerned
. with the preservation of the
Torah-community, because they
believed the Torah to be the
word of God. From the stand-
point of planning a strategy of
survival, they should have adopt-
ed a lenient policy toward all
dissidents and toward all con-
verts. Obviously, there is
strength in numbers. • But, they
rejected the Hebrew-Christians
and insisted on circumcision of
converts, not because they want-
ed uniformity, but because they
sought conformity to the Will of
.God. 'All Israelites are respon-
sible for one another,' hence the
`congregation of the Lord' was
liable to be punished for the
sins and errors of the sectarians
in its midst."
Discussing the various philoso-
phies, the effects of anti-Semitism,
the influences of Socialism, Zion-
ism, Dr. Agus devotes consider-
able space to "The Jewish-Chris-
tian Schism" and explains "why
the Christian faith did not win the
Jewish as it won the Hellenic
world":
"The 'rejection of Jesus by the
Jewish people' was part of the
dogmatic structure of ancient
Christianity. Whatever the per-
- eentage of non-Christian Jewry
may have been, the hard core of
unconverted Jewry was the bearer
of the historical designation 'the
,Jewish people.' At the time of
Constantine the Great, only a small
percentage of the Hellenistic world
was Christian. Down to the fate-
ful year when Constantine accept-
ed the Christian faith, it is quite
..likely that a much larger per-
centage of the Jewish Hellenistic
Diaspora was embraced in the
Christian community than was se-
cured by Christianity from among
the Gentiles in the Roman world.
But 'the Jewish people' continued
to be identified with those who
followed the leadership of the of-
ficial schools in Palestine. . . .
Within the Jewish community, the
tide of Christian sentiment repre-
sented messianism, not monothe-
ism; accordingly, it ebbed when
the national fortunes rose, and
flowed when they sank. . . . There
were several different sects of He-
brew Christians in Palestine, which
lingered on well into the fourth
century. .. . The succession of Jew-
ish national uprisings, from the
Great Revolt of 66 CE, to 132
CE, widened the gulf between

Jews and Christians, since the lat-
ter did not participate in the re-
bellions of the Jews, which fre-
quently bore a messianic charac-
ter. . . ."
Rabbi Agus thereupon anal-
yzed the Christian anti-Semitism
as reflected in the Gospel of
John and the Patristic literature.
He states: "No pasage in the
new Testament is as vicious to-
ward the Jews as the writings of
Luther and Calvin are toward
the Pope and the Catholics. But
these later writings are now
gathering dust in the basements
of university libraries, while
the poison-drenched phrase, 'the
Synagogue of Satan,' is includ-
hi in the Holy Scriptures of the
Western world." He adds: "Now
that Christian educators have
been alerted to the dangers
posed by the anti-Semitic men-
tality, we might expect that they
will make conscious efforts to
prevent the monstrous dragon's
teeth of Judeophobia from be-
ing sown by their very attempt
to plant the good seeds of Di-
vine love in the hearts of chil-
dren."
Dr. Agus joins in the pride of
the realization of the dream of a
re-established State of Israel, but
he emphasized that "the very
reality of Israel demonstrates that
it cannot be the foundation for
the life of all Jews." He empha-
sizes that there is a decline in
Zionism, he warns that "national-
ism can hardly be regarded as a
world-saving ideal," and he speaks
of nationalism as bedeviling man-
kind "with the antics of the `Kat-
zenjammer Kids.' " Thus, his anal-
yses are certainly not pro-Zionist,
and his frequent resort to the
term "fossil" as applied to Jews
(shades of Toynbee!) is an irritat-
ing element in an otherwise most
scholarly historical review.
When dealing with history, as
Rabbi Agus does with the history
of Jerusalem's destruction, with
the early Egyptian Jewish history
and the era of Philo and Josephus,
there is deep enlightenment, thor-
ough research, masterful handling
of the issues revolving around the
spiritual, as well as ethnic, factors
affecting Jewry's status. His han-
dling of the problems of anti-
Semitism, in the ancient, medieval
and modern worlds, is the work
of a scholar of great distinction.
He is thorough in his explana-
tions of the Kabbalah and the
mystics. His criticisms of Max
Nordau and other leaders in mod-
ern times nevertheless assume
rather negative tones.
His study of "Ethnic Anti-Semi-
tism" is valuable and interesting,
and there is a note of optimism
in the author's views of a happier
future relationships between Jews
and non-Jews in this country, yet
there still remains the struggle to
overcome obstacles, as he states in
his concluding note:
"In their inner life, the Jews
had in the past demonstrated
both the failure to overcome the
impetus of their history and the
bold vision to overleap the vici-
ous cycle of hate and suspicion.
The noblest visions of a human-
ist faith are enshrined in Juda-
ism along with the most dog-
matic passions of self-assurance
and self-exaltation. The most
generous outreaching to a world-
wide fellowship co-exists with
the most desperate withdrawal
behind the ramparts of intellec-
tual, racial, and ritualistic
ghetto-walls. These forces have
always contended for the mas-
tery of the Jewish soul. All of
Western society has a stake in
this struggle. And its end is
not in sight."
Among his analyses of the Jew-
ish position he states: "Judaism is
not a monolithic temper or a fossil-
ized way of life, but a multi-fac-
eted phenomenon, with opposing
forces pulling in opposite direc-
tions. Its richness consisted pre-
cisely in its capacity to assume

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, July 24, 1964
15

novel forms in changed circum-
stances, with one or another as-
pect of the dynamic equilibrium
coming to predominate."
He explains the meaning of
Jewish history as being "a demon-
stration of the high potential of
freedom in human affairs and a
record of the melancholy conse-
quences of the failure to utilize
its opportunities. As society moves
to ever larger associations, it en-
counters the tension between the
ideal vision of nationalism and the
narrow sentiments of ethnocen-
trism. As it advances toward the
Divine, it confronts the tension
between religion as dynamic
quest for reality and religion as
a finished and fixed body of dead
certainties. The Jews contributed
mightily to the ideals of prophetic
nationalism and of monotheistic
faith. But they suffered most
grievously wherever the balance
of nationalism and religion in their
own tradition and in the mental-
ity of their neighbors shifted to-
ward the poles of racism and fun-
damentalism. Insofar as Jews
were frequent victims of external
forces, their destiny reflected the
recurrent breakdowns of free
thought and gnuine religion in the
countries where they lived."
There is no doubt that Dr. Agus'
newest library creation is thought-
as well as debate-provoking.
But his treatment of the Zionist
movement smacks of unjustifiable
prejudice.
To equate the Zionist movement
with anti-Semitism (a la Toynbee)

After the wedding feast two
cups of wine are used over
which benedictions are recited.
There are actually two sets of
blessings that are recited after the
wedding feast. One is the usual
set of blessings which constitutes
the grace after meals. This always
requires a cup of wine in public.
The other set of blessings are the
nuptial blessings (Sheva Bera-
koth). These likewise require a
cup of wine. There is a principle
expressed in the Talmud that one
does not express two holy utter-
ances over one cup (Talmud Babli,
Pesakim 102b). Thus two cups
are used— one for the blessings
of the grace after meals and one
for the nuptial blessings. Our cur-
rent procedure is to use one cup
for the grace after meals, then to
recite six of the seven nuptial
blessings over the second one,
then to take up the first one again
and to recite the benediction over
the wine.

Two cups of wine are mixed
with each other after the bless-
ings have been recited.
Apparently it was a matter of
disagreement as to which cup was
to be drunk first. Also, the two
sets of blessings are related in
the sense that it is the feast which

is to render a great disservice to
the Jewish messianic and humani-
tarian movement. Dr. Agus' all-too-
frequent negations of Zionism (all-
too-frequent shades of Toynbee)
border too closely on such dis-
service.

ings are the purpose of the feast-
ing. Thus the two cups are mixed
to display the inter-relationship
between the two ceremonies. Some
homeliticians have read into the
mixing of the cups a most inter-
esting symbolism. The two cups
are like bride and groom who
have heretofore been independent
of each other. Marriage merges
their destinies like mixing the cups
of wine and so the mixture is a
symbol of the merger of the two
into one bound by love and re-
spect. They also display the mer-
ger of God and man, some have
said. Man being the image of the
Almighty, creates a situation in
which the Divine Providence
merges His destiny with man. He
rejaices when man rejoices. He is
concerned when man despairs.

"The return to Zion must be
preceded by our return to Juda-
ism."—Herzl, in an address to the
First Zionist Congress, Basle, 1897

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