To me, the European exile was largely the story of Jews being exiled from history and the family of humanity. Jews were considered subhuman, of lower class and caste than anyone else. They were ostracized, hated, and butchered. Sure, there were bright spots, and we took advantage of them, but for the most part, our efforts wre all turned inwards, our greatest achievements did not impact the outside world, and we were largely not players on the world stage and did not shape history.

I also strongly agree with you that times were changing, and the trajectory of world history starting as early as the Enlightenment, and certainly by the 20 and 30s, suggested that a new world order was being ushered in. I see the Holocaust as the final violent convulstion of a reactionry nature, and that it is ultimately a historical blip, rather than a watershed. The trends of the individual rights of humans, of science and reason as sources of authority, and of the nation-state have become the dominant paradigm of world governance and politics. The Holocaust is a red herring in understanding the broader sweep of history.

Along with the many brutal persecutions and indignities from the Christian world there was also great creativity and dynamism in the Jewish community over its 1000-plus years in Europe (Sephardi as well as Ashkenazi). Everything from the great yeshivot to the Hasidic masters, to the Haskakah, modern Yiddish culture, and various Jewish political movements. All of that happened in Europe. Yes, more often than not relationships with Christians were bad (though there were also some bright spots in that history, too), but there was an incredibly vitality among the Ashkenazim that reverberates today. While historically we were on the political and social margins my impression is that this was changing in the twenties and thirties, and had it not been for the Shoah, who knows where some of those movements could have gone.

I agree that today Judaism is, or at least seems, relevant and appreciated. However I think there’s a danger in minimizing the accomplishments and achievements of the past, of condensing all that history now into just another blip on the radar between the Exile and the Redemption. It wasn’t just persecution. Europe wasn’t only another stop on a long road back to Israel. Our people made a life there, a whole world there. Unlike Egypt, they weren’t just surviving. They were, in various ways, thriving. And I think we owe it to them and to ourselves to remember and tell that story honestly, without selling them short.

We shouldn’t have to tear down our past in order to elevate the present or the future. To do so does no one any favors.

Israel’s continued existence as a Jewish and democratic state isn’t necessary for the world. We might prefer such a world, but I don’t think we can go further than that.

Finally, I think the question of why do we need Israel is answered by secular Zionism. Actually, secular Zionism is built upon that question: Israel is the answer to the question of how will the Jewish people successfully live free of racism and in safety on this earth. Herzl and the classical Zionists were race-nationalists who believed that each ethnic group/race should have its own country, with Jews being no exception. The happy condition of the secular Jew in Miami is, according to Zionists, a temporary illusion that antisemitic moments like the Dreyfuss Affair showed. Eventually, the non-Jew would turn against the Jew, no matter how enlightened the non-Jewish country seemed to be.

Religious Zionism doesn’t really change the equation much. Saying that Jews should live in Israel and build a religious state because God said so is, semantically, the equivalent of saying “I know how the universe is supposed to turn out.” It doesn’t answer any question for anyone not already convinced of the same truth, and is in fact alienating to anyone who doesn’t believe.

Really, I don’t know what you expect, people are not going to be THAT open about their dirty deeds, but people do blog about it and the certainly the Hipster Jewish internet sphere is chock full of such discussion and article writing.

Abigayil

*Obviously in a serious, loving, committed relationship, not a marriage of convenience.

it certainly works at my shul, where we start at 9:30 and usually finish about 12:15, give or take, which leaves plenty of time and energy for a fabulous and very social kiddush.