Tho Torah also cures earaches, we violate Shabat to medicate a dangerous earache! The ideal's not always achievable at the moment, and it's sinful to ignore reality. Moshe, at home in both worlds, had to invite both heaven and earth to witness his epic summary; he also wasn't sure to which he was going after death and wanted to be on good terms with both! (Rav Chanina, Deut. Raba 10:4, per Ecc. 3:21; cf. Rav Yochanan b. Zakai, crying as he lay dying, afraid that he might wind up in hell-- Ber. 28b; see our Rosh Hashana study). Thru heaven and earth, their witnesses, Israel sinned in idolizing heaven (Jer. 7:18) and building idolatrous altars on earth (Hosea 12:12); thru them they were first punished (Jer. 4:23) and thru them they'll be comforted: FOR AS THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH WHICH I'LL MAKE SHALL REMAIN BEFORE ME, SAYS THE LORD, SO SHALL YOUR SEED AND YOUR NAME REMAIN (Is. 66:22-- natural productivity shall be greatly increased, thereby bringing blessing; cf. Agreco). Per Sifre, a new heaven and earth will be created to spare Jews embarrassment-- the old ones witnessed their sins!-- cf. shocking M. T. Isurei Biah 12:10, not accepted Jewish law; see Avot 3:18.

Rav Shmuel Bornstein quotes Sifre: R. MEIR OFTEN SAID-- "WHEN ISRAEL WERE WORTHY, THEY TESTIFIED ABOUT THEMSELVES... THEY DETERIORATED... (then) THE TRIBES OF YEHUDAH AND BENJAMIN TESTIFED AGAINST THEM... THEY TOO DETERIORATED... THE PROPHETS TESTIFIED AGAINST THEM"... and so forth, until "THE ANT TESTIFIES AGAINST THEM". Bornstein cites Ecc. 8-- A MAN'S WISDOM MAKES HIS FACE RADIATE. Adam was far brighter than the sun, radiating divinity itself; after his sin, he retained enough translucence for it to shine thru-- any sin was visible in his change of countenance (cf. Moshe's rays of light). Gradually, the light in Adam was covered by insensitivity; it reappeared, but only in Israel; when they too were tainted, 2 tribes remained radiant enough to bear witness to wrongdoing in their very appearance; gradually they too were obscured, and only the prophets were left; they too lost their light, influenced by their flock; Moshe, foreseeing this, set heaven and earth as witnesses-- they would act in harmony with man, as their proper nature dictates, only in proportion to Israel's realization of its higher human nature. When even this indicator failed, all Solomon could do was to urge the Jews to learn from the lowest animal form, the ant, who now surpassed man!

BE A MAN! This is similar to Rav J. Soloveichik's interpretation of the awesome appearance of the high priest after the Yom Kippur sacrifices: THE APPEARANCE OF HIS FACE WAS LIKE THE BRILLIANCE OF A SUNRISE... AS THE BRIGHT STAR SHINING IN THE EAST... AS A ROSE GARDEN BETWEEN THE THORNS...-- only he looked like a person really should look! In seeing him, Jews were in awe; they realized what they could be. Humans appeared less Divine, more monkey-like (devolution--devilution), as man abandoned intimate contact with God, substituting the impersonal Lord of Nature (Gen. Raba 23, Eruv. 18a-- cf. academic theology, a substitute for intense religious experience). ON THE HOLIEST DAY OF THE YEAR IN THE HOLIEST PLACE IN THE WORLD, THE HOLIEST MAN BRIEFLY REGAINED HIS NORMAL DIVINE IMAGE-- when the Jews saw true human potential, they were "shame-struck" at their wasted lives; Abraham's pupils are always "ashamed" of their unrealized potential, whereas Bilaam's are proud of the bit they've done (see Avot 5:19, Yevamot 79a, Jer. San. 6:7; in Numbers Raba 8:4, Israel's mercy, kindness and shame are called gifts of God).

Moshe now compares Torah to 4 types of dew and rains, varying in nature and intensity according to the needs of varied vegetation (so varied personality types and circumstances need different stresses in Torah, e.g. learning and prayer, halacha and agada, Bible and Talmud). The 4 sons reflect this message-- man resembles trees; some need strong, even harsh, words, raging storms; others need patience and dew-like gentleness. As dew and rain give life to the world, so does Torah (Sifre). As rain and dew, Torah's effect isn't seen instantly, but in the fruit and flowers which come much later (compare children raised in holy Torah environments with those raised in cheap TV environments). Isaiah 55:10-11, read on fast days, stresses that rain and snow, without which nothing can grow, penetrate hard rock-like ground, not giving up until their mission's done. So God's Word (including our own holy words to others), despite stubborn human resistance, "won't return empty to Me unless it has done what I wish and succeeded in its mission", bringing life to a redeemed world; when nature and man will be reconciled-- then "the mountains and hills will joyfully break out before you" (M. Hirsch).

Moshe continues: WHEN I PROCLAIM THE NAME OF GOD (of infinity), ASCRIBE GREATNESS TO OUR LORD (of Nature-- 32:3; so most of us have a stronger and more profound prayer experience when we're so stimulated by our prayer leaders and fellow-congregants, especially on the high holidays). Thus we read on Yom Kippur how the people and priests fell upon their faces and proclaimed: "BLESSED IS THE NAME OF HIS GLORIOUS KINGDOM FOREVER", when they heard the high priest pronounce God's name (Yoma 37a). Even now, when we don't pronounce it in its true form, we can sense God's name or identity by studying Torah; from this verse, we also learn to make a blessing before learning Torah (Ber. 21a, R. Yehudah; hear Rav J. Soloveichik's Yiddish exposition of this theme, in our audio library). Perhaps Moshe tells heaven and earth that his proclamation of the infinite Name of God will make them rectify Nature's imperfections, bring out its original, still latent, perfectibility. So Jews proclaim after Yom Kippur 7 times-- GOD, HE IS THE LORD! Lurking behind the seemingly dispassionate impersonal Lord of the pluralistic realms and laws of nature (elokim, the Lord, = 86 = hateva, nature) is infinite God (hashem = 26 = Love, ahava-- 13 + One, echad-- 13) of mercy and love, Who's One.

Moshe first proclaims that God, the only Creator, is perfect in all His works and absolutely just-- otherwise, there is no basis for belief in a rational and moral world; but Judaism asserts that people SHOULD think and question (tho not mock and deliberately debunk, like many university Bible scholars), even regarding God's own goodness and justice-- from Avraham's questions about The Creation, which led him to God, and Moshe's curiosity about his Jewish origins, to both of them questioning God's justice, from the skeptical Talmud to the Four Sons' ??; our problem today is that religion is identified with Tshuva, The Answer, rather than the ever-seeking ? (Rav M. Gafni-- but see Phil's Philosophy above). So Moshe himself now raises the obvious ? of theodicy, a ? which should occur to every thinking person-- if God is both all-powerful and all-good, where does all that is obviously rotten in Denmark and the rest of the world come from? As we inoculate with a bit of a disease, so we must teach the ?? and answers of (our own inner?) heretics (Avot 2:19) too, if we truly believe that God and Torah can take it. One only finds God if he searches for Him with all his heart, tho he lives a completely pious life (Rav J. Soloveichik on Deut. 4:29f, cf. Lev. 26:38f, Deut. 31f).

Moshe's ? & answer, a primary Torah source in dealing with theodicy, as I read it, per Onkelos and Rashi, is: "Is destruction His? No!-- it is His kids', their blemish, a perverse and crooked generation. Will you attribute this to God, a people who are corrupt, and not wise (wholesome morality, awesome God-awareness, is the basis or beginning of wisdom)? Behold, He is your Father, your Owner; He made you (fetal formation?) and set you up (fetal development?-- 32:5-6)"; Moshe goes on to encourage the study of Jewish history, as a means to grasp the Divine Providence guiding Israel and its special mission. Thus he teaches us that all destruction in this world, whose existence he doesn't deny , comes from the lack of human beings' free will response as "good children" to God, their Father and Maker, who created a world supplying every human need. While he addresses himself to the origin of evil, he doesn't take up here the question of why God doesn't always intervene to save the victims of evil, tho caused by other humans or by natural forces, corrupted by other humans. Job (some say that it too was authored by Moshe) is another prime textual source on theodicy. God seemingly agrees that Job's woes are not of his own making, but He also proclaims that Job can't understand how God's world works, including the effects of evil folks (Job 38-39). Even Moshe never gets to see God's "face", to predict His ways; but we can, tho only sometimes, like Moshe, see God's "back", understand somewhat what happens to us in retrospect.

Modern man too, perhaps more than ever, must delve into theodicy and Divine Providence, tho God's existence, Deism, is more and more a matter of common sense today-- we confront a holistic world, founded upon broad abstract laws of science, leading to beautifully intricate interrelated tiny details of reality. When an observant believing (Orthodox) Jew explores theodicy, he's likely to have a more balanced approach than others, in that his consciousness of God's constant good is constantly being raised by reciting blessings, thanking God for each Nestle's bar and each time he's able to use the lavoratory, the culmination of the miraculous process of digestion; he also draws upon a great resource, the tradition of his ancestors-- they too suffered their own personal and communal Shoas, e.g. the Crusades in the name of the faith of the alleged "Prince of Peace" ("Judge them by their works"); yet they retained their faith in eventual Messianic perfection, tho long after their lifetimes, a grand conclusion toward which all history, tho so often inexplicably, leads-- many Hassidim marched with joy into the gas chambers-- could academic professors of Bible do so?

But, while Job indeed had an even better life after his suffering, and the State of Israel emerged from the Shoa, was it worth it? Is something really bad really good, just because it eventually brings great good? So two leading modern Orthodox rabbis who explored the holocaust, Eliezer Berkovitz and David Hartman, concluded (the former explicitly so, the latter implicitly, per Edward Feld), perhaps as did Moshe, that God, The Creator's power is beyond ?, but that He sometimes, unlike His intervention at Exodus, hands over the realm of history to humanity, whatever the consequence. Any Divine Intervention will then only occur much later or in the next world.

I relish those top-flight scholars, who ask all the natural, but difficult, ?? on Judaism, yet remain faithful to God and true Jewish (Orthodox) tradition. Just as I was writing this study, with God's help, I discovered David Birnbaum's God and Evil-- A Jewish Perspective, written by a Yeshiva scholar who is also academic, whose work is praised by great leaders of both worlds, e.g. Rav Dr. Norman Lamm and Prof. Joseph Dan, Rav Nachum Rabinovitch and Prof. Paul Mendes-Flohr. Anchored both biblically and philosophically, Birnbaum's proposed solution to the ancient problem of evil is perhaps the most elegant to appear in modern times, according to Ktav, his publisher. He proposes that 2 paths lie before humankind: first the path of dependence on God, which, while leading to ultimate bliss, is humanly unsatisfying and unfulfilling. And the second path, that of maximum potential, in which the individual achieves fuller freedom and responsibility, a path frought with peril, altho ultimately more fulfilling. The Divine, Whose very core is "Holy Potential" in Birnbaum's thesis, is not uncaring; rather, thru an exercise of Divine contraction, He allows Mankind to continue along the second path, so that ultimately man may emerge with greater spiritual maturity and, together with the Divine, attain the fullest possible potentiality.

My immediate reaction, without having read the book yet, is that I'd gladly waive millions of other people's highest potential to save one little baby, tortured and killed by the German scientific butchers of evil; so Moshe refused to be consoled by God's redemption, per some Midrashim, mourning the many Jewish babies already immured in Egyptian mortar. If I find something more compelling, I'll try to present it in a future study.

But secular or non-truly-traditional Jewish explorations of theodicy, unlike those of our ancestors, tend to conclude by giving up faith in our traditional beliefs in a God of infinite love and power, and in messianic this-world redemption; they yield to both the emotional pressure of our contemporary woes and the academic desire to show that they understand everything and are capable of guiding themselves, without Divine Directives. Some people are so open-minded that their brains fall out-- Lionel Trilling. Some examples may be Leonard Bernstein's Candide, Elie Weisel's Cantata, Ani Maamin, and David Blumenthal's Facing the Abusing God-- A Theology of Protest; Blumenthal claims that no matter how much life hurts, we have no choice but to relate to God, tho He appears abusive, just as the child of an abusive parent has no other parent; but, as a Conservative Rabbi, who denies the Divine Dictation of the Torah and its tradition, he simply follows his eyes and his heart, as they encounter terrible suffering, and rejects Moshe's testimony that God is both all-powerful and all-good, despite our cruel world.

Former Shalom Hartman Institute fellow, Rav Edward Feld, a Conservative Rabbi and a pupil of Orthodox Rav Norman Frimer, z"l, deals with Crisis and Response in Jewish Life in The Spirit of Renewal. He concludes that the Holocaust causes us to revise our religious beliefs, to adopt a conception of God who does not exercise power in history (but what about Exodus, '48 and '67?), and to reject a religious life that sees its primary drama as occurring in this world. He too tends to deny basic beliefs such as the world to come and the coming of the Messiah; in order to find some meaning, nevertheless, in this life upon earth, he stresses the God in Man, the Divine human soul, which is able to assert spiritual power and love in even the worst environment, tho it may not be able to change that environment in the slightest. Compare his views with those of Mea Shearim.

Feld quotes Eli Weisel, from Legends of Our Time (p. 36): "Suffering, true suffering, eludes memory and words. Suffering, true suffering, is watching death-- dark cunning death-- drawing close to children too weak to cry. Children you love. Your own. With a piece of bread, a spoonful of soup, a bit of warmth, you could chase it away, but your hands are empty, you have nothing left to offer. And you want to howl, to shout at the top of your lungs, to tear out your hair and your eyes. But you do nothing. You don't even feel guilty. Just sad. Terribly sad. And stupidly useless. You feel idle and empty-- empty of faith. Forlorn. Abandoned even by imagination. A dull, heavy animal. Deaf and blind. And alone. Terribly alone".

Rashi applies Moshe's affirmation of God's goodness especially to the Jews, who are given all they need for their Divine mission-- priests, prophets & kings. In forgetting God, they display ingratitude for all God's done for them in the past (they're thus called "naval"-- Ramban; cf. Avigayil's worse 1/2, Naval, who scorns Dovid, whose followers had helped his shepherds); they also show stupidity, when they "forget" that their future is in His hands, whether they like it or not.

Only due to future Israel, did God establish 70 nations after Babel, corresponding to the 70 Jews going into Egypt, descendants of Shem. Israel's prophets and scholars have so taught them. Yaakov and his descendants are God's unique portion in this world, THE ROPE OF HIS INHERITANCE (32:9), i.e. a "rope" of 3 strands-- the patriarchs-- which can't be torn (Rashi; Ecc. 4:12). The Tanya compares this rope to Yaakov's ladder, connecting heaven and earth (Igeret Hatshuvah 5,6): "The analogy is a cord with one end high up and the other down below. When one end's pulled, the other also moves and follows it-- at least to the extent that it can be pulled".

"HE FOUND HIM IN A DESERT..." (32:10). Moshe recounts how the Jews followed God into the wilderness, when others refused His Torah (Rashi; cf. Jer. 2:2-- "I remembered for you the kindness of your youth... going after Me into the wilderness"; cf. enthusiastic returnees to Judaism and their later difficulties). Ramban rejects this pleasant interpretation-- the song contrasts the Jews' BAD conduct with God's kindness. But Rav J. Soloveichik says (re `confession of tithes'-- see our Ki Tavo study) that one must also remember his good deeds in reproof or confession; then he can retain a positive self-image and confidence that he can do good. God Alone protected the Jews, with sensitivity and gentleness, as a Griffin Vulture (Feliks, The Animal World of the Bible, Sinai) handles its young (Rashi). Have you ever met one?

God's gifts of exceptional prosperity LED to rebellion against Him, idolatry, and corruption (the past tense used in this prophecy suggests that it will surely happen, or that the seeds of future corruption have already been sown). Israel worshipped silly non-entities with no power; God "went along with them" and hid His face, so they'd be destroyed by a people (Chaldeans), who themselves are a non-entity (cf. Palestinians); this is followed by all sorts of horrors, e.g. demonic Catholic Crusades and the Lutherian Holocaust; the Jews would be destroyed, but their enemies are worse, attributing their success to themselves, not God. God will return to His people, when they finally realize that His presence (not Albright's, not even Clinton's) is their only salvation (vs. the wandering Jew taunt of the mountain of Esau). "With regard to the wicked... such individuals are empty and desolate... I WILL HIDE MY FACE FROM THEM (meaning that they lack luster, won't radiate normal human Divinity?-- cf. jaded teeny-boppers; Tikuney Zohar 26-71b)".

Then God will devastate the enemies of the Jews and comfort His Land, Israel, by bringing back His People, Israel. Their close connection to Him is their link with each other-- both people and land remain desolate 1900 years, until God brings them together once more, to finally create a model priestly nation. Moshe finished the song, warning the Jews that Torah observance was the key to their remaining in an unprofaned Israel. The Torah can't be treated casually; all of it bears meaning. THIS EPIC SONG IS A CLEAR PROMISE OF THE FUTURE REDEMPTION (Ramban). Moshe, about to be retired and die for his "sin", may only view Israel. The Zohar, written down in 1278, (see Zohar Vayalech 284) says that Moshe's retirement is to make room for Yeshoshua; so the sun sets that the moon can shine with its reflected light; this implies that Moshe's sins, per se, weren't so terrible as to bar him from Israel; only his "burnout", his demonstrated unfitness for future leadership, necessitates his immediate retirement-death (see our Vayelach study-- D).

D. THE SECRET LIFE OF ASTRAL BODIES

Yehoshua of Siknin teaches that the heavens have structures, similar to ours mouths, hearts, and ears. His proof texts are Ps. 19:2-- THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD, and Deut. 4:11-- AND THE MOUNTAIN BURNED WITH FIRE UNTO THE HEART OF HEAVEN (Mid. Raba Deut. 10:4). Maimonides, as the Greeks, attributes superhuman intelligence, soul, and life to astral bodies (Yesode Hatorah 10:9, as Shabbat's AM prayer "E-l Adon"). But 19th Century Rav David Luria interprets this Midrash as metaphor-- winds, emerging from heaven, are AS human speech; they proclaim the glory and power of God; there's a place from which the heavens are stretched forth, live and exist, via God's word, SIMILAR TO the function of the human heart, origin and life-giver to the body; the heavens respond to moral "vibrations" emitted by human conduct, giving or withholding dew and rain, as ears respond to sound vibration-- similar structures & gestalts comprise both the microcosm of the human body (perhaps an image of the Lord of nature) and the macrocosm of the universe (THE LIGHT BEYOND, Kaplan, 1:31); so Israel is called the heart of the nations (Kuzari II). R. Yehoshua also predicted that Jerusalem would be expanded many times; either 3X its ancient area, w/30 story buildings, or 30X, w/triple deckers (cf. today; B.B. 75b, Ezek. 41:6).

E. THE HAFTARA is 2 SAMUEL 22:1-51

This Haftara is David's joyous epic song to God, when he finally survived persecution by all his enemies, especially Saul; like Moshe's Song, it stresses trust in Providence, loyalty to God, and gratitude for His infinite mercies (Hertz, who notes that this song, where David ascribes God's kindness to his own righteousness, must have been written before his great sin). THEREFORE, I'LL GIVE THANKS TO YOU, GOD, AMONG THE NATIONS (Christians read Psalms too! They might dampen Islamic warlike ardor) AND SING TO YOUR NAME; A TOWER OF SALVATION IS HE TO HIS KING AND HE RENDERS KINDNESS TO HIS ANOINTED-- TO DAVID AND HIS SEED FOREVER!

When Haazinu is read on Shabbat Shuvah, between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we read Haftorat Vayalech, Hoshea 14:2-10-- see our study of Nitzavim-Vayalech.

F. DIVINE POETRY-- BY RAV YEHUDA HENKIN

Q. Why did Moshe write Haazinu in poetry? A. Did he write it?-- God did. Q. But we read: "Heavens, listen and I will speak"-- 1st person-- isn't Moshe speaking? A. Look at 31:19-22-- God said to Moshe: "Now, write this song down for yourselves and teach it to the children of Israel; familiarize them with it, so this song shall be My witness to the children of Israel... When many and troubling evils befall them, this song will answer as a witness before them... And Moshe wrote down this song that day". "This song" refers to the song of Haazinu, as is evident at the end of the chapter (31:30). God dictated it. He said, as it were: "Moshe! Write down: `Heavens, listen and I'll speak'" and Moshe wrote "Heavens, listen and I'll speak".

Yes, Moshe's taught to say, in his own name, that which he actually heard from God. We discussed this in Vayelech-- sometimes people listen to their rabbi quicker than to Torah or God! (YF: per Abarbanel, the words of Deuteronomy originate with Moshe and God grants His imprimatur, to include them in the Torah; cf. Bilaam). So we analyze every jot and tittle of the Torah-- its slightest nuance can determine how to perform a commandment. God's the author of the Torah, and, within the limits of language, every inference is intentional-- God doesn't accidentally imply something. This is understandable, if a commandment begins: "God spoke to Moshe, saying...". But there are many seemingly formulated by Moshe, especially in Dvarim. Should his language be as authoritative as God's?

The words may indeed have been God's. That certain commandments were spoken by Moshe doesn't mean that the language was his own. We learn this from the song of Haazinu. Why was Haazinu composed as a song, a poem? We read, "This song will answer as a witness before them, for it won't be forgotten by their descendants" (31:21). The meaning, I think, is even if Israel ignores the rest of the Torah, they'll always value a superior poem. Haazinu won't be forgotten; the Torah acknowledges here the power of aesthetics. YF: so Israel's academics often study the Torah, tho only as our literature; my alternative explanation: this poem embodies the messianic dream of a better world, which always moves the Jew, tho alienated from his faith; he'll eventually be disappointed by the failure or corruption of his dream in alien cultures; finally, he or his descendants will return to Torah and Israel as the only, howbeit slow and detailed, way of reaching Eden.

YH: Ideally, we harness aesthetics for service of God. In Shemot (15:2), "this is my God and I'll adorn him" implies that commandments should be performed attractively. The Temple was full of visual and auditory splendor. But aesthetics per se can become a dangerous value. Do synagogues resound to melodies which often violate the meaning and majesty of the prayers? I've heard "netaneh tokef" on Rosh Hashana sung to sweet, nostalgic airs, more suitable for the third meal of Sabbath. These tunes are the musical equivalent of singing: "who will live and who will die", tra la la (YF: cf. the cheerful ditty used for Shabat sacrifices in musaf; see our video on kibbutz Beit Hashita's "return" via their new tune for Netaneh Tokef). Or take the prayer for rain in the additional service of Shemini Atzeret. There is a lilting, soft melody in use today which ought to stick in the throat when sung to the last stanza: "Remember twelve tribes, which You passed thru the decree of water... The blood of their descendants has been spilled like water for Your sake". Some sing of Jewish blood spilled like water, yet notice only the music.

The answer is not to forgo singing, the legacy of thousands of years of prayer. But guard against form masking emptiness in a vocal equivalent of the golden calf; against aesthetics overshadowing devotion to God; against, in sum, the song of Haazinu being studied as literature, and the Torah being forgotten. (YF: The beauty of Yefes is to serve the truth of Shem, not v.v. Good chazanut, e.g. Shlomo Carlebach's (I'm listening to tapes of his Rosh Hashana services as I write this), enhances the effect of the words, rather than using them as an excuse for artistic performance)

G. REMEMBER WITH INSIGHT

"Remember the days of the world (or "days of eternity"), have insight into the years of a generation and a (following, ensuing) generation-- ask your father and he'll recite to you, your elders, and they'll tell you. When God gave nations inheritence, when he separated the sons of man-- he fixed the bounaries of peoples, according to the number of the children of Israel" (32:7-8). These verses suggest that relating to God includes studying Him in history, and that all that happens somehow relates to the world's ultimate destiny, linked to the Jewish people and the State of Israel (cf. the Butterfly Effect). While Rav Hirsch gives this seemingly obvious interpretation, medieval commentaries do not, possibly because the scientific study of history is a modern phenomenon, not developed in their times of limited manuscripts and resources.

Rav A. Y. Kook indeed included Jewish History in the curriculum for his new Central Yeshiva; it should draw on both classical and modern sources , but avoid the errors committed by "scholars who have not mastered the traditional sources" (see below; cf. theodicy books above). The Rav considered the current "materialism" as transient. The diminished attraction of the medieval classics, somewhat obsolete, based on philosophical foundations no longer relevant, called for a wider insight into Judaism's abundant treasures of Philosophy, Kabbala and Ethics, augumented by the "seminal lessons of historical research" (Igrot Ha'Ra'ayah 1, pp. 192-3). The Rav acclaimed the merits of Isaac HaLevy's Dorot Rishonim and Yavetz's Toledot Yisrael, without ignoring their shortcomings or the positive contributions of others (ibid 2, p.8-- from Ch. 9 of Zvi Yaron's The Philosophy of Rav Kook). Nigel Wallis continually bemoans ignorance of history among Yeshiva students, and its absence from their studies, even in relatively broad Hesder yeshivot; I was privileged to study it with stimulating Prof. Irving Agus at Yeshiva College, a vibrant creative intellectual who also enjoyed his sharp 1949 Cadillac..

EDWARD ZIPPERSTEIN, who blends Torah and worldly learning, describes Jewish Historians and Their View of Jewish History, in Essays in Jewish Thought. Given the long diaspora exile, one must know the history and culture of the host nations to know Jewish history (Beryl Weins criticizes pious Jewish historians who are ignorant of the non-Jewish settings of the jewels of Jewish history). Thus world history is a PART of Jewish history. Zipperstein examines the life, writings and views of 7 famous Jewish historians. Their analysis, interpretation and evaluation of events depends upon their background, religious conviction, philosophy, attitudes and the era in which they lived. Josephus is the only ancient post-Biblical Jewish comprehensive historian of renown, but is suspect by many Jews due to his surrender to Rome and his writing for them, tho he was a devout apologist for Judaism and the Jewish people. He saw the moral message in history, especially in God's treatment of Israel.

Azariah de' Rossi, the next major Jewish historian, appears only in the 16th century, an alleged descendant of Titus' captives, in Rome. He mastered both Jewish and non-Jewish studies, believed in the rotundity of the earth, and was a physician and poet, composing some liturgical poems. Rav Yosef Karo was inclined to ban and burn his major philosophical and historic work, Meor Enayim, but died prior to doing so (Divine intervention?). A Rabbinic decree forbade those under 25 from reading it! He questioned Philo's orthodoxy and considered the 1571 earthquake in Ferrara the work of God. His is the first attempt at critical history, using scientific methods of inquiry, rather than just relying on tales and legends-- a forerunner of 19th century scholarship. Tho a traditional pious Jew, he reconciled Judaism with science and philosophy, as did Rambam; he stressed Israel's eternal universal mission, its central role in humanity, and that its fate was determined by its faithfulness to God and Torah. He held that only the Hebrew language is created by God.

Yet De' Rossi considered the study of history a waste of time, of no practical benefit, for Jews, who have Torah to guide them, tho it's a good guide for non-Jews, to learn how to live in truth. He didn't value contemporary history, but thought ancient history might materialize understanding of the ancient sources of tradition. He admired Josephus, a fellow defender of Jewish tradition in a non-Jewish world.

Unfortunately, most of the 18th and 19th century Jewish historians who followed in De' Rossi's footsteps were either ignorant of, or antagonistic to, traditional Judaism. Zipperstein does not discuss HaLevy and Yavetz--

Isaac Marcus Jost, a pioneer in the field of scientific Jewish history and the father of modern historiography, was the first person to undertake the writing of Jewish history on a large scale. His setting, early 19th Century Germany, was a climate of revolt, reformation and restoration. He also established public educational and charitable institutions. His style was objective and unemotional, but his liberal Reform beliefs are prevelant thruout his work. As a pioneer, his works contain many errors and omissions. He lacked imagination and analytical penetration of the subject matter, to coordinate facts into a unity. He had no appreciation for Jewish nationalism or Jewish religious feeling, tho a theist, and was only concerned with universal "rational" ethical ideals. Also an apologist for Judaism, he stressed the Jewish contribution to humanity.

Leopold (Yom Tov Lipman) Zunz was Jost's friend and fellow student, the assimilationist founder of the modern alleged "science" of Judaism, who considered conversion. He received a broad Jewish and general education and, as Rav Yisroel Salanter, advocated the introduction of Jewish studies in German universities. With Heinrich Heine and others, he tried to bring Jews into the general culture. He was non-Orthodox and opposed traditional Jewish learning, but was equally suspicious of the new Reform establishment and ignorant Christian teachers of Judaism. The antiquarian, collector of notes, is essential to, and precedes, the historian, in Zunz's view. The Jewish external history of suffering led to their extensive creation of ideas and literary works, per Zunz; his Hegalian notion was that Judaism was a sublime religion overtaken by history, whose remaining task was to depart from the world with honor!

Moritz Steinschneider, the 3rd malevolent Muskateer in 19th Century Jewish historiography, was reared in a period of the German Jewish rationalists, followers of Mendelssohn, who deemed Jewish history a trivial pursuit. He rejected them and became both a great scholar, especially in historic bibliography, and a dropout from traditional Judaism.

Heinrich Graetz became the all-encompassing Jewish Historian of the late 19th century; he started out Orthodox, a learned and enthusiastic pupil of S. R. Hirsch, but left Hirsch to join the German conservative JTS. Due to bias, he ignored Eastern Europe, hassidism and kabbala; Simon Dubnow become their historian, as well as and an ardent advocate of Jewish nationalism. Salo Barron and others consolidated 18th-19th century Jewish historiography in his 20th century works.

The Orthodox camp was primarily concerned with preserving God's Torah and traditional Jewish life in a harsh and antagonistic modern world; but it has, especially after WWII, increasingly integrated these goals with all permissible realms of modernity, including science (e.g. Profs. Branover and Domb), the arts (e.g. Andre Heidu), Hebrew language and Jewish literature (e.g. Herman Wouk); Orthodox Jewish historians proliferate, e.g. the late academic Nat Kaganoff of the American Jewish Historical Society and Rabbi Beryl Wein, whose popular tapes, lectures and books attract thousands of modern Orthodox Jews and Yeshiva students into the study of Jewish history. He gives the Divine perspective and messianic overview so lacking in secular scholars. May this healthy merger of the Torah of Israel and the History of Israel, so vital for understanding both, continue; may we all experience God not only as the Lord of Israel and Nature, but also as the Lord of History-- the dream of Rav Kook.

I've recently read several works which try to capture the fate and experiences of Diaspora communities from WWI thru WWII, while cogent survivors are still alive. Their objective, sensitive and highly analytic insights show the great recent advances in Jewish historiography. I've recently expanded this article on the history page, Should Auld acquaintance Be Forgot?, of our new Let's Learn! general study sheets.

The last portion of Dvarim, V'zos Habracha, is read on Shmini Atzeret-Simchas Torah; it's included in our study sheet for that holiday. We recently did a new Purim study, on our web site, featuring an article by Dr. Susan Handelman on themes of women, kabala, and Purim. That study completes our new expanded series of parsha and holiday studies. It will be sent to our e-mail list, God willing, at Purim.

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