Judaism vs. Christianity
To the Editor:
Contrary to Mr. Taubes’s analysis of “The Issue Between Judaism and Christianity” (December 1953), it seems to me that Judaism and Christianity are alike with regard to “ways of life”; random prophetic visions and metaphysical speculations; a corpus mysticum which is “a way to achieve sacramental union with the divine,” and which “reflects the divine and cosmic order in the human realm”; and antinomian characteristics—Isaiah and Koheleth match Jesus and Paul.
Judaism and Christianity part company in their conceptions of the deity.
The basic characteristic of Jewish religious thought is its unique concept of abstract Godliness.
The human psyche, constantly teetering on this lofty perch, sometimes falls into the mentally-more-comfortable slough of paganism with its golden calves, incarnate Messiahs, Sephirot, Golems, ghosts, and spirits—and Christianity, Sabbatianism, Cabalism, etc., result.
All these are divergences from the fundamental Jewish idea of an abstract Godhead—which, by the way, is far too “rich and various” to be enclosed by a rigid Halachah.
J. B. Jerome
Saranac Lake, New York
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To the Editor:
In his “The Issue Between Judaism and Christianity” Jacob Taubes states that Rosenzweig introduced a new “theological” notion into Jewish thought by interpreting the coming of Jesus as having a Messianic significance for the Gentile nations, but not for the Jewish people.
Yet in the letter to his converted cousin, Hans Ehrenberg, May 11, 1918 (Briefe, 1935, p. 318) Rosenzweig says that he could cite many passages stating this idea, adding: “in [Hermann] Cohen’s great posthumous book it is stated, quite casually, that Christ is in reality the Messiah of the Gentiles.”
This idea was, at least to Rosenzweig, not his own contribution but Cohen’s and those others’ whose names he said he could have cited.
Dora Edinger
New York City
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To the Editor:
With reference to Rabbi Bamberger’s comments (January 1954) on Jacob Taubes’s article, may I point out the following.
The very fact that the Cabala may not be of Jewish origin, and that many pious Jews believe in it, is proof that Judaism is tolerant of various philosophic speculations. Judaism insists, however, on the practice of the Commandments. These are codified in the Halachah. Judaism is a way of life and the Halachah shows the way. Rabbi Bamberger asks, “What Halachah?” Did he ever hear of the Shulchan Aruch? If he rejects the Shulchan Aruch, what does he offer as a substitute to make Judaism a way of life? The Halachah can very well be practiced in the Diaspora. Millions of Jews the world over practiced it for centuries and practice it today. It would seem that Rabbi Bamberger is slightly confused.
Harry Bradley
New York City
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