Q&A: Racism in Judaism and Its Attitude Toward Gentiles
Racism in Judaism and Its Attitude Toward Gentiles
Question
At some point I’d be glad to speak with you, as much as your time allows, about the apparent “racism” in Judaism.
I still haven’t received an answer that is satisfying to me personally (and if so, then certainly I can’t explain it to my students).
The attitude of Jewish law and Jewish thought toward a gentile.
It’s clear to me that the Jewish world is not egalitarian, contrary to how people prettify it today and present it that way, but it still requires a great deal of further study for me. When you’re free, we can revisit it, with God’s help.
Answer
I’d be very glad to talk. I’ve actually dealt with this. If you want, regarding Jewish law and morality (a somewhat extreme model), see a bit here.
On the attitude toward a gentile, see my article in Akdamot. Beyond that, I’m currently writing a trilogy that proposes an updated Jewish theology, and there I deal with the attitude toward gentiles and with the relationship between Jewish law and morality in general. In my opinion, one should not derive a racist attitude toward gentiles from Jewish law, and this is not apologetics. See Bava Kamma 37, that the gentiles lost their rights when they did not keep the seven Noahide commandments. And this implies, as Meiri wrote, as discussed in my above article. There is much more to elaborate on here.
Question
It is puzzling to me why they actually printed in the Talmud (and the rest of rabbinic literature) statements that convey contempt and the like toward gentiles. Didn’t they know that “the matter would come back to bite us”??? In fact, already in the year 1700 they printed the book The Exposure of Judaism in German, and afterward an abridgment in English, and it is an encyclopedia of all the destructive things in the Talmud and rabbinic literature. And this has been a cornerstone for our enemies ever since, especially for that last wicked German who built an entire campaign out of strange passages from the Talmud, as is well known. And truly it is almost impossible to give them a proper answer, unless we say that the Talmud is speaking specifically about savages, as Meiri wrote. In any case, we suffered so many troubles and massacres; even aside from the fact that they hated us anyway, we were all the more ashamed because of these statements, and we were made a mockery and a laughingstock. In any case, things that are not relevant to Jewish law should have been omitted—not only the sayings about that man, but all the statements that pour scorn and disgrace on gentiles, etc.