Q&A: Emancipation: A Necessity of Reality?
Emancipation: A Necessity of Reality?
Question
I assume that if not for the process of emancipation, we would not have been able to arise as a people, establish a state, and achieve tremendous accomplishments in a variety of fields.
Presumably we would have continued to be a despised and swept-along people, tiny here and tiny there.
So were emancipation and turning our backs on Jewish life in Europe justified from the outset?
Answer
If not for the Holocaust, we also would not have had a state. Does that mean the Holocaust was good and that there was a need to encourage its perpetration? I do not judge actions by their results. On the other hand, emancipation in itself is not negative. The fact that Jews chose to turn their backs on tradition because of it is unfortunate, and again I would say that I do not judge a process or an action by its results.
Discussion on Answer
We did not arise as a people; we remained subjugated like donkeys. We did not establish a state. They set up an employment center for us. We did not achieve tremendous accomplishments. Out of the millions of children and young people who played Fortnite in the State of Israel, there is not even one worthy of note.
“So were emancipation and turning our backs on Jewish life in Europe” — dear questioner, why did you link emancipation with turning one’s back?