Return to the Promised Land.. Jacek Surzyn

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СКАЧАТЬ however, is impossible, because the Christian religious idea in a way is a failure. Hess definitely states that there can be no agreement with Christianity, because it displays a clearly expansionist policy toward Judaism, which after all has led to anti-Semitism (anti-Judaism) with all the restrictions against Jews. But after the revolution, Christianity itself also lost its dominant position and in confrontation with social life changes, its role among European communities and nations has weakened a lot. According to Hess, Christianity will not be a serious opponent to the establishment of the Jewish state and the coming of the Messianic era in human history.⁸⁹ The author associates the right climate for the Jewish solution with the advancement of general socialization of masses. Capitalist changes being the basis of the theory of socialist class conflict are powerfully reflected in the Hess’ concept. He can see the importance of development of working-class self-awareness, and the national problem, and links all this with the Jewish religious tradition and Messianism. After centuries of slavery and contempt from non-Jewish (Christian) environment, Jews finally have an opportunity to achieve a solution which will eventually lead them up to their own state in Palestine. In the case of Jews, the revolution and the social changes connected with the class conflict stressed by the socialist ideology had their excellent confirmation. The manufacture and labor relationships in the system of socialist society correspond to the development of broader Jewish awareness of the idea of revolution, which will ultimately do away with everything that nowadays seems to be outdated. Jewish national awareness rises along with the revolutionary awareness.⁹⁰ Humanistic ideals that have always been ←60 | 61→cultivated in the Jewish religion may finally be implemented as a part of socialist transformations. Jews are particularly good candidates for leading the changes, because as a nation oppressed for centuries, they have the right to pursue political and social liberation. Thus, as Hess argues, they can become the natural avant-garde of socialist revolution. The sense of national community seems to him the first condition for normalizing the labor relationships and getting rid of capitalist injustice and capitalist (but also national and racial) oppression. Hess compares human to a plant, which needs soil (understood here both literally and metaphorically) in order to grow. For centuries, the soil, or land, has been divided among people unfairly, which may not have been such a big problem in the beginning, because – as he argues – in the past all humankind as an organism was still in the process of growth, so its needs were smaller. But antagonisms appeared relatively soon, and first wars between nations (peoples) broke out within the great human organism, which in a way resulted from the poor development of the so-called means of production (Hess mentions specifically science and universal industrialization, but includes both of them in the broadly understood socialist formula of means of production), and hence, ←61 | 62→from their insufficiency, as a result of which ground was never able to feed the residents living on it.

      The competing peoples established a certain hierarchy, resulting in something that Marx referred to as the era of slavery. That ancient situation called by Hess the “beast state” (Thierereich) ended with the development of science and industrialization, the era of slavery was replaced in the sphere of philosophy and human spirit by rationalism and modern science, and in the sphere of social relations and economy by capitalism.⁹¹ Further development mostly referred to labor relationships, which in capitalism involves the abuse of others. As a classic socialist, Hess points to the evil occurring in capitalism, resulting from the intermediation in the “exchange” of labor, that is, the existence of a group of people that use the effects of others’ (workers’) labor but do not work themselves. The development of social awareness, however, leads to changes that the author observes currently (and to a certain degree anticipates for the nearest future). An important factor of changes is obviously the growing awareness on the part of workers – not only class, but also national, patriotic awareness. On this basis, it is possible to build the foundations of free associations, changing, not only internal class relationships, but also broader social relationships in the racial sense. Associations may also cause the formation of political power able to achieve important goals in the political way. Hess claims one effect of such activity is the political pressure connected with the formation of a national state around a specific territory, in which social relationships must be radically improved. For Jews, this is a huge chance for the implementation of their historic mission. Hess perceives them as the avant-garde of the world revolution occurring, not in a rapid, military or armed way but through cultural and socio-political change. The ally of Jews may be the whole working class, gradually enhancing their political awareness.

      In this context, it seems more important to consider the political situation in which the creation of the Jewish state could be successful. Hess proves to be the protagonist of later activities and political solutions taken by Zionists, with Theodor Herzl as the primary figure. He can see first of all the meaningfulness ←62 | 63→of political actions, although he does not specify what actions these could be. Moreover, he does not see the need to create any philosophical or mental background for the Jewish community that could represent them politically abroad. Hess feels the main ally in political activities is France, the cradle of revolution and the related social transformations related. The author vaguely presents the concept of a certain type of alliance between the Jewry and France, trying to find some similarities between the two nations (though he is not very successful). He believes that for France the alliance can be beneficial both in the internal and external aspect. We must remember that France is the cradle of emancipation of Jews, and in this meaning, France has become involved in solving the problem of the contemporary “Jewish Question.” Jews and the French have a common area of interests, which may make them potential allies and be very beneficial for the Jewry, because it offers a political instrument supporting the implementation of the idea of the Jewish state.⁹² At the same time, according to Hess, it was the French people who contributed to the arousal of greater national awareness in the Diaspora.

      A further task is vested in Jews themselves, who must restore the national cult as part of the Messianic idea. Hess believes that Jews are at the beginning of this road, although the symptoms of changes are already present. The strength of the Jewry is growing and despite some disrespectful views of political elites that are less willing or hostile to Jews, Jewish awareness is also changing along the social transformations. But in the environment, the stereotype of Jews based on centuries-long anti-Semitism is still common. Hess writes plainly that the Jewish circle is also contributing to reinforcing the image of Jews’ tendency to uphold the old, outdated mentality. The author illustrates it with an example and diagnoses: “You ←63 | 64→smile at my innocent belief in Jewish patriotism. You have undoubtedly read the Ghetto Scenes and you will possibly remind me of the hero, Mendel Wilna, who possessed a fixed idea to persuade the Rothschilds to devote their capital and energy to the rebuilding of the Holy City and Temple, but who only succeeded in winning over a child to his pious belief. The child, when he grew up and attended the University became so wise that he concluded that only children and fools can dream of rebuilding Jerusalem. … [T];he Jewish poet did not see any deeper meaning in the patriotic feeling of pious Jews than considering them merely as a kind of Jewish Christmas trees, able to amuse only little children and elderly fools. All this … applies to the modern poet who is influenced by the Germanic spirit and not to a poet like Judah Halevi, who poured out his heart’s blood in his Jewish poetry. Halevi, actuated by longing for the land of his dreams, grasped the pilgrim’s staff, only to find a grave for himself in his beloved land.”⁹³ It is clear, then, that currently, Jews are still perceived through the stereotype that does not have much in common with the reality. It is a very skeptical image, because it presents the Jewish community as backward, closed in Diasporas and sticking to old messages, mainly the idea of return from exile and the reconstruction of Jerusalem as the symbol of return to the Promised Land. For many centuries, the image of exile has affected Jewish historical and social awareness. It also determines the Jewish attitude to the external world, which was, let us say, neutral. The Diaspora was not very much interested in what was going on outside, and an average Diaspora resident had little contact with the non-Jewish environment, or rather it was limited to the necessary minimum (mainly economic). Obviously, Jewish elites and so-called court Jews had much more contact with the external ←64 | 65→world, but practically, the Jewish community en masse remained more or less isolated for centuries.⁹⁴

      Emancipation СКАЧАТЬ