Between existentialism and zionism

This essay seeks to delineate the existential situation of the modern Jew through a critical but appreciative analysi of Sartre's Anti-Semite and Jew. Following Sartre, it is argued that the Jews of modernity, especially in the Diaspora, are characterized by conflicting fidelities-universalism and particularism-which indelibly shape their basic sensibilities. It is then proposed that there are existentially "inauthentic" and "authentic" options to resolve this conflict. Following a discussion of the nature of the modern Jew's particularity and universalism, the thesis is advanced that an affirmation of either pole of the conflict to the exclusion of the other would constitute an existentially inauthentic resolution of the conflict. Various strategies-all in my view inauthentic-adopted by the modern Jew to reconcile his universalism and particularism are then discussed. Special attention is paid to the so-called "mission theory" espoused by Reform, neo-Orthodox, and secular Jews alike. The cult of Spinoza in modern Jewish thought is also used to illustrate the dilemma inherent in the modern Jew's attempt to relate his Jewishness to his universal concerns. It is then held that Zionism-the conscious choice of a Jew to live in the Jewish State of Israel-constitutes an authentic response to the existential situation of the modern Jew, for it points to a genuine reconciliation of his universalism and particularity. This thesis is supported by an analysis of the implications of the social and political "normalization" of Jewish life sponsored by Zionism. This interweaving of the Jew's universal and particularistic sensibilities also promises the renewal of Judaism as a metaphysical framework providing a system of symbols and cognitive structures in which ultimate and thus universal questions are addressed. In conclusion it is argued that while Zionism may indeed be an authentic response to the existential situation of the modern Jew, it is a response that is not bereft of moral ambiguity and grave responsibility.