Spinoza, Mendelssohn, and Hess on Zion

Developing ideas of Maimonideans like Abulafia, Kaspi, and Polqar, Spinoza remarked in his Theological-Political Treatise that the re-establishment of the Jewish state would not be miraculous but natural. The ways of history are "changeable," and nations rise, fall, and rise again. However, he continued, when opportunity presents itself to the Jews to regain their sovereignty, they will not be able to take advantage of it, since their religion has rendered their souls effeminate. When Mendelssohn was asked about a plan to re-establish the Jewish state, he replied that the Jewish nation does not have the strength for such a grand project. "Hundreds of years of oppression," he wrote, "have drained our vigueur." In Rome and Jerusalem, Moses Hess reinterpreted Spinoza's remarks. "Spinoza," he wrote, "held that the restoration of the Jewish state depends on the courage of the Jews." This chapter aligns and elucidates these discussions.