Jewish Civilization: The Jewish Historical Experience in a Comparative Perspective - Research Paper Example

Jewish Civilization Ancient civilization of the Middle East lived in Canaan. Canaan was the place where the Hebrews entered from the Euphrates under the leadership of Abraham in the 19th century BCE. These people laid the basis of the Jewish civilization. This was a very strong civilization and had had a huge impact on the evolution of human civilization. The Jewish civilization consists of all such ways of life which represent the Jewish culture at different levels. “To be authentically Jewish, both the civilization and the culture must be informed by and interact with Jewish religious demands and sensibilities, although both can be dealt with differentially” (Elazar, n.d.). Jews, particularly those who live in the religious civilization tend to strictly comply with the Jewish religious laws. Jewish calendar in Israel is recognized as a matter of popular culture just like such rites as fasting, circumcision, and building a sukkah. The middle dimensions of the Jewish culture are represented by such activities as observing kashrut, attending the synagogue, and studying Jewish literature and encouraging others to do so. The Jewish high culture comprises the finest religious expressions in terms of sensibility and perceptions, including thorough study and reexamination of the Jewish religious literature. “Judaism is, as Kaplan suggests, a religious civilization, not simply a religion in the sense that it is not merely a collection of theological doctrines and ritual practices but a comprehensive way of life that is informed throughout by its original religious message as it has evolved” (Elazar, n.d.). With the emergence of Israel on the map of the world, a popular culture has come into being which has formed outside of the religious culture of the Jews, and has spread far and wide all across the world. This popular culture has contradicting traits, in that at times, it seems to represent the popular religion while at other times, it appears so deviated from the religious track that its activities may be considered totally condemnable in light of the Judaism. Nevertheless, the much-talked-about popular culture is to a large extent, still Jewish. The popular culture merges into the Jewish culture’s middle ranks when the best-selling literature is found in Hebrew. The continuity of the Jewish civilization has two poles. First, social networks, and cultural and international frameworks were developed which facilitated the continuity of the Jewish civilization in the days when Jews were scattered in different countries. Second, “the strong, ambivalent attitude of the “host” civilizations, reciprocated by a parallel ambivalent attitude among the Jews toward these civilizations” (Eisenstadt, 1992, p. 9). The end of the twentieth and the start of the twenty first century to date has proved very favorable for the Jewish civilization in many ways. A number of objectives have been achieved which include but are not limited to the rebellion against the homelessness of the Jews, relief from oppression and poverty, rescue of distressed Jews and their attainment of Israel, and most importantly, the New World diasporas which provide the Jews with frequent opportunities of development. Jewish history in the concentration camp Jews have seen a very tough time in the history in the concentration camp. Theresienstadt concentration camp or the Theresienstadt Ghetto was constructed in the days of the Second World War in Terezin. The current location of the concentration camp is in the Czech Republic. Originally, the concentration camp had been established only for the Czech Jews, but Jews from Germany and Austria were also deported there. When the Gestapo captured Terezin in the year 1940, he established a prison in the Small Fortress. The Main Fortress was transformed into a ghetto in the year 1941. According to estimates, above 53000 Jews used to live in a camp which was occupied by no more than 7000 Czechs just a year before the entrance of Jews (Barnes-Hemsworth, 2006). Residents of the concentration camp were compensated in a kind of truck system. Number of Jews that were sent to Theresienstadt was about 144000. A vast majority of them were Czech Jews. At least 40000 of these Jews had come from Germany whereas about 300 of these Jews belonged to Luxembourg and another 5000 were brought from Netherlands. Many Jews from Hungary and Slovakia were also brought to the ghetto. About 1600 Jewish children had been deported to Auschwitz and all of them passed away. The Nazis presented the ghetto as a model Jewish settlement to the outsiders, whereas it was actually a concentration camp inside which more than 33000 Jews lost their lives due to sickness, hunger, malnourishment, and maltreatment inflicted on them by the captors. There was very limited supply of food and a large number of Jews starved to death. A crematorium was later constructed at the concentration camp to cater for up to 190 dead-bodies a day. Almost 69000 Jews died every year. “These victims of the worst atrocities defied Hitler and preserved their heritage, and despite suffering in a concentration camp, these women decided to remember their past and think about the things they most missed” (Barnes-Hemsworth, 2006). The ghetto was nominally governed by a Jewish council as was the practice in the European ghettos. Jakob Edelstein was the first Jewish Elder of Theresienstadt who was deported to Auschwitz in the year 1943. This Polish Zionist was shot to death along with his son and wife. Paul Eppstein succeeded Jakob Edelstein and was also shot to death in the Small Fortress after he had made the deported Jews aware of the pains and sufferings waiting for them in the East. Siegfried Seidl was the first commandant of the concentration camp. Jewish carpenters and artisans worked day and night to transform the fortress into the concentration camp. In 1944, they were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. As soon as they arrived there, all were gassed to death. “Newly arrived persons classified by the SS physicians as unfit for labor were sent to the gas chambers: these included the ill, the elderly, pregnant women and children. In most cases, 70-75% of each transport was sent to immediate death” (Jewish Virtual Library, 2012). A myriad of factors caused the death of these Jewish children which survived the stage of arrival which included but were not limited to stress, hunger, and disease. A significant number of deaths could also be attributed to the typhus epidemic. References: Barnes-Hemsworth, K. (2006, Nov. 10). Memories of Women in a Jewish Concentration Camp. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/memories-women-jewish-concentration-camp-109593.html. Eisenstadt, S. N. (1992). Jewish Civilization: The Jewish Historical Experience in a Comparative Perspective. USA: State University of New York Press, Albany. Elazar, D. J. (n.d.). Jewish Civilization and Polity in a Globalized World: A New Vision for Organized Jewry. Israel-Diaspora Relations. http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/vision99.htm. Jewish Virtual Library. (2012). Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. Retrieved from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/auschbirk.html. Read More