Jewish Thinkers Definitions

The Jew (n.) cannot ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠be one instinctively; one cannot be a Jew without knowing it.

The Jew (n.) discovers ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠man before discovering landscapes and towns; he is at home in a society before being so in a house.

The Jew (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠not a Jew by being this or that; before comparing himself to anyone else, one just is a Jew.

The Jew (n.) has ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠an identity that is not a serene self-presence but the patience, fatigue and numbness of a responsibility — a stiff neck that supports the universe.

The Jew (n.) cannot ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠commit himself without also disengaging himself, even when he commits himself to a just cause; he can never march off to war with banners unfurled.

The Jew (n.) believes ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠in the intelligence of the Pharisees and their masters; it is through the Talmud's intelligence that he accedes to the Bible's faith.

The Jew (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠perhaps, by one of his definitions, the man whom the worries and struggles of the moment leave open at any time to a lofty dialogue — the word that passes from one man to another.

The Jew (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠open to the word and believes in the efficacity of truth, without reneging on any of his undertakings.

The Jew (n.) refuses ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠to submit the Law of justice to the implacable course of events, denouncing them if necessary as counter-sense or madness — a completely negative definition; one must also keep one foot in the Eternal.

The Jew (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠free qua affranchised: his memory is immediately compassion for all the enslaved or all the wretched of the earth.