The Marrano Way: Between Betrayal and Innovation PDF
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TheMarranoWay Perspectives on Jewish Texts and Contexts Edited by Vivian Liska EditorialBoard RobertAlter,StevenA.Aschheim,LeoraBatnitzky,RichardI.Cohen, MarkH.Gelber,MosheHalbertal,ChristineHayes,MosheIdel,SamuelMoyn, IlanaPardes,AlvinRosenfeld,DavidRuderman,BerndWitte Volume 19 The Marrano Way Between Betrayal and Innovation Edited by Agata Bielik-Robson ThispublicationwasmadepossiblethankstothesupportofNCNOpus13Grant:The MarranoPhenomenon:TheJewish‘HiddenTradition’andModernity,registeredintheOSF systemas2017/25/B/HS2/02901, ISBN978-3-11-076824-4 e-ISBN(PDF)978-3-11-076827-5 e-ISBN(EPUB)978-3-11-076834-3 ISSN2199-6962 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2022932016 BibliographicinformationpublishedbytheDeutschenNationalbibliothek TheDeutscheNationalbibliothekliststhispublicationintheDeutschenNationalbibliografie; detailledbibliograficdataareavailablefromtheinternetathttp://dnb.dnb.de ©2022WalterdeGruyterGmbH,Berlin/Boston Coverimage:Fibonacci/iStock/GettyImagesPlus Typesetting:IntegraSoftwareServicesPvt.Ltd. Printingandbinding:CPIbooksGmbH,Leck www.degruyter.com Contents AgataBielik-Robson Introduction 1 Part 1:MarranoJudaism LiberaPisano TheWanderingJew:TheAnarchicChallengeofaMarranoLegend 57 SergeyDolgopolski OutofPlace(OfTalmudicMarranos) 75 EladLapidot ReadingtheOther?LevinasandtheHiddenTraditionofTalmud 97 GöranRosenberg ASwedishMarrano?TheEcumenicalHeresiesofRabbiMarcus Ehrenpreis 117 Part 2:MarranoPhilosophy DanielH.Weiss Spinoza’sTheological-PoliticalTreatise:JewishPhilosophy inanAnti-JewishGuise? 133 DennisBaert ThinkingThroughIdentity:TheMarranicEpistemologyofFranz Rosenzweig 155 UrszulaIdziak-Smoczyńska MarranismasWittgenstein’sReligiousPointofView 181 Part 3:Marrano Psychoanalysis GiladSharvit HeresyandMarranism:TheCaseofFreud 205 VI Contents AdamLipszyc OntheMarranoPsychotheologyofGender:Freud,Schreber,Frank 219 AgataBielik-Robson Derrida’sElsewhere:TheCrypticLifeoftheMarranoSelf 231 Part 4:MarranoLiterature JanSchwarz TheEmancipationofYitskhokBashevis:TheSufferingsofaPolygamous WertherinTheManofDreams 265 PrzemysławTacik ClassicismasaMarranicDisguise:HermannBroch’sTheDeathofVirgil andthePriceofSelf-Preservation 281 VivianLiska Poet–Trickster–Marrano:ElseLasker-SchülerandtheLetter thatSaves 307 Part 5:MarranoReligion(s) AleksandrGaisin Solovyov:APhilosophicalMarrano?TsimtsuminLecturesonDivine Humanity 321 AntoineLevy MetaphysicsofEsther:EdithSteinbetweenAquinasandScotus 341 NotesonContributors 365 Index 369 AgataBielik-Robson Introduction TheMarranoHypothesis: TheRiseoftheModern Subjectout oftheSources of(Hidden)Judaism FromJerusalemaremnantshallgoout,fromMountZionabandofsurvivors. Isaiah37:32 EverythingthatIsaycanbeinterpretedasarisingfromthebestJewishtraditionandat thesametimeasanabsolutebetrayal.Ihavetoconfess:thisisexactlywhatIfeel. JacquesDerrida.1 HermannCohen’sfamousstipulation–thatJudaismistheoriginal“religionof reason”andbecauseofthatmustbetreatedasthesourceofmodernEnlighten- ment– lies, somewhat modified, atthe heartofthis volume. Allits essays put tothetestthe“Marranohypothesis”:theideathat modernsubjectivity–thor- oughly individuated, reflexive about its primary belonging, and keen on free- dom of choice and thought – derives from the sources of marranismo as the hiddenJewishtraditionwhichbroketheallegiancetotherabbinicJudaism,but nonetheless preserved some elements of Jewish faith undercover, while wan- dering into other cultures. Let us, therefore, imagine that it is not Descartes’s egocogito,butratherMicheldeMontaigne’slivingselfthatformstheparadigm ofmodernsubjectivity:notanabstractthinkingthing,naturallybornforphilo- sophical reflection, but a complex psychic entity, torn by existential aporias whichcannotbedetachedfromtheconcretecourseoflife.Letusimaginefur- ther that these existentialaporias have reasonsandrootsthat can be located intimeandspaceandattributedtoaquitespecificexperience.Wehaveread alotaboutMontaigneasanalternativefounderofnovaera:akindofamod- ernAugustine,butinreverse,investingnotintheintimaterelationwithGod, but in the detailed and intensely secular description of his life in the world. Together with Spinoza, Montaigne is often hailed as a pioneer of the modern “free thinking” which, not necessarily atheistic itself, rejects all the religious dogmas and often creates heterodox metaphysico-theological systems. Spi- noza forged a powerful new system of metaphysics, which influenced the wholemodern philosophy. Montaigne did not, he preferred to stay closeto the 1 “ConfessionetCircumfession,”indebatewithRichardKearney,inDesconfessions(Paris: Stock,2007),83. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110768275-001 2 AgataBielik-Robson meanderingarabesqueofhislife.Buttheyhaveonethingincommon:the“Mar- ranoexperience.” Montaigne, the Paradigmatic Marrano MichelEyquemdeMontaignewasbornin1533asthesonofPierreEyquemand AntoinettedeLouppesdeVillaneuve,adescendantoftheNewChristiansfrom Spain, who migrated to France. The Eyquems were merchants and most likely alsoofaSephardicancestry,whoarrivedtotheregionofBordeauxinthetime ofthepersecutionoftheIberianJewsalreadyastheNuevosCristianos.Michel droppedtheenigmaticalien-soundingpatronym(someclaimthatitmightde- rive from the Hebrew Hayim) early on and kept only the name of his birth- place, but this gesture should not be read as a sign of rejection of his Jewish roots. In The Essays, there are many allusions to the sorry fate of the Iberian conversos, but one fragment particularly is worth citing since it contains the whole of the Marrano experience in the nutshell. First, as it is often the case with Montaigne deeply in love with the Greco-Roman antiquity, he strikes a comparison – a kind of a Benjaminian “flash of recognizability” – between theIberianpersecutionoftheJewsandthePersianpersecutionoftheancient Greeks: Anyopinionispowerfulenoughforsomebodytoespouseitatthecostofhislife.Thefirst articleinthatfairoaththatGreeceswore–andkept–inthewaragainsttheMedeswas thateverymanwouldratherexchangelifefordeaththanPersianlawsforGreekones.In thewarsoftheTurksandtheGreekshowmanymencanbeseenpreferringtoacceptthe cruellestofdeathsratherthantorenouncecircumcisionforbaptism?2 AlthoughrespectfuloftheGreekimperativeofthehonorabledeath,Montaigne doesnotendorseit.Intherapidshiftofhistoricalcontexts,heplungesstraigth into the heart of the Marrano dilemma: should one renounce circumcision for baptism and thus stay alive or should one accept the cruellest of deaths and thus stay faithful to their religion? In the next few paragraphs, he launches a bitterattackonthetwo16thcenturyIberiankings,CastillanandPortugal,who contrivedaplotthatwouldobstructthemigrationofJewsfromthepeninsula andfacethemwith aterriblechoice whichtheyhadtodecide ina veryshort 2 MicheldeMontaigne,TheCompleteEssays,trans.A.M.Screech(London:Penguin,2003), 59;emphasisadded.HenceforthasCE. Introduction 3 time and under the extreme duresse: either conversion to Christianity or slavery– Thisdeedissaidtohaveproducedadreadfulspectacle,asthenaturalloveofparents andchildrentogetherwiththeirzealfortheirancientfaithrebelledagainstthisharshde- cree:itwascommontoseefathersandmotherskillingthemselvesor–anevenharsher example–throwingtheirbabesdownwellsoutofloveandcompassioninordertoevade thatlaw.Meanwhiletheallottedtimeranout:theyhadnoresources,soreturnedtoslav- ery.SomebecameChristians:eventodayacenturylaterfewPortuguesetrustintheirsin- cerityorinthatoftheirdescendants. (CE,61) IndignantwiththetreacheryofthePortugueseKing,whofirstpromisedtheflee- ingSpanishJewsasafepassagetoAfricaandthenwithdrewhisoffer,Montaigne comments:“Thatisanexamplewhichallreligionsarecapableof”(CE,59;empha- sisadded).Whyall?IsJudaismalsotobeaccusedofasimilarcruelty,byinducing its believers tochoose martyrological death, as isChristianity, by producingthe dubious Nuevos Cristianos with the“absoluteforce” of compulsoryconversion?3 AlthoughMontaignedescribestheordealofthetrappedJewswith“loveandcom- passion,” he cannot identify with their “zeal for their ancient faith”: he cannot find in himself a trace of a Zealot who would “prefer to accept the cruellest of deaths” rather than the unheroic survival.4 What makes Montaigne suspicious 3 TheCatholicconceptofthe“absoluteforce”wasappliedbytheInquisitionincasesofthose Marranoswhowerecoercedtoacceptbaptisminaparticularlyviolentmanner,preciselyas theonedescribedbyMontaigne.WhennoticingthereferencestotheProvancalconversosin themanualfortheinquisitors,composedbyBernardGui,MarinaRustovcomments:“Indeed, BernardGui,indiscussingthevaryingdegreesofcoercionadmissibleindeclaringaconver- siontoChristianitytobevalid,sayshimselfthatonlyiftheJewhasbeenledtothebaptismal fontbymeansof‘absoluteforce’isheorshepermittedtoreturntoJudaism.Inpracticalappli- cation,thisclausewasobviouslyamatteroftheinquisitor’sdiscretion:howshouldonedefine ‘absolute’?AmongtherelapsiBernarddiscusseswasaGermanJewofToulousenamedBarukh whohadbeenbaptizedonthreatofdeathbyabandofPastoureauxduringtheShepherds’ Crusade;theInquisitionhadnotallowedhimtoreturntoJudaismonthereasoningthatthe forcehadnotbeen‘absolute’afterall”:MarinaRustov,“YerushalmiandtheConversos,”Jew- ishHistory,Vol.28,No.1/2014,39;emphasisadded. 4 OntheemergenceofmartyrdomasthenewformofprovingfidelitytotheJewishGod,see HansJonas:“Inthelongagesoffaithfulnessthereafter,guiltandretributionnolongerfur- nishedtheexplanation,buttheideaof‘witness’didinstead,thiscreationoftheMaccabean age,whichbequeathedtoposterioritytheconceptofthemartyr.Itisofitsverymeaningthat preciselytheinnocentandthejustsuffertheworst.Indeferencetotheideaofwitness,whole communitiesintheMiddleAgesmettheirdeathbyswordandfirewiththeSh’maJisrael,the avowalofGod’sOnenessontheirlips.TheHebrewnameforthisisKiddush-hashem,‘sanctifi- cationoftheName,’andtheslaughteredwerecalled‘saints.’Throughtheirsacrificeshone thelightofpromise,ofthefinalredemptionbytheMessiahtocome”:HansJonas,Morality andMortality.ASearchfortheGoodafterAuschwitz,trans.LawrenceVogel(Chicago,Evanston: 4 AgataBielik-Robson towards this“preference” is that it may indeed be a preference:a deepdesire to proveone’sfidelitytoGodbytherenunciationoflifeintheself-sacrificialascetic gesture.Hethusconcludestheentryontheconversoswithacrypticreferencetoa friendwho,intheZealotmode,“pursueddeathwitharealpassion”: Iwitnessedoneofmyfriendsenergeticallypursuingdeathwitharealpassion,rootedin hismindbymany-facetedargumentswhichIcouldnotmakehimrenounce;quiteirratio- nally,withafierce,burninghunger,heseizeduponthefirstdeathwhichpresenteditself witharadiantnimbusofhonour. (CE,61) Free of any thanatic fascination or a martyrological desire, Montaigne firmly believesthatitisbettertolivethantodie:bettertolosegloryandsurvivethan togaingloryandperish.HedoesnotpouranyscornonthoseJewswhobecame Christians in order to secure their survival. If anything, he merely questions whethertheybecameChristiansafterall,sinceitishardtoexpectasincereal- legiance to the new religion, if one had been brought to it by the “absolute force.” He thus sees those surviving conversos as the first subjects who found NortwesternUniversityPress,1996),132–33.WhichisnottosaythatJudaismcanbeeasily reduced to such thanatic cultic structures. Although there were rabbis who, in the newly arisenZealotmode,woulddemandfromtheJewsfacingconversionafullreadinesstomar- tyrologicalsacrifice,theprevalent,lessdemandingandcompassionate,positionwassetby Maimonides:“Applyinghislogicalmindtothisburning(andperhapspersonal)question,Mai- monidesdiscernedseveralmodalitiesanddegreesofconversion,andruledthataforcedcon- vertmust‘abandoneverythinghepossessesandwalkdayandnightuntilhefindsaplace wherehecanreconstitutehis[Jewish]religion’;meanwhile,heshouldkeepamaximumof Jewishlawsinsecret”(OW,43;emphasisadded).Seealso:MosesMaimonides,“Epistleon ConversionoraTreatiseonMartyrdom”(Heb.)inEpistles,ed.M.D.Rabinowitz(Jerusalem: RavCookInstitute,1981),64–65,aswellasIsadoreTwersky,“Maimonides,”inJacobNeusner, ed.,UnderstandingRabbinicJudaism.FromTalmudictoModernTimes(Eugene,Oregon:Wipf andStock,2003),194,whichcontainsaconcisesummaryofMaimonides’LetteronConversion (Iggeretha-Shemad).Indeed,thehumanesolutionproposedbyMaimonideshasagoodstand- ingintheTalmudwhich,asDanielBoyarinconvincinglyshows,doesnotadvocateaheroic andpossiblylethalconfrontation,butessentiallyunheroicartofevasionthatputsasfirstthe valueofsurvival:“TheappropriateformofresistancethattheTalmudrecommendsforJewsin thisplaceisevasion[. ..]ThecentralBabyloniantalmudicmythofthefoundationofrabbinic Judaisminvolvessuchanactofevasionandtrickery,the‘grotesque’escapeinacoffinof RabbiYohananbenZakkaifrombesiegedJerusalem,whichtheRabbisportrayastheveryan- tithesisofthemilitaryresistanceoftheZealotswhowantedtofighttotheverylastmanand preservetheirhonor.Herewefindthesamepoliticaltheory–Getoutofthere!”:DanielBoy- arin,UnheroicConduct.TheRiseofHeterosexualityandtheInventionoftheJewishMan(Berke- ley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1997),94.AccordingtoBoyarin,theRabbisdonotreally recommendmartyrdom,butevenifitoccurs,theJewishvariantofmartyrologyappearsdiffer- ent,somewhat“sweeter”thantheRoman-Christianmodelofabloodypainfuldeathascontin- uationoftheasceticmortificationofthebody(ibid.,115).
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