Buddhism as a Tool of Polemic and Self-definition among German Rabbis in the 19th and early 20th Century
- This paper describes an almost forgotten chapter in the relatively short history of Jewish- Buddhist interactions. The popularization of Buddhism in Germany in the second half of 19th century, effected mainly by its positive appraisal in the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, made it a common referent for both critics of Judaism and Christianity as well as their defenders. At the same time, Judaism was viewed by many as a historically antiquated religion and Jewish elements in Christianity were regarded as impediments to the progress of European religiosity and culture. Schopenhauerian conception of “pessimistic” Buddhism and “optimistic” Judaism as the two most distant religious ideas was proudly appropriated by many Jewish thinkers. These Jews portrayed Buddhism as an anti-worldly and anti-social religion of egoistic individuals who seek their own salvation (i. e. annihilation into Nothingness), the most extreme form of pessimism and asceticism which negates every being, will, work, social structures and transcendence. Judaism, inThis paper describes an almost forgotten chapter in the relatively short history of Jewish- Buddhist interactions. The popularization of Buddhism in Germany in the second half of 19th century, effected mainly by its positive appraisal in the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, made it a common referent for both critics of Judaism and Christianity as well as their defenders. At the same time, Judaism was viewed by many as a historically antiquated religion and Jewish elements in Christianity were regarded as impediments to the progress of European religiosity and culture. Schopenhauerian conception of “pessimistic” Buddhism and “optimistic” Judaism as the two most distant religious ideas was proudly appropriated by many Jewish thinkers. These Jews portrayed Buddhism as an anti-worldly and anti-social religion of egoistic individuals who seek their own salvation (i. e. annihilation into Nothingness), the most extreme form of pessimism and asceticism which negates every being, will, work, social structures and transcendence. Judaism, in contrast, represented direct opposites of all the aforementioned characteristics. In comparisons to Buddhism, Judaism stood out as a religion which carried the most needed social and psychological values for a healthy modern society: decisive affirmation of the world, optimism, social activity, co-operation with others, social egalitarianism, true charitability, and religious purity free from all remnants of polytheism, asceticism, and the inefficiently excessive moral demands ascribed to both Buddhism and Christianity. Through the analysis of texts by Ludwig Philippson, Ludwig Stein, Leo Baeck, Max Eschelbacher, Juda Bergmann, Fritz-Leopold Steinthal, Elieser David and others, this paper tries to show how the image of Buddhism as an antithesis to Judaism helped the German Jewish reform thinkers in defining the “essence of Judaism” and in proving to both Jewish and Christian audiences its enduring meaningfulness and superiority for the modern society.…
Author details: | Aleš Weiss |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-408918 |
ISBN: | 978-3-86956-418-0 |
ISSN: | 1614-6492 |
ISSN: | 1862-7684 |
Title of parent work (English): | PaRDeS : Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien [23 (2017)] = JewBus, Jewish Hindus & other Jewish Encounters with East Asian Religions |
Title of parent work (German): | PaRDeS : Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien [23 (2017)] = JewBus, Jewish Hindus & other Jewish Encounters with East Asian Religions |
Publisher: | Universitätsverlag Potsdam |
Place of publishing: | Potsdam |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2018/03/16 |
Publication year: | 2018 |
Publishing institution: | Universität Potsdam |
Publishing institution: | Universitätsverlag Potsdam |
Release date: | 2018/03/23 |
Issue: | 23 |
First page: | 73 |
Last Page: | 93 |
Source: | PaRDeS : Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien [23 (2017)] | ISBN 978-3-86956-418-0 | S. 73-93 |
RVK - Regensburg classification: | BD 1680 |
Organizational units: | Extern / Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien e. V. |
DDC classification: | 2 Religion / 20 Religion / 200 Religion |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access |
Universitätsverlag Potsdam | |
Collection(s): | Universität Potsdam / Zeitschriften / PaRDeS : Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien e.V., ISSN 1862-7684 / PaRDeS (2017) 23 / Articles |
License (German): | Keine öffentliche Lizenz: Unter Urheberrechtsschutz |