The Story of the Jews

Session Three:

A Leap in Faith

Introduction: We begin this course with reading chapters 1-6 in Volume 2 of The Story of the Jews followed by viewing episode three of the accompanying film by the same name - "A Leap of Faith."

After having completed the readings for this session and reviewed the accompanying video you may choose - on a purely optional basis - to answer the study questions and submit them at etwimber@hotmail.com or to contact Dr. Wimberley by phone or email to request a time for dialogue about what you have learned. You may do so by phone or dialogue via Skype or Facetime. Dr. Wimberley's phone number is 239.405.4164. We may also convene group meetings of the class using the Zoom application on our computers. You can enroll in this course by emailing etwimber@hotmail.com or by texting Dr. Wimberley at 239.405.4164.

Readings: Schama, Simon (2017) The Story of the Jews (Volume 2). Chapters 1-6.

Video: The Story of the Jews: A Leap of Faith

Simon Schama explores the bright, hopeful moment when Enlightenment thinkers and revolutionary armies brought ghetto walls crashing down — allowing Jews to weave their wisdom, creativity and energies into the very fabric of modern life in Europe. One of the most of fruitful branches of this Jewish renaissance was in music, and the stellar careers of Giacomo Meyerbeer and Felix Mendelssohn established the enduring tradition for Jewish musical prodigies. However, the remarkably successful integration of Jewish talent into the mainstream of European culture and commerce stirred up the ghosts of ancient prejudice, decked out in the new clothes of romantic nationalism and the pseudo-science of anti-semitism. The road to the hell of the Holocaust was paved by the diatribes of Richard Wagner, while the trial of Alfred Dreyfus led Theodor Herzl to conclude that without a homeland of their own, Jews would never be free of the millennia-old persecution.

Study Questions:

1. Why were the accomplishments of Jewish artists such as Giacamo Meyerbeer and Mendelssohn and the integration of Jewish identity in the 19th century ultimately fruitless in the acceptance of Jews by non-Jews in Europe?
2. What role did nationalism play in promoting anti-Semitism?
3. Why do Jews live as if they would need to pack a suitcase and leave at any time?
4. What was Richard Wagner's attitudes toward the Jews?
5. Describe the trial of Alfred Dreyfus.