Staying Strong

 

Staying under the radar: the high Middle Ages of Spain and living a thorough life.  

By: Jonathan Seidel

In a recent essay I demonstrated the consistent oscillation in Jewish history from tradition to text. Each generation or multiple generations were part of the tradition or text group and then over time shifted to the other. This seemed to be an inevitable seesaw. Though presenting the material chronologically it seems evident to me that much of textual surge was due in part to an external threat. Whether it was Qumran, Rebbe, Maimonides or the ultra orthodox. Text acted as a foothold for the polemical outrage. It was a mode of preservation and progress. This in turn caught my thinking after reading R' Faur’s essay on Don Quijote. He notes that christian Spain had no Middle Ages nor renaissance. The surge of literature was due to influx of outsiders. There seems to be a comfortability that mightily mitigated expression. Which leads us to a few queries? Firstly was christian Spain special and how did they leave? Can a pattern be spotted? And finally what is the role of literature?

R' Faur does not spend much time on these long forgotten few centuries of religious worship. The lack of external intervention enabled them to practice as they pleased. There was no need to publicly present an defence. They merely lived in their own right voided of any polemical attacks. Thus without a destruction there was no need for a revival. They kept continuing through just as they had prior. The golden age of Spain as noted in the high Middle Ages to R' Faur’s definition it is quite ironic. The scholarly amazement in Spanish literature is actually an unfortunate consequence of travesty. The beautiful simple life is ignored. Just as only controversial hot takes make the news so too with academia. The lack of meet to the ancient story excludes it from study. That being said there is not much literature to pick off of to begin with. The thorough through and through nature of Spanish jewry is truly novel.

In my own analysis, the French rabbis of the early Tosafists equal medieval Spanish Jewry. The French rabbis have left little to no literature outside of their commentaries. There is no responsa or philosophical works. French Jewry also contended with a peaceful attitude. There were obviously difficult times but they maintained their custom-like attitude. Even though Christians ravaged through the cities, the dialectical style didn’t falter. Unlike the Spanish who were isolated from much of the intellectual fight, the French ignored it. They maintained their model of worship through and through. There is an honest calibration of expression. Yet even according to Faur the early Tosafitsts preceded the French renaissance. Even through the crusades Soloveitchik points out that aside from the physical destruction not much altered in the Ashkenazi world. Even the canonised shift had little codified affect on ashkenazi culture. Similar to their Spanish counterparts they did not wish to participate in the Christian world of philosophy.  

Today we have a similar custom-based model that though began textually has rooted itself in local customs. The haredi movement relies heavily on a leader to teach the people. The scholar has the knowledge to decide for the people. He authorises the custom and the people obey. Much of the attire, isolation and stringencies are not historically or textually Jewish. They are appropriations of the culture to fit a different people. The custom is merely a communal orientation off the books. Ironically, the haredi movement spawned on the heals of a textual shift but it gradually became its own entity. In the past years an appearance more than anything has become the hallmark of religious identity. To look and behave stringently is accepted. It is quite cruel but demonstrates a clear-cut off-sighted community that harbours its own lifestyle.

What does this all mean? There is obviously a pattern. More so that in the custom world there is a minute amount of literature, much does not survive. This is not because in the Tosafist case, the crusaders destroyed their work but because there was no literature to be written. The haredi case is novel because there is a lot of literature begin written but ironically it is about customs. Instead of oral or memorial customs they are hand written in textbooks. The Middle Ages did not have the technological advancements or simply a printing press to write so many books. The custom logic all in all mitigates revolutionary changes. Even today it is more of the same re-copying old ideas. Custom like mantras are simplistic and steady. 

It can be inferred that literature is generally a reaction to change or external intervention. In sephardic lands where islamic engagement in philosophy was high, it forced the Jews to combat this challenge. An obstacle that needed literature to surpass the difficulty. Textual shifts were generally responses to difficult times. Qumran wrote down their texts to salvage them from Roman persecutors and Rebbe compiled the Mishnah to save the oral law. According to Maimonides and R' Karo both their codes were attempts to provide a religious framework for the struggling Jew. Maimonides was fighting against islamic power and Karo reviving Judaism after the inquisition and the Black Death. The grave textual shift came at the heels first due to the haskalah movement and then after the holocaust. Texts affirmed a past to live by. A heightened truth to revive. Those communities so long forgotten were those who lived peacefully and garnered Torah through their lives untested. 

What does this mean for us? We look for the exotic. We react to the multifold resistance externally appropriating our lives. We must find a way of protesting to stand out. Will people notice us? Staying under the radar ain’t half bad. So what if you are not remembered? Is fame and fortune that important? Just doing your thing staying true to yourself should be enough. You don’t need to have those laudable experiences to feel sufficient. Stories to sound cool. Being yourself and acting true to your convictions is the greatest respect for yourself. So you are not as colourful as others or you may be embarrassed by your innocence that is okay. Just remember why you acted the way that you did. The choice that you made to be that way. Being forgotten is not all that bad. Everyone at one point will be. The goal is not to force remembering but to inspire it. Those who matter to you will remember you for who you are not what you did. Think of our biblical heroes, yes we story their accomplishments. Abraham left his home, Moses split the sea and David killed Goliath but we also tie who they are to the stories. Abraham’s hospitality extended to guests even while sick, Moses’ love for people riled him up in three confrontations and David’s love for God transformed into divine praise poetry. We admire traits that then are cornered into narratives. The real is not about making a name on a billboard but just doing you. Be proud of yourself. Leave a lasting legacy that transcends the finite for yourself and those around you. I personally am not a picture person because I believe in being in the moment. It is the maximisation of the moment that empowers the self. Feeling bad about missing out is nonsense when you recall your values and beliefs. What if games become useless and you remember who you are and feel better about yourself. Be like the Spanish Jews and the Tosafists. Keep true to your path. You don’t need to copy others to react strongly, just do you the best way you can. Be proud of who you are and persist on!