The Jews and Their Role in Our World

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Vladimir Minkov The Jews and their role in our world

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Vladimir E. Minkov, PhD

The Jews

and their role

in our world:Personal intellectual journey

to discovering Jewish identity

(for Jews and Gentiles)

USA

INVLAD

2010


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That is the beginning of the Jewish people:

Mount Sinai, God, Moses, Ten Commandments


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The Jews and their role in our world

Copyright 2010 by Vladimir Minkov

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproducedor transmitted in any form or by any means without written

permission from the author.

ISBN ????????????


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The Jews and their role in our world:

Personal intellectual journey to discovering Jewish

identity

Table of Contents

In lieu of an introduction

1. About the book, about the author and about potentialreaders1.1. Preface, necessary for a better understanding of this

book

1.2. A synopsis of the book for those who need it to gofurther

1.3. Who the author is and why he wrote the book1.4. Who are the intellectuals and why their understanding

of Jewish identification is important

1.5. Who may like this book and who may not2. 20-th century novelty in Jewish identification that put the

author on the road of personal intellectual journey

2.1. Identification with the goal of physical extermination how it was in the Nazi Germany

2.2. Identification with the goal of spiritual extermination -how it was in the Former Soviet Union

2.3. Neglecting the identification with the goal ofassimilationhow it was in the Czech Lands

2.4. Multiple identifications with the goal of adjusting to thenew social environmenthow it was and is in the USAand Israel

3. Intellectual examination of Religion and God as thefoundation of identity of peoples and communities


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3.1. Intellectual examination of Faith in Religion as the coreof identity of peoples and communities

3.2. Intellectual examination of the Higher GoverningSystem above us as God

3.3. God for believers and unbelievers4. Intellectual examination of the Torah and Judaism as the

foundation of identity of Jewish people4.1. The unique concept of the Gods Better World as the

foundation of Judaism4.2. The Jewish Choseness by God as the spiritual mission

of building the Gods Better World4.3. Spirituality and intellectual spiritual concepts of the

Better World

4.4. Individual responsibility in building the Better World not a collective irresponsibility

4.5. Spiritual competition in building the Better Worldamong orthodox, reform and secular movements

5. Jewish identification in Christianity5.1. The same man as revered Rabbi Yehoshua for the Jews

and Holly Son of God for the Christians

5.2. The Torah (the Old Testament) for the Jews and theChristians as unified Judeo-Christian guiding principles

of the Better World

5.3. The Talmud for the Jews and the New Testament forthe Christians as different interpretations of the unified

Judeo-Christian guiding principles of the Better World

5.4. The Ten Commandments and its contemporary Judeo-Christian interpretation

6. Jewish identification in social-economic institutions ofthe Judeo-Christian countries6.1. Science in harmony with the Torah and Judaism6.2. Democracy in harmony with the Torah and Judaism


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6.3. Free entrepreneurship in harmony with the Torah andJudaism

6.4. Jewish achievements in advancing science, democracyand free entrepreneurship

7. Jewish identification in the judgment of non-Jews7.1. From almost deification to almost demonization7.2. Who are treating the Jews as almost saints and why7.3. Who are treating the Jews as almost devils and why7.4. Spiritual cooperation and confrontation with the non-

Jewish world

8. Jewish identification in the countries of greater Jewishinfluence8.1. The USA8.2. The State of Israel8.3. European Union8.4. Russia

9. Finally, what does it really mean -- the Jewish intellectualidentification


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In Lieu of an Introduction


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IDENTIFICATION AND THE TORAH

For many centuries

theologians, archaeologists, historians and scientists

have been trying to prove or disprove

the truthfulness of the events

described in the Torah/Bible.

But from the point of view

of the identification of the Jewish people,

the truthfulness of the events described in the Torah

is irrelevant.

Even if all the events describedare a figment

of the people's collective imagination,

this imagination shaped the Jewish people,

made them unique,

and defined their spirituality,

which also is the identification

of these people.

All the descriptions and the interpretation

of the events of the Torah/Bible must be examined

from these positions in this book.


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IDENTIFICATION AND GOD

In recent decades debates on the subject

"there is a God, there is no God"

have come to such a head

that sometimes a discussion of the scientific essence

of the concept of God as some kind of a power

ruling over us, in a system in which people exist,

is replaced by an unscientific discussionof this power's interpretation in people's minds.

But all the peoples of the world,

including the Jewish people,

have identified themselves from the very beginning

in the way they have interpreted

the ideas of this supreme ruling powerin the organization of their life on our Earth.

Therefore, even if one were to accept

that the interpretation of the idea

of this supreme ruling power, called God,

for organizing people's life on Earth

is simply a figment of the Jewish people's imagination,

one must recognize

this collective imagination has shaped

the identification of these people.

It is from these positions

the intellectual identification of the Jewish people

must be investigated in this book.


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COLLECTIVE AND INDIVIDUAL IDENTIFICATION

In the course of Jewish history

individuals have been identified as

Jews by external forces

rabbis or anti-Semites.

"A Jew" was a kind of invisible

label affixed to an individual

regardless of

the desire and spirituality of the individual himself.

This book explores the Jewish identification

not as the verdict of these external forces,

but as the conscious decision of the individual himself

based on his intellectual understanding

of the history of the Jewish people

and their unique role in the advancement of the ideas

of "A Better World" for every human being.

And in itthe meaning

of Jewish intellectual self-identification.


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IDENTIFICATION FOR CREATION

According to the Torah/Bible,

the "Better World"

is not the realization of social systems

contrived

by earthly enlightened leaders,

such as the founders

of capitalism, socialism, communism,

halakhic Judaism or sharia Islam.

The "Better World"

according to the Torah/Bible

is the realization

of the combined efforts of individuals

of Judeo-Christian spirituality

continuing

the spiritual and material creation

of our world in accordance with

their understanding of their own role

in the continuation of what was createdat the very beginning by someone or something

subsequently called God

(regardless of how this someone or something

is imagined in the minds of people).


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IDENTIFICATIONFOR THE COMPETITION OF IDEAS


the "Better World" on our Earth

IS NOT

the totality of the worlds of

independent isolated and quarreling countries

when all individuals within each of them

follows the same creative plan

developed "from top to bottom"

by a country's authoritarian leadership.


the "Better World" on our Earth

IS

when the creative work of individuals

within each country

shapes a country's creative aspect

"from bottom to top"

and the totality of creative forces

of independent countries

cooperating spiritually

and competing peacefully

is a continuation of the creative work

begun at the very beginning

by someone or something subsequently called God.


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INDIVIDUAL INTELLECTUAL IDENTIFICATION

Most of the Jewish readers have reconciled themselves

to an interpretation

of Judaism's fundamental principles,

in particular,

the interpretation of the concepts

of the Torah/Old Testament

given by rabbiswho obtained the training

required at yeshivot, seminaries, colleges and the like.

In other words, one can obtain the knowledge

to understand the religion and abide by it correctly

only from a rabbi.

Everyone knows

the rabbis of the different streams of Judaism

Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Humanistic

interpret Torah concepts differently.

Therefore, it is thought

a Jew selects a stream closer to his world-view

and follows the instructions of its corresponding leader.

It is supposed to be somewhat that way.

But not completely!


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The rabbi plays the role of a teacher in Judaism,

while in Christianity a priest plays the role of a ministerpassing God's word to the parishioner.

The Jew speaks with God directly,

bypassing intermediaries in the form of rabbis.

Because inasmuch as all Jews, as all other people,

were created in the image of God the Creator,

that is they themselves are creators,

they should work in partnership with God the Creator

and be in constant contact with Him for it.

This means each Jew has the right, and perhaps is obligated,

to find for himself the most effective means

of such contacts with the Almighty

with the purpose of visualizing

the best individual way of creating a Better World

in family, workplace, community and nation.

(The author is talking only about Jews here,

though he believes everyone - Jews and Gentiles

have such a right and perhaps also are obligated).

And the author, just a scientist,

not wise in the lessons in a rabbinical Yeshiva,

but wise in intellectual, scientific examination

of various technical and human systems

availed himself of that right

and how it turned out for him

has been set forth in this book.


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IDENTIFICATION AND TALMUD

While the Torah is the foundation of understanding

the role and duty of Jewish people

in our world among all other peoples,

the Talmud is the foundation of determining

the practical means of fulfilling

the duty of Jewish peopleimposed on them from the Above

by something what we call God.

One of the most prominent Jewish scholars of our time

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

describes Talmud as

an inspired by God guidance

for finding the best possible wayin pursuing the duties of Jewish people

imposed on them by God.

The Talmud identifies the Jewish people

as intellectual researchers

pursuing the goal of finding the ultimate truth

of what is the purpose of human existence in our world,

and what the Jewish people

are supposed to do here and how.

Since this book is devoted to understanding

the role and duty of

the Jewish people

in our world among all other peoples,

this book analyses mostly the Torah.


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That is the beginning of modern revival of Judeo-

Christian spiritual friendship that is at the foundation

of Judeo-Christian civilization

In 1986, the highest Christian authority Pope

John Paul II went to a Rome synagogue to pray with the

city's Jewish community and Chief Rabbi of Rome.Noting Christianity's unique bond with Judaism, he

said, "You are our beloved brothers ... you are our elder

brothers" in the faith of Abraham.

In 2000, the Pope after meditating at Jerusalem's

Western Wall placed in the wall a written prayer to

God expressing deep sadness for all wrongs done to

Jews by Christians. It ended, "Asking your forgiveness,

we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood

with the people of the Covenant."


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Chapter 1

About the book,

about the author

and about potential

readers


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1.1. Preface, necessary for a better

understanding of this book

The three spiritual strongholds of the Western World are:

for the Jews Jerusalem, for the Christians the Vatican,

for Moslems Mecca. Religious authorities say that such

strongholds are a fundamental identification of all peoples

living in our world, including too the Jewish people.

To what degree is it possible and necessary to trust

identification authorities?

To what degree is it possible and necessary to trust in

one's own intellectual analysis?

Is it enough for a Jew to proclaim he is Jewish and then livelike Christians, or Muslims, or Buddhists

or the life and deeds of a Jew have to be different from

the life and deeds of non-Jews to consider himself a true

Jew?

And if indeed the life and deeds of Jews should be different,

should this difference be a natural outcome of the Jewish

religion, history and traditionsto be proud of it and not to be scared of anti-Semitism?

Those thoughts have been the true spiritual concerns of the

author from the very beginning.


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The Jewish peopleidentify themselves

with the Western Wall

in Jerusalem.

The most prominent

Christian

identification symbol

is Vatican.

All Muslims identify

themselves with

Mecca.


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This book is a result of more than 30 years of observations and

trying to understand how intellectual Jews understand theessence of being a Jew. They are the intellectual Jews living in

the countries of the former Soviet Union, in the United States

and in Israel. Among them are those for whom their native

language is Russian and those who understand only English.

Some of them think the Almighty demands steadfast compliance

with life's unchanging halakhic rules; many hold to the opposite

opinion, believing that the Almighty created the whole world,including too the Jews, which is constantly changing; and there

also are those who generally do not believe in the existence of

the Almighty, but nonetheless consider themselves full-fledged

Jews.

Attempts to find the answer to the question of Jewish intellectual

identification began precisely when the author began to

collaborate with different Jewish and Gentile social andprofessional organizations immediately after his emigration to

the United States from the former Soviet Union. He tried to get

the answer to a question tormenting him during this

collaboration: what are Jews and why do they garner such great

attention from everyoneboth friends and enemies? He received

many answers, but not one of them satisfied him.

And he was not satisfied because the majority of responses werenot very intellectual and boiled down to the following:

we all have been divided into groups and each group has itsown point of view;

all points of view are based on eternal traditions and if mygroup survives in spiritual competition with others, then our

traditions are true;

the discussion of other group points of view comes tonaughtit only brings disorder to our members;


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it is unnecessary to add intellectuality to identification they are completely different notions;

and so forth.And the author remained spiritually dissatisfied. And he began

his own personal search for the answer to his question. He thinks

he has found the answer and that answer is presented in this

book.

This book is an attempt not to divide Jews as "correct" and"incorrect," but to find what unites them intellectually as Jews.

Moreover, it is an attempt to show that there is a fundamental

spiritual commonality between Jews and Christians, despite all

the historic difficulties of living together. And furthermore, it is

an attempt to find what unites Jews and Christians with all the

others into a single mankind. Since a single mankind exists, there

must be something spiritually the same thanks to which mankind

spiritually exists, and there must be a power that created thisunity

There must be a single connecting meaning in the existence of

Jerusalem - and of the Vatican and of Mecca. And when Jews

exclaim, "Next year in Jerusalem," this exclamation should not

sound like a call for a trip and a change of one's residence.

Thousands of studies have been devoted to such philosophicalideas. But this book is not an overview of the ideas described in

these studies. This book is an attempt to find in these ideas the

Jewish identification and most of all, the role of Jews in our

world, while being based on the thoughts and personal

experience of the author himself. And the main thing here was an

intellectual reading of the Torah and the numerous commentaries

to it. Moreover, the opinions of numerous Orthodox and Liberal

rabbis, as well as interviews and discussions with manyintellectual Jews and Gentiles, both close to religion and far

away from it, were a fundamental source.


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But the reader will see no moral admonitions in this book in the

form of interviews with rabbis or references to authoritativestatements, because the thoughts cited here are not a compilation

of authoritative assertions, but the personal understanding of the

author himself. And because the author wanted to present

everything in as compressed a form as possible so contemporary

Jews trying to learn everything (and Gentiles trying to learn

everything) would be able to understand what is being discussed

at once without tiresome searches for the essence in traditional

quotations and facts known to everyone.

The word "Torah" is mentioned frequently in this book and the

usage of this word requires an explanation.

Two determinants are attached to this word in Judaism theTorah is written and oral in Judaism. The written Torah is the

Pentateuch consisting of the books Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,

Numbers and Deuteronomy. The oral Torah includes what iscalled the Talmud and in essence is comments on and

interpretations of the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch is included in

the Tanach including besides the Pentateuch the writings of

Jewish prophets. The age of the written Torah is counted from

when God appeared to Moses and the Jewish people on Mt. Sinai

more than 3,300 years ago, though the Torah we see now was

written significantly later.

The Tanach/Torah is called the Old Testament in Christianity,

distinguishing it from the New Testament which is in essence the

writings of the first followers of Jesus Christ himself (the

Apostles).

The Talmud in Judaism probably is the counterpart to the New

Testament in Christianity. The Old and New Testaments in

Christianity are united by the word Bible.

Thus, the Pentateuch (or Old Testament, as it is called in

Christianity) is understood in this book to be the Torah.
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This book

is not an appeal to believe the authorities,

though most often they are right.

Mostly this book is an appeal

to intellectual thought

using one's own intellect

obtained by each person

individually from God,

and not the intellect

given by God to other people

who honestly earned the title of authority.

Compliance

with authorities

leads to joining a crowd, collective or group.

Compliance

with one's own individual intellectual analysis

leads to the affirmation of oneself

equal

"to the image of God the Creator."


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1.2. A synopsis of the book for those who need

it to go further.

The Torah as we conceive it now appeared, as many think,

nearly two and a half thousand years ago.

Afterwards appeared authoritative comments on the Torah

such as the Talmud (including the Mishnah and Gemara),Midrash and Rashi where the essence of Judaism (of being

the Jew) is laid out in detail. A multitude of comments to

each chapter of the Torah appeared in the last century

written by contemporary rabbis in which Torah concepts are

imparted a modern interpretation.

Just why is the discussion about what a Jew is continuing;why isn't it all sufficient for Jewish identification?


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It is no secret that all Jews understand in different ways why they

call themselves Jews.

Orthodox Jews think that only complete fulfillment of thehalakhic rules in the Talmud make a Jew a true Jew.

Reform Jews think that a Jew is one who just thinks ofhimself as a Jew, and the Talmud only is a reminder of what

happened in Jewish history, but its rules are not mandatory.

Traditional Zionists think only life in Israel makes a Jew atrue Jew and that is enough.

The majority of former Soviet Jews think they are Jews onlybecause they were born into a Jewish family and it is best

not to talk about it.

Many American Jews sincerely believe that to be Jew, it isenough simply to be a liberal who struggles for the

redistribution of tangible wealth in society so everyone is

approximately equal wealth-wise.

And this list of Jewish divisions can be continued ad infinitum.

Therefore, to the question of what divides Jews, the answer is

easy practically everything! It is said not without reason that

two Jews always have three opinions on the very same question.

It is more difficult to answer the question of what unites Jews,

what makes them a single people.

A common language? There wasn't one. Three languagesexisted the Yiddish language of the Eastern European

Jews, the Ladino language of the African and Spanish Jews

and the Hebrew language of the Palestinian Jews, plus theJews spoke the languages of those countries where they

lived. There was no common language, but there were Jews.


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A common territory? But there wasn't one for two thousandyears after the destruction of the Second Temple inJerusalem, and there were Jews.

A common culture? The Sephardic culture is completelydifferent from the Ashkenazic, but nonetheless, both groups

consider themselves Jews.

A common history? Jewish history has become part of thehistory of those Gentile countries where Jews have lived inthe last two thousand years, but they consider themselves

part of the general Jewish population as before.

General anti-Semitism, the Ghetto, oppression? Yes, theyhave united all Jews. But they had a way out of themthey

could do away with the anti-Semitism, the Ghetto and the

oppression, converting from Judaism to Christianity or

Islam, but the majority of them preferred to remain Jews.

If that is so, then there remains only one explanation: belief in

the special designation of Jews that makes them the chosen

people (not in the interpretation of anti-Semites, but in the

interpretation of the Jews themselves) and is their

identification.

This belief includes:

recognizing the one God the Creator, revealed by Abrahamand interpreted in different ways to different peoples;

understanding the concept of our original creation "in theimage of God the Creator" that identifies our chief

responsibility as God the Creator's partners in the creation

of the Better World on our Earth;


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following the covenants of the Torah, where God'sprinciples for building the Better World on our Earth havebeen identified, that boils down to the growth of spiritual

and material GOOD and a decrease of EVIL on our Earth;

knowing how to distinguish GOOD from EVIL according tothe principles identified in the Torah.

And that is what made some ancient pagan tribe the Jews. Not

only do those who uphold the position of Divine Chosenness

agree with it, but also those who think Jews made themselvesthe chosen ones in the sense of their uniqueness in the process

of their historical development.

Even those Jews can agree who consider themselves non-

religious, inasmuch as their faith tested by time transitions

from generation to generation, as they say, from "the mother's

breast" (or genetically as one can say now) even for those who

know neither God nor religion.

If after all the One God and the Torah are the main thing making

Jews Jews, then why don't Jews agree on how such unity should

appear in a single behavior of Jews, in the very same way of life,

the uniformity of which would allow one to distinguish Jews

from Gentiles immediately?

There are long and short answers to this question.

The long answer is based on the analysis of the 3,000 year

spiritual history of the Jewish people, including

the explanation of the essence of God and the Torah byfundamental competing Jewish sects of the pre-Christian

period such as the Sadducees, Essenes, Pharisees, and later

also the Zealots, Hellenistic Jews, etc.;

the Talmud and the Talmudic interpretations of the Torahwhich give opposite opinions on the very same questions

which reflected the points of view of the different sects;


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the halakhic rules of Jewish behavior (some of them led tothe Shulhan Aruk Orthodox code of behavior), which isimpossible to follow fully, inasmuch as they reflect the

completely other living conditions that existed many

centuries ago;

the numerous often contradictory explanations ofauthoritative rabbis who interpret the very same Torah

positions for different life situations;

the presence of many spiritual streams in modern Judaism,including too in Orthodox Judaism;

new spiritual streams in the modern state of Israel thatappeared from the very moment of its formation.

There are thousands of publications about the long answer in

which authors try to prove the correspondence of the point of

view being defended to the spirit of the Torah and the disparity

in all other points of view to the spirit of the Torah. It is simply

impossible to analyze all these publications in one work, but thefollowing short answer may help clarify the situation.

Inasmuch as we, human individuals, were created in the image

of God the Creator, we ourselves are the spiritual and material

creators of the Better Life on our earth in accordance with God's

design laid out in the Torah. And inasmuch as the main element

of any true creation is a competition of diversified ideas, the

diversification of ideas in Judaism is not only allowed, but is

obligatory.

Actually, inasmuch as we were created in the likeness of the one

unique God (in any of His representations), each of us is a

single, unique individual. Each of us appeared on our earth to

find our own unique path for the continuation of the work of his

predecessors in the creation of the Better World on our Earth,

and each of us will pass on everything created to those who will

continue this work after him.


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In order not to err from the chosen path, each one must

strengthen his faith by participating in the spiritual life of hiscommunity, be it the observance of the Sabbath and other

notable days of the Jewish calendar, the spiritual discussion of

political and social problems, etc.

The Better World is created by the individual in any place he

may beat home with the family, at work among colleagues, inany Gentile organizations and places where fate may bring him.

And it all is fulfilled individually, inasmuch as that is the way it

is supposed to be - we all compete spiritually with each other for

a better understanding and fulfillment of the concept of a Better

World "according to God."

While each Jew is an individual in his own creativeness, analysts

of Jewish life can symbolically combine all Jews into three

groups:

(1) Those who decided to be assimilated and leave the Jewishfaith because of the unreasonable burden, as it seems to

them, of being a Jew. They continue creation under other,

non-Jewish banners, and, it is possible, the ten lost tribes of

Israel are in this group. Many of them became good

Christians. Others became anti-Semites, most likely to

justify taking such a step for themselves. The most apparentrepresentative of anti-Semites in this group is the founder of

Communism, Karl Marx.

(2) Those who concentrated on the creation and strengtheningof the Torah's spiritual and ritualistic traditions for the

purpose of isolating the Jewish people from others, thus

preserving a unique connection with their God and creating

their own unique Better World on our Earth just forthemselves, in the hope it all will be adopted somehow and

sometime by others. The life and activity of such people as

Rabbi Kook in Palestine before the founding of the State of


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Israel, Rabbi Nakhman of Breslov in Tsarist Russia in

Uman, Ukraine, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe Schneerson inthe United States, are typical of this group. This group may

be called symbolically the Jewish custodians of the Torah.

(3) Those who, while remaining Jews and spiritual followers ofTorah concepts in the creation of the Better World on our

Earth for all Jews and Gentiles, have concentrated on

mutual creative work with others. The life and activity of

such people as the founder of Zionsim and humanistTheodor Herzl, the supreme scientist, physicist and

humanitarian Albert Einstein and the great actor and public

figure Solomon Mikhoels are typical for this group. This

group can be called symbolically the Jewish builders of the

Torah.

If under the assumption that everything being done corresponds

to some plan of the Almighty (in any of His representations),then one may express the Almighty's logic in the following way.

The Jews included in the first group are so removed from

understanding the Almighty's plan, that the Almighty has simply

decided to exclude them from the Chosen People to lighten the

load of the two remaining groups. Jews joined the second group

with an acute perception of the One God and His instructions.

Jews joined the third group with an acute understanding that theideas of the One God (once more in any of His representations)

should be transformed into a program of creative activities for

the creation of the Better World "according to God" for

everyone.

It is very important to agree, while discussing the predestination

and identification of Jews referring to the Almighty/God and the

Torah, on the form and representation of the Almighty/Godhimself. Without agreement on the assumption of the multitude

of God's images, the discussion of Jewish identifications often

stops when someone declares, "I don't believe in God," but as a


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rule there is no answer to the counter-question, "what God don't

you believe in?"

So for a discussion of the identification of Jews, it is enough to

recognize that we, the people on Earth, ARE NOT the superior

ruling power, that there is something over us that determines the

laws under which our world and we operate and exist, and that

the something over us is the Almighty.

Further detailed elaboration of God's representation and itsinfluence on our world, including nature and people, leads to the

division of people and that lays at the heart of the unfriendly

relations of the Jewish custodians of the Torah and the Jewish

builders of the Torah. But if such dislike also is included in the

Almighty's design, then it may mean that the spiritual

competition of these two groups is useful for the advancement of

His plan for the creation of the Better World on our Earth.

Very likely, the majority of Jews in all three groups will not

object to declarations that the state should be separate from

religion and that science and democracy have nothing in

common with religion. However, an intellectual reading of the

Torah leads to the opposite conclusion the separation ofreligion from the state, and science and democracy from religion

makes fulfillment of the Torah's covenants (the Almighty's

covenants in any of His representations) impossible.

The majority of Jews treat Judeo-Christian unity warily, though

such unity is one of the fundamental covenants of the Torah,

however paradoxical it is.

Almost all Jews and many Christians see nothing positive in

anti-Semitism, though, much as it is not considered paradoxical,

anti-Semitism is to a significant degree a recognition of the Jews'

success in their fulfillment of some mission in society, though

there is no agreement regarding the essence of this mission.


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Many Jews treat the concept of their chosenness warily the

reason for all this, in order to contrast themselves with all theothers, not understanding that a true understanding ofchosenness lies at the heart of their identification.

So, this book also investigates all these questions to determine

Jewish identification and the role of Jews in our world.


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Everyone knows and can explain

why they consider themselves someone.

A musician says that he is a musician

because he plays some instrument

not because his parents were musicians.

A builder says he is a builder

because he builds or designs something

not because his parents were builders.

A Russian says he is a Russian

Because he was born in Russia,

and his country's traditions direct all his life activities

not because his parents were Russians.

But ask a Jew why he considers himself a Jew

and the answer most often will be

because his parents were Jews.

Just what must a Jew do to consider himself a Jew,

whether he is from a purely Jewish family,

from a mixed family,

or if he is a Christian by birth

who made the decision to live a Jewish life?


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1.3. Who the author is and why he wrote the

book

On this and the next two pages there are one picture and

seven photographs: Moses on Mt. Sinai brings the Jewish

people the Torah from God, the author's grandfathers and

grandmothers on his father and mother's side, his father and

mother, he himself, his wife and their two daughters.

Is there a spiritual unbroken connection between Moses on

Mt. Sinai and this large family?


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In the center of thephotograph above are

the author's great

grandmother on the

father's side and on the

right his grandmother

on his mother's side.

The family on the

father's sideconsidered themselves

not religious, but on

his mother's side as

religious.

But they all were

indisputably Jewish.

How is it so?


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This is the

father whotrusted the

government

more.

And this is

the mother

who trusted

the traditionsof her people

more.

And this book's author, who is trying to sort out all this in his

spiritual and creative life, with his wife Inna and daughters

Natasha and Anya.


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And on this and the two following pages are presented

photographs from the author's spiritual and creative life,during which he attempted spiritually to locate all this on

Mt. Sinai where Moses received the Torah/Old Testament

from God.

Parade of cadets of the Soviet

Naval Academy, from which

the author graduated.

One of the power systems

that marked the beginning of

his scientific work for the

optimization of power

installations.


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One of the first Soviet nuclear bombs and its Soviet

developers and American colleagues (the author, one of theAmerican colleagues, is third from the right), who helped

Russian nuclear weapon developers in the creation of

peaceful atomic technologies in "turning swords into

ploughshares!" This photo was taken approximately 1990 at

one of the main Soviet nuclear weapon development

organizations.

Is the unseen spirit of Mt. Sinai, Moses, the Torah, God and

Judeo-Christian civilization present here? Is it "good" or

"evil" from the point of view of the Torah/Bible?


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The gift of a Torah scroll to the Jewish community of the

Ukrainian city of Konotop (author on the left), in whoserevival the author took an active part. This photo was taken

in 2007 in the city of Konotop in Ukraine.

Inasmuch as this is a gift of a Torah, a spiritual connection

between this event and Moses on Mt. Sinai undoubtedly must

exist.

But how can one place on that very same Mt Sinai both a

Torah, and Moses and a Naval Academy and science and an

atomic bomb?


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And the author has attempted to answer these questions,

analyzing his whole life.

The author came into the world in the former Soviet Union as

early as before the Second World War in a Jewish and a bona

fide Soviet family. He lived and worked the Soviet way

sincerely, but his mind regardless of his desire, most likely

geneticworked the Jewish way, as he subsequently determinedit. The mind operating the Jewish way was looking for

something better all the time. It doesn't obediently carry outinstructions coming "from above," but automatically subjects

these instructions to analysis hoping to find better solutions to

make everyone "happy" - from the nearest and dearest to those

furthest removed and not related at all (and that's it!) Then he

still would not have known that everything comes from some

incomprehensible God and some unknown Torah, and he was

acting, most likely, impulsively.

He graduated from the Naval Engineering Academy in the

Leningrad suburb Pushkin in the Soviet Union, where he

obtained true friends (Jews and Gentiles); served for a while in

the Soviet Navy and later was demobilized; went through post-

graduate school and became successful in sciencein the area offinding optimal solutions for new power systems.

Everything was good - his family, which brought joy; and thecreative results of his scientific work in a research laboratory he

managed; and his intellectual friends who helped him understand

everything happening around him.

No, all the flaws of the Soviet system were visible; there was the

sense that some traditional, perhaps even "Jewish" notions of

Good and Evil were hideously distorted; and there was the sense

that this system exceeded the bounds of "normalcy" that wasvery difficult to express in normal words. But there was hope

someone "above" saw it all and was working on a correction.


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But enlightenment ensued at the end of the 1970s: the system

itself presented irrefutable evidence it was hopelessly ill andcould not heal itself. The system was deaf to all the ideas of

honest people and patriots, not the false party patriots, but the

spiritual patriots who sincerely wished good both for their people

and for all others. And it was especially deaf to the ideas of

people of the "Jewish ethnic group" who always needed, as the

saying goes, more than the others.

And such enlightenment led to his immigration to America wheredemocracy and the Judeo-Christian spirituality of this country

made it possible to begin to figure out what Good and Evil

meant, and actively to defend the rightness of his ideas both inthe scientific field and in the spiritual area.

Everything was normal in the field of science in America: the

work brought him satisfaction and the ability to defend his point

of view on scientific problems being resolved was guaranteedand always used. The most interesting part of the work was joint

American-Russian projects with Russian developers of nuclear

weapons on the use of nuclear military technologies for peaceful

purposes. The apex of this work was a two-volume work in

English, "Nuclear Shadow Boxing," written with three

colleagues and devoted to the scientific history of the American-

Soviet nuclear confrontation in the "Cold War" years.

But in the spiritual area, his "soul" continued to seek the answer

to questions of identificationon the whole for everyone, and in

particular for the Jewish people.

What is this learning and science for, what we must do in this

life, what is the purpose of our life on the earth, what has come

to us from the past and what will pass into the future?

And the author thinks that he has found his own personal answer

which comes down to the following:


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The One God in His intellectual interpretation, the Torah in its

intellectual interpretation, Judaism and Christianity which cameout of Judaism in their intellectual interpretation are the basis of

the determination of the purpose of our stay in our world, the

basis of the definition of Good and Evil and the basis of our, as

many say, Western Judeo-Christian civilization.

And if we begin to forget all this, our civilization will begin to

surrender its positions to other civilizations and our world may

become completely different. And we may realize all this when itis already too late

And further, having sorted out what's what and having discussed

it all with a multitude of interested friends, colleagues and

correspondents, the author understood others might also be

interested in his spiritual discoveries.

Why did the author want to share his thoughts with others? Heconsiders himself a typical representative of the intellectual

Jewry and the desire to "make mankind happy" with their

discoveries is inherent in such people. And he thinks his spiritual

interpretations may be interesting to others.

But why him, not a rabbi or philosopher by training? Everybody

knows rabbis and priests are engaged in such interpretations and

their interpretations are accessible to everyone. Why those

interpretations are not enough? However, after conversations

with many typical clergy members and the study of their spiritual

interpretations, the author discovered that they are in no

condition to illuminate spiritual questions so they satisfy

intelligent people intellectually.

And it all is because the purposes of the clergy's spiritual

activity differs in principle from the purposes of the spiritual

activity of intellectually intelligent people.

.


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Life in two worlds

in the Jewish worldand in the Judeo-Christian world

is not an attempt to move from one world to another.

The intellectual reading

of Judaism's holy books

and writings of Christianity's founders

suggest

these two worlds exist"according to God."

The Torah (the Old Testament)

was given to the Israelites,

but it was not given to them for their exclusive use;

It was given to them by some almighty power

subsequently called God

for propagation to all peoplesliving in our world.

Therefore, life in two worlds for a Jew

should be a natural condition

independent of whether he does it

consciously or intuitively.

And that is what the author felt

during his reflections on his life

and what he thinks

may help others

to sort out their own spiritual life.


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1.4. Who are the intellectuals and why their

understanding of Jewish identification is

important

Presented here are God the thinker who created man in his

own image and likeness (as portrayed in Leonardo da Vinci's

self-portrait) and man the thinker created in the image and

likeness of God (as portrayed by August Rodin).

Can one assume this

identifier "thinker" also is

most essential in the

intellectual unity of God

with Man?


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The standard definition of intellectuals: they are people with a

highly developed analytical mind permanently turned on to theprocess of abstracting about truth and morality; who produce

and develop ideas that determine standards and cultural values

for the rest of society. The main thing in intellectuality is not

education, but a natural ability to think and generate new ideas.

Our forefathers, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses, did

not have any formal education, but they generated those ideas

that created the foundation of the Judeo-Christian world'smodern standards and values (how to distinguish Good from

Evil). As is seen from the definition of intellectuals, the purpose

of the spiritual activity of intellectuals is to search for new

approaches to traditional situations and is the mindset of a new

creator.

And it brings together such people with an intellectual version of

God's image and the goals of our existence in our world. Indeed,as the Torah affirms (Genesis 1:26), God created people in his

own image and likeness. But God's main characteristic according

to the Torah consists of the fact that He is the Creator and he

created our world and all of us, and he created everything that is

constantly being further developed.

And constant development requires a constant generation of new

creative ideas with which intellectuals also concern themselves.

The goal of the spiritual activity of rabbis and priests is

something completely opposite: to bring people to their senses

the unchanged and stable connected with God's image and the

existence of our world created by this God (Darwin's

evolutionary concepts in no way contradict the creation of the

world by some Almighty Power over us that has received the

name God). For example, in Judaism Orthodox rabbis teach theconstancy of what was done during the world's original creation

while Reformed rabbis teach the constancy of that understanding

of a world emerging in a contemporary liberal social


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environment. In the Christian world, counterpart treatments in

the study of the constancy of our world exist both in Catholicismand the Orthodox Church.

Therefore, intellectuals in particular do not find a spiritual home

in official religious organizations, though they do not refute their

principle importance.

One more thing important for understanding the intellectual

approach to the subject: the importance of scientific assessmentswhere they are possible. In particular, for this book the

assessment of the probabilistic nature of events occurring in the

human community is important, and a clear, almost scientific

definition of the ideas being discussed.

Mentioning the probabilistic nature of events is important

because disclaimers may be found to all the assertions in this

book.

For example, the assertion that Judeo-Christian moral criteria

created our civilization will be contrasted with the slogan,

"Religion is the opiate of the people." Both assertions are true

actually, there were many examples in history when religion was

used not as a compass for building the Better World, but for

keeping the masses of people obedient. And only the appreciably

great likelihood of a positive influence on our civilization that

will build the Better World "according to God," and of the

Judeo-Christian morality that was proven by the events of the

last two millennia confirm its grandeur.

One more example. The assertion that one of the Ten

Commandments in the Torah calls out "thou shall not kill"

always contradicts the examples from that very same Torah

which describes "killing" committed by God in different Torah

episodes.

In order to sort this out, one needs to read the Torah carefully

and understand that "thou shall not kill" means "thou shall not

kill Good," but "kill Evil." The point is that God is destroying


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Evil in the Torah, and the destruction of Evil leads to an increase

of the probability of preventing mass murders of peoplefollowing the Good path. Further in the books this assertion will

be supported by an analysis of the statements of the biblical

prophets.

A clear definition of the ideas being debated is needed because

the most contrary of definitions may be covered by one and the

very same word, and very often disagreements arise in the

discussions because of that in particular.

Let's take, for example, the word "God." When someone says to

this book's author (who believes in the existence of an

omnipotent power over us) that he (this somebody) doesnt

believes in the existence of God, the author always puts forth the

question, in which God is there no belief? And most often the

author agrees with the opponent's assertion that, really, there is

no such God as the one the opponent described to him.Therefore, the ideas being debated must be clearly defined

before any discussion.

Here are some of them.

Religion. Religion consists of three components, and thesecomponents are faith, rituals and religious organizations. The

main thing in religion is faith. Rituals and organizations play

an auxiliary role, enabling the strengthening of faith and

helping in actions for fulfilling faith's covenants. Thus,

usually, while speaking about a person's piety, people have in

mind the fulfillment of rituals and the visitation of religious

organizations (synagogues, churches) by a person in

discussion. But in reality, a person's piety is determined by

faith which one can follow while not even fulfilling therituals and not visiting religious organizations. Faith is the

key determinant of religion and piety in this book, and not

rituals and religious organizations.


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God. When someone says that he does not believe in God,most often he has in mind an image of God as some kind ofman-like gigantic dictator controlling all the spheres of our

life as he wishes and who is looking after his subjects. One

must maintain good personal mutual relations with such a

God. One must pray for a good relationship to oneself, to

one's family, to one's people and to one's country from such a

God. It is not worth intellectually-thinking people, really, to

believe in such a God. But another image of God also exists.

He is a kind of omnipotent power over us who created ourworld and his laws that determine everything that changes

around us. And if we follow these laws, we prosper; if we try

to live contrary to these laws, we suffer. And this power can

carry out the same experiments on us as we carry out on those

who enter our sphere of influence. God's key determinant in

this book is the presence of laws created by the omnipotent

power over us and which must be followed and not the

personal relationships of this power with man.

The Better World. They sometimes say that a person who hasdied goes "to another world, a better world." Maybe there is

some kind of better world in heaven, but that is not the world

whose creation is urged by the Torah, recounting for people

God's ideas for the continuation of the creation of our world

created by this God. The Better World according to the Torah

is not a better world in heaven, but here on our earth, during

our life. If the Better World is a result of the collective efforts

of all who sincerely believe, there are not and cannot be

"working drawings" of the Better World created beforehand.

Such a world according to the Torah is the combined result of

the creative activity of all individuals doing everything

everywhere as it is seen to be correct by them in accordance

with their individual understanding of Torah (and forChristians Bible) concepts. That is how the Better Worldwe are building according to God and the Torah is defined in


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this book. The notion of a Better World "according to God" is

detailed in many places of this book.

The authentic (ideal) Jew As soon as the question is put, justwho is an authentic Jew, the majority propose the following

answer: he is one who was born into a Jewish family and for

whom the synagogue is a "home away from home" and who

fulfills all the rituals our Jewish forefathers followed in the

townships and shtetls of long-ago. While not refuting the

importance of the fulfillment of rituals and visits tosynagogues, the most important thing according to the Torah

is the creative activity in the creation of the Better World in

accordance with God's spiritual concepts laid out in the

Torah. If that is so, then an authentic (ideal) Jew should be

one who ideally follows all the Torah's creative covenants.

And that means an "authentic Jew" kind of status can even be

granted to one not born into a Jewish family, but one born

into a Jewish family can be essentially not a Jew at all if hedoes not follow the Torah's creative covenants. Thus, not only

Jews by the fact of their Jewish birth, but also all others in

our world can (and must) achieve spiritual ideality according

to the God of the Torah. This book adheres to such a position

of the Jews in actual fact.

Judeo-Christian commonality and morality.It is commonalityand morality, based on the Ten Commandments and their

derivatives described in the Torah, or the Old Testament,

which were developed further in the Talmud for Jews and the

New Testament for Christians. And so this book defines a

Judeo-Christian commonality formed from the very

beginning two thousand years ago and preserved despite all

the well-known facts of Christian oppression of Jews.

The Chosenness of the Jewish People. As soon as this subjectis touched upon, the assertion at once arises that the concept

itself of chosenness means Jews consider themselves smarter


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than others, they elevate themselves above others and they

know how to do everything better than others.Not in the least!

The essence of the Jewish people's chosenness concept

developed in this book consists of the fact the Jewish people

are the people of the Torah. And the Torah determines the

main goal of the existence of the Jewish people as assistance

to the Almighty/God in the building of the Better World for

everyone, Jews and gentiles, on our earth according to the

covenants of the Almighty/God himself. The Jewish peoplewere chosen to carry out this task, but not to elevate

themselves over others, but to shoulder a great responsibility.

The majority of Jews think that chosenness is God's dictate,

though some think evolution made them that way.

It is not essential from the point of view of a practical history

that's the way they are. As a people they consciously orunconsciously do everything originating from God and the

Torah, but, as in any nation, they have their own sinners among

them.

All of the definitions just cited are only examples of the

definitions needed during the discussions in this book.


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If one is to believe

that God the Creator

created all people as creators

"in his image and likeness,"and people of the Judeo-Christian civilization

believe it,

then each living person in our world

must consider himself

an intellectual and creator

realizing his own individual

creative capabilities

given him by God.

And it must apply to an equal extent

to all people

disregarding their profession

both to scientists and to cobblers;

both to poets and to printers;

both to those

elected to the government

and to those

who elected them.


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1.5. Who may like this book and who may not

Portrayed here is a sculpture of a bureaucrat carrying a

briefcase made by an artist in Russia, and a version of

Rodin's sculpture the Thinker found in Israel.

All the instructions that need to be followed strictly are in the

bureaucrat's briefcase. His main job is to prevent any

attempts to place the instructions in doubt and to suppress

any intellectual activity directed at looking for somethingbetter. He is the ardent enemy of any intellectual activity and

of any intellectuals.

This book's author thinks that Man the Creator recognizes

mankind to a great degree than man the bureaucrat. If that

is so, then one may assume Man the Creator may like this

book and man the bureaucrat will take a dislike to it. But

would he read it?


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It is submitted that those who attempt to understand what they

are doing here on our earth may like this book.

They are the ones who seek answers to the question of what

unites them with every living person in their country and around

the world, and not what separates them.

They are those trying to understand what then came to them,

what was before them and what will come from them to those

who will be after them. They are those for whom the spiritualfoundations of existence are no less important than the material.

They are the ones for whom creation everywhere and always is

life's goal both in the family and at work, both among friends

and in society.

And those for whom the peaceful competition of spiritual ideas is

more important than military conflicts, but they are ready todefend their own spiritual ideas with weapons in their hands

against those who are unable to stand up for their own ideas in a

peaceful competition and, therefore, have decided to "prove

themselves right" with war.

Among those who may like this book might be

scientists, for whom it is important not only to prove theexistence of some kind of law, but also to foresee how the

practical usage of this law will help make our world a better

place for all who live in it;

businessmen, for whom not only is it important to bevictorious over competitors in a free market economy, but

also to convince themselves the number of people whose

lives will be better as a result of it will be somewhat larger

than the number of the unlucky ones who were at adisadvantage;

engineers, for whom it not only is important to execute aproject within the limits of the money and time allotted, but


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also to feel this project is something creatively new that did

not exist before it; politicians, for whom their political career is not only a well

paying job, but also the chance to realize their ideas in the

creation of a better life for those who are electing them now

and for the children and grandchildren of their present

constituencies;

and just common people for whom the spiritual componentof life is no less important than the material.

And who may not like the book? Those seeking ones guilty of

what they themselves are guilty.

They are the ones unable to achieve with physical and spiritual

labor what others achieve, but are unable to take it in stride

either.

They are the ones who determine their prosperity not by the

realization of their spiritual and physical potential, but by the

comparison of their achievements with others: if others achieved

more, that is "they achieved it by dishonest means."

They are the ones for whom creative labor's equal material

results are more important than equal conditions in the

discovery of their capabilities.

In other words, they are the ones for whom an authoritarian

society, such as a communist one for example, with orders

coming from the top, is more valuable than a society of free

enterprise with clearly observed rules of fair competition and

with individual responsibility for the results of their labor. Many

of them are included in the ranks of anti-Semites for whom Jews

are, as it were, the "scapegoats" very necessary for taking theirminds off the fact that you yourself are to blame for your life's

misfortunes.


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Among those who will understand this books' basic ideas but not

grasp them may be scientists for whom the understanding of the physical nature

of things is their sole purpose;

businessmen, for whom only "making money," and not itsuse for socially significant projects of their own choice is

the goal;

engineers, who work only "for salaries;" politicians, whose life goal is personal material well-being

and the sensation of power; and just common people worried only about the material

side of life.

One would like

to believe

this book

can help one

who is looking for it

to experience joy

from the realizationof their God-given individual capabilities,

not to grieve

that someone has greater capabilities,

and someone has achieved

more in the material sphere.


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Chapter 2

20th century novelty

in Jewish identification

that put the author

on the road

of personalintellectual

journey


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2.1. Identification with the goal of physical

exterminationhow it was in Nazi Germany

Something new emerged in the 20th century in Jewish

identification in Nazi Germany that had not happened before

in all the many centuries of the history of the Jewish people.

It was state identification for the purpose of finding and

exterminating Jews.

Such identification was founded on Nazi ideology begun by

the savage theoretical anti-Semitism of the German

composer Wagner and brought to brutish practical

realization by Hitler and his Nazi regime. The Holocaust

with its six million dead Jews was the result of such

identification.

One such extermination action is shown in the photograph

on the next page in the city of Kovno in Lithuania, which

was occupied by the Germans in 1941.

What was it a logical development of anti-Semitism or a

return of part of mankind to a savage pre-human condition?

Is it possible to make sense of it in the light of the Torah, of

Ten Commandments, of the concept of God, of the Jude-

Christian civilization?


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Let's begin with the savage philosophy of the German composer

Wagner that is described precisely by the Soviet conductor YuriAranovich and submitted here.

The story of militant Wagnerian anti-Semitism again proves how

dangerous are the ideas of racial hatred and unhealthy

xenophobia, especially when they issue not from the mouths of a

tipsy sausage maker, but belong to representatives of the national

creative elite.

"Jews are worms, rats, flesh worms, tapeworms that must be

exterminated, like a plague, to the last microbe, because there is

nothing that works against them, just poisonous gases," Wagner

wrote in a letter to his wife.

In his book, one of the chapters of which Wagner called

"Jewishly Evil Art," he writes, "It would be a most profound

error to separate Wagner the thinker and philosopher from

Wagner the composer. Perhaps it is possible in other cases, but

not in mine."

Wagner left no doubts about what he wanted to say with his

music as the thinker and philosopher. In a letter to Liszt in

1848, he invited him "to commit musical terrorism." And

actually, one may by rights call Wagner the first musical terroristof our time, long before Hitler and Arafat who directed terrorism

against the Jewish people.

Wagner was an ideologue of a defined movement, with a defined

goal both in music and in politics and in public life.

Wagner expressed his ideology perfectly clearly in the last

chapter of his sensational book and which hasn't ceased causingheated controversy to the present day, one of the chapters of

which is called "The Final Solution of the Jewish Question"

(by the way, he first introduced this expression long before the


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Nazis). And the final solution is of course the complete

extermination of the Jews. Wagner wrote a letter to the Bavarianparliament in which he proposed such plan for extermination of

the Jews. Not one musician, and not only musicians, but also

philosophers overall ever had advanced a program for the

extermination of a whole race. Even Nietzsche, whom it is

difficult to suspect of sympathies toward the Jews, wrote him a

letter where he said that Wagner was worthy of "dying in prison,

and not in his own bed" for this proposal. Nietzsche declared

openly in his letter to Wagner, "You are not a man, you aresimply a disease."

Wagner saw to it his ideas were clearly understood by

subsequent generations. For example, at the celebration of his

68th birthday, a year before his death, Wagner said in reply to a

toast, "My baton will show future generations many more times

what stand they should take."

And this stance was freeing mankind of the Jews.

First, because "Jews are like flies and rats: the more you

exterminate them, the more they procreate. There exists no

means except total extermination. The Jewish race was born as

the enemy of mankind and everything human. And especially the

enemy of everything German. And German art cannot sleep

soundly until the last Jew is exterminated." This idea was, as

Wagner himself said, "the leitmotif of my life."

The opera "Parsifal" occupied a special place in Wagner's work.

He called this opera "a testament for future generations." In the

forward to the first edition of "Parsifal," Wagner wrote, "I am

presenting in my opera 'Parsifal' the idea of the figure of a Christ

that has been cleansed of Jewish blood." For Wagner, "Parsifal,"

as he called it himself, was an "escape from the Redeemer."Why does one have to escape from Christ? Wagner explained it,

"Jewish blood flowed in Christ's veins you know." Wagner asked

that before a performance of "Parsifal" a miracle play be


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performed on the stage in which "the body of Christ is burnt

together with other Jews as a symbol of escaping from the Jewaltogether." But no one ventured similar things even in Wagner's

time.

These ideas of Wagner were adopted by the Nazi regime and

there was no need to change either the melody or the words -

everything fit even without it. "The final solution of the Jewish

question" was the culmination of many years of Nazi anti-

Jewish policy beginning from Hitler's early works about theneed to solve the Jewish question in Europe.

After coming to power in the 1930s, the Nazis attempted to

invoke a mass emigration of Jews; afterwards, efforts were

undertaken for expulsion of the Jews to areas specially set-aside

for it. And in 1941, the Nazis decided to exterminate the Jews

physically.

In September 1919, Hitler wrote his first political paper where he

declared that the Jewish problem could be decided only by the

complete removal of the Jews from Europe. According to this

paper, the removal of the Jews was supposed to take place

without excess emotionalism, not being accompanied by

pogroms and the like, but should be effected with typically

German thoroughness, effectiveness and coordination. Hitler

thought that the Jewish problem should be fundamental for every

Nazi. He himself was possessed by it and adamant in the search

for a "final solution" - a way to get rid of the Jews forever.

During all of the 1930s Hitler believed mass emigration could

solve the "Jewish problem." Anti-Jewish law, introduced in

Germany beginning with Hitler's rise to power in January 1933

and until the beginning of the Second World War in September1939, had as its goal to urge, and later also to force the Jews to

leave the country. In January 1939, Hitler appeared before the

German parliament. He criticized the countries of the free world


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for their refusal to accept Jewish immigrants and cautioned that

one of the consequences of a war might be the "disappearance"of European Jews.

In 1939, after the German invasion of Poland, 1.8 million more

Jews fell under the control of Nazi Germany. Hitler did not

immediately issue an order for their extermination. Instead, a

plan was developed, in accordance with which all Jews living

within the boundaries of the Reich should be moved to a

reservation in the region of Lublin, in the Polish GeneralGovernorship. The Nazis attempted to implement this plan

("Nisko-Lublin"), but it was not realized. By spring 1940, it

became clear that the Lublin program could not serve as a

solution to the Jewish problem, inasmuch as there was no free

territory in Poland for relocation of the Jews.

The "Madagascar" plan was the next stage of the anti-Jewish

policya project for the deportation of all Europe's Jews to theisland of Madagascar, a French colony in Africa. However,

Germany was beaten in the Battle of Britain after only several

months, which made the Madagascar project impracticable.

In June 1941, Germany, violating the terms of the treaty of non-

aggression between the Soviet Union and Germany (the so-

called Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) invaded the USSR. Mobile

death squads called Einsatzgruppen, in cooperation with units of

the regular military, police elements and local collaborators,

began the systematic extermination of the Soviet Union's Jews.

Massive, systematic extermination of people was undertaken for

the first time for "the solution of the Jewish problem."

In July of that year, Hermann Goering approved preparations for

"the final solution." At the end of 1941 and the beginning of1942, the Nazis created several extermination camps, began the

deportation to them of Jews and developed extermination

methods. The first experiment in the use of poisonous gas was


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made at Auschwitz in September 1941, and camps were created

in the late fall at Belzec and Chelmno. Sobibor, Treblinka,Majdanek and Auschwitz supplemented the number of

extermination centers in the spring of 1942. In the meantime, in

December 1941, Hitler reported to his closest associates that

Germany's Jews also were subject to extermination; thereby, the

policy of the "final solution" was being expanded over all the

territory of Europe.


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Representatives of Nazi Germany's government

and the Nazi armed forces of the SS

met at the Wansee Conference

in January 1942

for coordination of activities

for the exterminationof all Europe's Jews to the last man.

From that moment and until the war's end in 1945,

the "final solution"

was official Nazi policy

and meant only one thing

the complete extermination of European Jews.

For the first time in the history of mankind,

a god-man named Hitler

who decided to replace the One True God

with himself for everyone,

proclaimed his goal

to identify one racial group of mankind

for the purpose

of its complete physical extermination.

Just how could such a thing have happened?

Just what underlay the identification of people?


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2.2. Identification with the goal of spiritual

extermination - how it was in the Former Soviet

Union

Identification with the goal of the search for and spiritual

extermination of Jews was assumed as the basis of

communist ideology in the Former Soviet Union, the

beginning of the savage anti-Semitism of communism'sfounder Marx and brought to its savage practical realization

by Stalin and his dictatorial regime.

Section number 5 for indication of ethnic group, and the

Jews were one of the ethnic groups, was on the government

official employment-application forms and the passport in

the USSR. Indication of ethnic group in the passport and

other identification documents was mandatory.

The passport and official employment-application forms

identified Jews in the Soviet Union as people with an

objectionable and even destructive spirituality. And it was

impossible to live normally with such an identification.

The result was the mass desire of Jews to leave the country.

A picture of Mark Chagall's "Exodus" is presented on the

next page illustrating the exodus of Jews from Russia and the

Soviet Union when Russia existed in such form for some

time.

Was the main stimulus of the mass Jewish immigration from

Russia and the Soviet Union the hidden desire to change

their "destructive spiritual" identification attached to eachJew in Russia and the Soviet Union to a positive?


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Jews lived in the Soviet Union as did everyone, but tried to be

somewhat better than everyoneto study better, carry out worktasks more diligently, and so on.

On the one hand, it was caused by a vital needJews knew that

they had to be better than others to achieve on the job what

others achieved with somewhat less effort. On the other hand,

there was something inside them that many considered "natural"

unconsciously pushing them to propose and do something better

than other and, to be more compassionate toward people.

It could only cause the dissatisfaction of others to say, Jews

always stick their necks out! They always do things the other

way round! And so forth. But they continued to do so. Why was

that? Was it always that way? History has helped illuminate

these questions.

The Russian people, including too its short existence in the formof the Soviet Union, relate to people who need a strong leader

for the organization not only of all of society but even the

personal life of each individual person, in contrast to the some

other peoples who prefer to organize their individual life

themselves. Russia is an authoritarian country (as has been

noted, and that amounted to a frank, cruel dictatorship during

Soviet rule).

There were attempts in Russia's history to transition to a more

democratic system of governance, but they all ended in failure.

At the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, Russia once

more tried to democratize itself, but again slid back toward an

authoritative regime at the start of the 2000s.

An authoritarian regime is based on like-mindedness and theRussian people have been justifying and complying with like-

mindedness in an overwhelming majority.


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Dissidents always have existed, but they have not found any

support among the people. Russians prefer to stay on the beatenpath, and new social ideas make them nervous; the probability

life will become worse as a result of the realization of new ideas

is great, and the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution is shining

confirmation of it.

Such a tradition and history of the Russians, and possibly, even a

probabilistic genetic combination which science is now stealing

up to. But even if science confirms a connection of a people'straditions with its average genetic structure, different genetic

structures and the traditions depending on them should not be

looked at in terms of "good" or "bad." It is necessary to pay for

all the social changes from the relatively "bad" to the relatively

"good" with transitional suffering, and for some peoples this

payment is intolerably high.

The history and the traditions of the Jewish people are somethingelse, and it all manifested itself contrastingly when fate brought

the Jews to Russia.

The Jews ended up in Russia as a result of the partition of Poland

several centuries ago. Russia wanted really very much to obtain

Polish lands in order to expand westward, and she obtained

them. But she obtained along with the large quantity of Jews

living on these lands a people with a completely different

historic and spiritual tradition.

The Jewish people are a democratic people who do not like

strong dictatorial leaders and prefer to search for new social

paths of development in their own communities (and if possible,

in the countries where they live) instead of staying on the beaten

path.

One must note for the record that the search for new social paths

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The Jews and Their Role in Our World

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