Jewish Pragmatism

“Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to Rabbi Appas: ‘Write one letter in my name to our master, Emperor Antoninus.’ Rabbi Appas stood and wrote: From Yehuda the Prince to our master, Emperor Antoninus. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi took it, read it, and ripped it. He said to him: ‘Write: From your servant Yehuda to our master, Emperor Antoninus.’ Appas said to him: ‘My teacher, why are you demeaning your honor?’ He said to him: ‘In what way am I better than my ancestors? Did he not say this: “So says your servant Jacob?’”

This segment, which is taken from Midrash Bereshit Rabbah, describes an exchange between one of the greatest Jewish leaders of the 2nd century, Rabbi Judah the prince, to whom the writing of the Mishnah is associated, and one of his students.

The days are the days under Roman rule after the great rebellion led by Bar-Kochvah which was followed not only by the smashing of the rebellion by emperor Hadrian, but also marks the destruction of Jewish life in the land of Israel and the beginning of the great diaspora. The small number of Jews left in the land had to face terrible anti-Jewish decrees by the emperor.

In the exchange above, Rabbi Judah the Prince asks his student to write a letter in his name to the emperor. When the student opens the letter with “From Rabbi Judah the Prince,” Rabbi Judah rips it apart and asks his student to use “servant Judah” instead.

The student wonders why Judah diminishes himself so, and in reply, Rabbi Judah quotes from our portion Vayishlach, saying “Did he [Jacob] not say this: “So says your servant Jacob”?’”

Our portion opens with Jacob who finally, after 20 years, leaves the house of his uncle Laban, now with two wifes, two maids and 11 children, knowing that on his own he would have to face his twin brother Esau, from whom he deceived and stole from. Jacob’s strategy is to first send messengers to his brother and offer consoling gifts. Here is the language which Jacob uses while talking to the messengers:

“Thus shall you say, ‘To my lord Esau, thus says your servant Jacob: I stayed with Laban and remained until now;”

Jacob, our great ancestor choses to turn to his brother as lord, and refers to himself as servant.

It seems to me that our Midrash criticizes this choice. For most of our history, Jews lived under foreign rule, and for the most part we had to bow our heads and lay low. As a persecuted minority, making demands was not possible and describing ourselves with pride was not recommended.

Jacob in our portion is obviously pragmatic, he wishes to protect his family, his children and so he uses language which he believes will appease his brother. Rabbi Judah the Prince acts similarly when it comes to writing to the emperor.

Ahad Ha’am (Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg 1856-1927) wrote an essay in 1893 called “Priest and Prophet.” In it, he drew from our tradition to describe two types of leaders. He wrote:

“The Prophet is essentially a one-sided man. A certain moral idea fills his whole being, masters his every feeling and sensation, engrosses his whole attention. He can only see the world through the mirror of his idea… His whole life is spent in fighting for this ideal with all his strength; for its sake he lays waste his powers, unsparing of himself, regardless of the conditions of life and the demands of the general harmony. He remains always a man apart, a narrow-minded extremist, zealous for his own ideal, and intolerant of every other…

It is otherwise with the Priest. He appears on the scene at a time when Prophecy has already succeeded in hewing out a path for its Idea. But the Priest has not the strength to fight continually against necessity and actuality; his tendency is rather to bow to the one and come to terms with the other. Instead of clinging to the narrowness of the Prophet, and demanding of reality what it cannot give, he broadens his outlook, and takes a wider view of the relation between his Idea and the facts of life. Not what ought to be, but what can be, is what he seeks.” [Translation most likely by Leon Simon]

Ahad Ha'am beautifully describes here the tension between idealism and pragmatism. While both have their positives and negatives, both are necessary in a healthy society.

In Israel, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called Yom Ha-zikaron La-Shoah VeLa-Gevurah, which translates to “Remembrance Day for Holocaust and Heroism.” In my view, a quick historical survey of the Holocaust clearly shows the Jewish “heroism” during the Holocaust was negligible. While there may have been a few dozen people who took an active armed resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto and others who paid with their lives refusing to execute the Nazis murderous orders, most Jew, millions of them, were led to their deaths like “sheep to the slaughter” as it is said.

This doesn’t sit well with the Israeli ethos, that of the new Jew who would not be led to the slaughter without a fight, who is sovereign in their own land and are able to protect themselves. Therefore the Holocaust is remembered through heroism.

What about Jews in the United States today? In an era of growing Antisemitism from both the right and the left of American society, should Jews raise their voices loud? Should we stand up and stand out? Or should we lay low and bow our heads to the forces which might keep us safe?

Our tradition asks these questions while criticizing Jacob and his pragmatic choice. What is ours?