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PART ISAN REVI EW
Let their hi sto ry be known a nd examined; let the seed be sifted, let
its beginnings be traced to the weed of the wilderness-the mo re
glori ous will be the energy that transfo rmed it. Where else is there a
nati on of whom it may be as trul y sa id that their reli gion and law
and mo ra l li fe mingled as the stream of blood in the hea rt and made
one growth- where else a people who kept and enlarged their spir–
itua l store at the very time when they we re hunted with a hatred as
fi erce as the fo rest-fires that chase the wild beast from its covert?
M o rdeca i, wh ose knowl edge o f J ewish law, hi stor y, a nd phil osoph y
is unpa ra ll eled in Victori a n fi cti o n, emph as izes the tenac ity o f Jud a ism .
Des pite the oblitera tion o f its ph ys ica l na tion centuri es befo re, J ews con–
tinu ed to evol ve thro ugh the ir stud y o f th e bo ok .
In
pa rt, the mingling
o f " reli gion, laws, and mora ls" made thi s possibl e. Additi o na ll y, the
intensity of th eir foes, a t fir st Roman a nd la ter C hri sti a n, co uld have
eas il y fo rced th em to aba ndo n their reli gio n in the face o f the ma jo rity
power. But th ey did not. Instead, J ews embraced the strugg le to keep
a li ve th e spirit o f their fa ith.
Vari o us di sco urses a re depl oyed in thi s di scuss io n. M o rdeca i combines
biblica l, midras hic, a nd ca balisti c ideas; Gideon is a ra ti o na l Jew who
does no t want to a bandon the religio n, but wants the J ews, hav ing ga ined
" po litica l equa lity," to blend in with the ma jority popula ti o n. G ideon and
Pas h, quite rati ona lly, see the idea o f J ewi sh N ationhood as no nsense, but
Mo rdeca i sternl y rejects thi s positi o n.
If
they trul y want humanity to
evolve, then they would see how Israe l could be a t the fo refro nt.
M o rdecai insists tha t hi s hope fo r Israe l is no t in a n y w ay magica l o r
a nti ra ti o na li st. Although he embraces a reli gio n that he cl a ims need s its
own na ti o n, he still sees hi s ideas as a logica l prog ress io n in huma nity's
develo pment.
In
fact, he says, " I cheri sh no thing fo r the J ewish na ti o n ,
I seek no thing for them, but th e good whi ch promi ses good to a ll
na ti o ns. The spirit of o ur reli gio us life, w hi ch is o ne w ith o ur na ti o na l
life, is no t ha tred o f a ught but wro ng ." Tha t Mo rdeca i ca n sea ml ess ly
wea ve togeth er politica l, reli gio us, and philosophica l di sco urse refl ects
Eli o t 's a bility to d o th e same. But hi s ina bility to transla te hi s " writings"
fo r o thers speaks to hi s need fo r a spo kes person from th e ma jo rity c ul–
ture, a delivere r, so to speak , to bridge the ga p between the minor and
ma jo r cultures . Eliot, a ventril o qui st fo r J ewi sh ideas thro ugho ut, ca n–
no t be th a t person. D ani el, howeve r, ca n. H e ca n use hi s ma jo rity sta tu s
to in scribe th e minority idea, a n idea tha t ca n infuse a ll na ti o ns, as
Mo rdeca i suggests, in the constructi o n o f spiritua l comlllunity.
