By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent
Jews always seem to argue — in a good way, of course — about whether or not they are doing the right thing. It’s a long-standing tradition, but if it’s any consolation to those who engage in debates over Jewish life today, they are not alone. The medieval Jewish poets argued, too.
Reflecting the longing and nostalgia for their beloved Jerusalem, three distinguished poets of 11th- and 12th-century Muslim Spain wrote to their Jewish communities about their religious passions and the conflicts of living in exile.
Judah haLevi, Solomon ibn Gabirol and Dunash ben Labrat were among the Jewish intellectuals of their time who lived in Andalusia.
“History is a marvelous tool,” says Dr. Ross Brann, department chair and Milton V. Konvitz professor of Judeo-Islamic studies at Cornell University. Brann spoke at the University of Washington as part of the Walker Ames Professorships series. “It alleviates the anxiety that what the Jewish community is facing today is irreparable.”
Even though the Jews of Muslim Spain in the Middle Ages enjoyed a long period of relative peace and prosperity among their Islamic hosts, the memory of Jerusalem remained their touchstone and their anchor while in exile in the Diaspora.
“If we reflect on that medieval period,” says Brann, “the Jews developed different attachments to their lands of exile and somehow also maintained the notion that there was ‘a Jewish people’ at the same time that didn’t resemble other people.”
Brann used haLevi’s poem, “My Heart is in the East,” to illustrate the Jews’ conflict between their loyalties to Jerusalem and their deep attachment to their current homeland. “It would be easy to leave behind all the good things of Spain; it would be glorious to see the dust of the ruined shrine,” wrote Halevi.
“His poem reflects the poets ambivalence toward his new lifestyle and some good old-fashioned Jewish and religious guilt come up,” says Brann.
In another poem, Labrat cautions his fellow exiles to remember that the Jerusalem they remember is not now the sanctuary it once was when he writes: “Even as you rejoice, jackals run wild in Zion. Then how could we drink wine, how even raise our eyes — when we are loathed and abhorred and less than nothing?”
“It’s one of the enigmas of Jewish life,” says Brann. “The German Jews and Sephardim developed such strong attachments, but they held fast to their own special culture. People of subcultures don’t want those differences to be resolved. Ever since the Second Temple the Jews have been a very diverse people. Historically the Jews have prospered and survived learning to live a full communal life in other lands.”
In addition to cultural differences, there was considerable disagreement within the Jewish population on how best to keep Jewish tradition and the law of the forefathers intact. “Put Andalusia behind you and do it without delay,” Gabirol wrote. “Remember the fathers in exile and keep them always in mind.”
“In Baghdad at this time,” Brann says, “the central division in Jewish religious life was between Jews who followed Talmudic Judaism and rabbinic Jews who followed rabbinical authorities and another group — in its heyday in the 10th century — called Karaites, who believed in a Judaism that was predicated on the Hebrew Bible, not the rabbis, who they believed were counterfeit and, therefore, destructive.”
But even with the conflicts in culture, Brann noted that many intellectuals of that time call it the golden age of Jewish culture and Jewish life.
The Jews lived under Islamic rule as second-class citizens, but both Jews and Muslims achieved the heights of their intellectual, religious and philosophical productivity.
According to Brann, there are many lessons learned from the past that can be applied to both political and religious Jewish issues today.
“A lot of Jews are always hand-wringing about the tensions in the Jewish community,” says Brann. “I think we have a wonderful revival of Jewish life. Historically, the Jews have always been a tiny minority and have prospered. From a historical point of view, we may have more Judaism today than in other times in Jewish life.”
When Brann looks at what some lament as the decline of a cohesive Jewish lifestyle in American life he sees diversity and strength.
“I’m a tremendous believer in pluralism,” Brann says. “Jews from Sephardic backgrounds really want to hold on to their uniqueness and their traditions. Deep cultural exchange is the genius of Jewish survival and adaptability.”