//essays//
Fall 2021
Fall 2021
Classically Jewish
Ali Winter
After lighting my menorah one night this past Chanukah, I watched the candles in my dorm lobby and worked on my homework: reading Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and Cicero’s De Amicitia. The story of Chanukah is a story of the clash between Greek culture and Judaism. A group of devout Jews went to war with the Greeks after they insisted that the Jews accept the Greek gods and culture as their own. The Jews prevailed in this war against assimilation. As an Orthodox Jewish Classics major, I often wonder where the line is between assimilation and knowledge. I spend my time learning about Greek and Roman philosophy and language, even incorporating it into my life. Am I not what the Maccabees fought against? Would they be shamed at the mix of Judaism and Classics found in my head 2,000 years after they won their battle against the Greeks? I hope not.
Studying Classics as a Jew doesn’t have to be contradictory. My Judaism and love of Classics can combine and reinforce one another. In fact, despite the Maccabees seeming rejection of all things Hellenistic, Greek ideas are not foriegn to Judaism.
Rambam, an influential Torah scholar whose writings on Jewish law and ethics still hold sway today, was heavily influenced by Greek philosophical thought. Indeed, it is no coincidence that he is also known by the Greek-style name, Maimonides. Rambam endorses taking “the middle road,” an idea that he sourced in Aristotle and adapted to suit Judaism. Rambam was well versed in Greek philosophy; he studied Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, and those philosophers influenced his own thought. There is a delicate balance between not shutting oneself off to new ideas, regardless of their origin, and also maintaining a distinct Jewish culture and set of beliefs. It’s all too easy to become a recluse or to completely assimilate.
Non-Jewish ideas can increase one’s knowledge of and belief in Judaism. If what is learned from a non-Jewish source is in line with Judaism, then this knowledge can inform one’s own religious practice and thought, and is therefore beneficial. One should not be afraid of incorporating ideas that come from non-Jewish sources into one’s Jewish belief and practice, provided that those ideas do not conflict with Judaism. Much like the Roman army, whose strength came in part from incorporating their enemies’ best strategies into their own, Judaism is strengthened by the introduction of beneficial ideas from non-Jewish sources, although it is important to ensure that any adopted ideas are in line with the core ideologies of Judaism.
Even if this new knowledge conflicts with Jewish ideals, it is still beneficial; blind faith is hardly faith at all. It is not possible to believe something fully without adequate information about alternative beliefs. Conviction requires information and understanding. In order to truly believe in something one has to think about it and wrestle with it. Shutting oneself off to forms of knowledge that often conflict with Jewish values dilutes the value of Jewish faith.
So, perhaps what the Maccabees were rejecting was not Hellenism as a whole, but rather the adaptation of those aspects of Greek culture that conflict with Judaism. Greek thought, and the Classics more broadly, has a place in Judaism. The study of Classics involves learning languages now used primarily for Christian texts and learning about pagan societies. This is a good thing. Jews should learn about other people and other beliefs. We should use that knowledge to strengthen our own religious beliefs, either by incorporating the worthwhile ideas or by using the knowledge of what they don’t believe in to strengthen their conviction in what they do believe in. My study of Cicero and Aristotle taught me their views on friendship. Learning how to treat others well, how to be a good friend, is a Jewish value as much as it is a Greek one. In fact, my knowledge of Judaism informed my topic for a final paper I wrote this past semester on the friendship found within a chavrusa [study partner]. Classics and Judaism can be used to reinforce each other and to improve each other. Knowledge multiplies knowledge. So what would I tell a Maccabee asking me, 2,000 years later, why I study Greece? Simply, I’d tell him that it has only strengthened my faith.
//ALI WINTER is a sophomore in Columbia College. She can be reached at [email protected].
Studying Classics as a Jew doesn’t have to be contradictory. My Judaism and love of Classics can combine and reinforce one another. In fact, despite the Maccabees seeming rejection of all things Hellenistic, Greek ideas are not foriegn to Judaism.
Rambam, an influential Torah scholar whose writings on Jewish law and ethics still hold sway today, was heavily influenced by Greek philosophical thought. Indeed, it is no coincidence that he is also known by the Greek-style name, Maimonides. Rambam endorses taking “the middle road,” an idea that he sourced in Aristotle and adapted to suit Judaism. Rambam was well versed in Greek philosophy; he studied Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, and those philosophers influenced his own thought. There is a delicate balance between not shutting oneself off to new ideas, regardless of their origin, and also maintaining a distinct Jewish culture and set of beliefs. It’s all too easy to become a recluse or to completely assimilate.
Non-Jewish ideas can increase one’s knowledge of and belief in Judaism. If what is learned from a non-Jewish source is in line with Judaism, then this knowledge can inform one’s own religious practice and thought, and is therefore beneficial. One should not be afraid of incorporating ideas that come from non-Jewish sources into one’s Jewish belief and practice, provided that those ideas do not conflict with Judaism. Much like the Roman army, whose strength came in part from incorporating their enemies’ best strategies into their own, Judaism is strengthened by the introduction of beneficial ideas from non-Jewish sources, although it is important to ensure that any adopted ideas are in line with the core ideologies of Judaism.
Even if this new knowledge conflicts with Jewish ideals, it is still beneficial; blind faith is hardly faith at all. It is not possible to believe something fully without adequate information about alternative beliefs. Conviction requires information and understanding. In order to truly believe in something one has to think about it and wrestle with it. Shutting oneself off to forms of knowledge that often conflict with Jewish values dilutes the value of Jewish faith.
So, perhaps what the Maccabees were rejecting was not Hellenism as a whole, but rather the adaptation of those aspects of Greek culture that conflict with Judaism. Greek thought, and the Classics more broadly, has a place in Judaism. The study of Classics involves learning languages now used primarily for Christian texts and learning about pagan societies. This is a good thing. Jews should learn about other people and other beliefs. We should use that knowledge to strengthen our own religious beliefs, either by incorporating the worthwhile ideas or by using the knowledge of what they don’t believe in to strengthen their conviction in what they do believe in. My study of Cicero and Aristotle taught me their views on friendship. Learning how to treat others well, how to be a good friend, is a Jewish value as much as it is a Greek one. In fact, my knowledge of Judaism informed my topic for a final paper I wrote this past semester on the friendship found within a chavrusa [study partner]. Classics and Judaism can be used to reinforce each other and to improve each other. Knowledge multiplies knowledge. So what would I tell a Maccabee asking me, 2,000 years later, why I study Greece? Simply, I’d tell him that it has only strengthened my faith.
//ALI WINTER is a sophomore in Columbia College. She can be reached at [email protected].