Jewish Philosophical Politics in Germany, 1789-1848

26 } Jewish Philosophical Politics in Germany

indignation from the eye of the philanthropist. Sinful, the Pentateuch taught

them, namely, they would forfeit sovereignty over their land; moral improve-

ment would restore it to them.

Now, nothing was more natural, given this premise, than that the Jews

would turn with the greatest eagerness to this method of waging war [zu die-

ser Art Krieg zu führen]. They sought to appease the Eternal One through the

observance of the laws of their fathers, sought in his omnipotence the God

of the common people [der Schaaren] who would smash their enemies or

restore their waning powers and give them courage to persevere. But the laws

of their fathers were for the most part local and could hardly be practiced at

all without property and Temple; and now they were at a loss as to how they

should regain their forfeited favor [Gnade]. They thus culled such rituals

from heathens, Greeks, Romans, and the newly arisen Christian religion as

were more or less compatible with Judaism; replaced sacrifice with prayer;

the practical Mosaic with ritual laws; actions with articles of faith; the old

religion with a new belief.^34

In Bendavid’s account an impotent desire for revenge replaces healthy activity

with neurotic belief. As later in Nietzsche’s critique, weakness becomes produc-

tive of a system of moral values.

Bendavid describes the formation of pious Jewish “egoism” (Egoismus),

which likewise resonates with Nietzsche’s analysis of the ascetic ego divided

against itself. Healthy activity in the world is disdainfully renounced and re-

placed by a form of egoism that seeks recognition no longer in active accom-

plishments but rather in ascetic piety:

This sad mood of the soul simultaneously produces two different effects. On

the one hand, the misanthrope, since he believes himself to despise men and

therefore also their approval, renounces everything that might win him such

approval. Every outward perfection is neglected, every concept of honor re-

pressed, every participation in the world and humanity viewed as weakness.

... On the other hand, however, contempt of humanity is always connected

to egoism; and egoism, far more than any other temperament, requires the ap-

proval of others, even if it is under the delusion of being able to do without

it.... Thus the Jew, his misanthropy notwithstanding, had to experience

the greatest pleasure when other Jews regarded him as a pious, God-fearing

man—the only thing he still valued.^35

In Bendavid’s account weakness becomes recoded as moral strength. Hav-

ing become incapable of pursuing true honor by asserting himself outwardly,