Modern Jewish history has been shaped by many promising thinkers, philosophers, scientists, and literary critics and each one had an important role.
Let’s begin with Mordecai Kaplan who was a prominent Jewish philosopher. He was the modern day father of the Reconstructionist movement. He had been a conservative rabbi and argued that Judaism was a civilization instead of a theology or legal system.
A publishing house in Germany called the “Schocken Verlag also published many articles in Hebrew and German, including the works of Franz Kafka. Through this publishing company, Kafka’s novels were able to gain fame in the United States. Kafka’s themes for his literary novels centered around enstrangement and alienation. His works include “The Trial” and “The Castle.” His novels also reflect his societal insecurity of being a Jew in the German minority.
Martin Buber, a Jew born in Vienna in 1878 also played a prominent role in having a voice for his Jewish community. Buber attended German secular school and Jewish religious schools. He acquired a doctorate in religion and philosophy at the University of Berlin. He wrote in a philosophical journal called “Der Jude” and published “Letters on Judaism” in 1911. Buber entered the Hasidic world in the late 1800s and wrapped himself around Jewish customs, traditions and literary works. Buber believed that Hasidic Judaism represented a vibrant spirit in tradition that was unmatched in other sectors of Judaism. Buber believed in a mystical concept of Zionism. He believed that the land of Israel offered a healing power for the Jewish souls. Buber embraced Jewish societies for young people such as a Zionist hiking group.
Another prominent young Jewish figure emerged in the scene by the name of Franz Rosenzweig. He held a similar view to Buber in that he believed that a Jewish life should revolve around his faith in God. Rosenzweig was born in 1886 and had thoughts about converting to Lutherism before a Yom Kippur service changed his mind. He served in the German army and wrote his book called “The Star of Redemption.” The book also contained his religious philosophy in depth. He was invited to speak as a lecturer to a Frankfurt Jewish school and set up a Judaic department there. Buber and Rosenzweig also published a new translation of the Bible together. In 1929 he died at the age of 43.
Einstein is perhaps one of the most famous Jews for his work on the atomic bomb and E=mc squared theory of relativity. Einstein was born in 1879 in Swabia to middle class parents. He received a doctoral degree in theoretical physics at the Zurich Polytechnical Institute. Einstein wrote four physics paper and in his third paper he wrote about his theory of relativity. Einstein became an associate professor at Prague’s Karl Ferdinand University and soon became director of the physics department. In 1921 he won the Nobel Prize in physics. His achievements for Germany in science and culture helped German society on an international scale. Einstein also helped bring about the Weimar Republic with his calls for the saving of German people from starvation.
Sigmund Freud who was also born Jewish completely changed the field of psychoanalysis. His use of the id, ego and superego paved his way to fame. He was denied the position of a professor at the University of Vienna and instead assigned to be an adjunct. In 1910, Freud joined the B’nai B’rith Lodge of Vienna, an international Jewish organization. Freud’s theories about the mind astounded Jewish people who were eager to learn the mindsets and opinions of the secular leaders of their country and why they were discriminated against.
Finally, Otto Weininger was a Jewish philosopher from Vienna and wrote a book called “Sex and Character” in which he lambasted Jews and women. He described a self hatred of the Jewish people and called Aryan thinker good guys in the struggle against Jews who were the bad guys.
