The History of Western Philosophy - Jewish Religious Development

Some interesting notes on early Judaism:

“The early history of the Israelites cannot be confirmed from any source outside the Old Testament, and it is impossible to know at what point it ceased to be purely legendary. David and Solomon may be accepted as kings who probably had a real existence, but at the earliest point at which we come to something certainly historical there are already the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah.” p. 309

In 596 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, destroying the Temple and removed a large part of the Jewish population to Babylon. Babylon fell in 538 B.C., and the new king Cyrus, king of the Medes and Persians, allowed the Jews to return to Palestine under the leadership of Nehemiah and Ezra. The “temple was rebuilt, and Jewish orthodoxy began to be crystallized.” p. 310

It is during this time that Jewish thought underwent an important change. The first commandment stating “Thou shalt have no other gods but me” is a new belief preceding this time of captivity. This is the first indication that worship of other gods was sinful. This, in turn, was used to explain why the Jews were being persecuted - for their worship of heathen gods. After the return from Babylon, Ezra and Nehemiah forbid and dissolved mixed marriages in Jerusalem.

“After Ezra and Nehemiah, the Jews disappear awhile from history. The Jewish state survived as a theocracy, but its territory was very small - only the region of ten to fifteen miles around Jerusalem.” p. 313

It is surprising to me to me that this 10 to 15 mile ring around Jerusalem continued the Judaic religion until 175 B.C. when the Seleucid king Antiochus IV attempted to Hellenize the Jewish population. This was vehemently opposed by the mostly rural Hasidm, who prompted the Jews to rebel when Antiochus became involved in a war with Egypt. Apparently Antiochus decided to destroy the Jewish religion by outlawing circumcision and the practice of abstaining from pork. The urban Jews apparently submitted, but the rural Jews resisted. This period is known as the First Book of Maccabees. This period of persecution reinforced Jews’ belief that salvation lies in the hereafter. Also, “in enduring and resisting persecution the Jews of this time showed immense heroism, although in defence of things that do not strike us as important, such as circumcision and the eating of pork.” p. 316.

“The time of the persecution by Antiochus IV was crucial in Jewish history. The Jews of the Dispersion were, at this time, becoming more and more hellenized; the Jews of Judea were few; and even among them the rich and powerful were inclined to acquiesce in Greek innovations. But for the heroic resistance of the Hasidim, the Jewish religion might easily have died out. If this had happened, neither Christianity nor Islam could have existed in anything like the form they actually took.” p. 316

The Polish Officer

This is a work of historical fiction - a spy tale set in various locales during the start of WWII. Furst's attention to detail and research is admirable. However, I felt this read more like a TV series - episodic, with none of the episodes building on the other, except, perhaps, in the incrementally positive worldview of the protagonist, Alexander de Milja. Also, I hate to nitpick on style, but I'm really starting to get annoyed with excessive use of sentence fragments by many writers, not just Furst.

The first chapter is brilliant, and Furst's writing vividly evokes war-torn Europe during WW II. Given that there seems to be only slight character development in de Milja and since all of the other characters are basically set pieces, I would have hoped for a tighter-knit story. Unfortunately, all we have are episodes of various missions that de Milja undertakes. I'll give Furst the benefit of the doubt that this was used to illustrate how lost and futile even one man's heroic exploits are in the larger context of war, but the futility of an individual during wartime is already a well-visited subject.

The Boxer Rebellion - Diana Preston

After reading Diana Preston's "The Boxer Rebellion," I've learned something about my taste in history books. Full-length books on relatively brief historical events tend to be filled with anecdotes. I do not enjoy reading a book full of anecdotes. A encyclopedia entry will suffice.

This is a book admittedly telling only the Western side of the story. Preston claims that Chinese historical accounts are rare. A quick google search shows a few, so I'm dubious of this claim. Suffice it to speculate that a superstitious Chinese Empress believed that the xenophobic and violent "Boxer" sect actually possessed the mystical powers they claimed and were going to be able to throw out the racist and imperialist foreigners. What isn't speculation is that the rebellion failed, causing a summer of misery and fear in 1900.

For a more detailed account, here is the wikipedia article. If you think you might enjoy reading 360+ pages of anecdotes about turn-of-the century Westerners' plight during these times, you could read this book.