The Story of the Jews

I caught a piece of Simon Schama, The Story of the Jews, last night.  Fascinating and very informative, I can’t wait to see the whole thing, might even have to purchase the DVD and the book.  A few things seemed remarkable.  As one who bears the stigmata of the Jews, these were very interesting.

According to Schama, the Sephardic Jew’s took excessive delight, even pride, overweening pride in their control over Christian hierarchs and monarchs through usurious lending.  Such lending is a slow form of murder that, snake like, gradually squeezes the life out of its victims.  This kind of murder, oppression, and slavery are clearly forbidden by Torah.

However, Schama also complains bitterly when Christians rose up against the Jews, slaughtering them, oppressing them, forcing them to move and leave their homes and beautiful synagogues behind.  This also is a form of murder, not so gradual; a form of murder, oppression, and slavery are equally condemned by Torah.

John 16:1-4 offers this terse analysis.  “I have spoken these things to you, so that you should not be offended.  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yes, the time comes, that whosoever kills you will think that he does God a favor.  They will do these things to you, because they have not known the Father, or me.  But I have told you these things, so that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you about them.  I did not tell you these things before, because I was with you.”

How ironic then, that both Christians and Jews should find themselves condemned by the same Torah.

Schama seems to object that God does nothing about such murders in violation of Torah, when he observes (perhaps from Nahmanides?) that the Christians look to a Divine Messiah, Who has come, without bringing the promised kingdom; while Jews look to a human Messiah, who has not yet come.  In either case, God does nothing about this evil in violation of Torah (2 Peter 3:1-14, another terse analysis of the reality).

Yet, both Christians and Jews have the same complaint: namely, that the other party is in gross violation of Torah, and God does nothing.  Be that as it is, here we are.  The Jews are persecuted, shunted all over Europe, driven into ghettos, and slaughtered like cattle as the just punishment for their sins, their cruel crimes against humanity.  On the other hand, the Christians are oppressed with one lethal plague, and war after war after war as the just punishment for their sins, their cruel crimes against humanity.  And we have the outrageous temerity to insist that God does nothing.  Have we never read in the Psalms, how God delights to return the sin of the sinner back upon his/her own head as the appropriate and just punishment for sin; and that punishment usually given in hope of repentance.

What can we possibly be thinking?