Shoah: The Paradigmatic Genocide
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In Shoah: The Paradigmatic Genocide: Essays in Exegesis and Eisegesis, Zev Garber writes that Jews must protect themselves from supersessionism, or the historical/religious absorption into the Christian realm, as if the Jews were merely incomplete Christians. Supersessionism is a danger to both Christians who would even subconsciously espouse it, and who would be antisemitic in doing so, and to Jews whose religion could be weakened by the view. Supersessionism, inadvertently or not, is a force aligned with the forces which created Nazi Germany, although it comes disguised as a sign of Christian sympathy for the suffering of Jews. The dangers of supersessionism are exemplified in the attitude of the Catholic Church to the converted Jew Edith Stein who was murdered by the Nazis. The Church has declared that it did not intend to usurp the suffering of the Jews by honoring Edith, but the act still causes distrust among Jews. At the same time, where there is conflict, there is the hope of ongoing dialogue, and Garber makes clear that the Catholic Church has tried to explain the meaning of its actions from its perspective, and Jewish leaders have shown appreciation for that. Both religions believe in God's redemption of human beings, but in different ways. "Recognition of this difference" (that is, between the "like" and the "unlike") (93) is a major step toward understanding and acceptance of one another, replacing distrust. The basic question Garber asks is how one can be
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e identity and responsibility of Christians and Jews in light of the Shoah must be a question which transcends individual religious belief, history and culture. It must focus on understanding how the Shoah happened in order that it may never happen again. To have separate and proud religious identities will not be swerving the will of God if those separate identities play any role in creating the divisions which would create another Shoah:
The question of whether or not the Shoah could happen again depends for an answer upon our model of an "I and Thou" society. The major traits of Hitlerism--isolation, vilification, expulsion, slavery, and extermination--are not the will of heaven but the act of Everyman, the bitter fruits of the freedom he has abused. Consequently, man can stamp out these evils if he so chooses by demonstrating intelligence, wisdom, and moral will. This, then, is the commandment after the Great Tragedy: All are made in the image of God, and the interdependence of humankind is the only rational road to survival (32).
Again, separate religious beliefs and histories for Christians and Jews are inevitable to some degree, but if all are to accept and act upon their responsibilities in the aftermath of the Shoah,
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Approximate Word count = 1651
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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