Judaism has little interest in using thought control. Prior to the emancipation of the Jews, bans were sometimes used when the coherence of a Jewish community, living in gentile and often hostile surroundings, was at stake. Yielding to unity then was crucial to the survival of the Jewish people. The rabbis, however, were very reluctant to impose bans knowing how harmful they would be for the so-called renegades and even for their families. (4) But above all, they realized that such condemnations were for the most part counter-productive.
Religious condemnations today, by ban or other means, reflect negatively on those who issue them. They are symptoms of fear and lack of intellectual honesty. They indicate a refusal to conduct intellectual debate, and they display fundamentalism and dogmatism. Willfully or unintentionally, bans are identified with the Christian clerical authorities who condemned Galileo in the seventeenth century for suggesting that the earth was not the center of the universe. Bans have been enforced against demons, witches and other objects of superstition. Hardly activities that rabbis would want to be identified with.
Should rabbis wish to send a message to their followers that they are not in agreement with the contents of certain books, they should first realize that bans and condemnations are not the road to take. It is no longer possible to contain censorship or condemnation solely within a certain social group. Once released, it travels to every corner of the world to be seen by all, Jews and gentiles. Most of the time, it elicits laughter and greatly embarrasses authentic Judaism. This is especially so when certain rabbis try to withhold scientific information from their followers, or want to hold on to ideas that the intellectual community and authentic Judaism have long since rejected as simplistic, outdated, and even incorrect.
No doubt, rabbis have a right to convey their displeasure, but they should do so through appropriate and convincing arguments, never through mind control. (5)
Refuting arguments in one's study is easy when one has only to answer oneself. The art is to confront the adversary and see if one's arguments really live up to the challenge. Instead of condemning a book, one should meet the author, ask him to explain his point of view and then try to refute his opinions. In that case, the first requirement is to actually read the book carefully from beginning to end. Reviewing or criticizing a book before having read it is highly problematic, unless the reader is afraid of being too prejudiced by reading it!
Furthermore, a truthful criticism should reflect great expertise. Recklessly condemning scientific claims is a sign of great ignorance, even if some of these claims may be open to debate. Such statements are an indication that one cannot suffer disagreement because one is unable to defend oneself. They reveal an inability to handle opposing views. Pulling something apart is often the trade of those who cannot construct. As English writer Charles Caleb Colton once said, "Criticism is like champagne: nothing more execrable if bad, nothing more excellent if good."
It is also a matter of decency not to condemn somebody's views when they are in essence restating earlier and well-established sources quoted by great rabbinical authorities. One should have the courage to challenge or attack the earlier sources and not those who rely on them and who are more vulnerable. Yet lately, the latter has become the practice. This is dishonest. To hide behind false valor and take the easy way out shows great cowardice. Courage is the direct result of resisting and mastering fear; never is it a consequence of escaping fear.
Criticism should not be quarrelsome and destructive, but should rather be guiding, instructive and inspiring. Judaism has never feared dissent and debate but has in fact encouraged it. What, after all, is the benefit of condemnation when Judaism simultaneously loses its soul?
It is time to reestablish Judaism on its authentic foundations as a religion of moral and intellectual heroism, one that encourages open-mindedness. We must never forget that we owe most of our knowledge not to those who have agreed with us but to those who have differed.
Jews have greatly suffered from condemnations and inquisitions. The Talmud and its many commentaries have often been put on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (List of Prohibited Books) of the Catholic Church. It has been condemned and burned but has outlived all its foes. Let us therefore be careful not to follow in the footsteps of the Church, which loved the truth so much that it was afraid of overexposure. Such attitudes have no place in the Jewish religious world of today. The truth cannot be served by imposing bans, but only by honest investigation and dialogue. Today it is wrong to use a ban or open condemnation, even when one is right, let alone when one is definitely mistaken.
Judaism was able to overcome many of its intellectual opponents because it showed courage. It is committed to the truth because it is convinced that the truth is represented by the holy Torah.
1. In the last few years more and more books and essays by well-respected Torah teachers have been condemned as heresy by some influential rabbinic authorities. Several years ago, the books of Rabbi Natan Slifkin were put under a religious ban by several rabbinic leaders in Israel and the USA. The rabbis claimed that his books on Torah and science include heretical views that contradict Jewish Tradition. This ban turned into a major desecration of God's name (it hit the NY Times in 2005), greatly damaging the image of Judaism. Most disturbing is the fact that the condemnations hurled at Rabbi Slifkin were seemingly meant for earlier eminent rabbinic authorities who were the first to make these "heretical" observations. Apparently, the rabbis who condemned his book did not dare to challenge those earlier authorities and therefore attacked Rabbi Slifkin. It has also come to our attention that several rabbis who signed the ban did not read Rabbi Slifkin's books but simply relied on hearsay.
2. Mishle (Proverbs), 9:17; Nedarim 91a.
3. Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik, Logic of the Heart, Logic of the Mind, (Jerusalem: Genesis Jerusalem Press, 1991) p. 55.
There is a beautiful end to this story: "Then, [the famous sage, tzaddik and exponent of mussar] Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv of Kelm enunciated an entirely different approach. How can anyone blame a man like Darwin for propounding his theories of evolution and descent from animals and lower forms of life? He kept the company of so many British lords who were only interested in waging war, people with little or no regard for the rights of their fellow beings.... 'If Darwin had mingled with individuals like my mentor, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter,' said Reb Simcha Zissel, 'he could never have uttered such a ridiculous theory.' Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv contended that the most effective way to counteract Darwinism and any teaching antithetical to the Torah is not to avoid them but to overcome them by inculcating moral and ethical values" (ibid).
Obviously, we know today that Darwin's theories are far from foolish. They have added much to our knowledge, though the discussion concerning his claims still continues. The venerable Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook, mystic, philosopher and former Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine, was of the opinion that evolution conforms to the teachings of Kabbalah. See for example: Oroth Hakodesh, vol. 2, p 537.
4. See for example: Responsa of the Rosh 43.9 and Responsa Mahari Bruna, 189.
5. It is well known that the "heretic" Uriel da Costa of Amsterdam (1585-1640), forerunner of Spinoza, was put under a ban several times by the leaders of the Portuguese Spanish Synagogue in Amsterdam and consequently committed suicide. Concerning this most unfortunate and tragic case, the famous sage Rabbi Baruch Halevi Epstein, author of the Torah commentary Torah Temimah, made the following comment:
"This phenomenon, to our sadness, seems to repeat itself in every generation. Whenever people quarrel over matters related to ideology and faith, and a person discovers his more lenient opinion is in the minority, all too often--although his original view differed only slightly from the majority--the total rejection he experiences pushes him over the brink. Gradually, his views become more and more irrational and he becomes disgusted with his opponents, their Torah and their practices, forsaking them completely.... Instead of instructing him (da Costa) with love and patience and extricating him from his maze of doubts by showing him his mistake, they disparaged him. They pursued him with sanctions and excommunication, cursing him until he was eventually driven away completely from his people and his faith and ended his life in a most degrading way..." (Mekor Baruch, chapter 13:5.)
This surely applies to the ban on Spinoza as well, although there may have been political motives to this ban so as not to create a frontal clash between the Portuguese Spanish Jewish community and the Dutch authorities.
6. American writer and poet Arthur Guiterman.