"Embracing Exile is a comprehensive history of Jewish responses to and conceptions of their exiles/diasporas. Jews have, since their beginnings, been a wandering people. According to their origin story, they wandered from Ur of Chaldees to Canaan to Egypt and then back to Canaan. From there, they were exiled to Babylon, where they built their longest-lived home, one that survived until the twentieth century. Over the span of centuries, they resettled in Persia, Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, and the United States, often flourishing. Thanks to these experiences, Diaspora became "natural" to Jews, and though they may have hoped for a return to their Promised Land at the End of Days, they made sense of their many homes, defending Diaspora as the realm where Jewish life could grow and Jews fulfill their covenantal obligations in the company of their God. The texts and expressions the volume documents in Defending Diaspora include biblical and rabbinic texts, philosophical treatises, Kabbalah, Hasidism, and a multiplicity of modern expressions. The book offers revised readings of the book of Esther and other biblical texts, a survey of Talmudic treatments of exile, an in-depth analysis of the thought of the Maharal of Prague, analyses of works by Philip Roth, and other modern authors, and much more. The book shows that lament has not been the most common Jewish response to diaspora and that Zionism is not the natural outcome of either Jewish ideology or history"-- Provided by publisher.
Embracing Exile analyzes biblical and rabbinic texts, philosophical treatises, studies of Kabbalah, Hasidism, and a multiplicity of modern expressions for a comprehensive history of Jewish responses to and justifications of their diasporas. It shows that Diaspora Jews through the ages insisted that God joined them in their exiles, that "Zion" was found in Babylon and Eastern Europe, and that, as citizens of the world, Jews could only live throughout the world. The result is a convincing assertion that lament has not been the most common Jewish response to diaspora and that Zionism is not the natural outcome of either Jewish ideology or history.
A new interpretation of historical and contemporary Jewish texts that views diaspora as a positive outcome for Jews and for the world
Jewish people have always wandered. According to their origin story, they wandered from Ur of Chaldees to Canaan, then Egypt, and then back to Canaan. From there, they were exiled to Babylon, where they lived for centuries. They also settled in Persia, Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, England, the United States, among many other places. Diaspora became normal to Jews, and though they may have hoped for a return to their "Promised Land" at the "End of Days," they made sense of their many homes, defending diaspora as the realm where Jewish life could grow, and they could fulfil their obligations to God.
Embracing Exile analyzes biblical and rabbinic texts, philosophical treatises, studies of Kabbalah, Hasidism, and a multiplicity of modern expressions. It offers revised readings of the Bible's book of Esther, a survey of Talmudic treatments of exile, an in-depth analysis of the thought of the early modern master, the Maharal of Prague, as well as the work of novelist Philip Roth, among other modern authors. David Kraemer shows that Diaspora Jews through the ages insisted that God joined them in their exiles, that "Zion" was found in Babylon and Eastern Europe, and that, as citizens of the world, Jews could only live throughout the world. The result is a convincing assertion that lament has not been the most common Jewish response to diaspora and that Zionism is not the natural outcome of either Jewish ideology or history. Kraemer also argues that as the world's most experienced surviving refugees, Jews also offer a model to more contemporary refugees, demonstrating how they may not only survive but thrive and endure.
