Book contents
- Judaism, Antisemitism, and Holocaust
- Series page
- Judaism, Antisemitism, and Holocaust
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Judaism
- 1 What Makes Jews Jewish?
- 2 The Stranger, My Brother
- 3 Exile and the Movement of Return
- 4 A Reflection on the Messiah
- Part II Antisemitism
- Part III Holocaust
- Bibliography
- Index
4 - A Reflection on the Messiah
from Part I - Judaism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 March 2022
- Judaism, Antisemitism, and Holocaust
- Series page
- Judaism, Antisemitism, and Holocaust
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Judaism
- 1 What Makes Jews Jewish?
- 2 The Stranger, My Brother
- 3 Exile and the Movement of Return
- 4 A Reflection on the Messiah
- Part II Antisemitism
- Part III Holocaust
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter examines (1) the connection between the movement of return and a messianic redemption, (2) the distinctively Jewish teachings on the Messiah, and (3) the relation between Jewish messianism and a Jewish understanding of history as sacred history. The key to these connections lies in the principle that our humanity is rooted in a responsibility to and for the other human being, which is ultimately a messianic responsibility: If the Messiah tarries it is because we tarry, because we are forever late for the appointment, late in answering, “Here I am for you,” to the anguished outcry of our fellow human being, beginning with the stranger, the other, the child of Adam. This blindness to what Emmanuel Levinas calls “the exigency of the holy,” in the face of the other, which is fundamental to Judaism, lies at the heart of antisemitism.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Judaism, Antisemitism, and HolocaustMaking the Connections, pp. 75 - 96Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022