Our Distant Brothers: Letters from Tunis

Tunis, Rosh Ḥodesh Adar 5648

When I would heal Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, and the wickedness of Samaria, for they commit falsehood; and the thief enters in, and the troop of robbers makes a raid without. And let them not say to their heart—I remember all their wickedness; now their own doings have beset them about, they are before My face (Hosea 7:1–2)

Much time has passed since the light of civilization emanated from the glorious city of Paris, radiating its glory to all the other cities of Europe, and after some years this brilliant light also spread to some cities in Africa and Asia, illuminating the darkness of stupidity that extended its wings over the lands of the savages, and this light grew, taking hold all over the world, and its beams shone upon all those stumbling in the shadows of ignorance. What a wonderful sight it was: to observe the happiness and success of the human race as it opens its eyes, recognizing that it has been naked of knowledge and of pure enlightenment that belong solely to human beings, created in [God’s] image. How joyous was every good and innocent heart on observing the flag of freedom and liberty flying over the tower of truth, justice, and the love of humankind and upon the throne of peace established through justice and righteousness (Amos 5:24). But to the regret of the heart that seeks a fusion between education and pure belief, those influenced by this precious light have changed their moral soul entirely: in some cases the light has remedied them and elsewhere the light has removed the darkness that once veiled their faces, while leaving the stain of ignorance. And this applies in particular to some of our fellow Jews who have failed to recognize its grace or to use it properly, arguing that it has come in order to liberate those trapped by faith. And they have then marched boldly toward their destination—assimilation! They have enjoyed this precious light and sinned, not knowing that it is “holy to the faith and the first fruits of the harvest” [see Jeremiah 2:3]—as every enlightened person (maskil) can truly demonstrate; therefore, it is their fault that the remnant sparks of Judaism within them have been extinguished, and they have turned an angry face toward the rock from which they were hewn [i.e., origin]. But our heart is sorry for these miserable ones—the treacherous hand of time has abruptly uprooted them from the people whose pillars rested on the revitalizing faith while a merciless right hand expelled them from civilized nations, who hold to religion and law, so that they were left groundless on both sides, suspended in the air like sand and dust, and there is no help for them, and their souls have no rest, for they walked on with hardened hearts. They suffer from the rage of the antisemites, for the antisemites¹ imposed a rule that no Semite shall come among the community of Japheth for all eternity! And this rule worked against them [the assimilationists], kicking them down, so that they could no longer be employed in any decent position to which they aspired. What, then, are these miserable ones to do? Should they turn heel? They have come so far and will not be able to do so! For the place is too far from them (Deuteronomy 12:21). Yet we must moralize them and advise them to block this dark path to their descendants; we must have mercy on them and guide them to the path of true enlightenment found in the mountains of pure faith (lest they be like their parents), and they will stay outside the camp until their impurity is removed!²

Thus far I have phrased these few words in general terms, but I have not yet turned my pen to describe the goal to which I am guiding my soul.

We too, here in this city, have also seen the current precious light turned into a deceptive light, misleading many who believe in foolishness to lend their hands to an Alliance with the treacherous time. But time, by its nature, broke its Alliance with them and failed to shine its light upon them as in the past! For the leprosy of antisemitism has begun to appear on their forehead—the shadow is growing and I see that it has spread across their entire flesh. But following incidents, many of them have recanted [ . . . ] even though they have not entirely decided to stick to the faith of their forefathers as is. To our regret this knowledge has indeed become very distant from the members of the new generation, like east from west, and only a few here and there appreciate its graceful value. And soon, none will know of it. And the primary cause of this infectious disease is the poor state of education, O Lord! What can I say? What can I tell you?! The hand of this terrible disease that causes devastation and ruin has stricken youths in the schools—the disease of non-Judaism! Truly on this matter I have set upon myself the obligation of presenting the readers with accurate statistics concerning the number of Jewish school-age youths in our city, and I shall then be able to describe the present state of education in our city. [ . . . ]

Here in our large city (whose Jewish community numbers 40,000, may God preserve them), the number of Jewish school-aged youths is some 2,600. Of these, around 300 attend Catholic schools, mostly from the upper class: they eat, drink, and sleep there, and see their parents only once a month. And in addition to these, a further 100 youths attend the Protestant school. Naturally these youths are far removed from Judaism in every respect. However, there are some 900 or more youths for whom Judaism is an uncared-for habit, but now the present era [i.e., modernity]—which hunts for any weak and debilitated thing that can be uprooted—has found itself obliged to remove that imagined, uncared-for Judaism. Some 600 youths attend Jewish schools where the teachers themselves do not understand what they say—despite continuing to teach. The Book without explanations is like a sealed volume for them! This is true of most of the teachers in our city, and particularly of those at the Or ha-Torah association schools, which were established against the will of the Alliance [Israélite Universelle] school and its directors, as I shall detail below in my article. This school has some 350 students who are also being lost to modernity—like the aforementioned students [in the Christian schools]—and the same is true of the teachers at the Alliance general school. All these educators adhere to traditional teaching and regard it as sacred; they declare that its sanctity must not be defiled in any way. And there are a further 200 youths (approximately) who are left without anything and know nothing.

But I must declare out loud and offer a sacrifice on the altar of Ha-Tsefirah [i.e., to publish in print] to atone for the sins of the youth who have lost their way and become wicked—for the fault rests with the [Parisian] directors of the lofty Alliance, which was founded on the basis of faith, enlightenment, and continuity of Jewish life. Regretfully, what has transpired is not what we had expected or hoped! For the current school, which boasts the name “Talmud Torah” (Study of Torah) actually deserves to be called “Francophone Studies.”