On the Question of Ethical Behavior

The primary task of our discussion today on the question of ethical behavior is that we gain clarity about the field as a whole, that we review and discuss our particular stance on this matter, and that we define and distribute the work. It will be the preserve of future conferences to prove in reports, the exchange of theoretical studies, and in practical experiences that we too have understood our share in dealing with this issue of human nature. It seems to me, however, that a general outline of the field is already very much needed today because it would be a great mistake if we allowed, even remotely, the idea to take hold that there was such a thing as a “Jewish issue of ethical behavior,” or that the perception of what is ethical behavior differed in the Jewish religion from the perception of followers of other denominations.

A world of woe has often engulfed us Jews when such claims have not been resolutely rejected. [ . . . ]

Every religious community has the duty to cultivate within its sphere morality and ethical behavior [Sittlichkeit] and to educate those born into its community in ethical behavior; the dignity of the individual and the regard in which the community is being held are based on the esteem in which one holds the highest ethical values. This insight is the source of the resilience of the chosen people. Leaving the Jewish community, which dutifully grants the individual personal freedom, in other words baptism for opportunistic reasons, is shameful for the deserter.

In recent years, linguistic usage changed the meaning of the word ethical in the buzzword “issue of ethical behavior” [Sittlichkeitsfrage] so that in daily usage it no longer carries the comprehensive meaning that it really should.

In its current use, Sittlichkeitsfrage primarily refers to the development of social and moral behavior in relationships, i.e., normative sexual behavior. [ . . . ]

It would be very tempting to continue spinning the threads of the suggestions developed by progressive women. But I must not do it—my task now is to demonstrate the state of sexual ethics in the Jewish communities. Once upon a time one was able to say that Jewish sexual ethics was the iron core in the life of the people and the family. Whatever scant praise we do enjoy among the peoples we owe to this world-famous treasure. And to it and our abstinence from alcohol we owe our tenacious resilience, which makes the continued existence of our people, despite Inquisition, persecution, oppression, and pogroms, appear miraculous.

Statistically the ethical behavior of our people is expressed in the miniscule fractions indicating to what small degree Jews are involved in activities that violate ethical sexual conduct.

The numbers of births out of wedlock, of licensed prostitutes, of sexual and violent crimes were always much lower [among Jews] than in other denominations; similarly, infant mortality was always much lower among Jews than in other denominations and the Jewish population sustained its natural rate of growth. Unfortunately, I cannot give you reliable statistics; but if one does not want to be blind and deaf, one can hear and see that on the horizon of Jewish life that the increase of sexual misconduct is arising as a cloud that may bring more misfortune than the hatred of the peoples around us. [ . . . ]

Massively coarsened and magnified we can currently see this at work in Russia. The conditions that prevail among the agitated Russian Jews at this time do not need to be further illuminated. In a country and at a time in which a human life counts for nothing, people lose their appreciation of what makes a human life valuable.

But even where Jews have been granted a rather peaceful development, I am finding in the inner life of the Jewish people a curtailment of rights that damages its moral fiber. I see in the position that women occupy in Jewish communal life, a curtailment of rights that noticeably affects all aspects of society.

We women of all civilized countries are fighting today against being grouped with idiots and children before the law because we have experienced the effect of this diminishment as an impediment to our development.

And the Jewish woman?—For centuries she enjoyed not even the rights of a thirteen-year-old boy in the cultural and ritual spheres of Jewish communal life, which, for the longest time, were nearly congruent. The thirteen-year-old boy, a child, is consecrated into full adult responsibility; He is accepted into the community; He is counted in the prayer quorum, he participates fully in the rituals and customs, he engages with Torah, he is allowed to absorb its pure teaching, gain strength from it, become enthused by it and refined in his moral sensibilities!—And the woman in the Jewish community? She does not count, she has no value, she learns nothing, her spirit requires neither strength nor grace, she must not even remain beautiful even if Nature endowed her with beauty—she must maim or at least disfigure herself—in Jewish law the woman is not an individual, she has no personality, she is valued and judged only as a wife and mother. [ . . . ]

I think the connections between the centuries-long suppression of the rights of women among the Jews with all its consequences and ramifications suffices to explain the contradiction between the old inviolable ethics of Judaism and certain shameful activities that are now becoming visible on the surface of our communal life. We must not remain indifferent! The serious and well-intentioned leaders and advisors of the Jewish communities, and particularly, we, the Jewish women, we must defend our people against the rampant growth of these activities that embarrass and humiliate us in the eyes of the world. Thus we are faced with two challenges that demand all of our energy. On the one hand we must examine ourselves and must be completely honest—wisdom and clarity should reign in the education of daughters—strong self-discipline and respect for women must be required of the sons. On the other hand, we must engage in social work that despite loving individualization would still be part of an emerging system spanning the globe that, while conforming to society at large, would still accommodate and serve Jewish particularity.

This is a difficult task, but the Jewish Women’s Alliance [Jüdischer Frauenbund] will undertake it, because it will result in spiritual freedom for the Jewish woman and an understanding of her duties and rights. The Alliance will teach her to tackle the highest ethical issues under her own steam so that she can be at all times an ishah ḥashuvah—a respected moral woman.