Forgiving Baruch Spinoza

The 27th of July 1656 was the day they took the decision to excommunicate — to pronounce the herem on — the young Baruch for ideas that did not conform with his Sephardic Jewish community of Amsterdam, a community of Jews expelled from Portugal by the Christian Inquisition and settled in Holland, knowing they would have the freedom to practise the Jewish religion without fear. At that time Baruch was 24, and the decree of herem says:

'The gentlemen of this community make known that, having long seen the erroneous opinions and the conduct of Baruch de Espinoza, they tried with many promises to turn him from his evil path. After seeing no result and having information that every day he is practising his horrible thoughts, they decided that this same Espinoza should receive the herem.

'After the judgement of the angels and of the Saints, we anathematize, cast out and curse the accursed Baruch de Espinoza, with the consent of God, blessed be He, and of the Holy Congregation, before these Holy Books and the six hundred and thirteen mitzvot. May he be cursed by day, by night, when he wakes, when he lies down, in the street and at home. God will not forgive him; may His wrath and His anger be against him. God will blot out his name from under the heavens. No one shall communicate with him, neither by speaking nor by writing, nor show him any favour, nor stay with him under the same roof, nor come within two metres of him, nor read anything written by him.'

In reality, Spinoza did not cease to believe in God. But for him, God is the Universe. For this reason historians would consider him the first secular Jew. With the enlightenment and rationalism of the last century, Spinoza was considered by thinkers as a martyr. In 1924, at a conference held for the 250th anniversary of his death, the historian and academic Joseph Klausner said: 'To Baruch Spinoza the Jew: from Mount Scopus, from this new Sanctuary that is the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, your herem is annulled. Whatever your sin against Judaism, it will be forgiven. You are our brother, you are our brother, you are our brother.'

In 1953 David Ben-Gurion wrote in the newspaper Davar an article entitled 'We shall right the wrong', thinking to revive the writings of Baruch Spinoza in Hebrew: 'It is the duty of every Israeli citizen to bring back into our culture and our Hebrew language the original writings of the most profound philosopher to come out of the Hebrew people in the last two thousand years.'

Today no study based on the history of Jewish thought can be considered complete without mentioning the name 'Baruch Spinoza, the Philosopher of Philosophers'.

Source: The National Library of Israel. Chen Malul