The Jewish History

Isaac Leib Peretz: If Not higher

The literature by I.L Peretz revolves around Bontsha who remains silent, both in life and death. Peretz uses Bontsha’s story to advance the theme of oppression in the Jewish society. The suffering the protagonist undergoes is a depiction of the life poor people are subjected to by the elites. His story paints a picture of the widening gap between the poor and the rich (Peretz 2). In any case, Bontsha hails from a poor background and as such, he represents the majority poor in the society who remain voiceless against the backdrop of policies that favor the rich.

Peretz uses symbolism to depict the extent of disparity between the rich and the poor. His approach takes shape through Bontasha’s silence. The is an intricate balance between the Jewish history and the bible. The author seems to create a scenario to imply that being powerless on earth is not the end of the journey since heaven awaits those who are helpless to reward them. Despite Bontasha been silent on earth, he would secure a place in heaven. It is rather interesting how when he was given a chance to call for whatever he wished, he could not identify a worthy goal (Secunda).  The protagonist silence is a representation of the level of ignorance exhibited by part of the Jewish population.  It is worth noting how Bontasha’s silence persists throughout his life. The same can be said to be true of the rich taking away the freedom of poor in the Jewish society all along. The poor would have nowhere to run to until their death. The pain, miseries and the poverty Bontasha undergoes all his life is an implication of the shadowy life the poor adopt in the society. Bontasha has been so brainwashed to a level where, when he finds himself in court, he mistakes himself for someone else since he was not used to such rich looking place.

The aspect of religion comes out in Bontasha story. The Jewish people recognized faith as one of the most crucial elements in an individual’s life. Faith is a pillar of hope and Peretz seems to give the poor in the Jewish society some hope in the sense that, their suffering notwithstanding heavens will afford them a nice place. The approach seems to connect closely with the biblical story where people are supposed to discern earthly possessions to inherit the heavenly kingdom. The aspect of faith gives people an impetus to soldier on despite their suffering and challenging encounters in life. The aspect of faith made it possible for Bontasha to carry on from the age of eight years when circumcision causes him unprecedented pain and bleeding (Terry 423). Peretz is keen to depict the struggle the poor have to undergo all their life even when whatever they are seeking in life is normal and obvious.

It is ironical how the poor are denied everything including the basic things in life to a level that, given the opportunity, they would request the little that seems to be obvious to everyone. For instance, it remains ridiculous for Bontasha to request for bread and butter and yet there were a whole lot of things that he could ask. Bread and butter are what mattered to him at the moment to signify the extent of deprivation he has been facing all his life. If he could not afford food while on earth it next to impossible for him to imagine getting anything better in heaven. The incident is true of any poor person since, given the chance, they would request the most basic things they have been lacking all their life.

Shem and Japheth in the Train

The train genre as depicted in the “Shem and Japheth on the train” captures the aspect of advancement in technology. The Jews are seen scrambling for space in the train and as the story advances, it becomes clear that it is the first time for most of them to be on a train. The aspect of opposition that comes out in the story can be depicted to represent the contrast between the past and new way of doing things. The captures Mendele as a traditional setting that is being taken over by technology. It is evident the new experience that some passengers allude to being the first in their lifetime can be exemplified by lack of better ways of travel in the past (Stahl 336). Therefore, the train changes everything since it offers speed, and in the event, saving time.

The past is rife in the Jewish minds as they are seen jostling for a place in the new system represented by the train. The author is keen to capture another form of modernity through depicting the train as city and coach as a family. The jostling of places in the train represents how Jews are eager to join the journey. The journey, in this case, is symbolic in the sense that. the aspect of modernity that comes with technology.

The German way of doing things is different from that of the Jews as captured in the discussion between Shem and Japheth. However, they seem to borrow a lead from one another as Shem wishes to learn Japheth who is a Jewish, his way of doing things. However, they promise one another not to covert. The implication is that Jews cannot afford to go the way of the Gentiles as their religion denies them such an opportunity (Stahl 340). However, they can borrow the good ideas and internalize the same for their benefit.

 The train does not pose any threat to Jewish culture as would embrace modernity without changing their traditions. It is imperative to acknowledge how religion plays out here since, just as it is captured in the Bible, Jews a select nation and as such they should never intermingle with other cultures. In this case, the Jews are keen to keep their identity despite the eminent interaction with the Germans. The train is captured metamorphically in the story “Shem and Japheth in the Train” as it can be taken to represent the Germans and their scientific approaches.    In any case, embracing nationalism may harbor the aspect of civilization and as such the Jews had no reason to hold to their tradition. The journey in the train offers an opportunity to the Jews to interact with gentile neighbors. In any case, the train represent s all the good things that come with modernity in an environment that is free from nationalist racism and anti-Semitism.

Gimpel the Fool

The author of “Gimpel the Fool” is keen to highlight the theme of deception. The protagonist has been fooled into marrying the town whore and in the event, realizing he has been duped for months later in the marriage. There is some religious aspect of the story as the same can be realigned to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. However, putting the story in a political context it sounds perfect to position Gimpel as representing the Jewish interaction with Germans during the World War II. The Jews just like Gimpel can be seen as naïve before the Germans. However, it is imperative to acknowledge the fact that, Gimpel can be seen to understand what is happening behind the scenes (Levesque). For instance, he is aware that the child his wife brings forth is not his and he goes further to question the same. The implication is that the Jews are not as naïve and they can notice any intervention in their way of doing things.

The Jew religious culture may be taken to be seen as the angle from which other nations would want to depict them fools against the backdrop of civilization. Just like Gimpel is duped into marrying a whore, the Jews have been forced to interact with Germans who advance the Nazism theme, killing thousands of Jews. The village was out to lead Gimpel the wrong direction just the same way the Germans engage in a killing spree.

Gimpel in the story struggles between his faith and the reality on the ground. Gimpel’s story is symbolic in the sense that he is representative of the struggles and tribulations the jews experience in the wake of World War II. The Jews found themselves jostling in between the aspect of spirituality and the events in the natural world. The events of the Holocaust were too real that they left many Jews displaced and others affected by the horrors of the same (Christina and Thambi). Just as Gimpel remained true to his faith, so was the case with Jews as they were supposed to remain true to the covenant, Gods chosen people.

The “Gimpel the Fool” story comes to a climax when he finds his unfaithful wife in bed with another, only for her to manipulate him to go and check the goat. This is true of the Holocaust story as it reached a climax where the Jews were informed to forgive and forget as the Germans withdrew from the Jewish soil. The Nazis had already done the harm by killing the Jews in masses. No amount of action would compensate Jews such a loss.

The author narrates “Gimpel the Fool” with no form of sarcasm as he uses an honest and simple tone to capture the event that Gimple finds himself in amidst a strong faith in Godly ways. This can be taken as a lesson to Jews that despite all the happenings in their nation they had to tore the line and respect the Gods will. In any case, the political interests of the Jews could never work in unison to religious believes.

The “Gimple the Fool” is a story of way amidst to parties with totally different beliefs and schools of thought. Gimpel is more to heavenly faith and as such the entire village views him as fools most probably because he does not ascribe to earthly ideology. The author captures such an element through the contrast between Gimple and the villagers. In any case, no one supports him and everyone believes the best word to describe him is “Fool”. This can be taken to be symbolic in the sense that, the Jews throughout the war remained the losses with the Nazis taking advantage of every situation. The Jews had no support from its neighbors and they could only bank of heavenly power as their source of strength. Although the Jews could see all that was happening they remained on the receiving end throughout the wartime.

Works Cited

Christina, Vennila and Olive Thambi. “REDEFINING THE RELATIONSHIP OF MAN WITH GOD WITH REFERENCE TO ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER’S SHORT STORY GIMPEL THE FOOL.” International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education 2.2 (2017): 2455-5428. Print. <http://ijcrme.rdmodernresearch.com/2017/09/10/redefining-the-relationship-of-man-with-god-with-reference-to-isaac-bashevis-singers-short-story-gimpel-the-fool/>.

Levesque, Roger. Gimple the Fool: Review. 2013. Web. 2018.

Peretz, Isaac Leib. If Not Higher. 2018. Web. 2018. <http://www.bibleandjewishstudies.net/stories/If_Not_Higher.pdf>.

Secunda, Sholom. If Not Higher. n.d. Web. 2018. <http://www.milkenarchive.org/music/volumes/view/odes-and-epics/work/if-not-higher/>.

Stahl, Neta. “Conceptions of Time and History in Modern Hebrew and Yiddish Train Stories.” Comparative Literature 66.3 (2014): 322-339.

Terry , Michael. Reader’s Guide to Judaism. Routledge, 2013. Print.