Each of us has repeatedly succeeded in hearing from the unfamiliar and close ones an unflattering mention of some objectionable figure - the "Jew". It is always pronounced with confidence and mockery, with a bit of contempt and a twinkle in his eyes. The meaning is captured at some deep, subconscious level - few people know exactly who the Jew is. But if you put it this way yourself, in return you can hear an understanding assent and reinforced head nods. But this doesn’t explain much. Why is this attitude to a seemingly ordinary word? What does it mean? After all, who is a Jew?
What does Orthodoxy have to do with it?
They say that Jews are called Jews, only with contemptuous coloring. But if everything was so simple, the question would not arise, how does the Jew differ from the Jew, and the nickname would not be shrouded in some secret. In addition, during the trial, for some reason, a clarification from religion immediately arises: they say that is what the Jews are called. It turns out that they, the followers of this faith, have two names: Jews and Jews. Then, however, it is completely incomprehensible. This will have to be dealt with with the help of famous historians, historical facts and other reports.
Quoting A. Nechvolodov
The famous Russian historian wrote that the origin of the word "Jew" is more than simple. It is no secret that the Jews are descendants of Judah, so that every European language has its own name. The Germans call them “yuda”, the British - “ju”, the French - “juif”, but the Poles chose the so-beloved Russian man - “Jew”. Both chroniclers and historians borrowed the nickname and used it everywhere. This can be seen in their works long ago, when no claims to the term arose.
Why then contempt?
It would seem that then the "Jew" did not like it, since the etymology does not contain anything like that? Here it is worth returning to faith and religions. For Orthodox Jews, the enemies of Christ, as mentioned above, they came from Judas, a traitor, as Christians assure. This means that the Jews are a people who have denied God. Therefore, Orthodoxy confidently declares that the problem of the fact that Jews themselves do not like to be called so is a consequence of the struggle of creeds, and not anything else. Therefore, a “Jew" in the eyes of a true Christian can be a person of any nationality who adopted Judaism, and therefore, turned his back on Jesus Christ.
Great and powerful…
Let us turn to Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. The Jew in this Talmud is defined as "mean, miser, " etc. Not a very flattering definition, but by the way, the fact that it is a synonym for the word “Jew” is not even hinted at, not even mentioned. That is, the question, who is a Jew in the Russian language, can honestly answer - a greedy person. Without reference to anything national, religious, and so on. But for some reason this completely consistent fact is omitted against the background of everything else, is not perceived as a sufficient argument.
Or maybe national strife?
Where did the general dislike of the Jews come from then? Perhaps anti-Semitism as a phenomenon in Russia is only being tried to rekindle, moreover, completely groundlessly? Is very similar.
Interesting fact: Dahl’s dictionary published in 1978-1980 and completely unchanged (according to the editors) does not contain a page with the definition of "Jew". So, ideal conditions have been created for adding up a new stereotype. According to him, a Jew is a nationality, and not a member of the religious Jewish community.
Interestingly, why Jews are Jews, in fact, is not explained anywhere. The distortion of these two concepts is artificial, and the interpretation of the second of them is falsely attributed to the first. And suddenly, it is an enemy nation.
Another sophism - hidden logical error
“Enemy Nation”: what is wrong with this expression? First of all, perhaps, the fact that the Jews were never a nation. It belongs to faith, religion. To Judaism, already mentioned in this article. From this point of view, the position of Orthodoxy, although not particularly ethical, is logically presented.
Although, of course, with the question of the nation, everything is also not so smooth. And here's why: in Hebrew, “Jew” means belonging to the people and religion, and in Israel it means legal status.
The Tale of How the Jewish Community Tried to Make a Nation
Theodor Herzl gave his definition to the ethnos. According to him, this is not only a group of people with a historical past and solidarity in the present, but also with the cause of this community - a common enemy. That is, according to Herzl, there is no enemy - there is no unity. A controversial statement, but it is it that so well explains the concept of anti-Semitism: national oppression creates an oppressed nation.
There are Jews and there are Jews …
Everyone remembers the axiom that there are Germans, and there are Nazis? Here. Jew, Jew: the difference between them is the same, fundamental. At least, there are always those who say that.
Some people sincerely wonder why such hatred is expressed towards Jews. At some national level, even if a person doesn’t really know how to hate, folk art in the form of anecdotes is simply mottled with inserts like "Jew", supposedly exposing their mentality as a laughing stock. And well, it would be a stereotype that does not harm anyone, but here, after all, is a whole list of bad consequences.
And this despite the fact that among the representatives of Jewry a whole heap of scientists, creators, geniuses. A Jew, however, is a stingy merchant - rather a regular of old retelling, a bright secondary face of literary works.
Some historical reports
In order not to be confused: tale and Orthodoxy with their contempt for the Jews, as well as Dahl's explanatory dictionary with its skillfully evoked anti-Semitism, are not two fundamentally different points of view. Firstly, one does not interfere with the other, and secondly, one does not deny the other.
So, we take for historical fact the following: the origin of the word "Jew" from "Judah" and its originally completely non-neglecting meaning. This name began to be removed from official reports with the beginning of the reign of Catherine II. A transformation has taken place similar to the current rethinking of the word "Negro", which has sharply become offensive.
By the way, while in Russia Russian writers had to make excuses for their alleged hatred expressed through the use of the “wrong” word in their works, the Polish-Ukrainian milieu, so to speak, lagged behind. In the territories of these countries, everything remained as before.
Exclusively Russian problem
Let's continue the list of entertaining facts: when translating the words "Jew" into English, we get "jew". When translating the word "Jew" (attention!) - also "jew". Then what is the difference between a Jew and a Jew? The fact that the first at some point became objectionable.
The situation worsened during the Soviet era: at first the word was associated with counter-revolution due to anti-Soviet propaganda of the White Guards. And during the Great Patriotic War, the "Jew" acquired a mocking "superstructure" over the name, which did not contribute to his emotional susceptibility for the better - everything only got worse.
The changes of that time were so deeply rooted that now it will be more than difficult to make a reverse transformation.
"Jew": meaning
Dahl's explanatory dictionary has already been addressed in this article. And if you believe him (and not believe him, in turn, there is no reason), then the "Jew" is a greedy, stingy person, in other words - a miser. I immediately recall the famous stereotype of the Jews. Immediately very logically lined up a chain of nicknames. But, having found the answer to this question, we come across the following: not about why Jews are Jews, but about why Jews are considered stingy.
Lyon Levinson once said that Jewish greed certainly exists. As well as French, and American, and Ukrainian. Amazingly accurate remark. Each nation has everything in moderation: there are not the best representatives in it, but there are incarnations of virtues.
Jewish Greed Association
The first reason. Religious And again, Judas, and again spoiled his people life. The traitor Iskariot sold Jesus precisely for money, for thirty pieces of silver (which, in fact, is not so much), therefore, greed destroyed him. The mean character is associated with the Jews, and yet, by the way, they came from a completely different Judah. Not for nothing that there was a clarification at the beginning of the article: Orthodox Christians associate Jews with Iskariot, but this does not mean that they are right. Because in fact - no, not at all. Judas was also called one of the followers of Christ, who was not noticed by any guilty person.
The second reason. Purely historical. In fact, this reason is somewhat related to Christianity. The church in the Middle Ages prohibited almost all types of monetary relations. Credit, however, is important not only in the economy, but also in agriculture, which Christian peasants were already engaged in. What should the Jews do with nothing more to do? That's right - to settle in a niche loan. And then everything is like clockwork: of course, every lender works, first of all, to his own advantage, and the fact that Jews began to be associated with this stingy and greedy field of activity is a matter of time, no more. In the modern world, this nation is realizing itself in other areas, and not only in trade and banking.
