My ongoing journey through the Torah

How the intellectual climate in Germany shaped the future Führer.

Adolf Hitler

How the intellectual climate in Germany shaped the future Führer.

By Clive James

Posted Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007, at 12:41 PM ET 

The following essay is adapted from Clive James’ Cultural Amnesia, a re-examination of intellectuals, artists, and thinkers who helped shape the 20^th century. Over the coming weeks, Slate will run an exclusive selection of these essays, going roughly from A to Z, abbreviated for these pages.

You have everything that I lack. You are forging the spiritual tools for the renewal of Germany. I am nothing but a drum and a master of ceremonies. Let’s cooperate!
—Adolf Hitler at the ­Juni-­Klub, spring 1922, as quoted in Jean Pierre Faye’s Langages totalitaires.

Adolf Hitler

 

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) should need no introduction. Statistics suggest, however, that a large proportion of young people now emerging from the educational systems of the Western democracies either don’t know who he was or have only a shaky idea of what he did. One of the drawbacks of liberal democracy is thus revealed: Included among its freedoms is the freedom to forget what once threatened its existence. Granted the uncontested opportunity to do so, Hitler would have devoted himself to eliminating every trace of free expression that came within his reach. The awkward question remains of whether, on his part, this propensity precluded any real interest in the humanities. The awkward answer must be that it didn’t.   Read more at Slate

We will never forget.

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Working on the Shabbos (שבת)

For those of you that don’t know the Jewish "Sabbath" (litterally שבת pronounced as Shabbos or Shabbot) starts on Friday at sunset lasting until Saturday at sunset.  These twenty four hours are meant for rest and prayer and definitely no working.  It is part of Jewish Law and is one of the 10 Commandments.  It is very difficult for many Jews to observe שבת because in the American society, we are expected to be available to our work, to our friends, to a million obligations. 

What constitutes as work, rest and prayer is up for debate.  e.g. Does turning on a light so you can see in the middle of the night and not step on the cat that is winding itself around your legs considered work?  What about your child’s soccer practice or games?

I’m currently at a job that requires that I be available for working at any time regardless of whether I’m on-call.   The computer systems that I maintain aren’t ready to be left alone during the שבת…. yet.  If the stuff hits the fan, they call me.  I’m building a series of monitoring systems and maintainance routines that should allow the me to observe the שבת within a few months but I feel guilty about working on the שבת.

Part of observing שבת is to turn off all cell phones, computers, regular phones, so we can rest and pray.  I know that an employer can’t hold it against me for observing the שבת, but when the stuff hits the fan, which it will no matter what we do, many people within the company will be calling for my head because I wasn’t available.  They wouldn’t be able to fire me or even write me up about it, but they could make my work a living hell.

I really really want to observe שבת but I also can’t leave them out there on their own.

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