To the Editor:

In “Faith in Israel” [February], Harold Fisch says: “To be a Jew is not so much to believe in certain things, but to be in a certain existential situation: The Jew is that person who is caught in ! the grip of Jewish history with its unique traumas, its dangers, and its glories. The religious Jew, in this perspective, is merely that Jew who acknowledges and accepts that situation as a charge.” . . . Now I don’t know the difference between being in a situation and being in an “existential situation,” but there can be no doubt that anyone caught “in the grip of Jewish history” is either a Jew, or a non-Jew dealing with Jews. . . . Professor Fisch wants to leave aside “tricky theological issues which have never bothered Judaism overmuch,” but then he says that “there is no denying the theological dimension of the events which have electrified Israel in the past eighteen months.” . . .

But a distinction must be made between faith in Israel and the faith of Israel. Faith in Israel is a phenomenon in social psychology. No matter how profound the reaction to events which appear symbolic, it is more “tricky” than those rejected theological issues. This “faith” is quite amorphous, and often is nothing more than an emotional satisfaction in following in ancestral footsteps. The faith of Israel—some Jews deny there is any such thing and some Christians claim it as theirs—cannot be contrary to reason, . . . according to which God’s good name does not hinge on the outcome of fortuitous events, although He is concerned with the fate of Israel, all mankind, and all living beings.

Sidney Koretz
Arlington, Virginia