Open Wounds: The Crisis of Jewish Thought in the Aftermath of the Holocaust

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

the pastora goldner series in Post-Holocaust Studies The Pastora Goldner Series in Post-Holocaust Studies explores questions— ethical, educational, political, spiritual—that continue to haunt humanity in the aftermath of Nazi Germany’s attempt to destroy Jewish life and culture. Books in this series, addressing the most current and pressing issues of our post-Holocaust world, proceed from scholarship undertaken by the Pastora Goldner Symposium, whose membership—international, interdisciplinary, interfaith, and intergenerational—is committed to dialogue as a fundamental form of inquiry. The symposium and the series are generously supported by Pastora Campos Goldner, who has devoted much of her life to working toward tikkun olam, the healing of our world, and whose vision and courage inspire the participants in the symposium who contribute to this series. Series Editors Editorial Board david patterson victoria j. barnett University of Memphis Arlington, Virginia john k. roth myrna goldenberg Claremont McKenna College Montgomery College hubert g. locke University of Washington the pastora goldner series in Post-Holocaust Studies After-Words: Post-Holocaust Struggles with Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Justice Edited and Introduced by David Patterson and John K. Roth Fire in the Ashes: God, Evil, and the Holocaust Edited and Introduced by David Patterson and John K. Roth Open Wounds: The Crisis of Jewish Thought in the Aftermath of Auschwitz David Patterson Testimony, Tensions, and Tikkun: Teaching the Holocaust in Colleges and Universities Edited and Introduced by Myrna Goldenberg and Rochelle L. Millen OPEN WOuNds The Crisis of Jewish Thought in the Aftermath of Auschwitz david patterson university of washington press seattle and London Copyright © 2006 by the University of Washington Press Printed in the United States of America Designed by Pamela Canell 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 5 4 3 2 1 University of Washington Press PO Box 50096, Seattle, WA 98145 www.washington.edu/uwpress All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Patterson, David, 1948– Open wounds : the crisis of Jewish thought in the aftermath of Auschwitz / David Patterson. p. cm.—(Pastora Goldner series in post-Holocaust studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-295-98645-x (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945)—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945)—Influence. 3. Judaism—20th century. 4. Judaism—Doctrines. 5. Holocaust ( Jewish theology). I. Title. II. Series. d804.3p3776 2006 940.53'1814—dc22 2006016887 The paper used in this publication is acid-free and 90 percent recycled from at least 50 percent post-consumer waste. It meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48–1984. 8A Illustration (jacket, p. i): First Station: Auschwitz-Birkenau, by Arie Galles (1998, 47H × 75 in., charcoal and white Conté on Arches with barbed wire-impressed wrought-iron frame), from the suite of fifteen drawings Fourteen Stations/Hey Yud Dalet (Hashem Yinkom Daman), the latter phrase meaning “May God avenge their blood.” The title of the suite refers both to the Stations of the Cross and to the fact that the Nazi concentration camps and killing centers were near railroad stations. Galles’s drawings are based on Luftwaffe and Allied aerial photographs of those sites. Within this drawing and all the others are invisibly embedded, hand-lettered phrases from the Kaddish, the ancient Jewish prayer for the dead. for Emil L. Fackenheim, with gratitude, and for Tomás Daniel Cortest, an innocent soul who has ascended to the upper realms ...