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> Home | TOC | Index 7 Why We Remain Jews: Can Jewish Faith and History Still Speak to Us? Joseph Cropsey, Chairman: It is a strange title, and has the simultaneous characteristics of being apparently somewhat narrow and at the same time apparently bold. It seems to be narrow in being apparently addressed to Jews: "why we remain Jews." Why it is a bold-sounding title, I suppose hardly needs to be spelled out, since it suggests that a question remains as to why people should continue to be Jews. This is something which as Jews, perhaps you would never expect to raise as a question. Now, as it happens, the boldness of this fundamental question is connected with the breadth of it. It is not a narrow question, as it will turn out, because the problem seems to arise in virtue of some very deep and far-ranging developments coming from modern science and modern politics. Some developments in modern political life seem to cause a special difficulty for people when they consider their Jewish character; and indeed, this is what makes the question somewhat more than narrow when they consider the question of their religious affiliation at all. And I think that since the question does so much have to do with developments coming from modern science and modern political life, the question is one that probably occurs not only to Jews but to people of every religious persuasion. I am absolutely uncommissioned to speak for any of the subsequent lecturers, and I do not in any way wish to appear to anticipate what they might say; but it would surprise me very much if it did not turn out to be true that in one way or another the lectures will speak to the question that arises in the mind of everybody , not only of a Jew, and can easily be transformed, with some modifications , into the question why anybody should remain anything that he happens to be to begin with. One other consideration might deserve to be mentioned. Not only is the title of this series of lectures a bit bold in its appearance; you might also have been somewhat taken aback by 311 > Home | TOC | Index 312 Jewish Philosophy and the Crisis of Modernity the extensive affiliation of the political science department with the discussion of this question. As to whether that contributes another element of boldness, I will have to allow you to judge on hearing what is forthcoming. This is one of those occasions on which it literally is true that the speaker needs no introduction. Everybody, I think, knows the reputation of the gentleman whom we will now have the pleasure to hear. I will only say that it is a source of very great personal pleasure, and it would be an honor to anybody, to be in a position of introducing the Robert Maynard Hutchins Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, Dr. Leo Strauss. Leo Strauss: Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I have to make two prefatory remarks. One was partly anticipated by Dr. Cropsey regarding the title. When Rabbi Pekarsky first approached me and suggested this title, I was repelled by it, not to say shocked. by it. But then, on reflection, I found one could say something about it. At any rate, I must say that to the extent to which I prepared this paper, I prepared it on the assumption that I was going to speak on the subject: "Why do we remain Jews?" I learned of the subtitle only a few days ago when, thanks to some mishap in the printing division of the Hillel Foundation, I saw it for the first time. I could not with propriety speak on the theme of the subtitle because, after all, everyone is a specialist, and my specialty is (to use a very broad and nonspecialist name) social science rather than divinity. Now, social science demands from us, as we all know-and the gentlemen from the social science division. I see here, some of whom take a very different view than I, would agree with me on this-or at least the characteristic of the social sciences is, to start from solid if low facts and to remain as much as possible on that ground. No flights of fancy, no science fiction, no metaphysics will enter. That is clear. The second point which I have to make in my introduction is of a more private nature, which I am sad to...

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