Dylan Guthrie

Judaism Essay

Jewish people make up a very small percentage of the world’s population, yet they are responsible for some of the most important and influential events that have ever taken place in the history of mankind. Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr were both Jewish people and are leaders of the major scientific revolution that took place in the 20^th century (Adherents.com, 2015). Bob Dylan, one of the most influential musicians of all time, was of Jewish descent. Jesus, the divine being of the insanely popular religious movement that we now call Christianity was a Jew. Many have asked: why have Jewish people been so influential throughout human history when they are so few in number?

It is a common thought that Jewish people are smarter than the rest of the world’s population. Some have tried to explain the disproportionately large number of people with high IQs by taking a look at Jewish history. Cochran et al. tried to explain “Jewish genius” with a scientific approach, stating that their unusually high level of intelligence is due to the fact that Jewish people were practitioners of selective inbreeding, where smarter individuals were highly sought-after mating partners (Cochran, Hardy, & Harpending, 2006). This is a scientific approach to the answering the question but it takes personal responsibility away from the men and women that happen to be of Jewish descent. It neglects the type of work that these men and women have done to earn the positions that so many Jewish people have throughout history.

Perhaps a better way to understand the reasons that Jewish people have been so successful and influential throughout history would be to take a look at how these people live their lives; perhaps the biggest part of their life, would be the religion in which they practice. That religion is known today as Judaism. It is a monotheistic religion, which stresses the importance of relationships with God with the people around them. Where Christianity stresses the importance of forgiveness and faith in order to receive grace, Judaism tends to stress the importance of ritual, work, and practice over faith (Prothero, 2010).

The tendency in their religion to practice (or to do) is central to their lives. People that practice Judaism are consumed with the need to celebrate Jewish holidays, atone for sin through rituals, and to do right by God. By its very nature, Judaism trains its people to be doers. It seems that this need to do, to practice…to perfect their lives has made its way into the professional lives of the Jewish people. It is well accepted that people are to work hard (endlessly almost) so that they can become the master of a respective field. Jewish people are workers, doers. They have allowed this to impact the way that they approach careers and the crafts that they choose.

In addition to being doers, Jewish people tend to be arguers. Not arguers in the sense that they are constantly bickering over pointless things, but they are constantly on the search for truth through debate, research and contemplation. According to Prothero, Jewish students in traditional schools (called yashivas) are constantly studying the religious texts and debating the meaning of each of the scriptures (Prothero, 2010).

The tendency to debate the meaning of scriptural truth with one another has been a part of Judaism for quite some time. Contradiction and debate has even become part of the scriptures themselves in the Talmud (Prothero, 2010). Debate and search for truth is another fundamental piece of the Hebrew tradition that seems to have made its way into the habits of many Jewish people. The search for truth and understanding is central to many different fields, such as science and mathematics. Coincidentally, Jewish people have become some of the most influential scientists and mathematicians (Einstein and Niels Bohr were list above). This constant search for truth and understanding must have played a vital role in the level of mental sharpness that these people achieved. It is not beyond reason to give partial credit to the type of tradition that these people were raised in for their intellectual abilities.

People who were raised amidst the Hebrew tradition were steeped in a religion that stresses the importance of intellectual debate, asking hard questions, and the importance of work ethic. Each of these things happen to be very important in the professional world. Engaging in intellectual debate is a vital part of politics, science, literature, and business. From debate, many of the great achievements that humankind has accrued have come. Jewish people are often taught to debate, to argue, from a very young age. Without a strong work ethic, Einstein would have certainly quit as he began to realize the magnitude of truth that would encounter when he pursued some of the most difficult questions that man’s curiosity had to offer. It is likely that, through his ethic and religious upbringing, he was well accustomed to the work that it took understand and to answer questions that had never been answered before his time. It is no coincidence that Jewish people have become so influential throughout history.

Bibliography

Adherents.com. (2015, May 4). The 100 Most Influental Jews of All Time. Retrieved from Adherents: http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_jew100.html

Cochran, G., Hardy, J., & Harpending, H. (2006). Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence. Journal of Biosocial Science, 659-693.

Prothero, S. (2010). God is Not One. New York: HarperOne.