Does Judaism Teach that Anti-Semitism is Universal and Inevitable?

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Walks ups will be accepted.

At least for the last 1000 years Judaism has been teaching that, as we say in the Haggadah, “not just once did somebody try to destroy us, rather in every generation they try to destroy us, but the Blessed Holy One saves us from them.” However, we cannot find this teaching anywhere in the Bible. This lecture will attempt to pinpoint when and why this idea, that anti-Semitism is universal and inevitable, developed.

Rabbi Professor Martin Lockshin

Marty served for a number of years as Chair of the Department of Humanities at York University and as Director of York’s Centre for Jewish Studies. He taught a wide array of Humanities courses connected to Judaism, or to Judaism and Christianity, and many “text” courses in Hebrew in the Department of Languages, Literature, and Linguistics. Even in lecture courses, his favorite kind of teaching involves close reading of texts together with the students. In 2014 York University honored Marty by appointing him to the rare rank of University Professor. He retired in 2016 and he and his wife moved to Israel. He has been teaching in Israel at Pardes and a number of other venues and continues to be an active researcher.

Outside of the academy, Marty has also always been interested in tradition and innovation. He writes widely in the popular Jewish press about the phenomenon of Jewish “modern Orthodoxy” in North America and Israel. He has served and continues to serve as rabbi or “halakhic advisor” for a number of “partnership minyanim,” where prayer services follow Orthodox patterns but provide expanded roles for women.

LM