Thursday 25 August 2016

Paper Submitted to "AK/SOCI 3623 6.0A Jewish Communities" Course at York University



<Note: I took this course on the Summer of 2009. My course director for the course is Professor Sara R. Horowitz. 7 years has now passed. I posted this paper because I've found it on my computer. You can learn many good lessons from it. It also provides an insight on how to analyze mystical texts. You have to first read "Forevermore", of course. Analyze it yourself, and then compare your analysis with mine to have a better result.>

S.Y. Agnon’s True Interpretation of the Past in “Forevermore”

I. INTRODUCTION

Before everything else, it is very important to show first the mystical side of S.Y. Agnon. S.Y. Agnon, from his very early life, already had interest on the mystical side of Judaism. You can see this from his first poem, which is about the Kabbalist Joseph della Reina. He is the mystic famous for his failed attempt to bring about the redemption. Agnon also wrote many stories, and he worked together with Martin Buber on an anthology of Hasidic stories. (Wikipedia) Knowing this, there is a foreseeable enormous chance that “Forevermore” has mystical elements in it. It indeed has, and it has so in a manner that encompasses almost the whole story. As a matter of fact, to find the true intention of the author, it has to be carefully looked upon. Without it, the true meaning of “Forevermore” will not be found. Its view and interpretation of the past will forever be hidden.

II. BODY

Wisdom Versus Materialistic Things

There are two completely opposing factors in “Forevermore”. There is the side of good, which Adiel Amzeh represents. Then, there is the side of evil, which the count of Gumlidata belongs to. The former embraces Wisdom, while the latter embraces the material aspect of existence.

In the story, the count of Gumlidata did not choose the desires of Eldag, who is the embodiment of Wisdom. Instead, he chose the materialistic things that pushed her away. As known from the story, Eldag was horrified and disgusted of the assets and ways of the count. The count did not change his ways even after gaining such knowledge about her. Because the count still chose the ways that Wisdom does not want, he was left by her. And his city was eventually destroyed. What should also be noted is that Eldag was revealed to him in her beautiful form, which means that the count knew immediately the great and wonderful things that Wisdom could give. But despite having such insights, he did not embrace her completely. He delighted in her beauty, but he did not follow her ways.

Adiel Amzeh, on the other hand, chose Wisdom personified in nurse Adah Eden. He chose nurse Eden speedily even though she appeared to him as a poor unattractive old woman. This means that initially, he knows only ugly things that will happen to him for choosing Wisdom. He has no premonition whatsoever of the beautiful things that she could bring. Having said so, he still chose her, and the reason is in the quote, “had touched his face with a special kind of radiance that one doesn’t find except among those who are truly devoted to seeking wisdom.” Adiel is very genuinely devoted to Wisdom that he can not afford to choose the worldly riches and fame offered by Mr. Goldenthal over her. It is a fact that the author reaffirmed when he wrote “he might have realized that a pleasant and happy face can be shaped from things other than money,” despite giving away the ending at the very beginning of his story. And because Adiel did not choose Mr. Goldenthal, his opposition to the count of Gumlidata on all levels is strengthened considerably, as they have now a very good connection to completely oppose each other. That connection is Mr. Goldenthal whose ancestors are one of the survivors of the city of Gumlidata. Even more, the latter’s ancestors may have belonged to the city’s aristocracy. And just as Eldag did not like the count of Gumlidata and his materialistic things, so did nurse Eden not marry Mr. Goldenthal.

The Book of Gumlidata as the Torah

The book of Gumlidata is no other than the Torah. The book of Gumlidata was described as “decayed with age, and on account of the tears?” The same is with the Torah. The Torah is well known by the people of the world as being a very old account detailing the suffering of the Jewish people. It also tells about the city which had been destroyed and made to disappear, the city of Jerusalem. The book of Gumlidata was covered with pus “that the lepers felt a loathing for it.” Great sufferings are also shown in the Torah that Jews who have suffered more than enough had felt a loathing for it. This is especially true to those who suffered in pogroms and the holocaust, and whose faith has weakened because of them.  The story of the book of Gumlidata about Eldag and its count is just like one of the stories in the Torah where Wisdom is personified in the form of a woman, like in Proverbs 1:20, where it says “Wisdom cries aloud in the streets, raises her voice in the squares” (Berlin and Brettler 1451). Reading from the verse further, it will be known that destruction is the result of not heeding to Wisdom’s advice. The Torah has many concepts about the ways of Wisdom and folly. In it, there is also a completely different attitude than any other historical books that only has good justifications for the actions of their kings.

The count of Gumlidata was just mentioned to be on the side of evil. Since the book of Gumlidata is written by him, you may ask, “Isn’t the Torah regarded as a work of evil here?” No, and the reason is all the story about the count is considered to be part of the book, or part of the knowledge derived from it. The book is considered to be one of the biggest and most special parts of the story. Because of this, it requires an interpretation where it should be given priority among others. This kind of interpretation is practiced not only on mysticism but also on other disciplines as well.

Adiel’s Actions as Stages of Spiritual Transformations

How Adiel approached everything in the story is how righteous Jews behaved in the past. First, Adiel worked on the history of the city of Gumlidata for twenty years. Traditionally, the same could be said of the length of study a Jew must undertake before he has complete grasp of the oral and written Torah. In other words, a good candidate to study the mystical teachings is a person who has reached the age of 40, where he has learned many things, and his faith has stood the test of time. What the story also interestingly adds is that on that crossroad of life, a Jew might encounter two opposite choices, just like what happened to Adiel. When that happens, the righteous Jew must always choose Wisdom over materialistic things.

When a Jew chooses Wisdom, he will experience spiritual ecstasies too, like what happened to Adiel when he went with nurse Eden towards the hospital. As “Adiel was not conscious of the passers-by, avoiding them as they went along,” so too is the Jew who is in his way towards enlightenment. The Jew will not be affected by what goes around in his surroundings. He will not care about gossips, and what other people thinks. His whole being is centered only towards the bliss that he experiences from gaining more Torah insights.  Time does not exist. Place does not exist. During that time, not only did Adiel “forgot his own book”, he also forgot about Mr. Goldenthal.

As the Jew goes deeper into ecstasy, he will then eventually forget his own body. To know what experiences are involved in it, look at Adiel’s expression when he finally saw the book. He stared at it until “his eyes seemed to occupy half his face.” He then “looked at it for a long time, and then jumped up quickly to open it.” He no longer had any regard on what happens to his own body. And there is not a single trace of fear in him, whereas ordinary people will be deadly stricken with it in that circumstance.  Evil, in the form of leprosy, ceased to exist. His attention is concentrated only towards the knowledge that he would gain. The righteous Jew will experience all these as he progressed from his path. Then, Adiel was placed in the “hospital garden among the trees which are known as the “Trees of Eden.” This means that the Jew will then be able to enter the most sacred place of the Torah. The trees in the garden of Eden are really the center of the Torah where mystical knowledge could be gained. In it, the past sages of Israel were able to derive answers to the spiritual questions that bothered them. This is a fact, which is expressed clearly in what happened to Adiel.

Just like Adiel who has learned the truth from the book, when a Jew has experienced the mystical teachings of the Torah, he will also be able to correct his false beliefs. And the way that he will do it is based from actual experiences which will leave him no doubts about the truth. The Jew will also take refuge in the study of the Torah, just as Adiel took a room at the hospital. Eventually, the Jew will then teach his fellow Jews, just as Adiel read the passages of the book aloud to the patients in the great hall. The Jew will also tell his people revelations, just as Adiel told the patients of his new theories. The Jew will also completely abandon the desire of fame and recognition. He will be just content on finding knowledge from the Torah. Finally, Wisdom will appear to him in her most beautiful form, a Goddess, just like what happened to Adiel. She will hold him, take him as her lover, and tell him to not leave her.

In the end, Adiel did not leave the hospital. He remained there forevermore, discovering new things. This ending is not bad. It is actually the best ending for the righteous Jew. But of course, the reader will not know the true reason why if it is not read from a mystical perspective. As stated in the Zohar, the upper garden of Eden is where the righteous study the Torah day and night. They will study the Torah for eternity there. The Torah is their only delight. Adiel was able to ascend from the lower garden of Eden to the upper garden of Eden. What he had accomplished is what the past sages like the Rashbi had accomplished. It is the best accomplishment for a Jew. And he did it in the midst of suffering, just like how the Jews in the past did it.

Lepers as the Jews

Based on the aforementioned ideas, it is very easy to deduce that the lepers are the suffering Jews, and the hospital is the shtetl in which they live in. In the story there are three characters that the lepers had contact with: the count of Gumlidata, nurse Eden, and Adiel Amzeh. These three are actually the entities that the Jews had contact in the past. The count of Gumlidata represents the suffering Gentiles who lived with the Jews in the past. Though they had become the lowest of the nations, compared to the suffering Jews, they were much better. Nurse Eden represents Wisdom who always take care of the suffering Jews. She is the only one who they can truly say that belong to them. She always gives them insights and knowledge. Lastly, Adiel Amzeh represents the righteous Jew, who even though may fare batter and are far from the suffering Jews, will return to them because they have what he really wants. In their midst is the Torah who alone can give him happiness.


III. CONCLUSION

I therefore conclude that “Forevermore” shapes the past in a way that the spiritual leaders have shaped them, through religious ideology. Moreover, “Forevermore makes use of the same structure as that of those said leaders. And also, many of its imaginations were also derived from the mystical side of Judaism. Having said so, it should not be surprising, as Jewish mysticism, always had great influence on shaping the past, in a hidden or revealed manner. “Forevermore” is the best example of such. And it was very interesting to see how it has focused greatly on the experience of the righteous Jews of the generations. This kind of experiences can easily be related to by the Jews who are religiously inclined, no matter what their background is. It acts as a bridge connecting the past, present, and future. It can even evoke nostalgia to those who are longing for the spiritual past.

Agnon’s true interpretation of “Forevermore” is therefore about the continuous struggle of the Jews of the past to find their true happiness. That happiness, contrary to the materialistic happiness of other nations, can only be found on the spiritual side of existence. It is the happiness of being able to study the Torah. As Rambam said on his “Commentary on Mishnah”,  “Our sages and prophets did not long for the Messianic age in order that they might rule the world and dominate the gentiles, the only thing they wanted was to be free for Jews to involve themselves with the Torah and its wisdom.”












BIBLIOGRAPHY



Agnon, S.Y., Forevermore
Berlin, Adele, and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds. The Jewish Study Bible.  Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
Maimonides, Commentary on Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10:1

“Shmuel Yosef Agnon.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 27 April 2009, 06:36 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 11 May 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shmuel_Yosef_Agnon>