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For more than 40 years, Mikael Enckell has published collections of his essays on film, literature, Judaism, psychoanalysis, and on authors and poets to whom he feels close. These topics are all represented in his book, Rebellion and following, his fourth one to center around Jewish themes.
One of his main theses is that Christianity, the offspring of Judaism, has turned away from its point of departure, denied and devalued its heritage, and transformed these links into hate and persecution of both the Jews and Judaism during the last 2000 years, thus creating antisemitism as we know it. This antisemitism is described as an amorphous, cultural and unconscious mould pervading European civilization since the time the religion of the Father was substituted by the religion of the Son, a substitution and rebellion by the Christians, to the extent that the way of measuring time itself was changed, from being an era dating from the creation of the universe to one beginning with the birth of the Son. With a few exceptions-those periods when life has been more endurable for Jews-antisemitism has been, and continues to be, the norm within European civilization. Deep ignorance of and blindness toward the Jewish tradition have accompanied these prejudices. Jews themselves, assimilated or not, have not been immune to anti-Semitism, but have internalized it, which sometimes has led to self-hate and psychological division.
But consistently prevailing as a counter-cultural minority surrounded by a majority that exposes it to constant ethical, religious and intellectual crossfire, has furthered Judaism's intellectual and spiritual growth. The Jewish tradition is dominated by certain ideas: the obligation to remember its history and to keep the commandments given at Sinai. An important feature in Judaism is its non-hierarchical structure: no priesthood stands in the way between the Jew and his God. Another characteristic is its tolerance for, and affirmation of, diversity, which positi