jacoblibermann

Jacob Libermann:

The Early Years

Jacob Libermann, who would later revitalise the faltering Spiritan movement when he was elected superior general of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost in 1848, was born in Saverne in 1802. He was the fifth son of Lazarus Libermann, a rabbi in the Jewish ghetto there. Samson, David, Henoch and Felix preceded him. Samuel, Esther, Isaac and Sarah were to follow.

Ghetto Life
Jacob grew up in interesting times for the French Jews. Lazarus and his wife Leah were married in 1788. At that time the Jews in France and other European countries lived segregated and separate lives. This was particularly true in Alsace, where the Jews, unlike those in other regions of France, were of Ashkenazi origin. The Alsatian Jews were very poor, unskilled, uneducated in secular subjects. The Sephardic Jews of Bordeaux and the Jews of Avignon had acquired a modicum of prosperity and freedom but the condition of the Jews of Alsace was pitiful. Their freedom was curtailed severely in every area of life. They were forbidden to live in cities, they paid heavy taxes, they could not engage in agriculture or any craft except that of goldsmith. They could own no property except the houses they lived in. Most were restricted to
petty trade, peddling and money lending, an occupation forbidden to Catholics by Canon Law. The local population was hostile and ghettos were often subject to attacks by local mobs. It was not a very hopeful environment for Lazarus and Leah to start a family. Ghetto living produced an inward looking insecure society marked by a narrowness of outlook and a strong sense of solidarity. The Alsatian Jews saw themselves as being in a spiritual ghetto, keeping their faith in God in the midst of a decadent Christian society.

The French Revolution
Little could they have foreseen the changes the next few years would bring in the form of the French Revolution. After the fall of the Bastille, the National Assembly formulated "The Declaration of the Rights of Man" in 1789, as the basis of the new political regime. In principle at least, the Jews were liberated. But animosity to the Jews of Alsace prevented this from happening at once. Since they spoke neither French nor German but only Yiddish, they were perceived as foreign. Their monopoly on money-lending made them hated by the debt-ridden peasants. The new constitution of 1791 gave all French Jews full civic rights. They were equal now by law with every other citizen. But prejudice and resentment of the Jews did not disappear overnight and persecution continued in the confusion of the "Reign of Terror". It was during this period that Leah Libermann gave birth to her first child, Samson.
The decade of terror, from 1790 to 1800, was difficult for orthodox Jews like the Libermann family. The cult of reason and its apparent victory over religion made the right of citizenship seem a doubtful privilege. But Lazarus Libermann continued to serve his flock as rabbi and Leah continued to give birth with regularity.

Napoleonic Era
Napoleon came to power in 1800 and his first concern was to find a solution to the chaotic condition in the Catholic Church. After thirteen months of negotiation he signed a Concordat with Rome in 1801. Then he convened a Council of Jewish notables in 1802. Despite his inability to speak or read French, Lazarus Libermann was one of the three delegates from the large Jewish community in Alsace. And it was in that year that his son Jacob Libermann was born on April 12th.
The emancipation of the Jews was a shattering experience for the poor uneducated Jews of Alsace. The walls of the ghetto were falling down as trade restrictions were abolished. Many of the Jewish people were ill-equipped to take their place in a hostile Christian society. The Law of Moses was no longer the only law in their lives. Public schooling, military service and other systems of the outside world presented great challenges. Some Jews eagerly embraced the new freedoms and rejected their previous servitude. Some abandoned the Jewish faith as the power of the rabbi in the ghetto became a thing of the past. However, many stubbornly refused to accept the new culture, adhering even more strongly to the traditional ways.
For Rabbi Lazarus Libermann there was no question which branch of the road to follow. For him the Torah and the Talmud were the only way of life for a member of the chosen people. Fidelity demanded a constant fight against assimilation into the Christian world, which he saw as the main purpose of the granting of full rights of citizenship to the Jews. He hated to see the role of the Rabbi diminished as judicial power was transferred to the civil courts. As Inspector of the local Talmudic schools he realised that the young were turning their backs on the Talmud and embracing the philosophy of Liberté, Egalite, Fraternité. The republican calendar threatened the observance of the Sabbath. Obligatory military service introduced integrated living with Christians and mixed marriages were becoming more common. Lazarus was a man of deep faith, highly respected in the community. He guarded himself carefully against integration, against the position of the progressive Jews. He refused to learn the French Language and did not permit his children to do so.

Jacob's Early Years
This was the family and the environment in which Jacob spent his boyhood. The very conservative orthodox stance of his father and the family's total isolation from the Christian world meant that the heady philosophy of the revolution never penetrated into Jacob's world.
When Lazarus' eldest son, Samson, left home to pursue his rabbinical studies, he held in his hands the fulfillment of his father's dream to have a son a rabbi. But outside the closed family and community circle in Saverne, Samson soon abandoned his rabbinical studies and took up the study of medicine. By the time he qualified as a doctor he had become a "modern Jew" a disciple of Rousseau and Voltaire. He no longer believed in the religion of his father.
In the outside world, with which Jacob had no contact, things were changing ever faster for the Jewish community. Many young educated Jews like Samson became totally assimilated into French society, excited by the outburst of academic and artistic talent which marked the France of the Emperor Napoleon. Many of them totally rejected their Jewish heritage in order to facilitate assimilation into French society. Of these, quite a number, including Samson and his wife, became Christian. Four of Samson's brothers would follow the same path.
Lazarus supervised Jacob's formal education and started him early in the local Talmudic school. He learned to read and write in Hebrew and studied the books of the Torah with such intensity that he could recite the text by heart. He learned all the prayers which orthodox Jews said in the synagogue and in private. He read the great commentaries of the Bible. And since he was intending to become a rabbi he began a long period of concentrated study of the Talmud. No other interests were allowed. For eight years this study was Jacob's sole occupation.
The family was held together by Leah who directed special attention and affection towards Jacob because he was of delicate health. His childhood happiness suffered a rude shock when his mother died in 1813. But Jacob remained faithful to his heritage. In 1815, at the age of thirteen, his childhood ended with the ceremony of Bar Mitzvah. The journey of his adult life had begun.

Spiritan Missionary News, Vol. 25 No.1, Feb. 2001