Is this why Jews are so successful? - review

In Jews, Judaism, and Success: How Religion Paved the Way to Modern Jewish Achievement, leading Jewish studies and religious studies scholar Prof. Robert Eisen of George Washington University has taken on the challenge of explaining the astounding accomplishments of Jews in our modern world, in fields that have nothing to do with Judaism. 

It is estimated that men and women of Jewish descent have won 22% of the Nobel Prizes ever awarded, even though Jews constitute a mere 0.2% of the population of the world. 

Since the establishment of the Pulitzer Prize in 1918, Jews have won 53% of the awards in the non-fiction category, and 14% of the awards for fiction. 

Even in the field of sports – where Jews are commonly perceived as underachievers – statistics show otherwise. Between 1901 and 2007, Jews won 401 medals in the Olympic Games, seven times what would be expected based on their proportion in the population. 

Sometimes Jews are embarrassed to tout these statistics. 

The theory: Jews are so successful because of the values of Rabbinic Judaism

They hesitate to offer explanations about why this happens. Eisen considers and dismisses academic explanations based on economic or sociological theory, as well as non-academic explanations, such as that Jews are “smarter” than others or that Jews are “conniving” or “more devious” than others.

His central argument is that classical Rabbinic Judaism promoted four values more than other Western religions did: respect for human autonomy; belief in freedom of thought and expression; the conviction that life in this world is inherently good; and respect for education. 

Eisen contrasts the Rabbinic Jewish approach to these four values with traditional, pre-modern Christian approaches, concluding that all four of these values were emphasized more in Rabbinic Judaism than in classical Christianity. 

Let’s consider one of his four values: respect for human autonomy. Knowing that pre-modern Jewish and Christian texts contain a variety of approaches to human autonomy, Eisen does not just make generalizations – he analyzes the theme of human autonomy in dozens of texts before summing it up.

“Large sectors of the Christian tradition placed strict limits on human autonomy in earning divine reward that were unthinkable in Judaism, while large sectors of the Jewish tradition allowed a degree of human autonomy in earning divine reward that was unthinkable in Christianity.” 

Eisen explains that “It was difficult for Christians to grant the kind of full autonomy to human beings that Jews did... [because of the] fundamental Christian belief that Jesus’ death atoned for the sins of humanity, and this belief assumed that human beings could not atone for their sins on their own.”

THE NEXT part of Eisen’s argument runs this way: Since Rabbinic Judaism promoted autonomy and the other three values more than classical Christianity did, modern Jews have had more success in the Western world than their numbers warrant. In other words, the training that they received from Rabbinic Judaism in those four values is responsible for Jews’ contemporary success.

Throughout the book, Eisen recognizes and confronts the main weakness of his thesis: the fact that most of the Jews who have had success in the modern world have not been religious practitioners of Rabbinic Judaism. 

Eisen posits that “it is highly likely that even Jews who were one or two generations removed from Rabbinic Judaism still inherited from it patterns of thought, speech, and behavior.” The values of Rabbinic Judaism had become “embedded in their [the Jews] mindset,” as these were “cultural traits that had been ingrained in them for centuries by their religion.” 

True, many who had achieved success had forcefully rejected Rabbinic Judaism. But even when you rebel against the values of your people, you still subconsciously adopt some of those values. 

“Jews would have had familiarity with [these values], even if only on a subliminal level.” 

He believes these remain part of a people’s legacy for a few generations, even if later generations have no exposure to the texts themselves.

I COULDN’T help wondering whether even the grandparents and great-grandparents of contemporary Jewish Nobel Prize winners had any significant knowledge of, or exposure to, Rabbinic Judaism. 

The grand majority of Jews in the West (meaning, for the most part, Jews in the United States) have been separated from the texts and the teachings of Rabbinic Judaism for generations. 

Furthermore, Diaspora Jews no longer live in Jewish enclaves that could inculcate a set of “local” values into individuals. So the transmission of core traditional Jewish values to contemporary Jews is hard to trace. 

Nevertheless, the phenomenon of Jewish success is real and hard to explain, so Eisen’s interesting theory deserves attention. And his well-researched and well-written explanation of the differences between pre-modern Jewish and Christian values makes this book one that both academics and a general audience will enjoy.  ■

• JEWS, JUDAISM, AND SUCCESS: How Religion Paved the Way to Modern Jewish Achievement
• By Robert Eisen 
• University of Toronto Press
• 488 pages; $39.91