![]() ![]() The herem document does not specify Spinoza’s “evil” actions, but Nadler believes it derives from several of his assertions, including that God does not exist, the Jews are not a chosen people and the Hebrew Bible has no divine provenance. ![]() Why Spinoza was so passionately detested is a matter of some speculation, said Steven Nadler, an American professor of history at the University of Wisconsin and an international authority on Spinoza. Spinoza was buried in a churchyard in The Hague. Devoting his life to the study of optics and the development of his philosophy, he published his magnum opus “Ethics” in 1677, the year of his death from lung disease at 44. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Following the ban - as well as an assassination attempt by a knife-wielding Jewish fanatic outside the synagogue - Spinoza left his native Amsterdam and the Jewish community. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Dutch philosopher Baruch De Spinoza, circa 1660. Cursed be he when he goes out and cursed be he when he comes in,” it reads, adding: “The Lord will not spare him, but the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man … blot out his name from under heaven.”Ĭirca 1660, Dutch philosopher Baruch De Spinoza. “Cursed be he by day and cursed be he by night cursed be he when he lies down and cursed be he when he rises up. An unusually long and vicious text, the writ of banishment – “herem” in Hebrew – was read aloud in Portuguese, its citation of unspecified “evil opinions and acts” followed by a string of curses against Spinoza, who was then just 24 years old. The symposium, a sold-out event that featured an address by the head of the Dutch Portuguese Jewish community and leading Spinoza scholars from four continents, offered a rare glimpse of the original writ, which is held in the community’s library. ![]()
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