Throughout Jewish History, faith and religion has been variant for the various Jewish religious movements and even among individuals within the spectrum of movements. To understand any event in modern Jewish history, one must start with understanding Judaism- both the Jewish religion and the Jewish people. For this reason, the letter from Abraham Mendelssohn to his daughter on why she was raised a Christian is an important document for understanding one interpretation of the Jewish religion and proving that there is no one religion or people.
Abraham Mendelssohn, 1776-1835, was the son of the Jewish philosopher, Moses Mendelssohn. M. Mendelssohn spoke and wrote about, among other things, Jewish enlightenment and their place in European society, which undoubtedly influenced his son. The letter from Abraham Mendelssohn was written in 1820, during the tail of the European Enlightenment and reflects some of his father’s beliefs. It is clear Mendelssohn’s religious beliefs are less about theology and more about the values the religions emphasize. This is not to say that Mendelssohn does not agree with Jewish values, but states “the outward form of religion… is historical, and changeable like all human ordinances,” and, in Mendelssohn’s experience, the current Jewish form was represented by Christianity. This concept- …show more content…
Mendelssohn states “I know that there exists in me and in all human beings an everlasting inclination towards all that is good, true, and right… I know it, I believe it, I live in this faith, and this is my religion.” In this way, what divided Jews and Christians was not the belief in Jesus being God reincarnate. To Mendelssohn, there lies no division. Faith is the willingness to see and be goodness in the world, and by claiming that faith, Mendelssohn and his daughter have “obtained the name of a