the phenomenal tempo made by the united states in preparation for the war is a very interesting phenomenon of our time. what england did in many years of struggle america has achieved within a few weeks. it took england more than a year and a half before she saw her way clear to resort to compulsory service, and it required many weary months to organize the administrative branch of the war service and to place the country on a solid war footing. even countries with long military traditions, such as france, italy, austria, and even germany, had to struggle long before they were in the war with both feet. america, though unmilitaristic, did all that within a very short time. over night there was a national army in america. the economic life of the country adapted itself to war conditions, and everything to conduct a war on an unheard-of scale was created within a few months. that a non-militaristic country like america could adapt itself to war conditions within such a short time must puzzle every observer, and it will be a puzzle to the historian of the future, also, unless he recognizes the touchstone of american genius as displayed at present. this touchstone is the absence of long historical traditions.
we jews, who are preparing ourselves to start a new life as a nation, ought to learn in this respect. we have old traditions of our own and we are burdened with a great many non-jewish traditions in addition, for we have lived in the last two thousand years in the diaspora and among those people whose life has been shaped by thoughts and the spirit of ancient rome. the european state that is today undergoing a crisis as never before is the inheritance of old rome. the entire system of european politics is roman in origin. international political relations can be traced to ancient roman origin. a comparison between the history of the international relations of ancient rome and that of any european state during the last five hundred years will clearly show that the international political movements in europe for the last centuries have their parallel in international political movements of ancient rome. all the severe criticisms leveled by montesquieu against ancient rome are still timely today. all branches of the activities of the european state, civil administrations, jurisdiction, matters military, foreign affairs, and so on, are more or less remnants of ancient roman civilization.
in short, we have to be conscious of the fact that the life of the jewish people in europe was lived amid a system of roman civilization. the old jewish preachers, who characterized our present diaspora life as goluth-rome, knew what they were talking about, though they could not exactly explain why they characterized our present goluth as roman in nature. since we have lived for two thousand years in this system of civilization, it goes without saying that we have been greatly influenced by it and that we ourselves are definitely subject to roman traditions in addition to our own. traditions sometimes strengthen a nation, but they also may weaken it. the most traditional people in the world, the chinese, are practically the weakest, while the most non-traditional people, the americans, are today the best fitted for modern life.
national traditions, of course, cannot be cast away over night. in the diaspora old and genuine jewish traditions were the life-giver of our people. they were the main force that preserved us from annihilation, as long as we were facing the problem, "how can we best preserve our national existence?" today, however, we are not only facing the problem of preserving our national existence, but also that of rebuilding our nation and reorganizing our people so as to make its future safe. since the entire jewish problem has changed so radically, our attitude to the complex jewish traditions must change. we cannot possibly use the same methods in rebuilding our national existence as in preserving our nation. the two different problems need two different positions. just as china is a terrifying example of what slavery to tradition can do to a nation, so is america an edifying example of what traditions can do in strengthening a nation. a nation does not live to uphold traditions only; and where, instead of helping a nation, traditions handicap it, they will be superceded by new traditions to be created by national deeds.
we do not want to describe our future life in palestine, for we are today unable to do so. we are only anxious to lay stress upon the fact that what we have called our traditions in diaspora life will probably have to be revised in a jewish palestine. life is much stronger than the book and the principle derived from the book. in the diaspora it was the principle of the book that shaped our life, because it helped to preserve it. in palestine, where there will be an active jewish life, jewish life itself must work out its own principles. this is what we should bear in mind, whether we are orthodox or free-thinkers. we must go to palestine with the consciousness of freedom and not with the feeling that we are the creatures of traditions. we will have to free ourselves not only from many roman traditions that was most worthy in the diaspora, but will be superfluous in palestine.
the future jewish state in palestine will draw its strength from jewish life and not from principles of the book; it will be free from all inorganic traditions which we have acquired during our long life in the diaspora, and from those traditions which were un-jewish in nature.
