Why Antisemitism? / She'ar Yisrael, The Remnant of Israel, by Rabbi Naphtali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (1816-1893), is one of the earliest works by a Jewish scholar to address the question of antisemitism. Rabbi Berlin, more popularly referred to as the Neziv, was the most important leader of the yeshivah world in his era. From his perspective as head of the famed Yeshivat Ez Hayyim of Volozhin, he presented his views on this important subject. Indeed, the essay and Rabbi Berlin's many writings shaped the ideology of the yeshivah world and still exert influence on its thinking. She'ar Yisrael, The Remnant of Israel, recalls the form of a rabbinic responsum, but to a nonhalakhic question: why is there antisemitism? The answer is a sustained theological essay on the nature of Judaism and the historical destiny of the Jewish people. It demonstrates a well-thought-out appreciation of the problems posed by modernity for the survival of Jews and Judaism.
