L’École de pensée juive de Paris and the Idea of Fraternité: Re-reading the Stories of Brothers in Genesis

What is it about?

This essay will present an analysis of the idea of 'fraternity' in the writings of two of the most dynamic Jewish thinkers of the School of Paris: Manitou and Andre Neher. Both took part in the renewal of the Jewish community in Paris after World War Two, and were active the same milieu—the milieu that considered engagement with humanistic writing and thought along with the obligation to Jewish heritage and religious writings essential to Jewish continuity. They both examined the concept of “fraternity” in the book of Genesis. Apparently, the concept was borrowed from the motto of the French revolution: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. However, they approached it from the perspective of a Jewish reading of the Bible. For them, the extensive development of the concept of fraternity in Genesis produced a wealth of profound ideas. Regretfully, however, it becomes clear that the concept includes varied connotations of enmity as well. In order to sharpen the focus of our study, this essay will deal solely with the relationship of the first set of brothers: Cain and Abel, perhaps the archetype for all other sets of brothers of Genesis. _x000D_

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