Simone Luzzatto’s View on Jewish Ritual and Its Social Functions: A Consideration of His Sceptical Thought in the Intellectual Context of His Age
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Abstract
This chapter analyses Simone Luzzatto’s view of Jewish ritual by comparing the arguments he put forth in the fourteenth consideration of his Discourse with those of Francis Bacon and Michel de Montaigne. Luzzatto emphasises the social and practical dimension of rituals in human society and the great antiquity of the rituals preserved by the Jews over the centuries. Like Bacon in his Essays, Luzzatto considers rituals to be the primary bond between human beings. He stresses that Jewish ritual has remained unchanged since antiquity based on its practice, whereas the moral behaviour of citizens changes according to circumstances. While his reliance on the old religion has similarities with Michel de Montaigne, Luzzatto considers change more negatively, as it undermines the original purity of religion. His perception of change may have been influenced by the dissemination of new theories in anthropological studies. Luzzatto proposes the historical constancy of Jewish ritual not only as empirical evidence of political security and its social contribution to peace, but also as a clue leading to the best judgement for civil behaviour to foster social harmony.