The Spinoza Problem by Irvin D. Yalom Read Free Book Online Page B

guarantee that note. But you know Father—when he saw people in pain, he reached out to help with both hands without thinking of the consequences. When the widow and her only child died last year in the plague leaving the debt unpaid, Duarte Rodriguez—that pious Jew who sits on the bimah of the synagogue and already owns half the houses on Jodenbreestraat—attempted to transfer his loss to us by pressuring the rabbinical court to demand that the poor Spinoza family pay the debt of someone whom none of us ever knew.”
    Bento paused, “You know this, Gabriel? Do you not?”
    “Yes, but—”
    “Let me finish, Gabriel. It is important that you fully know this. You may one day be head of the family. So Rodriguez presented it to the Jewish court, a court containing many members who seek favors from Rodriguez, as he is the synagogue’s major donor. Tell me, Gabriel: Would they want to displease him? Almost immediately the court ruled that the Spinoza family must take on the entire debt. And it is a debt that will drain our family’s resources for the rest of our lives. And even worse, they also ruled that the inheritance our mother left us should go to pay the debt to Rodriguez. Do you follow all this, Gabriel?”
    After a reluctant nod from his brother, Spinoza continued. “So three months ago I turned to the Dutch law because it is more reasonable. For one thing, the name Duarte Rodriguez has no sway over them. And the Dutch law states that the head of the family must be twenty -five , to bear responsibility for such a debt. Since I am not yet twenty-five, our family may be saved. We do not have to accept the debts of our father’s estate, and, what’s more, we can receive the money that our mother meant for us. And by us, I mean you and Rebekah—I intend to turn my entire share over to you. I have no family and no need of money.
    “And one last thing,” he went on. “About the timing. Since my twenty-fifth birthday falls before your wedding, I had to act now. Now tell me, can you not see that I do act responsibly for the family? Do you not value freedom?
If I take no action, we shall be in servitude for our entire life. Do you want that?”
    “I prefer to leave the matter in God’s hands. You have no right to challenge the law of our religious community. And as for servitude, I prefer it to ostracism. Besides, Sarah’s father spoke of more than the lawsuit. Do you want to hear what else he said?”
    “I think you want to tell me.”
    “He said that the ‘Spinoza problem,’ as he calls it, could be traced back many years, back to your impertinence during your bar mitzvah preparation. He remembered that Rabbi Mortera favored you above all other students. That he thought of you as his possible successor. And then you called the biblical story of Adam and Eve a ‘fable.’ Sarah’s father said that when the rabbi rebuked you for denying the word of God, you responded, ‘The Torah is confused, for if Adam was the first man, who exactly did his son, Cain, marry?’ Did you say that, Bento? Is it true you called the Torah ‘confused’?”
    “It is true that the Torah calls Adam the first man. And it is true that it says that his son, Cain, married. Surely we have the right to ask the obvious question: if Adam was the first man, then how could there have been anyone for Cain to marry? This point—it’s called the ‘pre-adamites question’—has been discussed in biblical studies for over a thousand years. So if you ask me whether it is a fable I must answer yes—obviously the story is but a metaphor.”
    “You say that because you don’t understand it. Does your wisdom surpass that of God? Don’t you know that there are reasons why we cannot know and we must trust our rabbis to interpret and clarify the scriptures?”
    “That conclusion is wonderfully convenient for the rabbis, Gabriel. Religious professionals throughout the ages have always sought to be the sole interpreters of mysteries. It serves