In Part 1 of this series, I discussed Uriel Da Costa and Spinoza and their encounters with the Jewish religious authorities, and the subsequent herems. Uriel da Costa and Baruch Spinoza rank high on the list of grand herems. “Grand” like in theatrical and vicious. They both took place in the early 17th century, almost 400 years ago. Two hundred years after they took place, these herems shook my family, the Rubins, to the core. And the first hit was also in the form of a herem. That one took place roughly 170 years ago.

The Rubins have felt ongoing aftershocks ever since. What started as a flap of the wings in Amsterdam was turning into a tornado in Galicia.

Salomon Rubin (1823–1910) was the first to experience the aftershock, and it was also in the form of a herem. His herem did not draw many headlines. But it was a long, drawn-out process. He fast-tracked himself to being banned and exiled from his family at an early age. And what started as a family herem was soon followed by a broad communal one. At the age pf 33, Salomon was ‘ghosted’ for life.

Salomon’s life story unfolds like a train wreck in slow motion.

The First Salomon `Rubin Herem

Salomon Rubin’s story begins in the Galician town of Dolina, near the Polish Ukrainian border. As expected of Jewish men of his background at the time, young Salomon spends all his time studying the Jewish holy books in Beth-Hamidrash [House of Study]. By his late teens, Salomon is recognized as an Ilui [genius] and as such, he is guaranteed a rabbinical position. He marries Malka at seventeen. There is no information available about her. It is an arranged marriage. Following tradition, his elders secure a rabbinical position for him, and his wife’s family commits to support him financially—incidentally, this is a common arrangement at that time: you want your daughter to marry a rabbi, you pay. With the backing of his family of prominent rabbis and religious scholars, and with the financial support of Malka’s family, Salomon has his career path carved out for him.

Except that Salomon discovers Emancipation, and he rebels.

The young man destined for rabbinical greatness is spotted wandering outside town and reading forbidden books—the kind of books a future rabbi could not afford to be seen with. His absence from Beth-Hamidrash is noted and duly reported to his family.

This is when Salomon discovers Spinoza. From that point onward, he hopes—and even strives —to reclaim Spinoza for Jewish intellectual history, insisting that Judaism must withstand the scrutiny of reason rather than rely on dogma alone. He also suggests that one could remain traditional while, at the same time, thinking beyond the permitted borders of tradition —identifying with one’s heritage need not require submitting to it intellectually.

For his close family circle, this is blasphemy.

Salomon’s father and father-in-law press him to reverse course. To no avail.

And there are consequences. The rabbinical appointment that had been offered is rescinded, resulting in the near complete loss of financial assistance from his in-laws. Next to react are his friends, who ban him from entering the Beth-Hamidrash Dolina. Then, it is his family’s big moment. One would hope that, like the Spinoza family, they would stick by their wayward son—but alas, given their rabbinical stature in the community, they feel compelled to self-protect, and so they disengage from him. He is herem’ed. It is for real, and it is irreversible.

These are the early signs of the tornado.

This family-induced herem marks the beginning of an agonizing path for Salomon, who is in his late teens at the time. First comes the breakup from his........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)