Yaakov Malkin
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Yaakov Malkin (; 3 August 1926 – 21 July 2019) was an Israeli educator, literary critic, and
professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...
in the Faculty of Arts at
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
. He was active in several institutions that deal with both
cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
and
Humanistic Judaism Humanistic Judaism () is a Jewish movement that offers a nontheistic alternative to contemporary branches of Judaism. It defines Judaism as the cultural and historical experience of the Jewish people rather than a religion, and encourages Jews ...
.


Early life

Malkin was born into a
secular Jewish Jewish secularism (Hebrew: יהדות חילונית) refers to secularism in a Jewish context, denoting the definition of Jewish identity with little or no attention given to its religious aspects. The concept of Jewish secularism first arose ...
family in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
on 3 August 1926. His father, Dov Ber Malkin, was a professor and theatre critic. He attended the
General Jewish Labour Bund The General Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia (), generally called The Bund (, cognate to , ) or the Jewish Labour Bund (), was a Jewish secularism, secular Jewish Socialism, socialist party initially formed in the Russian Empire ...
school and moved to
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...
with his family at the age of seven, where he continued his schooling in the school system of the Histadrut labor federation.


Career

Starting in 1944, while still a student, Malkin published literary, cinema, and theater critiques, and served as the editor of ''On the Wall'', the magazine of the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement (1944–1946). During the
1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
, he served as a broadcasting officer for the
Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...
and the IDF (1947–1948) in the underground radio station, ''Telem Shamir Boaz'', that later became the Israel Army Radio (''Galei Tzahal''). Malkin lectured (in
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
) and was active in the Cyprus internment camps before the inmates were sent to Israel, and worked for the IDF arms procurement branch in France 1949. He directed and lectured in Pomansky College for Judaism as Culture in New York in 1951, and founded and directed a Hebrew Ulpan (language school) in the Quartier Latin in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in 1956. While in Paris, he also worked as assistant to the cultural attaché at the Israeli embassy in Paris. He also participated in a lecture tour on Judaism in world literature in Australia (1960), the United States (1965), and France (1970). From 1952 to 1956, Malkin taught
comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...
studies and the Bible as literature at the Seminar HaKibbutzim teachers' college in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
. At the same time he served as director of the repertoire department at the Habima national theater and as a drama instructor at the theater schools of Habima and of the Cameri Theater. From 1971 to 1981, he founded and directed the Mateh Yehuda community college, which employed the educational methods of
Empire State College Empire State University (SUNY Empire) is a public university headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Empire State University is a multi-site institution offering associate degre ...
(SUNY) where students create personal tracks of study. This was adopted to conditions in Israel and to the particular requirements of working students in the Mateh Yehuda area. From 1969 to 1994, Malkin taught aesthetics, theater and film criticism at the
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
. In 1971 he established, together with the Dean of the Faculty for New Arts, Professor Moshe Lazar, the Department for Cinema and Television at the Tel Aviv University. He also served as the university's representative in the founding team of the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, and as editor of the "Cinematheque Pages" – film criticism essays handed out to viewers before the screening of each movie, together with Uri Klein. From 1958 to 1971, Malkin founded and directed the first community centers in
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
, Beit Rothschild and the Beit Hagefen Jewish–Arab Center. These municipal centers were at first run by groups of friends who led the centers' dozens of social activities, including the Haifa Cinematheque, built inside Beit Rothschild. During these years Malkin also lectured in the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) on aesthetics and rhetoric. Malkin later served as editor-in-chief for ''Free Judaism'', a magazine for Judaism as a culture, which he founded in 1995 and which came out in print editions until 2004. Malkin also served as provost at the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, based in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
and
Farmington Hills, Michigan Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Farmington Hills is located roughly from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States censu ...
( Birmingham Temple). The Institute trains students who hold an undergraduate degree to be community leaders for secular communities and those with a master's degree or a PhD to be secular rabbis in a four-year track of studies and work.


Writings

Malkin's writings focus on humanistic ethics and the preservation of Jewish culture in a social context where literalist interpretations on the existence of God fade with each generation. Malkin, and many others, argue that to be a Jew is fundamentally a cultural identity, and not a religious one, and he often jokes that he was a descendant of many generations of devout Jews, and then goes on to list several generations of ancestors who were atheists. He further argues that whereas religiosity has been an essential part of Jewish identity, the actual belief in a god was always a matter of friction, and whether individual Jews publicly admitted it or not, he claims most Jews have always understood god as an allegory and seen Judaism as a tradition of cultural - rather than religious - significance. Given this reality, Malkin argues that an honest reflection of one's own Jewish beliefs will demonstrate to oneself that they are already a humanistic or secular Jew. Malkin perceives
Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
as a pluralistic culture, both in its secular and its religious forms. He claims that Judaism has been pluralistic since the biblical era when the culture of the Jewish people was characterized by belief in many gods, religions, rituals, beliefs, and opinions. Beginning in
Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
times Judaism developed a variety of cultures, beliefs, and opinions. Unlike atheist scholars such as
Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...
,
Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British and American author and journalist. He was the author of Christopher Hitchens bibliography, 18 books on faith, religion, culture, politics, and literature. He was born ...
and
Sam Harris Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, determinism, neuroscience, meditation ...
, who see
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
as the lack of belief, Malkin dedicates his writings to the humanistic beliefs shared by the non-religious community in the West generally, and among the Jewish people in particular. Malkin claims that there are no nonbelievers, but rather people who express a variety of beliefs in their day-to-day lives. These can include religious beliefs, characterized by a commitment to follow religious leaders who claim to speak in the name of a god, or nonreligious beliefs, which include the belief in humans as creators of their own paths and behaviors, whether as individuals or in society, with the goal of attaining the purpose of human life: happiness. In his books ''What do Secular Jews Believe?'', ''Secular Judaism: Faith, Values, and Spirituality'', and ''The Atheist Belief of Secular Jews'', Malkin expresses his views of the
humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
belief in people that leads to national awareness and belief in the rights of all people and all nations. These beliefs lead to a rebuttal of "godly religions" that obligate the believer to keep the rules of their leaders, especially those that stand in contrast to the values of humanism and universal justice. These anti-humanistic beliefs lead, among other things, to the acceptance of secular ideological religions such as Communism and
Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
wherein believers are also obligated to obey leaders, regardless of the cost. Humanistic nonreligious beliefs include agnostics such as
Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...
, deists such as
Epicurus Epicurus (, ; ; 341–270 BC) was an Greek philosophy, ancient Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy that asserted that philosophy's purpose is to attain as well as to help others attain tranqui ...
, pantheists such as
Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...
and
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
, and atheists such as
John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...
and
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...
, which are all free of commitment to a religious or ideological religion. A contemporary institutionalized Jewish form of humanism is Humanistic Judaism, to which Malkin's works contributed and in which movement Malkin's daughter Sivan is a rabbi. These humanistic nonreligious beliefs stand in contrast to postmodern
relativism Relativism is a family of philosophical views which deny claims to absolute objectivity within a particular domain and assert that valuations in that domain are relative to the perspective of an observer or the context in which they are assess ...
in that they see themselves as bound by humanistic ethical values and by the values of universal justice as articulated by
Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...
and
Hillel the Elder Hillel ( ''Hīllēl''; variously called Hillel the Elder or Hillel the Babylonian; died c. 10 CE) was a Jewish religious leader, Sage (philosophy), sage and scholar associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud and the founder of ...
. These values of justice lead to the moral values of
egalitarianism Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...
,
political freedom Political freedom (also known as political autonomy or political agency) is a central concept in history and political thought and one of the most important features of democratic societies.Hannah Arendt, "What is Freedom?", ''Between Past and ...
, and
human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
and national rights.


Personal life

In 1950, Malkin married Israeli artist Felice Pazner. They had two children: Irad Malkin, a history professor who won the 2014
Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...
, and Sivan Malkin Maas, a rabbi.


Death

On July 21, 2019, at the age of 92, Malkin died at his home in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
.Cidor, Pegg
"Farewell to a mensch" ''The Jerusalem Post'' (July 31, 2019)
(accessed April 29, 2022)


References


External links


Official Site

Free Judaism's English Articles

Tmura: The International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism

The International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism

The Center for Cultural Judaism
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malkin, Yaakov 1926 births 2019 deaths Israeli Humanistic Jews Jewish Israeli atheists Israeli atheists Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Academic staff of Kibbutzim College