From Ber Borochov to ‘Broad City,’ Secular Jews Have a Hard Time Letting Go of Tradition
Ber Borochov loved Passover. Ordinarily, the Marxist, Zionist, and Yiddishist had no patience for the superstitions of his forefathers, but in the haggadah he found a hero for his time: the Wicked Son. The Passover story’s obdurate loner, Borochov wrote enthusiastically, rejects collective destiny for individual liberation, and is therefore no less than “the foundation for the construction of new Jewish life.”
It’s a curious line for many reasons, its jagged provocation the least among them. Why would Borochov, for whom that sphere of spiritual stirring frequently referred to as religion was occupied by nothing but dreams of universalist socialism, bother with a bit of ancient liturgy?