"[F]or us, for Jews, demons seem to surface in history.

"These demons have changed something in the Jewish soul."


From the FIRST THINGS magazine 20th Anniversary Issue.

March 2010.


"Demons surface.

"For most people, demons surface in nightmares, but for us, for Jews, demons seem to surface in history.

"Pharaoh, Amalek, Nebechadnezzar, Titus, Torquemada, Chmielsky, and Hitler were real demons.

"They killed real Jews.

"The night demons can be forgotten, but not the demons that remain when the morning breaks.

"These demons have changed something in the Jewish soul.

"I cannot say what the change is precisely, but it amounts to this at least:

"We Jews cannot fully trust the world again."

Original is given as: "[B]y Marc Gellman, The Demon in the Jewish Soul, October 1990."