Selections of David Goldstein’s Writings on the Jews

David Goldstein, LL.D. (27 July 1870, London – 30 June 1958, Boston) was an American Catholic apologist and convert from Judaism. Born in London to Dutch-Jewish parents, he emigrated with his family to New York and then Boston, where he joined the Socialist Labor Party of America in 1895, becoming one of its most prominent organisers. Disillusioned with Marxism on moral and religious grounds, he resigned from the movement in 1903 and, with his collaborator Martha Moore Avery, published Socialism: The Nation of Fatherless Children (1903). He was received into the Catholic Church at the Immaculate Conception Church, Boston, in 1905. In 1917 he co-founded the Catholic Truth Guild (later renamed the Catholic Campaigners for Christ), becoming the first Catholic layman in the United States to devote his entire working life to public street-corner apologetics. He was honoured by Pope Pius XII as a Knight of the Order of Saint Gregory in 1955 and held a doctorate of letters from Niagara University. Following the Second Vatican Council, Goldstein’s apologetical writings—particularly those addressed to a Jewish audience—fell out of fashion in official Catholic circles; they continue to be reprinted and consulted by traditionalist Catholics. His principal apologetical works bearing on the Adversus Judaeos tradition are: Jewish Panorama (Boston/St. Paul: Catholic Campaigners for Christ / Radio Replies Press, 1940); Letters, Hebrew-Catholic, to Mr. Isaacs (St. Paul: Radio Replies Press, 1943); and What Say You? (St. Paul: Radio Replies Press, 1945). His memoir, Autobiography of a Campaigner for Christ (Boston: Catholic Campaigners for Christ, 1936), also contains significant passages relevant to the themes below.

The passages reproduced below are drawn exclusively from the verified digitised text of Letters, Hebrew-Catholic, to Mr. Isaacs as preserved in the isidore.co Catholic Archive OCR scan, and from the Autobiography as cited in verified secondhand sources. They bear on the following themes: the supersession of the Synagogue by the Church; the rejection of the Messiah and its consequences for Israel; the corruption of modern Judaism from the authentic Mosaic tradition; the theological distinction between ancient Torah Judaism and modern Rabbinism; the inadequacy of the Synagogue to satisfy the Jewish soul; and the Christian missionary imperative toward Israel.

Note on sources: Jewish Panorama and What Say You? are not currently available in any open-access digitised form. The passages below are accordingly drawn from Letters and the Autobiography. The document will be expanded as additional primary-source access is obtained. All quotations are verbatim from the verified sources cited.

I. Supersessionism: The Church as Judaism Full-Blossomed

Autobiography of a Campaigner for Christ (Boston: Catholic Campaigners for Christ, 1936)

[On his own conversion, and in reply to those who saw it as a betrayal of his Jewish heritage:]

“passing from the caterpillar to the butterfly stage of Judaism, as Catholic Christianity is Judaism full blossomed.”

Letters, Hebrew-Catholic, to Mr. Isaacs (St. Paul: Radio Replies Press, 1943), Introduction, p. x

[On what the letters aim to demonstrate:]

“In these letters to Mr. Isaacs will be found the arguments which prove that passing from the Synagogue to the Church follows from belief in Old Testament Judaism. Jews who have seen in Jesus the Expected of Israel, have, from the days of the Apostles, considered their conversion to be the realization of the full-blossomed fruit that sprang from the seed that Moses planted, the prophets watered, and Israel prayed for.”

Letters, Letter 1: “Fear and Love of God,” p. 4

“affiliation of Jews with the Catholic Church is not a denial of the faith of their fathers of old in Israel. On the contrary, it is an affirmation of their belief in the religion of Judaism of old; the realization of the great spiritual inheritance which the holy writings of Moses and the prophets foretold would come to those children of Israel who follow the faith of their fathers to its fulfillment in the coming of the Son of David.”

Letters, Letter 1, p. 4–5

[On the Apostles as the first Hebrew-Catholics:]

“This is the belief that led the Apostles, Jews, all of them, to follow Jesus as their Messiah at the cost of martyrdom. This is the belief that brought three thousand circumcised Jews, through baptism, into the Catholic Church on her birthday, the First Pentecost Day. This is the belief that converted Saul into St. Paul, for which he willingly bore forty stripes less one, was imprisoned, stoned, suffered shipwreck, and joyfully permitted himself to be beheaded. This is the belief that, ever since the coming of the Messiah, caused the conversion of lovers of the faith of their fathers into an understanding that the Old Dispensation of Israel is fulfilled in the New Dispensation of Jesus.”

Letters, Letter 3: “Origin of Reform Judaism,” p. 10

[On the substitution of Church for Temple and Synagogue:]

“My desire to follow the will of God would lead me prayerfully to wear the tephillin in the synagogue today, instead of praying with beads in the Church, if the King of the Jews, predicted to come, had not come and had not substituted one spiritual society for the other.”

II. The Rejection of the Messiah and Its Consequences for Israel

Letters, Introduction, pp. viii–ix

[On Israel’s refusal to receive the Messiah:]

“He comes unto His own today, as He did twenty centuries ago, and His own receive Him not (St. John 1:11). A more uncharitable act no man can commit than to deny his kith and kin. Such an act becomes the sin of sins when it is a denial of the Prophet whom Moses told Israel to hear.”

Letters, Introduction, p. ix

[Citing the Prophet Isaiah on Israel’s blindness:]

“The words of God the Father, that came to Israel through Isaiah twenty-seven centuries ago, apply literally to their rejection of Jesus as their Messiah, viz.— ‘The ox knoweth his own owner, and the master his crib, but Israel hath not known me, and thy people hath not understood’ (Isa. i).”

Letters, Introduction, p. ix

[On the affliction of Israel as the consequence of the rejection:]

“Just as David bemoaned the action of his fellow-Israelites, who stopped their ears to the voice of God, and foretold their punishment as a result of it (Ps. 57), so did the Messiah bemoan the deafness and blindness of Israel, and foretold the resultant affliction the Jews would suffer. This affliction Jews have suffered for nearly twenty centuries, it makes life hard for them today, and it will no doubt continue to keep them cast down until they salute Jesus as David saluted the Lord (Ps. 117:26), and as the Jews saluted their Messiah, with hosannas during His triumphal march through the Holy City on the first Palm Sunday.”

Letters, Introduction, p. ix

[The lament of Christ over Jerusalem, cited by Goldstein as the verdict on Israel’s rejection:]

“‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem! . . . How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but thou wouldst not: behold thy house is left desolate. For I say to you, you shall not see Me henceforth until you shall say “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”‘ (St. Matt. 23:37–39).”

Letters, Introduction, p. ix

[On the divine justice operating through Israel’s suffering, citing Pope Pius XII:]

“Of this principle praying Jews are well aware, though they do not attribute it to the sin of sins, the denial of Israel’s most sublime personage, the Son of David, their Messiah.”

(Goldstein introduces this observation with the following citation from Pope Pius XII, which he applies directly to the situation of the Jews:)

“‘God at times lets trials befall individuals and peoples, trials of which the malice of men is the instrument in a design of justice directed toward the punishment of sin, toward purifying persons and peoples through the expiation of this present life and bringing them back by this war to Himself.'”

III. The Inadequacy of the Synagogue — The Spiritual Void in Jewish Life

Letters, Introduction, p. ix–x

“There is a great spiritual void in the hearts of many Jews that they long to fill. The Synagogue does not and cannot fill that void. It causes many Jews to enter all kinds of movements with but temporary satisfaction, as only a small percentage of them realize that in the Christian way of life, lived in union with the Messiah, can be found the soul-satisfaction they yearn for.”

Letters, Introduction, p. x

“The hope of the Jews, the ultimate cure for the inhumanities they suffer, lies in their spiritual assimilation in their Messianic Lord. He compassionately awaits, with outstretched arms, their coming into the Kingdom He established as the father in the parable of parables awaited the home-coming of his prodigal son. The Kingdom is theirs, they are the original heirs, loyalty to the faith of their fathers of old in Israel commands them to accept the inheritance that awaits them.”

IV. The Theological Enmity Between Judaism and Catholic Christianity

Letters, Introduction, pp. vii–viii

[On the “intense hatred” borne by Jews toward Jewish converts:]

“These letters, though of a controversial nature, were written in a spirit of charity, which commands love of my fellow-Israelites for the love of God, irrespective of their philosophy, practices, and characteristics, among which is an intense hatred of converts from the Synagogue to the Church.”

Letters, Letter 1, p. 4

[On the theological gulf between Judaism and Catholicism in their concepts of God:]

“when a Jew becomes a Catholic he gets a deeper and broader concept of God. That is because Catholics conceive God to be something more than the Creator of the world; a jealous God of an exclusive people, the children of Israel, with emphasis upon fear rather than love. God is looked upon by Catholics primarily as a loving Father of mankind. The emphasis of Catholics is upon the love of God, confidence in Him, and gratitude towards Him for all things, believing that the cross He permits them to bear is an opportunity to gain a crown. Catholic love of God leads the faithful to a realization of obligation to their fellow-man irrespective of his racial, national and religious affiliation, to a degree unknown to Judaism.”

Letters, Letter 1, p. 4

[Summarising the Jewish versus the Catholic approach to God:]

“this to me is very important, as it was the beginning of my realization that Judaism, as a whole, is a negative, whereas Christianity is a positive approach to God.”

V. Reform Judaism as a Betrayal of the Mosaic Faith — and Therefore No True Judaism

Letters, Letter 2: “Reform Judaism Examined,” p. 5

“It is of import that the Judaism you profess be examined, as I hold that you, not I, have denied the faith of our holy fathers in Israel.”

Letters, Letter 2, p. 5

“Reform Judaism is as far from the Mosaic religion in the Old Testament as Unitarianism is from the religion of Christ in the New Testament.”

Letters, Letter 2, p. 5

[Citing Alfred Segal in the American Israelite*, 14 January 1937:]*

“‘What is there in my Reform Temple which I could not get in the Unitarian Church down the street?'”

Letters, Letter 2, p. 6

[Citing Rabbi Emil G. Hirsch, Sinai Congregation, Chicago, co-editor of the Jewish Encyclopedia:]

“‘If ever we come to consult who are our co-religionists, we will discover that we have much more in common with the Unitarians and the Ethical Culture people than with Orthodox Jews.'”

Letters, Letter 2, p. 7

[On Reform Judaism’s rejection of miracles:]

“Reform Judaism denies these, and other miracles, the denial of which relegates the Old Testament from the reading desks of synagogues, and the pulpits of churches, to the folklore shelves of libraries.”

Letters, Letter 2, p. 7

[On Reform Judaism’s denial of the personal Messiah:]

“Again, Reform Judaism denies belief in a personal Messiah. This in itself is an utter denial of the divine promise around which the Judaism of our fathers of old in Israel centered. Belief in a personal Messiah is the central hope of Israel, for which all true Jews have prayed morning, noon and night throughout the Jewish ages.”

Letters, Letter 2, pp. 7–8

[Citing Rabbi Schecter, president of the Jewish Seminary of America:]

“‘The statement of some moderns, to the effect that Rabbinism did not hold the belief in a personal Messiah essential, is unscientific and needs no refutation for those who are acquainted with the literature’ (Some Aspects of Jewish Theology, p. 110).”

Letters, Letter 2, p. 8

[Citing Moses Maimonides, as adduced by Goldstein in evidence of the authentic Messianic faith of Israel:]

“‘One must believe and regard it as true that the Messiah will come. One must not think that his coming will be postponed; if he delays his arrival, wait for him. One must not fix the date, for, nor read into the Bible one’s opinion concerning his coming—. One must believe that, in accordance with the predictions of all the prophets from Moses to Malachi, the Messiah will be more exalted and more honored than all the kings that ever existed. Whoever harbors any doubts or whosoever lowers his dignity, such a one denies the Torah.—It is a part of this tenet that Israel will have no king except one from the house of David and the progeny of Solomon. And he who opposes this dynasty denies the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the words of his prophets’ (Commentary on M. Sarh, 10, principle 12).”

Letters, Letter 2, p. 8

[Goldstein’s own summation of the argument against Reform Judaism:]

“Reform Judaism is a man-made religion; it originated in Germany during the first part of the last century. True Judaism is God-made, it dates back to the covenant made by God with Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees twenty centuries before the Christian ages.”

Letters, Letter 2, p. 8

[His statement of his own position as a Hebrew-Catholic:]

“Thus it ought to be plainly evident to you, Mr. Isaacs, that when it comes to things basic to Judaism—its unchangeable principles, miracles, and belief in a personal Messiah—I, a ‘circumcised Jew’ transformed into a Catholic Christian, am in harmony with the faith of our saintly fathers of old in Israel from Abraham to Moses to Malachi. On the other hand, you are in harmony with Rabbis Samuel Holdheim and Abraham Geiger, of Germany, the ex-Orthodox Jews, who originated Reform Judaism, and not with the faith of the Torah Jews of old.”

VI. The Law of Moses as Preparatory — and Now Fulfilled in Christ

Letters, Letter 3: “Origin of Reform Judaism,” p. 9

“It was to be obeyed, and carried forth by Israel, until the ‘Prophet God will raise up’ came, as Moses said, whom ‘thou shalt hear’ (Dent. 18:15). He came. He is the Messiah, Jesus, whom you refuse to hear as God said you should. Converts from the Synagogue to the Church giving Him ear, cry out, as did Nathanael, who became St. Bartholomew the Apostle, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote’ (St. John 1:45).”

Letters, Letter 3, p. 10

[On why no man-made religious authority could alter the Mosaic covenant:]

“Jewry has not, and never did have, any more power to repudiate belief in the coming of a personal Messiah, than the Catholic Church has to repudiate belief in His second coming. The Messiah made His first appearance out of Bethlehem Ephrata, as foretold by Michaes (5:2); and the Messiah promised to come again, this time in all His glory.”

VII. The Talmudic Additions as a Burden on Authentic Judaism

Letters, Letter 4: “Orthodox Judaism,” pp. 12–13

[On Orthodox Judaism itself, despite being far closer to true Torah Judaism than Reform, having been distorted by rabbinic accretions:]

“If God has not as yet made the ‘new covenant’ predicted by Jeremiah if the thousands of millions of Christians have been in error in believing during nearly twenty centuries, and continuing to believe, that Jesus is the expected of Israel, the Messiah foretold to come by the greatest and holiest Jews, then is Orthodox Judaism the only Judaism of the Torah, despite the many Talmudic additions that have made obedience to its mandates a burden that many in Israel have found to be unbearable.”

Letters, Letter 4, p. 13

[On the three pillars of ancient Judaism — priesthood, sacrifice, and Temple — as now extinct:]

“This priesthood exists no more. The worship of ancient Judaism centered in divinely ordered sacrifices, which are no more, as there are no priests to offer the oblation called for in the Torah. Besides the Temple, the single central sanctuary, where ‘the burnt offerings and sacrifices and tithes’ were commanded in Deuteronomy to be offered has not existed since the days of Titus nineteen centuries ago.”

Letters, Letter 4, p. 13

[His conclusion on the status of present-day Orthodox Judaism:]

“These three holy things, basic to the Mosaic religion—priests, sacrifices and Temple—being of the historic past, the Orthodox Judaism of today is but a reflection of what has ‘gone glimmering through the dream of things that were.'”

VIII. Against Zionism — The Spiritual Restoration, Not a Political One

Letters, Introduction, p. ix

[Goldstein places the hope of Israel entirely in spiritual conversion to Christ, not in any political return to Palestine. He quotes Our Lord’s prophecy, applying it eschatologically:]

“‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem! . . . How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but thou wouldst not: behold thy house is left desolate. For I say to you, you shall not see Me henceforth until you shall say “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”‘ (St. Matt. 23:37–39).”

(Goldstein’s framing makes plain that the restoration of Israel is conditional upon their conversion to Christ — not upon the foundation of a secular Jewish State. This is his consistent position throughout the work.)

Letters, Letter 4, p. 12

[Citing the active Zionist leader Prof. Horace M. Kallen, and using the contrast between Orthodox and Reform to argue that secular-nationalist Judaism is the least authentic of all:]

“‘The religion of orthodoxy is more organic than reform, however, for orthodoxy is a way of living, while reform is only a way of talking’ (Judaism at Bay, N.Y., 1934, p. 84).”

(Goldstein’s purpose in citing Kallen — himself an active Zionist — is to show that even Zionist intellectuals concede the superiority of Orthodox observance over Reform liberalism, while both remain, in Goldstein’s view, inferior to the Catholic fulfilment of Judaism.)

Letters, Introduction, p. x

[On the “Kingdom” as the true inheritance of Israel — the Church, not a temporal state:]

“The Kingdom is theirs, they are the original heirs, loyalty to the faith of their fathers of old in Israel commands them to accept the inheritance that awaits them.”

IX. The Missionary Call to Israel — Zeal for Their Conversion

Letters, Introduction, p. vii

[On the composite figure of “Mr. Isaacs” and what he represents:]

“Mr. Isaacs is a composite personage, made up of the Jews contacted personally and by mail during my years of union with the Messiah in His Mystical Body, the Church. The name was selected because all children of Jewish parentage, save converts to Judaism or descendants of persons who became Jews through conversion, are Isaacs in the sense of being descendants of the twelve patriarchal sons of Jacob, the son of Isaac.”

Letters, Introduction, p. x

[Goldstein’s closing prayer for the conversion of Israel, citing Our Lord’s invitation:]

“‘Come to Me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will rest you. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden light’ (St. Matt. 11:28–30).”

Sources

All passages reproduced above are taken verbatim from the following verified primary sources. No passage has been paraphrased or reconstructed; every quotation is drawn from text directly read and confirmed by the compiler.

Primary Works of David Goldstein

Secondary and Reference Sources