Jonas, Scholem, and the Taubeses in Jerusalem: From Metaphysical Antisemitism to a Jewish Gnostic Conspiracy

Abstract

This article addresses how Hans Jonas’s reconstruction of gnosticism as a historical movement in late antiquity gave rise to two parallel contemporary interpretations: Gershom Scholem’s “metaphysical antisemitism” and Susan and Jacob Taubes’s attempt at a revival of a Jewish—gnostic cultic revolt. While both reached very similar conclusions regarding the gnostic potential for modern Judaism, they could not be more different in the implications they drew from it. This, in turn, also explains the animosity that developed between all the people involved.

Keywords

• gnosticism
• Judaism
• antinomianism
• libertinism
• Hans Jonas
• Gershom Scholem