The Sacred Chain: The History of the Jews

by Norman F. Cantor

An important, controversial account of the history of the Jewish people that is both scholarly and compulsively readable.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Judaism, Judaica

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Born in Winnipeg, Canada, Cantor received his B.A. at the University of Manitoba in 1951. He went on to get his master's degree in 1953 from Princeton University and spent a year as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. He received his doctorate from Princeton in 1957 under the direction of the eminent medievalist Joseph R. Strayer.

After teaching at Princeton, Cantor moved to Columbia University from 1960 to 1966. He was a Leff professor at Brandeis University until 1970 and then was at SUNY Binghamton until 1976, when he took a position at University of Illinois at Chicago for two years. He then went on to New York University, where he was professor of history, sociology and comparative literature. After a brief stint as Fulbright Professor at the Tel Aviv University History Department (1987–88), he devoted himself to working as a full-time writer.

Although his early work focused on English religious and intellectual history, Cantor's later scholarly interests were far more diverse, and he found more success writing for a popular audience than he did engaging in more narrowly-focused original research. He did publish one monograph study, based on his graduate thesis, Church, kingship, and lay investiture in England, 1089-1135, which appeared in 1958 and remains an important contribution to the topic of church-state relations in medieval England. Throughout his career, however, Cantor preferred to write on the broad contours of Western history, and on the history of academic medieval studies in Europe and North America, in particular the lives and careers of eminent medievalists. His books generally received mixed reviews in academic journals, but were often popular bestsellers, buoyed by Cantor's fluid, often colloquial, writing style and his lively critiques of persons and ideas, both past and present. Cantor was intellectually conservative and expressed deep skepticism about what he saw as methodological fads, particularly Marxism and postmodernism, but also argued for greater inclusion of women and minorities in traditional historical narratives. In both his best-selling Inventing the Middle Ages and his autobiography, Inventing Norman Cantor, he reflected on his strained relationship over the years with other historians and with academia in general.

Upon retirement in 1999, Cantor moved to Miami, Florida, where he continued to work on several books up to the time of his death.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having (finally) completed this important history, I can see why it caused so much controversy in the Jewish community. Beyond challenging long-held myths about Jewish origins with anthropological evidence (or lack thereof) and academic rigor, Cantor's pessimistic take on the inevitable decline of a Jewish identity because of "racial suicide" (translation = intermarriage) and a lack of religious leadership is powerful stuff. As an atheist Jew (that takes her cultural heritage seriously)that is married a non-practicing Catholic, it is hard not to take Cantor's argument personally.

Cantor's book is not an easy read; nor is it meant for a novice. Cantor presumes his readers have an intermediate-to-advanced knowledge about Judaica, historical canon, anthropology and scholarly research methods (none of which I possess). Yet, it is am important work, and one that I hope becomes a regular point of discussion in academic and mainstream circles.

[Melissa Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to finally be able to read this book, but ended up disappointed. I tried, and tried, but I kept falling asleep over it; so I only got just over halfway through. The first couple of chapters were very informative. The author though, was so wordy, repetitive, and lacked affect. It was like reading something a robot created. I also have to say, the author's lack of synonyms, was especially tiresome. Amongst others, he constantly used:
Diaspora ~ Exodus, maybe resettlement...
Pastiche ~ Medley or mixture...
It never varied.
Then it started to smack of American patriotism. My interpretation from what he wrote, was that if it wasn't for the USA, and their benevolence, and acceptance, the Jewish people would be extinct. Which I don't believe to be true. Especially considering, most Jewish Americans couldn't join a Country Club, back in the day.
I enjoyed Cantor's books on Medieval History, much more.
If anyone can suggest another book on the History of the Jews, I'd appreciate it.

[Ade Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a whirlwind of a book, thick with the contradictory history of the Jews, demolishing once and for all the monolithic stereotypes and orthodox mythologies while nevertheless maintaining a contour around the Jewsih peoples as a whole.

[Meriel]

This book is SO bad that I am choosing not to finish it!

[The Logophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know if it's possible to give this book a rating. I found myself questioning rather the author (a Jew) was being WAY too critical of Jews, refreshingly candid about Jews, or downright racist towards other people & religions. The truth is probably all 3. I should highlight that I read this book for 2 reasons. #1 to get a better understanding of what is happening right now in Gaza and #2 so I could teach my kids about Judaism. I suppose I'm what one would call an atheist. I don't adhere to any specific belief system, but because we live in a world that believes in such things, I thought it was important that my kids have a decent understanding of what they teach. My kids and I also learn about Christianity, Islam and numerous other eastern religions like Buddhism, Taoism, etc. Anyway, I wanted a book that delved into the history and culture as well as the politics. Historically I would rate the book as a 3 or 4. I did gain a better understanding of the struggles throughout the past. Unfortunately, I felt like the author was all over the place. It's not really written chronologically, so it wasn't really easy to follow. He also goes off script a lot, probably because he is very passionate & wants to share so much with the reader (which is great), but it wasn't expressed very well, so it made for difficult reading at times. I found myself struggling to remember what we were discussing initially because he took me down a pathway that we didn't begin on. Basically, it became unnecessarily confusing.

Another issue I had has to do with me & not the author or the book. It's outdated. It was written in 1994, a few years before Netanyahu even becomes Prime Minister. Not that it really matters, though. Politically this author seemed pretty dismissive of Palestinians (but sometimes he wasn't....). Confusing, right!!!? He could be very candid about Jews being victims of their own stupid, racist, elitist decisions as they were of Hitlers antisemetic ideas. But then he would turn around and talk about how superior the Jews were & how picked on the males were because of affirmative action. He actually argues how that isn't going to change because Jewish women are benefitting from it so much. Yeah, I don't really feel bad for Jewish males who are "suffering" now when they actively withheld knowledge and opportunities from their women. Sorry, not sorry. In other words, politically I would only give this book 1/2 star.

The truth is that Jews aren't as special as they have convinced themselves and the world that they are. Now, I'm sure some of you will call me an anti-semite, but I can assure you I am equally disgruntled by all religions. An equal-opportunity "hater" if you will, though I don't really hate anybody. Except Trump. I think I hate Trump. If I hate anyone, it's that idiot. But not Jews. My heart honestly breaks for the ugly situation Israel has created for them. Again, this book is outdated, so I have the power of hindsight that the author did not. I don't like the Zionist movement. If I HAD to pick a side, I would throw my support behind Palestinians. In all honesty, though, I side with humanity. I side with innocent people. The villains in my eyes are the Jewish government in Israel & Hamas, not innocent Palestinians & Jews.

I would recommend this book for historical reasons, but not political ones. There's value here, but it's limited. If anyone out there actually reads this review, and can recommend a more up to date book I can read, I would be in your debt.

[Mark Lisac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cantankerous, strongly and ceaselessly opinionated, not a compelling writer despite what the Goodreads description of the book claims, Cantor sounds like someone who might be interesting to hear in a lecture but not in any smaller forum that you couldn't gracefully leave at any time. The book is an interesting and sometimes surprising summary of three thousand years of Jewish history, although that guarantees it's an overview that often glosses over details. But it extracts a price. Readers have to slog through dull passages of writing that's average at best. They also have to accept Cantor's awarding of merit points or demerits to just about every historical figure, social and intellectual movement, and previously published history or literary work that he mentions.
The book was reportedly controversial when it came out in 1994. That was due to Cantor's brash and even fearless judgments (some made with no show of supporting evidence): all Jewish history as presented in the Bible before the time of King David in about 1000 BC is "romantic fantasy;" the Jewish communities in the Eastern European Pale of Settlement were socially and intellectually stagnant after the mid-1600s as well as being rife with petty crime and prone to extracting monopoly profits from neighbouring Gentiles in liquor sales. On the other hand, he could be breathtakingly certain about overall Jewish superiority, especially during westward migrations in the late 1800s and early 1900s: "(T)heir literacy, native intelligence, religion-conditioned moral discipline, and superior genetic qualities made them excellent prospects for upward mobility in Western society." And again: "The Jews are a superior people intellectually and as long as Jewish genes exist, the extraordinary impact Jews have had in twentieth-century thought will continue indefinitely."
It's bracing, although not necessarily enlightening, to read an author who can combine scathing criticism of some of his own people with admiration of others of them at the level of what sounds like a dangerous racial judgment. Read at your own risk. On the other hand, Cantor's desultory praise, and his admiration for Jewish survival in the face of centuries of persecution and other hardships, lead to the same dilemma faced by other distinct groups encountering a broader society. How to fit in, and take advantage of larger opportunities, while preserving a distinct identity? And how to do that while avoiding a self-imposed segregation? Cantor seems ambivalent. He holds out a slim hope for what he concedes is a very unlikely prospect of intellectual and religious renewal. But he places far better odds on losing to "the pathological breakdown of family life, and … the racial suicide of a runaway rate of intermarriage." Not to mention the attractions of economic and social advancement in a broader society, and the stultifying nature of traditional Jewish liturgy. His only consolation is what Jewish people and thought have permanently contributed to the larger world in which they are apparently being absorbed, at least in North America and Europe. The book is thus fearless both in pronouncing many judgments and in facing current realities.
This was a reread of a book first encountered in the 1990s. It proved even more stark and angular than I remembered, although at the cost of even more stodginess in the writing than I remembered.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN EXCELLENT "MODERN" OVERVIEW OF JEWISH HISTORY

Norman Frank Cantor (1929-2004) was a historian who specialized in the medieval period, and taught at many colleges, including Tel Aviv University (1987-88), after which he became a full-time writer; he wrote other books such as 'The Civilization of the Middle Ages,' 'Inventing the Middle Ages,' 'In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made,' etc.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1994 book, "I have written this book for the lay reader... I have tried to make accessible the illumination of the Jewish past provided by both the classics of Jewish historical writing and the extensive new publications of the past two decades. I have sought to present a narrative that involves also intellectual criticism and historiographic assessments of leading themes."

He is critical of books such as The Bible as History, noting that "all the claims for archaeological verification of the first millennium of Jewish history as told in the Bible have eroded. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses... if they were real historical figures, there is no basis for believing so outside the Hebrew Bible itself. Even the famous Exodus from Egypt ... (has) not one single shred of verification of the story..." (Pg. 2-3)

He notes, "The Roman governing class was impressed by Jewish scriptures, prayer, and spirituality at the same time they were disturbed by Jewish exclusiveness and self-imposed separation... the Roman Empire, before it went Christian in the early fourth century, treated [Judaism] generously. Judaism was a legally sanctioned religion." (Pg. 65) He observes, "The Sadducees' strength had lain in their association with the aristocratic Temple priesthood. When the Temple destroyed... the raison d'être of the Sadducee party was gone, and they quickly disappeared from the scene." (Pg. 88)

Of the coming of the Holocaust, he records, "There was little Jewish resistance. [They] were unarmed, they had no military leadership, and they felt totally isolated from the rest of humanity... How could there be resistance under such circumstances?" (Pg. 343) He adds gravely, "The greatest disappointment is Chaim Weizmann... He did nothing significant to save the [Jewish people] of Europe. He was invisible on the public scene..." (Pg. 362)

Some of Cantor's opinions may jar the traditional believers, but this is a fascinating and thought-provoking survey.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know how I keep getting tricked into reading Norman Cantor. This is the second of his bad books I’ve read (which should speak in favor of the readability). This came at the recommendation of a substack I read. All the other reviewers are right. This isn’t a history. It’s a 430 page blog post where Cantor trashes everyone. Jews, Catholics, all Europeans, other historians, Americans, Canadians, Asians, etc. Everyone but Cantor is dumb, dumb, dumb.

He uses no citation to check his claims. He just says things. And most of the time they contradict his claim. He spends about 40 pages explaining how much anti semitism there was in early 1900s Catholicism. But he never quotes anyone. He never references an audio clip of radio programs. And THEN, his three main people that he lists as being these anti semites….AREN’T EVEN CATHOLIC! It’s infuriating. He just drags everyone through the mud.

It’s inexcusable that Polish people made no effort to stop the holocaust, he says. The presence of the Germans on their soil, killing them and reigning over them with terror, is no excuse. But then right before that he was explaining that it’s totally understandable that the Jews didn’t put up a fight. After all, they were being reigned over by terror.

But don’t think he lets the Jews off the hook. He makes sure to tell you how dumb they all are and that the entire bible is a made up story written to trick them into thinking they’re a chosen people. Plus they deserve all the hate they get because they are kind of annoying.

He’s so busy being a polemicist, disguising his personal vendettas as scholarship, that he never really tells you anything. I still don’t really understand how large Jewish populations ended up in Eastern Europe besides that it just kind of happened. He was too busy explaining how dumb the Jews are but also how smart they are and how dumb England is but also at least England isn’t a Muslim country, even though Muslims aren’t as bad as Catholics, even though Catholics aren’t as bad as the English.

Do not waste your money on this book or any other book by this idiot.

[Avraham Deutsch · Rating 2 out of 5]

A messy survey of jewish history from ancient times to the founding of the modern state of Israel. Cantor seems to enjoy adding his own opinions about why things in history took place and over contextualizes antisemitism to the point of almost quasi victim blaming. Cantor also demonstrates ignorance in Talmud and asserts that certain talmudic laws such as "the law of the land is the law" was a way for the rabbis to tell the jews to be docile citizens and therefore not flee the holocaust etc. He also asserts that there was no American rabbinic response to the holocaust while completely ignoring the massive efforts by American orthodox rabbis such as "the rabbis march" and Vaad Hatzalah. This book was a disappointing mess.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's certainly the most expansive and detailed Norman Cantor book I have read...very different from the other books I have experienced so far. It's verbose, extremely detailed, and I can see why certain people may have found it controversial in its observations & conclusions. That said, it's occasionally too verbose for its own good, and Mr. Cantor seems to go into great deal on a number of subjects that could have been condensed. Meanwhile, I feel certain other sections deserved some more careful examination, only to be breezed by in the text. Fascinating & informative, but definitely not the easiest of reads.

[Peter Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1994. Ambitious. Spans the history with a readable survey, great knowledge, objectivity, and provocative ideas, especially on the 20th century and the then post-1994 future. At his writing, the Oslo accords were coming in and Rabin was prime minister. Cantor had concerns about the survival of Israel as a Jewish state, even if the Palestinians established a state in the West Bank, and the future of Judaism in modern secular USA.

[Becky Keeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is interesting if you are used to social histories. It is written by a professor who is very much into academics and quotes other professor like the readers should already know who is who. he has the attitude that he is the authority. He doesn't given a favorable view of the beginnings of the Christian church with Jesus and the 12 apostles, but then he is Jewish and this is a Jewish history. But I am learning a lot.