Moses Mendelssohn on God and Natural Law

Moses Mendelssohn was one of the only Jewish philosophes to address the role of Jewish

communities in a society being drastically changed by ideas of the time. The writer published

Jerusalem (1783) and On Ecclesiastical Power and Judaism (1783), both pieces advocating

religious tolerance and demonstrating the heavy influence of fellow philosophes Immanuel Kant

and Gotthold Lessing. With Lessing’s encouragement, Mendelssohn pursued a literary career in

discussing the integration of Jewish communities in normal European life while maintaining a

loyalty to Judaism and practicing Enlightenment ideals. Clearly, Mendelssohn had strong

feelings in support of his faith, especially in a flawless God. He viewed God as a purely divine

being who was righteous, merciful, and good, an uncommon perspective of a philosophe. In his

day, there was an increasing influence of deism, a belief in the watchmaker God who created the

world and let it run automatically. Advocated by Voltaire and Isaac Newton, this belief

combined a logical, scientific approach to natural happenings and processes while maintaining

the identity of a divine creator. Despite this typical view of the philosophe, Mendelssohn saw

God as an entity who fully participated in humanity, actively bestowing forgiveness and showing

compassion.

This view was bound to arouse conflict, and not surprisingly, he was challenged by John

Lavanter and Friedrick Jacobi. In defense of Judaism, Mendelssohn spent the rest of his life

discussing its praiseworthy elements, one being God’s divine revelation through the Torah. This

philosophe saw that because Jews were given a code of moral, political, and social conduct in

their sacred book, natural law, or the law of morality which cannot be taught or enforced by any

government, could be explained. His idea of the natural human state can be compared to that of

Thomas Hobbes: that human beings were capable of achieving harmony and peace only through
the aid of an all powerful monarch or legislative body. Mendelssohn’s view differed slightly, the

difference being this authority was a religion, and the best authority was Judaism because it

provided a concrete law to live by. The influence of Enlightenment ideals further shone through

in his opinion, when he explained that the Torah must be interpreted through reason and logic,

the watertight method of deciphering a law of rightful living by God.