Orientals through their inherited aptitudes of intellect and mind, Occidentals through eighteen centuries of education, the Jews are the only qualified intermediaries for the great work which is to begin with the civilizing of the peoples of Asia and to end with the conciliation of the races. What is _nationally_ Jewish? The word _national_ implies racial unity not merely in the sense of a common origin, but as a present fact and an abiding influence, with a particular fervour and strength of its own. This racial unity has its psychological counterpart in a certain intense racial spirit, by virtue of which the whole nation is animated by a definite aspiration towards a common ideal, and becomes merged with it into a _living unit_. This characteristic spirit permeates the whole people “like a salve, and causes it to glow as with one flame.” Or in the words of the _Zohar_:―― “_Israel_ and its _Torah_ are one.”¹ This _Torah_ is precisely the ethos of the fundamental racial unity of the Jews. ¹‏ ג׳ דרגין מתקשרן דא בדא ק״בח אורייתא וישׁראל ספר הזהר חלק ן אחרי מות דף ענ To the singular and exceptional nature of the Jewish nationality is due the fact that it is frequently difficult to determine with any degree of exactitude in how far certain terms and assertions which are applied to other nations may properly be applied to the Jews. Hence, while it is a matter of the greatest importance for the preservation of the full and precise significance of Judaism to use the most definite and unequivocal expressions in speaking of Jewish nationality, it inevitably happens that certain terms as used by the upholders of assimilation have to be characterized as inaccurate because their ordinary connotation is misleading, though they may in themselves be legitimate. An examination of the whole series of phrases which occur in the polemics of nationalism and assimilation would take us too far; but it will be worth while to draw attention to certain fundamental principles in the discussion of which misunderstandings frequently arise. In any attempt to define Jewish nationality, it is necessary first of all to bear in mind that the only elements of nationality that enter into consideration are the historical and the ethnographical. The predicates of the conception of nationality as applied to all other nations fall under the headings: (1) Origin, historical solidarity, racial characteristics. (2) State organization, political functions and civic interests.