ABSTRACT
Shortly after the turn of the nineteenth century, S. Loszinskij, a Russian Zionist, wrote Simmel asking for his opinion concerning the Zionist idea and its prospects.1 In this letter, the Russian Zionist expressed his alarm that assimilation processes would inevitably lead to the complete disappearance of the Jews and that Jewish existence would vanish without trace. In his reply, Simmel reiterated his support of Jewish assimilation but stated that he did not understand how the Jewish people could disappear without a trace, any more than could any other people. Why does assimilation not lead to disappearance and what is assimilation? This chapter will attempt to answer these questions by way of Simmel’s unique understandings of the terms individual, individualism, and individuality.
