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TO EMMANUEL L EVINAS
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Adieu to Emmanuel LevJnas / Jacques
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002020390

I
Jtanslatcdby
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andNichaclaas
Stanfrd
Universit
Press
Stanfrd
Calirnia
I
999
P!1\
TO EMMANUEL LEVINAS
}.cucLcrr/d.
Assistance for the translation was provided
by the French Ministry of Culture.
Originally published in French in 1997 a
Adieu a Emmanuel Levinas
by Editions Galilee
1997 by Editions Galilee
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
1999 by the Board of Trustees of the
Leland Stanford Junior University
Printed in the United States of Aerica
elP data appear at the end of the book
Concns
I ^dicu
2 ^oidoIclcomc
Notes
I
1
5
12
7
JhctianslatoisvouldlikctothankthcmcmbcisoIthc
1
996-97
cvinas ScminaiatOcIaul\nivcisityIoithcii
hclp in picpaiing this tianslation. Cui thanks also to
OanicI Iiicc and ianois FaIIoul, vho icad thc cntiic
tcxtandmadcmanyhncsuggcstions, andtoasSaghah,
vhosccxtiaoidinaiyknovlcdgcoIcvinas`svoikvasin-
valuablcinpicpaiing notcs andchcckingicIcicnccs. Spc-
cialthanks to IclcnJaitaiat StanIoid \nivcisityIicss,
vhosccaicIul andcxigcnticadingimpiovcdouivoikin
innumciablcvays. c vouldalsolikc to thankthc\ni-
vcisityFcscaichCo

uncilatOcIaul\nivcisityIoiitsgcn-
cious suppoit oIthis piojcct. inally, vcovcagicatdcbt
oIgiatitudc, onccagain,to|acqucsOciiida,vhocontin-
ucstocncouiagcus, to indulgcouiquciicsvithpaticncc
andkindncss, andtogiaccusvithhisIiicndship.
Jians.
VZZt
Adieu vas oiiginallydclivcicd upon thc dcath olLm-
manuclLcvinas, atthc ccmctciyinIantinon Occcmbci
2
7
, 1
995

vouldncvcihavcdaicdpublishsuchvoids,vicnchcd
liommcsoquickly, inthcmidstolmysoiiovandinthc
middlc olthcnight, hadthcinitiativc nothistbccntakcn
in thc loim ola small book cditcd in ^thcns Lditions
^CI), in Cicck, byVanghclis Bitsoiisvithsuchcxact-
ingand gci

cious caic. Iis notcs, vhich aic icpioduccd

hcic, aic moicthantianslatoi's notcs. "thankhimhist
loi havingvittcn thcm and thcn loi having tianslatcd
thcmintoicnch.
^NoidolNclcomc"vasgivcnoncycailatci, onOc-
ccmbci
7
, 1
99
6, inthcKichclicu^mphithcatciolthcSoi-
bonnc, at thc opcning ol Iomagc to Lmmanucl Lcv-
inas. " Ciganizcd by Oanicllc Cohcn-Lcvinas undci thc
auspiccs olthc Collcgc ntcinational dcIhilosophic, this
gathciinglastcd two days andvcnt undci thc tiuc acc
andSinai. "
|. O.
zx
/I!tL
TO EMMANUEL LEVINAS
I /dicu
oialongtimc, loiavciylongtimc,'vclcaicdhaving
tosayAdieu toLmmanuclLcvinas.
kncvthatmyvoiccvouldticmblcatthcmomcntol
sayingit,andcspcciallysayingitaloud, iighthcic,bcloic
him, soclosctohim, pionouncingthisvoidoladieu, this
void a-Dieu, vhich, ina ccitain scnsc, gctliomhim, a
void that hc vill havc taught mc to think oi to pio-
nounccothcivisc.'
By mcditating upon vhat Lmmanucl Lcvinas viotc
aboutthcicnchvoidaatcuvhichvilliccallinalcv
momcnts hopc to hnd a soit olcncouiagcmcnt to
spcakhcic.^dvouldlikctodosovith unadoincd, na-
kcdvoids,voidsaschildlikcanddisaimcdasmysoiiov.
hom is onc addicssing at such a momcnt: ^nd in
vhosc namc vould onc allov oncscllto do so: Chcn
thosc vho comc loivaid to spcak, to spcak publicly,
thcicbyintciiuptingthc animatcdvhispciing, thc sccict
oiintimatccxchangcthatalvayslinksonc,dccpinsidc,to
adcadliicndoimastci, thoscvhomakcthcmsclvcshcaid
inaccmctciy, cndup addicssing directl, straight on, thc
onc vho, as vcsay, is no longci, is no longci living, no
I
2 Hatcu
longci thcic, vho vill no longci icspond.Nith tcais in
thciivoiccs, thcysomctimcsspcaklamiliailyto thc othci
vhokccpssilcnt,callinguponhimvithoutdctouioimc-
diation,apostiophizinghim,cvcngicctinghimoiconhd-
inginhim.Jhis isnotncccssaiilyoutolicspcctloicon-
vcntion, notalvayssimplypaitolthcihctoiicoloiation.
tisiathcisoastotiavciscspccchatthcvciypointvhcic
voids lail us, sinccall languagc thatvould ictuin to thc
scll to us, vouldsccm indcccnt, aichcxivcdiscouiscthat
vouldcndup comingbacktothcstiickcncommunity, to
itsconsolationoiitsmouining, tovhatiscallcd,inacon-
luscd and tciiiblc cxpicssion, thc voik olmouining. "
Conccincd only vith itscll, such spccch vould, i nthis
ictuin, iisk tuining avay liom vhat is hcic oui lav-
thclavas stratghqr
u
arancss oi urtghtncss aratturc|. to
spcakstiaighton, to addicssoncsclldiicctlytathc othci,
andto spcakrthc othcivhom onc lovcs andadmiics,
bcloicspcakinga[him.Jo saytohimaatcu, tohim,Lm-
manucl, and notmciclytoiccallvhathchisttaughtus
aboutaccitainHatcu.
Jhis void aratturcstiaightloivaidncss" oiupiight-
ncss"isanothcivoidthatbcgantohcaiothciwiscand
tolcainvhcnitcamctomcliomLmmanuclLcvinas. Cl
all thcplaccs vhcic hc spcaks olupiightncss, vhat hist
comcs to mind is onc olhis 1aur 1lmuatc 1caatngs,
vhcic upiightncss namcs vhat is, as hc says, stiongci
thandcau. "
But lct us also kccp liomtiyingto hndin cvciything
thatis said to bc stiongci than dcath" aiclugc oian al-
ibi,yct anothci consolation.Jo dchnc upiightncss, Lm-
manucl Lcvinassays, inhis commcntaiyonthcJiactatc
Shabbath`thatconsciousncssisthcuigcnoladcstina-
tion lcading to thc Cthci and not an ctcinal ictuin to
scll"
Adieu
3
an innocence without naivete, a uprightness without stu
pidity, an absolute uprightness which is also absolute self
criticism, read in the eyes of the one who is the goal of my
uprightness and whose look calls me into question. It is a
movement toward the other that does not come back to its
point of origin the way diversion comes back, incapable as it
is of transcendence-a movement beyond anxiety and
stronger than death. This uprightness is called Tmimut, the
essence ofJacob.5
Jhissamcmcditationalsosctstovoikascachmcdi-
tation did, though cach in a singulai vayall thc gicat
thcmcs to vhich thc thought olmmanucl Lcvinas has
avakcncd us, that olicsponsibility hist olall, but olan
unlimitcd"icsponsibilitythat cxcccds and picccdcsmy
liccdom, that olanunconditionalycs, "as this tcxtsays,
ola"yes oldcithanthatolnaivcspontancity,'ayes inac-
coidvith this upiightncss that is oiiginal hdclityto an
indissolublcalliancc. "'^ndthchnalvoidsolthisLcsson
ictuin,olcouisc,todcath, 'butthcydosopiccisclysoas
nottolctdcathhavc thclastvoid,oithc histonc.Jhcy
icmindusolaiccuiicntthcmcinvhatvasalong andin-
ccssantmcditationupondcath, butoncthatsctoutona
path that ian countci to thc philosophical tiadition cx-
tcndingliomIlatotoIcidcggci.lscvhcic,bcloicsaying
vhatthc a-Dieu must bc, anothcitcxtspcaks olthc cx-
ticmc upiightncssolthclaccolthcncighboi" asthcup-
iightncssolancxposuicto dcath, vithout dclcnsc. "' '
cannot, noi vould cvcn tiy to, mcasuic i na lcv
voidsthcocuvic olmmanuclLcvinas. t is so laigcthat
onc canno longci glimpsc its cdgcs.^ndoncvouldhavc
to bcgin bylcaining oncc again liom him and liom 1-
talit and Infnit, loi cxamplc, hov to think vhat an
ocuvic" oi voik"'asvcll as lccunditymightbc. '`
Cnccan picdictvith conhdcncc that ccntuiics olicad-
4
Adieu
ings vill sct this asthciitask.calicadyscc innumciablc
signs,vcllbcyondianccanduiopc, insomanyvoiks
and so many languagcs, in all thc tianslations, couiscs,
scminais,conlcicnccs, ctc.,thatthcicvcibciationsolthis
thoughtvillhavcchangcdthc couisc olphilosophical ic-
hcctioninouitimc, andolouiichcction on philosophy,
onvhatoidcis it accoidingto cthics,accoidingto anothci
thoughtolcthics,icsponsibility, justicc,thcStatc,ctc.,ac-
coidingto anothci thoughtolthcothci, athoughtthatis
ncvci than so many novcltics bccausc it is oidcicd ac-
coidingtothcabsolutcantciioiityolthclaccolthcCthci.
Ycs, cthics bcloic and bcyond ontology, thc Statc, oi
politics, butalsocthicsbcyondcthics. Cncday, onthciuc
ichcl-^ngc, duiing onc olthosc convcisations vhosc
mcmoiyholdsodcai, oncolthoscconvcisationsillumi-
natcdbythc iadianccolhisthought, thc goodncss olhis
smilc, thc giacious humoi olhis cllipscs, hc said to mc.
You knov, oncohcnspcaks olcthicstodcsciibcvhat
do, butvhat icallyintcicsts mcinthc cndis notcthics,
not cthics alonc, butthc holy, thc holincss olthc holy. "
^nd thcn thought ola singulai scpaiation, thc uniquc
scpaiationolthccuitainoivcilthatisgivcn,oidcicdand
oidaincd [donne, ordonne] , byCod, thcvcilcntiustcdby
oscs to an invcntoi oian aitistiathcithan to an cm-
bioidcici,thcvcilthatvouldseparate thcholyolholicsin
thcsanctuaiy.'^dalsothoughtolhovothci Tlmudic
Lessons shaipcn thcncccssaiydistinction bctvccn sacicd-
ncssandholincss, thatis,thcholincssolthcothci, thcho-
lincss olthc pcison, vho is, as mmanucl Lcvinas said
clscvhcic, moicholythanaland, cvcnvhcnthatlandis
a IolyLand. Icxt to a pcisonvho has bccn ahiontcd,
this landholy and piomis

dis but nakcdncss and

dcscit,ahcapolvoodandstonc. " ''
Jhis mcditationoncthics, onthctiansccndcnccolthc
Adieu
5
holyvith icgaid to thcsacicd, thatis, vith icgaidto thc
paganismoliootsandthcidolatiyolplacc,vas,olcouisc,
indissociablc liom an inccssant icncction upon thc dcs-
tinyand thought olsiacl. ycstciday, today, and tomoi-
iov. Such ichcction consistcdolicqucstioningandical-
himingthc lcgacicsnotonlyolthcbiblical andtalmudic
tiadition but olthc tciii|ing mcmoiy oloui timc.Jhis
mcmoiy dictatcs cach olthcsc scntcnccs, vhcthci liom
ncaiby oi alai, cvcn ilLcvinas vould somctimcs piotcst
againstccitainscll-justi|ingabuscstovhichsuchamcm-
oiyandthciclcicncctothcIolocaustmightgivciisc.
But icliaining liom commcntaiics and qucstions,
vould simply likc to givc thanks to somconc vhosc
thought, liicndship, tiust, andgoodncss" and asciibc
to thisvoid goodncss" all thcsignihcanccit~is givcnin
thchnalpagcsolTotalit and Infnit) ' villhavcbccnloi
mc, as loi so many othcis, a living souicc, so living, so
constant, thata unablctothinkvhatishappcningto
himoihappcningto mctoday, namcly, this intciiuption
oi a ccitain non-icsponsc in a icsponsc that vill ncvci
comcto ancndloimcaslongaslivc.
Jhcno

-icsponsc.youvillno doubticcallthatinthc
icmaikablc couisc mmanucl Lcvinas gavc in 1
975
-
7
6
cxactlytvcntyycaisago) , IamoitctIctcmps" Ocath
andJimc") , ' vhcic hc dchncs dcath as thc paticncc ol
timc, 'andcngagcsinagiandandnoblcciiticacncountci
vithIlatoasmucha vithIcgcl,butcspcciallyvithIci-
dcggci, dcathis ohcndchncdthcdcaththat vcmcct"
in thc laccolthc Cthci"' 'as non-response;
20
tis thc
vithout-icsponsc," hc says.' ^nd clscvhcic. Jhctc is
hcic an cnd thatalvayshas thcambiguityoladcpaituic
vithoutictuin,olapassingavaybutalso olascandal `is
iticallypossiblcthathc`s dcad:') olnon-icsponscand ol
myicsponsibility."
6 Adieu
Ocath.not,histolall,annihilation,non-bcing, oinoth-
ingncss, but a ccitain cxpciicncc loi thc suivivoi olthc
vithout-icsponsc. " ^licady Ttalit and Infnit callcd
intoqucstionthctiaditional philosophicalandicligious"
intcipictationoldcathascithciapassagct nothingncss"
oiapassagcto somc othcicxistcncc."`tisthcmuidcici
vhovouldlikcto idcnti|dcathvithnothingncss, Cain,
loi cxamplc, says mmanucl Lcvinas, must havc pos-
scsscdsuchaknovlcdgcoldcath." Butcvcnthisnoth-
ingncss picscnts itscllasasoitolimpossibility oi, moic
picciscly, anintcidiction. 'Jhclaccolthc Cthciloibids
mc to kill, itsays to mc, Jhou shall not kill, " cvcn il
this possibility icmains picsupposcd by thc intcidiction
thatmakcsitimpossiblc.Jhisqucstionvithouticsponsc,
thisqucstionolthcvithout-icsponsc,vouldthusbcun-
dciivablc, piimoidial, likcthcintcidictionagainstkilling,
moic oiiginaiy than thc altcinativc olJo bc oi not to
bc,"vhichis thusncithcithchistnoithclast qucstion.
Jobcoinottobc,"anothcicssayconcludcs,ispiobably
notthc qucstionpaicxccllcncc. "
Joday, diav liom all this that oui inhnitc sadncss
mustshyavayliomcvciythinginmouiningthatvould
tuintovaid nothingncss,thatis, tovaidvhatstill, cvcn
potcntially, vould link guilt to muidci. Lcvinas indccd
spcaksolthcsuivivoi'sguilt,butitisaguiltvithoutlault
andvithoutdcbt, itis,intiuth,anentrusted responsibilit,
cntiustcd in a momcnt ol unpaiallclcd cmotion, at thc
momcnt vhcn dcath icmains thc absolutc cx-ccption. '
Jo cxpicssthisunpicccdcntcdcmotion,thconclcclhcic
and shaic vith you, thc onc that oui scnsc olpiopiicty
loibidsustocxhibit,soastomakcclcaivithoutpcisonal
avoval oicxhibitionhovthissingulaicmotionis iclatcd
to this cntiustcd icsponsibility, cnriustcdas lcgacy, allov
mc oncc again tolctmmanuclLcvinas spcak, hcvhosc
Adieu 7
voicc1 vouldsomuchlovctohcaitodayvhcnitsaysthat
thcdcadolthcothci"isthchistdcath,"andthat"1 am
icsponsiblcloithcothciinsolaiashcismoital. "`Ciclsc
thclolloving, liomthcsamccouisc ol1975-76:
The death of someone is not, despite what it might have ap
peared to be at frst glance, an empirical facticity (death as an
empirical fact whose induction alone could suggest its uni
versality); it is not exhausted in such an appearance.
Someone who expresses himself in his nakedness-the
face-is in fact one to the extent that he calls upon me, to the
extent that he places himself under my responsibility: I must
already answer for him, be responsible for him. Every gesture
of the Other was a sign addressed to me. To return to the
classifcation sketched out above: to show oneself to express
oneself to associate onesel to be entrusted to me. The Other
who expresses himself is entrusted to me (and there is no debt
with regard to the Other-for what is due cannot be paid;
one will never be even) . [Further on it will be a question of a
"duty beyond all debt" for the I who is whar"it is, singular and
identifiable, only through the impossibility of being replaced,
even though it is precisely here that the "responsibility for the
Other," the "responsibility of the hostage," is an experience of
substitution31 and sacrifce.] The Other individuates me in
my responsibility for him. The death of the Other afects me
in my very identity as a responsible I . . . made up of un
speakable responsibility. This is how I a afected by the
death of the Other, this is my relation to his death. It is, in
myrelation, my deference toward someone who no longer re
sponds, already a guilt of the survivor.32
^da bitluithcion.
The relation to death in its ex-ception-and, regardless of its
signifcation in relation to being and nothingness, it is an ex
ception-while conferring upon death its depth, is neither a
seeing nor even an aiming toward (neither a seeing of being
8 Adieu
as in Plato nor an aiming towad nothingness as in Heideg
ger), a purely emotional relation, moving with an emotion
that is not made up of the repercussions of a prior knowledge
upon our sensibility and our intellect. It is an emotion, a
movement, an
U
neasiness with regard to the unknown.33
Jhc unknown iscmphasizcdhcic.Jhcunknovn"isnot
thcncgativclimitolaknovlcdgc.Jhisnon-kovlcdgcis
thc clcmcnt olliicndship oihospitality loi thc tiansccn-
dcncc olthc stiangci, thc inhnitc distancc olthc othci.
\nknovn" is thcvoid choscn byauiicc Blanchotloi
thctitlcolancssay, novlcdgcolthc\nknovn,"`vhich
hcdcvotcdtothconcvhohadbccn,liomthctimc olthcii
mcctinginStiasbouiginI
9
2
3
, aliicnd,thcvciyliicndship
olthcliicnd.
oimanyamongus,nodoubt,ccitainlyloimyscllthc
absolutchdclity, thccxcmplaiyliicndshipolthought,thc
fiendshi bctvccnauiiccBlanchotandmmanuclLcv-
inas vas a giacc, a gih, it icmains a bcncdiction oloui
timc, and, loimoic icasonsthan onc, agoodloituncthat
is also ablcssingloi thoscvho havchadthc gicat piivi-
lcgcolbcingthcliicndolcithciolthcm.noidcitohcai
oncc againtoday, iighthcic, BlanchotspcakloiLcvinas,
andvithLcvinas,ashadthcgoodloitunctodovhcnin
thcii company onc day in I
9
68, vill citc a couplc ol
lincs.^cihavingnamcdvhatinthcothciiavishcs"us,
ahcihaving spokcnolaccitain iaptuic"`' thcvoidol-
tcn uscd by Lcvinas to spcak oldcath),` Blanchot says.
But we must not despair of philosophy. In Emmanuel Lev
inas's book [ Totalit and Infnit]-where, it seems to me,
philosophy in our time has never spoken in a more sober
manner, putting back into question, as we must, our ways of
thinking and even our facile reverence for ontology-we are
called upon to become responsible for what philosophy es
sentially is, by welcoming, in all the radiance and infnite ex-
Adieu 9
igency proper to it, the idea of the Other, that is to say, the
relation with autui. It is a though there were here a new de
parture in philosophy and a leap that it, and we ourselves,
were urged to accomplish.37
lthciclationto thc othcipicsupposcs aninhnitcscp-
aiation, an inhnitc intciiuption vhcic thc lacc appcais,
vhathappcns,vhcicandtovhomdocsithappcn,vhcn
anothci intciiuption comcs at dcath to hollovout cvcn
moicinhnitclythishistscpaiation,aicndingintciiuption
atthc hcait olintciiuptionitscll: cannot spcak olin-
tciiuption vithout iccalling, likc many among you, no
doubt, thc anxicty olintciiuption could lccl in m-
manucl Lcvinasvhcn, onthc tclcphonc, loi cxamplc, hc
sccmcd at cach momcnt to lcai bcing cut oh, to lcai
thc silcncc oi disappcaiancc, thc vithout-icsponsc," ol
thc othci, o vhom hc callcd out and hcld on vith an
"allo, allo" bctvccn cach scntcncc, somctimcs cvcn in
mid-scntcncc.
at happcns vhcn a gicat thinkci bccomcs silcnt,
onc vhom vc kncv living, vhom vc icad and icicad,
andalso hcaid, oncliomvhomvcvcicstill avaitinga
icsponsc, as ilsuchaicsponscvouldhclp usnotonlyto
thinkothcivisc

utalsoto icadvhatvcthoughtvchad
alicady icad undci his signatuic, a icsponsc that hcld
cvciyuing in icscivc, andso much moic thanvhatvc
thoughtvchadalicadyiccognizcdthcic:
Jhis is an cxpciicnccthat, as havclcaincd, vould ic-
main loi mc intciminablc vith mmanucl Lcvinas, as
vith all thoughts that aic souiccs, loi vill ncvci stop
bcginningoibcginningancvto thinkvith thcmonthc
basisolthcncvbcginningthcygivcmc, andvillbcgin
again and again to icdiscovci thcm on j ust about any
subjcct. ach timc icadoiicicadmmanuclLcvinas,
am ovcivhclmcd vith giatitudc and admiiation, ovci-
10 Adieu
vhclmcdbythis ncccssity, vhich isnot aconstiaintbut a
vciy gcntlc loicc that obligatcs, and obligatcs us not to
bcndoicuivcothciviscthcspaccolthoughtinitsicspcct
loithcothci,buttoyicldtothisothci,hctcionymouscui-
vatuic`thaticlatcsustothccomplctclyothcithatis, to
j usticc, as hcsayssomcvhcic inapovcihlandloimida-
blc cllipsis. thc iclation to thc othci, that is to say, jus-
ticc) ,`'accoidingto thclavthatthuscalls us toyicldto
thcothciinhnitcpicccdcnccolthccomplctclyothci.
tvill havc comc, likc this call, to distuib, discicctly
but iiicvcisibly, thc most povcilul and cstablishcd
thoughts olthc cndolthis millcnnium, bcginningvith
thosc ol Iusscil and Icidcggci, vhom Lcvinas intio-
duccdinto ianccsomcsixty-hvcycaisago| ndccd, this
countiy, vhosc hospitalityhc so lovcd and Ttalit and
Infnit shovs not onlythatthc csscncc ollanguagc is
goodncss"butthatthccsscnccollanguagc isliicndship
and hospitality") , this hospitablc iancc, ovcs him,
amongsomanyothcithings, amongso manyothcisig-
nihcant contiibutions, at lcast tvo iiiuptivc cvcnts ol
thought, tvoinauguialacts that aicdimcultto mcasuic
todaybccausc thcyhavc bccn incoipoiatcdinto thcvciy
clcmcnt olouiphilosophical cultuic, ahcihavingtians-
loimcditslandscapc.
iist, to say it all too quickly, bcginning in 1930 vith
tianslationsandintcipictativcicadings,thcicvasthcini-
tial intioduction olIusscilian phcnomcnology, vhich
vouldlccdandlccundatcsomanyicnchphilosophical
cuiicnts.Jhcnintiuth,simultancouslythcicvasthc
intioductionolIcidcggciianthought,vhichvas no lcss
impoitant in thc gcncalogyolso many icnch philoso-
phcis,piolcssois,andstudcnts.IusscilandIcidcggciat
thcsamctimc, bcginningin1930.
.
vantcd last night to icicad a lcv pagcs liom this
Adieu I I
piodigious book,' vhichvas loimc, as loimanyothcis
bcloicmc,thchistandbcstguidc. pickcdoutalcv scn-
tcnccsthathavc madcthciimaikintimcandthatallov
ustomcasuicthcdistancchcvillhavchclpcduscovci.n
1930, ayoungmanoltvcnty-thiccsaidinthcpiclaccthat
icicad, smiling, smilingathim. Jhclactthatiniancc
phcnomcnologyis notadoctiincknovnto cvciyonchas
bccnaconstantpioblcminthcviitingolthisbook."Ci
again,spcakingolthcsovciypovcihlandoiiginalphi-
losophy"`oli.aitinIcidcggci,vhoscinhucnccon
thisbookvilloltcn bclclt,"thcsamc bookalsoiccalls
thatthc pioblcm iaiscdhcicbytiansccndcntalphcnom-
cnology is an ontological pioblcm in thc vciy piccisc
scnscthatIcidcggcigivcstothistcim."'
Jhc sccond cvcnt, thc sccond philosophical ticmoi,
vould cvcn say, thc happytiaumatism thatvc ovc him
in thc scnsc olthc void tiaumatism" that hc likcd to
iccall, thc tiaumatism olthc othci" that comcs liom
thc Cthci), isthat,vhilcclosclyicadingandicintcipict-
ingthcthinkcis justmcntioncd, but so manyothcis as
vcll, bothphilosophcissuchasOcscaitcs,ant,andici-
kcgaaid, andviitcis such as Oostocvs|, aIka, Iioust,
ctc.allthcvhilcdisscminatinghisvoidsthioughpub-
lications, tcaching, andlcctuics atthccolcIoimalcs-
iaclitcCiicntalc,atthcCollcgcIhilosophiquc,andatthc
\nivcisitics olIoiticis, Iantciic, and thc Soibonnc)
mmanucl Lcvinas slovly displaccd, slovly bcnt accoid-
ing to an inhcxiblc and simplc cxigcncy, thc axis, tiajcc-
toiy, andcvcnthc oidci olphcnomcnology oiontology
that hc had intioduccd into iancc bcginning in 1930.
Cnccagain,hccomplctclychangcdthclandscapcvithout
landscapcolthought, hcdidso in adignihcdvay, vith-
out polcmic, at oncc liom vithin, laithhlly, and liom
vciylai avay, liomthcattcstation olacomplctclyothci
12 Adieu
placc. ^nd bclicvc thatvhat occuiicdthcic, in this scc-
ondsailing, thissccondtimcthatlcads us backcvcnlui-
thcithanthchist, isadiscicctbutiiicvcisiblcmutation,
onc olthosc povcihl, singulai, andiaicpiovocations in
histoiythat, loiovcitvo thousandycais nov, villhavc
incllaccablymaikcdthc spacc and bodyolvhat ismoic
oilcss, inanycascsomcthingdihcicntliom,asimplcdi-
alogucbctwccn|cvishthoughtanditsothcis,thcphiloso-
phics ol Cicck oiigin oi, in thc tiadition ola ccitain
Icic am, " thc othci^biahamic monothcisms.Jhis
happcncd,thismutationhappcncd, through him, thiough
mmanucl Lcvinas, vho vas conscious olthis immcnsc
icsponsibility in avaythatvas, bclicvc, at oncc clcai,
conhdcnt, calm,andmodcst,likcthatolapiophct.
Cnc indication olthishistoiicalshockvavc is thc in-
nucnccolthisthoughtvcllbcyondphilosophy, andvcll
bcyond|cvish thought, onChiistianthcology, loicxam-
plc. cannothclp iccall thc dayvhcn, listcningto alcc-
tuicby^ndicIchciataCongicssol |cvishntcllcctuals,
mmanuclLcvinas tuincdto mcandsaid, viththc gcn-
tlciionysolamiliaitous. Youscc, hc`sthc|cvishIiotcs-
tant, and `m thc Catholic"aquip that vould callloi
longandsciious ichcction.
n cvciything that has happcncd hcic thiough him,
thanks to him,vchavc hadthcgoodloituncnotonlyol
icccivingitvhilcliving, liomhimliving,asaicsponsibil-
itycntiustcdbythclivingtothcliving,butalsothcgood
loituncolovingittohimvithalightandinnoccntdcbt.
Cncday, spcakingolhisicscaichondcathandolvhatit
ovcdtoIcidcggciatthcvciymomcntvhcnitvasmov-
ingavayliomhim, Lcvinasviotc. t distinguishcsitscll
liomIcidcggci`s thought, and it docs s

inspitc olthc
dcbt that cvciy contcmpoiaiy thinkci ovcs to Icidcg-
gciadcbtthatoncohcnicgicts. "Jhcgoodloituncol
Adieu 13
ouidcbttoLcvinasisthatvccan, thankstohim,assumc
it and amim itvithout icgict, in ajoyous innoccncc ol
admiiation. tis olthc oidciolthc unconditionalyes ol
vhichspokccailici,andtovhichiticsponds, Ycs. "Jhc
icgict, my icgict, is nothaving said this to him cnough,
nothavingshovnhimthiscnoughinthc couiscolthcsc
thiity ycais, duiing vhich, in thc modcsty olsilcnccs,
thioughbiicloidiscicctconvcisations,viitings tooindi-
icctoiicscivcd,vcohcnaddicsscdtooncanothcivhat
vouldcall ncithciqucstions noiansvcis but, pcihaps, to
usc anothci onc olhisvoids, asoit olqucstion,piayci, "
aqucstion-piaycithat,ashcsays,vouldbcantciioitoall
dialoguc.'
Jhc qucstion-piayci thattuincd mctovaidhim pci-
hapsalicadyshaicdinthc cxpciicnccolthca-Dieu vith
vhichbcgan.+hc gicctingolthca-Dieu docsnotsignal
thc cnd. Jhc a-Dieu isnotahnality, "hcsays, thuschal-
lcnging thc altcinativcbctvccn bcingandnothingncss, "
vhichisnot ultimatc. "Jhc a-Dieu giccts thcothcibc-
yond bcing, invhat is signihcd, bcyondbcing, by thc
void `gloiy.``'

Jhc a-Dieu is notapioccssolbcing. in

thc call, am iclciicd back to thc othci human bcing
thiough vhom this call signihcs, to thc ncighboi loi
vhoma tolcai. "''
Butsaidthat didnotvantsimplytoiccallvhathc
cntiustcdto us olthc a-Dieu, buthistolalltosayadieu
to him, to callhim byhis namc, to call his namc, his hist
namc, vhat hc is callcd at thc momcnt vhcn, ilhc no
longciicsponds, itisbccauschcisicspondinginus,liom
thcbottomoouihcaits, inus butbcloicus, inus iight
bcloicusincallingus, iniccallingto us. a-Dieu.
Adieu, mmanucl.
2 /ordoclcomc
clcomc [ bienvenue] , ycs,vclcomc.
Cnthc thicsholdolthisgathciingaioundmmanucl
Lcvinas, liom mmanucl Lcvinas, in thc tiacc ol his
thoughtandundcithcdoublcsign accand Sinai," itis
a void olvclcomc, ycs, a void olvclcomc

hat vill
thus daictopionouncc.
do not, olcouisc, vcntuic this in my namc alonc,
nothingvouldpcimitmctodoso.
Suchagicctingmightnoncthclcssbcconvcycd.
t vould attcmpt to pass liom onc to anothci, liom
somconchim oihcito anothci, lctting itscllbc ic-
ccivcdbutalsohcaidandintcipictcd,listcncdtooiqucs-
tioncd. tvouldscckitspassagc thioughthcviolcnccol
thchost,vho alvays kccps vatchovcithciitc. oi thc
iiskisgicat.Jo daicto sayvclcomcispcihapsto insinu-
atc that onc is at homc hcic, that onc knovs vhat it
mcansto bc athomc, andthatathomc onc icccivcs, in-
vitcs,oiohcishospitality, thusappiopiiatingloioncsclla
placc to welcome [accueilir] thcothci, oi, voisc, welcom
ing thcothci in oidci to appiopiiatc loi oncsclla placc
I
5
I6 A Wrd of wlcome
andthcnspcakthclanguagcolhospitalityolcouisc,
havc no moic intcntion than anyonc clsc oldoing this,
though`malicadyconccincdaboutthcdangciolsucha
usuipation.
oivishtoputbcloicyou,atthcopcningolthiscon-
lcicncc,alcv modcstandpicliminaiyichcctionsonthc
voidvclcomc" [accueil] , asLcvinas,itsccmsto mc,has
puthismaikuponit,havinghisticinvcntcdit, inthosc
placcsvhcic hc invitcs usthatis, givcs us to think
vhatiscallcdhospitality. "
Jhoughthchonoi oldclivciingthis histvoid olvcl-
comcvas undcscivcd, thcicaicscvcialicasonsvhy lclt
compcllcdtoacccptit.JhchisthastodoviththcCollcgc
ntcinationadcIhilosophic,vithitshistoiyanditsmcm-
oiyandvithvhathavchadto dovithit. tvashcic
atthc Collcgc,vhichthankhllytookthcinitiativcto oi-
ganizc this conlcicncc, that mmanucl Lcvinas spokc in
suchanunloigcttablcvay. oicovci, liomthcvciybcgin-
ningand can bcai vitncss to thismmanucl Lcv-
inasgavchissuppoitto this institution. icmcmbcivisit-
inghim on thc iuc ichcl-^ngc in I}&z at thc timcvc
vcic picpaiingto loundthc Collcgc. hadgoncthcicto
askloihisadvicc,hisappiobation,andcvcnloiapiomisc
olpaiticipation.

mmanuclLcvinasgavcmcallolthat. Icvasvithus
liom thc vciy bcginning. Iis thought icmains, loi so
manyphilosophcis,viitcis,andliicndsolthcCollcgc, an
inspiiationoi ahoiizon.Iumciousvoiks havc bccn dc-
votcdtohimvithin ouiinstitutioninthcloimollcctuics
andscminais. ndccd, oncvouldhavctospcakhcicola
constantstudy, inalthcicspcctablcscnscsolthisvoid, in
thcLatinscnsc, inthcIcbiaicscnscittianslatcs, andina
scnsc thatis still complctclyncv.tvastlus appiopiiatc
that thc Collcgc should, as asign olhdclity, on thc hist
A Wrd of Wlcome I7
annivcisaiyolthcdcatholmmanuclLcvinas,maikthis
momcnt olstudious iccollcction [ recueillement] inliving
thought. takc this oppoitunity, thcn, to thank in oui
namcthcpicscnt diicctois olthcCollcgc, its picsidcnt
ianois|ullicn and cspccially Oanicllc Cohcn-Lcvinas,
piogiamdiicctoi, loihavingtakcnituponthcmsclvcsto
icspondtoouishaicdhopcsloisuchagathciing.
c aicalsogiatclultothcchancclloiolthc\nivcisitics
olIaiis loi thc vclcomc, ys, thc vclcomc that shc has
cxtcndcd to us in this vcnciablc placc ol tcaching. t
vas iight hcic, in thc Kichclicu ^mphithcatci, that this
thinkci vho vas not only a gicat piolcssoi at thc Soi-
bonnc,butamastci, oncctaught.
Jhismastcincvciscpaiatcdhistcachingliomastiangc
anddimcultthoughtoltcachingamagistciialtcaching'
inthc hguicolwelcoming avclcomingvhcic cthics in-
tciiupts thc philosophical tiadition olgiving biith and
loilsthciuscolthcmastcivholcignstochacchimscllbc-
hindthchguicolthcmidvilc. oithcstudy olvhichvc
aic spcaking cannot bc icduccd to a maicutics, vhich
vould icvcal tomc onlyvhat am alicady capablcol as
Lcvinassays.Jovcavc togcthcithcthcmcsvouldlikc to
piivilcgchcic, and to ciossthc scmanticand ctymological
icsouiccs olavoidLcvinasuscssoohcn, thcvoid meme
scll samc"] , a void vhosc philology is not his piimc
conccin,vcmightpcihapssay, lolloving Totalit and In
fnit, thatmaicutics tcachcsmcnothing. ticvcalsnoth-
ingto mc. tunvcilsonlyvhatam alicady in a position
[a meme] to knov mysel [ moi-meme] (ise) , capablc ol
knoving [pouvoir savoir] by mysel inthisplaccvhcicthc
sel thc same [ meme] (egomet ise, medisme, meisme, liom
metise, metisimus) gathcis in itsel capaciqandknoving,
povci andknovlcdgc, andas thc same [ meme] , thcsamc
being-in-a-position-to [etre-a meme-de] , in thc piopciqol
IS A Wrd of Wlome
vhat is piopcito it, in its vciy [ meme] csscntiality. ^nd
pcihapsvcvillictuintothisvhatisthusannounccd
is accitain appiopiiatingintcipictation, indccdapolitics
olhospitality, a politics olcapacit, olpower [pouvoir] ,
vithicgaidtothc h6te, bchcthconcvclcoming(host) oi
thc onc bcingvclcomcd (guest) . Iovci of thc h6te over
thch6te, olthchostovcithcgucstoiviccvcisa.Jhc hosti
pet-s is thc gucst-mastci," says Bcnvcnistc icgaiding a
chain thatvouldlink, likctvo sovcicign povcis, hospi-
talityandipscity.`
Iov, loiLcvinas, thcvclcomingoltcachinggivcs and
icccivcssomcthingclsc,moicthanmcandmoicthansomc
othcithing.JoappioachthcCthciindiscouisc, "vcicad
alicadyinthcopcningpagcsol Totalit and Infnit,
is to welome [I tae the liberty of emphasizing this word] his
expression, in which at each instant he overfows the idea a
thought would carry away from it. It is therefore to receive
[ Levinas's emphasis] from the Other beyond the capacity of
the I, which means exactly: to have the idea of infnity. But
this also means: to be taught. The relation with the Other, or
Discourse, is a non-allergic relation, an ethical relation; but
inasmuch as it is welcomed [my emphasis again] this dis
course is a teaching. But teaching does not come down to
maieutics; it comes from the exterior and brings me more
than I contain.4
l lclt had to acccpt thc gicatand unduc honoi ol
dclivciingthcschistvoids, itv alsosomcthingmoic
dimcult to admitbccausc lclt myscll incapablc ol
picpaiingloitodayalcctuicvoithyolthcnamc,voithy
olthisconlcicncc,andvoithyolLcvinas.NhcnOanicllc
Cohcn-Lcvinascxtcndcdmcthishonoi,agiccdtobcthc
histto spcaksoas, olcouisc, totakcpaitinthishomagc,
somcthing dccplyvishcdto do, butalsosoas to chacc
A Wrd of Wlcome 19
myscllasquicklyaspossiblconthcthicsholdolhospital-
ity. hopcdthcntobc ablcto icmainsilcnt, piotcctcdby
this alibiandcspcciallyto listcn. vill indccddo this,
but notbcloicdiaving out at somc lcngthand bcg
youi loigivcncss in advanccan intcipictation olvcl-
comingoihospitality. villdo so in thc namc oiundci
thctitlcolthcopening, sinccitvasagiccdthatthatvould
bcthcgcncialtitlcgivcnto thisintioduction.
Iov, in ahisticvcisal, Lcvinas suggcsts thinkingthc
opcningingcncialonthc basis olhospitalityoivclcom-
ing, and notthc othcivayaiound. Icdocsso cxplicitly.
Jhcsctvovoids, opcning"andhospitality, " aic atoncc
associatcdanddissociatcdinhisvoik.Jhcyobcyasubtlc
lav. Likccvciylav, itcallsloicautiousdcciphciing.
Iovis oncto intcipictthis hospitality in the name ol
Lcvinas: Iovmightonc do so by spcaking, not in his
placcandinhisnamc,butalongvithhim,spcakingvith
himas vcll, hist bylistcningto himtoday, bycomingto
placcsvhcic, inoidcito iccall thciinamcstothcm,hcic-
namcd, madc icnovncd, Sinai and thc lacc, Sinai" and
lacc":Jhcscnamcsvcicbioughttogcthcrloithcsakcol
this gathciing, but do vc knov hov to hcai thcm: n
vhatlanguagc: ^s common oi piopci nouns:^s tians-
latcdliomanothcilanguagc:iomthcpastolaholyviit-
ingoilioman idiom to comc:
Cnthchoiizon olthcscpicliminaiyichcctions, vill
bc guidcdbyaqucstionthatvillinthccndlcavcinsus-
pcnsc, bcing contcnt simply to situatc somc ol its
picmiscs and points oliclcicncc. t vould conccin, on
histvicv, thciclationships bctvccn an ethics olhospital-
ityancthicsas hospitality) anda law oiapolitics olhos-
pitality, loi cxamplc, in thctiaditionolvhatant calls
20 A Wrd of Wlcome
thc conditions olunivcisal hospitality in cosmo political
law: vith avicvtopcipctualpcacc. "
Jhc classical loim olthis qucstionvould pcihaps bc
loundinthchguicolaloundingoilcgitimatinglounda-
tion. tmightbcaskcd, loicxamplc,vhcthcithccthicsol
hospitalitythatvcvilltiytoanalyzcinLcvinas`sthought
vouldbcablctoloundalavandapolitics, bcyondthcla-
milialdvclling,vithinasocicty, nation,Statc, oi Iation-
Statc.
Jhisqucstionis no doubtsciious,dimcult,andncccs-
saiy,butitisalicadycanonical.cvilltiytosuboidinatc
ittoanothcisuspcnsivcqucstion,tovhatmightbccallcd
asoitolepoche. hichonc:
Lctusassumc, concesso non dato, thatthcicisnoassuicd
passagc, lollovingthcoidciolaloundation,accoidingto
a hiciaichy olloundingandloundcd, olpiincipialoiigi-
naiityanddciivation,bctvccnancthicsoiahistphiloso-
phyolhospitality, onthconchand, andalavoipolitics
olhospitality, onthcothci. Lctusassumcthatonc cannot
deduce liom Lcvinas`s cthical discouisc on hospitality a
lavandapolitics, somcpaiticulailavoipoliticsinsomc
dctcimincd situation today, vhcthci closc to us oi lai
avay assuming thatvccouldcvcncvaluatcthc distancc
scpaiating thc Chuich olSt. Bcinaid in Iaiis] liom s-
iacl,liomthcloimciYugoslavia,liomZaiicoiFvanda) .'
Iov,thcn,aicvctointcipictthisimpossibilityollound-
ing, oldcducingoidciiving: Oocsthis impossibilitysig-
nalalailing: Icihapsvcshouldsaythccontiaiy. Icihaps
vcvould, in tiuth, bc putto anothcikindoltcstbythc
appaicntncgativityolthislacuna, bythishiatusbctvccn
cthics hist philosophyoimctaphysicsinthc scnsc, ol
couisc,thatLcvinashasgivcntothcscvoids) ,onthconc
hand,and, onthcothci,lavoipolitics. lthcicisnolack
hcic,vouldnotsuchahiatusinchccticquiicustothink
A "rd of Wlcome 21
lavandpolitics othcivisc:ould itnotinlactopcn
likcahiatusboththcmouthandthcpossibilityolan-
othci spccch, oladccisionandaicsponsibility juiidical
and political, ilyouvill) , vhcic dccisionsmustbcmadc
andicsponsibility, asvc say taken, vithoutthcassuiancc
olan ontologicalloundation:^ccoidingto thishypothc-
sis, thc abscncc olalavoiapolitics, inthcstiictanddc-
tcimincdscnsc olthcsctcims,vouldbcjustan illusion.
Bcyond thisappcaiancc oi convcnicncc, a ictuin to thc
conditionsolicsponsibilityandolthcdccisionvouldim-
poscitscllbctvccncthics,lav, andpolitics.Suchaictuin
might bc undcitakcn, as vill tiy to suggcst inconclu-
sion, accoidingtotvovciyclosc, butpcihaps hctciogc-
ncous, paths.
I
Ias anyonccvci noticcd:^lthoughthcvoidis ncithci
licqucntlyuscdnoicmphasizcdvithinit, Totalt and In
fnit bcqucaths to us an immcnsc ticatisc of hospitalit.
Jhis is boinc out lcss by thc occuiicnccs olthc void
hospitality,`" vhich aic, in lact, iathci iaic, than by thc
links and discuisivc logic that lcadto this vocabulaiyol
hospitality. nthcconcludingpagcs,loi cxamplc, hospi-
talitybccomcs thcvciynamc olvhat opcnsitscllto thc
lacc, oi, moicpicciscly, olvhatvclcomcs" it.Jhc lacc
alvays lcnds itscllto avclcomc, and thcvclcomc vcl-
comcsonlyalacc, thclaccthat should bc oui thcmc to-
day, but that, as vc knov liom icading Lcvinas, must
cludcalthcmatization.
Jhis iiicducibility to a thcmc, this cxcccding olall
thcmatizing loimalization oi dcsciiption, is picciscly
vhatthclacchasincommonvithhospitality. Lcvinasis
not contcnt to distinguish hospitality liom thcmatiza-
22 A Wrd of Wlome
tion, asvcvill hcai inamomcnt, hccxplicitlyopposcs
thcm.
hcnhccomplctclyicdchncsintcntionalsubjcctivity,
submittingsubjcctionto thc idcaolinhnityin thchnitc,
hc multiplics in his ovn vay piopositions in vhich a
noun dchncs a noun. Jhc substantivc-subjcct and thc
substantivc-picdicatc might thcn cxchangc placcs in thc
pioposition,vhichvould upsct at oncc thc giammai ol
dc-tciminationandtiaditionallogicalviiting, iightupto
its dialcctical amliation. oi cxamplc. t intcntionality,
consciousncssol. a o ] isattcntiontospccchoivclcomcol
thclacc, hospitalit andnotthcmatization. "
lvas tcmptcd to undciscoic thcvoid hospitalit in
thisscntcncc,mustnovsoastochaccitgobackon
thispcdagogicaloiihctoiicalconccin.oiallthcconccpts
that aic opposcd to thcmatization" aic at onccsynony-
mous and olcqualvaluc. Ioncolthcmshouldbcpiivi-
lcgcd, andthus undciscoicd. Bcloicgoinganyhithciin
thc intcipictation olthis pioposition, vc should notc
vhatsilcntlyjustihcssuchan apposition. tsccmsto lol-
Iov asoitolclan, contcntsimplyto unlold, to cxplicatc.
tappcaisto piocccd, indccdtolcap,liomoncsynonym
to thcncxt. Jhough itappcais as suchonlyoncc,thcoi"
(vel) ol substitution could bc insciibcd bctvccn cach
nouncxcluding, olcouisc, thcmatization". t intcn-
tionality, consciousncss ol. .] is attention to speech oi
welome olthcfce, hospitalit andnotthcmatization. "
Jhc void hospitality" hcic tianslatcs, biings to thc
loic, ic-pioduccs,thctwovoidspicccdingit, attcntion
and vclcomc. " ^ intcinal paiaphiasc, a soit ol pc-
iiphiasis, asciicsolmctonymicsthatbcspcakhospitality,
thclacc,vclcomc.tcndingtovaidthcothci, attcntivcin-
tcntion,intcntionalattcntion,yes to thc othci. ntcntion-
ality, attcntion to spccch, vclcomc olthc lacc, hospital-
A "rd of Wlome 23
i
tyallthcscaicthcsamc,butthcsamcasthcvclcoming
olthc othci, thcic vhcic thc othcivithdiavs liom thc
thcmc. Jhis movcmcntvithout movcmcnt chaccs itscll
inthcvclcomingolthcothci,andsincc itopcnsitscllto
thcinhnityolthcothci, an inhnitythat,asothci, insomc
scnsc picccdcs it, thcvclcoming of thc othci objcctivc
gcnitivc) vill alicady bc a icsponsc. thcyes to thc othci
villalicadybcicspondingtothcvclcomingof thcothci
subjcctivcgcnitivc) ,to thcyes olthcothci.Jhisicsponsc
iscallcdloias soon as thcinhnitcalvays of thcothci
isvclcomcd.c villlollovits tiaccinLcvinas. Butthis
assoon as" docs notmaikthc momcnt oithicsholdola
bcginning, olan arche, sincc inhnity vill alicady havc
bccn pic-oiiginaiily vclcomcd. clcomcd in anaichy.
Jhis icsponsiblcicsponscis suicly ayes, but ayes to pic-
ccdcdbythcyes of thcothci.Cncshouldnodoubtcxtcnd
vithoutlimitthcconscqucnccsolvhatLcvinasasscitsin
apassagcvhcichcicpcatsandintcipictsthc idcaolin-
hnity in thc Caitcsian cogito: tis not , it is thcothci
thatcansayyes. "
7
loncvcictopuisucthcscconscqucnccsviththcncc-
cssaiytcmctityandiigoi, thcyvouldpcihapslcadto an-
othcivay olthinking thc icsponsiblc dccision. Lcvinas
vouldpiobablynotsayitinthisvay, butcoulditnotbc
aigucdthat,vithoutcxonciatingmyscllinthclcast,dcci-
sionandicsponsibilityaicalvays of the other? Jhcyalvays
comc back oi comc dovn to thc othci, liom thc othci,
cvcnilitisthcothciinmc:oi,inthccnd,vouldanini-
tiativc thaticmaincdpuiclyandsimplyminc" still bca
dccision, in accoidanccvith thc mostpovcilul tiadition
olcthicsandphilosophy,vhichicquiics thatthcdccision
alvays bc my" dccision, thc dccision ol onc vho can
licclysayas loimyscll1," ise, egomet ise? ouldvhat
comcs dovnto mcinthisvaystill bc a dccision: Oovc
24 A Wrd of Wlome
havcthc iighttogivcthcnamc dccision" to apuiclyau-
tonomous movcmcnt, cvcn ilit is onc olvclcoming oi
hospitality, thatvouldpiocccdonlyliommc,bymc,and
vouldsimplydcploythcpossibiliticsolasubjcctivitythat
is minc:ouldvcnotbcjustihcdinsc cinghcic thc un-
loldingolan cgological immancncc, thc autonomicand
automaticdcploymcntolpicdicatcsoipossibiliticspiopci
toasubjcct,vithoutthctcaiingiuptuicthatshouldoccui
incvciydccisionvccalllicc:
litisonlythcothcivhocansayyes, thchist"yes, thc
vclcomc is alvays thc vclcomc of thc othci. Cnc must
thcnthinkthcgiammaisandgcncalogicsolthisgcnitivc.
l put quotation maiks aiound thc hist" olthc hist"
yes, it vas to acccdc to a scaiccly thinkablc hypothcsis.
thcicisnofrst yes, thcyes isalicadyaicsponsc.Butsincc
cvciythingmustbcginvithsomcyes, thcicsponscbcgins,
thc icsponsccommands.c mustmakcthc bcstolthis
apoiia, intovhichvc, hnitc andmoital,aic thrown and
vithoutvhichthcicvouldbcno piomiscolapath. tis
ncccssaiyto begin by responding. Jhcicvouldthusbc, in
thcbcginning, no histvoid.Jhccalliscallcdonlyliom
thcicsponsc.Jhcicsponsccomcs ahcad oloicomcsto
cncountcithccall,vhich,bcloicthcicsponsc,ishistonly
inoidcitoavaitthcicsponscthatmakcsitcomc.Ocspitc
allthctiagicobjcctionsthatthishaishlavmightsccmto
justi| butthcnvhat:, " itmightbcsaid, hatabout
thccallvithno icsponsc, thcsolitaiyciyoldisticss:^nd
thcsolitudcolpiayci, andthcinhnitcscpaiationtovhich
itattcsts,vouldthis not bc, tothccontiaiy, thctiuccon-
ditionolthccall, olthcinhnitclyhnitccall:"] , thc ncccs-
sityicmains, as impcituibablcasdcath,thatis to say, thc
ncccssityolhnitudc.liomthcdcpthlcssdcpthsolitssoli-
tudc, acallcan onlyitscllbchcaid, can onlyhcaiitscll
andhcaiitscllcalling,liomthcpiomiscolaicsponsc.c
A Wrd of Wlcome 25
aicspcakinghcicolthccallassuch, ilthcicisonc. oiil
oncvants to appcalto acall thatis notcvcn iccognizcd,
thatdocsnoticcognizcitscll asacall, onccan, atlcastto
thinkit, dovithoutanyicsponsc.Jhisisalvayspossiblc,
anditnodoubtdocsnotlailtohappcn.
Lcvinas docs notsaythis,oihcdocs notsayitin this
vay, butvouldlikctoapproachhimtodaybyvay[voie]
olthisnon-vay. )
Jhoughthcvoidhospitality"occuisiclativclyscldom
in Totalit and Infnit, thcvoidvclcomc"isunaiguably
oncolthcmostlicqucntanddctciminativcvoids inthat
tcxt.Jhis couldbcvciihcd, cvcnil to myknovlcdgc, it
hasnot bccn donc. oic opciational thanthcmatic, this
conccpt opciatcs cvciyvhcicinoidcito spcakolthchist
gcstuic inthcdiicctionolthcCthci.
Butisthisvclcomccvcnagcstuic: tis,iathci,thchist
movcmcnt,anappaicntlypassivcmovcmcnt,butthc right
oigood movcmcnt. Jhc vclcomc cannot bc dciivcd, no
moicthanthclacccan, andthcicisno laccvithoutvcl-
comc.tisas ilthcvclcomc,justasmuchas thclacc,just
as muchasthcvocabulaiythatis co-cxtcnsivc and thus
pioloundlysynonymousvithit,vcicahistlanguagc,asct
madcupolquasi-piimitivcandquasi-tiansccndcntal
voids.c musthistthinkthcpossibilityolthcvclcomc
inoidcitothinkthclaccandcvciythingthatopcnsupoi
isdisplaccdvithit.cthics,mctaphysicsoihistphilosophy,
in thc scnscthat Lcvinasgivcstothcscvoids.
Jhcvclcomc dctcimincs thc iccciving," thcicccptiv-
ityolicccivingas thc cthicaliclation.A vc havcalicady
hcaid. JoappioachthcCthciindiscouiscistovclcomc
his cxpicssion, invhich atcach instanthc ovcihovs thc
idcaathoughtvouldcaiiyavayliomit. tisthcicloicto
receive liomthcCthcibcyondthccapacityolthc1."
Jhisto receive, avoid undciscoicdhcicandpioposcd
A Wrd of wlcome
asasynonymolto welome, icccivcsonlyt thccxtcnt,an
cxtcnt bcyond al mcasuic, thatiticccivcs bcyond thcca-

pacityolthc1. A vcvillscc, this dissymmctiical dispio-

poitionvilllatcimaikthclavolhospitality. Butinanun-
cxpcctcdpiopositionvithinthcsamcpaiagiaph,icasonis

itscllinterreted asthishospitablcicccptivity.Jhclonglinc
olthcphilosophicatiaditionthatpasscsthioughthccon-
ccptolicccptivityoipassivity, andthus,itvasthought,ol
scnsibilityasopposcdtoiationality, ishcicicoiicntcdatits
most basiclcvcl.
tisaqucstion olthcacccptationolicccption.
Cnc canappichcndoipciccivc thc mcaningolto re
ceive onlyon thc basisolthc hospitablcvclcomc, thcvcl-
comc opcncdoiohcicdto thcothci. Kcason itscllisa re
ceiving. ^othci vay ol saying it, il onc still vishcs to
spcakvithin thc lavolthc tiadition, thoughagainstit,
againstitsinhciitcdoppositions,isthaticasonis scnsibil-
ity. Kcason itscllis avclcomc inasmuchas itvclcomcs
thcidcaolinhnityandthcvclcomcisiational.
sit insignihcant thatcvinasspcaks inthis placcola
door [porte] ? s thc placc that hc dcsignatcs in this vay
simplyatiopcin aihctoiicolhospitality: lthchguicol
thcdooi,onthcthicsholdthat opcnsthcat-homc [chez
soi] , vcicamannci[ffon] olspcaking," thisvouldsug-
gcstthatspccchisa manner olspcaking, amanncioldo-
ingoimanaging [fire] vithonc'shandhcldout,addicss-
ingoncscllto thc Cthci so as to givc him somcthingto
catoidiink, oitoallovhimto bicathc, ascvinassool-
tcn iccalls clscvhcic. Jhc opcn dooi, as a mannci ol
spcaking, calls loi thc opcning olan cxtciioiity oi ola
tiansccndcnccolthc idca olinhnity.Jhis idca comcs to
us thiough a dooi, and thc dooipasscdthioughis nonc
othcithanicasonintcaching.
nthc samc passagc olJiansccndcncc as thc dca ol
A 'rd of Wlome 27
nhnity, "thcsciupulouspiccautionsolbut, "yct, "and
vithout"shaipcnthcoiiginalityolthisreceiving andthis
welcome. Jhis opcn dooi isanythingbut asimplcpassiv-
ity,anythingbutan abdication olicason.
To approach the Other in discourse is to welcome [my em
phasis] his expression, in which at each instant he overfows
the idea a thought would carry away from it. It is therefore
to receive [Levinas's emphasis] from the Other beyond the
capacity of the I, which means exactly: to have the idea of in
fnity. But this also means: to be taught. The relation with
the Other, or Discourse, is a non-allergic relation, an ethical
relation; but inasmuch as it is welcomed [my emphasis again]
this discourse is a teaching. But [third "but," my emphasis, a
but within a but ( mais dans Ie mais), magis, but even more,
even better] teaching does not come down to [ne revient pas
a] maieutics; it comes from the exterior and brings me more
than I contain. [It does not come back, or come down to
it comes, and comes from elsewhere, from the exterior, from
the other.] In its non-violent transitivity the very epiphany of
the face is produced. The Aristotelian analysis of the intel
lect, which discovers the agent intellect coming in by the door
[my emphasis here and in the following] , absolutely exterior,
and yet constituting, without in any way compromising, the
sovereign activity of reason, already substitutes for maieutics
a transitive action of the master, since reason, without abdi
cating, is found to be in a position to receive [ a meme de
recevoir] [Levinas's emphasis] .
Fcason in a position to receive: vhatcanthishospitality
olicasongivc, this icasonas the capacit to receive [pou
voir recevoir] ("in a position to receive") , this icasonundci
thclavolhospitality:Jhis icasonas thclavolhospital-
ity: Lcvinas undciscoics, loi a sccond timc in thc samc
paiagiaph,thcvoidicccivc. "nthisvcin,asvcknov, hc
villundcitakcthcmostdaiinganayscsolicccptivity, ola
A urd of wlome
passivity bcloic passivity, analyscs vhosc stakcs vill bc-
comcmoicandmoicdccisivcpiccisclyvhcicthcvoids
sccm to gct caiiicd avayand bccomc disidcntihcd in a
discouisc that opcns cach signihcation to its othci icla-
tion without iclation, passivity without passivity, passiv-
ity. . . moicpassivcthancvciypassivity, "'ctc.)
Jhcvoidvclcomc"comcsup againonthcsamcpagc.
t dcsignatcs, along vith thc notion olthc lacc, " thc
opcningolthcandthcphilosophicalpiioiityolthccx-
istcntovciBcing."' Jhis thoughtolvclcomingthusalso
initiatcsadiscicctbutclcaiandhim contcstationolIci-
dcggci,indccdolthcccntialmotilolgathciingoncscll ol
iccollcction [recueillement] , oiolgathciingtogcthci r-
sammlung) , olthc collccting (colligere) thatvould bc ac-
complishcdiniccollcction.Jhcicis, olcouisc,athinking
oliccollcctioninLcvinas,paiticulailyinthcscctionol1o-
talit and Infnit cntitlcd Jhc Ovclling. " But such icc-
ollcction olthc at homc vith oncscll[chez-soi] " alicady
assumcsthcvclcomc,itisthcpossibilit of weloming and
notthcothcivayaiound. tmakcsthcvclcomcpossiblc,
and, in a scnsc, that is its solc dcstination. Cnc might
thcnsaythatthcvclcomctocomcisvhatmakcspossiblc
thciccollcctionolthcathomcvithoncscllcvcnthough
thc iclations ol conditionality appcai impossiblc to
stiaightcn out. Jhcy dc| chionology as much as logc.
Jhcvclcomcaso, olcouisc, supposcsiccollcction,that
is, thc intimacyolthc at home with oneselandthchguic
olvoman, lcminincaltciity. Butthcvclcomc [laccueil]
vould not bc a sccondaiy modihcation ol collccting
[cueillir] , olthis col-ligere thatisnotvithoutlinkoiliga-
tuicto thcoiiginolicligion, tothisiclationvithoutic-
lation"loivhichLcvinas reserves, ashcsays,thcvoidic-
ligion" as thc ultimatc stiuctuic". oi thc iclation bc-
tvccn thcbcinghcicbclovandthctiansccndcntbcing
A Wrd of Wlcome 29
thaticsultsinnocommunityolconccptoitotalityaic-
lationvithouticlationvc icscivc thc tcimicligion. "' '
Jhcpossibilit ol thcvclcomcvouldthuscomcsoa to
opcnthcmup-bere iccollcction,cvcnbere collccting,
bcloic thc act liomvhichcvciything noncthc!css sccms
to bcdciivcd. Lcvinassaysclscvhcicthat to posscssthc
idcaolinhnityis to havc alicadyvclcomcd thc Cthci"'
andthat tovclcomcthcCthciistoputin qucstionmy
liccdom. "'`
^mongthcnumcious occuiicnccs olthcvoid welcome
in Totalit and Infnit, lct us iccallloi thc momcntthc
onc at thc bcginning olthc chaptciJiuth and|usticc"
thatdchncsnothinglcssthanOiscouisc. Oiscouiscas|us-
ticc. Oiscouiscpicscntsitscllas|usticcinthcupiightncss
olthc welcome madctothclacc. "'
ith thisvoid |usticc" aic announccdall thcloimi-
dablc pioblcms thatvc vill tiy to addicss latci, notably
thosc that aiiscvith thc thiid.Jhc thiidaiiivcsvithout
vaiting. ithoutvaiting, thc thiid comcs to allcct thc
cxpciicnccolthclaccinthclacctolacc.^thoughthisin-
tcipositionolthcthiiddocsnotintciiuptthcvclcomcit-
scll this thiidncss" [tertialitt] tuins oi makcs tuin to-
vaidit,likcavitncss(terstis) madcto bcaivitncssto it,
thcdual[duel] olthclacctolacc,thcsingulaivclcomcol
thc unicity olthc othci. Jhc illcity olthc thiidis thus
nothinglcss,loiLcvinas,thanthcbcginningoljusticc, at
oncc as lav and bcyond thclav, inlavbcyond thc lav.
Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence spcaks olthis "ille
it, in thcthiidpcison,butaccoidingto a`thiidncss`that
is dihcicntliom that olthc thiid man, liomthat olthc
thiidintciiuptingthc laccto laccolthc vclcomc olthc
othci manintciiupting thc pioximity oi appioach ol
thc ncighboiliom that olthc thiid man vith vhom
j usticcbcgins. "' '
30 A Wrd of Wlome
ailici, a notc spccihcs that j usticc is this vciy pics-
cncc olthc thiid. " ' iom pagcs vhcic havc alvays
thought couldmakcoutaccitain disticss olthcapoiia,
thc complaints, attcstations, and piotcstations, along
vith thc outciics oi objcctions, ola|ob vho vould bc
tcmptcdtoappcalnotto justiccbutagainst it, comcto us
thcdcspciatcqucstionsolajustman. Clajustmanvho
vouldlikcto bc moicjustthanjusticc.^nothci|ob, un-
lcss this is thc othci ol|ob, asks vhathchas to do vith
j usticc,vithj ustand unj ustj usticc.Jhcscqucstions ciy
out acontiadiction, onc that isvithout cqual andvith-
outpicccdcnt,thctciiiblc contiadictionolthcSayingby
thcSaying,Contia-OictionitsclI.
The third is other than the neighbor, but also another neigh
bor, and aso a neighbor of the other, and not simply his fel
low. What then are the other and the third for one another?
What have they done to one another? Which passes before
the other? . . . The other and the third, my neighbors, con
temporaries of one another, put distance between me and
the other and the third. "Peace, peace to the neighbor and
he one far-of" ( Isaiah 57: 19) -we now understand the
point of this apparent rhetoric. The third introduces a con
tradiction in the Saying . . . . It is of itself the limit of re
sponsibility and the birth of the question: What do I have to
do with j ustice? A question of conscience, of consciousness.
Justice is necessary, that is, comparison, coexistence, con
temporaneousness, assembling . . . '
Lcvinas docs not shiink liom analyzing thc consc-
qucnccsolthis isncccssaiy. " ticintioduccs us, asilby
loicc,intoplaccscthicsshouldcxcccd.thcvisibilityolthc
lacc, thcmatization, compaiison, synchiony, systcm, co-
picscnccbcloicacouitoljusticc. "ntiuth,itdocsnot
ic-intioducc us inasccondaiyvayintothcscplaccs but
callsusbacktothcmliombcloicthctimcbcloic.oithc
A Wrd of Wlcome
3
1
thiiddocsnotvait,itisthcic,liomthchist"cpiphanyol
thclaccinthclacctolacc.
Jhcqucstion,thcn,isthcthiid.
Jhc biitholthcqucstion" is thc thiid.Ycs,thc birth,
loi thc thiiddocs not vait, it comcs at thc oiigin olthc
laccandolthclaccto lacc.Ycs,thc biitholthc question
a question, loithclacctolaccisimmcdiatclysuspcndcd,
intciiuptcdvithoutbcingintciiuptcd, as laccto lacc, as
thc dual oltvo singulaiitics. Jhc incluctability olthc
thiidisthclavolthcqucstion.Jhc qucstionola qucs-
tion, as addicsscd to thc othci and liom thc othci, thc
othciolthcothci,thcqucstionolaqucstionthatissuicly
nothist itcomcs ahcithcyes to thc othciandthcyes ol
thc othci) thoughnothingpicccdcs it. Io thing, andcs-
pcciallynoonc.
Jhcqucstion, butalso,a aicsult,j usticc, philosophi-
cal intclligibility, knovlcdgc, andcvcn,announcingitscll
giaduallyliomoncpcisonto thcncxt, liomncighboito
ncighboi, thc hguic olthc Statc. oi, as vcvill hcai, all
this is necessary.
Jhc samc logic, thc samc scntcnccs, ohcn thc litcial
icpctitionolthcscstatcmcnts, lcadLcvinasinIcaccand
Iioximity to dcduccliomthis incluctabilityolthc thiid
at once thcoiiginolthc qucstionitscllandthusolphilo-
sophical discouisc, vhosc status is govcincd and vhosc
signatuiclcgitimatcdbythc qucstion. almostthccntiicty
olLcvin as`sdiscouisc,loicxamplc,almostthccntiicspacc
olitsintclligibilityloius, appcalstothis thiid)' and jus-
ticcand thcpoliticalstiuctuicolsocicty. "Jhclcapvith-
out tiansition, thc iuptuiing mutation ol thc vithout
qucstion"atthcbiitholthchistqucstion,"dchncsatthc
samc timc thc passagc liom cthical icsponsibility to j u-
iidical, politicaland philosophicalicsponsibility. t
alsoindicatcsthcmovcoutolimmcdiacy.
3 2 A Wrd of Wlcome
Doubtless, responsibilit for the other human being is, in its
immediac, anterior to every question. But how does responsi
bility obligate if a third troubles this exteriority of to were
my subjection of the subject is subjection to the neighbor?
The third is other than the neighbor but also another neigh
bor, and also a neighbor of the other, and not simply their
fellow. What am I to do? What have they already done to
one another? Who passes before the other in my responsibil
ity? What, then, are the other and the third with respect to
one another? Birth of the question.
The frst question in the interhuman is the question ofjus
tice. Hencerth it is necessary to know, to become conscious
ness. Comparison is superimposed onto my relation with the
unique and the incomparable, and, in view of equity and
equalit, a weighing, a thinking, a calculation, the compari
son of incomparables, and, consequently, the neutrality
presence or representation-of being, the thematization and
the visibility of the face. 19
Jhcdcductionpiocccdsinthisvayiightupto thcpo-
litical stiuctuic olsocicty, subjcct to lavs, " iight up to
thc dignityolthccitizcn,"vhcic, hovcvci, ashaip dis-
tinctionmusticmainbctvccn thccthicalsubjcctandthc
civiconc. But this movcoutolpuiclycthicalicsponsi-
bility, thisintciiuptionolcthical immcdiacy, isitscllim-
mcdiatc.Jhcthiiddocsnotvait, its illcitycalls liomas
cailyasthccpiphanyolthclaccinthclacctolacc.oithc
abscnccolthcthiidvouldthicatcnvithviolcncc thcpu-
iityolcthicsinthcabsolutcimmcdiacyolthclacctolacc
vith thc uniquc. Lcvinas docs not sayit in cxactly this
vay, butvhatis hc doingvhcn, bcyondoithiough thc
dualolthclacctolaccbctvccntvo uniqucs,"hcappcals
toj usticc, amimingandicamimingthatjusticc isncccs-
saiy, "thatthcthiidisncccssaiy :shcnottiyingtotakc
into accountthishypothcsisolaviolcnccinthc puic and
immcdiatccthicsolthclacctolacc:^violcnccpotcntially
A Wrd of wlome
33
unlcashcd in thc cxpciicncc olthc ncighboi and olab-
solutc unicity:Jhc impossibility oldisccining hcic bc-
twccngoodandcvil,lovcandhatc,givingandtaking,thc
dcsiic tolivcandthcdcathdiivc, thchospitablcvclcomc
andthc cgoistic oinaicissistic closingupvithin oncscll:
Jhcthiidvouldthuspiotcctagainstthcvcitigoolcth-
icalviolcncc itsclI oicthics could bc doubly cxposcd to
suchviolcncc. cxposcdto undcigo itbutalso to cxcicisc
it.^tcinativclyoisimultancously. tis tiucthatthcpio-
tcctingoimcdiatingthiid,initsjuiidico-politicaliolc,vi-
olatcsinitstuin,atlcastpotcntially, thcpuiityolthccth-
ical dcsiicdcvotcdto thc uniquc. cnccthc tciiiblc in-
cluctabilityoladoublc constiaint.
JhoughLcvinasncvciputsitinthcsctcims, villiisk
pointingoutthcncccssityolthis double bind invhatlol-
lovsliomthcaxiomscstablishcdoiiccallcdbyLcvinas.il
thclacctolaccviththcuniquccngagcsthcinhnitccthics
olmy icsponsibilityloi thc othci ina soit oloath bere
the leter, an unconditional icspcctoihdclity, thcnthcin-
cluctablc cmcigcncc olthcthiid, and,vith it, olj usticc,
vouldsignalaninitialpcijuiy[parure] .
2
1
Silcnt, passivc,
painhl, butincvitablc, suchpcijuiyisnotaccidcntaland
sccondaiy,butisasoiiginaiyasthc cxpciicnccolthclacc.
|usticcvouldbcginviththispcij uiy. Ciatlcastjusticc
as lav, cvcn iljusticc icmains tiansccndcnt oihctciogc-
ncousto lav, thcsctwo conccptsmustnotbcdissociatcd.
justiccdemands lav, andlavdocsnotvaitanymoicthan
docsthcillcityolthcthiidinthclacc.hcnLcvinassays
justicc,"vcaicalso authoiizcd to hcailav, " itsccms to
mc. Lav [droit] vouldbcginvithsuchapcijuiy, itvould
bctiaycthical upiightncss [droiture] . )
Jo myknovlcdgc, perury is not a thcmc inLcvinas,
noiis aathanddonoticcallhavingcomcaciossoino-
ticcdthcscvoidsinthcviitingsthatconccinus.hcncc
34
A Wrd of Wlome
thc ncccssity oIspcci|ing an oath bcIoic thc lcttci,"
vhichvouldalsomcan, andthis timcvcvouldbcvciy
closc to thc lcttci oILcvinas`s tcxt, a dcbt bcIoic cvciy
contiactoiloan.oiLcvinasdocsnothcsitatctospcakoI
apiimoidialvoidoIhonoi, " piccisclyinthccxpciicncc
oIbcingvitncss, "oIthcattcstationoIoncscll"oIthc
upiightncssoIthcIacctoIacc. "
^n

intolciablcscandal. cvcniILcvinasncvciputsitthis
vay, j usticccommits pcijuiyascasilyas itbicathcs,itbc-
tiays thc piimoidialvoidoIhonoi" andsvcais [jurer]
only topcijuic, to svcai Ialscly [parurer] , svcaioh[ab
jurer] oisvcaiat [injurier] . tis no doubtinIacingthis
incluctability that Lcvinas imagincs thc sigh oIthcj ust.
hatdo havcto dovithj usticc:"
IcnccIoith, in thc opciation oIjusticc onc can no
longcidistinguishbctwccnhdclitytooathandthcpcijuiy
oIIalsc vitncss, and cvcn bcIoic this, bcwccn bctiayal
and bctiayal, alvays moic than onc bctiayal. Cncshould
thcn, vith all icquisitc analytical piudcncc, icspcct thc
quality, modality, andsituation oIthcsc bicachcs oIthc
svoinvoid, oIthispiimoidialvoidoIhonoi"bcIoicall
oaths. ButsuchdihcicnccsvouldncvcichaccthctiaccoI
thc inauguialpcij uiy. Likc thc thiidvho docs notvait,
thc piocccdings that opcn both cthics andjusticc aic in
thcpioccssoIcommittingquasi-tiansccndcntaloioiigi-
naiy, indccd, pic-oiiginaiy, pcijuiy. Cnc mightcvcncall
it ontological oncc cthicsisjoincdtocvciythingthatcx-
cccdsandbctiaysitontology,picciscly, synchiony, total-
ity, thcStatc,thcpolitical, ctc. ) . Cncmightcvcnscchcic
aniiicpicssiblccviloiaiadicalpcivcision,vcicitnotthat
badintcntionsoi badvillmightbcabscnthcic, andvcic
its possibility, at lcast thc haunting oIits possibility,` a
soitoIpcivcitibility, not also thc condition oIthc Cood,
oI|usticc, Lovc, aith, ctc.^ndoIpciIcctibility.
A Wrd of Wlome
3 5
Jhisspcctial possibility" isnot, hovcvci, thcabstiac-
tionolaliminalpcivcitibility. tvouldbc, iathci,thc im
possibilit olcontiolling,dcciding,oidctciminingalimit,
thc impossibilit olsituating,bymcansolciitciia, noims,
oiiulcs, atcnablcthicsholdscpaiatingpcivcitibilityliom
pcivcision.
Jhis impossibility is necessary. ts ncccssaiy thatthis
thicshold notbcatthc disposal ola gcncialknovlcdgc
oi a icgulatcd tcchniquc. t is ncccssaiy that it cxcccd
cvciyicgulatcdpioccduicinoidcito opcn itsclltovhat
alvays iisks bcing pcivcitcd thc Cood, |usticc, Lovc,
aithand pcilcctibility, ctc. ) . Jhis is ncccssaiy, this
possiblchospitalitytothcvoistisncccssaiysothatgood
hospitality canhavca chancc, thcchanccollcttingthc
othcicomc,thcyes olthcothcinolcssthanthcyes tothc
othci.
Jhcsc inhnitc complications do not changc anything
aboutthcgcncialstiuctuicliomvhichthcyaic, intiuth,
dciivcd. discouisc,justicc, cthical upiightncss havc to do
hist olall vith weloming. Jhcvclcomc is alvays avcl-
comc icscivcd loi thc lacc. ^ iigoious study ol this
thought olvclcoming should not only highlight all thc
contcxtsinvhichthciccuiicnccolthisvoidimposcsitscll
inaicgulatcdvay.^cnoimoustask. tvouldalsonccd
totakcintoaccountthcchanccsoioppoituniticsohcicdit
bythcicnchidiom.thcidiom,anambiguouschancc,thc
shibboleth olthcthicshold,thcpicliminaiychanccolhos-
pitality, oncloivhich Lcvinasvasgiatchl, achanccloi
hisviitingbutalso achanccgiantcdbyhisphilosophical
viitingto thcicnchlanguagc.Jhcscchanccsaccumulatc
placcsappiopiiatcto thcciypt, thcyalso cniich thc dim-
culticsonccncountcisintianslatingthcvocabulaiyolvcl-
coming into othci languagcs, as vhcn, loi cxamplc, this
analysis olhospitality hospitalityofa languagc andvcl-
A Wrd of Wlome
comc ollcicdto a languagc, languagc olthc hote, olthc
host, andlanguagcas hote, a gucst)allovsustonoticc,in
thc collcction oi iccollcction olmcaning, thc cxticmcly
signihcant play bctvccn recollection [recueilement] and
welcome [accueil] .
^s Wf notcdamomcntago, Lcvinas alvays opcnsicc-
ollcctionuponvclcoming. Iciccallsthc opcningolicc-
ollcction bythcvclcomc, thc vclcomc olthc othci, thc
vclcomc icscivcd loi thc othci. Kccollcctioniclcis to a
vclcomc, " hcsaysinapassagcliomJhcOvclling" that
vouldcallloialong,intciiogatoiyanalysis.JhcicLcvinas
dcsciibcs thc intimacy olthc homc oi olthc at homc"
[chez-soi] : thcscaicplaccsolgathcicdintciioiity, oIiccol-
lcction, ccitainly, but a iccollcction in vhich thc hos-
pitablcvclcomcis accomplishcd.^hcian analysis olan
inappaicntphcnomcnon, discretion, vhichcombincsman-
ilcstation andvithdiaval inthc lacc,hc namcs oman.
thcothcivhosc picscncc is dscicctlyan abscncc, vith
vhich is accomplishcd thc hospitable welcome par excel
lence vhichdcsciibcsthc hcldolintimacy, is thcoman.
Jhcvomanisthcconditionloiiccollcction,thcintciioi-
ityolthc Iomc, andinhabitation. "'
hat bearing [portee] docsthisiccollcctionhavc:Log-
icallyspcaking, o
[
couisc, asvchavcjusthcaid, iticlcis
to avclcomc. "t bcais onthis, this is itsfrence, its rap
port oiiclation. Butitis apparentl-in thc hguicolthc
oman oi thc Iomc, in thc -Jhou ola silcnt lan-
guagc, "olan undcistandingvithoutvoids, "olan cx-
picssion insccict," invhat Lcvinas hcic calls lcmininc
altciity"butoncmodalityolvclcoming.
Jhislcminincaltciitysccmsmaikcdbyasciicsollacks.
^ ccitain ncgativity is implicd in thc voids vithout,"
not,"andnotyct."hat islackinghcicis nothinglcss
thanancmincntpossibilityollanguagc. notlanguagcin
A Wrd of Wlome
37
gcncial but thc transcendence ollanguagc, voids and
tcachingthatcomcliomthchcightolthclacc.
The simple living from . . . the spontaneous agreeableness of
the elements is not yet habitation. But habitation is not yet
the transcendence of language. The Other who welcomes in
intimacy is not the you [vous] of the face that reveals itself in
a dimension of height, but precisely the thou [tu] of famil
iarity: a language without teaching, a silent language, an un
derstanding without words, an expression in secret. The 1-
Thou in which Buber sees the category of interhuman rela
tionship is the relation not with the interlocutor but with
feminine alterity.26
lthis lcminincaltciitythussccmstolackthchcight"
olthc lacc, thc absolutcvciticality olthc ost-Iigh in
tcaching, shc noncthclcss spcaksand spcaks a human
languagc. Jhcic is nothing olthc animal inhci, cvcn il
ccitain signs in thc dcsciiption mightsccm to point in
thisdiicction.Jhislanguagcissimplysilcnt, "andilthcic
is hospitality hcic, a land olasylum oi iclugc," it is bc-
causcthcdvcllinggocsbcyondanimality. lthcathomc
vithoncsclIolthcdvcllingisanathomcvithoncscllas
in aland olasylum oi ichgc, " thisvouldmcan that thc
inhabitantalsodvcllsthcicasaichgccoiancxilc,agucst
andnotapiopiictoi.Jhatisthchumanism olthis lcmi-
ninc altciity, " thchumanismolthcothcivoman, olthc
othci as) voman. lvoman, in thc silcncc olhcilcmi-
nincbcing,"isnotaman, shcicmains [demeure] human.
Jhclamiliaiityolthchomcdocsnotbiingscpaiationto
an cnd, no moicthanpioximityingcncial docs, andno
moicthanlovcoiciosimplicshsion. amiliaiityaccom-
plishcs, onthccontiaiy, thcen-erg olscpaiation".
With it [that is, with familiarity] separation is constituted as
dwelling and inhabitation. To exist henceforth means to
A Wrd of Wlome
dwell. To dwell is not the simple fact of the anonymous real
ity of a being cast into existence as a stone one casts behind *
oneself; it is a recolection, a coring to oneself a retreat hore
with oneself as in a lnd of aylum or rege, which answers to
a hositalit, an expectancy, a human welcome. In human wel
come the language that keeps silence remains an essential
possibility. Those silent comings and goings of the feminine
being whose footsteps reverberate the secret depths of being
are not the turbid mystery of the animal and feline presence
whose strange ambiguity Baudelaire likes t evoke. 27
Jhisis, irvouldappcai, onc olthccontcxtsloithc

is-
cussionolBubci's-Jhouiclation. OcspitcLcvinas`sics-
civations icgaiding Bubci`s discouisc on thou-saying"
[tutoiement] , hcsomctimcsacknovlcdgcsinsuchthou-
saying"ancxccptionalupiightncss.") Buthovcanonc
thinkthatthisisjustonccontcxtamongothcis:Iovcan
oncbclicvcthatthismodalityolvclcomingicmainssim-
ply onc dctciminatc modality olhospitality conccining
thc homc, thc dvclling, andcspcciallythc lcmininityol
voman:Lcvinas`sloimulationsvouldbccnoughtovain
us against such aicstiiction.^t lcast thcycomplicatc thc
logic inasingulaivay, loithcyinsistcntlyandcxplicitly
dchnc oman" as hospitablcvclcomcpaicxccllcncc,"
thc lcmininc bcing" as thc vclcoming onc pai cxccl-
lcncc," vclcomingin itscll. "'Jhcy undciscoic this cs-
scntialdctciminationinamovcmcntvhoscconscqucnccs
vcvill not ccasc to mcasuic. n at lcast tvo diicctions.
iist,vcmustthinkthatthcvclcomingoncpaicxccl-
lcncc," thc vclcoming in itscll" vclcomcs vithin thc
limitsthatvchavcjusticcallcd, that is,thoscolinhabita-
tionandlcminincaltciity( without thc tiansccndcnccol
languagc, " without thc hcight" olthclacc in tcaching,
ctc.) .Jhcdangciisthatthcsclimitsiiskdividing, notthc
cthical liomthc political, but, cvcnbcloicthis, thc pic-
A Wrd of Wlcome
3
9
cthicalinhabitation" oi lcmininc altciity" bcloic thc
tiansccndcncc ollanguagc, thc hcight and illcity olthc
lacc, tcaching, ctc.[amthccthical, as ilthciccould bc
avclcoming,indccdavclcomingpaicxccllcncc," init-
scll" bere cthics.^das ilthc lcminincbcing" a such
didnotas ycthavcacccss to thc cthical.Jhcsituation ol
thcchaptciJhcOvclling"and, cvcn moic, thcplacc ol
thc scction to vhich it bclongs ntciioiity and con-
omy") vould thus posc sciious aichitcctonic pioblcms,
that is, vcic aichitcctonics not an ait olthc systcm"
ant) andvcic Totalit and Infnit notto bcgin bycall-
ingintoqucstionsystcmictotalityasthcsupicmcloimol
philosophical cxposition. oi aichitcctonics pcihaps al-
vayslcads philosophy backinto thchabitabilityolhabi-
tation. itis alvays thcintciioiityolan cconomythatal-
icadyposcsthc pioblcms olvclcomingthatconliontus
hcic.
sitnotliomthisabyssthatvcmustnovtiyto intci-
pictthcviiting, languagc languagcs) , and composition
olthissingulaibook,andinitthccxpositionolvclcom-
ing, olvcloming pai cxccllcncc, onthc basis olscxual
dihcicncc:chavcnotyctcxhaustcdthcscqucstions, cs-
pcciallysincc thcy also conccin thc scction Bcyond thc
acc, " bcginning vith Jhc ^biguity ol Lovc" and
cvciythingthattouchcsuponlcmininityinthcanalysisol
thccaicss Ihcnomcnologyolios") .
ccannottakc up thcsc qucstions hcic. Lct us simply
notc,loinov, thatIhcnomcnologyolios"icmainshist
olall andonly turned, so to spcak, tovaidthclcmininc,
oiicntcd, thcicloic, liom a masculincpoint of view, but
liomapoint of view thatgocsblindlyvithnovicv[point
de vue] ) intothisplacc olnon-lightthatvouldbcJhc
cmininc" insolaias itis csscntiallyviolablcandinvio-
lablc. "`Jhis inviolablcviolability, thisvulnciabilityola
A Wrd of Wlome
bcingthatpiohibitsviolcnccatthcvciyplaccitiscxposcd
to itvithoutdclcnsc, isvhat, in thc lcmininc, sccms to

hguicthclaccitscllcvcnthoughthclcminincpicscntsa
lacc that gocs bcyond thc lacc, "vhcic cios consists in
goingbcyondthcpossiblc."3
1
cshould ncvci minimizc thcstakcsoithc iisks
olthcsc analyscs. Jhcy sccm, in 1
9
61, to bc still boinc
alongbythcclanolanalyscsLcvinashadalicadydcvotcd
tociosin1
947
inExistence and Existents and Time and the
Other.
32
Jhc lcmininc thcic namcs vhat allovs onc to
tiansccnd, in asinglcmovcmcnt, atonccthc cgo and thc
voildollight,andthusaccitainphcnomcnologica|dom-
ination cxtcndingliomIlatotoIussciI. Icncc, thclcm-
ininc,vhichin Ttalit and Infnit villbcthcvclcom-
ingoncpaicxccllcncc,"isalicadydchncd,in1
9
47
, asthc
othcipaicxccllcncc. "
The world and light are solitude . . . . It i s not possible to
grasp the alterity of the Other, which is to shatter the defni
tiveness of the ego, in terms of any of the relationships which
characterize light. Let us anticipate a moment, and say that
the plane of eros allows us to see that the other par excellence
is the feminine . .Eros, when separated from the Platonic
interpretation vhich completely fails to recognize the role of
the feminine, can be the theme of a philosophy which, de
tached from the solitude oflight, and consequently from phe
nomenology properly speaking, will concern us elsewhere. 33
Ouiing thc samc pciiod, in Time and the Other,
3
4 an
analysis olscxualdihcicnccvhichLcvinas insistcntlyic-
minds usisnotoncdihcicnccamongothcis, onctypcoi
spccics olthc gcnic dillcicncc". ncithciacontiadiction
noiacomplcmcntaiity) lcads to analogouspiopositions.
Jhclcminincisamodcolbcingthatconsistsinslipping
avayliomthclight," ahightbcloiclight," avayolcx-
isting" inthchiding" olmodcsty.
A Wrd of Wlcome
4
1
lthcscicmaiksol19
47
inchcctannouncc Totalit and
Infnit (1
9
61) , Lcvinasvillicvisitccitainolthcscpiopo-
sitionsmanyycaislatci, in 1
9
8
5
. c vill ictuinto this.
Lcvinasmustbcginbydistinguishing,inshoit,bctvccn
hospitalitya
_
dlovc, sinccthc lattci docs notaccomplish
thc loimci. But hc noncthclcss acknovlcdgcs that thc
tiansccndcncc oldiscouisc is bound to lovc. " Sincc thc
tiansccndcncc oldiscouiscisnottiansccndcncc itscllthis
cicatcsatanglcthatisdimculttoundo. Ccitainthicadsgo
at onccforther and less fr than othcis.|ustasvith aichi-
tcctonics, an objcctivc topologyvould icmain povcilcss
to skctch out thc lincs, suilaccs, andvolumc, thc anglcs
and coincistoncs. tvouldscckinvain to makcoutthc
lincs oldcmaication, to mcasuicthcdistanccs.hatsoit
olcxtcntaicvctalkingabouthcic:hatgocs luithci"
than languagc, namcly, lovc, also gocs lcss lai" than it.
Butallthcthicadsundcniablypassthioughthcknotol
hospitality. Jhcic thcyaicticdtogcthci, andthcic thcy
comc undonc. Jhc mctaphysical cvcnt ol tiansccn-
dcnccthe welcome of the Other hospitalit-Desire and
languagcisnotaccomplishcdasLovc. Butthctiansccn-
dcncc oldiscouisc is bound to lovc. c shallshovhov
inlovc tiansccndcncc gocs both luithciandlcss lai than
languagc."
3
5
^s loi thc sccond diicction iclciicdto a momcnt ago,
vcmustbcicmindcdolthisimplacablclavolhospitality.
thc hote vho icccivcs thc host) , thc oncvho vclcomcs
thcinvitcdoiicccivcdhIte thcgucst),thcvclcominghote
vho considcishimscllthc ovnci olthcplacc,isintiutha
hote icccivcdinhisovnhomc. Icicccivcsthchospitality
thathcohcis in hisovnhomc,hicccivcsitfom hisovn
homcvhich, in thc cnd, docs not bclongto him.Jhc
hote ashostisagucst.Jhcdvcllingopcnsitsclltoitscll, to
its csscncc" vithout csscncc, as a land ol asylum oi
42 A Wrd of Wlome
ichgc. "Jhc onc vho vclcomcs is histvclcomcd inhis
ovn homc. Jhc onc vho invitcs is invitcd by thc onc
vhomhcinvitcs. Jhconcvhoicccivcsisicccivcd,iccciv-
inghospitalityinvhathctakcstobchisovnhomc, oiin-
dccd his ovn land, accoiding to a lav that Koscnzvcig
also iccallcd. oi Koscnzvcig cmphasizcd this oiiginaiy
disposscssion,thisvithdiavalbyvhichthcovnci"iscx-
piopiiatcdliomvhatismosthisovn,thc ise liomitsip-
scity, thusmakingolonc`shomcaplaccoilocation onc is
simplypassingthiough.
even when it has a home, this people [the eternal people] , in
recurrent contrast to all other peoples on earth, is not al
lowed flpossession of that home. It is only "a stranger and
a sojourner. " God tells it: "This land is mine." The holiness
of the land removed it from the people's spontaeous reach. 36
Jhoughthciclationship bctvccn thcscpiopositionsol
Koscnzvcigand thosc olLcvinas mightappcailoiccdoi
aibitiaiy, bclicvcitncccssaiy, andvill continuc to put
ittovoik, at lcast implicitly, to iclatc, onthconchand,
thisdivinclavthatvouldmakcolthcinhabitantagucst
[ hote] icccivcdinhisovnhomc,thatvouldmakc olthc
ovnciatcnant, olthcvclcominghost [hote] avclcomcd
gucst[hote] , and,onthcothci, thispassagcaboutthclcm-
ininc bcing as thc vclcoming onc pai cxccllcncc," as
vclcoming in itscll. "oi Lcvinas thus dchncs thc vcl-
coming onc himscll, oiiathci, hcrscll vclcomingin it-
scllandthusthatonthcbasisol vhichvclcomingcould
bc announccd in gcncialat a piccisc momcnt. at thc
momcnt vhcn hc dccms it ncccssaiyto cmphasizc that
thc homc isnotovncd. Ci atlcastitis ovncd, in avciy
singulai scnsc olthis void, only insolai as it is alicady
hospitablc to its ovnci. Jhc hcad olthc houschold, thc
mastci olthc housc, is alicady a received hote, alicadya
A Wrd of Wlome
43
guest in his ovn homc. Jhis absolutc picccdcncc olthc
vclcomc, olthcvclcoming, olvclcomtng[accueillance] ,
vould bc piccisclythc lcmininityoloman,"intciioi-
ity as lcmininityand as lcmininc altciity. " ^s in thc
stoiy by lossovski, assuming that this iclcicncc to a
sccncolpcivcisionisnottooshockinghcic,thcmastciol
thchouscbccomcsthc gucst olhisgucstbccausc,histol
all,thcvomanisthcic.Jhccxpciicnccolpcivcitibilityol
vhich vc spokc abovc, vhich at oncc calls loi and cx-
cludcsthc thiid, hcicappcaisindissociablylinkcdto scx-
ualdillcicncc.
oicthanoncicadingcouldbcgivcnolthclcvlincs
amabouttocitc. tvouldbc ncccssaiytolingciavhilcin
thciivicinity. Cncappioachvouldbctoacknovlcdgc,so
as thcnto qucstion, as onccdidinatcxttovhich do
notvishtoictuinhcic,`thctiaditionalandandioccntiic
attiibutionolccitainchaiactciisticstovomanpiivatcin-
tciioiity, apoliticaldomcsticity, intimacyolasocialitythat
cvinas iclcis to as a socictyvithoutlanguagc,"`ctc. ) .
But anothci icading olthcsc lincs might bc attcmptcd,
onc that vouldnot opposc in a polcmical oi dialcctical
lashion cithci this hist icading oi this intcipictation ol
cvinas.
Bcloic situating this othci oiicntation, lct us listcn
againtothcdchnitionolthchospitablcvclcomcpaicx-
ccllcncc, "thcvclcomingoncpaicxccllcncc," vclcom-
inginitscll"thatis,thclcminincbcing".
The home that founds possession is not a possession in the
same sense a the movable goods it can collect and keep. It is
possessed because it already and henceforth is hositable fr
its owner. This refers us to its essential interiority, and to the
inhabitant that inhabits it bere every inhabitant, the wel
coming one par excelence, welcoming in itsel-the fminine
being. 39
44
A Wrd of wlcome
Jhc othci appioach to this dcsciiption vould no
longciiaisc conccins about a classical andioccntiism. t

might cvcn, onthc contiaiy, makc olthis tcxt a soit ol

lcministmanilcsto. oithis tcxt dchncs thcvclcomcpai
cxccllcncc, thc vclcomc oi vclcoming olabsolutc, ab-
solutclyoiiginaiy, oicvcnpic-oiiginaiyhospitali noth-
inglcss thanthcpic-cthical oiiginolcthics, onthc basis
ollcmininity. Jhatgcstuicicachcsadcptholcsscntialoi
mcta-cmpiiicaliadicalitythattakcsscxualdihcicnccinto
accountinan cthicscmancipatcdliomontology. t con-
lcis thc opcning olthcvclcomc uponthclcmininc bc-
ing" andnotuponthcfct olcmpiiicalvomcn.Jhcvcl-
comc, thc anaichic oiigin olcthics, bclongs to thc di-
mcnsionollcmininity"andnottothc cmpiiicalpicscncc
olahuman bcing olthc lcminincscx. " Lcvinas antici-
patcsthcobjcction.
Need one add that there is no question here of defing
ridicule by maintaining the empirical truth or countertruth
that every home in fct presupposes a woman? The feminine
has been encounte,red in this analysis as one of the cardinal
points of the horizon in which the inner life takes place-and
the empirical absence of the human being of "feminine sex" in
a dwelling nowise afects the dimension of femininity which
remains open t
h
ere, as the very welcome of the dwelling. 40
Iccd onc chooschcic bctvccntvo incompatiblcicad-
ings, bctvccn an andioccntiic hypcibolc and a lcminist
onc: sthcicanyplaccloisuchachoiccincthics:^din
j usticc: nlav: npolitics: Iothingislcssccitain.ith-
out stopping loi thc momcnt at this altcinativc, lct us
simplykccp thc lolloving in mind loi thc tiajcctoiyvc
aicsuggcstinghcic.vhatcvcivc mightspcakaboutlatci,
andvhatcvcivcmightsayabout it,vcvoulddovcllto
icmcmbci, cvcn ilsilcntly, thatthisthoughtolvclcomc,
A Wrd of Wlcome
45
thcicatthcopcningolcthics,isindccdmaikcdbyscxual
dihcicncc.Suchscxualdihcicnccvillncvciagain bcncu-
tializcd.Jhc absolutc, absolutclyoiiginaiy vclcomc, in-
dccd, thcpic-oiiginal vclcomc, thcvclcomingpaicxccl-
lcncc, is lcmininc, ittakcsplacc inaplacc thatcannotbc
appiopiiatcd, inanopcnintciioiity" vhosc hospitality
thc mastci oiovnci icccivcs bcloic himscllthcnvishing
togivcit.
Iospitalitythuspicccdcspiopcity, andthisvillnotbc
vithoutconscqucncc, asvcvillscc, loithctaking-placc
olthcgiholthclav, loithccxticmclycnigmaticiclation-
ship bctvccn ichgc andthcJoiah, thccityolichgc, thc
andolasylum,|ciusalcm, andthcSinai.
I I
cvillnotbc ablct caiiyouthcicataskthatisnonc-
thclcss so ncccssaiy. topaticntly cxploic this thought ol
vclcomcalongcvciypatholitsviiting,cvciyhcicititscll
lollovs atiacc,viitingitsclloutaccoidingtothcphiasing
oiidiomolLcvinas, to bc suic, but at thc intciscction ol
manylanguagcs,vithahdclitytomoicthanoncmcmoiy.
Lctusthusappioachmoicmodcstlyvhat is announccd
vhcn thcvoidhospitality, "thisquasi-synonymolvcl-
comc, " noncthclcss comcs to dctciminc oi pcihaps ic-
stiict its lcatuics, thcicby pointing out to us, bctvccn
cthics, politics,andlav, ccitainplaccs,placcsolthcbiith
olthc qucstion, " asvc notcd amomcntago, placcs" to
vhich it vould pcihaps bc appiopiiatc to assign thc
namcslacc"andSinai,"asthcyhavcbccnsuggcstcdloi
ouistudytoday.
Jhc scntcnccvhoscicadingintciiuptcdanddigicsscd
lioma lcv momcnts ago t intcntionality, conscious-
ncssol ] isattcntiontospccchoivclcomcolthclacc,
A Wrd of Wlcome
hospitalityand not thcmatization") pioposcs a scics ol
cquivalcnccs. Butvhatis thc copuladoinginthissciial

pioposition: t binds togcthci phcnomcnaolunbinding

[deliaison] . tassumcs thatthisappioacholthclacc-as
intcntionalityoivclcomc,thatis,ashospitalityicmains
inscpaiablc liom scpaiation itscll. Iospitality assumcs
iadical scpaiation" as cxpciicncc olthc altciity olthc
othci, as iclation to thc othci, in thc scnsc that Lcvinas
cmphasizcsandvoiksvithinthcvoidiclation, "thatis,
inits lcicntial, iclcicntialoi, as hc somctimcs notcs, dcl-
cicntial bearing [portee] . Jhciclationtothcothciisdclci-
cncc.SuchscpaiationsignihcsthcvciythingthatLcvinas
ic-namcs mctaphysics". cthicsoihistphilosophy as op-
poscd to ontology. Bccausc it opcns itsclltoso as to
vclcomcthciiiuption olthcidcaolinhnityinthch-
nitc,thismctaphysicsisancxpciicnccolhospitality Lcv-
inasthcicbyj ustihcsthcaiiivalolthcvoidhospitalit; hc
picpaics thcthicsholdloi it.Jhcpassagc meta ta physika
passcs thiough thc hospitality ola hnitc thicshold that
opcnsitsclltoinhnity, butthis meta-physical passagc takcs
placc,itcomcsto pass andpasscsthioughthcabyssoithc
tiansccndcnccolscpaiation.
To metaphysical thought, where a fnite has the idea of infn
ity-where radical separation and relationship with the other
are produced simultaneously-we have reserved the term in
tentionality, consciousness of . . . It is attention to speech or
welcome of the face, hospitality and not thematization.
Jhc logical aiticulations olucsc piopositions voik
oncc again likc so many clliptical and pcacchl acts ol
loicc.Jhcpicdicativc copulaolthcis" adjoinsandlinks
conccpts accoidingto thc lavolaccitain scpaiation, an
inhnitc scpaiationvithoutvhichthcicvouldbcnohos-
pitalityvoithyolthcnamc.
A Wrd of Wlcome
47
atdocsthis mcan:^dclibciatctciminologicaldcci-
sionassignsthcvoidmctaphysical" to asituationvhcic
a hnitc has thc idca olinhnity", it claims thc iight to
icscivc" thc usc ola void Jo mctaphysical thought,
vhcicahnitchasthcidcaolinhnity. . . vchavcreserved
thc tcim intcntionality, consciousncss ol. . . ") . ailici,
thc synchiony ola simultancously, " vhich had comc
to dctciminc thc auto-pioduction olan cvcnt that is
pioduccd" oithatpioduccsitscll"cquatcsmctaphysics,
thc vclcomc olthc othci, and iadical scpaiation" Jo
mctaphysicalthought,vhcicahnitchasthcidcaolinhn-
ityvhcicthciadicalscpaiationisproduced and,simulta
neousl, thciclationviththcothcivchavc reserved thc
tcimintcntionali consciousncssol. . . ", mycmphasis,
olcouisc) . Jhc scntcnccthat lollovs t is attcntion to
spccchoivclcomcolthclacc,hospitaliqandnotthcma-
tization") ictains thc discicct gcntlcncss olvhat somc
mightnoncthclcss intcipict as thclogicolpciloimativc
dcciccsattcmptingtoinvcntancvlanguagcoiancvusc
loi oldvoids. t opcns up hospitalitybyan act olloicc
thatisnothingothcithanadcclaiationolpcacc, thcdcc-
laiationolpcaccitscll.cvillklatcionvhatthccvcnt
olpcacc isloiLcvinas.
Jhc paiadoxical usc ola copula t is attcntion to
spccchoiwclcomcolthclacc,hospitalityandnotthcma-
tization") notonlycstablishcsbctvccnscvcialsubstantivc
signihcations ancsscntialbondthat stcms piccisclyliom
t
_
ccommonunbindingolaiadicalscpaiation.Jhccop-
ulaalsobcaisus tovaidvhatvillbccxplicitlysituatcd,a
lcvpagcslatci,bcyondBcing."Suchapiopositionmight
hcnccloithputloivaidas hospitality notonlyintcntion-
alityoiconsciousncssol. . . ,tovhichthcgiammaiolthc
it" and all thc appositions that lollov clcailyiclci, but
mctaphysicsitscllinhnityinthchnitc,iadicalscpaiation,
A 1rd of Wlcome
thciclationviththcothci,ctc.Jhccssancc' olvhatisoi,
iathci, olvhat opens bcyondbcingishospitality.
Cncmightdiavliomthis aiathciabiuptconclusion,
in a languagc that is no longcilitciallythat olLcvinas.
hospitalityis inhnitcoiitisnotat all, itis giantcdupon
thcvclcomingolthcidcaolinhnity, andthusolthcun-
conditional, anditis onthc basis olitsopcningthatonc
cansay, asLcvinasvillabithithcion,thatcthicsisnot
abiancholphilosophy, buthistphilosophy. "
Iov,hovcanthisinhnitcandthusunconditionalhos-
pitality, this hospitalityatthc opcning olcthics, bc icgu-
latcd in a paiticulai political oijuiidical piacticc: Iov
might it, in tuin, icgulatc a paiticulai politics oi lav:
ightitgivc iisctokccpingthcsamc namcsa poli-
tics,alav, oiajusticcloivhichnoncolthcconccptsvc
havc inhciitcdundcithcscnamcsvouldbcadcquatc:Jo
dcduccliomthcpicscnccinmyhnitudcolthcidcaolin-
hnitythat consciousncss is hospitality, thatthc cogito is a
hospitalityollcicdoigivcn, an inhnitc welome, isastcp
that thc icnch knightvho valkcd atsuch a goodpacc
vouldpcihapsnotsocasilyhavctakcn,cvcnilLcvinasol-
tcnappcals tohim.`
Bccauscintcntionalityishospitality,iticsiststhcmatiza-
tion.^actvithoutactivity, icason asicccptivity, ascnsi-
blc and iationalcxpciicncc olreceiving, agcstuic olvcl-
coming,avclcomcohcicdtothcothciasstiangci,hospi-
tality opcns as intcntionality, but it cannot bccomc an
objcct, thing, oi thcmc. Jhcmatization, on thc contiaiy
alicadypicsupposcshospitality, vclcoming,intcntionality,
thc lacc.Jhc closingolthc dooi,inhospitality, vai, and al-
lcigy alicady imply, as thcii possibility, a hospitality ol-
lcicdoiicccivcd. an oiiginaloi, moicpicciscly pic-oiigi-
naiydcclaiationolpcacc.Icicispcihapsoncolthcmost
loimidablctiaits inthclogicolan cxticmclycomplcxic-
A Wrd of Wlome
4
9
lationviththcantianlcgacythatasvcvillsccdis-
tinguishcs cthical oi oiiginaiy pcacc oiiginaiy but not
natuial.itvouldbcbcttcitosaypic-oiiginaiy, an-aichic) ,
accoidingto Lcvinas, liompcipctual pcacc" andlioma
univcisal, cosmo-politica andthuspolitica
|
andjuiidical
hospitality, thchospitalitythatant icminds us mustbc
institutcdinoidcitointciiuptabcllicoscstatcolnatuic,
to bicakvith a natuic thaiknovs only actual oiviitual
vai. nstitutcd as pcacc, univcisal hospitality must, ac-
coidingto ant, putan cndto natuial hostility. oiLcv-
inas, on thc contiaiy, allcigy, thc ichsal oiloigctting ol
thclacc,comcsto insciibcitssccondaiyncgativityagainst
abackdiopolpcacc, againstthcbackdiopolahospitality
that docs not bclong to thc oidci olthc political, oi at
lcastnot simplyto apoliticalspacc. Icic ispcihapsascc-
onddihcicnccliom ant.cicas thc antianconccpt
olpcaccisappaicntlyjuiidical andpolitical,thc coiiclatc
olanintci-statcandicpublicaninstitution, Lcvinas, atthc
cndolIolitics^ci|," putsloivaidthc suggcstion and
suggcstion"ishisvoid,justaboutthclastoncolIolitics
^ci|") that pcaccis a conccpt that gocs bcyondpuicly
politicalthought."^distantbutlaithhlcchoolthcdc-
claiation olpcacc that opcns thc Iiclacc ol Totalit and
Infnit: Clpcaccthciccanbconlyancschatology"
Likc a shoit ticatisc on vai and pcacc," this Iiclacc
also icmovcs thc conccpt olpiophctic cschatologyliom
its usualphilosophical applicability, liom thc hoiizon ol
histoiyoiolancndolhistoiy.Jhispcaccolvhichthcic
canbconlyancschatologydocsnottakcplaccinthcob-
j cctivc histoiydiscloscdbyvai, as thccndolthatvaioi
asthccndolhistoiy."'
Lctus tcmpoiaiilyabandon thcsclcv indicativciclci-
cnccs.Jhcyvcicintcndcdsimplytoj usti|, though liom
alai, thcncccssityolgoingbacktothccxtiaoidinaiycom-
A Wrd of Wlome
plcxity olthis pioblcmatic, in ant and in Lcvinas, bc-
twccnthc ant ol Toward Peretual Peace [Zum ewigen.
Frieden] andthcqucstion olthccthical,thcjuiidical, and
thcpoliticalinLcvinas`sthoughtolhospitality.
ntcntionalityishospitality, thcn,saysLcvinasquitclit-
cially. Jhcloiccolthiscopulacaiiicshospitalityvciylai.
Jhcic is not somc intcntional cxpciicncc that, hcic oi
thcic, vould oivouldnotundcigothcciicumsciibcdcx-
pciicncc olsomcthingthatvouldcomcto bc callcd, ina
dctcimining and dctciminablc lashion, hospitality. Io,
intcntionalityopcns, liomitsovn thicshold, initsmost
gcncialstiuctuic, ashospitality, a vclcomingolthclacc,
as an cthics olhospitality, and,thus,as cthics ingcncial.
oi hospitality is not simply somc icgion olcthics, lct
alonc,andvcvillictuintothis,thcnamcolapioblcmin
lavoipolitics.itis cthicityitscllthcvholcandthcpiin-
ciplcolcthics.^ndilhospitalitydocsnotlctitscllbccii-
cumsciibcdoidciivcd, ilitoiiginaiilyconvcysthcvholc
olintcntionalcxpciicncc, thcnitvouldhavcnocontiaiy.
thcphcnomcnaolalcigyicjcction,xcnophobia,cvcnvai
itscllvouldstillcxhibitcvciythingthatLcvinas cxplicitly
attiibutcs to oiallics vithhospitality. Icinsistcdonun-
dciscoiingthis, itsccms to mc, inanintcivicvvhcichc
said,thoughcannoticallhiscxactvoids,thatthcvoist
toituici attcstssincc hc docs not savc itto thc vciy
thingthathcdcstioys, inhimsclloiinthcothci, namcly,
thclacc.hcthciitvants to oinot,vhcthcivc icalizcit
oinot,hostilitystillattcststo hospitality. iadicalscpaia-
tion," iclationviththcothci," intcntionality, conscious-
ncssol. . . , attcntion to spccchoivclcomcolthclacc. "
nothci voids, thcic i snointcntionality bcloic and
vithoutthisvclcomingolthclaccthatiscallcdhospital-
ity. ^nd thcic is no vclcoming olthc laccvithout this
discouisc thatisjusticc, thcupiightncss olthc welcome
A Wrd of Wlcome
)
I
madc to thc lacc, " as thcscvoidsliomthchnalpagcs ol
Totalit and Infnit alhim. thc csscncc ollanguagc is
goodncss, oiagain, . . . thc csscnccollanguagcisliicnd-
shipandhospitality."
Kccipiocally, oncvouldundcistandnothingabouthos-
pitalityvithoutclaii|ingitthioughaphcnomcnologyol
intcntionality, aphcnomcnologythaticnounccs,hovcvci,
where necessary, thcmatization.Jhatisindccdamutation,
alcap,aiadicalbutdiscicctandpaiadoxicalhctciogcncity
intioduccdintophcnomcnologybythccthicsolhospital-
ity.Lcvinas also intcipicts itas a singulai intciiuption, a
suspcnsionoi epoche of phcnomcnologyitscll cvcn moic
andcvcncailicithanaphcnomcnological epoche.
tistcmptingtoiclatcthisintciiuptionto thconc that
intioduccs iadical scpaiation, thatisto say, thccondition
olhospitality. oithcintciiuptionmaikcdbycthicaldis-
couisc on the inside olphcnomcnology, inits insidc-out-
sidc, islikcnoothci. Ihcnomcnologyimposcs thisintci-
iuption uponitscll, it interrupts itsel Jhis intciiuption
olthc scllbythc scll ilsuch a thing is possiblc, can oi
mustbc takcn up bythought. this iscthicaldiscouisc
anditis also, as thclimitolthcmatization,hospitality. s
nothospitalityan intciiuption olthcscll:
^certain intciiuptionolphcnomcnologybyitscllal-
icadyimposcditscllupon Iusscil, thoughhc did not, it
is tiuc, takc notc olit as an cthical ncccssity. Jhis hap-
pcncdvhcnitbccamcncccssaiytoicnounccthcpiinciplc
olpiinciplcs oloiiginaiyintuition oi olpicscntation in
pcison, inthcncsh. "Jhatthisbccamcncccssaiyinthc
Cartesian Meditations piccisclyvhcnitvasaqucstionol
thcothci, olanalter ego thatncvcimakcsitscllacccssiblc
cxccptbyvayolanappicscntationalanalogyandso ic-
mains iadically scpaiatcd, inacccssiblc to oiiginaiypci-
ccption,isnotinsignihcantloicithciIusscilianphcnom-
)
z A Wrd of Wlcome
cnologyoiLcvinas'sdiscouisconthctiansccndcnccolthc
Cthciadiscouiscthathasalsoinitsovnvayinhciitcd
thisintciiuption.hatissaidhcicolthcothcicannotbc
scpaiatcd, asvchavc insistcdclscvhcic, liomaltciityas
thcmovcmcntoltcmpoialization. n othci voids, Jimc
andthc Cthci," tocitcatitlc.)
Cncvill undcistandnothingabout hospitality ilonc
docs not undcistandvhat intciiupting oncscll" might
mcan, thc intciiuption olthc scllbythcscllas othci. ^
notcinIioximity" makcsthisclcaibyspcakingolcthi-
callanguagc,vhichphcnomcnologyicsoitstoinoidcito
maikitsovn intciiuption. "Jhiscthicallanguagc docs
not comc liom an cthicalintcivcntionlaid outovcidc-
sciiptions.tisthcvciymcaningolappioach,vhichcon-
tiastsvithknoving. "
Jhcintciiuptionisnotimposcdonphcnomcnologyas
ilbydccicc. n thcvciy couisc olphcnomcnological dc-
sciiption, lollovingan intcntional analysis laithhlto its
movcmcnt,itsstylc,anditsnoims, thcintciiuptionis pro
duced ( by itsel) [se p rodu it] .tis decided ( by itsel) [se de
cide] inthcnamcolcthics, as intciiuption olthcscllby
thcsclIntciiuptionolthcscllbyaphcnomcnologythat
givcs itscllovci to its ovn ncccssiq, toitsovn lav, iight
vhcicthislavoidcisitto intciiupt thcmatization,vhich
alsomcansto bcunlaithhltoitsclloutolhdclitytoitscll
outolthishdclitytointcntionalanalysis"thatLcvinasal-
vaysclaimcd.Jhis hdclitythatmakcs onc unlaithlul is
thcicspcctloiconsciousncssol. . . ashospitality.
Lcvinashimscllconsidcisthisintciiuptionolscllto bc
apaiadox."Jhispaiadoxtianslatcsthccnigma olalacc
that picscnts itscll ilonc cansay this, onlyat thcpoint
vhcic, vithdiavingindisciction, itis icliactoiyto dis-
closuicoiunvcilingandmanilcstation,"ilnottothclight
olgloiy. "hatthus tuins outto bcintciiuptcd, iathci
A Wrd of Wlcome
))
than toin oililtcd up, sublatcd, in thc hist momcnt ol
hospitalityisnothinglcssthanthchguicolthcvcilandol
tiuthas icvclation, as unvcilingoicvcnasvciling/unvcil-
ing. Jhis notc liom Iioximity vas callcd loi by an
analysis olthclaccas atiacc,"vhich indicatcs itsovn
abscncc inmy icsponsibility and icquiics adcsciiption
thatcanbcloimcdonlyincthicallanguagc."
Jhiscthicallanguagcolphcnomcnologydcsciibcspic-
sciiptionatthc pointvhcicpicsciiptionlcts itscllbcdc-
sciibcd only byalicadypicsciibing, by still picsciibing.
Cnccanalvaysintcipictphcnomcnologicaldiscouiscas
atonccpicsciiptionandthcncutialdcsciiptionolthclact
olpicsciiption.Jhis ncutializationalvaysicmainspossi-
blc, andisalvays to bclcaicd. tisno doubtoncolthc
dangcisLcvinasistiyingtolcndollcachtimchcciiticizcs
ncutialization oincutialitythc onchcimputcsto Ici-
dcggciand, cuiiously, cicditsBlanchotvithhavingcon-
tiibutcdtobiingout."'
Jhioughasciicsolanalyticalpiopositionsiclatinghos-
pitalitytothcmctaphysicsolthclacc,aicdchnitionolthc
subjcctivity olthc subjcct namcs in passingvclcoming,
habitation, and thc homc. Jhcsc thcmcs, vc iccall, aic
ticatcdcailiciin Totalit and Infnit undcithctitlcJhc
Ovclling,"5
0
vhcicLcvinas spcaks olthc at homcvith
oncscll" bcyond thc loi oncscll"olthc land olasylum
oiichgc" and, bcloicall clsc, olthclcmininc. lcmininc
altciity, "vclcomcpaicxccllcncc, gcntlcncssolthclcmi-
ninclacc, lcmininclanguagcthatkccpssilcntinthc dis-
cictionolasilcnccthathasnothingnatuialoianimal-likc
aboutit, ctc.
lthc catcgoiy olthc welome cvciyhcic dctcimincs
an opcning thatvould comc cvcn bcloic thc picmicic,
bcloicthcopcning, itcanncvcibcicduccdtoanindctci-
minatchguicolspacc, to somc soitolapcituicoi opcn-
)4
A Wrd
of Wlcome
ingto phcnomcnality loicxamplc, in thc Icidcggciian
scnsc olErschliessung, Erschlossenheit, oi Ofnheit) . Jhc
vclcomc oiicnts, it turns thc topos olan opcning olthc
dooiandolthcthicsholdtovaidthcothci,'' itohcisitto
thcothcias othci,vhcicthcas such olthcothcislipsavay
liomphcnomcnaliand, cvcn moicso,liomthcmaticity.
Jhcvocabulaiy olvclcoming, thc noun vclcomc" and
thcvcib to vclcomc," thus cvciywhcic andvithan cx-
ccptional licqucncy piovidc thc kcys, as itvcic, to this
book.nthcConclusions, "loicxamplc.nthcvclcomc
madctothcCthcivclcomcthcostIightovhichmy
liccdomissuboidinatcd."'
Jhcsuboidinationolliccdomindicatcsa subjcction ol
thc subjectum, ccitainly, butasubjcctingthat, iathcithan
dcpiivingthcsubjcctolits biithanditsliccdom, actually
givcs [donne] it its biith, along vith thc liccdom that is
thcicbyoidaincd[ordonnee] . tisstillaqucstionolsubjcc-
tivation, butnotinthcscnscolintciioiization, iathci,thc
subjcctcomcs to itscllin thcmovcmcntvhcicbyitvcl-
comcs thchollyCthciasthcostIigh.Jhissuboidi-
nationoidains[ordonne] andgivcs[donne] ucsubjcctivity
olthcsubjcct.Jhcvclcomcolthcost Iighinthcvcl-
comc olthcCthciissubjcctivityitsclIJhcpaiagiaphthat
vcbcganto icad

tis attcntion to spccchoivclcomcol

thc lacc, hospitality and not thcmatization") comcs to-
gcthci in conclusion in asoitolthcoicm oi dchnitional
pioposition. tcndsbyic-dchningsubjcctivityashospital-
ity, scpaiationvithoutncgation andthusvithout cxclu-
sion, aphoiisticcncigyolthcunbinding [delaison] incth-
icalamimation.tscll-consciousncssinitshomc"] thus
accomplishcs scpaiation positivcly, vithout bcing ic-
duciblctoancgationolthcbcingliomvhichitscpaiatcs.
Butthuspiccisclyitcanvclcomcthat bcing.Jhcsubjcct
isahost."'`
A Word of Wlome
) )
Jhc subjcct. ahost.^staitlingcquation, anditvould
not takc much, it sccms to mc, to makc it icsonatc,
consonatc,andappcaitogcthcivithanothciloimulathat
vill cmcigc somc ycais latci, in Substitution" and thcn
in Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence. |ust as biicl
dcnsc, andaphoiistic, thissccondscntcnccdocs notsay,
oino longcisays, Jhcsubjcctis ahost"butJhcsubjcct
is hostagc, "' oi clsc, a bit luithci, Jhc ipscity. . . is
hostagc. "
Oocsthisamountto thcsamcthing:Jo thcsamci nthc
iclation to thc othci:^ic thcsctvo piopositions talking
aboutthcsamcsubjcctivityolthcsubjcct:
Jhis bcing-hostagc" olthc subjcct suiclyis not, any
moicthanitsbcing-host,"somclatcattiibutcoiaccidcnt
that vould supcivcnc upon it. Likc thc bcing-host, thc
bcing-hostagcisthcsubjcctivityolthcsubjcctasicspon-
sibilityloithc Cthci".
Responsibility for the Other is not an accident that happens
to a subject, but precedes essence in it, has not awaited free
dom, in which a commitment to the Other would have
been made. I have not done anything and I have always
been under accusation-persecuted. The ipseity, in the pas
sivity without arche characteristic of identity, is hostage. The
word I means here I am, answering for everything and for
everyone. 55
at, thcn, is this loimula Jhc subjcct is hostagc"
doing: tismaikingascansion, astiongpunctuation in
thc unlolding ola logicolsuastitution.Jhchostagc is
histolallsomconcvhoscunicitycnduicsthcpossibility
ola suastitution. t undcigocs this substitution, it is a
subjcctsubjcctcdto it, asubjcctthat submits atthcvciy
momcnt vhcn it picscnts itscll hcic am") in its ic-
sponsibility loi othcis. Substitution thus takcs ovci loi
A Wrd of Wlcome
thc suboidination" thc constitution olsubjcctivity in
subjcction,inbcingsubjcctcd,insubjcctivation) thatvc
j ustsituatcdin Ttalt and Infnit. nscpaiablc lioma
ncv conccptual and lcxical conhguiation, liom ncv
voids oivoids stiuckvith ancvimpicssion vulncia-
bility, " tiaumatism, " psychosis, " accusation, " pcisc-
cution, " obscssion, " ctc. ) , substitution" caiiics loith
quitc continuously, it sccms to mc, thc clan and thc
logic" ol Totalit and Infnit, though it dislodgcs cvcn
moic diastically thc piimacy ol intcntionality, at lcast
vhatvouldstilllinkthispiimatothatolavill"oian
activity. " lthcillcityolthcthiidalvays maiks, as vc
sav, thc biitholthcqucstionatthcsamctimcas thc it
isncccssaiy" ol justicc,thcvoidqucstion" isnovloiccd
to adapt to thc situation olthc hostagc. thc subjcct is
hostagc insolai as it is lcss a qucstion" than " in qucs-
tion. " ts accusation, its pcisccution, its obscssion, its
pcisccuting obscssion" is its bcing-in-qucstion. " Iot
thcbcingolthcqucstioncioiolthcqucstioncd,butthc
bcing-in-qucstion,vhcic,sotospcak, itfnds itsel under
accusation [ mis en cause] , vhcicitpassivclyfnds itseland
hnds itscll contcstcd, intcipcllatcd, implicatcd, pcisc-
cutcd, under accusation. c mustthusthinkandthink
as having, in thc

cnd, thc samc aimthis othcivayol

inhabiting, olvclcoming oi ol bcing vclcomcd. Jhc
host [hote] isahostagcinsolaias hcis asubjcctputinto
qucstion, obscsscd and thus bcsicgcd) , pcisccutcd, in
thcvciyplaccvhcichctakcsplacc,vhcic, as cmigiant,
cxilc,stiangci, agucst [hote] liomthcvciybcginning,hc
hndshimscllclcctcdto oitakcn up byaicsidcncc[tlu a
domicile] bcloichimscllclcctingoitaking onc up [tlire
domicile] .
The subjectivity of a subject is responsibility or being-in
question in the form of the total exposure to ofense in the
A Wrd of Wlome
)
)
cheek ofered to the smiter.56 This responsibility is prior to
dialogue, to the exchange of questions and answers . . . .
The recurrence of persecution in the onesel is thus irre
ducible to intentionality in which, even in its neutrality as a
contemplative movement, the will is affirmed . . . . The re
currence of the self in responsibility for others, a persecuting
obsession, goes against intentionality, such that responsibil
ity for others could never mean altruistic wilL . . . It is in the
passivity of obsession, or incarnated passivity, that an iden
tity individuates itself as unique, without recourse to any sys
tem of references, in the impossibility of evading the assigna
tion of the other without blame . . . . under accusation by
everyone, the responsibility for everyone goes to the point of
substitution. The subject is hostageY
c aicmovingabouthcicinthc obscuic cnviionsola
scmantic, ilnot ctymological, kinship bctwccn host and
hostage, bctwccnthcsubjcctashostandthcsubjcct oiip-
scity) as hostagc. hcthci vc undcistand by thc void
hostagc" (ostage) agucst [hate] givcnovcioiicccivcdasa
substitutivc plcdgc [ gage] in placcs olpovci andat thc
disposalolasovcicign, oivhcthcivc undcistand obsid
ium oi obsidatus thc condition olbcinghostagc oi cap-
tivc) on thc basis olan obsidional situation, a statc ol
sicgc,vccan,accoidingtobothlincagcs,hndatokcn oi
piool [ gage] olsubstitution accusation by cvciyonc, "
icsponsibilityloicvciyonc") , thatis,thcpassagcLcvinas
clcaisbctwccnthcsctwohguicsolthcsamccthics. hospi-
talityvithoutpiopcityandthcpcisccutingobscssion" ol
thchostagc.Jhcgcncalogythatlinks thctcimipscity, "
alvays at thc ccntci olLcvinas`s discouisc, to thcscman-
tics olhospitality, to thc hospes as hosti-pet-s, namcly, thc
gucst-mastci,vhcicthc signihcations olthcscll olmas-
tciy,posscssion,andpovciaicintcitwincdinavciytight
vcb, inpioximityto thchostilityolthc hasttsthis gc-
ncalogy,vhichvciccallcdcailici, ishcicalhimcd.'
A "rd of Wlome
III
^gainstthcbackdiopol thcsccnoimousdimcultics,vc
might hcic, today, notc thc cmcigcncc olat lcast three
tpes of question. c vill attcmptsimplyto situatc thcm
andthcndcvotcvciyuncqualanalyscstothcmuncqual
vith icgaidto oncanothciandvith icgaid tovhatisat
stakcincach.
I. iist thcic is thc qucstion ola tiajcctoiy, cxtcnding
ovci a numbci olycais, bctvccn thcsctwo biiclandcx-
plicit dchnitions olthc subjcct in thc loim 5 is P: thc
subjcctishost" andthc subjcctishostagc. "Jvopicdica-
tivcpiopositionsvhoscsubjccticmainsthcsubjcct.Oocs
thisat oncc logical andhistoiical tiaj cctoiytianslatc an
cquivalcncc: Cidocs it displacc andthcicby tiansloim
onccagainaconccptolthcsubjcctthat, alicadyin Ttal
it and Infnit, suboidinatcs thc ontologicaltiadition to
ancthics olhospitality, to aphcnomcnologicalanalysisol
thcvclcomc, t thchcightolthclacc:
z. nthccouiscolthistiajcctoiyvhatbccomcsolthc
vclcomc vhcntcsubjcct-hosttakcsonthc attiibutc ol
bcing-hostagc, alongvithallthc conccpts thathcicloim
achainsubstitutionolthciiicplaccablcassigncdtoitsic-
sponsibility, unlimitcd accusativc olpcisccution, " thc
scll, a hostagc . . . alicady substitutcd loi thc othcis,"''
thcsignihcationolthcpionounsel loivhichouiLatin
giammaisthcmsclvcsknovnonominativcloim," dcbt
bcloic any boiioving and bcloic anycommitmcnt, ic-
sponsibilityvithoutliccdom,tiaumatism,obscssion,pci-
sccution, thc iiicducibility ol saciihcc, ctc. , in othci
voids,thclavolthcaccusativcinthcvclcomc) :
Oocs not such a icvciting"this is Lcvinas`s void,
A Wrd of Wlome
59
andit dcsciibcsthc movcmcntolcthics, thc cthical icla-
tionmakc appcaiaquasi-momcntthatvouldpicccdc
anyvclcoming:Jhcvciyvclcomingthatmighthavcap-
pcaicdup untilnovoiiginaiyoicvcnpic-oiiginal:hat
iclationistobccstablishcdbctwccnthchypothcsisolthis
icvciting" andthcconccptsolclcctionoithcpoliticalas
thcyvcic aiticulatcdduiing thc samcycais:
am unablctodcvclopthissccondqucstionhcic, but
villsuppoit it, as a qucstion thaticmains a qucstion,
vithtwo iclcicnccs to Substitution" in Otherwise than
Being.
^.Jhchistnamcsan clcctionthat, in astiangcbutsig-
nihcant,indccdabsolutclycxccptionallashion,vouldpre
cede anyvclcomc that thc subjcctmighticscivcloiany-
thing, inpaiticulai, loithc Coodoi goodncss.Jhc clcc-
tivcassignationchooscsmcbypicccdingmcandmaking
mycapacitytovclcomcconloimtoit.Jhisccitainlydocs
notcontiadictvhatvcicadin Totalit and Infnit, vhcic
thc vclcomc vclcomcs bcyond itscll vhcic it must, in
tiuth, alvays vclcomc moic than it can vclcomc. But
hcic, in thc assignation olicsponsibility, thc clcction ol
thchostagcsccms notonlymoicoiiginaiy" intiuth, as
alvays, moic oiiginaiy than thc oiigin) but violcnt, in-
dccd tiaumatizingmoic so, it sccms, than thc somc-
timcspaci|ingvocabulaiyolthcvclcomcandolthchos-
pitality olthc host mightsuggcst. Lcvinas thus spcaks,
thoughthisisonlyancxamplc,ol
the dirence in the non-indiference of the Good, which
elects me bere I welcome it. [I emphasize these last words.] It
preserves its illeitto the point of letting it be excluded from
the analysis, save for the trace it leaves in words or the "ob
jective reality in thoughts, according to the unimpeachable
witness of Descartes' Third Meditation. That in the respon
sibility for another, the ego, already a self already obsessed
60 A Wrd of Wlome
by the neighbor, would be unique and irreplaceable is what
confrms its election. 61
Cnccagain illcity, " thc cmcigcnccolthc qucstion, ol
thcthiid, andoljusticc, dcsignatcs sometimes thcintci-
iuption olthc lacc to lacc, sometimes thc vciytiansccn-
dcnccolthclaccinthclaccto lacc, thc condition olthc
Yu, thciuptuicolthc1- Thou andthusolaccitainlcm-
ininity, accitaincxpciicnccollcminincaltciity") inthc
pioximity olthc ncighboi. But this somctimcs, somc-
timcs" implics ncithcian altcinativcnoiascqucntiality.
thc tvo movcmcnts contcndvith onc anothci at somc
timccailicithan this somctimcs, somctimcs. "Jhcydo
notvait, thcydonotvaitloioncanothci.^licadyin 1-
talit and Infnit Lcvinas acknovlcdgcsthispicscnccol
thcthiid" andthcqucstion olj usticc that cmcigcsfom
the frst instant, ilvccansaythis, olthclacc, as ilonthc
thicsholdolthclacctolacc. Jhcthiidlooksatmcinthc
cycs olthc Cthcilanguagcisjusticc. tisnotthatthcic
hist vould bc thclacc,andthcn thcbcingitmanilcsts oi
cxpicsscs vould conccin himscll vith justicc. . . . By
csscncc thc piophcticvoid icsponds to thc cpiphanyol
thclacc. . . thccpiphanyol thclaccinasmuchasitattcsts
thcpicscnccolthcthiid.
"62
Civcn thc impossiblcpossibilitytovaidvhichvc aic
thushuiiicd thc apoiia oiabyss) , this contcndingvith-
outaltcinativcmightovcidctcimincallthcqucstionsthat
assail us hcic. JhccontcndingolaIc [II] inthc dcpth
olthcYou [ Tu] , " aloimulabyvhichLcvinas iclatcs three
occurrences [instances] that vc must cndlcssly vclcomc
[accueillir] togcthcioiiccollcct [recueillir] as thcsamc,
ycs, thcvhollyothcias thcsamc,thcsamcIc,thcscpa-
iatcd onc. the illeit of the He Ic in thc dcpth olthc
You") as thc thiid pcison, holiness and separation: Jhc
Ocsiiablc isintangiblcandscpaiatcs itscllliomthcicla-
A Wrd of Wlome 6I
tionshipvithOcsiicvhichitcalls loi,thioughthisscpa-
iationoiholincss iticmainsathiidpcison, thcIcinthc
dcptholthcYou."`
Jhcmcshcsoilinksolthischainbcaiallthciiloiccto-
vaid this poi
_
t oliuptuic oi tianslation. cthics, " thc
voidcthics, "isonlyanappioximatccquivalcnt,amakc-
shihCicckvoidloithcIcbiaicdiscouisconthcholincss
olthcscpaiatcd (kadosh) . hichisnotto bcconluscd
cspcciallynotvithsacicdncss. But invhatlanguagcis
this possiblc: Jhc vclcomc olthc scpaiatcd, thc movc-
mcnt olthc onc vho bccomcs scpaiatcd in vclcoming
vhcnitbccomcsncccssaiytogicctthcinhnitctiansccn-
dcnccolascpaiatcdholincss,to sayyes atthc momcntol
ascpaiation,indccdoladcpaituicthatisnotthccontiaiy
ol an aiiivalis it not this dclcicncc that inspiics thc
bicatholan a-Dieu?
B.Jhcsccondiclcicncctuinsustovaidanothcipossi-
blcmcaningloisuchaicvciting".ancxccssolthccthical
ovci thcpolitical, an cthics beyond thc political. "hat
might bcyond" mcan in a passagc liom Substitution"
thattakcs upvhatvc notcdcailici aboutthis paiadox,"
namcly, thc intciiuption of sel thc intciiuption olscllin
phcnomcnologya phcnomcnology itsel vhich thus
suipiiscsandsuspcndsitscllatthcvciymomcntoltaking
lcavcolitscllinitscll:thicsbcyondthcpoliticalthatis
thc paiadoxical icvciting into vhich phcnomcnology
vouldhnditscllthiovn".
Phenomenology can follow out the reverting of thematiza
tion into anarchy in the description of the approach [that is,
the approach as the experience of the welcoming of the other
or of the face as a neighbor] . Then ethical language succeeds
in expressing the paradox in which phenomenology fnds it
self abruptly thrown. For ethics, beyond the politica4 is found
at the level of this reverting. Starting with the approach, the
A Wrd of Wlcome
description finds the neighbor bearing the trace of a with
drawal that orders it as a face.
6
4
Jhctiacc olavithdiaval thatoidcisitasalacc".this
vithdiavaldisjoinstimcitsclI litvcicpioduccdonlyin
timc, in thc timc olcvciyday icpicscntation, thc vith-
diavalvouldcomctomodi|onlythcpicscnccolthcpic-
scnt, thc nov-picscnt, thcpast-picscnt, oithclutuic-pic-
scnt. Buthcic,thisvithdiaval,thistiaccolthclacc,dislo-
catcs thc oidci oltcmpoial picscncc and icpicscntation.
Jianslatcdinto thcvocabulaiyolhospitality, thistiaccol
thclacc,olthcvisagc,vouldbccallcdvisitation (`laccis
olitscllavisitationandatiansccndcncc") . 'Jhctiacc ol
thisvisitationdisjoinsand disturbs, as canhappcnduiing
an uncxpcctcd, unhopcd-loi, oidicadcdvisit,cxpcctcdoi
avaitcdbcyondallavaiting,likcamcssianicvisit,pcihaps,
buthistolallbccauscitspast, thcpassing" [passee olthc
gucst,cxcccdsallanamncsticicpicscntation,itvouldncvci
bclongtothcmcmoiyolapastpicscnt.
it is in the trace of the other that a face shines: what is pre
sented there is absolving itself from my life and visits me as al
ready ab-solute. Someone has already passed. His trace does
not signi his pas

, as it does not sigi his labor or his enjoy

ment in the world; it is a disturbance imprinting itself (we are
tempted to say engaving itself) with an irrecusable gravity . . . .
The God who passed is not the model of which the face
would be an image. To be in the image of God does not
mean to be an icon of God, but to find oneself in his trace.
The revealed God of our Judeo-Christian spirituality main
tains all the infinity of his absence, which is in the personal
"order" itself He shows himself only by his trace, as is said in
Exodus
33
.
6
6
Fcvclation, thcicloic, as visitation, liom a placc that
vould bc common to oui |udco-Chiistian spiiituality. "
A Wrd of Wlcome
^icvctocallthisplaccSinai,asthisiclcicncctochaptci
33 olxodus invitcs us to: n thcvoids visit and visita
tion, is it icallyaqucstion ol translating this tiacc olthc
othci into thc vocabulaiy ol hospitality, as vc havc
sccmcd to assumc: ust onc not, on thc contiaiy, iclci
thcphcnomcnonandthcpossibilityolhospitalitybackto
this passing [passee] olvisitation so as, hist olall, to ic-
tianslatcthcm:Oocsnothospitalityflow, cvcniljustby
a sccond ol sccondaiincss, thc unloicsccablc and iiic-
sistiblciiiuption olavisitation:^ndvillnotthisinvcisc
tianslation hnd its limit, thc limit olthc liminal itscll,
thcicvhcic itis ncccssaiy to aiiivc, that is, at thc placc
vhcic, as past visitation, thc tiacc olthc othci passcs oi
has alicadypasscdthc thicshold, avaitingncithciinvita-
tion noihospitality noi vclcomc: Jhis visit is not a ic-
sponsctoaninvitation,itcxcccdscvciydialogicaliclation
bctvccn host andgucst. t must, liomall timc, havc cx-
cccdcd thcm. ts tiaumatizing clliaction must havc pic-
ccdcdvhat is so casilycallcd hospitalitycvcn, as dis-
tuibingandpcivcitiblcasthcyalicadyappcai, thclavsol
hospitality.
3. inally, in thc vakc olthislasticlcicncc, yct anothci
qucstion, that olthc cnigmatic iclationship in Lcvinas`s
thoughtbctwccnancthics andapolitics olhospitality
oiolthchostagc.^ndpiccisclyinthcplaccvhcicvhatis
situatcdbythc Sinai, oi bythc namc olthc Sinai, bythc
namc Sinai," bclongs to scvcial disjointcdtimcs, to scv-
cial dillcicnt occuiicnccs that it is pcihaps up to us to
think together, vithout, hovcvci, synchionizingthcm oi
oidciingthcmaccoidingtosomcgiandchionology.
n atimcthatit is alicadydilhcultto holdas one andto
bcnd to thchomogcncityolanaiiativcvithoutintcinal
iuptuic, thc namcSinai cannot but signi|, obviously, at
onccthc placcvhcicthcJoiahvasgivcn, thcsacicdan-
A Wrd of Wlcome
nointing oil olmcssianity, thcaikolthc covcnant, thc
tablcts olthc covcnantviittcn bythc handolCod, but
thcnalsothctablctsgivcnbyCodahcihcictiactsthccvil
vith vhich hc had thicatcncd thc stih-ncckcd pcoplc
histiuptuicoiintciiuption) ,thcnthctablctsbiokcnan-
othci intciiuption) , thcn thc tablcts cutancvahci Cod
hadinsomcscnscagainintciiuptcdallthcophanybyloi-
bidding, inthcpassingolhisgloiy, thcvision olhis lacc
inalacctolacc,thcnthcplaccolthcic-ncvcdCovcnant,
thcn thc vciling and unvciling olthc acc oloscs. So
manyintciiuptions of sel somanydiscontinuiticsinhis-
toiy, so many iuptuics in thc oidinaiy couisc oltimc,
cacsuiasthatnoncthclcssmakcup thcvciyhistoiicityol
histoiy.
ButtodaySinai is also, still in iclation to thc singulai
histoiyolsiacl, anamcliommodcinity. Sinai,thcSinai.
amctonymyloithcboidcioilionticibctvccnsiacland
thcothcinations,aliontandalionticibctvccnvaiand
pcacc,apiovocationto thinkthcpassagcbctvccnthccth-
ical,thcmcssianic,cschatology, and thcpolitical,atamo-
mcntinthchistoiyolhumanityandolthcIation-Statc
vhcnthcpcisccutionolallthcschostagcsthcloicignci,
thc immigiant vith oi vithout papcis) , thc cxilc, thc
ichgcc, thoscvithoutacountiy, oiaStatc, thcdisplaccd
pcison oi population so manydistinctions that call loi
caichl analysis) sccms, on cvciy contincnt, opcn to a
ciucltyvithoutpicccdcnt. Lcvinas ncvci tuincdhis cycs
avay liom this violcncc and this disticss, vhcthci hc
spokcolitdiicctlyoinot, inoncvayoianothci.
^llovmchcictogiantsomcpiivilcgctoapassagcthat
namcs atoncc Sinai andhospitality. tbclongs to thctal-
mudic icadings that bcai thc titlc In the Tme of the Na-
A Wrd of Wlcome
tions (A l'heure des nations, I
9
88) . nthcchaptciJhcIa-
tions andthcIicscnccolsiacl, " thc tiuc olasubchaptci
spccihcsJhcIationsandcssianicJimc."^cihaving
bcgun to commcnt on a psalm citcd in thcJiactatc Ic-
sahim, i&b, ahci having appioachcd itvith both iigoi
andinvcntivcncss,viththcdilhcultliccdomthatvashis,
Lcvinasthiovsoutaqucstion.Icappcaistolcavcitopcn
andsuspcndcd, as ilhcvcicpictcndingto lctitnoatin
midaiiatthcvciymomcnthcknovs itto bchcldbyso
manythicads,allbaiclyvisiblcandyctquitcstiong,lol-
loving a discicct but noncthclcss tcnacious aigumcnt.
Jhc qucstioninqucstionhaidlyloims ascntcncc, itis a
pioposition vithout a vcib, thc tcnsc oi timc ola lcv
voidslollovcdby aqucstionmaik.
vouldnotvanttoovciintcipictthiscuiiousconccin,
cuiious to qucstion andto knov, cuiious likc aspccula-
tion,cuiioustoscccomc,thisatoncctimidandpiovoca-
tivc hypothcsis, sccictly mischicvous and j ubilant, pci-
haps,inthcdiscictionolitsvciycllipsis.tiscontaincdin
justacouplcolvoids.
A recognition of the Torah bere Sinai?
Lct us vcntuic a hist tianslation. vould thcic bc a
iccognition olthc lav bere thc cvcnt, and thus outside
thc localizablccvcnt, bcloic thc singulai, datcd, and situ-
atcd taking-placc olthc gih olthc Joiah to a pcoplc:
ouldtLcicbcsuch a recognition? ould it havc bccn
possiblc and thinkablc: Bcloicallicvclation:^ iccogni-
tion olthcJoiahbythc pcoplcs oithc nationsloivhom
thcnamc, thcplacc, thccvcntSinai vouldmcannothing:
Ci nothing olvhat thcy mcan loi siacl oi loi vhat is
namcdinthclanguagcolsiacl:^iccognition, inshoit,
bysomcthiid:Bysomcthiidlollovingthcplayolsubsti-
tutionthatvouldicplaccthcuniqucviththcuniquc:
66 A Wrd of Wlcome
Jhcintiigucolthisintiiguingqucstion,vhich,again,
do notvantto takctoolai, cvcnthoughthcstakcsaicso
high, isindccda tcst olhospitality. ^hospitalitybcyond
all icvclation. tis not aqucstion, loi Lcvinas, olcalling
into qucstionthc clcction olsiacl, its unicityoiits uni-
vcisalcxcmplaiity, but, quitctothccontiaiy, aqucstionol
iccognizingaunivcisalmcssagcloivhichithasicsponsi-
bilitybcloic oiindcpcndcntlyolthcplaccandthccvcnt
olthc gih olthclav. human univcisality, humanitaiian
hospitality upiootcd liomasingulaiityolthccvcntthat
vouldthcn bccomc cmpiiical, oiatthc mostallcgoiical,
pcihaps only political" in avciyicstiictcd scnsc olthis
tcimthatvillhavcto bc claiihcd.
Butthc lcsson to bc diavn liom thisqucstion oithis
intcipictativcspcculation, thclcssonolthislcsson,vould
bc yct anothci lcsson loi siacl to diav in its cthics
daic notyctsayits mcssianicpoliticsolhospitality. Cl
couisc, inthis passagcsiacldocsnotpiimaiilynamcthc
modcin Statc, thc onc thatbcais, thatgavc itsclloitook
loi itscll thc namc siacl. But sincc thc namc siacl" in
thi

tcxt docs notnamcsomcthingclsccithci, thchistoii-

cal and political spacc olthcsc assigncd namcs icmains
opcn.
Jo bcmoicpiccisc,lctus tiyto icconstitutc atlcasta
paitolthccontcxt,vhichvouldobviouslycallloiamoic
paticnt icading. Jhcpsalm citcd clcailydcsciibcs a thc-
atciandsomc olthciitcs olhospitality.

He also told him another thing: "Egypt will bring a gif to

the Messiah in the fture. He thought he should not accept
it, coring from them, but the Holy One, Blessed be He,
will say to the Messiah: 'ccept it from them; [afer all] they
took in [my emphasis, naturally] our children in Egypt. '
Whereupon 'important persons will arrive from Egypt' "
[ Psalms 68: 32] .67
A Wrd of Wlome
Jhcsc lastvoids (impoitant pcisons vill aiiivcliom
gypt")cannothclpbutmakcusthinkolthcvayLcvinas
had, a lcv ycais cailici, hailcd vhat hc callcd ``Sadat`s
giandcuiandimpoitancc, "thc ``cxccptionaltianshistoii-
calcvcnt" thathistiipto|ciusalcmvas, atiip, hcaddcd,
``that onc ncithci makcs noi is contcmpoiancous vith
twiccinalilctimc. "

Iov, ahcihaving citcdthis liagmcnt, Lcvinas oiicnts

his intcipictation tovaid thc cquivalcncc ol three
concepts-fraternit, humanit, hospitalit-that dctci-
minc an cxpciicncc olthc Joiah and olthc mcssianic
timcscvcn bere oioutsidcolthcSinai,andcvcnloithc
oncvhomakcsno claim``tothctitlcolbcaicioimcsscn-
gciolthcJoiah. "
hatannounccsitscllhcicmightbccallcdastiuctuial
oi a priori mcssianicity. Iot an ahistoiical mcssianicity,
butoncthatbclongs to ahistoiicityvithoutapaiticulai
andcmpiiicallydctciminablcincaination.ithouticvc-
lation oivithoutthcdatingolagivcnicvclation.Jhchy-
pothcsisa vcntuiinghcicis obviouslynotLcvinas's, at
lcast not in this loim, but it sccks to movc in his diicc-
tionpcihapsto ciosshispath onccmoic. `tthchcait
olachiasm, "ashcsaidoncday.
Jhcscthiccconccptsaic, thcn.
1. faterit (which is central to all of what follows in this
talmudic reading and, in truth, in a explicit fashion, to Lev
inas's entire oeuvre; I have tried to explain elsewhere69 my
concerns about the prevalence of a certain fgure of frater
nity, and precisely in a certain relationship to femininity; I
will not pause here to discuss this frther, since this is really
not my theme);
2. humanit, precisely as faterit (the fraternity of the
neighbor, a fundamental and omnipresent implication, a
theme whose both Greek and biblical origin appears inef-
68
A Wrd of Wlcome
faceable, an equivalence that can also be found in Kant,
among others, within a horizon that is more Christian than
Judaic);
3. hospitalit, a hospitality that comes to take on a much
more radical value than it does in the Kant of Tward Peret
ual Peace and of the cosmo political right to universal hospi
tality-yes, cosmopolitical which is to say, only political and
juridical, civil and state (always determined by citizenship) .
Butthisthiidconccpt, hospitalit, asylum, thc inn (thicc
voidsthatappcaivithinapagcoloncanothcitocxpicss
shcltciing oi giving ichgcinthc opcn dvclling)vhat
Lcvinas calls thc placc ohcicd to thc stiangci" is also
thchguialschcmathatgathcisoicollcctsthcscthicccon-
ccpts togcthci,fraternit, humanit, hospitalit: thc vcl-
comc ol thc othci oi ol thc lacc as ncighboi and as
stiangci, as ncighboi insofr as hc is astiangci, man and
biothci.Jhccommcntaiythatlollovs thccitationolthc
tiactatclinks thcsc thicc conccpts togcthciaccoidingto
thcschcmaoltiansnationaloiunivcisal (butlct'snotsay
cosmopolitical) hospitality.
This is the second teaching of Rabbi Yose, transmitted to his
son, Rabbi Ishmael, and communicated by the latter to .
Rabbi and proclaimed by Rav Kahana: The nations are de
termined to take part in the messianic age! [Levinas's excla
mation point: a whole study would have to be devoted to
Levinas's exclamation points, to the meaning, grammar,
rhetoric, ethics, and pragmatics of this punctuation of ad
dress at the heart of a philosophical text. Like the word.
"marvel," which ofen precedes the exclamation point.] It is
a recognition of the ultimate value of the human message
borne by Judaism, a recognition' refected in or called for by
the verses of Psalm II7. Has not the history of the nations al
ready been in a sense that glorifcation of the Eternal in Is
rael, a participation in the history of Israel, which can be as-
A Wrd of Wlcome
sessed by the degree to which their national solidarity is open
to the other, the stranger? A recognition of the Torah before
Sinai? The entire examination of this problem is tacitly re
lated to a verse not quoted: Deuteronomy 23: 8. "Thou shalt
not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother; thou shalt not
abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a stranger in his
land." Fraternit (but what does it mean? Is it not, according
to the Bible, a synonym of humanity?) and hospitality: are
these not stronger than the horror a man may feel for the
other who denies him in his alterity? Do they not already
bring back a memory of the "Word of God"?70
hat clcailysccms suggcstcd bythcsc lastvoids, al-
icady. . . a mcmoiy olthc `oid olCod,is amcmoiy
bcloicmcmoiy, thcmcmoiyolavoidthatvillhavctakcn
placccvcnbcloictakingplacc, olapastcvcntthatisoldci
thanthcpastandmoicancicntthananymcmoiyoidcicd
alongthclincs olancmpiiicallydctcimincdstiingolpic-
scnts,oldciuanthcSinai, unlcssthcallcgoiicalanachiony
inthcnamcSinai itscllallovsittosigni|, thioughitsovn
body, aloicignbody, indccd, thc bodyolthcloicigncioi
stiangci.Jhisvoulddcsignatcpiccisclythccxpciicnccof
thcstiang
_
i, vhcicthctiutholthcmcssianicunivcisccx-
cccdsnotonlythcdctcimincdplaccandmomcnt, butalso
thc idcntity, cspcciallythc nationalidcntity, olthcbcaici
oimcsscngciolthcJoiah, olthcicvcalcdJoiah.
Jhat isvhatthcncxt lincs olthc commcntaiy
_
ould
sccmto suggcst.
The Talmud will not enumerate all the nations-not even all
those that appear in the Scriptures-and decide on their
possible association with the messianic universe. The three
nations or states or societies mentioned-Egypt, Cush and
Rome-represent a typology of national life, in which,
through the forms of existence that are pure history, there
can be seen the inhuman or the human.
A Wrd of Wlcome
Jo cxplain this tciiiblc altcinativcbctvccn thc inhu-
man andthchuman, analtcinativcthataicadypicsup-
poscsthclaccandpcacc,andthushospitality, Lcvinasdc-
nounccsthclayingclaimtobcingthchistoiicalmcsscngci
oithcpiivilcgcdindccdthcuniqucintcipictciolthc
Joiah. ' allcigytooianaptitudcloitiuth,vithoutlay-
ing claim to thc titlcolbcaicioimcsscngciolthcJoiah. "
Jhcvithout"olthispiopositionholdsagicatanaltical
povci. Jhc analysis sccms to unbind oi unscal thc lav
liom thc cvcnt ol its mcssagc, liom thc hcic-nov olits
icvclation that bcais thc namc Sinai, and thc unbinding
ol this vithout" sccms to bclong to thc cxpciicncc,
cvokcdamomcntago,olaJoiahbere Sinai,olaiccog-
nitionolthcJoiahbcloicSinai,"andilnotaiccognition
vithoutclcction (loi thc thcmcolclcctioniscvciywhcic
atvoikin Lcvinas's analysis olcthical icsponsibility) , at
lcastanclcctionvhoscassignationcannotbcicstiictcdto
somc paiticulai placc oi momcnt and thus, pcihaps,
thoughonccouldnotbydchnitioncvcibcccitainolthis,
to somc paiticulai pcoplc oi nation. Lct us ncvci loigct
that clcction is inscpaiablc liom vhat alvays sccms to
contcstit.substitution.
^ iiiccusablc ncccssity, an iiicsistiblc loicc, a loicc
thatisnoncthclcssmadcvulnciablcbyaccitainvcakncss.
this thinking of substitutionlcadsustovaidalogicthatis
haidly thinkablc, almost unsayablc, that olthcpossiblc-
impossiblc,thcitciabilityandicplaccabilityolthcuniquc
inthcvciycxpciicnccolunicityassuch.'
IV
Bymcansoldiscicctthoughtianspaicntallusions,Lcv-
inas oiicntcd oui gazcs tovaidvhat is happcningtoday,
notonlyin siaclbutin uiopcand in iancc, in Aiica,
A Wrd of Wlome
7
1
^mciica, and ^sia, sincc at lcast thc timc olthc iist
oild ai and sincc vhat Iannah ^icndt callcd The
Decline of the Nation State: cvciyvhcic that ichgccs ol
cvciykind,immigiantsvithoivithoutcitizcnship,cxilcd
oiloiccdliomthciihomcs,vhcthcivithoivithoutpa-
pcis, liomthc hcaitolIaziuiopc to thc loimciYugo-
slavia,

liom thciddlcastto Fvanda, liomZaiic all

thcvayto Caliloinia, liomthc Chuich olSt. Bcinaid to
thcthiitccnthaiiondisscmcntinIaiis, Cambodians,^imc-
nians, Ialcstinians, ^lgciians, andsomanyothciscallloi
achangcinthcsocio- andgco-politicalspaccajuiidico-
politicalmutation,though,bcloicthis, assumingthatthis
limitstillhasanypcitincncc, ancthicalconvcision.
mmanucl Lcvinas spcaksindccd, alicadylongago
bcgantospcakolthisdisticssandthiscall.Jhcmiiaclc
olthc tiacc thatallovsus to icadhim todayandtohcai
hisvoiccicsonatcandthushavcmcaningloius istaking
placc oncc again. t is intcnsihcd, onc mightsay, bythc
ciimcs against hospitality cnduicd by thc gucsts [hates]
andhostagcsolouitimc,incaicciatcdoi dcpoitcddayal-
tci day, liom conccntiation camp to dctcntion camp,
liomboidci
`
toboidci,closctousoilai avay. Ycs,ciimcs
against hospitality, to bc distinguishcd liom an ohcnsc
olhospitality [delt d'ospitalite] , " as today it is oncc
again bcingcallcdinicnch lav, in thc spiiit olthc dc-
ciccs and oidinanccs ol1
9
3
8 and 1
945
thatvould pun-
ishandcvcnimpiisonanyonctakinginaloicignciin
anillcgalsituation.)
Lcvinasspcakstousinthisvayolthcgiholthcinn,ol
shcltciandasylum. Codicquiicshimtoacccptthcgih,
icmindinghimolthcasylumollcicdsiaclbythc coun-
tiy olgypt. ^sylum that vill bccomc a placc olslav-
ciybut hist a placc ollcicd to thc stiangci. ^icady a
song olgloiyto thc Cod olsiacl| "Jhc hospitality ol-
)z A Wrd of Wlome
lcicd vould thus itscllsigni| a bclonging to thc mcs-
sianicoidci.
|ust as hc iccallcd a mcmoiy olthc immcmoiial, so
Lcvinasdcnounccs, inpassing, accitainloigcttingolthc
lav. tis oncc againthcmomcntolvclcoming, loi wel
coming is thc void uscdto dcsciibc thc divinc dccision.
A decision by the Eternal to welcome Egypt's homage. [The
Eternal is the hate (the host) welcoming the hate (the guest),
who pays him homage in a classic scene of hospitality.] The
Bible renders that foreseeable in Deuteronomy 23: 8, a verse
the Messiah himself despite his j ustice, must have forgotten.
One belongs to the messianic order when one has been able
to admit others among one's own. That a people should ac
cept those who come and settle among them-even though
they are foreigners with their own customs and clothes, their
own way of speaking, their own smell-that a people should
give them an akhsaniah, such as a place at the inn, and the
wherewithal to breathe and to live-is a song to the glory of
the God of Israel. 73
Jhat apcoplc, as apcoplc, should acccptthoscvho
comc andscttlc amongthcmcvcnthoughthcyaicloi-
cigncis," vould bc thc piool [ gage] ola populai and
public commitmcnt [engagement] , apolitical res publica
that cannot bc icduccd to a soit ol tolciancc, " unlcss
thistolcianccicquiicsthcamimationolalovc"vithout
mcasuic. Lcvinas spccihcs immcdiatcly thcicahci that
this dutyolhospitalityis notonlycsscntialto a |cvish
thought" olthciclationships bctvccn siacl andthc na-
tions. topcnsthcvayto thc humanityolthchuman in
gcncial.Jhcic ishcic, thcn, adauntinglogicolclcction
andcxcmplaiityopciatingbctvccn thcassignationola
singulai icsponsibility and human univcisalitytoday
onc mightcvcnsay humanitarian univcisalityinsolaias
itvouldatlcasttiy,dcspitcallthc dimcultics andambi-
A Wrd of Wlcome )
)
guitics, to icmain, in thc loim, loi cxamplc, ola non-
govcinmcntal oiganization, bcyond Iation-Statcs and
thciipolitics.
Jhc icst olthis passagcmighttodaybcillustiatcd, il
thisvoidvcrcnotindcccnt, byallthccxamplcsoncaith.
oithcqucstionolboidcisisnodoubtthcqucstionols-
iacl,butthcqucstionalsogocsbcyondthcboidcilincsol
vhatiscallcdoivhatcallsitscllsiacl,inthcbiblicalscnsc
andinthcscnscolthcmodcinstatc.Joshcltcithcothci
inonc'sovnlandoihomc, totolciatcthcpicscnccolthc
landlcss andhomclcss onthc `anccstialsoil,' soj calously,
so mcanlylovcdis that thc ciitciionolhumanncss:\n-
qucstionablyso. "
JhistcxtdatcsliomthcI
}
&o's.Cncvouldhavctoicad
it togcthci vith many othcis that also tuin aiound thc
qucstionolthc StatcandthcIation, bcginningviththc
onc to vhich vc alludcd cailici, vhich hails Sadat's
giandcui and tianshistoiical] impoitancc. " Cnc vould
also huvc to go back to thc distantpicmiscs olthis dis-
couisc in Totalit and Infnit and Otherwise than Being.
Lct us iccall atlcastthissign in alcvvoids. thc Jalmu-
dic Fcadin
`
gs and Lcctuics" gathcicd togcthci in I}&zat
thc cnd ol Beyond the Vrse (undci thc titlcin thc
pluialZionisms") , Jhc Statc olCacsaiandthc Statc
olOavid," I})I,andthcnIolitics^ci| , "I})}, multiply
piopositionsthathavcaloim,and cmphasizcfrm, that
is dclibciatcly contiadictoiy, apoictic, indccd dialcctical
(inthc scnsc ola tiansccndcntal dialcctic) piopoitions
at oncc intia-political andtianspolitical, at onccfr and
against thcstatcpiinciplc,"againstvhat Totalit and In
fnit had alicady callcd thc tyianny olthc Statc" (ac-
coidingto ananti-Icgclianmovcinthcstylc, atlcast, ol
Foscnzvcig) , againstthcStatcolCacsai, vhich, dcspitc
itspaiticipationinthcpuiccsscnccolthcStatc,isalsothc
74
A Wrd of Wlome
placc olcoiiuptionpar excellence and, pcihaps, thc ulti-
matcichgcolidolatiy ,' againstthc Statcandyctlcav-
ingtovhatLcvinas cals thc bcyondolthc Statc" oithc
goingbcyond olthcStatc" anopcningtovaidthc cul-
mination olthcStatcolOavid" inthc mcssianic Statc, a
going bcyond olthc Statc tovaid a voild to comc."
Jhcgoing beyond oloncStatc (thatolCacsai),thcculmi
nation olanothci (that olOavid) , both olvhich might
appcai utopic oi picmatuic, as Lcvinas iccognizcs, but
vhichpointtothcvciyopcningolthcpoliticaltovaidits
lutuic, ilithas onc. (lonc took itas a iulc to spcakol
politics" assoonasthcvoidStatc"appcais,inamoicoi
lcssiigoioustianslationolPolis, thcnoncvouldhavcto
askilthis iulc applicsinthccxpicssion StatcolOavid,"
oiilthcaltcinativcbctvccnthc Statc olCacsaiand thc
Statc olOavid is an altcinativc bctwccn apolitics anda
bcyondolthcpolitical,oianaltcinativcbctwccntwopol-
itics, oi, hnally, an altcinativc among others, vhcic onc
couldnotcxcludcthchypothcsisolaStatcthatvouldbc
ncithciCacsai's noiOavid's, ncithciFomc noisiaclnoi
^thcns.cvillcloscthcscpaicnthcticalicmaiks, butnot
bcloicinsistingonthclactthatLcvinas docsnothcsitatc
to spcak ola mcssianic politics, "vhichis to bc distin-
guishcdliomvhatvcundcistandbypoliticsinthctiadi-
tioninthc,lct'ssay, Cicckoipost-Icllcnictiadition-
that dominatcs cstcin politology. hcn hc says bc-
yondpolitics, "politics"alvaysmcansthisnon-mcssianic
politics olthc Statc, vhichis tiansgicsscdtovaidits bc-
yondbythatvhich noncthclcss icmains apolitics, stilla
politics, buta mcssianic politics. tistiucthatthcboidci
linc, thcliontici, thcscmanticidcntityolall thcscvoids
hcicbcgins toticmblc,andthatisthcmostundcniablccl-
lcctolthisviiting, thcvciythiustolthis thought. Jhc
mcssianic City, " says Lcvinas, is not bcyond politics, "
A Wrd of Wlcome
75
andhcadds, thc Cityi nits simplcstscnsci sncvci this
sidcolthcicligious. "
^gainst this backdiop, Lcvinas vcntuics a hypothcsis
that couldbcconsidcicdiathciaudacious, inmoic than
onc vay. on thc onc hand, thc distinction bctvccn thc
caithlyCity and thc City olCod, bctwccn thc political
oidci and thc spiiitual onc, vould not havc in pic- oi
post-Chiistian|udaism thc clcai-cut chaiactci" it has
inChiistianity, onthcothcihand,itis,paiadoxically, bc-
causc olvhatLcvinasdocsnothcsitatc to call,picciscly
bccausc olthis stiict scpaiation, Chiistianity's political
indihcicncc," that Chiistianity has so oltcn bccomc a
Statc icligion." Jhc political indillcicncc clicits a tastc
loipovciloithcsakc olpovci,olvhatcvcikindandat
vhatcvcicost.tvouldcondoncthcuncontioIlcdauthoi-
itaiianism and dogmatism ol thc Chuich vhcncvci it
dominatcs thc Statc. Jhis thcsis oihypothcsis is appcal-
ing,pcihapspiolound,ccitainlyvciyiich, butalsoiathci
conhdcntlyadvanccd, il maysayso, andiathciquickly
asscitcd, notonlyvithicgaidto thc link bctwccnpoliti-
cal indihcicncc andStatcicligionbutcspcciallyvithic-
gaidto thc picsumcd abscncc olStatcicligionoutsidcol
aChiistianspacc.inslamiclands (Lcvinasmakcsnomcn-
tionolthis) ,butalsointhclandolsiacl,althoughthccx-
picssionStatcicligion" isliaughtvithdimculticsinthis
casc,tooclusivcloicithcistiictlya imingoidcnying(as
Lcvinas is somctimcstcmptcdto do)'thccxistcncc ola
Statcicligioninsiacl.
Jhc dclibciatclyapoictic,paiadoxical, oiundccidablc
loim olthcsc statcmcnts on thc political vill latci hnd
onc olits titlcs in thc lcsson olOcccmbci
5
, r}&&, in-
cludcdthispastycai, ahci thc dcath olmmanuclLcv-
inas, inNouvelles lectures talmudiques. nthistitlc, thcpo-
liticalsccmsto dc|anytopologicalsimplicify. itis Bc-
A Wrd of Wlome
yondthc Statc in thcStatc. "Beond-in: tiansccndcnccin
immancncc, beyond thcpolitical,but in thcpolitical.n-
clusion opcncdonto thc tiansccndcnccthatitbcais, in-
coipoiationoladooi[porte] thatbcais [porte] andopcns
ontothcbcyondolthcvallsandpaititionsliamingit.^t
thc iisk olcausing thc idcntity olthc placc asvcll as thc
stabilityolthcconccptto implodc.Jhislcssonassignsto
thctiansccndcnccincludcdthcspaccolamcssianicpol-
itics, "an acccptablcpolitical oidcithatcan comcto thc
human only liom thcJoiah, liom its justicc, its j udgcs
anditsmastcisavants."
|ustbcloicthis,Lcvinasdcvotcssomctimctoaidiash
icading that takcs thc libcity ol isolating thc hist lcv
voids olavcisc. Icic's thcJoiah. thc manvho dics. "
'
(cvillhavcto spcakagainaboutdcath, thcmomcntol
thcvithouticsponsc, "andaboutthcJoiah,aboutthca-
Dieu and thc vithout icsponsc," and, hnally, about a
Joiahvhoschospitalityvouldalsopiotcctthcdcadliom
dcath.)Jhc dcmociatic Statc, " thconlyStatc opcn to
pcilcctibility, hasjustbccndchncdasthconlycxccption
tothctyiannicaliulcolpoliticapovci."
nthccouiscol
thcsc ichcctions, thcic aiiscs thc qucstionolvhatcomcs
to pass, olvho comcs oi vhat comcs to pass, vhcn
^lcxandcicomcsintoacityolvomcn, onlyvomcn,vho
disaim himvith thciiqucstions.^lcxandci cnds bycon-
cluding (atcaching thatcalls loi sciious ichcctionvhcn
oncisintcicstcdinapoliticsthatvouldtaIcintoaccount
thcvoiccsolvomcn, athomcandoutsidcthchomc) . ,
^lcxandci olaccdonia, vas a loolbcloichaving comc
into thiscountiyolvomcn inAiica and bcloic having
takcnthciiadvicc."

'
nBeyond the Vrse, asubchaptciolJhcStatcolCac-
saiandthcStatcolOavid"cntitlcdJovaidsaonothc-
istic Iolitics" lollovs onc cntitlcd Bcyond thc Statc,"
A Wrd of Wlome
77
vhich lollovs yct anothci cntitlcd Ycs to thc Statc. "
Iov, onccannotovcistatcthcimpoitanccolthc discui-
sivcmodaliticsthathcicmultiplyqucstionmaiks, condi-
tionals, andvhatmight bc callcd cpochal clauscs. Jhcsc
piccautionsrchcctihctoiical,indccdpolitical,cautionlcss
thanthcyconstitutcvays olicspcctingoigicctingvhat
icmains to comca htuic olvhich vc knov nothing.
at comcsvillncvcibclongto thc oidciolknovlcdgc
oiolloic-knovIcdgc.
nthcconclusionolJovaidsaonothcisticIolitics, "
loicxamplc, this cpochalicscivcismaikcdinvoids that
am about to cmphasizc ("commitment," "but") : siacl
hadbccomcincapablcolthinkingapoliticsvhichvould
biingtopcilcctionitsmonothcisticmcssagc.Icnccloith,
thc commitment [engagement] has bccnmadc. SinccI
}4
&.
But cvciythinghas onlyjustbcgun."
Jhcicisadatchcic.sinccI}4
&. "ticcallsancvcnt, thc
loundationolaStatcthat commits itsel to bcing not onl
vhatitalsois,inlactandbylavthatis,aStatclikcany
othci. hilcncithciappiovingnoi disappiovingolthcju-
iidicalfc thc loundation olthc modcin Statc olsiacl,
conscciatcdthioughlavbyamajoiityolstatcsinthcin-
rcinationalcommunity, Lcvinas sccsinthisonlyacom-
mitmcnt. "^hugccommitmcnt, but onlyacommitmcnt.
^ndsinccthispoliticalhistoiy hcsays, hasonlyjust bc-
gun," thc bctiayal olthc commitmcnt, its bicachoipci-
juiy, isalvayspossiblcloivhatcanbccomcaStatclikcany
othci, indccd somctimcs and in ccitain icspccts, somc
vouldsay, voisc thanmanyothcis, thanccitain othcis.
vciythingicmainssuspcndcd, allstatcmcnts undcisui-
vcillancc,asvcvillhcai,bythccautiousvigiIanccolacon-
ditional. Jhc commitmcnt should go bcyond," in Lcv-
inas'svoidbcyondthcpolitical, bcyond astiictlypolit-
ical" pioblcm oisolution inthc nationaloilamilialaicna.
A Wrd of Wlome
Henceforth, the commitent has been made. Since 1948. But
everything has only just begun. Israel is no less isolated in its
struggle to complete its extraordinary task than was Abra
ham, who began it four thousand years ago. [This passing
remark on the isolation ofIsrael can be disputed, indeed it is
to my mind disputable, but since it is not strictly essential or
necessary to the argumentative structure that interests me
here, I will simply leave the question open.] But this return
to the land of our ancestors-beyond solving any specifc
problems, whether national or familial-would thus mark
one of the greatest events of internal history and, indeed, of
all History. 84
Jhcscaicthchnalvoids olJhcStatc olCacsai and
thcStatcolOavid. "Jhcyspcakolanunconditional com
mitent to bcsuic, but, likcthcdcsciiptionolthcpoliti-
calcvcnt, thcintcipictation olits htuic icmainscouchcd
inthcconditional. (cvillictuinto this.cvillalsoic-
tuin, in conclusion, to thc paicnthctical icmaik vith
vhichallovcdmysclltodiavohmyovnpaicnthctical
icmaik,thcicbydctachingitliomthcaigumcntativcstiuc-
tuicthatvchavcpiivilcgcdandaictiyingtolollovhcic.)
v
Iolitics^ci| ". undci this titlc, acautious intcipicta-
tionolZionismattcmptstodistinguish,iighuyoiviongly
bctwccnwo majoiphascs. But isitaqucstionolphascs:
^ qucstionolahistoiicalscqucncc: Liis it, onthccon-
tiaiy, aqucstionolwovoilds:Cltwocompctingandii-
icconcilablc hguics: Cltwo Zionisms that loicvci hght
ovcithcsamctimc:
Lcvinas clcaily piivilcgcs diachiony. thcic vould bc
histolall aicalistZionism, moicpoltical and, pcihaps,
inadcquatc to thc piophctic idcal. " Icihaps moic in-
A 'rd of Wlcome
7
9
cincd to thc cuiicnt nationalism, this political Zionism
vould cxplain, in pic-Iitlciian uiopc and somctimcs
still today, a icticcncc on thc pait olccitain|cvs vho
align thcmsclvcsvith aunivcisalisthnality. "

'^sccond
Zionismvouldbcmoicopcntothccschatologicalvision
olaholyhistoiy, oiclsc,andindccdthioughthisapol-
iticsbcyondthcpoliticaltovhatLcvinascallsapoliti-
calinvcntion. "

cthci oinotonc cndoiscs any olthcsc analyscs ol

thcactualsituationolthcStatcolsiaclinitspoliticalvis-
ibility (and mustadmitthat do notalvays do so) , thc
conccinhcicisincontcstablc. on the one hand tointcipict
thcZionist commitment thcpiomisc,thcsvoinlaithand
notthcZionistfct, as amovcmcntthatcaiiicsthcpolit-
ical beyond thc political, and thusis caughtbctwccn thc
political andits othci, and, on the other hand to thinka
pcaccthatvouldnotbcpuiclypolitical.
^ssuming that thcsc tvo distinctions makc anyscnsc
andcanbcuscd ( concesso non dato) , inncithcicascdocs
thcbcyondolthcpolitical,thcbcyondolthcpurel polit-
ical, gcstun tovaid thc non-political. t announccs an-
othci politics, mcssianic politics, that ol thc Statc ol
Oavidas opposcdto thc StatcolCacsai, thatis, as op-
poscdtothcclassicalandhcgcmonictiaditionolthcStatc
asitisloundinvhatvcmusttiytoidcnti|,vithallicq-
uisitc piccautions, as our politology, thcdiscouiscolthc
Cicco-Fomanphilosophical tiaditiononthcpolitical,thc
City, thc Statc, vai andpcacc. Jhis assumcs, olcouisc,
thatshoitolidcnti|ingsuch athingascstcinpolitol-
ogyvithitscllsomcthingvcmustkccpliomdoing,cs-
pcciallyundcithcimpciialiathcithandcmociatichguic
olthc StatcolCacsaionc cannoncthclcssiccognizca
dominant tcndcncy, onc that is coscito Cacsai than to
Oavid andthatvouldmakcdcmociacyitscllimpciialist
&o
H Wrd of Wlcome
in vocation. So many hypothcscs, and thc qucstion ol
vhat is to bc undcistood by this void political, " and
vhcthcithc boidcis olthis conccpttodayicsistanalysis,
icmainsopcn.c cannotdiicctlyappioachthis qucstion
hcic. c vould nccd a guidingthicad oitouchstonc in
thccontcxtthatconccinsus.Jhcidcaolpcacc, loicxam-
plc, in its obvious and continuously icamimcd amnity
vith hospitality. s pcacc somcthing political: n vhat
scnsc: \ndcivhat conditions: Iovaicvc to icadLcv-
inas's suggcstion," inhisvoids, that pcacc is aconccpt
thatgocsbcyondpuiclypoliticalthought":
Lcvinasmakcsasuggcstion,"justasuggcstion, atoncc
conhdcnt anduncasy. Ic docs not asscit that pcacc is a
non-political concept, but suggcsts that this conccptper
haps exceeds thcpolitical.
hat docs this imply:^dimcultdivisionoipaitition.
insum,vithoutbcingatpcaccvithitscllsuchaconccpt
olpcaccictainsapoliticalpart itparticiates inthcpoliti-
cal, cvcn ilanothcipaitolit gocs bcyondaccitain con-
ccpt olthc political.Jhc conccptcxcccdsitscll gocs bc-
yonditsovnboidcis,vhichamountstosayingthatitin-
tciiuptsitsclloidcconstiuctsitscllsoasto loim asoitol
cnclavc insidc and outsidc olitscll. bcyond in, " oncc
again, thcpolitica
|
intciioiization olcthical oi mcssianic
transccndcncc. (^dlctus notcinpassingthatcachtimc
thisintciiuptionolsclltakcsplaccoiispioduccdvchavc
bccnlollovingalcvcxamplcsolthisloisomctimcnov] ,
cachtimcthis dclimitation olscll vhichmight also pass
loi an cxccss oi tiansccndcncc olscll is pioduccd, cach
timcthistopologicalcnclavcahcctsaconccpt,apioccssol
dcconstiuctionis inpiogicss,vhich isnolongciatclco-
logicalpioccssoicvcnasimplccvcntinthccouiscolhis-
toiy) .A ilthcvoidsuggcstion" didnotsumccto signal
avigilant ciicumspcction, Lcvinas gocs onto spcci|that,
A Wrd of Wlcome &I
inpait, pcaccisaconccptthatgocsbcyond"notthcpo-
litical, but''urel politicalthought. "Jhisinsistcnccbcais
cvciything, itisncccssaiytoinsistuponuiity.
Icic,thcn, is aconccpt,"pcacc,thcthought olvhich
vouldgo bcyond anythoughtthatvouldvishtoicmain
purel political. ^puiclypoliticalthought"vould bc in-
adcquatcto this conccpt. Jo thinkthis conccptolpcacc,
itvouldbcncccssaiytolcavcnotthcoidciolthcpoliti-
cal, butthcoidciolvhatLcvinas calls thc puiclypoliti-
cal . "Jo knovvhat thc political is, vc vould nccd to
knovvhatthc puiclypolitical" is. ^ hction loivhich
Lcvinas inlact, in anothci placc, cxcludcs thcpossibility
olcvcitakingshapc, olcvci bcingcmbodicd,olcvcitak-
ingonaical body, sincc,asvchavchcaid, thc Cityinits
simplcstscnscis ncvci this sidc olthc icligious. "ndccd,
hcspcaks olthisnotpuiclypoliticalpcaccinthc contcxt
olinvcntingthcpolitical, olapoliticalinvcntion, " moic
picciscly, olcicatingonitsland thclandolthcStatcol
siacl] thc concictc conditions loi political invcntion.
"88
Iasthispolitical invention insiacl cvcicomctopass:
vci comctopassinsiacl:Jhisispcihapsnotthcplacc
toposcthisqucstion,ccitainlynottoansvciit,vcvould
nothavcthctimc,andindccdnotjustthctimc,loiallthc
icquisitcanalyscsbutdocsonchavcthciighthcictosi-
lcncc thc anxicty olsuch an intciiogation, bcloic thcsc
voids olLcvinas, and in thc spiiit that inspiics thcm:
ouldsuchasilcnccbcvoithyolthcicsponsibiliticsthat
vchavcbccnassigncd:iistolall,bcloicmmanuclLcv-
inashimscll: am among thosc vho avait this political
invcntion" insiacl, amongthoscvho call loiitinhopc,
todaymoicthancvcibccausc olthc dcspaiithaticccnt
cvcnts, to mcntion onlythcm,havc not attcnuatcd (loi
cxamplc, though thcscaicjust cxamplcs liomycstciday
andtoday, thc icncvcdsuppoitolcolonial scttlcmcnts"
A Wrd of Wlome
oithcdccisionbythcsupicmc Couitauthoiizingtoituic,
and,moicgcncially, allthcinitiativcsthatsuspcnd,dciail,
oiintciiuptvhatcontinucsto bccallcd,inthismannciol
spcaking, thc pcaccpioccss") .
nanycasc, cvcn ilthis suggcstion olLcvinas icmains,
in thc cnd, cnigmatic, it gcstuics tovaid a pcacc that is
neither puicly political, in thc tiaditional scnsc olthis
tcim, nor simplyapolitical. t bclongs to acontcxtvhcic
thc icalhimationolcthics, thcsubjcctivityolthchost as
thcsubjcctivityolthc hostagc, bioachcs thcpassagcliom
thcpoliticaltovaidthcbcyondolthcpoliticaloitovaid
thc alicady non-political. " hcic aic thc boidcis bc-
tvccn thc alicady` andthcnotyct": Bctwccn politics
andthc non-political:^lcv pagcs cailici Lcvinasviitcs.
From the outset, self-assertion is responsibility for everyone.
Political and already non-poltical Epic and Passion. Irre
pressible energy and extreme vulnerability. Aer the realism
of its political formulations at the beginning, Zionism is f
nally revealing itself on the scale of substantial Judaism, a a
great ambition of the Spirit. 89
at docs alicady" mcan in thc cxpicssion and al-
icadynon-political": Iovmightthis andalicadynon-"
catintovhatitstiIlis,namcly, political": Cihovmight
itlct itscllbc catcn into byvhat italicadyno longci is,
that is, political, " by vhat is stillcatinginto it: hat
docspolitical" mcan vhcn onc appcals to apcaccvhosc
conccpt . . . gocsbcyondpuiclypoliticalthought":
Jhcscvoids bclongtoatcxt cntitlcd Iolitics^ltci| , "
publishcdinI})}inLes temps modernes andicpiintcdin
I}&zinLau-dela du verset latcitianslatcdasBeyond the
Vrse] . ollovcdbyan cxclamation point, thc titlc Ioli-
tics^hci|" sccms clcai. lctpolitics comc ahci, insccond
placc|Jhcpiimoidialoihnalinjunction,vhatismostui-
A "rd of Wlome
gcnt, vould not bc hist olall political, puicly political.
Ioliticsoithcpoliticalshouldlollov, comcaci",itmust
bc suboidinatcdvhcthci in logical conscqucncc oi
chionologicalscqucncctoaninjunctionthattiansccnds
thc political ordci. ^s lai as thc political oidci is con-
ccincd, vcvill scc ahcivaids, itvill comc latci, politics
vill lollov, likc day-to-day opciations. Iolitics ^ci|"
c aiclolloving in thcvakc olSadat's tiipto |ciu-
salcm, an act olquasi-mcssianic audacity, hailcd as this
cxccptional tianshistoiical cvcnt that onc ncithcimakcs
noi is contcmpoiancousvith twicc in alilctimc. . . . ^ll
thcimpossiblcbccomingpossiblc."'
Cncmightbctcmptcdtotiansposcoiicvciscthingsto-
day.Jhiscxpicssionallthcimpossiblcbccomingpossi-
blc"docsnotsoundlikcamciclyloituitouscchoolthc
possibility ol thc impossiblc" olvhich Substitution"
spcaksvith icgaid to an absolutc passivity, vhichis not
thatoldcath (inthcIcidcggciianscnscolthcpossibility
olthcimpossiblc), butthc condition olthchostagc, olthc
"1 am ahostagc" and olthc inhnitcicsponsibility" that
obligatcsmctovaidthcncighboiasthcthiid, apassivity
thatis notonlythc possibilityoldcathinbcing, thcpos-
sibilityolimpossibility, butanimpossibilitythatispiioi
to thispossibilitythcimpossibilityol slippingavay. "Cui
icsponsibility, inshoit, bcloicoipiioitodcath,standing
bcloic dcath, bcloic thc dcad, bcyond dcath. Icic, nov,
thc impossiblchas bccomcpossiblc. Sincc thc comingol
Sadatto|ciusalcm. OidnotSadatinlactundcistand
the opportunities opened up through friendship with Is
rael-or simply through already recognizing its existence
and entering into talks-and all the prophetic promises that
are hidden behind the Zionist claim to historical rights and
its contortions under the political yoke? All injustices, capa
ble of being put right.
A Wrd 0/
Wlome
L
evinas contin
ues:
All the impossi
ble
becoming possible. Wich less lofy min
d
s
am
ong Sadat's enemies in the Near East, or his friends in our
proud West, have never sensed, plunged as they are in their
political bookkeeping. '' State like any other" and a lot of elo
quence? Oh really! So there would be no alternative between
recourse to unscrupulous methods whose model is frnished
by Realoltik and the irritating rhetoric of a careless idealism,
lost in utopian dreams but crumbling into dust on contact
with reaity or turning into a dangerous, impudent and facile
frenzy which professes to be taking up the prophetic dis
course? Beyond the State of Israel's concern to provide a refge
for men without a homeland and its sometimes surprising,
sometimes uncertain achievements, has it not, above all, been
a question of creating on its land the concrete conditions for
political invention? That is the ultimate culmination of Zion
ism, and thereby probably one of the great events in human
history. For two thousand years the Jewish people was only
the object of history, in a state of political innocence which it
owed to its role as victim. That role is not enough for its voca
tion. But since 1948 this people has been surrounded by ene
mies and is still being called into question [this "being-in
question" defnes, we recall, the subjectivity or ipseity of the
hostage: persecution, obsession, or obsidionalit, responsibil
ity for all] , yet engaged too in real events, i order to think
and to make and remake-a State which will have to incar
nate the prophetic moral code and the idea of its peace. That
this idea has already managed to be handed down and caugh

in flflight, as it were, is the wonder of wonders. A we have
already said, Sadat's trip has opened up the unique path for
peace in the Near East, if this peace is to be possible at all. For
what is 'politically' weak about it is probably te expression
both of its audacity and, ultimately of its strength. It is also,
perhaps, what it brings, for everyone everywhere, to the very
idea of peace: the suggestion that peace is a concept which
goes beyond purely political thoUght.91
A Wrd of Wlcome
hat is pcacc: hat aic vc saying vhcn vc say
pcacc":hat docs it mcan to bcat pcaccvith"to bc
atpcaccvithsomconcclsc,agioup,aStatc,anation,onc-
scllasanothci:ncacholthcsccascs, onccanbcatpcacc
onlyvithsomcothci.Solonga vhatisothciasothcivill
not havc bccn in somcvay vclcomcd" in cpiphany, in
thcvithdiaval oivisitationolits lacc, itvouldmakc no
scnsc to spcak olpcacc. ith thc samc, onc is ncvci at
pcacc.
vcnilthisaiomappcaisimpovciishcdandabstiact,it
isnotsocasyto thinkthiough.hatisthcscmantickci-
ncl, ilthcic is onc and ilithas aunity, olthis littlcvoid
paix pcacc"] : s thcic such a scmantic kcincl: n othci
voids,isthcicaconccptolpcacc: Cncthatvouldbcone,
indcstiuctiblcinits idcntity: Cimustvc invcnt anothci
iclationto thisconccpt, aspcihaps to anyconccpt, to thc
non-dialcctical cnclosuic ol its ovn tiansccndcncc, its
bcyond-in":
|ust as vc shouldhavcaskcdvhatvc mcanvhcnvc
say to vclcomc" oi to icccivc"and all olLcvinas's
thought is, vants to bc, andpicscnts itscllas atcaching
(in thc sc

sc olmagistciial hcight that hc givcs to this

void, andthathcconlcisuponitinamagistciialvay) , a
tcaching onthc subjcct olvhat to vclcomc" oi to ic-
ccivc" should mcanso vc should ask vhat thc void
pcacc" can and should mcan, as opposcd to vai or not.
^s opposcdtovaiandthustohostilityor not, sinccthis
oppositioncannotsimplybcassumcd.Jo vaioitohostil-
itics, tohostilityitscllthatistosay, toadcclaicdhostility
thatisalso,itisohcnbclicvcd,thccontiaiyolhospitality.
Iov ilvai and dcclaicd hostility vcic thc samc thing,
and ilthcyvcic thc oppositc olpcacc, thcn onc vould
alsohavcto saythatpcaccandthchospitalityolvclcom-
ingalso loim apaii, an inscpaiablc paii, acoiiclation in
8 6
A "
rd of
Wlcome
vhichoncol
thcm
,pcacc,
isonapaiviththcothci,hos-
pitaIity a
d
viccvcisa.
c m
stp
cihaps
piobIcmatizc, distuib, tioubIc,oisus-
pcct
all
thcsc paiis olconccpts,vhich aic assumcd to bc
synonymous, co-impIicatcd, oisymmctiicaIIyopposabIc.
!tisnotccitainthatvai, " hostiIity, " and conhict" aic
thcsamcthing. (ant,loicxampIc,distinguishcsbctwccn
vaiandconhict.)tisaIso notccitainthathospitaIityand
pcacc aic synonyms. Cnc can imaginc a poIiticaI pcacc
bctvccntwoStatcsvhcicnohospitaIityvouIdbcollcicd
tothccitizcnsolthcothciStatc,oivhcicstiictconditions
vouId bcpIaccd onanyhospitaIity. nlact, this is vhat
most oltcn happcns. ai a

d pcacc aic aIso too oltcn

thoughtto loimasymmctiicaI paiiolopposcdconccpts.
Butgivctooncoithcothciolthcsctwo conccptsavaIuc
oipositionoloiiginaiity, andthcsymmctiyisbiokcn.
lonc thinks, Iikc ant, that cvciythinginnatuic bc-
ginsvithvai,thcnatIcasttwoconscqucnccsloIIov. iist,
pcaccisnoIongcianatuiaIphcnomcnon,oncthatissym-
mctiicaIandsimpIyopposabIctovai,itisaphcnomcnon
olanothci oidci, ola non-natuiaI natuic, olan institu-
tionaI (andthus poIitico-juiidicaI) natuic. Sccond, pcacc
is not simpIy thc ccssation olhostiIitics, an abstcntion
liommakingvaioian aimisticc, itmustbcinstitutcdas
pcipctuaIpcacc, as thcpiomisc olctcinapcacc. tcinity
isthcn ncithci a utopia, noiahoIIovvoid, noisomc cx-
tcinaI oisuppIcmcntaiy picdicatc to bc attachcd to thc
conccpt olpcacc.Jhc conccpt impIics,initscIl, anaIyti-
caIIy, in its ovn ncccssity, that pcacc is ctcinaI. Jhc
thoughtolctcinityisindcstiuctibIcinthc vciyconccptol
pcacc,andthusinthcconccptolhospitaIity, iluiscanbc
thought.JhcantianaigumcntisvcIIknovn. ilmakc
pcacc vith thc thought in thc back olmy mind olic-
opcning hostiIitics, olictuining to vai, oi olagiccing
A Wrd of Wlcome
onlytoanaimisticc, ilcvcnthinkthatoncday, moicoi
lcssinspitcolmyscll shouldlctmyscllbcvonovciby
thchypothcsis olanothcivai, thisvouldnot bcpcacc.
Jhcicmaythcn,ncvcibcanypcacc,oncmightsay, butil
thcicvcic, itvouldhavcto bcctcinal and, as an insti-
tutcd,juiidico-politicalpcacc,notnatuial.
Somc mightconcludcliomthisthatthcicncvciis and
ncvcivillbcsuchapcacc.^puiclypoliticalpcaccmight
alvays not takc placc in conditions adcquatc to its con-
ccpt. Icnccloith,thisctcinalpcacc, puiclypolitical as it
is, is notpolitical, oithc political is ncvciadcquatcto its
conccpt.hich,inspitcolallthcdihcicnccstovhichvc
must bc attcntivc, vould biing ant closci to Lcvinas
vhcn,inIolitics^ci| , "thclattcitakcsnotcolthiscon-
ccptolthcpolitical, olits inadcquationto itsclloito its
inhnitc idca, andolthcconscqucnccsthatantisloiccd
to diavliomitinhis JhiidOchnitivc^iticlcloiaIci-
pctual Icacc". Jhc Lav oloild Citizcnship Shall Bc
Limitcd to Conditions ol\nivcisal Iospitality. " Jhis
gcncious aiticlc is in lact limitcd bya gicat numbci ol
conditions.univcisalhospitalityishciconlyjuiidicaland
political,itgiantsonlythciightoltcmpoiaiysojouinand
notthc iightolicsidcncc, it conccins onlythc citizcns ol
Statcs, and, in spitc ol its institutional chaiactci, it is
loundcdonanatuialiight,thccommonposscssionolthc
iound and hnitc suilacc olthc caith, acioss vhich hu-
mans cannotspicadad inhnitum.Jhcicalizationolthis
natuialiight, andthus olunivcisalhospitality, is iclciicd
to a cosmopolitical constitution that thc human spccics
canonlyappioachindchnitcly.
But loi all thcsc icasons, vhich indchnitcly suspcnd
andconditionthcimmcdiatc,inhnitc,andunconditional
vclcoming ol thc othci, Lcvinas alvays piclcis, and
vouldvantto saythisvithoutanyplayonvoids,peace
8 8 A Wrd of W
lome
nau, and
hc
piclcis univ
cisalityto cosmopolitanism. Jo
my
kno
vlcdgc, Lcvina
sncvciuscs thcvoid cosmopoli-
tanism" oiadoptsitashisovn. can imagincatlcasttvo
icasonsloithis:hist, bccauscthis soitolpoliticalthought
iclcis puic hospitality, and hus pcacc, to an indchnitc
piogicss, sccond, bccausc olthc vcll-knovn idcological
connotationsvithvhich modcin anti-Scmitismsaddlcd
thc gicat tiadition ola cosmopolitanism passcd dovn
liom Stoicism oi Iaulinc Chiistianity to thc nlightcn-
mcntandto ant.
cicasloiantthcinstitutionolanctcinalpcacc, ol
acosmopolitical lav,andolaunivcisalhospitality, ictains
thc tiaccolanatuialhostility, vhcthcipicscnt oithicat-
cning, ical oiviitual,loiLcvinas thc contiaiyvould bc
so. vaiitscllictainsthctcstimonialtiaccolapacihcvcl-
coming olthc lacc. nthc bcginningolscction z olPer
petual Peace, antdcclaicsvai to bcnatural:
The state of peace among men living side by side is not the
natural state (status naturalis) [Naturzustand] : the natural
state is one of war [Zustand des Krieges] . This does not always
mean open hostilities [literally: even if there is no outbreak
of enmity, of hostility: wenngleich nicht immer ein Ausbruch
der Feindelgkeiten] , but at least a unceasiig threat [Bedro
hung] of war. 92 .
oi ant, andthis must bc takcn sciiously, athicat ol
vai,asimplcpicssuicvhcthcisymbolic,diplomatic,oi
cconomiciscnoughto intciiuptthcpcacc. Iotcntialoi
viitual hostility icmains incompatiblc vith pcacc. Jhis
gocsvciylai, andpcnctiatcsvciydccply, icndciingcvciy
viitual allcigy, vhcthci unconscious oiiadically loibid-
dcn, contiadictoiyto pcacc.Jhchistappcaiancc olany
thicatvouldbcincompatiblcvithpcacc,thcimmancncc
andnotjustthcimmincnccolancgativityinthc cxpcii-
A Wrd of Wlcome
cncc olpcacc. Cnly this allovs ant to concludc that
thcicisno natuialpcacc, andthat,ashcsaysimmcdiatcly
thcicaltci, thc statc ol pcacc must thus bc "instituted"
loundcd,gestiet) .
Butassoo

aspcaccisinstitutcd,politicallydclibciatcd,
j uiidically constiuctcd, docs it not indchnitcly and in-
cvitablyictainvithin itatiacc olthcviolcntnatuicvith
vhichitis supposcdtobicak, thcnatuicitis supposcdto
intciiupt,intcidict, oiicpicss:antdocsnotsaythis,but
can itnotbcthought,cithcivithoiagainsthim, thatan
institutionalpcaccisatonccpuicandimpuic:A anctci-
nalpiomisc,itmustictain,accoidingtoalogicthattiicd
clscvhcic to loimalizc,'' thc tiacc ola thicat, olvhat
thicatcnsitandolvhatthicatcnsinit, thus contaminat-
ingthc piomisc byathicat, accoidingto a collusion that
is dccmcd, paiticulailybythc thcoicticians olthcpiomisc
as speech act, inacccptablc, inadmissiblc, andcontiaiyto
thcvciycsscnccolthcpiomisc.antcontinucs.
A state of peace, therefore, must be instituted [es muss alo
gestiet werden] , for in order to be secured against hostility it
is not suffcient that hostilities simply be not committed;
and, unless this security is pledged to each by his neighbor (a
thing that can occur only in a civic state [in einem gesetz
lichen Zustande]), each may treat his neighbor, from whom
he demands this security, as an enemy.
lcvciythingbcgins, asnatuicandinnatuic,vithaical
oiviitualvai,thcicis no longciasymmctiicalopposition
bctwccnvaiandpcacc,thatis,bctwccnvaiandpcipctual
pcacc.Iospitality,vhichvouldictainthctiaccolapossi-
blcvai,canthcnonlybcconditional,juiidical,political.^
Iation-Statc, indccd a community olIation-Statcs, can
onlycondition pcacc, just as itcan onlylimithospitality,
iclugc, oiasylum.^nd thc histindccd thc onlycon-
A "rd of Wlcome
ccinolant is to dchnc limitations andconditions. c
knovthisonlytoovcll. ncvcivillaIation-Statc as such,
icgaidlcssolitsloim olgovcrnmcnt, andcvcn ilitisdc-
mociatic,itsmajoiityonthciightoithclch,opcnitscllup
to an unconditional hospitality oi to a iight olasylum
vithouticstiiction. tvouldncvcibcicalistic" to cxpcct
oidcmandthisolaIation-Statcassuch.JhcIation-Statc
villalvaysvantto contiolthchovolimmigiation. "
Iov, could i t not bcsaid, invciscly, that lorLcvinas
cvciythingbcginsvithpcacc:^lthoughthispcacc is nei
ther natural (sincc, and this is notloituitous, thcic is no
conccptolnatuicoiiclcicnccto astatc olnatuicinLcv-
inas, itsccmsto mc, andthisis olthcutmostimpoitancc.
bcloic natuic, bcloic thc oiiginaiity olthc aichc, thcic
is vhat voiks alvays to intciiupt it, thc pic-oiiginal
anachionyolan-aichy) , nor simpl institutional or j?ridico
political cvciything sccms to bcgin, "in a picciscly an-
aichic and anachionic lashion, by thc vclcoming olthc
laccolthc othciinhospitality, vhichisalso to say, byits
immcdiatcandquasi-immancntintciiuptioninthcillcity
olthcrhiid.
But thc iuptuic olthis symmctiy, vhich sccms to bc
thcinvciscolthatdcsciibcdbyant,hasitsovncquivo-
calconscqucnccs.Jtsuggcststhatvai,hostility, cvcnmui-
dci, still picsupposc and thus always manilcstthis oiigi-
naiyvclcomingthatis opcnncss to thclacc. bcloic and
ahciSinai. Cnccanmakcvaionlyagainstalacc,onccan
kill,oigivconcscllthcpiohibitionnottokill,onlyvhcic
thc cpiphanyolthclacchas takcn placc, cvcn ilonc ic-
jccts,loigcts,oidcnicsitinanallcigicicaction.c knov
that, loi Lcvinas, thc piohibition against killing, thc
Jhou shalt not kill, "in vhich, as hc says, Jhc cntiic
Joiah" isgathcicd,'andvhichthclaccolthcoucisig-
nihcs, " isthcvciyoiiginolcthics.
A Wrd of Wlcome pI
hcicasloiantthcinstitutionolpcacccouldnotbut
ictainthctiaccolavailikcstatcolnatuic,inLcvinasthc
invciscisthccasc, sincc allcigy, thc icjcction olthcothci,
cvcnvai,appcaiinaspaccmaikcdbythccpiphanyolthc
lacc,vhcic thcsubjcctisa host" anda hostagc, "vhcic
consciousncss ol. . . , oi intcntional subjcctivity, as ic-
sponsiblc, tiaumatizcd, obscsscd,andpcisccutcd, histol-
lcis thc hospitality that it is. hcn Lcvinas amims that
thccsscnccollanguagcisgoodncss,oithatthccsscnccol
languagcis liicndshipandhospitality, "hcclcailyintcnds
tomaikanintciiuption. an intciiuption olbothsymmc-
tiy and dialcctic. Ic bicak vith both ant and Icgcl,
vithbothajuiidico-cosmopolitanismthat,inspitcolits
claimstothccontiaiy,couldncvcisuccccdinintciiupting
anaimcdpcacc,pcaccasaimisticc,andviththclaboiious
pioccssthcvoikolthc ncgativc, vith apcaccpio-
ccss"thatvouldstilloiganizcvaibyothcimcansvhcnit
docs notmakcolitaconditionolconsciousncss, olob-
j cctivc moiality" (Sittlichkeit) and olpoliticsthc vciy
thingthatthc dialccticolCailSchmitt, loicxamplc, still
cicditcdtoIcgcl.''oiLcvinas, pcaccisnotapioccss ol
thc ncgativc, thc icsultoladialcctical ticaty bctwccn thc
samcandthc othci. Jhcothciisnotthcncgationolthc
samc, asIcgclvouldlikctosay.Jhchndamcntallactol
thcontologicalscissionintosamcandothciisanon-allci-
giciclationolthcsamcviththcothci. "
Jhcsc aicthc hnal pagcs olTotalit and Infnit. Jhcy
dcclaic pcacc, pcacc nov, bcloic and bcyond any pcacc
pioccss,cvcnbcloicanypcaccnovmovcmcnt. "'
hcic mightvc hnd a iulc oi mcdiating schcma bc-
tvccnthis pic-oiiginaiyhospitalityoithispcaccvithout
pioccss and, on thc othci sidc, politics, thc politics ol
modcinStatcs(vhcthcicxistingoiinthcpioccssolbcing
constitutcd) , loicxamplc, sinccthis is onlyancxamplc,
pz
A Wrd of Wlome
thcpolitics undcivay inthc pcaccpioccss" bctvccn s-
iacl and Ialcstinc:^ll thcihctoiics andall thc stiatcgics
thatclaimto iclcito thistodaydo sointhcnamcoland
vithavicvto politics"thataicnotonlydihcicntbutap-
paicntlyantagonisticandincompatiblc.
Jhc hrial pagcs ol Totalit and Infnit ictuin to thc
piopositionsthat,inthcchaptcicntitlcdJhcOvclling,"
iclci to languagc in tcims olnon-violcncc, pcacc, and
hospitality. Lcvinas thcicspcaks olvhat ispioduccdin
languagc, "namcly thcpositivcdcploymcntolthispacic
mycmphasis] iclationviththcothci,vithoutanyboidci
oincgativity. "Jviccinalcv lincs, thcvoidhospitality
is idcntihcdvithiccollcctioninthchomc, butvithrecol
lection [ recueillement] as welome [accueil] : Fccollcction
in a homc opcn to thc Cthcihospitalityis thc con-
cictc and initial lact olhuman iccollcction and scpaia-
tion, itcoincidcsviththc OcsiicloithcCthciabsolutcly
tiansccndcnt."97
Jhcat-homc-vith-oncscllolthcdvcllingdocsnotim-
plyaclosingolbutiathcithcplaccolOcsiictovaidthc
tiansccndcnccolthcothci.Jhcscpaiationmaikcdhcicis
thcconditionolboththcvclcomcandthchospitalityol-
lcicdto thc othci. Jhcic vould bc ncithci vclcomc noi
hospitalityvithout this iadical altciity, vhich itscllpic-
supposcsscpaiation.Jhcsocial bondis accitaincxpcii-
cncc olthc unbindingvithoutvhichno icspiiation, no
spiiitual inspiiation,vouldbcpossiblc. Fccollcction, in-
dccdbcing-togcthciitsclpicsupposcsinhnitcscpaiation.
Jhcat-homc-vith-oncscllvouldthusnolongcibcasoit
olnatuicoiiootcdncss butaicsponscto avandciing,to
thcphcnomcnonolvandciingitbiings toahalt.
Jhis axiomalsoholds loithcspaccolthcnation.Jhc
gioundoithctciiitoiyhasnothingnatuialaboutit,noth-
ing ola ioot, cvcn ilitis sacicd, nothing olaposscssion
A Wrd of Wlome })
loi:hc national occupant.Jhc caithgivcs hospitalitybc-
loicallclsc,ahospitalityalicadyohcicdto thcinitialoc-
cupant,atcmpoiaiyhospitalitygiantcdto thc hote, cvcn
ilhcicmainsthcmastciolthcplacc.Icthuscomcstobc
icccivcdin
_
is" ovnhomc. Kightthcicinthcmiddlcol
Totalit and Infnit, thc homc," thclamilialhomc, thc
dvclling"invhichthchguicolvomanplaysuccsscntial
iolc olthc absolutc vclcomci, tuins out to bc a chosen,
elected oiiathci aloted homc, a homc thatiscntiustcd,
assigncdbythc choicc olan clcction, and so not atall a
natuialplacc.
The chosen home [Levinas says, just afer having spoken of
hospitality as the Desire for the Other absolutely transcen
dent] is the very opposite of a root. It indicates a disengage
ment, a wandering which has made it possible, which is not
a less with respect to installation, but the surplus of the rela
tionship with the Other, metaphysics.98
nthchnalpagcsol Totalit and Infnit, vchnd thc
samc thcmcs olhospitablc pcacc and upiootcd vandci-
ing. Bypassingthcpoliticalinthcusualscnsc olthctcim,
thcsacloic opcnsavhollyothcispacc. bcloic,bcyond,
outsidc thc Statc. Butonc mustvondcivhyitnovccn-
tcis this situation, "no longci onthc lcmininityolvcl-
coming, butonpatcinallccundity, onvhatLcvinascalls,
and this vould bc anothci laigc qucstion, yct anothci
maivcl, thc maivcl ol thc lamily. " Jhis maivcl con-
cictizcsthcinhnitctimcollccundity"anon-biological
lccundity, olcouiscthcinstantolcioticismandthcin-
hnityolpatcinity. "''
Jhoughthcyaic placcd undci thc sign ola dcclaicd
pcaccandhospitality(ctaphysics,oithciclationtothc
othci, is accomplishcd as scivicc and as hospitality")
, 1 00
thcConclusions" olTotalit and Infnit nolongciiclatc
}4
A Wrd a[ Wlome
this hospitablcvclcomc" to thc lcmininc bcing" (thc
hospitablcvclcomc paicxccllcncc," thcvclcomingonc
paicxccllcncc,"vclcominginitscll"olJhcOvclling")
buttopatcinallccundity,vhichopcnsup aninhnitcand
discontinuous timc, " '' andvhich, asvc iccallcdabovc,
has an csscntial, ilot cxclusivc, iclation vith thc son,
vithcach son insolai as hc is a uniqucson, " an only
son" [fl unique] , achoscnson. "hcicthclcminincbc-
ingsccmcdtobcthchguicolthcvclcomingoncpaicx-
ccllcncc, " thclathcinovbccomcsthc inhnitchostoithc
hostolthcinhnitc.
tisaqucstionolopposingtothcStatcvhatishcicin-
sciibcd on only onc sidc olscxual dihcicncc, undcithc
solclavolpatcinity, namcly, thc inhnitctimcollccun-
dity, " and not thc cgoist piotcstation olsubjcctivity. "
iththis insistcntgcstuic, vith this piotcstation against
subjcctivcpiotcstation,Lcvinassccmstovanttodistancc
himscllliom two thinkcis vho aic vciy closc to him.
liombothaccitainicikcgaaid (vhoscintcipictationol
thc saciihcc" olsaacandolthcpatcinalhguicol^bia-
hamhccontcstsclscvhcic) andaccitainFoscnzcig. Bc-
loicbotholthcm, hclcigns to bctcmptcdloiamomcnt
bythcIcgclianaigumcntthatvouldlavoithcunivcisal-
ityolthcStatc. !clcigns this, but onlysoas tolctitbc
hcaidvithoutlcigningthatoncmustnotclosconcscllup
in thc subjcctivc hnitudc ol thc cgasomcthing liom
vhich lccundity, " picciscly, thcinhnitc timcolthcla-
thci-soniclation,vouldpiotcct us.
Against this egoist protestation of the subjectivity, against
this protestation in the frst person, the universalism of
Hegelian reality will perhaps prevail. . . . The I is conserved
then in goodness, without its resistance to system manifest
ing itself a the egoist cry of the subjectivity, still concerned
for happiness or salvation, as in Kierkegaard.102
A
Wrd of Wlcome
95
^appaicntpaiadox.anaichy tiucanaichymustbcpa-
tcinalas thc only chcctivc piotcstation against thc
tyiannyolthc Statc. "Iic-oiiginaiyhospitality, anaichic
goodncss, inhnitclccundity, andpatcinitymightstillgivc
vayto allcigy. Jhishappcnsalmostallthc timc anditcn-
tailsloigctting, dcnying, oiicpicssingvhatcomcsbcloic
thcoiigin,accoidingtot
_
ccommoncxpciicnccolhistoiy.
Jhisncgativityolicpicssionvouldalvays icmain,accoid-
ingtoLcvinas,sccondaiycvcnilitvcicanoiiginaiyic-
picssion, as is said in thc psychoanalytical codc olvhich
Lcvinas is vaiy. n its oiiginaiy sccondaiincss, itvould
stillattcst,asilinspitcolitscl[tothcvciythingitloigcts,
dcnics, oiicpicsscs, so thatinhospitality, allcigy,vai,ctc.
vouldstillcomcto bear witess tothclactthatcvciything
bcginsviththciicontiaiy, thatis, vithhospitality.
Icnccoith, ahiciaichizingdissymmctiyicmains (onc
thatisappaicntlythcinvciscolant's) .aioiallcigythc
inhospitablcicjcction,isstilldciivcdliomhospitality Ios-
tility manilcsts hospitality, it icmains in spitc olitsclla
phcnomcnonolhospitality,viththcliighthlconscqucncc
thatvatmi
[
htalvaysbcintcipictcdasthccontinuationol
pcaccbyothcimcans,oiatlcastasthcnon-intciiuptionol
pcaccoihospitality. Icncc this gicat mcssianic discouisc
oncschatologicalpcaccandonahospitablcvclcomcthat
nothing picccdcs, not cvcn thc oiigin, might bc undci-
stoodasanythingbutpolitical iicnism.
Jhatvaistillbcaisvitncss topcacc, that iticmains a
phcnomcnonolpcacc, isnot,asvcknov,oncolthccon-
scqucnccsdiavnbyLcvinas, butthciiskicmains. nany
cvcnt,vcaicclcailytoldthatallcigy,thcinhospitablcloi-
gctting olthc tiansccndcncc olthc Cthci, this loigctting
ollanguagc, in shoit, is stillatcstimony, an unconscious
tcstimony, ilsuchathingispossiblc. itattests to thcvciy
thing it loigcts, namcly, tiansccndcncc, scpaiation, and
A Wrd of Wlcome
thus languagcandhospitality, asvcllasvomanandthc
lathci.Jhatisvhat icmains [demeure]" initsdvclling
[demeure] . "
But the separated being can close itself up i n its egoism, that
is, in the very accomplishment of its isolation. And this pos
sibility of forgetting the transcendence of the Other-of
banishing with impunity alhospitality (that is, all language)
from one's home, banishing the transcendental relation that
alone permits the I to shut itself up in itself-attests to the
absolute truth, the radicalism, of separation. Separation is
not only dialectically correlative with transcendence, as its
reverse; it is accomplished as a positive event. The relation
with infnity remains [demeure] as another possibility of the
being recollected in its dwelling [sa demeure] . The possibility
for the home to open to the Other is as essential to the
essence of the home a closed doors and windows.
103
llanguagc oi thc tiansccndcncc olthc Cthci are oi
translate hospitablcliicndship itscll, thcnthcintcipicta-
tionolthistianslationdistinguishcsinatioublinglashion
(tioublingbccausc, a vcbcgantosccamomcntago,this
distinctionconstantlyiisks bcingcllaccd) thc Lcvinasian
conccpt olpcacc" liomthc antian onc. Jhis paiadoxi-
callcgacyoltsccms to bc cvokcdinasoitolviyal-
lusion to thc pcacc olccmctciics that Tward Perpetual
Peace alsoticatsvithiiony. oiLcvinas,asloiant, ctci-
nal pcaccmusticmainapcaccolthcliving.
Jo dchnc a pluialism oliadicals

paiation, apluiaism
invhich thc pluiality is not that ola total community,
that olthc cohcsion oicohcicncc olthcvholc, thc co-
hcicnccolthcclcmcntsthatconstitutcpluiali"itisncc-
cssaiyto thinkpluialityaspcacc.
The unity of plurality is peace, and not the coherence of the
elements that constitute plurality. Peace therefore cannot be
A Urd of Wlcome
9
7
identified with the end of combats that cease for want of
combatants, by the defeat of some and the victory of the
others, that is, with cemeteries or fture universal empires.
Peace must be my peace, in a relation that starts from an I
and goes to the other, in desire and goodness, where the I
both maintains itself and exists without egoism.
104
Jhc Iiclacc ol Ttalit and Infnit alicadydcnounccs
thcpcaccolcmpiics" aboutvhichthcicvouldstillbc
much to say today, vcll bcyond thcpax romana: Jhc
pcaccolcmpiicsissucdliomvaiicstsonvai."
Jhis conccpi olpcacc sccms to movc at oncc tovaid
and avay liom ant, vho is himscllat oncc Chiistian
andaman olthc nlightcnmcnt, vho thinks pcacc ina
puicly political lashion and alvays on thc basis olthc
Statc, cvcnilthc notion olthcpolitical inthis politics is
alvays inadcquatc to itscll. Jhc insistcnt ciitiquc olthc
Statc in Totalit and Infnit icgulailycalls into qucstion
thctyiannyolthcStatc" asvcllas thc anonymous uni-
vcisalityolthcStatc. "' 'Jhcbccomingpoliticalolhospi-
tality, its bccoming pait olthc Statc, is no doubt a ic-
sponsc toan aspiiation, it coiicsponds, moicovci, to thc
callolthcthiid,butitdcloims thc andthcothci" and
tcnds to intioducctyiannical violcncc. Jhatisvhypoli-
ticsmustncvcibclchtoitsclI"tvouldalvaysjudgcin
abscntia,"alvaysjudgconlythcdcadoithcabscnt,vhcic
thclaccisnotpicscnt,vhcicthcic isno onc tosayIcic
a. "Jhismightbcthcplaccloialutuicmcditationon
vhat bcing in abscntia' might mcan in iclation to lav
and to politics, bcyond thc stiiking though nccting usc
Lcvinasmakcs olthisvoidoihguic.
Metaphysics, or the relation to the other, is accomplished as
service and as hositalit. Insofar as the face of the Other re
lates us to the third the metaphysical relation of the I to the
A Wrd of Wlcome
Other moves into the form of the We, aspires to a State, in
stitutions, laws, which are the source of universality. But pol
itics le to itsel bears a tranny within itsel it derms the I
and the other who have given rise tq it, for it j udges them
according to universal rules, and thus as in absentia [par
contumace]
. 1 0
6
Jhc political dissimulatcs bccausc it biings to light. t
hidcsvhatitthiovslighton. Civingthclaccto bc sccn,
biingingoiattiactingitintothcspaccolpublicphcnom-
cnality, itthcicbyicndcisitinvisiblc.Visibilityicndcisin-
visiblc itsinvisibility, thatis, thcvithdiaval olitscpiph-
any. But cxhibiting thc invisibility olthc lacc is not thc
onlyvayoldissimulating it.Jhcviolcncc olthc political
misticatsthclaccyctagainbychacingitsunicity inagcn-
ciality. Jhcsc two violcnccs aic in thc cnd thc samc, and
Lcvinas associatcs thcmvhcn hc spcaks olattcntion to
thcCthcias unicityandlacc(vhichthcvisiblcncssolthc
politicallcavcsinvisiblc) ,vhichcan bc pioduccdonlyin
thc unicity olan1. " Icthcn immcdiatcly adds, pointing
inthcdiicctionolaccitainintcipictationolicikcgaaid
oiFoscnzvcig,thcclaiihcationthatvcmustcitcanditu-
atc onc moictimc, soas novfo cmphasizcaccitain pci-
haps". Subjcctivity is thus ichabilitatcd in thc voik ol
tiuth, andnotas
_
n cgoism ichsingthc systcmvhichol-
lcndsit.^gainstthiscgoistpiotcstationolthcsubjcctivity,
againstthispiotcstation in thchistpcison, thc univcisal-
ismolIcgclianicalityvillperhaps picvail. "
1
0
7
Icihaps", butthcnpcihaps itisalso moicdimcultloi
thcStatcto bc dcnounccd, oiindccddclimitcd.
Clcaily, thciccanbcnopcaccvoithyolitsnamcinthc
spacc olthistyianny" oithis anonymous univcisality. "
Butasvchavc comcto suspcct, thc topologyolthispol-
iticsisiathciconvolutcd.Lcvinasacknovlcdgcsthatvhat
idcntihcs itsclloutsidc olthc Statc" (pcacc, hospitality,
A Wrd of Wlcome
}}
patcinity, inhnitclccundity, ctc.) has aliamcvoik in thc
Statc, idcntihcs itscll outsidc olthc Statc, cvcn ilthc
Statcicscivcsaliamcvoikloiit."
Jhcic is thus a topological dcstiny loi this stiuctuial
complication olthc political. c spokc cailici olan cn-
clavc oltiansccndcncc. Jhc boidci bctvccn thc cthical
and thc political hcic loscs loi good thc indivisiblc sim-
plicityolalimit.IomattcivhatLcvinasmighthavcsaid,
thc dctciminability olthis limit vas ncvci puic, and it
ncvcivillbc.tvouldbcpossiblctolollovthisinclusion
olcxccss, oithis tiansccndcncc in immancncc, thiough
subscqucnttcxtssuchasBcyondthcStatcinthcStatc"oi
JhcStatcolCacsaiandthcStatcolOavid. " ^ hypci-
bolictiansgicssion biings aboutadisjunctioninthcim-
mancnccto scll. n cachcasc,thisdisjunctionhas to do
vith thc pic-oiiginaiy cx-piopiicty oi cx-appiopiiation
that makcs olthc subjcct agucst [hate] and an hostagc,
somconcvho is, bere cvciyinvitation,clcctcd, invitcd,
and visitcdinhis homcasinthchomcolthcothci,vho
is in his own home in the home of the other, inagivcn at
home, anathomcthatisgivcnoi,iathci, loancd, allottcd,
advanccd
[
cloiccvciycontiact, inthc anachionismola
dcbtpicccdingthcloan. "'

^ccoidingto thclogicolthisadvancc, alogicthatisat

onccpcacchl,gcntlc,andincluctablc,thcvclcomingonc
isvclcomcd. Icishistvclcomcdbythclaccolthcothci
vhomhcmcans tovclcomc.^lthoughthispcaccisnci-
thcipolitical, noiiclatcdtothcstatc,noi,inthclanguagc
olant, cosmopolitical, that docs not picvcnt Lcvinas
liomusinglanguagcthaticsonatcsvithant's.Jhis oc-
cuisinthciionicallusionto thcccmctciy, toapcacc that
must not bc thc pcacc olthc dcad. ^s is ohcn thc casc,
Lcvinas is cagci to icmain on ant's sidc. Ic spcaks in
ant'sdiicction,cvcnilhcisnotstiictlyspcakingoito-
roo A Wrd of Wlome
tallyantianindccdlailiomitandhcdocssoatthc
vciymomcnthcisopposingant.
nthissaicasticstagingbyant,villcmphasizcsomc-
thingthatdisappcaislikcadctailtovhichoncpayshaidly
any attcntion. Jhc allusion to thc pcacc olccmctciics
iclcis to aninnkccpci, ahostclci, thc sign olan innthat
takcs in and givcs shcltci. c aic vclcomcd at thc vciy
outsctundcithcsignolasignolhospitality,atthcsignol
hospitality, by thc vitty icmaik ola hostclci, thc qucs-
tionablcvoidsolahostoithcbadhumoiolaninnkccpci
(Gastwirt) . ^licady in thc oicvoid, on thc thicshold,
thcicloic, olToward Peretual Peace, vchndouisclvcsic-
ccivcdbyapiclatoiyvaining. Bcloicthis, thcic isthc ti-
tlc, vhich docs moic than onc thing. it situatcs and an-
nounccs aplacc,thcpcipctualpcaccthatvillbcticatcd-
vhich is also thc iclugc oi thc inn. n thc pioccss, it
piomiscs, giccts, dcdicatcs: Zum Ewigen Frieden (Jo pci-
pctual pcacc oi loi pcipctual pcacc) . ant's hist voids
thusputus onguaidagainst thc conhsion bctvccn two
pcaccs, thc ichgc and thc ccmctciy.
One may leave in suspense [Ob . . . mag dahin gestelt wer
den: the question of knowing whether . . . can be lef in sus
pense, like a title or a sign] the question of whether this satir
ical inscription on a Dutch innkeeper's sign [auf dem Shilde
jenes holldndischen Gastwirts] upon which a burial ground
was painted had for its object mankind in general, or the
rulers of states in particula, who are insatiable of war, or
merely the philosophers [ die Philosophen] who dream this
sweet dream.
Zum ewigen Frieden vould thus bc thc ambiguous
piomisc olapcipctual oictcinal pcacc, thc cquivocaloi
hypociiticalpiomisc olahospitalityvithout icstiiction.
But ant vants ncithci thc ccmctciy vith vhich thc
A Wrd of Wlome IoI
iulcisolStatcs andthchavks olcvciycpochthicatcnus
noithc svcctdicam" olthc pacihst philosophci, an idc-
alistic and impotcnt utopia, an onciiic iicnism.Jhclav
and cosmopolitics olhospitality that hc pioposcs in ic-
sponsctothis tciiiblcaltcinativcisasctoliulcs andcon-
tiacts, anintcistatc conditionalitythatlimits, against thc
backdiop olnatuial lavicintcipictcdvithin a Chiistian
hoiizon, thc vciy hospitality it guaiantccs. Jhc iight to
iclugcisvciystiictlydclimitcdbysuch iulcs.Jhcicisnot
cnoughtimc,andthisisnotthcplacc, toanalyzcthistcxt
moiccloscly. Cuitaskhcic issimplybctwccnantand
Lcvinastoshaipcnadillcicnccthatmattcistodaymoic
than cvcivith icgaid to this iight oliclugc and all thc
most uigcntmattcis oloui timc, cvciywhcicthatin s-
iacl, inFvanda,inuiopc,in^mciica, in^sia, andinall
thc Chuichcs olSt. Bcinaid in thc voildmillions ol
undocumcntcdimmigiants" [sans papiers] , olhomclcss"
[sans domicile fxe] , call outloianothciintcinationallav,
anothciboidcipolitics,anothcihumanitaiianpolitics,in-
dccdahumanitaiiancommitmcntthate ctivel opciatcs
bcyondthcintcicstsolIation-Statcs.
'I
I
Lctus ictuinloiamomcntto|ciusalcm.
I
caicappioachingthcgatcs ol|ciusalcm. "
hati sanappioach:illsuchanappiolchcvcicnd:
I
Lctusgoto|ciusalcm, oncycaiahcithis.cpaiationol
scpaiation,oncycaiahcithcdcatholmm.uclLcvinas.
JhcA-dieu olscpaiationlcavcsusstillthisigiacc,thisto
bcthankl loi, thanksto him, to bc ablc to
,
undcistand,
icad,vclcomcandicccivchimaccoidingtorhctiacc.
roz A Wrd of Wlcome
c mightmcditatcuponandthusamimthc pos-
sibilityolsuchachancc.
Cnccscalcdinthisviiting,onccandloiall,thcSaying
a-Dieu ciosscs in oncvoid, but to infnit, gicctingand
thcpiomisc,vclcomc [bienvenue] andscpaiation.thcvcl-
comcatthchcaitolscpaiation,olholyscpaiation.^tthc
momcnt ol dcath, but also in thc cncountci vith thc
ouciatthisvciymomcnt, inthcgcstuicolvclcoming-
andalvays to inhnity.Adieu.
Jo inhnity, suicly, bccausc thc a-Dieu says hist olall
thc idcaolinhnity. "
nthisscnsc,i ti salso akindolbiddingadieu toOcs-
caitcs. A vassuggcstcdcailici,Ocscaitcsvouldpiobably
havc hcsitatcd to go along vith Lcvinas in this soit ol
tuiningasidcoiicdiicctingolthctiaditionconccininthc
idcaolinhnityinmc. tisimpoitantthcnto notcthccx-
act natuic olthis icdiicction, and to dcsciibcthc movc-
mcntbyvhichLcvinasscpaiatcshimscllliomOcscaitcs.
t is in oidci to Say a-Dieu, to-Cod, thc to, thc a, ola-
Dieu, thctuinandthctuiningasidcolthis to, and to do
soatthcvciymomcntolcxplainingvhat did notintci-
cstOcscaitcs,loivhomthcmathcmaticalclaiityanddis-
tinctncss olidcasvas cnough," sincc thcvholcpaiadox
olthcidcaolinhnityvassuboidinatcdinthc Caitcsian
systcm to thcscaich loiknovlcdgc. "^cknovlcdgingthc
analogybctvccnhis ciitiqucandthc onclcvclcdbyIus-
sciI against Ocscaitcs, though conhiming thc phcnomc-
ologicalintciiuptionolphcnomcnologythatvcspokcol
cailici,Lcvinascallsthca-Dieu ancxtiaoidinaiystiuctuic
olthcidcaolinhnity thatcoincidcsncithciviththcscll-
idcntihcation olidcntity noivith scll-consciousncss. "
Jhati sbccauscthca, thcto"andthisi sitstuinitscll
tuins tovaid inhnity. vcn bcloic itsel tuining in this
vay, itis turned: bynhnitytovaidinhnity. vcnthough
A Wrd of Wlome Io
)
itcannot, by dchnition, mcasuic up to this mcasuiclcss-
ncssoicxccssloiLcvinasnotcsinpassingthcinadcqua-
tionola inthcicnchlanguagc, andhcdocssoatthcvciy
momcntvhcn, inthis vciylanguagc, hc invcnts this ic-
couiscloiit. ' 'Jhcpicpositiona ispicposcda l'nfni, to
thc inhnitcthatispicposcdinit.Jhc a, thcto, isnotonly
opcn toinhnity, uniqucly opcn, that is to Say to God [c'est
a Dire a Dieu] , said otherwise; it tuins in its diicctionand
addicsscsitscllfrst so as to respond to it, frst so as to be re
sponsible fr it, it addicsscs its ad to [a] thc inhnitc that
calls itandaddicsscs itscllto it, it opcns thc iclcicncc-ta
[a] , thciclation-ta[a] , to thcinhnityolitsbcaiing. thas,
liom thc bcginning, bcloic cvciything, bcloic giving oi
givingpaidon to Cod, bcloic bclonging to Cod, bcloic
anythingvhatsocvci, bcloic bcing itscll, bcloic anypic-
scnt, destined [voue] ittothccxccssoIadcsiicthcdcsiic
callcdA-Dieu. Codicsidcs inthis, Codvho desires to re
side there: thc dcsiicsays A-Dieu.
It is not in the finality of an intentional aim that I think in
finity. My most profound tought, the one that bears al
thought, my thought of infnity older than the thought of the
fnite, is the very diachrony of time, non-coincidence, divest
ment itself a way of "being destined" before any act of con
sciousness . . . A way of being destined or devoted that is de
votion itselE A Dieu, which is precisely not intentionality in its
noetic-noematic form . . . . The a-Dieu or the idea of Infnity
is not a species of some genre like intentionality or aspiration.
The dynamism of desire refers on the contrary to the a-Dieu,
a thought that is more profound and older than the cogito. 1 10
hynamc dcsiic hcic: hysayinvhat it icsidcs oi
desires to reside? ^dvhy associatc itvith thc namc ol
|ciusalcm,vithaccitaindcsiicof |ciusalcm:ithdcsii-
inga thcdcsiictoicsidcthcic:
c dosoatthc momcnt olconcludingadiscouiscon
Io
4
A Wrd of Wlcome
thccthicsandpoliticsolhospitality. Bcloicattcmptingto
icspondtothcabovcqucstions,vouldiccallthisindica-
tion. Lcvinas ohcn, atthc momcntolsayinginvhat thc
a-Dieu icsidcs, cvokcs in Cod thc lovc olthc stiangci.
Codvouldbcabovcall, itis said, thconcvholovcsthc
stiangci. "' ' ' xccssivclyso, loithc cxccss isalso, likc thc
non-recirocit that isdccidcdin dcath (vhichisvhythc
salutation is an adieu) , likc thc intciiuption olsymmctiy
oi olcommcnsuiability, thc tiait oi stiokc, thc unting
stiokc,thchyphcn [trait d'union] thatscpaiatcsthcadieu,
thc hyphcn ol thc a-Dieu. A-Dieu bcyond bcing, vhcic
Codnotonlydocsnothavctocxistbutvhcichcdocsnot
havcto givc to mcoigivc mcpaidon.hatvould laith
oidcvotion bcvhcn diicctcd tovaid a Cod vho vould
not bc ablc to abandon mc: Clvhom vould bc ab-
solutclyccitain, assuicdolhisconccin:^Codvhocould
not butgivc to mcoigivc olhimscllto mc: o could
not not choosc mc: ould Lcvinas havc cndoiscd thcsc
lastpiopositions, namcly, thatthca-Dieu, likcsalutation
oi piayci, must bc addicsscd to a Cod vho not only
mightnotcxist(vhomightnolongcioinotyctcxist)but
vhomightabandonmcandnottuintovaidmcthiough
anycovcnantoiclcction:
Ocsiic, lovc ol thc stiangci, cxccss. that is vhat
vantcd, undcithctitlcoiinthcnamcolthcAdieu, toput
asancxciguctothisconclusionappioaching|ciusalcm.
Codvho lovcs thc stiangci," iathcithanshovshim-
scllisthis not,bcyondbcingandthcphcnomcnon, bc-
yond bcingandnothingncss, aCodvho,althoughhclit-
ciallyis not, notcontaminatcdbybcing,"voulddcstinc
thc a-Dieu, thcsalutation andthcholyscpaiationto dc-
siicaslovcolthcstiangci":Bcloicandbcyondthccxis-
tcncc"olCod,outsidcolhispiobablcimpiobabiliiight
uptothcmostvigilantilnotthcmostdcspciatc,thcmost
A Wrd of Wlcome Io
)
sobci," olathcisms (Lcvinas likcs thisvoid sobci [dt
grist] ") , thc Sayinga-Dieu vouldsigni|hospitality. Jhis
isnotsomc abstiaction thatoncvouldcall, as havcjust
hastilydonc,lovcolthcstiangci," but(Cod) "who lovcs
thcstiangci. "
Who lovcsthcstiangci.holovcsthcstranger? hom
clscisthcicto love?
Lctusictuinloiamomcntto|ciusalcm.
Lctus go to|ciusalcm.
Jo |ciusalcm,pcihapsvc aicthcic.
sthcstcp [pas] olsuchaictuinpossiblc:Jhcpossibil-
ity is mcasuicdhcic againstthc chcctivity ola piomisc.
Ccitainly. ^ piomisc icmains, its possibilityicmains cl-
lcctivc,butcthicsdcmandsthatthischcctivitybcchcctu-
atcd, vithoutvhichthc piomisc bctiays thc piomiscby
icnouncingvhatitpiomiscs.sthcicalizationolanchcc-
tivc possibilityolcthics alicadypolitics:hich politics:
c aicthcic,inthccaithly|ciusalcm,bctvccnvaiand
pcacc, in thisvai thatis callcd liomcvciysidcvithout
anyoncbclicvingit,vithoutanyoncmakingus bclicvcit,
thc pcacc pioccss. "c aic in a piomisc that is at oncc
thicatcncd and thicatcning, in thc picscnt vithout pic-
scnt,inthcimmincnccolapiomiscd|ciusalcm.
hat is piomiscd in|ciusalcm is a humanity olthc
Joiah, "mmanuclLcvinasonccsaid.
hat docs this mcan:ho aicthc hotes andthchos-
tagcs ol|ciusalcm: Iov is onc to undcistand thc hu-
manity olthc Joiah" vhcn, in oidci to dctciminc thc
piomiscthatbcaisthisplaccnamc,|ciusalcm,Lcvinasin-
sists onthc caith, onthc caithly|ciusalcm"andnotthc
hcavcnlyonc,a|ciusalcmnotoutsidcallplaccs,inpious
thoughts. "
1 1
2
o6 A Wrd of Wlome
ygcstuicinthc diicction olavclcomcthatvould
bc moic than avclcomc, oldci oimoic to comc than a
vclcomc: A cschatological hospitality that vould bc
moic than hospitality, asitisundcistood inlav and in
politics, a hospitality of thc Joiah that vould bc, in a
void, moicthan aichgc:hyshouldthccthics olhos-
pitality bc somcthingmoic and somcthing othci than a
lavoipoliticsoliclugc:
Jhcscqucstionsaicnotposcd.
Ciatlcastthcyaicncvciposcdinthcicposcolaplacc.
Jhcyputoncto thctcstolanintciiogationthatcnduics
thcmvithouticposc.
So as to cvokc this cnduiancc vhat clsc can bc donc
hcic in j ust a lcv minutcs:) , lct us simply maik a lcv
stagcs inthc cxtiaoidinaiyitinciaiyolicadingandintci-
pictation that vc should lollovvoid byvoid, stcp by
stcp, in Beyond the Vrse, cspcciallyin chaptci
)
, cntitlcd
Citics olFchgc."
1 1
3
tconsistsolabouttwcntypagcs.Jhcsubtlcmovcmcnt
olthis cxcgcsis is at oncc vaiicd, paticnt, invcntivc, cau-
tious, and iisky, as vcll as opcn, its bicath hcldsus-
pcndcdtosuchadcgiccthathcsitatcto takcthciisk
olstoppingitoicvcnmomcntaiilybicakingitupaccoid-
ing to thc ciudc pcdagogy ola sciics olstagcs oi aigu-
mcnts. villmakcthcattcmptnoncthclcss,butonlysoas
to invitc you, as an opcning, to ictuin to vhat is an
nounccdinthisplacc.
Icihapsitvillsumcc toiccall, bymcansolancllipsis,
thclcmininchguicol|ciusalcm. tvouldicavakcnvhat
vas hcaid cailici, andqucstioncd, conccininghospitality
and thc lcmininc bcingvho vould bc hospitablcvcl-
comcpaicxccllcncc,"thcvclcomingoncpaicxccllcncc, "
vclcominginitscll."
Jo dcsiic,toicsidc. nsingingthc clcctionolZionby
A Wrd of Wlcome
Io)
thcdcsiicolYahvchycs,thcdesire olYahvchapsalm
(I
)
z. I
)
) namcs|ciusalcma thcchoscnlovcioispouscloi
a dvclling. Cod says that hc desires to rside in Zion.
Jhcicvillicsidc, loidcsiicdit,"says onctianslation.
Ocsiiingto icsidc, asilitvcicasinglcvoid, asinglcand
samc movcmcnt, loi thcic is no dcsiicvithout this clcc-
tivc claim, vithout this cxclusivc icqucst loi a singulai
icsidcncc.
Yes, Yahweh has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his
habitation.
This is my resting place forever; here I will reside, for I
have desired it. 1 14
OocsLcvinassayanythingclscbutthisvhcn, lolloving
thc hguic olanothci psalm (Izz.
)
) , hc dcsciibcs a|ciu-
salcm built s a city that is bound himly togcthci,"
bound bctwccn thc hcavcnly hcight ol Cod and thc
caithyicalmbclov:
Funningthioughtwointcipictationsolthishguic,thc
Zionistandthcunivcisalist,Lcvinaspiclcisathiidmcan-
ing,accoidingtovhichthcicisnoicligioussalvation(thc
vciticaldimcnsion)vithoutjusticcinthccaithlycityand
thchumandvclling (thchoiizontadimcnsion) . tis to-
vaidthisthiidmcaning"thatamcditationbcginstoun-
Ioldonthc|ciusalcm olthcJoiah in thc contcxtolthis
humanist uibanism olthc citics olichgc,"' '' this hu-
manismoihumanitaiianismolthcciticsoliclugc." ' '
^incicasingnumbciolallusionslollovtovhattop-
icalsignihcancc this] mighthavcloius," ' ' to thcspiiit
olicvoltoicvcnoldclinqucncyinouisubuibs,thcicsult
olthc social imbalancc invhich vc aic placcd. " Oocs
notallthismacouicitics,"Lcvinasak, citicsolichgc
oicitcsolcxilcs:"' '
JhisicadingolancxcciptliomJiactatcakoth,:oa,
Io& H Wrd of wlome
locuscsmoicspccihcallyonthcnotionolciticsolicmgc,
vhich, accoidingto Iumbcis
))
, Cod commandsoscs
to opcnup toanyoncvhohaskillcdunintcntionallyand
isbcingpuisucdbyan avcngciolbloodoiiansomciol
blood" (asChouiaquitianslatcsit) . Cncistoollcishcltci
to thc involuntaiy muidcici bcing puisucd by thc
avcngciolblood"soastosccuichissalcq. Cncistostop
at thccitygatcs anavcngcivholcclsjustihcdinsccking
his ovnjusticc vhcn thc tiibunalicmainspovcilcss to
judgc somconc vho is guilty inadvcitcntly, " somconc
vhohaskillcdvithoutthcintcntionolcausingdcath.
Lcvinas'shistconccinistonotcthatthisdivincinjunc-
tion commands thc cication ol a iightin tiuth, a
countci-iightthatsanctionsthcpiotcctionolth

invol-
untaty muidcici against thc maiginal iight" ol thc
avcngci olblood.Jhcjuiisdiction olthis countci-iight,
vhichispiaiscdbyLcvinas, is iathciichncd, bccausc by
limiting thctimcolasylumollcicdto thc muidciciital-
lovsasylumtobctuincdintocxilcandhospitalityinto
punishmcnt. oithcobjcctivcoiinvoluntaiymuidcidocs
nothavctobctotallycxcuscd.Lcvinasinsistsonthisdu-
blc hnality. ndccd, it is thcic to icmind us that thcic is
no ical discontinuity bctvccnvoluntaiyandinvoluntaty
muidci. Somctimcs invisiblc, alvays to bc dcciphcicd,
thiscontinuityloiccsustoinhnitizcouiicsponsibility.vc
aic also icsponsiblcloiouilackolattcntion andloioui
caiclcssncss, loi vhat vc do ncithci intcntionally noi
liccly, indccd, loivhatvc do unconsciouslysinccthis
isncvcivithoutsignihcancc. uithci on, thcicappcais a
moic iadical loimulation. thcicvould bc onlyonciacc
olmuidcicis,vhcthcithcmuidciiscommittcdinvolun-
taiilyoiintcntionally. "' ''
But this is onlythc hist stagc. n thcvakc olanothci
vcisc,Lcvinasasksvhyitispicsciibcdthatamastciolthc
A Wrd of Wlcome
Iop
Joiah lollovhis disciplcvhcn thcdisciplcmustgointo
cxilcinacityolichgc.^icvctoconcludcliomthisthat
thcJoiah itscllnccds to bc piotcctcdand ocicdasylum
thiough cxilcinacityoliclugc: sthcJoiah notacityol
ichgc:, "Lcvinasthcnasks.
Is this not known by the following "questionable" herme
neutic [a bit later he will call it "specious"] :
"But that cannot be correct, seeing that Rabbi Johanan
said: Whence can it be shown (Scripturally) that the study of
the Trah afords asylum? From the verse: ' Bezer in the
wilderness' (Deuteronomy 4: 43) [that Moses chose] , which
is followed by: 'This is the law [Torah] which Moses set be
fore the children of Israel' (Deuteronomy 4:
4)
. "120
^cihavinggivcnsomccicditto this spccious" intci-
pictation, altcihaving glosscd and discusscd it, Lcvinas
takcsahithcistcp.Jhisstcpvouldcaiiyus bcyondthc
noblc lcsson olthc city oliclugc, its indulgcncc and its
loigivcncss. "n spitc olthcj uiidical ichncmcntit intio-
duccs,indccdbccauscolthisvciycasuistiy,thcnoblclcs-
son" icmains cquivocal vith icgaid to thc Joiah. Jhc
Joiah dcmands moic, it dcmands moic liom|ciusalcm,
icquiicsmoicin|ciusalcm.
The Torah is justice, a complete justice which goes beyond
the ambiguous situations of the cities of refge. A complete
justice because, in its expressions and contents, it is a call for
absolute vigilance. The great awakening from which all over
sight, even that of involuntary murder, is excluded. Jerusalem
will be defined by this Torah, a city consequently of extreme
consciousness. As if the consciousness of our habitual life
were still asleep, as if we had not yet got a foothold in reality.
We are approaching the gates [portes] of Jerusalem.
121
^ complctc justicc, Joiah-ol-|ciusalcm, but a justicc
vhosccxticmcvigilanccicquiicsthatit bccomc chcctivc,
no A Wrd of Wlcome
thatitmakcitscllinto lavandpolitics.Cnccagain, bc-
yond thc Statc in thc Statc, bcyond lav in thc lav, rc-
sponsibilityhcldhostagcto thchcic-nov, thclavolj us-
ticcthat tiansccndsthcpoliticalandthcjuiidical, inthc
philosophicalscnscolthcsctcims,mustbcndto itsclI to
thcpoint olcxcccdingandobscssingit, cvciythingthat
thclacccxcccds, in thclaccto laccoiinthcintciiuption
olthcthiidthatmaiksthcdcmandloijusticcaslav.
tis iightcndlcsslyto insiston this. cvcn ilthc cxpcii-
cnccolthcthiid, thcoiiginolj usticcandolthcqucstion
a aputtingintoqucstion,isdchncda thcintciiuptionol
thc laccto lacc, itisnotanintiusionthatcomcssccond.
Jhc cxpciicncc olthc thiidis ineluctable liom thcvciy
histmomcnt, andincluctablcinthclacc,cvcnilit

intci-
iuptsthclaccto lacc,italso bclongto it, as scll-intciiup-
tion it bclongs to thc lacc and can bc pioduccd only
thioughit. Jhcicvclationolthcthiid,incluctablcinthc
lacc,ispioduccdonlythioughthclacc. "'
tisasilthcunicityolthclaccvcic,initsabsolutcand
iiiccusablcsingulaiity, pluiala priori. A vchavcinsistcd,
Lcvinasalicadytakcsthisintoaccount,sotospcak,in To
talit and Infnit,
1
23
vcll bcloic thc logic" olsubstitu-
tion, alicadyskcchcd out in I}6I, ' gcts dcvclopcd in
Otherwise than Being. Jhcmostgcncialpossibilityolsub-
stitution, a simultancous condition, a paiadoxical icci-
piocity(thcconditionoliiiccipiocity) olthcuniqucand
olits icplaccmcnt, aplacc that is at oncc untcnablc and
assigncd,thcplaccmcntolthcsingulaia icplaccablc,thc
iiiccusablcplaccolthcncighboiandolthcthiidisnot
althisthchistahcctionolthcsubjcctinitsipscity:Jhus
undcistood,substitutionannounccsthcdcstinyolsubjcc-
tivity, thc subjcction olthc subjcct, as host oi hostagc.
Jhcsubjcctisahost" (Totalit and Infnit) ; thcsubjcct
ishostagc" (Otherwise than Being) . A hostoihostagc, as
A Wrd of Wlome . rrr
othci, as puic altciity, asubjcctivityanalyzcdi nthisvay
must bc stiippcd olcvciyontologicalpicdicatc, abitlikc
thc puic thatIascal saidis stiippcd olcvciyqualitythat
could bc attiibutcdto it, olcvciypiopcitythat, as puic ,
aspiopcily puic, itvould havc to tiansccnd oi cxcccd.
^ndthcothciisnoticduciblc to its actualpicdicatcs, to
vhat onc might dchnc oi thcmatizc about it, anymoic
thanthcis. tisnakcd, baicd olcvciypiopcity, andthis
nudityis alsoits inhnitcly cxposcdvulnciability. itsskin.
Jhisabscnccoldctciminablcpiopcitics,olconcictcpicd-
icatcs,olcmpiiicalvisibility, isnodoubtvhatgivcstothc
laccolthcothciaspcctialauia,cspcciallyilthcsubjcctiv-
ityolthchate alsolcts itscllbcannounccdasthcvisitation
olalacc, olavisagc. Host oiguest innglish] , Gastgeber
oi Gast, thc hate vould bc not only a hostagc. tvould
havc,accoidingtoapioloundncccssity, atlcastthclaccoi
hguicolaspiiitoiphantom(Geist, ghost) . hcnsomconc
oncc cxpicsscd conccin to Lcvinas about thc phan-
tomatic chaiactci" olhis philosophy, cspccially vhcn it
ticats thc laccolthcothci,"Lcvinas didnotdiicctlyob-
j cct. Fcsoitingtovhat havcj ustcallcdthcIascalian"
aigumcnt(` itisncccssaiythatthcothcibcvclcomcd in-
dcpcndcntly olhis qualitics") , hc clcaily spccihcd vcl-
comcd," cspcciallyinan immcdiatc, " uigcntvay, vith-
outvaiting, asilical" qualitics, attiibutcs, oipiopcitics
(cvciything that makcs a living pcison into somcthing
othcithanaphantom)slovcddovn,mcdiatizcd,oicom-
piomiscd thc puiity olthis vclcomc. t is ncccssaiy to
vclcomc thc othci in his altciity, vithout vaiting, and
thusnottopausctoiccognizchisicalpicdicatcs. tisthus
ncccssaiy,bcyondallpciccption,toicccivcthcothcivhilc
iunningthc iisk, aiiskthatisalvays tioubling,stiangcly
tioubling, likc thc stiangci (unheimlich) , olahospitality
ollcicdto thcguest asghost oi Geist oi Gast. Jhcicvould
II2 A Wrd of Wlome
bc no hospitality vithout thc chancc olspcctiality. But
spcctiality is not nothing, it cxcccds, and thus dccon-
stiucts, all ontological oppositions, bcing and nothing-
ncss, lilc anddcathandit also givcs. t cangivc [don
ner] , givc oidci(s) [ordonner] and givc paidon [pardon
ner] , anditcanalsonotdoso,likc Codbcyondcsscncc.
Codvithout bcing, Cod uncontaminatcd bybcingis
this not thc mostiigoiousdchnitionolthc acc olthc
hollyCthci:Butisthisnotthcnan appichcnsionthat
isas spcctialasitisspiiitual:
s it insignihcant that thc city olichgc is hist olall
moic than a piomisc: tis an oidcigivcn in a situarion

vhcic dcathvas dcalt oigivcnvithout thc intcntion ol

givingit. Butitisalsothcoidcitosavcliomdcathamui-
dcicihauntcdbythcspcctialictuinolthcvictim, bythc
icvcngc olthc phantom, by avcngcis bcnt on dcaling
dcathinthciituin.hcnccitscxticmcambiguity.shcl-

tcimust bc givcnto oncvho is guiltyolan involuntaiy

act, immunity, at lcast a tcmpoiaiy immunity, must bc
giantcdtoamuidcici.
Jhough it cxcccds thc political ambiguity oij uiidical
cquivocation tovhich thc noblc lcsson" olthc citics ol
ichgc still bcais vitncss, thc Joiah, thc Joiah in|ciu-
salcm, thcJoiah-
j
ciusalcm, muststillinsciibcthcpiom-
isc in thc caithly|ciusalcm. ^nd hcnccloith command
thc compaiison olincompaiablcs (thc dchnition olj us-
ticc, olthc conccssion madc, outolduty, to synchiony,
co-picscncc, thc systcm, and, hnally, thc Statc) . t must
cnjoinancgotiationviththcnon-ncgotiablcsoastohnd
thcbcttci" oithclcastbad.
Iothing counts moic, nothing vcighs moic hcavily,
thanthcquotationmaiksaioundthcvoidbcttci" [ meil
leur] hcic, thc bcst [ meilleur] woid. Iolitical civilization,
saysLcvinas,isbcttci"thanbaibaiism,butitisonlybct-
A Wrd of Wlcome I I 3
tci," that is, lcss bad. t is notgood, it is onlyastopgap,
butoncthat it is necessary toscck, thatitisncccssaiynot
to stopsccking. oithcconclusionolthistcxtonccagain
cautions us againstaZionism thatvouldbcsimplyapol-
itics,justoncmoicnationalismoipaiticulaiism".
It is precisely in contrast to the cities of refuge that this claim
of the Torah through which Jerusalem is defned can be un
derstood. The city of refge is the city of a civilization or of
a humanity which protects subjective innocence and forgives
objective guilt and all the denials that acts inflict on inten
tions. A political civilization, 'better' than that of passions
and so-called free desires, which, abandoned to the hazards
of their eruptions, end up in a world where, according to an
expression from the Pirqe Aboth, "men are ready to swallow
each other alive. " A civilization of the law, admittedly, but a
political civilization whose justice is hypocritical and where,
with an undeniable right, the avenger of blood prowls.
What is promised in Jerusalem, on the other hand, is a
humanity of the Torah. It will have been able to surmount
the deep contradictions of the cities of refge: a new hu
manity that is better than a Temple. Our text, which began
with the cities of refuge, reminds us or teaches us that the
longing for Zion, that Zionism, is not one more nationalism
or particularism; nor is it a simple search for a place of
refge. It is the hope of a science of society, and of a society,
which are wholly human. And this hope is to be found in
Jerusalem, in the earthly Jerusalem, and not outside all
places, in pious thoughts.
125
Cavcnothcaithispiomisc:
c can also icccivc and listcn to it. c can cvcnlccl
ouisclvcs cngagcd byitvithout, hovcvci, icmaining in-
scnsitivctothcsilcnccitbcaisatthchcaitolthccall.Jhis
silcncc can also bcthc hguic olahiatus, that is, amouth
opcncdtospcakandtocat, butamouththatisstillsilcnt.
II4 A "rd of Wlcome
A loimc,bclicvchcaisuchasilcnccinthisconclu-
sionthatspcaksola hopc" bcyondichgc. "oinothing
is dctcimincd hcic, vouldcvcnsaydctciminablc, con-
ccining thc bcttci" politics, thc bcttci" lav, bc this thc
lavolvaioithclavolnations [Ie droit des gens] , that, in
avoildvhcicthclavolmodcinIation-Statcsicigns,in
a hypociitical" political civilization,"andinthc caithly
|ciusalcm oltodayandtomoiiov, vouldicspondbcst"
oilcastpooilytothispiomisc.
Jo putthisinthctcimsolaclassicalphilosophicaldis-
couisc, silcncc is kcpt conccining thc iulcs oi schcmas
(thcicvould bc noncloipuicpiactical icason, accoiding

to ant) that vould piocuic loi us bcttci" oi lcss bad

mcdiations. bctvccn cthics oi thc holincss olmcssianic
hospitalityonthc onchandandthc pcaccpioccss," thc
pioccssolpoliticalpcacc,onthcothci.
Jhissilcncc comcs to usliomthcabyss.
t pcihaps icscmblcs, it pcihaps cchocsjust pci-
hapsthcsilcnccliomthcdcpthsolvhichlijahhcaid
himscllcallcd, him alonc (Iovis it, lijah, thatyou`ic
hcic, vhat aic you doing hcic:") , liom thc dcpths ola
voiccthatvasscarcclyavoicc, analmostinaudiblcvoicc,
avoicc baicly to bc distinguishcd liom a light bicczc, a
voicca subtlc as silcncc, asoundolshccisilcncc,"buta
voiccthatlijahthoughthccouldmakcoutahcihaving
soughtinvain thcpi

scnccolCod onthc mountain, in

thcvind, thcn inthc caithquakc, andthcninthchic, a
voiccthatak (hataicyoudoinghcic:") andthatoi-
dcis, Co. "''
oic intiactablc thanthc vind, thc caithquakc, and
thc hic, thc silcncc olthisvoiccisnotjustanyabyss, and
it is not ncccssaiily a bad abyss. Cnc might cvcn tiy to
A Wrd of wlcome I I 5
disccin its cdgcs.tdocsnotvhispcisilcnccovcithc nc-
ccssityolarelation bctvccncthicsandpolitics,cthicsand
j usticcoilav. This relation is necessary, itmustcxist, itis
ncccssaiyto dcduccapoliticsandalavliomcthics.Jhis
dcductionis ncccssaiy inoidcito dctcimincthc bcttci"
oithc lcssbad,"vith allthc icquisitc quotation maiks.
dcmociais bcttci" thantyianny.vcninits hypociit-
ical" natuic, politicalcivilization" icmains bcttci" than
baibaiism.
hatconscqucnccsshouldbcdiavnliomthis:ould
Lcvinas havc subsciibcd to thosc vc iiskcd loimulating
cailici, oithoscvcaicadvancingnov:hatcvciouidc-
siic loi hdclity, vc cannot icspond to this qucstion, vc
must not claim to do so, oi claim icsponsibilityloivhat
Lcvinas himscllvould havc icspondcd. Conccining, loi
cxamplc,vhatvassaidcailiciaboutthcpcijuiyoljusticc
andcvciythingthatthcnlollovs,vhcicintcipictthissi-
lcnccbctwccncthics andpolitics, cthicsandlav.
Iovisonctohcaithissilcncc:o can hcaiit:
tsccmsto
`
dictatcthisto mc. thcfrmal injunctionol
thc dcduction icmains iiiccusablc, and it docs not vait
anymoic than thc thiid andjusticc do. thics cnjois a
politics and a lav. this dcpcndcncc and thc diicction ol
this conditional dciivation aic as iiicvcisiblc as thcy aic
unconditional. Butthcpoliticaloij uiidical content thatis
thus assigncd icmains undctcimincd, still to bc dctci-
mincd bcyond knovlcdgc, bcyond all picscntation, all
conccpts, all possiblc intuition, in a singulai vay in thc
spccch andthc icsponsibility taken by cach pcison, in
cachsituation,andonthcbasisolananalysisthatiscach
timcuniqucuniqucandinhnitc, uniqucbuta priori cx-
poscd to substitution, ' uniquc and yct gcncial, intci-
minablc inspitc olthc uigcncyolthc dccision. oi thc
n6 A Wrd of Wlcome
analysisolacontcxtandolpoliticalmotivationscanhavc
no cnd assoona itincludcs inits calculations alimitlcss

pastandhtuic.A alvays, thcdccisionicmainshctciogc-

ncous to thc calculations, knovlcdgc, scicncc, and con-
sciousncss that noncthclcss condition it. Jhc silcncc ol
vhichvcaicspcaking,thconctovaidvhichvcaicabovc
allattcntivc, is thcclcmcntaiyanddccisivcbctvccn-timc,
thc mcantimc, thc instantancous mcantimc oldccision,
vhich unscttlcs timc and puts it ohits hingcs (out ol
joint) inanachionyandincontictcmps.thatis,vhcnthc

lavolthclavcxposcsitscll of itsel inthcnon-lav, bybc-

comingatoncchostandhostagc, thchostandhostagcol
thcothci,vhcnthclavolthcuniqucmustgivcitscllovci
to substitution and to thc lav ol gcncialityvithout
vhich oncvould obcy an cthicsvithoutlavvhcnthc
Jhoushallnotkill, "vhcicinboththcJoiahandthclv
olmcssianicpcaccaicgathcicd,stillallovs any Statc (thc
onc olCacsai oi thc onc olOavid, loi cxamplc) to lccl
justihcdiniaisinganaimy inmakingvaioikccpinglav
and oidci, incontiollingits boidcisinkilling. Lct`s not
insisttoomuchhciconthcobvious, butlct'snotloigctit
tooquickly, cithci.
Jhc silcncc outolvhichvc spcakissuiclynotloicign
to thc non-icsponsc byvhich Lcvinas oltcn dchncs thc
dcad, oidcath, adcaththat docs notsigni|nothingncss.
Jhisnon-icsponsc, thisintciiuptionolthcicsponsc,docs
notavaitdcathvithoutspccch,itspaccsandmakcs dis-
continuousall spccch.Jhchiatus, thcsilcnccolthisnon-
icsponsc concciningthcschcmasbctwccnthccthicaland
thc political, icmains. tis alactthatiticmains, andthis
lactisnotsomc cmpiiicalcontingcncy, itisaFaktum.
Butitmustalsoicmainbctwccnthcmcssianicpiomisc
A Wrd of Wlome II7
andthcdctciminationolaiulc,noim,oipoliticallav. t
maiks a hctciogcncity, a discontinuitybctvccn tvo oi-
dcis,cvcnilthisbconthcinsidcolthccaithly|ciusalcm.
tmaiksthcbctvccn-timcoimcantimcolanindccision,
thc only basis onvhich icsponsibility and thc dccision
aicto bc taken and dctcimincd. tisonthc basisolthis
non-icsponsc that spccch oi voids [ fa parole] may bc
taken, andhistolall given, that anyonc might claim to
takc upspccch, " oitakc thchooiin politics, outolh-
dclitytoaspccchoivoidthat isgivcn, to this giving ol
onc'svoid, tothcvoidolhonoi" thatvcmcntioncdin
thcbcginning.
Jhissilcnccisthusalsothatolaspccchoivoidthatis
givcn.
I givcsspccch,givcsovcispccch,itisthcgiholspccch.
Jhis non-icsponsc conditions myicsponsibility, thcic
vhcicaloncmusticspond.ithoutsilcncc,vithoutthc
hiatus,vhichisnotthcabscnccoliulcsbutthcncccssity
ola lcap atthc momcntolcthical, political, oijuiidical
dccision, vc could simplyunloldknovlcdgc into apio-
giamoico

iscolaction.Iothingcouldmakcusmoicii-
icsponsiblc,nothingcouldbcmoictotalitaiian.
Jhis discontinuity, moicovci, allovsus tosubsciibcto
cvciythingLcvinassaysaboutpcaccoimcssianichospital-
ity, aboutthcbcyondolthcpoliticalinthcpolitical,vith-
out ncccssaiilyshaiingall thc opinions" inhis discouisc
havingto dovithan intiapoliticalanalysisolicalsitua-
tionsoiolvhatisactuallygoingontodayviththccaithly
|ciusalcm,oiindccdvithaZionismthatvouldnolongci
bcj ust onc moic nationalism (loi vc nov knovbcttci
thancvcithatallnationalismslikcto thinkolthcmsclvcs
asunivcisalinancxcmplaiylashion,thatcachclaimsthis
cxcmplaiity andlikcs to thinkolitscllas moic thanjust
oncmoicnationalism) . vcn il, in fct, itsccmsdimcult
n8 A Wrd of Wlcome
to maintainalaith in clcction,andcspcciallyinthcclcc-
tionolanctcinalpcolc,salc liomallnationalist" (inthc
modcin scnsc olthis void) tcmptation, cvcn ilitsccms
dimculttodissociatchcminthcactualpoliticalsituation
olanyIation-Statc (andnotjustsiacl) ,itisncccssaiyto
acknovlcdgc that Lcvinas alvays vantcd to piotcct thc
thcmaticolclcction (vhichissoccntial, sostiong, andso
dctcimininginhisvoik) liomcvciynationalistscduction.
Cnc could citcany numbcioltcxts to piovc this. Lct it
sumccto iccall, amongthc cxtiaoidinaiypolitical cssays
viittcnbyLcvinasbctwccn19
35
and19
3
9,
1
2
8
thoscthatal-
vays placcdthc Covcnantabovcoibcyonda|cvishna-
tionalism. "
1
29
Jhc samc hiatus liccs spacc, it can givc its placc to a
subtlc, dimcult, but ncccssaiy analytical dissociation in
thc stiuctuic olaigumcnts and thc placcmcnt olstatc-
mcnts. oi cxamplc, in thc discouisc olLcvinas. Oaic
saythat ncvci loigo, and, bclicvc, inthc admiiingh-
dclity and icspcct that ! ovc mmanucl Lcvinas, must
ncvciloigo, thc iightto this analysis, indccd, to thcdis-
cussionolsomcpiopositionoiothciinatcxtthatcannot
bchomogcncousbccauscitknovshovtointciiuptitscll:
oithis samc tcxt givcs to bcthought, lctus notloigct,
thccontiadictionintcinaltoSaying,vhatvccailicicallcd
ContiaOiction, an intimatc cacsuiabutalso thc inspiia-
tionandclcmcntaiyicspiiationolSaying.
sn`tthisdiscussionncccssaiypiccisclythcicvhcicitis
aqucstionolicsponsibilitybcloicthcothci,inthclaccto
lacc oi in thc attcntion to thc thiid, in thc vciy placc
vhcicjusticcisnon-dialcctizablccontia-diction:
Jhcsamcdutyto analycvouldlcadmcto dissociatc,
vith althcconscqucnccsthatmightlollov, astiuctuial
mcssianicity, an iiiccusablc andthicatcning piomisc, an
cschatology vithour tclcology, liom cvciy dctciminatc
A Wrd of Vlcome II
9
mcssianism. a mcssianicity bcloic oi vithout any mcs-
sianismincoipoiatcdbysomcicvclation in adctcimincd
placcthatgocsbythcnamcolSinaioiountIoicb.
But is it not Lcvinas himscllvho vill havc madc us
dicam, inmoicthanoncscnscolthisvoid,olaicvclation
olthcJoiahbcloicSinai: Ci, moicpicciscly, olarecogni
tion [ reconnaissance] ol thc Joiah bcloic this icvclation:
A loi Sinai, thc piopci namc Sinai, docs it caiiy a
mctonymy: Ci an allcgoiy:' ' Jhc nominal body ola
baiclydcciphciablcintcipictationthatvouldcomcto ic-
call to us, vithout loicing oui ccititudc, vhatvill havc
comc bere Sinai, at oncc thclacc, thcvithdia:alofthc
lacc, andvhat, inthcnamcolthcJhiid, thatisto say, in
thcnamcoljusticc, contiadicts thc Saying inthcSaying:
Sinai.ContiaOictionitsclI
hat vould havc vantcd to suggcst, n shoit, has
comc to ticmblc hcic, and pcihaps to communicatc in
ticmbling, a conccin, a lcai and ticmbling bcloicvhat
Sinai, " thc piopci namc Sinai, " mcans, bcloicvhat is
callcd and calls us in this vay, bcloic vhat icsponds to
this namc, is icsponsiblc loi this namc, bcginning liom
thisnamc.
`
Jhc piopci namc Sinai" is thus j ust as cnigmatic as
thc namc lacc. "n thc singulaiandthcpluial, ictaining
thc mcmoiyolits Icbiaicsynonym,vhatis hcic callcd
lacc" also staits to icscmblcsomc untianslatablcpiopci
namc. Butthisvould bcsoonlybyviitucolan cvcntol
tianslation.
Clanother translation, anothcithoughtoltianslation.
ithoutanythingjustbcloic,bcginningliomvhatisbc-
loic thc j ust bcloic. ithout oiiginal, bcginning liom
vhat ispic-oiiginaiy. oiisnotvisage lacc"] , oi visages
laccs"]vhichshouldbcviittcnatonccin thc singulai
andthcpluial, accoidingto thc uniquc, accoidingto thc
Izo A Wrd of Wlome
lacc to lacc andaccoiding to thcmoic-than-two olthc
thiidalso moicthanavciyoldnamc, asingulaipluial
icinvcntcdinthcicnchlanguagc, apocmgivingaccoid
in tuin to anothci icnch languagc, giving it to us by
composinginitancvaccoid, alanguagcthatisstillun-
hcaidolloithc othciman, loimanas othcioistiangci,
loithc othcito man, thc othci of manoithc othci than
man:
Ycs, suchnominationvouldhavcbccnaccoidcdto thc
icnch languagc. t vas tianslatcd thcic, having visitcd
thislanguagc,andnovitisitshostagc,likcapiopcinamc
thatisuntianslatablcoutsidcthcicnchlanguagc.
nthisstoiyvhovasthchostandvhothcgucst:o
vill bc:
Jhcvoid a-Dieu bclongs to thc samc accoid. Bcloic
thcnamcoinoun,bcloicthcvcib, liomthcdcpthsolthc
calloiolthcsilcntsalutation,itcomcstonominationto
callthcnamcbynamc.ithoutanamcoinoun,vithout
avcib, so closc to silcncc.A-Dieu is accoidcdto thclacc.
^ndvcmcctdcathinthclaccolthcCthci. "'''
c iccallcdcailicithcinhnitcmcaningolthc a-Dieu,
thc idca olinhniqthatcxcccds thc thought olit, asvcll
as thc cogito, noctic-nocmaticintcntionality, knovlcdgc,
objcctivity, hnality, ctc. Butthc idiomvouldbcncutial-
izcdvcic onc simplytotianslatc a-Dieu bythc idcaol
inhnityinthc hnitc," thus icducing its mcaning to this
idca, to this cxccss olmcaning. Cnc couldthcn usc this
as a pictcxt loiloigctting dcath. ^ndyctallolLcvinas's
thought,homthc bcginningtothccnd,vasamcditation
on dcath, a mcditation that divcitcd, disconccitcd, and
sctbcsidcitscllcvciythinginphilosophy, liomIlato to
Icgcl to Icidcggci, thatvasalso, and hist olall, con-
ccincd vith dcath, epimeleia thanatou, Sein zum Tde.
A Wrd of Wlome
121
hcnLcvinas icinvcntsthcthoughtolthc a-Dieu, hcol
couisc thinks cvciything vc j ust iccallcd undci this
namc, but hc docs so vithout distancing himscllliom
vhathchadto tcachaboutdcath, againstoiapaitliom
thcphilosophicaltiadition. Jhisispaiticulailycvidcntin
his couiscs onDeath and Time, andcspcciallyinanaiti-
clcol198
3
, Ion-ntcntionalConsciousncss. "Jhca-Dieu
thcic docsindccdbcaivitncssto thcsuiplusolaninhn-
ityolmcaning,tothc no) moic-mcaningtoinhnity, but
itdocsso,ilmayputitthisvay, atthchouioldcath.^t
thc houi ola dcath that it is no longcincccssaiyto ap-
pioach by mcans olthc altcinativc bctvccn bcing and
nothingncss.^tthchouiolthisdcath,thcsalutationand
thccallsaya-Dieu. Lcvinashadj usticcallcdthccxticmc
upiightncss olthclacc, " but also thc upiightncss olan
cxposuic to dcath, vithout dclcnsc and a icqucst to
mc addicsscd liomthc dcpths olan absolutc solitudc. "
Jhioughthis icqucstvouldcomcto mc,butas anassig-
nation, vhatiscallcdthcvoidolCod. "tisgivcntobc
hcaidinthca-Dieu.
The call ef God does not establish between me and the One
who has spoken to me a relation; it does not establish some
thing that, on any account, would be a conjunction-a co
existence, a synchrony, even if ideal-between terms. Infin
ity would have no meaning for a thought that goes to the
limit, and the a-Dieu is not a fnality. It is perhaps this irre
ducibility of the a-Dieu or of the fear of God to eschatology,
this irreducibility that interrupts within the human the con
sciousness that was on its way toward being in its ontological
perseverance or toward death which it takes as the ultimate
thought, that is signified, beyond being, by the word "glory. "
The alternative between being and nothingness is not ulti
mate. The a-Dieu is not a process of Being: in the call, I a
referred back to the other human being through whom this
call signifes, to the neighbor for whom I must fear.
132
Izz A Wraof wlcome
Cnthcsamcscoic, Lcvinassomctimcsmadcuscolthc
voida-1tcuothcivisc, in anothci icgistci. Icvantcdto
saythcsamcthing, no doubt, butliomalcssmagistciial
hcight. nasoitolsmilingmuimui,hcbcganatthcsamc
timc,inthccouiscolthcsamcdccadc,tosayaatcutolilc.
Likc somconcvho lccls and knovs thathcis aging, and
that timc isaatcu,hcsaidvhata-1tcucomcsto mcan at
a ccitain agc, and hov hc vas using this void a-1tcu,
cvciythingthathcputintoit(as cxpicss myscllnov") ,
andvhichvchavcjusticcallcdloicxamplc,vulnciabil-
ity. do not contcst that vc aic in lact alvays in this
voild, butitis avoildvhcicinvc aic altcicd. Vulncia-
bility is bcing ablc to say aatcu to this voild. Cnc says
aatcuto it in aging. Jimc cnduics byvay olthis aatcu
and byvay olthc a-1tcu. "'``
Cnccagainthca-1tcuastimcoi,moicpicciscly, asthc
htuicaccoidingtothcvaythatispiopcitomcandthat
consists in ticating timc on thc basis olthc othci". t
timc] is, accoidingto itsmcaning ilonccanspcakola
mcaning vithout intcntionality. vithout vision oi cvcn
aim) , paticnt avaitingolCod, paticnccolcxccss an a-
1tcu, as cxpicss myscllnov), but an avaiting vhcic
nothingisavaitcd. "'`
Lct us lcavc thc last void to mmanucl Lcvinas. ^
voidloithcoiphan, avoidvhoscdcstinationvcvould
notvantto divcitbyaddicssingitto this othci oiphan,
thconcvhohasbccnsoliomthcvciybcginning,thconc
vhohasbccnoiphancdliomcvcnthcconditionolbcing
anoiphan,thisoiphanvithoutalathci,ilonccanstillsay
this,vithoutadcadlathci, thisoiphanhcoishcloi
vhominhnitclccundity, "thcinhnityolpatcinity, "and
thc maivcl olthc lamily"' `' vould icmain a loibiddcn
ccitainty, thcplaccolanoldciandcvcnmoicimmcmoi-
al qucstion, thcuigcncyolaconccinloiastillinsatiablc
hospitality.
A Wrd of Wlcome
Iz
)
c vill thus kccp, loi thc momcnt, to vhat Lcvinas
saysclscvhcic,litcially, onthcsubjcctolthc SinaiFcvc-
lation olthcJoiah,andonthcsubjcctolatianslationoi
athoughtoltianslation to be invented a bit likc politics
itscll.
What is the meaning of that notion of the heavenly origin of
the Torah? In the literal sense, of course, it is a reference to
the Sinai Revelation, to the divine origin of the text. There is
no question here of putting that meaning aside. But if it
is not possible to describe the lived meaning of such terms,
one can inquire about the experience in which it is ap
proached . . . o to seek a tanslation that the properl religious
surplus of truth already presupposes . . o . The Torah is tran
scendent and from heaven by its demands that clash, in the
final analysis, with the pure ontology of the world. The
Torah demands, in opposition to the natural perseverance of
each being in his or her own being (a fndamental ontolog
ical law) , concer fr the stranger, the widow and the orphan,
a preoccupation with the other person.
136 '
ocs
ocs
Adieu
The following notes were created by Vanghelis Bitsoris for
his Greek translation of Adieu (Athens: AGRA, 1996), then in
cluded in the French edition. [Existing English translations of
texts by Levinas and others have been used whenever possible,
though many have been slightly modifed to suit the context of
Derridas argument.-Trans.]
1. C Jacques Derrida, The Gi o/Death, trans. David Wills
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995), 47:
It seems to me that adieu can mean at least three things:
1. The salutation or benediction given (before aconstative lan
guage "adieu" can just as well signif "hello," "I can see you,"
"I see that you are there," I speak to you before telling you
anything else-and in certain circumstances in French it
happens that one says adieu at the moment of meeting rather
than separation);
2. The salutation or benediction given at the moment of sepa
ration, of departure, sometimes forever (this can never in fact
be excluded), without any return on this earth, at the mo
ment of death;
3. The a-dieu, for God or before God ad before anything else or
any relation to the other, in every other adieu. Every relation
to the other would be, before and afer anything else, an adieu.
I
27
Iz& Notes to :dieu'
[ In his translation of "Bad Conscience and the Inexorable" (see
n. II below) , Richard Cohen captures much of the semantic
richness of adieu with the English idiom "God bless. " For an
excellent discussion of the adieu, see Hent de Vries, 'dieu, a
dieu, a-Dieu," in Ethics as First Philosophy, ed. Adriaan Peper
zak (New York: Routledge, 1995) : 2II-19. This discussion is ex
panded in de Vries's Philosophy and the Tur to Relgion ( Balti
more: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999) and his Hor
ror Religiosus (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press,
forthcoming) ; the latter contains an illuminating chapter on
the present book in the context of Derridas other recent writ
ings on hospitality.-Trans. ]
2. Emmanuel Levinas, "Four Talmudic Readings, " in Nine
Tlmudic Readings, trans. Annette Aronowicz ( Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1990), 48.
3. This is in the second of the "Four Talmudic Readings. "
4 Ibid. , 48.
5. Ibid.
6. See, e.g., ibid. , 50: "Certainly, my responsibility for
everyone can also manifest itself by limiting itself: the ego may
be called in the name of this unlimited responsibility to con
cern itself about itself as well. "
7. "Have we been rash in afrming that the frst word, the
one which makes all the others possible, including the no of
negativity and the 'in-between-the-two' which is 'the tempta
tion of temptation,' is a unconditional yes?" (ibid., 49) .
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. See ibid., 50.
II. Emmanuel Levinas, "Bad Conscience and the Inex
orable," in Face to Face with Levina, ed. RichardA. Cohen (Al
bany: SUNY Press, 1986), 38. This essay is included as the fnal
section of "La conscience non-intentionnelle," in Entre nous:
Essais sur Ie penser-a-Iautre ( Paris: Grasset, 1991) .
12. See, e. g. , Emmanuel Levinas, Totalit and Infnit, trans.
Alphonso Lingis ( Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press,
1969), 177-79. In "The Trace of the Other" (orig. pub. 1963),
Notes to 'dieu' Izp
Levinas defines the work: "A work conceived radicall is a move
ment of the same unto the other which never returns to the same.
To the myth of Ulysses returning to Ithaca, we wish to oppose
the story of Abraham, who leaves his fatherland forever for a
yet unknown land, and forbids his servant to bring back even
his son to the point of departure. A work conceived in its ulti
mate nature requires a radical generosity of the same, which in
the work goes unto the other. It then requires an ingratitde of
the other. Gratitude would in fact be the retur of the move
ment to its origin. " ("The Trace of the Other," trans. Alphonso
Lingis, in Deconstruction in Context, ed. Mark C. Taylor [Chi
cago: University of Chicago Press, 1986] , 348-49. ) See also
Jacques Derrida, 't This Very Moment in This Work Here I
A," trans. Ruben Berezdivin, in Re-Reading Levina, ed. Rob
ert Bernasconi and Simon Critchley ( Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 1991) , II-48.
13. See, e.g., Ttalit and Infnit, 267-69, where Levinas re
lates fecundity to the work.
14. Exodus 26: 31, 33. "You shall make a curtain of blue, pur
ple, and crimson yarns, and of fne twisted linen . . . and the
curtain shall separate for you the holy place from the most
holy. " The opening of the tent was protected by a "screen" (epis
paston, according to the Greek translation of the Septuagint),
while inside the tent the "curtain" (katapetasma) of a veil sepa
rated "the holy and the holy of holies" (to hagion kai to hagion
ton hagion).
15. See Levinas's preface to Marlene Zarader, Heideger et les
paroles de l'rigine (Paris: Vrin, 1986), 12-13. [See also the inter
view with Schlomo Malka published in Les Nouveaux Cahiers
18 (1982-3): 71, 1-8; trans. Jonathan Romney in The Levinas
Reader, ed. Sean Hand (Cambridge, Mass. : Blackwell, 1989) ,
297.-Trans.]
16. See Ttalt and Infnit, 304-6.
17. This is one of two courses Levinas taught at the Sor
bonne ( Paris N) during 1975-76. It was fi rst published in 1991
under the title "La mort et Ie temps" in Emmanuel Levinas
(Cahiers de l'erne, no. 60, 21-5), and then in 1993 (with the
Notes to :dieu'
other course from the same year: "Dieu et l' onto-theo-Iogie") in
Levinas, Dieu, la mort et Ie temps (Paris: Grasset, 1993) .
18. "In the duration of time, whose signification should per
haps not be referred to the pair being-nothingness as the ulti
mate reference of meaning, of all that is meaningfl and althat
is thought, of all that is human, death is a point from which
time gets all its patience, this awaiting refsing itself to the in
tentionality of awaiting-'patience and length of time,' says
the proverb, patience as the emphasis of passivity. "hence the
direction of this course; death as the patience of time." (Dieu,
la mort et Ie temps, 16.)
19. See ibid., 122: "We meet death in the face of the Other. "
20. See ibid. , 17: "Death is, in beings, the disappearance of
the expressive movements that made them appear as living
movements that are always responses. Death will touch above al
this autonomy or expressivity of rovements that goes so far as
to cover someone's face. Death is the without- response."
21. See ibid. , 20: "Death is this irremediable gap: biological
movements lose all their dependence upon signifcation or ex
pression. Death is decomposition: it is the without-response. "
22. Ibid. , 47.
23. "Death is interpreted in the whole philosophical and re
ligious tradition either as a passage to nothingness or as a pas
sage to another existence, continuing in a new setting. " (Total
it and Infnit, 232.)
24. See ibid. , 232
"
: "More profoundly and as it were a priori
we approach death as nothingness in the passion for murder.
The spontaneous intentionality of this passion aims at annihi
lation. Cain, when he slew Abel, must have possessed such a
knowledge of death. The identifing of death with nothingness
befts the death of the other in murder. "
25. See ibid. , 232-33: "The identifing of death with noth
ingness befits the death of the other in murder. But at the same
time this nothingness presents itself there as a srt of impossi
bility. For the Other cannot present himself as Other outside of
my conscience, and his face expresses my moral impossibility
of annihilating. This interdiction is to be sure not equivalent to
Notes to :dieu' I
)I
pure and simple impossibility, and even presupposes the possi
bility which precisely it forbids-but in fact the interdiction al
ready dwells in this very possibility rather than presupposing it;
it is not added to it after the event, but looks at me from the
very depths of the eyes I want to extinguish, looks at me a the
eye that in the tomb shall look at Cain. "
26. See Dieu, la mort et Ie temps, 123: "To bring to the fore
the question that death raises in the proximity of the neighbor,
a question that, paradoxically, is my responsibility for his death.
Death opens to the face of the Other, which is the expression of
the commandment, 'Thou shall not kilL'"
27. See ibid. , 23: "Death is at once healing and impotence;
an ambiguity that perhaps indicates another dimension of
meaning than the one whereby death is thought according to
the alternative being/not-being Ambiguity: enigma. "
28. "Bad Conscience and the Inexorable," 40.
29. Levinas defnes death a "ex-ception": "The relation with
the death of the Other is neither a knowledge of the death of the
Other nor the experience of this death in its very way of anni
hilating being (if as is commonly thought, the event of this
death can be reduced to such an annihilation) . There is no
knowledge of this ex-ceptional relation (ex-ception: to seize and
put outside of the series) . " (Dieu, la mort et Ie temps, 25.)
30. See ibid., 54: "It is the death of the other for which I am
responsible, to the point of including myself in this death. This
is perhaps shown in the more acceptable proposition: 'I am re
sponsible for the other insofar a he is mortal.' The death of the
other is the frst death. "
31. See ibid. , 31 and 199: "This responsibility for the Other
is structured as the one-for-the-other, indeed even as the one
hostage of the other, hostage in his very identity as irreplaceably
called, before any return to self For the other in the guise of
oneself right up to substitution for the Other."
32. Ibid., 21.
33. Ibid. , 25-26.
34. This is the text "Knowledge of the Unknown," frst pub
lished in La nouvelle revue fan;aise, no. 108 (1961, 1081-95,
I
)
z Notes to :dieu'
then again in 1969 in L'entretien infni, translated as Maurice
Blanchot, The Infnite Conversation, trans. Susan Hanson (Min
neapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993), 51-52.
35. See The Infnite Conversation, 50-51:
-. . . I will add that if we are able to have commerce with this
unknowable, it is precisely in fear or in anguish, or in one of those
ecstatic movements that you just refsed a being non-philosophi
cal; it is there that we have some presentiment of the Other-it
seizes us, staggers and ravishes us, carrying us away from ourselves.
-But precisely in order to change us into the Other. If in
knowledge-even dialectical knowledge, and through any inter
mediary one might want-there is appropriation of an object by a
subject and of the other by the same, and thus finally a reduction of
the unknown to the already known, there is in the rapture of fright
something worse; for it is the self that is lost and the same that is al
tered, shameflly transformed into something other tha
n
myself
36. See Dieu, l mort et Ie temps, 134: "It is my mortality, my
condemnation to death, my time on the verge of death, my
death not as the possibility of impossibility but as pure rapture,
that constitute the absurdity that makes possible the gratu
itousness of my responsibility for the Other."
37. The Infnite Conversation, 51-52.
38. See Totalit and Infnit, 86-88: "The Other measures me
with a gaze incomparable to the gaze by which I discover him.
The dimension of height in which the Other is placed is a it were
the primary curvature bf being from which the privilege of the
Other results, the gradient of transcendence. The Oer is meta
physical . . . . The relationship with the Other does not move (as
does cognition) into enjoyment and possession, into freedom;
the Other imposes himself as an exigency that dominates this
freedom, and hence as more primordial than everything that
takes place in me . . . . The presence of the Other, a privileged
heteronomy does not clash with freedom but ivests it. "
39. See ibid., 89: "The term welcome of the Other expresses
a simultaneity of activity and passivity which places the relation
with the other outside of the dichotomies vaid for things: the
a priori and the a posteriori, activity and passivity. But we wish
to show also how, starting from knowing identified with
Notes to :dieu] I
) )
thematization] the truth of this knowing leads back to the rela
tion with the Other, that is, to justice. "
40. Ibid., 305: "To posit being as Desire and as goodness is
not to first isolate an I which would then tend toward a be
yond. It is to afrm that to apprehend oneself from within-to
produce oneself as I-is to apprehend oneself with the same
gesture that already turns toward the exterior to extra-vert and
to manifest-to respond for what it apprehends-to express; it
is to afrm that the becoming-conscious is already language,
that the essence of language is goodness, or again, that the
essence oflanguage is friendship and hospitality. "
41. A reference t o The Theory of Intuition i n Husserls Phe
nomenology, Levinas's dissertation for the doctorat de toisieme
ccle, defended and published in 1930.
42. Emmanuel Levinas, Theorie de !ntuition dans la phe
nomenologie de Husserl (Paris: Vrin, 1970), 7; The Theory ofInt
ition in Husserls Phenomenology, trans. Andre Orianne (Evans
ton: Northwestern University Press 2d ed. , 1995) . [As the trans
lator notes (xlix), Levinas's short preface or avant-propos, from
which the above quote was taken, was omitted from the transla
tion and replaced by the translator's foreword so as to provide a
series of "historical remarks more specifcally directed to today's
English reader. " -Trans.J
43. The Theory of Intuition in Hussers Phenomenology, lvi.
44. Ibid., Iv.
45. Ibid., lvi.
46. See, e. g. , Dieu] la mort et Ie temps, 133: "Does not the
traumatism of the other core from the Other?"
47. It is tempting to suggest that a large part of Derridas
text 't This Very Moment in This Work Here I A" might be
read as a long commentary on this expression, in relation to
both Levinas's use and interpretation of it and Derrida's own
critical perspective. As for Levinas, a note in Otherwise than Be
ing or Beyond Essence [trans. Alphonso Lingis (The Hague:
Martinus Nijhof 1981), n. II on 199J refers back explicitly to
Isaiah 6: 8: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom
shall I send, and who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here I am;
send me!'" Note that in the Septuagint the Greek equivalent of
134 Notes to 'dieu'
the Hebraic hineni is: idou ego (translated literally "here is I") ,
where the personal pronoun is in the nominative. The meaning
of the pronoun "I" in the accusative as related to responsibility
for the Other is explained by Levinas in Otherwise than Being
or Beond Essence (141-42) :
The subject in responsibility is alienated in the depths of its iden
tity with an alienation that does not empty th same of its identity,
but constrains it to it, with an unimpeachable assignation, con
strains it to it as no one else, where no one could replace it. The
psyche, a uniqueness outside of concepts, is a seed of folly, already
a psychosis. It is not an ego, but me under assignation. There is an
assignation to an identity for the response of responsibility, where
one cannot have oneself replaced without fault. To this command
continually put forth only a "here 1 am" (me voici) can answer,
where the pronoun "1" is in the accusative, declined before any de
clension, possessed by the other, sick, identical. Here 1 am-is say
ing with inspiration, which is not a gif for fne words or songs.
There is constraint to give with fll hands, and thus a constraint to
corporeality.
48. Dieu, / mort et Ie temps, 16.
49. See ibid., 134: "This question-the question of death
is its own response to itself: it is my responsibility for the death
of the other. The passage to the ethical level constitutes the re
sponse to this question. The version of the Same toward the In
fnite, which is neither aim [viseeJ nor vision, is the question, a
question that is also a response, but in no sense a dialogue of
the soul with itself. Question, prayer-does this not core be
fore all dialogue?"
50. "Bad Conscience and the Inexorable," 39-40. "Infnity
would have no meaning for a thought that goes to the limit,
and the a-Dieu is not a finality. It is perhaps this irreducibility
of the a-Dieu or of the fear of God to eschatology, an irre
ducibility that interrupts within the human the consciousness
that was on its way toward being in its ontological perseverance
or toward death which it takes as the ultimate thought, that is
signifed, beyond being, by the word 'glory.' The alterative be
tween being and nothingness is not ultimate. "
51. Ibid. , 40.
Notes to 'Wlome'
1
3 5
A Wrd of Wlcome
. 1. Enseignement magistral also refers to a lecture style of
teaching.-Trans.
2. "Host" and "guest" are in English in the original.-Trans.
3. Emile Benveniste, Indo-European Language and Societ,
trans. Elizabeth Palmer (Coral Gables, Florida: University of
Miami Press, 1973), 71f
4. Emmanuel Levinas, Totalit and Infnit, trans. Alphonso
Lingis (Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1969), 51. For
this understanding of the Master, the "welcoming of the mas
ter," and the "welcoming of the Other," see also 100-101 and
passim. The concept of expression is determined by the same
logic of teaching and "receiving. " "To receive the given is al
ready to receive it as taught-as an expression of the Other"
(92) . [Throughout, we have silently altered this and other
translations where necessary to better refect what Derrida is
discussing in the French original.-Trans.]
5. During the summer of 1996 some three hundred illegal
immigrants of Mrican descent (the so-called sans-papiers, im
migrants without proper papers) took refge in the Church of
St. Bernard in Paris in order to avoid expulsion from France
and to protest recently enacted immigration policies. On Au
gust 23, police stormed the church and took the protesters into
custody. Some were sent back to their country of origin, while
others, afer a good deal of media coverage and public protest,
were ultimately allowed to remain in France.-Trans.
6. Totalit and Infnit, 299. My emphasis.
7 Ibid., 93
8. I have tried to demonstrate this elsewhere, by means of a
somewhat diferent path, in a discussion of decisionism in the
work of Carl Schmitt. By speaking of a "passive decision," of an
"unconscious decision," of a "decision of the other," and of
what "to give in the name, to give to the name, of the other"
might mean, I tried to argue that "a theory of the subject is in
capable of accounting for the slightest decision" (Politics of
Friendhi, trans. George Collins [New York: Verso Press, 1997],
68-69). I there referred-so as to try to put it into question-
Notes to ' Wlcome'
to the traditional and predominant way of determining the sub
ject, the one that Schmitt himself among so many others,
seems to assume. It is obviously not the one that Levinas privi
leges when he redefnes subjectivity as we will see in a moment.
9. In the section of "No Identity" entitled "Subjectivity
and Vulnerability, " in Colected Philosophical Papers, trans. Al
phonso Lingis (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhof
1987), 146.
10. Totalit and Infnit, 51. "The notion of the face . . . sig
nifes the philosophical priority of the existent over Being, an
exteriority that does not call for power or possession, an exteri
ority that is not reducible, as with Plato, to the interiority of
memory, and yet safeguards the I who welcomes it. "
Such a "safeguard" of course becomes the name and the
place of all the problems to follow, just as much as the welcom
ing, an-archy, anachrony, and infnite dissymmetry com
manded by the transcendence of the Other. What about the
"I, " safe and sound, in the unconditional welcoming of the
Other? What about its survival, its immunity, and its safety in
the ethical subjection of this other subjectivity?
II. Ibid. , 80.
12. Ibid. , 93.
13 Ibid. , 85.
14. Ibid. , 82, my emphasis. "W cal justice this fce to fce
approach, in discourse, " says Levinas (71), who underscores this
sentence and thus seems to defne j ustice bere the emergence
of the third. But is there any place here for this "before"?
15. Otherwise than Being or Beond Essence, trans. Alphonso
Lingis (The Hague: Martinus Nijhof 1981), 150. Totalit and
Infnit already welcomes, with such words, the "ineluctable"
occurrence of the third as "language" and as "justice. " C, for
example, 213, 305, etc. We wil return to this below.
16. Otherwise than Being or Beond Essence, 67, 191 n. 2.
17. Ibid. , 157. The "contradiction in the Saying" perhaps
stems from this inevitability (both fortunate and unfortunate) ,
from this Law of substitution, from substitution as Law: the
third interrupts (distances) without interrupting (distancing)
Notes to ' Wlcome'
1
3 7
the face to face with the irreplaceable singularity of the other.
That is why Levinas speaks here of distancing ("the other and
the third . . . put distance between me and the other and the
third") -and this is justice-though he had written in Ttal
it and Infnit (71), " U call justice this fce to fce approach, in
discourse. "
18. This is one of the recurring themes in the two essays I
have previously devoted to Levinas's work: "Violence and Meta
physics, " in Writing and Di rence, trans. Alan Bass (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1978), 79-153, and (t This Very
Moment in This Work Here I Am," trans. Ruben Berezdivin,
in Re-Reading Levina, ed. Robert Bernasconi and Simon
Critchley (Bloomington: Indiana Universit Press, 1991), II-48.
19. "Peace and Proximity, " trans. Peter Atterton and Simon
Critchley, in Emmanuel Levinas: Basic Philosophical Writings,
ed. Adriaan T. Peperzak, Simon Critchley, and Robert Bernas
coni (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996), 168. Lev
inas underscores only the word "unique. "
20. "In its ethical position, the self i s distinct from the citi
zen born of the City, and from the individual who precedes all
order in his natural egoism, from whom political philosophy,
since Hobbes, tries' to derive-or succeeds in deriving-the
social or political order of the City ("Useless Sufering," trans.
Richard Cohen in The Provocation of Levinas: Rethinking the
Other, ed. Robert Bernasconi and David Wood [New York:
Routledge, 1988] , 165) .
21. French parure, like English "perjury, " denotes the delib
erate or willful giving of false or misleading testimony before a
court of law, but it is also ofen used outside a strictly legal con
text and is not so closely tied as its English counterpart to the
willful intent to deceive. Parure can thus be used to describe
the breaking of just about any oath or obligation, whether in
tentionally or not, and so can be applied to acts of treason, be
trayal, or infdelity, to breaches of promise, faith, or trust.
Trans.
22. Totalit and Infnit, 201-2.
23. We are here closer than it might seem to certain state-
Notes to 'wlome'
ments in Totalit and Infnit that explicitly situate the will in
terms of a betrayal that is always possible: "The will essentially
violable harbors betrayal in its own essence" (229); "The will
thus moves between its betrayal and its fdelity which, simul
taneous, describe the very originality of its power" (231) . My
emphasis.
.
24 For example, Ttalit and Infnit, 51, 82, 85, 88, 89, 93,
100, 155, 300, etc.
25. Ibid., 155. My emphasis.
26. Ibid. Yu and thou are the only words underscored by
Levinas.
27. Ibid., 155-56. My emphasis.
28. "The absoluteness of the presence of the other, which
has justifed our interpreting the exceptional uprightness of
thou-saying as an epiphany of him, is not the simple presence
in which in the last analysis things are also present" (the section
of "Meaning and Sense" entitled "The Trace," in Collected
Philosophical Papers, 106) . This text situates an illeit beyond
being, a "third person that is not defnable by the oneself by ip
seity. " The il of this illdt is marked by irreversibility and by an
"unrectitude" that here seems to have no negative connotation.
A certain "rectitude," on the contrary, might in fact reduce the
transcendence of this illeit. See 103-4.
29 Ttalit and Infnit, 157.
30. Ibid., 258.
31. Ibid. , 26061.
32. Existence and Existents, trans. Aphonso Lingis (The
Hague: Martinus Nijhof 1978); Tme and the Other, trans.
Richard A. Cohen ( Pittsburgh: Duquesne UniverSIty Press,
1987) .
33. Existence and Existents, 84-85.
34. Time and the Other, 84-87.
35. Totalit and Infnit, 254. My emphasis . .
36. Franz Rosenzweig, The Star of Redemption, trans. Wil
liam W Hallo (Notre Dame: Notre Dame University Press,
1985), 300. Levinas also cites this verse from Leviticus (25: 23) in
the section of "No Identity entitled "Foreignness to Being," in
Notes to ' Wlome' 1
3
9
Collected Philosophical Papers: "No land will be alienated irrev
ocably, for the earth is mine, for you are but strangers, domi
ciled in my land" (148).
37 ''t This Very Moment in This Work Here I A. " A
noted above, Levinas will return to the logic of these proposi
tions, in particular, in 1985: ''At the time of my little book enti
tled Time and the Other, I thought that femininity was a
modality of alterity-this 'other genre,' this 'other gender'
and that sexuality and eroticism were this non-indifference to
the other, irreducible to the formal alterity of the terms taken
together as a whole. I today think that it is necessary to go back
even further and that the exposure, the nakedness, and the 'im
perative request' of the face of the Other constitute a modality
that the feminine already presupposes: the proximity of the
neighbor is non-formal alterity" (remarks recorded in February
1985 in the Zurich weekly Construire by L. Adert and J.-Ch.
Aeschlimann) . But already in Otherwise than Being or Beyond
Essence a new phenomenology of the skin, of its exposure to be
ing wounded or caressed, situates a "responsibility before eros"
(192 n. 27) .
38. "The relationship established between lovers in voluptu
osity . . . is the very contrary of the social relation. It excludes
the third, it remains intimacy, dual solitude, closed society, the
supremely non-public. The feminine is the other refractory to
society, member of a dual society, an intimate society, a society
without language" ( Totalit and Infnit, 264-65) .
39. Ibid., 157. My emphasis.
40. Ibid., 157-58.
41. A word that Levinas once wrote with an a, in 1968, in
the frst version of "Substitution" (in the Revue Philosophique de
Louvain 66, no. 91 [1968] : 491). The word "essance" also ap
pears in De Dieu qui vient i l'ide (Paris: Librairie Philos
ophique J. Vrin, 1982) , 164.
42. Totalit and Infnit, 304.
43. Here Derrida alludes to a phrase of Charles Peguy: "In
the history of thought, Descartes will always be the French
knight who took of at such a good pace. " See "Note conjointe
Notes to ' Wlcome'
sur M. Descartes et la philosophie cartesienne," in Charles
Peguy: Oeuvres en Prose (Paris: Editions de la Pleiade, 1961),
1359
4. Beyond the Vrse: Tlmudic Readings and Lectures, trans.
Gary D. Mole (London: The Athlone Press, 1994), 195.
45. Totalit and Infnit, 24
46. Ibid., 305.
47. Archives de philosophie, vol. 34, no. 3 (July-September
1971) : 388, reprinted in Otherwise than Being or Beond Essence,
193 n. 35
48. See, for example, Otherwise than Being or Beond
Essence, 183. [ In the following paragraph Derrida cites 193 and
94.-Trans.]
49. Totalit and Infnit, 298: "We have thus the conviction
of having broken with the philosophy of the Neuter: with the
Heideggerian Being of the existent whose impersonal neutral
ity the critical work of Blanchot has so much contributed to
bring out."
Since the thought of the Neuter, as it continues to be elabo
rated in the work of Blanchot, can in no way be reduced to
what Levinas understands here by the Neuter, an enormous
and abyssal task remains open. Levinas himself suggests this,
much later, precisely on the subject of the Neuter and the there
is [il y a] : "I think Maurice Blanchot's work and thought can be
interpreted in two directions at the same time" ("On Maurice
Blanchot," in Proper
'
Names, trans. Michael B. Smith [Stan
ford: Stanford University Press, 1996] , 154). Yes, in at least two
directions.
50. Totalit and Infnit, 1)4-56. These analyses are deel
oped in an at once fascinating and problematic way in the chap
ter "Phenomenology of Eros." They were already announced in
the lectures of 1946-47 gathered together under the title Time
and the Other. A we have already emphasized, the diference
between the sexes is analyzed there beyond "some specifc dif
ference," as a "formal structure. " Beyond "contradiction" or "the
duality of two complementary terms, " it "carves up reality in
another sense and conditions the very possibility of reality as
Notes to ' Wlcome'
multiple, against the unit of being proclaimed by Parmenides"
(85-86) . Destined to hide, to "a fight before the light" and to
"modesty, " femininity represents everything in alterity that re
sists concealment/unconcealment, or veiling/unveiling, that is,
a certain determination of truth. It is, in truth, alterity itself:
"alterity is accomplished in the feminine" (87-88) .
5I. "Openness can be understood in several senses," we read
in the section of "No Identity entitled "Subjectivity and Vul
nerability," in Collected Philosophical Papers, 145. The fi rst has to
do with the openness of an object to every other object (a ref
erence to Kant's third analogy of experience in The Critique of
Pure Reason); the second concerns intentionality or the ecstasy
of ek-sistence (Hussed and Heidegger) . The "third meaning" is
more important for Levinas; it concerns the "denuding of the
skin exposed," the "vulnerability of a skin exposed, in wounds
and outrage, beyond all that can show itself" "sensibility" "of
fered to the caress," but also "open like a city declared open
upon the approach of the enemy." Unconditional hospitality
would be this vulnerability-at once passive, exposed, and
assumed.
52. Totalit and Infnit, 300.
53 Ibid., 299
54. Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence, II2.
55. Ibid., II4 See also II7, 128, 141, 158, 167.
56. This allusion to a passage from Lamentations (3: 30) is
found elsewhere in a very discreet contestation of its Christian
reinscription, a pathetic, mortified, indeed masochistic rein
scription: "Vulnerability is more (or less) than passivity receiving
a form or a shock. . . . 'He ofered his cheek to the smiters and
was flled with shame,' says, admirably, a prophetic text. With
out introducing a deliberate searching for sufering or humilia
tion (turning the other cheek), it suggests, in the primary sufer
ing, in sufering as such, an unendurable and harsh consent that
animates the passivity and does so strangely despite itself, al
though passivity as such has neither force nor intention, and no
likes or dislikes" (the section of "No Identity entitled "Subjec
tivity and Vulnerability," in Collected Philosophical Papers, 146) .
142 Notes to ' Wlcome'
57. Otherwise than Being or Beond Essence, III 12.
58. Permit me to refer once again to Benveniste's analyses in
the chapter of Indo-European Language and Societ devoted to
hospitality. They would also call for a reading and for numer
ous questions that must for the moment be lef in suspense.
59. Otherwise than Being or Beond Essence, II8.
60. Ibid. , II2.
61. Ibid. , 123. The preceding page gave an afrmative an
swer to this question of the link between the election and the
responsibility of the unique subject, unique and irreplaceable,
paradoxically, insofar as it is subject to substitution. "Has not
the Good chosen the subject with an election recognizable in
the responsibility of being hostage, to which the subject is des
tined, which he cannot evade without denying himself, and by
virtue of which he is unique?" The analysis of this situation
takes into account an absolute "lateness" that dethrones the
authority of the present or of anamnesic presentation, that lim
its the freedom but not the responsibility of the moral subject
(of Job, for example, who can be responsible for an evil he
"never wished"), and that makes this entire logic of the hostage
depend on the unconditionality of a yes that is older than in
fantile or pre-critical spontaneity, a yes a "the very exposure to
critique. "
Descartes had already been called t o appear, called to bear
witness ("the unimpeachable witness of Descartes's Third Med
itation") in Totalit and Infnit, precisely at the moment of the
reinscription of the ego cogito: a subject subjected to its election,
responsible for having to respond, secondarily, yes to a frst yes,
to this first call that, a we said above, like every yes, even if it is
the frst, already respond: "The I in the negativity manifested
by doubt breaks with participation but does not fnd in the cog
ito itself a stopping place. It is not I, it is the other that can say
yes. From him comes armation; he is at the commencement
of experience. Descartes seeks a certitude, and stops at the frst
change of level in this vertiginous descent . . . . to possess the
idea of infnity is to have already welcomed the Other" (Ttal
it and Infnit, 93) . To have welcomed this yes of the other, to
Notes to ' Wlcome'
I
43
greet this infnity in separation, or to say it otherwise, in its ho
liness, is the experience of the a-Dieu. The Adieu does not wait
for death but calls, responds and greets in the relation with the
other insofar as it is not, insofar as it calls from beyond being.
To God [A Dieu] beyond being, where the yes of faith is not in
compatible with a certain atheism or at least with a certain
thought of the inexistence of God (beyond being) . We will look
more closely later at the use Levinas was able to make of this
word a-Dieu. Though the experience of the a-Dieu can remain
silent, it is no less irrecusable. It is from within this experience
that we speak here, even when we speak in a whisper, and it is
toward it that we will return, toward this infnitely difcult
thought to which Levinas gave, in the French language and by
means of its idiom, with its idiom as destination, an excep
tional chance, a rare economy, one that is, in a word, at once
unique, more than old, inaugural, and yet also replaceable: al
ways translatable by paraphrases, of course, and as such always
exposed to inanities.
62. Ttalit and Infnit, 213. The question of the third was
not only present, as we see, but developed in Totalit and In
fnit. One is thus a bit surprised by the concession Levinas
seems to make to one of his interlocutors during an interview.
On the question of the third and justice, he seems to admit that
Totalit and Infnit did not adequately treat these themes: "the
word 'justice' applies much more to the relation with the third
than to the relation with the Other. But in reality the relation
with the Other is never uniquely the relation with the Other:
the third is represented in the Other from the very beginning;
in the very apparition of the Other the third already looks at
me, already concerns me . . . . You are right, in any case, to
make this distinction. The ontological language used in Total
it and Infnit is not at all defnitive. In Totalit and Infnit
language is ontological because it wants above all to avoid be
ing psychological" (De Dieu qui vient a l'idee, 132-33) .
63. "God and Philosophy," in Collected Philosophical Papers,
165.
64. Otherwise than Being or Beond Essence, I21. My emphasis.
144 Notes to { lcome'
65. In the section of "Meaning and Sense" entitled "The
Trace," in Colected Philosophical Papers, 106.
66. Ibid. , 106-7.
67. In the Time of the Nations, tran$. Michael B. Smith
(London: The Athlone Press, I994), 97.
68. Beyond the \rse, I93.
69. I have tried to express this in a general fashion but with
particular emphasis on Levinas's thought on fraterity (c Pol
itics of Friendshi, 304-5). Levinas here comes close to, among
many others, the Kant of the The Doctine of Vrtue [see "The
Ethical Doctrine of Elements" in the "The Doctrine of Virtue, "
The Metaphysics of Moral, second part, sections 46-47, trans.
Mary ]. Gregor (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
I99I)J . I analye this relation at some length (Politics ofFriend
shi, 252-63), and suggest that "the determination of friendship
qua .aterit . . . tells us something essential about ethics. "
Kant: " men are as brothers under one universal father
who wills the happiness of all. "
Levinas: "The very status of the human implies fraternity
and the idea of the human race . . . . it involves the common
ness of a father, as though the commonness of race would not
bring together enough" (Ttalit and Infnit, 2I4).
To trace the destiny of this fraternity beyond the family, all
the way to the order of justice and the political, one must take
into account what Levinas says, as if in passing, about the non
coincidence with uniCity and thus with the self This is the ir
ruption of equality and thus already of the third: "It is my re
sponsibility before a face looking at me as absolutely foreign
(and the epiphany of the face coincides with these two mo
ments) that constitutes the original fact of fraternity. Paterity
is not a causality, but the establishment of a unicity with which
the unicity of the father does and does not coincide. The non
coincidence consists, concretely, in my position as brother; it
implies other unicities at my side. Thus my unicity qua I con
tains both self-sufciency of being and my partialness, my po
sition before the other as a face. In this welcoming of the
face . . . equality is founded. It cannot be detached from the
Notes to < Wlcome' 145
welcoming of the face, of which it i s a moment" (Ttalit and
Infnit, 214) .
It would also be necessary to follow the later development of
this analysis in "Transcendence and Fecundity" and, especially,
in "Filiality and Fraternity" Filiality is there determined before
all else as-or indeed only as-the "father-son relationship." It
again inscribes equality within election: "each son of the father
is the unique son, the chosen son . . . . a unique child, an only
child." It is by virtue of this "strange conjuncture of the fam
ily" that "fraternity is the very relation with the face in which
at the same time my election and equality . . . are accom
plished." Next comes the deduction of the "third" and of the
socio-political "We" that "encompasses the structure of the
family itself" (Totalit and Infnit, 278-80) . See also Otherwise
than Being or Beond Essence, 140, 152, and passim: "the struc
ture of the-one-for-the-other inscribed in human fraternity, in
the one keeper of his brother, the one responsible for the
other" -this is what would have remained "unintelligible for
Plato, and had to lead him to commit a parricide on his father
Parmenides"; "The unity of the human race is in fact posterior
to fraternity" (166).
70. In the Time o/the Nations, 97.
71. This discourse of substitution is to be read from out of
the depths of an abyssal history. We spoke just a moment ago,
citing Levinas, of a "Judeo-Christian spirituality. " It will one
day be necessary, so as to recall and understand Islam, to ques
tion patiently many of the afnities, analogies, synonymies and
homonymies, be they the result of a crossing of paths, some
times unbeknownst to the authors, or of necessities that are
more profound, though ofen perplexing and oblique. The
most pressing (and no doubt least noticed) exaple in France is
to be found in another thought of substitution, one that, under
this very name, traverses the entire oeuvre and adventure of
Louis Massignon. Inherited from Huysmans-whom Levinas
in fact evokes early on in From Existence to Existents, "between
1940 and 1945"-and at work throughout the tradition of a cer
tain Christian mysticism ( BIoy, Foucauld, Claudel, the author
Notes to ' 'lome'
of The Hostage, etc.) to which Massignon remains faithfl, the
word-concept "substitution" inspires in Massignon a whole
thought of "sacred hospitality, " a foundational reference to the
hospitality of Abraham, or Ibrahim, and the institution, in
1934, of Badalia-a word that belongs to the Arab vocabulary
of "substitution": "these souls for which we wish to substitute
ourselves 'l badalia,' by paying a ransom for them at our ex
pense, is a replacement," say the Statues of the Badalia, where
the word "hostages" is written in bold letters: "we offer and we
commit our lives, beginning now, as hostages" (Louis Mas
signon, L'hositalite sacre [Paris: Nouvelle Cite, 1987] , 373-74).
Hostage is again written in bold letters when used in relation to
the frst person ("I had been made into a hostage"), as a letter of
1947 reveals (241) . See also 171-73, 262-63, 281 ("frateral sub
stitution" ) , 300-1 and passim. Massignon's use of te word "per
secution" also resonates, up to a certain point (but which one?),
with Levinas's (c, for example, 305), but on a "front ofIslamo
Christian prayer. " C also Massignon's "Le linceul de feu
d'Abraham," in Parole donnee (Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1983).
72. In the Time of the Nations, 98.
73 Ibid. 74. Ibid.
75. Beyond the \rse, 183. 76. Ibid. , 186.
77 Ibid. , 183. 78. Ibid. , 177.
79. For example, in "Separation des biens" (Cahiers de
tHeme, 1991, 465) . There Levinas puts forward a legitimate, le
gal argument, no doubt (the State ofIsrael "includes citizens of
every denomination. Its religious party is neither the only party
nor the most infuential one"), but those who doubt the "laic
ity" of this State wil(not be easily satisfed by this argument.
80. ''Au-dela de l'Etat dans l'Etat," in Nouvelles lectures tal-
mudiques ( Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1996), 63.
81. Ibid., 62.
82. Ibid., 64.
83 Ibid. , 48.
84. Beyond the \rse, 187. My emphasis.
85 Ibid. , 192. 86. Ibid., 194.
87 Ibid., 195. 88. Ibid., 194.
Notes to ' Wlome' 1
47
89. Ibid., 191. My emphasis.
90. Ibid., 193-94. [ In the following paragraph, Derrida re
lates these lines to a passage from the fnal section of the chap
ter "Substitution" in Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence,
128.-Trans.]
91. Beyond the Vrse, 150-52.
92. Immanuel Kant, Peretual Peace, trans. Lewis White Beck
(Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company Inc., 1957), 10.
93. In ''Avances,'' preface to Serge Margel's Ie tom beau du
Dieu artisan ( Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1995) .
94. Among many other possible examples, see In the Time
of the Nations, III: "The entire Torah, in its minute descrip
tions, is concentrated in the 'Thou shalt not kill' that the face
of the other signifes, and awaits its proclamation therein. "
95. To my knowledge, Levinas never speaks of Schmitt. This
theoretician of the political is situated at the opposite extreme
from Levinas, with all the paradoxes and reversals that such an
absolute opposition might harbor. Schmitt is not only a thinker
of hostility (and not of hospitality); he not only situates the en
emy at the center of a "politics" that is irreducible to the ethi
cal, if not to the juridical. He is also, by his own admission, a
sort of Catholic neo-Hegelian who has an essential need to ad
here to a thght of totality. This discourse of the enemy as the
discourse of totality, so to speak, would thus embody for Lev
inas the absolute adversary. More so than Heidegger, it seems.
For Heidegger does not give in either to "politism" or to the
fascination of a (supposedly Hegelian) totality. The question of
being, in its transcendence (epekeina tes ousias, a phrase that
Heidegger also ofen cites), goes beyond the totality of beings.
The passage beyond totality was thus, at least in its formality, a
movement whose necessity Heidegger, no less than Rosen
zweig, recognized. Whence the strained and precarious flia
tions of a heritage.
96. In English in the original.-Trans.
97. Totalit and Infnit, 172.
98. Ibid.
99. Ibid., 306.
Notes to ' Wlcome'
IOO. Totalit and Infnit, 300, c also 30
5
and passim.
IOI. Ibid. , 30I and passim.
I02. Ibid. , 300, 30
5
.
I03. Ibid., 172-73. My emphasis.
I04. Ibid. , 306.
I0
5
. Ibid.
I06. Ibid. , 300. My emphasis.
I07. Ibid.
I08. Otherwise than Being or Beond Essence, II2.
I09. De Dieu qui vient a l'dee, 2
5
0. [ Page II of this text is
cited in the passage just above.-Trans.]
IIO. Ibid., 12. My emphasis.
III. For example, afer having named the devotion of the a
Dieu (see above: '' way of being destined or devoted that is de
votion itself") , Levinas continues: '' devotion that, in its dis
inter-estedness, does not fail to reach a goal, but is diverted-by
a God 'who loves the stranger' rather than shows himself-to
ward the other man for whom I am responsible. Responsibility
without concern for reciprocity: I have to be responsible for the
Other without concerning myself about the Other's responsibil
it toward me. Relation without correlation or love of the neigh
bor, a love without eros. For-the-other man and, through this,
a-Die!" (De Dieu qui vient a l'idee, 12-13) . Or again: "But the
commitment from this 'profound past' of the immemorial
comes back to me as order and demand, as commandment, in
the face of the other man, of a God 'who loves the stranger,' of
an invisible, non-thematizable God . . . . Infnity to which I am
destined or devoted by a non-intentional tought for which no
preposition in our language-not even the a [to] to which we
resort-would be able to translate the devotion. A-Diei whose
diachronic time is the only measure, the unique number [chif e
unique] , at once devotion and trascendence" (ibid., 2
5
0) .
II2. Beond the Vrse,
5
2.
II3. Regarding this chapter, see Daniel Payot's Des viles
reges: Temoignage et espacement (La Tour d'Aigues: Editions
l'Aube, 1992) . I treat this from another angle in Cosmopolites de
tous les pays, encore en efrt! ( Paris: Editions Galilee, 1997) .
Notes to ' Wlome' 1
4
9
II4. Psalms 132: 13. New Revised Standard Vrsion: The New
Oxfrd Annotated Bible (New York: Oxford University Press,
1991) .
This verse is re-translated, interpreted, reinscribed, and med
itated upon in Chdnt d'Outre Tmbe, by Michal Govrin, in or
der to introduce a reading of Celan's Jerusalem ("Sag, dasJ
Jerusalem ist"), in Ie passage des frontieres ( Paris: Editions Gali
lee, 1994) , 228: '' passion that has not let go of the West for
some twenty-fve centuries. The passion to conquer this city
woman-wound. A passionate madness . . . The desire to be in
Jerusalem, to possess her . . . The desire to be the conqueror of
Jerusalem, her sole possessor and lover, this exclusive passion
might have as its origin and model the God of the Bible: 'Get
up, Lord, so as to go into your place of repose . . . . For the Eter
nal has made his choice in Zion. He desired it as his dwelling.
This will be my place of repose fr ever. There I will dwell for I
lusted (ivitiha) afer her. ' "
II5. Beond the Vrse, 38. II6. Ibid. , 42.
117. Ibid., 40. II8. Ibid.
II9 Ibid. , 43
120. Ibid. , 44.
121. Ibid., 46. 122. Ttalit and Infnit, 305.
123. For example: "The third looks at me in the eyes of the
Other-language is justice . . . . The poor one, the stranger,
presents himself as an equaL His equality within this essentia
poverty consists in referring to the third thus present at the en
counter, whom in the midst of his destitution the Other al
ready serves. He comes to join me. But he joins me to himself
for service; he commands me as a Master. . . . . By essence the
prophetic word responds to the epiphany of the face . . . . an ir
reducible moment of a discourse which by essence is aroused
by the epiphany of the face inasmuch as it attests the presence
of the third, the whole of humanity, in the eyes that look at
me" ( Totalit and Infnit, 213) .
124. See, for example, Totalit and Infinit, 298.
125. Beyond the Vrse, 51-52. I emphasize the words "longing"
and "hope. " We must be attentive here to the fact that when
Levinas tries to distinguish the Jewish State from some particu-
Notes to ' Wlcome'
larism or nationalism, he always speaks not of some present
fact, but of a possibility, of a promise for the fture, of an "as
piration," a "commitment," a "hope," or a "project." For exam
ple: "Does not the fact that the history of the Jewish people,
wherein the hope for a Jewish State on earth was always essen
tial, could have caused Sartre to have doubts about the sover
eign and maj estic architecture of Hegelian logic, also suggest
that the State in question does not open onto a purel political
history, the one written by the victorious and triumphant? And
that such a project, far from suggesting a natonalist particular
ism, is one of the possibilities of the diffcult humanity of the
human?" These lines conclude a couple of pages devoted to
Sartre at the time of his death ("Un langage qui nous est fami
lier," in Emmanuel Levinas, Les Cahiers de la nuit surveillee
[Lagrasse: Editions Verdier, 1984] , 328) . Levinas insists that
throughout the evolution of his thought, beginning with Rt
fexions sur la question juive [trans. George J. Becker as Anti
Semite and Jew (New York: Schocken Books, 1948)] , Sartre re
mained faithful to the State of Israel, "in spite of all the com
prehension shown for Palestinian nationalism and its genuine
sorrows" ( 327) . To the expression "Palestinian nationalism"
there wil never correspond the expression "Israeli nationalism. "
When Levinas writes, "What Israel is inaugurating in the Holy
Land is not just one more nationalism or sect" ("Separation des
biens," Cahiers de l'erne [1991] , 465), he nonetheless speaks of
the "religious grandeur" of the Zionist project. "These days, one
does not carry the Bible in one's luggage with impunity" (ibid.) .
But let us not forget, let us never forget, that the same Bible
also travels in the luggage of Palestinians, be they Muslim or
Christian. Justice and thirdness.
126. I Kings 19: 12-15.
127. '' priori exposed to substitution"-which is to say per
haps, "before" all sacrifce, independently of any sacrifcial ex
perience, even if the possibility of such experience might be lo
cated here. A a word and as a concept, does this a priori (at
once formal and concrete) have a place in Levinas's discourse?
It is not certain. This raises the enormous question of the rela-
Notes to ' Wlome'
tionship between substitution and sacrifce, between the being
hostage, the being-host, and the sacrificial experience. Levinas
ofen uses the word "sacrifce" to designate the "substitution
which precedes the will" (Otherwise than Being or Beyond Es
sence, 127), though he relates it to its Judaic signifcation, that
is, to the notion of an approach-"the approach, inasmuch as it
is a sacrifce" (ibid., 129) .
128. See the articles collected and presented by Catherine
Chalier under the titles "Epreuves d'une pensee" and "Quel
ques refexions sur la philosophie de l'hitlerisme," in the Cahier
de l'ere devoted to Levinas (ed. Catherine Chalier and
Miguel Abensour [Paris: Editions de l'Herne, 1991] ) . [See "Re
flections on the Philosophy of Hitlerism," trans. Sean Hand,
Critical Inquiry 17 (Autumn 1990) : 63-71.-Trans.]
129. "The secularization of all spiritual values during the
nineteenth century gave rise both to Jewish nationalist doc
trines and the easy assimilation that made possible the pure and
simple disappearance of the Jew. Two ways of escaping or re
nouncing the fact of the diaspora; two paths that the Covenant
has always refsed to follow. For it remained faithfl to an
older vocation. By proclaiming that Judaism was only a reli
gion, it asked ofJews more, and not less, than Jewish nationa
ism, and ofered them a task more worthy than Judaization"
(,Tinspiration religieuse de l' alliance" ["The religious Inspira
tion of the Covenant"] ' 1935, in ibid., 146) .
130. Or a parable? ''ccording to a Talmudic parable, al
Jews, past, present, and fture, were there at the foot of Sinai;
in a certain sense, all were present at Auschwitz" ("Separation
des biens," ibid., 465) .
131. From the lecture course Sur la mort et Ie temps, in ibid.,
68; reprinted in Dieu, la mort et Ie temps, ed. Jacques Rolland
(Paris: Grasset, 1993) , 122.
132. Emmanuel Levinas, "La conscience non-intention
nelle," in Cahiers de l'erne, n8-19, and in Ente nous: Essais
sur Ie penser-a-Iautre (Paris: Grasset, 1991), 150. [See "Bad Con
science and the Inexorable, " in Face to Face with Levinas, ed.
Richard A. Cohen (Albany: SUN Press, 1986), 40.-Trans. ]
Notes to ' Wlcome'
133. De Dieu qui vient a tidee, 134.
134. Ibid., 151.
135. Once again the "marvel of the family" between-or be
yond-Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Rosenzweig: "The situation in
which the I thus posits itself before truth in placing its subjec
tive morality in the infnite time of its fecundity-a situation
in which the instant of eroticism and the infinity of paternity
are conjoined-is concretized in the marel of the family. The
family does not only result from a rational arrangement of an
imality; it does not simply mark a step toward the anonymous
universality of the State. It identifes itself outside of the State,
even if the State reserves a framework for it" ( Ttalit and In
fnit, 306).
None of the questions that might be raised by these inter
pretations of the family and paterity should blind us to certain
irreducible complications: not only, as we have noted, does the
feminine-being signif as "welcoming par excellence," the ori
gin of ethics, but paterit can never be reduced to virilit, for
it is almost as if paternity disturbed the order of sexual difer
ence within the family. We spoke earlier of this paradox: pater
nity is, with regard to the State, anarchy itself The virility of
heroic virtue, on the other hand, ofen takes on a negative con
notation in its association with war and the State. Near the very
end of Ttalit and Infnit, the word virile is used in a way that
conforms to its use throughout. It is a question each time of a
political and warlike courage that risks death in the fnite time
of the State, as opposed to the infinite fecundity of the fa
ther/son relation. "Situated at the antipodes of the subject liv
ing in the infinite time of fecundity is the isolated and heroic
being that the State produces by its virile virtues. "
136. In the Tme of the Nations, 61. My emphasis.