The "curse" put on Spinoza on his expulsion from the Jewish community left some impression on teenage me. I don't know if it's just a generic wording from existing sources but wow is it harsh
> Cursed be he by day and cursed be he by night; cursed be he when he lies down and cursed be he when he rises up. Cursed be he when he goes out and cursed be he when he comes in. The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven. And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law.
It's language straight from the Law, a mixture of phrases that emphasize the totality of the curse over all of life by reiterating it in a number of ways. See Deuteronomy 6 and 28 for examples of both the 'totality' language and the phrasing of curses.
The grave, where the playwright was buried in 1616, carries the warning: "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forebeare, To digg the dust enclosed heare; Bleste be the man that spares thes stones, And curst be he that moves my bones."
> To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
Those persons don't understand the spirit of the One they serve. If they did, they would act differently.
more accurately, it was a synagogue in Amsterdam that excommunicated him and the current Rabbi upholds this. But many in the Jewish community have called for it to be reversed. Excommunication is different in Judaism and Catholicism though, since in the latter Rome enforces this whereas in the former its very much local.
He has an interesting interpretation of g-d and it is understandable the friction this caused given the religious nature of Europe during the 1600s and the desire for the Jewish community be preserved. Given it was a Sephardic synagogue and this is only a hundred or so years after the Alhambra decree which forced Jews out of Spain lest they convert to catholicism. Portugal did the same, but did not allow Jews to escape so they either converted or were executed. Persecution against Jews continued in the Iberian peninsula for hundreds of years. As such, preservation of the Jewish community and way of life was extremely important.
> Portugal did the same, but did not allow Jews to escape so they either converted or were executed.
Yes, they did have the option of escaping. Portugal initially took in Jews expelled from Spain, in 1492, then in 1496 the Portuguese king Manuel I gave Jews the choice between conversion and expulsion. Those who who did neither by the Easter 1497 deadline were put to death.
> Cursed be he by day and cursed be he by night; cursed be he when he lies down and cursed be he when he rises up. Cursed be he when he goes out and cursed be he when he comes in. The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven. And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law.