Spinoza had been permanently excommunicated from the Jewish community in Amsterdam in 1656, having previously been raised in that community and educated in a yeshiva. After his expulsion, he never sought to return. In the TTP he does not refer to himself as a Jew, although a number of Christians labeled him a Jew. He only speaks of "the Hebrews" or "the Jews" in third person. His knowledge of Hebrew, his yeshiva studies of Jewish scripture, and his insider knowledge of how religious authorities exercised power by claiming special knowledge of sacred texts, meant Judaism was a salient target for his defense of individual freedom of thought.
The treatise rejected the notion of the Jews being "God's chosen people". To Spinoza, all peoples are on par with each other, articulating a key element of what came to be called liberalism. God has not elevated one over the other.
Spinoza also offered a sociological explanation as to how the Jewish people had managed to survive for so long, despite facing relentless persecution. In his view, the Jews had been preserved due to a combination of Gentile hatred and Jewish separatism.
He also gave one final, crucial reason for the continued Jewish presence, which in his view, was by itself sufficient to maintain the survival of the nation forever: circumcision. It was the ultimate anthropological expression of bodily marking, a tangible symbol of separateness which was the ultimate identifier.
Spinoza also posited a novel view of the Torah; he contended that it was essentially a political constitution of the ancient state of Israel. In his view, because the state no longer existed, its constitution could no longer be valid. He argued that the Torah was thus suited to a particular time and place; because times and circumstances had changed, the Torah could no longer be regarded as a legally binding document on the Jewish people.
