Abstract
The Maharal of Prague analyzed the dominant traits of the five major civilizations in which the Jewish people were exiled: Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greeks, and Rome. Although these cultures have disintegrated, their dominant traits are found in the ersatz attempts of secular Western societies to reach transcendence. The persecuted, lonely faithful Jew knows that true transcendence can be reached only by obeying the will of G-d.