There have always been a lot of Jewish intellectuals throughout history. Unfortunately, over the past two centuries, being an intellectual has become synonymous with embracing socialism, which is atheistic.
There's a lot of Jews who are torn between being proud of their intellectual lineage (from Spinozza to Einstein)and wanting to be viewed as thoroughly modern thinkers, which means rejecting religion.
It's sort of like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
There's a lot of Jews who are torn between being proud of their intellectual lineage (from Spinozza to Einstein)and wanting to be viewed as thoroughly modern thinkers, which means rejecting religion.
The ancient Israelites were intellectuals, but their intellectuality was manifest in the study of Torah, the highest possible human endeavor. Similarly, even during the current Exile there have been times and places where Jews excelled in secular learning even while remaining true to Torah. However, the "enlightenment" changed all that. Jewishness is now interpreted as free-thinking dissent against chr*stian religiosity, and ancient Jewish rejection of paganism has been transmuted into rejection of G-d.
Spinoza and the other famous Jewish intellectuals of recent history were heretics (why Einstein is treated as some sort of Gedol HaDor amazes me). True Jewish intellectuality still exists and always will exist among the true Torah Sages and their students. Unfortunately, this world is very insular and largely invisible to the outside world.