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diff --git a/32722-tei/32722-tei.tei b/32722-tei/32722-tei.tei new file mode 100644 index 0000000..69e1d8f --- /dev/null +++ b/32722-tei/32722-tei.tei @@ -0,0 +1,23422 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> + +<!DOCTYPE TEI.2 SYSTEM "http://www.gutenberg.org/tei/marcello/0.4/dtd/pgtei.dtd" [ + +<!ENTITY u5 "http://www.tei-c.org/Lite/"> + +]> + +<TEI.2 lang="en"> +<teiHeader> + <fileDesc> + <titleStmt> + <title>Jewish Theology</title> + <author><name reg="Kohler, Kaufmann">Kaufmann Kohler</name></author> + </titleStmt> + <editionStmt> + <edition n="1">Edition 1</edition> + </editionStmt> + <publicationStmt> + <publisher>Project Gutenberg</publisher> + <date>June 6, 2010</date> + <idno type="etext-no">32722</idno> + <availability> + <p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and + with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it + away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg + License online at www.gutenberg.org/license</p> + </availability> + </publicationStmt> + <sourceDesc> + <bibl> + Created electronically. + </bibl> + </sourceDesc> + </fileDesc> + <encodingDesc> + </encodingDesc> + <profileDesc> + <langUsage> + <language id="en"></language> + <language id="la"></language> + <language id="he"></language> + <language id="el"></language> + </langUsage> + </profileDesc> + <revisionDesc> + <change> + <date value="2010-06-06">June 6, 2010</date> + <respStmt> + <name> + Produced by David Edwards, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. + (This book was produced from scanned images of public + domain material from the Google Print project.) + </name> + </respStmt> + <item>Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1</item> + </change> + </revisionDesc> +</teiHeader> + +<pgExtensions> + <pgStyleSheet> + .boxed { x-class: boxed } + .shaded { x-class: shaded } + .rules { x-class: rules; rules: all } + .indent { margin-left: 2 } + .bold { font-weight: bold } + .italic { font-style: italic } + .smallcaps { font-variant: small-caps } + </pgStyleSheet> + + <pgCharMap formats="txt.iso-8859-1"> + <char id="U0x2014"> + <charName>mdash</charName> + <desc>EM DASH</desc> + <mapping>--</mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2003"> + <charName>emsp</charName> + <desc>EM SPACE</desc> + <mapping> </mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2026"> + <charName>hellip</charName> + <desc>HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS</desc> + <mapping>...</mapping> + </char> + </pgCharMap> +</pgExtensions> + +<text lang="en"> + <front> + <div> + <divGen type="pgheader" /> + </div> + <div> + <divGen type="encodingDesc" /> + </div> + + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <p rend="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center">Jewish Theology</p> + <p rend="font-size: large; text-align: center">Systematically and Historically Considered</p> + <p rend="font-size: large; text-align: center">By</p> + <p rend="font-size: x-large; text-align: center">Dr. K. Kohler</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">President</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Hebrew Union College</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">New York</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">The Macmillan Company</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">1918</p> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <head>Contents</head> + <divGen type="toc" /> + </div> + + </front> +<body> + +<pb n='v'/><anchor id='Pgv'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Dedication</head> + +<p> +To The Memory +</p> + +<p> +Of +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Edward L. Heinsheimer</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>The Lamented President of the +Board of Governors of</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>The Hebrew Union College</hi> +</p> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>In Whom Zeal for the High Ideals</hi></l> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>of Judaism and Patriotic Devotion</hi></l> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>to Our Blessed Country Were</hi></l> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Nobly Embodied</hi></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>In Friendship And</l> +<l>Affection</l> +</lg> + +</div> + +<pb n='vii'/><anchor id='Pgvii'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Preface</head> + +<p> +In offering herewith to the English-reading public the present +work on Jewish Theology, the result of many years of +research and of years of activity as President and teacher at +the Hebrew Union College of Cincinnati, I bespeak for it that +fairness of judgment to which every pioneer work is entitled. +It may seem rather strange that no such work has hitherto +been written by any of the leading Jewish scholars of either +the conservative or the progressive school. This can only be +accounted for by the fact that up to modern times the Rabbinical +and philosophical literature of the Middle Ages sufficed +for the needs of the student, and a systematic exposition of +the Jewish faith seemed to be unnecessary. Besides, a real +demand for the specific study of Jewish theology was scarcely +felt, inasmuch as Judaism never assigned to a creed the +prominent position which it holds in the Christian Church. +This very fact induced Moses Mendelssohn at the beginning +of the new era to declare that Judaism <q>contained only +truths dictated by reason and no dogmatic beliefs at all.</q> +Moreover, as he was rather a deist than a theist, he stated +boldly that Judaism <q>is not a revealed religion but a revealed +law intended solely for the Jewish people as the vanguard of +universal monotheism.</q> By taking this legalistic view of +Judaism in common with the former opponents of the Maimonidean +articles of faith—which, by the way, he had himself +translated for the religious instruction of the Jewish youth—he +exerted a deteriorating influence upon the normal development +of the Jewish faith under the new social conditions. +The fact is that Mendelssohn emancipated the modern Jew +<pb n='viii'/><anchor id='Pgviii'/> +from the thraldom of the Ghetto, but not Judaism. In the +Mendelssohnian circle the impression prevailed, as we are +told, that Judaism consists of a system of forms, but is substantially +no religion at all. The entire Jewish renaissance +period which followed, characteristically enough, made the +cultivation of the so-called science of Judaism its object, but +it neglected altogether the whole field of Jewish theology. +Hence we look in vain among the writings of Rappaport, +Zunz, Jost and their followers, the entire Breslau school, for +any attempt at presenting the contents of Judaism as a system +of faith. Only the pioneers of Reform Judaism, Geiger, +Holdheim, Samuel Hirsch, Formstecher, Ludwig Philippson, +Leopold Stein, Leopold Loew, and the Reform theologian <hi rend='italic'>par +excellence</hi> David Einhorn, and likewise, Isaac M. Wise in +America, made great efforts in that direction. Still a system +of Jewish theology was wanting. Accordingly when, at the +suggestion of my dear departed friend, Dr. Gustav Karpeles, +President of the Society for the Promotion of the Science of +Judaism in Berlin, I undertook to write a compendium (Grundriss) +of Systematic Jewish Theology, which appeared in 1910 +as Vol. IV in a series of works on Systematic Jewish Lore +(Grundriss der Gesammtwissenschaft des Judenthums), I had +no work before me that might have served me as pattern or +guide. Solomon Schechter's valuable studies were in the main +confined to Rabbinical Theology. As a matter of fact I accepted +the task only with the understanding that it should be +written from the view-point of historical research, instead of a +mere dogmatic or doctrinal system. For in my opinion the +Jewish religion has never been static, fixed for all time by an +ecclesiastical authority, but has ever been and still is the result +of a dynamic process of growth and development. At the +same time I felt that I could not omit the mystical element +which pervades the Jewish religion in common with all others. +As our prophets were seers and not philosophers or moralists, +<pb n='ix'/><anchor id='Pgix'/> +so divine inspiration in varying degrees constituted a factor of +Synagogal as well as Scriptural Judaism. Revelation, therefore, +is to be considered as a continuous force in shaping and +reshaping the Jewish faith. The religious genius of the Jew +falls within the domain of ethnic psychology concerning which +science still gropes in the dark, but which progressive Judaism +is bound to recognize in its effects throughout the ages. +</p> + +<p> +It is from this standpoint, taken also by the sainted founder +of the Hebrew Union College, Isaac M. Wise, that I have written +this book. At the same time I endeavored to be, as it +behooves the historian, just and fair to Conservative Judaism, +which will ever claim the reverence we owe to our cherished +past, the mother that raised and nurtured us. +</p> + +<p> +While a work of this nature cannot lay claim to completeness, +I have attempted to cover the whole field of Jewish belief, +including also such subjects as no longer form parts of the +religious consciousness of the modern Jew. I felt especially +called upon to elucidate the historical relations of Judaism +to the Christian and Mohammedan religions and dwell on the +essential points of divergence from them. If my language at +times has been rather vigorous in defense of the Jewish faith, +it was because I was forced to correct and refute the prevailing +view of the Christian world, of both theologians and others, +that Judaism is an inferior religion, clannish and exclusive, +that it is, in fact, a cult of the Old Testament Law. +</p> + +<p> +It was a matter of great personal satisfaction to me that the +German work on its appearance met with warm appreciation +in the various theological journals of America, England, and +France, as well as of Germany, including both Jewish and +Christian. I was encouraged and urged by many <q>soon to make +the book accessible to wider circles in an English translation.</q> +My friend, Dr. Israel Abrahams of Cambridge, England, took +such interest in the book that he induced a young friend of his +to prepare an English version. While this did not answer the +<pb n='x'/><anchor id='Pgx'/> +purpose, it was helpful to me in making me feel that, instead of +a literal translation, a thorough revision and remolding of the +book was necessary in order to present it in an acceptable English +garb. In pursuing this course, I also enlarged the book +in many ways, especially adding a new chapter on Jewish +Ethics, which, in connection with the idea of the Kingdom of +God, appeared to me to form a fitting culmination of Jewish +theology. I have thus rendered it practically a new work. +And here I wish to acknowledge my great indebtedness to my +young friend and able pupil, Rabbi Lee J. Levinger, for the +valuable aid he has rendered me and the painstaking labor he +has kindly and unselfishly performed in going over my manuscript +from beginning to end, with a view to revising the +diction and also suggesting references to more recent publications +in the notes so as to bring it up to date. +</p> + +<p> +I trust that the work will prove a source of information +and inspiration for both student and layman, Jew and non-Jew, +and induce such as have become indifferent to, or prejudiced +against, the teachings of the Synagogue, or of Reform +Judaism in particular, to take a deeper insight into, and look +up with a higher regard to the sublime and eternal verities +of Judaism. +</p> + +<p> +<q>Give to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a +righteous man, and he will increase in learning.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Cincinnati</hi>, November, 1917. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='001'/><anchor id='Pg001'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Introductory</head> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter I. The Meaning of Theology</head> + +<p> +1. The name Theology, <q>the teaching concerning God,</q> +is taken from Greek philosophy. It was used by Plato and +Aristotle to denote the knowledge concerning God and things +godly, by which they meant the branch of Philosophy later +called Metaphysics, after Aristotle. In the Christian Church +the term gradually assumed the meaning of systematic exposition +of the creed, a distinction being made between +<emph>Rational</emph>, or <emph>Natural Theology</emph>, +on the one hand, and <emph>Dogmatic +Theology</emph>, on the other.<note place='foot'>Compare Heinrici +<hi rend='italic'>Theologische Encyclopaedie</hi>, p. 4; Enc. Brit. +art. Theology.</note> In common usage Theology is +understood to be the presentation of one specific system of +faith after some logical method, and a distinction is made +between <emph>Historical</emph> and <emph>Systematic Theology</emph>. The former +traces the various doctrines of the faith in question through +the different epochs and stages of culture, showing their historical +process of growth and development; the latter presents +these same doctrines in comprehensive form as a fixed +system, as they have finally been elaborated and accepted +upon the basis of the sacred scriptures and their authoritative +interpretation. +</p> + +<p> +2. Theology and Philosophy of Religion differ widely in +their character. Theology deals exclusively with a specific +religion; in expounding one doctrinal system, it starts from +<pb n='002'/><anchor id='Pg002'/> +a positive belief in a divine revelation and in the continued +working of the divine spirit, affecting also the interpretation +and further development of the sacred books. Philosophy +of Religion, on the other hand, while dealing with the same +subject matter as Theology, treats religion from a general +point of view as a matter of experience, and, as every philosophy +must, without any foregone conclusion. Consequently +it submits the beliefs and doctrines of religion in general to +an impartial investigation, recognizing neither a divine revelation +nor the superior claims of any one religion above any +other, its main object being to ascertain how far the universal +laws of human reason agree or disagree with the assertions +of faith.<note place='foot'>Heinrici, l. c., p. 14 f., 212; +Hagenbach-Kautsch: <hi rend='italic'>Encyc. d. theolog. Wiss.</hi>, +p. 28-30; Rauwenhoff: <hi rend='italic'>Religionsphilosophie</hi>, +Einl., xiii; Margolis: <q>The +Theological Aspect of Reformed Judaism,</q> in Yearbook of C. C. A. R., 1903, +p. 188-192. Lauterbach, J. E., art. Theology.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. It is therefore incorrect to speak of a Jewish religious +philosophy. This has no better right to exist than has Jewish +metaphysics or Jewish mathematics.<note place='foot'>See, however, Geiger: +<hi rend='italic'>Nachgel. Schriften</hi>, II, 3-8; also Margolis, l. c., +p. 192-196.</note> The Jewish thinkers +of the Spanish-Arabic period who endeavored to harmonize +revelation and reason, utilizing the Neo-Platonic philosophy +or the Aristotelian with a Neo-Platonic coloring, betray by +their very conceptions of revelation and prophecy the influence +of Mohammedan theology; this was really a graft +of metaphysics on theology and called itself the <q>divine +science,</q> a term corresponding exactly with the Greek <q>theology.</q> +The so-called Jewish religious philosophers adopted +both the methods and terminology of the Mohammedan +theologians, attempting to present the doctrines of the Jewish +faith in the light of philosophy, as truth based on reason. +Thus they claimed to construct a Jewish theology upon the +foundation of a philosophy of religion. +</p> + +<pb n='003'/><anchor id='Pg003'/> + +<p> +But neither they nor their Mohammedan predecessors +succeeded in working out a complete system of theology. +They left untouched essential elements of religion which do +not come within the sphere of rational verities, and did not +give proper appreciation to the rich treasures of faith deposited +in the Biblical and Rabbinical literature. Nor does the +comprehensive theological system of Maimonides, which +for centuries largely shaped the intellectual life of the Jew, +form an exception. Only the mystics, Bahya at their head, +paid attention to the spiritual side of Judaism, dwelling at +length on such themes as prayer and repentance, divine +forgiveness and holiness. +</p> + +<p> +4. Closer acquaintance with the religious and philosophical +systems of modern times has created a new demand for a +Jewish theology by which the Jew can comprehend his own +religious truths in the light of modern thought, and at the +same time defend them against the aggressive attitude of the +ruling religious sects. Thus far, however, the attempts made +in this direction are but feeble and sporadic; if the structure +is not to stand altogether in the air, the necessary material +must be brought together from its many sources with painstaking +labor.<note place='foot'>A fine beginning in this direction has been made by Professor +Schechter in <hi rend='italic'>Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology</hi>, New York, +1909.</note> The special difficulty in the task lies in the +radical difference which exists between our view of the past +and that of the Biblical and medieval writers. All those +things which have heretofore been taken as facts because related +in the sacred books or other traditional sources, are viewed +to-day with critical eyes, and are now regarded as more or +less colored by human impression or conditioned by human +judgment. In other words, we have learned to distinguish +between <emph>subjective</emph> and <emph>objective</emph> truths,<note place='foot'>See +Joel: <q>D. Mosaismus u. d. Heidenthum,</q> in Jahrb. f. Jued. Gesch. +und Lit., 1904, p. 70-73.</note> whereas theology by +<pb n='004'/><anchor id='Pg004'/> +its very nature deals with truth as absolute. This makes +it imperative for us to investigate historically the leading +idea or fundamental principle underlying a doctrine, to note +the different conceptions formed at various stages, and trace +its process of growth. At times, indeed, we may find that +the views of one age have rather taken a backward step and +fallen below the original standard. The progress need not be +uniform, but we must still trace its course. +</p> + +<p> +5. We must recognize at the outset that Jewish theology +cannot assume the character of <emph>apologetics</emph>, if it is to accomplish +its great task of formulating religious truth as it exists +in our consciousness to-day. It can no more afford to ignore +the established results of modern linguistic, ethnological, +and historical research, of Biblical criticism and comparative +religion, than it can the undisputed facts of natural science, +however much any of these may conflict with the Biblical +view of the cosmos. Apologetics has its legitimate place +to prove and defend the truths of Jewish theology against +other systems of belief and thought, but cannot properly +defend either Biblical or Talmudic statements by methods +incompatible with scientific investigation. Judaism is a +religion of <emph>historical</emph> growth, which, far from claiming to be +the final truth, is ever regenerated anew at each turning point +of history. The fall of the leaves at autumn requires no +apology, for each successive spring testifies anew to nature's +power of resurrection. +</p> + +<p> +The object of a systematic theology of Judaism, accordingly, +is to single out the essential forces of the faith. It +then will become evident how these fundamental doctrines +possess a vitality, a strength of conviction, as well as an +adaptability to varying conditions, which make them potent +factors amidst all changes of time and circumstance. According +to Rabbinical tradition, the broken tablets of the +covenant were deposited in the ark beside the new. In like +<pb n='005'/><anchor id='Pg005'/> +manner the truths held sacred by the past, but found inadequate +in their expression for a new generation, must be placed +side by side with the deeper and more clarified truths of an +advanced age, that they may appear together as the <emph>one</emph> +divine truth reflected in different rays of light. +</p> + +<p> +6. Jewish theology differs radically from Christian theology +in the following three points: +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>A.</hi> The theology of Christianity deals with articles of +faith formulated by the founders and heads of the Church +as conditions of <emph>salvation</emph>, so that any alteration in favor of +free thought threatens to undermine the very plan of salvation +upon which the Church was founded. Judaism recognizes +only such articles of faith as were adopted by the people +voluntarily as expressions of their religious consciousness, +both without external compulsion and without doing violence +to the dictates of reason. Judaism does not know salvation +by faith in the sense of Paul, the real founder of the Church, +who declared the blind acceptance of belief to be in itself +meritorious. It denies the existence of any irreconcilable +opposition between faith and reason. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>B.</hi> Christian theology rests upon a <emph>formula of +confession</emph>, the so-called Symbolum of the Apostolic Church,<note place='foot'>See +Schaff-Herzog's Encycl., art. Apostles' Creed and Symbol.</note> which +alone makes one a Christian. Judaism has no such formula +of confession which renders a Jew a Jew. No ecclesiastical +authority ever dictated or regulated the belief of the Jew; +his faith has been voiced in the solemn liturgical form of +prayer, and has ever retained its freshness and vigor of thought +in the consciousness of the people. This partly accounts for +the antipathy toward any kind of dogma or creed among +Jews. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>C.</hi> The creed is a <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>conditio +sine qua non</foreign> of the Christian +Church. To disbelieve its dogmas is to cut oneself loose +from membership. Judaism is quite different. The Jew is +<pb n='006'/><anchor id='Pg006'/> +<emph>born</emph> into it and cannot extricate himself from it even by +the renunciation of his faith, which would but render him an +apostate Jew. This condition exists, because the racial community +formed, and still forms, the basis of the religious community. +It is birth, not confession, that imposes on the Jew +the obligation to work and strive for the eternal verities of +Israel, for the preservation and propagation of which he has +been chosen by the God of history. +</p> + +<p> +7. The truth of the matter is that the aim and end of +Judaism is not so much the salvation of the soul in the hereafter +as the salvation of humanity in history. Its theology, +therefore, must recognize the history of human progress, with +which it is so closely interwoven. It does not, therefore, +claim to offer the final or absolute truth, as does Christian +theology, whether orthodox or liberal. It simply points out +the way leading to the highest obtainable truth. Final and +perfect truth is held forth as the ideal of all human searching +and striving, together with perfect justice, righteousness, +and peace, to be attained as the very end of history. +</p> + +<p> +A systematic theology of Judaism must, accordingly, content +itself with presenting Jewish doctrine and belief in relation +to the most advanced scientific and philosophical ideas +of the age, so as to offer a comprehensive view of life and the +world (<q>Lebens- und Weltanschauung</q>); but it by no means +claims for them the character of finality. The unfolding of +Judaism's truths will be completed only when all mankind +has attained the heights of Zion's mount of vision, as beheld +by the prophets of Israel.<note place='foot'>See Schechter: +<hi rend='italic'>Studies in Judaism</hi>, Intr., XXI-XXII; p. 147, 198 f.; Foster: +<hi rend='italic'>The Finality of the Christian Religion</hi>, Chicago, 1906; Friedr. +Delitzsch: <hi rend='italic'>Zur Weiterentwicklung der Religion</hi>, 1908; and comp. +Orelli: <hi rend='italic'>Religionsgeschichte</hi>, +276 f., and Dorner: <hi rend='italic'>Beitr. z. Weitrentwicklung d. christl. +Religion</hi>, 173.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='007'/><anchor id='Pg007'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter II. What is Judaism?</head> + +<p> +1. It is very difficult to give an exact definition of Judaism +because of its peculiarly complex character.<note place='foot'>For +the origin of the name Judaism, see Esther VIII, 17. Compare +<hi rend='italic'>Yahduth</hi>, Esther Rabbah III, 7; II +Macc. II, 21; VIII, 1, 14, 38; Graetz: <hi rend='italic'>G. +d. J.</hi>, II, 174 f.; Jost: <hi rend='italic'>G.d. +Jud.</hi>, I, 1-12; <hi rend='italic'>J. E.</hi>, art. Judaism. Regarding the +unfairness of Christian authors in their estimate of Judaism, see Schechter, l. c., +232-251; M. Schreiner: <hi rend='italic'>D. juengst. Urtheile u. +d. Judenthum</hi>, p. 48-58. Dubnow, +Asher Ginsberg and the rest of the nationalists underrate the religious power +of the Jew's soul, which forms the essence of his character and the motive +power of all his aspirations and hopes, as well as of all his achievements in +history.</note> It combines +two widely differing elements, and when they are brought +out separately, the aspect of the whole is not taken sufficiently +into account. Religion and race form an inseparable whole +in Judaism. The Jewish people stand in the same relation to +Judaism as the <emph>body</emph> to the <emph>soul</emph>. The national or racial body +of Judaism consists of the remnant of the tribe of Judah +which succeeded in establishing a new commonwealth in +Judæa in place of the ancient Israelitish kingdom, and which +survived the downfall of state and temple to continue its +existence as a separate people during a dispersion over the +globe for thousands of years, forming ever a cosmopolitan element +among all the nations in whose lands it dwelt. Judaism, +on the other hand, is the religious system itself, the vital +element which united the Jewish people, preserving it and +regenerating it ever anew. It is the spirit which endowed +the handful of Jews with a power of resistance and a fervor +of faith unparalleled in history, enabling them to persevere +<pb n='008'/><anchor id='Pg008'/> +in the mighty contest with heathenism and Christianity. It +made of them a nation of martyrs and thinkers, suffering and +struggling for the cause of truth and justice, yet forming, +consciously or unconsciously, a potent factor in all the great +intellectual movements which are ultimately to win the entire +gentile world for the purest and loftiest truths concerning +God and man. +</p> + +<p> +2. Judaism, accordingly, does not denote the Jewish +nationality, with its political and cultural achievements +and aspirations, as those who have lost faith in the religious +mission of Israel would have it. On the other hand, it is +not a nomistic or legalistic religion confined to the Jewish +people, as is maintained by Christian writers, who, lacking +a full appreciation of its lofty world-wide purpose and its +cosmopolitan and humanitarian character, claim that it has +surrendered its universal prophetic truths to Christianity. +Nor should it be presented as a religion of pure <emph>Theism</emph>, +aiming to unite all believers in one God into a Church Universal, +of which certain visionaries dream. Judaism is nothing +less than a message concerning the <emph>One and holy God</emph> and +<emph>one, undivided humanity</emph> with a world-uniting <emph>Messianic goal</emph>, +a message intrusted by divine revelation to the Jewish people. +Thus Israel is its prophetic harbinger and priestly guardian, +its witness and defender throughout the ages, who is never +to falter in the task of upholding and unfolding its truths until +they have become the possession of the whole human race. +</p> + +<p> +3. Owing to this twofold nature of a universal religious +truth and at the same time a mission intrusted to a specially +selected nation or race, Judaism offers in a sense the sharpest +contrasts imaginable, which render it an enigma to the student +of religion and history, and make him often incapable of +impartial judgment. On the one hand, it shows the most +tenacious adherence to forms originally intended to preserve +the Jewish people in its priestly sanctity and separateness, +<pb n='009'/><anchor id='Pg009'/> +and thereby also to keep its religious truths pure and free +from encroachments. On the other hand, it manifests a +mighty impulse to come into close touch with the various +civilized nations, partly in order to disseminate among them +its sublime truths, appealing alike to mind and heart, partly +to clarify and deepen those truths by assimilating the wisdom +and culture of these very nations. Thus the spirit of separatism +and of universalism work in opposite directions. +Still, however hostile the two elements may appear, they +emanate from the same source. For the Jewish people, +unlike any other civilization of antiquity, entered history +with the proud claim that it possessed a truth destined to +become some day the property of mankind, and its three +thousand years of history have verified this claim. +</p> + +<p> +Israel's relation to the world thus became a double one. +Its priestly world-mission gave rise to all those laws and +customs which were to separate it from its idolatrous surroundings, +and this occasioned the charge of hostility to the nations. +The accusation of Jewish misanthropy occurred as early as +the Balaam and Haman stories. As the separation continued +through the centuries, a deep-seated Jew-hatred sprang up, +first in Alexandria and Rome, then becoming a consuming +fire throughout Christendom, unquenched through the ages +and bursting forth anew, even from the midst of would-be +liberals. In contrast to this, Israel's prophetic ideal of a +humanity united in justice and peace gave to history a new +meaning and a larger outlook, kindling in the souls of all +truly great leaders and teachers, seers and sages of mankind +a love and longing for the broadening of humanity which +opened new avenues of progress and liberty. Moreover, by +its conception of man as the image of God and its teaching +of righteousness as the true path of life, Israel's Law established +a new standard of human worth and put the imprint +of Jewish idealism upon the entire Aryan civilization. +</p> + +<pb n='010'/><anchor id='Pg010'/> + +<p> +Owing to these two opposing forces, the one centripetal, +the other centrifugal, Judaism tended now inward, away from +world-culture, now outward toward the learning and the +thought of all nations; and this makes it doubly difficult +to obtain a true estimate of its character. But, after all, +these very currents and counter-currents at the different +eras of history kept Judaism in continuous tension and fluctuation, +preventing its stagnation by dogmatic formulas +and its division by ecclesiastical dissensions. <q>Both words +are the words of the living God</q> became the maxim of the +contending schools.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Erub.</hi> 13 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. If we now ask what period we may fix as the beginning +of Judaism, we must by no means single out the decisive +moment when Ezra the Scribe established the new commonwealth +of Judæa, based upon the Mosaic book of Law, and +excluding the Samaritans who claimed to be the heirs of +ancient Israel. This important step was but the climax, +the fruitage of that religious spirit engendered by the Judaism +of the Babylonian exile. The Captivity had become a refining +furnace for the people, making them cling with a zeal +unknown before to the teachings of the prophets, now offered +by their disciples, and to the laws, as preserved by the priestly +guilds; so the religious treasures of the few became the common +property of the many, and were soon regarded as <q>the +inheritance of the whole congregation of Jacob.</q> As a matter +of fact, Ezra represents the culmination rather than the +starting point of the great spiritual reawakening, when he +came from Babylon with a complete Code of Law, and promulgated +it in the Holy City to a worshipful congregation.<note place='foot'>Neh. +VIII, 1-18; Ez. VII, 12-28.</note> +It was Judaism, winged with a new spirit, which carried the +great unknown seer of the Exile to the very pinnacle of prophetic +vision, and made the Psalmists ring forth from the +harp of David the deepest soul-stirring notes of religious +<pb n='011'/><anchor id='Pg011'/> +devotion and aspiration that ever moved the hearts of men. +Moreover, all the great truths of prophetic revelation, of legislative +and popular wisdom, were then collected and focused, +creating a sacred literature which was to serve the whole community +as the source of instruction, consolation, and edification. +The powerful and unique institutions of the Synagogue, +intended for common instruction and devotion, are altogether +creations of the Exile, and replaced the former <emph>priestly</emph> Torah by +the Torah <emph>for the people</emph>. More wonderful still, the priestly lore +of ancient Babylon was transformed by sublime monotheistic +truths and utilized in the formation of a sacred literature; it +was placed before the history of the Hebrew patriarchs, to +form, as it were, an introduction to the Bible of humanity. +</p> + +<p> +Judaism, then, far from being the late product of the Torah +and tradition, as it is often considered, was actually the +creator of the Law. Transformed and unfolded in Babylonia, +it created its own sacred literature and shaped it ever anew, +filling it always with its own spirit and with new thoughts. +It is by no means the petrifaction of the Mosaic law and the +prophetic teachings, as we are so often told, but a continuous +process of unfolding and regeneration of its great religious truth. +</p> + +<p> +5. True enough, traditional or orthodox Judaism does not +share this view. The idea of gradual development is precluded +by its conception of divine revelation, by its doctrine +that both the oral and the written Torah were given at Sinai +complete and unchangeable for all time. It makes allowance +only for special institutions begun either by the prophets, +by Ezra and the Men of the Great Synagogue, his associates, +or by the masters of the Law in succeeding centuries. Nevertheless, +tradition says that the Men of the Great Synagogue +themselves collected and partly completed the sacred books, +except the five books of Moses, and that the canon was made +under the influence of the holy spirit. This holy spirit remained +in force also during the creative period of Talmudism, +<pb n='012'/><anchor id='Pg012'/> +sanctioning innovations or alterations of many kinds.<note place='foot'>See M. Bloch: +<hi rend='italic'>Tekanot</hi>, and art. Tekanot J. E. Regarding inspiration +see J. E.; Sanh, 99 a; Meg. 7 a; Maim.: <hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, II, 45; comp. +Yerush. Ab. Zar., I, 40; Horay. III, 48 c; Levit. R. VI, 1; IX, 9; and Yoma 9 b. The +laying on of hands for ordination (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Semikah</foreign>) +implied originally the imparting +of the holy spirit, see J. E., art. Authority.</note> Modern +critical and historical research has taught us to distinguish +the products of different periods and stages of development +in both the Biblical and Rabbinical sources, and therefore +compels us to reject the idea of a uniform origin of the Law, +and also of an uninterrupted chain of tradition reaching back +to Moses on Sinai. Therefore we must attach still more +importance to the process of transformation which Judaism +had to undergo through the centuries.<note place='foot'>See Geiger, J. Z., I, p. 7.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Judaism manifested its wondrous power of <emph>assimilation</emph> +by renewing itself to meet the demands of the time, first +under the influence of the ancient civilizations, Babylonia +and Persia, then of Greece and Rome, finally of the Occidental +powers, molding its religious truths and customs in ever new +forms, but all in consonance with its own genius. It adopted +the Babylonian and Persian views of the hereafter, of the upper +and the nether world with their angels and demons; so later +on it incorporated into its religious and legal system elements +of Greek and Egyptian gnosticism, Greek philosophy, and +methods of jurisprudence from Egypt, Babylon, and Rome. +In fact, the various parties which arose during the second +Temple beside each other or successively—Sadducees and +Pharisees, Essenes and Zealots—represent, on closer observation, +the different stages in the process of assimilation which +Judaism had to undergo. In like manner, the Hellenistic, +Apocryphal and Apocalyptic literature, which was rejected +and lost to sight by traditional Judaism, and which partly +fills the gap between the Bible and the Talmudic writings, +casts a flood of light upon the development of the Halakah +<pb n='013'/><anchor id='Pg013'/> +and the Haggadah. Just as the book of Ezekiel, which was +almost excluded from the Canon on account of its divergence +from the Mosaic Law, has been helpful in tracing the development +of the Priestly Code,<note place='foot'>Aboth d. R. Nathan, I; Shab. +30 b with reference to Ezek. XLIII-XLIV.</note> so the Sadduceean book of Ben +Sira<note place='foot'>See Geiger: Z. D. M. G., XII, 536; Schechter, +<hi rend='italic'>Wisdom of Ben Sira</hi>, p. 35.</note> +and the Zealotic book of Jubilees<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Jubilees, +Book of. Very instructive in this connection is +a comparative study of the Falashas, the Samaritans, especially the Dosithean +sect, and the still problematical sect discovered through the document found +by Schechter, edited by him under the title <hi rend='italic'>Fragments +of a Zadokite Sect</hi>.</note>—not to mention +the various Apocalyptic works—throw their searchlight +upon pre-Talmudic Judaism. +</p> + +<p> +6. Instead of representing Judaism—as the Christian +theologians do under the guise of scientific methods—as a +nomistic religion, caring only for the external observance of +the Law, it is necessary to distinguish two opposite fundamental +tendencies; the one expressing the spirit of legalistic +nationalism, the other that of ethical or prophetic universalism. +These two work by turn, directing the general trend in the +one or the other direction according to circumstances. At +one time the center and focus of Israel's religion is the Mosaic +Law, with its sacrificial cult in charge of the priesthood of +Jerusalem's Temple; at another time it is the Synagogue, +with its congregational devotion and public instruction, its +inspiring song of the Psalmist and its prophetic consolation +and hope confined to no narrow territory, but opened wide +for a listening world. Here it is the reign of the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Halakah</foreign> +holding fast to the form of tradition, and there the free and +fanciful <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Haggadah</foreign>, +with its appeal to the sentiments and +views of the people. Here it is the spirit of <emph>ritualism</emph>, bent +on separating the Jews from the influence of foreign elements, +and there again the spirit of <emph>rationalism</emph>, eager to take part +in general culture and in the progress of the outside world. +</p> + +<p> +The liberal views of Maimonides and Gersonides concerning +<pb n='014'/><anchor id='Pg014'/> +miracle and revelation, God and immortality were scarcely +shared by the majority of Jews, who, no doubt, sided rather +with the mystics, and found their mouthpiece in Abraham +ben David of Posquieres, the fierce opponent of Maimonides. +An impartial Jewish theology must therefore take cognizance +of both sides; it must include the mysticism of Isaac Luria +and Sabbathai Horwitz as well as the rationalism of Albo and +Leo da Modena. Wherever is voiced a new doctrine or a +new view of life and life's duty, which yet bears the imprint +of the Jewish consciousness, there the well-spring of divine +inspiration is seen pouring forth its living waters. +</p> + +<p> +7. Even the latest interpretation of the Law, offered by +a disciple who is recognized for true conscientiousness in +religion, was revealed to Moses on Sinai, according to a +Rabbinical dictum.<note place='foot'>See Yer. Hag., I, 76, and +elsewhere.</note> Thus is exquisitely expressed the idea +of a continuous development of Israel's religious truth. As a +safeguard against arbitrary individualism, there was the principle +of loyalty and proper regard for tradition, which is aptly termed by Professor +Lazarus a <q>historical continuity.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Ethics of +Judaism</hi>, I, 8-10; Geiger: J. Z., IX, 263.</note> The +Midrashic statement is quite significant that other creeds +founded on our Bible can only adhere to the letter, but the +Jewish religion possesses the key to the deeper meaning hidden +and presented in the <emph>traditional</emph> interpretation of the +Scriptures.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Pesik. R.</hi>, V, p. 146; +<hi rend='italic'>Midr. Tanhuma</hi>, ed. Buber, Wayera 6 and Ki +Thissa, 17. Comp. the legend of Moses and Akiba, Men. 29 b.</note> +That is, for Judaism Holy Scripture in its literal sense +is not the final word of God; the Bible is rather a living spring +of divine revelation, to be kept ever fresh and flowing by the +active force of the spirit. To sum up: Judaism, far from +offering a system of beliefs and ceremonies fixed for all time, +is as multifarious and manifold in its aspects as is life itself. +It comprises all phases and characteristics of both a national +and a world religion. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='015'/><anchor id='Pg015'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter III. The Essence of the Religion of Judaism</head> + +<p> +1. We have seen how difficult it is to define Judaism clearly +and adequately, including its manifold tendencies and institutions. +Still it is necessary that we reach a full understanding +of the essence of Judaism as it manifested itself in +all periods of its history,<note place='foot'>Comp. Geiger: <hi rend='italic'>Nachgel. +Schr.</hi>, II, 37-41; also his <hi rend='italic'>Jud. u. s. Gesch.</hi>, +I, 20-35; Beck: <hi rend='italic'>D. Wesen d. Judenthums</hi>; Eschelbacher: +<hi rend='italic'>D. Judenthum u. d. +Wesen d. Christenthums</hi>; Schreiner, l. c., 26-34.</note> +and that we single out the fundamental +idea which underlies its various forms of existence +and its different movements, both intellectual and spiritual. +There can be no disputing the fact that the central idea of +Judaism and its life purpose is the doctrine of the One Only +and Holy God, whose kingdom of truth, justice and peace +is to be universally established at the end of time. This is +the main teaching of Scripture and the hope voiced in the +liturgy; while Israel's mission to defend, to unfold and to +propagate this truth is a corollary of the doctrine itself and +cannot be separated from it. Whether we regard it as Law +or a system of doctrine, as religious truth or world-mission, +this belief pledged the little tribe of Judah to a warfare of +many thousands of years against the hordes of heathendom +with all their idolatry and brutality, their deification of man +and their degradation of deity to human rank. It betokened +a battle for the pure idea of God and man, which is not to +end until the principle of divine holiness has done away with +every form of life that tends to degrade and to disunite mankind, +and until Israel's Only One has become the unifying +power and the highest ideal of all humanity. +</p> + +<pb n='016'/><anchor id='Pg016'/> + +<p> +2. Of this great world-duty of Israel only the few will +ever become fully conscious. As in the days of the prophets, +so in later periods, only a <q>small remnant</q> was fully imbued +with the lofty ideal. In times of oppression the great multitude +of the people persisted in a conscientious observance +of the Law and underwent suffering without a murmur. Yet +in times of liberty and enlightenment this same majority +often neglects to assimilate the new culture to its own superior +spirit, but instead eagerly assimilates itself to the surrounding +world, and thereby loses much of its intrinsic strength and +self-respect. The pendulum of thought and sentiment swings +to and fro between the national and the universal ideals, +while only a few maturer minds have a clear vision of the +goal as it is to be reached along both lines of development. +Nevertheless, Judaism is in a true sense a religion of the +people. It is free from all priestly tutelage and hierarchical +interference. It has no ecclesiastical system of belief, guarded +and supervised by men invested with superior powers. Its +teachers and leaders have always been men from among the +people, like the prophets of yore, with no sacerdotal privilege +or title; in fact, in his own household each father is the God-appointed +teacher of his children.<note place='foot'>Deut. VI, 7; XI, 19.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. Neither is Judaism the creation of a single person, +either prophet or a man with divine claims. It points back +to the patriarchs as its first source of revelation. It speaks +not of the God of Moses, of Amos and Isaiah, but of the God +of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, thereby declaring the Jewish +genius to be the creator of its own religious ideas. It is therefore +incorrect to speak of a <q>Mosaic,</q> <q>Hebrew,</q> or <q>Israelitish,</q> +religion. The name <emph>Judaism</emph> alone expresses the preservation +of the religious heritage of Israel by the tribe of Judah, +with a loyalty which was first displayed by Judah himself +in the patriarchal household, and which became its characteristic +<pb n='017'/><anchor id='Pg017'/> +virtue in the history of the various tribes. Likewise +the rigid measures of Ezra in expelling all foreign +elements from the new commonwealth proved instrumental +in impressing loyalty and piety upon Jewish family life. +</p> + +<p> +4. As it was bound up with the life of the Jewish people, +Judaism remained forever in close touch with the world. +Therefore it appreciated adequately the boons of life, and escaped +being reduced to the shadowy form of <q>otherworldliness.</q><note place='foot'>See +Geiger: <hi rend='italic'>Nachgel. Schr.</hi>, II, 37 f.</note> +It is a religion of <emph>life</emph>, which it wishes to sanctify +by duty rather than by laying stress on the hereafter. It +looks to the <emph>deed</emph> and the purity of the <emph>motive</emph>, not to the empty +creed and the blind belief. Nor is it a religion of <emph>redemption</emph>, +contemning this earthly life; for Judaism repudiates the +assumption of a radical power of evil in man or in the world. +Faith in the ultimate triumph of the good is essential to it. +In fact, this perfect confidence in the final victory of truth +and justice over all the powers of falsehood and wrong lent +it both its wondrous intellectual force and its high idealism, +and adorned its adherents with the martyr's crown of thorns, +such as no other human brow has ever borne. +</p> + +<p> +5. <emph>Christianity</emph> and <emph>Islam</emph>, notwithstanding their alienation +from Judaism and frequent hostility, are still daughter-religions. +In so far as they have sown the seeds of Jewish truth +over all the globe and have done their share in upbuilding the +Kingdom of God on earth, they must be recognized as divinely +appointed emissaries and agencies. Still Judaism sets forth +its doctrine of God's unity and of life's holiness in a far superior +form than does Christianity. It neither permits the deity +to be degraded into the sphere of the sensual and human, +nor does it base its morality upon a love bereft of the vital +principle of justice. Against the rigid monotheism of Islam, +which demands blind submission to the stern decrees of +inexorable fate, Judaism on the other hand urges its belief +<pb n='018'/><anchor id='Pg018'/> +in God's paternal love and mercy, which educates all the children +of men, through trial and suffering, for their high destiny. +</p> + +<p> +6. Judaism denies most emphatically the right of Christianity +or any other religion to arrogate to itself the title of +<q>the absolute religion</q> or to claim to be <q>the finest blossom +and the ripest fruit of religious development.</q> As if any +mortal man at any time or under any condition could say without +presumption: <q>I am the Truth</q> or <q>No one cometh unto +the Father but by me.</q><note place='foot'>John XIV, 6. Comp. Dorner, l. c., 173; +and his <hi rend='italic'>Grundprobleme d. Religionsphilosophie</hi>; +Orelli: <hi rend='italic'>Religionsgeschichte</hi>, 276 f.</note> +<q>When man was to proceed from +the hands of his Maker,</q> says the Midrash, <q>the Holy One, +Blessed be His name, cast truth down to the earth, saying, +<q>Let truth spring forth from the earth, and righteousness +look down from heaven.</q></q><note place='foot'>Gen. R. VIII, +5.</note> The full unfolding of the religious +and moral life of mankind is the work of countless generations +yet to come, and many divine heralds of truth and +righteousness have yet to contribute their share. In this +work of untold ages, Judaism claims that it has achieved +and is still achieving its full part as the prophetic world-religion. +Its law of righteousness, which takes for its scope +the whole of human life, in its political and social relations +as well as its personal aspects, forms the foundation of its +ethics for all time; while its hope for a future realization of +the Kingdom of God has actually become the aim of human +history. As a matter of fact, when the true object of religion +is the hallowing of life rather than the salvation of the soul, +there is little room left for sectarian exclusiveness, or for a +heaven for believers and a hell for unbelievers. With this +broad outlook upon life, Judaism lays claim, not to perfection, +but to perfectibility; it has supreme capacity for growing +toward the highest ideals of mankind, as beheld by the +prophets in their Messianic visions. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='019'/><anchor id='Pg019'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_IV'/> +<head>Chapter IV. The Jewish Articles of Faith</head> + +<p> +1. In order to reach a clear opinion, whether or not Judaism +has articles of faith in the sense of Church dogmas, a question +so much discussed since the days of Moses Mendelssohn, it +seems necessary first to ascertain what faith in general means +to the Jew.<note place='foot'>See Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Studies</hi>, +147-181 and notes 351 f.; Mendelssohn: <hi rend='italic'>Ges. Schr.</hi>, +III, 321. Comp. Schlesinger: <hi rend='italic'>Buch Ikkarim</hi>, +630-632; Bousset: <hi rend='italic'>Religion d. Judenthums</hi>, +170 f., 175, and thereto Perles: <hi rend='italic'>Bousset</hi>, 112 f.; Martin Schreiner: +l. c., 35 f.; J. E., art. Faith and Articles of Faith (E. G. Hirsch); Felsenthal, +Margolis, and Kohler, in Y. B. C. C. A. R., 1897, p. 54; 1903, p. 188-193; +1905, p. 83; Neumark: art. Ikkarim in <hi rend='italic'>Ozar ha Yahduth</hi>; D. Fr. +Strauss: <hi rend='italic'>D. christl. Glaubenslehre</hi>, I, 25.</note> +Now the word used in Jewish literature for +faith is <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Emunah</foreign>, +from the root <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Aman</foreign>, to be firm; this denotes +firm reliance upon God, and likewise firm adherence to him, +hence both <emph>faith</emph> and <emph>faithfulness</emph>. Both Scripture and the +Rabbis demanded confiding trust in God, His messengers, and +His words, not the formal acceptance of a prescribed belief.<note place='foot'>See +Gen. XV, 6; Mek. to Ex. XIV; J. E., art. Faith.</note> +Only when contact with the non-Jewish world emphasized +the need for a clear expression of the belief in the unity of +God, such as was found in the Shema,<note place='foot'>Deut. +VI, 1-6; XI, 13-21; Num. XV, 37-41.</note> and when the proselyte +was expected to declare in some definite form the fundamentals +of the faith he espoused, was the importance of a concrete +<emph>confession</emph> felt.<note place='foot'>See Bousset, +II, 224 f. The term <foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>Pistis</foreign> += faith, assumes a new meaning +in Hellenistic Literature.</note> Accordingly we find the beginnings of a +formulated belief in the synagogal liturgy, in the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Emeth we +<pb n='020'/><anchor id='Pg020'/> +Yatzib</foreign><note place='foot'>See J. E., art. +Emeth we Yatzib.</note> and the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Alenu</foreign>,<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. +Alenu.</note> while in the Haggadah Abraham +is represented both as the exemplar of a hero of faith and as +the type of a missionary, wandering about to lead the heathen +world towards the pure monotheistic faith.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. +Abraham in Apocryphical and Rabbinical Lit.</note> While the +Jewish concept of faith underwent a certain transformation, +influenced by other systems of belief, and the formulation of +Jewish doctrines appeared necessary, particularly in opposition +to the Christian and Mohammedan creeds, still belief +never became the essential part of religion, conditioning salvation, +as in the Church founded by Paul. For, as pointed +out above, Judaism lays all stress upon conduct, not confession; +upon a hallowed life, not a hollow creed. +</p> + +<p> +2. There is no Biblical nor Rabbinical precept, <q>Thou +shalt believe!</q> Jewish thinkers felt all the more the need +to point out as fundamentals or roots of Judaism those doctrines +upon which it rests, and from which it derives its vital +force. To the rabbis, the <q>root</q> of faith is the recognition of a divine Judge to +whom we owe account for all our doings.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> +Behukothai, III, 6; <hi rend='italic'>Sanh.</hi> 38 b; <hi rend='italic'>Targ. Y.</hi> +to Gen. IV, 8.</note> +The recital of the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shema</foreign>, +which is called in the Mishnah +<q>accepting the yoke of God's sovereignty,</q> and which is +followed by the solemn affirmation, <q>True and firm belief +is this for us</q><note place='foot'>Ber. II, 2; see Kohler: +<hi rend='italic'>Monatsschrift</hi>, 1883, p. 445.</note> +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Emeth we Yatzib</foreign> +or <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Emeth we Emunah</foreign>), is, +in fact, the earliest form of the confession of faith.<note place='foot'>Kohler, +l. c.</note> In the course of time this confession of belief in the unity of God +was no longer deemed sufficient to serve as basis for the whole +structure of Judaism; so the various schools and authorities +endeavored to work out in detail a series of fundamental +doctrines. +</p> + +<p> +<anchor id='Chapter_IV_Section_3'/> +3. The Mishnah, in Sanhedrin, X, 1, which seems to date +back to the beginnings of Pharisaism, declares the following +<pb n='021'/><anchor id='Pg021'/> +three to have no share in the world to come: he who denies +the resurrection of the dead; he who says that the Torah—both +the written and the oral Law—is not divinely revealed; +and the Epicurean, who does not believe in the moral government +of the world.<note place='foot'>The Mishnaic +<foreign rend='italic'>Apicoros</foreign> corresponded to the Greek, +<foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>Epicoureios</foreign>, and was +no longer understood by the Talmudists; see Schechter: +<hi rend='italic'>Studies in Judaism</hi>, I, +157. It is defined by Josephus: <hi rend='italic'>Antiquities</hi>, +X, 11, 7: <q>The Epicureans ... +are in a state of error, who cast Providence out of life, and do not believe that +God takes care of the affairs of the world, nor that the universe is governed by +a Being which outlives all things in everlasting self-sufficiency and bliss, but declare +it to be self-sustaining and void of a ruler and protector ... like a ship +without a helmsman and like a chariot without a driver.</q> Comp. also Oppenheim +in <hi rend='italic'>Monatsschr.</hi>, 1864, p. 149.</note> +We find here (in reverse order, owing +to historical conditions), the beliefs in Revelation, Retribution, +and the Hereafter singled out as the three fundamentals +of Rabbinical Judaism. Rabbi Hananel, the great North +African Talmudist, about the middle of the tenth century, +seems to have been under the influence of Mohammedan and +Karaite doctrines, when he speaks of four fundamentals of +the faith: God, the prophets, the future reward and punishment, +and the Messiah.<note place='foot'>See Rappaport; <q>Biography of +R. Hananel,</q> in <hi rend='italic'>Bikkure ha Ittim</hi>, +1842.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. The doctrine of the One and Only God stands, as a +matter of course, in the foreground. Philo of Alexandria, +at the end of his treatise on Creation, singles out five principles +which are bound up with it, viz.: 1, God's existence +and His government of the world; 2, His unity; 3, the world +as His creation; 4, the harmonious plan by which it was +established; and 5, His Providence. Josephus, too, in his +apology for Judaism written against Apion,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Contra +Apionem</hi>, II, 22. See J. G. Mueller: <hi rend='italic'>Josephus' Schrift +gegen Apion</hi>, 311-313.</note> emphasizes the +belief in God's all-encompassing Providence, His incorporeality, +and His self-sufficiency as the Creator of the universe. +</p> + +<pb n='022'/><anchor id='Pg022'/> + +<p> +The example of Islam, which had very early formulated a +confession of faith of speculative character for daily recitation,<note place='foot'>See +Alfred v. Kremer: <hi rend='italic'>Gesch. d. herrsch. Ideen d. Islam</hi>, 39-41; +Goldziher, D. M. L. Z., XLIV, p. 168 f.; XLI, p. 72 f., which passages cast much light +upon the Jewish <foreign rend='italic'>Ani Maamin</foreign>.</note> +influenced first Karaite and then Rabbanite teachers to elaborate +the Jewish doctrine of One Only God into a philosophic +creed. The Karaites modeled their creed after the Mohammedan +pattern, which gave them ten articles of faith; of these +the first three dwelt on: 1, creation out of nothing; 2, the +existence of God, the Creator; 3, the unity and incorporeality +of God.<note place='foot'>See Jost: <hi rend='italic'>Gesch. d. Jud.</hi>, II, +330 f.; Frankl: art. Karaites in <hi rend='italic'>Ersch und Gruber's +Encyclopaedie</hi>; Loew: <hi rend='italic'>Juedische Dogmen</hi>, Ges. s. +I, 154; Schechter, l. c.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Abraham ben David (<hi rend='italic'>Ibn Daud</hi>) of Toledo sets forth in +his <q>Sublime Faith</q> six essentials of the Jewish faith: 1, the +existence; 2, the unity; 3, the incorporeality; 4, the omnipotence +of God (to this he subjoins the existence of angelic +beings); 5, revelation and the immutability of the Law; +and 6, divine Providence.<note place='foot'>J. Guttman: <hi rend='italic'>D. +Religionsphil, v. Abraham Ibn Daud</hi>; David Kaufmann, +<hi rend='italic'>Gesch. d. Attributenlehre</hi>; Neumark: <hi rend='italic'>Gesch. +d. juedisch. Phil.</hi> vols. I and II.</note> Maimonides, the greatest of all +medieval thinkers, propounded thirteen articles of faith, +which took the place of a creed in the Synagogue for the following +centuries, as they were incorporated in the liturgy +both in the form of a credo (<foreign rend='italic'>Ani Maamin</foreign>) and in a poetic +version. His first five articles were: 1, the existence; 2, the +unity; 3, the incorporeality; 4, the eternity of God; and +5, that He alone should be the object of worship; to which +we must add his 10th, divine Providence.<note place='foot'>Maimonides: Commentary +on Mishnah, Sanh., X, 1; Schechter, l. c., +163; Holzer: <hi rend='italic'>Gesch. d. Dogmenlehre</hi>, Berlin, +1901.</note> Others, not +satisfied with the purely metaphysical form of the Maimonidean +creed, accentuated the doctrines of creation out of nothing +and special Providence.<note place='foot'>See Loew, l. c., 156; +Schechter, l. c, 165.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='023'/><anchor id='Pg023'/> + +<p> +This speculative form of faith, however, has been most +severely denounced by Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865) as +<q>Atticism</q>;<note place='foot'>See P. Bloch: <q>Luzzatto als +Religionsphilosoph</q> in <hi rend='italic'>Samuel David Luzzatto</hi>, +p. 49-71. Comp. Hochmuth: <hi rend='italic'>Gotteskenntniss und Gottesverehrung</hi>, +Einleitung.</note> that is, the Hellenistic or philosophic tendency +to consider religion as a purely intellectual system, instead of +the great dynamic force for man's moral and spiritual elevation. +He holds that Judaism, as the faith transmitted to us +from Abraham, our ancestor, must be considered, not as a +mere speculative mode of reasoning, but as a moral life force, +manifested in the practice of righteousness and brotherly +love. Indeed, this view is supported by modern Biblical research, +which brings out as the salient point in Biblical teaching +the ethical character of the God taught by the prophets, +and shows that the essential truth of revelation is not to be +found in a metaphysical but in an ethical monotheism. At +the same time, the fact must not be overlooked that the +Jewish doctrine of God's unity was strengthened in the contest +with the dualistic and trinitarian beliefs of other religions, +and that this unity gave Jewish thought both lucidity and +sublimity, so that it has surpassed other faiths in intellectual +power and in passion for truth. The Jewish conception of +God thus makes <emph>truth</emph>, as well as +<emph>righteousness</emph> and <emph>love</emph>, both +a moral duty for man and a historical task comprising all +humanity. +</p> + +<p> +5. The second fundamental article of the Jewish faith is +divine revelation, or, as the Mishnah expresses it, the belief +that the Torah emanates from God +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>min ha shamayim</foreign>). In +the Maimonidean thirteen articles, this is divided into four: +his 6th, belief in the prophets; 7, in the prophecy of Moses +as the greatest of all; 8, in the divine origin of the Torah, +both the written and the oral Law; and 9, its immutability. +The fundamental character of these, however, was contested +<pb n='024'/><anchor id='Pg024'/> +by Hisdai Crescas and his disciples, Simon Duran and Joseph +Albo.<note place='foot'>See Schechter, l. c., 167 and the +notes.</note> As a matter of fact, they are based not so much upon +Rabbinical teaching as upon the prevailing views of Mohammedan +theology,<note place='foot'>See Horowitz: <hi rend='italic'>D. Psychologie +u. d. jued. Religionsphilosophie</hi>, 1883.</note> and were undoubtedly dictated by the +desire to dispute the claims of Christianity and Islam that +they represented a higher revelation. Our modern historical +view, however, includes all human thought and belief; it +therefore rejects altogether the assumption of a supernatural +origin of either the written or the oral Torah, and insists that +the subject of prophecy, revelation, and inspiration in general +be studied in the light of psychology and ethnology, of general +history and comparative religion. +</p> + +<p> +6. The third fundamental article of the Jewish faith is +the belief in a moral government of the world, which manifests +itself in the reward of good and the punishment of evil, +either here or hereafter. Maimonides divides this into two +articles, which really belong together, his 10th, God's knowledge +of all human acts and motives, and 11, reward and +punishment. The latter includes the hereafter and the +last Day of Judgment, which, of course, applies to all human +beings. +</p> + +<p> +7. Closely connected with retribution is the belief in the +resurrection of the dead, which is last among the thirteen +articles. This belief, which originally among the Pharisees +had a national and political character, and was therefore +connected especially with the Holy Land (as will be seen in +Chapter <ref target='Chapter_LIV'>LIV</ref> below), received in the Rabbinical schools +more and more a universal form. Maimonides went so far as to +follow the Platonic view rather than that of the Bible or the +Talmud, and thus transformed it into a belief in the continuity +of the soul after death. In this form, however, it is +actually a postulate, or corollary, of the belief in retribution. +</p> + +<pb n='025'/><anchor id='Pg025'/> + +<p> +8. The old hope for the national resurrection of Israel took +in the Maimonidean system the form of a belief in the coming +of the Messiah (article 12), to which, in the commentary on +the Mishnah, he gives the character of a belief in the restoration +of the Davidic dynasty. Joseph Albo, with others, +disputes strongly the fundamental character of this belief; +he shows the untenability of Maimonides' position by referring +to many Talmudic passages, and at the same time he casts +polemical side glances upon the Christian Church, which is really +founded on Messianism in the special form of its Christology.<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Albo by E. G. Hirsch, and the bibliography there.</note> +Jehuda ha Levi, in his <hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, substitutes for this as +a fundamental doctrine the belief in the election of Israel +for its world-mission.<note place='foot'>See Schechter, l. c., p. +162.</note> It certainly redounds to the credit of +the leaders of the modern Reform movement that they took +the election of Israel rather than the Messiah as their cardinal +doctrine, again bringing it home to the religious consciousness +of the Jew, and placing it at the very center of their system. +In this way they reclaimed for the Messianic hope the universal +character which was originally given it by the great +seer of the Exile.<note place='foot'>Isa. XLIX, 9, and elsewhere.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. The thirteen articles of Maimonides, in setting forth +a Jewish <hi rend='italic'>Credo</hi>, formed a vigorous opposition to the Christian +and Mohammedan creeds; they therefore met almost universal +acceptance among the Jewish people, and were given +a place in the common prayerbook, in spite of their deficiencies, +as shown by Crescas and his school. Nevertheless, +we must admit that Crescas shows the deeper insight into +the nature of religion when he observes that the main fallacy +of the Maimonidean system lies in founding the Jewish faith +on <emph>speculative knowledge</emph>, which is a matter of the intellect, +rather than <emph>love</emph> which flows from the heart, and which alone +leads to piety and goodness. True love, he says, requires +<pb n='026'/><anchor id='Pg026'/> +the belief neither in retribution nor in immortality. Moreover, +in striking contrast to the insistence of Maimonides or +the immutability of the Mosaic Law, Crescas maintains the +possibility of its continuous progress in accordance with the +intellectual and spiritual needs of the time, or, what amounts +to the same thing, the continuous perfectibility of the revealed +Law itself.<note place='foot'>See Schechter, l. c., p. +169.</note> Thus the criticism of Crescas leads at +once to a radically different theology than that of Maimonides, +and one which appeals far more to our own religious thought. +</p> + +<p> +10. Another doctrine of Judaism, which was greatly underrated +by medieval scholars, and which has been emphasized +in modern times only in contrast to the Christian theory of +original sin, is that man was created in the image of God. +Judaism holds that the soul of man came forth pure from the +hand of its Maker, endowed with freedom, unsullied by any +inherent evil or inherited sin. Thus man is, through the exercise +of his own free will, capable of attaining to an ever higher degree +his mental, moral, and spiritual powers in the course of history. +This is the Biblical idea of God's spirit as immanent in man; +all prophetic truth is based upon it; and though it was often +obscured, this theory was voiced by many of the masters of +Rabbinical lore, such as R. Akiba and others.<note place='foot'>Aboth, +III, 1; Gen. R. XXI, 5.</note> +</p> + +<p> +11. Every attempt to formulate the doctrines or articles +of faith of Judaism was made, in order to guard the Jewish +faith from the intrusion of foreign beliefs, never to impose +disputed beliefs upon the Jewish community itself. Many, +indeed, challenged the fundamental character of the thirteen +articles of Maimonides. Albo reduced them to three, viz.: +the belief in God, in revelation, and retribution; others, with +more arbitrariness than judgement, singled out three, five, six, +or even more as principal doctrines;<note place='foot'>See Schechter, l. +c.</note> while rigid conservatives, +<pb n='027'/><anchor id='Pg027'/> +such as Isaac Abravanel and David ben Zimra, altogether +disapproved the attempt to formulate articles of faith. The +former maintained that every word in the Torah is, in fact, +a principle of faith, and the latter<note place='foot'>See Loew, l. c., 157, +and his <q><hi rend='italic'>Mafteah</hi>,</q> p. 331; Schechter, l. +c.</note> pointed in the same way +to the 613 commandments of the Torah, spoken of by R. +Simlai the Haggadist in the third century.<note place='foot'>Makk. 23 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The present age of historical research imposes the same +necessity of restatement or reformulation upon us. We +must do as Maimonides did,—as Jews have always done,—point +out anew the really fundamental doctrines, and discard +those which have lost their holdup on the modern Jew, or which +conflict directly with his religious consciousness. If Judaism +is to retain its prominent position among the powers of thought, +and to be clearly understood by the modern world, it must +again reshape its religious truths in harmony with the dominant +ideas of the age. +</p> + +<p> +Many attempts of this character have been made by modern +rabbis and teachers, most of them founded upon Albo's three +articles. Those who penetrated somewhat more deeply into +the essence of Judaism added a fourth article, the belief in +Israel's priestly mission, and at the same time, instead of the +belief in retribution, included the doctrine of man's kinship with God, or, if one +may coin the word, his <hi rend='italic'>God-childship</hi>.<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Catechism by E. Schreiber.</note> +Few, however, have succeeded in working out the entire content +of the Jewish faith from a modern viewpoint, which +must include historical, critical, and psychological research, +as well as the study of comparative religion. +</p> + +<p> +12. The following tripartite plan is that of the present +attempt to present the doctrines of Judaism systematically +along the lines of historical development: +</p> + +<pb n='028'/><anchor id='Pg028'/> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='smallcaps'>God</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>a.</hi> Man's consciousness of God, and divine revelation. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>b.</hi> God's spirituality, His unity, His holiness, His perfection. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>c.</hi> His relation to the world: Creation and Providence. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>d.</hi> His relation to man: His justice, His love and mercy. +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='smallcaps'>Man</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>a.</hi> Man's God-childship; his moral freedom and yearning for God. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>b.</hi> Sin and repentance; prayer and worship; immortality, reward and +punishment. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>c.</hi> Man and humanity: the moral factors in history. +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='smallcaps'>Israel and the Kingdom of God</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>a.</hi> The priest-mission of Israel, its destiny as teacher and +martyr among the nations, and its Messianic hope. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>b.</hi> The Kingdom of God: the nations and religions of the world in a +divine plan of universal salvation. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>c.</hi> The Synagogue and its institutions. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>d.</hi> The ethics of Judaism and the Kingdom of God. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='029'/><anchor id='Pg029'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Part I. God</head> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>A. God As He Makes Himself Known To Man</head> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter V. Man's Consciousness of God and Belief in God</head> + +<p> +1. Holy Writ employs two terms for religion, both of +which lay stress upon its moral and spiritual nature: +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yirath Elohim</foreign>—<q>fear of +God</q>—and +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Daath Elohim</foreign>—<q>knowledge +or consciousness of God.</q> Whatever the fear of God may +have meant in the lower stages of primitive religion, in the +Biblical and Rabbinical conceptions it exercises a wholesome +moral effect; it stirs up the conscience and keeps man from +wrongdoing. Where fear of God is lacking, violence and +vice are rife;<note place='foot'>Gen. XX, 11.</note> +it keeps society in order and prompts the +individual to walk in the path of duty. Hence it is called +<q>the beginning of wisdom.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. CXI, 10; +Prov. IX, 10; Job XXVIII, 28.</note> The divine revelation of Sinai +accentuates as its main purpose <q>to put the fear of God into +the hearts of the people, lest they sin.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XX, 20.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. God-consciousness, or <q>knowledge of God,</q> signifies an +inner experience which impels man to practice the right and to +shun evil, the recognition of God as the moral power of life. +<q>Because there is no knowledge of God,</q> therefore do the +people heap iniquity upon iniquity, says Hosea, and he hopes +to see the broken covenant with the Lord renewed through +<pb n='030'/><anchor id='Pg030'/> +faithfulness grounded on the consciousness of God.<note place='foot'>Hos. +IV, 1, 6; II. 3; XIII, 4-5.</note> Jeremiah +also insists upon <q>the knowledge of God</q> as a moral force, +and, like Hosea, he anticipates the renewal of the broken covenant +when <q>the Lord shall write His law upon the heart</q> +of the people, and <q>they shall all know Him from the least +of them unto the greatest of them.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. IX, 23; XXII, 16; +XXXI, 32-33.</note> Wherever Scripture +speaks of <q>knowledge of God,</q><note place='foot'>Deut. IV, 39; VII, +9.</note> it always means the moral +and spiritual recognition of the Deity as life's inmost power, +determining human conduct, and by no means refers to mere +intellectual perception of the truth of Jewish monotheism, +which is to refute the diverse forms of polytheism. This +misconception of the term <q>knowledge of God,</q> as used in the +Bible, led the leading medieval thinkers of Judaism, especially +the school of Maimonides, and even down to Mendelssohn, +into the error of confusing religion and philosophy, as if both +resulted from pure reason. It is man's moral nature rather +than his intellectual capacity, that leads him <q>to know God +and walk in His ways.</q><note place='foot'>Knowledge as intellect is brought out as +early as the Book of Wisdom, XIII, 1; see especially Maimonides: +<hi rend='italic'>Yesode ha Torah</hi>, I, 1-3; <hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, I, 39; III, +28. In opposition, see Rosin: <hi rend='italic'>Ethik des Maimonides</hi>, 101; +Luzzatto and Hochmuth, l. c.; also Dillmann: H. B. d. alttestamentl. Theol., 204 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. It is mainly through the <emph>conscience</emph> that man becomes +conscious of God. He sees himself, a moral being, guided by +motives which lend a purpose to his acts and his omissions, +and thus feels that this purpose of his must somehow be in +accord with a higher purpose, that of a Power who directs and +controls the whole of life. The more he sees purpose ruling +individuals and nations, the more will his God-consciousness +grow into the conviction that there is but One and Only God, +who in awful grandeur holds dominion over the world. This +is the developmental process of religious truth, as it is unfolded +<pb n='031'/><anchor id='Pg031'/> +by the prophets and as it underlies the historic framework +of the Bible. In this light Jewish monotheism appears +as the ripe fruitage of religion in its universal as well as its +primitive form of God-consciousness, as the highest attainment +of man in his eternal seeking after God. Polytheism, +on the other hand, with its idolatrous and immoral practices, +appeared to the prophets and lawgivers of Israel to be, not a +competing religion, but simply a falling away from God. They +felt it to be a loss or eclipse of the genuine God-consciousness. +The object of revelation, therefore, is to lead back all mankind +to the God whom it had deserted, and to restore to all men their +primal consciousness of God, with its power of moral regeneration. +</p> + +<p> +4. In the same degree as this God-consciousness grows +stronger, it crystallizes into <emph>belief</emph> in God, and culminates in +<emph>love</emph> of God. As stated above,<note place='foot'>Ch. +<ref target='Chapter_IV'>IV</ref>.</note> +in Judaism belief—<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Emunah</foreign>—never +denotes the acceptance of a creed. It is rather the +confiding trust by which the frail mortal finds a <emph>firm</emph> hold on +God amidst the uncertainties and anxieties of life, the search +for His shelter in distress, the reliance on His ever-ready help +when one's own powers fail. The believer is like a little child +who follows confidingly the guidance of his father, and feels +safe when near his arm. In fact, the double meaning of +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Emunah</foreign>, +faith and faithfulness, suggests man's child-like +faith in the paternal faithfulness of God. The patriarch +Abraham is presented in both Biblical and Rabbinical writings +as the pattern of such a faith,<note place='foot'>Gen. XV, 6; +see J. E., art. Abraham.</note> and the Jewish people likewise are characterized +in the Talmud as <q>believers, sons of believers.</q><note place='foot'>Shab. 97 a.</note> +The Midrash extols such life-cheering faith as +the power which inspires true heroism and deeds of valor.<note place='foot'>Mek. +Beshallak 6, p. 41 ab.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. The highest triumph of God-consciousness, however, is +attained in <emph>love</emph> of God such as can renounce cheerfully all +<pb n='032'/><anchor id='Pg032'/> +the boons of life and undergo the bitterest woe without a +murmur. The book of Deuteronomy inculcates love of God +as the beginning and the end of the Law,<note place='foot'>Deut. +VI, 5; X, 12; XI, 1; XIII, 22; XXX, 6, 16, 20.</note> and the rabbis +declare it to be the highest type of human perfection. In +commenting upon the verse, <q>Thou shalt love the Lord thy +God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy +might,</q> they say: <q>Love the Law, even when thy life is +demanded as its price, nay, even with the last breath of thy +body, with a heart that has no room for dissent, amid every +visitation of destiny!</q><note place='foot'>Sifre to Deut. VI, +5.</note> They point to the tragic martyrdom +of R. Akiba as an example of such a love sealed by death. In like manner +they refer the expression, <q>they that love Thee,</q><note place='foot'>Judges +V, 31.</note> to those who bear insults without resentment; who hear +themselves abused without retort; who do good unselfishly, +without caring for recognition; and who cheerfully suffer as +a test of their fortitude and their love of God.<note place='foot'>Shab. +88 b.</note> Thus throughout +all Rabbinical literature love of God is regarded as the +highest principle of religion and as the ideal of human perfection, +which was exemplified by Job, according to the oldest +Haggadah, and, according to the Mishnah, by Abraham.<note place='foot'>See +Testament of Job, and notes by Kohler, in <hi rend='italic'>Semitic Studies in Memory +of Alexander Kohut</hi>, 271, and Sota, V, 5.</note> +Another interpretation of the verse cited from Deuteronomy +reads, <q>Love God in such a manner that thy fellow-creatures +may love Him owing to thy deeds.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre, l. c.</note> +</p> + +<p> +All these passages and many others<note place='foot'>See Yoma, 86 a; T. +d. El. R., XXIV; Maimonides, <hi rend='italic'>H. Teshubah</hi>, X; +Crescas: <hi rend='italic'>Or Adonai</hi>, I, 3. Comp. +<hi rend='italic'>Testaments Twelve Patriarchs</hi>, Simeon 3, +4; Issachar, 5; Philo: Quod omnis probus liber, 12 and elsewhere.</note> +show what a prominent +place the principle of love occupied in Judaism. This +is, indeed, best voiced in the Song of Songs:<note place='foot'>Song of Songs +VII, 6, 7.</note> <q>For love is +strong as death; the flashes thereof are flashes of fire, a very +<pb n='033'/><anchor id='Pg033'/> +flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench that love, +neither can the floods drown it.</q> It set the heart of the Jew +aglow during all the centuries, prompting him to sacrifice his +life and all that was dear to him for the glorification of his +God, to undergo for his faith a martyrdom without parallel +in history. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='034'/><anchor id='Pg034'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VI. Revelation, Prophecy, and Inspiration</head> + +<p> +1. Divine revelation signifies two different things: first, +God's self-revelation, which the Rabbis called +<foreign rend='italic'>Gilluy Shekinah</foreign>, +<q>the manifestation of the divine Presence,</q> and, second, the +revelation of His will, for which they used the term +<foreign rend='italic'>Torah +min ha Shamayim</foreign>, <q>the Law as emanating from God.</q><note place='foot'>See +Sifre Deut. XXVI, 8; Sanh. X, 1; J. E., art. Revelation; Dillmann, +61 f.; Geiger, D. Jud. u. s. Gesch. I, 34 f.</note> +The former appealed to the child-like belief of the Biblical +age, which took no offense at anthropomorphic ideas, such +as the descent of God from heaven to earth, His appearing to +men in some visible form, or any other miracle; the latter +appears to be more acceptable to those of more advanced +religious views. Both conceptions, however, imply that the +religious truth of revelation was communicated to man by a +special act of God. +</p> + +<p> +2. Each creative act is a mystery beyond the reach of +human observation. In all fields of endeavor the flashing +forth of genius impresses us as the work of a mysterious force, +which acts upon an elect individual or nation and brings it +into close touch with the divine. In the religious genius +especially is this true; for in him all the spiritual forces of +the age seem to be energized and set into motion, then to burst +forth into a new religious consciousness, which is to revolutionize +religious thought and feeling. In a child-like age +when the emotional life and the imagination predominate, +and man's mind, still receptive, is overwhelmed by mighty +visions, the Deity stirs the soul in some form perceptible to +<pb n='035'/><anchor id='Pg035'/> +the senses. Thus the <q>seer</q> assumes a trance-like state +where the Ego, the self-conscious personality, is pushed into +the background; he becomes a passive instrument, the mouthpiece +of the Deity; from Him he receives a message to the +people, and in his vision he beholds God who sends him. This +appearance of God upon the background of the soul, which +reflects Him like a mirror, is Revelation.<note place='foot'>See Deut. XIII, 2-6, +where prophet forms a parallel to dreamer of dreams. +God appears in a dream to Abraham (Gen. XV, 1, 12), to Abimelek (Gen. XX, +3, 6), to Jacob (XXVIII, 12; XXXI, 11; XLVI, 2), to Laban (XXXI, 24), +to Balaam (Num. XXIV, 3), and to Eliphaz (Job IV, 3-6). Dream-like visions +open the prophetic career of Moses (Exod. III, 3-6), Samuel (I Sam. III, 1, +15, 21), Isaiah (Is. VI, 1 f.), Jeremiah (Jer. I, 11 f.), Ezekiel (Ezek. I, 4), and +others. Revelation in the Bible is <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Mahazeh</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hazon</foreign>, and +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hizayon</foreign>, <q>vision</q>—whence +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hozeh</foreign>, <q>seer</q>; or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>mareh</foreign>, <q>sight,</q> +whence <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>roeh</foreign>, <q>seer.</q> See also +Geiger: <hi rend='italic'>Urschrift</hi>, 340; 390. Prophecy without dream or vision is +claimed for Moses (Num. XII, 6-8; Exod. XXX, 11; Deut. XXXIV, 10; see Maimonides: +<hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, II, 43-47; Albo, <hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, III, 8). +The revelation on Sinai is described as <q>the great vision,</q> or +<hi rend='italic'>mareh:</hi> Exod. III, 3; XXIV, 17; compare +Deut. IV, 11-V, 23, according to which only a <q>voice</q> is heard. Instead +of God the later prophets see an angel, as Zach. I, 8, 11; II, 2 f. Compare +Yebam. 49 b, as to the difference between Isaiah, who saw God in a vision, and +Moses, who saw Him <q>in a shining mirror.</q> He will appear in the latter way +to the righteous in the future world, Suc. 45 b; Lev. R. I, 14; I Cor. XIII, 12.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. The states of the soul when men see such visions of the +Deity predominate in the beginnings of all religions. Accordingly, +Scripture ascribes such revelations to non-Israelites as +well as to the patriarchs and prophets of Israel,—to Abimelek +and Laban, Balaam, Job, and Eliphaz.<note place='foot'>See Gen. XX, 6; +XXXI, 29; Num. XXIV; Job IV, 16 f.; XXXVIII, 1.</note> Therefore the +Jewish prophet is not distinguished from the rest by the +capability to receive divine revelation, but rather by the +intrinsic nature of the revelation which he receives. His +vision comes from a moral God. The Jewish genius perceived +God as the moral power of life, whether in the form expressed +by Abraham, Moses, Elijah, or by the literary prophets, +and all of these, coming into touch with Him, were lifted into +a higher sphere, where they received a new truth, hitherto +<pb n='036'/><anchor id='Pg036'/> +hidden from man. In speaking through them, God appeared +actually to have stepped into the sphere of human life +as its moral Ruler. This self-revelation of God as the Ruler +of man in righteousness, which must be viewed in the life of +any prophet as a providential act, forms the great historical +sequence in the history of Israel, upon which rests the Jewish +religion.<note place='foot'>The Hebrew word for prophecy is +passive,—<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>nibba'</foreign> or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hithnabbe'</foreign>, <q>to be +made to speak,</q> or <q>to bubble forth,</q>—the Deity being the active power, +while the prophet is His mouthpiece.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. The divine revelation in Israel was by no means a +single act, but a process of development, and its various +stages correspond to the degrees of culture of the people. +For this reason the great prophets also depended largely +upon dreams and visions, at least in their consecration to the +prophetic mission, when one solemn act was necessary. +After that the message itself and its new moral content set +the soul of the prophet astir. Not the vision or its imagery, +but the new truth itself seizes him with irresistible force, so +that he is carried away by the divine power and speaks as +the mouthpiece of God, using lofty poetic diction while in +a state of ecstacy. Hence he speaks of God in the <emph>first</emph> person. +The highest stage of all is that where the prophet receives the +divine truth in the form of pure thought and with complete +self-consciousness. Therefore the Scripture says of Moses +and of no other, <q>The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as +a man speaks to another.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XXXIII, 11; Deut. XXXIV, 10.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. The story of the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai is +in reality the revelation of God to the people of Israel as part +of the great world-drama of history. Accordingly, the chief +emphasis is laid upon the miraculous element, the descent +of the Lord to the mountain in fire and storm, amid thunder +and lightning, while the Ten Words themselves were proclaimed +<pb n='037'/><anchor id='Pg037'/> +by Moses as God's herald.<note place='foot'>Ex. XIX, 19; XX, +19.</note> As a matter of fact, the +first words of the narrative state its purpose, the consecration +of the Jewish people at the outset of their history to be a nation +of prophets and priests.<note place='foot'>Ex. XIX, 1-8.</note> +Therefore the rabbis lay stress +upon the acceptance of the Law by the people in saying: +<q>All that the Lord sayeth we shall do and hearken.</q><note place='foot'>Shab. +88 a after Ex. XXIV, 7.</note> From +a larger point of view, we see here the dramatized form of the +truth of Israel's <emph>election</emph> by divine Providence for its historic +religious mission. +</p> + +<p> +6. The rabbis ascribed the gifts of prophecy to pagans as +well as Israelites at least as late as the erection of the Tabernacle, +after which the Divine Presence dwelt there in the +midst of Israel.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Seder Olam</hi> +R., I and XXI; Lev. Rab. I, 12-14; B. B. 15 b.</note> +They say that each of the Jewish prophets +was endowed with a peculiar spiritual power that corresponded +with his character and his special training, the highest, of course, +being Moses, whom they called <q>the father of the prophets.</q><note place='foot'>Hag. +13 b; Sanh. 89 a; Lev. R. l. c.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The medieval Jewish thinkers, following the lead of +Mohammedan philosophers or theologians, regard revelation +quite differently, as an <emph>inner</emph> process in the mind of the prophet. +According to their mystical or rationalistic viewpoint, they +describe it as the result of the divine spirit, working upon the +soul either from within or from without. These two standpoints +betray either the Platonic or the Aristotelian influence.<note place='foot'>See Schmiedl: +<hi rend='italic'>Stud. u. jued.-arabische Religionsphilosophie</hi>, 191-192; +S. Horowitz: <hi rend='italic'>D. Prophetologie i. d. jued. Religionsphilosophie</hi>; +Sandler: <hi rend='italic'>D. Problem d. Prophetie i. d. jued. +Religionsphilosophie</hi>; J. E., art. Prophets and Prophecy; +<hi rend='italic'>Emunoth</hi> III, 4; <hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, I, 95; +II, 10-12; <hi rend='italic'>Emunah Ramah</hi>, II, +5, 1; <hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, II, 32-48; <hi rend='italic'>Yesode ha Torah</hi>, +VII; <hi rend='italic'>Or Adonai</hi>, II, 4, 1; <hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, +III, 8-12, 17; Nachmanides to Gen. XVIII, 2; Abravanel to Gen. XXI, 27; +Comp. Husik, <hi rend='italic'>Hist. Med. Jew. Phil.</hi>, Index s. v. Prophecy; Enc. +Rel. Ethics, art. Philosophy and Prophecy.</note> +Indeed, the rabbis themselves showed traces of neo-Platonism +<pb n='038'/><anchor id='Pg038'/> +when they described the ecstatic state of the prophets, or +when they spoke of the divine spirit speaking through the +prophet as through a vocal instrument, or when they made +distinctions between seeing the Deity <q>in a bright mirror</q> +or <q>through a dark glass.</q><note place='foot'>Horowitz, +l. c. p. 11-16; Gen. R. XVII, 6; Lev. R, l. c; Sanh. 17 b; +Philo: De Decalog., 21; de Migratione Abrahami, 7; comp. I Corinth. XIII, +12.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The view most remote from the simple one of the Bible is +the rationalistic standpoint of Maimonides, who, following +altogether in the footsteps of the Arabic neo-Aristotelians, +assumed that there were different degrees of prophecy, depending +upon the influence exerted upon the human intellect +by the sphere of the Highest Intelligence. He enumerates +eleven such grades, of which Moses had the highest rank, as he +entered into direct communication with the supreme intellectual +sphere. Still bolder is his explanation of the revelation +on Sinai. He holds that the first two words were understood +by the people directly as logical evidences of truth, for +they enunciated the philosophical doctrines of the existence +and unity of God, whereas the other words they understood +only as sounds without meaning, so that Moses had to interpret +them.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, l. c.</note> +In contrast to this amazing rationalism of Maimonides +is the view of Jehuda ha Levi, who asserts that the +gift of prophecy became the specific privilege of the descendants +of Abraham after their consecration as God's chosen +people at Sinai, and that the holy soil of Palestine was assigned to them as the +habitation best adapted to its exercise.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, +l. c.</note> The other attempt of some rationalistic thinkers of the Middle Ages to have +a <q>sound created for the purpose</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Kol +Nibra</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, I, 65; <hi rend='italic'>Emunoth</hi>, +II, 8; <hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, I, 89.</note> of uttering +the words <q>I am the Lord thy God,</q> rather than accepting +the anthropomorphic Deity, merits no consideration whatever. +</p> + +<p> +7. It is an indisputable fact of history that the Jewish people, +<pb n='039'/><anchor id='Pg039'/> +on account of its peculiar religious bent, was predestined to +be the people of revelation. Its leading spirits, its prophets +and psalmists, its law-givers and inspired writers differ from +the seers, singers, and sages of other nations by their unique +and profound insight into the moral nature of the Deity. In +striking contrast is the progress of thought in Greece, where +the awakening of the ethical consciousness caused a rupture +between the culture of the philosophers and the popular +religion, and led to a final decay of the political and social +life. The prophets of Israel, however, the typical men of +genius of their people, gradually brought about an advance +of popular religion, so that they could finally present as their +highest ideal the God of the fathers, and make the knowledge +of His will the foundation of the law of holiness, by +which they desired to regulate the entire conduct of man. +Thus, religion was no longer confined by the limits of nationality, +but was transformed into a spiritual force for all mankind, +to lead through a revelation of the One and Holy God +toward the highest morality. +</p> + +<p> +8. The development of thought brought the God-seeking +spirits to the desire to know His will, or, in Scriptural language, +His ways, in order to attain holiness in their pursuit. The +natural consequence was the gradual receding of the power of +imagination which had made the enraptured seer behold God +Himself in visions. As the Deity rose more and more above +the realm of the visible, the newly conceived truth was realized +as coming to the sacred writer through the spirit of God +or an angel. <emph>Inspiration</emph> took the place of <emph>revelation</emph>. This, +however, still implies a passive attitude of the soul carried +away by the truth it receives from on high. This supernatural +element disappears gradually and passes over into sober, self-conscious +thought, in which the writer no longer thinks of +God as the Ego speaking through him, but as an outside +Power spoken of in the third person. +</p> + +<pb n='040'/><anchor id='Pg040'/> + +<p> +A still lower degree of inspiration is represented by those +writings which lack altogether the divine afflatus, and to +which is ascribed a share of the holy spirit only through general +consensus of opinion. Often this imprint of the divine +is not found in them by the calm judgment of a later generation, +and the exact basis for the classification of such +writings among the holy books is sometimes difficult to state. +We can only conclude that in the course of time they were +regarded as holy by that very spirit which was embodied in +the Synagogue and its founders, <q>the Men of the Great +Synagogue,</q> who in their work of canonizing the Sacred +Scriptures were believed to have been under the influence of +the holy spirit.<note place='foot'>According to the +rabbis, the working of the holy spirit ceased with Haggai, +Zechariah, and Malachi, who, with Ezra, were included also among the <q>Men +of the Great Synagogue.</q> See Tos. Sota XIII, 2; Seder Olam R. XXX; +Sanh. 11 a. See J. E., art. Synagogue, Men of the Great; Holy Spirit; Inspiration. +Comp. B. B. 14 b, 15 a; Yoma 9 b; Meg. 3 a, 7 a; I Macc. IV, 46; +Ps. LXXIV, 9; Josephus, <hi rend='italic'>Con. Apion.</hi>, I, 8; +Philo: <hi rend='italic'>Vita Mosis</hi>, II, 7; Aristeas, +305-307. As to the difference between the spirit of prophecy and the holy +spirit, see <hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, III, 32-35; +<hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, II, 35-37. The Essenes claimed the +holy spirit for their apocryphal writings; see IV Esdras XIV, 38; Book of +Wisdom VII, 27.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. Except for the five books of Moses, the idea of a mechanical +inspiration of the Bible is quite foreign to Judaism. +Not until the second Christian century did the rabbis +finally decide on such questions as the inspiration of certain +books among the Hagiographa or even among the Prophets, +or whether certain books now excluded from the canon were +not of equal rank with the canonical ones.<note place='foot'>On the +disputes concerning canonical books, see Yadayim III, 5; Ab. d. +R. N., I, ed. Schechter, 2-3; Shab. 30 b; Meg. 7 a. Comp. B. K. 92 b, where +Ben Sira is quoted as one of the Hagiographa.</note> In fact, the influence +of the holy spirit was for some time ascribed, not only +to Biblical writers, but also to living masters of the law.<note place='foot'>See +Tos. Pes. I, 27; IV, 2; Sota XIII, 3; Yer. Horay. III, 48 c; Lev. +R. XXI, 7.</note> +<pb n='041'/><anchor id='Pg041'/> +The fact is that divine influence cannot be measured by the +yardstick or the calendar. Where it is felt, it bursts forth as +from a higher world, creating for itself its proper organs +and forms. The rabbis portray God as saying to Israel, +<q>Not I in My higher realm, but you with your human needs +fix the form, the measure, the time, and the mode of expression +for that which is divine.</q><note place='foot'>R. h. Sh. 27 a; Mak. 22 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +10. While Christianity and Islam, its daughter-religions, +must admit the existence of a prior revelation, Judaism knows +of none. It claims its own prophetic truth as <emph>the</emph> revelation, +admits the title Books of Revelation (Bible) only for its own +sacred writings, and calls the Jewish nation alone the People +of Revelation. The Church and the Mosque achieved great +things in propagating the truths of the Sinaitic revelation +among the nations, but added to it no new truths of an essential +nature. Indeed, they rather obscured the doctrines +of God's unity and holiness. On the other hand, the people +of the Sinaitic revelation looked to it with a view of ever +revitalizing the dead letter, thus evolving ever new rules of +life and new ideas, without ever placing new and old in opposition, +as was done by the founder of the Church. Each +generation was to take to heart the words of Scripture as if +they had come <q>this very day</q> out of the mouth of the +Lord.<note place='foot'>Sifre Deut. VI, 4.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='042'/><anchor id='Pg042'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VII. The Torah—the Divine Instruction</head> + +<p> +1. During the Babylonian Exile the prophetic word became +the source of comfort and rejuvenation for the Jewish people. +Now in its place Ezra the Scribe made the Book of the Law +of Moses the pivot about which the entire life of the people +was to revolve. By regular readings from it to the assembled +worshipers, he made it the source of common instruction. +Instead of the priestly Law, which was concerned only with +the regulation of the ritual life, the Law became the people's +book of instruction, a Torah for all alike,<note place='foot'>On the +term Torah see Smend: <hi rend='italic'>Lehrb. d. alttest. Religionsgesch.</hi>; Stade: +Bibl. Theol. d. Alt. Test., Index s. v. Torah; W. J. Beecher: <hi rend='italic'>Jour. +Bibl. Lit.</hi>, 1905, 1-16; <q>Thora a Word Study in the Old Testament.</q> For Torah as +<emph>Law</emph>, see Neh. VIII, 1; Joshua I, 7, and throughout the Pentateuch; as +<emph>moral instruction</emph>, see Hos. IV, 6; VIII, 1; Is. I, 10; V, 24; XXX, 9; +LI, 4; Mic. IV, 2; Jer. XXXVI, 4 f.; XXXI, 32; Ps. XVI, 8; Prov. VI, 22; VII, 2; +Guedeman: <hi rend='italic'>Quell. z. G. d. Unterrichts</hi>, at the beginning; Claude +Montefiore: <hi rend='italic'>Hibbert Lectures</hi>, 1892, p. 465 f.</note> +while the prophetic +books were made secondary and were employed by the preacher +at the conclusion of the service as <q>words of +consolation.</q><note place='foot'><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Nehematha</foreign>, +which means the Messianic hope; see Kohut: Aruch V, 328 +and Appendix 59.</note> +Upon the Pentateuch was built up the divine service of the +Synagogue as well as the whole system of communal life, +with both its law and ethics. The prophets and other sacred +books were looked upon only as means of <q>opening up</q> or +illustrating the contents of the Torah. These other parts of +<pb n='043'/><anchor id='Pg043'/> +the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Mikra</foreign> +(<q>the collection of books for public reading</q>) were +declared to be inferior in holiness, so that, according to the +Rabbinical rule, they were not even allowed to be put into +the same scroll as the Pentateuch.<note place='foot'>See B. B. 13 b; +Meg. III, 1; IV, 4; comp. Ned. 22 b; Taan. 9 a; Shab. +104 a; <hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> Behukothai at end; Eccl. R. I, 10; Ex. R. XXXVIII, +6. Zunz: <hi rend='italic'>Gottesd. Vortr.</hi>, 46 f., and art. +<hi rend='italic'>Canon</hi> and <hi rend='italic'>Bible</hi> in the various +encyclopedias. As to Torah for the whole Bible, see Mek. Shira I; Sanh. 37 a, 91 b; Ab. +Zar. 17 a; M. K. 5 a; comp. I Cor. XIV, 21; John X, 34; XII, 34; XV, 25. +For Torah as Nomos, or Law, see II Macc. XV, 9.</note> Moreover, neither the +number, order, nor the division of the Biblical books was +fixed. The Talmud gives 24, Josephus only 22.<note place='foot'>Bousset, l. c., +128-129.</note> Tradition +claims a completely divine origin only for the Pentateuch or +Torah, while the rabbis often point out the human element in +the other two classes of the Biblical collection.<note place='foot'>On the +divine origin of the Torah, see Sanh. 99 a; <hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> Kedoshim 8; +Behar I; Behukothay 8. Regarding the meaning of +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>metammin eth ha yadayim</foreign> +in the sense of taboo for the holy writings, see Geiger: +<hi rend='italic'>Urschrift</hi>, p. 146.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. The traditional belief in the divine origin of the Torah +includes not only every word, but also the accepted interpretation +of each letter, for both written and oral law are +ascribed to the revelation to Moses on Mt. Sinai, to be transmitted +thence from generation to generation. Whoever +denies the divine origin of either the written or the oral law +is declared to be an unbeliever who has no share in the world +to come, according to the Tannaitic code, and consequently +according to Maimonides<note place='foot'>Sanh. 99 a; Maim. H. Teshubah +III, 8.</note> also. But here arises a question +of vital importance: What becomes of the Torah as the +divine foundation of Judaism under the study of modern +times? Even conservative investigators, such as Frankel, +Graetz, and Isaac Hirsch Weiss, not to mention such radicals +as Zunz and Geiger, admit the gradual progress and growth +of this very system of law, both oral and written. And if +different historical conditions have produced the development +<pb n='044'/><anchor id='Pg044'/> +of the law itself, we must assume a number of human authors +in place of a single act of divine revelation.<note place='foot'>Comp. Kohler: +<hi rend='italic'>Hebrew Union College Annual</hi>, 1904, <q>The Four Ells of +the Halakah.</q></note> +</p> + +<p> +3. But another question of equal importance confronts us +here, the meaning of Torah. Originally, no doubt, Torah +signified the instruction given by the priests on ritual or juridical +matters. Out of these decisions arose the written laws +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Toroth</foreign>), +which the priesthood in the course of time collected +into codes. After a further process of development they appeared +as the various books of Moses, which were finally +united into <emph>the Code</emph> or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Torah</foreign>. This Torah was the foundation +of the new Judean commonwealth, the <q>heritage of +the congregation of Jacob.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXXIII, +4.</note> The priestly Torah, lightly +regarded during the prophetic period, was exalted by post-exilic +Judaism, so that the Sadducean priesthood and their +successors, the rabbis, considered strict observance of the +legal form to be the very essence of religion. Is this, then, +the true nature of Judaism? Is it really—as Christian +theologians have held ever since the days of Paul, the great +antagonist of Judaism—mere nomism, a religion of law, +which demanded formal compliance with its statutes without +regard to their inner value? Or shall we rather follow Rabbi +Simlai, the Haggadist, who first enumerated the 613 commandments +of the Torah (mandatory and prohibitive), considering +that their one aim is the higher <emph>moral law</emph>, in that +they are all summed up by a few ethical principles, which +he finds in the 15th Psalm, Isaiah XXXIII, 15; Micah VI, +8; Isaiah LVI, 1; and Amos V, 4?<note place='foot'>Mak. 23 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. All these questions have but one answer, a reconciling +one, Judaism has the two factors, the priest with his regard +for the law and the prophet with his ethical teaching; and +the Jewish Torah embodies both aspects, law and doctrine. +<pb n='045'/><anchor id='Pg045'/> +These two elements became more and more correlated, as the +different parts of the Pentateuch which embodied them were +molded together into the one scroll of the Law. In fact, the +prophet Jeremiah, in denouncing the priesthood for its neglect +of the principles of justice, and rebuking scathingly the +people for their wrongdoing, pointed to the divine law of +righteousness as the one which should be written upon the +hearts of men.<note place='foot'>Jerem. XXXI, 32.</note> +Likewise, in the book of Deuteronomy, +which was the product of joint activity by prophet and priest, +the Law was built upon the highest moral principle, the love +of God and man. In a still larger sense the Pentateuch as a +whole contains priestly law and universal religion intertwined. +In it the eternal verities of the Jewish faith, God's +omnipotence, omniscience, and moral government of the world, +are conveyed in the historical narratives as an introduction +to the law. +</p> + +<p> +5. Thus the Torah as the expression of Judaism was never +limited to a mere system of law. At the outset it served as +a book of instruction concerning God and the world and +became ever richer as a source of knowledge and speculation, +because all knowledge from other sources was brought into +relation with it through new modes of interpretation. Various +systems of philosophy and theology were built upon it. Nay +more, the Torah became divine Wisdom itself,<note place='foot'>Comp. Schechter, +<hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, p. 120-136, and see Ben Sira, XXIV, 8-23; +XVII, 11; Baruch III, 38 f.; Apoc. Baruch XXXVIII, 4; XLIV, 16; IV +Esdras VIII, 12; IX, 37; Philo: <hi rend='italic'>Vita Mosis</hi>, +II, 3, 9; Gen. R. I; P. d. R. El. III.</note> the architect +of the Creator, the beginning and end of creation.<note place='foot'>This +apotheosis of the Torah is put in a wrong light by Weber, <hi rend='italic'>Juedische +Theologie</hi>, 157 f., 197, but is stated better in Bousset, l. c., 136-142.</note> +</p> + +<p> +While the term Torah thus received an increasingly comprehensive +meaning, the rabbis, as exponents of orthodox Judaism, +came to consider the Pentateuch as the only book of revelation, +<pb n='046'/><anchor id='Pg046'/> +every letter of which emanated directly from God. The +other books of the Bible they regarded as due only to the +indwelling of the holy spirit, or to the presence of God, the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shekinah</foreign>. +Moreover, they held that changes by the prophets +and other sacred writers were anticipated, in essentials, in +the Torah itself, and were therefore only its expansions and +interpretations. Accordingly, they are frequently quoted as parts of the Torah +or as <q>words of tradition.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Dibre +Kabbalah</hi>, R. h. Sh. 7 a, 19 a; Yer. Halla I, 57 b; see Levy, W. B., +s. v. Kabbalah.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. Orthodox Judaism, then, accepted as a fundamental +doctrine the view that both the Mosaic Law and its Rabbinical +interpretation were given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. +This viewpoint is contradicted by all our knowledge and our +whole mode of thinking, and thus both our historical and +religious consciousness constrain us to take the position of +the prophets. To them and to us the real Torah is the unwritten +moral law which underlies the precepts of both the +written law and its oral interpretation. From this point of +view, Moses, as the first of the prophets, becomes the first +mediator of the divine legislation, and the original Decalogue +is seen to be the starting point of a long process of development, +from which grew the laws of righteousness and holiness +that were to rule the life of Israel and of mankind.<note place='foot'>The personality +of Moses was at first exalted to almost superhuman height; +see <hi rend='italic'>Ben Sira</hi>, XLV, 2; <hi rend='italic'>Assumptio Mosis</hi>, +I, 14; XI, 16; Philo: <hi rend='italic'>Vita Mosis</hi>, III, 39; Josephus: +<hi rend='italic'>Antiquities</hi>, IV, 32 b; Bousset, l. c., 140 f. In contrast +to the Church view of Jesus the rabbis later emphasized the human frailties +of Moses: <q>Never did divine majesty descend to the habitations of mortal +man, nor did ever a mortal man such as Moses and Elijah ascend to heaven, +the dwelling-place of God,</q> taught Rabbi Jose (Suk. 5 a).</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. The time of composition of the various parts of the +Pentateuch, including the Decalogue, must be decided by +independent critical and historical research. It is sufficient +for us to know that since the time of Ezra the foundation of +<pb n='047'/><anchor id='Pg047'/> +Judaism has been the completed Torah, with its twofold +aspect as <emph>law</emph> and as <emph>doctrine</emph>. +As <emph>law</emph> it contributed to the +marvelous endurance and resistance of the Jewish people, +inasmuch as it imbued them with the proud consciousness of +possessing a law superior to that of other nations, one which +would endure as long as heaven and earth.<note place='foot'>See Deut. +IV, 6-8; Jer. XXXI, 34-35; Philo: <hi rend='italic'>Vita Mosis</hi>, II, 14; Josephus: +<hi rend='italic'>Apion</hi>, II, 277.</note> Furthermore, it +permeated Judaism with a keen sense of duty and imprinted +the ideal of holiness upon the whole of life. At the same +time it gave rise also to ritualistic piety, which, while tenaciously +clinging to the traditional practice of the law, fostered +hair-splitting casuistry and caused the petrifaction of religion +in the codified Halakah. As <emph>doctrine</emph> it impressed its +ethical and humane idealism upon the people, lifting them +far above the narrow confines of nationality, and making +them a nation of thinkers. Hence their eagerness for their +mission to impart the wisdom stored in their writings to all +humanity as its highest boon and the very essence of divine +wisdom. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='048'/><anchor id='Pg048'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VIII. God's Covenant</head> + +<p> +1. Judaism has one specific term for religion, representing +the moral relation between God and man, namely, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Berith</foreign>, +covenant. The covenant was concluded by God with the +patriarchs and with Israel by means of sacrificial blood, according +to the primitive custom by which tribes or individuals +became <q>blood brothers,</q> when they were both sprinkled +with the sacrificial blood or both drank of it.<note place='foot'>See Herodotus, +III, 8; IV, 70; Jer. XXIV, 18; H. Clay Trumbull: <hi rend='italic'>The +Blood Covenant</hi>, New York, 1885; Kraetschmar: <hi rend='italic'>D. Bundervorstellung +i. A. Test.</hi>, 1896; J. E. and Encyl. of Rel. and Ethics, art. Covenant.</note> +The first covenant +of God was made after the flood, with Noah as the representative +of mankind; it was intended to assure him and +all coming generations of the perpetual maintenance of the +natural order without interruption by flood, and at the same +time to demand of all mankind the observance of certain laws, +such as not to shed, or eat, blood. Here at the very beginning +of history religion is taken as the universal basis of human +morality, so developing at the outset the fundamental principle +of Judaism that it rests upon a religion of humanity, +which it desires to establish in all purity. As the universal +idea of man forms thus its beginning, so Judaism will attain +its final goal only in a divine covenant comprising all humanity. +Both the rabbis and the Hellenistic writers consider +the covenant of Noah with its so-called Noahitic commandments +as unwritten laws of humanity. In fact, they +are referred to Adam also, so that religion appears in its +<pb n='049'/><anchor id='Pg049'/> +essence as nothing else than a covenant of God with all +mankind.<note place='foot'>See Gen. IX, 1-17; Tos. Ab. Zar. VIII, 4; San. 56 a; Gen. R. +XVI, XXIV; Jubilees VI, 10 f.; Bernays: <hi rend='italic'>Ges. Abh.</hi> I, 252 f., 272 +f.; II, 71-80.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. Accordingly, Judaism is a special basis of relationship +between God and Israel. Far from superseding the universal +covenant with Noah, or confining it to the Jewish people, +this covenant aims to reclaim all members of the human +family for the wider covenant from which they have relapsed. +God chose for this purpose Abraham as the one who was +faithful to His moral law, and made a special covenant with +him for all his descendants, that they might foster justice +and righteousness, at first within the narrow sphere of the +nation, and then in ever-widening circles of humanity.<note place='foot'>Gen. XV, 18; +XVII, 2 f.; XVIII, 19; Lev. XXVI, 42; Jubilees I, 51.</note> +Yet the covenant with Abraham was only the precursor of +the covenant concluded with Israel through Moses on Mt. +Sinai, by which the Jewish people were consecrated to be the +eternal guardians of the divine covenant with mankind, until +the time when it shall encompass all the nations.<note place='foot'>Ex. XIX, 5; +XXIV, 6-8; XXXIV, 28; Deut. IV-V, XXVIII, XXIX; +Comp. I Kings XIX, 10, 14; Jer. XI; XXXI; XXXIV, 13; Ezek. XVI-XVII.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. In this covenant of Sinai, referred to by the prophet +Elijah, and afterward by many others, the free moral relationship +of man to God is brought out; this forms the +characteristic feature of a revealed religion in contradistinction +to natural religion. In paganism the Deity formed an inseparable +part of the nation itself; but through the covenant +God became a free moral power, appealing for allegiance to +the spiritual nature of man. This idea of the covenant suggested +to the prophet Hosea the analogy with the conjugal +relation,<note place='foot'>Hos. II, 18-20.</note> +a conception of love and loyalty which became +typical of the tender relation of God to Israel through the +centuries. In days of direst woe Jeremiah and the book of +<pb n='050'/><anchor id='Pg050'/> +Deuteronomy invested this covenant with the character of +indestructibility and inviolability.<note place='foot'>Jer. XXXI, 30-32, 34-35; +XXXIII, 25; Deut. XXIX, 14.</note> God's covenant with +Israel is everlasting like that with the heaven and the earth; +it is ever to be renewed in the hearts of the people, but never +to be replaced by a new covenant. Upon this eternal renewal +of the covenant with God rests the unique history of Judaism, +its wondrous preservation and regeneration throughout the +ages. Paul's doctrine of a new covenant to replace the old<note place='foot'>See +Ep. Hebrews VIII, 8 f.; Gal. III, 15; I Cor. XI, 25; Matt. XXIV, +21, and parallels.</note> +conflicts with the very idea of the covenant, and even with the +words of Jeremiah. +</p> + +<p> +4. The Israelitish nation inherited from Abraham, according +to the priestly Code, the rite of <emph>circumcision</emph> as a <q>sign of +the covenant,</q><note place='foot'>Gen. XVII, 11.</note> +but under the prophetic influence, with its +loathing of all sacrificial blood, the <emph>Sabbath</emph> was placed in the +foreground as <q>the sign between God and Israel.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XXXI, 13-17; +comp. Deut. X, 16; Josh. V, 9; Isa. LVI, 4-6. See +Mek. to Ex. XIX, 5, the controversy between R. Eliezer and R. Akiba, whether +the Sabbath or circumcision was the essential sign of the covenant.</note> In +ancient Israel and in the Judean commonwealth the Abrahamitic +rite formed the initiation into the nationality for +aliens and slaves, by which they were made full-fledged Jews. +With the dispersion of the Jewish people over the globe, and +the influence of Hellenism, Judaism created a propaganda in +favor of a world-wide religion of <q>God-fearing</q> men pledged +to the observance of the Noahitic or humanitarian laws. +Rabbinism in Palestine called such a one +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger Toshab</foreign>—sojourner, +or semi-proselyte; while the full proselyte who accepted +the Abrahamitic rite was called <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger Zedek</foreign>, +or proselyte of righteousness.<note place='foot'>Ker. 9 a; Yeb. 45-48 and see Chapter +<ref target='Chapter_LVI'>LVI</ref> below.</note> Not only the Hellenistic writings, but +also the Psalms, the liturgy, and the older Rabbinical literature +<pb n='051'/><anchor id='Pg051'/> +give evidence of such a propaganda,<note place='foot'>Ps. XXII, 28 f.; +CXV, 11; CXVIII, 4; Is. LVI, 6.</note> but it may be traced +back as far as Deutero-Isaiah, during the reign of Cyrus. His +outlook toward a Jewish religion which should be at the same +time a religion of all the world, is evident when he calls Israel +<q>a mediator of the covenant between God and the nations,</q> +a <q>light to the peoples,</q>—a regenerator of humanity.<note place='foot'>Isaiah +XLIX, 6-8.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. This hope of a universal religion, which rings through +the Psalms, the Wisdom books and the Hellenistic literature, +was soon destined to grow faint. The perils of Judaism in +its great struggles with the Syrian and Roman empires made +for intense nationalism, and the Jewish covenant shared this +tendency. The early Christian Church, the successor of the +missionary activity of Hellenistic Judaism, labored also at +first for the Noahitic covenant.<note place='foot'>Acts XV, +20, 29.</note> Pauline Christianity, however, +with a view to tearing down the barrier between Jew +and Gentile, proclaimed a new covenant, whose central idea +is belief in the atoning power of the crucified son of God.<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Saul of Tarsus; Enc. Rel. Eth. art. Paul.</note> +Indeed, one medieval Rabbinical authority holds that we +are to regard Christians as semi-proselytes, as they practically +observe the Noahitic laws of humanity.<note place='foot'>Isaac ben Shesheth: +Responsa, 119. Comp, J. E., art. Christianity.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. Progressive Judaism of our own time has the great task +of re-emphasizing Israel's world-mission and of reclaiming +for Judaism its place as the priesthood of humanity. It is +to proclaim anew the prophetic idea of God's covenant with +humanity, whose force had been lost, owing to inner and +outer obstacles. Israel, as the people of the covenant, aims +to unite all nations and classes of men in the divine covenant. +It must outlast all other religions in its certainty that ultimately +there can be but the one religion, uniting God and +man by a single bond.<note place='foot'>See further, Chapter +<ref target='Chapter_XLIX'>XLIX</ref>.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='052'/><anchor id='Pg052'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>B. The Idea Of God In Judaism</head> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter IX. God and the Gods</head> + +<p> +1. Judaism centers upon its sublime and simple conception +of God. This lifts it above all other religions and +satisfies in unique measure the longing for truth and inner +peace amidst the futility and incessant changes of earthly +existence. This very conception of God is in striking contrast +to that of most other religions. The God of Judaism is not +one god among many, nor one of many powers of life, but is +<emph>the One</emph> and holy God beyond all comparison. In Him is +concentrated all power and the essence of all things; He is +the Author of all existence, the Ruler of life, who lays down the +laws by which man shall live. As the prophet says to the +heathen world: <q>The gods that have not made the heavens +and the earth, these shall perish from the earth and from under +the heavens.... Not like these is the portion of Jacob; +for He is the Former of all things.... The Lord is the true +God; He is the living God and the everlasting King; at His +wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to +abide His indignation.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. X, 11; 16 and 10.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. This lofty conception of the Deity forms the essence of +Judaism and was its shield and buckler in its lifelong contest +with the varying forms of heathenism. From the very first +the God of Judaism declared war against them all, whether at +<pb n='053'/><anchor id='Pg053'/> +any special time the prevailing form was the worship of many +gods, or the worship of God in the shape of man, the perversion +of the purity of God by sensual concepts, or the division +of His unity into different parts or personalities. The +Talmudic saying is most striking: <q>From Sinai, the Mount +of revelation of the only God, there came forth +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sinah</foreign>, the +hostility of the nations toward the Jew as the banner-bearer +of the pure idea of God.</q><note place='foot'>Shab. 89 b.</note> +Just as day and night form a +natural contrast, divinely ordained, so do the monotheism of +Israel and the polytheism of the nations constitute a spiritual +contrast which can never be reconciled. +</p> + +<p> +3. The pagan gods, and to some extent the triune God of +the Christian Church, semi-pagan in origin also, are the outcome +of the human spirit's going astray in its search for God. +Instead of leading man upwards to an ideal which will encompass +all material and moral life and lift it to the highest stage of +holiness, paganism led to depravity and discord. The unrelenting +zeal displayed by prophet and law-giver against +idolatry had its chief cause in the immoral and inhuman practices +of the pagan nations—Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, and +Babylon—in the worship of their deities.<note place='foot'>Lev. XVIII, 2, 27 f.; +Num. XXV, 3-8; Hos. IV, 10; V, 4.</note> The deification of +the forces of nature brutalized the moral sense of the pagan +world; no vice seemed too horrible, no sacrifice too atrocious +for their cults. Baal, or Moloch, the god of heaven, demanded +in times of distress the sacrifice of a son by the +father. Astarte, the goddess of fecundity, required the +<q>hallowing</q> of life's origin, and this was done by the most +terrible of sexual orgies. Such abominations exerted their seductive +influence upon the shepherd tribes of Israel in their +new home in Canaan, and thus aroused the fiercest indignation +of prophet and law-giver, who hurled their vials of wrath +against those shocking rites, those lewd idols, and those who +<pb n='054'/><anchor id='Pg054'/> +<q>whored after them.</q><note place='foot'>Num. XV, 39; Ex. XXIII, 24; +Deut. XX, 18; Sanh. XII, 5; X, 4-6; +Ab. Zar. II-IV; Sanh. 106 a: <q>Israel's God hates lewdness.</q></note> +If Israel was to be trained to be +the priest people of the Only One in such an environment, +tolerance of such practices was out of the question. Thus in +the Sinaitic law God is spoken of as <q>the jealous God</q><note place='foot'>Ex. +XX, 5; Deut. IV, 24; VI, 15.</note> who +punishes unrelentingly every violation of His laws of purity +and holiness. +</p> + +<p> +4. The same sharp contrast of Jewish ethical and spiritual +monotheism remained also when it came in contact with the +Græco-Syrian and Roman culture. Here, too, the myths +and customs of the cult and the popular religion offended by +their gross sensuality the chaste spirit of the Jewish people. +Indeed, these were all the more dangerous to the purity of +social life, as they were garbed with the alluring beauty of +art and philosophy.<note place='foot'>See Philo: De Humanitate; Doellinger: +<hi rend='italic'>Heidenthum u. Judenthum</hi>, 682, +700 f.; I. H. Weiss: <hi rend='italic'>Dor Dor we Doreshav</hi>, II, +19 f.</note> The Jew then felt all the more the +imperative duty to draw a sharp line of demarcation between +Judaism with its chaste and imageless worship and the lascivious, +immoral life of paganism. +</p> + +<p> +5. This wide gulf which yawned between Israel's One and +holy God and the divinities of the nations was not bridged +over by the Christian Church when it appeared on the stage +of history and obtained world-dominion. For Christianity +in its turn succeeded by again dragging the Deity into the +world of the senses, adopting the pagan myths of the birth +and death of the gods, and sanctioning image worship. In +this way it actually created a Christian plurality of gods in +place of the Græco-Roman pantheon; indeed, it presented a +divine family after the model of the Egyptian and Babylonian +religions,<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Christianity.</note> +and thus pushed the ever-living God and Father of +mankind into the background. This tendency has never been +<pb n='055'/><anchor id='Pg055'/> +explained away, even by the attempts of certain high-minded +thinkers among the Church fathers. Judaism, however, insists, +as ever, upon the words of the Decalogue which condemn +all attempts to depict the Deity in human or sensual +form, and through all its teachings there is echoed forth the +voice of Him who spoke through the seer of the Exile: <q>I +am the Lord, that is My name, and My glory will I not give +to another, neither My praise to graven images.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XLII, +8. Scripture always emphasizes the contrast between Israel's +God and the heathen gods. See Ex. XII, 12; XV, 11; XVIII, 11; Deut. +X, 17; also in the prophets, Isa. XL; XLIV, 9; Jer. X; and the Psalms, +XCVI, CXV, CXXXV. Absolute monotheism was a slow growth from this +basis.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. When Moses came to Pharaoh saying, <q>Thus speaketh +JHVH the God of Israel, send off My people that they may +serve Me,</q> Pharaoh—so the Midrash tells—took his list +of deities to hand, looked it over, and said, <q>Behold, here are +enumerated the gods of the nations, but I cannot find thy God +among them.</q> To this Moses replied, <q>All the gods known +and familiar to thee are mortal, as thou art; they die, and +their tomb is shown. The God of Israel has nothing in common +with them. He is the living, true, and eternal God who +created heaven and earth; no people can withstand His wrath.</q><note place='foot'>See +Ex. R. V, 18.</note> +This passage states strikingly the difference between the God +of Judaism and the gods of heathendom. The latter are but +deified powers of nature, and being parts of the world, themselves +at one with nature, they are subject to the power of +time and fate. Israel's God is enthroned above the world +as its moral and spiritual Ruler, the only Being whom we can +conceive as self-existent, as indivisible as truth itself. +</p> + +<p> +7. As long as the pagan conception prevailed, by which +the world was divided into many divine powers, there could +be no conception of the idea of a moral government of the universe, +of an all-encompassing purpose of life. Consequently +<pb n='056'/><anchor id='Pg056'/> +the great thinkers and moralists of heathendom were forced +to deny the deities, before they could assert either the unity of +the cosmos or a design in life. On the other hand, it was precisely +this recognition of the moral nature of God, as manifested +both in human life and in the cosmic sphere, which brought +the Jewish prophets and sages to their pure monotheism, in +which they will ultimately be met by the great thinkers of +all lands and ages. The unity of God brings harmony into +the intellectual and moral world; the division of the godhead +into different powers or personalities leads to discord and +spiritual bondage. Such is the lesson of history, that in polytheism, +dualism, or trinitarianism one of the powers must +necessarily limit or obscure another. In this manner the +Christian Trinity led mankind in many ways to the lowering +of the supreme standard of truth, to an infringement on justice, +and to inhumanity to other creeds, and therefore Judaism +could regard it only as a compromise with heathenism. +</p> + +<p> +8. Judaism assumed, then, toward paganism an attitude +of rigid exclusion and opposition which could easily be taken +for hostility. This prevailed especially in the legal systems +of the Bible and the rabbis, and was intended primarily to +guard the monotheistic belief from pagan pollution and to +keep it intact. Neither in the Deuteronomic law nor in the +late codes of Maimonides and Joseph Caro is there any toleration +for idolatrous practices, for instruments of idol-worship, +or for idolaters.<note place='foot'>Deut. VII; XVII, 2 f.; XX, 16; +Maimonides: <hi rend='italic'>H. Akkum</hi>, II-VII; +<hi rend='italic'>Melakim</hi>, VI, 4; <hi rend='italic'>Yoreh Deah</hi>, +CXII-XLVIII.</note> This attitude gave the enemies of +the Jew sufficient occasion for speaking of the Jewish God as +hating the world, as if only national conceit underlay the +earnest rigor of Jewish monotheism. +</p> + +<p> +9. As a matter of fact, since the time of the prophets Judaism +has had no national God in any exclusive sense. While +the Law insists upon the exclusive worship of the one God of +<pb n='057'/><anchor id='Pg057'/> +Israel, the narratives of the beginnings in the Bible have a +different tenor. They take the lofty standpoint that the +heathen world, while worshiping its many divinities, had +merely lost sight of the true God after whom the heart ever +longs and searches. This implies that a kernel of true piety +underlies all the error and delusion of paganism, which, +rightly guided, will lead back to the God from whom mankind +had strayed. The Godhead, divided into gods—as is hinted +even in the Biblical name, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elohim</foreign>—must +again become the +one God of humanity. Thus the Jew holds that all worship +foreshadows the search for the true God, and that all humanity +shall at one time acknowledge Him for whom they +have so long been searching. Surely the Psalms express, not +national narrowness, but ardent love for humanity when +they hail the God of Israel, the Maker of heaven and earth, +as the world's great King, and tell how He will judge the +nations in justice, while the gods of the nations will be rejected +as <q>vanities.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XCVI-XCIX.</note> +Nor does the divine service of the Jew bear +the stamp of clannishness. For more than two thousand +years the central point in the Synagogue liturgy every morning +and evening has been the battle-cry, <q>Hear, O Israel, the +Lord our God, the Lord is One.</q> And so does the conclusion +of every service, the <foreign rend='italic'>Alenu</foreign>, the solemn prayer of +adoration, voice the grand hope of the Jew for the future, that the time +may speedily come when <q>before the kingdom of Almighty +all idolatry shall vanish, and all the inhabitants of the earth +perceive that unto Him alone every knee must bend, and all +flesh recognize Him alone as God and King.</q><note place='foot'>See Singer's +<hi rend='italic'>Prayerbook</hi>, p, 76-77, and J. E., art. Alenu.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='058'/><anchor id='Pg058'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter X. The Name of God</head> + +<p> +1. Primitive men attached much importance to names, +for to them the name of a thing indicated its nature, and +through the name one could obtain mastery over the thing or +person named. Accordingly, the name of God was considered +to be the manifestation of His being; by invoking it +man could obtain some of His power; and the place where +that name was called became the seat of His presence. Therefore +the name must be treated with the same reverential awe +as the Deity Himself. None dare approach the Deity, nor +misuse the Name. The pious soul realized the nearness of +the Deity in hearing His name pronounced. Finally, the +different names of God reflect the different conceptions of +Him which were held in various periods.<note place='foot'>See Cheyne's Dict. Bibl. +art. Name and Names with Bibliography; Jacob: +<hi rend='italic'>Im Namen Gottes</hi>; Heitmueller, +<hi rend='italic'>Im Namen Jesu</hi>, 1903, p. 24-25. The <emph>Name</emph> for +the Lord occurs Lev, XXIV, 11, 16; Deut. XXVIII, 58; Geiger, +<hi rend='italic'>Urschrift</hi>, 261 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. The Semites were not like the Aryan nations, who beheld +the essence of their gods in the phenomena of nature such +as light, rain, thunder, and lightning,—and gave them corresponding +names and titles. The more intense religious +emotionalism of the Semites<note place='foot'>See Baudissin, +<hi rend='italic'>Stud. z. Sem. Religionsgesch.</hi>, I, 47; 177; Robinson Smith: +<hi rend='italic'>Religion of the Semites</hi>; Max Mueller, +<hi rend='italic'>Chips from a German Workshop</hi>, I, +336-374.</note> perceived the Godhead rather +as a power working from within, and accordingly gave it such +names as <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>El</foreign> (<q>the Mighty One</q>), +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Eloha</foreign> or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Pahad</foreign> (<q>the +Awful One</q>), or <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Baal</foreign> (<q>the Master</q>). +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elohim</foreign>, the plural +form of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Eloha</foreign>, +denoted originally the godhead as divided into +a number of gods or godly beings, that is, polytheism. When +<pb n='059'/><anchor id='Pg059'/> +it was applied to God, however, it was generally understood +as a <emph>unity</emph>, referring to one undivided Godhead, for Scripture +regarded monotheism as original with mankind. While +this view is contradicted by the science of comparative religion, +still the ideal conception of religion, based on the +universal consciousness of God, postulates one God who is +the aim of all human searching, a fact which the term Henotheism +fails to recognize.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. God. +Comp. also Encycl. of Religion and Ethics, art. God. +Primitive and Biblical; Name of God, Jewish.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. For the patriarchal age, the preliminary stage in the +development of the Jewish God-idea, Scripture gives a special +name for God, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>El Shaddai</foreign>—<q>the +Almighty God.</q> This probably has a relation to +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shod</foreign>, <q>storm</q> or <q>havoc</q> and +<q>destruction,</q> but was interpreted as supreme Ruler over the +celestial powers.<note place='foot'>Gen. XVII, 11; Ex. +VI, 3, and commentators; Gen. R. XLVI. The +Book of Job, where the name +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shaddai</foreign> +is constantly used, refers to the patriarchal age.</note> +The name by which God revealed Himself +to Moses and the prophets as the God of the covenant with +Israel is JHVH (Jahveh). This name is inseparably connected +with the religious development of Judaism in all its +loftiness and depth. During the period of the Second Temple +this name was declared too sacred for utterance, except by +the priests in certain parts of the service, and for mysterious +use by specially initiated saints. Instead, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Adonai</foreign>—<q>the +Lord</q>—was substituted for it in the Biblical reading, a +usage which has continued for over two thousand years. +The meaning of the name in pre-Mosaic times may be inferred +from the fiery storms which accompanied each theophany in +the various Scriptural passages, as well as from the root +havah, which means <q>throw down</q> and <q>overthrow.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. III, +14, and commentators, espec. Dillmann. Comp. art. Jahweh in +Prot. Realencyc. and Cheyne's Dict. Bible, art. <hi rend='italic'>Names</hi>, § 109 +ff., where different etymologies are given.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='060'/><anchor id='Pg060'/> + +<p> +To the prophets, however, the God of Sinai, enthroned amid +clouds of storm and fire, moving before His people in war +and peace, appeared rather as the God of the Covenant, without +image or form, unapproachable in His holiness. As the +original meaning of JHVH had become unintelligible, they +interpreted the name as <q>the ever present One,</q> in the sense +of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ehyeh asher Ehyeh</foreign>, +<q>I shall be whatever (or wherever) I +am to be</q>; that is, <q>I am ever ready to help.</q> Thus spoke +God to Moses in revealing His name to him at the burning +bush.<note place='foot'>Ex. III, 14.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. The prophetic genius penetrated more and more into +the nature of God, recognising Him as the Power who rules +in justice, mercy, and holiness. This process brought them +to identify JHVH, the God of the covenant, with the One +and only God who overlooks all the world from his heavenly +habitation, and gives it plan and purpose. At the same time, +all the prophets revert to the covenant on Sinai in order to +proclaim Israel as the herald and witness of God among the +nations. In fact, the God of the covenant proclaimed His +universality at the very beginning, in the introduction to the +Decalogue: <q>Ye shall be Mine own peculiar possession from +among all peoples, for all the earth is Mine. And ye shall +be unto Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. +XIX, 5, 6.</note> In +other words,—you have the special task of mediator among +the nations, all of which are under My dominion. +</p> + +<p> +5. In the Wisdom literature and the Psalms the God of +the covenant is subordinated to the universality of JHVH as +Creator and Ruler of the world. In a number of the Psalms +and in some later writings the very name JHVH was avoided +probably on account of its particularistic tinge. It was +surrounded more and more with a certain mystery. Instead, +God as the <q>Lord</q> is impressed on the consciousness and +adoration of men, in all His sublimity and in absolute unity. +<pb n='061'/><anchor id='Pg061'/> +The <q>Name</q> continues its separate existence only in the +mystic lore. The name <foreign rend='italic'>Jehovah</foreign>, +however, has no place whatsoever +in Judaism. It is due simply to a misreading of the +vowel signs that refer to the word +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Adonai</foreign>, and has been +erroneously adopted in the Christian literature since the +beginning of the sixteenth century.<note place='foot'>See Prot. +Enc., art. Jahveh, p, 530 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. Perhaps the most important process of spiritualization +which the idea of God underwent in the minds of the Jewish +people was made when the name JHVH as the proper name of +the God of the covenant was given up and replaced by +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Adonai</foreign>—<q>the +Lord.</q> As long as the God of Israel, like other +deities, had His proper name, he was practically one of them, +however superior in moral worth. As soon as He became +<emph>the</emph> Lord, that is, the only real God over all the world, a distinctive +proper noun was out of place. Henceforth the +name was invested with a mysterious and magic character. +It became ineffable, at least to the people at large, and its +pronunciation sinful, except by the priests in the liturgy. +In fact, the law was interpreted so as directly to forbid this +utterance.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Adonai; Bousset, l. c., 352 +f.</note> Thus JHVH is no longer the national God of +Israel. The Talmud guards against the very suspicion of a +<q>Judaized God</q> by insisting that every benediction to Him as +<q>God the Lord</q> must add <q>King of the Universe</q> rather than +the formula of the Psalms, <q>God of Israel.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 40 b. On +the alleged <q>Judaisirung des Gottesbegriffs,</q> see Weber, +l. c., 148-158.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. The Midrash makes a significant comment on the words +of the Shema: <q>Why do the words, <q>the Lord is our God</q> +precede the words, <q>the Lord is One</q>? Does not the particularism +of the former conflict with the universalism of the +latter sentence? No. The former expresses the idea that the +Lord is <q>our God</q> just so far as His name is more intertwined +<pb n='062'/><anchor id='Pg062'/> +with our history than with that of any other nation, and +that we have the greater obligation as His chosen people. +Wherever Scripture speaks of the God of Israel, it does not +intend to limit Him as the universal God, but to emphasize +Israel's special duty as His priest-people.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre +to Deut. VI, 4.</note> +</p> + +<p> +<anchor id='Chapter_X_Section_8'/> +8. Likewise is the liturgical name <q>God of our fathers</q> +far from being a nationalistic limitation. On the contrary, +the rabbis single out Abraham as the missionary, the herald +of monotheism in its march to world-conquest. For his use +of the term, <q>the God of heaven and the God of the earth</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +XXIV, 3.</note> +they offer a characteristic explanation: <q>Before Abraham +came, the people worshiped only the God of heaven, but +Abraham by winning them for his God brought Him down +and made Him also the God of the earth.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. R. XXIV, 3.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. Reverence for the Deity caused the Jew to avoid not +only the utterance of the holy Name itself, but even the common +use of its substitute <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Adonai</foreign>. Therefore still +other synonyms were introduced, such as <q>Master of the universe,</q> +<q>the Holy One, blessed be He,</q> <q>the Merciful One,</q> <q>the +Omnipotence</q> +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ha Geburah</foreign>),<note place='foot'>Shab. +87 a, 89 b; Mek. Yithro IV.</note> <q>King of the kings of kings</q> +(under Persian influence—as the Persian ruler called himself +the King of Kings);<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Alenu.</note> +and in Hasidean circles it became customary +to invoke God as <q>our Father</q> and <q>our Father +in heaven.</q><note place='foot'>See J. E., art. <hi rend='italic'>Abba</hi> +and Names of God; Weber, l. c, 148 f.; Bousset, II, +356-361; Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, II, 21-28.</note> +The rather strange appellations for God, +<q>Heaven</q><note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Heaven; Levy, W. B.: +<q>Shamayim.</q></note> and (dwelling) <q>Place</q> +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ha Makom</foreign>) seem to +originate in certain formulas of the oath. In the latter +name the rabbis even found hints of God's omnipresence: +<q>As space—<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Makom</foreign>—encompasses +all things, so does God +encompass the world instead of being encompassed by it.</q><note place='foot'>See +Pes. X, 5; Ber. 16 b; Ab. Zar. 40 b; Gen. R. LXVIII, 9, referring +to Gen. XXVIII, 11 and Ex. XXXIII, 21; P. d. R. El. XXXV; Pes. Rab. +104 a; comp. LXX, Ex. XXIV, 10; see also Siegfried: <hi rend='italic'>Philo</hi>, p. +202, 204, 217; Schechter, l. c., 26, 34. The passage in Mekilta on Ex. XVII, 7, which +refers <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Makom</foreign> to the Sanhedrin (after Deut. +XVII, 8), seems originally to have been a marginal note belonging to Ex. XXI, 13, where +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Makom</foreign> is the equivalent +of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Makam</foreign>, +a place of refuge, and put here at the wrong place by an error;—Against +Schechter, l. c., 27 note 1, Bousset (p. 591) thinks that +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ha Makom</foreign> +for God is Persian, where both space and time were deified. See Spiegel: +<hi rend='italic'>Eranisches Alterthum</hi>, II, 15 f.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='063'/><anchor id='Pg063'/> + +<p> +10. The rabbis early read a theological meaning into the +two names JHVH and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elohim</foreign>, taking the former +as the divine attribute of <emph>mercy</emph> and the latter as that of +<emph>justice</emph>.<note place='foot'>See Gen. R. XII, 15; XXX, 3; Targum to +Psalm LVI, 11; comp. Philo, +I, 496; Siegfried, l. c., 203, 213.</note> +In general, however, the former name was explained etymologically +as signifying eternity, <q>He who is, who was, and +who shall be.</q> Philo shows familiarity with the two attributes +of justice and mercy, but he and other Alexandrian +writers explained JHVH and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ehyeh</foreign> +metaphysically, and accordingly called God, <q>the One who is,</q> that is, the Source +of all existence. Both conceptions still influence Jewish exegesis +and account for the term <q>the Eternal</q> sometimes +used for <q>the Lord.</q> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='064'/><anchor id='Pg064'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XI. The Existence of God</head> + +<p> +1. For the religious consciousness, God is not to be demonstrated +by argument, but is a fact of inner and outer experience. +Whatever the origin and nature of the cosmos +may be according to natural science, the soul of man follows +its natural bent, as in the days of Abraham, to look through +nature to the Maker, Ordainer, and Ruler of all things, who +uses the manifold world of nature only as His workshop, +and who rules it in freedom as its sovereign Master. The +entire cosmic life points to a Supreme Being from whom +all existence must have arisen, and without whom life and +process would be impossible. Still even this mode of thought +is influenced and determined by the prevalent monotheistic +conceptions. +</p> + +<p> +Far more original and potent in man is the feeling of limitation +and dependency. This brings him to bow down before +a higher Power, at first in fear and trembling, but later in +holy awe and reverence. As soon as man attains self-consciousness +and his will acquires purpose, he encounters a will +stronger than his own, with which he often comes into conflict, +and before which he must frequently yield. Thus he becomes +conscious of duty—of what he ought and ought not to do. +This is not, like earlier limitations, purely physical and +working from without; it is moral and operates from within. +It is the sense of duty, or, as we call it, <emph>conscience</emph>, the sense +of right and wrong. This awakened very early in the race, +<pb n='065'/><anchor id='Pg065'/> +and through it God's voice has been perceived ever since the +days of Adam and of Cain.<note place='foot'>Metaphysical proofs +for God's existence have been outlawed since Kant. +God is the postulate of man's moral consciousness. See Rauwenhoff, l. c., 236-357.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. According to Scripture, man in his natural state possesses +the certainty of God's existence through such inner +experience. Therefore the Bible contains no command to +<emph>believe</emph> in God, nor any logical demonstration of His existence. +Both the Creation stories and those of the beginnings of mankind +assume as undisputed the existence of God as the Creator +and Judge of the world. Arguments appealing to reason +were resorted to only in competition with idolatry, as in Deuteronomy, +Jeremiah, and Deutero-Isaiah, and subsequently +by the Haggadists in legends such as those about Abraham. +Nor does the Bible consider any who deny the existence of +God;<note place='foot'>See art. Atheism, in J. E. and in Enc. Reli. +and Ethics, II, 18 f.</note> only much later, in the Talmud, do we hear of those +who <q>deny the fundamental principle</q> of the faith. The +doubt expressed in Job, Koheleth, and certain of the Psalms, +concerns rather the justice of God than His existence. True, +Jeremiah and the Psalms<note place='foot'>Jer. V, 12; Psalm X, 4; XIV, +1; LIII, 1.</note> mention some who say <q>There is +no God,</q> but these are not atheists in our sense of the word; +they are the impious who deny the moral order of life by word +or deed. It is the villain (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Nabal</foreign>), +not the <q>fool</q> who <q>says in +heart, there is no God.</q> Even the Talmud does not mean +the real atheist when speaking of <q>the denier of the fundamental +principle,</q> but the man who says, <q>There is neither +a judgment nor a Judge above and beyond.</q><note place='foot'>B. B. 16 b; +Targ. to Gen. IV, 8.</note> In other words, +the <q>denier</q> is the same as the Epicurean (Apicoros), who +refuses to recognize the moral government of the world.<note place='foot'>See +above, Chapter <ref target='Chapter_IV_Section_3'>IV, 3</ref>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. After the downfall of the nation and Temple, the situation +changed through the contemptuous question of the +<pb n='066'/><anchor id='Pg066'/> +nations, <q>Where is your God?</q> Then the necessity became +evident of proving that the Ruler of nations still held +dominion over the world, and that His wondrous powers +were shown more than ever before through the fact of Israel's +preservation in captivity. This is the substance of the addresses +of the great seer of the Exile in chapters XL to LIX +of Isaiah, in which he exposes the gods of heathendom to +everlasting scorn, more than any other prophet before or +afterward. He declares these deities to be vanity and naught, +but proclaims the Holy One of Israel as the Lord of the universe. +He hath <q>meted out the heavens with the span,</q> and +<q>weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance.</q> +Before Him <q>the nations are as a drop of the bucket,</q> and +<q>the inhabitants of the earth as grasshoppers.</q> <q>He bringeth +out the hosts of the stars by number, and calleth them all by +name,</q> <q>He hath assigned to the generations of men their +lot from the beginning, and knoweth at the beginning what +will be their end.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XL, 12-26; XLVI, +10.</note> Measured by such passages as these and +such as Psalms VIII, XXIV, XXXIII, CIV, and CXXXIX, +where God is felt as a living power, all philosophical arguments +about His existence seem to be strange fires on the altar +of religion. The believer can do without them, and the unbeliever +will hardly be convinced by them. +</p> + +<p> +4. Upon the contact of the Jew with Greek philosophy +doubt arose in many minds, and belief entered into conflict +with reason. But even then, the defense of the faith was +still carried on by reasoning along the lines of common sense.<note place='foot'>See +Bousset, l. c., 295-298.</note> +Thus the regularity of the sun, moon, and stars,—all worshiped +by the pagans as deities—was considered a proof of +God's omnipotence and rule of the universe, a proof which +the legend ascribes to Abraham in his controversy with +Nimrod.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Abraham.</note> +In like manner, the apocryphal Book of Wisdom<note place='foot'>Ch. XIII.</note> +<pb n='067'/><anchor id='Pg067'/> +says that true wisdom, as opposed to the folly of heathenism, +is <q>to reason from the visible to the Invisible One, and from +the cosmos, the great work of art, to the Supreme Artificer.</q> +</p> + +<p> +5. Philo was the first who tried to refute the <q>atheistic</q> +views of materialists and pantheists by adducing proofs of +God's existence from nature and the human intellect. In +the former he pointed out order as evidence of the wisdom +underlying the cosmos, and in the latter the power of self-determination +as shadowing forth a universal mind which +determines the entire universe.<note place='foot'>Philo: De Somniis, I, 43, 44; +Zeller: <hi rend='italic'>D. Philosophie d. Griechen</hi>, III, +2, 307 f.; Drummond: <hi rend='italic'>Philo Judæus</hi>, II, 4-5.</note> +Still, with his mystical +attitude, Philo realized that the chief knowledge of God is +through intuition, by the inner experience of the soul. +</p> + +<p> +6. Two proofs taken from nature owe their origin to +Greek philosophy. Anaxagoras and Socrates, from their +theory of design in nature, deduced that there is a universal +intelligence working for higher aims and purposes. This so-called +<emph>teleological</emph> proof, as worked out in detail by Plato, +was the unfailing reliance of subsequent philosophers and +theologians.<note place='foot'>See D. F. Strauss: <hi rend='italic'>Christl. +Glaubenslehre</hi>, I, 364-399; Windelband: <hi rend='italic'>Hist. +of Phil.</hi>, transl. by J. H. Tufts, 2d ed., 1914, p. 54, 98, 128, 327.</note> +Plato and Aristotle, moreover, from the +continuous motion of all matter, inferred a prime cause, an +unmoved mover. This is the so-called <emph>cosmological</emph> proof, +used by different schools in varying forms.<note place='foot'>See +Windelband-Tufts, l. c., 145, 292.</note> It occupies the +foremost place in the systems of the Arabic Aristotelians, +and consequently is dominant among the Jewish philosophers, +the Christian scholastics, and in the modern philosophic +schools down to Kant. It is based upon the old principle +of causality, and therefore takes the mutability and relativity +of all beings in the cosmos as evidence of a Being that is +immutable, unconditioned, and absolutely necessary, causa +sui, the prime cause of all existence. +</p> + +<pb n='068'/><anchor id='Pg068'/> + +<p> +7. The Mohammedan theologians added a new element to +the discussion. In their endeavor to prove that the world +is the work of a Creator, they pointed as evidence to the +multiformity and composite structure, the contingency and +dependency of the cosmos; thus they concluded that it must +have been created, and that its Creator must necessarily be +the one, absolute, and all-determining cause. This proof is +used also by Saadia and Bahya ben Joseph.<note place='foot'>See Strauss, +l. c.; Kaufmann, l. c., 2-3, 58; <hi rend='italic'>D. Theologie d. Bachya</hi>, p. +222 f.; Husik: <hi rend='italic'>Hist. Jew. Phil.</hi>, p. 32 ff., 89 ff.</note> +Its weakness, +however, was exposed by Ibn Sina and Alfarabi among the +Mohammedans, and later by Abraham ibn Daud and Maimonides, +their Jewish successors as Aristotelians. These +proposed a substitute argument. From the fact that the +existence of all cosmic beings is merely possible,—that is, +they may exist and they may not exist,—these thinkers concluded +that an absolutely necessary being must exist as the +cause and condition of all things, and this absolutely unconditioned +yet all-conditioning being is God, the One who +<emph>is</emph>.<note place='foot'>Kaufmann, l. c., p. 341 f., 431 f.; +Husik, l. c., 218 f., 254 f.</note> Of course, the God so deduced and inferred is a mere +abstraction, incapable of satisfying the emotional craving of +the heart. +</p> + +<p> +8. While the cosmological proof proceeds from the transitory +and imperfect nature of the world, the <emph>ontological</emph> proof, +first proposed by Anselm of Canterbury, the Christian scholastic +of the XI century, and further elaborated by Descartes +and Mendelssohn, proceeds from the human intellect. The +mind conceives the idea of God as an absolutely perfect being, +and, as there can be no perfection without existence, the conclusion +is that this idea must necessarily be objectively true. +Then, as the idea of God is innate in man, God must necessarily +exist,—and for proof of this they point to the Scriptural +verse, <q>The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God,</q> +<pb n='069'/><anchor id='Pg069'/> +and other similar passages. In its improved form, this argument +uses the human concept of an infinitely perfect God +as evidence, or, at least, as postulate that such a Being exists +beyond the finite world of man.<note place='foot'>See D. F. Strauss, +l. c.; Windelband-Tufts, p. 292, 393.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Another argument, rather naïve in character, which was +favored by the Stoics and adopted by the Church fathers, is +called <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>de consensu gentium</foreign>, +and endeavored to prove the reality +of God's existence from the universality of His worship. +It speaks well for the sound reasoning of the Jewish thinkers +that they refused to follow the lead of the Mohammedans in +this respect, and did not avail themselves of an argument +which can be used just as easily in support of a plurality +of gods.<note place='foot'>D. F. Strauss, l. c., 375, 394; +Windelband-Tufts, l. c., 450.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. All these so-called proofs were invalidated by Immanuel +Kant, the great philosopher of Königsberg, whose critical inquiry +into the human intellect showed that the entire sum of +our knowledge of objects and also of the formulation of our +ideas is based upon our limited mode of apperception, while +the reality or essence, <q>the thing in itself,</q> will ever remain +beyond our ken. If this is true of physical objects, it is all +the more true of God, whom we know through our minds +alone and not at all through our five senses. Accordingly, +he shows that all the metaphysical arguments have no basis, +and that we can know God's existence only through <emph>ethics</emph>, +as a postulate of our moral nature. The inner consciousness +of our moral obligation, or duty, implies a moral order of life, +or moral law; and this, in turn, postulates the existence of +God, the Ruler of life, who assigns to each of us his task and +his destiny.<note place='foot'>See Windelband-Tufts, l. c., 549-550.</note> +</p> + +<p> +10. It is true that God is felt and worshiped first as the +supreme power in the world, before man perceives Him as +<pb n='070'/><anchor id='Pg070'/> +the highest ideal of morality. Therefore man will never +cease looking about him for vestiges of divinity and for proofs +of his intuitive knowledge of God. The wondrous order, +harmony, and signs of design in nature, as well as the impulse +of the reason to search for the unity of all things, corroborate +this innate belief in God. Still more do the consciousness +of duty in the individual—conscience—and the progress of +history with its repeated vindication of right and defeat of +wrong proclaim to the believer unmistakably that the God +of justice reigns. But no proof, however convincing, will +ever bring back to the skeptic or unbeliever the God he has +lost, unless his pangs of anguish or the void within fill his +desolate world anew with the vivifying thought of a living God. +</p> + +<p> +11. Among all the Jewish religious philosophers the highest +rank must be accorded to Jehudah ha Levi, the author of +the <hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>,<note place='foot'>See Kaufmann, l. c., +p. 223 f., and, opposed to him, Neumark: <hi rend='italic'>Jehuda +Halevi's Philosophy</hi>, Cincinnati, 1909. See also Husik, l. c., 157 +ff.</note> who makes the historical fact of the divine revelation +the foundation of the Jewish religion and the chief testimony +of the existence of God. As a matter of fact, reason +alone will not lead to God, except where religious intuition +forms, so to speak, the ladder of heaven, leading to the realm +of the unknowable. Philosophy, at best, can only demonstrate +the existence of a final Cause, or of a supreme Intelligence +working toward sublime purposes; possibly also a moral +government of the world, in both the physical and the spiritual +life. Religion alone, founded upon divine revelation, can +teach man to find a God, to whom he can appeal in trust in +his moments of trouble or of woe, and whose will he can see in +the dictates of conscience and the destiny of nations. Reason +must serve as a <emph>corrective</emph> for the contents of revelation, +scrutinizing and purifying, deepening and spiritualizing ever +anew the truths received through intuition, but it can never +be the final source of truth. +</p> + +<pb n='071'/><anchor id='Pg071'/> + +<p> +12. The same method must apply also to modern thought +and research, which substituted historical methods for metaphysics +in both the physical and intellectual world, and which +endeavors to trace the origin and growth of both objects and +ideas in accordance with fixed laws. The process of evolution, +our modern key with which to unlock the secrets of +nature, points most significantly to a Supreme Power and +Energy. But this energy, entering into the cosmic process at +its outset, causing its motion and its growth, implies also an +end, and thus again we have the Supreme Intelligence reached +through a new type of teleology.<note place='foot'>Compare C. Seligman: +<hi rend='italic'>Judenth. u. moderne Anschauung</hi>. The philosophy +of Bergson, which eliminates design and purpose from the cosmos and places +Deity itself into the process as the vital urgent of it all, and thus sees God forever +in the making, is pantheistic and un-Jewish, and therefore cannot be considered +in a theology of Judaism. This does not exclude our accepting minor elements +of his system, which contains suggestive hints. H. G. Wells' <hi rend='italic'>God +the Invisible King</hi> (Macmillan, 1917) is likewise a God in the making, +<emph>man-made</emph>, not the Maker and Ruler of man.</note> But all these conceptions, +however they may be in harmony with the Jewish belief in +creation and revelation, can at best supplement it, but can +certainly neither supplant nor be identified with it. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='072'/><anchor id='Pg072'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XII. The Essence of God</head> + +<p> +1. An exquisite Oriental fable tells of a sage who had been +meditating vainly for days and weeks on the question, What +is God? One day, walking along the seashore, he saw some +children busying themselves by digging holes in the sand and +pouring into them water from the sea. <q>What are you doing +there?</q> he asked them, to which they replied, <q>We want to +empty the sea of its water.</q> <q>Oh, you little fools,</q> he exclaimed +with a smile, but suddenly his smile vanished in serious +thought. <q>Am I not as foolish as these children?</q> he said +to himself. <q>How can I with my small brain hope to grasp the +infinite nature of God?</q> +</p> + +<p> +All efforts of philosophy to define the essence of God are +futile. <q>Canst thou by searching find out God?</q> Zophar +asks of his friend Job.<note place='foot'>Job XI, 7.</note> +Both Philo and Maimonides maintain +that we can know of God only that He <emph>is</emph>; we can never +fathom His innermost being or know what He is. Both find +this unknowability of God expressed in the words spoken to +Moses: <q>If I withdraw My hand, thou shall see My back—that +is, the effects of God's power and wisdom—but My +face—the real essence of God—thou shalt not see.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. +XXXIII, 23; Maim.; <hi rend='italic'>Yesode ha Torah</hi>, I, 8, 10; +<hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, I, 21 a; Kaufmann, +l. c., 431; Philo: Mutatio Nom., 2; Vita Mosis, I, 28; Leg. All., I, 29, +and elsewhere. See J. Drummond: <hi rend='italic'>Philo Judæus</hi>, II, 18-24.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. Still, a divinity void of all essential qualities fails to +satisfy the religious soul. Man demands to know what God +is—at least, what God is to him. In the first word of the +<pb n='073'/><anchor id='Pg073'/> +Decalogue God speaks through His people Israel to the religious +consciousness of all men at all times, beginning, <q>I am +the Lord, <emph>thy</emph> God.</q> This word <emph>I</emph> lifts God at once above +all beings and powers of the cosmos, in fact, above all other +existence, for it expresses His unique self-consciousness. This +attribute above all is possessed by no being in the world of +nature, and only by man, who is the image of his Maker. +According to the Midrash, all creation was hushed when the +Lord spoke on Sinai, <q><emph>I</emph> am the Lord.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. +R. XXIX, at the close.</note> God is not merely +the supreme Being, but also the supreme Self-consciousness. +As man, in spite of all his limitations and helplessness, still +towers high above all his fellow creatures by virtue of his free +will and self-conscious action, so God, who knows no bounds +to His wisdom and power, surpasses all beings and forces of +the universe, for He rules over all as the one completely self-conscious +Mind and Will. In both the visible and invisible +realms He manifests Himself as the absolutely free Personality, +moral and spiritual, who allots to every thing its existence, +form, and purpose. For this reason Scripture calls Him +<q>the living God and everlasting King.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. X, 10.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. Judaism, accordingly, teaches us to recognize God, +above all, as revealing Himself in self-conscious activity, as +determining all that happens by His absolutely free will, and +thus as showing man how to walk as a free moral agent. In +relation to the world, His work or workshop, He is the self-conscious +Master, saying <q>I am that which I am</q>; in relation +to man, who is akin to Him as a self-conscious rational +and moral being, He is the living Fountain of all that knowledge +and spirituality for which men long, and in which alone +they may find contentment and bliss. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the God of Judaism, the world's great <emph>I Am</emph>, forms a +complete contrast, not only to the lifeless powers of nature +and destiny, which were worshiped by the ancient pagans, +<pb n='074'/><anchor id='Pg074'/> +but also to the God of modern paganism, a God divested of all +personality and self-consciousness, such as He is conceived +of by the new school of Christian theology, with its pantheistic +tendency. I refer to the school of Ritschl, which strives to +render the myth of the man-god philosophically intelligible by +teaching that God reaches self-consciousness only in the perfect +type of man, that is, Christ, while otherwise He is entirely +immanent, one with the world. All the more forcibly does +Jewish monotheism insist upon its doctrine that God, in His +continual self-revelation, is the supermundane and self-conscious +Ruler of both nature and history. <q>I am the Lord, +that is My name, and My glory will I not give to another,</q>—so +says the God of Judaism.<note place='foot'>Isaiah XLIV, 6.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. The Jewish God-idea, of course, had to go through many +stages of development before it reached the concept of a +transcendental and spiritual god. It was necessary first that +the Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant prohibit most +stringently polytheism and every form of idolatry, and second +that a strictly imageless worship impress the people with the +idea that Israel's God was both invisible and incorporeal.<note place='foot'>Comp. +Dillmann, l. c., 226-235; D. F. Strauss, l. c., I, 525-553.</note> +Yet a wide step still intervened from that stage to the complete +recognition of God as a purely spiritual Being, lacking all +qualities perceptible to the senses, and not resembling man +in either his inner or his outer nature. Centuries of gradual +ripening of thought were still necessary for the growth of this +conception. This was rendered still more difficult by the +Scriptural references to God in His actions and His revelations, +and even in His motives, after a human pattern. Israel's +sages required centuries of effort to remove all anthropomorphic +and anthropopathic notions of God, and thus to +elevate Him to the highest realm of spirituality.<note place='foot'>See J. E., +art. Anthropomorphism and Anthropopathism. Comp. +Schmiedl, l. c., 1-30.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='075'/><anchor id='Pg075'/> + +<p> +<anchor id='Chapter_XII_Section_5'/> +5. In this process of development two points of view demand +consideration. We must not overlook the fact that the +perfectly clear distinction which we make between the sensory +and the spiritual does not appeal to the child-like mind, +which sees it rather as external. What we call transcendent, +owing to our comprehension of the immeasurable universe, +was formerly conceived only as far remote in space or time. +Thus God is spoken of in Scripture as dwelling in heaven and +looking down upon the inhabitants of the earth to judge them +and to guide them.<note place='foot'>Ps. XXXIII, 13-14.</note> +According to Deuteronomy, God spoke +from heaven to the people about Mt. Sinai, while Exodus +represents Him as coming down to the mountain from His +heavenly heights to proclaim the law amid thunder and +lightning.<note place='foot'>Deut. IV, 36; Ex. XIX, 20. Comp. +Gen. XI, 5.</note> The Babylonian conception of heaven prevailed +throughout the Middle Ages and influenced both the mystic +lore about the heavenly throne and the philosophic cosmology +of the Aristotelians, such as Maimonides. Yet Scripture +offers also another view, the concept of God as the One enthroned +on high, whom <q>the heavens and the heaven's heavens +cannot encompass.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XLVI, 1.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The fact is that language still lacked an expression for pure +spirit, and the intellect freed itself only gradually from the +restrictions of primitive language to attain a purer conception +of the divine. Thus we attain deeper insight into the spiritual +nature of God when we read the inimitable words of the +Psalmist describing His omnipresence,<note place='foot'>Ps. CXXXIX, +7-10.</note> or that other passage: +<q>He that planted the ear, shall He not hear? He that formed +the eye, shall He not see? He that chastiseth the nations, +shall He not correct, even He that teaches man knowledge?</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +XCIV, 9.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The translators and interpreters of the Bible felt the need +of eliminating everything of a sensory nature from God and +<pb n='076'/><anchor id='Pg076'/> +of avoiding anthropomorphism, through the influence of +Greek philosophy. This spiritualization of the God idea was +taken up again by the philosophers of the Spanish-Arabic +period, who combated the prevailing mysticism. Through +them Jewish monotheism emphasized its opposition to every +human representation of God, especially the God-Man of the +Christian Church. +</p> + +<p> +6. On the other hand, we must bear in mind that we +naturally ascribe to God a human personality, whether we +speak of Him as the Master-worker of the universe, as the all-seeing +and all-hearing Judge, or the compassionate and merciful +Father. We cannot help attributing human qualities and +emotions to Him the moment we invest Him with a moral +and spiritual nature. When we speak of His punitive justice, +His unfailing mercy, or His all-wise providence, we transfer +to Him, imperceptibly, our own righteous indignation at the +sight of a wicked deed, or our own compassion with the +sufferer, or even our own mode of deliberation and decision. +Moreover, the prophets and the Torah, in order to make God +plain to the people, described Him in vivid images of human +life, with anger and jealousy as well as compassion and repentance, +and also with the organs and functions of the +senses,—seeing, hearing, smelling, speaking, and walking. +</p> + +<p> +7. The rabbis are all the more emphatic in their assertions +that the Torah merely intends to assist the simple-minded, +and that unseemly expressions concerning Deity are due to +the inadequacy of language, and must not be taken literally.<note place='foot'>See +Ab. d. R. Nathan II; Bacher: <hi rend='italic'>D. Exegetische Terminologie</hi>, I, 8; +Schechter, l. c., 35.</note> +<q>It is an act of boldness allowed only to the prophets to measure +the Creator by the standard of the creature,</q> says the +Haggadist, and again, <q>God appeared to Israel, now as a +heroic warrior, now as a venerable sage imparting knowledge, +and again as a kind dispenser of bounties, but always in a +<pb n='077'/><anchor id='Pg077'/> +manner befitting the time and circumstance, so as to satisfy +the need of the human heart.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. R. XXVII; Mek. +Ex. XV; Pes. d. R. K. 109 b; Tanh. to Ex. XXII, +16; Schechter, l. c., 43 f.</note> This is strikingly illustrated +in the following dialogue: <q>A heretic came to Rabbi Meir +asking, <q>How can you reconcile the passage which reads, +<q>Do I not fill heaven and earth, says the Lord,</q> with the one +which relates that the Lord appeared to Moses between the +cherubim of the ark of the covenant?</q> Whereupon Rabbi +Meir took two mirrors, one large and the other small, and +placed them before the interrogator. <q>Look into this glass,</q> +he said, <q>and into that. Does not your figure seem different +in one than in the other? How much more will the majesty +of God, who has neither figure nor form, be reflected differently +in the minds of men! To one it will appear according to his +narrow view of life, and to the other in accordance with his +larger mental horizon.</q></q><note place='foot'>Gen. R. IV, 3; +comp, Pes. d. R. K. 2 b; Schechter, l. c., 29 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In like manner Rabbi Joshua ben Hanania, when asked +sarcastically by the Emperor Hadrian to show him his God, +replied: <q>Come and look at the sun which now shines in the +full splendor of noonday! Behold, thou art dazzled. How, +then, canst thou see without bewilderment the majesty of +Him from whom emanates both sun and stars?</q><note place='foot'>Hul. +59, 60; Sanh. 39 a; Philo: De Abrahamo, 16.</note> This rejoinder, +which was familiar to the Greeks also, is excelled by +the one of Rabban Gamaliel II to a heathen who asked him +<q>Where does the God dwell to whom you daily pray?</q> +<q>Tell me first,</q> he answered, <q>where does your soul dwell, +which is so close to thee? Thou canst not tell. How, then, +can I inform thee concerning Him who dwells in heaven, and +whose throne is separated from the earth by a journey of +3500 years?</q> <q>Then do we not do better to pray to gods +who are near at hand, and whom we can see with our eyes?</q> +<pb n='078'/><anchor id='Pg078'/> +continued the heathen, whereupon the sage struck home, +<q>Well, you may see your gods, but they neither see nor help +you, while our God, Himself unseen, yet sees and protects us +constantly.</q><note place='foot'>Mid. Teh. Ps. CIII, 1; Sanh. 39 a.</note> +The comparison of the invisible soul to God, +the invisible spirit of the universe, is worked out further in +the Midrash to Psalm CIII. +</p> + +<p> +8. From the foregoing it is clear that, while Judaism insists +on the Deity's transcending all finite and sensory limitations, +it never lost the sense of the close relationship between +man and his Maker. Notwithstanding Christian theologians +to the contrary, the Jewish God was never a mere abstraction.<note place='foot'>See +Weber, l. c., 149 f., 157; Bousset, l. c., 302, 313; von Hartman: <hi rend='italic'>Das +religioese Bewusstsein</hi>. Against this Schreiner, l. c., 49-58, and Schechter, +<hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi> 33 f.</note> +The words, <q>I am the Lord thy God,</q> betoken the intimate +relation between the redeemed and the heavenly Redeemer, +and the song of triumph at the Red Sea, <q>This is my God, I +will extol Him,</q> testifies—according to the Midrash—that +even the humblest of God's chosen people were filled with +the feeling of His nearness.<note place='foot'>Mek. and Tanh. to Ex. +XV, 11.</note> In the same way the warm +breath of union with God breathes through all the writings, +the prayers, and the whole history of Judaism. <q>For what +great nation is there that hath God so nigh unto them as the +Lord our God is, whenever we call upon Him?</q> exclaims +Moses in Deuteronomy, and the rabbis, commenting +upon the plural form used here, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Kerobim</foreign>, += <q>nigh,</q> remark: <q>God is nigh to everyone in accordance with his special +needs.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. IV, 7; Yer. Ber. IX, 13 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. Probably the rabbis were at their most profound mood +in their saying, <q>God's greatness lies in His condescension, +as may be learned from the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. +To quote only Isaiah also: <q>Thus saith the High and +<pb n='079'/><anchor id='Pg079'/> +Lofty One, I dwell in high and holy places, with him that is +of a contrite and humble spirit.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LVII, 15. See also +Deut. X, 17-18; Ps. LXXXVI, 5-6. Comp. R. Johanan, Meg, 31 a.</note> +For this reason God selected +as the place of His revelation the humble Sinai and the lowly +thornbush.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. R. II, 9; Mid. Teh. Ps. LXVIII, 7.</note> +In fact, the absence of any mediator in +Judaism necessitates the doctrine that God—with all His +transcendent majesty—is at the same time <q>an ever present +helper in trouble,</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XLVI, 2.</note> +and that His omnipotence includes care +for the greatest and the smallest beings of creation.<note place='foot'>Ab. Zar. 3 +b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +10. The doctrine that God is above and beyond the universe, +transcending all created things, as well as time and +space, might lead logically to the view of the deist that He +stands outside of the world, and does not work from within. +But this inference has never been made even by the boldest +of Jewish thinkers. The Psalmist said, <q>Who is like the Lord +our God, that hath His seat on high, that humbleth Himself +to behold what is in heaven and on earth?</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +CXIII, 5, 6.</note>—words which +express the deepest and the loftiest thought of Judaism. +Beside the all-encompassing Deity no other divine power or +personality can find a place. God is in all; He is over all; +He is both immanent and transcendent. His creation was +not merely setting into motion the wheels of the cosmic fabric, +after which He withdrew from the world. The Jew praises +Him for every scent and sight of nature or of human life, for +the beauty of the sea and the rainbow, for every flash of lightning +that illumines the darkened clouds and every peal of +thunder that shakes the earth. On every such occasion the +Jew utters praise to <q>Him who daily renews the work of +creation,</q> or <q>Him who in everlasting faithfulness keepeth +His covenant with mankind.</q> Such is the teaching of the +men of the Great Synagogue,<note place='foot'>Ber. 60 b. +Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerbook</hi>, 291.</note> and the charge of the Jewish +<pb n='080'/><anchor id='Pg080'/> +God idea being a barren and abstract transcendentalism can +be urged only by the blindness of bigotry.<note place='foot'>On pantheism +in Judaism see Seligman, l. c.</note> +</p> + +<p> +11. The interweaving of the ideas of God's immanence and +transcendency is shown especially in two poems embodied in +the songs of the Synagogue, Ibn Gabirol's <q>Crown of Royalty</q> +and the <q>Songs of Unity</q> for each day of the week, composed +by Samuel ben Kalonymos, the father of Judah the Pious of +Regensburg. Here occur such sentences as these: <q>All is in +God and God is in all</q>; <q>Sufficient unto Himself and self-determining, +He is the ever-living and self-conscious Mind, +the all-permeating, all-impelling, and all-accomplishing Will</q>; +<q>The universe is the emanation of the plenitude of God, each +part the light of His infinite light, flame of His eternal empyrean</q>; +<q>The universe is the garment, the covering of God, +and He the all-penetrating Soul.</q><note place='foot'>See Sachs: +<hi rend='italic'>D. religioese Poesie d. Juden. in Spanien</hi>, 225-228; Kaufmann: +<hi rend='italic'>Stud u. Solomon Ibn Gabirol.</hi></note> All these ideas were +borrowed from neo-Platonism, and found a conspicuous place +in Ibn Gabirol's philosophy, later influencing the Cabbalah. +</p> + +<p> +Similarly the appellation, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Makom</foreign>, +<q>Space,</q> is explained by +both Philo and the rabbis as denoting <q>Him who encompasses +the world, but whom the world cannot encompass.</q><note place='foot'>See Siegfried: +<hi rend='italic'>Philo</hi>, 199-203, 292; Gen. R. LXVIII, 10; comp. Geiger: +Zeitschr., XI, 218; Hamburger: R. W. B., II, 986.</note> An +utterance such as this, well-nigh pantheistic in tone, leads +directly to theories like those of Spinoza or of David Nieto, +the well-known London Rabbi, who was largely under Spinozistic +influence<note place='foot'>See Graetz: G. d. J., X, 319.</note> +and who still was in accord with Jewish +thought. Certainly, as long as Jewish monotheism conceives +of God as self-conscious Intellect and freely acting Will, it +can easily accept the principle of divine immanence. +</p> + +<p> +12. We accept, then, the fact that man, child-like, invests +God with human qualities,—a view advanced by Abraham +<pb n='081'/><anchor id='Pg081'/> +ben David of Posquieres in opposition to Maimonides.<note place='foot'>See Maimonides: +<hi rend='italic'>H. Teshubah</hi>, III, 7 and R. A. B. D., notes.</note> +Still, the thinkers of Judaism have ever labored to divest the +Deity of every vestige of sensuousness, of likeness to man, in +fact, of every limitation to action or to free will. Every conception +which merges God into the world or identifies Him +with it and thus makes Him subject to necessity, is incompatible +with the Jewish idea of God, which enthrones Him +above the universe as its free and sovereign Master. <q>Am I +a God near at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? +Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? +saith the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth?</q><note place='foot'>Jer. +XXIII, 23.</note> <q>To +whom will you liken Me, that I should be equal?</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XL, 25.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='082'/><anchor id='Pg082'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XIII. The One and Only God</head> + +<p> +1. From the very beginning no Jewish doctrine was so +firmly proclaimed and so heroically defended as the belief in +the One and Only God. This constitutes the essence and +foundation of Judaism. However slowly the people learned +that there could be no gods beside the One God, and that +consequently all the pagan deities were but <q>naught and +vanity,</q> the Judaism of the Torah starts with the proclamation +of the Only One, and later Judaism marches through the +nations and ages of history with a never-silent protest against +polytheism of every kind, against every division of the Godhead +into parts, powers, or persons. +</p> + +<p> +2. It is perfectly clear that divine pedagogy could not well +have demanded of a people immature and untrained in religion, +like Israel in the wilderness period, the immediate +belief in the only one God and in none else. Such a belief is +the result of a long mental process; it is attained only after +centuries of severe struggle and crisis. Instead of this, the +Decalogue of Sinai demanded of the people that they worship +only the God of the Covenant who had delivered them from +Egypt to render them His people.<note place='foot'>Lev. XIX, 4; +XXVI, 1; Isaiah II, 8, 11; Psalm XCVI, 5.</note> But, as they yielded more +and more to the seductive worship of the gods of the Canaanites +and their other neighbors, the law became more rigid in prohibiting +such idolatrous practices, and the prophets poured +forth their unscathing wrath against the <q>stiff-necked people</q> +<pb n='083'/><anchor id='Pg083'/> +and endeavored by unceasing warnings and threats to win +them for the pure truth of monotheism.<note place='foot'>Comp. Ex. XX, 3; +XXII, 19; XXIII, 13; with Deut. VI, 4; IV, 35, 39; +XXXII, 39; Isaiah XL to XLVIII.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. The God of Sinai proclaims Himself in the Decalogue +as a <q>jealous God,</q> and not in vain. He cannot tolerate +other gods beside Himself. Truth can make no concession +to untruth, nor enter into any compromise with it without +self-surrender. A pagan religion could well afford to admit +foreign gods into its pantheon without offending the ruling +deities of the land. On the contrary, their realm seemed +rather to be enlarged by the addition. It was also easy to +blend the cults of deities originally distinct and unite many +divinities under a composite name, and by this process create +a system of worship which would either comprise the gods of +many lands or even merge them into one large family. This +was actually the state of the various pagan religions at the +time of the decline of antiquity. But such a procedure could +never lead towards true monotheism. It lacks the conception +of an inner unity, without which its followers could not +grasp the true idea of God as the source and essence of all +life, both physical and spiritual. Only the One God of revelation +made the world really one. In Him alone heaven and +earth, day and night, growth and decay, the weal and woe of +individuals and nations, appear as the work of an all-ruling +Power and Wisdom, so that all events in nature and history +are seen as parts of one all-comprising plan.<note place='foot'>See Dillmann, l. c., +235-241; D. F. Strauss, l. c., 402-408; A. B. Davidson: +<hi rend='italic'>Theology of O. T.</hi>, p. 105; 149 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. It is perfectly true that a wide difference of view exists +between the prohibition of polytheism and idolatry in the +Decalogue and the proclamation in Deuteronomy of the unity +of God, and, still more, between the law of the Pentateuch +and the prophetic announcement of the day when Israel's +<pb n='084'/><anchor id='Pg084'/> +God <q>shall be King of the whole earth, and His name shall +be One.</q><note place='foot'>Zach. XIV, 9.</note> +Yet Judaism is based precisely upon this higher +view. The very first pages of Genesis, the opening of the +Torah, as well as the exilic portions of Isaiah which form the +culmination of the prophets, and the Psalms also, prove sufficiently +that at their time monotheism was an axiom of Judaism. +In fact, heathenism had become synonymous with +both image-worship and belief in many gods beside the Only +One of Israel, and accordingly had lost all hold upon the Jewish +people. The heathen gods were given a place in the celestial +economy, but only as subordinate rulers or as the guardian +angels of the nations, and always under the dominion of God +on high.<note place='foot'>Deut. IV, 19; Jer. X, 2.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. Later, in the contest against Græco-Egyptian paganism, +the doctrine of God's unity was emphasized in the Alexandrian +propaganda literature, of which only a portion has been preserved +for us. Here antagonism in the most forcible form is +expressed against the delusive cults of paganism, and exclusive +worship claimed for <q>the unseen, yet all-seeing God, the +uncreated Creator of the world.</q><note place='foot'>Bousset, l. c., +221 f., 348.</note> The Rabbinical Haggadah +contains but dim reminiscences of the extensive propaganda +carried on previous to Hillel, the Talmudic type of the propagandist. +Moreover, this period fostered free inquiry and +philosophical discussion, and therefore the doctrine of unity +emerged more and more from simple belief to become a matter +of reason. The God of truth put to flight the gods of falsehood. +Hence many gentiles espoused the cause of Judaism, +becoming <q>God-fearing men.</q><note place='foot'>See Chapter +<ref target='Chapter_LVI'>LVI</ref>, below.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. In this connection it seems necessary to point out the +difference between the God of the Greek philosophers—Xenophanes +and Anaxagoras, Plato and Aristotle—and the +God of the Bible. In abandoning their own gods, the Greek +<pb n='085'/><anchor id='Pg085'/> +philosophers reached a deistic view of the cosmos. As their +study of science showed them plan and order everywhere, +they concluded that the universe is governed by an all-encompassing +Intelligence, a divine power entirely distinct from +the capricious deities of the popular religion. Reflection led +them to a complete rupture with their religious belief. The +Biblical belief in God underwent a different process. After +God had once been conceived of, He was held up as the ideal +of morality, including both righteousness and holiness. Then +this doctrine was continuously elucidated and deepened, until +a stage was reached where a harmony could be established +between the teachings of Moses and the wisdom of Plato and +Aristotle. To the noble thinkers of Hellas truth was an object +of supreme delight, the highest privilege of the sage. To the +adherents of Judaism truth became the holiest aim of life for +the entire people, for which all were taught to battle and to +die, as did the Maccabean heroes and Daniel and his associates, +their prototypes. +</p> + +<p> +7. A deeper meaning was attached to the doctrine of God's +unity under Persian rule, in contact with the religious system +of Zoroaster. To the Persians life was a continual conflict +between the principles of good and of evil, until the ultimate +victory of good shall come. This dualistic view of the world +greatly excels all other heathen religious systems, insofar as it +assigns ethical purpose to the whole of life. Yet the great +seer of the Exile opposes this system in the name of the God +of Judaism, speaking to Cyrus, the king of Persia; <q>I am the +Lord and there is none else; beside Me there is no God. I +will gird thee, though thou dost not know Me, in order that +the people shall know from the rising of the sun and from +the west that there is none beside Me. I form the light and +create darkness; I make peace and also create evil, I am the +Lord that doeth these things.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XLV, +5-7.</note> This declaration of pure +<pb n='086'/><anchor id='Pg086'/> +monotheism is incompatible with dualism in both the physical +and the moral world; it regards evil as being mere +semblance without reality, an opposing force which can be +overcome and rendered a source of new strength for the victory +of the good. <q>Out of the mouth of the Most High +cometh there not the evil and the good?</q><note place='foot'>Lam. III, 38.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. The division of the world into rival realms of good and +evil powers, of angelic and demoniacal forces, which originated +in ancient Chaldea and underlies the Zoroastrian dualism, +finally took hold of Judaism also. Still this was not carried +to such an extent that Satan, the supreme ruler of the demon +world, was given a dominion equal to that of God, or interfering +with it, so as to impair thereby the principle of monotheism, +as was done by the Church later on. As a matter +of fact, at the time of nascent Christianity the leaders of the +Synagogue took rigid measures against those heretics +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Minim</foreign>) +who believed in two divine powers,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Shethe +Reshuyoth</hi>, see Hag. 15 a; Deut. R. I. 10; Eccl. R. II, 12; Weber, +l. c., 152; Joel, <hi rend='italic'>Blicke in d. Religionsgesch.</hi>, +II, 157.</note> because they recognized +the grave danger of moral degeneracy in this Gnostic dualism. +In the Church it led first to the deification of Christ (<hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi> the +Messiah) as the vanquisher of Satan; afterwards, owing to a +compromise with heathenism, the Trinity was adopted to +correspond with the three-fold godhead,—father, mother, +and son,—the place of the mother deity being taken by the +Holy Ghost, which was originally conceived as a female power +(the Syrian <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ruha</foreign> being +of the feminine gender).<note place='foot'>D. F. Strauss, +l. c., 409-501; J. E., art. Christianity.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. The churchmen have attempted often enough to harmonize +the dualism or trinitarianism of Christianity with the +monotheism of the Bible. Still Judaism persists in considering +such an infringement upon the belief in Israel's one and +only God as really a compromise with heathenism. <q>A +<pb n='087'/><anchor id='Pg087'/> +Jew is he who opposes every sort of polytheism,</q> says the +Talmud.<note place='foot'>Meg. 13 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +10. The medieval Jewish thinkers therefore made redoubled +efforts to express with utmost clearness the doctrine +of God's unity. In this effort they received special encouragement +from the example of the leaders of Islam, whose victorious +march over the globe was a triumph for the one God +of Abraham over the triune God of Christianity. A great +tide of intellectual progress arose, lending to the faith of the +Mohammedans and subsequently also to that of the Jews an +impetus which lasted for centuries. The new thought and keen +research of that period had a lasting influence upon the whole +development of western culture. An alliance was effected +between religion and philosophy, particularly by the leading +Jewish minds, which proved a liberating and stimulating force +in all fields of scientific investigation. Thus the pure idea +of monotheism became the basis for modern science and the +entire modern world-view.<note place='foot'>Comp. Lange: +<hi rend='italic'>Gesch. d. Materialismus</hi>, I, 149-158.</note> +</p> + +<p> +11. The Mohammedan thinkers devoted their attention +chiefly to elucidating and spiritualizing the God idea, beginning +as early as the third century of Islamism, so to interpret +the Koran as to divest God of all anthropomorphic attributes +and to stress His absolute unity, uniqueness, and the incomparability +of His oneness. Soon they became familiar with +neo-Platonic and afterward with Aristotelian modes of speculation +through the work of Syrian and Jewish translators. +With the help of these they built up a system of theology +which influenced Jewish thought also, first in Karaite and then +in Rabbanite circles.<note place='foot'>Alfred v. Kremer, l. c., +9-33; J. E., art. Arabic and Arabic-Jewish Philosophy.</note> +Thus sprang up successively the philosophical +systems of Saadia, Jehuda ha Levi, Ibn Gabirol, +Bahya, Ibn Daud, and Maimonides. The philosophical hymns +and the articles of faith, both of which found a place in the liturgy +<pb n='088'/><anchor id='Pg088'/> +of the Synagogue, were the work of their followers. The +highest mode of adoring God seemed to be the elaboration of +the idea of His unity to its logical conclusion, which satisfied +the philosophical mind, though often remote from the understanding +of the multitude. For centuries the supreme effort +of Jewish thought was to remove Him from the possibility of +comparison with any other being, and to abolish every conception +which might impair His absolute and simple unity. +This mental activity filled the dwellings of Israel with light, +even when the darkness of ignorance covered the lands of +Christendom, dispelled only here and there by rays of knowledge +emanating from Jewish quarters.<note place='foot'>See Draper's +<hi rend='italic'>Conflict between Religion and Science</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +12. The proofs of the unity of God adduced by Mohammedan +and Jewish thinkers were derived from the rational +order, design, and unity of the cosmos, and from the laws of +the mind itself. These aided in endowing Judaism with a +power of conviction which rendered futile the conversionist +efforts of the Church, with its arguments and its threats. +Israel's only One proved to be the God of truth, high and +holy to both the mind and the heart. The Jewish masters of +thought rendered Him the highest object of their speculation, +only to bow in awe before Him who is beyond all human +ken; the Jewish martyrs likewise cheerfully offered up their +lives in His honor; and thus all hearts echoed the battle-cry +of the centuries, <q>Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord +is One,</q> and all minds were illumined by the radiant hope, +<q>The Lord will be King of the earth; on that day the Lord +shall be One, and His name shall be One.</q> +</p> + +<p> +13. Under all conditions, however, the doctrine of unity +remained free from outward compulsion and full of intrinsic +vigor and freshness. There was still room for differences of +opinion, such as whether God's life, power, wisdom, and unity +are attributes—distinct from His being, and qualifying it,—or +<pb n='089'/><anchor id='Pg089'/> +whether they are inherent in His nature, comprising His +very essence. This controversy aimed to determine the conception +of God, either by Aristotelian rationalism, as represented +by Maimonides, or by the positive religious assumptions +of Crescas and others. +</p> + +<p> +This is Maimonides' statement of the unity: <q>God is one; +that is, He is unlike any other unit, whether made one in +point of numbers or species, or by virtue of composition, separation, +and simplification. He is one in Himself, there being +no multiplicity in Him. His unity is beyond all definition.</q><note place='foot'>Maim.: +<hi rend='italic'>Yesode ha Torah</hi>, I, 7.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Ibn Gabirol in his <q>Crown of Royalty</q> puts the same +thought into poetic form: <q>One art Thou; the wise wonder +at the mystery of Thy unity, not knowing what it is. One +art Thou; not like the one of dimension or number, as neither +addition nor change, neither attribute nor quality affects +Thy being. Thou art God, who sustainest all beings by Thy +divinity, who holdest all creatures in Thy unity. Thou art +God, and there is no distinction between Thy unity, Thy +eternity, and Thy being. All is mystery, and however the +names may differ, they all tell that Thou art but one.</q><note place='foot'>Sachs, +l. c., 3.</note> +</p> + +<p> +14. Side by side with this rationalistic trend, Judaism +always contained a current of mysticism. The mystics accepted +literally the anthropomorphic pictures of the Deity in +the Bible, and did not care how much they might affect the +spirituality and unity of God. The philosophic schools had +contended against the anthropomorphic views of the older +mystics, and thus had brought higher views of the Godhead +to dominance; but when the rationalistic movement had +spent its force, the reaction came in the form of the Cabbalah, +the secret lore which claimed to have been <q>transmitted</q> +(according to the meaning of the word) from a hoary past. +The older system of thought had stripped the Deity of all +reality and had robbed religion of all positiveness; now, in +<pb n='090'/><anchor id='Pg090'/> +contrast, the soul demanded a God of revelation through +faith in whom might come exaltation and solace.<note place='foot'>See Schmiedl, +l. c., 239-258.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Nevertheless the Maimonidean articles of faith were adopted +into the liturgy because of their emphasis on the absolute unity +and indivisibility of God, by which they constituted a vigorous +protest against the Christian dogma. Judaism ever found +its strength in God the only One, and will find Him ever +anew a source of inspiration and rejuvenation. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='091'/><anchor id='Pg091'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XIV. God's Omnipotence and Omniscience</head> + +<p> +1. Among all the emotions which underlie our God-consciousness +the foremost is the realization of our own weakness +and helplessness. This makes us long for One mightier than +ourselves, for the Almighty whose acts are beyond comparison. +The first attribute, therefore, with which we feeble mortals +invest our Deity is omnipotence. Thus the pagan ascribes +supreme power over their different realms to his various deities. +Hence the name for God among all the Semites is +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>El</foreign>—<q>the +Powerful One.</q><note place='foot'>See Hebrew Dictionary, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>El</foreign>; comp. Dillmann, l. c., +210, 244.</note> Judaism claims for God absolute and unlimited +power over all that is. It declares Him to be the source +and essence of all strength, the almighty Creator and Ruler +of the universe. All that exists is His creation; all that occurs +is His achievement. He is frequently called by the rabbis +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ha Geburah</foreign>, the +Omnipotence.<note place='foot'>See Levy, W. B.: +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Geburah</foreign>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. The historical method of study seems to indicate that +various cosmic potencies were worshiped in primitive life +either singly or collectively under the name of +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elohim</foreign>, <q>divine +powers,</q> or <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zibeoth Elohim</foreign>, +<q>hosts of divine powers.</q> With +the acceptance of the idea of divine omnipotence, these were +united into a confederacy of divine forces under the dominion +of the one God, the <q>Lord of Hosts.</q> Still these powers of +heaven, earth and the deep by no means at once surrendered +their identity. Most of them became angels, <q>messengers</q> of +the omnipotent God, or <q>spirits</q> roaming in the realms +where once they ruled, while a few were relegated as monsters +to the region of superstition. The heathen deities, which +<pb n='092'/><anchor id='Pg092'/> +persisted for a while in popular belief, were also placed with +the angels as <q>heavenly rulers</q> of their respective lands or +nations about the throne of the Most High. At all events, +Israel's God was enthroned above them all as Lord of the +universe. In fact, the Alexandrian translators and some of the +rabbis actually explained in this sense the Biblical names +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>El Shaddai</foreign> and +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>J.H.V.H. Zebaoth</foreign>.<note place='foot'>See +Septuagint to Job V, 17; VIII, 3, and II Sam. V, 10; VII, 8, and +Ber. 31 b.</note> The medieval philosophers, +however, took a backward step away from the Biblical view +when, under the influence of Neoplatonism, they represented +the angels and the spirits of the stars as intermediary forces.<note place='foot'>See +Schmiedl, l. c., 67 ff. David Neumark thinks that both the prophet +Jeremiah and the Mishnah knew and rejected the belief in angels. See his +article <hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi> in Ozar Ha Yahduth.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. According to the Bible, both the Creation and the order +of the universe testify to divine omnipotence. God called +all things into existence by His almighty word, unassisted by +His heavenly messengers. He alone stretched out the heavens, +set bounds to the sea, and founded the earth on pillars that +it be not moved; none was with Him to partake in the work. +This is the process of creation according to the first chapter +of Genesis and the fortieth chapter of Isaiah. So He appears +throughout the Scriptures as <q>the Doer of wonders,</q> +<q>whose arm never waxes short</q> to carry out His will. <q>He +fainteth not, neither is He weary.</q> His dominion extends +over the sea and the storm, over life and death, over high and +low. Intermediary forces participating in His work are +never mentioned. They are referred to only in the poetic +description of creation in the book of Job: <q>Where wast +thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?... When the +morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted +for joy.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. XVIII, 14; +Num. XI, 13; Is. XL, 12; Jer. V, 22; X, 12; XXVII, +5; XXXII, 17; Zach. VIII, 6; Job XXXVIII, 7; XLII, 1.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='093'/><anchor id='Pg093'/> + +<p> +Proof of God's supreme power was found particularly in +history, either in His miraculous changing of the natural +order, or in His defeat of the mighty hostile armies which +bade Him defiance.<note place='foot'>Deut. III. 24; +XI, 3; XXVI, 8; XXIX, 2; Jer. X, 6; Ps. LXV, 7; +LXVI, 7; LXIV-LXXVIII; I Chron. XXIX, 11, 12.</note> +Often the heathen deities or the celestial +powers are introduced as dramatic figures to testify to the +triumph of the divine omnipotence, as when the Lord is said +to <q>execute judgment against the gods of Egypt</q> or when +<q>the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XII, 12; +Judges V, 10.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. God's power is limited only by His own volition. <q>He +doeth what He willeth.</q><note place='foot'>Daniel IV, 35.</note> +In man the will and the power +for a certain act are far apart, and often directly conflicting. +Not so with God, for the very idea of God is perfection, and +His will implies necessarily the power to accomplish the desired +end. His will is determined only by such factors as His +knowledge and His moral self-restraint. +</p> + +<p> +5. Therefore the idea of God's omnipotence must be coupled +with that of His omniscience. Both His power and His +knowledge are unlike man's in being without limitation. +When we repeat the Biblical terms of an all-seeing, all-hearing, +and all-knowing God, we mean in the first instance that the +limitation of space does not exist for Him. He beholds the +extreme parts of the earth and observes all that happens under +the heavens; nothing is hidden from His sight. He not only +sees the deeds of men, He also searches their thoughts. Looking +into their hearts, He knows the word, ere it is upon the +tongue. Looking into the future, he knows every creature, +ere it enters existence. <q>The darkness and the light are alike +to Him.</q> With one glance He surveys all that is and all that +happens.<note place='foot'>Ps. XI, 4; XXXIII, 13 f.; CXXXIX; Jer. XI, 20; XVII, 10; Job +XII, 13; Dan. II, 20 f.</note> He is, as the rabbis express it, <q>the all-seeing Eye +and the all-hearing Ear.</q><note place='foot'>Aboth II, 1.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='094'/><anchor id='Pg094'/> + +<p> +In like manner the distinctions of time disappear before +Him. The entire past is unrolled before His sight; His book +records all that men do or suffer, even their tears;<note place='foot'>Mal. +III, 16; Ps. LVI, 9.</note> and there +is no forgetfulness with Him. The remotest future also is +open before Him, for it is planned by Him, and in it He has +allotted to each being its days and its steps.<note place='foot'>See New +Year liturgy, Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerbook</hi>, 249.</note> Yea, as He +beholds events ere they transpire, so He reveals the secrets of +the future to His chosen ones, in order to warn men of the +judgments that threaten them.<note place='foot'>Amos III, 7.; Gen. XVIII, 17.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. The idea of divine omniscience could ripen only gradually +in the minds of the people. The older and more child-like +conception still remains in the stories of the Deluge and the +Tower of Babel, where God descended from heaven to watch +the doings of men, and repented of what He had done.<note place='foot'>Gen. +VI, 5; XI, 5; XVIII, 21.</note> Obviously +the idea of divine omniscience took hold of the people +as a result of the admonitions of the prophets. +</p> + +<p> +7. Philosophical inquiry into the ideas of the divine omnipotence +and omniscience, however, discloses many difficulties. +The Biblical assertion that nothing is impossible to God will +not stand the test as soon as we ask seriously whether God +can make the untrue true,—as making two times two to +equal five—or whether He can declare the wrong to be right. +Obviously He cannot overturn the laws of mathematical truth +or of moral truth, without at the same time losing His nature +as the Source and Essence of all truth. Nor can He abrogate +the laws of nature, which are really His own rules for His +creation, without detracting from both His omniscience and +the immutability of His will. This question will be discussed +more fully in connection with miracles, in chapter +<ref target='Chapter_XXVII'>XXVII</ref>. +</p> + +<p> +Together with the problem of the divine omniscience arises +the difficulty of reconciling this with our freedom of will and +<pb n='095'/><anchor id='Pg095'/> +our moral responsibility. Would not His foreknowledge of +our actions in effect determine them? This difficulty can +only be solved by a proper conception of the freedom of the +will, and will be discussed in that connection in chapter +<ref target='Chapter_XXXVII'>XXXVII</ref>. +</p> + +<p> +Altogether, we must guard against applying our human type +of knowledge to God. Man, limited by space and time, +obtains his knowledge of things and events by his senses, +becoming aware of them separately as they exist either beside +each other or in succession. With God all knowledge is +complete; there is no growth of knowledge from yesterday to +to-day, no knowledge of only a part instead of the whole of +the world. His omniscience and omnipotence are bound up +with His omnipresence and eternity. <q>For My thoughts are +not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith +the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so +are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than +your thoughts.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LV, 8, 9.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='096'/><anchor id='Pg096'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XV. God's Omnipresence and Eternity</head> + +<p> +1. As soon as man awakens to a higher consciousness of +God, he realizes the vast distance between his own finite +being limited by space and time, and the Infinite Being which +rules everywhere and unceasingly in lofty grandeur and unlimited +power. His very sense of being hedged in by the +bounds and imperfections of a finite existence makes him long +for the infinite God, unlimited in might, and brings to him +the feeling of awe before His greatness. But this conception +of God as the omnipresent and everlasting Spirit, as distinct +from any created being, is likewise the result of many stages +of growing thought. +</p> + +<p> +2. The primitive mind imagines God as dwelling in a +lofty place, whence He rules the earth beneath, descending +at times to take part in the affairs of men, to tarry among +them, or to walk with them.<note place='foot'>Gen. IV, 16; +XI, 5; XVIII, 21; XXVIII, 16; Deut. XXVI, 15; Micah +I, 3; see Strauss, l. c., I, 548 f.</note> The people adhered largely to +this conception during the Biblical period, as they considered +as the original seat of the Deity, first Paradise, later on Sinai +or Zion, and finally the far-off heavens. It required prophetic +vision to discern that <q>the heavens and the heavens' heavens +do not encompass God's majesty,</q> expressed also in poetic +imagery that <q>the heaven is My throne and the earth My +footstool.</q><note place='foot'>I Kings VIII, 27; Isa. LXVI, +1.</note> The classic form of this idea of the divine omnipresence +is found in the oft-quoted passage from Psalm +CXXXIX.<note place='foot'>See above, Chapter +<ref target='Chapter_XII_Section_5'>XII, 5</ref>.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='097'/><anchor id='Pg097'/> + +<p> +3. The dwelling places of God are to give way the moment +His omnipresence is understood as penetrating the universe to +such an extent that nothing escapes His glance nor lies without +His dominion.<note place='foot'>Comp. Amos IX, 2; Jer. XXIII, +24.</note> They are then transformed into places +where He had manifested His Name, His Glory, or His Presence +(<q>Countenance,</q> in the Hebrew). In this way certain +emanations or powers of God were formed which could be +located in a certain space without impairing the divine omnipresence. +These intermediary powers will be the theme of +chapter <ref target='Chapter_XXXII'>XXXII</ref>. +</p> + +<p> +The following dialogue illustrates this stage of thought: +A heretic once said sarcastically to Gamaliel II, <q>Ye say that +where ten persons assemble for worship, there the divine +majesty (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shekinah</foreign>) descends upon them; how +many such majesties are there?</q> To which Gamaliel replied: <q>Does +not the one orb of day send forth a million rays upon the earth? +And should not the majesty of God, which is a million times +brighter than the sun, be reflected in every spot on earth?</q><note place='foot'>Sanh. +39 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. Nevertheless a conception of pure spirit is very difficult +to attain, even in regard to God. The thought of His omnipresence +is usually interpreted by imagining some ethereal +substance which expands infinitely, as Ibn Ezra and Saadia +before him were inclined to do,<note place='foot'>Comp. Kaufmann, +l. c., 70 and 71, notes 130, 131; Strauss, l. c., I, 551.</note> or by picturing Him as a +sort of all-encompassing Space, in accordance with the +rabbis.<note place='foot'><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Makom</foreign>, see above, +Chapter <ref target='Chapter_X_Section_8'>X, 8-9</ref>; Schechter, +<hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, 26 f.</note> +The New Testament writers and the Church fathers +likewise spoke of God as Spirit, but really had in mind, for +the most part, an ethereal substance resembling light pervading +cosmic space. The often-expressed belief that man may +see God after death rests upon this conception of God as a +substance perceptible to the mind.<note place='foot'>Luk. 45 b; +comp. I Corinth. XIII, 12, based on Ex. XXXIII, 28; Ps. +XVII, 15.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='098'/><anchor id='Pg098'/> + +<p> +A higher standpoint is taken by a thinker such as Ibn +Gabirol, who finds God's omnipresence in His all-pervading +will and intellect.<note place='foot'>See Kaufmann, l. c., 100 +f.</note> But this type of divine omnipresence is +rather divine immanence. The religious consciousness has a +quite different picture of God, a self-conscious Personality, +ever near to man, ever scanning his acts, his thoughts, and his +motives. Here philosophy and religion part company. The +former must abstain from the assumption of a divine personality; +the latter cannot do without it. The God of religion +must partake of the knowledge and the feelings of His worshiper, +must know his every impulse and idea, and must feel +with him in his suffering and need. God's omnipresence is in +this sense a postulate of religion. +</p> + +<p> +5. The second earthly and human limitation is that of time. +Confined by space and time, man casts his eyes upward toward +a Being who shall be infinite and eternal. Whatever time +begets, time swallows up again. Transitoriness is the fate of +all things. Everything which enters existence must end at +last. <q>Also heaven and earth perish and wax old like a +garment. Only God remains forever the same, and His years +have no end. He is from everlasting to everlasting, the first +and the last.</q> So speak prophet and psalmist, voicing a +universal thought<note place='foot'>Isa. XLVIII, 12; +Ps. XC, 2 f.; CII, 26, 27. On the process of development +of the idea of eternity, see Neumark, l. c., II, 77.</note>; +and our liturgical poet sings: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>The Lord of all did reign supreme</q></l> +<l>Ere yet this world was made and formed;</l> +<l>When all was finished by His will,</l> +<l>Then was His name as King proclaimed.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>And should these forms no more exist,</q></l> +<l>He still will rule in majesty;</l> +<l>He was, He is, He shall remain,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>His glory never shall decrease.</q><note place='foot'>Adon +Olam, Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerbook</hi>, p. 3.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<pb n='099'/><anchor id='Pg099'/> + +<p> +6. But the idea of God's eternity also presents certain +difficulties to the thinking mind. As Creator and Author of +the universe, God is the First Cause, without beginning or +end, the Source of all existence; as Ruler and Master of the +world, He maintains all things through all eternity; though +heaven and earth <q>wax old like a garment,</q> He outlasts them +all. Now, if He is to manifest these powers from everlasting +to everlasting, He must ever remain the same. Consequently, +we must add immutability as a corollary of eternity, if the +latter is to mean anything. It is not enough to state that God +is without beginning and without end; the essential part of +the doctrine is His transcendence above the changes and conditions +of time. We mortals cannot really entertain a conception +of eternity; our nearest approach to it is an endless +succession of periods of time, a ceaseless procession of ages and +eons following each other. Endless time is not at all the same as +timelessness. Therefore eternity signifies transcendence above +all existence in time; its real meaning is +<emph>supermundaneity</emph>.<note place='foot'>See Strauss, l. c., +562, 651; Kaufmann, l. c., 306 f.; Drummond: <hi rend='italic'>Philo</hi>, +II, 46.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. This seems the best way to avoid the difficulty which +seemed almost insuperable to the medieval thinkers, how to +reconcile a Creation at a certain time and a Creator for whom +time does not exist. In the effort to solve the difficulty, they +resorted to the Platonic and Aristotelian definition of time as +the result of the motions of the heavenly bodies; thus they +declared that time was created simultaneously with the world. +This is impossible for the modern thinker, who has learned +from Kant to regard time and space, not as external realities, +but as human modes of apperception of objects. So the contrast +between the transient character of the world and the +eternity of God becomes all the greater with the increasing +realization of the vast gap between the material world and the +divine spirit. +</p> + +<pb n='100'/><anchor id='Pg100'/> + +<p> +At this point arises a still greater difficulty. The very idea +of creation at a certain time becomes untenable in view of our +knowledge of the natural process; the universe itself, it seems +to us, extends over an infinity of space and time. Indeed, +the modern view of evolution in place of creation has the grave +danger of leading to pantheism, to a conception of the cosmos +which sees in God only an eternal energy (or substance) devoid +of free volition and self-conscious action.<note place='foot'>See Chapter +<ref target='Chapter_XXV'>XXV</ref> below.</note> We can evade +the difficulty only by assuming God's transcendence, and this +can be done in such a way as not to exclude His immanence, +or—what is the same thing—His omnipresence. +</p> + +<p> +8. Both God's omnipresence and His eternity are intended +only to raise Him far above the world, out of the confines of +space and time, to represent His sublime loftiness as the +<q>Rock of Ages,</q> as holding worlds without number in <q>His +eternal arms.</q> <q>Nothing can be hidden from Him who has +reared the entire universe and is familiar with every part of it, +however remote.</q><note place='foot'>Tanh. Naso ed. Buber, 8; +Gen. R. IX, 9 with reference to Jer. XXIII, 24.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='101'/><anchor id='Pg101'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XVI. God's Holiness</head> + +<p> +1. Judaism recognizes two distinct types of divine attributes. +Those which we have so far considered belong to the +metaphysical group, which chiefly engage the attention of +the philosopher. They represent God as a transcendental +Being who is ever beyond our comprehension, because our +finite intellect can never grasp the infinite Spirit. They are +not descriptions, but rather inferences from the works of the +Master of the world to the Master himself. But there are +other divine attributes which we derive from our own moral +nature, and which invest our whole life with a higher moral +character. Instead of arising from the external necessity +which governs nature in its causes and effects, these rest upon +our assumption of inner freedom, setting the aims for all that +we achieve. This moral nature is realized to some extent even +by the savage, when he trembles before his deity in pangs of +conscience, or endeavors to propitiate him by sacrifices. Still, +Judaism alone fully realized the moral nature of the Deity; +this was done by investing the term <q>holiness</q> with the idea +of moral perfection, so that God became the ideal and pattern +of the loftiest morality. <q>Be ye holy, for I the Lord your +God am holy.</q><note place='foot'>Lev. XIX, 1.</note>—This +is the central and culminating idea of +the Jewish law.<note place='foot'>Comp. Dillmann, l. c., +252 f.; Strauss, l. c., 593 f.; Rauwenhoff, l. c., 498-505; +Lazarus: <hi rend='italic'>Ethics of Judaism</hi>, Chapters IV-V.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. Holiness is the essence of all moral perfection; it is +purity unsullied by any breath of evil. True holiness can be +<pb n='102'/><anchor id='Pg102'/> +ascribed only to Divinity, above the realm of the flesh and the +senses. <q>There is none holy but the Lord, for there is none +beside Thee,</q> says Scripture.<note place='foot'>I Sam. II, +21.</note> Whether man stands on a lower +or higher level of culture, he has in all his plans and aspirations +some ideal of perfection to which he may never attain, but +which serves as the standard for his actions. The best of his +doings falls short of what he ought to do; in his highest efforts +he realizes the potentiality of better things. This ideal of +moral perfection works as the motive power of the will in setting +for it a standard; it establishes human freedom in place of +nature's compulsion, but such an ideal can emanate only from +the moral power ruling life, which we designate as the divine +Holiness. +</p> + +<p> +3. Scripture says of God that He <q>walketh in holiness,</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +LXXVII, 14.</note> and +accordingly morality in man is spoken of as <q>walking in the +ways of God.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. X, 12; XI, 22, and elsewhere.</note> +<q>Walk before Me and be perfect!</q> says God to +Abraham.<note place='foot'>Gen. XVIII, 19.</note> Moses approached God with two +petitions,—the one, <q>Show me Thy ways that I may know Thee!</q> the +other, <q>Show me, I pray Thee, Thy glory!</q> In response to +the latter God said, <q>No man can see Me and live</q>, but the +former petition was granted in that the Lord revealed Himself +in His moral attributes.<note place='foot'>Ex. XXXIII, +13-23.</note> These alone can be understood and +emulated by man; in regard to the so-called metaphysical +attributes God will ever remain beyond human comprehension +and emulation. +</p> + +<p> +4. In order to serve as vehicle for the expression of the +highest moral perfection, the Biblical term for holiness, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Kadosh</foreign>, +had to undergo a long process of development, obscuring its +original meaning. The history of this term gives us the +deepest insight into the working of the Jewish genius towards +the full revelation of the God of holiness. At first the word +<pb n='103'/><anchor id='Pg103'/> +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Kadosh</foreign><note place='foot'>See J. E., art. +Holiness. The Assyrian <foreign rend='italic'>Kuddisu</foreign> denotes <q>bright,</q> +<q>pure,</q> according to Zimmern in <hi rend='italic'>Religion und Sprache</hi>, +K. A. T., 3d ed., 603.</note> seems to have denoted unapproachableness in the +sense in which fire is unapproachable, that is, threatening and +consuming. This fiery nature was ascribed by primitive man +to all divine beings. Hence the angels are termed <q>the holy +ones</q> in Scripture.<note place='foot'>Deut. XXXIII, 3; Job V, 1; VI, 10; +XV, 15; Ps. LXXXIX, 6, 8.</note> According to both priestly practice and +popular belief, the man who approached one of these holy +ones with hand or foot, or even with his gaze, was doomed to +die.<note place='foot'>Ex. XIX, 21 f.; XXIV, 17; I Sam. VI, 20; Josh. XXIV, 19; +Isa. IV, 3; VI, 3, 13; X, 17; XXXI, 9; XXXIII, 14; +Hab. I, 13.</note> Out of such crude conceptions evolved the idea of +God's majesty as unapproachable in the sense of the sublime, +banishing everything profane from its presence, and visiting +with punishment every violation of its sanctity. The old +conception of the fiery appearance of the Deity served especially +as a figurative expression of the moral power of God, +which manifests itself as a <q>consuming fire,</q><note place='foot'>Deut. IV, 24; +Ex. XXIV, 17.</note> exterminating +evil, and making man long for the good and the true, for righteousness +and love. +</p> + +<p> +5. The divine attribute of holiness has accordingly a double +meaning. On the one hand, it indicates spiritual loftiness +transcending everything sensual, which works as a purging +power of indignation at evil, rebuking injustice, impurity and +falsehood, and punishing transgression until it is removed from +the sight of God. On the other hand, it denotes the condescending +mercy of God, which, having purged the soul of wrong, +wins it for the right, and which endows man with the power of +perfecting himself, and thus leads him to the gradual building +up of the kingdom of goodness and purity on earth. This +ethical conception of holiness, which emanates from the moral +nature of God, revealed to the prophetic genius of Israel, must +not be confused with the old Semitic conception of priestly or +<pb n='104'/><anchor id='Pg104'/> +ritual holiness. Ritual holiness is purely external, and is +transferable to persons and things, to times and places, according +to their relation to the Deity. Hence the various cults applied +the term <q>holy</q> to the most abominable forms of idolatry +and impure worship.<note place='foot'>Comp. the name +<foreign rend='italic'>Kadesh</foreign> and +<foreign rend='italic'>Kedesha</foreign> for the hierodules consecrated to +Astarte. See Deut. XXIII, 18; I Kings XIV, 24; XV, 12; Hosea IV, 14. +Comp. Zimmern, l. c., p. 423.</note> The Mosaic law condemned all these as +violations of the holiness of Israel's God, but could not help +sanctioning many ordinances and rites of priestly holiness +which originated in ancient Semitic usages. Hence the two +conceptions of holiness, the priestly or external and the prophetic +or ethical, became interwoven in the Mosaic code to +such an extent as to impair the standard of ethical holiness +stressed by the prophets, the unique and lofty possession of +Judaism. Hence the letter of the Law caused a deplorable +confusion of ideas, which was utilized by the detractors of +Judaism. The liberal movement of modern Judaism, in +pointing to the prophetic ideals as the true basis of the Jewish +faith, is at the same time dispelling this ancient confusion of +the two conceptions of holiness. +</p> + +<p> +6. The Levitical holiness adheres outwardly to persons and +things and consists in their separation or their reservation from +common use. In striking contrast to this, the holiness which +Judaism attributes to God denotes the highest ethical purity, +unattainable to flesh and blood, but designed for our emulation. +</p> + +<p> +The contemplation of the divine holiness is to inspire man +with fear of sin and to exert a healthful influence upon his +conduct. Thus God became the hallowing power in Judaism +and its institutions, truly the <q>Holy One of Israel</q> according +to the term of Isaiah and his great exilic successor, the so-called +Deutero-Isaiah.<note place='foot'>Isa. I, 4; V, 12; X, 20; XII, 6; +XLI, 14; XLIII, 3 f.; XLV, 11; and +elsewhere.</note> Thus His holiness invested His people with +<pb n='105'/><anchor id='Pg105'/> +special sanctity and imposed upon it special obligations. In +the words of Ezekiel, God became the <q>Sanctifier of +Israel.</q><note place='foot'>Ezek. XX, 12; XXXVII, 28; Ex. XXXI, +13, and elsewhere.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The rabbis penetrated deeply into the spirit of Scripture, +at the same time that they adhered strictly to its letter. +While they clung tenaciously to the ritual holiness of the +priestly codes, they recognized the ideal of holiness which is +so sharply opposed in every act and thought to the demoralizing +cults of heathenism.<note place='foot'>See Sifra and Rabba to Lev. XIX, 2.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. Accordingly, holiness is not the metaphysical concept +which Jehuda ha Levi considers it,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cusari</hi> +IV, 3; Kaufmann, l. c., 162 f.</note> but the principle and source +of all ethics, the spirit of absolute morality, lending purpose +and value to the whole of life. As long as men do good or +shun evil through fear of punishment or hope for reward, +whether in this life or the hereafter, so long will ideal morality +remain unattained, and man cannot claim to stand upon the +ground of divine holiness. The holy God must penetrate and +control all of life—such is the essence of Judaism. The true +aim of human existence is not salvation of the soul,—a desire +which is never quite free from selfishness,—but holiness +emulating God, striving to do good for the sake of the good +without regard to recompense, and to shun evil because it is +evil, aside from all consequences.<note place='foot'>Aboth, I, 3.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. The fact is that holiness is a religious term, based upon +divine revelation, not a philosophical one resting upon speculative +reasoning. It is a postulate of our moral nature that all +life is governed by a holy Will to which we must submit +willingly, and which makes for the good. How volition and +compulsion are with God one and the same, how the good +exists in God without the bad, or holiness and moral purpose +without unholy or immoral elements, how God can be exactly +opposite to all we know of man,—this is a question which +<pb n='106'/><anchor id='Pg106'/> +philosophy is unable to answer. In fact, holiness is best +defined negatively, as the <q>negation of all that man from his +own experience knows to be unholy.</q> These words of the +Danish philosopher Rauwenhoff are made still clearer by the +following observations: <q>The strength in the idea of holiness +lies exactly in its negative character. There is no comparison +of higher or lesser degree possible between man's imperfections +and God's perfect goodness. Instead, there is an absolute contrast +between mankind which, even in its noblest types, must +wrestle with the power of evil, and God, in whom nothing +can be imagined which would even suggest the possibility of +any moral shortcoming or imperfection.</q><note place='foot'>Rauwenhoff, +l. c., 504.</note> As the prophet +says, <q>Thou art too pure of eyes to look complacently upon +evil,</q><note place='foot'>Hab. I, 13.</note> +and according to the Psalmist, <q>Who shall ascend into +the mountain of the Lord, and who shall stand in His holy +place? He that hath clean hands and a pure +heart.</q><note place='foot'>Psalm XXIV, 4-5.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. The idea of holiness became the preëminent feature of +Judaism, so that the favorite name for God in Rabbinical +literature was <q>the Holy One, blessed be He,</q> and the acme of +all ceremonial and moral laws alike was found in <q>the Hallowing +of His name.</q><note place='foot'>L. Lazarus: <hi rend='italic'>Z. +Characteristik d. juedisch. Ethik</hi>, 40-45; M. Lazarus: <hi rend='italic'>Ethics +of Judaism</hi>, p. 184.</note> If the rabbis as followers of the Priestly +Code were compelled to lay great stress upon ritual holiness, +they yet beheld in it the means of moral purification. They +never lost sight of the prophetic principle that moral purity is +the object of all human life, for <q>the holy God is sanctified +through righteousness.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. V, 16.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='107'/><anchor id='Pg107'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XVII. God's Wrath and Punishment</head> + +<p> +1. Scripture speaks frequently of the anger and zeal of God +and of His avenging sword and judgment, so as to give the +impression that <q>the Old Testament God is a God of wrath and +vengeance.</q> As a matter of fact, these attributes are merely +emanations of His holiness, the guide and incentive to moral +action in man. The burning fire of the divine holiness aims +to awaken the dormant seeds of morality in the human soul +and to ripen them into full growth. Whenever we to-day +would speak of pangs of conscience, of bitter remorse, Scripture +uses figurative language and describes how God's wrath is +kindled against the wrongdoing of the people, and how fire +blazes forth from His nostrils to consume them in His anger. +The nearer man stands to nature, the more tempestuous are +the outbursts of his passion, and the more violent is the reaction +of his repentance. Yet this very reaction impresses him as +though wrought from outside or above by the offended Deity. +Thus the divine wrath becomes a means of moral education, +exactly as the parents' indignation at the child's offenses is +part of his training in morality. +</p> + +<p> +2. Thus the first manifestation of God's holiness is His +indignation at falsehood and violence, His hatred of evil and +wrongdoing. The longer men persist in sin, the more does He +manifest Himself as <q>the angry God,</q> as a <q>consuming fire</q> +which destroys evil with holy zeal.<note place='foot'>Comp. Dillmann, +l. c., 258 f.; J. E., art. <q>Anger.</q></note> The husbandman cannot +<pb n='108'/><anchor id='Pg108'/> +expect the good harvest until he has weeded out the tares from +the field; so God, in educating man, begins by purging the +soul from all its evil inclinations, and this zeal is all the more +unsparing as the good is finally to triumph in His eternal plan +of universal salvation. We must bear in mind that Judaism +does not personify evil as a power hostile to God, hence the +whole problem is only one of purifying the human soul. Before +the sun of God's grace and mercy is to shine, bearing life +and healing for all humanity, His wrath and punitive justice +must ever burst forth to cleanse the world of its sin. For +as long as evil continues unchecked, so long cannot the +divine holiness pour forth its all-forbearing goodness and +love. +</p> + +<p> +3. On this account the first revelation of God on Sinai +was as <q>a jealous God, who visiteth the sins of the +fathers upon the children and the children's children until +the third and fourth generation.</q> So the prophets, from +Moses to Malachi, speak ever of God's anger, which comes +with the fury of nature's unchained forces, to terrify and overwhelm +all living beings.<note place='foot'>Ex. XX, 5; Isa. XXX, 27 f.; +Nahum I, 5 f.</note> Thus Scripture considers all the +great catastrophes of the hoary past,—flood, earthquakes, +and the rain of fire and brimstone that destroys cities—as +judgments of the divine anger on sinful generations. Wickedness +in general causes His displeasure, but His wrath is provoked +especially by violations of the social order, by desecrations +of His sanctuary, or attacks on His covenant, and His +anger is kindled for the poor and helpless, when they are +oppressed and deprived of their rights.<note place='foot'>Ex. XXII, 23; +Num. XVII, 10 f.; XXV, 3; Deut. XXIX, 19; XXXII, +21; Isa. IX, 16.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. Thus the divine holiness was felt more and more as a +moral force, and that which appeared in pre-prophetic times +to be an elemental power of the celestial ire became a refining +<pb n='109'/><anchor id='Pg109'/> +flame, purging men of dross as in a crucible. <q>I will not execute +the fierceness of Mine anger,</q> says the prophet, <q>for I +am God and not man, the Holy One in the midst of thee, and +I will not come in fury.</q><note place='foot'>Hosea XI, 9.</note> +So sings the Psalmist, <q>His anger is but for +a moment; His favor for a life-time.</q><note place='foot'>Psalm XXX.</note> In the same +spirit the rabbis interpreted the verse of the Decalogue, <q>The +sin of the fathers is visited upon the children and children's children +only if they continue to act as their fathers did, and are +themselves haters of God.</q><note place='foot'>Targum to Ex. XX, 3; Sanh. 27 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The fact is that Israel in Canaan had become addicted to +all the vices of idolatry, and if they were to be trained to moral +purity and to loyalty to the God of the Covenant, they must +be taught fear and awe before the flame of the divine wrath. +Only after that could the prophet address himself to the conscience +of the individual, saying: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?</q></l> +<l>Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?</l> +<l>He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly;</l> +<l>He that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from +holding of bribes,</l> +<l>That stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes +from looking upon evil;</l> +<l>He shall dwell on high; his place of defense shall be the munitions of +rocks;</l> +<l>His bread shall be given, his water shall be sure.</l> +<l>Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty; they shall behold a land +<q rend='post'>stretching afar.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +XXXIII, 14-17.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +Here we behold the fiery element of the divine holiness +partly depicted as a reality and partly spiritualized. The +last of the prophets compares the divine wrath to a melting +furnace, which on the Day of Judgment is to consume evildoers +as stubble, while to those who fear the Lord He +<pb n='110'/><anchor id='Pg110'/> +shall appear as the sun of righteousness with healing on +its wings.<note place='foot'>Mal. III, 2, 19 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. The idea as expressed by the prophets, then, was that +God's anger will visit the wicked, and particularly the ungodly +nations of heathendom, and that He shall judge all creatures in +fire.<note place='foot'>Deut. XXXII, 35; comp. Sifre, 325; +Geiger: <hi rend='italic'>Urschrift</hi>, 247, regarding +Samaritan text. Zeph. I, 15; Isa. LXVI, 15-16.</note> +This was significantly altered under Persian influence, +when the Jew began to regard the world to come as promising +to the righteous greater bliss than the present one. Then the +day of divine wrath meant doom eternal for evil-doers, who +were to fall into the fiery depths of Gehenna, <q>their worm is +never to die and their fire never to be quenched.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +XVLI, 24.</note> This +became the prevailing view of the rabbis, of the Apocalyptics +and also of the New Testament and the Church literature.<note place='foot'>See J. E., +art. <q>Gehenna</q>; Mid. Teh. to Ps. LXXVI, 11, and LXXIX; +Ned. 32 a; Taan. 9 b; Yer. Taan. II, 65 b; Ab. Zar. 4 a and b; 18 b; +Ber. 7 a; Shab. 118 a; Sanh. 110 b; Gen. R. VI, 9; XXVI, 11, et al.; comp. +Romans II, 5; Eph. V, 6; I Thess. I, 10.</note> +The Jewish propaganda in the Hellenistic literature, however, +combined the fire of Gehenna with the Stoic, or pagan, view +of a general world-conflagration, and announced a general +doomsday for the heathen world, unless they be converted to +the belief in Israel's one and holy God, and ceased violating the +fundamental (Noachian) laws of humanity.<note place='foot'>Sibyll. II, +170, 285; III, 541, 556 f., 672-697, 760, 810; Enoch XCI, 7-9.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. A higher view of the punitive anger of God is taken by +Beruriah, the noble wife of R. Meir,<note place='foot'>Ber. 10 a; +Midr. Teh. to Ps. CIV, 35.</note>—if, indeed, the wife of +the saintly Abba Helkiah did not precede her<note place='foot'>Tan. +23 b.</note>—in suggesting +a different reading of the Biblical text, as to make it offer +the lesson: <q>not the sinners shall perish from the earth, but +the sins.</q> From a more philosophical viewpoint both Juda ha +Levi and Maimonides hold that the anger which we ascribe to +<pb n='111'/><anchor id='Pg111'/> +God is only the transference of the anger which we actually +feel at the sight of evildoing. Similarly, when we speak of the +consuming fire of hell, we depict the effect which the fear of +God must have on our inner life, until the time shall come +when we shun evil as ungodly and love the good because it is +both good and God-like.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cusari</hi> +IV, 5; <hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi> I, 36, and Commentary to Sanh. X, I.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='112'/><anchor id='Pg112'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XVIII. God's Long-suffering and Mercy</head> + +<p> +1. In one of the little known apocryphal writings, the Testament +of Abraham, a beautiful story is told of the patriarch. +Shortly before his death, the archangel Michael drove him +along the sky in the heavenly chariot. Looking down upon +the earth, he saw companies of thieves and murderers, adulterers, +and other evil-doers pursuing their nefarious practices, +and in righteous indignation he cried out: <q>Oh would to God +that fire, destruction, and death should instantly befall these +criminals!</q> No sooner had he spoken these words than the +doom he pronounced came upon those wicked men. But +then spoke the Lord God to the heavenly charioteer Michael: +<q>Stop at once, lest My righteous servant Abraham in his just +indignation bring death upon all My creatures, because they +are not as righteous as he. He has not learned to restrain his +anger.</q><note place='foot'>Testament of Abraham, A, X.</note> +Thus, indeed, the wrath kindled at the sight of +wrongdoing would consume the sinner at once, were it not +for another quality in God, called in Scripture <emph>long-suffering</emph>. +By this He restrains His anger and gives the sinner time to +improve his ways. Though every wicked deed provokes +Him to immediate punishment, yet He shows compassion +upon the feeble mortal. <q>Even in wrath He remembereth +compassion.</q><note place='foot'>Hab. III, 2.</note> +<q>He hath no delight in the death of the sinner, +but that he shall return from his ways and live.</q><note place='foot'>Ezek. XVIII, +23, 32; XXXIII, 11.</note> The divine +holiness does not merely overwhelm and consume; its essential +<pb n='113'/><anchor id='Pg113'/> +aim is the elevation of man, the effort to endow him with a +higher life. +</p> + +<p> +2. It is perfectly true that a note of rigor and of profound +earnestness runs through the pages of Holy Writ. The +prophets, law-givers, and psalmists speak incessantly of how +guilt brings doom upon the lands and nations. As the father +who is solicitous of the honor of his household punishes unrelentingly +every violation of morality within it, so the Holy One +of Israel watches zealously over His people's loyalty to His +covenant. His glorious name, His holy majesty cannot be +violated with immunity from His dreaded wrath. There is +nothing of the joyous abandon which was predominant in +the Greek nature and in the Olympian gods. The ideal of +holiness was presented by the God of Israel, and all the doings +of men appeared faulty beside it. +</p> + +<p> +But its power of molding character is shown by Judaism at +this very point, in that it does not stop at the condemnation of +the sinner. It holds forth the promise of God's forbearance to +man in his shortcomings, due to His compassion on the weakness +of flesh and blood. He waits for man, erring and stumbling, +until by striving and struggling he shall attain a higher +state of purity. This is the bright, uplifting side of the Jewish +idea of the divine holiness. In this is the innermost nature +of God disclosed. In fear and awe of Him who is enthroned +on high, <q>before whom even the angels are not pure,</q> man, +conscious of his sinfulness, sinks trembling into the dust before +the Judge of the whole earth. But the grace and mercy of the +long-suffering Ruler lift him up and imbue him with courage +and strength to acquire a new life and new energy. Thus the +oppressive burden of guilt is transformed into an uplifting +power through the influence of the holy God. +</p> + +<p> +3. The predominance in God of mildness and mercy over +punitive anger is expressed most strikingly in the revelation +to Moses, when he had entreated God to let him see His ways. +<pb n='114'/><anchor id='Pg114'/> +The people had provoked God's anger by their faithlessness +in the worship of the golden calf, and He had threatened to +consume them, when Moses interceded in their behalf. Then +the Lord passed by him, and proclaimed: <q>The Lord, the +Lord, God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant +in goodness and truth, keeping mercy unto the thousandth +generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and +that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of +the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children, +unto the third and unto the fourth generation.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. +XXXII-XXXIV, 7. Comp. Num. XIV, 18.</note> Such a +passage shows clearly the progress in the knowledge of God's +nature. For Abraham and the traditions of the patriarchs +God was the righteous Judge, punishing the transgressors. +He is represented in the same way in the Decalogue on +Sinai.<note place='foot'>Gen. XIX, 1-28; Ex. XX, 5-6.</note> +Was this to be the final word? Was Israel chosen by God as +His covenant people, only to encounter the full measure of His +just but relentless anger and to be consumed at once for the +violation of this covenant? Therefore Moses wrestled with +his God. Filled with compassionate love for his people, he is +willing to offer his life as their ransom. And should God himself +lack this fullness of love and pity, of which even a human +being is capable? Then, as from a dark cloud, there flashed +suddenly upon him the light of a new revelation; he became +aware of the higher truth, that above the austerity of God's +avenging anger prevails the tender forgiveness of His mercy; +that beyond the consuming zeal of His punitive justice shines +the sun-like splendor of His grace and love. The rabbis find +the expression of mercy especially in the name JHVH (<hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi> +<q>the One who shall ever be</q>) which is significantly placed +here at the head of the divine attributes. Indeed, only He +who is the same from everlasting to everlasting, and to whom +to-morrow is like yesterday, can show forbearance to erring +<pb n='115'/><anchor id='Pg115'/> +man, because in whatsoever he has failed yesterday he may +make good to-morrow. +</p> + +<p> +4. Like Moses, the master of the prophets, so the prophet +Hosea also learned in hard spiritual struggle to know the divine +attribute of mercy and lovingkindness. His own wife had +proved faithless, and had broken the marital covenant; still +his love survived, so that he granted her forgiveness when she +was forsaken, and took her back to his home. Then, in his +distress at the God-forsaken state of Israel through her faithlessness, +he asked himself: <q>Will God reject forever the nation +which He espoused, because it broke the covenant? Will +not He also grant forgiveness and mercy?</q> The divine +answer came to him out of the depths of his own compassionate +soul. Upon the crown of God's majesty which Amos had +beheld all effulgent with justice and righteousness, he placed +the most precious gem, reflecting the highest quality of God—His +gracious and all-forgiving love.<note place='foot'>Hosea I-III; +XI, 1-9; XIV, 5. Comp. Micah XIII, 18; Jer. III, 8-12; +Isa. LIV, 6-8; LVII, 16 f.; Joel II, 13; Jonah IV, 2, 10 f.; Lam. III, 31; +Ps. LXXVIII, 38 et al. See Dillmann, l. c., 263 f.; Davidson +<hi rend='italic'>Theology of O. T.</hi>, 132 f.</note> Whether the priority +in this great truth belongs to Hosea or Moses is a question for +historical Bible research to answer, but it is of no consequence +to Jewish theology. +</p> + +<p> +5. Certainly Scripture represents God too much after +human fashion, when it ascribes to him changes of mood from +anger to compassion, or speaks of His repentance.<note place='foot'>Gen. VI, 6; +I Sam. XV, 11; Jer. XVIII, 7-10; Joel II, 14; Jonah III, +10; IV, 2.</note> But we +must bear in mind that the prophets obtained their insight +into the ways of God by this very process of transferring their +own experience to the Deity. And on the other hand, we are +told that <q>God is not a man that He should lie, neither the +son of man that He should repent.</q><note place='foot'>Num. XXIII, 19; +I Sam. XV, 29; see Targum and commentaries.</note> All these anthropomorphic +<pb n='116'/><anchor id='Pg116'/> +pictures of God were later avoided by the ancient +Biblical translators by means of paraphrase, and by the philosophers +by means of allegory.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. +Anthropomorphism and Allegorical Interpretation.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. According to the Midrashic interpretation of the passage +from the Pentateuch quoted above, Moses desired to ascertain +whether God ruled the world with His justice or with His +mercy, and the answer was: <q>Behold, I shall let My <emph>goodness</emph> +pass before thee. For I owe nothing to any of My creatures, +but My actions are prompted only by My grace and good will, +through which I give them all that they possess.</q><note place='foot'>Tanh. +Waethhanan, ed. Buber, 3.</note> According +to Judaism justice and mercy are intertwined in God's government +of the world; the former is the pillar of the cosmic +structure, and the latter the measuring line. No mortal could +stand before God, were justice the only standard; but we subsist +on His mercy, which lends us the boons of life without our +meriting them. That which is not good in us now is to become +good through our effort toward the best. God's grace underlies +this possibility. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, the divine holiness has two aspects, the overwhelming +wrath of His justice and the uplifting grace of His +long-suffering. Without justice there could be no fear of +God, no moral earnestness; without mercy only condemnation +and perdition would remain. As the rabbis tell us, both +justice and mercy had their share in the creation of man, for +in man both good and bad appear and struggle for supremacy. +All generations need the divine grace that they may have time +and opportunity for improvement.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. VIII, +4-5. See Morris Joseph: <hi rend='italic'>Judaism as Creed and Life</hi>, p. 59, +90-95.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. Thus this conception of grace is far deeper and worthier of +God than is that of Paulinian Christianity; for grace in Paul's +sense is arbitrary in action and dependent upon the acceptance +<pb n='117'/><anchor id='Pg117'/> +of a creed, therefore the very reverse of impartial justice. In +Judaism divine grace is not offered as a bait to make men +believe, but as an incentive to moral improvement. The God +of holiness, who inflicts wounds upon the guilty soul by bitter +remorse, offers also healing through His compassion. Justice +and mercy are not two separate powers or persons in the +Deity, as with the doctrine of the Church; they are the two +sides of the same divine power. <q>I am the Lord before sin +was committed, and I am the Lord after sin is committed</q>—so +the rabbis explain the repetition of the name JHVH in the +revelation to Moses.<note place='foot'>R. h. Sh. 17 b; +compare, J. Davidson, 134; Koeberle: <hi rend='italic'>Suende und +Gnade</hi>, 1905, p. 625, 634 f.; but p. 658, 614, are misleading; Weber, l. c., 154, +260, 303 f., altogether misrepresents the Jewish doctrine of grace.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='118'/><anchor id='Pg118'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XIX. God's Justice</head> + +<p> +1. The unshakable faith of the Jewish people was ever sustained +by the consciousness that its God is a God of justice. +The conviction that He will not suffer wrong to go unpunished +was read into all the stories of the hoary past. The Babylonian +form of these legends in common with all ancient folk-lore +ascribes human calamity to blind fate or to the caprice of the +gods, but the Biblical narratives assume that evil does not +befall men undeserved, and therefore always ascribe ruin or +death to human transgression. So the Jewish genius beheld +in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah a divine judgment +upon the depraved inhabitants, and derived from it a lesson +for the household of Abraham that they should <q>keep the way +of the Lord to do righteousness and justice.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +XVIII, 19.</note> The fundamental +principle of Judaism throughout the ages has been the +teaching of the patriarch that <q>the Judge of all the earth +cannot act unjustly,</q><note place='foot'>Gen. XVIII, +25.</note> even though the varying events of +history force the problem of justice upon the attention of +Jeremiah,<note place='foot'>Jer. XII, 1.</note> +the Psalmists,<note place='foot'>Ps. LXXIII, 12.</note> +the author of the book of Job,<note place='foot'>Job X, 22 f.</note> and +the Talmudical sages.<note place='foot'>Yer. Hag. II, 1; +Elisha ben Abuyah.</note> <q>Righteousness and justice are the +foundations of Thy throne</q><note place='foot'>Ps. LXXXIX, +15.</note>—this is the sum and substance +of the religious experience of Israel. At the same time +man realizes how far from his grasp is the divine justice: +<pb n='119'/><anchor id='Pg119'/> +<q>Thy righteousness is like the mighty mountains; Thy judgments +are like the great deep.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XXXVI, 7; +see Davidson, l. c., 143 f.; J. E., art. Justice; Hamburger: +<hi rend='italic'>Realencyclopaedie</hi>, art. Gerechtigkeit; +Dillmann, l. c., 270 f.; Strauss, l. c., 596-604. +Bousset, 437 f., is misleading.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. The Master-builder of the moral world made justice the +supporting pillar of the entire creation. <q>He is The Rock, +His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness +and without iniquity, just and right is He.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. +XXXII, 4.</note> There +can be no moral world order without a retributive justice, +which leaves no infringement of right unpunished, just as no +social order can exist without laws to protect the weak and to +enforce general respect. The God of Judaism rules over mankind +as Guardian and Vindicator of justice; no wrong escapes +His scrutinizing gaze. This fundamental doctrine invested +history, of both the individual and the nation, with a moral +significance beyond that of any other religious or ethical +system. +</p> + +<p> +Whatever practice or sense of justice may exist among the +rest of mankind, it is at best a glimpse of that divine righteousness +which leads us on and becomes a mighty force compelling +us, not only to avoid wrongdoing, but to combat it with all the +passion of an indignant soul and eradicate it wherever possible. +Though in our daily experience justice may be sadly +lacking, we still cling to the moral axiom that God will lead +the right to victory and will hurl iniquity into the abyss. +As the sages remark in the Midrash: <q>How could short-sighted +and short-lived man venture to assert, <q>All His ways are just,</q> +were it not for the divine revelation by which the eyes of Moses +were opened, so that he could gaze into the very depths of +life?</q><note place='foot'>Tanh., Jithro 5.</note> +That is, the idea of divine justice is revealed, not +in the world as it is, but in the world as it should be, the ideal +cosmos which lives in the spirit. +</p> + +<pb n='120'/><anchor id='Pg120'/> + +<p> +3. It cannot be denied that justice is recognized as a binding +force even by peoples on a low cultural plane, and the Deity is +generally regarded as the guardian of justice, exactly as in +Judaism. This fact is shown by the use of the oath in connection +with judicial procedure among many nations. Both +Roman jurisprudence and Greek ethics declare justice to be +the foundation of the social life. Nevertheless the Jewish +ideal of justice cannot be identified with that of the law and the +courts. The law is part of the social system of the State, by +which the relations of individuals are determined and upheld. +The maintenance of this social order, of the +<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>status quo</foreign>, is +considered justice by the law, whatever injustice to individuals +may result. But the Jewish idea of justice is not reactionary; +it owes to the prophets its position as the dominating principle +of the world, the peculiar essence of God, and therefore the +ultimate ideal of human life. They fought for right with an +insistence which vindicated its moral significance forever, and +in scathing words of indignation which still burn in the soul +they denounced oppression wherever it appeared. The crimes +of the mighty against the weak, they held, could not be atoned +for by the outward forms of piety. Right and justice are not +simply matters for the State and the social order, but belong +to God, who defends the cause of the helpless and the homeless, +<q>who executes the judgment of the fatherless and the widow,</q> +<q>who regardeth not persons, nor taketh bribes.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. +X, 17-18.</note> Iniquity is hateful to Him; it cannot be covered up by pious acts, nor +be justified by good ends. <q>Justice is God's.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. I, 17.</note> +Thus every violation of justice, whether from sordid self-seeking or from +tender compassion, is a violation of God's cause; and every +vindication of justice, every strengthening of the power of +right in society, is a triumph of God. +</p> + +<p> +4. Accordingly, the highest principle of ethics in Judaism, +the cardinal point in the government of the world, is not love, +<pb n='121'/><anchor id='Pg121'/> +but <emph>justice</emph>. Love has the tendency to undermine the right +and to effeminize society. Justice, on the other hand, develops +the moral capacity of every man; it aims not merely to avoid +wrong, but to promote and develop the right for the sake of +the perfect state of morality. True justice cannot remain a +passive onlooker when the right or liberty of any human being +is curtailed, but strains every effort to prevent violence and +oppression. It battles for the right, until it has triumphed +over every injustice. This practical conception of right can be +traced through all Jewish literature and doctrine; through +the laws of Moses, to whom is ascribed the maxim: <q>Let the +right have its way, though it bore holes through the +rock</q>,<note place='foot'>Yeb. 92 a; Yer. Sanh. I, 18 b.</note> +through the flaming words of the prophets;<note place='foot'>Amos V, 24; +Isa. I, 17, 28; XXVIII, 17; LIV, 14.</note> through the +Psalmists, who spoke such words as these: <q>Thou art not a +God who hath pleasure in wickedness; evil shall not sojourn +with Thee. The arrogant shall not stand in Thy sight; +Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. V, 5-6.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Nor does justice stop with the prohibition of evil. The +very arm that strikes down the presumptuous transgressor +turns to lift up the meek and endow him with strength. Justice +becomes a positive power for the right; it becomes +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zedakah</foreign>, +righteousness or true benevolence, and aims to readjust +the inequalities of life by kindness and love. It engenders +that deeper sense of justice which claims the right of the +weak to protection by the arm of the strong. +</p> + +<p> +5. Hence comes the truth of Matthew Arnold's striking +summary of Israel's Law and Prophets in his <q>Literature and +Dogma,</q> as <q>The Power, not ourselves, that maketh for +righteousness.</q> Still, when we trace the development of this +central thought in the soul of the Jewish people, we find that it +arose from a peculiar mythological conception. The God of +Sinai had manifested Himself in the devastating elements of +<pb n='122'/><anchor id='Pg122'/> +nature—fire, storm, and hail; later, the prophetic genius of +Israel saw Him as a moral power who destroyed wickedness by +these very phenomena in order that right should prevail. At +first the covenant-God of Israel hurls the plagues of heaven +upon the hostile Egyptians and Canaanites, the oppressors of +His people. Afterward the great prophets speak of the Day of +JHVH which would come at the end of days, when God will +execute His judgment upon the heathen nations by pouring +forth all the terrors of nature upon them. The natural forces +of destruction are utilized by the Ruler of heaven as means of +moral purification. <q>For by fire will the Lord +contend.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LXVI, 16.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In this process the sense of right became progressively refined, +so that God was made the Defender of the cause of the +oppressed, and the holiest of duties became the protection of +the forsaken and unfortunate. Justice and right were thus +lifted out of the civil or forensic sphere into that of divine +holiness, and the struggle for the down-trodden became an +imperative duty. Judaism finds its strength in the oft-repeated +doctrine that the moral welfare of the world rests +upon justice. <q>The King's strength is that he loveth justice,</q> +says the Psalmist, and commenting upon this the Midrash +says, <q>Not might, but right forms the foundation of the world's +peace.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XCIX, 4; Tanh. Mishpatim 1.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. Social life, therefore, must be built upon the firm foundation +of justice, the full recognition of the rights of all individuals +and all classes. It can be based neither upon the formal +administration of law nor upon the elastic principle of love, +which too often tolerates, or even approves certain types of +injustice. Judaism has been working through the centuries +to realize the ideal of justice to all mankind; therefore the Jew +has suffered and waited for the ultimate triumph of the God of +justice. God's kingdom of justice is to be established, not in +a world to come, but in the world that now is, in the life of +<pb n='123'/><anchor id='Pg123'/> +men and nations. As the German poet has it, <q>Die Weltgeschichte +ist das Weltgericht</q> (the history of the world is the +world's tribunal of justice). +</p> + +<p> +7. The recognition of God as the righteous Ruler implies a +dominion of absolute justice which allows no wrongdoing to +remain unpunished and no meritorious act to remain unrewarded. +The moral and intellectual maturity of the people, +however, must determine how they conceive retribution in the +divine judgment. Under the simple conditions of patriarchal +life, when common experience seemed to be in harmony with +the demands of divine justice, when the evil-doer seemed to +meet his fate and the worthy man to enjoy his merited prosperity, +reward and punishment could well be expressed by +the Bible in terms of national prosperity and calamity. The +prophets, impressed by the political and moral decline of +their era, announced for both Israel and the other nations a +day of judgment to come, when God will manifest Himself as +the righteous Ruler of the world. In fact, those great +preachers of righteousness announced for all time the truth of a +<emph>moral government of the world</emph>, with terror for the malefactors +and the assurance of peace and salvation for the righteous. +<q>He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples +with equity</q> becomes a song of joyous confidence and hope +on the lips of the Psalmist.<note place='foot'>Ps. XCVI, 13; +XCVIII, 9.</note> This final triumph of justice does +not depend, as Christian theologians assert, on the mere outward +conformity of Israel to the law.<note place='foot'>See Bousset, +l. c., 357-366; Weber, l. c., 259-279, and comp. Suk. 30 a, +where it is stated, referring to Isa. LXI, 8, that <q>good deeds can never justify +evil acts.</q></note> On the contrary, it +offers to the innocent sufferer the hope that <q>his right shall +break forth as light,</q> while <q>the wicked shall be put to silence +in darkness.</q><note place='foot'>Hosea VI, 6; Ps. XXXVII, 6; +I Sam. II, 9.</note> We must admit, indeed, that the Biblical +idea of retribution still has too much of the earthly flavor, and +<pb n='124'/><anchor id='Pg124'/> +often lacks true spirituality. The explanation of this lies in +the desire of the expounders of Judaism that <emph>this</emph> world should +be regarded as the battle-ground between the good and the +bad, that the victory of the good is to be decided <emph>here</emph>, and that +the idea of justice should not assume the character of other-worldliness. +</p> + +<p> +8. It is true that neither the prophets, such as Jeremiah, +nor the sages, such as the authors of Job and Koheleth, actually +solved the great enigma which has baffled all nations and ages, +the adjustment of merit and destiny by divine righteousness. +Yet even a doubter like Job does not despair of his own sense +of justice, and wrestles with his God in the effort to obtain a +deeper insight. Still the great mass of people are not satisfied +with an unfulfilled yearning and seeking. The various religions +have gradually transferred the final adjustment of merit +and destiny to the hereafter; the rewards and punishments +awaiting man after death have been depicted glaringly in +colors taken from this earthly life. It is not surprising that +Judaism was influenced by this almost universal view. The +mechanical form of the principle of justice demands that <q>with +the same measure one metes out, it shall be meted out to +him,</q><note place='foot'>Sota I, 7-8; Tos. Sota III; Mek. Shirah 4; B. Wisdom XV, 3; +XIX, 17 Jubilees IV, 3, elsewhere, comp. Math. VII, 2, and +parallels.</note> and this could not be found either in human justice +or in human destiny. Therefore the popular mind naturally +turned to the world to come, expecting there that just retribution +which is lacking on earth. +</p> + +<p> +Only superior minds could ascend to that higher ethical +conception where compensation is no longer expected, but +man seeks the good and happiness of others and finds therein +his highest satisfaction. As Ben Azzai expresses it, <q>The +reward of virtue is virtue, and the punishment of sin is +sin.</q><note place='foot'>Aboth IV, 2.</note> +At this point justice merges into divine holiness. +</p> + +<pb n='125'/><anchor id='Pg125'/> + +<p> +9. The idea of divine justice exerted its uplifting force in +one more way in Judaism. The recognition of God as the +righteous Judge of the world—<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zidduk ha +Din</foreign><note place='foot'>See Levy, W. B.: +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zidduk</foreign>; +comp. Ex. IX, 27; Lam. I, 18; Neh. IX, 33.</note>—is to bring +consolation and endurance to the afflicted, and to remove +from their hearts the bitter sting of despair and doubt. The +rabbis called God <q>the Righteous One of the universe,</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +R. XLIX, 19; Yoma 37 a.</note> as if +to indicate that God himself is meant by the Scriptural verse, +<q>The righteous is an everlasting foundation of the world.</q><note place='foot'>Prov. +X, 25.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Far remote from Judaism, however, is the doctrine that God +would consign an otherwise righteous man to eternal doom, +because he belongs to another creed or another race than that +of the Jew. Wherever the heathens are spoken of as condemned +at the last judgment, the presumption based upon +centuries of sad experience was that their lives were full of +injustice and wickedness. Indeed, milder teachers, whose +view became the accepted one, maintained that truly righteous +men are found among the heathen, who have therefore as +much claim upon eternal salvation as the pious ones of +Israel.<note place='foot'>See Tos. Sanh. XIII, 2; Sanh. 105 a; +Yalkut Isaiah 296; Crescas: <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Or +Adonai</foreign>, III, 44.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='126'/><anchor id='Pg126'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XX. God's Love and Compassion</head> + +<p> +1. As justice forms the basis of human morality, with kindness +and benevolence as milder elements to mitigate its sternness, +so, according to the Jewish view, mercy and love represent +the milder side of God, but by no means a higher +attribute counteracting His justice. Love can supplement justice, +but cannot replace it. The sages say:<note place='foot'>Gen. R. +VIII, 4-5; XII, 15; Midr. Teh. to Ps. LXXXIX, 2; comp. +Ben Sira, XVIII, 11; Testaments of XII Patr.: Zebulon 9; Ap. Baruch XLVIII, +14; IV Esdras VIII, 31; Psalms of Solomon IX, 7; Prayer of Manasseh, 8, +13.</note> <q>When the Creator +saw that man could not endure, if measured by the standard +of strict justice, He joined His attribute of mercy to that of +justice, and created man by the combined principle of both.</q> +The divine compassion with human frailty, felt by both Moses +and Hosea, manifests itself in God's mercy. Were it not for +the weakness of the flesh, justice would have sufficed. But +the divine plan of salvation demands redeeming love which +wins humanity step by step for higher moral ends. The educational +value of this love lies in the fact that it is a gift of grace, +bestowed on man by the fatherly love of God to ward off the +severity of full retribution. His pardon must conduce to a +deeper moral earnestness.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. +<q>Love.</q> Both Weber, l. c., 57 f. and Bousset, l. c., 443 f. +show Christian bias.</note> <q>For with Thee there is forgiveness +that Thou mayest be feared.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. CXXX, +4.</note> R. Akiba says: <q>The +world is judged by the divine attribute of goodness.</q><note place='foot'>Aboth +III, 19; comp. B. Wisdom XI, 23, 26; XII, 16, 18; Ben Sira, +II, 18.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='127'/><anchor id='Pg127'/> + +<p> +2. As a matter of course, in the Biblical view God's mercy was +realized at first only with regard to Israel and was afterward +extended gradually to humanity at large. The generation of +the flood and the inhabitants of Sodom perished on account +of their guilt, and only the righteous were saved. This attitude +holds throughout the Bible until the late book of Jonah, with +its lesson of God's forgiveness even for the heathen city of +Nineveh after due repentance. In the later Psalms the divine +attributes of mercy are expanded and applied to all the creatures +of God.<note place='foot'>Ps. CXLIV, 8-9; comp. +Ben Sira, XVIII, 13.</note> According to the school of Hillel, whenever +the good and evil actions of any man are found equal in the +scales of justice, God inclines the balances toward the side of +mercy.<note place='foot'>Tos. Sanh. XIII, 3.</note> +Nay more, in the words of Samuel, the Babylonian +teacher, God judges the nations by the noblest types they +produce.<note place='foot'>Yer. R. h. Sh. I, 57 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The ruling Sadducean priesthood insisted on the rigid +enforcement of the law. The party of the pious, the +<foreign rend='italic'>Hasidim</foreign>, +however,—according to the liturgy, the apocryphal and the +rabbinical literature,—appealed to the mercy of God in song +and prayer, acknowledging their failings in humility, and made +kindness and love their special objects in life. Therefore with +their ascendancy the divine attributes of mercy and compassion +were accentuated. God himself, we are told, was +heard praying: <q>Oh that My attribute of mercy may prevail +over My attribute of justice, so that grace alone may be +bestowed upon My children on earth.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 7 a.</note> And the second +word of the Decalogue was so interpreted that God's mercy—which +is said to extend <q>to the thousandth generation</q>—is +five hundred times as powerful as His punitive justice,—which +is applied <q>to the third and fourth generation.</q><note place='foot'>Tos. +Sota IV, 1, with reference to Ex. XX, 5-6. The plural, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>laalafim</foreign>, is +taken to mean <emph>two thousand</emph>.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='128'/><anchor id='Pg128'/> + +<p> +3. Divine mercy shows itself in the law, where compassion +is enjoined on all suffering creatures. Profound sympathy +with the oppressed is echoed in the ancient law of the poor +who had to give up his garment as a pledge: <q>When he crieth +unto Me, I shall hear, for I am gracious.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. +XXII, 26; comp. 21, 23.</note> In the old Babylonian +code, might was the arbiter of right,<note place='foot'>See +Harper: <hi rend='italic'>Code of Hammurabi</hi>, 1900; Oettli: <hi rend='italic'>D. +Gesetz Hammurabis und d. Thora Israels</hi>, 1903; Cohn: <hi rend='italic'>D. Gesetz +Hammurabis</hi>, Zürich, 1903; Grimm: <hi rend='italic'>D. Gesetz Chammurabis und +Moses</hi>, Cologne, 1903. Also M. Jastrow, +<hi rend='italic'>Hebrew and Babylonian Traditions</hi>, p. 255-319.</note> but the unique +genius of the Jew is shown in adapting this same legal material +to its impulse of compassion. The cry of the innocent sufferer, +of the forsaken and fatherless, rises up to God's throne and +secures there his right against the oppressor. Thus in the +Mosaic law and throughout Jewish literature God calls himself +<q>the Judge of the widow,</q> <q>the Father of the +fatherless,</q><note place='foot'>Deut. X, 18; Ps. LXXIII.</note> +<q>a Stronghold to the needy.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XXV, +4.</note> He calls the poor, <q>My +people,</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XXII, 24.</note> +and, as the rabbis say, He loves the persecuted, not +the persecutors.<note place='foot'>Ex. R. XXVII, 5; Eccles. R. to III, 15.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. Even to dumb beasts God extends His mercy. This +Jewish tenderness is an inheritance from the shepherd life of +the patriarchs, who were eager to quench the thirst of the +animals in their care before they thought of their own +comfort.<note place='foot'>Gen. XXIV, 19.</note> +This sense of sympathy appears in the Biblical precepts +as to the overburdened beast,<note place='foot'>Ex. +XXIII, 5.</note> the ox treading the corn,<note place='foot'>Deut. XXV, 4.</note> +and the mother-beast or mother-bird with her +young,<note place='foot'>Lev. XX, 28; Deut. XXII, 6.</note> as well +as the Talmudic rule first to feed the domestic animals and +then sit down to the meal.<note place='foot'>Git. +62 a, with reference to Deut. XI, 15.</note> This has remained a characteristic +trait of Judaism. Thus, in connection with the verse of the +Psalm, <q>His tender mercies are over all His +works,</q><note place='foot'>Ps. CXLV, 9.</note> it is +related of Rabbi Judah the Saint, the redactor of the Mishnah, +<pb n='129'/><anchor id='Pg129'/> +that he was afflicted with pain for thirteen years, and gave +as reason that he once struck and kicked away a calf which +had run to him moaning for protection; he was finally relieved, +after he had taught his household to have pity even on the +smallest of creatures.<note place='foot'>B. M. +85 a; Yer. Kil. IX, 4.</note> In fact, Rabban Gamaliel, his grandfather, +had taught before him: <q>Whosoever has compassion +on his fellow-creatures, on him God will have +compassion.</q><note place='foot'>Tos. B. K. IX, 30; Sifre, Deut. 96.</note> +The sages often interpret the phrase <q>To walk in the way of +the Lord</q>—that is, <q>As the Holy One, blessed be He, is +merciful, so be ye also merciful.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre, +Deut. § 49; Shab. 133 b; comp. Philo: <hi rend='italic'>De Humanitate.</hi></note> +</p> + +<p> +5. Thus the rabbis came to regard <emph>love</emph> as the innermost +part of God's being. <emph>God loves mankind</emph>, is the highest stage +of consciousness of God, but this can be attained only by the +closest relation of the human soul to the Most High, after +severe trials have softened and humanized the spirit. It is not +accidental that Scripture speaks often of God's goodness, +mercy, and grace, but seldom mentions His love. Possibly +the term <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ahabah</foreign> +was used at first for sensuous love and therefore +was not employed for God so often as the more spiritual +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hesed</foreign>, +which denotes kind and loyal affection.<note place='foot'>See +Concordance to <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ahabah</foreign> and +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hesed</foreign>. Note especially Hos. VI, 6.</note> +However, Hosea used this term for his own love for his faithless wife, and +did not hesitate to apply it also to God's love for His faithless +people, which he terms <q>a love of free will.</q><note place='foot'>Hos. +III, 1; XI, 1, 4; XIV, 5.</note> His example +is followed by Jeremiah, most tender of the prophets, who gave +the classic expression to the everlasting love of God for Israel, +His beloved son.<note place='foot'>Jer. XXXI, 2, +19.</note> This divine love, spiritually understood, +forms the chief topic of the Deuteronomic addresses.<note place='foot'>Deut. +VII, 8; X, 15.</note> In this +book God's love appears as that of a father for his son, who +lavishes gifts upon him, but also chastises him for his own +<pb n='130'/><anchor id='Pg130'/> +good.<note place='foot'>Deut. VIII, 5; see Sifre, Deut. +32.</note> The mind opened more and more to regard the trials +sent by God as means of ennobling the character,<note place='foot'>Prov. +III, 13.</note> and the +men of the Talmudic period often speak of the afflictions of +the saints as <q>visitations of the divine love.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. +5 a; Sifre, l. c.; Mek. Yithro 10.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. The sufferings of Israel in particular were taken to be +trials of the divine love.<note place='foot'>See Mek. +and Sifre, l. c.</note> God's love for Israel, <q>His first-born +son,</q><note place='foot'>Ex. IV, 22.</note> is not partial, but from the outset aims to +train him for his world mission. The Song of Moses speaks of the +love of the Father for His son <q>whom He found in the +wilderness</q>;<note place='foot'>Deut. XXXII, 6, 10 f.</note> +and this is requited by the bridal love of Israel with +which the people <q>went after God in the wilderness.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. +II, 2.</note> It is this love of God, according to Akiba's interpretation of the +Song of Songs, which <q>all the waters could not quench,</q> <q>a +love as strong as death.</q><note place='foot'>Song of Songs, R. to III, +7. Comp. Davidson, l. c., 235-287.</note> This love raised up a nation of +martyrs without parallel in history, although the followers of +the so-called Religion of Love fail to give it the credit it +deserves and seem to regard it as a kind of hatred for the rest +of mankind.<note place='foot'>See Schreiner, l. c., 103-112; Perles: +<hi rend='italic'>Bousset</hi>, 58 f.</note> Whenever the paternal love of God is truly +felt and understood it must include all classes and all souls of +men who enter into the relation of children to God. Wherever +emphasis is laid upon the special love for Israel, it is based upon +the love with which the chosen people cling to the Torah, +the word of God, upon the devotion with which they surrender +their lives in His cause.<note place='foot'>Pesik, 16-17; Mek. Yithro 6, at end.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. Still, Judaism does not proclaim love, absolute and unrestricted, +as the divine principle of life. That is left to the +Church, whose history almost to this day records ever so many +acts of lovelessness. Love is unworthy of God, unless it is +guided by justice. Love of good must be accompanied by +<pb n='131'/><anchor id='Pg131'/> +hate of evil, or else it lacks the educative power which alone +makes it beneficial to man. +</p> + +<p> +God's love manifests itself in human life as an educative +power. R. Akiba says that it extends to all created in God's +image, although the knowledge of it was vouchsafed to Israel +alone.<note place='foot'>Aboth III, 14.</note> +This universal love of God is a doctrine of the apocryphal +literature as well. <q>Thou hast mercy upon all ... for +Thou lovest all things that are, and hatest nothing which +Thou hast made.... But Thou sparest all, for they are Thine, +O Lord, Lover of souls,</q> says the Book of +Wisdom;<note place='foot'>XI, 23-26.</note> and when +Ezra the Seer laments the calamity that has befallen the people, +God replies, <q>Thinkest thou that thou lovest My creatures +more than I?</q><note place='foot'>IV Esdra VIII, 47.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. Among the mystics divine love was declared to be the +highest creative principle. They referred the words of the +Song of Songs,—<q>The midst thereof is paved with +love,</q><note place='foot'>III, 10.</note> +to the innermost palace of heaven, where stands the throne of +God.<note place='foot'>Zohar I, 44 b; II, 97 a.</note> +Among the philosophers Crescas considered love the +active cosmic principle rather than intellect, the principle of +Aristotle, because it is love which is the impulse for +creation.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Or Adonai</hi>, +I, 3, 5, and Joel: <hi rend='italic'>Crescas</hi> 36-37.</note> +This conception of divine love received a peculiarly mystic +color from Juda Abravanel, a neo-Platonist of the sixteenth +century, known as Leo Hebraeus. He says: <q>God's love +must needs unfold His perfection and beauty, and reveal itself +in His creatures, and love for these creatures must again elevate +an imperfect world to His own perfection. Thus is engendered +in man that yearning for love with which he endeavors to +emulate the divine perfection.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Dialoghi di +Amore</hi>; see Zimmels: <hi rend='italic'>Leo Hebraeus</hi>, 1886.</note> Both Crescas +and Leo Hebraeus thus gave the keynote for Spinoza's <q>Intellectual +love</q> as the cosmic principle,<note place='foot'>Ethics V, proposition XXXV.</note> +and this has been echoed even +<pb n='132'/><anchor id='Pg132'/> +in such works as Schiller's dithyrambs on <q>Love and Friendship</q> +in his <q>Philosophic Letters.</q><note place='foot'><q>The Theosophy +of Julius</q>: <q>God.</q></note> Still this neo-Platonic +view has nothing in common with the theological conception +of love. In Judaism God is conceived as a loving Father, +who purposes to lead man to happiness and salvation. In other +words, the divine love is an essentially moral attribute of God, +and not a metaphysical one. +</p> + +<p> +9. If we wish to speak of a power that permeates the cosmos +and turns the wheel of life, it is far more correct to speak of +God's creative goodness.<note place='foot'><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Middath +tobah.</foreign></note> According to Scripture, each day's +creation bears the divine approval: <q>It is good.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +I, 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 23, 31.</note> Even the +evil which man experiences serves a higher purpose, and that +purpose makes for the good. Misfortune and death, sorrow +and sin, in the great economy of life are all turned into final +good. Accordingly, Judaism recognizes this divine goodness +not only in every enjoyment of nature's gifts and the favors of +fortune, but also in sad and trying experiences, and for all +of these it provides special formulas of benediction.<note place='foot'>Gen. +R. IX, 5, 9; Ber. 60 a; Yer. Ber. IX, 13 c-14 b; Taan. 21 a.</note> The +same divine goodness sends joy and grief, even though shortsighted +man fails to see the majestic Sun of life which shines +in unabated splendor above the clouds. Judaism was optimistic +through all its experiences just because of this implicit +faith in God's goodness. Such faith transforms each woe into +a higher welfare, each curse into actual blessing; it leads men +and nations from oppression to ever greater freedom, from +darkness to ever brighter light, and from error to ever higher +truth and righteousness. Divine love may have pity upon +human weakness, but it is divine goodness that inspires and +quickens human energy. After all, love cannot be the dominant +principle of life. Man cannot love all the time, nor can he +love all the world; his sense of justice demands that he hate +<pb n='133'/><anchor id='Pg133'/> +wickedness and falsehood. We must apply the same criterion +to God. But, on the other hand, man can and should <emph>do good</emph> +and <emph>be good</emph> continually and to all men, even to the most unworthy. +Therefore God becomes the pattern and ideal of an +all-encompassing goodness, which is never exhausted and +never reaches an end. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='134'/><anchor id='Pg134'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXI. God's Truth and Faithfulness</head> + +<p> +1. In the Hebrew language truth and faithfulness are both +derived from the same root; <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>aman</foreign>, +<q>firmness,</q> is the root idea of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>emeth</foreign>, +<q>truth,</q> and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>emunah</foreign>, <q>faithfulness.</q> +Man feels insecurity and uncertainty among the varying impressions +and emotions which affect his will; therefore he turns to the +immovable Rock of life, calls on Him as the Guardian and +Witness of truth, and feels confident that He will vindicate +every promise made in His sight. He is the God by whom +men swear—<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elohe +amen</foreign>;<note place='foot'>Isa. LXV, 16.</note> nay, who swears by Himself, +saying, <q>As true as that I live.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXXII, 40.</note> +He is the supreme Power of life, <q>the God of faithfulness, in whom there +is no iniquity.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXXII, 4.</note> +The heavens testify to His faithfulness; He is the trustworthy +God, whose essence is truth.<note place='foot'>Num. XXIII, 19; +Isa. XL, 8; Jer. X, 10; Ps. XXXI, 6; comp. Dillmann, +l. c. 269 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. Here, too, as with other attributes, the development of +the idea may be traced step by step. At first it refers to the +God of the covenant with Israel, who made a covenant with +the fathers and keeps it with the thousandth generation of their +descendants. He shows His mercy to those who love Him and +keep His commandments. The idea of God's faithfulness to +His covenant is thus extended gradually from the people to the +cosmos, and the heavens are called upon to witness to the faithfulness +of God throughout the realm of life. Thus in both the +<pb n='135'/><anchor id='Pg135'/> +Psalms and the liturgy God is praised as the One who is faithful +in His word as in His work.<note place='foot'>Ps. XXXVI, 6; +LXXXIX, 3, 38; CXLVI, 6; Benediction at seeing the +rainbow, Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerbook</hi>, p. 291.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. From this conception of faithfulness arose two other +ideas which exerted a powerful influence upon the whole +spiritual and intellectual life of the Jew. The God of faithfulness +created a people of faithfulness as His own, and Israel's +God of truth awakened in the nation a passion for truth unrivaled +by any other religious or philosophical system. Like +a silver stream running through a valley, the conviction runs +through the sacred writings and the liturgy that the promise +made of yore to the fathers will be fulfilled to the children. As +each past deliverance from distress was considered a verification +of the divine faithfulness, so each hope for the future was +based upon the same attribute. <q>He keepeth His faith also +to those who sleep in the dust.</q> These words of the second +of the Eighteen Benedictions clearly indicate that even the +belief in the hereafter rested upon the same fundamental +belief. +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, the same conception formed the keynote +of the idea of the divine truthfulness. The primitive age knew +nothing of the laws of nature with which we have become +familiar through modern science. But the pious soul trusts +the God of faithfulness, certain that He who has created the +heaven and the earth is true to His own word, and will not +allow them to sink back into chaos. One witness to this is the +rainbow, which He has set up in the sky as a sign of His +covenant.<note place='foot'>Gen. IX, 11.</note> +The sea and the stars also have a boundary +assigned to them which they cannot transgress.<note place='foot'>Ps. +CIV, 9; Job XXXVIII, 11; Jer. XXXI, 34.</note> Thus to the +unsophisticated religious soul, with no knowledge of natural +science, the world is carried by God's <q>everlasting +arms</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXXIII, 27.</note> and +<pb n='136'/><anchor id='Pg136'/> +His faithfulness becomes token and pledge of the immutability +of His will. +</p> + +<p> +4. At this point the intellect grasps an idea of intrinsic and +indestructible truth, which has its beginning and its end in +God, the Only One. <q>The gods of the nations are all vanity +and deceit, the work of men; Israel's God is the God of truth, +the living God and everlasting King.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. X, +10, 15.</note> With this cry has +Judaism challenged the nations of the world since the Babylonian +exile. Its own adherents it charged to ponder upon the +problems of life and the nature of God, until He would appear +before them as the very essence of truth, and all heathenish +survivals would vanish as mist. God is truth, and He desires +naught but truth, therefore hypocrisy is loathsome to him, +even in the service of religion. With this underlying thought +Job, the bold but honest doubter, stands above his friends with +their affected piety. <emph>God is truth</emph>—this confession of faith, +recited each morning and evening by the Jew, gave his mind +the power to soar into the highest realms of thought, and inspired +his soul to offer life and all it holds for his faith. <q>God +is the everlasting truth, the unchangeable Being who ever +remains the same amid the fluctuations and changes of all +other things.</q> This is the fundamental principle upon which +Joseph Ibn Zaddik and Abraham Ibn Daud, the predecessors +of Maimonides, reared their entire philosophical systems, +which were Aristotelian and yet thoroughly +Jewish.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Emuna Rama</hi> 54. See Kaufmann, +l. c., 333 f., 352 f.; comp. Guttmann: +<hi rend='italic'>Religionsphilosophie des Ibn Daud</hi>, 136 f.; Albo II, +27, at the end; Maimonides: <hi rend='italic'>Yesode ha Torah</hi>, I, 3-4; +Hillel of Verona refers even to Aristotle's <q>Metaphysics.</q> +See Kaufmann, l. c., 334, note; Neumark, l. c., and Husik., +l. c. <hi rend='italic'>passim</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Mystic lore, always so fond of the letters of the alphabet +and their hidden meanings, noted that the letters of +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Emeth</foreign>—<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>aleph</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>mem</foreign> and +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>tav</foreign>—are the first, the middle, and the +last letters of the alphabet, and therefore concluded that God made +<pb n='137'/><anchor id='Pg137'/> +truth the beginning, the center, and the end of the world.<note place='foot'>See +Yer. Sanh. I, 18 a.</note> +Josephus also, no doubt in accordance with the same tradition, +declares that God is <q>the beginning, the center, and the end of +all things.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Contra Apionem</hi>, II, 22; +compare J. E., art. <q>Alpha and Omega.</q></note> +A corresponding rabbinical saying is: <q>Truth +is the seal of God.</q><note place='foot'>See Yer. Sanh. I, 18 a.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='138'/><anchor id='Pg138'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_XXII'/> +<head>Chapter XXII. God's Knowledge and Wisdom</head> + +<p> +1. The attempt to enumerate the attributes of God recalls +the story related in the Talmud<note place='foot'>Ber. +33 b.</note> of a disciple who stepped up +to the reader's desk to offer prayer, and began to address the +Deity with an endless list of attributes. When his vocabulary +was almost exhausted, Rabbi Haninah interrupted him with +the question, <q>Hast thou now really finished telling the praise +of God?</q> Mortal man can never know what God really is. +As the poet-philosopher says: <q>Could I ever know Him, I +would be He.</q><note place='foot'>Jedayah ha Penini.</note> +But we want to ascertain what God is <emph>to us</emph>, +and for this very reason we cannot rest with the negative +attitude of Maimonides, who relies on the Psalmist's verse, +<q>Silence is praise to Thee.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. LXV, 2.</note> +We must obtain as clear a conception +of the Deity as we possibly can with our limited powers. +</p> + +<p> +To the divine attributes already mentioned we must add +another which in a sense is the focus of them all. This is the +knowledge and wisdom of God, the omniscience which renders +Him all-knowing and all-wise. Through this all the others +come into self-consciousness. We ascribe wisdom to the man +who sets right aims for his actions and knows the means by +which to attain them, that is, who can control his power and +knowledge by his will and bend them to his purpose. In the +same manner we think of wisdom in view of the marvelous +order, design, and unity which we see in the natural and the +moral world. But this wisdom must be all-encompassing, +comprising time and eternity, directing all the forces and beings +<pb n='139'/><anchor id='Pg139'/> +of the world toward the goal of ideal perfection.<note place='foot'>Jer. +X, 12; Amos IV, 13; Job XXXVIII-XXXIX.</note> It makes no +difference where we find this lesson. The Book of Proverbs +singles out the tiny ant as an example of wondrous +forethought;<note place='foot'>Prov. VI, 6.</note> +the author of Job dwells on the working together of +the powers of earth and heaven to maintain the cosmic +life;<note place='foot'>Job XXXVIII-XXXIX.</note> +modern science, with its deeper insight into nature, enables us +to follow the interaction of the primal chemical and organic +forces, and to follow the course of evolution from star-dust and +cell to the structure of the human eye or the thought-centers +of the brain. But in all these alike our conclusion must be +that of the Psalmist: <q>O Lord, how manifold are Thy works, +in wisdom hast Thou made them all.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. CIV, 24.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. Accordingly, if we are to speak in human terms, we +may consider God's wisdom the element which determines His +various motive-powers,—omniscience, omnipotence, and +goodness,—to tend toward the realization of His cosmic plan. +Or we may call it the active intellect with which God works +as Creator, Ordainer, and Ruler of the universe. The Biblical +account of creation presupposes this wisdom, as it portrays a +logical process, working after a definite plan, proceeding from +simpler to more complex forms and culminating in man. +Biblical history likewise is based upon the principle of a divinely +prearranged plan, which is especially striking in such +stories as that of Joseph.<note place='foot'>Gen. L, 20; +see Dillmann, l. c., 280; Strauss, l. c., 575 f.; Hamburger, l. c., +art. <q>Weisheit Gottes</q>; A. B. Davidson, l. c., 180-182.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. At first the divine wisdom was supposed to rest in part on +specially gifted persons, such as Joseph, Solomon, and Bezalel. +As Scripture has it, <q>The Lord giveth wisdom, out of His +mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +XLI, 38; I Kings III, 12; Ex. XXXV, 31; Prov. II, 6.</note> Later the +obscure destiny of the nation appears as the design of an all-wise +Ruler to the great prophets and especially to Isaiah, the +<pb n='140'/><anchor id='Pg140'/> +high-soaring eagle among the seers of +Israel.<note place='foot'>Isa. XXV, 1; XXVII, 29.</note> With the progressive +expansion of the world before them, the seers and sages saw +a sublime purpose in the history of the nations, and felt more +and more the supreme place of the divine wisdom as a manifestation +of His greatness. Thus the great seer of the Exile never +tires of illumining the world-wide plan of the divine +wisdom.<note place='foot'>Isa. XL-LV.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. A new development ensued under Babylonian and +Persian influence at the time when the monotheism of Israel +became definitely universal. The divine wisdom, creative +and world-sustaining, became the highest of the divine attributes +and was partially hypostatized as an independent cosmic +power. In the twenty-eighth chapter of the Book of Job wisdom +is depicted as a magic being, far remote from all living +beings of earth, beyond the reach of the creatures of the lowest +abyss, who aided the Creator with counsel and knowledge in +measuring and weighing the foundations of the world. The +description seems to be based upon an ancient Babylonian +conception—which has parallels elsewhere—of a divine +Sybil dwelling beneath the ocean in <q>the house of wisdom.</q><note place='foot'>Prov. +IX, 1. Comp. A. Jeremias: <hi rend='italic'>D. A. Test. i. L. d. i. alt. Orients</hi>, 5, +80, 336, 367.</note> +Here, however, the mythological conception is transformed +into a symbolic figure. In the eighth chapter of Proverbs +the description of divine wisdom is more in accordance with +Jewish monotheism; wisdom is <q>the first of God's creatures,</q> +<q>a master-workman</q> who assisted Him in founding heaven +and earth, a helpmate and playmate of God, and at the same +time the instructor of men and counselor of princes, inviting all +to share her precious gifts. This conception is found also in +the apocryphal literature,—in Ben Sira, the book of Enoch, +the Apocalypse of Baruch, and the Hellenistic Book of +Wisdom.<note place='foot'>Ben Sira XXIV, 3-6, 14, 21; Enoch XLII, 1-2; Slavonic Enoch +XXX, 8; Baruch III, 9-IV, 4; comp. Bousset, l. c., 337 f.; J. E., art. Wisdom; +Bentwich: <hi rend='italic'>Philo</hi>, pp. 141-147.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='141'/><anchor id='Pg141'/> + +<p> +From this period two different currents of thought appeared. +The one represented wisdom as an independent being distinct +from God, and this finally became merged, under Platonic influence, +into the views of neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, and the +Christian dogma. The other identified the divine wisdom with +the Torah, and therefore it is the Torah which served God +as counselor and mediator at the Creation and continues as +counselor in the management of the world. This view led +back to strict monotheism, so that the cosmology of the rabbis +spoke alternately of the divine wisdom and the Torah as the +instruments of God at Creation.<note place='foot'>Targ. Ver. +to Gen. I, 1. Gen. R. I. 2, 5. See Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, +127-137.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. The Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages, such as +Saadia, Gabirol, and Jehuda ha Levi, followed the Mohammedan +theologians in enumerating God's wisdom among the attributes +constituting His essence, together with His omnipotence, His +will, and His creative energy. But they would not take wisdom +or any other attribute as a separate being, with an existence +outside of God, which would either condition Him or +admit a division of His nature.<note place='foot'>Kaufmann, +l. c., 16, 107, 113, 163, 325, 418.</note> <q>God himself is wisdom,</q> says +Jehuda ha Levi, referring to the words of Job: <q>He is wise in +heart.</q><note place='foot'>Job IX, 4; <hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, +II, 2.</note> And Ibn Gabirol sings in his <q>Crown of Royalty</q>: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Thou art wise, and the wisdom of Thy fount of life floweth from +Thee;</q></l> +<l>And compared with Thy wisdom man is void of understanding;</l> +<l>Thou art wise, before anything began its existence;</l> +<l>And wisdom has from times of yore been Thy fostered child;</l> +<l>Thou art wise, and out of Thy wisdom didst Thou create the world,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Life the artificer that fashioneth whatsoever delighteth +him.</q><note place='foot'>Sachs, cl, 6, 227.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +</div> + +<pb n='142'/><anchor id='Pg142'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXIII. God's Condescension</head> + +<p> +1. An attribute of great importance for the theological +conception of God, one upon which both Biblical and rabbinical +literature laid especial stress, is His condescension and +humility. The Psalmist says<note place='foot'>Ps. XVIII, +36.</note>: <q>Thy condescension hath +made me great,</q> which is interpreted in the Midrash that +the Deity stoops to man in order to lift him up to Himself. +A familiar saying of R. Johanan is<note place='foot'>Meg. 35 a.</note>: +<q>Wherever Scripture +speaks of the greatness of God, there mention is made also +of His condescension. So when the prophet begins, <q>Thus +saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, +whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place,</q> +he adds the words, <q>With him also that is of a contrite and +humble spirit.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LVII, 15.</note> +Or when the Deuteronomist says: <q>For +the Lord your God, the great God, the mighty and the awful,</q> +he concludes, <q>He doth execute justice for the fatherless and +widow, and loveth the stranger.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. X, +17-18.</note> And again the Psalmist: +<q>Extol Him that rideth upon the skies, whose name is the Lord, +a Father of the fatherless and a Judge of the widows.</q></q><note place='foot'>Ps. +LXVIII, 5-6.</note> <q>Do +you deem it unworthy of God that He should care for the +smallest and most insignificant person or thing in the world's +household?</q> asks Mendelssohn in his <hi rend='italic'>Morgenstunden</hi>. <q>It +certainly does not detract from the dignity of a king to be +seen fondling his child as a loving father,</q> and he quotes +<pb n='143'/><anchor id='Pg143'/> +the verse of the Psalm, <q>Who is like unto the Lord our God, +that is enthroned on high, that looketh down low upon heaven +and upon the earth.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. CXIII, 5-6.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. This truth has a religious depth which no philosophy +can set forth. Only the God of Revelation is near to man +in his frailty and need, ready to hear his sighs, answer his +supplication, count his tears, and relieve his wants when his +own power fails. The philosopher must reject as futile every +attempt to bring the incomprehensible essence of the Deity +within the compass of the human understanding. The religious +consciousness, however, demands that we accentuate +precisely those attributes of God which bring Him nearest +to us. If reason alone would have the decisive voice in this +problem, every manifestation of God to man and every reaching +out of the soul to Him in prayer would be idle fancy and +self-deceit. It is true that the Biblical conception was simple +and child-like enough, representing God as descending from +the heavens to the earth. Still Judaism does not accept +the cold and distant attitude of the philosopher; it teaches +that God as a spiritual power does condescend to man, in +order that man may realize his kinship with the Most High +and rise ever nearer to his Creator. The earth whereon +man dwells and the human heart with its longing for +heaven, are not bereft of God. Wherever man seeks Him, +there He is. +</p> + +<p> +3. Rabbinical Judaism is very far from the attitude assigned +to it by Christian theologians,<note place='foot'>Weber, +l. c., 154.</note> of reducing the Deity to an +empty transcendental abstraction and loosening the bond +which ties the soul to its Maker. On the contrary, it maintains +these very relations with a firmness which betokens +its soundness and its profound psychological truth. In this +spirit a Talmudic master interprets the Deuteronomic verse: +<q>For what great nation is there that hath God so nigh unto +<pb n='144'/><anchor id='Pg144'/> +them, as the Lord our God is whensoever we call upon Him?</q><note place='foot'>Deut. +IV, 7; Yer. Ber. IX, 19 a, where the plural, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Kerobim</foreign>, suggests the +idea, <q>all kinds of nearness.</q></note> +saying that <q>each will realize the nearness of God according +to his own intellectual and emotional disposition, and thus +enter into communion with Him.</q> According to another +Haggadist the verse of the Psalm, <q>The voice of the Lord +resoundeth with power,</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XXIX, 4; +Tanh. Yithro, ed. Buber, 17.</note> teaches how God reveals Himself, +not with His own overwhelming might, but according to each +man's individual power and capacity. The rabbis even make +bold to assert that whenever Israel suffers, God suffers with +him; as it is written, <q>I will be with him in trouble.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +XCI, 15; Isa. LXIII, 9; Sifre Num. 84.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. As a matter of fact, all the names which we apply to +God in speech or in prayer, even the most sublime and holy +ones, are derived from our own sensory experience and cannot +be taken literally. They are used only as vehicles to bring +home to us the idea that God's nearness is our highest good. +Even the material world, which is perceptible to our senses, +must undergo a certain inner transformation before it can be +termed science or philosophy, and becomes the possession of +the mind. It requires still further exertions of the imagination +to bring within our grasp the world of the spirit, and above +all the loftiest of all conceptions, the very being of God. +Yet it is just this Being of all Beings who draws us irresistibly +toward Himself, whose nearness we perceive in the very +depths of our intellectual and emotional life. Our <q>soul +thirsteth after God, the living God,</q> and behold, He is nigh, +He takes possession of us, and we call Him <emph>our</emph> God. +</p> + +<p> +5. The Haggadists expressed this intimate relation of God +to man, and specifically to Israel, by bold and often naïve +metaphors. They ascribe to God special moments for wrath +and for prayer, a secret chamber where he weeps over the +<pb n='145'/><anchor id='Pg145'/> +distress of Israel, a prayer-mantle (tallith) and phylacteries +which He wears like any of the leaders of the community, +and even lustrations which He practices exactly like +mortals.<note place='foot'>Ber. 6 a; 7 a; R. ha Sh. 17 b; Hag. 5 b; Sanh. 39 a. Comp. +Schechter, <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, p. 21-50.</note> +But such fanciful and extravagant conceptions were never +taken seriously by the rabbis, and only partisan and prejudiced +writers, entirely lacking in a sense of humor, could point +to such passages to prove that a theology of the Synagogue +carried out a <q>Judaization of God.</q><note place='foot'>Weber, l. c., 157-160.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='146'/><anchor id='Pg146'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>C. God In Relation To The World</head> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXIV. The World and its Master</head> + +<p> +1. In using the term world or <emph>universe</emph> we include the +totality of all beings at once, and this suggests a stage of +knowledge where polytheism is practically overcome. Among +the Greeks, Pythagoras is said to have been the first to perceive +<q>a beautiful order of things</q> in the world, and therefore +to call it <emph>cosmos</emph>.<note place='foot'>Plutarch: <q>De placitis +philosophiae,</q> II, 1; comp. for the entire chapter +Dillmann, l. c., 284-295; Smend: 1. c., 454 f.; H. Steinthal: <q>Die Idee der +Schöpfung</q> in J. B. z. Jued. Gesch. u. Lit., II, +39-44.</note> Primitive man saw in the world innumerable +forces continually struggling with each other for supremacy. +Without an ordering mind no order, as we conceive +it, can exist. The old Babylonian conception prevalent +throughout antiquity divided the world into three realms, the +celestial, terrestrial, and the nether world, each of which had +its own type of inhabitants and its own ruling divinities. Yet +these various divine powers were at war with each other, and +ultimately they, too, must submit to a blind fate which men +and gods alike could read in the stars or other natural phenomena. +</p> + +<p> +With the first words of the Bible, <q>In the beginning +God created the heavens and the earth,</q> Judaism declared +the world to be a unity and God its Creator and Master. +Heathenism had always beheld in the world certain blind +forces of nature, working without plan or purpose and devoid +<pb n='147'/><anchor id='Pg147'/> +of any moral aims. But Judaism sees in the world the work +of a supreme Intellect who fashioned it according to His will, +and who rules in freedom, wisdom, and goodness. <q>He +spoke, and it was; He commanded, and it stood.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +XXXIII, 9.</note> Nature +exists only by the will of God; His creative +<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>fiat</foreign> called it into +existence, and it ceases to be as soon as it has fulfilled His +plan. +</p> + +<p> +2. That which the scientist terms nature—the cosmic +life in its eternal process of growth and reproduction—is +declared by Judaism to be God's creation. Ancient heathen +conceptions deified nature, indeed, but they knew only a +cosmogony, that is, a process of birth and growth of the world. +In this the gods participate with all other beings, to sink +back again at the close of the drama into fiery chaos,—the +so-called <q>twilight of the gods.</q> Here the deity constitutes +a part of the world, or the world a part of the deity, and +philosophic speculation can at best blend the two into a +pantheistic system which has no place for a self-conscious, +creative mind and will. In fact, the universe appears as an +ever growing and unfolding deity, and the deity as an ever +growing and unfolding universe. Modern science more +properly assumes a self-imposed limitation; it searches for +the laws underlying the action and interaction of natural +forces and elements, thus to explain in a mechanistic way +the origin and development of all things, but it leaves entirely +outside of its domain the whole question of a first cause and a +supreme creative mind. It certainly can pass no opinion as to +whether or not the entire work of creation was accomplished +by the free act of a Creator. Revelation alone can speak with +unfaltering accents: <q>In the beginning God created heaven +and earth.</q> However we may understand, or imagine, the +beginning of the natural process, the formation of matter and +the inception of motion, we see above the confines of space +<pb n='148'/><anchor id='Pg148'/> +and time the everlasting God, the absolutely free Creator of +all things. +</p> + +<p> +3. No definite theological dogma can define the order and +process of the genesis of the world; this is rather a scientific +than a religious question. The Biblical documents themselves +differ widely on this point, whether one compares the stories +in the first two chapters of Genesis, or contrasts both of them +with the poetical descriptions in Job and the +Psalms.<note place='foot'>Job XXXVIII; Ps. CIV.</note> And +these divergent accounts are still less to be reconciled with +the results of natural science. In the old Babylonian cosmography, +on which the Biblical view is based, the earth, +shaped like a disk, was suspended over the waters of the ocean, +while above it was the solid vault of heaven like a ceiling. +In this the stars were fixed like lamps to light the earth, and +hidden chambers to store up the rain. The sciences of astronomy, +physics, and geology have abolished these childlike +conceptions as well as the story of a six-day creation, +where vegetation sprang from the earth even before the sun, +moon, and stars appeared in the firmament. +</p> + +<p> +The fact is that the Biblical account is not intended to +depreciate or supersede the facts established by natural +science, but solely to accentuate those religious truths which +the latter disregards.<note place='foot'>Comp. Albo +I, 12, and Schlesinger's Notes, 625.</note> These may be summed up in the +following three doctrines: +</p> + +<p> +4. First. Nature, with all its immeasurable power and +grandeur, its wondrous beauty and harmony, is not independent, +but is the work, the workshop, and the working +force of the great Master. His spirit alone is the active power; +His will must be carried out. It is true that we cannot conceive +the universe otherwise than as infinite in time and +space, because both time and space are but human modes +of apperception. In fact, we cannot think of a Creator without +<pb n='149'/><anchor id='Pg149'/> +a creation, because any potentiality or capacity without +execution would imply imperfection in God. Nevertheless +we must conceive of God as the designing and creating intellect +of the universe, infinitely transcending its complex +mechanism, whose will is expressed involuntarily by each +of the created beings. He alone is the living God; He has +lent existence and infinite capacity to the beings of the world; +and they, in achieving their appointed purpose, according +to the poet's metaphor, <q>weave His living garment.</q> The +Psalmist also sings in the same key: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Of old Thou didst lay the foundations of the earth;</q></l> +<l>And the heavens are the work of Thy hands;</l> +<l>They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure;</l> +<l>Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment.</l> +<l>As a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall pass away;</l> +<l><q rend='post'>But Thou art the selfsame, and Thy years shall have no +end.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. CII, 25-27.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +5. Second. The numberless beings and forces of the universe +comprise a unity, working according to one plan, subserving +a common purpose, and pursuing in their development and +interaction the aim which God's wisdom assigned them from +the beginning. However hostile the various elements may +be toward each other, however fierce the universal conflict, +<q>the struggle for existence,</q> still over all the discord prevails +a higher concord, and the struggle of nature's forces ends in +harmony and peace. <q>He maketh peace in His high +places.</q><note place='foot'>Job XXV, 2.</note> +Even the highest type of heathenism, the Persian, divided +the world into mutually hostile principles, light and darkness, +good and evil. But Judaism proclaims God as the Creator +of both. No force is left out of the universal plan; each +contributes its part to the whole. Consequently the very +progress of natural science confirms more and more the principle +of the divine Unity. The researches of science are ever +<pb n='150'/><anchor id='Pg150'/> +tending toward the knowledge of universal laws of growth, +culminating in a scheme of universal evolution. Hence this +supports and confirms Jewish monotheism, which knows no +power of evil antagonistic to God. +</p> + +<p> +6. Third. The world is good, since goodness is its creator +and its final aim. True enough, nature, bent with <q>tooth +and claw</q> upon annihilating one or another form of existence, +is quite indifferent to man's sense of compassion and justice. +Yet in the wise, though inscrutable plan of God she does +but serve the good. We see how the lower forms of life ever +serve the higher, how the mineral provides food for the vegetable, +while the animal derives its food from the vegetable +world and from lower types of animals. Thus each becomes +a means of vitality for a higher species. So by the continuous +upward striving of man the lower passions, with their evil +tendencies, work more and more toward the triumph of the +good. Man unfolds his God-likeness; he strives to +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Move upward, working out the beast,</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>And let the ape and tiger die.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +7. The Biblical story of Creation expresses the perfect +harmony between God's purpose and His work in the words, +<q>And behold, it was good</q> spoken at the end of each day's +Creation, and <q>behold, it was very good</q> at the completion of +the whole. A world created by God must serve the highest +good, while, on the contrary, a world without God would prove +to be <q>the worst of all possible worlds,</q> as Schopenhauer, the +philosopher of pessimism, quite correctly concludes from his +premises. The world-view of Judaism, which regards the +entire economy of life as the realization of the all-encompassing +plan of an all-wise Creator, is accordingly an energizing optimism, +or, more precisely, meliorism. This view is voiced +by the rabbis in many significant utterances, such as the +maxim of R. Akiba, <q>Whatsoever the Merciful One does, +<pb n='151'/><anchor id='Pg151'/> +is for the good,</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 60 b.</note> or that of his teacher, Nahum +of Gimzo, <q>This, too, is for the good.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Gam +su le tobah</hi>, an allusion to his own name. Taan. 21 b.</note> His disciple, R. Meir, +inferred from the Biblical verse, <q>God saw all that He had made, and +behold, it was very good,</q> that <q>death, too, is good.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +R. IX, 5.</note> Others +considered that suffering and even sin are included in this +verse, because every apparent evil is necessary that we may +struggle and overcome it for the final victory of the +good.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. IX, 9-10.</note> +As an ancient Midrash says: <q>God is called a God of faith +and faithfulness, because it was His faith in the world that +caused Him to bring it into existence.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre Deut. 307.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='152'/><anchor id='Pg152'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_XXV'/> +<head>Chapter XXV. Creation As the Act of God</head> + +<p> +1. <q>Thus shall ye say unto them: The gods that have +not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from +the earth, and from under the heavens. He that hath made +the earth by His power, that hath established the world by +His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His understanding ... the +Lord God is the true God.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. X, +11-12 and 10.</note> With this declaration +of war against heathenism, the prophet drew the line, +once for all, between the uncreated, transcendent God and +the created, perishable universe. It is true that Plato spoke +of primordial and eternal matter and Aristotle of an eternally +rotating celestial sphere, and that even Biblical exegetes, +such as Ibn Ezra,<note place='foot'>See his commentary to Gen. +I, 1; comp. Neumark, l. c., I, 70, 71, 80 f., 87, +412, 439, 515; Husik, l. c., p. 190; D. Strauss, l. c., +619-660.</note> inferred from the Creation story the existence +of primeval chaotic matter. Yet, on the whole, the +Jewish idea of God has demanded the assumption that even +this primitive matter was created by God, or, as most thinkers +have phrased it, that God created the world <emph>out of nothing</emph>. +This doctrine was voiced as early as the Maccabean period +in the appeal made by the heroic mother to the youngest +of her seven sons.<note place='foot'>II Macc. VII, 28.</note> +In the same spirit R. Gamaliel II scornfully +rejects the suggestion of a heretic that God used primeval +substances already extant in creating the world.<note place='foot'>Gen. +R. I, 12; X. 3; Hag. II b-13 a; Slavonic Enoch, XXV; see J. E., +art. Cosmogony and Creation; Enc. Rel. and Eth., 151 ff., 167 f.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='153'/><anchor id='Pg153'/> + +<p> +2. Of course, thinking people will ever be confronted by +the problem how a transcendental God could call into existence +a world of matter, creating it within the limits of space and +time, without Himself becoming involved in the process. It +would seem that He must by the very act subject Himself +to the limitations and mutations of the universe. Hence +some of the ancient Jewish teachers came under the influence +of Babylonian and Egyptian cosmogonies in their later Hellenistic +forms, and resorted to the theory of intermediary +forces. Some of these adopted the Pythagorean conception +of the mysterious power of letters and numbers, which they +communicated to the initiated as secret lore, with the result +that the suspicion of heresy rested largely upon <q>those who +knew,</q> the so-called Gnostics. +</p> + +<p> +The difficulty of assuming a creation at a fixed period of +time was met in many different ways. It is interesting to +note that R. Abbahu of Cæsarea in the fourth century offered +the explanation: <q>God caused one world after another to +enter into existence, until He produced the one of which He +said: <q>Behold, this is good.</q></q><note place='foot'>Gen. +R. IX, 1.</note> Still this opinion seems to +have been expressed by even earlier sages, as it is adopted by +Origen, a Church father of the third century, who admitted +his great debt to Jewish teachers.<note place='foot'>See Strauss, l. c., 645 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The medieval Jewish philosophers evaded the difficulty +by the Aristotelian expedient of connecting the concept of +time with the motion of the spheres. Thus time was created +with the celestial world, and timelessness remained an attribute +of the uncreated God.<note place='foot'>See Schmiedl, l. c., 91-128; +Kaufmann, l. c., 280 f., 306, 387 f.</note> Such attempts at harmonization +prove the one point of importance to us,—which, indeed, +was frankly stated by Maimonides,—that we cannot accept +literally the Biblical account of the creation. +</p> + +<p> +The modern world has been lifted bodily out of the +<pb n='154'/><anchor id='Pg154'/> +Babylonian and so-called Ptolemaic world, with its narrow +horizon, through the labors of such men as Copernicus, Galileo, +Newton, Lyall, and Darwin. We live in a world immeasurable +in terms of either space or time, a world where evolution works +through eons of time and an infinite number of stages. Such +a world gives rise to concepts of the working of God in nature +totally different from those of the seers and sages of former +generations, ideas of which those thinkers could not even +dream. To the mind of the modern scientist the entire cosmic +life, extending over countless millions of years, forming +starry worlds without end, is moved by energy arising within. +It is a continuous flow of existence, a process of formation +and re-formation, which can have no beginning and no end. +How is this evolutionist view to be reconciled with the belief +in a divine act of creation? This is the problem which modern +theology has set itself, perhaps the greatest which it must solve. +</p> + +<p> +Ultimately, however, the problem is no more difficult now +than it was to the first man who pondered over the beginnings +of life in the childhood of the world. The same answer fits +both modes of thought, with only a different process of reasoning. +Whether we count the world's creation by days or by +millions of years, the truth of the first verse of Genesis remains: +<q>In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.</q> +In our theories the whole complicated world-process is but +the working out of simple laws. This leads back as swiftly +and far more surely than did the primitive cosmology to +an omnipotent and omniscient creative Power, defining at the +very outset the aim of the stupendous whole, and carrying its +comprehensive plan into reality, step by step. We who are +the products of time cannot help applying the relation of time +to the work of the Creator; time is so interwoven with our +being that a modern evolutionist, Bergson, considers it the +fundamental element of reality. Thus it is natural that we +should think of God as setting the first atoms and forces of +<pb n='155'/><anchor id='Pg155'/> +the universe into motion somewhere and somehow, at a given +moment. Through this act, we imagine, the order prevailing +through an infinitude of space and time was established +for the great fabric of life. To earlier thinkers such an act +of a supermundane and immutable God appeared as a single +act. The idea of prime importance in all this is the free +activity of the Creator in contradistinction to the blind +necessity of nature, the underlying theory of all pagan or unreligious +philosophy.<note place='foot'>See C. Seligman, <hi rend='italic'>Judenthum +und Moderne Weltanchauung</hi>.</note> The world of God, which is the world +of morality, and which leads to man, the image of God, must +be based upon the free, purposive creative act of God. +Whether such an act was performed once for all or is everlastingly +renewed, is a quite secondary matter for religion, +however important it may be to philosophy, or however +fundamental to science. In our daily morning prayers, +which refer to the daily awakening to a life seemingly new, +God is proclaimed as <q>He who reneweth daily the work of +creation.</q><note place='foot'>The first benediction before the Shema.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='156'/><anchor id='Pg156'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXVI. The Maintenance and Government of the World</head> + +<p> +1. For our religious consciousness the doctrine of divine +maintenance and government of the world is far more important +than that of creation. It opposes the view of deism +that God withdrew from His creation, indifferent to the +destiny of His creatures. He is rather the ever-present Mind +and Will in all the events of life. The world which He created +is maintained by Him in its continuous activity, the object +of His incessant care. +</p> + +<p> +2. Scripture knows nothing of natural law, but presents +the changing phenomena of nature as special acts of God +and considers the natural forces His messengers carrying +out His will. <q>He opens the windows of heaven to let the +rain descend upon the earth.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +VII, 11; VIII, 2.</note> <q>He leads out the hosts +of the stars according to their number and calleth them by +name.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XL, 26.</note> +He makes the sun rise and set. <q>He says to the +snow: Fall to the earth!</q><note place='foot'>Job XXXVI, +6.</note> and calls to the wind to blow +and to the lightning to flash.<note place='foot'>Job +XXXVIII, 25.</note> He causes the produce of the +earth and the drought which destroys them. <q>He opens the +womb to make beasts and men bring forth their young;</q> +<q>He shuts up the womb to make them barren.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +XX, 17-18; XXX, 22.</note> <q>He also +provides the food for all His creatures in due season, even +for the young ravens when they cry.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +CXLVII, 8-9.</note> His breath keeps all +alive. <q>He withdraweth their breath, and they perish, and +<pb n='157'/><anchor id='Pg157'/> +return to their dust. He sendeth forth His spirit, they are +created; He reneweth the face of the earth.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +CIV, 27-30.</note> We are told +also that God assigns to each being its functions, telling the +earth to bring forth fruit,<note place='foot'>Gen. I, +11.</note> the sea not to trespass its boundary,<note place='foot'>Ps. CIV, 8.</note> +the stars and the seas to maintain their order.<note place='foot'>Gen. +VIII, 22; Job XXXVIII, 33.</note> To each +one He hath set a measure, a law which they dare not transgress. +God's wisdom works in them; they all are subject +to His rule. +</p> + +<p> +3. This conclusion betokens an obvious improvement +upon the earlier and more childlike view. It recognizes that +there is an order in the universe and all under divine supervision. +Thus Jeremiah speaks of a covenant of God with +heaven and earth, and of the laws which they must +obey,<note place='foot'>Jer. XXXI, 39; XXXIII, 25.</note> +and in Genesis the rainbow is represented as a sign of the +covenant of peace made by God with the whole +earth.<note place='foot'>Gen. IX, 12 f.</note> As +God <q>maketh peace in the heavens above,</q><note place='foot'>Job XXV, 2.</note> He +establishes order in the world. As the various powers of nature are invested +with a degree of independence, God's sovereignty +manifests itself in the regularity with which they interact +and coöperate.<note place='foot'>See Dillmann, l. c., +295 f.; D. Strauss, l. c., 629-643.</note> The lore of the mystics speaks even of an +oath which God administered upon His holy Name to the +heavens and the stars, the sea and the abyss, that they should +never break their designated bounds or disturb the whole +order of creation.<note place='foot'>Enoch LXIX, 15-25; +Prayer of Manasseh, 3; Suk. 53 a b; Hag. 12 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. Further progress is noted in the liturgy, in such expressions +as that <q>God reneweth daily the work of creation,</q> +or <q>He openeth every morning the gate of heaven to let the +sun come out of its chambers in all its splendor</q> and <q>at +eventide He maketh it return through the portals of the west.</q> +Again, <q>He reneweth His creative power in every phenomenon +<pb n='158'/><anchor id='Pg158'/> +of nature and in every turn of the season;</q> <q>He provideth +every living being with its sustenance.</q><note place='foot'>See +Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerbook</hi>, 37, 96, 290, 292.</note> Indeed, in the view +of Judaism the maintenance of the entire household of nature +is one continuous act of God which can neither be interrupted +nor limited in time. God in His infinite wisdom works forever +through the same laws which were in force at the beginning, +and which shall continue through all the realms of time +and space. +</p> + +<p> +We feeble mortals, of course, see but <q>the hem of His garment</q> +and hear only <q>a whisper of His voice.</q> Still from +the deeper promptings of our soul we learn that science does +not touch the inmost essence of the world when it finds a +law of necessity in the realm of nature. The universe is +maintained and governed by a moral order. Moral objects +are attained by the forces of the elements, <q>the messengers +of God who fulfilled His word.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +CIII, 20.</note> Both the hosts of heaven +and the creatures of the earth do His bidding; their every +act, great or small, is as He has ordered. Yet of them all +man alone is made in God's image, and can work self-consciously +and freely for a moral purpose. Indeed, as the rabbis +express it, he has been called as <q>the co-worker with God +in the work of creation.</q><note place='foot'>Shab. 119 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. The conception of a world-order also had to undergo +a long development. The theory of pagan antiquity, echoed +in both Biblical and post-Biblical writings, is that the world +is definitely limited, with both a beginning and an end. As +heaven and earth came into being, so they will wax old and +shrink like a garment, while sun, moon, and stars will lose +their brightness and fall back into the primal +chaos.<note place='foot'>Ps. CII, 27; Isa. XXXIV, 4.</note> The +belief in a cataclysmic ending of the world is a logical corollary +of the belief in the birth of the world. In striking contrast, +the prophets hold forth the hope of a future regeneration of +<pb n='159'/><anchor id='Pg159'/> +the world. God will create <q>a new heaven and a new earth</q> +where all things will arise in new strength and +beauty.<note place='foot'>Isa. LXV, 17.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This hope, as all eschatology, was primarily related to +the regeneration of the Jewish people. Accordingly, the +rabbis speak of two worlds,<note place='foot'>See J. E. and Enc. of +Rel. and Eth., art. <q>Eschatology</q>; Schuerer, <hi rend='italic'>G. V. I.</hi> +II, 545.</note> this world and the world to come. +They consider the present life only a preliminary of the world +to come, in which the divine plan of creation is to be worked +out for all humanity through the truths emanating from Israel. +This whole conception rested upon a science now superseded, +the geocentric view of the universe, which made the earth +and especially man the final object of creation. For us only +a figurative meaning adheres to the two worlds of the medieval +belief, following each other after the lapse of a fixed period +of time. On the one hand, we see one infinite fabric of life +in this visible world with its millions of suns and planets, +among which our earth is only an insignificant speck in the +sky. With our limited understanding we endeavor to penetrate +more and more into the eternal laws of this illimitable +cosmos. On the other hand, we hold that there is a moral +and spiritual world which comprises the divine ideals and +eternal objects of life. Both are reflected in the mind of man, +who enters into the one by his intellect and into the other by +his emotions of yearning and awe. At the same time both +are the manifestation of God, the Creator and Ruler of all. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='160'/><anchor id='Pg160'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_XXVII'/> +<head>Chapter XXVII. Miracles and the Cosmic Order</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l>1. <q rend='pre'>Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the mighty?</q></l> +<l>Who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Fearful in praises, doing wonders!</q><note place='foot'>Ex. +XV, 11.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +Thus sang Israel at the Red Sea in words which are constantly +reëchoed in our liturgy. Nothing impresses the religious +sense of man so much as unusual phenomena in nature, which +seem to interrupt the wonted course of events and thus to +reveal the workings of a higher Power. A miracle—that +is, a thing <q>wondered</q> at, because not understood—is +always regarded by Scripture as a +<q>sign</q><note place='foot'><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Oth</foreign>, +sign for miracle, Ex. IV, 8, 17, and elsewhere.</note> or +<q>proof</q><note place='foot'><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Mopheth</foreign>, +Ex. VII, 3, and elsewhere.</note> +of the power of God, to whom nothing is impossible. The +child-like mind of the past knew nothing of fixed or immutable +laws of nature. Therefore the question is put in all +simplicity: <q>Is anything too hard for the Lord?</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +XVIII, 14.</note> <q>Is the Lord's hand waxed short?</q><note place='foot'>Num. +XI, 23.</note> <q>Or should He who created +heaven and earth not be able to create something which +never was before?</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XXXIV, 10; Num. XVI, 30.</note> +Should <q>He who maketh a man's mouth, or makes him deaf, dumb, seeing or +blind,</q><note place='foot'>Ex. IV, 11.</note> not be +able also to open the mouth of the dumb beast or the eyes +of the blind? Should not He who killeth and giveth life +have the power also to call the dead back to life, if He sees +fit? Should not He who openeth the womb for every birth, +be able to open it for her who is ninety years old? Or when a +<pb n='161'/><anchor id='Pg161'/> +whole land is wicked, to shut the wombs of all its inhabitants +that they may remain barren? Again, should not He who +makes the sun come forth every morning from the gates of +the East and enter each night the portals of the West, not +be able to change this order once, and cause it to stand still in +the midst of its course?<note place='foot'>Josh. X, 12-14. See Joel: +<q>D. Mosaismus u. d. Wunder,</q> in Jb. d. Jued. +Gesch. u. Lit., 1904, p. 66-94.</note> +</p> + +<p> +So long as natural phenomena are considered to be separate +acts of the divine will, an unusual event is merely an +extraordinary manifestation of this same power, <q>the finger +of God.</q> The people of Biblical times never questioned +whether a miracle happened or could happen. Their concern +was to see it as the work of the arm of God either for His +faithful ones or against His adversaries. +</p> + +<p> +2. With the advance of thought, miracles began to be +regarded as interruptions of an established order of creation. +The question then arose, why the all-knowing Creator should +allow deviations from His own laws. As the future was +present to Him at the outset, why did He not make provision +in advance for such special cases as He foresaw? This was +exactly the remedy which the rabbis furnished. They declared +that at Creation God provided for certain extraordinary +events, so that a latent force, established for the purpose +at the beginning of the world, is responsible for incidents +which appeared at the time to be true interferences with the +world order. Thus God had made a special covenant, as it +were, with the work of creation that at the appointed time +the Red Sea should divide before Israel; that sun and moon +should stand still at the bidding of Joshua; that fire should +not consume the three youths, Hananel, Mishael, and Azariah; +that the sea-monster should spit forth Jonah alive; +together with other so-called miracles.<note place='foot'>Mek. +Beshallah 3; Gen. R. V, 4.</note> The same idea +<pb n='162'/><anchor id='Pg162'/> +occasioned the other Haggadic saying that shortly before +the completion of the creation on the evening of the sixth day +God placed certain miraculous forces in nature. Through +them the earth opened to swallow Korah and his band, the +rock in the wilderness gave water for the thirsty multitude, +and Balaam's ass spoke like a human being; through them +also the rainbow appeared after the flood, the manna rained +from heaven, Aaron's rod burst forth with almond blossoms +and fruit, and other wondrous events happened in their +proper time.<note place='foot'>Aboth V, 6; comp. Ab. d. R. N., +ed. Schechter, 95; Mek. Beshallah, 5; +Sifre Debarim, 355; Pes. 54 a; P. d. R. Eli., XIX; Targ. Y. to Num. XXII, +28, where a different list of ten wondrous things is given.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. Neither the rabbis nor the medieval Jewish thinkers +expressed any doubt of the credibility of the Biblical miracles. +The latter, indeed, rationalized miracles as well as other things, +and considered some of them imaginary. Saadia accepts all +the Biblical miracles except the speaking serpent in Paradise +and the speaking ass of Balaam, considering these to be +parables rather than actual occurrences.<note place='foot'>Emunoth +we Deoth II, 44, 68. Comp. Ibn Ezra to Gen. III, 1, and Num. +XXII, 28.</note> In general, both +Jewish and Mohammedan theologians assumed that special +forces hidden in nature were utilized by the prophets and +saints to testify to their divine mission. These powers were +attained by their lofty intellects, which lifted them up to +the sphere of the Supreme Intellect. All medieval attempts +to solve the problem of miracles were based upon this curious +combination of Aristotelian cosmology and Mohammedan +or Jewish theology.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, +II, 25, 35, 37; III, 24; <hi rend='italic'>Yesode ha Torah</hi>, VII, 7; VIII, 1-3. Comp. +Joel: <hi rend='italic'>Moses Maimonides</hi>, p. 77.</note> +True, Maimonides rejects a number +of miracles as contrary to natural law, and refers to the +rabbinical saying that some of the miraculous events narrated +in Scripture were so only in appearance. Still he claims for +<pb n='163'/><anchor id='Pg163'/> +Moses, as the Mohammedans did for Mohammed, miraculous +powers derived from the sphere of the Supreme Intellect. +In a lengthy chapter on miracles Albo follows +Maimonides,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, I, 18.</note> +while his teacher Crescas considers the Biblical miracles to +be direct manifestations of the creative activity of +God.<note place='foot'>Or <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Adonai</foreign>, +III, 5; comp. Joel: <hi rend='italic'>Don Chasdai Crescas</hi>, p. 70.</note> +Gersonides has really two opinions; in his commentary he +reduces all miracles to natural processes, but in his philosophical +work he adopts the view of Maimonides.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Milhamoth +Adonai</hi>, last chapters; comp. J. E., art. Levi ben Gershom.</note> Jehuda +ha Levi alone insisted on the miracles of the Bible as historic +evidence of the divine calling of the +prophets.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, II, 54.</note> To all the +rest, the miracle is not performed by God but by the divinely +endowed man. God himself is no longer conceived of as changing +the cosmic order. Both He and the world created by His +will remain ever the same. Still, according to this theory, +certain privileged men are endowed with special powers by +the Supreme Intellect, and by these they can perform miracles. +</p> + +<p> +4. It is evident that in all this the problem of miracles is +not solved, nor even correctly stated. Both rabbinical literature +and the Bible abound with miracles about certain holy +places and holy persons, which they never venture to doubt. +But the rabbis were not miracle-workers like the Essenes and +their Christian successors.<note place='foot'>The +<foreign rend='italic'>Anshe maaseh</foreign>, mentioned together with the +<foreign rend='italic'>Hasidim</foreign> in Suk. V, 4, +and Sot. IX, 15, are wonderworkers, of whom Haninah ben Dosa, the last, is +singled out. The same epithet was given to Simeon ben Yochai in Aramaic, +<foreign rend='italic'>Iskan</foreign>, see Lev. Rabba XXII, 2, and to R. +Assi, eod. XIX, 1,—where it +means, worker in nature's realm. Thus Nahum of Gimzo is called <q>trained +in the skill to perform miracles</q>—Taan. 21 a; Phinehas ben Jair was also a +wonderworker—Hul. 7 a. The whole portion regarding rain-miracles seems +to be taken from a work on the miracles of saints.</note> On the contrary, they sought to +repress the popular credulity and hunger for the miraculous, +saying: <q>The present generation is not worthy to have miracles +<pb n='164'/><anchor id='Pg164'/> +performed for them, like the former ones;</q><note place='foot'>Taan, 18 b.</note> or +<q>The providing of each living soul with its daily food, or the recovery +of men from a severe disease is as great a miracle as any of +those told in Scripture;</q><note place='foot'>Pes. 118 a; Ned. 41 +a.</note> or again, <q>Of how small account is a person +for whom the cosmic order must be disturbed!</q><note place='foot'>Shab. 53 b.</note> +Thus when the wise men of Rome asked the Jewish sages: +<q>If your God is omnipotent, as you claim, why does He not +banish from the world the idols, which are so loathsome to +Him?</q> they replied: <q>Do you really desire God to destroy +the sun, moon, and stars, because fools worship them? The +world continues its regular course, and idolaters will not go +unpunished.</q><note place='foot'>Ab. Za. IV, 7; comp. Ber. 4 a, 20 a; Sanh. 97 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. In Judaism neither Biblical nor rabbinical miracles are +to be accepted as proof of a doctrinal or practical teaching.<note place='foot'>B. M. +59 b.</note> The Deuteronomic law expressly states that false prophets +can perform miracles by which they mislead the multitude.<note place='foot'>Deut. XIII, +2-6.</note> We can therefore ascribe no intrinsic religious importance to +miracles. The fact is that miracles occur only among people +who are ignorant of natural law and thus predisposed to accept +marvels. They are the products of human imagination and +credulity. They have only a subjective, not an objective +value. They are psychological, not physical facts. +</p> + +<p> +The attitude of Maimonides and Albo toward Biblical +miracles is especially significant. The former declares in +his great Code:<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Yesode ha Torah</hi>, VIII, +1-5.</note> <q>Israel's belief in Moses and his law did +not rest on miracles, for miracles rather create doubt in the +mind of the believer. Faith must rest on its intrinsic truth, +and this can never be subverted by miracles, which may be +of a deceitful nature.</q> Albo devotes a lengthy chapter to +developing this idea still further, undoubtedly referring to +the Church; he speaks of miracles wrought by both Biblical +<pb n='165'/><anchor id='Pg165'/> +and Talmudic heroes, such as Onias the rain-maker, Nicodemus +ben Gorion, Hanina ben Dosa, and Phinehas ben Jair, +the popular saints.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, +I, 18.</note> In modern times Mendelssohn, when +challenged by the Lutheran pastor Lavater either to accept +the Christian faith or refute it, attacked especially the basic +Christian faith in miracles. He stated boldly that <q>miracles +prove nothing, since every religion bases its claims on them +and consequently the truth of one would disprove the convincing +proof of the other.</q><note place='foot'>Mendelssohn: G. +Sch., III, 65, 120 f., 320 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. Our entire modern mode of thinking demands the +complete recognition of the empire of law throughout the +universe, manifesting the all-permeating will of God. The +whole cosmic order is <emph>one</emph> miracle. No room is left for single +or exceptional miracles. Only a primitive age could think +of God as altering the order of nature which He had fixed, +so as to let iron float on water like wood to please one person +here,<note place='foot'>II Kings VI, 6.</note> +or to stop sun, star, or sea in their courses in order to +help or harm mankind there.<note place='foot'>Joshua +X, 13.</note> It is more important for us +to inquire into the law of the mind by which the fact itself may +differ from the peculiar form given it by a narrator. With +our historical methods unknown to former ages, we cannot +accept any story of a miracle without seeking its intrinsic +historical accuracy. After all, the miracle as narrated is +but a human conception of what, under God's guidance, +really happened. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, we must leave the final interpretation of the +Biblical narratives to the individual, to consider them as +historical facts or as figurative presentations of religious +ideas. Even now some people will prefer to believe that the +Ten Commandments emanated from God Himself in audible +tones, as medieval thinkers maintained.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, +II, 33.</note> Some will adopt +the old semi-rationalistic explanation that He created a voice +<pb n='166'/><anchor id='Pg166'/> +for this special purpose. Others will hold it more worthy +of God to communicate directly with man, from spirit to +spirit, without the use of sensory means; these will therefore +take the Biblical description as figurative or mythical. In +fact, he who does not cling to the letter of the Scripture will +probably regard all the miracles as poetical views of divine +Providence, as child-like imagery expressing the ancient +view of the eternal goodness and wisdom of God. To us +also God is <q>a Doer of wonders,</q> but we experience His wonderworking +powers in ourselves. We see wonders in the acts +of human freedom which rises superior to the blind forces of +nature. The true miracle consists in the divine power within +man which aids him to accomplish all that is great and good. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='167'/><anchor id='Pg167'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXVIII. Providence and the Moral Government of the World</head> + +<p> +1. None of the precious truths of Judaism has become more +indispensable than the belief in divine Providence, which we +see about us in ever new and striking forms. Man would +succumb from fear alone, beholding the dangers about him on +every side, were he not sustained by a conviction that there +is an all-wise Power who rules the world for a sublime purpose. +We know that even in direst distress we are guided by a divine +hand that directs everything finally toward the good. +Wherever we are, we are protected by God, who watches over +the destinies of man as <q>does the eagle who hovers over her +young and bears them aloft on her pinions.</q> Each of us is +assigned his place in the all-encompassing plan. Such knowledge +and such faith as this comprise the greatest comfort and +joy which the Jewish religion offers. Both the narratives and +the doctrines of Scripture are filled with this idea of Providence +working in the history of individuals and nations.<note place='foot'>The Hebrew +term <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hashgaha</foreign>—Providence—is +derived from Ps. XXXIII, 14, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hishgiah</foreign>, +<q>He observes.</q> See J. E., art. Providence; Davidson, l. c., 178-182; +Hamburger, R. W. B. II, art. Bestimmung; Rauwenhoff, l. c., 538 f.; +Ludwig Philippson: <q><hi rend='italic'>Israel. Religionsl.</hi>,</q> +II, 98 f.; Formstecher: <q><hi rend='italic'>Religion +des Geistes</hi>,</q> 114-119.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. Providence implies first, <emph>provision</emph>, and second, +<emph>predestination</emph> +in accordance with the divine plan for the government +of the world. As God's dominion over the visible world appears +in the eternal order of the cosmos, so in the moral +world, where action arises from freely chosen aims, God is +<pb n='168'/><anchor id='Pg168'/> +Ruler of a moral government. Thus He directs all the acts +of men toward the end which He has set. Judaism is most +sharply contrasted with heathenism at this point. Heathenism +either deifies nature or merges the deity into nature. +Thus there is no place for a God who knows all things and +provides for all in advance. Blind fate rules all the forces of +life, including the deities themselves. Therefore chance incidents +in nature or the positions of the stars are taken as +indications of destiny. Hence the belief in oracles and divination, +in the observation of flying arrows and floating clouds, +of the color and shape of the liver of sacrificial animals, and +other signs of heaven and earth which were to hint at the +future.<note place='foot'>Jer. X, 2. See art. Divination, +in J. E.; Dict. Bible; Enc. R. and Eth.</note> +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, Judaism sees in all things, not the fortuitous +dealings of a blind and relentless fate, but the dispensations +of a wise and benign Providence. It knows of no +event which is not foreordained by God. It sanctioned the +decision by lot<note place='foot'>See Lev. XVI, 8 f.; Num. XXVI, 56; Josh. XVIII-XIX; +Prov. XVIII, 18.</note> and the appeal to the oracle (the Urim and +Thummim)<note place='foot'>Ex. XVIII, 30; I Sam. see LXX; +XIV, 41.</note> only temporarily, during the Biblical period. +But soon it recognized entirely the will of God as the Ruler +of destiny, and the people accepted the belief that <q>the days,</q> +<q>the destinies,</q> and even <q>the tears</q> of man are all written +in His <q>book.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XXXIII, 32; Ps. LVI, 9; CXXXIX, 16; comp., +however, the Babylonian <q>tables of destinies.</q></note> +Thus they perceived God as <q>He who knows +from the beginning what will be at the +end.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XL, 21; XLI, 4, 22 f.; Amos III, 7.</note> The prophets, +His messengers, could thus foretell His will. They perceive +Him as the One who <q>created the smith that brought forth +the weapon for its work, and created the master who uses it +for destruction.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LIV, 16.</note> +However the foe may rage, he is but +<pb n='169'/><anchor id='Pg169'/> +<q>the scourge in the hand of God,</q> like <q>the axe in the +hand of him who fells the tree.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +X, 5, 15.</note> No device of men or +nations can withstand His will, for He turns all their doings +to some good purpose and transforms every curse into a +blessing.<note place='foot'>Isa. VIII. 11; Ps. II, 2 f.; Deut. XXIII, 6.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. Naturally this truth was first accepted in limited form, +in the life of certain individuals. The history of Joseph and +of King David were used as illustrations to show how God +protects His own. The experiences of the people confirmed +this belief and expanded it to apply to the nation. The +wanderings of Israel through the wilderness and its entrance +to the promised land were regarded as God's work for His +chosen people. The prophets looked still further and saw +the destinies of all nations, entering the foreground of history +one by one, as the sign of divine Providence, so that finally +the entire history of mankind became a great plan of divine +salvation, centered upon the truth intrusted to Israel. +</p> + +<p> +Beside this conception of <emph>general</emph> Providence ruling in history, +the idea of <emph>special</emph> Providence arose in response to human +longing. The belief in Providence developed to a full conception +of care for the world at large and for each individual +in his peculiar destiny, a conviction that divine Providence +is concerned with the welfare of each individual, and that the +joyous or bitter lot of each man forms a link in the moral +government of the world. The first clear statement of this +comes from the prophet Jeremiah in his wrestling and sighing: +<q>I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, it is +not in man that walketh to direct his steps.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. +X, 33.</note> Special Providence +is discussed still more vividly and definitely in the book +of Job. Later on it becomes a specific Pharisaic doctrine, +<q>Everything is foreseen.</q><note place='foot'>Aboth +III, 15.</note> <q>No man suffers so much as the +injury of a finger unless it has been decreed in +heaven.</q><note place='foot'>Hul. 7 a.</note> A +<pb n='170'/><anchor id='Pg170'/> +divine preordination decides a man's choice of his +wife<note place='foot'>Gen. XXIV, 50; M. K. 18 b.</note> and +every other important step of his life. +</p> + +<p> +4. This theory of predestination, however, presents a grave +difficulty when we consider it in relation to man's morality +with its implication of self-determination. While this question +of free will is treated fully in another +connection,<note place='foot'>Ch. <ref target='Chapter_XXXIV'>XXXIV</ref>.</note> we +may anticipate the thought at this point. The Jewish conception +of divine predestination makes as much allowance as +possible for the moral freedom of man. This is shown in +Talmudic sayings, such as <q>Everything is within the power of +God except the fear of God,</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 33 b.</note> +or <q>Repentance, prayer, and +charity avert the evil decree.</q><note place='foot'>R. +h. Sh. 17 b; New Year's liturgy.</note> Thus Maimonides expressly +states in his Code that the belief in predestination cannot be +allowed to influence one's moral or religious character. A +man can decide by his own volition whether he shall become +as just as Moses or as wicked as +Jeroboam.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>H. Teshubah</hi>, V, 1-2.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. The service of the New Year brings out significantly +the Jewish harmonization between the ideas of God's foreknowledge +and man's moral freedom. This festival, in the +Bible called the Festival of the Blowing of the Shofar, was +transformed under Babylonian influence into the Day of +Divine Judgment. But it is still in marked contrast to the +Babylonian New Year's Day, when the gods were supposed +to go to the House of the Tablets of Destiny in the deep to +hear the decisions of fate.<note place='foot'>See, on the Zagmuk +festival, Zimmern, K. A. T., p. 514 f.</note> The Jewish sages taught that on +this day God, the Judge of the world, pronounces the destinies +of men and nations according to their deserts. They thus +replaced the heathen idea of blind fate by that of eternal +justice as the formative power of life. Then, moved by a +desire to mitigate the rigor of stern justice for the frail and +failing mortal, they included also God's long-suffering and +<pb n='171'/><anchor id='Pg171'/> +mercy. These attributes are thus supposed to intercede, so +that the final decision is left in suspense until the Day of +Atonement, the great day of pardon. Some Tannaitic +teachers<note place='foot'>Tos. R. h. Sh, I, 13; R. h. +Sh. 16 a.</note> find it more in accord with their view of God +to say that He judges man every day, and even every +hour. +</p> + +<p> +Of course, the philosophic mind can take this whole viewpoint +in a figurative sense alone. All the more must we recognize +that this sublime religious thought of God liberates +morality from the various limitations of the ancient pagan +conception of Deity and the more recent metaphysical view. +In place of these it asserts that there is a moral government +of the world, which must be imitated in the moral and religious +consciousness of the individual. +</p> + +<p> +6. The belief in a moral government of the world answers +another question which the medieval Jewish philosophers +and their Mohammedan predecessors endeavored to solve, +but without satisfying the religious sentiment, the chief concern +of theology. Some of them maintain that God's foreknowledge +does not determine human deeds.<note place='foot'>Saadia: +<hi rend='italic'>Emunoth</hi>, IV, 7; Bahya: <hi rend='italic'>Hoboth +ha Lebaboth</hi>, III, 8; IV, 3.</note> Maimonides +and his school, however, say that it is impossible for us to +comprehend the knowledge and power of God, and that therefore +such a question is outside the sphere of human knowledge. +<q>Know that, just as God has made the elements of +fire and air to rise upwards and water and earth to sink downward, +so has He made man a free, self-determining being, +who acts of his own volition.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>H. +Teshubah</hi> V; <hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, I, 23; III, 16-19; comp. +<hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, V, 20-21; Albo: +<hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, IV, 1-11; Gersonides: +<hi rend='italic'>Milhamoth</hi>, III, 2; VI, 1-18; Isaac ben Shesheth: +Responsa, 119; Lipman Heller to Aboth III, 15. See Joel: <hi rend='italic'>Levi ben +Gerson</hi>, p. 56.</note> The Mohammedans would +often give up human freedom rather than the omniscience +and all-determining power of God; but the Jewish thinkers, +<pb n='172'/><anchor id='Pg172'/> +significantly, with only the possible exception of Crescas,<note place='foot'>See +<hi rend='italic'>Or Adonai</hi>, II, 3; comp. Joel: +<hi rend='italic'>Hasdai Crescas</hi>, 41-49, 54-55; Neumark: +<q><hi rend='italic'>Crescas and Spinoza</hi>,</q> in Y. B. C. +C. A. R., 1908, vol. XVIII, p. 277-319.</note> +laid stress upon the divine nature which man attains through +moral freedom, even at the risk of limiting the omniscience of +God. +</p> + +<p> +7. The philosophers failed, however, to emphasize sufficiently +a point of highest importance for religion, God's +paternal care for all His creatures. Indeed, God ceases to be +God, if He has not included our every step in His plan of +creation, thus surrounding us with paternal love and tender +care. Instead of the three blind fates of heathendom who spin +and cut the threads of destiny without even knowing why, +the divine Father himself sits at the loom of time and apportions +the lot of men according to His own wisdom and goodness. +Such a belief in divine Providence is ingrained in the +soul, and reasoning alone will not suffice to attain it. Therefore +even such great thinkers as Maimonides and Gersonides +go astray as religious teachers when they follow Aristotelian +principles in this very intimate matter. They assume a +general Providence aiming for the preservation of the species, +but include a special Providence only so far as the recipient +of it is endowed with reason and has thus approached the +divine Intellect. A Providence of this type, the result of +human reasoning, is a mere illusion, as the pious thinker, +Hasdai Crescas, clearly shows.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Or +Adonai</hi>, III, 24.</note> For the man who prays to +God in anxiety or distress this bears nothing but disappointment. +</p> + +<p> +The Aristotelian conception of the world has this great +truth, that there is no such thing as chance, that everything +is foreseen and provided by the divine wisdom. But religion +must hold that the individual is an object of care by God, +that <q>not a sparrow falls into the net without God's will,</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +R. LXXIX, 16; comp. Matt. X, 29.</note> +<pb n='173'/><anchor id='Pg173'/> +that <q>every hair on the head of man is counted and cared for +in the heavenly order,</q><note place='foot'>B. B. 16 a; +comp. Matt. X, 30; Luke XII, 7.</note> and that the most insignificant +thing serves its purpose under the guidance of an all-wise +God. We use figurative expressions for the divine care, +because we cannot grasp it entirely or literally. +</p> + +<p> +8. The Bible in the Song of Moses compares divine Providence +to the eagle spreading her protecting wings over her +young and bearing them aloft, or urging them to soar +along.<note place='foot'>Deut. XXXII, 11.</note> +The rabbis elaborate this by referring to the twofold care +which the eagle thus bestows, as she watches over those who +are still tender and helpless, shielding them from the arrows +below by bearing them on her wings, but inspiring the maturer +and stronger ones to fly by her side.<note place='foot'>Mek. +Yithro 2; Sifre ad loc.</note> In the same way Providence +trains both individuals and generations for their allotted +task. A little child requires incessant care on the part +of its mother, until it has learned how to eat, walk, speak, +and to decide for itself, but the wise parent gradually withdraws +his guiding hand so that the growing child may learn +self-reliance and self-respect. The divine Father trains man +thus through the childhood of humanity. But no sooner does +the divine spirit in man awaken to self-consciousness than he +is thrown on his own resources to become the master of his +own destiny. The divine power which, in the earlier stages, +had worked <emph>for</emph> man, now works <emph>with</emph> +him and <emph>within</emph> him. +In the rabbinic phrase, he is now ready to be a <q>co-worker +with God in the work of creation.</q><note place='foot'>Shab. +119 b.</note> Only at those grave +moments when his own powers fail him, he still feels in the +humility of faith that his ancient God is still near, <q>a very +present help in trouble,</q> and that <q>the Guardian of Israel +neither slumbereth nor sleepeth.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XLVI, 2; CXXI, 4.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='174'/><anchor id='Pg174'/> + +<p> +Philosophy cannot tolerate the removal of the dividing line +between the transcendent God and finite man. Hence the +relation of man's free will and divine foresight cannot be +solved by any process of reasoning. But when religion proclaims +a moral government of the world, then man, with his +moral and spiritual aims, attains a place in Creation akin +to the Creator. Of course, so long as he is mentally a child +and has no clear purpose, Providence acts for him as it does +for the animal with its marvelous instinct. Through His +chosen messengers God gives the people bread and water, +freedom and victory, instruction and law. The wondrous +tales describing the divine protection of Israel in its early life +may strike us as out of harmony with the laws of nature, +but they are true portrayals of the experience of the people. +Whatever happened for their good in those days had to be +the work of God; they had not yet wakened to the power +hidden in their own soul. Their heroes felt themselves to be +divine instruments, roused by His spirit to perform mighty +deeds or to behold prophetic visions. It is God who battles +through them. It is God who speaks through them. Both +their moral and spiritual guidance works from without and +above. At this stage of life autonomy is neither felt nor +desired. When man awakens to moral self-consciousness and +maturity, this inner change impresses him as an outer one; +the change in him is interpreted as a change in God. He feels +that God has withdrawn behind His eternal laws of nature +and morality which work without direct interference, and in +his new sense of independence he thinks that he can dispense +with the divine protection and forethought. As if mortal +man can ever dispense with that Power which has endowed +him with his capacity for worthy accomplishment! Thus in +times of danger and distress man turns to God for help; +thus at every great turning point in the life of an individual +or nation the idea of an all-wise Providence imbues him with +<pb n='175'/><anchor id='Pg175'/> +new hope and new security. And in all these cases the great +lesson of providential direction is typified in the history of +Israel as related in the Bible. +</p> + +<p> +10. The idea of Providence, indeed, belongs also to certain +pagan philosophers, who observed the great purposes of +nature which the single creature and the species are both to +serve. The Stoics in particular made a study of teleology, +the system of purposive ends in nature. Philo adopted much +from them in his treatise on Providence. Later the popular +philosophic group among the Mohammedans, the so-called +<q>Brothers of Purity,</q> based their doctrines of God and His +relation to the world on a teleological view of nature. In +fact, the Jewish philosopher and moralist Bahya ben Pakudah +has embodied many of their ideas in his <q>Duties of the +Heart.</q><note place='foot'>See David Kaufmann: <q><hi rend='italic'>Theol. +d. B. b. Pakudah</hi>,</q> p. 240.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Jewish folklore—preserved in rabbinic literature—has +also attempted a popular explanation of the obscure ways of +Providence, in strange events of nature as well as the great +enigmas of human destiny. Thus the flight of David from +Saul affords the lesson of the good purpose which may be +served by so insignificant a thing as a spider, or by so dreadful +a state as insanity.<note place='foot'>Mid. Teh. to Ps. +XXXIV; L. Ginzberg, <hi rend='italic'>Legends of the Jews</hi>, IV, 89-90; +<hi rend='italic'>Alphabet of Ben Sira</hi>.</note> Vast numbers of the Jewish legends +and fables deal with adversities which are turned into ultimate +good by the working of an all-wise Providence.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Comp. +Maasehhbuch</hi>; Tendlau: <hi rend='italic'>Sagen d. jued. Vorzeit</hi>.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='176'/><anchor id='Pg176'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXIX. God and the Existence of Evil</head> + +<p> +1. A leading objection to the belief in divine Providence +is the existence in this world of physical and moral evil. All +living creatures are exposed to the influence of evil, according +to their physical or moral constitutions and the peculiar conditions +of their existence. Heathenism accounts for the +powers of darkness, pain and death by assuming the existence +of forces hostile to the heavenly powers of light and life, +or of a primitive principle of evil, the counterpart of the +divine beings. But to those who believe in an almighty and +all-benign Creator and Ruler of the universe, the question +remains: Why do life and the love of life encounter so many +hindrances? Why does God's world contain so much pain +and bitterness, so much passion and sin? Should not Providence +have averted such things? The answer of Judaism +has already been stated here, but we need further elaboration +of the theme that there is no evil before God, since a good +purpose is served even by that which appears bad. In the +life of the human body pleasure and pain, the impetus to life +and its restraint and inhibition form a necessary contrast, +making for health; so, in the moral order of the universe, +each being who battles with evil receives new strength for the +unfolding of the good. The principle of holiness, which culminates +in Israel's holy God, transforms and ennobles every +evil. As the Midrash explains, referring to Deut. XI, 26: +<q>If thou but seest that both good and evil are placed in thy +<pb n='177'/><anchor id='Pg177'/> +hand, no evil will come to thee from above, since thou knowest +how to turn it into good.</q><note place='foot'>See Gen. +R. IX, 5, 10, 11; Dillmann, l. c., 309-318; D. F. Strauss, l. c., II, +343-384.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. The conception of evil passed through a development +parallel with that of the related conceptions which we have +just reviewed. At first every misfortune was considered to +be inflicted by divine wrath as a punishment for human misdeeds. +Nations and individuals were thought to suffer for +some special moral cause; through suffering they were +punished for past wrong, warned against its repetition in the +future, and urged to repentance and improvement of their +conduct. Even death, the fate of all living creatures, was +regarded as a punishment which the first pair of human beings +brought upon all their descendants through their transgression +of the divine command. The Talmudic sages clung to the +view of the Paradise legend in the Bible, when they held that +every death is due to some sin committed by the +individual.<note place='foot'>Shab. 55 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This view, which was shared by paganism, was accompanied +by a higher conception, gradually growing in the +thinking mind. As a father does not punish his child in +anger, but in order to improve his conduct, so God chastens +man in order to purify his moral nature. Good fortune tends +to harden the heart; adversity often softens and sweetens it. +In the crucible of suffering the gold of the human soul is purified +from the dross. The evil strokes of destiny come upon +the righteous, not because he deserves them, but because his +divine Friend is raising him to still higher tests of virtue. +This standpoint, never reached even by the pious sufferer +Job, is attained by rabbinic Judaism when it calls the visitations +of the righteous <q>trials of the divine love.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. +5 a, after Deut. VIII, 5; Prov. III, 12.</note> Thus evil, +both physical and spiritual, receives its true valuation in the +divine economy. Evil exists only to be overcome by the +<pb n='178'/><anchor id='Pg178'/> +good. In His paternal goodness God uses it to educate His +children for a place in His kingdom. +</p> + +<p> +3. According to the direct words of Scripture good and +evil, light and darkness, emanate alike from the Creator. +This is accentuated by the great seer of the +Exile,<note place='foot'>Isa. XLV, 7.</note> who protests +against the Persian belief in a creative principle of good +and a destructive principle of evil. The rabbis, however, +ascribe the origin of evil to man; they take as a negation +rather than a question the verse in Lam. III, 38: <q>Do not +evil and good come out of the mouth of the Most High?</q> +Thus they refer this to the words of Deuteronomy, <q>Behold, +I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil; +choose thou life!</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XI, 27; see the Midrash ad loc.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Such medieval thinkers as Abraham Ibn Daud and Maimonides +did not ascribe to evil any reality at all.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Emunah +Ramah</hi>, ed. Weil, 93 f.; <hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, III, 10.</note> Evil to +them is the negation of good, just as darkness is the negation +of light, or poverty of riches. As evil exists only for man, +man can overcome it by himself. Before God it has no essential +existence. Unfortunately, such metaphysics does not +equip man with strength and courage to cope with either pain +or sin. The same lack is evident in that modern form of +pseudo-science which poses as a religion, Christian Science, +which has made propaganda so widely among both Jews and +non-Jews. Christian Science declares pain, sickness, and all +evil to be merely the <q>error of mortal mind,</q> which can all +be dispelled by faith; such a view neither strengthens the +soul for its real struggles nor convinces the mind by an appeal +to facts.<note place='foot'>See M. Lefkovitz, <q>The Attitude +of Judaism to Christian Science,</q> in +Y. B. C. C. A. R. XXII, 300-318.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. Frail mortals as we are, we need the help of the living +God. Thus only can we overcome physical evil, knowing +<pb n='179'/><anchor id='Pg179'/> +that He bears with us, feels with us, and transforms it finally +into good. We need it also to overcome moral evil, in the +consciousness that He has compassion upon the repentant +sinner and gives him courage to follow the right path. The +modern philosophers of pessimism had the correct feeling in +adopting the Hindu conception, and emphasizing the pain +and misery of existence, repeating Job's ancient plaint over +the hard destiny of mankind. The shallow optimism of the +age would rather conceal the dark side of life and indulge in +outbursts of self-sufficiency. Yet if we measure it only by a +physical yardstick, life cannot be called a boon. Against +shallow optimism we have the testimony of every thorn and +sting, every poisonous breath and every destructive element in +nature's household, as well as all vice and evil in the world of +man. The world does not appear good, unless we measure it +by the ideal of divine holiness. If God is the Father watching +over the welfare of every mortal, all things are good, because +all serve a good purpose in His eternal plan. Every +hindrance or pressure engenders new power; every sting acts +as a spur to higher things. Short-sighted and short-lived as +is man, he forgets too easily that in the sight of God <q>a +thousand years are as a single day,</q> world-epochs like +<q>watches in the night,</q> and that the mills of divine justice +grind on, <q>slowly but exceeding small.</q> But one belief illumines +the darkness of destiny, and that is that God stands ever +at the helm, steering through every storm and tempest toward +His sublime goal. In the moral striving of man we can but +realize that our every victory contributes toward the majestic +work of God.<note place='foot'>See Morris Joseph, l. c., +p. 108, 127 ff.; C. Seligman, l. c., 50-68.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='180'/><anchor id='Pg180'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXX. God and the Angels</head> + +<p> +1. Judaism insists with unrelenting severity on the absolute +unity and incomparability of God, so that no other +being can be placed beside Him. Consequently, every mention +of divine beings (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elohim</foreign> or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>B'ne Elohim</foreign>) in either the +Bible or post-Biblical literature refers to subordinate beings +only. These spirits constitute the celestial court for the +King of the World.<note place='foot'>Gen. VI, 2; +Job I, 6; II, 1; XXXIII, 7; Gen. XXXII, 29; XXXIII, +10; Jud. XIII, 22; Ps. VIII, 6.</note> All the forces of the universe are His +servants, fulfilling His commands. Hence both the Hebrew +and Greek terms for angel, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Malak</foreign> and +<foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>angelos</foreign>, mean <q>messenger.</q> +These beings derive their existence from God; some +of them are merely temporary, so that without Him they +dissolve into nothing. Although Scripture uses the terms, +<q>God of gods</q> and <q>King of kings,</q> still we cannot attribute +any independent existence to subordinate divine beings. In +fact, Maimonides in his sixth article of faith holds that worship +of such beings is prohibited as idolatry by the second +commandment.<note place='foot'>Comp. Mek. Yithro 7 +through 10; Hul. 40; Tos. Hul. II, 18; Ab. Z. +42 b; Maimonides to Sanh. X; Targ. Y. to Ex. XX, 3.</note> +Thus the unity of God lifts Him above +comparison with any other divine being. This is most emphatically +expressed in Deuteronomy: <q>Know this day, and +lay it to thy heart, that the Lord He is God in heaven above, +and upon the earth beneath; there is none else,</q><note place='foot'>Deut. +IV, 39.</note> and <q>See +<pb n='181'/><anchor id='Pg181'/> +now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me; I +kill and make alive; I have wounded and I heal, and there is +none that can deliver out of My hand.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. +XXXII, 39.</note> The same attitude +is found in Isaiah: <q>I am the Lord that maketh all things, +that stretched forth the heavens alone, that spread abroad +the earth by Myself</q> <q>I am the Lord and there is none +else; beside Me there is no god.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +XLIV, 24; XL, 5.</note> Such conceptions allow +no place for angels or spirits. +</p> + +<p> +2. It was certainly not easy for prophet, lawgiver, or sage +to dispel the popular belief in divine beings or powers, which +primitive Judaism shared with other ancient faiths. No +sharp line was drawn at first between God and His accompanying +angels, as we may infer from the story of the angels +who appeared to Abraham, and the similar incidents of +Hagar and Jacob.<note place='foot'>Gen. XVIII +and XVII, 11, 13.</note> The varying application of the term +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elohim</foreign> +to God and to the angels or gods is proof enough +of the priority of polytheism, even in Judaism. The trees or +springs, formerly seats of the ancient deities, spirits, or demons, +were now the places for the appearance of angels, +shorn of their independence, looking like fiery or shining human +beings. Popular belief, however, perpetuated mythological +elements, ascribing to the angels higher wisdom and sometimes +sensuality as well. Such a case is the fragment preserved +in Genesis telling of the union of sons of God to the +daughters of men, causing the generation of +giants.<note place='foot'>Gen. VI, 1 f.</note> Obviously +the old Babylonian <q>mountain of the gods,</q> with its +food for the gods, became in the Paradise legend the garden +of Eden, the seat of God;<note place='foot'>Comp. +Ezek. XXVIII, 13 f.</note> and the Psalmist still speaks of +the <q>angels' food,</q> which appeared as manna +in the wilderness.<note place='foot'>Ps. LXXVIII, 25.</note> +On the whole, the sacred writers were most eager to allot to +the angels a very subordinate position in the divine household. +<pb n='182'/><anchor id='Pg182'/> +They figure usually as hosts of beings, numbered by myriads, +wrapped in light or in fleeting clouds. They surround the +throne or chariot of God; they comprise His heavenly court +or council; they sing His praise and obey His call. +</p> + +<p> +Scripture is quite silent about the creation of these angelic +beings, as on most purely speculative questions. At the +very beginning of the world God consults them when He is +to create man after the image of the celestial beings. For +this is the original meaning of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elohim</foreign> +in Gen. I, 26 and 27 +and V, 1: <q>Let us make man in our image, after our likeness</q>; +<q>And God created man in his own image, in the image +of godly beings He created him.</q> This view is echoed in +Psalm VIII, verse 6: <q>Thou hast made him a little lower +than godly beings.</q> In Job XXXVIII, 7, both the morning +stars and the sons of God, or angels, <q>shout together in joy</q> +when the Lord laid the foundations of the +earth.<note place='foot'>See Dillmann, l. c., 318-333; Davidson, l. c., 289-300; J. E., +art. Angelology; Enc. Rel. and Eth. IV, 594-601, art. Demons.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. In Biblical times—which does not include the book of +Daniel, a work of the Maccabean time—the angels and +demons were not invested with proper names or special functions. +The Biblical system does not even distinguish clearly +between good and evil spirits. The goat-like demons of the +field popularly worshiped were merely survivals of pagan +superstitions.<note place='foot'>Lev. XVII, 7; Deut. XXXII, 17; Isa. XXXIV, 14.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In general the angels carry out good or evil designs according +to their commands from the Lord of Hosts. They are +sent forth to destroy Sodom, to save Lot, and to bring Abraham +the good tidings of the birth of a son.<note place='foot'>Gen. XVIII.</note> On one +occasion the host of spirits protect the people of God; on another they +annihilate hostile powers by pestilence and plagues.<note place='foot'>Ex. +XXIII, 20; II Sam. XXIV, 16; II Kings XIX, 35 <hi rend='italic'>et al.</hi> See J. E., +art. Angelology.</note> At one +time a multitude appear, led by a celestial chieftain; at another +<pb n='183'/><anchor id='Pg183'/> +a single angel performs the miracle. In any case the +destroying angel is not a demon, but a messenger of the divine +will. Originally some of these primitive forces were dreaded +or worshiped by the people, but all have been transformed +into members of the celestial court and called to bear witness +to the dominion of the Omnipotent. +</p> + +<p> +4. The belief in angels served two functions in the development +of monotheism. On the one hand, it was a stage in the +concentration of the divine forces, beginning with polytheism, +continuing through belief in angels, and culminating in the +one and only God of heaven and earth. On the other hand, +certain sensuous elements in the vision of God by the seers +had to be removed in the spiritualization of God, and it was +found easiest to transform these into separate beings, related +to Deity himself. Thus the fiery appearance of God to the +eye or the voice which was manifested to the ear were often +personified as angels of God. This very process made possible +the purification of the God idea, as the sublime essence +of the Deity was divested of physical and temporal elements, +and God was conceived more and more as a moral and spiritual +personality. Hence in Biblical passages the names of God +and of the angel frequently alternate.<note place='foot'>Ex. +III, 2-4; XXIII, 20-21; Isa. LXIII, 9.</note> The latter is only a +representative of the divine personality—in Scriptural terms, +the presence or <q>face</q> of God. Therefore the voice of the +angel is to be obeyed as that of God himself, because His +name is present in His representative. A similar meaning became +attached later on to the term <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shekinah</foreign>, +the <q>majesty</q> of God as beheld in the cloud of fire. This was spoken of in +place of God that He might not be lowered into the earthly +sphere. For further discussion of this subject, see chapter +<ref target='Chapter_XXXII'>XXXII</ref>, <q>God and Intermediary Powers.</q> In fact, we +note that the post-exilic prophets all received their revelations, not +from God, but through a special angel.<note place='foot'>Zech. I, 9 f.; II, 1 f.</note> +They no longer +<pb n='184'/><anchor id='Pg184'/> +believed that God might be seen or heard by human powers, +and therefore their visions had to be translated into rational +thoughts by a mediating angel. +</p> + +<p> +5. Persian influence gave Jewish angelology and demonology +a different character. The two realms of the Persian +system included vast hosts of beneficent spirits under Ahura-Mazda +(Ormuzd) and of demons under the dominion of Angro-mainyus +(Ahriman). So in Judaism also different orders of +angels arose, headed by archangels who bore special names. +The number seven was adopted from the Persians, while both +names and order were often changed. All of them, however, +were allotted special functions in the divine household. The +pagan deities and primitive spirits which still persisted in +popular superstition were given a new lease of life. Each force +of nature was given a guardian spirit, just as in nature-worship; +angels were appointed over fire, water, each herb, each +fountain, and every separate function of life. A patron angel +was assigned to each of the seventy nations of the world mentioned +in the genealogy of Noah.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Angelology.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Thus the celestial court grew in number and in splendor. A +beginning was made with the heavenly chariot-throne of Ezekiel, +borne aloft by the four holy living creatures +(the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hayoth</foreign>), +surrounded by the fiery <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Cherubim</foreign>, +the winged <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Seraphim</foreign>, and +the many-eyed <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ofanim</foreign> +(wheels).<note place='foot'>Ezek. I, 4-24; X, 1-22; Isa. VI, +2; Dan. IV, 10 f.; VII, 9 f.; VIII, 16 f.; +X, 13 f; Enoch XV, 1 f., and elsewhere.</note> This was elaborated by +the addition of rows of surrounding angels, called <q>angels of +service,</q> headed by the seven archangels. Of these the chief +was Michael, the patron-saint of Israel, and the next Gabriel, +who is sometimes even placed first. Raphael and Uriel are +regularly mentioned, the other three rarely, and not always +by the same names. The <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Irin</foreign> +of Daniel—known as <q>the +Watchers,</q> but more precisely <q>the ever-watchful Ones</q>—are +<pb n='185'/><anchor id='Pg185'/> +another of the ten classes of angels included. Below these +are myriads of inferior angels who serve them. Their classification +by rank was a favorite theme of the secret lore of the +Essenes, partly preserved for us in the apocalyptic literature +and the liturgy. The Essenic saints endeavored to acquire +miraculous powers through using the names of certain angels, +and thus exorcising the evil spirits. +</p> + +<p> +This secret lore seems to be patterned after the Zoroastrian +or Mazdean system. It is noteworthy that the most prominent +angelic figure is <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Metatron</foreign>, +the charioteer of the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Merkabah</foreign> +or chariot-throne on high, which is merely another form of +<foreign rend='italic'>Mithras</foreign>, the Persian god of light, who acts as charioteer +for Ahura Mazda.<note place='foot'>See J. E., +art. Merkabah, though still doubted by Bousset, l. c., p. 406. +For Akathriel see Ber. 7 and J. E., art. Sandalfon.</note> +Two other angels are mentioned as +standing behind the heavenly throne, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Akathriel</foreign>, <q>the crown-bearer +of God,</q> and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sandalphon</foreign>, +<q>the twin brother</q> = Synadelphon. +</p> + +<p> +6. A striking contrast exists between the simple habitation +in the sky depicted in the prophetic and Mosaic books, and +the splendor of the heavenly spheres according to the rabbinical +writings. The Oriental courts lent all their grandeur to the +majestic throne of God, on which He was exalted above all +earthly things. The immense space between was filled in by +innumerable gradations of beings leading up to Him. There +was no longer a question how far these other beings shared +the nature of God; His dominion was absolute. Still a new +question, not known to the Bible, arose, as to when the angelic +world was created and out of what primordial element. At +first a logical answer was given, that the angels emanated +from the element of fire. Later the schoolmen, trying to dispose +of the angels as possible peers or rivals of the eternal +God, ascribed their creation to the second day, when the +heaven was made as a vault over the earth, or to the fifth +<pb n='186'/><anchor id='Pg186'/> +day, when the winged creatures arose.<note place='foot'>Jubilees +II, 2; Slav. Enoch. XXIX, 3; I, 3; Gen. R, III, 11.</note> On the whole, the +rabbis denied every claim of the angels to an independent or +an eternal existence. Just because they firmly believed in the +existence of angels and even saw them from time to time, +they felt bound to declare their secondary rank. Only the +archangels were made from an eternal substance, while the +others were continually being created anew out of the breath +of God or from the <q>river of fire</q> which flowed around His +throne. Thus even the realm of celestial spirits was merged +into the stream of universal life which comes and goes, while +God was left alone in matchless sovereignty, above all the +fluctuations of time. +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, the rabbis opposed the Essenic idea of +assigning to the angels an intermediary task between God and +man, and deprecated as a pagan custom the worship or invocation +of angels. <q>Address your prayer to the Master of life +and not to His servants; He will hear you in every trouble,</q> +says R. Judan.<note place='foot'>Yer. Ber. IX; Sanh. 93 a; Hul. +91 b; Ned. 32 a; Gen. R. VIII, XXI; +Midr. Teh. to Ps. CIII, 18; CIV, 1.</note> Some of the teachers even declared that any +godly son of Israel excels the angels in power. It is certainly +significant, as David Neumark has pointed out, that the +Mishnah eliminates every reference to the angels.<note place='foot'>Neumark, l. c.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. In spite of this, none of the medieval Jewish philosophers +doubted the existence of angels.<note place='foot'>Schmiedl, +l. c., 69-87.</note> Indeed, there was no +reason for them to do so, as they had managed to insert them +into their philosophic systems as intermediary beings leading +up to the Supreme Intelligence. All that was necessary was +to identify the angels of the Bible with the <q>ideas</q> of Plato +or the <q>rulers of the spheres,</q> the <q>separate intelligences</q> +of Aristotle. By this one step the existence of angels as +cosmic powers was proved to be a logical necessity. The ten +<pb n='187'/><anchor id='Pg187'/> +rulers of the spheres even corresponded with the ten orders of +angels in the cosmography of the Jewish, Mohammedan, and +Christian schoolmen. The only difference between the Aristotelian +and the rabbinical views was that the former held +the cosmic powers to be eternal; the latter, that they were +created. +</p> + +<p> +In both Biblical and rabbinical literature the angels are +usually conceived of as purely spiritual powers superior to man. +Maimonides, however, following his rationalistic method, declared +them to be simply products of the imagination, the +hypostases of figurative expressions which were not meant +to be taken literally. To him every force and element of +nature is an angel or messenger of God. In this way the +entire angelology of the Bible, including even Ezekiel's vision +of the heavenly chariot (the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Merkabah</foreign>), +in becoming a part of the Maimonidean system turns into natural philosophy +pure and simple.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Yesode ha Torah</hi>, +II, 4-9; <hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, I, 43; II, 3-7, 41; III, 13; Husik, l. c., +303 f.</note> Of course, Saadia, Jehuda ha Levi, and Gabirol +do not share this rationalistic view. To them the angels +are either cosmic powers of an ethereal substance, endowed +with everlasting life, or living beings created by God for +special purposes.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Emunoth</hi>, IV, 1; VI, 2; +<hi rend='italic'>Hoboth ha Lebaboth</hi>, I, 6; +<hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, IV, 3; <hi rend='italic'>Emunah +Ramah</hi>, IV, 2; VI, 1; <hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, II, 28, 31.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The later Cabbalistic lore extended the realm of the celestial +spirits still more, creating new names of angels for its mystical +system and its magical practices. Yet in this magic it subordinated +the angels to man. In fact, it followed Saadia +largely in this, making man the center and pinnacle of the +work of creation, in fact, the very mirror of the +Creator.<note place='foot'>Zohar, III, 68; Joel: <hi rend='italic'>Religionsphilosophie +des Zohar</hi>, 278 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. For our modern viewpoint the existence of angels is a +question of psychology rather than of theology. The old +Babylonian world has vanished, with its heaven as the dwelling +<pb n='188'/><anchor id='Pg188'/> +place of God, its earth for man, and its nether world for +the shades and demons. The world in which we live knows +no above or beneath, no heaven or hell, no host of good and +evil spirits moving about to help or hurt man. It sees matter +and energy working everywhere after the same immutable +laws through an infinitude of space and time, a universe ever +evolving new orbs of light, engendering and transforming +worlds without number and without end. There is no place +in infinite space for a heaven or for a celestial throne. A +world of law and of process does not need a living ladder to +lead from the earth below to God on high. Though the stars +be peopled with souls superior to ours, still they cannot stand +nearer to God than does man with his freedom, his moral +striving, his visions of the highest and the best. Through +man's spiritual nature God, too, is recognized as a Spirit; +through man's moral consciousness God is conceived of as the +Ruler of a moral world; but this same process at once does +away with the need for any other spirits or divine powers +beside Him. God alone has become the object of human +longing. Man feels akin to His God who is ever near; he +learns to know Him ever better. He can dispense with the +angelic hosts. As they return to the fiery stream of poetic +imagination whence they emerged, nebulous figures of a glorious +world that has vanished, man rises above angel and +Seraph by his own power to the dignity of a servant, nay, a +child of God. Indeed, as the rabbis said, the prophets, sages, +and seers are the true messengers of God, the angels who do +His service.<note place='foot'>Ned. 20 b; Midr. +Teh. Ps. CIII, 17-18; Ibn Ezra: Introduction to his +commentary on the Pentateuch.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='189'/><anchor id='Pg189'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXXI. Satan and the Spirits of Evil</head> + +<p> +1. The great advantage of Judaism over other religious +systems lies in its unified view of life, which it regards as a +continuous conflict between good and evil influences within +man. As man succeeds in overcoming evil and achieving +good, he asserts his own moral personality. Outside of man +Judaism sees no real contrast between good and evil, since +both have emanated from God, the Spirit of goodness. Judaism +recognizes no primal power of evil plotting against +God and defying Him, such as that of the Persian dualism. +Nor does Judaism espouse the dualism of spirit and matter, +identifying matter with evil, from which the soul strives to +free itself while confined in the prison house of the body. +Such a conception is taught by Plato, probably under Oriental +influence, and is shared by the Hindu and Christian ascetics +who torture themselves in order to suppress bodily desire in +their quest of a higher existence. The Jewish conception of +the unity of God necessitates the unity of the world, which +leaves no place for a cosmic principle of evil. In this Judaism +dissents from modern philosophers also, such as John Stuart +Mill and even Kant, who speak of a radical evil in nature. +No power of evil can exist in independence of +God.<note place='foot'>Compare Gen. R. to Gen. I, 31.</note> As the +Psalmist says: <q>His kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the +Lord, ye angels of His, ye mighty in strength that fulfill His +word, hearkening unto the voice of His word.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. CIII, 19-20.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='190'/><anchor id='Pg190'/> + +<p> +This increased the difficulty of the problem of the origin of +evil. The answer given by the general Jewish consciousness, +expressed by both Biblical and rabbinical writers, is that evil +comes from the free will of man, who is endowed with the +power of rebelling against the will of God. This idea is symbolized +in the story of the fall of man. The serpent, or tempter, +represents the evil inclination which arises in man with his +first consciousness of freedom. So in Jewish belief Satan, +the Adversary, is only an allegorical figure, representing the +evil of the world, both physical and moral. He was sent by +God to test man for his own good, to develop him morally. +He is <q>the spirit that ever wills evil, but achieves the good,</q> +and therefore in the book of Job he actually comes before +God's throne as one of the angels.<note place='foot'>Job I, 6.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. In tracing the belief in demons we must draw a sharp +distinction between popular views and systematic +doctrine.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Demonology; Satan; Belial; Enc. Rel. and +Eth., art. Demons and Spirits, Jewish; Davidson, l. c., 300-306; Dillmann, l. c., 334-340; +D. F. Strauss, l. c., II, 1-18.</note> +During the Biblical era the people believed in goat-like spirits +roaming the fields and woods, the deserts and ravines, whom +they called <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Seirim</foreign>—hairy +demons, or satyrs,—and to whom +they sacrificed in fear and trembling.<note place='foot'>Lev. +XVII, 7; Deut. XXXII, 17; Isa. XIII, 21; XXXIV, 14.</note> As Ibn Ezra ingeniously +pointed out in his commentary, Azazel was originally +a desert demon dwelling in the ravines near Jerusalem, +to whom a scapegoat was offered at the opening of the year, +a rite preserved in the Day of Atonement cult of the Mosaic +Code.<note place='foot'>Lev. XVI, 8; see Ibn Ezra; J. E. and Enc. +Rel. and Eth., art. Azazel.</note> In fact, in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Palestine +diseases and accidents were universally ascribed to evil +spirits of the wilderness or the nether world. The Bible +occasionally mentions these evil spirits as punitive angels +sent by God. In the more popular view, which is reflected +<pb n='191'/><anchor id='Pg191'/> +by apocryphal and rabbinical literature, and which was influenced +by both the Babylonian and Persian religions, they +appear in increasing numbers and with specific names. Each +disease had its peculiar demon. Desolate places, cemeteries, +and the darkness of night were all peopled by superstition +with hosts of demons (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shedim</foreign>), +at whose head was <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Azazel</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Samael</foreign>; +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Beelzebub</foreign>, the +Philistine god of flies and of illness;<note place='foot'>J. E., art. Beelzebub.</note> +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Belial</foreign>, king of the nether +world;<note place='foot'>J. E., art. Belial.</note> or the Persian +<foreign rend='italic'>Ashma Deva</foreign> (Evil Spirit), under the Hebrew name of +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ashmodai</foreign> or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shemachzai</foreign>.<note place='foot'>Enoch VI, 7; +J. E., art. Ashmodai; Levy: W. B., Shemachzai.</note> +The queen of the demons was <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Lilith</foreign> or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Iggereth bath Mahlath</foreign>, +<q>the dancer on the housetops.</q><note place='foot'>Levy: W. B., Lilith; +Iggereth.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The Essenes seem to have made special studies of both +demonology and angelology, believing that they could invoke +the good spirits and conjure the evil ones, thus curing various +diseases, which they ascribed to possession by demons. While +these exorcisms are not so common in the Talmud as they are +in the New Testament, there remain many indications that +such practices were followed by Jewish saints and believed +by the people. Often the rabbis seem to have considered +them the work of <q>unclean spirits,</q> which they endeavored +to overcome with the <q>spirit of holiness,</q> and particularly +by the study of the Torah.<note place='foot'>J. E., art. Demonology.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. This answers implicitly the question of the origin of +demons. Obviously the belief in malevolent spirits is incompatible +with the existence of an all-benign and all-wise Creator. +Accordingly, two alternative explanations are offered in the +rabbinical and apocalyptic writings. According to one, the +demons are half angelic and half animal beings, sharing intelligence +and flight with the angels, sensuality with beasts +and with men. Their double nature is ascribed to incompleteness, +because they were created last of all beings, and +<pb n='192'/><anchor id='Pg192'/> +their creation was interrupted by the coming of the Sabbath, +putting an end to all creation.<note place='foot'>Aboth V, 6; +P. d. R. El., XIX; Gen. R. VII, 7.</note> According to the other view +they are the offspring of the <q>fallen angels,</q> issuing from the +union of the angels with the daughters of men as described in +Gen. VI, 1 f. These spread the virus of impurity over all the +earth, causing carnal desire and every kind of lewdness. The +whole world of demons is regarded as alienated from God by +the rebellion of the heavenly hosts, as if the fall of man by +sin had its prototype in the celestial +sphere.<note place='foot'>Enoch VII; Yalkut Gen. 44, 47.</note> A rabbinical +legend, which corresponds with a Persian myth, ascribes the +origin of demons to the intercourse of Adam with Lilith, the +night spirit.<note place='foot'>Erubin, 18 b.</note> +On the other hand, the archangel Samael is +said to have cast lascivious glances at the beauty of Eve, and +then to have turned into Satan the Tempter.<note place='foot'>P. +d. R. El., XIII; Yalkut Gen. 25.</note> The Jewish +systems of both angelology and demonology, first worked out +in the apocalyptic literature, were further elaborated by the +Cabbalah. +</p> + +<p> +Angelology found a conspicuous place in the liturgy in +connection with the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Kedushah</foreign> +Benediction and likewise in +the liturgy and the theology of the Church.<note place='foot'>See +Abrahams' Ann. to Singers' <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb</hi>. +XLIV f. and for the Church, Enc. +Rel, and Eth., Demons and Spirits, Christian.</note> +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand the belief in evil spirits and in Satan, +the Evil One, remained rather a matter of popular credulity +and never became a positive doctrine of the Synagogue. +True, the liturgy contained morning prayers which asked God +for protection against the Evil One, and formulas invoking +the angels to shield one during the night from evil +spirits.<note place='foot'>Abrahams, l. c., p. 7, 196; XX, CCXV.</note> +But the arch-fiend was never invested with power over the +soul, depriving man of his perfect freedom and divine sovereignty, +as in the Christian Church. +</p> + +<pb n='193'/><anchor id='Pg193'/> + +<p> +4. In the formation of the idea of the arch-fiend, Satan, +we can observe the interworking of several elements. The +name Satan in no way indicates a demon. It denotes simply +the adversary, the one who offers hindrances. The name was +thus applied to the accuser at court.<note place='foot'>Ps. +CIX, 6.</note> In Zechariah and in +Job<note place='foot'>Zech. III, 1; Job I, 6.</note> +Satan appears at the throne of God as the prosecutor, +roaming about the earth to espy the transgressions of men, +seeking to lure them to their destruction. In the Books of +Chronicles<note place='foot'>I Chron. XXI, 1.</note> +Satan has become a proper name, meaning the +Seducer. +</p> + +<p> +The Serpent in the Paradise story is more completely a +demon, although the legend intends rather to account for +man's morality, his distinction between good and evil. Satan +was then identified with the serpent, who was called by the +rabbis <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Nahash ha Kadmoni</foreign>, +<q>the primeval Serpent,</q> after +the analogy of the serpent-like form of Ahriman. Thus +Satan in the person of the serpent became the embodiment of +evil, the prime cause of sin and death.<note place='foot'>See +B. Wisdom II, 24; P. d. R. El., XIII.</note> Possibly a part in +this process was played by the Babylonian figure of +<foreign rend='italic'>Tihamat</foreign>, +the dragon of <emph>chaos</emph> (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Tehom</foreign> +in the Hebrew), with whom the +god Marduk wrestled for dominion over the world, and who +has parallels in the Biblical Rahab and similar mythological +figures. +</p> + +<p> +We must not overlook such rabbinical legends as the one +about how the poisonous breath of the serpent infected the +whole human race, except Israel who has been saved by the law +at Sinai.<note place='foot'>Shab. 146 a; Yeb. 103 b; Ab. +Zar. 22 b.</note> Occasionally we hear that the Evil Spirit +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yezer ha Ra</foreign>) +will be slain by God<note place='foot'>Suk. 52 a.</note> +or by the Messiah.<note place='foot'>Targ. to Isa. XI, 4.</note> These Haggadic +sayings, however, were never accepted as normative for religious +belief. On the contrary, they were always in dispute, +<pb n='194'/><anchor id='Pg194'/> +and many a Talmudic teacher minimized the fiendish character +of Satan, who became a stimulus to moral betterment through +the trials he imposes.<note place='foot'>B. B. +16 a.</note> Philo, allegorizing the legends, turns +the evil angels of the Bible into wicked +men.<note place='foot'>De Gigantibus, 2-4.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. As to demons in general, the Talmudists never doubted +their existence, but endeavored to minimize their importance. +They changed the demon <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Azazel</foreign> +into a geographical term by transposing the +letters.<note place='foot'>Sifra Lev. XVI, 8; Yoma, 67 b.</note> +They explained <q>the sons of God +who came to the daughters of men to give birth to the giants +of old</q> as aristocratic Sethites who intermarried with low-class +families of the Cainites.<note place='foot'>See the Ethiopic +<q>Adam and Eve</q>; C. Bezold, <hi rend='italic'>Die Schalzhochle</hi>, p. 18; +comp. Gen. R. XXVI.</note> As to the rest, the entire +belief in demons and ghosts was too deeply rooted in the folk +mind to be counteracted by the rabbis. Even lucid thinkers +of the Middle Ages were caught by these baneful superstitions, +including Jehuda ha Levi, Crescas, and Nahmanides, the +mystic.<note place='foot'>See D. Cassel: <hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, +p. 402 note.</note> Only a small group fought against this offshoot of +fear and superstition, among them Saadia, Maimonides and +his school, Ibn Ezra, Gersonides, and Juda Ibn Balag. To +Maimonides the demons mentioned in Mishnah and Talmud +are only figurative expressions for physical plagues. He considers +the belief in demons equivalent to a belief in pagan +deities. <q>Many pious Israelites,</q> he +says,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi> +III, 29-37, 46; Ibn Ezra to Job I, 6; comp. Finkelscherer: +<hi rend='italic'>Maimunis' Stellung zum Aberglauben</hi>, 1894, +p. 40-51.</note> <q>believe in the +reality of demons and witches, thinking that they should not +be made the object of worship and regard, for the reason that +the Torah has prohibited it. But they fail to see that the +Law commands us to banish all these things from sight, because +they are but falsehood and deceit, as is the whole +idolatry with which they are intrinsically connected.</q> +</p> + +<pb n='195'/><anchor id='Pg195'/> + +<p> +6. This sound view was disseminated by the rationalistic +school in its contest with the Cabbalah, and has exerted a +wholesome influence upon modern Judaism. Thus Satan is +rejected by Jewish doctrine, while Luther and Calvin, the +Reformers of the Christian Church, still believed in him. +Milton's <q>Paradise Lost</q> placed him in the very foreground +of Christian belief, and the leaders of the Protestant Churches, +up to the present, accord him a prominent place in their +scheme of salvation, as the opponent and counterpart of God. +In his work on Christian dogmatics, David Friedrich Strauss +observes acutely: <q>The whole (Christian) idea of the Messiah +and his kingdom must necessarily have as its counterpart a +kingdom of demons with a personal ruler at its head; without +this it is no more possible than the north pole of the magnet +would be without a south pole. If Christ has come to destroy +the works of the Devil, there would be no need for him to +come, unless there were a Devil. On the other hand, if the +Devil is to be considered merely the personification of evil, +then a Christ who would be only the personification of the +ideal, but not a real personality, would suffice +equally.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Christliche +Glaubenslehre</hi>, II, 18.</note> +At present Christian theologians and even philosophers have +recourse to Platonic and Buddhist ideas, that evil is implanted +in the world from which humanity must free itself, and they +thus present Christianity as the <emph>religion of redemption par +excellence</emph>.<note place='foot'>Euken, +<hi rend='italic'>D. Wahrheitsgehalt d. Religion</hi>, p. 384, +402; Bousset, <hi rend='italic'>Wesen d. +Rel.</hi>, p. 239.</note> Over against this, Judaism still maintains that +there is no radical or primitive evil in the world. No power +exists which is intrinsically hostile to God, and from which +man must be redeemed. According to the Jewish conception, +the goodness and glory of God fill both heaven and +earth, while holiness penetrates all of life, bringing matter +and flesh within the realm of the divine. Evil is but the contrast +<pb n='196'/><anchor id='Pg196'/> +of good, as shade is but the contrast of light. Evil can +be overcome by each individual, as he realizes his own solemn +duty and the divine will. Its only existence is in the field of +morality, where it is a test of man's freedom and power. Evil +is within man, and against it he is to wage the battles of life, +until his victory signalizes the triumph of the divine in his +own nature.<note place='foot'>See H. Cohen: +<hi rend='italic'>Ethik des reinen Willens</hi>, 282 f., 341 f., 428 f., 593: +<q>Eine Macht des Boesen gibt es nur im Mythos.</q> <q>Dieser Mythos fuehrt +folgerichtig sum mythologischen Gottmenschen.</q> M. Joel, in his article, +<q>Der Mosaismus und das Heidenthum,</q> in J. B. j. Gesch. u. Lit, 1904, p. 49-66, +ascribes the belief in demons to Greek influence. He holds that the prophetic +teaching of God's unity was the best bulwark against demonology and +mysticism.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='197'/><anchor id='Pg197'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_XXXII'/> +<head>Chapter XXXII. God and the Intermediary Powers</head> + +<p> +1. In addition to the angels who carried out God's will +in the universe, the Biblical and post-Biblical literature recognizes +other divine powers which mediate between Him and +the world of man. The more a seer or thinker became conscious +of the spirituality and transcendency of God, the more +he felt the gulf between the infinite Spirit and the world of the +senses. In order to bridge this gap, the Deity was replaced by +one of His manifestations which could appear and act in a +world circumscribed by space and time.<note place='foot'>See +Dillmann, l. c., 341-351; Weber, l. c., 177-190; Bousset, l. c., 336, +346; Davidson, l. c, 36-38, 115-129; Schechter, Aspects, p. 21-45; Schmiedl, +l. c., 35-48; J. E., art. Holy Spirit; Logos; Memra; Metatron; Name of +God; Shekinah; Enc. Rel. and Eth., I, 308-312.</note> As we found in +prophecy the direct revelation of God giving way to a mediating +angel, so either <q>the Glory</q> or <q>the Name</q> of JHVH +takes the place of God himself. That is, instead of God's +own being, His reflected radiance or the power invested in +His name descends from on high. The rabbis kept the direct +revelation of God for the hallowed past or the desired future, +but at the same time they needed a suitable term for the +presence of God; they therefore coined the word +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shekinah</foreign>—<q>the +divine Condescension</q> or <q>Presence</q>—to be used +instead of the Deity himself. Thus the verse of the +Psalm:<note place='foot'>Ps. LXXXII, 1.</note> +<q>God standeth in the congregation of God,</q> is translated by +the Targum, <q>The divine Presence (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shekinah</foreign>) +resteth upon +<pb n='198'/><anchor id='Pg198'/> +the congregation of the godly.</q> Instead of the conclusion of +the speech to Moses, <q>Let them make Me a sanctuary, that +I may dwell among them,</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XXV, +8.</note> the Targum has, <q>And I shall +let My Presence (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shekinah</foreign>) +dwell among them.</q> Thus in the view of the rabbis +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shekinah</foreign> represents the visible part of +the divine majesty, which descends from heaven to earth, +and on the radiance of which are fed the spiritual beings, +both angels and the souls of the saints.<note place='foot'>Ber. +17 a.</note> God himself was +wrapped in light, whose brilliancy no living being, however +lofty, could endure; but the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shekinah</foreign> or reflection of the +divine glory might be beheld by the elect either in their lifetime +or in the hereafter. In this way the rabbis solved many +contradictory passages of Scripture, some of which speak of +God as invisible, while others describe man as beholding +Him.<note place='foot'>See Ber., l. c., Rab's reference to Ex. XXIV, 11.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. Just as the references to God's appearing to man suggested +luminous powers mediating the vision of God, so the +passages which represent God as speaking suggest powers +mediating the voice. Hence arose the conception of the +divine <emph>Word</emph>, invested with divine powers both physical and +spiritual. The first act of God in the Bible is that He spoke, +and by this word the world came into being. The <emph>Word</emph> was +thus conceived of as the first created being, an intermediary +power between the Spirit of the world and the created world +order. The word of God, important in the cosmic order, is +still more so in the moral and spiritual worlds. The Word +is at times a synonym of divine revelation to the men of the +early generations or to Israel, the bearer of the Law. Hence +the older Haggadah places beside the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shekinah</foreign> the divine +<emph>Word</emph> (Hebrew, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Maamar</foreign>; +Aramaic, <foreign rend='italic'>Memra</foreign>; Greek, +<foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>Logos</foreign>) as +the intermediary force of revelation. +</p> + +<p> +Contact with the Platonic and Stoic philosophies led +gradually to a new development which appears in Philo. The +<pb n='199'/><anchor id='Pg199'/> +Word or Logos becomes <q>the first-created Son of God,</q> having +a personality independent from God; in fact he is a kind of +vice regent of God himself. From this it was but a short step +toward considering him a partner and peer of the Almighty, +as was done by the Church with its doctrine that the Word +became flesh in Christ, the son of God.<note place='foot'>John +I, 1-6.</note> In view of this the +rabbinical schools gave up the idea of the personified Word, +replacing it with the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Torah</foreign> +or the <emph>Spirit of God</emph>. The older +term was retained only in liturgical formulas, such as: <q>Who +created the heavens by His Word,</q> or, <q>Who by His Word +created the twilight and by Wisdom openeth the gates of +heaven.</q><note place='foot'>Singer's +<hi rend='italic'>Prayerbook</hi>, p. 96, 292.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. As has been shown above,<note place='foot'>Ch. +<ref target='Chapter_XXII'>XXII</ref>. See Prov. VIII, 22.</note> Wisdom is described in the +Bible as the first of all created beings, the assistant and counselor +of God in the work of creation. Then we see that Ben +Sira identifies Wisdom with the Torah.<note place='foot'>XXIV, 9 f.</note> Thus the Torah, +too, was raised to a cosmic power, the sum and substance of +all wisdom. In fact, the Torah, like the Logos of Plato, was +regarded as comprising the ideas or prototypes of all things +as in a universal plan. The Torah is the divine pattern for +the world. In such a connection <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Torah</foreign> +is far from meaning the Law, as Weber +asserts.<note place='foot'>Weber, l. c., 197 f.</note> It means rather the heavenly +book of instruction which contains all the wisdom of the ages, +and which God himself used as guide at the Creation. God is +depicted as an architect with His plan drafted before He began +the erection of the edifice,—a conception which avoids all +danger of deifying the Logos. +</p> + +<p> +4. Several other conceptions, however, do not belong at all +to the intermediary powers, where Weber places +them.<note place='foot'>L. c., 178 f.</note> This +applies to <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Metatron</foreign> +(identical with the Persian Mithras),<note place='foot'>See Kohut: +<hi rend='italic'>Jued, Angelologie</hi>, 36-38; Schorr: He Halutz, VIII, 3; +J. E., art. Merkabah.</note> +<pb n='200'/><anchor id='Pg200'/> +whom the mystic lore calls the charioteer of the heavenly +throne-chariot, represented by the rabbis as the highest of +the angels, leader of the heavenly hosts, and vice-regent of +God. That no cosmic power was ascribed to him is proved +by the very fact of his identification with Enoch, whom the +pre-Talmudic Haggadah describes as taken up into heaven +and changed into an angel of the highest rank, standing near +God's throne.<note place='foot'>See Targ. Yer. to +Gen. V, 24; J. E., art. Metatron. Comp. Eth. Enoch +LXX, 1, and Slav. Enoch III-XXIV.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. The only real mediator between God and man is the +<emph>Spirit of God</emph>, which is mentioned in connection with both +the creation and divine revelation. In the first chapter of +Genesis the Spirit of God is described as hovering over the +gloom of chaos like the mother bird over the egg, ready to +hatch out the nascent world.<note place='foot'>Gen. I, 2.</note> God breathed His spirit +into the body of man, to make him also +god-like.<note place='foot'>Gen. II, 7; VI, 3; Job XXXII, 8.</note> The prophet +likewise is inspired by the spirit of God to see visions and to +hear the divine message.<note place='foot'>Num. XI, 17 +f.; XXIV, 2; XXVII, 18; Ex. XXVIII, 3; XXXI, 3 f.; +Isa. XI, 2; LXI, 1; Ezek. I, 12, 20.</note> Thus the spirit of God has two +aspects; it is the cosmic principle which imbues primal +matter with life; it is a link between the soul of man and God +on high. The view of Ezekiel was but one step from this, to +conceive the spirit as a personal being, and place him beside +God as an angel. +</p> + +<p> +The prophets and psalmists, feeling the spirit of God upon +them, considered it an emanation of the Deity. Still, a profounder +insight soon disapproved the severance of the Spirit +of God from God himself, as if He were not altogether <emph>spirit</emph>. Therefore +the accepted term came to be the <emph>Holy Spirit</emph>.<note place='foot'>Isa. +LXIII, 10; Ps. LI, 13.</note> +In this form, however, his personality became more distinct +and his separate existence more defined. Henceforth he is +<pb n='201'/><anchor id='Pg201'/> +the messenger of God, performing miracles or causing them, +speaking in the place of God, or defending His people Israel. +Nay, more, the Holy Spirit is supposed to have dictated the +words of Scripture to the sacred writers, and to have inspired +the Men of the Great Synagogue in collecting the sacred +writings into a canon.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Holy Spirit.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Moreover, the workings of the Holy Spirit continued long +after the completion of the Biblical canon. All the chief +institutions of the Synagogue originally claimed that they +were prompted by the Holy Spirit, resting upon the leaders of +the community. This claim was basic to the authority of +tradition and the continuity of the authority of Jewish +lore. It seems, however, that certain abuses were caused by +miracle-workers who disseminated false doctrines under the +alleged inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the rabbis +restricted such claims to ancient times and insisted more +strongly than ever upon the preservation of the traditional +lore. For a time a substitute was found in the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Bath Kol</foreign> +(<q>Echo</q> or <q>Whisper of a heavenly voice</q>), but this also +was soon discredited by the schools.<note place='foot'>See +J. E. art., Bath Kol.</note> Obviously the rabbis +desired to avert the deification of either the Holy Spirit or +the Word. Sound common sense was their norm for interpreting +the truth of the divine revelation. In other words, +they relied on God alone as the living force in the development +of Judaism. +</p> + +<p> +6. But some sort of mediation was ascribed to several +other spiritual forces. First, the <emph>Name</emph> of God often takes +the place of God himself.<note place='foot'>See Tos. +Sota XIII, 2; XXLV, 11; compare Levy: W. B., <hi rend='italic'>Shem;</hi> Geiger: +<hi rend='italic'>Urschrift</hi>, 273 f.</note> When the name of the Deity was +called over some hallowed spot, the worshipers felt that the +presence of God also was bound up with the sacred +place.<note place='foot'>Deut. XII, 5, 11; II Sam. XII, +28; Neh. I, 9; Jer. VII, 12, 14.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='202'/><anchor id='Pg202'/> + +<p> +<q>My name is in him,</q> says God of the angel whom He sends +to lead the people.<note place='foot'>Ex. +XXIII, 21.</note> The invocation of the name was believed +to have an actual influence upon the Deity. Furthermore, +since God is frequently represented as swearing by His own +name,<note place='foot'>Jer. XLIV, 26; Isa. +XLV, 23.</note> this ineffable name was invested with magic powers, +as if God himself dwelt therein.<note place='foot'>Midr. +Teh. to Ps. XXXVIII, 8; XCI, 8.</note> Thus it came to be used +as a talisman by the popular saints.<note place='foot'>Taan. +III, 8.</note> Indeed, God is described +as conjuring the depths of the abyss by His holy +name, lest they overflow their +boundaries.<note place='foot'>Prayer of Manasses, 3.</note> Moreover, the +Name, like the Word, or Logos, was regarded as a creative +power, so that we are told that before the world was created +there were only God and His holy Name.<note place='foot'>P. +d. R. El. III.</note> Owing to the +introduction of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Adonai</foreign> +(the Lord) for JHVH, the pronunciation +of the Name fell into oblivion and the Name itself became +a mystery; therefore its cosmic element also was lost +and it dropped into the sphere of mystic and philosophical +speculation. +</p> + +<p> +7. Another attribute of God which received some attention, +owing to the frequent mention of the omnipotence of God in +the Bible, was <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ha Geburah</foreign> +(the Power). A familiar rabbinic +expression is: <q>We have heard from the mouth of the Power,</q> +that is, from the divine omnipotence.<note place='foot'>See +Levy: W. B., <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Geburah</foreign>.</note> Two fundamental +principles were early perceived in the moral order of the +world: the punitive justice and compassion of God. These +were taken as the meanings of the two most common Biblical +names of God, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>JHVH</foreign> +and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elohim</foreign>. Elohim, being occasionally +used in dispensing justice,<note place='foot'>Ex. +XXI, 6.</note> was thought to signify God +in His capacity as Judge of the whole earth, and hence as the +divine Justice. JHVH, on the other hand, meant the divine +mercy, as it was used in the revelation of the long-suffering +<pb n='203'/><anchor id='Pg203'/> +and merciful God to Moses after the sin of Israel before the +golden calf.<note place='foot'>Ex. XXXIV, 5 +f.</note> Thus both the rabbis and Philo<note place='foot'>Gen. R. +XXI, 8; Targ. Ps. LVI, 11, and see Siegfried: <hi rend='italic'>Philo</hi>, +213 f.</note> often speak of +these two attributes, justice and mercy, as though they constituted +independent beings, deliberating with God as to what He +should do. The Midrash tells in a parable how before the +creation of man, Justice, Mercy, Truth, and Peace were called +in by God as His counselors to deliberate whether or no man +should be created.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. VIII, 5, after Ps. LXXXV, 11-12.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. One Haggadah concludes from the passage about Creation +in Proverbs, that there are three creative powers, Wisdom, +Understanding, and Knowledge.<note place='foot'>P. d. R. El. +III; Midr. Teh. Ps. L, 1, ref. to Prov. III, 19-20.</note> Another derives from +Scripture seven creative principles: Knowledge, Understanding, +Might, Grace and Mercy, Justice and Rebuke;<note place='foot'>A. +d. R. N. XXXVII, ref. to Prov. III, 19 f.; Ps. LXV, 7; LXXXV, 21-22; +Job XXVII, 11.</note> and +seven attributes which do service before God's throne: Wisdom, +Judgment and Justice, Grace and Mercy, Truth and +Peace.<note place='foot'>Ref. to Hosea II, 21-22.</note> +By combining these lists of three and seven this was +finally enlarged to ten, which became the basis for the entire +mystic lore. Thus the Babylonian master Rab enumerates +ten creative principles: Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge, +Might and Power, Rebuke, Justice and Righteousness, +Love and Mercy.<note place='foot'>Hag. 12 a.</note> It +is hard to say whether the ten attributes +of the Haggadah are at all connected with the ten +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sefiroth</foreign> +(cosmic forces or circles) of the Cabbalah. These last are +hardly the creation of pure monotheism, but rather emanations +from the infinite, conceived after the pattern of heathen +ideas.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Sefiroth, the Ten; Yezirah, Sefer.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. The assumption of all these intermediaries aimed +chiefly to spiritualize the conception of God and to elevate +<pb n='204'/><anchor id='Pg204'/> +Him above all child-like, anthropomorphic views, so that He +becomes a free Mind ruling the whole universe. At the same +time, it became natural to ascribe material substance to these +intermediaries. As they filled the chasm between the supermundane +Deity and the world of the senses, they had to +share the nature of both matter and mind. Hence the +Shekinah and the Holy Spirit are described by both the rabbis +and the medieval philosophers as a fine, luminous, or ethereal +substance.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Shekinah; +<hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, II, 4; IV, 3.</note> +The entire ancient and medieval systems were +modeled after the idea of a ladder leading up, step by step, +from the lowest to the highest sphere; God, the Most High, +being at the same time above the highest rung of the ladder +and yet also a part of the whole. +</p> + +<p> +10. Our modern system of thought holds the relation of +God to nature and man to be quite different from all this. +To our mind God is the only moral and spiritual power of life. +He is mirrored in the moral and spiritual as well as intellectual +nature of man, and therefore is near to the human +conscience, owing to the divine forces within man himself. +Not the world without, but the world within leads us to God +and tells us what God is. Hence we need no intermediary +beings, and they all evaporate before our mental horizon like +mist, pictures of the imagination without objective reality. +Ibn Ezra says in the introduction to his commentary on the +Bible that the human reason is the true intermediating angel +between God and man, and we hold this to be true of both +the intellect and the conscience. For the theologian and the +student of religion to-day the center of gravity of religion is +to be sought in psychology and anthropology. In all his +upward striving, his craving and yearning for the highest and +the best, in his loftiest aspirations and ideals, man, like Isaiah +the prophet, can behold only the hem of God's garment; he +seeks God above him, because he feels Him within himself. +<pb n='205'/><anchor id='Pg205'/> +He must pass, however, through the various stages of growth, +until his self-knowledge leads to the knowledge of the God +before whom he kneels in awe. Then finally he feels Him +as his Father, his Educator in the school of life, the Master +of the universal plan in which the individual also has a place +in building up the divine kingdom of truth, justice, and holiness +on earth. For centuries he groped for God, until he +received a Book to serve as <q>a lamp to his feet and a light to +his path,</q> to interpret to him his longing and his craving. +Israel's Book of Books must ever be re-read and re-interpreted +by Israel, the keeper of the book, through ages yet to come. +Well may we say: the mediator between God and the world +is <emph>man</emph>, the son of God; the mediator between God and +humanity is <emph>Israel</emph>, the people of God. +</p> + + +</div> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='206'/><anchor id='Pg206'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Part II. Man</head> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXXIII. Man's Place in Creation</head> + +<p> +1. The doctrine concerning man is inseparably connected +with that about God. Heathenism formed its deities after +the image of man; they were merely human beings of a larger +growth. Judaism, on the contrary, asserts that God is +beyond comparison with mankind; He is a purely spiritual +being without form or image, and therefore utterly unlike +man. On the other hand, man has a divine nature, as he +was made in the image of God, fashioned after His likeness. +The highest and deepest in man, his mental, moral, and spiritual +life, is the reflection of the divine nature implanted within +him, a force capable of ever greater development toward +perfection. This unique distinction among all creatures gives +man the highest place in all creation. +</p> + +<p> +2. The superiority of the human race is expressed differently +in various passages in Scripture. According to the first chapter +of Genesis the whole work of creation finds its culmination +in man, whose making is introduced by a solemn appeal +of God to the hosts of heaven: <q>Let us make man in our +image, after our likeness.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. I, 26, +and the commentaries.</note> This declaration proclaimed +that man was the completion and the climax of the physical +creation, as well as the beginning of a new order of creation, +<pb n='207'/><anchor id='Pg207'/> +a world of moral aims and purposes, of self-perfection and self-control. +In the world of man all life is placed at the service +of a higher ideal, after the divine pattern. +</p> + +<p> +The second chapter of Genesis depicts man's creation +differently. Here he appears as the first of created beings, +leading a life of perfect innocence in the garden of divine bliss. +Before him God brings all the newly created beings that he +may give them a name and a purpose. But the Serpent enters +Paradise as tempter, casting the seed of discord into the +hearts of the man and the woman. As they prove too feeble +to resist temptation, they can no longer remain in the heavenly +garden in their former happy state. Only the memory of +Paradise remains, a golden dream to cast hope over the life +of struggle and labor into which they enter. The idea of the +legend is that man's proper place is not among beings of +the earth, but he can reach his lofty destiny only by arduous +struggle with the world of the senses and a constant striving +toward the divine. The same idea is expressed more directly +in the eighth Psalm: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?</q></l> +<l>And the son of man, that Thou thinkest of him?</l> +<l>Yet Thou hast made him but little lower than the godly beings (Elohim)</l> +<l>And hast crowned him with glory and honor.</l> +<l>Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands;</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Thou hast put all things under his feet.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +3. According to the Haggadists,<note place='foot'>Gen. +R. VIII, 9.</note> before the fall man excelled +even the angels in appearance and wisdom, so that +they were ready to prostrate themselves before him. Only +when God caused a deep sleep to fall upon man, they recognized +his frailty and kinship with other beings of the earth. +The idea expressed in this legend resembles the one implied +in the legend of Paradise, viz. man has a twofold nature. +With his heavenly spirit he can soar freely to the highest +<pb n='208'/><anchor id='Pg208'/> +realm of thought, above the station of the angels; yet his +earthly frame holds him ever near the dust. It is this very +contrast that constitutes his greatness, for it makes him a +citizen of two worlds, one perishable, the other eternal. He is +the highest result of Creation, the pride of the +Creator.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. XIV, 1.</note> +Thus he was appointed God's vice-regent on earth by the +words spoken to the first man and woman: <q>Be fruitful, +and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and +have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of +the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the +earth.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. I, 28.</note> +The rabbis add a striking comment upon the word +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>R'du</foreign>, +which is used here for <q>have dominion</q> but which may +also mean, <q>go down.</q> They say: <q>The choice is left in +man's own hand. If you maintain your heaven-born dignity, +you will have dominion over all things; if not, you will descend +to the level of the brute creation.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +R. VIII, 12; P. d. R. El., XI.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. An ancient Mishnah derives a significant lesson from +the story of the creation of man<note place='foot'>Sanh. +IV, 5, correctly preserved in the Yerushalmi, and the addition in +the Babli, <foreign rend='italic'>Me Yisrael</foreign>, +ought not to have been inserted by Schechter, Ab. d. +R.N., p. 90.</note>: <q>Both the vegetable and +animal worlds were created in multitudes. Man alone was +created as a single individual in order that he may realize +that he constitutes a world in himself, and carries within +him the true value of life. Hence each human being is entitled +to say: <q>The whole world was created for my sake.</q> +He who saves a single human life is as one who saves a whole +world, and he who destroys a single human life is as one +who destroys a whole world.</q> +</p> + +<p> +5. While it is man's spiritual side which is the image of +God, yet he derives all his powers and faculties from earthly +life, just as a tree draws its strength from the soil in which it +is rooted. Judaism does not consider the soul the exclusive +<pb n='209'/><anchor id='Pg209'/> +seat of the divine, as opposed to the body. In fact, Judaism +admits no complete dualism of spirit and matter, however +striking some aspects of their contrast may be. The whole +human personality is divine, just so far as it asserts its freedom +and molds its motives toward a divine end. In recognition +of this fact Hillel claimed reverence for the human +body as well as mind, comparing it to the homage rendered +to the statue of a king, for man is made in the image of God, +the King of all the world.<note place='foot'>Lev. +R. XXXIV, 3.</note> Thus the Greek idea that man is a +<emph>microcosm</emph>, a world in miniature, reflecting the cosmos on a +smaller scale, was expressed in the Tannaitic schools +as well.<note place='foot'>Ab. d. R. N. XXXI.</note> +The stamp of divinity is borne by man in his entire heaven-aspiring +nature, as he strives to elevate the very realm of the +senses into the sphere of morality and holiness. +</p> + +<p> +6. In this respect the Jewish view parts from that of Plato +and the Hindu philosophers. These divide man into a pure +celestial soul and an impure earthly body and hold that the +physical life is tainted by sin, while the spirit is divine only +in so far as it frees itself from its prison house of flesh. Judaism, +on the other hand, emphasizes the unified character +of man, by which he can bend all his faculties and functions +to a godlike mastery over the material world. This appears +first in his upright posture and heavenward glance, which +proclaim him master over the whole animal world cowering +before him in lowly dread. His whole bodily structure corresponds +to this, with its constant growth, its wondrous +symmetry, and the unique flexibility of the hands, with which +he can perform ever new and greater achievements. Above +all, we see the nobility of man in his high forehead and receding +jaw, which contrast so strikingly with the structure of +most animals and even with many of the lower races. Indeed, +primitive man could scarcely imagine a nobler pattern by +which to model his deity than the figure of a man. +</p> + +<pb n='210'/><anchor id='Pg210'/> + +<p> +7. In fact, the Biblical verse, <q>God created man after the +image of the divine beings</q> (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>elohim</foreign>), +was originally taken literally, in the sense that angels posed as models for the +creation of man.<note place='foot'>See Jubilees +XV, 27; comp. Gen. R. VIII, 7-9; Ab. d. R. N., ed. Schechter, +p. 153.</note> The phrase was referred to the spiritual, +god-like nature of man only when the difference between +material and spiritual things became better understood, and +man obtained a clearer knowledge of himself. Man grew to +feel that his craving for the perfect, whether in the field of +truth and right, or of beauty, is the force which lifts him, in +spite of all his limitations, into the realm of the divine. His +soaring imagination and ceaseless longing for perfection disclose +before his eyes a partial vista of the infinite. The human +spirit carries mortal man above the confines of time and space +into those boundless realms where God resides in lonely +majesty.<note place='foot'>See Jellinek: +<hi rend='italic'>Bezelem Elohim;</hi> Philippson, l. c., II, 58-72; Dillmann, l. c., +325. The words of Plato (<hi rend='italic'>State</hi>, X, 613, +and <hi rend='italic'>Theætetos</hi>, 176), <q>Man should +strive for God-likeness through virtue, and be holy, righteous and wise like the +Deity,</q> may have influenced the ethical interpretation of the Biblical term.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Man did not emanate perfect from the hand of the Creator, +but ready for an ever greater perfection. Being the last of +all created beings, as the Midrash says, he can be put to +shame by the smallest insect, which is prior to him. Yet +before the beginning of creation a light shone upon his spirit +that has illumined his achievements through untold +generations.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. VIII, 1.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. The resemblance of man to God is attributed also to +his free will and self-consciousness, by which he claims moral +dignity and mastery over all things.<note place='foot'>See +Gen. I, 26; Comm. of Rashi, Saadia, Ibn Ezra, Nahmanides, and Ob. +Sforno.</note> Still, all these superior +qualities which we call human are not ready-made endowments, +free gifts bestowed by God; they are simply potentialities +<pb n='211'/><anchor id='Pg211'/> +which may be gradually developed. Man must +strive to attain the place destined for him in the scheme of +creation by the exertion of his own will and the unfolding of +the powers that lie within him. The impulse toward self-perfection, +which is constantly stimulated by the desire to +overcome obstacles and to extend one's power, knowledge, +and possessions, forms the kernel of the divine in man. This +is the <q>spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty, that +giveth them understanding.</q><note place='foot'>Job +XXXII, 8.</note> Thus the teaching of modern +science, of the gradual ascent of man through all the stages +of animal life, does not impair the lofty position in creation +which Judaism has assigned him. Plant and animal are what +they have always been, children of the earth; man with his +heaven-aspiring soul is the image of his Creator, a child of +God. Giver of name and purpose to all things about him, +he ranks above the angels; he <q>marches on while all the rest +stand still.</q><note place='foot'>Zach. III, 7; see comm.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='212'/><anchor id='Pg212'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_XXXIV'/> +<head>Chapter XXXIV. The Dual Nature of Man</head> + +<p> +1. According to Jewish doctrines, man is formed by a +union of two natures: the flesh, which he shares with all the +animals, and the spirit, which renders him a child of God. +The former is rooted in the earth and is earthward bent; the +latter is a <q>breath from God</q> and strives to unfold the divine +in man until he attains the divine image. This discord brings +a tremendous internal conflict, leading from one historic +stage to another, achieving ever higher things, intellectual, +moral, and spiritual, until at last the whole earth is to be a +divine kingdom, the dwelling-place of truth, goodness, and +holiness. +</p> + +<p> +2. According to the Biblical view man consists of flesh +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>basar</foreign>) and spirit +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ruah</foreign>). The term flesh is used impartially +of all animals, hence the Biblical term <q>all flesh</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +VI, 12, 19.</note> +includes both man and beast. The body becomes a living +being by being penetrated with the <q>breath of life</q> +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ruah +hayim</foreign>), at whose departure the living body turns at once into +a lifeless clod. This breath of life is possessed by the animal +as well as by man, as both of them breathe the air. Hence +in ancient tongues <q>breath</q> and <q>soul</q> are used as synonyms, +as the Hebrew <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>nefesh</foreign> and +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>neshamah</foreign>, the Latin +<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>anima</foreign> and +<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>spiritus</foreign>, the Greek +<foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>pneuma</foreign> and +<foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>psyche</foreign>. A different primitive +belief connected the soul with the blood, noting that man or +beast dies when the hot life-blood flows out of the body, so +that we read in the Bible, <q>the blood is the soul.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +IX, 21; Lev. XVII, 11, 14.</note> In this +<pb n='213'/><anchor id='Pg213'/> +the soul is identified with the life, while the word +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ruah</foreign>, denoting +the moving force of the air, is used more in the sense +of spirit or soul as distinct from the body. +</p> + +<p> +Thus both man and beast possess a soul, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>nefesh</foreign>. The soul +of man is merely distinguished by its richer endowment, its +manifold faculties by which it is enabled to move forward to +higher things. Thus the animal soul is bound for all time to +its destined place, while the divine spirit in man makes him +a free creative personality, self-conscious and god-like. For +this reason the creation of man forms a special act in the +account in Genesis. Both the plant and animal worlds rose +at God's bidding from the soil of mother earth, and the soul +of the animal is limited in origin and goal by the earthly +sphere. The creation of man inaugurates a new world. God +is described as forming the body of man from the dust of the +earth and then breathing His spirit into the lifeless frame, +endowing it with both life and personality. The whole man, +both body and soul, has thus the potentiality of a higher and +nobler life. +</p> + +<p> +3. Accordingly Scripture does not have a thorough-going +dualism, of a carnal nature which is sinful and a spiritual +nature which is pure. We are not told that man is composed +of an impure earthly body and a pure heavenly soul, but instead +that the whole of man is permeated by the spirit of God. +Both body and soul are endowed with the power of continuous +self-improvement. In order to see the great superiority +of the Jewish view over the heathen one, we need +only study the old Babylonian legend preserved by Berosus. +In this the deity made man by mixing earth with some of its +own life-blood, thus endowing the human soul with higher +powers. In the Bible the difference between man and beast +does not lie in the blood, although the blood is still thought +to be the life. The distinction of man is in the spirit, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ruah</foreign>, +which emanates from God and penetrates both body and soul, +<pb n='214'/><anchor id='Pg214'/> +lifting the whole man into a higher realm and making him a +free moral personality. +</p> + +<p> +Still the Bible makes no clear distinction between the three +terms, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>nefesh</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>neshamah</foreign>, and +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ruah</foreign>.<note place='foot'>See Dillmann, +l. c., 355-361; Davidson, l. c., 182-203; comp. Gen. R. +XIV, 11, where these three terms are given, and also +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>yehidah</foreign>, Ps. XXII, 21; +XXXV, 17, and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hayah</foreign>, Ps. +XCLIII, 3; Job XXXIII, 1.</note> Philo first distinguished +between three different substances of the soul, but his theory +was the Platonic one, for which he simply used the three +Biblical names.<note place='foot'>De Leg. Alleg. +III, 38.</note> The Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages, +beginning with Saadia, took the same attitude, even though +they realized more or less that the division of the soul into +three substances has no Scriptural warrant.<note place='foot'>See Horovitz: +<hi rend='italic'>D. Psychologie Saadias</hi>; Scheyer: <hi rend='italic'>D. +psycholog. System d. Maimonides</hi>; Cassel's <hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, +p. 382-400; Husik, l. c., IX, 41; and see also +Index: <emph>Soul</emph>.</note> In rabbinical +literature this division is scarcely known, and there is little +mention of either the animal soul, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>nefesh</foreign>, +or the vital spark, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ruah</foreign>. +Instead the word <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>neshamah</foreign> is used for the human +<emph>psyche</emph> as the higher spiritual substance, and the contrast to +it is not the Biblical <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>basar</foreign>, +flesh, but the Aramaic <foreign rend='italic'>guph</foreign>, +body.<note place='foot'>Sanh. 91 a, b; Nid. 30 b-31 b; Sifre Deut. 306, ref. to Deut. +XXXII, 1; Lev. IV, 5-8.</note> +This bears a trace of Persian dualism, with its strong contrast +between the earthly body and the heavenly soul. +</p> + +<p> +4. In fact, rabbinical Judaism does not recognize any +relationship between the soul of the animal and that of man, +but claims that man has a special type of existence. The +Midrash tells<note place='foot'>Ab. Z. 5 +a; Gen. R. VIII, 1.</note> that God formed Adam's body so as to reach +from earth to heaven, and then caused the soul to enter it. +In the same way God implants the soul into the embryo before +its birth and while in the womb. Before this the soul had a bird-like +existence in an immense celestial cage +(<foreign rend='italic'>guph</foreign> = <foreign rend='italic'>columbarium</foreign>), +and when it leaves the body in death, it again takes +<pb n='215'/><anchor id='Pg215'/> +its flight toward heaven. There its conduct on earth will +reap a reward in the garden of eternal bliss or a punishment +in the infernal regions. The belief in the preëxistence of the +soul was shared by the rabbis with the apocryphal authors +and Philo.<note place='foot'>B. Wisdom, VIII, 20; +Slav. Enoch XXIII, 5; Philo I, 15, 32; II, 356; +comp. Bousset, l. c., p. 508 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +However, rabbinical Judaism never followed Philo so far +in the footsteps of Plato as to consider the body or the flesh +the source of impurity and sin, or <q>the prison house of the +soul.</q> This view is fundamental in the Paulinian system of +other-worldliness. For the rabbis the sensuous desire of the +body (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>yezer</foreign>) +is a tendency toward sin, but never a compulsion. +The weakness of the flesh may cause a straying from +the right path, but man can turn the desires of the flesh into +the service of the good. He can always assert his divine +power of freedom by opposing the evil inclination +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>yezer ha ra</foreign>) with the good inclination +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>yezer ha tob</foreign>) to overcome +it.<note place='foot'>Gen. VI, 5; VIII, 21; B. Sira XV, 14; XVII, 31; XXI, 11; Ber. 5 a; +Kid. 30 b; Suk. 52 a, b; Shab. 152 b; Eccl. R. XII, 7; comp. F. Ch. Porter: +<q>The Yezer ha Ra</q> in <hi rend='italic'>Biblical and Semitic Studies</hi>, 93-156; +Bousset, l. c., 462 f.</note> In fact, the rabbis are so far from acknowledging the +existence of a compulsion of evil in the flesh, that they point +to the history of great men as proof that the highest characters +have the mightiest passions in their souls, and that their +greatness consists in the will by which they have learned to +control themselves.<note place='foot'>Suk. 52 a, b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. In the light of modern science the whole theory separating +body and soul falls to the ground, and the one connecting +man more closely with the animal world is revived. In +this connection we think of the idea which medieval thinkers +adopted from Plato and Aristotle, that there is a substance of +souls—<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>nefesh hahiyonith</foreign>—which +forms the basic life-force +<pb n='216'/><anchor id='Pg216'/> +of men and animals. Physiology and psychology reveal +the interaction and dependence of body and soul in the +lowest forms of animal life as well as in the higher forms, including +man. The beginnings of the human mind must be +sought once for all in the animal, just as the origin of the +animal reaches back into the plant world. Indeed, Aristotle +anticipates the discoveries of modern science, placing +the vegetative and animal souls beside the spirit of man. +Thus motion and sensibility form the lower boundary-line +of the animal kingdom, and self-consciousness and self-determination +are the criteria of humanity. +</p> + +<p> +Yet this very self-conscious freedom which forms man's +personality, his <emph>ego</emph>, lifts him into a realm of free action under +higher motives, transcending nature's law of necessity, and +therefore not falling within the domain of natural science. +Dust-born man, notwithstanding his earthly limitations, in +spite of his kinship to mollusk and mammal, enters the realm +of the divine spirit. In the Midrash the rabbis remark that +man shares the nature of both animals and +angels.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. VIII, 11.</note> Admitting +this, we feel that he is tied neither to heaven nor to the +earth, but free to lift himself above all creatures or sink below +them all. +</p> + +<p> +<anchor id='Chapter_XXXIV_Section_6'/> +6. Endowed with this dual nature, man stands in the very +center of the universe, and God esteems him <q>equal in +value to the entire creation,</q> as Rabbi Nehemiah says of a +single human soul.<note place='foot'>Ab. d. +R. N. XXXI.</note> Rabbi Akiba stresses the image of God +in humanity when he says: <q>Beloved is man, for he is created +in God's image, and it was a special token of love that +he became conscious of it. Beloved is Israel, for they are +called the children of God, and it was a special token of love +that they became conscious of it.</q><note place='foot'>Aboth +III, 18.</note> The Midrash compares +man to God in exquisite manner: <q>Just as God permeates +the world and carries it, unseen yet seeing all, enthroned +<pb n='217'/><anchor id='Pg217'/> +within as the Only One, the Perfect, and the Pure, yet never +to be reached or found out; so the soul penetrates and carries +the body, as the <emph>one</emph> pure and luminous being which sees and +holds all things, while itself unseen and +unreached.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 10 a; Midr. Teh. Ps. CIII, 4-5.</note> The +conception of the soul is here divested of every sensory attribute, +and portrayed as a divine force within the body. This +conception, which was accepted by the medieval philosophers, +is thoroughly consistent with our view of the world. The +soul it is which mirrors both the material and spiritual worlds +and holds them in mutual relation through its own power. +It is at the same time swayed upward and downward by its +various cravings, heavenly and earthly, and this very tension +constitutes the dual nature of the human soul. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='218'/><anchor id='Pg218'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXXV. The Origin and Destiny of Man</head> + +<p> +1. Of all created beings man alone possesses the power of +self-determination; he assigns his destiny to himself. While +he endeavors to find the object of all other things and even of +his own existence in the world, he finds his own purpose within +himself. Star and stone, plant and beast fulfill their purpose +in the whole plan of creation by their existence and varied +natures, and are accordingly called <q>good</q> as they are. +Man, however, realizes that he must accomplish his purpose +by his manner of life and the voluntary exertion of his own +powers. He is <q>good</q> only as far as he fulfills his destiny +on earth. He is not good by mere existence, but by his +conduct. Not what he is, but what he ought to be gives +value to his being. He is good or bad according to the direction +of his will and acts by the imperative: <q>I ought</q> or +<q>I ought not,</q> which comes to him in his conscience, the voice +of God calling to his soul. +</p> + +<p> +2. The problem of human destiny is answered by Judaism +with the idea that God is the ideal and pattern of all morality. +The answer given, then, is <q>To walk in the ways of God, to +be righteous and just,</q> as He is.<note place='foot'>Gen. +XVIII, 19; Deut. VIII, 6; X, 12; XXXII, 4.</note> The prophet Micah expressed +it in the familiar words: <q>It has been told thee, O +man, what is good, and what the Lord doth require of thee: +Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly +with thy God.</q><note place='foot'>Micah VI, +8.</note> Accordingly the Bible considers men of +the older generations the prototypes of moral conduct, <q>righteous +<pb n='219'/><anchor id='Pg219'/> +men who walked with God.</q> Such men were Enoch, +Noah, and above all Abraham, to whom God said: <q>I am +God Almighty; walk before Me, and be thou whole-hearted. +And I will make My covenant between thee and +Me.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. V. 22; VI, 9; XVII, 1-2.</note> +The rabbis singled out Abraham as the type of a perfect man +on account of his love of righteousness and peace; contrasting +him with Adam who sinned, they beheld him as <q>the great +man among the heroes of the ancient times.</q> They even +considered him the type of true humanity, in whom the +object of creation was attained.<note place='foot'>Gen. +R. XII, 8; XIV, 6, ref. to Josh. XIV, 15.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. This moral consciousness, however, which tells man to +walk in the ways of God and be perfect, is also the source of +shame and remorse. With such an ideal man must feel constantly +that he falls short, that he is not what he ought to be. +Only the little child, who knows nothing as yet of good and +evil, can preserve the joy of life unmarred. Similarly, primitive +man, being ignorant of guilt, could pass his days without +care or fear. But as soon as he becomes conscious of guilt, +discord enters his soul, and he feels as if he had been driven +from the presence of God. +</p> + +<p> +This feeling is allegorized in the Paradise legend. The +garden of bliss, half earthly, half heavenly, which is elsewhere +called the <q>mountain of God,</q><note place='foot'>Ezek. XXVIII, 14.</note> a place of +wondrous trees, beasts, and precious stones, whence the four great rivers +flow, is the abode of divine beings. The first man and woman +could dwell in it only so long as they lived in harmony with +God and His commandments. As soon as the tempter in +the shape of the serpent called forth a discord between the +divine will and human desire, man could no longer enjoy +celestial bliss, but must begin the dreary earthly life, with its +burdens and trials. +</p> + +<pb n='220'/><anchor id='Pg220'/> + +<p> +4. This story of the fall of the first man is an allegorical +description of the state of childlike innocence which man +must leave behind in order to attain true strength of character. +It is based upon a view common to all antiquity of a +descent of the race; that is: first came the golden age, when +man led a life of ease and pleasure in company with the gods; +then an age of silver, another of brass, and finally the iron age, +with its toil and bitter woe. Thus did evil deeds and wild +passions increase among men. This view fails utterly to +recognize the value of labor as a civilizing force making for +progress, and it contradicts the modern historical view. The +prophets of Israel placed the golden age at the end, not the +beginning of history, so that the purpose of mankind was to +establish a heavenly kingdom upon the earth. In fact, the fall +of man is not referred to anywhere in Scripture and never became +a doctrine, or belief, of Judaism. On the contrary, the +Hellenistic expounders of the Bible take it for granted that +the story is an allegory, and the book of Proverbs understands +the tree of life symbolically, in the verse: <q>She (the +Torah) is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon +her.</q><note place='foot'>Prov. III, 18.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. Still the rabbis in Talmud and Midrash accepted the +legend in good faith as historical<note place='foot'>Gen. +R. XVI, 10; Shab. 55 b.</note> and took it literally as did +the great English poet: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>The fruit</q></l> +<l>Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste</l> +<l>Brought death into the world, and all our woe,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>With loss of Eden.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +In fact, they even followed the Persian dualism with its evil +principle, the primeval serpent, or the Babylonian legend of +the sea-monster Tiamat, and regarded the serpent in Paradise +as a demon. He was identified with Satan, the arch-fiend, +and later with evil in general, the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>yezer ha ra</foreign>.<note place='foot'>B. +B. 15 a.</note> Thus the +<pb n='221'/><anchor id='Pg221'/> +belief arose that the poisonous breath of the serpent infected +all generations, causing death even of the +sinless.<note place='foot'>Shab. 146 a; Yeb. 103 b; Ab. Zar. 22 b; Shab. 55 b.</note> The +apocrypha also held that the envy of Satan brought death +into the world.<note place='foot'>B. Wisdom, +II, 24.</note> This prepared for the dismal church doctrine +of original sin, the basis of Paul's teachings, which demanded +a blood atonement for curse-laden humanity, and +found it after the pagan pattern in the vicarious sacrifice of +a dying god.<note place='foot'>Romans V, 12 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Against such perversion of the simple Paradise story the +sound common sense of the Jewish people rebelled. While +the early Talmudists occasionally mention the poisoning of +the human race by the serpent, they find an antidote for the +Jewish people in the covenant with Abraham or that +of Sinai.<note place='foot'>Shab. 146 a.</note> +One cannot, however, discern the least indication of belief in +original sin, either as inherent in the human race or inherited +by them. Nor does the liturgy express any such idea, especially +for the Day of Penitence, when it would certainly be mentioned +if the conception found any place in Jewish doctrine. On +the contrary, the prevailing thought of Judaism is that of Deuteronomy +and Ezekiel,<note place='foot'>Deut. XXIV, 16; +Ezek. XVIII, 4.</note> that <q>Each man dies by his own sin,</q> +that every soul must bear only the consequences of his own +deeds. The rabbis even state that no man dies unless he has +brought it upon himself by his own sin, and mention especially +certain exceptions to this rule, such as the four saintly men +who died without sin,<note place='foot'>Shab. 55 +a, b.</note> or certain children whose death was +due to the sin of their parents.<note place='foot'>Shab. +32 b.</note> They could never admit +that the whole human race was so corrupted by the sin of the +first man that it is still in a state of sinfulness. +</p> + +<p> +6. Of course, the rabbinical schools took literally the Biblical +story of the fall of man and laid the chief blame upon +<pb n='222'/><anchor id='Pg222'/> +woman, who fell a prey to the wiles of the serpent. This is +done even by Ben Sira, who says: <q>With woman came the +beginning of sin, and through her we all must +die.</q><note place='foot'>B. Sira XXV, 24.</note> So the +Talmud says that due to woman, man, the crown, light, and +life of creation, lost his purity, his luster, and his +immortality.<note place='foot'>Yer. Shab. II, 5 b.</note> +The Biblical verse, <q>They did eat, and the eyes of them both +were opened,</q> is interpreted by Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai +and Rabbi Akiba as <q>They saw the dire consequences of their +sin upon all coming generations.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +R. XIX, 10, ref. to Gen. III, 6-7.</note> The fall of man is treated +most elaborately in the same spirit in the two apocalyptic +books written after the destruction of the Second Temple, +the Apocalypse of Baruch and the IV Book of +Esdras.<note place='foot'>Apoc. Baruch XXIII, 4; XLVIII, 42 f.; LVI, 6; and especially +LIV, 14-19; IV Esdras III, 7; VII, 11, 118.</note> The +incompatibility of divine love with the sufferings of man +and of the Jewish people on account of the sin of the first +man is solved by an appeal to the final Day of Judgment, +and the striking remark is added that, after all, <q>each is his +own Adam and is held responsible for his own sin.</q> We +cannot deny that these two books contain much that is near +the Paulinian view of original sin. It seems, however, that +the Jewish teachers were put on their guard by the emphasis +of this pessimistic dogma by the nascent Church, and did +their best to give a different aspect to the story of the first +sin. Thus they say: <q>If Adam had but shown repentance, +and done penance after he committed his sin, he would have +been spared the death penalty.</q><note place='foot'>Pesik. +160 b; Num. R. XIII, 5.</note> Moreover, they actually +represent Adam and Eve as patterns of repentant sinners, +who underwent severe penance and thus obtained the promise +of divine mercy and also of final resurrection.<note place='foot'>P. +d. R. El., XX; comp. Adam and Eve, I; Erub. 18 b.</note> Instead of +transmitting the heritage of sin to coming generations, the +<pb n='223'/><anchor id='Pg223'/> +first man is for them an example of repentance. So do the +Haggadists tell us quite characteristically that God merely +wanted to test the first man by an insignificant command, +so that the first representative of the human race should show +whether he was worthy to enter eternal life in his mortal garb, +as did Enoch and Elijah. As he could not stand the test, +he forfeited the marks of divine rank, his celestial radiance, +his gigantic size, and his power to overcome +death.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. XII, 5; XIX, 11; XXI, 4 f.; comp. Shab. 55 b.</note> +Obviously the Biblical story was embellished with material from +the Persian legend of the fall of Yima or Djemshid, the first +man, from superhuman greatness because of his sin,<note place='foot'>See +Windishman: <hi rend='italic'>Zoroastrische Studien</hi>, p. 27 f.</note> but it +was always related frankly as a legend, and could never influence +the Jewish conception of the fall of man. +</p> + +<p> +7. Judaism rejects completely the belief in hereditary sin +and the corruption of the flesh. The Biblical verse, <q>God +made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions,</q><note place='foot'>Eccl. +VII, 29.</note> is explained in the Midrash: <q>Upright and just as +is God, He made man after His likeness in order that he might +strive after righteousness, and unfold ever more his god-like +nature, but men in their dissensions have marred the divine +image.</q><note place='foot'>Tanh. Yelamdenu to Gen. III, 22.</note> +With reference to another verse in Ecclesiastes:<note place='foot'>Eccl. XII, 7.</note> +<q>The dust returneth unto the earth as it was, and the spirit +returneth unto God who gave it,</q> the rabbis teach <q>Pure as +the soul is when entering upon its earthly career, so can man +return it to his Maker.</q><note place='foot'>Shab. 152 +b.</note> Therefore the pious Jew begins +his daily prayers with the words: <q>My God, the soul which +Thou hast given me is pure.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 80 +a. The rabbis did not have the belief that the body is morally +impure and therefore the seat of the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>yezer ha ra</foreign>, as is stated by Weber, l. c., +228 f. See Potter, l. c., 98-107; Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, 242-292. +It is wrong also to explain Ps. LI, 7, <q>Behold I was brought forth in iniquity, and +in sin did my mother conceive me,</q> as inherited sinfulness, as Delitzsch and other +Christian commentators have done, following Ibn Ezra, who refers this to Eve, the +mother of all men. The correct interpretation is given by R. Ahha in Lev. R. +XIV, 5; <q>Every sexual act is the work of sensuality, the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yezer ha ra</foreign>.</q> Comp. +Yoma 69 b. Needless to say that Hosea VI, 7; Isa. XLIII, 37; Job XXXI, 33 +do not refer to the sin of Adam.</note> The life-long battle with +<pb n='224'/><anchor id='Pg224'/> +sin begins only at the age when sensual desire, <q>the evil inclination,</q> +awakens in youth; then the state of primitive +innocence makes way for the sterner contest for manly virtue +and strength of character. +</p> + +<p> +8. In fact, the whole Paradise story could never be made +the basis for a dogma. The historicity of the serpent is denied +by Saadia;<note place='foot'>See Ibn Ezra to Gen. +III, 1.</note> the rabbis transfer Paradise with the tree +of life to heaven as a reward for the future;<note place='foot'>See +Taan. 10 a; Ber. 34 b; D. comp. Enoch XXIX-XXXII; <hi rend='italic'>Seder Gan +Eden</hi>, in Jellinek, <hi rend='italic'>Beth ha Midrash</hi>, II, III.</note> and both +Nahmanides the mystic and Maimonides the philosopher +give it an allegorical meaning.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, +II, 30; Nahmanides to Gen. III, 1.</note> On the other hand, the Haggadic +teachers perceived the simple truth that a life of indolence +in Paradise would incapacitate man for his cultural +task, and that the toils and struggles inflicted on man as a +curse are in reality a blessing. Therefore they laid special +stress on the Biblical statement: <q>He put man into the +garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +R. XVI, 8, ref. to Gen. II, 15.</note> The following +parable is especially suggestive: <q>When Adam heard the +stern sentence passed: <q>Thou shalt eat the herb of the field,</q> +he burst into tears, and said: <q>Am I and my ass to eat out of +the same manger?</q> Then came another sentence from God +to reassure him, <q>In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat +bread,</q> and forthwith he became aware that man shall attain +a higher dignity by dint of labor.</q><note place='foot'>Pes. 111 a; +Gen. R. XX, 24.</note> Indeed, labor transforms +the wilderness into a garden and the earth into a habitation +worthy of the son of God. The <q>book of the generations of +<pb n='225'/><anchor id='Pg225'/> +man</q> which begins with Adam is accordingly not the history +of man's descent, but of his continuous ascent, of ever higher +achievements and aspirations; it is not a record of the fall +of man, but of his rise from age to age. According to the +Midrash<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Seder Olam</hi> +at the close; Gen. R. XXIV, 2.</note> God opened before Adam the book with the deeds +and names of the leading spirits of all the coming generations, +showing him the latent powers of the human intellect and +soul. The phrase, <q>the fall of man,</q> can mean, in fact, +only the inner experience of the individual, who does fall from +his original idea of purity and divine nobility into transgression +and sin. It cannot refer to mankind as a whole, for the +human race has never experienced a fall, nor is it affected by +original or hereditary sin. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='226'/><anchor id='Pg226'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXXVI. God's Spirit in Man</head> + +<p> +1. Man is placed in an animal world of dull feelings, of +blind and crude cravings. Yet his clear understanding, +his self-conscious will and his aspirations forward and upward +lead him into a higher world where he obtains insight +into the order and unity of all things. By the spirit of God +he is able to understand material things and grasp them in +their relations; thus he can apply all his knowledge and +creative imagination to construct a world of ideals. But this +world, in all its truth, beauty and goodness, is still limited +and finite, a feeble shadow of the infinite world of God. As +the Bible says: <q>The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, +searching all the inward parts.</q><note place='foot'>Prov. XX, 27.</note> +<q>It is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty, that +giveth them understanding.</q><note place='foot'>Job XXXII, 8.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. According to the Biblical conception, the spirit of God +endows men with all their differing capacities; it gives to +one man wisdom by which he penetrates into the causes of +existence and orders facts into a scientific system; to another +the seeing eye by which he captures the secret of beauty and +creates works of art; and to a third the genius to perceive +the ways of God, the laws of virtue, that he may become a +teacher of ethical truth. In other words, the spirit of God +is <q>the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of +counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of +the Lord.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XI, 2.</note> +It works upon the scientific interest of the investigator, +<pb n='227'/><anchor id='Pg227'/> +the imagination of the artist and poet, the ethical +and social sense of the prophet, teacher, statesman, and lawgiver. +Thus their high and holy vision of the divine is brought +home to the people and implanted within them under the inspiration +of God. In commenting upon the Biblical verse, +<q>Wisdom and might are His ... He giveth wisdom to the +wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding,</q><note place='foot'>Dan. +II, 20-21.</note> the sages wisely remark, <q>God carefully selects those who +possess wisdom for His gift of wisdom.</q> Even as a musical +instrument must be attuned for the finer notes that it may have +a clear, resonant tone, so the human soul must be made +especially susceptible to the gifts of the spirit in order to be +capable of unfolding them. Thus the Talmud records an +interesting dialogue on this very passage between a Roman +matron familiar with the Scripture, and Rabbi Jose ben +Halafta. She asked sarcastically, <q>Would it not have been +more generous of your God to have given wisdom to those that +are unwise than to those that already possess it?</q> Thereupon +the Jewish master replied, <q>If you were to lend a precious +ornament, would you not lend it to one who was able to make +use of it? So God gives the treasure of wisdom to the wise, +who know how to appreciate and develop it, not to the unwise, +who do not know its value.</q><note place='foot'>Tanh. +Miketz 9; comp. Tanh. Yelamdenu Wayakhel, where the story is +told differently.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. Thus the diverse gifts of the divine spirit are distributed +differently among the various classes and tribes of men, according +to their capacity and the corresponding task which is +assigned them by Providence. The divine spark is set aglow +in each human soul, sometimes feebly, sometimes brightly, +but it blazes high only in the privileged personality or group. +The mutual relationship between God and man is recognized +by the Synagogue in the Eighteen Benedictions, where the +<pb n='228'/><anchor id='Pg228'/> +one directly following the three praises of God is devoted to +wisdom and knowledge: <q>Thou favorest man with knowledge, +and teachest mortals understanding. So favor us with +knowledge, understanding, and discernment from Thee. +Blessed art Thou, O Lord, gracious Giver of +knowledge.</q><note place='foot'>Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerbook</hi>, p. 46.</note> +This petition, remarks Jehuda ha Levi,<note place='foot'>Cuzari +III, 19.</note> deserves its position +as first among these prayers, because wisdom brings us nearer +to God. It is also noteworthy that the Synagogue prescribes +a special benediction at the sight of a renowned sage, even if +he is not a Jew, reading, <q>Praised be He who has imparted +of His wisdom to flesh and blood.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. +58 a; Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, p. 291.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. Maimonides holds that in the same degree as a man +studies the works of God in nature, he will be filled with +longing for direct knowledge of God and true love of +Him.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Yesode ha Torah</hi>, II, 2.</note> +<q>Not only religion, but also the sciences emanate from God, +both being the outcome of the wisdom which God imparts +to all nations,</q>—thus wrote a sixteenth-century rabbi, +Loewe ben Bezalel of Prague, known usually as <q>the eminent +Rabbi Loewe.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Nethibot +Olam</hi>, XIV.</note> The men of the Talmud also accord the +palm in certain types of knowledge to heathen sages, and did +not hesitate to ascribe to some heathens the highest knowledge +of God in their time.<note place='foot'>Pes. 94 b.</note> As a mystic of the thirteenth +century, Isaac ben Latif, says: <q>That faith is the most perfect +which perceives truth most fully, since God is the source +of all truth.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Shaare +Shamayim</hi>, IV, 3.</note> Of the two heads of the Babylonian academies, +Rab and Samuel, one asserted that Moses through his +prophetic genius reached forty-nine of the fifty degrees of +the divine understanding (as the fiftieth is reserved for God +alone), while the other claimed the same distinction for King +Solomon as the result of his wisdom.<note place='foot'>R. h. Sh. 21 b.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='229'/><anchor id='Pg229'/> + +<p> +5. Thus the spirit of God creates in man both consciously +and unconsciously a world of ideas, which proves him a being +of a higher order in creation. This impulse may work actively, +searching, investigating, and creating, or passively as an +instrument of a higher power. At first it is a dim, uncertain +groping of the spirit; then the mind acquires greater lucidity +by which it illumines the dark world; and, as one question +calls for the other and one thought suggests another, the +world of ideas opens up as a well-connected whole. Thus +man creates by slow steps his languages, the arts and sciences, +ethics, law and all the religions with their varying practices +and doctrines. At times this spirit bursts forth with greater +vehemence in great men, geniuses who lift the race with one +stroke to a higher level. Such men may say, in the words +of David, the holy singer: <q>The spirit of the Lord spoke by +me, and His word was upon my tongue.</q><note place='foot'>II +Sam. XXIII, 2.</note> They may repeat +the experience of Eliphaz the friend of Job: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Now a word was secretly brought to me,</q></l> +<l>And mine ear received a whisper thereof.</l> +<l>In thoughts from the visions of the night,</l> +<l>When deep sleep falleth on men,</l> +<l>Fear came upon me, and trembling,</l> +<l>And all my bones were made to shake.</l> +<l>Then a spirit passed before my face,</l> +<l>That made the hair of my flesh to stand up.</l> +<l>It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof;</l> +<l>A form was before mine eyes;</l> +<l><q rend='post'>I heard a still voice.</q><note place='foot'>Job IV, 12-16.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +In such manner men of former ages received a religious revelation, +a divine message. +</p> + +<p> +6. The divine spirit always selects as its instruments individuals +with special endowments. Still, insight into history +shows that these men must needs have grown from the +<pb n='230'/><anchor id='Pg230'/> +very heart of their own people and their own age, in order +that they might hold a lofty position among them and command +attention for their message. However far the people +or the age may be from the man chosen by God, the multitude +must feel at least that the divine spirit speaks through +him, or works within him. Or, if not his own time, then a +later generation must respond to his message, lest it be lost +entirely to the world. +</p> + +<p> +The rabbis, who knew nothing of laws of development +for the human mind, assumed that the first man, made by +God Himself, must have known every branch of knowledge +and skill, that the spirit of God must have been most vigorous +in him.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. XXIV, 7; comp. Jubilees +III, 12.</note> They therefore believed in a primeval revelation, +coeval with the first man. Our age, with its tremendous +emphasis on the historical view, sees the divine spirit manifested +most clearly in the very development and growth of all +life, social, intellectual, moral and spiritual, proceeding +steadily toward the highest of all goals. With this emphasis, +however, on process, we must lay stress equally on the +origin, on the divine impulse or initiative in this historical +development, the spirit which gives direction and value to +the whole. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='231'/><anchor id='Pg231'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_XXXVII'/> +<head>Chapter XXXVII. Free Will and Moral Responsibility</head> + +<p> +1. Judaism has ever emphasized the freedom of the will +as one of its chief doctrines. The dignity and greatness of +man depends largely upon his freedom, his power of self-determination. +He differs from the lower animals in his independence +of instinct as the dictator of his actions. He +acts from free choice and conscious design, and is able to change +his mind at any moment, at any new evidence or even through +whim. He is therefore responsible for his every act or omission, +even for his every intention. This alone renders him a +moral being, a child of God; thus the moral sense rests upon +freedom of the will.<note place='foot'>See Dillmann, l. c., +301 f., 375; J. E., art. Freedom of Will.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. The idea of moral freedom is expressed as early as the +first pages of the Bible, in the words which God spoke to Cain +while he was planning the murder of his brother Abel: +<q>Whether or not, thou offerest an acceptable gift,</q> (New +Bible translation: <q>If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted +up? and if thou doest not well,</q>) <q>sin coucheth at the door; +and unto thee is its desire, but thou mayest rule over +it.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. IV, 7.</note> +Here, without any reference to the sin of Adam in the first +generation, the man of the second generation is told that +he is free to choose between good and evil, that he alone +is responsible before God for what he does or omits to do. +This certainly indicates that the moral freedom of man is +not impaired by hereditary sin, or by any evil power outside +<pb n='232'/><anchor id='Pg232'/> +of man himself. This principle is established in the words of +Moses spoken in the name of God: <q>I have set before thee +life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose +life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy +seed.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXX, 15-19.</note> In like +manner Jeremiah proclaims in God's name: <q>Behold I set +before you the way of life and the way of death.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. XXI, 8.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. From these passages and many similar ones the sages +derived their oft-repeated idea that man stands ever at the +parting of the ways, to choose either the good or the evil +path.<note place='foot'>See Sifre Deut. 53-54; J. E., +art. Didache.</note> Thus the words spoken by God to the angels when +Adam and Eve were to be expelled from Paradise: <q>Behold, +the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil,</q> are +interpreted by R. Akiba: <q>He was given the choice to go +the way of life or the way of death, but he chose the way of +death by eating of the forbidden fruit.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +III, 22; Mek. Beshallah 6; Gen. R. XXI. 5; Mid. Teh. Ps. XXXVI, +3; LVIII, 2.</note> R. Akiba emphasizes +the principle of the freedom of the will again in the terse +saying: <q>All things are foreseen (by God), but free will is +granted (to man).</q><note place='foot'>Aboth III, 15, +but see Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, 285, note 4.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. At the first encounter of Judaism with those philosophical +schools of Hellas which denied the freedom of the human +will, the Jewish teachers insisted strongly on this principle. +The first reference is found in Ben Sira, who refutes the arguments +of the Determinists that God could make man sin, +and then goes on: <q>God created man at the beginning, endowing +him with the power of self-determination, saying to +him: If thou but willest, thou canst observe My commandments; +to practice faithfulness is a matter of free will.... +As when fire and water are put before thee, so that thou mayest +reach forth thy hand to that which thou desirest, so are +life and death placed before man, and whatever he chooses of +<pb n='233'/><anchor id='Pg233'/> +his own desire will be given to him.</q><note place='foot'>Ben +Sira XV, 11-20.</note> The Book of Enoch +voices this truth also in the forceful sentences: <q>Sin has not +been sent upon the earth (from above), but men have produced +it out of themselves; therefore they who commit sin +are condemned.</q><note place='foot'>Enoch +XCVIII, 4.</note> We read similar sentiments in the Psalms +of Solomon, a Pharisean work of the first pre-Christian +century:<note place='foot'>IX, 7.</note> +<q>Our actions are the outcome of the free choice and +power of our own soul; to practice justice or injustice lies in +the work of our own hands.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The Apocalypse of Ezra is especially instructive in the +great stress which it lays on freedom, in connection with its +chief theme, the sinfulness of the children of Adam. <q>This +is the condition of the contest which man who is born on earth +must wage, that, if he be conquered by the evil inclination, +he must suffer that of which thou hast spoken (the tortures +of hell), but if he be victorious, he shall receive (the reward) +which I (the angel) have mentioned. For this is the way +whereof Moses spoke when he lived, saying unto the people, +<q>Choose life, that thou mayest live!</q>... For all who knew +Me not in life when they received My benefits, who despised +My law when they yet had freedom, and did not heed the door +of repentance while it was still open before them, but disregarded +it, after death they shall come to know it!</q><note place='foot'>IV +Ezra VII, 127-129; IX, 10-11.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. Hellenistic Judaism also, particularly Philo,<note place='foot'>Quod deus +immutabilis, 10, I, 279; Di confusione linguarum, 35, I, 432; +Quod deterius potiori insid.</note> considered +the truly divine in man to be his free will, which distinguishes +him from the beast. Yet Hellenistic naturalism could not +grasp the fact that man's power to do evil in opposition to God, +the Source of the good, is the greatest reminder of his moral +responsibility. Josephus likewise mentions frequently as a +characteristic teaching of the Pharisees that man's free will +<pb n='234'/><anchor id='Pg234'/> +determines his acts without any compulsion of +destiny.<note place='foot'>Josephus, J. W., II, 8, 14; Ant. XVIII, I, 3.</note> +Only we must not accept too easily the words of this Jewish +historian, who wrote for his Roman masters and, therefore, +represented the Jewish parties as so many philosophical schools +after the Greek pattern. The Pharisean doctrine is presented +most tersely in the Talmudic maxim: <q>Everything is in the +hands of God except the fear of God.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. +33 b.</note> Like the quotation +from R. Akiba above, this contains the great truth that man's +destiny is determined by Providence, but his character depends +upon his own free decision. This idea recurs frequently +in such Talmudic sayings as these: <q>The wicked are in the +power of their desires; the righteous have their desires in +their own power;</q><note place='foot'>Gen. R. +LXVII, 7. Comp. P. R. El. XV.</note> <q>The eye, the ear, and the nostrils are +not in man's power, but the mouth, the hand, and the feet +are.</q><note place='foot'>Tanh. Toledoth, ed. Buber, +21.</note> That is, the impressions we receive from the world +without us come involuntarily, but our acts, our steps, and +our words arise from our own volition. +</p> + +<p> +6. A deeper insight into the problem of free will is offered +in two other Talmudic sayings; the one is: <q>Whosoever +desires to pollute himself with sin will find all the gates open +before him, and whosoever desires to attain the highest purity +will find all the forces of goodness ready to help +him.</q><note place='foot'>Shab. 104 a; Yoma 38 b-39 a; Yer. Kid. I, 67 d.</note> The +other reads: <q>It can be proved by the Torah, the Prophets, +and the other sacred writings that man is led along the road +which he wishes to follow.</q><note place='foot'>Mak. +10 b; ref. to Ex. XXI, 12; Num. XXII, 12; Isa. XLVIII, 17; +Prov. III, 34.</note> +</p> + +<p> +As a matter of fact, no person is absolutely free, for innumerable +influences affect his decisions, consciously and +unconsciously. For this reason many thinkers, both ancient +and modern, consider freedom a delusion and hold to determinism, +<pb n='235'/><anchor id='Pg235'/> +the doctrine that man acts always under the compulsion +of external and internal forces. In opposition to this +theory is one incontestable fact, our own inner sense of freedom +which tells us at every step that <emph>we</emph> have acted, and at +every decision that we have decided. Man can maintain his +own power of self-determination against all influences from +without and within; his will is the final arbiter over every +impulse and every pressure. Moreover, as we penetrate more +deeply into the working of the mind, we see that a long series +of our own voluntary acts has occasioned much that we consider +external, that the very pressure of the past on our +thoughts, feelings and habits, which leaves so little weight for +the decision of the moment, is really only our past will influencing +our present will. That is, the will may determine +itself, but it does not do so arbitrarily; its action is along the +lines of its own character. We have the power to receive the +influence of either the noble or the ignoble series of impressions, +and thus to yield either to the lofty or the low impulses +of the soul. +</p> + +<p> +In this way the rabbis interpret various expressions of Scripture +which would seem to limit man's freedom, as where God +induces man to good or evil acts, or hardens the heart of +Pharaoh so that he will not let the Israelites go, until the +plagues had been fulfilled upon him and his people.<note place='foot'>Ex. +IV, 21; VII, 3, and elsewhere; see the Jewish commentaries to these +passages. Comp. Pes. 165 a; Num. R. XV, 16. See Schechter, <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, +289-292.</note> They +understand in such an instance that a man's heart has a prevailing +inclination toward right or wrong, the expression of +his character, and that God encouraged this inclination along +the evil course; thus the freedom of the human will was kept +intact. +</p> + +<p> +7. The doctrine of man's free will presents another difficulty +from the side of divine omniscience. For if God knows in +<pb n='236'/><anchor id='Pg236'/> +advance what is to happen, then man's acts are determined +by this very foreknowledge; he is no longer free, and his moral +responsibility becomes an idle dream. In order to escape +this dilemma, the Mohammedan theologians were compelled +to limit either the divine omniscience or human freedom, and +most of them resorted to the latter method. It is characteristic +of Judaism that its great thinkers, from Saadia to Maimonides +and Gersonides,<note place='foot'>Saadia: <hi rend='italic'>Emunoth</hi>, +III, 154; IV, 7 f.; Bahya: <hi rend='italic'>Hoboth haleboboth</hi>, III, 8; +<hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, V, 20; <hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi> +I, 23; III, 16; <hi rend='italic'>H. Teshuba</hi>, V; Gersonides: +<hi rend='italic'>Milhamoth</hi>, III, 106; Albo: <hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, +IV, 5-10; see Cassel notes, <hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, p. +414.</note> dared not alter the doctrine of man's +free will and moral responsibility, but even preferred to limit +the divine omniscience. Hisdai Crescas is the only one to restrict +human freedom in favor of the foreknowledge of +God.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Or Adonai</hi> II, 4; comp. Bloch: +<hi rend='italic'>Willensfreiheit des Hisdai Crescas</hi>; +Neumark: <hi rend='italic'>Crescas and Spinoza</hi>, Y. B. C. C. A. R. 1908.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. The insistence of Judaism on unrestricted freedom of +will for each individual entirely excludes hereditary sin. This +is shown in the traditional explanation of the verse of the +Decalogue: <q>Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the +children unto the third and fourth generation of them that +hate Me.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XX, 5.</note> +According to the rabbis the words <q>of them that +hate Me</q> do not refer to the fathers, according to the plain +meaning of the passage, but to the children and children's +children. These are to be punished only when they hate God +and follow the evil example of their fathers.<note place='foot'>Sanh. 27 b.</note> +Despite example and hereditary disposition, the descendants of evildoers +can lead a virtuous life, and their punishment comes +only when they fail to resist the evil influences of their parental +household. To illustrate the Biblical words, <q>Who can +bring a clean thing out of an unclean?</q><note place='foot'>Job XIV, 4.</note> the +rabbis single out Abraham, the son of Terah, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, +and Josiah, the son of Manasseh.<note place='foot'>Pesik. 29 b.</note> Man, being made in +<pb n='237'/><anchor id='Pg237'/> +God's image, determines his own character by his own free +choice; by his will he can raise or lower himself in the scale +of being. +</p> + +<p> +9. The fundamental character of the doctrine of free will +for Judaism is shown by Maimonides, who devotes a special +chapter of his Code to it,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>H. +Teshubah</hi>, V.</note> and calls it the pillar of Israel's +faith and morality, since through it alone man manifests his +god-like sovereignty. For should his freedom be limited by +any kind of predestination, he would be deprived of his moral +responsibility, which constitutes his real greatness. In endeavoring +to reconcile God's omnipotence and omniscience +with man's freedom, Maimonides says that God wants man to +erect a kingdom of morality without interference from above; +moreover, God's knowledge is different in kind from that +of man, and thus is not an infringement upon man's freedom, +as the human type of knowledge would be. However, +Abraham ben David of Posquieres blames Maimonides for +proposing questions which he could not answer satisfactorily +in the Code, which is intended for non-philosophical readers. +The fact is that this is only another of the problems insoluble +to human reasoning; the freedom of the will must remain +for all time a postulate of moral responsibility, and therefore +of religion. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='238'/><anchor id='Pg238'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XXXVIII. The Meaning of Sin</head> + +<p> +1. Sin is a religious conception. It does not signify a +breach of law or morality, or of popular custom and sacred +usage, but an offense against God, provoking His punishment. +As long as the deity is merely dreaded as an external power, +not adored as a moral power ruling life from within for a +holy purpose, sin, too, is considered a purely formal offense. +The deity demands to be worshiped by certain rites and may +be propitiated by other formal acts.<note place='foot'>See +Morgenstern, <q><hi rend='italic'>The Doctrine of Sin in +the Babylonian Religion</hi>,</q> in +Mitth. Vorderas. Gesellsch. 1905.</note> For Judaism, however, +sin is a straying from the path of God, an offense against the +divine order of holiness. Thus it signifies an abuse of the +freedom granted man as his most precious boon. Therefore +sin has a twofold character; formally it is an offense against +the majesty of God, whose laws are broken; essentially it is +a severance of the soul's inner relations to God, an estrangement +from Him. +</p> + +<p> +2. Scripture has three different terms for sin, which do not +differ greatly in point of language, but indicate three stages +of thought. First is <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>het</foreign> or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hataah</foreign>, which connotes any +straying from the right path, whether caused by levity, carelessness, +or design, and may even include wrongs committed +unwittingly, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>shegagah</foreign>. +Second is <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>avon</foreign>, a crookedness or +perversion of the straight order of the law. Third is +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>pesha</foreign>, +a wicked act committed presumptuously in defiance of God +and His law. As a matter of course, the conception of +<pb n='239'/><anchor id='Pg239'/> +sin was deepened by degrees, as the prophets, psalmists and +moralists grew to think of God as the pattern of the highest +moral perfection, as the Holy One before whom an evil act or +thought cannot abide. +</p> + +<p> +The rabbis usually employed the term +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>aberah</foreign>, that is, a +transgression of a divine commandment. In contrast to +this they used <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>mitzwah</foreign>, +a divine command, which denotes +also the whole range of duty, including the desire and intention +of the human soul. From this point of view every evil design +or impulse, every thought and act contrary to God's +law, becomes a sin. +</p> + +<p> +3. Sin arises from the weakness of the flesh, the desire of +the heart, and accordingly in the first instance from an error +of judgment. The Bible frequently speaks of sin as +<q>folly.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. VI, 3; Ps. LXXVIII, 39.</note> +A rabbinical saying brings out this same idea: <q>No one sins +unless the spirit of folly has entered into him to deceive +him.</q><note place='foot'>Sota 3 a.</note> +A sinful imagination lures one to sin; the repetition of the +forbidden act lowers the barrier of the commandment, until +the trespass is hardened into <q>callous</q> and <q>stubborn</q> disregard, +and finally into <q>reckless defiance</q> and <q>insolent +godlessness.</q> Such a process is graphically expressed by the +various terms used in the Bible. According to the rabbinical +figure, <q>sin appears at first as thin as a spider's web, but grows +stronger and stronger, until it becomes like a wagon-rope to +bind a man.</q> Or, <q>sin comes at first as a passer-by to tarry +for a moment, then as a visitor to stay, finally as the master +of the house to claim possession.</q> Therefore it is incumbent +upon us to <q>guard</q> the heart, and not <q>to go astray following +after our eyes and our heart.</q><note place='foot'>Suk. 52 a, +b. Comp. Schechter, <q>The Evil Yezer, Source of Rebellion and +Victory over the Evil Yezer,</q> l. c., 242-292.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. According to the doctrine of Judaism no one is sinful +by nature. No person sins by an inner compulsion. But +<pb n='240'/><anchor id='Pg240'/> +as man has a nature of flesh, which is sensuous and selfish, +each person is inclined to sin and none is perfectly free from +it. <q>Who can say: I have made my heart clean, I am pure +from any sin?</q><note place='foot'>Prov. XX, +9.</note> This is the voice of the Bible and of all +human experience; <q>For there is not a righteous man upon +earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.</q><note place='foot'>Eccl. +VII, 20.</note> The expression +occurs repeatedly in Job: <q>Shall mortal man be just before +God? Shall a man be pure before his Maker?</q><note place='foot'>Job +IV, 17; XV, 14 f; XXV, 5.</note> Even +Moses is represented in numerous passages as showing human +foibles and failings.<note place='foot'>Num. XX, 12; +XXVII, 14.</note> In fact, <q>the greater the personality, +the more severely will God call him to account for the smallest +trespass, for God desires to be <q>sanctified</q> by His righteous +ones.</q><note place='foot'>Yeb. 121 b.</note> +The Midrash tells us that no one is to be called +holy, until death has put an end to his struggle with the ever-lurking +tempter within, and he lies in the earth with the +victor's crown of peace upon his brow.<note place='foot'>Mid. +Teh. Ps. XVI, 2.</note> When we read the +stern sentence: <q>Behold, He putteth no trust in His holy +ones,</q><note place='foot'>Job XV, 15.</note> +the rabbis refer us to the patriarchs, each of whom +had his faults.<note place='foot'>Midr. Teh. eodem.</note> +Measured by the Pattern of all holiness, no +human being is free from blemish. +</p> + +<p> +5. In connection with the God-idea, the conception of +sin grew from crude beginnings to the higher meaning given +it by Judaism. The ancient Babylonians used the same +terminology as the Bible for sin and sin-offering, but their +view, like that of other Semites, was far more +external.<note place='foot'>Morgenstern, l. c.</note> If +one was afflicted with disease or misfortune, the inference +was that he had neglected the ritual of some deity and must +appease the angered one with a sacrificial offering. Any irregularity +in the cult was an offense against the deity. This +became more moralized with the higher God-idea; the god +<pb n='241'/><anchor id='Pg241'/> +became the guardian of moral principles; and the calamities, +even of the nation, were then ascribed to the divine wrath on +account of moral lapses. The same process may be observed +in the views of ancient Israel. Here, too, during the dominance +of the priestly view the gravest possible offense was +one against the cult, a culpable act entailing the death +penalty—<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>asham</foreign>, +or <q>doom</q> of the offender. We shudder at +the thought that the least violation of the hierarchical rules +for the sanctuary or even for the burning of incense should +meet the penalty of death. Yet such is the plain statement of +the Mosaic law and such was the actual practice of the +people.<note place='foot'>Ex. XXX, 33, 38; Lev. X, 2; XVI, +1-2; Num. XVII, 28; XVIII, 7.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The more the prophetic conception of the moral nature of +the Deity permeated the Jewish religion, the more the term +sin came to mean an offense against the holiness of God, the +Guardian of morality. Hence the great prophets upbraided +the people for their moral, not their ceremonial failings. They +attacked scathingly transgressions of the laws of righteousness +and purity, the true sins against God, because these originate +in dullness of heart, unbridled passion, and overbearing +pride, all so hateful to Him. The only ritual offenses emphasized +as sins against God are idolatry, violation of the name +of God and of the Sabbath, for these express the sanctity of +life.<note place='foot'>Ezek. XVIII, 6 f.; XX, 13 f.; +Isa. LVI, 2 f.</note> Except for these points, the prophets and psalmists +insisted only on righteous conduct and integrity of soul, and +repudiated entirely the ritualism of the priesthood and the +formalism of the cult.<note place='foot'>Hos. VI, 6; Mic. +VI, 8; Isa. I, 11 f.</note> This view is anticipated by Samuel, +the master of the prophetic schools, when he says: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,</q></l> +<l>And to hearken than the fat of rams.</l> +<l>For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>And stubbornness is as idolatry and +teraphim.</q><note place='foot'>I Sam. XV, 22-23.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<pb n='242'/><anchor id='Pg242'/> + +<p> +As soon as we realize that obedience to God's will means +right conduct and purity of soul, we see in sin the desecration +of the divine image in man, the violation of his heavenly +patent of nobility. +</p> + +<p> +6. Sin, then, is in its essence unfaithfulness to God and to +our own god-like nature. We see this thought expressed in +Job:<note place='foot'>Job XXXV, 6-8.</note> +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>If thou hast sinned, what doest thou against Him?</q></l> +<l>And if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto Him?</l> +<l>If thou be righteous, what givest thou unto Him?</l> +<l>Or what receiveth He of thy hand?</l> +<l>Thy wickedness concerneth a man as thou art;</l> +<l><q rend='post'>And thy righteousness a son of man.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +Thus the source of sin is the human heart, the origin of all +our thinking and planning. We know sin chiefly as consciousness +of guilt. Man's conscience accuses him and compels +him to confess, <q>Against Thee, Thee only, have I +sinned.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. LI, 6.</note> +Not only the deed itself, but even more the will which caused +it, is condemned by conscience. Such self-accusation constantly +proves anew that there is no place for original sin +through the fall of Adam. <q>I could have controlled my evil +desire, if I had but earnestly willed it,</q> said King David, according +to the Talmud.<note place='foot'>Sanh. 107 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. Sin engenders a feeling of disunion with God through +the consciousness of guilt which accompanies it. It erects +a <q>wall of separation</q> between man and his Maker, depriving +him of peace and security.<note place='foot'>Isa. LIX, 2.</note> Guilt causes pain, which +overwhelms him, until he has made atonement and obtained +pardon before God. This is no imaginary feeling, easily overcome +and capable of being suppressed by the sinner with impunity. +Instead, he must pay the full penalty for his sin, +lest it lead him to the very abyss of evil, to physical and moral +death. Sin in the individual becomes a sense of self-condemnation, +<pb n='243'/><anchor id='Pg243'/> +the consciousness of the divine anger. Hence the +Hebrew term <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>avon</foreign>, sin, is +often synonymous with punishment,<note place='foot'>Gen. IV, +13; XV, 16; XIX, 15; Ps. XL, 13.</note> +and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>asham</foreign>, +guilt, often signifies the atonement for the guilt, +and sometimes doom and perdition as a consequence of +guilt.<note place='foot'>Gen. XXVI, 10; +XLII, 21; Ps. XXXIV, 22.</note> Undoubtedly this still contains a remnant of the old +Semitic idea that an awful divine visitation may come upon +an entire household or community because of a criminal or +sacrilegious act committed, consciously or unconsciously, by +one of its members. Such a fate can be averted only by an +atoning sacrifice. This accords with the rather strange fact +that the Priestly Code prescribes certain guilt offerings for +sins committed unwittingly, which are called +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>asham</foreign>.<note place='foot'>Lev. +IV, 13 f.; Num. V, 6.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. But even these unintentional sins can be avoided by +the constant exercise of caution, so that their commission +implies a certain degree of guilt, which demands a measure of +repentance. Thus the Psalmist says: <q>Who can discern +errors? Clear Thou me from hidden faults.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XIX, 13.</note> He +thus implies that we feel responsible in a certain sense for all our +sins, including those which we commit unknowingly. The +rabbis dwell especially on the idea that we are never altogether +free from sinful thoughts. For this reason, they tell us, the +two burnt offerings were brought to the altar each morning +and evening, to atone for the sinful thoughts of the people +during the preceding day or night.<note place='foot'>Num. R. XXI, 19.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. At any rate, Judaism recognizes no sin which does not +arise from the individual conscience or moral personality. +The condemnation of a whole generation or race in consequence +of the sin of a single individual is an essentially heathen +idea, which was overcome by Judaism in the course of time +through the prophetic teaching of the divine justice and man's +moral responsibility. This sentiment was voiced by Moses +<pb n='244'/><anchor id='Pg244'/> +and Aaron after the rebellion of Korah in the words: <q>O +God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, +and wilt Thou be wroth with all the congregation?</q><note place='foot'>Num. +XVI, 22.</note> In commenting upon this, the Midrash says: <q>A human king +may make war upon a whole province, because it contains +rebels who have caused sedition, and so the innocent must +suffer together with the guilty; but it does not behoove God, +the Ruler of the spirits, who looks into the hearts of men, to +punish the guiltless together with the guilty.</q><note place='foot'>Tanh. +Korah, ed. Buber, 19.</note> The Christian +view of universal guilt as a consequence of Adam's sin, +the dogma of original sin, is actually a relapse from the +Jewish stage to the heathen doctrine from which the Jewish +religion freed itself. +</p> + +<p> +10. According to the Biblical view sin contaminates man, +so that he cannot stand in the presence of God. The holiness +of Him who is <q>of eyes too pure to behold evil</q><note place='foot'>Habak. +I, 13.</note> becomes to the sinner <q>a devouring +fire.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XXXIII, 14.</note> Even the lofty prophet Isaiah +realizes his own human limitations at the sublime vision of +the God of holiness enthroned on high, while the angelic +choruses chant their thrice holy. In humility and contrition +he cries out: <q>Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am +a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of +unclean lips; For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of +hosts.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. VI, +5-7.</note> The prophet must undergo atonement in order to +be prepared for his high prophetic task. One of the Seraphs +purges him of his sins by touching his lips with a live coal +taken from the altar of God. +</p> + +<p> +Under the influence of Persian dualism, rabbinical Judaism +considers sin a pollution which puts man under the power of +unclean spirits.<note place='foot'>Pes. 45 b; +Gen. R. XXIII, 9.</note> In the later Cabbalah this idea is elaborated +until the world of sin is considered a cosmic power of +impurity, opposed to the realm of right, working evil ever +<pb n='245'/><anchor id='Pg245'/> +since the fall of Adam.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Cabala; +Abelson, <hi rend='italic'>Jewish Mysticism</hi>, p. 127 f., +171 f.</note> Still, however close this may come +to the Christian dogma, it never becomes identical with it; +the recognition is always preserved of man's power to extricate +himself from the realm of impurity and to elevate himself +into the realm of purity by his own repentance. Sin never +becomes a demoniacal power depriving man of his divine +dignity of self-determination and condemning him to eternal +damnation. It ever remains merely a going astray from the +right path, a stumbling from which man may rise again to +his heavenly height, exerting his own powers as the son of +God. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='246'/><anchor id='Pg246'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_XXXIX'/> +<head>Chapter XXXIX. Repentance Or the Return To God</head> + +<p> +1. The brightest gem among the teachings of Judaism is +its doctrine of repentance or, in its own characteristic term, +the return of the wayward sinner to God.<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Repentance; Claude Montefiore: <q>Rabbinical Conceptions +of Repentance,</q> in J. Q. R., Jan. 1904; Schechter, <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, +313-343. The works of Weber (p. 261 f.), Bousset (p. 446 f.), and Davidson (l. c., +327-338) do not do justice to the Jewish teachings.</note> Man, full of remorse +at having fallen away from the divine Fountainhead +of purity, conscious of deserving a sentence of condemnation +from the eternal Judge, would be less happy than the unreasoning +brute which cannot sin at all. Religion restores him +by the power to rise from his shame and guilt, to return to +God in repentance, as the penitent son returns to his father. +Whether we regard sin as estrangement from God or as a +disturbance of the divine order, it has a detrimental effect +on both body and soul, and leads inevitably to death. On +this point the Bible affords many historical illustrations and +doctrinal teachings.<note place='foot'>Ezek. XVIII, 4; +Ps. XXXIV, 21; Prov. XIV, 12.</note> If man had no way to escape from sin, +then he would be the most unfortunate of creatures, in spite +of his god-like nature. Therefore the merciful God opens the +gate of repentance for the sinner, saying as through His prophets +of old: <q>I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, +but that the wicked turn from his way and live.</q><note place='foot'>Ezek. +XVIII, 32; XXXIII, 11.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. The great value of the gift of divine grace, by which +the sinner may repent and return to God with a new spirit, appears +<pb n='247'/><anchor id='Pg247'/> +in the following rabbinical saying: <q>Wisdom was asked, +<q>What shall be the sinner's punishment?</q> and answered, <q>Evil +pursues sinners</q>;<note place='foot'>Prov. XIII, 21.</note> then Prophecy was asked, and +answered, <q>The soul that sinneth, it shall die</q>;<note place='foot'>Ezek. XVIII, +4.</note> the Torah, or legal code, +was consulted, and its answer was: <q>He shall bring a sin-offering, +and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be +forgiven.</q><note place='foot'>Lev. I, 4; IV, 26-31.</note> Finally God Himself was +asked, and He answered:<note place='foot'>Ps. XXV, 8.</note> <q>Good and upright is +the Lord; therefore doth He instruct sinners in the +way.</q></q><note place='foot'>Yer. Mak. II, 37 d; Pesik. 158 +b. See Schechter, l. c., p. 294, note 1.</note> The Jewish idea of +atonement by the sinner's return to God excludes every kind +of mediatorship. Neither the priesthood nor sacrifice is +necessary to secure the divine grace; man need only find +the way to God by his own efforts. <q>Seek ye Me, and +live,</q><note place='foot'>Amos V, 4.</note> +says God to His erring children. +</p> + +<p> +3. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Teshubah</foreign>, +which means return, is an idea peculiar to +Judaism, created by the prophets of Israel, and arising directly +from the simple Jewish conception of sin. Since sin is +a deviation from the path of salvation, a <q>straying</q> into the +road of perdition and death, the erring can return with heart +and soul, end his ways, and thus change his entire being. +This is not properly expressed by the term repentance, which +denotes only regret for the wrong, but not the inner transformation. +Nor is <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Teshubah</foreign> to be rendered by either +penitence or penance. The former indicates a sort of bodily +self-castigation, the latter some other kind of penalty undergone +in order to expiate sin. Such external forms of asceticism +were prescribed and practiced by many tribes and some +of the historical religions. The Jewish prophets, however, +opposed them bitterly, demanding an inner change, a transformation +of soul, renewing both heart and spirit. +</p> + +<pb n='248'/><anchor id='Pg248'/> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Let the wicked forsake his way,</q></l> +<l>And the man of iniquity his thoughts;</l> +<l>And let him return unto the Lord, and He will have compassion upon him,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>And to our God, for He will abundantly +pardon.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LV, 7.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +Judaism considers sin merely moral aberration, not utter corruption, +and believes in the capability of the very worst of sinners +to improve his ways; therefore it waits ever for his regeneration. +This is truly a return to God, the restoration of the divine +image which has been disfigured and corrupted by sin. +</p> + +<p> +4. The doctrine of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Teshubah</foreign>, +or the return of the sinner, +has a specially instructive history, as this most precious and +unique conception of Judaism is little understood or appreciated +by Christian theologians. Often without intentional +bias, these are so under the influence of the Paulinian dogma +that they see no redemption for man corrupted by sin, except +by his belief in a superhuman act of atonement. It is certainly +significant that the legal code, which is of priestly origin, +does not mention repentance or the sinner's return. It prescribes +various types of sin-offerings, speaks of reparation for +wrong inflicted, of penalties for crime, and of confession for +sins, but it does not state how the soul can be purged of sin, +so that man can regain his former state of purity. This great +gap is filled by the prophetic books and the Psalms. The +book of Deuteronomy alone, written under prophetic influence, +alludes to repentance, in connection with the time when +Israel would be taken captive from its land as punishment +for its violation of the law. There we read: <q>Thou shalt +return unto the Lord thy God, ... with all thy heart, and +all thy soul, then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, +and have compassion upon thee.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. IV, 30; XXX, 2-3.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Amos, the prophet of stern justice, has not yet reached the idea of averting the +divine wrath by the return of the sinner.<note place='foot'>Amos IV, 6 f.</note> +<pb n='249'/><anchor id='Pg249'/> +Hosea, the prophet of divine mercy and loving-kindness, in +his deep compassion for the unfaithful and backsliding people, +became the preacher of repentance as the condition for attaining +the divine pardon. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Return, O Israel, unto the Lord thy God;</q></l> +<l>For thou hast stumbled in thine iniquity.</l> +<l>Take with you words (of repentance),</l> +<l>And return unto the Lord;</l> +<l>Say unto Him, <q rend='pre'>Forgive all iniquity,</q></l> +<l>And accept that which is good;</l> +<l><q rend='post'><q rend='post'>So will we render for bullocks the offering of our +lips.</q></q><note place='foot'>Hos. VI, 1; XIV, 2 f.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +The appeal of Jeremiah is still more vigorous: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord....</q></l> +<l>Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against +the Lord thy God....</l> +<l>Break up for you a fallow ground, and sow not among thorns....</l> +<l>O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved;</l> +<l>How long shall thy baleful thoughts lodge within thee?...</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Return ye now every one from his evil way, and amend your ways +and your doings.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. III, 12-13; IV, 3; 14; XVIII, 11.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +Ezekiel, while emphasizing the guilt of the individual, +preached repentance still more insistently. <q>Return ye, and +turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so shall they +not be a stumbling-block of iniquity to you. Cast away from +you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; +and make you a new heart and a new spirit; for why will +ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death +of him that dieth, saith the Lord God; wherefore turn yourselves, +and live.</q><note place='foot'>Ezek. XVIII, 1-32.</note> +The same appeal recurs after the exile +in the last prophets, Zechariah<note place='foot'>Zech. I, 3.</note> +and Malachi.<note place='foot'>Mal. III, 7.</note> The latter +says: <q>Return unto Me, and I shall return unto you.</q> Likewise +<pb n='250'/><anchor id='Pg250'/> +the penitential sermon written in a time of great distress, +which is ascribed to the prophet Joel, contains the appeal: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Turn ye unto Me with all your heart,</q></l> +<l>And with fasting, and with weeping, and with lamentation;</l> +<l>And rend your heart, and not your garments,</l> +<l>And turn unto the Lord your God;</l> +<l>For He is gracious and compassionate,</l> +<l>Long-suffering, and abundant in mercy,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>And repenteth Him of the evil.</q><note place='foot'>Joel +II, 12-13.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +This prophetic view, which demands contrition and craving +for God instead of external modes of atonement, is expressed +in the penitential Psalms as well,<note place='foot'>See +Ps. XXXII, 1 f.</note> especially in Psalm +LI. The idea is expanded further in the parable of the +prophet Jonah, which conveys the lesson that even a heathen +nation like the people of Nineveh can avert the impending +judgment of God by true repentance.<note place='foot'>Jonah +III-IV.</note> From this point of +view the whole conception took on a larger aspect, and the +entire history of mankind was seen in a new light. The +Jewish sages realized that God punishes man only when the +expected change of mind and heart fails to come.<note place='foot'>The +Hebrew <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>teshubah</foreign> +is translated in Greek <foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>metanoia</foreign>, meaning a change +of mind.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. The Jewish plan of divine salvation presents a striking +contrast to that of the Church, for it is built upon the presumption +that all sinners can find their way back to God and +godliness, if they but earnestly so desire. Even before God +created the world, He determined to offer man the possibility +of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Teshubah</foreign>, +so that, in the midst of the continual struggle +with the allurements of the senses, the repentant sinner can +ever change heart and mind and return to God.<note place='foot'>Pes. +119 a; P. d. R. El. XLIII.</note> Without +such a possibility the world of man could not endure; thus, +because no man can stand before the divine tribunal of stern +justice, the paternal arm of a merciful God is extended to +<pb n='251'/><anchor id='Pg251'/> +receive the penitent. This sublime truth is constantly reiterated +in the Talmud and in the liturgy, especially of the +great Day of Atonement.<note place='foot'>Pes. 54 a; Gen, R. I, 5; P. +d. R. El. III; Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi> 267 f.</note> Not only does God's +long-suffering give the sinner time to repent; His paternal love urges +him to return. Thus the Haggadists purposely represent +almost all the sinners mentioned in the Bible as models of +sincere repentance. First of all comes King David, who is +considered such a pattern of repentance, as the author of the +fifty-first Psalm, that he would not have been allowed to sin +so grievously, if he had not been providentially appointed as +the shining example of the penitent's return to +God.<note place='foot'>Shab. 56 a; Ab. Z. 4 b-5 a; Midr. Teh. Ps. XL, 3; LI, 13.</note> Then +there is King Manasseh, the most wicked among all the +kings of Judah and Israel, who had committed the most +abominable sins of idolatrous worship. Referring to the story +told of him in Chronicles, it is said that God responded to +his tearful prayers and incessant supplications by opening a +rift under His throne of mercy and receiving his petition for +pardon. Thus all mankind might see that none can be so +wicked that he will not find the door of repentance open, if he +but seek it sincerely and persistently.<note place='foot'>Ter. +Sanh. X, 78 c; Sanh. 103 a; Pes. 162; Prayer of Manasseh.</note> Likewise Adam and +Cain, Reuben and Judah, Korah, Jeroboam, Ahab, Josiah, and +Jechoniah are described in Talmud, Midrash, and the apocalyptic +literature as penitent sinners who obtained at last the +coveted pardon.<note place='foot'>Pesik. 160 a-162; Shab. 56 a, +b; Gen. R. XI, 6; XXII, 12-13; XXXVIII, +9; XLIX, 6; P. R. El. XX; XLIII; Num. R. XVIII, 6; Ab. d. R. N. I, 32; +Sanh. 102 b.</note> The optimistic spirit of Judaism cannot +tolerate the idea that mortal man is hopelessly lost under the +burden of his sins, or that he need ever lose faith in himself. +No one can sink so low that he cannot find his way back to +his heavenly Father by untiring self-discipline. As the +Talmud says, nothing can finally withstand the power of +<pb n='252'/><anchor id='Pg252'/> +sincere repentance: <q>It reaches up to the very seat of God;</q> +<q>upon it rests the welfare of the world.</q><note place='foot'>Yoma +86 a, b; Pes. R. XLIX.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. The rabbis follow up the idea first announced in the +book of Jonah, that the saving power of repentance applies +to the heathen world as well. Thus they show how God +constantly offered time and opportunity to the heathens for +repentance. For example, when the generation of the flood, +the builders of the Tower of Babel, and the people of Sodom +and Gomorrah were to be punished, God waited to give them +time for Repentance and improvement of their +ways.<note place='foot'>Mek. Shira 5; Gen. R. XXI, 6; XXX, 4; XXXII, 10; XXXVIII, +14; LXXXIV, 18; Ex. R. XII, 1; Num. R. XII, 13; B. Wisdom XI, 23; +XII, 10, 19.</note> Noah, +Enoch, and Abraham are represented as monitors of their +contemporaries, warning them, like the prophets, to repent +in time lest they meet their doom.<note place='foot'>Sanh. +108; Sibyllines, I, 125-198.</note> Thus the whole Hellenistic +literature of propaganda, especially the Sibylline books, +echoes the warning and the hope that the heathen should +repent of their grievous sins and return to God, whom they +had deserted in idolatry, so that they might escape the impending +doom of the last judgment day. According to one +Haggadist,<note place='foot'>Cant. R. VII, 5, ref. +to the name <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hadrach</foreign>, +Zech. IX, 1.</note> even the Messiah will appear first as a preacher +of repentance, admonishing the heathen nations to be converted +to the true God and repent before Him, lest they fall +into perdition. Indeed, it is said that even Pharaoh and +the Egyptians were warned and given time for repentance +before their fate overtook them. +</p> + +<p> +7. Accordingly, the principle of repentance is a universal +human one, and by no means exclusively national, as the +Christian theologians represent it.<note place='foot'>Weber, +l. c., 261 f.; Bousset, l. c., 446 f.; comp. Perles: +<hi rend='italic'>Bousset.</hi></note> The sages thus describe +Adam as the type of the penitent sinner, who is granted pardon +<pb n='253'/><anchor id='Pg253'/> +by God. The <q>sign</q> of Cain also was to be a sign for +all sinners, assuring them they might all obtain forgiveness +and salvation, if they would but return to +God.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. XXII, 27; comp. Sanh 107 b.</note> In fact, +the prophetic appeal to Israel for repentance, vain at the +time, effected the regeneration of the people during the +Exile and gave rise to Judaism and its institutions. In the +same way, the appeal to the heathen world by the Hellenistic +propaganda and the Essene preachers of repentance did not +induce the nations at once to prepare for the coming of the +Messianic kingdom, but finally led to the rise of the Christian +religion, and, through certain intermediaries, of the +Mohammedan as well. +</p> + +<p> +However, the long-cherished hope for a universal conversion +of the heathen world, voiced in the preachments and the +prayers of the <q>pious ones,</q> gave way to a reaction. The +rise of antinomian sects in Judaism occasioned the dropping +of this pious hope, and only certain individual conversions +were dwelt on as shining exceptions.<note place='foot'>Mek. +Yithro I.</note> The heathen world +in general was not regarded as disposed to repent, and so +its ultimate fate was the doom of Gehenna. Experience +seemed to confirm the stern view, which rabbinical interpretation +could find in Scripture also, that <q>Even at the very +gate of the nether world wicked men shall not +return.</q><note place='foot'>Erub. 19 a.</note> +The growing violence of the oppressors and the increasing +number of the maligners of Judaism darkened the hope for +a universal conversion of humanity to the pure faith of +Israel and its law of righteousness. On the contrary, a +certain satisfaction was felt by the Jew in the thought that +these enemies of Judaism should not be allowed to repent and +obtain salvation in the hereafter.<note place='foot'>Mid. +Teh. Ps. I, 21 f.; IX, 13, 15; XI, 5.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. The idea of repentance was applied all the more intensely +in Jewish life, and a still more prominent place was +<pb n='254'/><anchor id='Pg254'/> +accorded it in Jewish literature. The rabbis have numberless +sayings<note place='foot'>See Maimonides, Bahya, and others on +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Teshubah;</foreign> comp. J. E., art. Repentance; +Tobit XIII, 6; XIV, 6; Philo II, 435.</note> in the Talmud and also in the Haggadic and +ethical writings concerning the power and value of repentance. +In passages such as these we see how profoundly +Judaism dealt with the failings and shortcomings of man. +The term <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>asa teshubah</foreign>, +do repentance, implies no mere external +act of penitence, as Christian theologians often assert. +On the contrary, the chief stress is always laid on the feeling +of remorse and on the change of heart which contrition and +self-accusation bring. Yet even these would not be sufficient +to cast off the oppressive consciousness of guilt, unless the +contrite heart were reassured by God that He forgives the +penitent son of man with paternal grace and love. In other +words, religion demands a special means of atonement, that is, +<emph>at-one-ment</emph> with God, to restore the broken relation of man +to his Maker. The true spiritual power of Judaism appears +in this, that it gradually liberates the kernel of the atonement +idea from its priestly shell. The Jew realizes, as does the +adherent of no other religion, that even in sin he is a child +of God and certain of His paternal love. This is brought +home especially on the Day of Atonement, which will be +treated in a later chapter. +</p> + +<p> +9. At all events, the blotting out of man's sins with their +punishment remains ever an act of grace by God.<note place='foot'>See +Schechter, l. c., 323 f.</note> In compassion +for man's frailty He has ordained repentance as +the means of salvation, and promised pardon to the penitent. +This truth is brought out in the liturgy for the Day of Atonement, +as well as in the Apocalyptic Prayer of Manasseh. +At the same time, Judaism awards the palm of victory to +him who has wrestled with sin and conquered it by his own +will. Thus the rabbis boldly assert: <q>Those who have +<pb n='255'/><anchor id='Pg255'/> +sinned and repented rank higher in the world to come than +the righteous who have never sinned,</q> which is paralleled +in the New Testament: <q>There is more joy in heaven over +one sinner who repenteth than over ninety and nine righteous +persons, who need no repentance.</q><note place='foot'>Sanh. +99 a, Luke XV, 7. The third Gospel more than the others +preserved the original Jewish doctrines of the Church.</note> No intermediary power +from without secures the divine grace and pardon for the +repentant sinner, but his own inner transformation alone. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='256'/><anchor id='Pg256'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XL. Man, the Child of God</head> + +<p> +1. The belief that God hears our prayers and pardons our +sins rests upon the assumption of a mutual relation between +man and God. This belief is insusceptible of proof, but rests +entirely upon our religious feelings and is rooted purely in +our emotional life. We apply to the relation between man +and God the finest feelings known in human life, the devotion +and love of parents for their children and the affection +and trust the child entertains for its parents. Thus we are led +to the conviction that earth-born man has a Helper enthroned +in the heavens above, who hearkens when he implores Him +for aid. In his innermost heart man feels that he has a special +claim on the divine protection. In the words of +Job,<note place='foot'>Job XIX, 25. The Hebrew +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Goel</foreign> signifies kinsman as well as redeemer and +avenger, implying blood-relationship. In Job it means vindicator.</note> he knows +that his Redeemer liveth. He need not perish in misery. +Unlike the brute creation and the hosts of stars, which know +nothing of their Maker, man feels akin to the God who lives +within him; he is His image, His child. He cannot be deprived +of His paternal love and favor. This truly human +emotion is nowhere expressed so clearly as in Judaism. <q>Ye +are the children of the Lord your God.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XIV, 1.</note> +<q>Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created +us?</q><note place='foot'>Mal. II, 10.</note> <q>Like as +a father hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord +compassion upon them that fear Him.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. CIII, 13.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. Still, this simple idea of man's filial relation to God and +God's paternal love for man did not begin in its beautiful final +form. For a long time the Jew seems to have avoided the +<pb n='257'/><anchor id='Pg257'/> +term <q>Father</q> for God, because it was used by the heathen for +their deities as physical progenitors, and did not refer to the +moral relation between the Deity and mankind. Thus +worshipers of wooden idols would, according to Scripture, +<q>say to a stock, Thou art my father.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. II, 27.</note> Hosea was +the first to call the people of Israel <q>children of the living +God,</q><note place='foot'>Hosea II, 1.</note> if +they would but improve their ways and enter into right relations +with Him. Jeremiah also hopes for the time when +Israel would invoke the Lord, saying, <q>Thou art my Father,</q> and in return +God would prove a true father to him.<note place='foot'>See Jer. III, 4.</note> However, +Scripture calls God a Father only in referring to the +people as a whole.<note place='foot'>Jer. XXXI, 9; Deut. +XXXII, 7; Isa. LXIII, 16; LXIV, 7; Mal. I, 4; +I Chron. XXIX, 10.</note> The <q>pious ones</q> established a closer +relation between God and the individual by means of prayer, +so that through them the epithets, <q>Father,</q> <q>Our Father,</q> +and <q>Our Father in heaven</q> came into general use. Hence, +the liturgy frequently uses the invocation, <q>Our Father, +Our King!</q> We owe to Rabbi Akiba the significant saying, +in opposition to the Paulinian dogma, <q>Blessed are ye, O +Israelites! Before whom do you purify yourselves (from your +sins)? And who is it that purifies you? Your Father in +heaven.</q><note place='foot'>Yoma VIII, 9.</note> Previously Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanos +dwelt on the moral degeneration of his age, which betokened the +end of time, and exclaimed: <q>In whom, then, shall we find +support? In our Father who is in heaven.</q><note place='foot'>Sota IX, 15.</note> The +appellative <q>Father in heaven</q> was the stereotyped term used +by the <q>pious ones</q> during the century preceding and the +one following the rise of Christianity, as a glance at the +literature of the period indicates.<note place='foot'>See +next paragraph, and the art. <hi rend='italic'>Abba</hi> in J. E.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. It is instructive to follow the history of this term. In +Scripture God is represented as speaking to David, <q>I will be +<pb n='258'/><anchor id='Pg258'/> +to him for a father, and he shall be to Me for a +son,</q><note place='foot'>II Sam. VII, 14.</note> or <q>He +shall call unto Me: Thou art my Father, ... I also will +appoint him first-born.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. LXXXIX, +27-28.</note> So in the apocryphal writings +God speaks both to Israel and to individual saints: <q>I shall +be to them a Father, and they shall be My children.</q><note place='foot'>Jubilees +I, 24.</note> Elsewhere +it is said of the righteous, <q>He calls God his Father,</q> +and <q>he shall be counted among the sons of +God.</q><note place='foot'>Wisdom II, 16; V, 5.</note> We +read concerning the Messiah: <q>When all wrongdoing will be +removed from the midst of the people, he shall know that +all are sons of God.</q><note place='foot'>Psalms of +Solomon XVII, 27.</note> Obviously only righteousness or personal +merit entitles a man to be called a son of God. In +fact, we are expressly told of Onias, the great Essene saint, +that his intimate relation with God emboldened him to converse +with the Master of the Universe as a son would speak +with his father.<note place='foot'>Taan. III, 8.</note> +According to the Mishnah the older generation +of <q>pious ones</q> used to spend <q>an hour in silent devotion +before offering their daily prayer, in order to concentrate +heart and soul upon their communion with their Father +in heaven.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. V, 1.</note> +Thus it is said of congregational prayer that +through it <q>Israel lifts his eyes to his Father in +heaven.</q><note place='foot'>Midr. Teh. Ps. CXXI, 1.</note> +In this way prayer took the place of the altar, of which R. +Johanan ben Zakkai said that it established peace between +Israel and his Father in heaven.<note place='foot'>Mek. +Yithro 11.</note> Afterwards the question +was discussed by Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Jehuda whether even +sin-laden Israel had a right to be called <q>children of God.</q> +Rabbi Meir pointed to Hosea as proof that the backsliders also +remain <q>children of the living God.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre +Deut. 96; Hosea I, 10.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. In the Hellenistic literature, with its dominating idea +of universal monotheism, God is frequently invoked or spoken +of as the Father of mankind. The implication is that each +<pb n='259'/><anchor id='Pg259'/> +person who invokes God as Father enters into filial relation +with Him. Thus what was first applied to Israel in particular +was now broadened to include mankind in general, +and consequently all men were considered <q>children of the +living God.</q> The words of God to Pharaoh, speaking of +Israel as His <q>first-born son,</q><note place='foot'>Ex. +IV, 22.</note> were taken as proof that all +the nations of the earth are sons of God and He the universal +Father. Israel is the first-born among the sons of God, because +his patriarchs, prophets, and psalmists first recognized +Him as the universal Father and Ruler. From this point of +view Judaism declared love for fellow-men and regard for the +dignity of humanity to be fundamental principles of ethics. +<q>As God is kind and merciful toward His creation, be thou +also kind and merciful toward all fellow-creatures,</q> is the oft-repeated +teaching of the rabbis.<note place='foot'>Sifre Deut. 49.</note> Likewise, <q>Whoever takes +pity on his fellow-beings, on him God in heaven will also take +pity.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre Deut. 96.</note> Love of humanity has so permeated the +nature of the Jew that the rabbis assert: <q>He who has pity on his fellow-men +has the blood of Abraham in his veins.</q><note place='foot'>Beza 32 b.</note> This +bold remark casts light upon the strange dictum: <q>Ye +Israelites are called by the name of man, but the heathen are +not.</q><note place='foot'>Yeb. 61 a.</note> The Jewish teachers were so deeply impressed +with man's inhumanity to man, so common among the heathen +nations, and the immorality of the lives by which these desecrated +God's image, that they insisted that the laws of humanity +alone make for divine dignity in man. +</p> + +<p> +5. Rabbi Akiba probably referred to the Paulinian dogma +that Jesus, the crucified Messiah, is the only son of God, in +his well-known saying: <q>Beloved is man, for he is created +in God's image, and it was a special token of love that he became +conscious of it. Beloved is Israel, for they are called +the children of God, and it was a special token of love that they +<pb n='260'/><anchor id='Pg260'/> +became conscious of it.</q><note place='foot'>Aboth III, 13, +quoted above, Chap. <ref target='Chapter_XXXIV_Section_6'>XXXIV, par. 6</ref>.</note> +Here he claims the glory of being +a son of God for Israel, but not for all men. Still, as soon as +the likeness of man to God is taken in a spiritual sense, then +it is implied that all men have the same capacity for being a +son of God which is claimed for Israel. This is unquestionably +the view of Judaism when it considers the Torah as entrusted +to Israel to bring light and blessing to all the families +of men. Rabbi Meir, the disciple of Rabbi Akiba, said: +<q>The Scriptural words, <q>The statutes and ordinances which +<emph>man</emph> shall do and live thereby,</q> and similar expressions indicate +that the final aim of Judaism is not attained by the +Aaronide, nor the Levite, nor even the Israelite, but by +mankind.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sifra Ahare</hi> 13, p. 86.</note> +Such a saying expresses clearly and emphatically +that God's fatherly love extends to all men as His children. +</p> + +<p> +6. According to the religious consciousness of modern Israel +man is made in God's image, and is thus a child of God. Consequently +Jew and non-Jew, saint and sinner have the same +claim upon God's paternal love and mercy. There is no +distinction in favor of Israel except as he lives a higher and +more god-like life. Even those who have fallen away from +God and have committed crime and sin remain God's children. +If they send up their penitent cry to the throne of God, +<q>Pardon us, O Father, for we have sinned! Forgive us, O +King, for we have done evil!</q>; their prayer is heard by the +heavenly Father exactly like that of the pious son of Israel. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='261'/><anchor id='Pg261'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XLI. Prayer and Sacrifice</head> + +<p> +1. The gap between man and the sublime Master of the +universe is vast, but not absolute. The thoughts of God are +high above our thoughts, and the ways of God above our +ways, baffling our reason when we endeavor to solve the +vexatious problems of destiny, of merit and demerit, of retribution +and atonement. Yet religion offers a wondrous +medium to bring the heart of man into close communion with +Him who is enthroned above the heavens, one that overleaps +all distances, removes all barriers, and blends all dissonances +into one great harmony, and that is—Prayer. As the child +must relieve itself of its troubles and sorrows upon the bosom +of its mother or father in order to turn its pain into gladness, +so men at all times seek to approach the Deity, confiding to +Him all their fears and longings in order to obtain peace of +heart. Prayer, communion between the human soul and +the Creator, is the glorious privilege enjoyed by man alone +among all creatures, as he alone is the child of God. It +voices the longing of the human heart for its Father in heaven. +As the Psalmist has it, <q>My soul thirsteth for God, for the +living God.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XLII, 3.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. However, both language, the means of intercourse between +man and man, and prayer, the means of intercourse +between man and God, show traces of a slow development +lasting for thousands of years, until the loftiest thoughts and +<pb n='262'/><anchor id='Pg262'/> +sublimest emotions could be expressed. The real efficacy of +prayer could not be truly appreciated, until the prophetic +spirit triumphed over the priestly element in Judaism. In +the history of speech the language of signs preceded that of +sounds, and images gradually ripened into abstract thoughts. +Similarly, primitive man approaches his God with many kinds +of gifts and sacrificial rites to express his sentiments. He acts +out or depicts what he expects from the Deity, whether rain, +fertility of the soil, or the extermination of his foes. He +shares with his God his food and drink, to obtain His friendship +and protection in time of trouble, and sacrifices the dearest +of his possessions to assuage His wrath or obtain His favor. +</p> + +<p> +3. In the lowest stage of culture man needed no mediator +in his intercourse with the Deity, who appeared to him in the +phenomena of nature as well as in the fetish, totem, and the +like. But soon he rose to a higher stage of thought, and the +Deity withdrew before him to the celestial heights, filling him +with awe and fear; then rose a class of men who claimed the +privilege to approach the Deity and influence Him by certain +secret practices. Henceforth these acted as mediators between +the mass of the people and the Deity. In the first +place, these were the magicians, medicine-men, and similar +persons, who were credited with the power to conjure up the +hidden forces of nature, considered either divine or demoniac. +After these arose the priests, distinguished from the people +by special dress and diet, who established in the various tribes +temples, altars, and cults, under their own control. Then +there were the saints, pious penitents or Nazarites, who led +an ascetic life secluded from the masses, hoping thus to obtain +higher powers over the will of the Deity. All these entertained +more or less clearly the notion that they stood in +closer relation to the Deity than the common people, whom +they then excluded from the sanctuary and all access to the +Deity. +</p> + +<pb n='263'/><anchor id='Pg263'/> + +<p> +The Mosaic cult, in the so-called Priestly Code, was founded +upon this stage of religious life, forming a hierarchical institution +like those of other ancient nations. It differed +from them, however, in one essential point. The prime element +in the cult of other nations was magic, consisting of +oracle, incantation and divination, but this was entirely contrary +to the principles of the Jewish faith. On the other +hand, all the rites and ceremonies handed down from remote +antiquity were placed in the service of Israel's holy God, in +order to train His people into the highest moral purity. +The patriarchs and prophets, who are depicted in Scripture +as approaching God in prayer and hearing His voice in reply, +come under the category of saints or elect ones, above the +mass of the people. +</p> + +<p> +4. Foreign as the entire idea of sacrifice is to our mode of +religious thought, to antiquity it appeared as the only means +of intercourse with the Deity. <q>In every place offerings are +presented unto My name, even pure oblations,</q><note place='foot'>Mal. I, 11.</note> says +the prophet Malachi in the name of Israel's God. Even from a +higher point of view the underlying idea seems to be of a +simple offering laid upon the altar. Such were the meal-offering +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>minha</foreign>);<note place='foot'>With its +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>azkarah</foreign>, the flame of +incense rising in <q>pyramidal</q> form, generally +translated <q>memorial,</q> or <q>memorial-part.</q> Lev. II, 9, 16. For sacrifice +as means of atonement see Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, +295-301.</note> the burnt offering (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>olah</foreign>), +which sends its pillar of smoke up toward heaven, symbolizing the idea of +self-sacrifice; while the various sin-offerings +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>hattath</foreign> or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>asham</foreign>) +expressed the desire to propitiate an offended Deity. +However, since the sacrificial cult was always dominated by +the priesthood in Israel as well as other nations, the lawgiver +made no essential changes in the traditional practice and +terminology. Thus it was left to the consciousness of the +people to find a deeper spiritual meaning in the sacrifices +<pb n='264'/><anchor id='Pg264'/> +instead of stating one directly. The want was supplied only +by the later Haggadists who tried to create a symbolism of the +sacrificial cult. The laying on of hands by the individual who +brought the offering, seems to have been a genuine symbolic +expression of self-surrender. In the case of sin-offerings the +Mosaic cult added a higher meaning by ordering a preceding +confession of sin. Here, indeed, the individual entered into +personal communion with God through his prayer for pardon, +even though the priest performed the act of expiation for +him. +</p> + +<p> +5. The great prophets of Israel alone recognized that +the entire sacrificial system was out of harmony with the +true spirit of Judaism and led to all sorts of abuses, above +all to a misconception of the worship of God, which requires +the uplifting of the heart. In impassioned language, therefore, +they hurled words of scathing denunciation against the +practice and principle of ritualism: <q rend='pre'>I hate, I despise your +feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Yea, though ye offer Me burnt-offerings and your meal-offerings, +I will not accept them; Neither will I regard the +peace-offerings of your fat beasts. +</p> + +<p> +Take thou away from Me the noise of thy songs; and let +Me not hear the melody of thy psalteries. +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='post'>But let justice well up as waters, and righteousness as a +mighty stream.</q><note place='foot'>Amos V, 21-24.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Thus speaks Amos in the name of the Lord. And Hosea: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge +of God rather than burnt-offerings.</q><note place='foot'>Hosea VI, 6.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Isaiah spoke in a similar vein: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +<q rend='pre'>To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto +Me? saith the Lord; I am full of the burnt-offerings of +rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the +blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats....</q> +</p> + +<pb n='265'/><anchor id='Pg265'/> + +<p> +Bring me no more vain oblations; it is an offering of +abomination unto Me; new moon and sabbath, the holding +of convocations—I cannot endure iniquity along with the +solemn assembly.... +</p> + +<p> +And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes +from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; +your hands are full of blood. +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='post'>Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings +From before Mine eyes, cease to do evil; learn to do well; +seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead +for the widow.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. I, 11-18.</note> +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +Most striking of all are the words of Jeremiah, spoken in +the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: <q>Add your +burnt-offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat ye flesh. For +I spoke not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the +day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning +burnt-offerings and sacrifices, but this thing I commanded +them, saying; <q>Hearken unto My voice, and I will be your +God, and ye shall be My people; and walk ye in all the way +that I command you, that it may be well with you.</q></q><note place='foot'>Jer. +VII, 21-23.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. However, the mere rejection of the sacrificial cult was +quite negative, and did not satisfy the normal need for communion +with God. Therefore the various codes established +a sort of compromise between the prophetic ideal and the +priestly practice, in which the ideal was by no means supreme. +Sometimes the prophetic spirit stirred the soul of inspired psalmists, +and their lips echoed forth again the divine revelation: +</p> + +<p> +<q>Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I +will testify against thee: God, thy God, am I. I will not +reprove thee for thy sacrifices; and thy burnt-offerings are +continually before Me. I will take no bullock out of thy +house, nor he-goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the +forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.... +<pb n='266'/><anchor id='Pg266'/> +Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of +goats?</q><note place='foot'>Ps. L, 7-13.</note> +Another psalmist says: <q>Sacrifice and meal-offering +thou hast no delight in; Mine ears hast Thou +opened; burnt-offering and sin-offering hast Thou not +required.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XL, 7.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Still, the sacrificial cult was too deeply rooted in the life of +the people to be disturbed by the voice of the prophets or +the words of a few psalmists. It was connected with the +Temple, and the Temple was the center of the social life of +the nation. The few faint voices of protest went practically +unheeded. The priestly pomp of sacrifice could only be displaced +by the more elevating and more spiritual devotion of +the entire congregation in prayer, and this process demanded +a new environment, and a group of men with entirely new +ideas. +</p> + +<p> +7. The need of a deeper devotion through prayer was not +felt until the Exile. There altar and priesthood were no +more, but the words of the prophets and the songs of the +Levites remained to kindle the people's longing for God with +a new zeal. Until then prayer was rare and for special occasions. +Hannah's prayer at Shiloh filled even the high +priest with amazement.<note place='foot'>I Sam. I, +13-14.</note> The prophets alone interceded in +behalf of the people, because the ordinary man was not considered +sufficiently clean from sin to approach the Deity in +prayer. But on foreign soil, where sacrifices could not be +offered to the God of Israel, the harp of David resounded with +solemn songs expressing the national longing toward God. +The most touching psalms of penitence and thanksgiving date +from the exile. A select class of devout men, called the godly +or pious ones, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hasidim</foreign> or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Anavim</foreign>,<note place='foot'>Often +mentioned in the Psalms, under such terms as <q>the congregation +of the righteous,</q> <q>the holy ones,</q> <q>the devout ones,</q> +etc.</note> assembled by the rivers +of Babylon for regular prayer, turning their faces toward +<pb n='267'/><anchor id='Pg267'/> +Jerusalem, that the God of Israel might answer them from +His ancient seat.<note place='foot'>See I Kings VIII, +48; Dan. VI, 11.</note> Thus the great seer of the exile voiced the +hope for <q>a house of prayer for all peoples</q> to stand in +the very place where the sacrifices were offered to +God.<note place='foot'>Isa. LVI, 7.</note> +The congregation of Hasidim elaborated a liturgy under the +Persian influence, in which prayer was the chief element, and +the secondary part, the instruction from the Torah and the +monitions of the prophets. The Synagogue, the house of +meeting for the people, spread all over the world, and by its +light of truth and glow of fervor it soon eclipsed the Temple, +with all its worldly pomp. In fact, the priesthood of the +Temple were finally compelled to make concessions to the +lay movement of the Hasidim. They added a prayer +service, morning and evening, to the daily sacrifices, and +opened the Hall of Hewn Stones, the meeting place of +the High Court of Justice, as a Synagogue in charge of the +priests.<note place='foot'>Tamid V, 1; comp. Kohler: Monatsschr., 1893, p. 441.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. In this manner the ancient sacrificial cult, thus long +monopolized by the priesthood, was gradually superseded +by congregational prayer which was no longer confined to a +certain time or class, and justly called by the rabbis <q>a service +of the heart.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre Deut. 41: <q>What +is meant by, <q>To serve Him with all your heart?</q> +this is prayer.</q></note> Moreover, the Temple itself lost much +of its hold upon the hearts of the people, owing to the more +spiritual character of the Synagogue. Thus the torch of the +Roman soldiery which turned the Temple into a heap of ashes +broke only the national bond, but left the religious bond of the +Synagogue unbroken. True, the hope for the restoration of +the Temple with the priestly sacrifices was not relinquished, +and officially the daily prayers were considered only a <q>temporary +substitute</q> for the divinely ordained sacrificial +cult.<note place='foot'>Ber. 26 a.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='268'/><anchor id='Pg268'/> + +<p> +Nevertheless, the deeper religious consciousness of the people +felt that the celestial gate of divine mercy opens only to +prayer, which emanates from the innermost depths of the +soul. Accordingly, some of the Haggadists try to prove from +Scripture that prayer ranks above sacrifice,<note place='foot'>Ber. +32 b; Midr. to Sam. I, 7.</note> while others +even identify worship with prayer.<note place='foot'>P. +d. R. El. XVI.</note> They represent God as +appearing to Moses in the guise of one who leads the congregation +in prayer, His face covered by the prayer-shawl +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>tallith</foreign>), +in order to teach man for all time the mode and power of +prayer.<note place='foot'>R. ha Sh. 17 b.</note> +Still these remain isolated expressions of an underlying +sentiment; on the whole, the rabbis regarded the +Mosaic legislation, with its emphasis on sacrifice, far too +highly to accord prayer any but a secondary place, either +accompanying sacrifice or as its substitute.<note place='foot'>Meg. +31 b; Yer. Taan. IV, 68 c. But compare Isaac Aboab: <hi rend='italic'>Menorath +ha Maor</hi>, III, 3 a; Bahya ben Asher: <hi rend='italic'>Kad ha Kemah</hi>, +art. <hi rend='italic'>Tefillah</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. Through many centuries, then, the belief in the divine +origin of the sacrificial cult remained, even though it could +no longer be carried out. The liturgy contained prayers +for the speedy restoration of the Temple and the sacrifices, +which were preserved by tradition, and nowhere was even an +echo heard of the bold words of Jeremiah denying the divine +character of the sacrifices,<note place='foot'>Jer. +VI, 22.</note> even though the idea of the restoration +of the old cult must have been repugnant to thinkers. +The sages of former ages could only resort to a compromise +or an allegorical interpretation. It is noteworthy that the +Haggadist Rabbi Levi considered the sacrifices a concession +of God to the people, who were disposed to idolatry, in order +to win them gradually for the pure monotheistic +ideal.<note place='foot'>Lev. R. XXII, 5.</note> This +view was adopted by the Church Fathers, and later by Maimonides +and other medieval thinkers. On the other hand, +an allegorical meaning was assigned to the sacrifices by Philo +<pb n='269'/><anchor id='Pg269'/> +and Jehuda ha Levi, as well as by Samson Raphael Hirsch in +modern times.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, II, +25, see note by Cassel; <hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, III, 32; comp. Midrash Tadshe +12; I, 177 f.; comp. Hebrews IX-X; <hi rend='italic'>Barnabas</hi>, +I, 25. S. R. Hirsch in <hi rend='italic'>Horeb</hi> +p. 639 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Reform Judaism, recognizing the results of Biblical research +and the law of religious progress, adopted the prophetic view +of the sacrifices. Accordingly, the sacrificial cult of the +Mosaic code has no validity for the liberal movement, and +all reference to it has been eliminated from the reform liturgy. +In this, however, the connection with the past was by no means +severed. The main part of the service remains the same, +although much of the character and many of the details have +been changed.<note place='foot'>See Philipson: +<hi rend='italic'>The Reform Movement in Judaism</hi> for the various views +and debates on sacrifice and prayer. I. Elbogen: <hi rend='italic'>D. jued. Gottesdienst i. +s. geschichtl. Entwicklung</hi>, p. 374 f., 435 f., is written in a more conservative spirit +and unfavorable to American Reform Judaism. Comp. for the traditional +liturgy: Dembitz: <hi rend='italic'>Jewish Services in the Synagogue and Home</hi>, +especially on the Prayerbook, p. 233-246, and for America, +497-499.</note> Only the allusions to the Temple worship and +the sacrifices were eliminated, and the entire form of the +service was made more solemn and inspiring <q>by combining +ancient time-honored formulas with modern prayers and +meditations in the vernacular and in the spirit of the age.</q> +The morning and evening services retained their places, while +the additional festal service (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>mussaf</foreign>) +was abrogated, because +it stood for the additional festal sacrifice. As to the voluntary +element in the old sacrificial system, the peace, sin, and +thank-offerings, this is replaced in the reform ritual, as in +the traditional practice, by private devotions for special +occasions, to be selected by the individual. +</p> + +<p> +The traditional Jewish prayer has certainly a wondrous +force. It remains a source of inspiration from which the +religious consciousness will ever draw new strength and +vitality. It echoes the voice of Israel singing the song of +redemption by the Red Sea: <q>This is My God, and I will +<pb n='270'/><anchor id='Pg270'/> +glorify Him; My father's God, and I will exalt +Him.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XV, 2.</note> +Consequently our liturgy must ever respond to a double +demand; it must throb with the spirit of continuity with +our great past, to make us feel one with our fathers of yore; +and it must express clearly and fully our own views and needs, +our convictions and our hopes. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='271'/><anchor id='Pg271'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XLII. The Nature and Purpose of Prayer</head> + +<p> +1. Prayer is the expression of man's longing and yearning +for God in times of dire need and of overflowing joy, an outflow +of the emotions of the soul in its dependence on God, +the ever-present Helper, the eternal Source of its existence. +Springing from the deepest necessity of human weakness, the +expression of a momentary wish, prayer is felt to be the proud +prerogative of man as the child of God, and at last it becomes +adoration of the Most High, whose wisdom and whose paternal +love and goodness inspire man with confidence and love. +</p> + +<p> +2. Every prayer is offered on the presumption that it will be +heard by God on high. <q>O Thou that hearest prayer, unto +Thee doth all flesh come,</q> sings the Psalmist.<note place='foot'>Ps. +LXV, 3. See Wm. James: <hi rend='italic'>Varieties of Rel. Experience</hi>, 463-477; +Foster: <hi rend='italic'>Function of Religion</hi>, 183-185; Abelson: +<hi rend='italic'>Jewish Mysticism</hi>, p. 15 and +elsewhere.</note> No doubt of +the efficacy of prayer can arise in the devout spirit. There +can be only the question whether, and how far, the Deity can +allow its decrees to be influenced by human wishes. Childlike +faith anticipates divine interference in the natural order at +any time, because it has not yet attained the conception of a +moral order in the universe and, therefore, expects from prayer +also miraculous effects on life. As the Deity can suddenly +send or withhold rain or drought, barrenness or birth, life or +death, so the inference is that the man of God can do the same +with his prayer. This is the point of view of the Biblical and +Talmudic periods, as well as of the entire ancient world. It +seems almost childish to our religious consciousness when, +<pb n='272'/><anchor id='Pg272'/> +according to Talmudic tradition, the high priest petitioned +God in the Sanctuary on the Day of Atonement for a year +rich in rain and blessed with sunshine and with dew, and at the +same time expressed the entreaty that the prayers of travelers +for dry or cool weather should find no hearing.<note place='foot'>Yoma +53 b.</note> That the +prayers of the pious may alter God's decree is not doubted for +a moment by the rabbis; only they insist that God has taken +into account beforehand the efficacy of this prayer in deciding +the fate of the pious, in order that they may petition for that +which He actually plans to do. <q>God longs for the prayer of +the pious</q>; for that reason, they say, the Mothers of Israel +were afflicted with barrenness, until the prayers of the Patriarchs +had accomplished the transformation in their +constitutions.<note place='foot'>Yeb. 64 a; Ex. R. XXI, 6.</note> +On the other hand, the rabbis warn against +excessive pondering over prayer and its efficacy, as through it +that childlike faith would be weakened, which is the basis of +all prayer.<note place='foot'>Ber. 55 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. According to the rabbinic viewpoint, prayer has the +power to reverse every heavenly decree, inasmuch as it appeals +from the punitive justice of God, which has decided thus, to +His attributes of grace and mercy, which can at any time effect +a change. When the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah +with the message: <q>Set thine house in order, for thou shalt +die,</q> he replied, <q>Finish thy message and go; I have received +the tradition from my royal ancestor David that, even when +the sword already touches the neck, man shall not desist from +an appeal to the divine mercy.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 10 a.</note> Nay more, the rabbis +believed that God Himself prays, saying, <q>Oh, that My mercy +shall prevail over My justice!</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 7 a.</note> Only after the divine +judgment has been executed prayer becomes vain. In general, +the entire Talmudic period ascribed miraculous power to +prayer, especially the prayers of the pious, like the popular +<pb n='273'/><anchor id='Pg273'/> +saint Onias or Hanina ben Dosa.<note place='foot'>Taan. +III, 8; Ber. V, 6; Babl. 34 b; Yer. 9 d.</note> In many such cases the +invocation of God was combined with the use of the sacred +name, the tetragrammaton, to which magical powers were +ascribed.<note place='foot'>Pes. R. XXII, p. 114 b; Midr. +Teh. Ps. XCI, 8; see Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, +156; 42.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. The two attributes of God, Justice and Mercy, correspond +to the double nature of mankind, as the sinful man, who +deserves punishment, is called to account by the former, while +the righteous man may appeal to the latter. Accordingly, the +efficacy of prayer could be so explained that, before it can +influence the decision of God, it demands the reformation of +man. While the unregenerate man meets an evil destiny, +the reformed man has become a different being, and hence instead +of justice mercy will control his fate. Albo pleads for +this view of prayer, when he cites the Talmudic incident about +R. Meir. It is said that R. Meir interceded for the people of +Mimla, who all seemed to have been doomed to die on attaining +manhood because they inherited the curse of the priestly +family of Eli.<note place='foot'>I Sam. II, 31.</note> +But he also recommended to them that they +should devote their lives to worthy deeds, as it is said in the +Proverbs:<note place='foot'>Prov. XVI, 32.</note> <q>The +hoary head is a crown of glory, it is found +in the way of righteousness.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. R. +LIX, 1; Yeb. 105 a, where R. Johanan ben Zakkai is mentioned +instead of R. Meir; Albo: <hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, IV, 18.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Other thinkers ascribe to prayer the power to change the +fate determined by the stars, because it exalts man into a +higher sphere of godliness, exactly like the spirit of prophecy. +Of course, this conception is connected with the belief in +astrology, which swayed even clear thinkers like Ibn +Ezra.<note place='foot'>See Steinschneider: <hi rend='italic'>Abraham Ibn Ezra</hi>, +126 ff.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. According to our modern thinking there can be no question +of any influence upon a Deity exalted above time and +<pb n='274'/><anchor id='Pg274'/> +space, omniscient, unchangeable in will and action, by the +prayer of mortals. Prayer can exert power only over the relation +of man to God, not over God Himself. This indicates the +nature and purpose of prayer. Man often feels lonely and +forlorn in a world which overpowers him, to which he feels +superior, and yet which he cannot master. Therefore he longs +for that unseen Spirit of the universe, with whom alone he feels +himself akin, and in whom alone he finds peace and bliss amid +life's struggle and unrest. This longing is both expressed and +satisfied in prayer. Following the natural impulse of his +soul, man must pour out before his God all his desires and +sighs, all the emotions of grief and delight which sway his +heart, in order that he may find rest, like a child at its mother's +bosom. Therefore the childlike mind believes that God can +be induced to come down from His heavenly heights to offer +help, and that He can be moved and influenced in human +fashion. The truth is that every genuine prayer lifts man up +toward God, satisfies the desire for His hallowing presence, +unlocks the heavenly gate of mercy and bliss, and bestows +upon man the beatific and liberating sense of being a child of +God. The intellect may question the effect of prayer upon the +physical, mental, or social constitution of man, or may declare +prayer to be pious self-deception. The religious spirit experiences +in prayer the soaring up of the soul toward union with +God in consecrated moments of our mortal pilgrimage. This +is no deception. The man who prays receives from the Godhead, +toward whom he fervently lifts himself, the power to +defy fate, to conquer sin, misery, and death. <q>The Lord is +nigh to all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him +in truth.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. CXLV, 18.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. To pray, then, is to look up to God and to pour out before +Him one's wishes, thoughts, sorrows, and joys. Certainly the +All-knowing does not require to be told by us what we desire +<pb n='275'/><anchor id='Pg275'/> +or what we need. <q>For there is not a word in my tongue, +but lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +CXXXIX, 4.</note> But we mortals +merely aspire toward Him who bears the world on His eternal +arms, to express in His presence our agony and our jubilation, +because we are certain of His paternal sympathy. When we +praise and extol Him for the happiness and the many pleasures +which He has granted us, He becomes the Partaker and Protector +of our fortune, just as He is our sympathetic Helper +when we cry out to Him under the burden of sin or grief, in the +anxiety of danger or of guilt. Every genuine prayer realizes +deeply the truth of the words, <q>Cast thy burden upon the +Lord, and He will sustain thee.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. LV, 23.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. Self-expression before God in prayer has thus a double +effect; it strengthens faith in God's love and kindness, as +well as in His all-wise and all-bountiful prescience. But it also +chastens the desires and feelings of man, teaching him to +banish from his heart all thoughts of self-seeking and sin, and +to raise himself toward the purity and the freedom of the +divine will and demand. The essence of every prayer of supplication +is that one should be in unison with the divine will, +to sum up all the wishes of the heart in the one phrase, <q>Do +that which is good in Thine own eyes, O Lord.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 29 b; +Tos. Ber. III, 7; comp. Albo: <hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, IV, 24.</note> On the +other hand, only the prayer which avoids impure thoughts and +motives can venture to approach a holy God, as the sages infer +from the words of Job, <q>There is no violence in my hands, and +my prayer is pure.</q><note place='foot'>Job XVI, 17; Ex. R. XXII, 4; +comp. Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, 228.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. Every prayer, teach the sages, should begin with the +praise of God's greatness, wisdom, and goodness, in order that +man should learn submission and implicit confidence before +he proffers his requests.<note place='foot'>Ab. Z. 76.</note> +While looking up to the divine Ideal +<pb n='276'/><anchor id='Pg276'/> +of holiness and perfection, he will strive to emulate Him, and +seek to grow ever nearer to the holy and the perfect. But +only when he prays with and for others, that is, in public +worship, will he realize that he is a member of a greater whole, +for then he prays only for that which advances the welfare of +all. <q>He who prays with the community,</q> say the rabbis, +<q>will have his prayer granted.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 8 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Another saying of theirs is that he who prays should have his +face directed to the sanctuary, and when he stands on its +sacred precincts, he should turn his face toward the Holy of +Holies.<note place='foot'>Ber. 30 a.</note> +By this they meant that the attitude of the suppliant +should ever be toward the highest, making the soul soar up to +the Highest and Holiest in reverent awe and adoration, transforming +the worshiper into a new character, pure from all +dross. +</p> + +<p> +9. Therefore prayer offered with the community upon the +sanctified ground of the house of God exerts a specially powerful +influence upon the individual. In the silent chamber the +oppressed spirit may find calm and composure in prayer; but +the pure atmosphere of heavenly freedom and bliss is attained +with overwhelming might only by the united worship of hundreds +of devout adorers, which rings out like the roaring of +majestic billows: <q>The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the +earth keep silence before Him.</q><note place='foot'>Hab. +II, 20.</note> The familiar strains from +days of yore touch the deep, long-silent chords of the heart, +and awaken dormant sentiments and repressed thoughts, +endowing the soul with new wings, to lift itself up toward +God, the Father, from whom it had felt itself alienated. In +the ardor of communal worship the traditional words of the +prayer-book obtain invigorating power; the heart is newly +strengthened; the covenant with heaven sealed anew. To +such communal prayer, which springs from the heart, the +rabbis refer the Biblical words, <q>to serve Him with the whole +<pb n='277'/><anchor id='Pg277'/> +heart.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre Deut. 41.</note> +The synagogal worship exerts an ennobling influence +upon the spirit of the individual as well as that of the +community. For after all the main object is that the soul +which aspires toward God may learn to find God. <q>Seek ye +the Lord while He may be found; call ye upon Him while He +is near.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LV, 6.</note> +No man is so poor as he who calls in agony: <q>O +God!</q> and to whom neither the heaven above nor the heart +within answers, <q>Behold, God is here.</q> Nor is any man so rich +with all his possessions as he who realizes, like the Psalmist, +that <q>the nearness of God is the true good,</q> and imbued with +this thought exclaims, <q>Whom have I in heaven but Thee? +And beside Thee I desire none upon earth.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. LXXIII, 25, 28.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='278'/><anchor id='Pg278'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_XLIII'/> +<head>Chapter XLIII. Death and the Future Life</head> + +<p> +1. The vision of man is directed upwards and forwards; he +will not resign himself to decay in the dust like the beast. +As he bears in his breast the consciousness of a higher divine +world, he is equally confident of his own continuity after +death. He cannot and will not believe that with the giving +up of his last living breath his being would become dust like +that of the animal; or that his soul, which has hitherto accomplished +and planned so much, should now suddenly cease +altogether to exist. The longing for a future life, however +expressed, has filled him and buoyed him up since the very +beginning of history. Even the most primitive tribe does not +allow its dead to lie and rot like the carcasses of the beast, +but lays them to rest in the grave with all their possessions, +in the expectation that somewhere and somehow, under, over +or beyond the earth, they will continue their lives, even in a +better form than before. +</p> + +<p> +This longing for immortality implanted in the human soul is +so represented in the legend of Paradise that the tree whose +fruit bestowed upon the celestial beings the gift of eternal +life—like the Greek ambrosia, <q>the food of the gods</q>—was +originally intended for mankind also in the divine <q>Garden +of Bliss.</q> But after man fell through sin, all access to it was +denied him, in order that he might not stretch out his hand for +it and thereby attain that immortality which was vouchsafed +only to divine beings.<note place='foot'>Gen. III, 22.</note> +According to his original destiny, +therefore, man should live forever; and, just as legend allows +<pb n='279'/><anchor id='Pg279'/> +those divinely elected, like Enoch and Elijah,<note place='foot'>Gen. +V, 24; II Kings II, 1.</note> to ascend to +heaven alive, so at a later period prophecy predicts a time when +God will annihilate death forever.<note place='foot'>Isa., +XXV, 8.</note> Accordingly, through the +power of his divine soul man possesses a claim to immortality, +to eternal life with God, the <q>Fountain of life.</q> +</p> + +<p> +2. It was just this keen longing for an energetic life on +earth, this mighty yearning to <q>walk before God in the land +of the living,</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XXXVIII, 11; +Ps. CXVI, 9.</note> which made it more difficult for Judaism to +brighten the <q>valley of the shadow of death</q> and to elevate +the vague notion of a shadowy existence in the hereafter into +a special religious teaching. Until long after the Exile the +Jewish people shared the view of the entire ancient world,—both +the Semitic nations, such as the Babylonians and Phœnicians, +and the Aryans, such as the Greeks and Romans,—that +the dead continue to exist in the shadowy realm of the +nether world (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sheol</foreign>), +the land of no return +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Beliyaal</foreign>),<note place='foot'>Ps. +XVIII, 5, and J. E., art. Belial.</note> of eternal +silence (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Dumah</foreign>), and oblivion +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Neshiyah</foreign>),<note place='foot'>Ps. +CXV, 17; LXXXVIII, 13.</note> a dull, ghostly +existence without clear consciousness and without any awakening +to a better life. We must, however, not overlook the fact +that even in these most primitive conceptions a certain imperishability +is ascribed to man as marking his superiority over the +animal world, which is altogether abandoned to decay. Hence +the belief in the existence of the shades, the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Refaim</foreign> in +Sheol.<note place='foot'>Isa. XXVI, 14, 19; Ps. LXXXVIII, +11; Prov. IX, 18; Job XXVI, 5.</note> +But throughout the Biblical period no ethical idea yet permeated +this conception, and no attempt was made to transform +the nether world into a place of divine judgment, of +recompense for the good and evil deeds accomplished on +earth,<note place='foot'>Ps. XLIX, 15.</note> +as did the Babylonians and Egyptians. Both the prophets and +the Mosaic code persist in applying their promises and threats, +in fact, their entire view of retribution, to this world, nor do +<pb n='280'/><anchor id='Pg280'/> +they indicate by a single word the belief in a judgment or a +weighing of actions in the world to come. +</p> + +<p> +3. Whether the Mosaic-prophetic writings be regarded from +the standpoint of traditional faith or of historical criticism, +the limitation of their teaching and exhortation to the present +life can be considered narrowness only by biased expounders +of the <q>Old Testament.</q> The Israelitish lawgiver could not +have been altogether ignorant of the Egyptian or the Babylonian +conceptions of the future world. Obviously Israel's +prophets and lawgivers deliberately avoided giving any +definite expression to the common belief in a future life after +death, especially as the Canaanitish magicians and necromancers +used this popular belief to carry on their superstitious +practices, so dangerous to all moral progress.<note place='foot'>See +Isa. VIII, 19; XXVIII, 15, 18; I Sam. XXIX, 7-14.</note> The great +task which prophetic Judaism set itself was to place the entire +life of men and nations in the service of the God of justice and +holiness; there was thus no motive to extend the dominion +of JHVH, the God of life, to the underworld, the playground +of the forces of fear and superstition. As late as the author +of the book of Job and of the earlier Psalms, Sheol was known +as the despot of the nether world with its demoniacal forms, +as the <q>king of terrors</q> who extends his scepter over the +dead.<note place='foot'>Job XVIII, 14; Ps. XLIX, 15.</note> +Only gradually does the thought find expression in +the Psalms that the Omnipotent Ruler of heaven could also +rescue the soul out of the power of Sheol,<note place='foot'>Ps. +XLIX, 16; Job XIV, 13.</note> and that His omnipresence +included likewise the nether world.<note place='foot'>Ps. +CXXXIX, 8.</note> In this trustful +spirit the Hasidic Psalmist expressed the hope: <q>Thou wilt +not abandon my soul to Sheol, neither wilt Thou suffer Thy +godly one to see the pit. Thou makest me to know the path +of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; in Thy right hand +bliss forevermore.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XVI, 10-11; +Hosea XIII is a late emendation of the text.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='281'/><anchor id='Pg281'/> + +<p> +4. Biblical Judaism evinced such a powerful impetus toward +a complete and blissful life with God, that the center and purpose +of existence could not be transferred to the hereafter, +as in other systems of belief, but was found in the desire to +work out the life here on earth to its fullest possible development. +Virtue and wisdom, righteousness and piety, signify +and secure true life; vice and folly, iniquity and sin, lead to +death and annihilation. This is the ever recurring burden of +the popular as well as of the prophetic and priestly wisdom of +Israel.<note place='foot'>Deut. XXX, 19; Jer. XXI, 8; Ezek. XX, 11; Lev. XVIII, 5; Ps. +XXXIV, 3; Prov. III, 22; V, 5 f.</note> In the song of thanks of King Hezekiah after his +recovery, the Jewish soul expresses itself, when he +says:<note place='foot'>Isa. XXXVIII, 10-20.</note> <q>I +said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the +living.... But Thou hast delivered my soul from the pit +of corruption. For the nether world cannot praise Thee; +death cannot celebrate Thee. The living, the living, he shall +praise Thee, as I do this day. The father to the children shall +make known Thy truth.</q> Therefore the author of the seventy-third +Psalm, ennobled by trials, finds sufficient comfort and +happiness in the presence of God that he can spurn all earthly +treasures.<note place='foot'>Ps. LXXIII, 25-28.</note> +Job, too, in his affliction longed for death as release +from all earthly pain and sorrow, but not to bring him a state of +rest and peace like the Nirvana of the Indian beggar-monk, or +an outlook into a better world to come. Such an awakening to +a new life seems to him unthinkable,—although many commentators +have often endeavored to read such a hope into +certain of his expressions.<note place='foot'>Job +XIX, 25 f., challenges God to be his vindicator on earth or on his tomb, +testifying to his righteousness. Resurrection is denied directly: VII, 8-21; +XIV, 12-22. The whole argument of the book excludes the +thought.</note> Instead, his belief in God as the +Ruler of the infinite world, with His lofty moral purpose far +outreaching all human wisdom, lent him courage and power +for further effort and persistent striving on earth. Since to this +<pb n='282'/><anchor id='Pg282'/> +suffering hero, impelled to deeds by his own energy, life is a +continuous battle, a hereafter as a <q>world of reward and punishment</q> +can hardly solve the great enigma of human existence +in a satisfactory manner for him. The wise ones—says +a Talmudic maxim—find rest neither in this world nor +in the world to come, but <q>they shall ascend from strength to +strength, until they appear before God on Zion.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. +64 a, with ref. to Ps. LXXXIV, 4.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. In the course of time, however, the question of existence +after death demanded more and more a satisfactory answer. +Under the severe political and social oppression that came +upon the Jewish people, the pious ones failed to see a just +equation of man's doings and his destiny in this life. The +bitter disappointment which they experienced made them +look to the God of justice for a future, when virtue would +receive its due reward and vice its befitting punishment. The +community of the pious especially awaited in vain the realization +of the great messianic hope with which the prophetic +words of comfort had filled their hearts. They had willingly +offered up their lives for the truth of Judaism, and the God of +faithfulness could not deceive them. Surely the shadowy +realm of the nether world could not be the end of all. So the +voice of promise came to them from the book of Isaiah, +where these encouraging and comforting words were inserted +by a later hand: <q>Thy dead shall live; thy (My) dead bodies +shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust, for +Thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth +the shades.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XXVI, 19. Read, +<q><emph>thy</emph> dead instead of <emph>My</emph> dead.</q> The translation +given here differs from the new translation.</note> Even before +this time the God of Israel had +been praised as <q>He who killeth and maketh alive, who +bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up.</q><note place='foot'>I +Sam. II, 6.</note> So was also the +miraculous power of restoring the dead to life ascribed to the +<pb n='283'/><anchor id='Pg283'/> +prophets.<note place='foot'>II Kings IV, +20-37.</note> Furthermore, the vision of the prophet Ezekiel +concerning the dry bones which arose to new life, in which he +beheld the divine revelation of the approaching event of the +restoration of the Jewish nation,<note place='foot'>Ezek. +XXXVII, 1-14.</note> shows how familiar the idea +of resurrection must have been to the people. Hence the +minds of the Jewish people were sufficiently prepared to adopt +the Persian belief in the resurrection of the dead. +</p> + +<p> +6. This, however, led to a tremendous process of transformation +in Judaism with a wide chasm between Mosaism +and Rabbinism, or, more accurately, between the Sadducees, +who adhered to the letter of the law, and the Pharisees, who +embodied the progressive spirit of the people. On the one +hand, Jesus ben Sira, who at the close of his book speaks with +great admiration of the high-priest Simon the Just as his contemporary, +knew as yet nothing of a future life, and like +Koheleth saw the end of all human existence in the dismal +realm of the nether world. Yet at the same time, the Hasidim +or pious ones and their successors, the Pharisees, were +developing after the Persian pattern the thought of a divine +judgment day after death, when the just were to awaken to +eternal life, and the evil-doers to shame and everlasting +contempt.<note place='foot'>Dan. XII, 2, and comp. II Macc. +VII, 9-36; XII, 43, and the Apocalyptic +books such as Enoch, Test. Twelve Patriarchs, Jubilees, Psalms of Solomon, +IV Ezra and Baruch Apocalypse, whereas I Macc., Judith and Tobit, belonging +to the Sadducean circles, never allude to the future life.</note> +This advanced moral view, frequently overlooked, +transformed the ancient Semitic Sheol from the realm of +shades to a place of punishment for sinners, and thus invested +it with an ethical purpose.<note place='foot'>Passages like Ps. +IX, 18; XI, 6; XLIX, 15, comp. with Isa. XXXIII, +14; LXV, 24; Mal. III, 19, lent themselves especially to this conception of +Sheol as a fiery place of punishment identified afterwards with +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Gehinnom</foreign>. +Jer. VII, 31 f.; XIX, 6. See J. E., art. Gehenna, and R. +H. Charles, <hi rend='italic'>Hebrew, Jewish and Christian Eschatology</hi>, +2d, 1913, p. 75 f., 132, 160 f., 292 f.</note> After this the various Biblical +names for the nether world became the various divisions of +<pb n='284'/><anchor id='Pg284'/> +hell.<note place='foot'>Midr. Teh. Ps. XI, 5-6; +Erub. 19 a.</note> Indeed, the Psalmists and the Proverbs had announced +to the wicked their destruction in Sheol, and on the other +hand held out for the godly the hope of deliverance from Sheol +and a beatific sight of God in the land of the living. Thus the +transition was prepared for the new world-conception. All the +promises and threats of the law and the prophets, when they +did not receive fulfillment in this world, appeared now to +point forward to the world to come. Moreover, the Pharisees +in their disputes with the Sadducees made use of every reference, +however slight, to the future life,—even of such passages +as those which speak of the Patriarchs as receiving the +promise of possessing the Holy Land, as if they were still alive,—as +proofs of the continued life of the dead, or of their +resurrection.<note place='foot'>Sanh. 90 b; comp. Matt. XXII, 32.</note> +Thus it came about that the leading authorities of +rabbinic Judaism were in the position to declare in the Mishnah: +<q>He who says that the belief in the resurrection of the dead is +not founded on the Torah (and therefore does not accept it) +shall have no share in the world to come.</q><note place='foot'>Sanh. +X, 1; see J. E., art. Resurrection, and Neumark, art. Ikkarim in l. c.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. The founders of the liturgy of the Synagogue, in opposition +to the Sadducees, formulated therefore the belief in resurrection +in the second of the <q>Eighteen (or Seven) Benedictions</q> +of the daily prayer in the following words: <q>Thou, +O Lord, art mighty forever. Thou revivest the dead. Thou +art mighty to save. Thou sustainest the living with loving-kindness, +revivest the dead with great mercy, supportest the +falling, healest the sick, loosest the bound, and keepest Thy +faith to them that sleep in the dust. (This refers to the +Patriarchs, to whom God has promised the land of the future.) +Who is like unto Thee, O Lord of mighty acts, and who +resembleth Thee, O King, who killest and bringest to life, and +causest salvation to spring forth? Yea, faithful art Thou to +<pb n='285'/><anchor id='Pg285'/> +revive the dead. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who revivest +the dead.</q> In this prayer dating from the age of the +Maccabees<note place='foot'>See Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, +44 f., and Abrahams' Notes, LIX.</note> +the Jewish consciousness of two thousand years found +a twofold hope,—the national and the universally human. +The national hope, which combined the belief in the restoration +of the kingdom of David and of the sacrificial cult with the +resurrection of the dead in the Holy Land, can be understood +only in connection with a historic view of Israel's place in the +world, and is treated in the third part of this book. The +purely human hope for the continuity or the renewal of life +rests on two fundamental problems which must be examined +more closely in the next two chapters. The one belongs to the +province of psychology and considers the question: What is +the eternal divine element in man? The other goes more +deeply into the religious and moral nature of man and considers +the question: Where and how does divine retribution—reward +or punishment—take place in human life? To +both of these questions our modern view, with its special aim +toward a unified grasp of the totality of life, requires a special +answer. This can be neither that of rabbinic Judaism, which +rests upon Persian dualism, nor that of medieval philosophy, +which was under the Platonic-Aristotelian influence. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='286'/><anchor id='Pg286'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XLIV. The Immortal Soul of Man</head> + +<p> +1. The idea of immortality has been found in Scripture in a +rather obscure and probably corrupt passage,<note place='foot'>Prov. +XII, 28, comp. LXX, and see Kittel: <hi rend='italic'>Bibl. Hebr.</hi>, note.</note> +<q>In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no +death.</q> In the same spirit Aquila, the Bible translator, +who belonged to the school of R. Eliezer and R. Joshua, renders +the equally obscure passage from the Psalms,<note place='foot'>Ps. +XLVIII, 15; see Kittel, note; Midr. Teh. to Psalms and note by Buber; +Yer. Meg. II, 73 b; M. K. 83 b; Lev. R. XI, 9.</note> <q>He will lead +us to immortality,</q> reading <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>al maveth</foreign>, +the Al with <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Alef</foreign>, for +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>al muth</foreign>, the Al with +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ayin</foreign>. There is more solid foundation for +the view that the verse, <q>God created man in His own image</q> +implies that there is an imperishable divine essence in man. +In fact, that which distinguishes man from the animal as well +as from the rest of creation, both the starry worlds above and +the manifold forms of life on earth about him, is his self-conscious +personality, his ego, through which he feels himself +akin with God, the great world-ruling <emph>I Am</emph>. This self-conscious +part of man, which lends to his every manifestation +its value and purpose, can no more disappear into nothingness +than can God, who called into existence this world with all +its phenomena, who set it in motion and directs it. Whatever +thought the crudest of men may have of his ego, his +self,<note place='foot'>See Tylor: <hi rend='italic'>Primitive Culture</hi>, Index, s. v. +Soul.</note> or however the most learned scholar may explain the marvelous +action and interaction of physical and psychical or spiritual +<pb n='287'/><anchor id='Pg287'/> +forces which culminates in his own self-conscious personality, +it appears certain that this ego cannot cease to be with the +cessation of the bodily functions. There is in us something +divine, immortal, and the only question is wherein it may be +found. +</p> + +<p> +2. The creation of man which is described in the Bible in +the words, <q>God formed man of the dust of the ground, and +breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became +a living soul</q><note place='foot'>Gen. II, +7.</note> corresponds to the child-like conceptions of a +primitive people. On the other hand, Scripture speaks of +death in parallel terms, <q>The dust returneth to the earth as it +was, and the spirit (Ruah, the life-giving breath) returneth +unto God who gave it.</q><note place='foot'>Eccl. XII, 7.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The conception that the soul enters into man as the breath +of life and leaves him at his death, flying toward heaven like a +bird,<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Birds as +Souls.</note> is quite as ancient and as universal as the other, that the +soul descends into the nether world as a shadowy image of the +body, there to continue a dull existence. The two are related +to one another, and in the Bible, as well as in the literature of +other peoples, they have given rise to diverse definitions of the +soul. This was the point of departure for the development of +the conception of immortality in one or the other direction, +according to whether the body was considered a part of the +personality which somehow survives after death, or only the +spiritual substance of the soul was thought to live on in celestial +regions as something divine. The former led to the theory +of the resurrection of the body and its reunion with the soul; +the latter to the belief in a future life for the soul, after it had +been separated or released from the body. +</p> + +<p> +3. When once the soul was felt to be a <q>lamp of the Lord,</q> +filling the body with light when man is awake,<note place='foot'>Prov. +XX, 27.</note> it was easy to +imagine that the soul had escaped and temporarily returned +<pb n='288'/><anchor id='Pg288'/> +to God in sleep. This induced the teachers of the Synagogue to +prescribe a morning prayer of thanks which reads, <q>Blessed +art Thou, O God, who restorest the souls unto dead +bodies.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 60 b; Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, +5.</note> The conception underlying this prayer throws light upon the +entire belief in resurrection. Death to the pious is only a +prolonged sleep. On that account the prophet in the passage +from Isaiah already referred to, as well as the Hasidic author +of the Book of Daniel,<note place='foot'>Isa. XXVI, +19; Dan. XII, 2.</note> could express the hope that <q>those who +sleep in the dust shall awake.</q> As at every awakening from +sleep in the morning, so at the great awakening in the future, +the souls which have departed in death shall return again to +their bodies. These bodies could then hardly be conceived of +as subject to decomposition, and the picture in Ezekiel's +vision of resurrection<note place='foot'>Ezek. +XXXVII, 1 f.</note> had to be accepted as fact. Still R. +Simeon b. Yohai in the especially instructive thirty-fourth +chapter of Pirke de R. Eliezer assumes the complete disintegration +of the body, in order to render the miracle of resurrection +so much the greater. Later still arose the legend of an indestructible +bone of the spinal column, called <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Luz</foreign>, which +was to form the nucleus for the revival of the whole +body.<note place='foot'>Eccl. R. XII, 5: J. E., art. Luz.</note> The +name Luz, which denotes an almond tree and is the name +given in the Bible to a city also,<note place='foot'>Judg. +I, 26.</note> seemed to point to a connection +with two legends, a fabulous city into which death could not +enter,<note place='foot'>Sota 46 b.</note> and the tree of +resurrection in the Osiris cycle.<note place='foot'>Brugsch: +<hi rend='italic'>Religion u. Mythologie d. alt. Aegypten</hi>, p. 618, 634.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. Still, no clear, consistent view of the soul prevailed as +yet in the rabbinic age. The popular belief, influenced by +Persian notions, was that the soul lingers near the body for a +certain time after it has relinquished it, either from three to +seven days or for an entire year.<note place='foot'>P. d. +R. El. XXXIV.</note> Furthermore it was said +that after death the souls hovered between heaven and earth +<pb n='289'/><anchor id='Pg289'/> +in the form of ghosts, able to overhear the secrets of the future +decreed above and to betray them to human beings below. +In fact, the rabbis of the Talmud, especially the Hasidim, +never hesitated to accept these ghost stories.<note place='foot'>Ber. 18 b.</note> Some +sages of the Talmudic period taught that the souls of the righteous +ascend to heaven, there to dwell under the throne of the divine +majesty, awaiting the time of the renewal of the world, while +the souls of the godless hovered over the horizon of the earth +as restless demoniacal spirits, finally to succumb to the fate of +annihilation, after they had been cast down into the fiery pit +of Gehenna or Sheol.<note place='foot'>Shab. 152 b.</note> Of course, this view, which +prevails in both the Talmud and the New Testament, according to which +the souls of the wicked are to be consumed in the fire of +Gehenna, is inconsistent with the conception of the purely +spiritual nature of the soul. +</p> + +<p> +Nevertheless at this same epoch we find the higher idea expressed +that the soul is an invisible, god-like essence, pervading +the body as a spiritual force and differing from it in nature in +much the same way as God is differentiated from the +world.<note place='foot'>Midr. Teh. Ps. CIII, 1.</note> +<q>Thou wishest to know where God dwells, who is as high as +are the heavens above the earth; tell me then where dwells +thy soul, which is so near,</q> replied R. Gamaliel +to a heathen.<note place='foot'>Sanh. 39 b.</note> +The prevailing view of the schools is that God implants the +soul in the embryo while in the mother's womb, together with +all the spiritual potentialities which make it human. In fact, +R. Simlai, the third-century Haggadist, advances the Platonic +conception of the preëxistence of the soul, as a being of the +highest intelligence, which sees before birth all things throughout +the world, but forgets all at birth, so that all subsequent +learning is only a recollection.<note place='foot'>Nid. 30 b.</note> +In Hellenistic Judaism especially +the doctrine seems to have been general of the preëxistence +of the soul, or of the creation of all human souls simultaneously +<pb n='290'/><anchor id='Pg290'/> +with the creation of the world.<note place='foot'>B. Wisd. +VIII, 19; Slav. Enoch XXII, 4, comp, Bousset, l. c., 313 f.</note> Of course, the soul +which emanates from a higher world must be eternal. +</p> + +<p> +5. The first clear idea of the nature of the soul came with +the philosophically trained thinkers, who were dependent either +on Plato, main founder of the doctrine of the immortality of +the soul, or on Aristotle, who ascribes immortality only to the +creative spirit of God, the supreme Intelligence as a cosmic +power. The nearest approach to Plato was Philo,<note place='foot'>Philo: +Leg. All. III, 38; Migrat. Abrah. 12; De Concupiscentia, 2; De +Fortitudine, 3; Drummond: <hi rend='italic'>Philo</hi>, I, 318 f.; +Bentwich: <hi rend='italic'>Philo</hi>, 178, 181; Windleband-Tufts +on Plato, 123 f., on Philo, 231, comp. Bousset, l. c., 508; Rhode: +<hi rend='italic'>Psyche</hi>, 557 f.</note> who saw in +the three Biblical names for the soul, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>nefesh</foreign>, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ruah</foreign>, and +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>neshama</foreign>, +the three souls of the Platonic system,—the sensuous +soul, which has its seat in the abdomen; the courageous or +emotional soul, situated in the breast; and the intellectual +soul, which dwells in the brain and contains the imperishable +divine nature. This last is kept in its physical environment +as in a prison or a grave, and ever yearns for liberation and +reunion with God. The soul of the righteous enters the world +of angels after death; that of the wicked the world of demons. +</p> + +<p> +Saadia, who was under the influence of Aristotle interpreted +from the neo-Platonic viewpoint, did not share the Platonic +dualism of matter and spirit, nor did he divide the soul into +three parts, seated in various parts of the human body. He +finds the soul to be a spiritual substance created simultaneously +with the body, and uniting the three forces of the soul distinguished +in Scripture into one inseparable whole, the seat of +which is in the heart,—wherefore soul and heart are often +synonymous in the Bible. This indivisible substance possesses +a luminous nature like that of the spheres, but is simpler, +finer, and purer than they, and endowed with the power of +thought. It was created by God out of the primal ether from +which He made the angels, simultaneously with the body and +<pb n='291'/><anchor id='Pg291'/> +within it. By this union it was qualified to display that moral +activity prescribed for it in the divine teaching, the neglect of +which would defile and tarnish it. According to Saadia some +kind of material substance adheres to the soul as well as to the +angels, and on that account he does not hesitate to accept the +Talmudic expressions about the abode of the soul after death, +or the last judgment which is to take place as soon as the appointed +number of souls shall have made their entrance into +their earthly bodies, when the souls of the righteous will have +their angelic nature recognized, and those of the wicked will +have their lower character revealed. However, Saadia combats +with so much greater fervor the Hindu teaching of +metempsychosis, which had been adopted by Plato and +Pythagoras.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Emunoth</hi>, Ch. VI; Schmiedl, l. c., +135 f.; Neumark, l. c., I, 536 f.; Husik, +l. c., 376.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Bahya connects his theory with the three souls of Plato, +and likewise ascribes to the soul an ethereal essence.<note place='foot'>Neumark, +l. c., 495; Husik, l. c., 108 f.; J. E., art. Bahya.</note> He holds +that its destiny is to raise itself to the order of the angels +through self-purification, and finally to return to God as the +divine Source of light. To this end the intellectual soul, which +has its being from the primal light, must overcome the lower +sensuous soul which leads to sin. +</p> + +<p> +6. The conception that the soul is a substance derived from +the luminous primal matter, like the heavenly spheres and the +angels, was now persistently retained by the Jewish thinkers, +who explained thereby its immortality. In adopting the +Aristotelian theory that the soul is the form-principle of the +body, the Platonic doctrine of its preexistence was gradually +relinquished, and its existence ascribed to a creative act of +God at the birth of the child or at its conception. But Jehuda +ha-Levi, the most pious of all the philosophers, emphasized +vigorously the indivisibility of the soul, its incorporeality and +<pb n='292'/><anchor id='Pg292'/> +its reality apart from the condition of the body, and—in +opposition to the Aristotelian free-thinkers, who expected the +human soul to be absorbed into the divine soul, the active +intellect,—he declared the immortality of the individual a +fundamental article of faith.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, +V, 12. See Cassel, notes; Schmiedl, l. c., 141; Neumark, l. c., +561; Husik, l. c., 179 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Now some of the Jewish thinkers, following Jehuda ha Levi, +Ibn Daud, and others, though Aristotelians, shrank from the +logical conclusion of denying all individuality to the soul, and +attributed to it rather a process of purification, which ends with +the elevation of the soul-essence to angelic rank and thus +guarantees its immortality. Not so Maimonides, who accepted +with inexorable earnestness the Aristotelian idea of +form as the perfection of matter. The essence of the human +soul is, for him, that force or potentiality which qualifies it for +the highest development of the intellect, and is alone capable +of grasping the divine. Yet it can acquire a part in the creative +World-spirit only in the same degree as it unfolds this +potentiality to share the divine intellect, whose seat is the +highest sphere of the universe. By dint of this acquired +intelligence it can live on as an independent intellect, in the +image of God, and thus attain beatitude in the contemplation +of Divinity.<note place='foot'>Schmiedl, l. c., 149; Neumark, l. +c., 536 f., 551, 558, 573, 586; Husik, +l. c., 281 f. Comp. Scheyer: <hi rend='italic'>d. Psychol. Syst. +d. Maim.</hi>; Simon, <hi rend='italic'>Aspects of +the Hebrew Genius</hi>, 75-78, 86.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. Naturally the view of Maimonides, that a certain measure +of immortality is granted only to the wise,—though they must +be morally perfect as well,—aroused great opposition. Hasdai +Crescas proves its untenableness by asking, <q>Why shall +the wise alone share in immortality? Furthermore, how can +something that came into existence in the course of human +life suddenly acquire eternal duration? Or how can there be +any bliss in the knowledge of God where there is no personality, +<pb n='293'/><anchor id='Pg293'/> +no self-conscious ego to enjoy it?</q> Therefore Crescas +ascribed to the soul an indestructible spiritual essence +whose perfection is attained, not by mere intellect or knowledge, +but by love of God manifested in a religious and +moral life, and which is thereby made to share in eternal +bliss.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Or Adonai</hi>, II, +6; Joel: <q><hi rend='italic'>Crescas</hi></q>; Husik, l. c., 400.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. All these various thinkers find the future life either expressed +or suggested in the Scriptures as a truth based upon +reason. This is especially the conception of Abraham ibn +Daud, who, contrary to his Aristotelian successor Maimonides, +sees in self-consciousness, by which the soul differentiates itself +from the body as a personality, the proof that it cannot be +subject to dissolution with the body.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Emunah +Ramah</hi>, 39; Husik, l. c., 259 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Besides the philosophic doctrine of the immortality of the +soul, however, the traditional belief in the resurrection of the +body demanded some consideration on the part of these +philosophers. Saadia defends the latter with all his might, +endeavoring to reconcile the two as best he +can.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Emunoth</hi>, VII.</note> All the rest +leave us in doubt whether resurrection is to be understood +literally or symbolically. Maimonides especially involves +himself in difficulties, inasmuch as in his commentary on the +Mishna he considers the resurrection of the dead an unalterable +article of faith, whereas in his Code<note place='foot'>H. +<hi rend='italic'>Teshubah</hi>, VIII, 2.</note> and in the Moreh +he speaks only of immortality; and again before the end of his +life he wrote, obviously in self-defense, a work which seems +to favor bodily resurrection, yet without clarifying his conceptions +at any time.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Maamar Tehiyyath ha Metim</hi>, +see Schmiedl, l. c., 172.</note> The belief in resurrection had taken +too deep a root in the Jewish consciousness and had been too +firmly established through the liturgy of the Synagogue for any +philosopher to touch it without injuring the very foundations +of faith. +</p> + +<pb n='294'/><anchor id='Pg294'/> + +<p> +Moreover, beside external caution a certain inner need +seems to have impelled toward the acceptance of resurrection. +As soon as one thinks of the soul as existing or continuing to +live in an incorporeal state, one is involuntarily led toward the +belief in the soul's preëxistence or even in the possibility of +metempsychosis. Thus it seemed more reasonable to believe +in a new formation of the human body together with a new +creation of the world. Therewith came the disposition to +assign to the soul in the future world a body of finer substance, +like that assumed by the mystic +Nahmanides,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>In Schaar ha Gemul.</hi></note> +in order to +assure to the new humanity a wondrous duration of life like +that of Elijah. +</p> + +<p> +9. While the popular philosopher Albo rightly declares that +the nature of the soul is as far beyond all human understanding +as is the nature of God,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, +IV, 35.</note> the mystics sought all the more to +penetrate its secrets. The Cabbalah also divides the soul +into three different substances according to the three Biblical +names, assigning their origins to the three different spheres of +the universe, and reiterating the Platonic theory of the preexistence +of the soul and its future transmigration. This +division into three parts provided scope for all types of theories +concerning the soul in its sensuous, its moral, and its intellectual +nature. Fundamentally the Cabbalah considered the +soul an emanation from the divine intellect with a luminous +character just like the philosophers. But in the Platonic +view of the ascending order of creation, which forms the basis +of the Cabbalah, this mundane life is an abyss of moral degradation, +so that the soul yearns toward the primal Source of +light, finally to find freedom and bliss +with God.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Zohar</hi>, I, 96 b; +<hi rend='italic'>Yalk. Reubeni</hi> to Deut. XIX, 2; J. E., art. Cabala.</note> Thus the +later Cabbalah returned to the teachings of Philo, the Jewish +Plato, for whom death was only the stripping off of the earthly +frame in order to enter the pure and luminous world of God. +</p> + +<pb n='295'/><anchor id='Pg295'/> + +<p> +10. With Moses Mendelssohn, who in his <hi rend='italic'>Phædon</hi> tried to +translate Plato's proof of immortality into modern terms, a +new attitude toward the nature and destiny of the soul arose +in Judaism among both the philosophers and the educated +laity. Mendelssohn not only endeavored to prove the immortality +of the soul through its indivisibility and incorporeality, +as all the neo-Platonists and Jewish philosophers had done +before him; he also attempted to show from the harmonious +plan which pervades and controls all of God's creation, that +the soul may enter a sphere of existence greater in extent and +content than the little span of earthly life which it relinquishes. +The progress of the soul toward its highest unfolding, unsatisfied +in this life, demands a future growth in the direction of +god-like perfection.<note place='foot'>See Kayserling: +<hi rend='italic'>Moses Mendelssohn</hi>, 148 ff.</note> +At this point the philosopher enters the +province of faith, and thus furnishes for all time the cardinal +point of the belief in immortality. The divine spirit in man, +which is evinced in the self-conscious, morally active personality, +bears within itself the proof and promise of its future life. +Moreover, this corresponds with the belief in God as One who +rules the world for the eternal purposes and aims of perfection, +who cannot deceive the hope of the human heart for a continued +living and striving onward and forward, without thereby impairing +His own perfection. For we all close our lives without +having attained the goal of moral and spiritual perfection +toward which we strive; and therefore our very nature demands +a world where we may reach the higher degree of +perfection for which we long. In this sense we may interpret +the Psalmist's verse: <q>I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with +(beholding) Thy likeness.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XVII, 15.</note> +That is: our spirit, when no +longer bound to the earth, shall behold the divine glory,—a +vision which transcends our powers of thought. +</p> + +<p> +11. In the light of modern investigation, body and soul are +seen to be indissolubly bound together by a reciprocal relation +<pb n='296'/><anchor id='Pg296'/> +which either benefits or impedes them both. Wherein the +spiritual bond exists that renders both the physical organs +with their muscular and nervous systems and the magnetic +or electric currents which set them in motion subservient to the +will of the intellect; what the mind actually <emph>is</emph>, into whose +deepest recesses science is casting its search-light to illumine +its processes,—these are problems which will probably remain +ever incapable of solution by human knowledge, and will therefore +always afford new food for the imagination. Yet it is +just in periods like ours, when the belief in God is weakening, +that the human spirit is especially solicitous to guard itself +against the thought of the complete annihilation of its god-like +self-conscious personality. This gives rise to the superstitious +effort to spy out the soul by sensory means and to find ways of +seeing or hearing the spirits of the dead,—a tendency which +is as dangerous to the spiritual and moral welfare of humanity +as was the ancient practice of necromancy.<note place='foot'>See +J. Jastrow: <hi rend='italic'>Fact and Fable in Psychology.</hi></note> It is therefore +all the more important to base the belief in immortality solely +on the God-likeness of the human soul, which is the mirror of +Divinity. Just as one postulate of faith holds that God, the +Creator of the world, rules in accordance with a moral order, +so another is the immortality of the human soul, which, amidst +yearning and groping, beholds God. The question where, and +how, this self-same ego is to continue, will be left for the power +of the imagination to answer ever anew. +</p> + +<p> +12. Certainly it is both comforting and convenient to +imagine the dead who are laid to rest in the earth as being +asleep and to await their reawakening. As the fructifying +rain awakens to a new life the seeds within the soil, so that +they rise from the depths arrayed in new raiment, so, when +touched by the heavenly dew of life, will those who linger in +the grave arise to a new existence, clad in new bodies. This is +the belief which inspired the pious founders of the synagogal +<pb n='297'/><anchor id='Pg297'/> +liturgy even before the period of the Maccabees, when they +expressed their praise of God's power in that He would send +the fertilizing rain upon the vegetation of the earth, and likewise +in due time the revivifying dew upon the sleeping world +of man. Both appeared to the sages of that age to be evidences +of the same wonder-working power of God. Whoever, +therefore, still sees God's greatness, as they did, revealed +through miracles, that is, through interruptions of the natural +order of life, may cling to the traditional belief in resurrection, +so comforting in ancient times. On the other hand, he who +recognizes the unchangeable will of an all-wise, all-ruling God +in the immutable laws of nature must find it impossible to +praise God according to the traditional formula as the <q>Reviver +of the dead,</q> but will avail himself instead of the expression +used in the Union Prayer Book after the pattern of Einhorn, +<q>He who has implanted within us immortal life.</q><note place='foot'>Singer's +<hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, 45. The Rabb. Conf. of Philadelphia in 1869 passed the +resolution: <q>The belief in the Resurrection of the Body has no religious foundation +(in Judaism), and the doctrine of Immortality refers to the after-existence +of the Soul only,</q> Comp. D. Philipson: l. c., p. 489 and 492.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='298'/><anchor id='Pg298'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XLV. Divine Retribution: Reward and Punishment.</head> + +<p> +1. The feeling of equity is deeply rooted in human nature, +demanding reparation for every wanton wrong and yielding +recognition to every benevolent act. In fact, upon this +universal principle is based all justice and to a certain extent +all morality. Judaism of every age compresses this demand +of the religious and moral nature of man into the doctrine: +God rewards the good and punishes the evil. This doctrine, +which is the eleventh of Maimonides' articles of faith, constitutes +the underlying presumption of all the Biblical narratives +as well as of the prophetic threats and warnings and those +of the Mosaic law, in so far as earthly success and prosperity +were regarded as the rewards of God and earthly misfortune +and misery as His punishments. In the same degree, however, +as experience contradicted this doctrine, and as examples +multiplied of wicked persons revelling in prosperity and +innocent ones laboring under adversity and woe, it became +necessary to defer the divine retribution more and more to +the future—at first to a future on earth and later to one in +the world to come, until finally it developed into a pure +spiritual conception in full accord with a higher ethical view +of life. +</p> + +<p> +2. As long as in the primitive process of law the family or +the clan was held responsible for the crime of the individual, +ancient Israel also adhered to the idea that <q>God visits the +sins of the fathers upon the third and fourth generation,</q> as +Jeremiah still did<note place='foot'>Jer. XXXII, 18.</note> +in full accord with the second commandment. +<pb n='299'/><anchor id='Pg299'/> +It was in a far later stage that the rabbis interpreted +the words <q>of those who hate Me</q> in the sense of individual +responsibility.<note place='foot'>Targ. to Ex. XX, 5; +Sanh. 27 b.</note> Only in accordance with the Deuteronomic +law which says: <q>The fathers shall not be put to death for +the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the +fathers; every man shall be put to death for his own +sin,</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXIV, 16.</note> +did the religious consciousness rebel against the thought that +a later generation should suffer for the sins of its ancestors, +and hence the popular adage arose, <q>The fathers have eaten +sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on +edge.</q><note place='foot'>Ezek. XVIII, 2.</note> +It is the prophet Ezekiel who refutes once and for all the idea of +a guilt transmitted to children and consequently of hereditary +sin and punishment, insisting on the doctrine that personal +responsibility alone determines divine retribution.<note place='foot'>Ezek. +XVIII, 20.</note> But here +a new element affects divine retribution. God's long-suffering +and mercy do not desire the immediate punishment, the death +of the sinner. He should be given time to return to a better +mode of life.<note place='foot'>XVIII, 23, 32.</note> +</p> + +<p> +But the great enigma of human destiny, which vexes the +author of the seventy-third Psalm and that of the book of +Job, still presses for a better solution. It is true that the popular +belief and popular legends which are preserved in post-Biblical +writings as well, insisted on a justice which requites +<q>measure for measure.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XVIII, 11; +XXI, 23-25; Sota I, 7-9; Tos. Sota III-IV; Sanh. +90 a; B. Wisdom XVI-XIX; Jubilees IV, 31; II Macc. V, +10; XV, 32.</note> Still insight into actual life does +not confirm the teaching of the popular philosophy that the +<q>righteous will be requited in the earth</q> and that <q>evil +pursueth sinners.</q><note place='foot'>Prov. XI, 31; +XIII, 21.</note> The unshakeable belief in the justice of +God had to find another solution for life's antinomies, and +was forced to reach out for another world in which the divine +righteousness would find its complete realization. +</p> + +<pb n='300'/><anchor id='Pg300'/> + +<p> +3. Biblical Judaism with few exceptions recognized only the +present world and the subterranean world of shadows, a view +preserved in its essentials by Ben Sira and the Sadducees, +who were subsequently declared heretics. In contrast to +them Pharisaic or Rabbinic Judaism teaches a resurrection +after death for a life of eternal bliss or eternal torment, according +as the divine judgment finds one righteous and another +wicked. We may leave aside the consideration that the first +impulse toward a Jewish belief in resurrection came from the +non-fulfillment of the national hope, wherefore it was always +bound up with the soil of the Holy Land, as will be seen in +Chapter LIV. The fact remains that the divine judgment to +follow upon resurrection was consistently regarded as a great +world-judgment, which was to decide the future lot of all +men and spirits. It must be noted also that the apocalyptic +and midrashic literature often identifies the pious with the +God-fearing Israelites as those who shall arise to eternal life, +while the wicked are identified with the idolatrous heathen, +who are condemned to eternal death, or, as it is frequently +expressed, to a second death.<note place='foot'>See +especially Sanh. 90 b-92 b, ref. to Ex. VI, 4; Deut. XI, 9; IV, +5; XXXI, 16; Isa. XXVI, 19; Dan. XII, 13; Ps. LXXII, 16; also Ex. XV, +1; Josh. VIII, 30; and Song of Songs, VII, 10. On the Second Death see +<hi rend='italic'>Targ.</hi> to Deut. XXXIII, 6; Isa. XIV, +19; LXV, 6; Jer. LI, 39; and Revelation +XX, 6, 14; XXI, 8.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. Exactly as the old Persian Mazdaism expected the +resurrection of all, both good and bad, the believers in Ahura +Mazda as well as the rest of humanity, so the apocalyptic +writers prior to the Talmudic period describe resurrection as +universal: <q>In those days the earth will give back those who +have been entrusted to her, and the nether-world will release +that which it has received,</q> according to Enoch LI, 1. Similarly +fourth Esdras remarks: <q>And after seven days of silence +for all creatures, the new order of the world shall be raised up, +and mortality itself shall perish; and the earth shall restore +<pb n='301'/><anchor id='Pg301'/> +those that are asleep in her; and so shall the dust give back +those that dwell in silence; and the chambers shall deliver +those souls that were committed unto them. The Most High +shall appear on the throne of judgment, and shall say: Judgment +only shall remain, truth shall stand, and faith shall wax +strong. The good deeds shall be of force, and wicked deeds +shall no longer sleep. The lake of torment shall be revealed, +and opposite to it the place of joy; the furnace of Gehinnom +will be visible, and opposite to it the bliss of Paradise. Then +the Most High will speak to the heathen nations, who have +awakened: behold now Him whom ye have denied, whom ye +have not served, whose command ye have abhorred. Gaze +now here and there,—here bliss and rest, there fire and +torment.</q><note place='foot'>IV Ezra VII, 31 f.; comp. +Baruch Apoc. 42 ff.; Adam et Eva, 42; II +Sibyll., 220-236; IV Sibyll., 180 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The rabbinic form of the doctrine of resurrection is quite +unambiguous: <q>Those born into the world are destined to +die; the dead, to live again; and those who enter the world +to come, to be judged.</q><note place='foot'>Aboth +IV, 22.</note> And wherever the rabbinic or +apocalyptic literature mentions the share of the pious, or of +Israel, in eternal life, this implies that, while these enter the +world to come, the evil-doers or idolaters shall enter hell for +eternal death; the understanding being that there is a universal +resurrection for the world-judgment. +</p> + +<p> +5. The whole system of eschatology in connection with +resurrection arose undoubtedly from the Persian doctrine, +according to which death together with all that is evil and +unclean is created by Ahriman, the evil principle, and will +suffer annihilation with him, as soon as the good principle, +Ahura Mazda, has achieved the final victory. Then Soshiosh +<q>the Savior,</q> the descendant of Zoroaster, will begin his +kingdom of eternal life for the righteous, coincident with the +<pb n='302'/><anchor id='Pg302'/> +awakening of the dead.<note place='foot'>See Stave, <hi rend='italic'>Ueb. +d. Einfluss d. Parsismus a. d.</hi> Judenth., 145 ff.; Boecklen: +<hi rend='italic'>D. Verwandtschaft d. jued, christl. u. d.</hi> +pars. <hi rend='italic'>Eschatologie</hi>; Schorr: <hi rend='italic'>He Haluz</hi>, +VII-VIII.</note> Pharisaic Judaism, however, gave +the hope of resurrection a deeper moral and religious meaning. +The proofs, or rather analogies from nature, of the seeds +springing from the earth in a new form, of men awakening +from sleep in the morning, or of the original creation, are +shared by the rabbis and the New Testament writers with the +Persians. On the other hand, proofs based on the prophetic +hope for the future are purely national. So also are those +proofs based on the Biblical passage that the God of the fathers +had sworn to the Patriarchs to give them the Promised +Land.<note place='foot'>Sanb. 91 a, b; Matt. XXII, 31 f.</note> +Likewise the reference to the wondrous resurrections related +in the history of Elijah and Elisha offers no proof of a universal +resurrection. A striking point and one which deepens +the idea of retribution is the simile of the Lame and the +Blind<note place='foot'>The parable is found in an Apocryphon ascribed to the prophet +Ezekiel, see Epiphanius Haeres, LXIV, ed. Dindorf, II, 683 f. and ascribed to R. +Ishmael, Lev. R. IV, 5; in Sanh. 91 a, b it is given in a dialogue with Antonius; +in Tanh. Wayithro, ed. Buber, § 12, it is anonymous.</note> +employed by Jehuda ha Nasi in a dialogue with the Emperor +Antoninus. The latter had said that at the last judgment +both soul and body might deny all guilt. The body may +say: <q>The soul alone has sinned, for since it has parted from +me, I have lain motionless as a stone.</q> And the soul, on its +part, may reply: <q>It must be the body that sinned, for +since I have parted from it I soar about in the air free as a +bird.</q> To this Jehuda ha Nasi answered: <q>A king once +possessed a garden with splendid fig-trees, and appointed as +watchmen in it a blind man and a lame man. Then the lame +man spoke to the blind man, <q>I see fine figs up there; take +me upon your shoulders, and I shall pick them, and we can +enjoy them together.</q> They did so, and when the king +<pb n='303'/><anchor id='Pg303'/> +entered the garden, the figs were gone. But when they were +held to account for it, the lame man said, <q>How could I have +taken them, since I cannot walk?</q> And the blind man said, +<q>And I cannot see.</q> Then the king had the lame man placed +upon the shoulders of the blind man and judged them both +together. In like manner will God treat the body and the +soul, as it is said:<note place='foot'>Ps. L, 4.</note> +<q>He calleth to the heavens above—that +is, the heavenly element, the soul—and to the earth beneath—the +earthly body—and places them together before His +throne of judgment.</q></q> +</p> + +<p> +6. It cannot be denied that the idea that the soul and body, +having committed good or evil deeds together in this life, +should receive in common their reward or punishment in the +world to come, satisfied the Jewish sense of justice better +than the conception developed by Hellenistic Judaism (after +the Platonic and, in the last resort, the Egyptian view) that the +soul alone should partake of eternal bliss or torment. Nevertheless +the philosophically trained Jewish thinkers of Alexandria +could not bring themselves to accept a bodily resurrection, +and therefore emphasized so much more strongly the great +day of judgment and the reward and punishment of the soul +in the world to come. Still we find much inconsistency among +various authors, sometimes even in the same work, in the +conception of future bliss for the good and torture for the +wicked. These varied according to the more sensuous or +more spiritual view taken of the soul and the celestial world, +and according to the literal or figurative interpretation of the +Biblical allusions to <q>fire,</q> <q>worms,</q> and the like in the punishment +of evil-doers, and of the delights awaiting the righteous +in the future.<note place='foot'>Isa. LXVI, 24; see Yalkut; +Bousset, 308-321; J. E., art. Eschatology.</note> +</p> + +<p> +On this point free play was allowed to the imagination of the +people and the fancy of the Haggadists. Still, throughout, the +<pb n='304'/><anchor id='Pg304'/> +solemn thought found its echo that mortal man must give +account to the inexorable Judge of the living and the dead for +the life just completed, in order to be ushered, according to his +deserts, into the portals of the celestial Paradise or of +hell.<note place='foot'>Aboth III, 1, 19, 20; Ber. 28 b.</note> +This led to the view that this whole mundane life is but like a +wayfarers' inn for the life to come, or the vestibule of the +palace (more precisely the <q>banquet-hall</q>) of the +future.<note place='foot'>Aboth IV, 21.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. A further development of the principle of justice in +application to future retribution led not merely to such a depiction +of the tortures of hell and the delights of heaven that +the maxim: <q>measure for measure,</q> so often deviated from +in this life, could find complete realization in the world to +come. An intermediate stage also was devised for those +whose merit or guilt would enroll them neither among the +righteous for eternal bliss, nor among the wicked for eternal +punishment. While the stern teachers of the school of Shammai +insisted that these mediocre ones must undergo a twelve-month +process of purification in the fires of Gehenna, the +milder school of Hillel maintained that the divine mercy +would grant them admission into Paradise even without the +fires of purgatory<note place='foot'>Tos. Sanh. XIII, 3; +R. H. 16 b; see J. E., art. Purgatory.</note>, either +through the merit of the patriarchs<note place='foot'>See Testament +of Abraham XIV; comp. Kohler in J. Q. R. VII, 587.</note> +or owing to the deserts of a son who has been trained to reverence +for God, as is indicated by the legend concerning the +Kaddish prayer.<note place='foot'>T. d. b. El. Zuta XVII, +ed. Friedman, p. 23. See note, Kalla R. II., +J. E., art. Kaddish, but comp. IV Ezra VII, +102-115.</note> In any case, the teaching of Hillel concerning +the all-sufficing mercy of God swept aside the old hopeless +conception that eternal suffering in hell awaits the average +man, which was adhered to by the Christian church in connection +with its dogma of the atoning blood of Christ. Likewise, +in the dispute of schools as to whether or not the bliss of eternal +life would be accorded also to the righteous among the heathen, +<pb n='305'/><anchor id='Pg305'/> +the more humane view of Joshua ben Hananiah prevailed over +the gloomier one of the Shammaite Eliezer ben Hyrcanos, and +therefore the doctrine became generally accepted, <q>The +righteous of all nations shall have a share in the world to +come.</q><note place='foot'>Tos. Sanh. XIII, 2; Sanh. 105 a; Midr. Teh. Ps. IX, 18: +<q>The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God,</q> +R. Joshua taking the last +sense as restrictive and R. Eliezer as a generalization.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. The apocalyptic writers, who largely influenced the New +Testament, and also the Haggadists refer with fond interest +to the banquet of the pious in the world to come, where they +would be served with heavenly manna as bread, with wine +preserved from the days of the creation, and with the flesh +of the Leviathan or the fruit of the Tree of Life.<note place='foot'>For +the banquet of the pious see Aboth. III, 16; Shab. 153 a; Pes. R. XLI; +comp. Luke XIII, 28; XXII, 30, and parallels. The idea rests on Isa. LXV, +13, which is taken literally, and Ps. XXIII, 5; see Midr. Teh., ad loc. For the +Leviathan and Behemoth see Job XL, 15-30; B. B. 74 b-75 a; Enoch LX, +7 f.; IV Ezra VI, 52; Baruch Apoc. XXIX, 4; Targ. Ps. CIV, 26; Lev. R. +XIII, 3. For the giant bird Ziz see Ps. L, 40-41; Targ. and Midr. Teh., ad loc.; +Tanh. Beshallah, ed. Buber, 24; Jellinek, B. H. III, 76, 80. For the heavenly +manna Ps. LXXVIII, 24; Joma 75 b; Hag. 12 b; Tanh. Beshallah, ed. Buber, +21; Sibyll. Prœmium 87; II, 318; III, 746; IV Ezra IX, 19. For the wine +see Ex. R. XXV, 10; Ber. 34 b; Sanh. 99 a; Matt. XXVI, 29; comp. also +Num. R. XIII, 3 for other fruits of Paradise. For the Persian origin of these +ideas see <hi rend='italic'>Bundahish</hi>, XIX, 13; XXX, 25. The Behemoth +corresponds with the +primeval ox Hadhayos, whose flesh produces the sap of immortality; the giant +fish and bird with <hi rend='italic'>Bundahish</hi>, XVIII, 5-8; XIX, 16-19; the wine +corresponds with the Parsee Hom: <hi rend='italic'>Bundahish</hi>, XXX, 25. See +Windishman: <hi rend='italic'>Zoroastr. Stud.</hi>, +92 f., 252 f., and Boeklen, l. c., p. 68.</note> On the +other hand they elaborated the tortures of the evil-doers in +hell which are to afford a pleasing sight to the pious in heaven, +just as the torments of the sinners are aggravated by the sight +of the righteous enjoying all delights.<note place='foot'>Shab. +153 a, with ref. to Isa. LXV, 13-14; LXVI, 24; IV Ezra VII, 83, 93.</note> But at the +same time we meet with a more refined and spiritual conception of future +reward and punishment among the disciples of R. Jehuda ha +Nasi, in the Babylonian Rab, and the Palestinian R. Johanan +<pb n='306'/><anchor id='Pg306'/> +and his pupil Simeon ben Lakish. <q>In the future world,</q> +says Rab, <q>there are no sensual enjoyments nor passions, but +the righteous sit at the table of God with wreaths upon their +heads (like the Greek sages at a symposium!), feeding on the +radiance of the divine majesty, as did the chosen ones of Israel +on the heights of Sinai.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 17 a.</note> R. Johanan teaches, +<q>All the promises held forth in Scripture in definite form as reward for +the future, refer to the Messianic era, whereas in regard to the +bliss awaiting the pious in the world to come, the words of Isaiah +hold good: <q>No eye hath seen it, O God, beside Thee.</q></q><note place='foot'>Ber. +34 b; with ref. to Isa., LXIV, 3.</note> +Simeon ben Lakish even went so far as to say, <q>There is +neither hell nor paradise. Instead, God sends out the sun +in its full strength from its encasement, and the wicked are +consumed by its heat, while the pious find delight and healing +in its beams.</q><note place='foot'>Ab. Zar. 36 with ref. to Mal. III, 19-22.</note> +</p> + +<p> +However, the popular imagination demanded more perceptible +pictures of heaven and hell, if fear of punishment was +to deter men from sin, and hope of reward to lead them to +virtue. The description of the modes of reward and punishment +for the future in the Koran is the outcome of mingled +Persian and Jewish popular conceptions, and its crass sensuousness +exerted in turn a decisive influence upon the entire Gaonic +period,<note place='foot'>See Jellinek, B. H. I, II and +III, the Treatise on <hi rend='italic'>Gehinnom</hi> and <hi rend='italic'>Gan +Eden</hi>.</note> leaving its mark upon even so clear a thinker as Saadia. +Not only does he admit into his philosophic work all the +crude and conflicting descriptions of the future world, but he +also argues for the eternity of the punishments of hell and of the +delights of heaven as logical necessities, because only such +could sufficiently deter or allure mankind, and a righteous +God must certainly carry out His threats and +promises.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Emunoth</hi> VII, IX, and +comp. J. Guttman; <hi rend='italic'>Religionsphil. des Saadia</hi>, 208 +f., 249 f.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='307'/><anchor id='Pg307'/> + +<p> +9. The entire Jewish philosophy or theology of the Middle +Ages remained under the influence of the traditional belief in +resurrection. Even Maimonides, whose purely spiritual conception +of the soul and of salvation is utterly irreconcilable +with the belief in bodily resurrection, and who accordingly +dwells instead, in both his Moreh and his Code, on the future +world of spirits, with explicit emphasis on their incorporeality, +did not have the courage to break altogether with the traditional +belief in resurrection. In his apologetic treatise on resurrection +he even attempts to present it as a miraculous act +of God beyond the grasp of the intellect. He omits, however, +to specify what purpose this miracle may serve, since in the +Maimonidean system reward and punishment would be administered +in the world of spirits in a much purer and more +satisfactory manner.<note place='foot'>See Joel, <hi rend='italic'>Religionsphil. +d. Mose b. Maimon</hi>., p. 40.</note> The same standpoint is taken also by +Jehuda ha Levi as well as by Crescas and +Albo.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, I, 15; V, 14; +<hi rend='italic'>Or Adonai</hi> III, 4, 2. See Joel: <hi rend='italic'>Crescas</hi>, +p. 74 f.; Albo: <hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, IV, 29-41.</note> If then +resurrection be a miracle, it falls outside the scope of philosophic +speculation and becomes a matter of faith; accordingly +the mystics from Nahmanides down to Manasseh ben Israel +associated with it the grossest conceptions.<note place='foot'>Nahmanides, +l. c., last chapter; Manasse b. Israel in <hi rend='italic'>Nishmat Chayim</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +10. The actual view of Maimonides concerning future +retribution is expressed clearly and unambiguously in both +his early product, the commentary on the Mishna, and in the +ripest fruit of his life work, the Mishneh Torah, where he says +<q>Not immortality, but the power to win eternal life through +the knowledge and the love of God is implanted in the human +soul. If it has the ability to free itself from the bondage of +the senses and by means of the knowledge of God to lift itself +to the highest morality and the purest thinking, then it has +attained divine bliss, true immortality, and it enters the realm +<pb n='308'/><anchor id='Pg308'/> +of the eternal Spirit together with the angels. If it sinks into +the sensuousness of earthly existence, then it is cut off from +eternal life; it suffers annihilation like the beast. In reality +this life eternal is not the future, but is already potentially +present and invariably at hand in the spirit of man himself, +with its constant striving toward the highest. When the +rabbis speak of paradise and hell, describing vividly the delights +of the one and the torments of the other, these are only +metaphors for the agony of sin and the happiness of virtue. +True piety serves God neither from fear of punishment nor +from desire for reward, as servants obey their master, but +from pure love of God and truth. Thus the saying of Ben +Azai is verified, <q>The reward of a good deed is the good deed +itself.</q><note place='foot'>Aboth. IV, 2.</note> +Only children need bribes and threats to be trained +to morality. Thus religion trains mankind. The people who +cannot penetrate into the kernel need the shell, the external +means of threats and promises.</q><note place='foot'>Com. to +Sanh. XI and <hi rend='italic'>H. Teshubah</hi>, VIII.</note> These splendid words of +the great thinker require supplementing or modification in +only one direction, and that has been afforded by the keenest +critic among Jewish philosophers, Hasdai Crescas. Too +deeply enmeshed in the Aristotelian system, Maimonides +found the happiness and immortality of man solely in the acquired +intellectual power which becomes part of the divine +intellect, and the mere knowledge of God is to him tantamount +to the blissful enjoyment of the pious in the radiance of +God's majesty. Consequently those who strive and soar +heavenward through their moral conduct and noble aspirations, +without at the same time being thinkers, receive no reward. +Against this Aristotelian one-sidedness Crescas emphasizes +God's love and goodness for which the righteous yearn, and in +whose pursuit man finds perfection and happiness. Not for +the sake of attaining bliss shall we love God and practice +virtue and truth, but to love God and practice virtue is itself +<pb n='309'/><anchor id='Pg309'/> +true bliss. This is the nearness of God referred to by the +Psalmist and declared to be man's highest +good.<note place='foot'>Ps. LXXIII, 28.</note> There is +no need of any other reward than this, and there is no greater +punishment than to be deprived of this boon +forever.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Or Adonai</hi>, II, +55; VI, 1; comp. Joel, l. c., 56-62; comp. Bahya: <hi rend='italic'>Hoboth, +Halebaboth, Shaar Bitahon</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +11. In the face of these two great thinkers, to whom Spinoza +owes the fundamental ideas of his ethics,<note place='foot'>See Joel: +<hi rend='italic'>Z. Gen. d. Lehre Spinoza</hi>, p. 64.</note> the question considered +by Albo, whether the eternal duration of the tortures of +hell is reconcilable with the divine +mercy,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, IV, +35-38.</note> a question which still +plays an important rôle in Christian theology, and which was +probably suggested to Albo through his disputations with representatives +of the Church,—is for us superfluous and superseded. +Our modern conceptions of time and space admit +neither a place or a world-period for the reward and punishment +of souls, nor the intolerable conception of eternal joy +without useful action and eternal agony without any moral +purpose. Modern man knows that he bears heaven and +hell within his own bosom. Indeed, so much more difficult is +the life of duty which knows of no other reward than happiness +through harmony with God, the Father of the immortal +soul, and of no other punishment than the soul's distress at its +inner discord with the primal Source and the divine Ideal of all +morality. All the more powerfully is modern man controlled +by the thought that the universe permits no stagnation, no +barren enjoyment or barren suffering, but that every death +marks the transition to a higher goal for greater accomplishment. +This yearning of the soul finds expression in the Talmudic +maxim, <q>The righteous find rest neither in this world, +nor in the world to come, as it is said, <q>They go from strength +to strength, until they appear before God on Zion.</q></q><note place='foot'>Ber. +64 a, with ref. to Ps. LXXXIV, 8; see also Midr. Teh. ad loc.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='310'/><anchor id='Pg310'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XLVI. The Individual and the Race</head> + +<p> +1. In every system of belief the object of divine care and +guidance is the individual. His soul and his conscience raise +him up, especially according to the Jewish doctrine, to the +divine image, to Godchildship. His freedom and moral +responsibility are the patent of nobility for his divine nature; +his ego, controlling external forces and carrying out its own +designs, vouches for his immortality. Nevertheless the spirit +of the Biblical language indicates rightly that the individual is only +a son of man,—<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ben adam</foreign>,—that is, +a segment or member of the human race, but not the perfect typical exemplification +of the whole of mankind. From the social +organism he receives what he is, what he has, and what he +ought to do, both his nature and his destiny; and only in +association with the community and under the guidance of +the highest ideal of humanity can he attain true perfection. +Only mankind as a whole, in its coöperation, as it extends over +the vast expanse of the earth, and in its succession which +reaches through the centuries of the world's history, can bring +to full development the divine image in man, his moral and +religious nature with all its varied potentialities. It is man +collectively who in the first chapter of Genesis receives the +command to subject the earth with all its creatures to his +cultural purposes.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Adam, and +Jellinek: <hi rend='italic'>Bezelem Elohim</hi>, Sermon IV. The term +<emph>humanity</emph> arose among the Stoics. See Reizenstein: +<hi rend='italic'>Wesen u. Werden d. +Humanität</hi>; comp. Schmidt, <hi rend='italic'>Ethik d. +Griechen</hi>, II, 324, 477; and Zeller, <hi rend='italic'>Griech. +Philo.</hi> III, 1, 287, 299. For the rabbinical +<hi rend='italic'>Berioth</hi> for humanity see B. Sira, +XVI, 16.</note> In whatever stage of culture we meet +<pb n='311'/><anchor id='Pg311'/> +man, his modes of thought and speech, his customs and moral +views, even his spiritual faculties are the result of a long historic +process of development, the product of an extremely +complicated past, as well as the basis of a future which expands +in all directions. The ancients expressed this in their +suggestive way, remarking in connection with the verse of the +Psalm, <q>Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance, and in +Thy book they were all written,</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +CXXXIX, 16.</note> that at the creation of the +first man God recorded the succession of races with their sages, +seers and leaders until the end of time.<note place='foot'>Midr. +Teh., ad loc.; Pesik. R. XXIII; Gen. R. XXIV, 2; Sanh. 38 b after +<hi rend='italic'>Seder Olam</hi> at the close.</note> And when the +Haggadists say that in creating man God took dust from every +part of the world, so that he would be everywhere at +home,<note place='foot'>Gen. R. VIII, 1.</note> +again they were thinking of mankind. Similarly in the passage +from the Psalms, <q>Thou hast hemmed me in behind and +before,</q> they explain that God made the first man with two +faces, one looking forward and the other backward, that is, +with a Janus head; and thus they regard man in his relation +to the past and the future, in his historic +continuity.<note place='foot'>Eodem; Midr. Teh. to Ps. CXXXIX, 5; Ber. 61 a.</note> +As both physically and spiritually he is the heir of innumerable ancestors +who have transmitted to him with their blood all +their idiosyncrasies and capacities in a peculiar combination, +so will he transmit both consciously and unconsciously the +inherited possessions of mankind to future generations for +continued growth or for degeneration. He forms but a link +in the great chain of history, whose goal is the perfected ideal +of humanity, the completed idea of man. This was the underlying +thought of Ben Azzai in his dispute with R. Akiba, who +held that the principal maxim of Jewish teaching is <q>Thou +shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.</q> In opposition to this +Ben Azzai presented as the most important lesson of the Bible +<pb n='312'/><anchor id='Pg312'/> +the verse which says, <q>This is the book of the generations of +man; in the day that God created man, in the likeness of +God made He him.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. R. XXIV, 8.</note> +The godlikeness of man develops more +and more through the evolution of the human race. This is +the basic force for all human love and all human worth. +</p> + +<p> +2. This social bond existing between the individual and the +race imposes upon him in accordance with his occupation +certain duties in the same degree as it confers benefits. Ben +Zoma, a colleague of Ben Azzai, expressed this as follows: +When he saw great crowds of people together, he exclaimed, +<q>Praised be Thou who hast created all these to serve me.</q> +In explanation of this blessing he said, <q>How hard the first +man in his loneliness must have toiled, until he could eat a +morsel of bread or wear a garment, but I find everything prepared. +The various workmen, from the farmer to the miller +and the baker, from the weaver to the tailor, all labor for me. +Can I then be ungrateful and be oblivious of my duty?</q><note place='foot'>Tos. +Ber. VII, 2; Ber. 58 a.</note> +In the same sense he interprets the last verse in Koheleth, +<q>This is the end of the matter; fear God and keep His commandments, +for this is the whole duty of man.</q> That is to say, +all mankind toils for him who does so. Thus does human life +rest upon a reciprocal relation, upon mutual duty.<note place='foot'>Ber. 6 b; +Shab. 30 b; see Rashi (against Bacher: <hi rend='italic'>Ag. Tann.</hi>, I, 432).</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. Man is a social being who must strike root in many +spheres of life in order that the variegated blossoms and fruits +of his spiritual and emotional nature may sprout forth. The +more richly the communal life is specialized into professions +and occupations, the more does the province of the individual +expand, and the more difficult it is for him to attain perfection +on all sides. According to his faculties and predisposition +he must always develop one or the other side of human endeavor +and pursue now the beautiful, now the good, now the +true and now the useful, if as the image of God he is to emulate +<pb n='313'/><anchor id='Pg313'/> +the Ideal of all existence, the Pattern of all creation. Consequently +he may reflect some radiance of the divine glory in +his character and achievements, whether as moral hero, as +sage and thinker, as statesman and battler for freedom, as +artist, or as the discoverer of new forces and new worlds; and +yet the full splendor of God's greatness is mirrored only by +mankind as a whole through its ceaseless common action and +interaction. Therefore Judaism deprecates every attempt to +present a single individual, be he ever so noble or wise, as the +ideal of all human perfection, as a perfect man, free from fault +or blemish. <q>There is none holy as the Lord, for there is none +beside Thee,</q> says Scripture.<note place='foot'>I Sam. +II, 2.</note> Instead of extolling any single +mortal as the type or ideal of perfection, our sages rather say +with reference to the lofty characters of the Bible: <q>There is +no generation which cannot show a man with the love for +righteousness of an Abraham, or the nobility of spirit of a +Moses, or the love for truth of a Samuel.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +R. LVI, 9.</note> That is to say, +every age creates its own heroes, who reflect the majesty of +God in their own way. +</p> + +<p> +4. As man is the keystone of all creation, so he is called upon +to take his full share in the progress of the race. <q>He who +formed the earth created it not a waste; He formed it to be +inhabited,</q> says the prophet.<note place='foot'>Isa. LXV, +18; see Yeb. 62 a.</note> True humanity has its seat, +not in the life of the recluse, but in the family circle, amid +mutual love and loyalty between husband and wife, between +parents and children. The sages, with their keen insight into +the spirit of the Scripture, point to the fact that it is man and +wife together who first receive the name of <q>man,</q> because +only the mutual helpfulness and influence, the care and toil +for one another draw forth the treasures of the soul, and create +relations which warrant permanency and give promise of a +future.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. XVII, 2.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='314'/><anchor id='Pg314'/> + +<p> +5. Still the family circle itself is only a segment of the +nation, which creates speech and custom, and assigns to each +person his share in the common activity of the various classes +of men. Only within the social bond of the nation or tribe is +the interdependence of all brought home to the consciousness +of the individual, together with all the common moral obligations +and religious yearnings. Through the few elect ones of +the nation or tribe, God's voice is heard as to what is right +in both custom and law, and through them the individual is +roused to a sense of duty. It is society which enables the +human mind to triumph over physical necessity by ever new +discoveries of tools and means of life, thus to attain freedom +and prosperity, and, through meditation over the continually +expanding realm of God's world, to build up the various systems +of science and of art. +</p> + +<p> +6. But the single nation also is too dependent upon the +conditions of its historic past, of its land and its racial characteristics, +to bring the divine image to its full development in a +perfect man. Humanity as a whole comes to its own, to true +self-consciousness, only through the reciprocal contact of +race with race, through the coöperation of the various circles +and classes of life which extend beyond the narrow limits of +nationality and have in view common interests and aims, +whether in the pursuit of truth, in the achievement of good, +or in the creation of the useful and the beautiful. Only +when the various nations and groups of men learn to regard +themselves as members of one great family, will the life of the +individual find its true value in relation to the idea and the +ideal of humanity. Then only will the unity and harmony +of the entire cosmic life find its reflection in the blending of the +factors and forces of human society. +</p> + +<p> +7. Judaism has evolved the idea of the unity of mankind +as a corollary of its ethical monotheism. Therefore the Bible +begins the history of the world with the creation of Adam and +<pb n='315'/><anchor id='Pg315'/> +Eve, the one human pair. The covenant which God concluded +after the flood with Noah, the father of the new mankind, +has its corresponding goal at the end of time in the divine +covenant which is to include all tribes of men in one great +brotherhood; and so also the dispersion of man through the +confusion of tongues at the building of the Tower of Babel has +its counterpart in the rallying of all nations at the end of time +for the worship of the One and Only God in a pure tongue +and a united spirit on Zion's heights.<note place='foot'>For the term +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Aguddah Ahath</foreign> +in the New Year and Atonement Day Prayer, +Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerbook</hi>, p. 239, comp. Gen. R. +LXXXVIII, 6, and XXXIX, 3.</note> Whatever the civilizations +of Greece and Rome and the Stoic philosophy have +achieved for the idea of humanity, Judaism has offered in its +prophetic hope for a Messianic future the guiding idea for the +progress of man in history, thus giving him the impulse to +ceaseless efforts toward the highest of all aims for the realization +of which all nations and classes, all systems of faith and +thought, must labor together for millenniums to come. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='316'/><anchor id='Pg316'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XLVII. The Moral Elements of Civilization</head> + +<p> +1. Because Judaism sees the attainment of human perfection +only when the divine in man has reached complete development +through the unimpeded activity of all his spiritual, +moral, and social forces, it insists upon the full recognition of +all branches of human society as instruments of man's elevation, +either individually or collectively. It deprecates the +idea that any force or faculty of human life be regarded as +unholy and therefore be suppressed. It thus rejects on principle +monastic renunciation and isolation, pointing to the +Scriptural verse, <q>He who formed the earth created it not +a waste; He formed it to be inhabited.<note place='foot'>Isa. XLV, 18.</note></q> +</p> + +<p> +2. Accordingly Judaism regards the establishment of +family life through marriage as a duty obligatory on mankind, +and sees in the entrance into the marital relation an act +of life's supreme consecration. In contrast to the celibacy +sanctioned by the Church and approved by the rabbis only +under certain conditions, and exceptionally for their holy +exercises by the Essenes, the Tannaite R. Eliezer pronounces +the man who through bachelorhood shirks the duty of rearing +children to be guilty of murder against the human race. +Another calls him a despoiler of the divine image. Another +rabbi says that such a one renounces his privilege of true +humanity, in so far as only in the married state can happiness, +blessing, and peace be attained.<note place='foot'>Yeb. +62 a, b</note> It is significant as to the +spirit of Judaism that, while other religions regard the celibacy +of the priests and saints as signs of highest sanctity, the +<pb n='317'/><anchor id='Pg317'/> +Jewish law expressly commands that the high priest shall not +be allowed to observe the solemn rites of the Day of Atonement +if unmarried.<note place='foot'>Yoma I, 1.</note> +Love for the wife, the keeper and guardian +of the home, must attune his heart to tenderness and +sympathy, if he is to plead for the people before the Holy God. +He can make intercession for the household of Israel only if +he himself has founded a family, in which are practiced faithfulness +and modesty, love and regard for the life-companion, +all the domestic virtues inherited from the past. +</p> + +<p> +3. Another moral factor for human development is industry, +which secures to the individual his independence and his +dignity when he engages in creative labor after the divine +pattern, and which rewards him with comfort and the joy of +life. This also is so highly valued by Judaism that industrial +activity, which unlocks from the earth ever new treasures to +enrich human life, is enjoined upon all, even those pursuing +more spiritual vocations. <q>Seest thou a man diligent in his +business? He shall stand before kings.</q><note place='foot'>Prov. XXII, 29.</note> +<q>When thou eatest the labor of thy hands, happy art thou and it shall be +well with thee.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. CXXVIII, +2.</note> In commenting on this last verse, the sages +say: <q>This means that thou wilt be doubly blessed; happy +art thou in this world, and it shall be well with thee in the +world to come.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 8 a.</note> Again they say, <q>No labor, however +humble, is dishonoring,</q><note place='foot'>Ned. 49 +b.</note> also: <q>Idleness, even amid great +wealth, leads to the wasting of the intellect.</q><note place='foot'>Keth. +V, 5, 59 b.</note> Moreover it is +said, <q>Whoever neglects to train his son to a trade, rears him +to become a robber.</q><note place='foot'>Kid. 29 a; +comp. R. Simeon b. Yohai, Mek. Beshallah, 56.</note> True, there were some among the +pious who themselves abstained from participation in industry, +and therefore proclaimed, in the same tenor as the Sermon +on the Mount, <q>Behold the beasts of the field and the birds of +heaven, they sow not and reap not, and their heavenly Father +<pb n='318'/><anchor id='Pg318'/> +cares for them.</q><note place='foot'>Kid. 82 a.</note> But these formed an exception, +while the majority of Jewish teachers extolled the real blessing of labor +and its efficacy in ennobling heart and spirit.<note place='foot'>Abot. I, 10; +II, 2; B. B. 11 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. Neither does Judaism begrudge man the joy of life +which is the fruit of industry, nor rob it of its moral value. +On the contrary, that ascetic spirit which encourages self-mortification +and rigid renunciation of all pleasure is declared +sinful.<note place='foot'>Taan. 11 a.</note> Instead, we are told that in the world to +come man shall have to give account for every enjoyment offered him in +this life, whether he used it gratefully or rejected it +in ingratitude.<note place='foot'>Yer. Kid. IV at the close.</note> +Abstinence is declared to be praiseworthy only in +curbing wild desires and passions. For the rest, true piety lies +in the consecration of every gift of God, every pleasure of life +which He has offered, and using it in His service, so that the +seal of holiness shall be imprinted even upon the satisfaction +of the most sensuous desires. +</p> + +<p> +5. Judaism, then, lays special emphasis upon sociability as +advancing all that is good and noble in man. The life of the +recluse, according to its teaching, is of little use to the world +at large and hence of no moral value. Only in association +with one's fellow-men does life find incentive and opportunity +for worthy work. <q>Either a life among friends or death</q> +is a Talmudic proverb.<note place='foot'>Taan. 23 a.</note> Unselfish friendship like +that of David and Jonathan is lauded and pointed out +for imitation.<note place='foot'>Abot. V, 19.</note> +Through it man learns to step beyond the narrow boundaries +of his ego, and in caring for others he will purify and exalt his +own soul, until at last its love will include all mankind. +</p> + +<p> +6. <q>Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance +of his friend,</q> says the book of Proverbs,<note place='foot'>Prov. XXVII, 17.</note> +and the sages derive from this verse the doctrine that learning does +not thrive in solitude.<note place='foot'>Taan. 7 a.</note> A single log does not +nourish the +<pb n='319'/><anchor id='Pg319'/> +flame; to keep up the fire one must throw in one piece of +wood after the other. This applies also to learning; it lacks +in vigor, if it is not communicated to others. Wisdom calls +to her votaries on the highways, in order that the stream of +knowledge may overflow for many. For both the culture of +the intellect and the ennobling of the soul it is necessary that +man should step out of the narrow limits of self and come into +touch with a larger world. Only in devotion to his fellows is +man made to realize his own godlike nature. In the same +measure as he honors God's image in others, in foe as well as in +friend, in the most lowly servant as well in the most noble +master, man increases his own dignity. This is the fundamental +thought of morality as expressed in Job, especially in +the beautiful thirty-first chapter, and as embodied +in Abraham,<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Abraham.</note> +and later reflected in various Talmudic sayings about +the dignity of man.<note place='foot'>Abot. IV, 1; B. K. 79 b; Ber. 19 b.</note> +Everywhere man's relation to society +becomes a test of his own worth. The idea of interdependence +and reciprocal duty among all members of the human +family forms the outstanding characteristic of Jewish ethics. +For it is far more concerned in the welfare of society than in +that of the individual, and demands that those endowed with +fortune should care for the unfortunate, the strong for the +weak, and those blessed with vision for the blind. As God +Himself is Father to the fatherless, Judge of the widows, and +Protector of the oppressed, so should man be. <q>Works of +benevolence form the beginning and the end of the Torah,</q> +points out R. Simlai.<note place='foot'>Sota 14 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. It is in the life of the nation that the individual first +realizes that he is only a part of a greater whole. The nation +to which he belongs is the mother who nourishes him with her +spirit, teaches him to speak and to think, and equips him with +all the means to take part in the achievements and tasks of +<pb n='320'/><anchor id='Pg320'/> +humanity. In fact, the State, which guarantees to all its citizens +safety, order and opportunity under the law, and which arranges +the relations of the various groups and classes of society that +they may advance one another and thus promote the welfare +and progress of all, is human society in miniature. Here the +citizen first learns obedience to the law which is binding upon +all alike, then respect and reverence for the authority embodied +in the guardians of the law who administer justice <q>which is +God's,</q> and hence also loyalty and devotion to the whole, together +with reciprocal obligation and helpfulness among the +separate members and classes of society. The words of Jeremiah +to his exiled brethren, <q>Seek ye the peace of the city +whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray +unto the Lord for it, for in the peace thereof shall ye have +peace,</q><note place='foot'>Jer. XXIX, 7; comp. Abot. +III, 2.</note> became the guiding maxim of Jewry when torn from +its native soil. It impressed upon them, once for all, the +deeply rooted virtues of loyalty and love for the country in +which they dwelt. To pray for the welfare of the State and +its ruler, under whose dominion all citizens were protected, +and so in modern times for its legislative and administrative +authorities, has become a sacred duty of the Jewish religious +community. To sacrifice one's life willingly, if need be, for +the welfare of the country in which he lived, was a demand +of loyalty which the Jew has never disregarded. <q>The law +of the State is as the law of God</q><note place='foot'>B. +K. 113 a and elsewhere.</note> taught Samuel the +Babylonian, and another sage of Babylon said, <q>The government +on earth is to be regarded as an image of God's government +in heaven.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 58 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. But, after all, the community of the State or the nation +is too confined in its cultural work by its special interests and +particular tasks ever to reach the universal ideal of man, that +is, a perfected humanity. Where the interests of one State or +<pb n='321'/><anchor id='Pg321'/> +nation come into conflict with those of another, far too often +the result is enmity and murderous warfare. Therefore there +must be a higher power to quench the brands of war whenever +they flare up, to cultivate every motive leading toward peace +and harmony among nations, to impel men toward a higher +righteousness and to obviate all conflict of interests, because +in place of selfishness it implants in the heart the self-forgetfulness +of love. Religion is the power which trains peoples as well +as individuals toward the conception of one humanity, in the +same measure as it points to the one and only God, Ruler over +all the contending motives of men, the Source and Shield of all +righteousness, truth, and love, the Father of mankind as +the only foundation upon which the grand edifice of human +civilization must ultimately rest. Thus it teaches us to regard +the common life and endeavor of peoples and societies +as one household of divine goodness. Every system of +belief, every religious denomination which transcends the +limits of the national consciousness with a view to the +broader conception of mankind, and binds the national groups +and interests into a higher unity to include and influence all +the depths and heights of the human spirit, paves the way +toward the attainment of the mighty goal. In the same sense +the united efforts of the various classes and societies or States +for the common advance of culture, prosperity, national welfare +and international commerce, as well as of science and +art, tend unceasingly toward that full realization of the idea of +humanity which constitutes the brotherhood of man. +</p> + +<p> +9. Not yet has any religious body, however great and remarkable +its accomplishments may have been, nor any of the +religious, scientific, or national organizations, much as they +have achieved, performed the sublime task which the prophets +of Israel foretold as the goal of history. Each one has +drawn to itself only a portion of mankind, and promised it +success or redemption and bliss, while the rest have been +<pb n='322'/><anchor id='Pg322'/> +excluded and denied both temporal and eternal happiness. +Each one has singled out one side of human nature in order to +link to it the entire absolute truth, but at the same time has +underestimated or cast aside all other sides of human life, and +thereby blocked the road to complete truth, which can +never be presented in final form, nor ever be the exclusive +possession of one portion of humanity. Judaism, which is +neither a religious nor a national system <emph>solely</emph>, but aims to be +a <emph>covenant with God</emph> uniting all peoples, lays claim to no +exclusive truth, and makes its appeal to no single group of +mankind. The Messianic hope, which aims to unite all races +and classes of men into a bond of brotherhood, has become an +impelling force in the history of the world, and both Christianity +and Islam, in so far as they owe their existence to this +hope and to the adoption of Jewish teachings, constitute parts +of the history of Judaism. Between these world-religions with +their wide domains of civilization stands the little Jewish +people as a cosmopolitan element. It points to an ideal +future, with a humanity truly united in God, when, through +ceaseless progress in the pursuit of ever more perfect ideals, +truth, justice, and peace will triumph,—to the realization +of the kingdom of God. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='323'/><anchor id='Pg323'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Part III. Israel And The Kingdom Of God</head> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XLVIII. The Election of Israel</head> + +<p> +1. The central point of Jewish theology and the key to an +understanding of the nature of Judaism is the doctrine, <q>God +chose Israel as His people.</q> The election of Israel as the +chosen people of God, or, what amounts to the same, as the +nation whose special task and historic mission it is to be the +bearer of the most lofty truths of religion among mankind, +forms the basis and the chief condition of revelation. Before +God proclaimed the Ten Words of the Covenant on Sinai, +He addressed the people through His chosen messenger, +Moses, saying: <q>Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, +and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto +Myself. Now therefore, if ye will hearken unto My voice, +indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be Mine own +treasure from among all peoples, for all the earth is Mine; +and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy +nation.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XIX, 4-5.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. The fact of Israel's election by God as His peculiar +nation is repeated in Deuteronomy, with the special declaration +that God had found delight in them as the smallest of +the peoples, on account of the love and the faith He had sworn +to the Patriarchs.<note place='foot'>Deut. VII, 6-8; X, 15; XIV, 2. +Comp. Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, 57 ff.</note> +It is accentuated in the Synagogal liturgy, +<pb n='324'/><anchor id='Pg324'/> +especially in the prayer for holy days which begins with the +words: <q>Thou hast chosen us from all peoples; Thou hast +loved us and found pleasure in us and hast exalted us above +all tongues; Thou hast sanctified us by Thy commandments +and brought us near unto Thy service, O King, and hast +called us by Thy great and holy name.</q><note place='foot'>See +Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerbook</hi>, 226 f.</note> Inasmuch as the +election of Israel is connected with the deliverance of the +people from Egypt, the whole relation of the Jewish nation +to its God assumes from the outset an essentially different +character from that of other nations to their deities. The +God of Israel is not inseparably connected with His people +by mere natural bonds, as is the case with every other ancient +divinity. He is not a national God in the ordinary sense. +He has chosen Israel freely of His own accord. <q>When +Israel was a child, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called +My son,</q> says God through Hosea,<note place='foot'>Hos. +XI, 1; XII, 10; XIII, 4.</note> and thus prefers to call +Himself <q>thy God from the land of Egypt.</q> This election +from love is echoed also in Jeremiah, who said, <q>Israel is the +Lord's hallowed portion, His first-fruits of the increase.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. +II, 3.</note> The moral relation between God and Israel is most clearly +characterized, however, by Amos, in the words: <q>You only +have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I +will visit upon you all your iniquities.</q><note place='foot'>Amos +III, 2.</note> Here is stated in +explicit terms that the God of history selected Israel as an +instrument for His plan of salvation, in the expectation that +he would remain faithful to His will. +</p> + +<p> +3. The real purpose of the election and mission of Israel +was announced by the great prophet of the Exile when he +called Israel the <q>servant of the Lord,</q> who has been formed +from his mother's bosom and delivered from every other +bondage, in order that he may declare the praise of God +among the peoples, and be a harbinger of light and a bond of +<pb n='325'/><anchor id='Pg325'/> +union among the nations, the witness of God, the proclaimer +of His truth and righteousness throughout the +world.<note place='foot'>Isa. XLI, 8 f.; XLII, 6; XLIII, 10; XLIX, 8.</note> The +entire history of Israel as far back as the Patriarchs +was reconstructed in this light, and we find the election +of Abraham also similarly described in the +Psalms<note place='foot'>CV, 7 f., comp. Neh. IX, 7.</note> and in +the liturgy. Indeed, in every morning prayer for the past +two thousand years the Jewish people have offered thanks +to God for the divine teaching that has been intrusted +to their care, and praised Him <q>who has chosen Israel in +love.</q><note place='foot'>Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, p. 40.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. The belief in the election of Israel rests on the conviction +that the Jewish people has a certain superiority over other +peoples in being especially qualified to be the messenger and +champion of religious truth. In one sense this prerogative +takes into account every people which has contributed something +unique to any department of human power or knowledge, +and therein has served others as pattern and guide. From +the broader standpoint, all great historic peoples appear as +though appointed by divine providence for their special cultural +tasks, in which others can at most emulate them without +achieving their greatness. Yet we cannot speak in quite the +same way of the election of the Greeks or Romans or of the +nations of remote antiquity for mastery in art and science, +or for skill in jurisprudence and statecraft. The fact is that +these nations were never fully conscious that they had a historic +or providential destiny to influence mankind in this +special direction. Israel alone was self-conscious, realizing +its task as harbinger and defender of its religious truth as +soon as it had entered into its possession. Its election, therefore, +does not imply presumption, but rather a grave duty +and responsibility. As the great seer of the Captivity had +already declared, to be the servant of the Lord is to undergo +<pb n='326'/><anchor id='Pg326'/> +the destiny of suffering, to be <q>the man of sorrow,</q> from +whose bruises comes healing unto all +mankind.<note place='foot'>Isa. LII, 3-LIII, 12.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. Accordingly the election of Israel cannot be regarded +as a single divine act, concluded at one moment of revelation, +or even during the Biblical period. It must instead be considered +a divine call persisting through all ages and encompassing +all lands, a continuous activity of the spirit which has +ever summoned for itself new heralds and heroes to testify +to truth, justice, and sublime faith, with an unparalleled +scorn for death, and to work for their dissemination by words +and deeds and by their whole life. Judaism differs from all +other religions in that it is neither the creation of one great +moral teacher and preacher of truth, nor seeks to typify the +moral and spiritual sublimity which it aims to develop in +a single person, who is then lifted up into the realm of the +superhuman. Judaism counts its prophets, its sages, and its +martyrs by generations; it is still demonstrating its power +to reshape and regenerate religion as a vital force. Moreover, +Judaism does not separate religion from life, so as to regard +only a segment of the common life and the national existence as +holy. The entire people, the entire life, must bear the stamp +of holiness and be filled with priestly consecration. Whether +this lofty aim can ever be completely attained is a question not +to be decided by short-sighted humanity, but only by God, the +Ruler of history. It is sufficient that the life of the individual +as well as that of the people should aspire toward this ideal. +</p> + +<p> +6. Of course, the election of Israel presupposes an inner +calling, a special capacity of soul and tendency of intellect +which fit it for the divine task. The people which has given +mankind its greatest prophets and psalmists, its boldest +thinkers and its noblest martyrs, which has brought to fruition +the three great world-religions, the Church, the Mosque, +and—mother of them both—the Synagogue, must be the +<pb n='327'/><anchor id='Pg327'/> +religious people <hi rend='italic'>par excellence</hi>. It must have within itself +enough of the heavenly spark of truth and of the impetus +of the religious genius as to be able and eager, whenever and +wherever the opportunity is favorable, to direct the spiritual +flight of humanity toward the highest and holiest. In fact, +the soul of the Jewish people reveals a peculiar mingling of +characteristics, a union of contrasts, which makes it especially +fit for its providential mission in history. Together with the +marked individuality of each person we find a common spirit +highly sensitive to every encroachment. Here there is a +tenacious adherence to what is old and traditional, and there +an eager assimilation of what is new and strange. On the +one hand, a materialistic self-interest; on the other, an +idealism soaring to the stars.<note place='foot'>Meg. +16 a.</note> The sages of the Tannaitic +period already remarked that Israel has been intrusted with +the law which it is to defend and to disseminate, just because +it is the boldest and most obstinate of nations.<note place='foot'>Beza 25 b.</note> On +the other hand, the three special characteristics of the Jewish people +according to the Talmud are its chastity and purity of life, +its benevolence and its active love for humanity.<note place='foot'>Yeb. 79 a.</note> +A heathen scoffer calls Israel <q>a people of generous impulses which +promised at Sinai to do what God would command, even +before it had hearkened to the commandments.</q><note place='foot'>Shab. 88 a.</note> +<q>Gentle and shy as a dove, it is also willing like the dove to stretch +out its neck for the sacrifice, for love of its heavenly Father,</q> +says the Haggadist.<note place='foot'>Cant. R. IV, +2; Tanh. Tezaveh 1.</note> And yet R. Johanan remarks that +Israel, called to be the bearer of light to the world, must be +pressed like the olive before it will yield its precious +oil.<note place='foot'>Menah. 53 b with ref. to Jer. XI, 16.</note> +Every individual in Israel possesses the requisite qualities +for a holy priest-people, according to a Midrash of the Tannaitic +period, and hence we read in Deuteronomy, <q>The Lord +<pb n='328'/><anchor id='Pg328'/> +hath chosen thee to be His own treasure out of all peoples +that are upon the face of the earth.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre to Deut. XIV, 2.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. All these and similar sayings disprove completely the +idea that the election of Israel was an arbitrary act of God. +It is due rather to hereditary virtues and to tendencies of +mind and spirit which equip Israel for his calling. To this +must be added the important fact that God educated the +people for its task through the Law, which was to make it +conscious of its priestly sanctity and keep it ever active in +mind and heart. The election of Israel is emphasized in +Deuteronomy especially in connection with the prohibition +of marriage with idolaters and with the prohibition of unclean +animals, which also originated in the priestly +laws.<note place='foot'>Deut. VII, 6; XIV, 2.</note> The +underlying idea is that the mission of Israel to battle for the +Most High imperatively demands separation from the heathen +peoples, and on the other hand, that its priestly calling necessitates +an especial abstinence. And as has the law in its +development and realization for thousands of years, so has also +God's wise guidance trained Israel in the course of history +so as to render him at times the unyielding preserver and +defender and at other times the bold champion and protagonist +of the highest truth and justice, according as the outlook and +the mental horizon of the period were narrow or broad. +</p> + +<p> +8. It is true that the thought of Israel's calling and mission +in world-history first became clear when its prophets and sages +attained a view of great world-movements from the lofty +watch-tower of the centuries, so that they could take cognizance +of the varying relations of Judaism to the civilized +peoples around. The summons of the Jewish people to be +heralds of truth and workers for peace is first mentioned in +Isaiah and Micah,<note place='foot'>Isa. II, 3; +Micah IV, 2—passages considered by modern critics to be of +exilic origin.</note> while only in the great movement of nations +<pb n='329'/><anchor id='Pg329'/> +under Cyrus did the seer of the Exile recognize the peculiar +mission of Israel in the history of the world. If in gloomy +periods the outlook became dark, still the hope for the fulfillment +of this mission was never entirely lost. In fact, +the contact of the Jewish people with Greek culture after +Alexander the Great gave new power and fresh impetus to +the conception of Israel's mission,<note place='foot'>See +Bousset, l. c., 60-99.</note> as the rich Hellenistic literature +and the vision of Daniel in chapter VII testify. In +fact, Abraham, the ancestor of the Jewish people, became for +the earliest Haggadists a wandering missionary and a great +preacher of the unity of God, and his picture was the pattern +for both Paul and Mohammed.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. +to Gen. XII, 4, and see J. E., art. Abraham.</note> The election of Israel is +clearly and unequivocally expressed by Rabbi Eleazar ben +Pedath in the words, <q>God sent Israel among the heathen +nations that they may win a rich harvest of proselytes, for, +as God said through Hosea, <q>I will sow her unto Me in the +land,</q> so He wishes from this seed to reap a bountiful and +world-wide harvest.</q><note place='foot'>Pes. 87 b. with ref. to Hosea II, 25.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. In the Middle Ages, when the historical viewpoint +and the idea of human progress were both lacking, the belief +in the mission of Israel was confined to the Messianic hope. +Both Jehuda ha Levi and Maimonides, however, regard +Christianity and Islam as preparatory steps for the Messiah, +who is to unify the world through the knowledge of +God.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi> +IV, 23; Maim. H. Melakim XI, 4.</note> +<q>The work of the Messiah is the fruit, of which Israel will +be universally acknowledged as the root,</q> says the Jewish +sage in the Cuzari. Therefore he rightly accepts the election +of Israel as a fundamental doctrine of belief. Modern times, +however, with their awakened historical sense and their idea +of progress, have again placed in the foreground the belief +<pb n='330'/><anchor id='Pg330'/> +in the election and mission of Israel. The founders of reform +Judaism have cast this ancient doctrine in a new form. On +the one hand, they have reinterpreted the Messianic hope +in the prophetic spirit, as the realization of the highest ideals +of a united humanity. On the other, they have rejected the +entire theory that Israel was exiled from his ancient land +because of his sins, and that he is eventually to return there +and to restore the sacrificial cult in the Temple at Jerusalem. +Therefore the whole view concerning Israel's future had to +undergo a transformation.<note place='foot'>See Geiger: +Zeitschr. 1868, p. 18 ff.; 1869, 55 ff.</note> The historic mission of Israel as +priest of humanity and champion of truth assumed a higher +meaning, and his peculiar position in history and in the Law +necessarily received a different interpretation from that of +Talmudic Judaism or that of the Church. As individuals, +indeed, many Jews have taken part in the achievements and +efforts of all civilized peoples; the Jewish people as such has +accomplished great things in only one field, the field of religion. +The following chapters will consider more closely +how Judaism has taken up and carried out this sacred mission. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='331'/><anchor id='Pg331'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_XLIX'/> +<head>Chapter XLIX. The Kingdom of God and the Mission of Israel</head> + +<p> +1. The hope of Judaism for the future is comprised in the +phrase, <q>the kingdom of God,</q>—<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>malkuth +shaddai</foreign> or <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>malkuth +Shamayim</foreign>,—which means the sovereign rule of God. +From ancient times the liturgy of the Synagogue concludes +regularly with the solemn <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Alenu</foreign>, +in which God is addressed +as the <q>King of kings of kings</q>—king of kings being the +Persian title for the ruler of the whole Empire—and directly +after this the hope is expressed that <q>we may speedily behold +the glory of Thy might, when Thou wilt remove the abominations +from the earth, and the idols will be utterly cut off; +when the world will be perfected under the kingdom of the +Almighty, and all the children of flesh will call upon Thy name; +when Thou wilt turn unto Thyself all the wicked of the earth. +Let all the inhabitants of the earth perceive and know that +unto Thee every knee must bend, and every tongue give +homage. Let them all accept the yoke of Thy kingdom, +and do Thou reign over them speedily, and forever and +ever.</q><note place='foot'>J. E., art. <hi rend='italic'>Alenu</hi>; +Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, 76 f.</note> +At the close of the Torah lesson in the house of learning the +assembly regularly recited the blessing, <q>Praised be Thy +name! May Thy kingdom soon come!</q>—afterwards known +as the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Kaddish</foreign>,<note place='foot'>J. +E., art. Kaddish.</note> and reëchoed in the so-called <q>Lord's Prayer</q> +of the Church. The words of the prophet, <q>The Lord shall +be King over all the earth; in that day shall the Lord be One, +and His name One,</q><note place='foot'>Zech. XIV, +9.</note> voiced for all ages this ideal of the future, +and thus gave a goal and a purpose to the history of the world +<pb n='332'/><anchor id='Pg332'/> +and at the same time centered it in Israel, the chosen people +of God. +</p> + +<p> +2. The establishment of the kingdom of the One and Only +God throughput the entire world constitutes the divine plan +of salvation toward which, according to Jewish teaching, +the efforts of all the ages are tending. This <q>Kingdom of +God</q> is not, however, a kingdom of heaven in the world to +come, which men are to enter only after death, and then only +if redeemed from sin by accepting the belief in a supernatural +Savior as their Messiah, as is taught by the Church. Judaism +points to God's Kingdom on <emph>earth</emph> as the goal and hope of +mankind, to a world in which all men and nations shall turn +away from idolatry and wickedness, falsehood and violence, +and become united in their recognition of the sovereignty +of God, the Holy One, as proclaimed by Israel, His servant +and herald, the Messiah of the nations. It is not the hope +of bliss in a future life (which is the leading motive of Christianity), +but the building up of the divine kingdom of truth, +justice, and peace among men by Israel's teaching and +practice.<note place='foot'>See Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, +89 f., 93 f.</note> +In this sense God speaks through the mouth of the +prophet, <q>I will also give thee for a light of the nations, that +My salvation may be unto the end of the earth.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +XLIX, 6.</note> <q>All the ends of the +earth shall see the salvation of our God.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LII, 10</note> +<q>The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, as +dew from the Lord, as showers upon the grass.</q><note place='foot'>Micah V, 6.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. Clearly, the idea of a world-kingdom of God arose only +as the result of the gradual development of the Jewish God-consciousness. +It was necessary at first that the prophetic +idea of God's kingship, the theocracy in Israel, should triumph +over the monarchical view and absorb it. The patriarchal +life of the shepherd was certainly not favorable to a monarchical +rule. <q>I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule +<pb n='333'/><anchor id='Pg333'/> +over you, the Lord shall rule over you,</q> said Gideon in refusing +the title of king which the people had offered +him.<note place='foot'>Judg. VIII, 23.</note> According +to one tradition Samuel blamed the people for desiring +a king and thereby rejecting the divine +kingship.<note place='foot'>I Sam. VIII, 7; XII, 12, 17 f.</note> <q>I give +thee a king in Mine anger,</q> says God through +Hosea.<note place='foot'>Hos. XIII, 11.</note> The +more the monarchy, with its exclusively worldly and materialistic +aims, came into conflict with the demands of the prophets +and their religious truth, the higher rose the prophetic hope +for the dawning of a day when God alone would rule in absolute +sovereignty over the entire world. Now, in the kingdom +of the Ten Tribes, with its frequently changing dynasties, +the old patriarchal conception was dominant, while in the +kingdom of Judah, which remained loyal to the house of +David, the monarchical idea developed. Isaiah, living in +Jerusalem and favorably disposed towards the monarchy, +prophesied that a shoot from the house of David, endowed +with marvelous spiritual powers, should come forth, occupying +the throne in the place of God, and through his victories +would plant righteousness and the knowledge of God everywhere +upon earth, and establish throughout the world a +wonderful reign of peace.<note place='foot'>Isa. IX, 5; XI, 1-10.</note> +Upon this royal <q>shoot</q> of David<note place='foot'>Isa. +IV, 2; Jer. XXIII, 5; XXXII, 15; and Zech. III, 8; VI, 12. Here +Zerubbabel is referred to.</note> +rested the Messianic hope during the Exile, and amidst the +disappointments of the time this vision became all the more +idealized. In contrast to this the great prophet of the Exile +announced the establishment of the absolute dominion of God +as the true <q>King of Israel</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XLI, +21; XLIII, 15; XLIV, 6. Comp. XLIII, 22.</note> over all the earth by the nucleus +of Israel, <q>the servant of God,</q> who would become conscious +of his great historic mission in the world and be willing +to offer his very life in its cause. In all this the prophet +makes no reference to the royal house of David, but makes +<pb n='334'/><anchor id='Pg334'/> +bold to confer the title of the <q>anointed of God</q>—that is, +Messiah—upon Cyrus, the king of Persia, as the one who +was to usher in the new era.<note place='foot'>Isa. +XLV, 1.</note> Subsequently these two divergent +hopes for the future run parallel in the Psalms +and the liturgy as well as in the apocryphal and rabbinic +literature. +</p> + +<p> +4. While the Messianic aspirations as such bore rather a +political and national character in Judaism (as will be explained +in Chapter <ref target='Chapter_LIII'>LIII</ref>), yet the religious hope for a universal +kingdom of God took root even more deeply in the heart +of the Jewish people. It created the conception of Israel's +mission and also the literature and activity of the Hellenistic +propaganda, and it gave a new impetus to the making +of proselytes among the heathen, to which both Christianity +and Islam owe their existence. The words of Isaiah, repeated +later by Habakkuk, <q>The earth will be full of the knowledge +of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea,</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +XI, 9; Hab. II, 14.</note> became now an +article of faith. While in earlier times the rule of Israel's +God, JHVH, was attached to Zion, from whose holy mount +He ruled as invisible King,<note place='foot'>Isa. VI, 5; +XXIV, 23. Comp. Jer. XLVI, 18; XLVIII, 15.</note> later on we find Zechariah proclaiming +Him who was enthroned in heaven as having dominion +over the entire earth,<note place='foot'>Zech. XIV, 9; Mal. +I, 14.</note> and the Psalter summons all nations +to acknowledge, adore, and extol Him as King of the +world.<note place='foot'>Ps. XXII, 29; XCIII, 1; XCV, 99.</note> +Nay, at the very time when Judah lay humbled to the ground, +the prophet exclaimed, <q>Who would not fear Thee, O King +of the nations? for it befitteth Thee; forasmuch as among +all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royalty there +is none like unto Thee.</q><note place='foot'>Jer. X, 7. +This chapter is post-exilic; comp. Jer. XLVI, 18; XLVIII, +15 and I Chron. XXIX, 11.</note> Israel's great hope for the future +is expressed most completely and in most sublime language +in the New Year liturgy: <q>O Lord our God, impose Thine +<pb n='335'/><anchor id='Pg335'/> +awe upon all Thy works, and let Thy dread be upon all that +Thou hast created, that they may all form one single band to +do Thy will with a perfect heart.... Our God and God of +our fathers, reveal Thyself in Thy splendor as King over all +the inhabitants of the world, that every handiwork of Thine +may know that Thou hast made it, and every creature may +acknowledge that Thou hast created it, and whatsoever hath +breath in its nostrils may say: the Lord God of Israel is King, +and His dominion ruleth over all.</q><note place='foot'>Singer's +<hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, 239.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. In the earlier period, then, the rule of JHVH seems to +have been confined to Israel as the people of His covenant. +During the Second Temple Jerusalem was called the <q>city +of the great King</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XLVIII, +3.</note> and the constitution was considered by +Josephus to have been a theocracy, that is, a government by +God.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cont. Apion</hi>, +II, 16, 7.</note> Indeed, the entire Mosaic code has as its main purpose +to make Israel a <q>kingdom of priests,</q> over which JHVH, +the God of the covenant, was alone to rule as King. The +chief object of the strict nationalists, in opposition to the +cosmopolitanism of the Hellenists, was that this government +of God, in its intimate association with the Holy Land and +the Holy People, should be maintained unchanged for all the +future. Thus the book of Daniel predicts the speedy downfall +of the fourth world-kingdom and the establishment of the +kingdom of God through Israel, <q>the people of the saints of +the Most High; their kingdom is an everlasting +kingdom.</q><note place='foot'>Dan. VII, 27.</note> +Naturally, such a purely nationalistic conception of the rulership +of God does not admit the thought of a mission or its +corollary, the conversion of the heathen.<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Zealots.</note> These appear +among the liberal school of Hillel in their opposition to the +more rigorous Shammaites and the party of the +Zealots.<note place='foot'>Shab. 31 a.</note> +It is, therefore, quite consistent that the modern nationalists +should again dispute the mission of Israel. +</p> + +<pb n='336'/><anchor id='Pg336'/> + +<p> +6. As soon as Jewish monotheism had once been conceived +by the Jewish mind as the universal truth, the idea of +the mission of Israel as a bearer of light and a witness of +God for the nations, as enunciated by Deutero-Isaiah, became +ever more firmly established. Many Psalms exhort the +people to make known the wondrous doings of God among +the nations, so that the heathen world might at last acknowledge +the One and Only God.<note place='foot'>Ps. XXII, 28; +LXVII, 3; LXXXVI, 10; CXVII, 1.</note> Nay, Israel is even called +God's anointed and prophet,<note place='foot'>Ps. +CV, 15.</note> and in one Psalm we find Zion, +the city of God, elevated to be the religious metropolis of the +world.<note place='foot'>Ps. LXXXVII, 5. See +Commentaries and LXX.</note> The book of Jonah is simply a refutation of the +narrow nationalistic conception of Judaism; it holds forth +the hope of the conversion of the heathen to the true knowledge +of God. In the same spirit Ruth the Moabitess became +the type of the heathen who are eager to <q>take refuge under +the wings of God's majesty.</q><note place='foot'>Ruth +II, 12. Comp. Lev. R. II, 8.</note> The author of the book of +Job no longer knows of a national God; to him God is the +highest ideal of morality as it lives and grows in the human +heart. The wisdom literature also teaches a God of humanity. +Under His wings Shem and Japheth, the teaching of the Jew +and the wisdom of the Greek, can join hands; the religious +truth of the one and the philosophic truth of the other may +harmoniously blend. +</p> + +<p> +7. Thus a new impulse was given to Jewish proselytism +in Alexandria, and the earlier history of Israel, especially the +pre-Israelite epoch with its simple human types, was read +in a new light. Enoch<note place='foot'>See both Enoch books and +B. Sira XLIV, 16.</note> and Noah<note place='foot'>Sibyll. I, +128-170; Sanh. 108 a.</note> became preachers of penitence, +heralds of the pure monotheism from which the heathen +world had departed. Abraham especially, the progenitor +of Israel, was looked upon as a prototype of the wandering +<pb n='337'/><anchor id='Pg337'/> +missionary people, converting the heathen.<note place='foot'>Gen. R. XXXIX, 21.</note> +Wherever he journeyed, his teaching and his example of true benevolence +won souls for the Lord proclaimed by him as the <q>God of +the heaven and the earth.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre Deut. +313, with ref. to Gen. XXIV, 3.</note> In this sense of missionary activity +were now interpreted the words, <q>Be thou a blessing ... +and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be +blessed.</q><note place='foot'>See Dillmann's Comm. to +Gen. XII, 2; XXII, 18; and Kuenen: <hi rend='italic'>The +Prophets and Prophecy</hi>, 373, 457.</note> +This was no longer understood in the original sense, that +Abraham by his prosperity should be an example of a blessed +man, to be pointed out in blessing others; the words were +given the higher meaning that Abraham with his descendants +should become a source of blessing for mankind through his +teachings and his conduct, so that all the families of men +should attain blessing and salvation by following his doctrine +and example. Thus the idea of the Jewish mission was connected +with Abraham, the <q>father of a multitude of nations,</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +XVII, 5.</note> +and this was later on adopted by Paul and Mohammed in +establishing the Church and the Mosque. +</p> + +<p> +8. In contradistinction, then, to the political concept of +the kingdom of God, which Ezekiel still hoped to see established +by the exercise of external power,<note place='foot'>Ezek. XX, 33.</note> the idea +assumed now a purely spiritual meaning. This kingdom of God is +accepted by the pious Jew every morning through his confession +of the divine Unity in the Shema. Abraham had +anticipated this, say the rabbis, when he swore by the God +of heaven and earth, and so also had Israel in accepting the +Torah at Sinai and at the Red Sea.<note place='foot'>Sifre, +l. c.</note> In fact, the kingdom of +God began, we are told, with the first man, since, when he +adored God freely as King of the world, every living creature +acknowledged Him also. But only when Israel as a people +proclaimed God's dominion at the Red Sea, was the throne +<pb n='338'/><anchor id='Pg338'/> +of God and His kingdom on earth established for +eternity.<note place='foot'>P. D. R. El. XI; Mek. Yithro 6; Lev. R. II, 4.</note> +And when Ezekiel says: <q>With a mighty hand will I be +King over you,</q> they explain this to mean that the people +chosen as the servant of God will be continually constrained +anew by the prophets to recognize His +kingdom.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> Behukkothai VIII with +ref. to Ezek. XX, 33; Sanh. 105 a.</note> Yea, the +closing words of the Song at the Red Sea, <q>The Lord shall +reign for ever and ever</q> were taken to imply that all the +nations would in the end recognize only Israel's One God as +King of the world.<note place='foot'>Mek. Beshallah X, p. 52.</note> +As a matter of fact, the rabbinical view +is that every proselyte, in <q>taking upon himself the yoke +of the sovereignty of God,</q> enters that divine Kingdom +which at the end of time will embrace all men +and nations.<note place='foot'>Tanh. Lek leka 6.</note> +In the book of Tobit and the Sibylline Oracles also we find +this universalistic conception of the Messianic age +expressed.<note place='foot'>Tobit XIII, 1-11; Sibyll. III, 47, 76 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. Accordingly, proselytism found open and solemn recognition +both before and after the time of the Maccabees, as +we see in the Psalms,—especially those which speak of +proselytes in the term, <q>they that fear the Lord,</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +CXVII; CXVIII, 4. See chapter <ref target='Chapter_LVI'>LVI</ref>.</note> and also +in the ancient synagogal liturgy, where the <q>proselytes of +righteousness</q> are especially mentioned.<note place='foot'>Singer's +<hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, 48.</note> The school of +Hillel followed precisely this course. Matters changed, +however, under the Roman dominion, which was contrasted +to the dominion of God especially from the time of Herod, +when the belief became current that <q>only when the one is +destroyed, will the other arise.</q><note place='foot'>Mek. Amalek +at close; Cant. R. II, 28; IV Ezra VI, 9-10.</note> Particularly after the +Christian Church had become identified with Rome, all missionary +endeavors by the Jews were considered dangerous +and were therefore discouraged as much as possible. In their +<pb n='339'/><anchor id='Pg339'/> +place arose the hope for a miraculous intervention of God. +In Hellenistic circles the Messiah was believed to be the future +founder of the kingdom of God,<note place='foot'>B. +Wisdom V, 16; Sibyll. III, 76 b.</note> which assumed more and +more of an other-worldly nature, such as the Church developed +for it later on. +</p> + +<p> +10. The more the harsh oppression of the times forced the +Jew to isolate himself and to spend his life in studying and +practicing the law,—which was tantamount to <q>placing +himself under the kingdom of God,</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> +Kedoshim at close; Sifre Deut. 323.</note> the more he lost sight +of his sublime mission for the world at large. Only individual +thinkers, such as Jehuda ha Levi and Maimonides, kept a +vision of the world-mission of Israel, when they called Jesus +and Mohammed, as founders of Christianity and Islam, messengers +of God to the idolatrous nations, divinely appointed +to bring them nearer to Israel's truth,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi> +IV, 23; Maim. <hi rend='italic'>H. Melakim</hi> XI, 4.</note> or when they pointed +forward to the time when all peoples will recognize in the +truth their common mother and in God the Father of all +mankind.<note place='foot'>Maim.: Commentary to Eduyoth +at close.</note> A most instructive Midrash on Zechariah IX, 9 +gives the keynote of this belief. <q>At that time God as the +King of Zion will speak to the righteous of all times, and say +to them, <q>Dear as the words of My teaching are to Me, yet +have ye erred in that ye have followed only My Torah, and +have not waited for My world-kingdom. I swear to you that +I shall remember for good him who has waited for My kingdom, +as it is said, Wait ye for Me until the day that I rise up as a +witness.</q></q><note place='foot'>Pes. R. XXXIV, p. 158 ref. to +Zeph. III, 8. See Friedman's note.</note> +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, it was owing to the sad consequences +of the missionary endeavors of the Church that the idea of +the mission of Judaism was given a different direction. Not +conversion, but conviction by teaching and example, is the +<pb n='340'/><anchor id='Pg340'/> +historic task of Judaism, whose maxim is expressed in the +verse of Zechariah, <q>Not by might, nor by power, but by My +spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.</q><note place='foot'>Zech. +IV, 6.</note> It is not the creed, but +the deed, which tells. Not the confession, but conduct, +with the moral principles which govern it, counts. Such a +view is implied in the well-known teaching of Joshua ben +Hananiah, <q>The righteous of all nations will have a share +in the world of eternal bliss.</q><note place='foot'>Tos. +Sanh. XIII, 2.</note> Judaism does not deny +salvation to those professing other religions, which would +tend to undermine the foundation of their spiritual life. Standing +upon the high watchtower of time, it rather strives ever +to clarify and strengthen the universal longing for truth +and righteousness which lies at the heart of all religion, and +is thus to become a bond of union, an all-illuminating light +for the world. To quote the beautiful words of Leopold +Stein in his <hi rend='italic'>Schrift des Lebens</hi>:<note place='foot'>P. +374-378.</note> <q>Judaism, while recognizing +the historic justification of all systems of thought and faith, +does not cherish the ambition to become the Church Universal +in the usual sense of the term, but aims rather to be the focus, +or mirror, of religious unity for all the rest. <q>The people +from of old,</q> as the prophet called them, are to accompany +mankind in its progress through the ages and the continents, +until it reaches the goal of the kingdom of God on earth, the +<q>new heaven and new earth</q> of the prophetic +vision.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LXVI, 22.</note> The +thought of the Jewish mission is most adequately expressed +in the Neilah service of the Union Prayer Book, based upon +the Einhorn Prayerbook, which reads as +follows:<note place='foot'>Part II, p. 332.</note> <q>Endow +us, our Guardian, with strength and patience for our holy mission. +Grant that all the children of Thy people may recognize +the goal of our changeful career, so that they may exemplify +by their zeal and love for mankind the truth of Israel's watchword: +One humanity on earth, even as there is but One God +<pb n='341'/><anchor id='Pg341'/> +in heaven. Enlighten all that call themselves by Thy name +with the knowledge that the sanctuary of wood and stone, +which erst crowned Zion's hill, was but a gate through which +Israel should step out into the world, to reconcile all mankind +unto Thee!</q> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='342'/><anchor id='Pg342'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter L. The Priest-people and its Law of Holiness</head> + +<p> +1. The checkered, stormy, and yet triumphant march of +the Jewish people through the ages remains the great enigma +of history for all those who do not believe in a divine plan of +salvation to be consummated through Israel. The idea of +Israel's mission alone throws light on its law and its destiny. +Even before God had revealed to the people at Mt. Sinai +the Ten Commandments, the foundation of all religion and +morality, and there concluded with them a covenant for all +time, He spoke: <q>Ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests +and a holy nation,</q> thus consecrating them to be a priest-people +among the nations, and enjoining them to a life of +especial holiness. Possessing as a heritage from the Patriarchs +the germ of a higher religious consciousness, in distinction +from all other peoples, they were to make the cultivation, +development, and promotion of the highest religious truth +their life-task, and thus to become the people of God. At +first they were to establish in the Holy Land a theocratic +government, a State in which God alone was the Ruler, while +they lived in priestly isolation from all the nations around. +Thus they prepared themselves for the time when, scattered +over all the earth, they might again work as the priest-people +through the ages for the upbuilding of the universal kingdom +of God. This was Israel's destiny from the very first, as expressed +by the great seer of the Exile when he beheld Israel +wandering forth among the nations, <q>Ye shall be named the +<pb n='343'/><anchor id='Pg343'/> +priests of the Lord; men shall call you the ministers of our +God.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LXI, 6.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. Among all religions the priest is considered especially +holy as the mediator between God and man, and in his appearance +as well as in his mode of life he must observe special +forms of purity and holiness. He alone may approach the +Godhead, ascertain its will, and administer the sacrificial cult +in the sanctuary. He must represent the Divinity in its +relation to the people, embody it in his outward life, enjoy +nothing which it abhors, and touch nothing which could render +him impure. These priestly rules exist among all the nations +of antiquity in striking similarity, and indicate a common +origin in the prehistoric period, during which the entire cult +developed through a priestly caste, beginning with simple, +primitive conceptions and transmitted in ever more elaborate +form from father to son. It goes without saying that the +priests of the original Hebrew race, which migrated from +Babylonia, retained the ancient customs and rules. They +must also have adopted many other things from neighboring +peoples. During the entire period of the first temple, the +priests—despite all prophetic warnings—preferred the +heathen cult with its vainglorious pomp to the simple worship +of the patriarchal times. As everywhere else, the priesthood +of Israel, and later of Judæa as well, thought only of its own +interests, of the retention of its ancient prerogatives, unmindful +of the higher calling to which it had been chosen, to serve +the God of truth and justice, to exemplify true holiness, +to stand for moral rather than ceremonial purity. Yet the +sacerdotal institutions were indispensable so long as the +people required a sanctuary where the Deity should dwell, +and where the sacrificial cult should be administered. Every +trespass by a layman on the sanctuary reserved for the priests +was considered sacrilege and called for divine punishment. +<pb n='344'/><anchor id='Pg344'/> +It was thus necessary to deepen the popular notion of holiness +and of the reverence due the sanctuary, before these could be +elevated into the realm of spirituality and morality. The +priesthood had to be won for the service of the loftier religious +ideas, so that it might gradually educate the people in general +for its sublime priestly mission. This conception underlies +both the Mosaic law and its rabbinical interpretation. +</p> + +<p> +3. Through Biblical and post-Biblical literature and history +there runs a twofold tendency, one anti-sacerdotal,—emanating +from the prophets and later the Hasideans or +Pharisees,—the other a mediating tendency, favorable to +the priesthood. The ritualistic piety of the priests was +bitterly assailed by the prophets as being subversive of all +morality, and later on the Sadducean hierarchy also constituted +a threat to the moral and spiritual welfare of the +people. Before even the revelation at Sinai was to take +place, we read that warning was given to the priests <q>not +to break through</q> and stand above the people.<note place='foot'>Ex. XIX, 22 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, the law demands of the Aaronites a +peculiar degree of holiness, since <q>they offer the bread of their +God upon the altar.</q><note place='foot'>Lev. XXI, 6; +XXII, 2.</note> Their blood must be kept pure by +the avoidance of improper marriages. Everything unclean +or polluting must be kept far from +them.<note place='foot'>Lev. VIII, 2, 8.</note> The law, following +a tradition which probably arose in ancient Babylon, +prescribed minutely their mode of admission into the divine +service, their vestments and their conditions of life, the ritual +of sacrifice and of purity; and every violation of these laws, +every trespass by a layman, was declared to be punishable +with death.<note place='foot'>Num. XVIII, 7.</note> +The sanctuary contains no room for the <emph>nation</emph> +of <emph>priests</emph>; no layman durst venture to cross its threshold. +Even in the legal system of the rabbis the ancient rights and +privileges of the priesthood, dating from the time when they +<pb n='345'/><anchor id='Pg345'/> +possessed no property, remained inviolate, and their precedence +in everything was undisputed.<note place='foot'>M. K. 28 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The glaring contrast between the idea of a universal priesthood +of the people and the institution of the Aaronites is +explained by a deeper insight into history. The success of +the reformation under Josiah on the basis of the Deuteronomic +code rested in the last analysis on the fact that the priests +of the house of Zadok at Jerusalem were placed in the service +of the higher prophetic teaching by being rendered the guardians, +executors, and later, in conjunction with the Levites, +the teachers of the Law, as it was presented in the book of the +law of Moses, soon afterward completed. The priesthood, +deprived of everything that might remind one of the former +idolatry and heathenish practices, was, in its purer and holier +character, to lead the priest-people to true moral holiness +through its connection with the sanctuary and its ancient +cult. Still the impulse for the moral rebirth of the nation, +for the establishment of a priest-people, did not emanate +from the Temple priesthood, nor even from the sacred soil of +Palestine; but from the Synagogue, which began in the Exile, +under the influence of the prophetic word and the Levitical +song, in the form of public worship by the congregation of +the pious. Here arose a generation of godly men, a class of +singularly devout ones, living in priestly holiness, who consecrated +their lives to the practice of the law, and whom the +exile seer had designated as the true Israel, the servant of the +Lord, and these formed the nucleus of the renewed Israel. +</p> + +<p> +4. That which the prophet Ezekiel had attempted in his +proposed constitution<note place='foot'>Ezek. XL-XLVIII.</note> +was accomplished in a far more thorough +manner by the Holiness Code, which emanated from +his school and became the central portion of the Mosaic +books, and by the so-called Priestly Code, which followed +later. The object was to bring about the sanctification of +<pb n='346'/><anchor id='Pg346'/> +the entire people upon the holy soil of the national land, +through institutions embodying the ideal of the holiness of +God in the life and cult of the people. Circumcision, idealized +by the prophetic author of Deuteronomy,<note place='foot'>Deut. +X, 16. Comp. Jer. IX, 24.</note> was to be made the +sign of the covenant to mark as holy the progeny +of Abraham;<note place='foot'>Gen. XVII, 9.</note> +strict laws of marriage were to put an end to all heathenish +unchastity; the Sabbath rest was to consecrate the labors +of the week, the Sabbatical month and year the produce of +the soil.<note place='foot'>Lev. XXV, 1-24.</note> +The prohibition of unclean foods, heretofore reserved, +as among other nations, for the priests and other consecrated +persons, was now applied to the whole community +in order that Israel should learn <q>to set itself apart from all +other nations as a holy people.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XIV, 2-11; +Lev. XI. Comp. Ezek. XLIV, 31, and Judg. XIII, 4.</note> Even their apparel was to +proclaim the priestly holiness of the people by a blue fringe +at the border of the garments.<note place='foot'>Num. XV, 40.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Whereas from the time of Ezra to Simon the Just priestly +rulers endeavored to promote the work of educating the +people for holiness, the pious men from among the people +made still greater efforts to assert the claim of holiness for +the entire Jewish people as a priest-nation.<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Pharisees.</note> The repasts +of these pious fellowships should be in no way inferior in +sanctity to those of the priests in the Temple. New ceremonies +of sanctification were to open and close the Sabbaths +and festivals. Symbols of priestly consecration should adorn +forehead and arm in the form of the phylacteries +(<foreign rend='italic'>tefillin</foreign>), +and should be placed at the entrance of every house in the +so-called <foreign rend='italic'>mezuzzah</foreign>. <q>God has given unto all an +heritage (the Torah), the kingdom, the priesthood, and the +sanctuary</q><note place='foot'>II Macc. II, 17.</note>—this +became the <hi rend='italic'>leitmotif</hi> for the Pharisaic school, who constantly +enlarged the domain of piety so that it should include +<pb n='347'/><anchor id='Pg347'/> +the whole of life. Whoever did not belong to this circle of +the pious was regarded with scorn as one of the lower class +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>am ha-aretz</foreign>). +</p> + +<p> +5. The chief effort of the pious, the founders of the Judaism +of the Synagogue, was to keep the Jewish people from the demoralizing +influences of pagan nature-worship, represented +first by Semitic and later by Greek culture. The leaders of +the Pharisees <q>built a fence about the +law</q><note place='foot'>Aboth. I, 1.</note> extending the +prohibition of mingling with the heathen nations so as also +to prohibit eating with them and participating in their feasts +and social gatherings,—not for the preservation of the Jewish +race merely, as Christian theologians maintain, but for the +sake of keeping its inner life intact and pure.<note place='foot'>See Perles: +<hi rend='italic'>Bousset</hi>, 68, 89.</note> <q>God surrounded +us with brazen walls, hedged us in with laws of purity +in regard to food and drink and physical contact, yea, even +to that which we see and hear, in order that we should be pure +in body and soul, free from absurd beliefs, not polluted by +contact with others or through association with the wicked; +for most of the peoples defile themselves with their sexual +practices, and whole lands pride themselves upon it. But +we hold ourselves aloof from all this</q>—so spoke Eleazar +the priest to King Ptolemy Philadelphus, according to the +Letter of Aristeas, thus giving expression to the sentiment +most deeply rooted in the souls of the pious of that +period.<note place='foot'>Aristeas 139-152.</note> +They strove to build up a nation of whom the Tannaim +could say, <q>Whoever possesses no sense of shame and chastity, +of him it is certain that his ancestors did not stand at +Sinai.</q><note place='foot'>Ned. 20 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Naturally enough, the Greek and Roman people took +offense at this aloofness and separation from every contact +with the outer world, and explained it as due to a spirit of +hostility to mankind. Even up to the present it has been the +lot of Jewry and Judaism to be misunderstood by the world +<pb n='348'/><anchor id='Pg348'/> +at large, to be the object of either its hate or its pity. The +world disregards the magnificence of the plan by which an +entire people were to be reared as a priest-nation, as citizens +of a kingdom of God, among whom, in the course of centuries, +the seed of prophetic truth was to germinate and sprout forth +for the salvation of humanity. If, in complete contrast to +heathen immorality, the Jew in his life, his thinking, and his +will was governed by the strictest moral discipline; if, in +spite of the most cruel persecutions and the most insidious +temptations, the Jewish people remained steadfast to its +pure belief in God and its traditional standards of chastity, +exhibiting a loyalty which amazed the nations and the religious +sects about, but was neither understood nor followed +by them, this was mainly due to the hallowing influences +of the priestly laws. They steeled the people for the fulfillment +of their duty and shielded them against all hostile +powers both within and without. The very <emph>burden</emph> of the +law, so bitterly denounced by Christianity since the time +of Paul, lent Judaism its dignity at all times, protecting it +from the assaults of the tempter; and that which seemed to +the outsider a heavy load was to the Jew a source of pride +in the consciousness of his divine election.<note place='foot'>See +Schechter, <hi rend='italic'>Studies</hi>, I, 233 ff. I. Abrahams in +J. Q. R. XI, 62; b ff., +and Claude Montefiore, J. Q. R. XIII, 161-217.</note> +</p> + +<p> +<anchor id='Chapter_L_Section_6'/> +6. But most significant in the character and development +of Judaism is the fact that all the leading ideas and motives +which emanated from the priesthood of the Jewish people +were concentrated in one single focus, the <emph>hallowing of the name +of God</emph>. Two terms expressed this idea in both a negative +and a positive form, the warning against +<q><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hillul ha Shem</foreign></q>—profanation +of the name of God—and the duty of <q><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Kiddush +ha Shem</foreign></q>—sanctification of God's name. These +exerted a marvelous power in curbing the passions and self-indulgence +of the Jew and in spurring him on to the greatest +<pb n='349'/><anchor id='Pg349'/> +possible self-sacrifice and to an unparalleled willingness to +undergo suffering and martyrdom for the cause. These +terms are derived from the Biblical verse, <q>Ye shall not profane +My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children +of Israel; I am the Lord who halloweth you.</q><note place='foot'>Lev. XXII, 32.</note> +This verse forms the concluding sentence of the precepts for the Aaronitic +priesthood and warns them as the guardians of the sanctuary +to do nothing which might in the popular estimation +degrade them or the divine cause intrusted to them. When, +however, during the Maccabean wars, the little band of the +pious proved themselves to be the true priesthood in their +Opposition to the faithless Aaronites, offering their very lives +as a sacrifice for the preservation of the true faith in God, +the Scriptural word received a new and higher meaning. +It came to signify the obligation of the entire priest-people +to consecrate the name of God by the sacrifice of their lives, +and also their duty to guard against its profanation by any +offensive act. In connection with this Scriptural passage +the sages represent God as saying, <q>I have brought you out +of Egypt only on the condition that you are ready to sacrifice +your lives, if need be, to consecrate My +name.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sifra Emor.</hi> IX.</note> From that +period it became a duty and even a law of Judaism, as Maimonides +shows in his Code, for each person in life and in death +to bear witness to His God.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Yesode ha Torah</hi> +V. Comp. Lazarus: <hi rend='italic'>Ethics</hi>, 29, 184.</note> +<q>Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, and I am God</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +XLIII, 12.</note>—and witnesses being in the Greek +version martyrs, the word afterward received the meaning +of <q>blood-witnesses.</q>—This passage of the prophet is commented +on by Simeon ben Johai, one of the great teachers +who suffered under Hadrian's persecution, in the following +words, <q>If ye become My witnesses, then am I your Lord, +God of the world; but if ye do not witness to Me, I cease to +<pb n='350'/><anchor id='Pg350'/> +be, as it were, the Lord, God of all the world.</q><note place='foot'>Pesik. +102 b.</note> That is to +say, it is the martyrdom of the pious which glorifies God's +name before all the world. Or, as Felix Perles says so beautifully, +<q>As every good and noble man must ever bear in +mind that the dignity of humanity is intrusted to his hand, +so should each earnest adherent of the Jewish faith remember +that the glory of God is intrusted to his +care.</q><note place='foot'>Perles, l. c., 68 f.</note> The Jewish +people has fulfilled this priestly task through a martyrdom +of over two thousand years and has scornfully resisted every +demand to abandon its faith in God, not consenting to do +so even in appearance. Surely historians or philosophers +who can ridicule or commiserate such resistance betray a +hatred which blinds their sense of justice. As a matter +of fact, it was the consciousness of the Jewish people of +its priestly mission that has made it a pattern of loyalty +for all time. +</p> + +<p> +7. Moreover, the fear of profaning the divine name became +the highest incentive to, and safeguard of the morality of the +Jew. Every misdeed toward a non-Jew is considered by the +teachers of Judaism a double sin, yea, sometimes, an unpardonable +one, because it gives a false impression of the moral +standard of Judaism and infringes upon the honor of God +as well as that of man. The disciples of Rabbi Simeon ben +Shetach once bought an ass for him from an Arab, and to their +joy found a precious stone in its collar. <q>Did the seller +know of this gem?</q> asked the master. On being answered +in the negative, he called out angrily, <q>Do you consider +me a barbarian? Return the Arab his precious stone immediately!</q> +And when the heathen received it back, he +cried out, <q>Praised be the God of Simeon ben +Shetach!</q><note place='foot'>Yer. B. M. II, 8 c.</note> +Thus the conscientious Jew honors his God by his conduct, +says the Talmud, referring to this and many similar examples. +Such lessons of the Jew's responsibility for the recognition +<pb n='351'/><anchor id='Pg351'/> +of the high moral purity of his religion have ever constituted +a high barrier against immoral acts. +</p> + +<p> +The words, <q>Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God am holy</q> +form significantly the introduction to the chapter on the +love of man, the nineteenth chapter of Leviticus, placed at +the very center of the entire Priestly Code. <q>Your self-sanctification +sanctifies Me, as it were,</q> says God to Israel, +according to the interpretation of this verse by the +sages.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> Kedoshim 1.</note> +In contrast to heathendom, which deifies nature with its +appeal to the senses, Judaism teaches that holiness is a moral +quality, as it means the curbing of the senses. And in order +to prevent Israel, the bearer of this ideal of holiness, from +sinking into the mire of heathen wantonness and lust, the +separation of the Jew from the heathen world, whether in +his domestic or social life, was a necessity and became the +rule and maxim of his life for that period. All the many +prohibitions and commands had for their object the purification +of the people in order to render the highest moral +purity a hereditary virtue among them, according to the +rabbis.<note place='foot'>Mak. 23 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. It is true that the accumulation of <q>law upon law, prohibition +upon prohibition</q> by the rabbis had eventually the +same injurious effect which it had exerted upon the priests +in the Temple. The formal law, <q>the precepts learned by +rote,</q> became the important factor, while their purpose +was lost to sight. The shell smothered the kernel, and +blind obedience to the letter of the law came to be regarded +as true piety. It cannot be denied that adherence to the mere +form, which was transmitted from the Temple practice to the +legalism of the Pharisees and the later rabbinic schools with +their casuistry, impaired and tarnished the lofty prophetic +ideal of holiness. It almost seems as if the clarion notes of +such sublime passages as that of the Psalmist, +</p> + +<pb n='352'/><anchor id='Pg352'/> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord,</q></l> +<l>And who shall stand in His holy place?</l> +<l>He that hath clean hands and a pure heart;</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Who hath not taken My name in vain, and hath not sworn +deceitfully,</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XXIV, 3-4; XV, 1-5.</note></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +no longer found its full resonance in the heart of Judaism. In +the practice of external acts of piety religion became petrified +and the spirit took flight. That which is of secondary importance +became of primary consideration. This is the fundamental +error into which the practice and the development of +the Law in Judaism lapsed, and to which no careful observer +can or dares close his eyes. Undoubtedly the Law, as it +embraced the whole of life in its power, sharpened the Jewish +sense of duty, and served the Jew as an iron wall of defense +against temptations, aberrations, and enticements of the centuries. +As soon as the modern Jew, however, undertook to +free himself from the tutelage of a blind acceptance of authority +and inquired after the purpose of all the restrictions which +the Law laid upon him, his ancient loyalty to the same collapsed +and the pillars of Judaism seemed to be shaken. Then the +leaders of Reform, imbued with the prophetic spirit, felt it to +be their imperative duty to search out the fundamental ideas +of the priestly law of holiness, and, accordingly, they learned +how to separate the kernel from the shell. In opposition +to the orthodox tendency to worship the letter, they insisted +on the fact that Israel's separation from the world—which +it is ultimately to win for the divine truth—cannot itself +be its end and aim, and that blind obedience to the law +does not constitute true piety. Only the fundamental idea, +that Israel as the <q>first-born</q> among the nations has been +elected as a priest-people, must remain our imperishable +truth, a truth to which the centuries of history bear witness +by showing that it has given its life-blood as a ransom for +humanity, and is ever bringing new sacrifices for its cause. +</p> + +<pb n='353'/><anchor id='Pg353'/> + +<p> +Only because it has kept itself distinct as a priest-people +among the nations could it carry out its great task in history; +and only if it remains conscious of its priestly calling and therefore +maintains itself as the people of God, can it fulfill its mission. +Not until the end of time, when all of God's children +will have entered the kingdom of God, may Israel, the high-priest +among the nations, renounce his priesthood. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='354'/><anchor id='Pg354'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter LI. Israel, the People of the Law, and its World Mission</head> + +<p> +1. Judaism differs from all the ancient religions chiefly +in its intrusting its truth to the whole people instead of a +special priesthood. The law which <q>Moses commanded us +is an inheritance of the Congregation of +Jacob,</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXXIII, 4.</note> is the +Scriptural lesson impressed upon every Jew in early childhood. +As soon as the Torah passed from the care of the +priests into that of the whole nation, the people of the book +became the priest-nation, and set forth to conquer the world +by its religious truth. This aim was expressed by all the +prophets beginning with Moses, who said: <q>Would that all +the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put +His spirit upon them.</q><note place='foot'>Num. XI, +29.</note> The prophetic ideal was that <q>they +shall all know Me (God), from the least of them unto the +greatest of them,</q><note place='foot'>Jer. XXXI, +34.</note> and that <q>all thy (Zion's) children shall +be taught of the Lord.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LIV, +13.</note> After the people came to realize +that the Law was <q>their wisdom and understanding in the +sight of the peoples,</q><note place='foot'>Deut. IV, +6.</note> they soon felt the hope that one day +<q>the isles shall wait for His teaching,</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +XLII, 4.</note> and confidently +expected the time when <q>many peoples shall go and say, +Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to +the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His +ways, and we will walk in His paths, for out of Zion shall go +forth the law, and the word of the Lord from +Jerusalem.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. II, 3; Micah IV, 2.</note> +Once liberated from the dominance of the priesthood, religion +<pb n='355'/><anchor id='Pg355'/> +became the instrument of universal instruction, the +factor of general spiritual and moral advancement. In +addition it endowed humanity with an educational ideal, +destined to regenerate its moral life far more deeply than +Greek culture could ever do. The object was to elevate all +classes of the people by the living word of God, by the reading +and expounding of the Scripture for the dissemination of +its truth among the masses. +</p> + +<p> +2. Those who define Judaism as a religion of law completely +misunderstand its nature and its historic forces. +This is done by all those Christian theologians who endeavor +to prove the extraordinary assertion of the apostle Paul that +the Jewish people was providentially destined to produce +the Old Testament law and become enmeshed in it, like +the silkworm in its cocoon, finally to dry up and perish, +leaving its prophetic truth for the Church. This fateful +misconception of Judaism is based upon a false interpretation +of the word <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Torah</foreign>, +which denotes moral and spiritual instruction +as often as law, and thus includes all kinds of religious +teaching and knowledge together with its primary meaning, +the written and the oral codes.<note place='foot'>See Guedemann: +<hi rend='italic'>Das Judenthum</hi>, 67 f.; <hi rend='italic'>Jued. Apologetik</hi>, +12b; Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Studies</hi>, I, 233 f., and +<hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, I, 116 f.</note> In fact, in post-Biblical +times it comprised the entire religion, as subject of both +instruction and scientific investigation. True, law is fundamental +in Jewish history; Israel accepted the divine covenant +on the basis of the Sinaitic code; the reforms of King +Josiah were founded on the Deuteronomic +law;<note place='foot'>II Kings XXII, 8 f.</note> and the +restoration of the Judean commonwealth was based upon the +completed Mosaic code brought from Babylon by Ezra the +Scribe.<note place='foot'>Neh. VIII-X.</note> This +book of law, with its further development and +interpretation, remained the normative factor for Judaism +for all time. Still, from the very beginning the Law of the +<pb n='356'/><anchor id='Pg356'/> +covenant contained a certain element which distinguished +it from all the priestly and political codes of antiquity. Beside +the traditional juridical and ritualistic statutes, which +betray a Babylonian origin, it contains laws and doctrines of +kindness toward the poor and helpless, the enemy and the +slave, even toward the dumb beast, in striking contrast to +the spirit of cruelty and violence in the Babylonian +law.<note place='foot'>See Gunkel: <hi rend='italic'>Israel u. Babylonien</hi>; +Jeremias: <hi rend='italic'>Moses u. Hammurabi</hi>; +H. Grimme: <hi rend='italic'>D. Gesetz Chammurabi's u. Moses'</hi>; +George Cohen: <hi rend='italic'>D. Gesetze +Hammurabi's</hi>; D. M. Mueller: <hi rend='italic'>D. +Gesetz Hammurabi's u. d. mosaische Gesetzgebung</hi>.</note> +In the name of the all-seeing, all-ruling God it appeals to the +sympathy of man. These exhortations to tenderness increase +in later codes of law under the prophetic influence, until +finally the rabbis extended them as far as possible. They +held that every negligence which leads to the loss of life or +property by the neighbor, every neglect of a domestic animal, +even every act of deceit by which one attempts to +<q>steal</q> the good opinion of one's fellow-men, is a violation +of the law.<note place='foot'>See Chapter LIX.</note> +Hence Rabbi Simlai, the Haggadist, said that +from beginning to end the Law is but a system of teachings +of human love,<note place='foot'>Sota 14 a.</note> +while another sage tried to prove from the +books of Moses that God implanted mercy, modesty, and +benevolence in the souls of Israel as hereditary +virtues.<note place='foot'>Yer. Kid. IV, 1; 65 c.</note> +In the same spirit Rabbi Meir described the law of Israel as +the law of humanity, supporting his statement by a number +of biblical passages.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> +Ahare Moth 13.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. But, as light by its very nature illumines its surroundings, +so the Torah in the possession of the Jewish people +was certain to become the light of mankind. First of all, +the book of Law itself insists that the father shall teach the +word of God to his children, using many signs and ceremonies +that they may meditate on the works of God and walk in +<pb n='357'/><anchor id='Pg357'/> +the path of virtue, and that the divine commands should +be <q>in the mouth and in the heart of all to do +them.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. VI, 7; XI, 19; XXX, 14; Ex. XIII, 9.</note> It +was made incumbent upon the high priest or king to read the +Law at least once every seven years to the whole people assembled +in the holy city for the autumnal festival,—men, +women, children, and the sojourners in the gates,—so that +it should become their common property.<note place='foot'>Deut. +XXXI, 12.</note> This precept +probably gave rise to the triennial and later the annual +system of Torah reading on the Sabbath. But in addition +to the book of Law the prophetic words of consolation were +read to the people, a custom which originated in the Babylonian +exile, and was continued under the name of +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Haftarah</foreign> +(<q>dismissal</q> of the congregation).<note place='foot'>See Elbogen: +<hi rend='italic'>D. Jued. Gottesdienst</hi>, 174 f.</note> The seer of the exile +refers to these prophetic words of comfort which were offered +to the people on the Sabbath as well as other feasts and +fasts: <q>Attend unto Me, O My people, and give ear unto +Me, O My nation, for instruction (Torah) shall go forth from +Me, and My right on a sudden for a light of the people.... +Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people +in whose heart is My law; fear ye not the taunt of men, +neither be ye dismayed at their revilings. For the moth +shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat +them like wool; but My favor shall be forever, and My +salvation unto all generations.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +LI, 4, 7-8.</note> Moved by such stirring +ideals, Synagogues arose in Jewish settlements all over the +globe, and the book of the Law, in its vernacular versions, +Greek and Aramaic, together with the words of the prophets, +became the general source of instruction. In the words of +the Psalms, it became <q>the testimony of the Lord, making +wise the simple,</q> <q>rejoicing the heart,</q> <q>enlightening the +eyes,</q> <q>more to be desired than gold.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +XIX, 7-10.</note> Nay more, the +<pb n='358'/><anchor id='Pg358'/> +study of the Law became the duty of every man, and he who +failed to live up to the precepts of the devotees of the Law, +the Pharisean fellowships, was scorned as belonging to the +lower class, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>am haaretz</foreign>. +Every morning the pious Jew, first +thanking God for the light of day, followed this up by thanking +Him for the Torah, which illumines the path of life. <q>The +welfare of society rests upon the study of the Law, divine +service and organized charity,</q> was a saying of Simon the +Just, a high priest of the beginning of the third pre-Christian +century.<note place='foot'>Aboth I, 2.</note> +Thus learning and teaching became leading occupations +for the Jew, and the two main departments of Jewish +literature, correspondingly, are <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Torah</foreign> +and <foreign rend='italic'>Talmud</foreign>, that is, +the written Law and its exposition. Indeed, the highest +title which the rabbis could find for Moses was simply <q>Moses +our Teacher.</q> Nay, God Himself was frequently represented +as a venerable Master, teaching the Law in awful +majesty.<note place='foot'>Mek. Beshallah 45 b, note +by Friedman; Yalkut Yithro 286.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. Later under the successive influence of Babylonian and +Greek culture, the wisdom literature was added to the Prophets +and the Psalms, giving to the whole Torah a universal +scope, like that claimed for Greek philosophy. The Jewish +love of learning led to an ever greater longing for truth by +adding the wisdom of other cultured nations to its own store +of knowledge. This motive for universalism became all +the stronger, as the faith became more centered in the sublime +conception of God as Master of all the world. As the +God of Israel appeared the primal source of all truth, so the +revealed word of God was considered the very embodiment +of divine wisdom.<note place='foot'>B. Sira XXIV, 8-10; comp. +Bousset, l. c., 136 f.</note> In fact, the men of hoary antiquity described +in the opening chapters of Genesis were actually +credited with being the instructors of the Greeks and other +<pb n='359'/><anchor id='Pg359'/> +nations.<note place='foot'>See Josephus: <hi rend='italic'>Cont. Apion.</hi> +II, 36 f., 39; Aristobulus in Eusebius: Prep. +Ev. XIII, 121, 413; <hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, I, 63 f.; II, +66; comp. Cassel, l. c. ad loc.</note> We read a strange story by a pupil of Aristotle +that the great sage admired a Jew, whom he happened to +meet, as both wise and pious, so that the little Jewish nation +was often considered, like the wise men of India, to be a +sect of philosophers.<note place='foot'>Josephus, l. c., +I, 22; Gutschmidt: <hi rend='italic'>Kleine Schriften</hi>, IV, 578; Th. Reinach: +<hi rend='italic'>Textes Relatifs au Judaism</hi>, +11-13.</note> Indeed, Judaism became a matter of +curiosity to the pagan world on account of the Synagogue, +which attracted them as a unique center of religious devotion +and instruction, and especially because of the Bible, which +was read and expounded in its Greek garb from Sabbath to +Sabbath. The Jewish people raised themselves to be a nation +of thinkers, and largely through association with Greek +thought. For example, in the Greek translation of the +Scriptures all anthropomorphic expressions are avoided. +As the personal name of Israel's God of the covenant, +<foreign lang='he' rend='bold'>JHVH</foreign>, +was replaced by the name <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Adonai</foreign>, +<q>the Lord,</q><note place='foot'>J. E., art. Adonai.</note> the universality +of the Jewish God became still more evident. Thus +the pagan world could find God in the Scriptures to be the +living God who dwells in the heart and is sought by all mankind. +The Jew became the herald of the One God of the +universe, his Bible a book of universal instruction. Many +of the heathen, without merging themselves into the community +of the covenant people and without accepting all +its particularistic customs, rallied around its central standard +as simple theists, <q>worshipers of God,</q> or <q>they who +fear the Lord,</q> according to the terminology of the +Psalms.<note place='foot'>Ps. CXV, 11; CXVIII, 4; comp. Bernays: +<hi rend='italic'>Ges. Abh.</hi>, II, 71; Schuerer, +l. c., III, 124 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. An old rabbinical legend, which is reflected in the +New Testament miracle of Pentecost, relates that the Ten +Words of Sinai were uttered in seventy tongues of fire to reach +<pb n='360'/><anchor id='Pg360'/> +the known seventy nations of the earth.<note place='foot'>Shab. +88 b.; Ex. R. V, 9; Tanh. Shemoth, ed. Buber, 22; Midr. Teh. Ps. +LXVIII, 6; Acts II, 6; Spitta: <hi rend='italic'>Apostelgeschichte</hi>, +27, referring to Philo II, 295.</note> We are told that +when the people entered Canaan, the words of the Law were +engraved in seventy languages on the stones of the altar at +Mount Ebal.<note place='foot'>Sifre Deut. XXXIII, 2; XXVII, +8; Sota 35 b.</note> That is, the law of Sinai was intended to +provide the foundation for all human society. One Haggadist +even asserts that the heathen nations all refused to +accept the Law, and if Israel also had rejected it, the world +would have returned to chaos.<note place='foot'>Shab., +88 a, b.</note> Israel was, so to speak, +<emph>forced</emph> by divine Providence to accept the Law on behalf of +the entire race. Hillel, under the Romanized reign of Herod, +was fully conscious of this world-mission when he said: +<q>Love your fellow creatures and lead them to the study of +the Law.</q><note place='foot'>Aboth I, 12.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. The outlook for the Jewish people, however, became +darker and darker through its struggle with Rome. The +fanatical Zealots entirely opposed the spreading of the knowledge +of the Torah among those who did not belong to the +household of Israel.<note place='foot'>J. E., art. +Zealots.</note> Then the Church sent forth her missionaries +to convert the pagan world by constant concessions +to its polytheistic views and practices. The seed +sown by Hellenistic Judaism yielded a rich harvest for the +Church, even though it was won at the sacrifice of pure +Jewish monotheism. The Ten Words of Sinai, the Mosaic +laws of marriage, the poor laws, and other Biblical statutes +became the cornerstone of civilization, but in a different +guise; the heritage of Judaism was transplanted to the +Christian and Mohammedan world in a new garb and under +a new name. Henceforth the Jew, dispersed, isolated, and +afflicted, had to struggle to preserve his faith in its pristine +purity. The very danger besetting the study of the Law during +<pb n='361'/><anchor id='Pg361'/> +the Hadrianic persecutions, which followed the Bar Kochba +revolt, increased his zeal and courage. <q>Devoid of the +Torah, our vital element, we are surely threatened with +death,</q> said Rabbi Akiba, applying to himself the fable of +the fox and the fishes, as he defied the Roman +edict.<note place='foot'>Ber. 61 b.</note> The +fear lest the Torah should be forgotten, stimulated the teachers +and their disciples ever anew to its pursuit. The Torah was +regarded as the bond and pledge of God's nearness; hence +the many rabbinical sayings concerning its value in the eyes +of God, which are frequently couched in poetic and extravagant +language.<note place='foot'>Weber, l. c., 46-56; he +fails completely to grasp this spirit.</note> The underlying idea of them all is that +Israel could dispense with its State and its Temple, but not +with its storehouse of divine truth, from which it constantly +derives new life and new youth. +</p> + +<p> +7. One important question, however, remains, which +must be answered: Has the Jewish people, shut up for centuries +by the ramparts of Talmudic Judaism, actually renounced +its world mission? In transmitting part of its +inheritance to its two daughter-religions, has Judaism lost +its claim to be a world-religion? The Congregation of +Israel, according to the Midrash, answers this question in +the words of the Shulamite in the Song of Songs: <q>I sleep, +but my heart waketh.</q><note place='foot'>Song of Songs, +V, 2.</note> During the sad period of the Middle +Ages, Judaism in its relation to the outer world slept a long +winter-sleep, now in one land and now in another, but its +inner life always manifested a splendid activity of mind and +soul, exerting a mighty influence upon the history of the +world. It was declared dead by the ruling Church, and yet +it constantly filled her with alarm by the truths it uttered. +The Jewish people was given over to destruction and persecution +a thousand times, but all the floods of hatred and +<pb n='362'/><anchor id='Pg362'/> +violence could not quench its flame. Its marvelous endurance +constituted the strongest possible protest against the +creed of the Church, which claimed to possess an exclusive +truth and the only means of salvation. To suffer and die +as martyrs by thousands and tens of thousands, at the stake +and under the torture of bloodthirsty mobs, testifying to +the One Only God of Israel and humanity, was, to say the +least, as heroic a mission as to convert the heathen. Indeed, +the Jew, in reciting the Shema each morning in the house +of God, renewed daily his zeal and faith, by which he was +encouraged to sacrifice himself for his sacred heritage. +</p> + +<p> +8. But the cultivation of the Torah, obligatory upon +every Jew, effected more even than the preservation of +monotheism. Alongside of the Church, which did its best +to suppress free thought, Islam provided a culture which +encouraged study and investigation, and this brought the +leading spirits in Judaism to a profounder grasp of their +own literary treasures. Bold truth-seekers arose under the +Mohammedan sway who had the courage to break the chains +of belief in the letter of the Scripture, and to claim the right +of the human reason to give an opinion on the highest questions +of religion. The leading authorities of the Synagogue +followed a different course from that of the Church, which +had brought the Deity into the sphere of the senses, divided +the one God into three persons, and induced the people to +worship the image of Mary and her God-child rather than +God the Father. They insisted on the absolute unity and +spirituality of God, eliminated all the human attributes +ascribed to Him in Scripture, and strove to attain the loftiest +and purest possible conception of His being. It took a +mighty effort for the people of the Law to reëxamine the entire +mass of tradition in order to harmonize philosophy and religion, +and invest the divine revelation with the highest spiritual +character. This mental activity exerted a great influence +<pb n='363'/><anchor id='Pg363'/> +upon the whole course of thought of subsequent centuries +and even upon modern philosophy. Again Israel became +conscious of his mission of light. Jewish thinkers, often +combining rabbi, physician, and astronomer in one person, +carried the torch of science and free investigation, directly +or indirectly, into the cell of many a Christian monk, rousing +the dull spirit of the Middle Ages and bringing new intellectual +nurture to the Church, else she might have starved +in her mental poverty. +</p> + +<p> +The Jews of Spain became the teachers of Christian Europe. +The forerunners of the Protestant Reformation sat at the +feet of Jewish masters. Jewish students of the Hebrew +language, scientifically trained, opened up the simple meaning +of the Scriptural word, so long hidden by traditional +interpretation. The Lutheran and the English translations +of the Bible were due to their efforts, and thus also the rise +of Protestantism, which inaugurated the modern era. Yet +this intellectual revival, this wonderful activity of various +thinkers among medieval Jewry, required a soil susceptible +to such seeds, an atmosphere favorable to this intense search +for truth. This existed only in the Jewish people, since the +universal study of the Torah brought it about that <q>all the +children of Israel had light in their dwellings</q> even while +dense darkness covered the nations of the medieval world. +</p> + +<p> +9. We must not underrate the cultural mission of the +Jewish people, with its striking contrast to the New Testament +point of view, which created monasteries and the celibate +ideal, and thus discouraged industry, commerce, and +scientific inquiry. Dispersed as they were, the Jewish people +cultivated both commerce and science, and thus for centuries +were the real bearers of culture, the intermediaries between +East and West. While the Church divided mankind into +heirs of heaven and hell, thus sowing discord and hatred, the +little group of Jews maintained their ideal of an undivided +<pb n='364'/><anchor id='Pg364'/> +humanity. But even their industrial and commercial activity +had more than a mere economic significance. Forced +upon the Jew by external pressure, it was favored by Jewish +teaching as a means of promoting spiritual life. Not poverty +and beggary, but wealth begotten by honest toil has the +sanction of Judaism in accordance with the saying <q>Where +there is no flour for bread, there can be no support for the study +of the Torah.</q><note place='foot'>Aboth. III, 21.</note> +Moreover, the rabbis interpreted the verse, +<q>Rejoice, O Zebulun, in thy going out, and thou, Issachar, +in thy tents,</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXXIII, 18. +See Gen. R. XCIX, 11.</note> as meaning that Zebulun, the seafarer, shared +the profit of his commerce with Issachar, who taught the law +in the tents of the Torah, that he, in turn, might share his +brother's spiritual reward. Indeed, the Jew used his gains +won by trade in the service of the promotion of learning, +and thus his entire industry assumed a higher character. +Our modern civilization, with its higher values of life, owes +much to the cultural activity of the medieval Jew, which +many leaders of the ruling Church still ignore completely. It +is true that the hard struggle for their very existence kept the +people unconscious of their cultural mission, and only now +that they have attained the higher historical point of view +can they exclaim with Joseph their ancestor: <q>As for you, +ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to +bring it to pass, as it is this day, to save much people +alive.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. L, 20.</note> +The fact is that Jewish commerce has been an important +cosmopolitan factor in the past, and is still working, to a +certain extent, in the same direction.<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. <q>Commerce</q>; American Encyclopedia, art. Jewish Commerce; +Publ. Am. Hist. Soc. X, 47; Schulman in <hi rend='italic'>Judaean Addresses</hi>, +II, 77 ff., and Lecky: <hi rend='italic'>Rationalism in Europe</hi>, II, 272.</note> +</p> + +<p> +10. New and great tasks have been assigned by divine +Providence to the Jew of modern times, who is a full citizen +in the cultural, social, and political life of the various nations. +<pb n='365'/><anchor id='Pg365'/> +These tasks are most holy to him as Jew, the bearer of a +great mission to the world, which is embodied in his heritage, +the Torah. However splendid may have been his achievements +in the fields of industry and commerce, of literature +and art, his own peculiar possession is the Torah alone, the +religious truth for which he fought and suffered all these +centuries past; this must forever remain the central thought, +the aim of all his striving.<note place='foot'>See Saadia: +<hi rend='italic'>Emunoth</hi>, III, 17, quoted by Schechter: +<hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, 105.</note> Every achievement of the Jewish +people, every attainment in power, knowledge, or skill, +must lead toward the completion of the divine kingdom of +truth and justice; that for which the Jew laid the foundation +at the beginning of his history is still leading forward +the entire social life of man to render it a divine household of +love and peace. In order that it may carry out the world +mission mapped out by its great seers of yore, the Jewish +people must guard against absorption by the multitude of +nations as much as against isolation from them. It must +preserve its identity without going back into a separation +rooted in self-adulation and clannishness. Instead, the +great goal of Israel will be reached only by patient endurance +and perseverance, confidently awaiting the fulfillment in +God's own time of the glorious prophecy that all the nations +shall be led up to the mountain of the Lord by the priest-people, +there to worship God in truth and righteousness. +The Law is to go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord +from Jerusalem, as a spiritual, not a geographical center. This +vision forms the highest pinnacle of human aspiration, rising +higher and higher before the mind, as man ascends from one +stage of culture to another, striving ever for perfection, for +the sublimest ideal of life. This is characteristically expressed +by the Midrash, which refers to the Messianic vision: +<q>And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain +of the Lord's house shall be established as the top of the +<pb n='366'/><anchor id='Pg366'/> +mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +II, 2; Micah IV, 1; see Pesik 144 b; Midr. Teh. Ps. XXXVI, 6; +LXXXVII, 3.</note> <q>One +great mountain of the earth will be piled upon the other, and +Mount Zion will be placed upon the top as the culminating +point of all human ascents.</q> Taken in a figurative sense, +in which alone the saying is acceptable, this means that all +the heights of the various ideals will finally merge into the +loftiest of all ideals, when Israel's one holy God will be acknowledged +as the One for whom all hearts yearn, whom all +minds seek as the Ideal of all ideals. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='367'/><anchor id='Pg367'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_LII'/> +<head>Chapter LII. Israel, the Servant of the Lord, Martyr and Messiah +Of the Nations</head> + +<p> +1. <q>If there are ranks in suffering, Israel takes precedence. +If the duration of sorrows and the patience with which they +are borne, ennoble, the Jews are among the aristocracy of +every land. If a literature is called rich which contains a +few classic tragedies, what shall we say to a national +tragedy lasting for fifteen hundred years, in which the poets +and the actors are also the heroes?</q> With these classic +words Leopold Zunz introduces the history of sufferings +which have occasioned the hundreds of plaintive and penitential +songs of the Synagogue described in his book, <hi rend='italic'>Die +Synagogale Poesie des Mittelalters</hi>. They are the cries of a +nation of martyrs, resounding through the whole Jewish +liturgy, and appearing already in many of the Psalms: <q>Thou +hast given us like sheep to be eaten; and hast scattered us +among the nations. Thou makest us a taunt to our neighbors, +a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us. +All this is come upon us, yet have we not forgotten Thee, +neither have we been false to Thy covenant: Nay, for Thy +sake are we killed all the day; we are accounted as sheep +for the slaughter. Awake, why sleepest Thou, O Lord? +Arouse Thyself, cast not off forever. Wherefore hidest +Thou Thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our +oppression?</q><note place='foot'>Ps. XLIV, 12-25.</note> +Thus the congregation of Israel laments; and +what is the answer of Heaven? +</p> + +<pb n='368'/><anchor id='Pg368'/> + +<p> +2. The Bible contains two answers: the first by Ezekiel, +priest and prophet; the other by the great unknown seer +of the Exile whose words of comfort are given in the latter +part of Isaiah. Ezekiel gave a stern and direct answer: <q>The +nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity +because of their iniquity, because they broke faith +with Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into +the hand of their adversaries, and they fell all of them by the +sword. According to their uncleanness and according to +their transgressions did I unto them; and I hid My face +from them. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Now will +I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have compassion +upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My +holy name. And they shall bear their shame, and all their +breach of faith which they committed against +Me.</q><note place='foot'>Ezek. XXXIX, 23-26.</note> These +words are echoed in the harrowing admonitory chapter of +Leviticus, which, however, closes with words of comfort: +<q>And they shall confess their iniquity ... if then perchance +their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then be +paid the punishment of their iniquity; then will I remember +My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, +and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; +and I will remember the land.</q><note place='foot'>Lev. XXVI, +40-42.</note> This view of divine justice +as external and punitive was basic to the Synagogue liturgy +and the entire rabbinic system. The priestly idea of atonement, +that sin could be wiped out by sacrifice, made a profound +impression, not only upon individual sinners, but also +upon the nation. Hence it was applied especially to the +people in exile when they could not bring sacrifices to their +God. Still, one means of atonement remained, the exile +itself, which could lead the people to repentance and finally +to God's forgiveness.<note place='foot'>I Kings VIII, 47-50.</note> +Thus the people retained a hope of +return from their captivity. They were assured by their +<pb n='369'/><anchor id='Pg369'/> +prophetic monitors that the faithful community of the Lord +would again be received in favor by the God of faithfulness. +They even built their hope upon the portions of the Law, +which was read to assembled worshipers that they might +know and observe it on their return to the land of their +fathers. Israel could say with the Psalmist: <q>Unless Thy +law had been my delight, I should then have perished in +mine affliction.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. CXIX, 92.</note> +According to a Palestinian Haggadist, +<q>Israel would never have persevered so long, had not the +Torah, the marriage contract of Israel with its God, pledged +to it a glorious future on the holy soil.</q><note place='foot'>Pesik. +139 b.</note> Wait patiently for +God's mercy, which in His own time will rebuild Israel's +State and Temple!—this is the keynote of all the prayers +and songs of the Synagogue. +</p> + +<p> +3. But the great seer of the exile, whose anonymity lends +still greater impressiveness to his words of comfort, stood on +a higher historical plane than that of Ezekiel the priest. He +witnessed the transformation of the entire political world +of his time through the victory of Cyrus the Mede over the +Babylonian empire, and thus was able to attain a profounder +grasp of the destiny of his own nation. Hence he was not +satisfied with the view of Ezekiel. The latter had applied +the popular saying, <q>The fathers have eaten sour grapes, +and the children's teeth are set on edge,</q><note place='foot'>Ezek. +XVIII, 2.</note> to refute the +belief that an individual was punished for the sins of his +fathers; but he failed to extend this doctrine to the whole +nation. Whatever sins were committed by the generation +who were exiled, their children ought not to suffer for them +<q>in double measure.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XL, +2.</note> Moreover, the realm of love has a +higher law than atonement through retribution. Love brings +its sacrifice without asking why. By willing sacrifice of self +it serves its higher purpose. He who struggles and suffers +silently for the good and true is <emph>God's servant</emph>, who cannot +<pb n='370'/><anchor id='Pg370'/> +perish. He attains a higher glory, transcending the fate +of mortality. This is the new revelation that came to the +seer, as he pondered on the destiny of Israel in exile, +illumining for him that dark enigma of his people's tragic +history. +</p> + +<p> +The problem of suffering, especially that of the servant +of God, or the pious, occupied the Jewish mind ever since +the days of Jeremiah and especially during the exile. The +author of the book of Job elaborated this into a great theodicy, +speaking of Job also as the <q>servant of the Lord.</q><note place='foot'>Job +I, 8; II, 3; XLII, 7, 8.</note> Whatever +pattern our exilic seer employed, beside the chapters +about the Servant of the Lord,<note place='foot'>Isa. XLII, +1 f.; XLIX, 1; L, 4; LII, 13-LIII, 12.</note> whatever tragic fate of some +great contemporary the plaintive song in the fifty-second +and fifty-third chapters referred to (some point to Jeremiah, +others to Zerubabel),<note place='foot'>See Ibn Ezra, quoting +Saadia; Ewald and Giesebrecht, commentaries; +Sellin: <hi rend='italic'>Serubabel</hi>, 96 f., 144 f.; also +Davidson, l. c., p. 356-398.</note> or whether the poet had in mind only +the tragic fate of Israel, as many modern exegetes think; +in any case he conceived the unique and pathetic picture of +Israel as the suffering Servant of the Lord, who is at last to +be exalted:<note place='foot'>Isa. LII, 13-LIII, 12. In +LIII, 9, we should read <q>the evil-doers</q> instead +of <q>the rich</q> by a slight amendment of the text.</note> +</p> + +<p> +<q>Behold, My servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted +and lifted up, and shall be very high. According as many +were appalled at thee—so marred was his visage unlike that +of a man, and his form unlike that of the sons of men—so +shall he startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths +because of him; for that which had not been told them they +shall see, and that which they had not heard shall they perceive. +Who would have believed our report? And to whom +hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he shot up +right forth as a sapling, and as a root out of a dry ground; +<pb n='371'/><anchor id='Pg371'/> +he had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon +him, nor beauty that we should delight in him. He was +despised and forsaken of men, a man of pains, and acquainted +with disease, and as one from whom men hide their face; +he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely our diseases +he did bear, and our pains he carried; whereas we +did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But +he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed +because of our iniquities; the chastisement of our welfare +was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed. All we, +like sheep, did go astray, we turned every one to his own way; +and the Lord hath made to light on him the iniquity of us +all. He was oppressed, though he humbled himself, and +opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, +and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he +opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he +was taken away, and with his generation who did reason? +For he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression +of my people to whom the stroke was due. And +they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich his +tomb; although he had done no violence, neither was any +deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to crush him +by disease; to see if his soul would offer itself in restitution, +that he might see his seed, prolong his days, and that the +purpose of the Lord might prosper by his hand. Of the travail +of his soul he shall see to the full, even My servant, who +by his knowledge did justify the Righteous One to the many, +and their iniquities he did bear. Therefore will I divide +him a portion among the great, and he shall divide his soul +with the mighty; because he bared his soul unto death, and +was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin +of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.</q> +</p> + +<p> +4. Whatever be the historical background of this great +elegy, our seer uses it to portray Israel as the tragic hero +<pb n='372'/><anchor id='Pg372'/> +of the world's history. His prophetic genius possessed a +unique insight into the character and destiny of his people, +seeing Israel as a man of woe and grief, chosen by Providence +to undergo unheard-of trials for a great cause, by which, at +the last, he is to be exalted. Bent and disfigured by his +burden of misery and shame, shunned and abhorred as one +laden with sin, he suffers for no guilt of his own. He is called +to testify to his God among all the peoples, and is thus the +<emph>Servant of the Lord</emph>, the atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind, +from whose bruises healing is to come to all the nations,—an +inimitable picture of a self-sacrificing hero, whose death +means life to the world and glory to God, and who will at last +live forever with the Lord whom he has served so steadfastly. +Our seer mentions in earlier passages the Servant of the +Lord who <q>gave his back to the smiters, and his cheeks to +them that plucked off the hair; and hid not his face from +shame and spitting.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. L, 6.</note> +Yet <q>he shall set his face like a flint,</q> +so that <q>he shall not fail nor be crushed, till he have set the +right in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his +teaching.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XLII, 4.</note> +Still more directly, he says: <q>And He said unto Me, <q>Thou +art My servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.</q> ... It +is too light a thing that thou shouldest be My servant to raise +up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the offspring of Israel; +I will also give thee for a light of the nations, that My salvation +may be unto the end of the earth. Thus saith the Lord, +the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him who is despised +of men, to him who is abhorred of nations, to a servant of +rulers: kings shall see and arise, princes, and they shall +prostrate themselves; because of the Lord that is faithful, +even the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +XLIX, 1-6.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. It was, however, no easy matter for men reared in the +old view to reach the lofty conception of a suffering hero. +Even the dramatic figure of Job seemed to lack the right +<pb n='373'/><anchor id='Pg373'/> +solution. Job protests his guiltlessness, defies the dark power +of fate, and even challenges divine justice, but God himself +announces at the end that no man can grasp the essence of +His plan for the world. A later and more naïve writer, +who added the conclusion of the book, reversed Job's destiny +and compensated him by a double share of what he had lost +in both wealth and family.<note place='foot'>Job XLII, 10-17.</note> As if the great +problem of suffering could be solved by such external means! Neither +would the problem of the great tragedy of Israel, the martyr-priest +of the centuries, the Job of the nations, ever find its +solution in a national restoration. A mere political rebirth +could never compensate for the thousandfold death and +untold woe of the Jew for his God and his faith! But the +people at large could not grasp such a conception as is that +of Deutero-Isaiah's of the mission of Israel to be the suffering +servant of the Lord, the witness of God—which is <q>martyr</q> +in the Greek version,—the redeemer of the nations. +They were eager to return to Palestine, to rebuild State and +Temple under the leadership of the heir to the throne of +David. But when their hope had failed that Zerubbabel +would prove to be the <q>shoot of Jesse,</q><note place='foot'>The +disappointment is especially voiced in Ps. LXXX, 16 f.; LXXIX, +40-46.</note> the prophetic elegy +was referred to the Messiah, and the belief gained ground +that he would have to suffer before he would triumph.<note place='foot'>See +Targum and Abravanel to Isa. LII, 13; comp. Pes. R. XXXVI-XXXVII; +Sanh. 98 b.</note> +Thus many a pseudo-Messiah fell a victim to the tyranny +of Rome in both Judæa and Samaria,—for the Samaritans +also hoped for a Messiah, a redeemer of the type of Moses.<note place='foot'>He +is called Taeb <q>Moses redivivus,</q> after Deut. XVIII, 18. Merk, E. +<hi rend='italic'>Samarit. Fragment ueb. d. Taeb</hi>. See Bousset, l. c., +258; J. E., art. Samaritans.</note> +Finally a belief arose that there would be two Messiahs, +one of the house of Joseph, that is, the tribe of Ephraim, +<pb n='374'/><anchor id='Pg374'/> +who would fall before the sword of the enemy,<note place='foot'>Suk. +52 a; Jellinek: B. H. III, 141 f; Schuerer, l. c., II, 535.</note> and the other +of the house of David, who was to conquer the heathen +nations and establish his throne forever.<note place='foot'>J. E., art. Messiah.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The Church referred the pathetic figure of the man of sorrow +to her crucified Messiah or Christ. Yet he who was +to be a world-savior bore through his followers damnation to +his own kinsmen, and thus was rendered the chief cause of +the persecution of the martyr-race of Israel. +</p> + +<p> +6. We learn, however, from Origen, a Church father of +the third century, that Jewish scholars, in a controversy with +him, expressed the view that the Servant of the Lord refers +to the Jewish people, which, dispersed among the nations and +universally despised, would finally obtain the ascendancy +over them, so that many of the heathen would espouse +the Jewish faith.<note place='foot'>Contra Celsum +I, 155.</note> Most of the medieval Jewish exegetes, +including Rashi, who usually follows the traditional view, +refer the chapter likewise to the Jewish people. As a matter +of fact, the earlier chapters which speak of the Servant of +the Lord can have no other meaning, while many points in +the description of the suffering hero, especially the reference +to his seed after his death, do not fit the Nazarene at all. +Hence all independent Christian scholars to-day have abandoned +the tradition of the Church, and admit that Israel +alone is declared by the prophet to be the one singled out by +God to atone for the sins of the nations, to arouse all humanity +to a deeper spiritual vision, and finally to triumph +over all the heathen world.<note place='foot'>See commentaries +of Cheyne, Duhm, Giesebrecht, and others.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. Thus the strange history of the martyr people is put +in the right light and the great tragedy of Israel explained. +Israel is the champion of the Lord, chosen to battle and suffer +for the supreme values of mankind, for freedom and justice, +<pb n='375'/><anchor id='Pg375'/> +truth and humanity; the man of woe and grief, whose blood +is to fertilize the soil with the seeds of righteousness and love +for mankind. From the days of Pharaoh to the present +day, every oppressor of the Jews has become the means of +bringing greater liberty to a wider circle; for the God of +Israel, the Hater of bondage, has been appealed to in behalf +of freedom in the old world and the new. Every hardship +that made life unbearable to the Jew became a road to humanity's +triumph over barbarism. All the injustice and malice +which hurled their bitter shafts against Israel, the Pariah of +the nations, led ultimately to the greater victory of right +and love. So all the dark waves of hatred and fanaticism +that beat against the Jewish people served only to impress +the truth of monotheism, coupled with sincere love of God and +man, more deeply upon all hearts and to consign hypocrisy +and falsehood to eternal contempt. Such is the belief confidently +held by the people of God, and ever confirmed anew +by the history of the ages. <q>He is near that justifieth me; +who will contend with me? let us stand up together; who is +mine adversary? let him come near to me. Behold, the +Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me?</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +L, 8-9.</note> +Thus speaks the Servant of the Lord, certain that he will +finally triumph, because he defends God's cause, and is bound +indissolubly to Him.<note place='foot'>Comp. Pesik. 131 b; +Ex. R. II, 7.</note> Indeed, God says of him: <q>Surely, +he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of Mine (his) eye.</q><note place='foot'>Zech. +II, 12. See Geiger: <hi rend='italic'>Urschrift</hi>, 324, as +to the Soferic Emendation.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. The great importance which the rabbis attached to +Israel's martyrdom is shown by the following remarks in +connection with the laws of sacrifice: <q>Behold, how the +Torah selects for the sacrificial altar only such animals as +belong to the pursued, not the pursuers: the ox which is +pursued by the lion; the lamb which is pursued by the wolf; +the goat which is pursued by the panther, but none of those +<pb n='376'/><anchor id='Pg376'/> +which feed on prey. In like manner God chose for His own +the persecuted ones: Abel, who was persecuted by his brother +Cain; Noah, who was derided by the generation of the flood; +Abraham, who had to flee before the tyrant Nimrod; and +Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, who met with unkindness from +their own brothers. In the same way God has chosen Israel +from among the seventy nations, as the lamb hunted, as +it were, by seventy wolves, that it should bear His law to +mankind.</q><note place='foot'>Pesik. 76 a; Eccl. R. +III, 19; Lev. R. XXVII, 5.</note> This idea is expressed also in the Haggadic +saying: <q>Those shall be privileged to see the majesty of +God in full splendor who meet humiliation, but do not humiliate +others; who bear insult, but do not inflict it on others; +and who endure a life of martyrdom in pure love of +God.</q><note place='foot'>Yoma 23 a, referring to Jud. V, 31.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, the medieval Jew accepted his sad lot in this +spirit of resignation. But the modern Jew is in a different +situation. In the mighty effort of our age for higher truth, +broader love and larger justice, he beholds the nearing of the +prophetic goal of a united humanity, based on the belief +in God, the King and Father of all. Accordingly, modern +Judaism proclaims more insistently than ever that the Jewish +people is the Servant of the Lord, the suffering Messiah of +the nations, who offered his life as an atoning sacrifice for +humanity and furnished his blood as the cement with which +to build the divine kingdom of truth and justice. Indeed, +the cosmopolitan spirit of the Jew is the one element needed +for the universality of culture. On the other hand, the world +at large is to-day learning more and more to regard the superb +loyalty of the Jew to his ancestral faith with greater fairness +and admiration and to accord larger appreciation to him and +his religion. Once the flood of hatred, dissension, and prejudice +that brought such untold havoc shall have disappeared +from the earth; once religion emerges from the nebulous +<pb n='377'/><anchor id='Pg377'/> +atmosphere of other-worldliness, and directs its longing for +God toward a life of godliness on earth in the spirit of the +ancient prophets, then the historic mission of the Jew will +also be better understood. Israel, the hunted dove, which +found no resting-place for the sole of its foot during the flood +of sin and persecution, will then appear with the olive-branch +of peace for all humanity, to open the hearts of men that all +may enter the covenant with the universal Father. Then, +and not till then, will the shame of those thousands of years +be rolled away, when the world will recognize that not <emph>a</emph> +Jew, but <emph>the</emph> Jew has been the suffering Messiah, and that he +was sent forth to be the savior of the nations. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='378'/><anchor id='Pg378'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_LIII'/> +<head>Chapter LIII. The Messianic Hope</head> + +<p> +1. Recent investigators have brought to light many a +vision of an era of heavenly bliss brought about by some +powerful ruler, voiced in hoary antiquity by seer or singer in +addressing the royal masters of Babylon or +Egypt.<note place='foot'>See Gressmann: <hi rend='italic'>Urspr. d. israel. u. +jued. Eschatologie</hi>,—an instructive work, +but full of unsubstantiated assertions, thus failing to do justice to the creative +genius of the Jewish prophets.</note> But no +word in the entire vocabulary of ancient poetry or prose can +so touch the deeper chords of the heart, and so voice the +highest hopes of mankind, as does the name +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Messiah</foreign> (<q>God's +anointed</q>). From a simple title for any of the kings of +Israel, it grew in meaning until it comprised the highest +hopes of the nation. The Jewish vision of the future was +not the twilight of the gods, which meant the end of the +world with its deities, but the dawn of a new world, bright +with the knowledge of God and blessed by the brotherhood +of man. This, the Messianic ideal, is the creation of the +prophetic genius of Israel, and in turn it influenced man's +conception of God, lifting Him out of the national bounds, +and making Him the God of humanity, Ruler of history. +Israel's Messianic hope has become the motive power of +civilization. In the time of deepest national humiliation +it gave the prophets their power to surmount the present +and soar to heights of vision; through it the Jewish people +attained their strength to resist oppression, buoyed up by +perfect confidence and sublime hope. At the same time +its magic luster captivated the non-Jewish nations, spurring +them on to mighty deeds. Thus it has actually conquered +<pb n='379'/><anchor id='Pg379'/> +the whole world of man. With every step in culture it +points forward to higher aims, still unattained; it promises +to lead mankind, united in God, the Only One, to truth and +justice, righteousness and love. As the banner of Israel, the +Messiah of the nations, it is destined to become the lode-star +of all nations and all religions. This is the kernel of +the Jewish doctrine concerning the Messiah. +</p> + +<p> +2. This Messianic hope, on closer analysis, reveals two +elements, both of prophetic origin: one national, the other +religious and universal. The latter is the logical outcome +of the monotheism of the great exilic seer, who based his +stirring pictures of the glorious future of Israel upon the all-encompassing +knowledge of God possessed by the Chosen +People. The classic expression of this hope appears in +Isaiah II, 1-4, and Micah IV, 1-14: <q>And it shall come to +pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the Lord's +house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and +shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow +unto it. And many peoples shall go and say: <q>Come ye +and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house +of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and +we will walk in His paths,</q> for out of Zion shall go forth the +law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall +judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; +and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and +their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up +sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.</q> +We note, indeed, that no reference to the Messiah or a king +of the house of David appears either in this passage or any +of the prophecies of Deutero-Isaiah. Justice and peace for +all humanity are expected through the reign of God alone. +The specific Messianic character of this prophecy took shape +only in its association with the older national hope, voiced +by the prophet Isaiah. +</p> + +<pb n='380'/><anchor id='Pg380'/> + +<p> +3. The real Messianic hope involved the reëstablishment +of the throne of David, and was expressed most perfectly +in the words of Isaiah: <q>And there shall come forth a shoot +out of the stock of Jesse, and a twig shall grow forth out of +his roots. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, +the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel +and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the +Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord; and +he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide +after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall +he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of +the land; and he shall smite the land with the rod of his +mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. +And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness +the girdle of his reins. And the wolf shall dwell with +the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and +the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a +little child shall lead them.... They shall not hurt nor +destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be +full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the +sea.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XI, 1-8.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This pattern of the ideal ruler may have been modeled +after some ancient Babylonian formula for the adoration of +kings, as has been asserted of late; and the same may be +true of the mystic titles given by Isaiah to the royal heir: +<q>Wonderful counselor, divine hero, father of spoil, prince +of peace.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. IX, 5; the note in the +new Jewish translation takes the words in a +different sense.</note> When the little kingdom of Judæa fell, the +prospect of a realization of the great prophetic vision seemed +gone forever. Therefore the exiles in Babylon fastened their +hopes so much more firmly on the <q>Shoot,</q> particularly on +Zerubabel (<q>the seed born in Babylon</q>), the object of the +<pb n='381'/><anchor id='Pg381'/> +fondest hopes of the later prophets.<note place='foot'>Jer. +XXIII, 5; XXXIII, 15; Zech. III, 8; VI, 12; see Sellin. l. c. +Compare Ps. LXXX, 16 f.; LXXXIV, 10; LXXXIX, 39, 52; CXXX, 10; +see Ewald's commentary.</note> When he, too, disappointed +their expectations, probably due to Persian interference, +they transferred the advent of the Messiah more +and more into the realm of miracle, and popular fancy dwelt +fondly on his appearance as God's champion against the +hosts of heathendom (Gog and Magog).<note place='foot'>Ezek. +XXXVIII-XXXIX; Sibyll. III, 663; J. E., art. Gog u. Magog; +Bousset, l. c., 231 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. The conception of the priest-prophet Ezekiel is very +significant in this connection; for him the kingdom of Israel's +God could only be established by the restoration of the +throne of David, the servant of the Lord, and by the utter +destruction of the hosts of heathendom, who were hostile to +both God and Israel. In accordance with this hope the +author of the second Psalm presents a dramatic picture of +the Messiah triumphing over the heathen nations, a picture +which became typical for all the future. <q>Why are the +nations in an uproar? And why do the peoples mutter in +vain? The kings of the earth stand up, and the rulers take +counsel together against the Lord, and against His anointed: +<q>Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords +from us.</q> He that sitteth in heaven laugheth, the Lord hath +them in derision. Then will He speak unto them in His +wrath, and affright them in His sore displeasure: <q>Truly +it is I that have established My king upon Zion, My holy +mountain.</q> I will tell of the decree: The Lord said unto me: +<q>Thou art My son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of +Me, and I will give the nations for thine inheritance, and +the ends of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break +them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces +like a potter's vessel.</q></q> Henceforth the conception of +the Messiah alternated between Isaiah's prince of peace +<pb n='382'/><anchor id='Pg382'/> +and the world-conqueror of the Psalmist.<note place='foot'>For +the prince of peace, see, for example, Zech. IX, 9.</note> The name Messiah +does not occur in Scripture in the absolute form, but always +occurs in the construct with JHVH or a pronoun, signifying +<q>the Anointed of the Lord.</q> Accordingly, it expresses the +relation of the Anointed to God, his sovereign, in striking +contrast to the heathen kings who themselves claimed adoration +as gods. The very name Messiah excludes the possibility +of deification. The term Messiah was used with the +article only in much later times, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>ha Meshiah</foreign>, +or in the Aramaic, +<foreign rend='italic'>Meshiha</foreign>, from which we derive the name, Messiah. +</p> + +<p> +5. In the course of time, however, as the people waited in +vain for a redeemer, the expected Messiah was lifted more +and more into the realm of the ideal. The belief took hold +especially in the inner circle of the pious (Hasidim) that the +Messiah was hidden somewhere, protected by God, to appear +miraculously after having vanquished the hostile powers. +The Essenes, the representatives of the secret lore, developed +this conception in the Apocalyptic writings, thus giving the +Messiah a certain cosmic or supernatural character. They +probably modeled their thoughts upon the Zoroastrian +system, where <foreign rend='italic'>Soshiosh</foreign>, the world savior, would appear in +the last millennium as the messenger of Ormuzd to destroy +forever the kingdom of evil and establish the dominion of +the good.<note place='foot'>See Bousset, l. c., 255-261.</note> +Thus, when Isaiah says of the Messiah that +<q>by the breath of his mouth he shall slay the wicked,</q> this +is referred to the principle of evil, Satan or Belial, who was +sometimes actually identified with the Persian Ahriman.<note place='foot'>See +Targum to Isa. XI, 4, where the older Mss. read Arimalyus, later on +corrupted into Armillus. See Bousset, l. c., 589.</note> +Moreover, after the Persian system, the whole process of +history was divided into six millenniums of strife between +the principle of good and evil, represented by the Torah +<pb n='383'/><anchor id='Pg383'/> +and the ungodliness of the world, and a seventh millennium, +the kingdom of God or the Messianic age. The dates of +these were calculated upon the basis of the book of Daniel, +with its four world-kingdoms and mysterious +numbers.<note place='foot'>Dan. II; VII; IX; see J. E., art. Eschatology.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. The Biblical passages which refer to <q>the end of days</q> +were also connected with the advent of the Messianic age, +and the so-called eschatological writings speak of fixed periods +following one another. In accordance with certain prophetic +hints, they expected first the <q>birth-throes</q><note place='foot'>Sota +IX, 15; Enoch XCIX, 4; C, 1; Matt. XXIV, 8; Bousset, +l. c., 286.</note> or <q>vestiges</q> +of the Messianic age, a great physical and moral crisis with +the turmoil of nature, plagues, and moral degeneracy. Before +the Messiah would suddenly appear from his hiding place, +the prophet Elijah was to return from heaven, whither he +had ascended in a fiery chariot. But, while he had lived +in implacable wrath against idolaters, he was now to come +as a messenger of peace, reconciling the hearts of Israel with +God and with one another, preparing the way to repentance, +and thus to the redemption and reunion of Israel.<note place='foot'>Mal. +III, 23; B. Sira XLVIII, 10 f.; Sibyll. II, 187.</note> The +next stage is the gathering together of Israel from all corners +of the earth to the holy land under the leadership of the +Messiah, summoned by the blast of the heavenly trumpet.<note place='foot'>Isa. +XXVII, 13; B. Sira XXXVI, 13; Tobit XIII, 13; Enoch XC, 32; +II Macc. II, 18; Bousset, l. c., 271.</note> +Then begins that gigantic warfare on the holy soil between +the hosts of Israel and the vast forces of heathendom led +by the half-mystic powers of Gog and Magog, a conflict +which, according to Ezekiel, is to last for seven years and +to end with the annihilation of the powers of evil. Before +the real Messiah, the son of David, appears in victory, another +Messiah of the tribe of Ephraim is to fall in battle, according +to a belief dating from the second century and possibly connected +<pb n='384'/><anchor id='Pg384'/> +with the Bar Kochba war.<note place='foot'>See Chap. +<ref target='Chapter_LII'>LII</ref>.</note> In another tradition, +probably older, the true Messiah himself is to suffer and +die.<note place='foot'>IV Ezra VIII, 28.</note> +At all events, he must destroy Rome, the fourth world-kingdom. +But he is also to slay the arch-fiend Ahriman, +afterwards known as Armillus. Moreover, he will redeem +the dead from Sheol, as he possesses the key to open all the +graves of the holy land, and thus all the sons of Israel will +partake in the glory of his kingdom. Then at last the city +of Jerusalem will arise in splendor, built of gold and precious +stones, the marvel of the world, and in its midst the Temple, +a structure of surpassing magnificence. The holy vessels +of the tabernacle, hidden for ages in the wilderness, will +appear, and the nations will offer the wealth of the whole +earth as their tribute to the Messiah. All will practice +righteousness and piety, and will be rewarded by bliss and +numerous posterity.<note place='foot'>Sanh. 96 f.; J. E., +art. Eschatology; Bousset, l. c.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Opinions differ widely as to the duration of the Messianic +age. They range from forty to four hundred years, and +again from three generations to a full millennium.<note place='foot'>Sanh. +97 a, b, 99.</note> This +difference is partly caused by the distinction between the +national hope, with the temporary welfare of the people of +Israel, and the religious hope concerning the divine kingdom, +which is to last forever. A very late rabbinic belief holds +that the Messiah will be able to give a new law and even to +abrogate Mosaic prohibitions.<note place='foot'>Midr. +Teh. Ps. CXLVI, 4; see Buber's note.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. At any rate, no complete system of eschatology existed +during the Talmudic age, as the views of the various apocalyptic +writers were influenced by the changing events of +the time and the new environments, with their constant +influence upon popular belief. A certain uniformity, indeed, +existed in the fundamental ideas. The Messianic hope in +<pb n='385'/><anchor id='Pg385'/> +its national character includes always the reunion of all +Israel under a victorious ruler of the house of David, who +shall destroy all hostile powers and bring an era of supreme +prosperity and happiness as well as of peace and good-will +among men. The Haggadists indulged also in dreams of +the marvelous fertility of the soil of Palestine in the Messianic +time,<note place='foot'>Ket. 111-112; comp. Irenæus: Adver. +Haeres. V, 32.</note> and of the resurrection of the dead in the holy land. +But in Judaism such views could never become dogmas, as +they did in the Church, even though they were common in +both the older and younger Haggadah. These national +expectations were expressed in the liturgy by the Eighteen +Benedictions, composed by the founders of the Synagogue, +the so-called Men of the Great Synagogue; here the prayers +for <q>the gathering of the dispersed</q> and the <q>destruction +of the kingdom of Insolence</q> precede those for the <q>rebuilding +of Jerusalem and the restoration of the throne of +David.</q> But the mystic speculations on the origin, activity, +and sojourn of the Messiah, which were a favorite theme of +the apocalyptic writers and the Haggadists during the pre-Christian +and the first Christian centuries, gave way to a +more sober mode of thought, in the disappointment that +followed the collapse of the great Messianic movements. +On the one hand, the Church deified its Messiah and thus +relapsed into paganism; on the other, Bar Kochba, <q>the +son of the star,</q> whom the leading Jewish masters of the +law actually considered the Messiah who would free them +from Rome, proved to be a <q>star of ill-luck</q> to the Jewish +people.<note place='foot'>See Ekah. R. II, 2; J. E., art. +Bar Kokba.</note> <q>Like one who wanders in the dark night, now +and then kindling a light to brighten up his path, only to +have it again and again extinguished by the wind, until at +last he resolves to wait patiently for the break of day when +he will no longer require a light,</q> so were the people of Israel +<pb n='386'/><anchor id='Pg386'/> +with their would-be deliverers, who appeared from time to +time to delude their hopes, until they exclaimed at last: +<q>In Thy light alone, O Lord, we behold light.</q><note place='foot'>Pesik. +144 a, b.</note> Samuel +the Babylonian, of the third century, in opposition to the +Messianic visionaries of his time, declared: <q>The Messianic +age differs from the present in nothing except that Israel +will throw off the yoke of the nations and regain its political +independence.</q><note place='foot'>Ber. 34 b.</note> Another sage said: <q>May the curse +of heaven fall upon those who calculate the date of the advent +of the Messiah and thus create political and social unrest +among the people!</q><note place='foot'>Sanh. 97 b.</note> A third declared: <q>The +Messiah will appear when nobody expects him.</q><note place='foot'>Sanh. 97 a.</note> +Most remarkable of all is the bold utterance of Rabbi Hillel of the fourth +century, a lineal descendant of the great master Hillel and +the originator of the present Jewish calendar system. In all +likelihood many of his contemporaries were busy calculating +the advent of the Messianic time according to the number +of Jubilees in the world-eras, whereupon he said: <q>Israel +need not await the advent of the Messiah, as Isaiah's prophecy +was fulfilled by the appearance of King Hezekiah.</q><note place='foot'>Sanh. 98 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. Throughout the Middle Ages, when the political or +national hopes rose high, we find various Messianic movements +in both East and West revived by religious aspirations. +But Maimonides, the great rationalist, in his commentary +on the Mishnah and in his Code, formulated a Messianic +belief which was quite free from mystical and supernatural +elements. His twelfth article of faith declares that <q>the +Jew, unless he wishes to forfeit his claim to eternal life by +denial of his faith, must, in acceptance of the teachings of +Moses and the prophets down to Malachi, believe that the +Messiah will issue forth from the house of David in the +person of a descendant of Solomon, the only legitimate king; +<pb n='387'/><anchor id='Pg387'/> +and he shall far excel all rulers in history by his reign, glorious +in justice and peace. Neither impatience nor deceptive +calculation of the time of the advent of the Messiah should +shatter this belief. Still, notwithstanding the majesty and +wisdom of the Messiah, he must be regarded as a mortal +being like any other and only as the restorer of the Davidic +dynasty. He will die and leave a son as his successor, who +will in his turn die and leave the throne to his heir. Nor will +there be any material change in the order of things in the +whole system of nature and human life; accordingly Isaiah's +picture of the living together of lamb and wolf cannot be +taken literally, nor any of the Haggadic sayings with reference +to the Messianic time. We are only to believe in the +coming of Elijah as a messenger of peace and the forerunner +of the Messiah, and also in the great decisive battle with +the hosts of heathendom embodied in Gog and Magog, +through whose defeat the dominion of the Messiah will be +permanently established.</q> <q>The Messianic kingdom itself,</q> +continues Maimonides with reference to the utterance of +Samuel quoted above, <q>is to bring the Jewish nation its +political independence, but not the subjection of all the heathen +nations, nor merely material prosperity and sensual pleasure, +but an era of general affluence and peace, enabling the Jewish +people to devote their lives without care or anxiety to the +study of the Torah and universal wisdom, so that by their +teachings they may lead all mankind to the knowledge of +God and make them also share in the eternal bliss of the +world to come.</q><note place='foot'>Commentary to San. X; Yad, +H. <hi rend='italic'>Melakim</hi>, XI-XII; <hi rend='italic'>H. Teshubah</hi> +VIII-IX.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. Against this rationalized hope for the Messiah, which +merges the national expectation into the universal hope for +the kingdom of God, strong objections were raised by Abraham +ben David of Posquieres, the mystic, a fierce opponent +<pb n='388'/><anchor id='Pg388'/> +of Maimonides, who referred to various Biblical and Talmudical +passages in contradiction to this view.<note place='foot'>Notes +of R. A. B. D. to Maimuni.</note> On the +other hand, Joseph Albo, the popular philosopher, who was +trained by his public debates against the representatives of +the Church, emphasized especially the rational character +of the Jewish theology, and declared that the Messianic hope +cannot be counted among the fundamental doctrines of +Judaism, or else Rabbi Hillel could never have rejected +it so boldly.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, IV, 42.</note> +</p> + +<p> +On this point we must consider the fine observation of +Rashi that Hillel denied only a personal Messiah, but not +the coming of a Messianic age, assuming that God himself +will redeem Israel and be acknowledged everywhere as Ruler +of the world. As a matter of fact, too much difference of +opinion existed among the Tanaim and Amoraim on the +personality of the Messiah and the duration of his reign to +admit of a definite article of faith on the question. The +expected Messiah, the heir of the Davidic throne, naturally +embodied the national hope of the Jewish people in their +dispersion, when all looked to Palestine as their land and +to Jerusalem as their political center and rallying point in +days to come. Traditional Judaism, awaiting the restoration +of the Mosaic sacrificial cult as the condition for the return +of the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shekinah</foreign> +to Zion, was bound to persist in its belief +in a personal Messiah who would restore the Temple and +its service. +</p> + +<p> +10. A complete change in the religious aspiration of the +Jew was brought about by the transformation of his political +status and hopes in the nineteenth century. The new era +witnessed his admission in many lands to full citizenship on an +equality with his fellow-citizens of other faiths. He was no +longer distinguished from them in his manner of speech and +dress, nor in his mode of education and thought; he therefore +<pb n='389'/><anchor id='Pg389'/> +necessarily identified himself completely with the nation +whose language and literature had nurtured his mind, and +whose political and social destinies he shared with true patriotic +fervor. He stood apart from the rest only by virtue +of his religion, the great spiritual heritage of his hoary past. +Consequently the hope voiced in the Synagogal liturgy for +a return to Palestine, the formation of a Jewish State under +a king of the house of David, and the restoration of the sacrificial +cult, no longer expressed the views of the Jew in Western +civilization. The prayer for the rebuilding of Jerusalem +and the restoration of the Temple with its priestly cult could +no longer voice his religious hope. Thus the leaders of +Reform Judaism in the middle of the nineteenth century +declared themselves unanimously opposed to retaining the +belief in a personal Messiah and the political restoration of +Israel, either in doctrine or in their liturgy.<note place='foot'>See +Philipson: <hi rend='italic'>The Reform Movement in Judaism</hi>, 246 +f.</note> They accentuated all the more strongly Israel's hope for a Messianic +age, a time of universal knowledge of God and love of man, +so intimately interwoven with the religious mission of the +Jewish people. Harking back to the suffering Servant of +the Lord in Deutero-Isaiah, they transferred the title of +Messiah to the Jewish nation. Reform Judaism has thus +accepted the belief that Israel, the suffering Messiah of the +centuries, shall at the end of days become the triumphant +Messiah of the nations.<note place='foot'>See Einhorn: Sinai +I, 133; Leopold Stein: <hi rend='italic'>Schrift des Lebens</hi>, 320, 336. +For the term Messiah comp. Ps. LV, 15; Hab. III, 13; also Ps. XXVIII, +8; LXXXIV, 10; LXXXIX, 39, 52.</note> +</p> + +<p> +11. This view taken by reform Judaism is the logical outcome +of the political and social emancipation of the Jew in +western Europe and America. Naturally, it had no appeal +to the Jew in the Eastern lands, where he was kept apart by +mental training, social habits and the discrimination of the +<pb n='390'/><anchor id='Pg390'/> +law, so that he regarded himself as a member of a different +nationality in every sense. Palestine remained the object +of his hope and longing in both his social and religious life. +When modern ideas of life began to transform the religious +views and habits in many a quarter, and terrible persecutions +again aroused the longing of the unfortunate sufferers for a +return to the land of their fathers, the term Zionism was +coined, and the movement rapidly spread. It expressed the +purely national aims of the Jewish people, disregarding the +religious aspirations always heretofore connected with the +Messianic hope. This term has since become the watchword +of all those who hope for a political restoration of the Jewish +people on Palestinian soil, as well as of others whose longings +are of a more cultural nature. Both regard the Jewish people +as a nation like any other, denying to it the specific character +of a priest-people and a holy nation with a religious mission +for humanity, which has been assigned to it at the very +beginning of its history and has served to preserve it through +the centuries. On this account Zionism, whether political +or cultural, can have no place in Jewish theology. Quite +different is the attitude of religious Zionism which emphasizes +the ancient hopes and longings for the restoration of the +Jewish Temple and State in connection with the nationalistic +movement. +</p> + +<p> +12. Political Zionism owes its origin to the wave of Anti-Semitism +which rose as a counter-movement to the emancipation +of the Jew, that alienated many of the household of +Israel from their religion. Thus it has the merit of awakening +many Jews upon whom the ancestral faith had lost its +hold to a sense of love and loyalty to the Jewish past. In +many it has aroused a laudable zeal for the study of Jewish +history and literature, which should bring them a deeper +insight into, and closer identification with, the historic character +of Israel, the suffering Messiah of the nations, and +<pb n='391'/><anchor id='Pg391'/> +thus in time transform the national Jew into a religious Jew. +The study of Israel's mighty past will, it is hoped, bring to +them the conviction that the power, the hope and the refuge +of Israel is in its God, and not in any territorial possession. +We require a regeneration, not of the nation, but of the +faith of Israel, which is its soul. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='392'/><anchor id='Pg392'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_LIV'/> +<head>Chapter LIV. Resurrection, a National Hope</head> + +<p> +1. The Jewish belief in resurrection is intimately bound +up with the hope for the restoration of the Israelitish nation +on its own soil, and consequently rather national; indeed, +originally purely local and territorial.<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Resurrection.</note> True, the rabbis +justified their belief in resurrection by such Scriptural verses +as: <q>I kill and I make alive</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXXII, +39; see Sifre ad loc.</note> and <q>The Lord killeth, and +maketh alive; He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth +up.</q><note place='foot'>I Sam. II, 6; see Midr. Sh'muel, +ad loc.</note> Founded on such passages, the belief would have to +include all men, and could be confined neither to the Jewish +people nor to the land of Judea. However, we find no trace +of such a belief in the entire Bible save for two late post-exilic +passages<note place='foot'>Isa. XXVI, 19; Dan. XII, 2.</note> +which are in fact apocalyptic, being based +upon earlier prophecies, and themselves, in turn, basic to +the later dogma of the Pharisees. +</p> + +<p> +2. The picture of a resurrection was first drawn by the +prophet Hosea, who applied it to Israel. In his distress +over the destiny of his people he says: <q>Come, and let us +return unto the Lord; for He hath torn, and He will heal +us, He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. After two +days will He revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, +that we may live in His presence.</q><note place='foot'>Hosea +VI, 1-2; comp. XIII, 14.</note> Ezekiel's vision of the +dry bones which rose to a new life under the mighty sway +of the spirit of God,<note place='foot'>Ezek. XXXVII, +1-14.</note> gave more definite shape to the picture, +<pb n='393'/><anchor id='Pg393'/> +although in the form of allegory. As the prophet himself +says, he aimed to describe the resurrection of Judah and +Israel from their grave of exile. The obscure Messianic +prophecy in Isaiah, chapters XXIV to XXVII, strikes a +new note. First the author deals with the terrible slaughter +which God will inflict upon the heathen, after which <q>He +will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe +away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of His people +will He take away from off all the earth.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XXV, 8.</note> +Finally, when the oppressors of Israel are completely annihilated, exclaims +the seer: <q>Thy dead shall live, thy dead bodies shall arise—awake +and sing, ye that dwell in the dust—for thy dew +is a fructifying dew, and the earth shall bring to life the +shades.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XXVI, 19. Instead of <q>my +dead bodies</q> in the new Bible translation, +read <q>thy dead,</q> and instead of <q>light</q> translate +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>oroth</foreign>, after II Kings IV, 39, +<q>herb,</q> which means <q>dew of revival</q>; the last is also +a rabbinic term.</note> Daniel speaks in a similar vein: <q>And many +of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some +to everlasting life, and some to reproaches and everlasting +abhorrence.</q><note place='foot'>Dan. XII, 2.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. In this hope for resurrection at the end of days the +leading thought is that the prophecies which have been +unfulfilled during the lifetime of the pious, and particularly +the martyrs, shall be realized in the world to come.<note place='foot'>See +II Macc. VII, 9-36; XII, 43; XIV, 46; Sibyll. II, 47; Midr. Teh. +Ps. XVII, 13.</note> In the +oldest apocalyptic writings this life of the future is still conceived +as earthly bliss, inasmuch as the writers think only +of the Messianic time of national glory, depicted in such +glowing colors by the prophets. Unbounded richness of the +soil and numerous offspring, abundant treasures brought +by remote nations and their rulers, peace and happiness +far and wide—such are the characteristics of the Messianic +<pb n='394'/><anchor id='Pg394'/> +age. In order that the dead may share in all this, it is to be +preceded by the resurrection and the great <emph>Day of Judgment</emph> +in the valley of Jehoshaphat or Gehinnom (Gehenna), where +the righteous are to be singled out to participate in the realm +of the Messiah.<note place='foot'>See Joel IV, 2; Erub. 19 a, ref. +to Isa. XXXI., 9; Enoch XXVIII, 1.</note> As a national prospect the Messianic +hope was based upon the passage in Deutero-Isaiah: <q>Thy +people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land +forever.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. LX, 21.</note> Consequently an ancient Mishnah taught +that <q>All Israel shall have a share in the world to come.</q><note place='foot'>Sanh. +X, 1.</note> In fact, the term <q>inherit the land</q> was used as late as the +Mishnah to express the idea of sharing in the future life; so +also in the New Testament, where the resurrection was expected +before the coming of the kingdom of the Messiah.<note place='foot'>Kid. +I, 10; Matt. V, 5, ref. to Ps. XXXVII, 11; Enoch V, 7.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. The logical assumption was, accordingly, that only +the dead of the holy land should enjoy the resurrection. +The prophetic verses were cited: <q>I will set glory in the +land of the living,</q><note place='foot'>Ezek. XXVI, +20.</note> and <q>He that giveth breath to the people upon it, and +spirit to them that walk therein,</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XLII, 5.</note> and +were interpreted in the sense that God would restore the +breath of life only to those buried in the holy land.<note place='foot'>Keth. +111 a.</note> Likewise the verse of the Psalmist, <q>I shall walk before the Lord +in the land of the living,</q> was referred to Palestine, as the +land where the dead shall awaken to a new life.<note place='foot'>Ps. +CXVI, 9; Yer. Keth. XII, 35 b; Pesik. R, I, 2 b.</note> Hence +the rabbis held the strange belief that when the great heavenly +trumpet is sounded to summon all the tribes of Israel from +the ends of the earth to the holy land,<note place='foot'>Ber. +15 b; Alphabet d. R. Akiba in Jellinek, B. H. III, 31; Targum +Yer. to Ex. XX, 15; I Cor. XV, 52.</note> those who have been +buried outside of Palestine must pass through cavities under +the earth, until they reach the soil where the miracle of the +<pb n='395'/><anchor id='Pg395'/> +resurrection will be performed.<note place='foot'>Keth. l. c.</note> +It has, therefore, become +a custom of the pious among the Orthodox to this very day, +in case they could not bury the dead in Palestine, to put +dust of the holy land beneath their head, that they might +arise wherever they were buried. +</p> + +<p> +5. We may take it for granted that this naïve conception +of the resurrection could not be permanent, and so was +modified to include a double resurrection: the first, national, +to usher in the Messianic kingdom, and the other, universal, +to usher in the everlasting life of the future. The former +offered scant room for the heathen world, at best only for +those who had actually joined the ranks of Judaism; the +latter, however, included the last judgment for all souls +and thus opened the way for the salvation of the righteous +among the nations as well as the people of Israel. At this +point the conception of resurrection led to higher and more +spiritual ideas, as has been shown in Chapter <ref target='Chapter_XLIII'>XLIII</ref>. +</p> + +<p> +6. However, the belief in the resurrection of the body, +though expressed in the ancient liturgy, is in such utter +contradiction to our entire attitude toward both science and +religion, that it may be considered obsolete for the modern +Jew. Orthodoxy, which clings to it in formal loyalty to +tradition, regards it as a miracle which God will perform in +the future, exactly like the many Biblical miracles which +defy reason. +</p> + +<p> +7. The Zionist movement has given many Jews a new +attitude toward the national resurrection of Israel. The +nationalists expect the Jewish nation to awaken from a +sleep of eighteen hundred years to new greatness in its +ancient home, not as a religious, but as a political body, and +in renouncing all allegiance to the priestly mission of Israel and +its ancestral faith they are as remote from genuine Orthodoxy +as from Reform Judaism. They assert that the soul of the +<pb n='396'/><anchor id='Pg396'/> +Jewish people requires a national body rooted in its ancient +soil in order that it may fulfill its appointed task among the +nations; they even go so far as to declare all the achievements +brought about by the assimilation of the culture of +the surrounding nations to be a deterioration of the genuine +character of the Jewish nation. The fact is that, as in nature +there is nowhere a resurrection of the dead but an ever renewed +regeneration of life, so is the history of the Jew and +of Judaism a continuous process of regeneration manifested +at every great turning-point of history, when the ideas and +cultural elements of a new civilization exert their powerful +influence on life and thought. There never was, nor will be +an exclusively Jewish culture. It is the wondrous power of +assimilation of the Jew which ever created and fashioned +his culture anew. That which constitutes the peculiarity +of the Jew and his life force is his religion fostered through +the ages, preserved amidst the most antagonistic influences +and hostile environments, and ever rejuvenated by its unique +universalistic spirit when revived by contact with kindred +movements. To maintain and propagate this, his religion +in all lands and amidst all civilizations, is the task assigned +to him by Providence, until God's Kingdom has been +established all over the globe. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='397'/><anchor id='Pg397'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter LV. Israel and the Heathen Nations</head> + +<p> +1. As there is but one Creator and Ruler of the universe, +so there is before Him but one humanity. All the nations are +under His guidance, while Israel, His chosen people, points +to the kingdom of God which is to embrace them all. Israel +was called the <q>first-born son</q> of +God<note place='foot'>Ex. IV, 22.</note> at the very moment +of his election, implying that all the sons of men are His +children. All of them are links in the divine plan of salvation. +In the same sense God spoke through Isaiah: <q>Blessed +be Egypt, My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, +and Israel Mine inheritance.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +XIX, 25.</note> As the first page of Scripture +assigns a common origin to them all in the first man, so, the +prophets tell us, at the end of time they shall all be filled +with longing for the one God and form with Israel one community +on earth, a great brotherhood of man serving the +common Father above.<note place='foot'>Isa. XLII, 4; XLV, 23; +LI, 5; Zeph. III, 9; Zech. VIII, 22; XIV, 9.</note> Still, the actual world began, not +with the unity, but with the wide diversity and dispersion +of mankind. The idea of the unity of man came as a corollary +to the kindred conception of the unity of God, after a +long historical process. +</p> + +<p> +Just as the creation of the world opens with the separation +of light from darkness, so the process of the spiritual and +moral development of mankind begins, according to the +divine plan of salvation, with the separation of Israel from +the heathen nations.<note place='foot'>Lev. XX, 26; Deut. XX, +16-18; comp. Gen. R. II, 4; III, 10.</note> The sharper the contrast became +<pb n='398'/><anchor id='Pg398'/> +between the spiritual God of Israel and the crude sensual +gods of heathendom, the wider grew the chasm between +Judaism and heathenism, between Israel and the nations. +As light is opposed to darkness, so Israel's truth stood opposed +to the idolatry of the nations, until Christianity and +Islam, its daughter-religions, arose between the two extremes. +Henceforth Israel waits with still more confidence +for the age whose dawning will bring the full knowledge of +God to all mankind, leading the world from the night of error +and discord to the noon-day brightness of truth and unity, +when a universal monotheism will make all humanity one. +</p> + +<p> +2. Nothing was more remote from ancient Israel than +the hatred of the stranger or hostility to other nations, so +often attributed to it.<note place='foot'>Weber. l. c., +57-79.</note> In the time of the patriarchs and +under the monarchy, the Hebrews fostered a spirit of friendly +intercourse with their neighbors, which was often confirmed +by peaceful alliances.<note place='foot'>Gen. XIV, 13; XXI, +32.</note> Of course, during war time the spirit +of hostility had full sway, particularly as ancient warfare +imposed a relentless ban upon both booty and human life +among the vanquished. But even then the kings of Israel +were called compassionate also toward their enemies when +compared with other rulers.<note place='foot'>I Kings XX, +31.</note> Indeed, the code of Israel is +distinguished from all other codes of antiquity by mildness +and tender compassion. On the other hand, the God of +justice, revealed through Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk, +punishes Israel and the nations impartially on account +of their moral transgressions.<note place='foot'>Amos I-II; +Isa. XXIX-XXXIII; Jer. XXV f.; Hab. I.</note> He avenges acts of treachery, +even when committed against pagan tyrants. <q>Shall not +the Judge of all the earth do justly?</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +XVIII, 25.</note> Such is the recurrent +thought that governs Israel, demanding the same standard +of judgment for Israelite and stranger. +</p> + +<pb n='399'/><anchor id='Pg399'/> + +<p> +3. The simple sense of justice inherent in the Jewish +people admits so little difference between our own God-consciousness +and that of others, that Scripture represents +the Philistine King Abimelech as receiving a warning from +Abraham's God <foreign lang='he' rend='bold'>JHVH</foreign>.<note place='foot'>Gen. +XX, 3.</note> As the Bible holds up Job, the +Bedouin Sheik, as the pattern of a blameless servant of God +and true lover of mankind,<note place='foot'>Job +XXXI.</note> so the Talmud cites the Philistine +Dama ben Nethina as an example of filial piety.<note place='foot'>Kid. 31 a.</note> +Altogether, the merits of the heathen receive their full measure +of appreciation throughout Jewish literature,<note place='foot'>Tos. +Sanh. XIII, 2; B. B. 10 b.</note> even though a +narrow dissenting view occurs now and then.<note place='foot'>See Lazarus: +<hi rend='italic'>Ethics</hi>, 49 and appendix.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. Still from the very beginning a tendency to relentless +harshness existed in one direction, when the pure worship of +Israel's one and only God was endangered. The early Book of +the Covenant forbade every alliance with idolatrous +nations,<note place='foot'>Ex. XXIII, 32.</note> +and the Deuteronomic Code made this more stringent by +prohibiting intermarriage and even the toleration of idolaters +in the land, lest they seduce the people of God to turn away +from Him.<note place='foot'>Deut. VII, 2; XX, 16 f.</note> +The Pharisean leaders, the founders of Rabbinism, +went still further by placing an interdict upon eating with +the heathen or using food and wine prepared by them, thus +aiming at a complete separation from the non-Jewish +world.<note place='foot'>Shab. 27 b; Jubil. XXII, 16.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The contrast between Judaism and heathenism was further +heightened by the view of the prophets and psalmists, showing +that the great nations were the very embodiment of +idolatrous iniquity, murderous violence and sexual impurity, +a world of arrogance and pride, defying God and doomed +to perdition, because they opposed the kingdom of God +proclaimed by Israel.<note place='foot'>Isa. LX, 12; +LXIII, 6; LXVI, 14 f.; Zech. XIV, 2 f.; Joel IV, 9-19; +Jer. X, 25; Ps. IX, 16, 18, 20; X, 17.</note> Henceforth the term <q>the nations</q> +<pb n='400'/><anchor id='Pg400'/> +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>goyim</foreign>) +was taken by the religious as meaning the wicked +ones, who would not be able to stand the divine judgment +in the future life, but would go down to Sheol, or Gehenna, +to fall a prey to everlasting corruption, to the fire that is +never quenched.<note place='foot'>Tos. Sanh. XIII, 2.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. Yet such a wholesale condemnation could not long be +maintained; it was too strongly contradicted in principle +by the prophets and Psalmists, and quite as much by the +apocalyptic writers and Haggadists of later times. The +book of Jonah testifies that Israel's God sent His prophet +to the heathen of Nineveh to exhort them to repentance, +that they might obtain forgiveness and salvation like repentant +Israel.<note place='foot'>Jonah III-IV.</note> Heathenism is doomed to perish, not the +heathen; they are to acknowledge the heavenly Judge in +their very punishments and return to Him. Such is the +conclusion of all the exhortations of the prophets predicting +punishment to the nations. Moreover, those heathen who +escape the doom of the world-powers are to proclaim the +mighty deeds of the Lord to the utmost lands. Nay, according +to the grand vision of the exilic seer, among the +many nations that shall assemble at the end of days to worship +the Lord in Zion, select ones will be admitted to the +priesthood with the sons of Aaron.<note place='foot'>Isa. LXVI, +19-21.</note> The name <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hadrak</foreign>, +understood as <q>he who bringeth back,</q> suggested itself +to the rabbis as a title of the Messiah, the converter of the +heathen nations.<note place='foot'>Zech. IX, 1; Cant. R. +VII, 10.</note> So in both the Talmud and the Sibylline +books<note place='foot'>Sanh. 108 a; Sibyll. I, +129 f.</note> Noah is represented as a preacher of repentance to +the nations before the flood, and accordingly the latter book +adjures the Hellenic world to repent of their sinful lives +before they would be overwhelmed by the flood of fire at the +great judgment day. In the same spirit the Haggadists +tell that God sent Balaam, Job, and other pious men as +<pb n='401'/><anchor id='Pg401'/> +prophets of the heathen to teach them the way of +repentance.<note place='foot'>B. B. 15 b; Seder Olam R. XXI.</note> +And the rabbis actually say that, if the heathen nations had +not refused the Torah when the Lord offered it to them at +Sinai, it would have been the common property of +all mankind.<note place='foot'>Mek. Yithro V; Ab. Z. 2 b-3 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. The leading minds of Judaism felt only pity for the +blind obstinacy of the great mass of heathen, who worshiped +the creatures instead of the Creator, or the stars of heaven +instead of Him who is enthroned above the skies. They +regarded heathenism either as evidence of spiritual want +and weakness, or as the result of destiny. Indeed, the words +of the Deuteronomist sound like an echo of Babylonian +fatalism when he asserts that God himself assigned to the +nations the worship of the stars as their inheritance.<note place='foot'>Deut. +IV, 19; XXIX, 25; Jer. X, 16; B. Sira XVIII, 17; comp. +Bousset, l. c., 350.</note> Later +the opinion gained ground that the heathen deities were real +demons, holding dominion over the nations and leading +them astray.<note place='foot'>Jubil. XI, 3-5; XIX, 20; +Enoch XV; XIX; XCIX, 7; see Bousset, l. c., +350-351.</note> The exilic seer attacked idolatry most vigorously +as folly and falsehood, and thus the note of derision +and irony is struck by Deutero-Isaiah, the Psalms, and in +many of the propaganda writings of the Hellenistic age, in +their references to heathenism. +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, it is very significant that the Palestinian +sages and their successors condemned heathenism as a moral +plague, conducing to depravity, lewdness, and bloodshed. +They regarded the powers of the world, especially Edom +(Rome), as being under the dominion of the Evil One, and +therefore doomed to perish in the flames of Gehenna. As +they rejected the Ten Commandments out of love for bloodshed, +lust, and robbery, so, according to the Haggadists, +they will be unable to withstand the last judgment and will +<pb n='402'/><anchor id='Pg402'/> +suffer eternal punishment. Since their one desire was to +enjoy the life of this world, their lot in the future will be +Gehenna; while the gates of the Garden of Eden will be +open for Israel, the people oppressed and sorely tried, yet +ever faithful to the covenant of Abraham.<note place='foot'>Yeb. +98 a, ref. to Ezek. XXIII, 20; Ab. Z., l. c. In this sense we must +take the Talmudic passage: <q>Israel are really men, not the heathen,</q> Yeb. +61 a; B. M. 114 b; B. B. 16 b; whereas the passage, Lev. XVIII, 5, <q>which +man doth to live thereby,</q> is declared to include all who observe the laws of +humanity, <hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> eodem; Midr. Teh. Ps. I, 1-2.</note> Of course, +this view implied both comfort and vengeance, but we must not +forget that the harsh statements contained in the Talmud +owe their origin to bitter distress and cannot be considered +Jewish doctrines, as unfriendly critics frequently do.<note place='foot'>Lazarus, +l. c., 49.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. As has been shown above, the dominant view of the +Synagogue is that eternal salvation belongs to the righteous +among the nations as well as those of Israel. In this sense, +Psalm IX, 18, is understood to the effect that <q>all those +heathens who have forgotten God will go down to the nether +world.</q><note place='foot'>Tos. Sanh. XIII, 2.</note> +One of the sages expresses a still broader view: +<q>When judging the nations, God determines their standard +by their best representatives.</q><note place='foot'>Yer. R. +Sh. I, 57 a.</note> Many rabbis held the +belief that circumcision secured for the Jew a place in <q>Abraham's +bosom</q> while the uncircumcised are consigned to +Gehenna, thus assigning to circumcision a corresponding place +to that of baptism in the Christian Church. This belief +seems to be based upon a passage in Ezekiel, where the +prophet speaks of the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>arelim</foreign>, +or <q>uncircumcised,</q> as dwelling +in the nether world.<note place='foot'>Ezek. XXVIII, 10; XXXI, 18; XXXII, 19-32. +Possibly the prophet in speaking of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>arelim</foreign> +had in mind the Babylonian <foreign rend='italic'>Arallu</foreign>, <q>the +nether-world</q>; see Ex. R. XIX, 5; Gen. R. XL; VIII, 7; Tanh. Lek Leka, ed. +Buber, 27.</note> But a number of passages in the +Talmud, especially in the Tosefta,<note place='foot'>Tos. Sanh. +XIII, 4-5; Rosh ha Shana, 17 a.</note> show that circumcision +was not believed to have the power to save a sinner from +<pb n='403'/><anchor id='Pg403'/> +Gehenna, On the other hand, we have the great teaching +of R. Johanan ben Zakkai in opposing his disciple Eliezer +ben Hyrcanus, telling that the sacrifices which atoned for +the sins of Israel are paralleled by deeds of benevolence, +which can atone for the sins of the heathen.<note place='foot'>B. +B. 10 b; A. d. R. N. IV.</note> Both the +Talmud and Philo state that the seventy bullocks which +were offered up during the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles +were brought by Israel as sacrifices for the seventy +nations of the world.<note place='foot'>Suk. 55 b; +Pesik. 193 b; Philo; Vita Mosis, 2 f; De Special; I, 3; II, +104, 227. 238.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. Where no cause existed to fear the influence of idolatry, +friendly relations with non-Jews were always recommended +and cultivated. A non-Jew who devotes his life to the study +and practice of the law, said Rabbi Meir, is equal to the high +priest; for Scripture says: <q>The laws which, if a man do, +he shall live by them,</q> implying that pure humanity is the +one essential required by God.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi>, +Ahare Moth 13.</note> Indeed, Rabbi Meir enjoyed +a close friendship with Œnomaos of Gadara,<note place='foot'>Gen. +R. L; LXV, 16; Ruth R. I, 8; J. E., art. Œnomaos.</note> a heathen philosopher +spoken of admiringly in Talmudic sources and placed +on a par with Balaam as noble representatives of heathendom. +Obviously this good opinion was held, because both spoke +favorably of Judaism, whose <q>synagogues and schoolhouses +formed the strongest bulwark against the attacks of Jew-haters.</q> +Other friendships which were described in popular +legends and held up as examples for emulation are those between +Jehuda ha Nasi and the Emperor Antoninus (Severus)<note place='foot'>J. +E. art. Antoninus in the Talmud; Kraus: <hi rend='italic'>Antoninus</hi>.</note> +and that of Samuel of Babylonia with Ablat, a +Persian sage.<note place='foot'>Ab. Z. 30 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. The Mosaic and Talmudic law prescribed quite different +treatment for those heathen who persisted in idolatrous +<pb n='404'/><anchor id='Pg404'/> +practices and refused to observe the laws of humanity, called +the seven Noahitic laws, as will be explained more fully +in the next chapter. No toleration could be granted them +within the ancient jurisdiction; <q>Thou shall show them no +mercy</q> was the phrase of the law for the seven tribes of +Canaan, and this was applied to all idolaters.<note place='foot'>Deut. +VII, 3; Sanh. 57 a-59 b.</note> Hence Maimonides +lays down the rule in his Code that <q>wherever and +whenever the Mosaic law is in force, the people must be +compelled to abjure heathenism and accept the seven laws +of Noah in the name of God, or else they are doomed to +die.</q><note place='foot'>H. Melakim VIII, 9-10.</note> +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, in the very same Code, Maimonides +writes in the spirit of Rabbi Meir: <q>Not only the Jewish +tribe is sanctified by the highest degree of human holiness, +but every human being, without difference of birth, in whom +is the spirit of love and the power of knowledge to devote +his life exclusively to the service of God and the dissemination +of His knowledge, and who, walking uprightly before Him, +has cast off the yoke of the many earthly desires pursued +by the rest of men. God is his portion and his eternal inheritance, +and God will provide for his needs, as He did for +the priest and the Levite of yore.</q><note place='foot'>H. +Shemitta we Yobel XIII, 13.</note> +</p> + +<p> +10. To be sure, a statement of this nature presents a different +judgment of heathenism from that of the ancient national +law. But the historical and comparative study of religions +has caused us to entertain altogether different views of the +various heathen religions, both those representing primitive +stages of childlike imagination and superstition, and those +more developed faiths which inculcate genuine ideals of a +more or less lofty character. Certainly the laws of Deuteronomy, +written when the nation had dwindled down to the +little kingdom of Judæa, and those further expounded in the +Mishnah enjoining the most rigorous intolerance toward +<pb n='405'/><anchor id='Pg405'/> +every vestige of paganism, had only a theoretical value for +the powerless Jewish nation; while both the Church and +the rulers of Islam were largely guided by them in practical +measures. The higher view of Judaism was expressed by +the last of the prophets: <q><q>For from the rising of the sun +even unto the going down of the same My name is great +among the nations; and in every place offerings are presented +unto My name, even pure oblations, for My name is +great among the nations,</q> saith the Lord of hosts.</q><note place='foot'>Mal. +I. 11.</note> The fact is that heathenism seeks the God whom Israel by its +revelation has found. In this spirit both Philo and Josephus +took the Scriptural passage, <q>Thou shalt not curse God,</q> +taking the Hebrew <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Elohim</foreign> +in the plural sense, <q>the gods</q>; +thus they said a Jew must not offend the religious sense of +the heathen by scorn or ridicule, however careful he must +be to avoid the imitation of their practices and +superstitions.<note place='foot'>Ex. XXII, 26; Philo II, 166; Josephus: +<hi rend='italic'>Ant.</hi>, IV, 8, 10; <hi rend='italic'>Con. Apio.</hi>, II, +34; comp. Kohler: <q>The Halakic Portions in Josephus' Antiquities,</q> in +H. U. C. Monthly III, 117.</note> +</p> + +<p> +As a matter of fact, the Code of Law aimed to separate +Israel and the nations in order to avoid the crude worship +of idols, animals and stars practiced by the heathen of +antiquity. It was not framed for masters like Socrates, +Buddha, and Confucius, with their lofty moral views and +their claims upon humanity. The God who revealed himself +to Abraham, Job, Enoch, and Balaam, as well as to Moses and +Isaiah, spoke to them also, and the wise ones of Israel have +ever hearkened to their inspiring lessons. Their words are +echoed in Jewish literature together with Solomon's words +of wisdom. Plato, Plotinus, and Aristotle received the most +friendly hospitality from the rabbinic philosophers and mystic +writers of Jewry, and so Buddhist sayings and views penetrated +into Jewish ethics and popular teachings. Both the +<pb n='406'/><anchor id='Pg406'/> +Jew and his literature are cosmopolitan, and Judaism never +withholds its appreciation of the merits of the heathen +world.<note place='foot'>See Meg. 16 a; J. E., art. +Aristotle; Neumark, l. c., Index: Aristoteles, +Plato, Plotin; comp. Bahya: <hi rend='italic'>Hoboth ha Lebaboth</hi>, +and other medieval philosophic works.</note> +</p> + +<p> +11. We must especially emphasize one claim of the Jewish +people above other nations which the rabbis call +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>zekuth aboth</foreign>, +<q>the merit of the fathers,</q> and which we may term <q>hereditary +virtue.</q> The election of Israel, in spite of its own +lack of merit, is declared in Deuteronomy and elsewhere +to be due to the merit of the fathers, with whom God concluded +His covenant in love.<note place='foot'>Deut. IV, 37.</note> The promise is often repeated +that God will ever remember His covenant with the fathers +and not let the people perish, even though their sins were +great; therefore the rabbis assumed that the patriarchs had +accumulated a store of merit by their virtues which would +redound before God to the benefit of their descendants, supplementing +their own weaknesses.<note place='foot'>Ex. XXXIII, 12; +Lev. XXVI, 42; Ex. R. XLIV, 7-8; Lev. R. XXXVI, +2-5.</note> This merit or righteousness +of the fathers formed a prominent part of the hope and +prayer, nay, of the whole theological system of the Jewish +people. They regarded the patriarchs and all the great +leaders of the past as patterns of loyalty and love for God, +so that, according to the Midrash, Israel might say in the +words of the Shulamite: <q>Black am I</q> considering my own +merit, <q>but comely</q> when considering the merit of the +fathers.<note place='foot'>Cant. R. I, 5.</note> +Whether this store of merit would ever be exhausted +is a matter of controversy among the rabbis. Some +referred to God's own words that He will ever remember +His covenant with the fathers; others pointed to the verse +in Deutero-Isaiah: <q>For the mountains may depart, and +the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from +<pb n='407'/><anchor id='Pg407'/> +thee, neither shall My covenant of peace be removed,</q> which +they interpreted symbolically to mean: when the merit of +the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel is exhausted, God's +mercy and compassion for Israel will be there never to +depart.<note place='foot'>Isa. LIV, 10; Shab. 55 a; comp. S. Hirsch: <q>The +Doctrine of Original Virtue</q> in Jew. Lit. Annual, 1905; Schechter, l. c., 170 f.</note> +Translated into our own mode of thinking, this merit +of the fathers claimed for Israel signifies the unique treasure +of a spiritual inheritance which belongs to the Jew. This inheritance +of thousands of years provides such rare examples +and such high inspiration that it incites to the highest virtue, +the firmest loyalty, and the greatest love for truth and justice. +Judaism, knowing no such thing as original sin, points +with pride instead to hereditary virtue, deriving an inexhaustible +source of blessing from its historical continuity of +four thousand years. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='408'/><anchor id='Pg408'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Chapter_LVI'/> +<head>Chapter LVI. The Stranger and the Proselyte</head> + +<p> +1. Among all the laws of the Mosaic Code, that which has +no parallel in any other ancient code is the one enjoining +justice, kindness and love toward the stranger. The Book of +the Covenant teaches: <q>And a stranger shall thou not wrong, +neither shalt thou oppress him; for ye were strangers in the +land of Egypt,</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XXII, 20; +XXIII, 9.</note> and <q>A stranger shalt thou not oppress; +for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers +in the land of Egypt.</q> The Deuteronomic writer lays special +stress on the fact that Israel's God, <q>who regardeth not persons +nor taketh bribes, doth execute justice for the fatherless and +the widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and +raiment.</q> He then concludes: <q>Love ye therefore the +stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of +Egypt.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. X, 18-19.</note> The +Priestly Code goes still further, granting the stranger the same +legal protection as the native.<note place='foot'>Lev. XIV, 22.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. We would, however, misunderstand the spirit of all +antiquity, including ancient Israel, if we consider this as an +expression of universal love for mankind and the recognition +of every human being as fellow-man and brother. Throughout +antiquity and during the semi-civilized Middle Ages, a stranger +was an enemy unless he became a guest. If he sought protection +at the family hearth or (in the Orient) under the tent of +a Sheik, he thereby entered into a tutelary relation with both +the clan or tribe and its deity. After entering into such a +<pb n='409'/><anchor id='Pg409'/> +relation, temporary or permanent, he became, in the term +which the Mosaic law uses in common with the general Semitic +custom, a <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign> or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Toshab</foreign>, <q>sojourner</q> or <q>settler,</q> +entitled to full protection.<note place='foot'>Gen. XXIII, 4; Lev. XX, 35. On the +term <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign> see W. R. Smith: <hi rend='italic'>The +Religion of the Semites</hi>, 75 ff.; Bertholet: <hi rend='italic'>Die Stellung d. +Israeliten und Juden zu den Fremden</hi>, 28, 178; Schuerer, l. c., III, 150-188; Encyc. +Biblica, art. Stranger and Sojourner; Cheyne, <hi rend='italic'>Bampton Lectures</hi>, +1889, p. 429. Commerce between the Phoenicians and Greeks was protected by the Greek god +of the stranger (Zeus Xenios); see Ihering: <hi rend='italic'>D. Gastfreundschaft im +Alterthum, Deutsche Rundschau</hi>, 1887, showing how the Phoenicians developed the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign> +idea in the direction of international commerce, just as the Jews developed +it toward international religion; M. J. Kohler: <q>Right of Asylum</q> in Am. +Law Review, LI, p. 381.</note> This relation of dependency on the community +is occasionally expressed by the term: <q>thy stranger +that is within thy gates.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. XX, +10.</note> Such protection implied, in turn, +that the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign> or +<foreign rend='italic'>protegé</foreign> owed an obligation to the tribe or community +which shielded him. He stood under the protection +of the tribal god, frequently assumed his name, and thus +dared not violate the law of the land or of its deity, lest he forfeit +his claim to protection. +</p> + +<p> +3. In accordance with this, the oft-repeated Mosaic command +for benevolence toward the stranger, which placed him +on the same footing with the needy and helpless, imposed +certain religious obligations upon him. He was enjoined, like +the Israelite, not to violate the sanctity of the Sabbath by labor, +nor to provoke God's anger by idolatrous practices, and, according +to the Priestly Code, to avoid the eating of blood and +the contracting of incestuous marriages as well as the transgression +of the laws for Passover and the Day of Atonement. +Naturally, in criminal cases such as blasphemy he was subject +to the death-penalty just like the native.<note place='foot'>Lev. +XVI, 29; XVII, 8-15; XVIII, 26; XXIV, 16-29.</note> Still, the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign> was +not admitted as a citizen, and in the Mosaic system of law he +was always a tolerated or protected alien, unless he underwent +<pb n='410'/><anchor id='Pg410'/> +went the rite of circumcision and thus joined the Israelitish +community.<note place='foot'>Ex. XII, 48; see Yeb., 46 a-47 +b; Mas. Gerim I-III. The opinion of +Bertholet and Schuerer concerning the semi-proselyte or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger Toshab</foreign> is contradicted +by both the Book of Jubilees and the Talmudic sources, as will be +shown below.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. With the transformation of the Israelitish State into +the Jewish community—in other words, with the change of the +people from a political to a religious status,—this relation to the +non-Jew underwent a decided change. As the contrast to the +heathen became more marked, the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign> +assumed a new position. +As he pledged himself to abandon all vestiges of idolatry and +to conform to certain principles of the Jewish law, he entered +into closer relations with the people. Accordingly, he adopted +certain parts of the Mosaic code or the entire law, and thus +became either a partial or a complete member of the religious +community of Israel. In either case he was regarded as a follower +of the God of the Covenant. In spite of the exclusive +spirit which was dominant in the period following Ezra, two +forces favored the extending of the boundaries of Judaism +beyond the confines of the nation. On the one hand, the +Babylonian Exile had visualized and partially realized the +prophecy of Jeremiah: <q>Unto Thee shall the nations come +from the ends of the earth, and shall say: <q>Our fathers have inherited +naught but lies, vanity and things wherein there is no +profit.</q></q><note place='foot'>Jer. XVI, 19.</note> +For example, Zechariah announced a time when +<q>many peoples and mighty nations shall come to seek the +Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the +Lord,</q> and <q>Ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages +of nations, shall even take hold of the skirt of him that +is a Jew, saying, <q>We will go with you, for we have heard that +God is with you.</q></q><note place='foot'>Zech. VIII, +21-23.</note> Another prophet said at the time of the +overthrow of Babylon: <q>For the Lord will have compassion +on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own +<pb n='411'/><anchor id='Pg411'/> +land, and the stranger (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign>, +or proselyte) shall join himself +with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +XIV, 1.</note> +The Psalmists especially refer to the heathen who shall join +Israel,<note place='foot'>Ps. XXII, 30; LXVII, 3; LXVIII, 30 f; +LXXXVII, 4 f.</note> so that <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign> +now becomes the regular term for proselyte.<note place='foot'>II. Chron. +II, 16; XXX, 25.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In addition to this inward religious desire we must consider +the social and political impulse. The handful of Judæans who +had returned from Babylonia were so surrounded by heathen +tribes that, while the Samaritans had attracted the less desirable +groups, they were glad to welcome the influx of such as +promised to become true worshipers of God. The chief problem +was how to provide a legal form for these to <q>come over,</q> +<foreign rend='italic'>proselyte</foreign> being the Greek +term for <q>him who comes over.</q> +By such a form they could enter the community while accepting +certain religious obligations. In fact, such obligations had +been stated before in the Priestly Code, which admitted into +the political community as <q>sojourners</q> or <q>indwellers</q> +those who pledged themselves to abstain from idolatry, blasphemy, +incest, the eating of blood or of flesh from living animals, +and from all violence against human life and property. +They were debarred only from marriage into the religious +community, <q>the congregation of the Lord.</q> Henceforth +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign> and +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger Toshab</foreign> +became juridical terms, the social and legal +designation of those proselytes who had abjured heathenism +and joined the monotheistic ranks of Judaism as <q>worshipers +of God.</q> +</p> + +<p> +5. Thus the first great step in the progress of Judaism from +a national system of law to a universal religion was made in +Judæa. The next step was to recognize the idea of the revelation +of God to the <q>god-fearing men</q> of the primeval ages, as +described in the Mosaic books, and thus to open the gates of +<pb n='412'/><anchor id='Pg412'/> +the national religion for heathen who had become <q>God-fearing +men</q> or <q>worshipers of the Lord.</q> Thus the Psalms, +after enumerating the customary two or three classes, <q>the +house of Israel,</q> <q>of Aaron,</q> and <q>of Levi,</q> often add the +<q>God-fearing</q> proselyte.<note place='foot'>Ps. CXV, +11; CXVIII, 4; CXXXV, 20; comp. LXVII, 8; CII, 16; +Job I, 1; Tobit LXIV, 6; Sibyll. III, 572, 756; Acts X, 2; XXI, 13; V, 26 f.; +XVI, 44; XVII, 4; XVIII, 7; Midr. Teh. Ps. XXII, 29; Lev. III, 2; Mek. +to Ex. XXII, 20; see Bernays: Ges. Abh., II, 74.</note> The Synagogue was especially +attractive to the heathen who sought religious truth because +of its elevating devotion and its public instruction in the Scripture, +translated into Greek, the language of the cultured world. +This sponsored a new system for propagating the Jewish faith. +The so-called Propaganda literature of Alexandria laid its chief +stress upon the ethical laws of Judaism, not seeking to submit +the non-Jew to the observance of the entire Mosaic law or to +subject him to the rite of circumcision. The Jewish merchants, +coming into contact with non-Jews in their travels on land and +sea, endeavored especially to present their religious tenets in +terms of a broad, universal religion. As a universal faith forms +the background of the entire Wisdom literature, particularly +the book of Job, a simple monotheism could be founded upon +a divine revelation to mankind in general, corresponding to +the one to Noah and his sons after the flood. The laws connected +with this covenant, called the Noahitic laws, were +general humanitarian precepts. We find these enumerated in +the Talmud as six, seven, and occasionally ten. Sometimes +we read of thirty such laws to be accepted by the heathen, +probably founded upon the nineteenth chapter of Leviticus, +at one time central in Jewish ethics.<note place='foot'>Tos. +Ab. Z. IX, 4; Sanh. 56 b-57; Gen. R. XXXIV, 7; Jubil. VII, 20 f.; +Sibyll. III, 38, 762. For the thirty commandments, see Yer. Ab. Z. II, 40 c; +Midr. Teh. Ps. II. 5; Gen. R. XCVIII, 9; J. Q. R., 1894, p. 259. Comp. +also Pseudo-Phocylides in Bernays' <hi rend='italic'>Ges. Abh.</hi>, +I, 291 ff.; Seeberg: <hi rend='italic'>D. beiden +Wege u. d. Aposteldecret</hi>, p. 25. Klein: +<hi rend='italic'>Der aelteste christl. Katechismus</hi>; J. E., art. +Commandments.</note> At any rate, the +<pb n='413'/><anchor id='Pg413'/> +observance of the so-called Noahitic laws was demanded of +all worshipers of the one God of Israel. +</p> + +<p> +Strange to say, however, this extensive propaganda of the +Alexandrian Jews during the two or three pre-Christian +centuries left few traces in the history and literature of +Palestinian Judaism. Two reasons seem at hand; the +growth of the Paulinian Church, which absorbed the missionary +activity of the Synagogue, and the effort of Talmudic +Judaism to obliterate the old missionary tradition. To judge +from occasional references in Josephus and the New Testament, +as well as many inscriptions all over the lands of the +Mediterranean,<note place='foot'>See Schuerer, l. c., 165, +175; Harnack, <hi rend='italic'>D. Mission u. Ausbreitung d. +Christentums</hi>, chapter I.</note> the number of heathen converts to the +Synagogue was very large and caused attacks on Judaism in +both Rome and Alexandria. Josephus tells us that Jews and +proselytes in all lands sent sacrificial gifts to Jerusalem in such +abundance as to excite the avarice of the Romans.<note place='foot'>Ant. XVI, 7.</note> +The Midrash preserves a highly interesting passage which casts +light on the earlier significance of the winning of heathen converts, +reading as follows: <q>When it is said in Zephaniah II, 5: +<q>Woe to the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of Kerethites</q>; +this means that the inhabitants of the various pagan +lands would be doomed to undergo <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Kareth</foreign>, +<q>perdition,</q> save +for the one God-fearing proselyte, who is won over to Judaism +each year and set up to save the heathen world.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. +R. XXVIII, 5; Cant. R. I, 4; see Matt. XXIII, 15; Jellinek, B. H. +VI, Introd., p. XLVI.</note> In +other words, the merit of the one proselyte whose conversion +awakens the hope for the winning of the entire heathen world +to pure monotheism, is an atoning power for all. Such was +the teaching of the Pharisees, whom the gospel of Matthew +brands as hypocrites because of their zeal in making +proselytes. +</p> + +<pb n='414'/><anchor id='Pg414'/> + +<p> +6. This kind of proselytism was encouraged only by Alexandrian +or Hellenistic Judaism. In Palestine, however, the +social system of the nation was quite unfavorable to the simple +<q>God-worshiper,</q> who remained merely a tolerated alien, +even though protected, and never really entered the national +body. Legally he was termed <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger Toshab</foreign>, +<q>settler,</q> which +meant semi-proselyte. The type of this class was Naaman, +the Syrian general who was instructed by Elijah to bathe in +the Jordan to cure his leprosy, and then became a worshiper +of the God of Israel.<note place='foot'>II Kings C, 1-15; +see LXX to verse 14; Sanh 96 b.</note> Similarly, whatever the real origin of +the proselyte's bath may have been, a baptismal bath was +prescribed for the proselyte to wash off the stain of +idolatry.<note place='foot'>See Sota, 12 b; Sibyll. IV, 164; +comp. Gen. R. II, 5; J. E., art. Baptism +and Birth, New; Enc. Religion and Ethics, art. Baptism, Jewish.</note> +He was regarded as one who had <q>fled from his former master</q> +(in heaven) to find refuge with the only God;<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Asenath, and the passages quoted there.</note> therefore he +was legally entitled to shelter, support, and religious instruction +from the authorities.<note place='foot'>Sifre and Targum to +Deut. XXIII, 16-19.</note> Certain places were assigned where +he was to receive protection and provision for his needs, but +he was not allowed to settle in Jerusalem, where only full +proselytes were received as citizens.<note place='foot'>Tos. +Negaim VI, 2; Mas. Gerim III.</note> According to Philo, +special hospices were fitted out for the reception of +semi-proselytes.<note place='foot'>Philo, De Monarchia, I, 7.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. In order to enjoy full citizenship and equal rights, the +proselyte had to undergo both the baptismal bath and the rite +of circumcision, thus accepting all the laws of the Mosaic +Code equally with the Israelite born. Beside this, he had to +bring a special proselyte's sacrifice as a testimony to his belief +in the God of Israel. In distinction from the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger Toshab</foreign>, or +semi-proselyte, he was then called +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger ha Zedek</foreign> or +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger Zedek</foreign>. +This name, usually translated as <q>proselyte of righteousness,</q> +<pb n='415'/><anchor id='Pg415'/> +obviously possesses a deeper historical meaning. The Psalmist +voices a pure ethical monotheism in his query: <q>O Lord, who +shall be a guest (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign>, sojourner) +in thy tent?</q> which he answers: +<q>He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness +and speaketh truth in his heart.</q><note place='foot'>Ps, XV, +1-2; see Cheyne's Commentary.</note> But the legal view of the +priestly authorities was that only the man who offers a <q>sacrifice +of righteousness</q> and pledges himself to observe all the +laws binding upon Israel might become a <q>guest</q> in the +Temple on Zion, an adopted citizen of Jerusalem, the <q>city of +righteousness.</q><note place='foot'>The article <hi rend='italic'>ha Zedek</hi> +seems to point to Jerusalem, called <q>the city</q> or +<q>dwelling place of righteousness</q> (Zedek). See Isa. I, 21; Jer. XXXI, 23; +L, 7. Comp. <q>Gates of righteousness</q> (Zedek) for the Temple gates, in Ps. +CXVIII, 19, and the ancient legendary hero of Jerusalem, +<hi rend='italic'>Malki-Zedek</hi>, Gen. XIV, 18; Josephus, J. W. VI, 10; Epis. +Heb. VII, 10; and <hi rend='italic'>Adoni Zedek</hi>, +first king of Jerusalem, Josh. X, 3.</note> +In illustration of this view a striking interpretation +to a Deuteronomic verse is preserved: <q>They shall +call people unto the mountain, there shall they offer sacrifices +of righteousness: that is, the heathen nations with their +kings who come to Jerusalem for commerce with the Jewish +people shall be so fascinated by its pure monotheistic worship +and its simple diet, that they will espouse the Jewish faith and +bring sacrifices to the God of Israel as proselytes.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre +and Targum to Deut. XXXIII, 19.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The prominence of the full proselyte in the early Synagogue +appears in the ancient benediction for the righteous leaders and +Hasidim, the Soferim and Synedrion, the ruling authorities of +the Jewish nation, where special mention is made of <q>the Proselytes +of (the) Righteousness.</q><note place='foot'>Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi> +p. 48.</note> These full proselytes pushed +aside the half-proselytes, so that, while both are mentioned in +the earlier classification, only the latter are considered by the +later Haggadah.<note place='foot'>See Mek. Mishpatim XVIII; +comp. A. d. R. N. XXXVI ref. to Isa. +XLIV, 5.</note> With the dissolution of the Jewish State no +juridical basis remained for the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger Toshab</foreign>, +the <q>protected +<pb n='416'/><anchor id='Pg416'/> +stranger.</q> R. Simeon ben Eleazar expressed this in the statement: +<q>With the cessation of the Jubilee year there was no +longer any place for the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger Toshab</foreign> +in Judæa.</q><note place='foot'>Arak. 29 a.</note> We read in +Josephus that no proselytes were accepted in his time unless +they submitted to the Abrahamitic rite and became full +proselytes.<note place='foot'>Vita 25.</note> +</p> + +<p> +However, as Josephus tells us, a strong desire to espouse +the Jewish faith existed among the pagan women of neighboring +countries, especially of Syria.<note place='foot'>J. W. +II, 20, 2.</note> The same situation existed +in Rome according to the rabbinical sources, Josephus, Roman +writers, and many tomb inscriptions.<note place='foot'>Josephus: +Ant. XIII, 9, 1; 11, 3; XVIII, 3, 5; XX, 8, 11; Mek. Bo XV: +Beluria (Fulvia or Valeria); Schuerer, III, 176; +<hi rend='italic'>Gemeindeverf. v. Juden in Rome</hi>; +Graetz: <hi rend='italic'>D. juedisch, Proselyten im +Roemerreich</hi>; Radin: <hi rend='italic'>Jews among Greeks and +Romans</hi>, p. 389. See also Crooks: <hi rend='italic'>The +Jewish Rate in Ancient and Roman +History.</hi></note> Conspicuous among +these proselytes was Queen Helen of Adiabene, who won lasting +fame by her generous gifts to the Jewish people in time of +famine and to the Temple at Jerusalem; her son Menobaz, at +the advice of a Jewish teacher, underwent the rite of circumcision +in order to rise from a mere God-worshiper to a full +proselyte.<note place='foot'>Josephus: Ant. XX, 2-4; Yoma III, 10; Yoma 37 a.; Suk. 2 b; +B. B. 11 a; Gen. R. XLVI, 8.</note> The Midrash<note place='foot'>Midrash +Tadshe in Jellinek: B. H. III, 111; Epstein: Jued. <hi rend='italic'>Alierthumskunde</hi>, +XLIII.</note> enumerates nine heathen women +of the Bible who became God-worshipers: Hagar; Asenath, +the wife of Joseph, whose conversion is described in a little +known but very instructive Apocryphal book by that name;<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Asenath.</note> +Zipporah, the wife of Moses; Shifra and Puah, the Egyptian +midwives;<note place='foot'>Comp. Sifre Num. 178.</note> +Pharaoh's daughter, the foster-mother of Moses, +whom the rabbis identified with Bithia +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Bath Yah</foreign>, <q>Daughter +of the Lord</q>);<note place='foot'>I Chron. IV, 18; Meg. 13 a.</note> +Rahab, whom the Midrash represents as the +<pb n='417'/><anchor id='Pg417'/> +wife of Joshua and ancestress of many +prophets;<note place='foot'>Meg. 15 b.</note> Ruth and +Jael. Philo adds Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah, as a +type of a proselyte.<note place='foot'>Philo: De Nobilitate, 6; II, 443.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. Beside the term <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign>, +with its derivatives, which gave +legal standing to the proselyte, the religious genius of Judaism +found another term which illustrated far better the idea of +conversion to Judaism. The words of Boaz to Ruth: <q>Be +thy reward complete from the Lord thy God of Israel, under +whose wings thou art come to take refuge,</q><note place='foot'>Ruth II, 12.</note> were +applied by the Pharisean leaders to all who joined the faith as Ruth did. +So it became a technical term for converts to Judaism, <q>to +come, or be brought, under the wings of the divine majesty</q> +(Shekinah).<note place='foot'>Ab. d. R. N., ed. Schechter, +53 f.; Shab. 31 a; Lev. R. II, 8.</note> Philo frequently expresses the idea that the +proselyte who renounces heathenism and places himself under +the protection of Israel's God, stands in filial relation to Him +exactly like the born Israelite.<note place='foot'>See Bertholet, +l. c., 285-287.</note> Therefore Hillel devoted his +life to missionary activity, endeavoring <q>to bring the soul of +many a heathen under the wings of the Shekinah.</q> But in +this he was merely following the rabbinic ideal of +Abraham,<note place='foot'>Ab. d. R. N., l. c.</note> +and of Jethro, of whom the Midrash says: <q>After having been +won to the monotheistic faith by Moses, he returned to his +land to bring his countrymen, the Kenites, under the wings +of the Shekinah.</q><note place='foot'>Mek. to Ex. +XVIII, 27.</note> The proselyte's bath in living water was +to constitute a rebirth of the former heathen, poetically expressed +in the Halakic rule: <q>A convert is like a newborn +creature.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. R. XXXIX, 14; Yeb. 22 a; +comp. Pes. VIII, 8.</note> The Paulinian idea that baptism creates a new +Adam in place of the old is but an adaptation of the Pharisaic +view. Some ancient teachers therefore declared the proselyte's +bath more important than circumcision, since it forms +<pb n='418'/><anchor id='Pg418'/> +the sole initiatory rite for female proselytes, as it was with the +wives of the patriarchs.<note place='foot'>Yeb. 46 a; comp. Josephus: Ant. XX, 2-4.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. The school of Hillel followed in the footsteps of Hellenistic +Judaism in accentuating the ethical element in the +law;<note place='foot'>Shab. 31 a.</note> +so naturally it encouraged proselytism as well. The Midrash +preserves the following Mishnah, handed down by Simeon ben +Gamaliel, but not contained in our Mishnaic Code: +<q>If a <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ger</foreign> +desires to espouse the Jewish faith, we extend to him the hand +of welcome in order to bring him under the wings of the +Shekinah.</q><note place='foot'>Lev, R. II, 8.</note> +Both the Midrash and the early Church literature +reveal traces of a Jewish treatise on proselytes, containing +rules for admission into the two grades, which was written in +the spirit of the Hellenistic propaganda, but was afterward rewritten +and adopted by the Christian Church. The school +of Shammai in its rigorous legalism opposed proselytism in +general, and its chief representative, Eliezer ben Hyrcanos, +distrusted proselytes altogether.<note place='foot'>Gen. +R. LXX, 5; B. M. 59 b.</note> On the other hand, the +followers of Hillel were decidedly in favor of converting the +heathen and were probably responsible for many Haggadic +passages extolling the proselytes. Thus the verse of Deutero-Isaiah: +<q>One shall say, <q>I am the Lord's,</q> and another shall +call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe +with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by +the name of Israel</q> is peculiarly applied in the Midrash. The +first half, we are told, denotes two classes of Israelites, those +who are without blemish, and those who have sinned and repented; +the second half includes the two classes of proselytes, +those who have become full Jews (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Gere ha +Zedek</foreign>) and those who are merely worshippers of God +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yir'e Shamayim</foreign>). A later +Haggadic version characteristically omits the last, recognizing +only the full converts (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Gere Emeth</foreign>) +as proselytes.<note place='foot'>Mekilta, l. c.; comp. Ab. d. R. +N. XXXVI, ed. Schechter, 107.</note> The +<pb n='419'/><anchor id='Pg419'/> +following parable in the spirit of the Essenes illustrates their +viewpoint. In commenting upon the verse from the Psalms: +<q>The Lord keepeth the strangers,</q> the story is told: A king +possessed a flock of sheep and goats and noted that a deer +joined them, accompanying them to their pasture and returning +with them. So he said to the herdsmen: <q>Take good care +of this deer of mine which has left the free and broad desert +to go in and out with my flock, and do not let it suffer hunger +or thirst.</q> Likewise God takes special delight in the proselytes +who leave their own nation, giving up their fellowship +with the great multitude in order to worship Him as the One +and Only God, together with the little people of +Israel.<note place='foot'>Midr. Teh. Ps. CXLVI, 9; Num. R. VIII, 2.</note> Similarly +the Biblical verse concerning wisdom: <q>I love them that +love me, and those that seek me earnestly shall find me</q><note place='foot'>Prov. +VIII, 17; Num. R., l. c.</note> is +referred to the proselytes, <q>who give up their entire past from +pure love of God, and place their lives under the sheltering +wings of the divine majesty.</q> All these Midrashic passages +and many others are but feeble echoes of the conceptions of +the Hellenistic propaganda, which were so ably set forth by +Philo and the Book of Asenath. Indeed, Judaism must have +exerted a powerful influence upon the cultured world of Hellas +and Rome in those days, as is evidenced both in the Hellenistic +writings of the Jew and in the Greek and Roman writers themselves. +Their very defamation of Judaism unwittingly gives +testimony to the danger to which Judaism exposed the pagan +conception of life, and to the hold it took upon many of the +heathen.<note place='foot'>Schuerer, l. c., III, 4; Radin, l. c.</note> +</p> + +<p> +10. The reaction against this missionary movement took +place in Judea. The enforced conversion of the Idumeans +to Judaism by John Hyrcanus benefited neither the nation nor +the faith of the Jew, and turned the school of Shammai, which +belonged to the party of the Zealots, entirely against the whole +<pb n='420'/><anchor id='Pg420'/> +system of proselytism. On the whole, bitter experience taught +the Jews distrust of conversions due to fear, such as those of the +Samaritans who feared the lions that killed the inhabitants, or +to political and social advantage, like those under David and +Solomon, or in the days of Mordecai and Esther, or still later +under John Hyrcanus.<note place='foot'>Yeb. 24 b; Yer. +Kid., IV, 65 b.</note> Instead, all stress was laid upon religious +conviction and loyalty to the law. In fact, Josephus mentions +many proselytes who in his time fell away from +Judaism,<note place='foot'>Apion, II, 10, 3.</note> +who may perhaps have been converts to Christianity. The +later Halakah, fixed under the influence of the Hadrianic persecution +and quoted in the Talmud as Baraitha, prescribes the +following mode of admission for the time after the destruction +of the Temple, omitting significantly much that was used in +the preceding period:<note place='foot'>Yeb. 47 a; +comp. Mas. Gerim I.</note> <q>If a person desires to join Judaism +as a proselyte, let him first learn of the sad lot of the Jewish +people and their martyrdom, so as to be dissuaded from joining. +If, however, he persists in his intention, let him be instructed +in a number of laws, both prohibitory and mandatory, +easy and hard to observe, and be informed also as to the punishment +for their disobedience and the reward for fulfillment. +After he has then declared his willingness to accept the belief +in God and to adhere to His law, he must submit to the rite of +circumcision in the presence of two members of the Pharisean +community, take the baptismal bath, and is then fully admitted +into the Jewish fold.</q> It is instructive to compare this +Halakic rule with the manual for proselytes preserved by the +Church under the name of <q>The Two Ways,</q> but in a +revised form.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Didache +and Klein, l. c.</note> The mode of admission in the Halakah +seems modeled superficially after the more elaborate one +of the earlier code, where the Shema as the Jewish creed +and the Ten Commandments, possibly with the addition +<pb n='421'/><anchor id='Pg421'/> +of the eighteenth and nineteenth chapters of Leviticus and +the twenty-seventh chapter of Deuteronomy, seem to have +formed the basis for the instruction and the solemn oath +of the proselyte. +</p> + +<p> +11. As long as the Jewish people possessed a flourishing +world-wide commerce, unhampered by the power of the +Church, they were still joined by numerous proselytes in the +various lands and enjoyed general confidence. Indeed, many +prominent members of the Roman nobility became zealous +adherents of Judaism, such as Aquilas, the translator of the +Bible, and Clemens Flavius, the senator of the Imperial +house,<note place='foot'>Git. 56 b; Ab. Z. 10 b; on Clemens +see Graetz: H. J. II, 387-389; but +see literature in Schuerer, l. c., III, 169.</note> +and many prominent Jewish masters were said to be descendants +of illustrious proselytes.<note place='foot'>Git. +56 b-57.</note> All this changed as soon as the +Christian Church girded herself with <q>the sword of Esau.</q> +From that time on proselytism became a peril and a source +of evil to the Jew. The sages no longer took pride in the +prophetic promise that <q>the stranger will join himself to +Israel,</q> nor did they find in the words <q>and they shall cleave to +the house of Jacob</q> an allusion to the prediction that some +of these proselytes would be added <q>to the priesthood of the +Lord,</q> as some earlier teachers had interpreted the +passage.<note place='foot'>Ex. R. XIX, 4; comp. Midr. Teh. +Ps. LXXXVII, 4, ref. to I Sam. II, 36 and Isa. LXVI, 2; comp. Bacher: +<hi rend='italic'>Agada d. Palest. Amorder</hi>., III, 45, 363.</note> +R. Helbo of the fourth century, on the contrary, explained that +proselytes have become a plague like <q>leprosy</q> for the house +of Jacob, taking the Hebrew <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>nispehu</foreign> +as an allusion to the word +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sappahat</foreign>, +<q>leprosy.</q><note place='foot'>Yeb. 47 b; 109 b; Kid. 70 b, +ref. Isa. XIV to Lev. XIV, 56.</note> Henceforth all attempts at proselytism +were deprecated and discouraged, while uncircumcised proselytes,—probably +meaning the persecuting Christians—were +relegated to Gehinnom.<note place='foot'>Ex. R. XIX, 5.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='422'/><anchor id='Pg422'/> + +<p> +12. This view was not shared by all contemporaries, however. +R. Abbahu of Cæsarea, who had many an interesting +and bitter dispute with his Christian +fellow-citizens,<note place='foot'>See Bacher, l. c., II, 115-118.</note> was +broad-minded enough to declare the proselytes to be genuine +worshipers of God.<note place='foot'>Num. R. VIII, 1.</note> Joshua ben Hanania +encouraged the proselyte Aquilas and prognosticated great success for proselytes +in general as teachers of both the Haggada and Halakah. +So other Haggadists urged special love and compassion for the +half-proselyte,<note place='foot'>Gen. R. LXX, +5.</note> and entertained a special hope of the Messianic +age that many heathen should turn to God in sincerity +of heart.<note place='foot'>Ab. Z. 3 b.</note> +At all events, it was considered a great sin to reproach +a convert with his idolatrous past.<note place='foot'>B. M. 59 b.</note> Indeed, the +phrase, <q>they that fear the Lord,</q> used so often in the Psalms, is referred +by the Haggadists to the proselytes; true, the chief +stress is laid upon the full proselytes, the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Gere Zedek</foreign>, but a +foremost place in the world to come is still reserved for God-worshipers +like the Emperor Antoninus.<note place='foot'>Midr. Teh. +Ps. XXII, 34; here also a later Haggadist removes the reference +to the half-proselytes. See Buber, l. c.; Yer. Meg. I, 72 b.</note> Thus Psalm +CXXVIII, which speaks of the <q>God-fearing man,</q> was +applied to the proselyte, to whom were therefore promised +temporal bliss and eternal salvation, rejoicing in the Law, +in deeds of love and bounteous blessing from +Zion.<note place='foot'>Num. R. VIII, 10.</note> While the +Halakah remained antagonistic to proselytism on account +of its narrow adherence to the spirit of the Priestly Code, the +Haggadah exhibits a broader view. Resonant with the +spirit of prophecy, it beckons to all men to come and seek +shelter under the wings of the one and only God, in order to +disseminate light and love all over the world. +</p> + +<p> +13. Modern Judaism, quickened anew with the spirit of +the ancient seers of Israel, cannot remain bound by a later +and altogether too rigid Halakah. At the very beginning of +<pb n='423'/><anchor id='Pg423'/> +the Talmudic period stands Hillel, the liberal sage and master +of the law, who, like Abraham of old, extended the hand of +fellowship to all who wished to know God and His law; he +actually pushed aside the national bounds to make way for +a faith of love for God and the fellow man. For this is the +significance of his answer to the Roman scoffer who wanted +to hear the law expounded while he was standing on one foot: +<q>Whatever is hateful to thee, do not do to thy fellow man! +That is the law; all the rest is only commentary.</q><note place='foot'>Shab. +31 a.</note> Thus the +leaders of progressive Judaism also have stepped out of the +dark prison walls of the Talmudic Ghetto and reasserted the +humanitarian principles of the founders of the Synagogue, +who welcomed the proselytes into Israel and introduced special +blessings for them into the liturgy. They declare again, with +the author of Psalm LXXXVII, that Zion, the <q>city of God,</q> +should be, not a national center of Israel, but the metropolis of +humanity, because Judaism is destined to be a universal +religion.<note place='foot'>See com. to Ps. LXXXVII, and LXX version.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Not that Judaism is to follow the proselytizing methods of +the Church, which aims to capture souls by wholesale conversion +without due regard for the attitude or conviction of the individual. +But we can no longer afford to shut the gate to those +who wish to enter, impelled by conviction or other motives +having a religious bearing, even though they do not conform to +the Talmudic law.<note place='foot'>Yearb. C. C. A. +R., 1891, 1892, 1895.</note> This attitude guided the leaders of American +Reform Judaism at the rabbinical conference under the +presidency of Isaac M. Wise, when they considered the admission +of proselytes at the present time. In their decision +they followed the maxim of the prophet of yore: <q>Open the +gates (of Judaism) that a righteous nation may enter that +keepeth the faith.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XXVI, 2.</note> +</p> + +<p> +14. It is interesting to observe how Philo of Alexandria +contrasts those who join the Jewish faith with those who have +<pb n='424'/><anchor id='Pg424'/> +become apostates. The former, he says, become at once prudent, +temperate, modest, gentle, kind, human, reverential, just, +magnanimous, lovers of truth, and superior to the temptations +of wealth and pleasure, whereas the latter are intemperate, +unchaste, unjust, irreverent, low-minded, quarrelsome, accustomed +to falsehood and perjury, and ready to sell their freedom +for sensual pleasures of all kinds.<note place='foot'>Philo, +De Penitentia, 2.</note> In the times of Hellenic +culture apostasy made its appearance among the upper +classes of the Jews. As the higher-minded among the heathen +world were drawn towards the sublime monotheistic faith of +the Jew, so the pleasure-seeking and worldly-minded among +the Jews were attracted by the allurements of Greek culture +to become faithless to the God of Israel, break away from the +law, and violate the covenant. Especially under Syrian rule, +apostasy became a real danger to the Jewish community, and +many measures had to be decided upon to avert it. The +desertion of the ancestral faith was looked upon as rebellion +and treason against God and Israel.<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Apostasy and Apostates.</note> With the rise of the +Christian Church to power and influence the number of apostates +increased, and with it also the danger to the small community +of the Jews in the various lands. In the same measure +as the Church made a meritorious practice of the conversion +of the Jews, whether by persuasive means or by force and persecution, +the authorities of Judaism had to provide the Jew +with spiritual weapons of self-defense in the shape of polemical +and apologetic writings,<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. +Apologetic and Polemical Literature.</note> and to warn him against too close a +contact with the apostate, which was too often fraught with +peril for the whole community. As a number of these apostates +became actual maligners of the Jews under the Roman +empire, a special malediction against sectarians, the so-called +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Birkat ha-Minim</foreign>, +was inserted in the Eighteen Benedictions +<pb n='425'/><anchor id='Pg425'/> +under the direction of Gamaliel II.<note place='foot'>Ber. +28 a; Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi> 48.</note> <q>Those who have emanated +from my own midst hurt me most,</q> says the Synagogue, +referring to herself the words of the Sulamite in the Song of +Songs.<note place='foot'>Cant. R. I. 6.</note> +While every other offender from among the Jewish +people is declared to be <q>brother,</q> notwithstanding his +sin,<note place='foot'>Deut. XXV, 3 and Sifre ad loc.; Sanh. 44 a.</note> +the apostate was declared to be one from whom no free-will +offering was to be accepted,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> +Wayikra 2.</note> and to whom the gates of repentance +and the gates of salvation are forever closed.<note place='foot'>Sifre +Num. 112; R. H., 17 a; Tos. Sanh. XIII, 5.</note> The feeling +of bitterness against him grew in intensity, as throughout Jewish +history he often played the despicable rôle of an accuser +of his former coreligionists and betrayer of their faith. The +modern Jew also, though he sympathizes with every liberal +movement among men and respects every honest opinion, however +radically different from his own, cannot but behold in +the attitude of him who deserts the small yet heroic band of +defenders of his ancient faith and joins the great and powerful +majority around him, a disloyalty and weakness of character +unworthy of a son of Abraham, the faithful. Since the +beginning of the new era in the time of Mendelssohn, apostasy +has made great inroads upon the numerical and intellectual +strength of Judaism, especially among the upper classes. It +is no longer, however, of an aggressive character, but rather +a result of the lack of Jewish self-respect and religious sentiment, +against which measures tending to a revival of the +Jewish spirit are being taken more and more. The Jews are +called by the rabbis <q>the faithful sons of the faithful.</q> The +apostate must be made to feel that he is of a lower type, +since he has become a deserter from the army of the battlers +for the Lord, the Only One God of Israel. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='426'/><anchor id='Pg426'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter LVII. Christianity and Mohammedanism, the Daughter-Religions +Of Judaism</head> + +<p> +1. <q>It shall come to pass on that day that living waters +shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern +sea and half of them toward the western sea.... And the +Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall the +Lord be One, and His name one.</q><note place='foot'>Zech. XIV, 8-9.</note> These +prophetic words of Zechariah may be applied to the two great world-religions +which emanated from Judaism and won fully half of the human +race, as it exists at present, for the God of Abraham. Though +they have incorporated many non-Jewish elements in their +systems, they have spread the fundamental truths of the +Jewish faith and Jewish ethics to every part of the earth. +Christianity in the West and Islam in the East have aided in +leading mankind ever nearer to the pure monotheistic truth. +Consciously or unconsciously, both found their guiding motive +in the Messianic hope of the prophets of Israel and based their +moral systems on the ethics of the Hebrew Scriptures. The +leading spirits of Judaism recognized this, declaring both the +Christian and Mohammedan religions to be agencies of Divine +Providence, intrusted with the historical mission of coöperating +in the building up of the Messianic Kingdom, thus preparing +for the ultimate triumph of pure monotheism in the +hearts and lives of all men and nations of the world. These +views, voiced by Jehuda ha Levi, Maimonides, and +Nahmanides,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cusari</hi>, IV, 23; Maim.: +H. Melakim XI, 41; <hi rend='italic'>Responsa</hi>, 58; Nahmanides: +<hi rend='italic'>Derashah</hi>, ed. Jellinek, 5; see Rashi and Tosafot +to Ab. Z. 2 a, 57 b; Sanh. 63 b.</note> +were reiterated by many enlightened rabbis of later +<pb n='427'/><anchor id='Pg427'/> +times. These point out that both the Christian and Mohammedan +nations believe in the same God and His revelation +to man, in the unity of the human race, and in the future +life; that they have spread the knowledge of God by a sacred +literature based upon our Scripture; that they have retained +the divine commandments essentially as they are phrased +in our Decalogue; and have practically taught men to fulfill +the Noahitic laws of humanity.<note place='foot'>Solomon ben +Adret; <hi rend='italic'>Responsa</hi>, 302; Yore Deah CXLVIII, 12; Jacob +Emden, Comm. to Abot. V, 17; comp. Chwolson: <hi rend='italic'>D. +Blutanklage</hi>, 64-79.</note> On account of the last fact +the medieval Jewish authorities considered Christians to be +half-proselytes,<note place='foot'>Isaac ben Sheshet's +<hi rend='italic'>Responsa</hi>, 119.</note> while the Mohammedans, being +pure monotheists, were always still closer to Judaism. +</p> + +<p> +2. In general, however, rabbinic Judaism was not in a +position to judge Christianity impartially, as it never learned +to know primitive Christianity as presented in the New Testament. +We see no indication in either the oldest Talmudic +sources or Josephus that the movement made any more impression +in Galilee or Jerusalem than the other Messianic +agitations of the time. All that we learn concerning Jesus +from the rabbis of the second century and later is that magic +arts were practiced by him and his disciples who exorcised +by his name; and, still worse, that the sect named after him +was suspected of moral aberrations like a few Gnostic sects, +known by the collective name of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Minim</foreign>, +<q>sectarians.</q><note place='foot'>Yer. Shab. XIV, 14 d; Ab. Z. II, 40 +d; Sota, 47 a; Sanh. 103 a; Eccl. R. I, 24-25.</note> As +a matter of fact, the early Church was chiefly recruited from +the Essenes and distinguished itself little from the rest of the +Synagogue. Its members, who are called Judæo-Christians, +continued to observe the Jewish law and changed their attitude +to it only gradually.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Christianity; +Ebionites; Minim; and comp. the various +Church Histories.</note> Matters took a different turn +<pb n='428'/><anchor id='Pg428'/> +under the influence of Paul, the apostle to the heathen, who +emphasized the antinomian spirit; the Judæo-Christian sects +were then pushed aside, hostility to Judaism became prominent, +and the Church strove more and more for a <foreign rend='italic'>rapprochement</foreign> +with Rome.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Saul of +Tarsus.</note> Then the rabbis awoke to the serious +danger to Judaism from these heretics, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Minim</foreign>, +when after the tragic downfall of the Jewish nation they grew to world-power +as allies of the Roman Empire. Thus Isaac Nappaha, +a Haggadist of the fourth century, declared: <q>The turning +point for the advent of the Messiah, the son of David, will not +come until the whole (Roman) Empire has been converted +to Christianity +(<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Minuth</foreign>).</q><note place='foot'>Sanh. +97 a.</note> This is supplemented by the +Babylonian Rabbah, who plays with a Biblical phrase, saying: +<q>Not until the whole (Roman) world has turned to the +Son (of God).</q><note place='foot'>Lev. XIII, 13: +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Kullo happak laben</foreign>, instead of +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>laban</foreign>.</note> Henceforth Christian Rome was +termed <emph>Edom</emph>, like pagan Rome from the days of Herod the Idumean. +In fact, her imperial edicts showed the fratricidal hatred of +Esau, with hardly a trace of the professed religion of love. +No wonder the Haggadists identified Rome with the Biblical +<q>Boar of the forest,</q> and waited impatiently for the time +when she would have to give up her rule as the fourth world-empire +to the people of God, ushering in the Messianic era.<note place='foot'>Ab. +d. R. N. XXXIV; Lev. R. XIII, 4 ref. to Ps. LXXX, 14; Midr. +Teh. Ps., l. c.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. Meanwhile the relapse of Christianity from monotheism +became more steady and more apparent. The One God of +the Jew was pushed into the background by the <q>Son of +Man</q>; and the Virgin-Mother with her divine child became +adored like the Queen of Heaven of pagan times, showing +similarity especially to Isis, the Egyptian mother-goddess, +with Horus, the young son-god, on her lap. The pagan +deities of the various lands were transformed into saints of +<pb n='429'/><anchor id='Pg429'/> +the Church and worshiped by means of images, in order to +win the pagan masses for the Christian faith. The original +pure and absolute monotheism and the stern conception of +holiness were thus turned into their very opposites by the +hierarchy and monasticism of the Church. How, then, could +the Jewish people recognize the crucified Christ as one of their +own? One whose preaching seemed to bring them only +damnation and death instead of salvation and life, even while +speaking in the name of Israel's God after the manner of the +prophets of yore? How could they see in the strange doctrines +of the Church any resemblance to their own system of +faith, especially as the very doctrines which repelled them +were those most emphasized by Christianity? Maimonides +considered the adherents of the Roman Church to be +idolaters,<note place='foot'>H. Akkum IX, 4.</note> +a view which was modified by the Jewish authorities in the +West, as they became better acquainted with Christian +doctrines.<note place='foot'>Tosaf. Sanh. 63 b; Isserles Sh. +Ar. Orah Hayim, 156; comp. J. E. art. +Sanhedrin, Napoleonic.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. The world-empire of the Church was subsequently +divided between Rome, which the Jewish writers called +<hi rend='italic'>Edom</hi>,<note place='foot'>Edom, +the name for Rome since the time of the Idumean Herod, became +the name for the Church of Rome, while +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yavan</foreign> = Greek was the name given +to the Greek Church.</note> and Byzantium, which they +named <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yavan</foreign>, but neither +showed any real advance in religious views and ideals. On +the contrary, they both persecuted with fire and sword the +little people who were faithful to their ancient monotheism, +and suppressed what remained of learning and science. As +the Church had the great task of disciplining wild and semi-barbarous +races, there was little room left for learning or for +high ideals. At this time a rigorous avenger of the persecuted +spirit of pure monotheism arose among the sons of Ishmael +in the desert of Arabia in the person of Mohammed, a camel-driver +<pb n='430'/><anchor id='Pg430'/> +of Mecca, a man of mighty passions and void of learning, +but imbued with the fire of the ancient prophets of Israel. +He felt summoned by Allah, the God of Abraham, to wage +war against the idolatry of his nation and restore the pure +faith of antiquity. He kindled a flame in the hearts of his +countrymen which did not cease, until they had proclaimed +the unity of God throughout the Orient, had put to flight +the trinitarian dogma of the Church in both Asia and Africa, +and extended their domain as far as the Spanish peninsula. +He offered the Jews inducements to recognize him as the +last, <q>the seal,</q> of the prophets, by promising to adopt some +of their religious practices; but when they refused, he showed +himself fanatical and revengeful, a genuine son of the Bedouins, +unrelenting in his wrath and ending his career as a cruel, +sensuous despot of the true Oriental type. Nevertheless, +he created a religion which led to a remarkable advancement +of intellectual and spiritual culture, and in which +Judaism found a valuable incentive to similar endeavors. +Thus Ishmael proved a better heir to Abraham than was +Esau, the hostile brother of Jacob.<note place='foot'>On Ishmael +and Edom see Steinschneider: <hi rend='italic'>Polemisch. u. Apologet. Literatur</hi>, +256-273; on Mohammed, eodem, 302-388.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. The important, yet delicate question, which of the +three religions is the best, the Mohammedan, Christian or +Jewish, was answered most cleverly by Lessing in his <hi rend='italic'>Nathan +the Wise</hi>, by adapting the parable of the three rings, taken +from Boccaccio. His conclusion is that the best religion is +the one which induces men best to promote the welfare of +their fellow men.<note place='foot'>See Wuensche: <q>Urspr. d. Parabel +v. d. drei Ringen</q> in <hi rend='italic'>Lessing-Mendelssohn +Gedenkbuch</hi>, Leipzig, 1879; comp. Steinschneider, l. c., 37, 317, 319; +<hi rend='italic'>Hebr. Bibliogr.</hi> IV, 79; XII, 21; +Dunlop-Liebrecht: <hi rend='italic'>Gesch. d. Prosadichtung</hi>, +p. 221, note to 294 f.</note> But the question itself is much older; it +was discussed at the court of the Kaliphs in Bagdad as early +as the tenth century, where the adherents of every religion +<pb n='431'/><anchor id='Pg431'/> +there represented expressed their opinions in all candor. For +centuries it was the subject of philosophical and comparative +investigations.<note place='foot'>See Schreiner: <hi rend='italic'>D. juengst. +Urteile u. d. Judenth.</hi>, 3-5.</note> Among these, the most thorough and profound +is the <hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi> by the Jewish philosopher and poet, Jehuda +ha Levi. But the parable of the three rings also has been +traced through Jewish and Christian collections of tales +dating back to the thirteenth century, and seems to be +originally the work of a Jewish author. Standing between +the two powerful faiths with their appeal to the temporal +arm, the Jew had to resort to his wit as almost his only resource +for escape. Two Jewish works have preserved earlier +forms of the parable. In Ibn Verga's collection of histories of +the fifteenth century, it is related that <q>Don Pedro the Elder, +King of Aragon (1196-1213), asked Ephraim Sancho, a +Jewish sage, which of the two religions, the Jewish or Christian, +was the better one. After three days' deliberation, the +sage told the king a story of two sons who had each received +a precious stone from their father, a jeweler, when he went +on a journey. The sons then went to a stranger, threatening +him with violence, unless he would decide which of the jewels +was the more valuable. The king, believing the story to be +a fact, protested against the action of the two sons, whereupon +the Jew explained: Esau and Jacob are the two sons +who have each received a jewel from their heavenly Father. +Instead of asking me which jewel is the more precious, ask +God, the heavenly Jeweler. He knows the difference, and +can tell the two apart.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Shebet Yehudah</hi>, +ed. Wiener, p. 107. See Steinschneider: Heb. Bibl., l. c.</note> +</p> + +<p> +An older and probably more original form of the parable +was discovered by Steinschneider in a work by Abraham +Abulafia of the thirteenth century, running as follows: <q>A +father intended to bequeath a precious jewel to his only son, +but was exasperated by his ingratitude, and therefore buried +<pb n='432'/><anchor id='Pg432'/> +it. His servants, however, knowing of the treasure, took it +and claimed to have received it from the father. In the +course of time they became so arrogant that the son repented +of his conduct, whereupon the father gave him the jewel +as his rightful possession.</q> The story ends by stating +that Israel is the son and the Moslem and Christian the +servants. +</p> + +<p> +Beside this witty solution of a delicate problem, some +Mohammedans made attempts very early, doubtless on account +of discussions with learned Jews, to prove the justification +of the three religions from the Jewish Scriptures +themselves. Thus they referred the verse speaking of the +revelation of God on Sinai, Mount Seir, and Mount Paran<note place='foot'>Deut. +XXXIII, 2; see Steinschneider: <q>Pol. u. Apol. Lit.,</q> 317 f.</note> +to the religious teachings of Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. +Naturally, the Jewish exegetes and philosophers objected +vigorously to such an interpretation. +</p> + +<p> +6. The question which religion is the best, has been most +satisfactorily answered for Judaism by R. Joshua ben Hanania, +who said that <q>the righteous of the heathen have also a share +in the world to come.</q><note place='foot'>Tos. Sanh. XIII, 2; Sanh. 105 +a; Maimonides: H. Teshubah III, 5.</note> The question which religion is true, +has been, alas, too long arbitrated by the sword, and will be +decided peacefully only when the whole earth will be full of +the knowledge of God. Our own age, however, has begun to +examine the title to existence of every religion from the broad +standpoint of history and ethnology, assigning to each its proper +rank. In this large purview even the crude beliefs of savages +are shown to be of value, and the various heathen religions +are seen to have a historical task of their own. Each of them +has to some extent awakened the dormant divine spark in +man; one has aided in the growth of the ideal of the beautiful +in art, another in the rise of the ideal of the true in philosophy +and science; a third in the cultivation of the ideal of the +<pb n='433'/><anchor id='Pg433'/> +good and in stimulating sympathy and love so as to ennoble +men and nations. Thus after a careful examination of the +historical documents of the Christian and Mohammedan +religions, it is possible to state clearly their great historic +mission and their achievements in the whole domain of civilization. +The Jewish religion, as the mother who gave birth +to both, must deliver the verdict, how far they still contribute +to the upbuilding of God's kingdom on earth. In fulfilling +their appointed mission, each has given rise to valuable +and peculiar institutions, and each has fallen short of the +Messianic ideal as visualized by our great prophets of old. +Only an impartial judgment can say which one has reached +the higher stage of civilization. +</p> + +<p> +7. Christianity's origin from Judaism is proved by its +religious documents as well as by its very name, which is +derived from the Greek for the title Messiah +(<foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>Christos</foreign>), bestowed +on the Nazarene by his followers. Still the name +Christianity arose in Antioch among non-Jews who scarcely +knew its meaning. All the sources of the New Testament, +however much they conflict in details, agree that the movement +of Christianity began with the appearance of John the +Baptist, a popular Essene saint. He rallied the multitude +at the shore of the Jordan, preparing them for the approaching +end of the Roman world-kingdom with the proclamation, +<q>Wash yourselves clean from your sins!</q> that is, <q>Take the +baptismal bath of repentance, for the kingdom of heaven is +nigh.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. III, 2; Luke III, 3; +Josephus: Ant. XVIII, 5, 2; see J. E., art. +John the Baptist. Perhaps John was identical with Hanan, <q>the hidden one,</q> +a popular saint called <q>father</q> by the people, and believed to be a descendant +of Moses, a grandson of Onias the rainmaker, and a rain-invoking saint himself. +See Taan. 23 b; Tanh. Waera, ed. Buber, II, 37.</note> +He conferred the baptismal bath of repentance upon +Jesus of Nazareth and the first apostles.<note place='foot'>Matt. +III, 33; Mark I, 7; Luke III, 21; John I, 29-40.</note> Jesus took up this +message when John was imprisoned and finally killed by +<pb n='434'/><anchor id='Pg434'/> +Herod Antipas on account of his preachment against +him.<note place='foot'>Matt. IV, 12; XIV, 10.</note> +The life of Jesus is wrapt in legends which may be reduced +to the following historical elements:<note place='foot'>J. E., +art. Christianity; Jesus; New Testament; Simon Kaifa. Among +the Gospels, that of Luke has the oldest records, rather than Mark. See also +Spitta: <hi rend='italic'>D. Synoptische Grundschrift</hi>.</note> The young Nazarene +was of an altogether different temperament from that of John +the Baptist, the stern, Elijah-like preacher in the +wilderness;<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. John the Baptist.</note> +he manifested as preacher and as a healer of the sick a profound +love for, and tender sympathy with suffering humanity, +a trait especially fostered among the Essenes. This drew him +toward that class of people who were shunned as unclean by +the uncompromising leaders of the Pharisees, and also by +the rigid brotherhoods of the Essenes, whose chief object was +to attain the highest degree of holiness by a life of asceticism. +His simple countrymen, the fishers and shepherds of Galilee, on +hearing his wise and humane teachings and seeing his miraculous +cures, considered him a prophet and a conqueror of the +hosts of demons, the workers of disease. In contrast to the +learned Pharisees, he felt it to be his calling to bring the good +tidings of salvation to the poor and outcast, to <q>seek the lost +sheep of the house of Israel</q> and win them for God. He soon +found himself surrounded by a multitude of followers, who, +on a Passover pilgrimage to Jerusalem, induced him to announce +himself as the expected Messiah. He attracted the +people in Jerusalem by his vehement attacks upon the +Sadducean hierarchy, which he threatened with the wrath of +heaven for its abuses, and also by his denunciations of the +self-sufficient Pharisean doctors of the law. Soon the crisis +came when he openly declared war against the avarice of the +priests, who owned the markets where the sacrificial fowl for +the Temple were sold, overthrowing the tables of the money-changers, +and declaring the Temple to have become <q>a den +<pb n='435'/><anchor id='Pg435'/> +of robbers.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. XXI, 12, and parallels; +comp. Yer. Taan. IV, 8; Tos. Menah. +XIII, 21.</note> The hierarchical council delivered him to +Pontius Pilatus, the Roman prefect, as an aspirant to the +royal title of Messiah, which in the eyes of the Romans meant +a revolutionary leader. The Roman soldiers crucified him +and mocked him, calling him, <q>Jesus, the king of the +Jews.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. XXVII, 37-42, and parallels.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The fate of crucifixion, however, did not end the career of +Jesus, as it had that of many other claimants to the Messiahship +in those turbulent times. His personality had impressed +itself so deeply upon his followers that they could not admit +that he had gone from them forever. They awaited his +resurrection and return in all the heavenly glory of the <q>Son +of Man,</q> and saw him in their ecstatic visions, attending their +love-feasts,<note place='foot'>John XX; the latter part +of the Gospel of John belonged originally to +Matthew.</note> or walking about on the lake of Nazareth while +they were fishing from their boats, or hovering at the summit +of the mountains.<note place='foot'>Matt. XIV, 24 f.; +XVII, 1; see Wellhausen: Comm.</note> This was but the starting point of +that remarkable religious movement which grew first among +the lower classes in northern Palestine and +Syria,<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Ebionites.</note> then gradually +throughout the entire Roman Empire, shaking the whole +of heathendom until all its deities gave way to the God of +Israel, the divine Father of the crucified Messiah. The +Jewish tidings of salvation for the poor and lowly offered by +the Nazarene became the death-knell to the proud might of +paganism. +</p> + +<p> +8. But the ways of Providence are as inscrutable as they +are wonderful. The poor and lowly members of the early +Christian Churches, with their leaders, called <q>apostles</q> or +<q>messengers</q> of the community,—elected originally to carry +out works of charity and love,<note place='foot'>See J. E., +art. Apostles.</note>—would never have been able +<pb n='436'/><anchor id='Pg436'/> +to conquer the great world, if they had persisted in the Essene +traditions. They owed their success to the large Hellenistic +groups who joined them at an early period and introduced +the Greek language as their medium of expression. Henceforth +the propaganda activity of the Alexandrian Jews was +adopted by the young Church, which likewise took up all the +works of wisdom and ethics written in Greek for the instruction +of the proselytes and the young, scarcely known to the +Palestinian schools. The Essene baptism for repentance was +replaced by baptism for conversion or initiation into the new +faith, while the neophyte to be prepared for this rite was for +a long time instructed mainly in the doctrines of the Jewish +faith.<note place='foot'>J. E., art. Didache and +Didascalia; Klein, l. c.</note> Subsequently collections of wise sayings and moral +teachings ascribed to the Nazarene and handed down in the +Aramaic vernacular, orally or in writing, were translated into +Greek. These together with the manuals for proselytes were +the original Church teachings. The Greek language paved the +way for the Church to enter the great pagan world, exactly as +the Greek translation of the Bible in Alexandria brought the +teachings of Judaism to the knowledge of the outside world. +</p> + +<p> +At first the same obstacle confronted the early Church +which had prevented the Synagogue from becoming a world +conqueror, namely, the rite of circumcision, which was required +for full membership. Without this, baptized converts +were only half-proselytes and could not be fully assimilated. +This classification was still upheld by the Apostolic Convention, +which met under the presidency of James the Elder.<note place='foot'>Acts +XV, 5-29; comp. R. Seeberg: <hi rend='italic'>Das Aposteldecret; Didache u. d. +Urchristenheit</hi>.</note> +The time was ripe for a bold and radical innovation, and at +this psychological moment arose a man of great zeal and unbridled +energy as well as of a creative genius and a mystical +imagination,—Saul of Tarsus, known by his Roman name +<pb n='437'/><anchor id='Pg437'/> +Paulus.<note place='foot'>J. E., art. Saul of +Tarsus.</note> He had been sent by the authorities at Jerusalem +to pursue the adherents of the new sect, but when he had +come as far as Damascus in Syria, he suddenly turned from a +persecutor into the most ardent promoter of the nascent +Church, impelled by a strange hallucination. Paul was a +carpet weaver by trade, born and reared in Tarsus, a seaport +of Asia Minor, where he seems to have had a Greek training +and to have imbibed Gnostic or semi-pagan ideas beside his +Biblical knowledge. In this ecstatic vision on his journey he +beheld the figure of Jesus, <q>the crucified Christ,</q> whose adherents +he was pursuing, yet whom he had never seen in the +flesh, appearing as a heavenly being whom Paul identified as +the heavenly Adam, the archetypal <q>godlike</q> man. +</p> + +<p> +Upon this strange vision he constructed a theological system +far more pagan than Jewish in type, according to which +man was corrupt through the sin of the first couple, and the +death of Jesus on the cross was to be the atoning sacrifice +offered by God himself, who gave His own son as a ransom +for the sins of humanity. This doctrine he used as a lever +with which, at one bold stroke, he was to unhinge the Mosaic +law and make the infant Church a world-religion. Through +baptism in the name of the Christ, the old sin-laden Adam was +to be cast off and the new heavenly Adam, in the image of +Christ, put on instead. The new covenant of God's atoning +love was to replace the old covenant of Sinai, to abolish forever +the old covenant based upon the Jewish law, and to set mankind +free from all law, <q>which begets sin and works wrath.</q> +In Christ, <q>who is the end of the law,</q> the sinfulness of the +flesh should be overcome and the gates of salvation be opened +to a world redeemed from both death and sin.<note place='foot'>Paul's +opposition to the law includes the moral law, and even the Decalogue. +See Romans VII-VIII; X, 4; XIV; I Cor. VI, 1-3, 15; VII, 31; +VIII; II Cor. III, 3.</note> The one +<pb n='438'/><anchor id='Pg438'/> +essential for salvation was to accept the <emph>mystery</emph> concerning +the birth and death of Christ, after the manner of the heathen +mystery-religions, and to employ as sacramental symbols of +the mystery the rites of baptism and communion with Christ. +</p> + +<p> +9. This system of Paul, however, demanded a high price of +its votaries. Acceptance of the belief meant the surrender +of reason and free thinking. This breach in pure monotheism +opened the door for the whole heathen mythology and the +worship of the heathen deities in a new form. But the +saddest result was the dualism of the system; the kingdom +of God predicted by the prophets and sages of Israel for all +humanity was transferred to the hereafter, and this life with +all its healthy aspirations was considered sinful and in the +hands of Satan. The cross, originally a sign of +life,<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Cross.</note> became +from this time and through the Middle Ages a sign of death, +casting a shadow of sin upon the Christian world and a +shadow of terror upon the Jew. +</p> + +<p> +The greatest harm of all, however, was done to Judaism +itself. Paul made a caricature of the Law, which he declared +to be a rigid, external system, not elevating life, but only +inciting to transgression and engendering curse. He even +aroused a feeling of hatred toward the Law, which grew in +intensity, until it became a source of untold cruelty for many +centuries. This spirit permeated the Gospels more and more +in their successive appearance, even finding its way into the +Sermon on the Mount. In the simple form given in the +Gospel of Luke this was a teaching of love and tenderness; +in Matthew, Jesus is represented as offering a new dispensation +to replace the revelation of Sinai.<note place='foot'>Luke VI, +20-49; comp. with Matt. V-VII; XXIII, 15-36. See Claude +Montefiore, <hi rend='italic'>The Synoptic Gospels</hi>, I +and II; G. Friedlander, <hi rend='italic'>Jewish Sources of +the Sermon on the Mount</hi>; Kohler: <q>D. Naechstenliebe im +Judenth.,</q> <hi rend='italic'>Judaica</hi>, +Berlin, 1912.</note> Here the Mosaic +law is presented as a system of commandments demanding +<pb n='439'/><anchor id='Pg439'/> +austere adherence to the letter with no regard to the inner +life, whereas, on the other hand, the actual teachings of the +Nazarene were animated by love and sympathy, emanating +from the ethical spirit of the Law. Yet the very words of +Jesus in this same sermon disavow every hint of antinomianism: +<q>Verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one +jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law till all be +fulfilled.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. V, 17-18.</note> +As a matter of fact, the very teachings of love +and inwardness which are embodied in both the Sermon on +the Mount and the epistles of Paul were largely adopted +from the Pharisean schools and Hasidean works as well as +from the Alexandrian Propaganda literature and the Proselyte +Manuals preserved by the Church. +</p> + +<p> +In fact, part of this criticism was voiced by the Pharisees, +as they attacked the Sadducean insistence upon the letter +of the Law. The Pharisean spirit of progress applied new +methods of interpretation to the Mosaic Code and especially +to the Decalogue, deriving from them a higher conception of +God and godliness, breaking the fetters of the letter, and +working mainly for the holiness of the inner life and the endeavor +to spread happiness about.<note place='foot'>See J. E., +and Enc. Rel. and Ethics, art. Pharisees; Lauterbach, <q>The +Sad. and Phar.,</q> in <hi rend='italic'>Stud. in Jew. +Lit.</hi>, Berlin, 1913; Herford: <hi rend='italic'>Pharisaism</hi>; +Wuensche: <hi rend='italic'>Neue Beitr. z. Erläuterung d. +Evangelien</hi>.</note> Taking no heed of the +actual achievements of the Synagogue, the Paulinian Church +rose triumphantly to power after the downfall of the Jewish +State and impregnated the Christian world with hostility to +Judaism and the Jew, which lasts to this very day, thus turning +the gospel of love into a source of religious hatred. +</p> + +<p> +10. Nevertheless it cannot be denied that Paulinian Christianity, +while growing into a world-conquering Church, achieved +the dissemination of the Sinaitic doctrines as neither Judaism +nor the Judæo-Christian sect could ever have done. The +<pb n='440'/><anchor id='Pg440'/> +missionary zeal of the apostle to the heathen caused a fermentation +and dissolution in the entire neo-Jewish world, +which will not end until all pagan elements are eliminated. +Eventually the whole of civilization will accept, through a +purified Christianity, the Fatherhood of God, the only Ruler +of the world, and the brotherhood of all men as His children. +Then, in place of an unsound overemphasis on the principle of +love, justice will be the foundation of society; in place of a +pessimistic other-worldliness, the optimistic hope for a kingdom +of God on earth will constitute the spiritual and ethical +ideal of humanity. We must not be blind to the fact that +only her alliance with Rome, her holding in one hand the +sword of Esau and in the other the Scriptures of the house +of Jacob, made the Church able to train the crude heathen +nations for a life of duty and love, for the willing subordination +to a higher power, and caused them to banish vice and +cruelty from their deep hold on social and domestic life. +Only the powerful Church was able to develop the ancient +Jewish institutions of charity and redeeming love into magnificent +systems of beneficence, which have led civilization +forward toward ideals which it will take centuries to realize. +</p> + +<p> +Nor must we overlook the mission of the Church in the +realm of art, a mission which Judaism could never have +undertaken. The stern conception of a spiritual God who +tolerated no visible representation of His being made impossible +the development of plastic art among the Jews. The +semi-pagan image worship of the Christian Church, the representation +of God and the saints in pictorial form, favored +ecclesiastical art, until it broadened in the Renaissance into +the various arts of modern times. Similarly, the predominance +of mysticism over reason, of the emotions over the intellect +in the Church, gave rise to its wonderful creation of music, +endowing the soul with new powers to soar aloft to undreamed-of +heights of emotion, to be carried along as upon Seraph's +<pb n='441'/><anchor id='Pg441'/> +wings to realms where human language falters and grows +faint. Beyond dispute Christianity deserves great credit for +having among all religions opened wide the flood gates of the +soul by cultivating the emotions through works of art and +the development of music, thereby enriching human life in +all directions. +</p> + +<p> +11. Islam, the other daughter of Judaism, for its part, +fostered the intellectual side of humanity, so contemptuously +neglected by the Church. The cultivation of philosophy +and science was the historical task assigned to the Mohammedan +religion. From the sources of information we have +about the life and revelation of Mohammed, we learn that +the origin of the belief in Allah, the God of Abraham, goes +back to an earlier period when Jewish tribes settled in south +Arabia. Among these Jews were traders, goldsmiths, famous +warriors, and knights endowed with the gift of song, who disseminated +Jewish legends concerning Biblical heroes.<note place='foot'>See J. E., +art. Mohammed; Islam; and the works of Muir, W. Robertson +Smith, Hirschfeld; of Geiger, Weil, Sprenger, von Kremer, Noeldeke, Grimme, +Dozy, and above all Goldziher, on the Koran, Mohammed and Islam; also +Enc. Religion and Ethics, VIII, 871-907.</note> Amid +hallucinations and mighty emotional outbursts this belief in +Allah took root in the fiery soul of Mohammed, who thus +received sublime conceptions of the one God and His creation, +and of the world's Judge and His future Day of Judgment. +The sight of idolatry, cruelty, and vice among his countrymen +filled him with boundless indignation, so that he began his +career as a God-sent preacher of repentance, modeling his +life after the great prophets of yore. With drastic threats of +the last Judgment he tried to force the idolaters to return to +Allah in true repentance. But few of his hearers believed in +his prophetic mission, and the leading men of the city of +Mecca, who derived a large income from the heathen sanctuary +there, opposed him with fierce and violent measures. +</p> + +<pb n='442'/><anchor id='Pg442'/> + +<p> +Thus he was forced to flee to the Jewish colony of Yathrib, +afterwards called Medina, <q>the city</q> of the prophet. He +hoped for recognition there, especially after he had made +certain concessions, such as turning the face toward Jerusalem +in prayer, and keeping the Day of Atonement on the +tenth of Tishri. In addition, he emphasized the unity of +God in the strongest possible manner, and opposed every +encroachment upon it by the belief in additional powers or +persons, attacking the Christians on the one hand and his +Arabian countrymen on the other, with the sarcastic phrase: +<q>Verily, God has neither a son, nor has He any daughter.</q> +In spite of all these facts, the Jews could not be brought to +recognize the uneducated son of the desert as a prophet. Therefore +his proffered friendship was turned to deadly hatred and +passionate revenge. His whole nature underwent a great +change; his former enthusiasm and prophetic zeal were replaced +by calculation and worldly desire, so that the preacher +of repentance of Mecca became at the last a lover of bloodshed, +robbery and lust. Instead of Jerusalem he chose Mecca +with its heathen traditions as the center of his religious system +and aimed chiefly to win the Arabian tribes for his divine +revelation. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the entire Arabian nation, full of youthful energy, +burning with the impulse of great deeds, bore the faith of the +One God to the world by the sword. Like Israel of old, it +stepped forth from the desert with a divine revelation contained +in a holy book. It conquered first the Christian lands +of the East, which under the Trinitarian dogma had lapsed +from pure monotheism, then the northern coast of Africa, and +it finally unfurled the green flag of Islam over the lands of +the West to free them from the fanatical Church. Henceforth +war was waged for centuries between the One God of Abraham +and the triune God of the Church in both Spain and +Palestine. Then might the genius of history ask: <q>Watchman, +<pb n='443'/><anchor id='Pg443'/> +what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?</q> +And again the words are heard, as from on high: <q>The morning +cometh, and also the night.</q> The final victory is yet to +come. +</p> + +<p> +12. It cannot be denied that the Mohammedan monotheism +has a certain harshness and bluntness. It cannot win the +heart by the mildness of heaven or the recognition of man's +individuality. <foreign rend='italic'>Islam</foreign>, as the name denotes, demands blind +submission to the will of God, and it has led to a fatalism +which paralyzes the sense of freedom, and to a fanaticism +which treats every other faith with contempt. Islam has +remained a national religion, which has never attained the +outlook upon the whole of humanity, so characteristic of the +prophets of Israel. Its view of the hereafter is crude and +sensuous, while its picture of the Day of Judgment bears no +trace of the divine mercy. On the other hand, we must recognize +that the reverence of the Koran lent the <q>Men of the +Book,</q> the representatives of culture, greater dignity, and +provided a mighty incentive to study and inquiry. Damascus +and Bagdad became under the Caliphs centers of learning, +of philosophical study and scientific investigation, uniting +Nestorian, Jew, and Mohammedan in the great efforts towards +general enlightenment. The consequence was that Greek +science and philosophy, banished by the Church, were revived +by the Mohammedan rulers and again cultivated, so that +Judaism also felt their fructifying power. Our modern Christian +civilization, so-called by Christian historians, is largely +the fruit of the rich intellectual seeds sown by Mohammedans +and Jews, after the works of ancient Greeks had been translated +into Syrian, Arabic, and Hebrew by a group of Syrian +Unitarians (the Nestorians) assisted by Jewish +scholars.<note place='foot'>See Draper, <hi rend='italic'>Conflict of +Religion with Science</hi>; <hi rend='italic'>Intellectual Development +of Europe</hi>; Lecky, <hi rend='italic'>History of Rationalism</hi>; +Andrew D. White: <hi rend='italic'>Warfare between +Religion and Science</hi>; Krauskopf: <hi rend='italic'>Jews and +Moors in Spain</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='444'/><anchor id='Pg444'/> + +<p> +As for instance the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II, the +friend of Jewish and other liberal thinkers, was much more of +an investigator than a believer, so did the spirit of investigation +derived from Islam and Judaism pervade Christendom, and +create the great intellectual movements which finally undermined +its creeds and shattered its solidarity into contending +sects. <emph>Return</emph> to the Bible and the God of the Bible, to a +Sabbath devoted to instruction in the word of God, and to +the recognition of human freedom and the sanctity of the +family—this was the watchword of the Reformation. Return +to the right of free thought and free conscience, which implies +the pure worship of God as He lives in the heart, is +now the watchword of those who endeavor to reform the +Protestant Church. That is, both are moved by a desire +to return to the principles and ideals set forth by Israel's +prophets of old. +</p> + +<p> +13. Both the Church, Protestant and Catholic, and the +Mosque have a Providential mission which they must fulfill +through the ages of history, until all the heathen have learned +to worship God as the spirit of holiness in man, instead of +seeking Him in the blind forces of nature or of destiny. True, +the Mohammedan religion is predisposed to sensuality and +still awaits the process of purification to become completely +spiritualized; yet indications are not lacking that a process of +reform is approaching to bring out the gold of pure monotheism +and cast off the dross of Oriental voluptuousness and +superstition. We must remember that during the dark night +of medieval ignorance and barbarism Islam carried throughout +all lands the torch of philosophy and scientific investigation +and of the pure faith in God. Even to-day it accomplishes +far more for the advancement of life in the east of Asia and +the south of Africa than did the Russian Church with her +gross superstition and idolatry, or even some branches of +Protestantism, with their deification of a human being. +</p> + +<pb n='445'/><anchor id='Pg445'/> + +<p> +Between Church and Mosque, hated and despised by both, +stood and still stands the Synagogue, proudly conscious of its +divine mission. It feels itself the banner-bearer of a truth +which brooks no compromise, of a justice which insists on +the rights of all men. It offers the world a religion of peace +and love, admitting no division or discord among mankind, +waiting for the day when the God of Sinai shall rear high His +throne in the hearts of all men and nations. To-day the +Synagogue, rejuvenated by the influences of modern culture, +looks with ever greater confidence to a speedy realization of +its Messianic hope for all humanity. +</p> + +<p> +Hitherto Judaism was restrained by its two daughter-religions +from pursuing its former missionary activity. It +was forced to employ all its energy in the single effort for self-preservation. +But in the striking contrasts of our age, when +the enlightened spirit of humanity struggles so bitterly with +the forces of barbarism and brutality, we may well see the +approaching dawn of a new era. That glorious day, we feel, +will witness the ultimate triumph of justice and truth, and +out of the day which is <q>neither day nor night</q> will bring +forth the time when <q>the Lord shall be King over all the +earth, the Lord shall be One and His name One.</q><note place='foot'>Zech. +XIV, 6-9.</note> This +will be an auspicious time for Israel to arise with renewed +prophetic vigor as the bearer of a world-uniting faith, as the +triumphant Messiah of the nations. Through Israel the +monotheistic faiths of the world may find a union so that, in +fulfillment of the ancient prophecy,<note place='foot'>Isa. +LXVI, 20.</note> its Sabbath may be a +world-Sabbath and its Atonement Day a feast of at-one-ment +and reconciliation for all mankind. <q>He that believeth shall +not make haste.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XXVIII, 16.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Yet just because of this universalistic Messianic hope of +Judaism it is still imperative, as it has been throughout the +past, that the Jewish people must continue its separateness +<pb n='446'/><anchor id='Pg446'/> +as <q>a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation,</q> and for the sake +of its world-mission avoid intermarrying with members of +other sects, unless they espouse the Jewish +faith.<note place='foot'>Ex. XIX, 6; Num. XXIII, 9; Deut. VII, 2-6; Isa. LXI, 6; 9; Maim. +H. Issure Biah XII, 1; Sh. A. Eben ha Ezer XVI, 1; Einhorn +in <hi rend='italic'>Jewish Times</hi> +1876, against Sam. Hirsch; Samuel Schulman in Y. B. C. C. A. R. 1909, comp. +D. Philipson, l. c. Index s. v. Intermarriage; J. E., art. Intermarriage; also +Mielziner: <hi rend='italic'>The Jewish Law of Marriage and +Divorce</hi>, p. 45-54, where the opinions +of L. Philippson, Geiger, Aub, Einhorn and I. M. Wise are quoted.</note> Israel's +particularism, says Professor Lazarus,<note place='foot'>Lazarus, +l. c., § 159.</note> has its universalism +as motive and aim. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='447'/><anchor id='Pg447'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter LVIII. The Synagogue and its Institutions</head> + +<p> +1. Every religion, as soon as it attains any degree of self-consciousness, +aims to present a convincing form of truth to +the individual and to win adherents in increasing numbers. +Nevertheless the maintenance of a religion does not rest upon +its doctrines, which must differ according to the intellectual +capacity of the people and the prevailing views of each +age. Its stability is based upon those forms and institutions +which lend it a peculiar character, and which express, symbolically +or otherwise, definite ideas, religious, ethical, and +historical. For this reason many exponents of Judaism +would entirely discard the idea of a systematic theology, and +insist on the observance of the ceremonial laws as the one +essential. In following tradition in this manner, they forget +that the forms of religious practice have undergone many +changes in the course of time. In fact, the vitality of Judaism +lies in its unique capacity for development. Its ever youthful +mind has constantly created new forms to express the ideas +of the time, or has invested old ones with new meanings.<note place='foot'>See +Kohler: <q>Origin a. Function of Ceremonies in Judaism,</q> in Y. B. C. C. +of Am. R., 1907. Rosenau: <hi rend='italic'>Jewish Ceremonies, +Institutions a. Customs</hi>, 1912.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. The greatest and, indeed, the unique creation of Judaism +is the Synagogue, which started it on its world-mission and +made the Torah the common property of the entire people. +Devised in the Exile as a substitute for the Temple, it soon +eclipsed it as a religious force and a rallying point for the +whole people, appealing through the prayers and Scriptural +<pb n='448'/><anchor id='Pg448'/> +lessons to the congregation as a whole. The Synagogue was +limited to no one locality, like the Temple, but raised its +banner wherever Jews settled throughout the globe. It was +thus able to spread the truths of Judaism to the remotest +parts of the earth, and to invest the Sabbath and festivals +with deeper meaning by utilizing them for the instruction and +elevation of the people. What did it matter, if the Temple +fell a prey to the flame for a second time, or if the whole sacrificial +cult of the priesthood with all its pomp were to cease +forever? The soul of Judaism lived indestructibly in the +house of prayer and learning. In the Synagogue was fanned +the holy flame which kindled the heart with love of God +and fellow-men; here were offered sacrifices more pleasing +to God than the blood and fat of beasts, sacrifices of love +and charity.<note place='foot'>See art. Synagogue, in various encyclopedias; +Enelow: <hi rend='italic'>The Synagogue in +Modern Life</hi>; Schuerer, l. c., II, 429; Bousset, l. c., 197 ff.</note> +</p> + +<p> +3. The Synagogue has its peculiar institutions and ceremonies, +but no sacraments like those of the Church. Its +institutions, such as the festivals, aim to preserve the historic +memory of the people; its ceremonies, called <q>signs</q> +or <q>testimonies</q> in the Scripture, are to sanctify the life of +the nation, the family, or the individual. Neither possesses +a sacramental power, as does baptism or communion in the +Church, in giving salvation, or imparting something of the +nature of the Deity, or making one a member of the religious +community. The Jew is a member of the Jewish community +by his birth, which imposes upon him the obligations of the +covenant which God made with Israel at Mount Sinai. Judaism +is a religious heritage intrusted to a nation of priests, and +is not acquired by any rite of consecration or confession of +faith. Such a form of consecration and confession is required +only in the case of proselytes.<note place='foot'>See +Chapter <ref target='Chapter_LVI'>LVI</ref> above; J. E., art. Proselyte.</note> +<pb n='449'/><anchor id='Pg449'/> +It is superfluous to state that Confirmation does not bestow +the character of Jew upon the young, any more than the +former rite of Bar Mizwah did upon the young Israelite who +was called up to the reading from the Law in his thirteenth +year as a form of initiation into Jewish life.<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Bar Mizwah and Confirmation.</note> +</p> + +<p> +4. The rite of circumcision is enjoined upon the father in +the Mosaic Code as a <q>sign</q> of the covenant with Abraham, +to be performed on every son on the eighth day after +birth.<note place='foot'>Gen. XVII, 10-14.</note> +Therefore it is held in high esteem, and the father terms the +act in his benediction <q>admission into the covenant of +Abraham</q>;<note place='foot'>Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, p. 305.</note> +but in spite of this it is not a sacrament and does +not determine membership in the Jewish community. The +operation was not to be performed by a person of sacred calling +such as priest or rabbi, but in ancient Biblical times was +performed by women,<note place='foot'>Ex. IV, 25; see commentaries; Ebers: +<hi rend='italic'>Ægypten</hi>, B. M. I, 183.</note> and in the Talmudic period by the +surgeon.<note place='foot'>Josephus: Ant. XX, 2,4; +Shab. 130 b, 133 b, 156 a; Men. 42 a; Ab. Z. +26 b; comp. Gen. R. XLVI, 9.</note> In fact, if no Jewish surgeon was at hand, some +Talmudic authorities held that a non-Jewish surgeon could +perform it. Moreover, where hygienic reasons forced the +omission of the rite, the man was still a +Jew.<note place='foot'>Ab. Z. 27 a.</note> The rite itself +underwent a change; it was performed with stone knives +in Biblical times, just as in Egypt and even to-day in Arabia +and Syria.<note place='foot'>Ex. IV, 25; Josh. V, 2; +comp. Tylor: <hi rend='italic'>Early History of Mankind</hi>, 217-222; +J. E. and Encyc. of Rel. and Ethics, art. Circumcision; +Ploss: <hi rend='italic'>Knabenbeschneidung</hi>, +p. 11.</note> It became a mark of distinction for the people +during the Exile.<note place='foot'>Gen. XVII, 10-14; +comp. Deut. X, 16; Jer. IX, 25; Claude Montefiore: +Hibbert Lectures, 229, 337.</note> But the act was invested with special +religious sanctity during the Syrian persecution, when many +Jewish youths <q>violated the covenant</q> in order to appear +uncircumcised when they appeared in the arena with the +<pb n='450'/><anchor id='Pg450'/> +heathen.<note place='foot'>I Macc. I, 15, 48, 60; Josephus: Ant. XII, 5, 1; Aboth III, +11; Tos. Shab. XV, 9; Yer. Peah I, 16 b; Gen. R. XLVI, 9; Jubil. XV, 26 +f.</note> At this time new methods were introduced to guard +the <q>seal</q> of the covenant,<note place='foot'>Yer. +Shab. XIX, 6; Yeb. 71 b.</note> while pious mothers faced martyrdom +willingly to preserve the rite of Abraham among their +children. Later on the rabbis even declared circumcision +to be a safeguard against the pit of Gehenna<note place='foot'>Gen. +R. XLVIII, 7; Tanh. Lek Leka, ed. Buber, 27; Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, +304, after Tos. Ber. VI, 12, 13; Shab. 137 b.</note> and made +Elijah the guardian of the covenant.<note place='foot'>P. d. R. El. XIX.</note> The rite +may be traced back to primitive life, when the operation was +usually performed at the time of puberty and as a preliminary +to marriage,<note place='foot'>Ploss: <hi rend='italic'>Geschicht. +u. Ethnol. ue. Knabenbeschneidung</hi>, 1844; Encyc. Rel. and +Ethics, art. Circumcision.</note> but in Jewish life it assumed a religious +meaning and became endeared to the people as the +consecration of the child as the future head of a family. +The idea underlying the institution (as Zunz correctly calls +it)<note place='foot'>Zunz: <hi rend='italic'>Ges. Schr.</hi> +II, 197; comp. <hi rend='italic'>Rabbin Gutachlen ue. d. Beschneidung</hi>, +1844; Frankel: Zeitsch., 1844, p. 66-67.</note> is +the sanctification of the Jewish household as represented +by its male members. The member of a people +that is to be holy unto God must bear the seal of the +covenant on his flesh; as a potential father of another +generation, the sign he bore had a deeper meaning for the +future of the people.<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. +Circumcision; Sam. Cohn: <hi rend='italic'>Gesch. d. Beschneidung b. d. +Juden</hi> (Hebrew), Cracaw, 1903, for the extensive +literature.</note> The rationalistic view that the Mosaic +law is merely hygienic, although found as early as Philo, is +quite erroneous.<note place='foot'>Philo II, 210; Josephus: +Con. Apion. II, 13; Saadia: <hi rend='italic'>Emunoth</hi>, III, 10; +Maimonides: <hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, III, 49; Michaelis: +<hi rend='italic'>Mosaisches Recht</hi>, IV, 184-186.</note> +</p> + +<p> +5. The same rationalist view<note place='foot'>Maimonides, l. c., +III, 48; Samuel ben Meir to Lev. XI, 3; Michaelis, +l. c., IV, 202.</note> is often applied to the +<pb n='451'/><anchor id='Pg451'/> +dietary laws of the Mosaic Code, but without any justification +from the Biblical point of view. These laws prohibit +as unclean various species of animals, or such as have fallen +dead or as the prey of wild beasts, or certain portions like blood +and suet.<note place='foot'>Lev. XI; Deut. XIV, 3-21; Ex. XXII, 30; Lev. VII, 23; XVII, +9 f.; see Kalisch's: commentary to Lev. vol. II, 2-189; J. E., art. Dietary Laws.</note> +The Holiness Code states its reason for these +prohibitions very emphatically: <q>I am the Lord your God, +who have set you apart from the peoples. Ye shall therefore +separate between the clean beast and the unclean, and between +the unclean fowl and the clean; and ye shall not make +your souls detestable by beast, or by fowl, or by any thing +wherewith the ground teemeth, which I have set apart for +you to hold unclean. And ye shall be holy unto Me; for I +the Lord your God am holy, and have set you apart from the +peoples, that ye should be Mine.</q><note place='foot'>Lev. +XX, 24-26, which belongs to Lev. XI, 1-47; comp. Deut. XIV, +3-21.</note> The Deuteronomic +Code gives the same reason for the prohibition of the unclean +beasts: <q>For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God.</q> +It seems that these prohibitions of <q>unclean</q> foods were +intended originally for the priesthood and other holy men, +as appears in Ezekiel and elsewhere.<note place='foot'>See +Ezek. XLIV, 31; IV, 14; Jud. XIII, 7, 14. The law in Ex. XXII, +30, <q>Ye shall be holy men unto Me, therefore ye shall not eat any flesh that is +torn of beasts in the field,</q> seems to have been originally only for priests and +other holy men.</note> As a matter of fact, +the same class of animals from which the Israelites were commanded +to abstain were also forbidden to the priests or saints of +India, Persia, Mesopotamia, and partly of Egypt.<note place='foot'>See +<hi rend='italic'>Laws of Manu</hi>, V, 7; 11-20 in <hi rend='italic'>Sacred +Books of the East</hi>, XXV, 171 f.; +comp. II, 64; XIV, 38-48; 74; 184; <hi rend='italic'>Bundahish</hi>, +XIV; S. B. E. V, 47; Chwolson: +<hi rend='italic'>Die Szabier</hi>, II, 7; 102; Porphyrius: +<hi rend='italic'>De Abstinentia</hi>, IV, 7; Sommer, <hi rend='italic'>Bibl. +Abh.</hi> 271-322; J. E., l. c., 599.</note> The +natural conclusion is that the Mosaic law intended these +rules as a practical expression of its general principle that +<pb n='452'/><anchor id='Pg452'/> +Israel was to be <q>a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. +XIX, 6.</note> In other words, Israel was to fill the usual place of the priest +among the nations of the ancient world, a priest-people observing +the priestly laws of sanctification. Whatever the +origin of these customs may have been, whether they were +tabu laws in connection with totemism or some other primitive +view, the Priestly Code itself admits their lack of an Israelitish +origin by recognizing that they were known to +Noah.<note place='foot'>Gen. VII, 2, 8.</note> They +were simply adopted by the law-giver of Israel to make the +whole people feel their priestly calling. +</p> + +<p> +In later times the dietary laws, especially abstinence from +the flesh of swine, became a mark of distinction which separated +the Jew from his heathen surroundings; and they became +a symbol of Jewish loyalty in the Syrian persecutions +when pious Jews faced martyrdom for them as willingly as +for the refusal to adore the Syrian idols.<note place='foot'>II +Macc. VI, 18; VII, 41.</note> In fact, Pharisaism +adopted the principle of separation from the heathen in every +matter pertaining to diet, and this spirit of separatism was +strengthened by the scorn of the Greeks and Romans and +afterward by the antinomian spirit of Christianity. While +Hellenistic writers, eager to find a universal meaning in these +laws, assigned certain physical or psychic reasons for +them,<note place='foot'>Aristeas, 144-170.</note> +the rabbis of the Talmud insisted that they were given solely +for the moral purification of Israel. Thus they were to be +observed as tests of Israel's submission to the divine will and +not because of personal distaste. In their own words, <q>We +must overcome all desire for the sake of our Father in heaven</q>; +and <q>Only to those who wrestle with temptation does the +kingdom of God come.</q><note place='foot'>Sifra to +Lev. XX, 26; Tanh. to Lev. XI, 2.</note> In the course of time these prohibitions +were steadily extended, until they encircled the +whole life of the Jew, forming an insurmountable wall which +secluded him from his non-Jewish environment. Finally, +<pb n='453'/><anchor id='Pg453'/> +separation from the world came to be regarded as an end in +itself.<note place='foot'>Shab. 17 b; Ab. Z. 36 b, 38 +a, 8 a; Sanh. 104 a; P. d. R. El. XXIX.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Now, it cannot be denied that these laws actually disciplined +the medieval Jew, so that during centuries of wild +dissipation he practiced sobriety and moderation; as Maimonides +says,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Moreh</hi>, III, 25; see also +Morris Joseph, l. c., 180-189.</note> they served as lessons in self-mastery, in curbing +carnal desire, and keeping him clean in soul as well as +body. The question remains whether they still fulfill their +real object of consecrating Israel to its priestly mission among +the nations. Certainly the priestly character of these +laws is no longer understood, and the great majority of the +Jewish people who live among the various nations have +long discarded them. Orthodox Judaism, which follows +tradition without inquiring into the purpose of the laws, +is entirely consistent in maintaining the importance of +every item of the traditional Jewish life. Reform Judaism +has a different view, as it sees in the humanitarianism of +the present a mode of realizing the Messianic hope of Israel. +Therefore it cannot afford to encourage the separation of +the Jew from his environment in any way except through +the maintenance of his religion, and cannot encourage the +dietary laws as a means of separatism. Its great problem +is to find other methods to inculcate the spirit of holiness +in the modern Jew, to render him conscious of his priestly +mission, while he lives in unison and fellowship with all his +fellow-citizens.<note place='foot'>For the orthodox view, see +S. R. Hirsch: <hi rend='italic'>Horeb</hi>, Chap. LXVIII; M. +Friedlander: <hi rend='italic'>The Jewish Religion</hi>, 237; +for the reform, Einhorn: <hi rend='italic'>Sinai</hi>, 1859; +Kohler: <hi rend='italic'>Jewish Times</hi>, 1872; Geiger: +<hi rend='italic'>Ges. Schr.</hi> I, 253 f.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. The tendency to distinguish the Jew from his non-Jewish +neighbor in the course of time found expression in the +laws for wearing phylacteries (<foreign rend='italic'>tefillin</foreign>) +on his forehead and arm, a special sign on the doorpost of his house +(<foreign rend='italic'>mezuzzah</foreign>) +<pb n='454'/><anchor id='Pg454'/> +and fringes (<foreign rend='italic'>zizith</foreign>) +on the four corners of his shawl +(<foreign rend='italic'>tallith</foreign>).<note place='foot'>Deut. +VI, 8-9; XI, 18-20; Num. XV, 38-39.</note> +As a matter of fact, the original Biblical passages had no such +meaning, but acquired it through rabbinical interpretation. +The Mosaic law said: <q>And thou shalt bind them for a sign +upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine +eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the doorposts of thy +house and upon thy gates.</q> This refers clearly to the words +of God, admonishing the people to keep them in mind, as +the preceding verse indicates. Likewise, the precept regarding +the fringes upon the four-cornered garment emphasizes +rather the blue thread in the fringes, which is to help the people +remember the commandments of the Lord, that they may +not go astray, <q>following after the promptings of their own +hearts and eyes.</q> As the name phylacteries shows, these +were originally talismans or amulets. True, the law as stated +in Deuteronomy may be taken symbolically;<note place='foot'>Comp. +Prov. III, 3; Samuel ben Meir to Ex. XIII, 9.</note> but the +corresponding passage in Exodus, which is traditionally referred +to the phylacteries, indicates its origin by its close relation +to the Passover sacrifice. The blood of this was, no +doubt, put originally on the arm and forehead,<note place='foot'>Ex. +XIII, 9 and commentaries.</note> which is +still done by the Samaritans<note place='foot'>Stanley: +<hi rend='italic'>Hist. of the Jewish Church</hi>, I, 561; +Peterman: <hi rend='italic'>Reisen im Orient</hi>, +I, 237.</note> and has striking parallels in the +practice of the Fellahin in Palestine and Syria.<note place='foot'>Curtiss: +<hi rend='italic'>Ursemitische Religion</hi>, Chap. XX-XXI; Kohler: +<hi rend='italic'>Monatsschrift</hi>, +1893, p. 445, note.</note> Originally +the sacrificial blood was supposed to ward off evil spirits from +men, beasts and houses or tents, and gradually this pagan +custom was transformed into a religious precept to consecrate +the body, life, and home of the Jew. In more ancient times the +phylacteries were worn by pious men and women all day and +not merely during the time of prayer, and seem to have served +<pb n='455'/><anchor id='Pg455'/> +both as a religious symbol and an amulet. This was certainly +the case with the <foreign rend='italic'>mezuzzah</foreign> on the doorpost and probably +with the blue thread at the corners of the +<foreign rend='italic'>tallith</foreign>.<note place='foot'>Ber. +6 a, 14 b, 23 a, b; Tos. Ber. VII, 25; Midr. Teh. to Ps. VI, 1; Yer. +Peah I, 15 d; Targum Song of Songs, VIII, 3; Pes. III +b; Schorr: <hi rend='italic'>HeHalutz</hi>, +VII, 56-57; Baentsch: Comm. to Num. XV, 37; also Schuerer, G. V. II, +483-486.</note> As both +phylacteries and <foreign rend='italic'>tallith</foreign> +came into use at the divine service in +connection with the recital of the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shema</foreign> +and the chapter on the <foreign rend='italic'>zizith</foreign>, +the symbols assumed a higher meaning. Arrayed +in his vestments, the pious Jew offered daily allegiance to +his Maker, feeling that he was thereby protected from evil +within and without; similarly, the sacred sign upon the +door both consecrated and protected his home. Even with +this conception the talismanic character was never quite +forgotten. Throughout the Middle Ages these ceremonies +were observed as divine commandments; and tradition +having seemingly fixed them for all time, the Jew took +great pride in the fact that he was <q>distinguished</q> in many +ways, and especially in his forms of +worship.<note place='foot'>Cant. R. III, 11; Sifre Deut. 43; M. K. 16 b.</note> Of course, +they distinguished him far more when these ceremonies +were practiced for the entire day. Since the modern era has +brought the Jew nearer to his neighbors and he has opened +the Synagogue to invite the non-Jewish world to hear its +teachings, these practices have lost their hold upon the +people, becoming meaningless forms. The wearing of these +sacred symbols while at prayer seems superfluous as a +means of <q>turning men's hearts away from frivolous and +sinful thoughts.</q><note place='foot'>Kohler, l. c.: comp. +Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Studies</hi>, I, 249; Morris Joseph, l. c., p. 178, +where he quotes Maimonides H. Tefillin IV, 25.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. The most important institution of the Synagogue, and +the one most fraught with blessing for all mankind, is the +Sabbath. Although its name and existence point to a Babylonian +<pb n='456'/><anchor id='Pg456'/> +origin,<note place='foot'>See art. Sabbath in +various encyclopedias and the Babel-Bibel controversies; +Zimmern and Schrader: K. A. T., II, 592 f.; Jastrow: American +Journal of Theology, 1898, p. 315-352.</note> +it is still the peculiar creation of the Jewish +genius and a chief pillar of the Jewish religion. As a day of +rest crowning the daily labor of the week, it testifies to the +Creator of the universe who made all that is in accordance +with His divine plan of perfection. The underlying idea +expressed in Scripture is that the Sabbath is a divine institution. +As God himself worked out His design for the world +in absolute freedom and rested with delight at its completion, +so man is to follow His example, working during six +days of the week and then enjoying the rest of the Sabbath +with a mind elated by higher thoughts. Moreover, the day +of rest observed by Israel should recall his redemption from +the slavery and continual labor of Egypt. Thereby every +creature made in God's image, the slave and stranger as well +as the born Israelite, is given the heavenly boon of freedom +and recreation to hallow the labor of the week. There are +thus two explanations given for the Sabbath, one in the +Decalogue of Exodus, the Holiness Code and Priestly +Code,<note place='foot'>Ex. XX, 8-11; XVI, 23-29; XXXV, 2-3; XXXI, 13; comp. Jer. +XVIII, 21-27; Neh. XIII, 15-18.</note> +the other in the Decalogue of Deuteronomy and the Book of +the Covenant.<note place='foot'>Deut. V, 12-15; Ex. +XXIII, 12; XXXIV, 21; comp. Isa. LVIII, 13.</note> +</p> + +<p> +These two views, in turn, gave rise to different conceptions +of the Sabbath laws. Many ancient teachers laid chief stress +on the letter of the law which bids men cease from labor. +Others, who penetrated farther into the spirit of Deuteronomy +and the Covenant Code, emphasized the human need for +relaxation and refreshment of soul. The older school, especially +the Sadducees, demanded absolute cessation of labor on +pain of death for any work, however insignificant, and even +for the moving from one place to another. They thought of +<pb n='457'/><anchor id='Pg457'/> +the Sabbath as a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, +and hence held that it should be observed as punctiliously +as possible.<note place='foot'>See Jubilees II, 23-30; +L, 6; Geiger, <hi rend='italic'>Zeitsch.</hi>, 1868, 116; <hi rend='italic'>Nachgel. +Schr.</hi>, III, 286 f.; V, 142 f.; Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Document +of a Jewish Sect</hi>, I; XXV; XLVIII-L; Halevi: +<hi rend='italic'>The Commandments of the Sabbath for the Falashas</hi>, +1902; Harkavy L. K., II, 69 f., for the Karaites.</note> +In the same measure as the Pharisees, with their +program of religious democracy and common sense, obtained +the upper hand, the Biblical strictness of the Sabbath law was +modified. The term labor was defined by analogy with the +work done for the tabernacle, and so restricted as to make the +death penalty much more limited.<note place='foot'>Shab. +VII, 2, 70 a; Mek. Wayakhel.</note> Moreover, the Pharisees +held that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the +Sabbath;<note place='foot'>Mek. Ki Thisla I, comp. Mark +II. 2 f.</note> so, although they adhered strictly to the prohibition +of labor, the Sabbath received at their hands more of the +other element, and became a day for the elevation of the +soul, <q>a day of delight</q> for the spirit.<note place='foot'>Isa. +LVIII; Shab. 118 a, b; Mek. Yithro VII; Pes, R. XXIII, p. 121.</note> The whole man, +body and soul alike, should enjoy God's gifts more fully on +this day; he should cast off care and sanctify the day by +praise offered to God at the family table. At a very early +period in Israel the Sabbath was distinguished by the words of +instruction and comfort offered by the prophets to the people +who consulted them on the day of rest.<note place='foot'>II +Kings IV, 23.</note> During the Exile +and afterward the people assembled on the Sabbath to hear +the word of God read from the Torah and the prophets and +to join in prayer and song, which soon became a permanent +institution.<note place='foot'>Philo II, 137, 166, +281, 631.</note> Thus the Sabbath elevated and educated the +Jewish people, and afterward transferred its blessings also +to the Christian and Mohammedan world. Especially during +the Middle Ages the Sabbath became an oasis, a refreshing +spring of water for the Jew. All through the week he was a +<pb n='458'/><anchor id='Pg458'/> +Pariah in the outside world, but the Sabbath brought him +bliss in his home and spiritual power in his Synagogue and +school. Cheerfully he bore the yoke of statutes and ordinances +that grew ever heavier under the rabbinical amplification; +for he hailed the Sabbath as the <q>queen</q> that raised +him from a hated wanderer to a prince in his own +domain.<note place='foot'>See Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Studies</hi>, +I, 249 f.; Morris Joseph, l. c., 202-214.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Modern life has worked great changes in the Jewish observance +of the Sabbath. Caught up in the whirl of commercial +and industrial competition, the Jew, like Ixion in the fable, +is bound to his wheel of business, and enjoys neither rest for +his body nor elevation for his soul on God's holy day. True, +the Synagogue still preserves the sanctity of the ancient +Sabbath, however small may be the attendance at the divine +service, and in many pious homes the family still rallies around +the festive table, lighted by the Sabbath lamp and decorated +by the symbolic cup of wine. But for the majority of Western +Jews the Sabbath has lost its pristine sanctity and splendor, +to the great detriment of Jewish religious life. Therefore +many now ask: <q>Is it sufficient to have a vicarious observance +of the historical Sabbath, the <q>sign between God and +Israel,</q> by an hour or two in the Synagogue, but without rest +for the entire day? Or shall the civic day of rest, though +Christian in origin and character, take the place of the Jewish +Sabbath with its sacred traditions, so that possibly at last +it may become the Sabbath day predicted by the seer upon +which <q>all flesh shall come to worship before the Lord</q>?</q><note place='foot'>See +David Philipson: <hi rend='italic'>Reform Movement in Judaism</hi>, 275-302, 503-508; +E. G. Hirsch in J. E., art. Sabbath; Sabbath and Sunday.</note> In +the halcyon days of the reform movement in Germany this +view was often expressed when the radical reformers celebrated +the civic day of rest as the Jewish Sabbath, not in +the spirit of dissension, but for the sake of giving Judaism a +larger scope and a wider outlook. In America, too, the idea +<pb n='459'/><anchor id='Pg459'/> +of transferring the Sabbath to Sunday was broached by some +leading Reform rabbis and met with hearty support on the +part of their congregations. Since then a more conservative +view has taken hold of most of the liberal elements of Jewry +also in America. While divine service on Sundays has been +introduced with decided success in many cities and eminent +preachers bring the message of Judaism home to thousands +that would otherwise remain strangers to the house of God +and to the influence of religion, the conviction has become +well established that the continuity with our great past must +be upheld, and the general feeling is that the historical Sabbath +should under no condition be entirely given up. It is +inseparably connected with the election of Israel as a priest-people, +while the Christian <q>Lord's Day</q> represents views +and tendencies opposed to those of Judaism, whether considered +in its original meaning or in that given it by the +Church.<note place='foot'>See Schaff-Herzog Encyc., +art. Sunday.</note> The Jew may properly use the civic day of rest +in common with his Christian fellow-citizen for religious +devotion and instruction for young and old; it will supplement +his neglected Sabbath service, until conditions have +changed. Perhaps the Jew in Mohammedan countries may +even at some time observe Friday as is done by the Mosque, +and accordingly consecrate this day in common with his fellow-citizens. +Still, between the Sabbath observed by the Church +and the one of the Mosque stands the Jewish Sabbath in +solemn grandeur and patriarchal dignity, waiting with Israel, +its keeper and ally, for the day when all humanity will worship +the one holy God of Abraham, and when our ancient Sabbath +may truly become the Sabbath of the world. +</p> + +<p> +8. In all lands time was originally regulated by the movements +of the moon, which are within the observation of all. +The alternation of its increase and decrease divided the month +into two parts, which were then subdivided into four. Therefore +<pb n='460'/><anchor id='Pg460'/> +the original month among both the Babylonians and the +Hebrews consisted of four weeks of seven days each, the last +day of each week being the Sabbath, the <q>day of standstill,</q> +and two days of the new moon.<note place='foot'>See I Sam. XX, +5-27, where the two new-moon days are spoken of as +approaching, proving the use of the Babylonian month of four weeks of seven +days each, and two new-moon days.</note> Both the new moon and full +moon were special days of celebration,<note place='foot'>II Kings IV, +23; Prov. VII, 20; comp. Ps. LXXXI, 4, <hi rend='italic'>Kese</hi>.</note> and later two +other Sabbath days were added between them to correspond to the +four phases of the moon. Still later the week was detached +altogether from the moon and made a fixed period of seven +days, solemnly ended by the Sabbath. Thus Judaism raised +the Sabbath above all dependence on nature and into the realm +of holiness. The Jewish Sabbath became the witness to God, +the Creator ruling above nature in absolute +freedom.<note place='foot'>Ex. XX, 11; Gen. II, 2-3.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Still the ancient festival of the new moon was preserved as +an observance in the Temple, and it afterward survived only +in the liturgy of the Synagogue. While ancient Israel had +observed the New Moon as a day of rest even more sacred +than the Sabbath,<note place='foot'>II Kings IV, 23; Isa. +I, 13; LXVI, 23.</note> the Priestly Code placed it among the festivals +only as a day of sacrifice, but as neither a day of rest +nor of popular celebration.<note place='foot'>Num. +XXVIII, 11 f.</note> Beside the recital of the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hallel</foreign> +Psalms and the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Mussaf</foreign> +(<q>additional</q>) prayer in the Synagogue +no religious significance was attached to it in the daily +life of the people. Still the fact that the Jewish calendar was +regulated by the moon, while that of other nations depended +on the solar year, led the rabbis to compare the unique history +of Israel to the course of the moon. As the moon changes +continually, waxing and waning but ever renewing itself after +each decline, so Israel renews itself after every fall; while the +proud nations of the world, which count their year by the +course of the sun, rise and set, as it does, with no hope of +<pb n='461'/><anchor id='Pg461'/> +renewal.<note place='foot'>Mek. Bo I; Pes. R. XV; P. d. +R. El. LI; Sanh. 42 a; Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, +292.</note> At the same time, assurance was found in the prophetic +words that <q>the light of the moon shall be as the light +of the sun and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold as the +light of the seven days</q> and <q>thy (Israel's) sun shall no more +go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself, for the Lord +shall be thine everlasting light.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. XXX, 26; LX, 20.</note> +</p> + +<p> +9. The various Jewish festivals, like the Sabbath, were +detached from their original relation to nature and turned +into historical memorials, eloquent testimonies to the great +works of God and of Israel's power of rejuvenation. The +Passover was originally the spring festival of the shepherds +when they hallowed the thresholds,<note place='foot'>Ex. +XII, 11-27; Deut, XVI, 1; see the commentaries, also Clay Trumbull: +<hi rend='italic'>The Threshold Covenant</hi>; Curtiss, +l. c.</note> but was later identified +with the agricultural Feast of Unleavened Bread in Palestine, +and at an early period was further transformed into a festival +of redemption. The former rites of consecration of tent +and herd were taken as symbols of the wondrous deliverance +of the Hebrews from the Egyptian yoke. The sacrifice of +the <q>passing over the threshold,</q> with the sprinkling of the +blood on the doorposts and lintels of each house, observed +each spring exactly as is still done among the semi-pagan +inhabitants of Syria and Arabia, was reinterpreted. According +to the Mosaic code it indicated the wondrous passing of +the angel of death over the thresholds of the Israelites in +Egypt, while he entered the homes of the Egyptians to slay +the first-born and avenge the wrongs of Israel.<note place='foot'>In +Deut. the Passover sacrifice was the first-born of the flock, see Deut. +XVI, 2, comp. with Ex. XIII, 2-16, and the celebration took place on the +night of the new moon. The Priestly Code observed it on the full moon, with +a lamb instead of the first-born sheep or cattle. Ex. XII, 3 f.; Lev, XXIII, 5 +(the Holiness Code); Josh. V, 10.</note> Likewise +the cakes of bread without leaven (the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Mazzoth</foreign>) baked for +<pb n='462'/><anchor id='Pg462'/> +the festival were taken as reminders of the hasty exodus +of the fathers from the land of oppression. Thus the spring +festival became a memorial of the springtime of liberty for +the nation and at the same time a consecration of the Jewish +home to the covenant God of Israel. God was to enter the +Jewish home as He did in Egypt, as the Redeemer and Protector +of Israel. Young and old listened with perennial interest +to the story of the deliverance, offering praise for the +wonders of the past and voicing their confidence in the future +redemption from oppression and woe. +</p> + +<p> +However burdensome the Passover minutiæ, especially in +regard to the prohibition of leaven, became to the Jewish household, +the predominant feature was always an exuberance of +joy. In the darkest days of medievalism the synagogue and +home resounded with song and thanksgiving, and the young +imbibed the joy and comfort of their elders through the beautiful +symbols of the feast and the richly adorned tale of +the deliverance (the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Haggadah</foreign>). +The Passover feast with its +<q>night of divine watching</q> endowed the Jew ever anew with +endurance during the dark night of medieval tyranny, and +with faith in <q>the Keeper of Israel who slumbereth not nor +sleepeth.</q><note place='foot'>About the watch-night, see +Jubilees XLVIII, 5; Pesah. 109 b.</note> Moreover, as the springtide of nature fills each +creature with joy and hope, so Israel's feast of redemption +promises the great day of liberty to those who still chafe under +the yoke of oppression. The modern Jew is beginning to see +in the reawakening of his religious and social life in western +lands the token of the future liberation of all mankind.<note place='foot'>See +Einhorn's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerbook</hi>, 485; Holdheim: +<hi rend='italic'>Prediglen</hi>, 1853, II, 189, +referring to Jer. XXIII, 7-8; Tos. Ber. I, 12; Ber. 12 b.</note> The +Passover feast brings him the clear and hopeful message of +freedom for humanity from all bondage of body and of spirit. +</p> + +<p> +10. The Feast of Weeks or Festival of the First Fruits +in Biblical times was merely a farmer's holiday at the end of +<pb n='463'/><anchor id='Pg463'/> +the seven weeks of harvest. At the beginning of the harvest +parched grains of barley were offered, while at its end two +loaves of the new wheat flour were brought as a thank-offering +for the new crop.<note place='foot'>Ex. XXIII, 16; XXXIV, +22; Deut. XVI, 9; Lev. XXIII, 10-17.</note> Rabbinical Judaism, however, transformed +it into a historical feast by making it the memorial +day of the giving of the Ten Words on Mount Sinai. It was +thus given a universal significance, as the Midrash has it, +<q>turning the Feast of the First Fruits into a festival commemorating +the ripening of the first fruits of the spiritual +harvest for the people of the covenant.</q><note place='foot'>Ex. +R. XXXI, 17, with reference to Ex. XIX, 1; Jubilees VI, 17-21.</note> Henceforth the Ten +Words were to be solemnly read to the congregation on that +day, and the pledge of loyalty made by the fathers thereby +renewed each year by Israel's faithful sons. The leaders of +Reform Judaism surrounded the day with new charm by the +introduction of the confirmation ceremony,<note place='foot'>See +J. E., art. Confirmation.</note> thus rendering +it a feast of consecration of the Jewish youth to the ancient +covenant, of yearly renewal of loyalty by the rising generation +to the ancestral faith. +</p> + +<p> +11. The main festival in Biblical times was the Feast of +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sukkoth</foreign>, +or Tabernacles, the great harvest festival of autumn, +when the people flocked to the central sanctuary in solemn +procession, carrying palms and other plants. Hence this +was called the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hag</foreign> +or Pilgrimage Feast.<note place='foot'>Deut. XVI, 13; Lev. +XXIII, 34-43; comp. I Kings VIII, 65; Ezek. +XLV, 23; R. h. Sh. I, 2.</note> In the post-exilic +Priestly Code this festival also was made historical, and the +name Feast of Sukkoth (which denoted originally Feast of +Pilgrimage Tents) was connected with the exodus from Egypt, +when the town of <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sukkoth</foreign> +(possibly named from the tents of +their encampment) was made the rallying point of the fugitive +Hebrews at their departure from Egypt. The commentators +no longer understood this connection, and traced +<pb n='464'/><anchor id='Pg464'/> +the name to the tents erected by the people in their wanderings +through the wilderness.<note place='foot'>See Ex. XII, +37; XIII, 20; Num. XXXIII, 5, and comp. Mek. Bo 14; +<hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> Emor XVII.</note> It seems that from very ancient +times popular rites were performed at this feast, which took a +specially solemn form in the holding of a procession from the +pool of Shiloah at the foot of the Temple mount to the altar +in the Temple, to offer there a libation of water, which was a +sort of symbolic prayer for rain for the opening year. Obviously, +it is this feast which is referred to in the last chapter +of Zechariah, while this outburst of popular joy found a deep +response among the pious leaders of the people and is echoed +in the liturgy of the medieval Synagogue.<note place='foot'>Zech. +XIV, 16-19; comp. Is. XII, 3; Suk. V, 1-4; Tos. Suk. IV, 1-9; +<hi rend='italic'>Piyut</hi> to the Sukkoth festival.</note> The Halakic +rules concerning the tabernacle and the four plans for it +tended to obscure the real significance of the +festival;<note place='foot'>Suk. I-IV; Talmud and Codes.</note> yet +in the synagogue and the home it retained its original character +as a <q>season of gladness.</q> The joyous gratitude to +God for His protection of Israel during the forty years of +wanderings through the wilderness expanded into thanksgiving +for His guidance throughout the forty centuries of Israel's +pilgrimage through all lands and ages. This joy culminated +on the last day in the Feast of Rejoicing in the Law, when +the annual cycle of readings from the Pentateuch was completed +in the Synagogue amid overflowing pride in the possession +of God's law by Israel.<note place='foot'>Ibn Yarchi: +<hi rend='italic'>Manhig</hi>, H. Suk. 53-60; T. O. Ch. DCLXIX; J. E., art. +Simhath Torah.</note> The rabbis gave Sukkoth a universal +significance by taking the seventy bullocks prescribed +for the seven days as offerings for the salvation of the seventy +nations of the world, while the one bullock offered on the last day +suggested the uniqueness of Israel as God's peculiar +people.<note place='foot'>Pesik. 193 b; Suk. 55 b; Philo: +De Victimis, I, 2, II, 238-239.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='465'/><anchor id='Pg465'/> + +<p> +12. The highest point of religious devotion in the synagogue +is reached on the New Year's day and the Day of Atonement +preceding the Feast of Sukkoth. These are first mentioned +in the Priestly Code and were undoubtedly instituted +after the time of Ezra;<note place='foot'>Lev. XXIII, +24-32; comp. Neh. VIII, 1-18.</note> they were then brought into closer +connection by the Pharisees and permeated with lofty ideas +which struck the deepest chords of the human heart and +voiced the sublimest truths of religion for all time to come. +</p> + +<p> +The New Year's Day on the first of Tishri appears in the +Mosaic Code simply as the memorial <q>Day of the Blowing of +the Trumpet,</q> because of the increased number of trumpet +blasts to usher in the seventh or Sabbatical month with its +great pilgrim feast. Under Babylonian influence, however, +it received a new name and meaning. The Babylonian New +Year was looked upon as a heavenly day of destiny when the +fates of all beings on earth and in heaven were foretold for +the whole year from the tables of destiny. The leaders of +Jewish thought also adopted the first day of the holy month +of Tishri as a day of divine judgment, when God allots to each +man his destiny for the year according to his record of good +and evil deeds in the book of life.<note place='foot'>J. E., +art. New Year's Day; Life, Book of.</note> Accordingly, the stirring +notes of the Shofar were to strike the hearts of the people +with fear, that they might repent of their sins and improve +their ways during the new year. As fixed by tradition, the +liturgy contained three blasts of the Shofar to proclaim +three great ideas of Judaism:<note place='foot'>R. h. Sh. IV, 6-7; +Tos. R. h. Sh. IV, 4-9; R. h. Sh. 27 a; Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, +247-254, and Abrahams Ann. CXCV, 111 f.; and <hi rend='italic'>Union Prayer Book</hi>, +II, 70-75.</note> the recognition of God as +King of the world; as Judge, remembering the actions and +thoughts of men and nations for their reward and punishment; +and as the Ruler of history, who revealed Himself to Israel +in the trumpet-blasts of Sinai and will gather all men and +<pb n='466'/><anchor id='Pg466'/> +nations by the trumpet-blasts of the Judgment Day at the +end of time. +</p> + +<p> +The main purpose of the New Year was to render it a day +of renewal of the heart, so that man might put himself in harmony +with the great Judge on high and receive life anew from +His hand, while he fills his spirit with new and better resolves +for the future. Judaism does not place the day of judgment +after death, when repentance is beyond reach and the sinner +can only await damnation, as is done by Christianity after +the apocalyptic views adopted from the Parsees. The Jewish +judgment day occurs at the beginning of every year, a +day of self-examination and improvement of men before God. +On this day—in the orthodox Synagogue on the second day +of the New Year—the chapter is read from the Torah describing +Abraham's great act of faith on Mount Moriah, the +heroic pattern of Jewish martyrdom, and stirring prayers, +litanies, and songs prepare the worshiper for the <q>great +day</q> of the year, the Day of Atonement, which is to come +on the tenth day of Tishri, the last of the ten Days of +Repentance. +</p> + +<p> +13. The Day of Atonement figures in the Mosaic Code as +the day when the high priest in the Temple performed the +important function of expiation for the sanctuary, the priesthood, +and the people. The mass of the people were to observe +the day from evening to evening as a Sabbath and a fast day +to obtain pardon for their sins before God.<note place='foot'>Lev. +XVI, 2-34; comp. Ezek. XLV, 18-20.</note> A very primitive +rite which survived for this day was the selection of two goats, +one of which was to be sent to Azazel, the demon of the wilderness, +to bear away the sins of the people, while the other +was to be offered to the Lord as a sacrifice. We learn from +the Mishnaic sources that the sending forth of the scapegoat +was accompanied by strange practices betraying intense popular +interest, and its arrival at the bottom of the wild ravine, +<pb n='467'/><anchor id='Pg467'/> +where Azazel was supposed to dwell, was announced by signals +from station to station, until they reached the Temple mount, +and the news of it was then received with wild bursts of +joy by the people. The young men and maidens assembled +on the heights of Jerusalem, like the men at the pilgrimage +feast at Shiloh, and held, as it were, nuptial dances.<note place='foot'>Yoma +VI; Kalish's commentary to Lev. XVI; Taan. IV, 8; comp. Jud. +XXI, 21; see Morgenstern in Journal Oriental Soc., 1917, and J.Q.R. 1917, +p. 94.</note> The day +was one of communion with God for the high-priest alone; +he confessed his sins and those of the people and implored +forgiveness, and it was actually believed that he beheld the +Majesty of God on that day when he entered the Holy of +Holies with the incense shrouding his face.<note place='foot'>Yoma +IV-VI; comp. Lev. R. XXI, 11; V, 1.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In contrast to this priestly monopoly of service with its +external and archaic forms of expiation, the founders of the +Synagogue invested the Day of Atonement with a higher +meaning in accord with the spirit of the prophets of old, the +doctrine of God's mercy and paternal love. Atonement could +no longer be obtained by the priest with the sacrificial blood, +the incense, or the scapegoat; it must come through the +repentance of the sinner, leading him back from the path of +error to the way of God. As the high-priest in the Temple, +so now every son of Israel was to spend the day in the house +of prayer, confessing his sins before God with a contrite heart, +awaiting with awe the realization of God's promise to Moses: +<q>I have pardoned according to thy word.</q><note place='foot'>Num. +XIV, 20; XV, 26.</note> Indeed, a forward +step in the history of religion is represented in the interpretation +of the verse: <q>For on this day <emph>he</emph>—that +is, the high-priest—shall +make atonement for you to cleanse you,</q> +which was now understood to refer to God: <q>He shall make +atonement for you through this day.</q><note place='foot'>Lev. XVI, 30; +<hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> Ahare VI; Yoma 30 b; Yer. Yoma +V, 42 c.</note> Therefore R. Akiba +<pb n='468'/><anchor id='Pg468'/> +could exclaim proudly, as he thought of the Paulinian doctrine +of vicarious atonement: <q>Happy are ye Israelites! +Before whom do you cleanse yourselves from sin, and who +cleanses you? Your Father in heaven!</q><note place='foot'>Yoma VIII, 9.</note> No +mediator was needed between man and his heavenly Father from the +moment that each individual learned to approach God in true +humility on the Day of Atonement, imploring His pardon +for sin and promising to amend his ways. With profound +intuition the rabbis attributed God's pardon to the petition +of Moses, saying that He revealed Himself in His attribute +of mercy on the very tenth of Tishri, foreshadowing for all +time the divine forgiveness of sin on the Day of Atonement.<note place='foot'>P. +d. R. El. XLVI; Taan. 30 b; B. B. 121 a; S. Olam R. VI; T. d. El. +Zutta IV; Ex. R. LI, 4. Jubilees XXXIV, 18-19 connects the Day of Atonement +with the repentance of Joseph's brethren.</note> +</p> + +<p> +As the Mishnah expressly states, even the Day of Atonement +cannot bring forgiveness so long as injustice cleaves +to one's hand or evil speech to the lips and no attempt is +made to repair the injury and appease one's +fellow-man.<note place='foot'>Yoma, l. c.</note> +Where justice is lacking, divine love cannot exert its saving +power. God's mercy and long-suffering cannot remove sin, +unless the root of evil is removed from the heart and every +wrong redressed in sincere repentance. The spirit of God +is invoked on these great days at the year's commencement +only that the penitent soul may thus receive strength to +improve its ways, that good conduct in the future may +atone for the errors of the past. Surely no religion in the +world can equal the sublime teachings of the New Year's day +and the Day of Atonement, first filling the heart of mortal +man with awe before the Judge of the world and then cheering +it with the assurance of God's paternal love being ever ready +to extend mercy to His repentant children. While the other +festivals of the year are specifically Jewish in historic associations +<pb n='469'/><anchor id='Pg469'/> +and meaning, these two days on the threshold of each +new year are universally human, and the chief prayers for +this day are of a universal character, appealing to every human +heart. Indeed, it is characteristic that both the concluding +service for the day, the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Neilah</foreign>, +and the Scriptural reading of the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Minhah</foreign> +Service, selected from the book of Jonah, tell +that God's all-forgiving mercy extends to the non-Jewish +world as well as to the Jew.<note place='foot'>Comp. above, Chapter +<ref target='Chapter_XXXIX'>XXXIX</ref>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +14. Altogether, the Synagogue gave to the annual cycle +of the Jewish life a beautiful rhythm in its alternation of joy +and sorrow, lending a higher solemnity to general experience. +All the festivals mentioned above were preceded by a series +of Sabbaths to prepare the congregation for the coming of +the sad or the joyful season with its historical reminiscences. +So the memorial day of the destruction of Jerusalem, the +ninth of Ab, had three weeks previously to herald in a day +commemorating the siege of Jerusalem, the seventeenth of +Tammuz; but it had also seven Sabbath days to follow, +which afforded words of consolation and hope of a more glorious +future for the mourning nation.<note place='foot'>Josephus +J. W. VI, 4, 5; Meg. Taan. V; Taan. IV, 4; Taan. 12 a, 29 ab. +J. E., art. Ab, Ninth of; see also Pes. R. XXVI-XXXIII; +Pesik. 110 b-148 a.</note> Of course, the brighter +days of the present era have greatly modified the lugubrious +character of these eventful days of the past, even in those +circles where the hope for the restoration of the Jewish nation +and Temple is still expressed in prayer. At the same time, +the commemoration of the destruction of State and Temple, +the great turning-point in the history of the Jew, ought to +be given a prominent place in the Reform Synagogue as +well, though celebrated in the spirit of progressive Judaism. +</p> + +<p> +The feast of Hanukkah with its lights and song, jubilant +with the Maccabean victory in the battle for Israel's faith, +still resounds in the Jewish home and the house of God with +<pb n='470'/><anchor id='Pg470'/> +the prophetic watchword: <q>Not by might, nor by power, but +by My spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.</q><note place='foot'>Zech. +IV, 6; J. E., art. Hanukka; Maccabees.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The mirthful feast of Purim, with its half-serious, half-jovial +use of the scroll of Esther and its popular rejoicing, +assumed in the course of time a more earnest character, +because the plot of Haman and the rescue of the Jews +became typical in Jewish history. Therefore the story of +Amalek, the arch-foe of Israel, is read in the Synagogue on +the preceding Sabbath as a reminder of the constant battle +which Israel must wage for its supreme religious task.<note place='foot'>Meg. +IV, 5; 18 a, 21 b; J. E., art. Purim; Esther; Sifre to Deut. 296.</note> +</p> + +<p> +15. Through the entire history of Judaism since the Exile, +the Synagogue brought its religious truth home to the people +each Sabbath and holy day through the reading and expounding +of the Torah and the prophets. These words of +consolation and admonition struck a deep chord in the hearts +of the people, so that learning was the coveted prize of all +and ignorance of the law became a mark of inferiority. Beside +these stated occasions, all times of joy or sadness such as +weddings and funerals were given some attention in the Synagogue, +as linking the individual to the communal life, and +linking his personal joy and sorrow with the past sadness and +future glory of Jerusalem, as if they but mirrored the greater +events of the people. Thus the whole life was to be placed +in the service of the social body, and could not be torn asunder +or divided into things holy and things profane. Religion +must send forth its rays like the sun, illumining and warming +all of man's deeds and thoughts. +</p> + +<p> +16. The weakness of the Synagogue was its Orientalism. +Amid all the changes of time and environment, it remained +separated from the surrounding world to such an extent that +it could no longer exert an influence to win outsiders for its +great truths. Until recently the Hebrew language was retained +<pb n='471'/><anchor id='Pg471'/> +for the entire liturgy, although it had become unintelligible +to the majority of the Jews in western lands, and +even though the rabbis had declared in Talmudic times that +the verse: <q>Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord +is One</q> indicates that the words should be spoken in a language +which can be heard and understood by the people.<note place='foot'>Ber. 13 a.</note> +The Torah likewise was, and in the ancient Synagogue is still +read exclusively in the Hebrew original, in spite of the fact +that the original reading under Ezra was accompanied by +a translation and interpretation in the Aramaic vernacular. +Thus only could the Torah become <q>the heritage of the whole +congregation of Jacob,</q> which fact gave rise to both the +Aramaic and Greek translations of the Bible which carried +the truths of Judaism to the wider circle of the world. These +plain facts were ignored through the centuries to the detriment +of the Jewish faith, and this neglect, in turn, engendered +a false conception of Judaism, making it seem ever more +exclusive and narrow. Instead of becoming <q>our wisdom +and understanding before all the nations,</q><note place='foot'>Deut. +IV, 6.</note> knowledge of +the Torah dwindled to a possession of the few, while the +ceremonial laws, observed by the many, were performed +without any understanding of their origin or purpose. But +in the last century under the banner of Reform Judaism many +of these points were altered. The vernacular was introduced +into the Synagogue, so that the modern Jew might pray in the +same tongue in which he feels and thinks, thus turning the +prayers from mechanical recitations into true offerings of the +soul, and bringing the Scriptural readings nearer to the consciousness +of the congregation. Likewise the reintroduction +of the sermon in the vernacular as part of the divine service +for Sabbath and holy days became the vehicle to awaken +religious sentiments in the hearts of the people, and thereby +to revive the spirit of the ancient prophets and +Haggadists.<note place='foot'>See Zunz: <hi rend='italic'>Gottesdienstliche +Vortraege</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='472'/><anchor id='Pg472'/> + +<p> +17. This Orientalism is especially marked in the attitude of +the older Synagogue to women. True enough, woman was +honored as the mistress of the home. She kindled the Sabbath +light, provided for the joy and comfort of domestic life, +especially on the holy days, observed strictly the laws of diet +and purity, and awakened the spirit of piety in her children. +Still she was excluded from the regular divine service in the +Synagogue. She did not count as a member of the religious +community, which consisted exclusively of men. She had +to sit in the gallery behind a trellis during the service and could +not even join the men in saying grace at table. A few rare +women were privileged to study Hebrew, such as the daughter +of Rashi, but as a rule woman's education was neglected as +if <q>she had no claim on any other wisdom than the distaff.</q><note place='foot'>Yoma +66 b; comp. R. Eliezer's other dictum, Sota III, 4.</note> +More and more Judaism lost sight of its noble types of women +in antiquity; it forgot the Biblical heroines such as Miriam +and Deborah, Hannah and Hulda, and Talmudic ones such +as Beruria the wife of Rabbi Meir. Such women as these +might have repeated the words: <q>Hath the Lord indeed +spoken only through Moses? Hath He not also spoken +through us?</q><note place='foot'>Num. XII, 2.</note> +Aside from the sphere of religion, in which +woman always manifests a splendid wealth of sentiment, she +was held in subjection by Oriental laws in both marital and +social relations,<note place='foot'>See Geiger's <hi rend='italic'>Zeitschr.</hi>, +1836, 1 f., 354; 1839, 333 f.</note> and her natural vocation as religious teacher of +the children in the home failed to receive full recognition also. +</p> + +<p> +The first attempt to liberate the Jewish woman from the +yoke of Orientalism was made in the eleventh century by +Rabbi Gershon ben Jehudah of Mayence, at that time the +leading rabbi of Germany. Under the influence of Occidental +ideas he secured equal rights for men and women in +marriage.<note place='foot'>Graetz, <hi rend='italic'>H. J.</hi> III, 244 f.; +L. Loew: <hi rend='italic'>Ges. Sch.</hi> III, 57.</note> +But only in our own time were full rights accorded her in the +<pb n='473'/><anchor id='Pg473'/> +Synagogue, owing to the reform movement in Germany and +Austria. As a matter of fact, the confirmation of children +of both sexes, which was gradually introduced in many conservative +congregations also, was the virtual recognition of +woman as the equal of man in Synagogue and school.<note place='foot'>See Landsberg +in J. E., art. Confirmation; L. Loew: <hi rend='italic'>Lebensalter</hi>, 17.</note> +Finally, upon the initiative of Isaac M. Wise, then Rabbi in Albany, +N. Y., family pews were introduced in the American +Synagogue and woman was seated beside her husband, son, +father, and brother as their equal. With her greater emotional +powers she is able to lend a new solemnity and dignity to the +religious and educational efforts of the Synagogue, wherever +she is admitted as a full participant in the service. +</p> + +<p> +18. Another shortcoming of the Synagogue and of Rabbinical +Judaism in general was its formalism. Too much stress was +laid upon the perfunctory <q>discharge of duty,</q> the outward +performance of the letter of the law, and not enough upon +the spiritual basis of the Jewish religion. The form obscured +the spirit, even though it never quite succeeded in throttling +it. This formalism of the ignorant, but observant multitude +was censured as early as the eleventh century by Bahya ben +Joseph ibn Pakudah in his <q>Duties of the Heart,</q> a philosophical +work in which he emphatically urges the need of inwardness +for the Jewish faith.<note place='foot'>See his Introduction.</note> +Later the mystics of Germany +and Palestine, while strong supporters of the law, opposed +the one-sidedness of legalism and intellectualism, and endeavored +to instill elements of deeper devotion into the Jewish +soul through the introduction of their secret lore, +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Cabbalah</foreign>, +or <q>esoteric tradition.</q><note place='foot'>Comp. Schechter: +<hi rend='italic'>Studies</hi>, II, 148 f., 202 f.</note> Their offering, however, was +anything but beneficial to the soul of Judaism. A mysticism +which attempts to fathom the unfathomable depth of the +divine accords but ill with the teaching of Judaism, which +says: <q>The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but +<pb n='474'/><anchor id='Pg474'/> +the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children +forever, that we may do all the words of this +law.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXIX, 28.</note> The +Cabbalah was but the reaction to the excessive rationalism +of the Spanish-Arabic period. As the ultimate source of +religion is not reason but the heart, so the cultivation of the +intellect at the expense of the emotions can be only harmful +to the faith. The legalism and casuistry of the Talmud and +the Codes appealed too much to the intellect, disregarding +the deeper emotional sources of religion and morality; on +the other hand, the mysticism of the Cabbalists overemphasized +the emotional element, and eliminated much of the rational +basis of Judaism. True religion grasps the whole of +man and shows God's world as a harmonious whole, reflecting +in both mind and heart the greatness and majesty of God +on high. In order to open the flood-gates of the soul and render +religion again the deepest and strongest force of life, the +Synagogue must revitalize its time-honored institutions and +ceremonies. Thus only will they become real powers of the +Jewish spirit, testimonies to the living God, witnessing to the +truth of the Biblical words: <q>For this commandment which +I command thee this day, it is not too hard for thee, neither +is it too far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, +<q>Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it unto us, and +make us to hear it, that we may do it?</q> Neither is it beyond +the sea, that thou shouldest say, <q>Who shall go over the sea +for us and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we +may do it?</q> But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy +mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do +it.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXX, 11-14.</note> +</p> + +<p> +19. The Synagogue need no longer restrict itself to the +ancient forms of worship in its appeal to the Jewish soul. +It must point to the loftiest ideals for the future of all humanity, +if it is to be true to its prophetic spirit of yore. <q>My +house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,</q> exclaimed +<pb n='475'/><anchor id='Pg475'/> +the seer of the exile.<note place='foot'>Isa. LVI, 7.</note> +<q>Hear O Israel, the Lord our +God, the Lord is one</q> must be echoed in all lands and languages, +by all God-seeking minds and hearts, to realize the +prophetic vision: <q>And the Lord shall be King over all the +earth; in that day the Lord shall be One, and His name +One.</q><note place='foot'>Zech. XIV, 9.</note> +Just as there is but one truth, one justice, and one love, however +differently the various races and classes of men may +conceive them, so Israel shall uphold God, the only One, as +the bond of unity for all men, despite their diversity of ideas +and cultures, and His truth will be the beacon-light for all +humanity. As the Psalms, prophets, and the opening chapters +of the Pentateuch speak a language appealing to the +common sense of mankind, so the divine worship of the Synagogue +must again strike the deeper chords of humanity, in +its weal and woe, its hope and fear, its aspirations and ideals. +Therefore it is not enough that the institutions and ceremonies +of the Synagogue are testimonies to the great past of Israel. +They must also become eloquent heralds and monitors of the +glorious future, when all mankind will have learned the lessons +of the Jewish festivals, the ideals of liberty, law, and peace, +the thoughts of the divine judgment and the divine mercy. +They must help also to bring about the time when the ideal +of social justice, which the Mosaic Code holds forth for the +Israelitish nation, will have become the motive-power and +incentive to the reëstablishment of human society upon new +foundations. +</p> + +<p> +Jehudah ha Levi, the lofty poet of medieval +Jewry,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Cuzari</hi>, I, 103; II, 12.</note> speaks +of Israel as the <q>heart of humanity,</q> because it has supplied +the spiritual and moral life-blood of the civilized world. Israel +provides continually the rejuvenating influence of society. +Israel's history is the history of the world in miniature. As +the Midrash says,<note place='foot'>Sifre to Deut. VI, 5.</note> +the confession of God's unity imposes +<pb n='476'/><anchor id='Pg476'/> +upon us the obligation to lead all God's children to love Him +with heart and soul and might, thus working toward the time +when <q>the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory +of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.</q><note place='foot'>Hab. +II, 14.</note> All the social, +political, and intellectual movements of our restless, heaven-storming +age, notwithstanding temporary lapses into barbarism +and hatred, point unerringly to the final goal, the +unity of all human and cosmic life under the supreme leadership +of God on high. In the midst of all these movements +of the day stands the Jew, God's witness from of old, yet +vigorous and youthful still, surveying the experiences of the +past and voicing the hope of the future, exclaiming in the +words of his traditional prayers: <q>Happy are we; how goodly +is our portion! how pleasant our lot! how beautiful our +inheritance!</q><note place='foot'>Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, 8.</note> +Our faith is the faith of the coming humanity; +our hope of Zion is the kingdom of God, which will include all +the ideals of mankind. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='477'/><anchor id='Pg477'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter LIX. The Ethics of Judaism and the Kingdom of God</head> + +<p> +1. The soul of the Jewish religion is its ethics. Its God +is the Fountainhead and Ideal of morality. At the beginning +of the summary of the ethical laws in the Mosaic Code +stands the verse: <q>Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your +God am holy.</q><note place='foot'>Lev. XIX, 2; comp. on the whole +E. G. Hirsch in J. E., art. Ethics.</note> This provides the Jew with the loftiest +possible motive for perfection and at the same time the +greatest incentive to an ever higher conception of life and +life's purpose. Accordingly, the kingdom of God for whose +coming the Jew longs from the beginning until the end of +the year,<note place='foot'>See Alenu in Singer's <hi rend='italic'>Prayerb.</hi>, +67 f.; <hi rend='italic'>Union Prayerbook</hi>, I, 48, 104 f.</note> +does not rest in a world beyond the grave, but +(in consonance with the ideal of Israel's sages and prophets) +in a complete moral order on earth, the reign of truth, righteousness +and holiness among all men and nations. Jewish +ethics, then, derives its sanction from God, the Author and +Master of life, and sees its purpose in the hallowing of all +life, individual and social. Its motive is the splendid conception +that man, with his finite ends, is linked to the infinite +God with His infinite ends; or, as the rabbis express it, <q>Man +is a co-worker with God in the work of creation.</q><note place='foot'>Shab. 119 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. Both the term ethics (from the Greek <foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>ethos</foreign>) +and morality (from the Latin +<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>mores</foreign>) are derived from custom or habit. +In distinction to this, the Hebrew Scripture points to God's +will as perceived in the human conscience as the source +of all morality. Those ethical systems which dispense with +<pb n='478'/><anchor id='Pg478'/> +religion fail to take due cognizance of the voice of duty which +says to each man: <q>Thou shalt</q> or <q>Thou shalt not!</q> +Duty distinguishes man from all other creatures. However +low man may be in the scale of freedom, he is moved to +action by an impulse from within, not by a compulsion from +without. Of course, morality must travel a long road from +the primitive code, which does not extend beyond the near +kinsmen, to the ideal of civilized man which encompasses +the world. Still man's steps are always directed by some rule +of duty. The voice of conscience, heard clearly or dimly, +is not, as is so often asserted, the product, but the original +guiding factor of human society. The divine inner power of +morality has made man, not man morality. Morality and +religion, inseparably united in the Decalogue of Sinai, will +attain their perfection together in the kingdom of God upon +the Zion heights of humanity. +</p> + +<p> +3. Ethical elements, greater or smaller, enter into all +religions and codes of law of the various nations. Ancient +Egypt, Persia and India even connected ethical principle +and the future of the soul so closely, that certain ethical laws +were to determine one's fate in heaven or hell. This led to +the idea that this life is but the preparatory stage to the great +hereafter. But antiquity also witnessed more or less successful +attempts to emancipate ethics from religion. When the +old beliefs no longer satisfied the thinking mind and no longer +kept men from corruption, various philosophers attempted +to provide general principles of morality as substitutes for +the departed deities. Confucius built up in China a system +of common-sense ethics based upon the communal life, but +without any religious ideals; this satisfied the commonplace +attitude of that country, but could not pass beyond the confines +of the far East. A semi-religious ascetic system was +offered at about the same time by Gautama Buddha of +India, a prince garbed as a mendicant friar, who preached +<pb n='479'/><anchor id='Pg479'/> +the gospel of love and charity for all fellow creatures. His +leading maxims were blind resignation and self-effacement in +the presence of the ills, suffering and death which rule the +entire domain of life. All existence was evil to him, with +its pleasure, passion and desire, its thought and feeling; his +aim was a state of apathy and listlessness, +<foreign rend='italic'>Nirvana</foreign>; while +sympathy and compassion for fellow creatures were to offer +some relief to a life of delusion and despair. The Hindu +conception of the unbearable woe of the world corresponded +more or less with the hot climate, which renders the people +indolent and apathetic. In striking contrast to this was the +vigorous manhood of the ethical systems developed on the +healthy soil of Greece, under the azure canopy of a sky that +fills the soul with beauty and joy. Life should be valued for +the happiness it offers to the individual or to society. The +good should be loved for its beauty, the just admired for its +nobility. Greek ethics was thus both aristocratic and utilitarian; +it took no heed of the toiling slave, the suffering poor, +or the unprotected stranger. Both the Buddhist and the +Hellenic systems lacked the energizing force and motive of +the highest purpose of life, because both have left out of their +purview the great Ruler who summons man to his duty, saying: +<q>I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt and thou shalt +not!</q> +</p> + +<p> +4. Between the two extremes, the Hellenic self-expansion +and the Buddhist self-extinction, Jewish ethics labors for +self-elevation under the uplifting power of a holy God. The +term which Scripture uses for moral conduct is, very significantly, +<q>to walk in the ways of God.</q> The rabbis explain +this as follows: <q>As God is merciful and gracious, so be thou +merciful and gracious. As God is called righteous, so be +thou righteous. As God is holy, so do thou strive to be +holy.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XI, 22; Sifre Deut. 49.</note> +Another of their maxims is: <q>How can mortal +<pb n='480'/><anchor id='Pg480'/> +man walk after God, who is an all-consuming fire? What +Scripture means is that man should emulate God. As He +clothes the naked, nurses the sick, comforts the sorrowing, +and buries the dead, so should man.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. +XIII, 5; Sota 14 a; see Schechter: <hi rend='italic'>Aspects</hi>, 200-203.</note> +In other words, +human life must take its pattern from the divine goodness +and holiness. +</p> + +<p> +5. Obviously, Jewish ethics had to go through the same +long process of development as the Jewish religion itself. +A very high stage is represented by that disinterested goodness +taught by Antigonus of Soko in the second pre-Christian +century and by ben Azzai in the second century of the present +era, which no longer anticipates reward or punishment, but +does good for its own sake and shuns evil because it is +evil.<note place='foot'>Aboth. I, 3; IV, 2; E. G. Hirsch in J. E., +art Ethics. See Toy: <hi rend='italic'>Judaism +and Christianity</hi>, p. 260.</note> +As long as the law tolerated slavery, polygamy, and blood +vengeance, and man's personality was not recognized on +principle as being made in the image of God, the practical +morality of the Hebrews could not rise above that of other +nations, except in so far as the shepherd's compassion for +the beast occasioned sympathy also for the fellow-man. +After all, Jewish ethics became the ethics of humanity +because of the God-conception of the prophets,—the righteous, +merciful, and holy God, the God <q>who executeth the +judgment of the fatherless and the widow, and loveth the +stranger in giving him food and raiment.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. +X, 19.</note> The conception +of Jewish ethics as human ethics is voiced in the familiar +verse: <q>It hath been told thee, O man, what is good and +what the Lord doth require of thee: only to do justly and +to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God.</q><note place='foot'>Micah VI, 8.</note> +The all-ruling and all-seeing God of the Psalmist made men feel +that only such a one can stand in His holy place <q>who hath +<pb n='481'/><anchor id='Pg481'/> +clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul +unto falsehood, nor sworn deceitfully.</q><note place='foot'>Ps. +XXIV, 3-4.</note> After law-giver, +prophet, and psalmist came the wise, who gave ethics a more +practical and popular character in the wisdom literature, +and then came the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hasidim</foreign> +or Essenes, who, while seeking +the highest piety or saintliness as life's aim, deepened and +spiritualized their ethical ideals. Some of these considered +the essential principles of morality to be love of God and of +the fellow-man;<note place='foot'>See J. E., art. Essenes, +Hasidim and Test. Twelve Patriarchs: Iss. V, 2; +VII, 6; Dan. V, 3.</note> while rabbinical ethics in general laid great +stress on motive as determining the value of the deed. The +words, <q>Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God,</q> so often repeated +in the law, are taken to mean: Fear Him who looks into the +heart, judging motives and intentions.<note place='foot'>Lev. XIX, +14, 32; <hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> ad loc. B. M. 58 b.</note> +</p> + +<p> +6. As the Mosaic Code presented the ceremonial and moral +laws together as divine, so the rabbinical schools treated +them all as divine commandments without any distinction. +Hence the Mishnah and the Talmud fail to give ethics the +prominent place it occupies in the prophetic and wisdom +literature of the Bible and did not even make an attempt to +formulate a system of ethics. The ethical rules in the <q>Sayings +of the Fathers</q> and similar later collections make no +pretentions to being general or systematic. The ethical +teachings became conspicuous only through contact with the +Hellenic world in the propaganda literature, with its aim +to win the Gentile world to Judaism. Thus at an early +period handbooks on ethics were written and circulated +in the Greek language, some of which were afterward appropriated +by the Christian Church. This entire movement is +summed up in the well-known answer of Hillel to the heathen +who desired to join the Jewish faith: <q>What is hateful to +<pb n='482'/><anchor id='Pg482'/> +thee, do thou not unto thy fellow man; this is the law, and +all the rest is merely commentary.</q><note place='foot'>Shab. 31 a; +comp. J. E., art. Didache and Klein, l. c.</note> +</p> + +<p> +On the whole, rabbinical Judaism elaborated no ethical +system before the Middle Ages. Then, under Mohammedan +influence, the Aristotelian and Neo-Platonic philosophies in +vogue gave rise to certain ethical works more or less in accord +with their philosophic or mystic prototypes. In addition, +ethical treatises were often written in the form of wills +and of popular admonitions, which were sometimes broad +and human, at other times stern and ascetic. One thought, +however, prevailed through the ages: as life emanates from +the God of holiness, so it must ever serve His holy purposes +and benefit all His earthly children. <q>All the laws given +by God to Israel have only the purification and ennobling of +the life of men for their object,</q> say the +rabbis.<note place='foot'>Tanh. Shemini, ed. Buber, § 12; comp. Lauterbach, +<hi rend='italic'>Ethics of Halakah</hi>, p. 12.</note> +</p> + +<p> +7. Perhaps the best summary of Jewish ethics was presented +by Hillel in the famous three words: <q>If I am not +for myself, who will be for me? But if I am for myself alone, +what am I? And if not now, when then?</q><note place='foot'>Aboth. +I, 14.</note> We find here +three spheres of duty: toward one's self, toward others, and +toward the life before us. In contrast to purely altruistic +or socialistic ethics, Jewish morality accentuated the value +of the individual even apart from the social organism. Man +is a child of God, a. self-conscious personality, who is to unfold +and improve the powers implanted by his divine Maker, +in both body and soul, laboring in this way toward the purpose +for which he was created. Man was created single, +says one of the sages in the Mishnah,<note place='foot'>Sanh. IV, 5.</note> that he might +know that he forms a world for himself, and the whole creation +must aid him in unfolding the divine image within himself. +Accordingly, self-preservation, self-improvement and self-perfection +<pb n='483'/><anchor id='Pg483'/> +are duties of every man. This implies first the +care for the human body as the temple which enshrines the +divine spirit. In the eyes of Judaism, to neglect or enfeeble +the body, the instrument of the soul, is altogether sinful. +As the Sabbath law demands physical rest and recreation +after the week's work, so the Jewish religion in general trains +men to enjoy the gifts of God; and the rabbis declare that +their rejection (except for disciplinary reasons) is ingratitude +for which man must give an account at the last Judgment +Day.<note place='foot'>Yer. Kid. IV, 66 d.</note> The Pharisean teacher who opposed the +Essenic custom of fasting and declared it sinful, unless it be for special +purposes, would have deprecated even more strongly the +ascetic Christian or Hindoo saint who castigated his body +as the seat of sin.<note place='foot'>Taan. 22 b; Ned. 10 a.</note> As Hillel remarked: +<q>See what care is bestowed upon the statue of the emperor to keep it clean and +bright; ought we not, likewise, keep God's image, our body, +clean and free from every blemish?</q><note place='foot'>Lev. R. XXXIV, +3, ref. to Prov. XI, 17.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In regard to our moral and spiritual selves the rabbinical +maxim is: <q>Beautify thyself first, and then beautify +others.</q><note place='foot'>Sanh. 18 a, 19 a.</note> +Only as we first ennoble ourselves can we then contribute to +the elevation of the world about us. Our industry promotes +the welfare of the community as well as of ourselves; our +idleness harms others as well as ourselves.<note place='foot'>Keth. +V, 5.</note> Upon self-respect +rest our honor and our character. Virtue also is the result +of self-control and self-conquest.<note place='foot'>Prov. +XVI, 32; Shab. 105 b; Ned. 22 b; Sota 4 b; Ber. 43 b.</note> <q>There shall be no strange +God in thee.</q> This Psalm verse is taken by the rabbis to +mean that no anger and passion nor any evil desire or overbearing pride +shall obtain their mastery over thee.<note place='foot'>Ps. LXXXI, 10.</note> +Man asserts himself in braving temptation and trial, in overcoming +sin and grief. Greater still is the hero who, in complete +<pb n='484'/><anchor id='Pg484'/> +self-mastery, can sacrifice himself in a great cause. +Martyrdom for the sake of God, which the rabbis call sanctification +of the name of God,<note place='foot'>See above, chapter +<ref target='Chapter_L_Section_6'>L, par. 6</ref>.</note> is really the assertion of the +divine life in the midst of death. But desertion of life from +selfish motives through suicide is all the more despicable. +He who sells his human birthright to escape pain or disgrace, +though greatly to be pitied, has forfeited his claim and his +share in the world to come.<note place='foot'>Semakot +II; R. Eleazar in B. K. 91 b with reference to Gen. IX, 5. Prof. +Lauterbach referred me to <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shebet Mussar</foreign>, +XX, obviously a quotation from +some lost Midrash.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Not only our life is to be maintained amid all trials as a +sacred trust, but also our rights, our freedom, and our individuality, +for we must not allow our personality to become +the slave or tool of others. Job, who battled for his own convictions +against the false assumption of his friends, was at +last praised and rewarded by God.<note place='foot'>Job XLII, 7.</note> The Biblical +verse: <q>For they are My servants whom I brought forth out of the +land of Egypt, they shall not be sold as slaves,</q> is explained +by the rabbis: <q>My servants, but not servants to servants,</q> +and is thus applicable to spiritual slavery as well.<note place='foot'>Lev. +XXV, 42, 55; Tos. B. K. VII, 5; Kid. 22 d.</note> +</p> + +<p> +8. Therefore the Jewish conception of duty to our fellow-men +is by no means comprised in love or benevolence. Long +before Hillel, other Jewish sages gave the so-called Golden +Rule: <q>Love thy neighbor as thyself,</q> a negative form: +<q>What is hateful to thee do not do unto thy fellow +men.</q><note place='foot'>Targ. to Lev. XIX, 18; Tobit IV, 15; Philo II, 236.</note> +Taken in the positive form, the command cannot be literally +carried out. We cannot love the stranger as we love ourselves +or our kin; still less can we love our enemy, as is demanded +by the Sermon on the Mount. According to the +Hebrew Scriptures<note place='foot'>Ex. XXIII, 4-5; Prov. XXIV, +17; XXV, 21.</note> we can and should treat our enemy +<pb n='485'/><anchor id='Pg485'/> +magnanimously and forgive him, but we cannot truly love +him, unless he turns from an enemy to a friend. The real +meaning given by the rabbis to the command, <q>Love thy +neighbor as thyself</q> is: <q>Put thyself in his place and act +accordingly. As thou dost not desire to be robbed of thy +property or good name or to be injured or insulted, so do not +these things unto thy fellow man.</q><note place='foot'>Ab. d R. +N., ed. Schechter, 53, 60.</note> They then take the +closing words, <q>I am the Lord thy God,</q> as an oath by God: +<q>I am the Lord, the Creator of thy fellow man as well as of +thee; therefore, if thou showest love to him, I shall surely +reward thee, and if not, I am the Judge ready to punish +thee.</q><note place='foot'>Eodem, 64.</note> +Love of all fellow-men is, in fact, taught by both +Hillel<note place='foot'>Aboth. I, 12.</note> and +Philo.<note place='foot'>Philo II, 284 f.</note> Love and helpful sympathy are implied +also by the verse from Deuteronomy: <q>He (the Lord) loveth +the stranger in giving him bread and raiment. Love ye +therefore the stranger.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. +X, 18-19.</note> All members of the human household +are dependent on each other for kindness and good will, +whether we are rich or poor, high or lowly, in life or in death; +so do we owe love and kindness to all men alike. +</p> + +<p> +9. However, love as a principle of action is not sufficiently +firm to fashion human conduct or rule society. It is too +much swayed by impulse and emotion and is often too partial. +Love without justice leads to abuse and wrong, as +we see in the history of the Church, which began with the +principle of love, but often failed to heed the admonitions of +justice. Therefore justice is the all-inclusive principle of human +conduct in the eyes of Judaism. Justice is impartial by +its very nature. It must right every wrong and vindicate the +cause of the oppressed. <q>When Thy judgments are in the +earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness,</q> +said the prophet,<note place='foot'>Isa. XXVI, 9.</note> describing +the just man as he <q>that walketh +<pb n='486'/><anchor id='Pg486'/> +righteously and speaketh uprightly, that despiseth the +gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of +bribes, that stoppeth his ear from hearing of blood, and +shutteth his eyes from looking on evil.</q><note place='foot'>Isa. +XXXIII, 15.</note> Justice is the requisite +not only in action, but also in +disposition,<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sifra</hi> Behar IV; +B. M. 58 b.</note> implying +honesty in intention as in deed, uprightness in speech and +mien, perfect rectitude, neither taking advantage of ignorance +nor abusing confidence.<note place='foot'>Tos. B. K. VII, 8; B. M. III, +27; B. B. 88 a-90 b; Makk. 24 a.</note> It is sinful to acquire wealth +by betting or gambling,<note place='foot'>Sanh. 24 b.</note> +or by cornering food-supplies to +raise the market price.<note place='foot'>B. B. 90 b.</note> +The rabbis derive from Scripture +the thought that, just as <q>your balances and weights, your +ephah and hin</q> must be just, so should your yea and +nay.<note place='foot'>Lev. XIX, 36; B. M. 49 a.</note> +The verse, <q>Justice, justice shalt them follow,</q><note place='foot'>Deut. +XVI, 20.</note> is explained +thus in a Midrash which is quoted by Bahya ben Asher of +the thirteenth century: <q>Justice, whether to your profit or +loss, whether in word or in action, whether to Jew or +non-Jew.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Kad ha Kemah</hi>, +s. v. <hi rend='italic'>Gezelah</hi>.</note> +This category of justice covers also regard for the +honor of our fellow-men, lest we harm it by the tongue of the +back-biter,<note place='foot'>Ps. XV, 3.</note> +by the ear that listens to calumny,<note place='foot'>Pes. 118 a.</note> or by suspicion +cast upon the innocent.<note place='foot'>Shab. 97 a; Yoma +19 b.</note> <q>God in His law takes +especial care of the honor of our fellow-men,</q> say the rabbis, +and <q>he who publicly puts his fellow man to shame forfeits +his share in the world to come.</q><note place='foot'>Mek. +Mishpatim 82; B. K. 79 b; B. M. 58 b-59 a; Lauterbach l. c. +20-21.</note> +</p> + +<p> +10. But the Jewish conception of justice is broader than +mere abstention from hurting our fellow-men. Justice is a +positive conception. Righteousness (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zedakah</foreign>) +includes also charity and philanthropy. It asserts the claim of the poor +upon the rich, of the helpless upon him who possesses the +<pb n='487'/><anchor id='Pg487'/> +means to help. <q>He who prevents the poor from reaping +the corners of the field or the gleanings of the harvest, or in +any way withholds that which has been assigned them by +the law of Moses, is a robber,</q> says the Mishnah, <q>for it is +written: <q>Remove not the old landmark, and enter not into +the field of the fatherless.</q></q><note place='foot'>Peah +V, 6; Prov. XXIII, 10.</note> Jewish ethics holds that +charity is not a gift of condescending love, but a duty. It +is incumbent upon the fortunate to rescue the unfortunate, +since all that we possess is only lent to us by God, the Owner +of the world, with the charge that we provide for the needy +who are under His special protection. Those who refuse to +give the poor their share abuse the divine trust. <q>If thou +lendest money to My people, to the poor with thee,</q><note place='foot'>Ex. +XXIII, 24.</note> says +Scripture, and the rabbis comment on this to the effect that +<q>the poor are called God's people; do not forget that the +turn of fortune which made you rich and them poor may +turn, and that you may then be in need.</q><note place='foot'>Tanh. +Mishpatim. ed. Buber, 8.</note> Nor is it sufficient +merely to give to him who is poor; we are bidden to uphold +him when his powers fail.<note place='foot'>Lev. XXV, 35; Sifra ad loc.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This is the very principle of ethics of the Mosaic law, the +principle for which the great prophets fought with all the +vigor and vehemence of the divine spirit—social justice. +The cry: <q>Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay +field to field, till there be no room,</q><note place='foot'>Isa. V, 8.</note> the +condemnation of those <q>that swallow the needy and destroy the poor of the +land,</q><note place='foot'>Amos VIII, 4.</note> +the curse hurled at him who withholdeth corn,<note place='foot'>Prov. XI, 26.</note> +laid the foundations of a higher justice, which is not satisfied +with mitigating the misery of the unfortunate by acts of +charity, but insists on a readjustment of the social conditions +which create poverty. This spirit created the poor laws of +the Mosaic Code, which were partially adopted by both +<pb n='488'/><anchor id='Pg488'/> +Christians and Mohammedans. It dictated the Mosaic +institutions of the seventh year of release and the Jubilee +year for the restoration of fields and houses, to prevent the +tyranny of wealth from becoming a permanent source of +oppression. While these were scarcely ever put into practice, +they remained as a protest and an appeal. Their aim +and permanent influence tended toward relations between +the upper and lower classes, which would insure the latter +some degree of independence and dignity. In fact, the +foundations laid by the Hebrew Scripture underlie all our +great modern efforts to turn the forces of charity so as to check +the sources of evil in our social organism. Modern philanthropy, +taking its clue from the old Hebrew ideal, aims not +to alleviate but to cure, and to stimulate the natural good in +society, material, moral and intellectual, that it may overcome +the evil. We are recognizing more and more the principle +of mutual responsibility and interdependence of men +and classes. Yet this very principle, modern as it seems, +was recognized by the Jewish sages, as we see in the remarkable +passage where the rabbis comment on the law concerning +the case of a slain body found in the field, with the murderer +unknown. The Bible commands that in such a case the +elders of the city should kill a heifer, wash their hands over +it, and say: <q>Our hands have not shed this blood, neither +have our eyes seen it.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXI, 1-8.</note> The rabbis then ask: +<q>How could the elders of a city ever be suspected of the crime of +murder?</q> and their reply is: <q>Even if they only failed to +provide the poor in their charge with the necessary food, and +he became a highway robber and murderer; or if they left +him without the necessary protection, and he fell a victim to +murderers, they are held responsible for the crime before the +higher court of God.</q><note place='foot'>Sifre ad loc.; +Sota IX, 7.</note> That is, according to our station we +are all responsible for the social conditions which create +<pb n='489'/><anchor id='Pg489'/> +poverty and crime, and it is our duty to establish such relations +between the individual and the community as will +remove the causes of all the evils of society. +</p> + +<p> +11. This, in a way, anticipates the third maxim of Hillel: +<q>If not now, when then?</q> Judaism cannot accept the New +Testament spirit of other-worldliness, which prompted the +teaching: <q>Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat +or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body what ye shall +put on,</q> or <q>Resist not evil.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. VI, +25-28, V, 39; comp. Cor. VI, 6-7.</note> Such a view disregards +the values and duties of domestic, civic, and industrial life, +and creates an inseparable gulf between sacred and profane, +between religion and culture. In contrast to this, Jewish +ethics sets the highest value upon all things that make man +more of a human being and increase his power of doing good. +To Judaism marriage and home life are regarded as the normal +conditions of human welfare and sane morality, while celibacy +is considered abnormal.<note place='foot'>Yeb. 62 a, 63 +a.</note> Labor establishes the dignity of +man,<note place='foot'>Prov. XXII, 29; Ned. 49 b.</note> +while wealth is a source of blessing, a stewardship in the +service of society.<note place='foot'>Ber. 8 a, ref. to Ps. CXXVIII, 2.</note> +In opposition to the practice fostered by +the Essenes and afterwards adopted by the early Church, of +devoting one's whole fortune to charity, the rabbis decreed +that one should not give over one fifth of one's +possessions.<note place='foot'>Keth. 50 a.</note> +As has well been said, Judaism teaches a <q>robust +morality.</q><note place='foot'>Morris Joseph in <hi rend='italic'>Religious +Systems of the World</hi>, 1892, p. 701.</note> +It regards life as a continual battle for God and right against +every sort of injustice,<note place='foot'>Deut. I, 17; see Schmiedl: +<hi rend='italic'>D. Lehre v. Kampf um's Recht</hi>, 1875.</note> +for truth against every kind of falsehood. +At the same time it fosters also the gentler virtues of +meekness,<note place='foot'>Ps. XXXVII, 11; Shab. 88 b.</note> +kindness to animals,<note place='foot'>Ex. XXIII, 5; Deut. XXV, 4; +Prov. XII, 10; Git. 62 a.</note> peaceableness and +modesty.<note place='foot'>Aboth. I, 12; IV, 4, 12; Taan. 20 b.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='490'/><anchor id='Pg490'/> + +<p> +12. Jewish ethics excels all other ethical systems, especially +in its insistence on purity and holiness. Not only is any +unchaste look, thought, or act condemned, exactly as in the +Sermon on the Mount,<note place='foot'>Matt. V. 17-30.</note> +as approaching adultery,<note place='foot'>Job XXXI, 1; Pes. +R. XXIV; Lev. R. XXIII, 12; Ber. 12 b; Nid. 13 a.</note> but all +profanity of act or speech is declared to be an unpardonable +offense against the majesty of God.<note place='foot'>Shab. 33 a, +referring to Isa. IX, 17; Ben Sira XXIII, 13; Test. Twelve +Patriarchs, <hi rend='italic'>passim</hi>.</note> Modesty in demeanor +and dress was both preached and practiced by the Jews +throughout the Middle Ages, while in non-Jewish circles +coarseness and lewdness prevailed among high and low, in +minstrel song and monastic life. <q>The Lord thy God walketh +in the midst of thy camp ... therefore shall thy camp +be holy, that He see no unseemly thing in thee, and turn away +from thee.</q><note place='foot'>Deut. XXIII, 14.</note> +These Biblical words created among the +Essenes (the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zenuim</foreign>) +and later among the entire Jewish +people a spirit of chastity and modesty which made the +Jewish home of old a model of purity and sanctity. The +great problem for modern Israel, amid our present allurements +of luxury and pleasure, is to restore the home to its pristine +glory as a sanctuary of God, a training school for virtue, so +that its influence may extend over the whole of life. +</p> + +<p> +13. Thus Jewish ethics derives its sanction from the idea +of a God of holiness. But it never made life austere, depriving +it of joy, or begrudging man his cheerfulness and laughter. +On the contrary, the Sabbath and many of the holy days are +seasons of joy, for gladness should bring the spirit of God +near to man.<note place='foot'>Deut. XVI, 11; 14 f.; +Shab. 118 a; Pes. R. XXIII; Meg. 16 b; Shab. +30 b; Ber. 31 a; comp. M. Lazarus, l. c., 254-261.</note> +Moreover, the Talmud holds that we should +encourage every means of promoting cheer among men. This +is illustrated by one of the popular legends of the prophet +Elijah, who told the saintly Rabbi Beroka, who prided himself +<pb n='491'/><anchor id='Pg491'/> +upon his austerity, that his companions in Paradise were +to be two jesters, because they cheered the depressed and +increased the joy in the world.<note place='foot'>Taan. 22 a.</note> +</p> + +<p> +As a matter of fact, the Jewish ideal of holiness is all-inclusive. +It aims to hallow every pursuit and endeavor, +all social relations and activities, insisting only on a pure +motive and disinterested service. As the Ruler of life is the +source of all morality, so all of life should be made holy with +duty. Man becomes a child of God through his responsibility, +instead of remaining a mere product of the social forces +about him or of claiming self-sufficient sovereignty and refusing +to acknowledge a higher Will. Jewish ethics is autonomous, +because it insists on the divine spirit in +man.<note place='foot'>See Lazarus, l. c., 99.</note> As +we follow the divine Pattern of holiness, all that we have and +are, body and soul, weal and woe, wealth and want, pain and +pleasure, life and death, become stepping-stones on the road +to holiness and godliness. Life is like a ladder on which man +can rise from round to round, to come ever nearer to God on +high who beckons him toward ever higher ideals and achievements. +Man and humanity are thus given the potentiality +of infinite progress in every direction. Science and art, +industry and commerce, literature and law, every pursuit of +man comes within the scope of religion and ethics. For +God's kingdom of truth, righteousness and peace, as beheld +by Israel's seers of old, will be fully established on earth only +when all the forces of material, intellectual, and social life +have been unfolded, when all the prophetic ideals, the visions +and aspirations of all the seers of humanity have been realized, +and the Zion heights of human perfection have at last been +attained. <q>The wise have no rest, neither in this world nor +in the world to come, for it is said: <q>they go from strength +to strength, [until] they appear before God on +Zion.</q></q><note place='foot'>Ber. 64 a, +refer. to Ps. LXXXIV, 8; comp. Lazarus, l. c., p. 280.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='493'/><anchor id='Pg493'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>List Of Abbreviations</head> + +<lg> +<l>A. d. R. N. Aboth di Rabbi Nathan</l> +<l>A. T. Altes Testament</l> +<l>Ab. Z. Aboda Zarah</l> +<l>Ag. Agada</l> +<l>Ann. Annotations</l> +<l>Ant. Antiquities (of Josephus)</l> +<l>Ap. Apionem, contra</l> +<l>Apoc. Apocalyptic</l> +<l>Arak. Arakin</l> +<l>Art. Article</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>B. Babli (Babylonian)</l> +<l>b. ben</l> +<l>B. B. Baba Bathra</l> +<l>B. H. Beth ha Midrash</l> +<l>B. K. Baba Kamma</l> +<l>B. M. Baba Metzia</l> +<l>Beitr. Beitraege</l> +<l>Ber. Berakoth</l> +<l>Bibl. Bible or Biblical</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>C. C. A. R. Central Conference of American Rabbis</l> +<l>Cant. Canticles</l> +<l>Chron. Chronicles</l> +<l>Ch. Chapter</l> +<l>Comm. Commentary, -ies</l> +<l>Comp. Compare</l> +<l>Cor. Corinthians, Epistle to</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Dan. Daniel</l> +<l>Deut. Deuteronomy</l> +<l>Dict. Dictionary</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eccl. Ecclesiastes</l> +<l>Enc. Encyclopedia</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 15'>(<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>) Brit. Britannia</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 15'>(<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>) R. a. Eth.... of Religion and Ethics</l> +<l>Ep. Epistle</l> +<l>Eph. Ephesians, Epistle to</l> +<l>Ethnol. Ethnologische</l> +<l>Ex. Exodus</l> +<l>Ez. Ezekiel</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>G. J. Geschichte der Juden (Graetz)</l> +<l>G. Jud. Geschichte des Judenthums (Jost)</l> +<l>G. V. I. Geschichte des Volkes Israel (Schuerer)</l> +<l>Gal. Galatians, Epistle to</l> +<l>Gen. Genesis</l> +<l>Ges. Abh. Gesammelte Abhandlungen</l> +<l>Ges. Schrf. Gesammelte Schriften</l> +<pb n='494'/><anchor id='Pg494'/> +<l>Gesch. u. Lit. Geschichte und Literature</l> +<l>Gottesd. Gottesdienstliche</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>H. Hilkoth</l> +<l>H. B. Handbuch</l> +<l>H. J. History of Jews (Graetz)</l> +<l>H. U. C. Hebrew Union College</l> +<l>Hab. Habakkuk</l> +<l>Hag. Hagigah</l> +<l>Hist. History</l> +<l>Hor. Horayoth</l> +<l>Hul. Hullin</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Introd. Introduction</l> +<l>Isai. Isaiah</l> +<l>Israel. Israelitisch</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>J. Journal</l> +<l>J. E. Jewish Encyclopedia</l> +<l>J. Q. R. Jewish Quarterly Review</l> +<l>J. W. Jewish War (Josephus)</l> +<l>Jahrb. Jahrbuch</l> +<l>Jer. Jeremiah</l> +<l>Jew. Jewish</l> +<l>Josh. Joshua</l> +<l>Jud. Judenthums</l> +<l>Judg. Judges</l> +<l>Jued. Juedisch</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>K. A. T. <q>Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament</q></l> +<l>Ker. Kerithoth</l> +<l>Keth. Kethuboth</l> +<l>Kil. Kilayim</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>L. Literature</l> +<l>l. c. loco citato, the same place;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 15'>libro citato, the same book (for the usual o. c. = opere citato).</l> +<l>Lam. Lamentations</l> +<l>Lev. Leviticus</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>M. K. Moed Katan</l> +<l>Macc. Maccabees, Book of</l> +<l>Maim. Maimonides</l> +<l>Mak. Makkoth</l> +<l>Mal. Malachi</l> +<l>Mas. Masseketh</l> +<l>Meg. Megillah</l> +<l>Mek. Mekiltha</l> +<l>Men. Menahoth</l> +<l>Mid. Midrash</l> +<l>Mtschr. Monatsschrift fuer Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judenthums</l> +<l>Mitth. Mittheilungen</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nachgel-Schr. Nachgelassene Schriften</l> +<l>Neh. Nehemiah</l> +<l>Nid. Niddah</l> +<l>Numb. Numbers</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>P. d. R. El. Pirke di Rabbi Eliezer</l> +<l>Pars. Parsisch</l> +<l>Pes. Pesahim, -ee</l> +<l>Pes. R. Pesikta Rabbathi</l> +<pb n='495'/><anchor id='Pg495'/> +<l>Pesik. Pesikta di Rab Kahana</l> +<l>Phil. Philosophy or Philosophical</l> +<l>Prov. Proverbs</l> +<l>Prot. Protestantisch</l> +<l>Ps. Psalms</l> +<l>Psych. Psychologisch</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Quel. Quellen</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>R. Rabbah, also Rabbi, Rabban</l> +<l>R. h. Sh. Rosh ha Shanah</l> +<l>R. W. B. Real-Woerterbuch</l> +<l>ref. referring or reference</l> +<l>Rel. Religion</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>S. O. Seder Olam</l> +<l>s. v. sub verbo</l> +<l>Sam. Samuel</l> +<l>Sanh. Sanhedrin</l> +<l>Sh. A. Shulhan Aruk</l> +<l>Shab. Shabuoth</l> +<l>Sibyl. Sibylline Books</l> +<l>Slav. Slavonic</l> +<l>Soc. Society</l> +<l>Stud. Studien or Studies</l> +<l>Suk. Sukkah</l> +<l>Syst. System or Systematic</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>T. d. b. E. Tanna di be Eliahu</l> +<l>Tanh. Tanhuma</l> +<l>Teh. Tehillim</l> +<l>Theol. Theologisch</l> +<l>Tos. Tosefta</l> +<l>Tosaf. Tosafoth</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>u. und or ueber</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>W. B. Woerterbuch</l> +<l>Wiss. Wissenschaft or Wissenschaftlich</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Yalk. Yalkut</l> +<l>Y. B. Yearbook</l> +<l>Yeb. Yebamoth</l> +<l>Yer. Yerushalmi</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zech. Zechariah</l> +<l>Zeitschr. Zeitschrift</l> +</lg> + +</div> + +<pb n='497'/><anchor id='Pg497'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Index</head> + +<lg> +<l>Aaronites, <ref target='Pg344'>344</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-ab'/> +<l>Ab, Ninth of, <ref target='Pg461'>461</ref>, <ref target='Pg469'>469</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abba Areka</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-rab'>Rab</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abbahu, <ref target='Pg153'>153</ref>, <ref target='Pg422'>422</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abelson, <ref target='Pg245'>245</ref>, <ref target='Pg271'>271</ref>, <ref target='Pg422'>422</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ablat, <ref target='Pg403'>403</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abraham, <ref target='Pg032'>32</ref>, <ref target='Pg062'>62</ref>, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref> f., <ref target='Pg112'>112</ref>, <ref target='Pg114'>114</ref>, <ref target='Pg219'>219</ref>, <ref target='Pg259'>259</ref>, <ref target='Pg292'>292</ref>, <ref target='Pg329'>329</ref>, <ref target='Pg336'>336</ref> f., <ref target='Pg417'>417</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abraham ben David of Posquieres, <ref target='Pg014'>14</ref>, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref>, <ref target='Pg237'>237</ref>, <ref target='Pg387'>387</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-abraham-ibn-daud'/> +<l>Abraham ibn Daud, <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref>, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg136'>136</ref>, <ref target='Pg178'>178</ref>, <ref target='Pg292'>292</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-abraham-ibn-ezra'/> +<l>Abraham Ibn Ezra, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg152'>152</ref>, <ref target='Pg188'>188</ref>, <ref target='Pg190'>190</ref>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg273'>273</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abrahams, Israel, <ref target='Pg192'>192</ref>, <ref target='Pg346'>346</ref>, <ref target='Pg348'>348</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abravanel, Isaac, <ref target='Pg027'>27</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abstinence</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-asceticism'>Asceticism</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abulafia, Abr., <ref target='Pg431'>431</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Adam, <ref target='Pg222'>222-230</ref>, <ref target='Pg244'>244</ref>, <ref target='Pg252'>252</ref>; heavenly, <ref target='Pg437'>437</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Adonai, <ref target='Pg059'>59</ref>, <ref target='Pg061'>61</ref>, <ref target='Pg221'>221</ref> f., <ref target='Pg359'>359</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Affliction, <ref target='Pg130'>130</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ahha, R., <ref target='Pg224'>224</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ahriman, <ref target='Pg301'>301</ref>, <ref target='Pg382'>382</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Akiba, R., <ref target='Pg014'>14</ref>, <ref target='Pg026'>26</ref>, <ref target='Pg032'>32</ref>, <ref target='Pg050'>50</ref>, <ref target='Pg126'>126</ref>, <ref target='Pg130'>130</ref> f., <ref target='Pg150'>150</ref>, <ref target='Pg176'>176</ref>, <ref target='Pg216'>216</ref>, <ref target='Pg222'>222</ref>, <ref target='Pg232'>232</ref>, <ref target='Pg257'>257</ref>, <ref target='Pg259'>259</ref>, <ref target='Pg311'>311</ref>, <ref target='Pg361'>361</ref>, <ref target='Pg467'>467</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Albo, Joseph, <ref target='Pg024'>24-26</ref>, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref> f., <ref target='Pg272'>272</ref> f., <ref target='Pg294'>294</ref>, <ref target='Pg309'>309-339</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Alenu, <ref target='Pg057'>57</ref>, <ref target='Pg331'>331</ref>, <ref target='Pg341'>341</ref>, <ref target='Pg477'>477</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Alfarabi, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Allegory, <ref target='Pg116'>116</ref>, <ref target='Pg224'>224</ref>, <ref target='Pg268'>268</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Alpha and Omega, <ref target='Pg137'>137</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Altruism, <ref target='Pg482'>482</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Am haaretz, <ref target='Pg347'>347</ref>, <ref target='Pg358'>358</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Amos, <ref target='Pg248'>248</ref>, <ref target='Pg264'>264</ref>, <ref target='Pg324'>324</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Anaxoras, <ref target='Pg037'>37</ref>, <ref target='Pg067'>67</ref>, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Angels, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref>, <ref target='Pg180'>180-188</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Anger</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-wrath'>Wrath</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Animals, <ref target='Pg489'>489</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Anselm of Canterbury, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Anthropology, <ref target='Pg204'>204</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Anthropomorphism, <ref target='Pg074'>74-76</ref>, <ref target='Pg115'>115</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Antigonos of Soko, <ref target='Pg480'>480</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Antinomian, <ref target='Pg428'>428</ref>, <ref target='Pg439'>439</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Antoninus, <ref target='Pg403'>403</ref>, <ref target='Pg422'>422</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Apicoros—Epicurean, <ref target='Pg021'>21</ref>, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Apocalyptic books, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref> f. <ref target='Pg232'>232</ref> f., <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Apocryphal books, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Apologetics, <ref target='Pg004'>4</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Apostate, <ref target='Pg006'>6</ref>, <ref target='Pg424'>424</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Apostles, <ref target='Pg435'>435</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Apostolic convention, <ref target='Pg436'>436</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Aquilas, <ref target='Pg286'>286</ref>, <ref target='Pg421'>421</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Arelim, <ref target='Pg402'>402</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Aristeas, <ref target='Pg347'>347</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Aristotelian, <ref target='Pg038'>38</ref>, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref>, <ref target='Pg089'>89</ref>, <ref target='Pg153'>153</ref>, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref>, <ref target='Pg172'>172</ref>, <ref target='Pg291'>291</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Aristotle, <ref target='Pg001'>1</ref>, <ref target='Pg067'>67</ref>, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref>, <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref>, <ref target='Pg152'>152</ref>, <ref target='Pg215'>215</ref>, <ref target='Pg359'>359</ref>, <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Arnold, Matthew, <ref target='Pg121'>121</ref>, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Art, <ref target='Pg480'>480</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Articles of faith, <ref target='Pg019'>19-28</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Aryan, <ref target='Pg009'>9</ref>, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-asceticism'/> +<l>Asceticism, <ref target='Pg150'>150</ref>, <ref target='Pg189'>189</ref>, <ref target='Pg318'>318</ref>, <ref target='Pg490'>490</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Asenath, <ref target='Pg416'>416</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Assimilation, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Atheism, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref>, <ref target='Pg067'>67</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Atonement, <ref target='Pg254'>254</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Atonement, Day of, <ref target='Pg466'>466-469</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Attributes of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Aub, Joseph, <ref target='Pg446'>446</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Autonomy of morality, <ref target='Pg491'>491</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Azazel, <ref target='Pg190'>190</ref>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg466'>466</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Azkarah, <ref target='Pg263'>263</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Babylonian, <ref target='Pg011'>11</ref>, <ref target='Pg015'>15</ref>, <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref>, <ref target='Pg118'>118</ref>, <ref target='Pg128'>128</ref>, <ref target='Pg140'>140</ref>, <ref target='Pg181'>181</ref>, <ref target='Pg220'>220</ref>, <ref target='Pg240'>240</ref>, <ref target='Pg356'>356</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bacher, W., <ref target='Pg076'>76</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bahya ben Asher, <ref target='Pg486'>486</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bahya b. Joseph ibn Pakudah, <ref target='Pg003'>3</ref>, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg175'>175</ref>, <ref target='Pg291'>291</ref>, <ref target='Pg473'>473</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Banquet of the pious in the future, <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-baptism'/> +<l>Baptism, <ref target='Pg417'>417</ref>, <ref target='Pg436'>436</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bar Kochba, <ref target='Pg361'>361</ref>, <ref target='Pg384'>384</ref>, <ref target='Pg385'>385</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='498'/><anchor id='Pg498'/> + +<lg> +<l>Bathing</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-baptism'>Baptism</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bath Kol, <ref target='Pg201'>201</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Beck, L., <ref target='Pg015'>15</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Beecher, W. J., <ref target='Pg042'>42</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Belief, <ref target='Pg020'>20</ref>, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See also</hi> <ref target='index-faith'>Faith</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ben Azzai, <ref target='Pg124'>124</ref>, <ref target='Pg311'>311</ref>, <ref target='Pg480'>480</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ben Sira, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg040'>40</ref>, <ref target='Pg232'>232</ref>, <ref target='Pg282'>282</ref>, and elsewhere</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ben Zoma, <ref target='Pg312'>312</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Benedictions, Eighteen, <ref target='Pg135'>135</ref>, <ref target='Pg192'>192</ref>, <ref target='Pg284'>284</ref>, <ref target='Pg297'>297</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Benevolence, <ref target='Pg319'>319</ref>, <ref target='Pg485'>485</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bentwich, N., <ref target='Pg140'>140</ref>, <ref target='Pg290'>290</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bergson, H., <ref target='Pg071'>71</ref>, <ref target='Pg154'>154</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bernays, J., <ref target='Pg049'>49</ref>, <ref target='Pg412'>412</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Beroka, R., <ref target='Pg490'>490</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Berosus, <ref target='Pg213'>213</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bertholet, A., <ref target='Pg409'>409</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Beruria, <ref target='Pg110'>110</ref>, <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bezold, C., <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Biblical canon, <ref target='Pg011'>11</ref>, <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref>, <ref target='Pg201'>201</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bloch, M., <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bloch, Ph., <ref target='Pg023'>23</ref>, <ref target='Pg236'>236</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Blood, <ref target='Pg048'>48</ref>, <ref target='Pg123'>123</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Body, <ref target='Pg209'>209</ref>, <ref target='Pg214'>214</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Boeklen, E., <ref target='Pg302'>302</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bousset, W., <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref>, <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref> f., <ref target='Pg061'>61</ref> f., <ref target='Pg074'>74</ref>, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref>, <ref target='Pg123'>123</ref>, <ref target='Pg128'>128</ref>, <ref target='Pg143'>143</ref> f., <ref target='Pg185'>185</ref>, <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref>, <ref target='Pg246'>246</ref>, <ref target='Pg252'>252</ref>, <ref target='Pg303'>303</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Breath of life, <ref target='Pg212'>212</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Brugsch, H., <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Buddha, <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref>, <ref target='Pg478'>478</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cabbalah, <ref target='Pg203'>203</ref>, <ref target='Pg244'>244</ref>, <ref target='Pg294'>294</ref>, <ref target='Pg473'>473</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Calendar, Jewish, <ref target='Pg460'>460</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Calvin, <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Caro, Joseph, <ref target='Pg056'>56</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cassel, D., <ref target='Pg214'>214</ref>, <ref target='Pg236'>236</ref>, <ref target='Pg489'>489</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Celibacy, <ref target='Pg313'>313</ref>, <ref target='Pg316'>316</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ceremonies, <ref target='Pg346'>346</ref>, <ref target='Pg449'>449</ref> ff.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Charles, R. H., <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cheerfulness, <ref target='Pg318'>318</ref>, <ref target='Pg490'>490</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cheyne, T. K., <ref target='Pg409'>409</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Christian Science, <ref target='Pg178'>178</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Christian theology, <ref target='Pg005'>5</ref>, <ref target='Pg123'>123</ref>, <ref target='Pg192'>192</ref>, <ref target='Pg248'>248</ref>, <ref target='Pg252'>252</ref> f., <ref target='Pg304'>304</ref>, <ref target='Pg347'>347</ref>, <ref target='Pg355'>355</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-christian-trinity'/> +<l>Christian trinity, <ref target='Pg056'>56</ref>, <ref target='Pg086'>86</ref>, <ref target='Pg116'>116</ref> f., <ref target='Pg441'>441</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Christianity, <ref target='Pg017'>17</ref>, <ref target='Pg041'>41</ref>, <ref target='Pg054'>54</ref>, <ref target='Pg116'>116</ref>, <ref target='Pg329'>329</ref>, <ref target='Pg427'>427</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Christianity, Paulinian, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref>, <ref target='Pg116'>116</ref>, <ref target='Pg439'>439</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Christ(os), <ref target='Pg086'>86</ref>, <ref target='Pg221'>221</ref>, <ref target='Pg433'>433</ref>, <ref target='Pg437'>437</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Church's providential mission, <ref target='Pg444'>444</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Circumcision, <ref target='Pg050'>50</ref>, <ref target='Pg346'>346</ref>, <ref target='Pg402'>402</ref>, <ref target='Pg416'>416</ref>, <ref target='Pg449'>449</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Civilization, <ref target='Pg316'>316</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Clemens, Flavius, <ref target='Pg421'>421</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cohen, Hermann, <ref target='Pg196'>196</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Commerce, Jewish, <ref target='Pg364'>364</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Compassion of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Compassion of man, <ref target='Pg126'>126</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Condescension of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Confession, <ref target='Pg005'>5</ref>, <ref target='Pg020'>20</ref>, <ref target='Pg192'>192</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Confirmation, <ref target='Pg449'>449</ref>, <ref target='Pg463'>463</ref>, <ref target='Pg473'>473</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Confucius, <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref>, <ref target='Pg478'>478</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Conscience, <ref target='Pg030'>30</ref>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Consciousness, Man's, of God, <ref target='Pg029'>29</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Continuity of soul</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-immortality'>Immortality</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Continuity with the past, <ref target='Pg014'>14</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Conversion, <ref target='Pg418'>418</ref>, <ref target='Pg423'>423</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cosmogony, <ref target='Pg148'>148</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cosmology, <ref target='Pg141'>141</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cosmos, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg146'>146</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Covenant, God's, <ref target='Pg048'>48</ref>, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref>, <ref target='Pg157'>157-161</ref>, <ref target='Pg235'>235-270</ref>, <ref target='Pg322'>322</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Creation, <ref target='Pg147'>147-153</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Creative principles, <ref target='Pg203'>203</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Credo, <ref target='Pg022'>22-25</ref>, <ref target='Pg031'>31</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Crescas, Hasdai, <ref target='Pg024'>24</ref> f., <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref>, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref>, <ref target='Pg172'>172</ref>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg236'>236</ref> f., <ref target='Pg293'>293</ref>, <ref target='Pg308'>308</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Critical research of Bible</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-historical'>Historical research</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cross, <ref target='Pg438'>438</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Culture, <ref target='Pg310'>310</ref>, <ref target='Pg363'>363</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Curtiss, S. I., <ref target='Pg454'>454</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cuzari</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-jehuda-ha-levi'>Jehuda ha Levi</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cyrus, <ref target='Pg085'>85</ref>, <ref target='Pg334'>334</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Dama ben Nethina, <ref target='Pg399'>399</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Daniel, <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Darwin, <ref target='Pg154'>154</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>David, <ref target='Pg242'>242</ref>, <ref target='Pg291'>291</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>David ben Zimra, <ref target='Pg027'>27</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Davidson, A. B., <ref target='Pg083'>83</ref>, <ref target='Pg115'>115</ref> f., <ref target='Pg139'>139</ref>, <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref>, <ref target='Pg182'>182</ref> f., <ref target='Pg247'>247</ref>, <ref target='Pg370'>370</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Day of judgment, <ref target='Pg394'>394</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Day of the Lord</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-jhvh-day'>JHVH, Day of</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Death, <ref target='Pg085'>85</ref>, <ref target='Pg177'>177</ref>, <ref target='Pg278'>278</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Deism, <ref target='Pg079'>79</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Delitzsch, Fried., <ref target='Pg006'>6</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Dembitz, L. N., <ref target='Pg269'>269</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Demons, <ref target='Pg190'>190</ref> ff.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Descartes, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Determinism, <ref target='Pg255'>255</ref>, <ref target='Pg330'>330</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Deutero-Isaiah, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref>, <ref target='Pg085'>85</ref>, <ref target='Pg267'>267</ref>, <ref target='Pg336'>336</ref>, <ref target='Pg369'>369</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Dietary laws, <ref target='Pg346'>346</ref>, <ref target='Pg451'>451</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Dillmann, A., <ref target='Pg030'>30</ref> f., <ref target='Pg059'>59</ref>, <ref target='Pg083'>83</ref> ff., <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref> ff., <ref target='Pg231'>231</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Doctrine, <ref target='Pg047'>47</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Doellinger, J. J. I. v., <ref target='Pg054'>54</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='499'/><anchor id='Pg499'/> + +<lg> +<l>Dorner, A., <ref target='Pg006'>6</ref>, <ref target='Pg018'>18</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Dosithean, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Draper, J. W., <ref target='Pg088'>88</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Drummond, J., <ref target='Pg069'>69</ref>, <ref target='Pg072'>72</ref> f., <ref target='Pg099'>99</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Dualism, <ref target='Pg085'>85</ref> f., <ref target='Pg178'>178</ref>, <ref target='Pg184'>184</ref>, <ref target='Pg189'>189</ref>, <ref target='Pg214'>214</ref>, <ref target='Pg220'>220</ref>, <ref target='Pg438'>438</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Dubno, S., <ref target='Pg007'>7</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Duran, Simon, <ref target='Pg024'>24</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Duty, <ref target='Pg478'>478</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Duty to fellow man, <ref target='Pg319'>319</ref>, <ref target='Pg484'>484</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Duty to self, <ref target='Pg482'>482</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ecclesiastical, <ref target='Pg005'>5</ref>, <ref target='Pg016'>16</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ecstasy, <ref target='Pg038'>38</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Edom—Rome, <ref target='Pg430'>430</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Einhorn, David, viii, <ref target='Pg389'>389</ref>, <ref target='Pg446'>446</ref>, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref> f., <ref target='Pg461'>461</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Elbogen, I., <ref target='Pg269'>269</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eleazar ben Pedath, <ref target='Pg329'>329</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Election of Israel</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-israel'>Israel</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eliezer ben Hyrcanos, <ref target='Pg050'>50</ref>, <ref target='Pg257'>257</ref>, <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref>, <ref target='Pg316'>316</ref>, <ref target='Pg403'>403</ref>, <ref target='Pg419'>419</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Elijah, <ref target='Pg046'>46</ref>, <ref target='Pg049'>49</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Elisha ben Abuyah, <ref target='Pg118'>118</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Elohim, <ref target='Pg057'>57</ref> f., <ref target='Pg180'>180</ref> f., <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref>, <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Emden, Jacob, <ref target='Pg427'>427</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Enoch, <ref target='Pg232'>232</ref>, <ref target='Pg336'>336</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eschatology</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-future-life'>Future life</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eschelbacher, J., <ref target='Pg015'>15</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Essenes, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg040'>40</ref>, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref>, <ref target='Pg183'>183</ref>, <ref target='Pg185'>185</ref>, <ref target='Pg191'>191</ref>, <ref target='Pg316'>316</ref>, <ref target='Pg419'>419</ref>, <ref target='Pg434'>434</ref>, <ref target='Pg481'>481</ref>, <ref target='Pg489'>489</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eternity, <ref target='Pg098'>98</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ethics, <ref target='Pg069'>69</ref>, <ref target='Pg120'>120</ref>, <ref target='Pg398'>398</ref>, <ref target='Pg477'>477</ref>, <ref target='Pg491'>491</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Euken, R., <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Evil, <ref target='Pg176'>176</ref>, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Evil, Spirits of, <ref target='Pg189'>189-196</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Evolution, <ref target='Pg011'>11</ref>, <ref target='Pg036'>36</ref>, <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Exile, Babylonian, <ref target='Pg010'>10</ref> f., <ref target='Pg266'>266</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ezekiel, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref>, <ref target='Pg221'>221</ref>, <ref target='Pg249'>249</ref>, <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref>, <ref target='Pg299'>299</ref>, <ref target='Pg337'>337</ref> f., <ref target='Pg345'>345</ref>, <ref target='Pg392'>392</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ezra, <ref target='Pg010'>10</ref> f., <ref target='Pg017'>17</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-faith'/> +<l>Faith, <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Faithfulness of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Faithfulness of Israel</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-israel'>Israel</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Falashas, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg457'>457</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Family life, <ref target='Pg316'>316</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Fasting, <ref target='Pg483'>483</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Fate, <ref target='Pg168'>168</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Fatherhood of God, <ref target='Pg256'>256-260</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Fear of God, <ref target='Pg029'>29</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Feast of Weeks</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-shabuoth'>Shabuoth</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Felsenthal, B., <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Festivals, <ref target='Pg461'>461-470</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Finality, <ref target='Pg006'>6</ref>, <ref target='Pg475'>475</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Finkelscherer, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Flesh, <ref target='Pg212'>212</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Formalism, <ref target='Pg351'>351</ref>, <ref target='Pg473'>473</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Foster, <ref target='Pg062'>62</ref>, <ref target='Pg271'>271</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Frankel, Z., <ref target='Pg003'>3</ref>, <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Frederick II, <ref target='Pg444'>444</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Freedom of will, <ref target='Pg171'>171</ref> f., <ref target='Pg231'>231</ref>, <ref target='Pg237'>237</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Friedlander, G., <ref target='Pg438'>438</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Friendship, <ref target='Pg318'>318</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-future-life'/> +<l>Future life, <ref target='Pg281'>281-308</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gabirol, Solomon Ibn, <ref target='Pg080'>80</ref>, <ref target='Pg089'>89</ref>, <ref target='Pg098'>98</ref>, <ref target='Pg141'>141</ref>, <ref target='Pg187'>187</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gamaliel, <ref target='Pg077'>77</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg129'>129</ref>, <ref target='Pg152'>152</ref>, <ref target='Pg289'>289</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gehenna, <ref target='Pg110'>110</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Geiger, Abraham, viii, <ref target='Pg002'>2</ref>, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg014'>14</ref> ff., <ref target='Pg035'>35</ref>, <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref>, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref>, <ref target='Pg110'>110</ref>, <ref target='Pg201'>201</ref>, <ref target='Pg446'>446</ref>, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref>, <ref target='Pg472'>472</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Genius, <ref target='Pg035'>35</ref>, <ref target='Pg103'>103</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ger, <ref target='Pg050'>50</ref>, <ref target='Pg409'>409</ref> ff.</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See also</hi> <ref target='index-proselyte'>Proselyte</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gershom ben Jehuda, <ref target='Pg472'>472</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gersonides, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg156'>156</ref>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg236'>236</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ginzberg, Asher, <ref target='Pg007'>7</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gnosticism, <ref target='Pg086'>86</ref>, <ref target='Pg141'>141</ref>, <ref target='Pg153'>153</ref>, <ref target='Pg427'>427</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-god'/> +<l>God, <ref target='Pg052'>52-145</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>God no abstraction, <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref>, <ref target='Pg143'>143</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>God of the fathers, <ref target='Pg016'>16</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-gods'/> +<l>God's, condescension, <ref target='Pg072'>72</ref>, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref>, <ref target='Pg142'>142-144</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>essence, <ref target='Pg072'>72-81</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>eternity, <ref target='Pg098'>98-100</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>existence, <ref target='Pg064'>64-71</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>faithfulness, <ref target='Pg134'>134-137</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>fatherhood, <ref target='Pg256'>256-260</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>foreknowledge, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref>, <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>goodness, <ref target='Pg126'>126</ref>, <ref target='Pg132'>132</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>grace, <ref target='Pg114'>114</ref> f., <ref target='Pg246'>246</ref> f.</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>holiness, <ref target='Pg100'>100-109</ref>, <ref target='Pg149'>149</ref> f.</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>immanence, <ref target='Pg079'>79</ref> f., <ref target='Pg098'>98</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>incorporeality</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-spirituality'>Spirituality</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>jealousy, <ref target='Pg054'>54</ref>, <ref target='Pg083'>83</ref>, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>justice, <ref target='Pg118'>118</ref>, <ref target='Pg125'>125</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>kingdom</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-kingdom'>Kingdom of God</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>knowledge, <ref target='Pg138'>138-141</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>mercy, <ref target='Pg113'>113</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>names, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref>, <ref target='Pg063'>63</ref>, <ref target='Pg291'>291</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>omnipotence, <ref target='Pg091'>91-95</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>omnipresence, <ref target='Pg096'>96-98</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>omniscience, <ref target='Pg093'>93-95</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>personality, <ref target='Pg073'>73-76</ref>, <ref target='Pg098'>98</ref>, <ref target='Pg106'>106</ref>, <ref target='Pg144'>144</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>relation to the world, <ref target='Pg146'>146-151</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>self-consciousness, <ref target='Pg073'>73</ref></l> +<pb n='500'/><anchor id='Pg500'/> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>spirit, <ref target='Pg097'>97-200</ref>; in man, <ref target='Pg216'>216-230</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>spirituality, <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref>, <ref target='Pg074'>74-78</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>supermundaneity, <ref target='Pg099'>99</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>transcendence, <ref target='Pg074'>74</ref> f., <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>truthfulness, <ref target='Pg134'>134-137</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>unity, <ref target='Pg082'>82-90</ref>, <ref target='Pg096'>96</ref> f., <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>wisdom, <ref target='Pg138'>138</ref> f.</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>wrath and punishment, <ref target='Pg107'>107</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>God-childship, Man's, <ref target='Pg027'>27</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>God-consciousness, Man's, <ref target='Pg029'>29-31</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gods, Heathen, <ref target='Pg053'>53</ref>, <ref target='Pg113'>113</ref>, <ref target='Pg136'>136</ref>, <ref target='Pg177'>177</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Goel, <ref target='Pg256'>256</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gog and Magog, <ref target='Pg381'>381</ref>, <ref target='Pg383'>383</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Golden rule, <ref target='Pg484'>484</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Goldziher, I., <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref>, <ref target='Pg441'>441</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Goodness, <ref target='Pg126'>126</ref>, <ref target='Pg132'>132</ref>, <ref target='Pg150'>150</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Goy, <ref target='Pg400'>400</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Grace of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Graetz, H., <ref target='Pg007'>7</ref>, <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref>, <ref target='Pg416'>416</ref>, <ref target='Pg472'>472</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Greek church, <ref target='Pg429'>429</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ethics, <ref target='Pg443'>443</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>philosophy, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg023'>23</ref>, <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref> f., <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref> f., <ref target='Pg315'>315</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>wisdom, <ref target='Pg336'>336</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gressmann, H., <ref target='Pg378'>378</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Guedemann, M., <ref target='Pg042'>42</ref>, <ref target='Pg355'>355</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Guttmann, J., <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref>, <ref target='Pg306'>306</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Habakkuk, <ref target='Pg334'>334</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Haftarah, <ref target='Pg357'>357</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Haggada and Halakah, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hananel, R., <ref target='Pg021'>21</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Haninah ben Dosa, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref>, <ref target='Pg165'>165</ref>, <ref target='Pg273'>273</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hanukkah, <ref target='Pg409'>409</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Harnack, A., <ref target='Pg413'>413</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Harper, R. F., <ref target='Pg190'>190</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hartmann, E. v., <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hasidim and Hasidean, <ref target='Pg062'>62</ref>, <ref target='Pg127'>127</ref>, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref>, <ref target='Pg266'>266</ref> f., <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref>, <ref target='Pg289'>289</ref>, <ref target='Pg308'>308</ref>, <ref target='Pg344'>344</ref>, <ref target='Pg481'>481</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hatred, <ref target='Pg398'>398</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Heathenism, <ref target='Pg052'>52</ref>, <ref target='Pg057'>57</ref>, <ref target='Pg083'>83</ref> f., <ref target='Pg176'>176</ref>, <ref target='Pg399'>399</ref> f., <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hebrew, <ref target='Pg016'>16</ref>, <ref target='Pg470'>470</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Helbo, R., <ref target='Pg421'>421</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Helen of Adiabene, <ref target='Pg416'>416</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hellenism, <ref target='Pg023'>23</ref>, <ref target='Pg335'>335</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hellenistic Judaism, <ref target='Pg233'>233</ref>, <ref target='Pg289'>289</ref>, <ref target='Pg303'>303</ref>, <ref target='Pg339'>339</ref>, <ref target='Pg414'>414</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>literature, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg258'>258</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>philosophy, <ref target='Pg232'>232</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>propaganda, <ref target='Pg251'>251</ref> f., <ref target='Pg334'>334</ref>, <ref target='Pg415'>415</ref> f., <ref target='Pg436'>436</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Herford, R. T., <ref target='Pg439'>439</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hezekiah, <ref target='Pg281'>281</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hillel, <ref target='Pg127'>127</ref>, <ref target='Pg209'>209</ref>, <ref target='Pg304'>304</ref>, <ref target='Pg335'>335</ref>, <ref target='Pg360'>360</ref>, <ref target='Pg418'>418</ref>, <ref target='Pg423'>423</ref>, <ref target='Pg481'>481</ref> ff.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hillel, R., <ref target='Pg388'>388</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hillul and Kiddush hashem, <ref target='Pg348'>348</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hirsch, E. G., <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref>, <ref target='Pg458'>458</ref>, <ref target='Pg480'>480</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hirsch, Samson Raphael, <ref target='Pg269'>269</ref>, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hirsch, S. A., <ref target='Pg407'>407</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hirsch, Samuel, viii, <ref target='Pg446'>446</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-historical'/> +<l>Historical research, <ref target='Pg004'>4</ref>, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg046'>46</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hochmuth, A., <ref target='Pg023'>23</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Holdheim, Samuel, viii, <ref target='Pg462'>462</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Holiness, <ref target='Pg102'>102</ref>, <ref target='Pg109'>109</ref>, <ref target='Pg477'>477</ref> f., <ref target='Pg491'>491</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Holiness, God's</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Holiness, Levitical, <ref target='Pg104'>104</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Holy Land</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-palestine'>Palestine</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Holy spirit, <ref target='Pg011'>11</ref>, <ref target='Pg200'>200</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Horowitz, S., <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref> f., <ref target='Pg037'>37</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Horwitz, Sabbathai, <ref target='Pg014'>14</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hosea, <ref target='Pg029'>29</ref>, <ref target='Pg049'>49</ref>, <ref target='Pg114'>114</ref> f., <ref target='Pg249'>249</ref>, <ref target='Pg257'>257</ref>, <ref target='Pg264'>264</ref>, <ref target='Pg324'>324</ref>, <ref target='Pg333'>333</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Humanity, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref>, <ref target='Pg310'>310</ref>, <ref target='Pg315'>315</ref>, <ref target='Pg398'>398</ref>, <ref target='Pg475'>475</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Husik, <ref target='Pg037'>37</ref>, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref> ff., <ref target='Pg214'>214</ref> f., <ref target='Pg291'>291</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ibn Daud</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-abraham-ibn-daud'>Abraham ibn Daud</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ibn Ezra</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-abraham-ibn-ezra'>Abraham Ibn Ezra</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ibn Sina, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ibn Verga, <ref target='Pg431'>431</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ihering, R. v., <ref target='Pg409'>409</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Imitatio Dei, <ref target='Pg477'>477</ref>, <ref target='Pg479'>479</ref>, <ref target='Pg490'>490</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Immanence of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-immortality'/> +<l>Immortality, <ref target='Pg024'>24</ref>, <ref target='Pg286'>286</ref>, <ref target='Pg297'>297</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Individual man, <ref target='Pg310'>310</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Industry, <ref target='Pg317'>317</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Inspiration, <ref target='Pg039'>39</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Institution of the synagogue</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-synagogue'>Synagogue</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Intercession, <ref target='Pg200'>200</ref> f., <ref target='Pg406'>406</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Intermarriage, <ref target='Pg444'>444</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Intermediary powers, <ref target='Pg197'>197-205</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Internationalism, <ref target='Pg321'>321</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Intolerance, <ref target='Pg404'>404</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Isaac ben Shesheth, <ref target='Pg171'>171</ref>, <ref target='Pg427'>427</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Isaac Napaha, <ref target='Pg428'>428</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Isaiah, <ref target='Pg244'>244</ref>, <ref target='Pg264'>264</ref>, <ref target='Pg328'>328</ref>, <ref target='Pg333'>333</ref>, <ref target='Pg397'>397</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ishmael, <ref target='Pg430'>430</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-islam'/> +<l>Islam, <ref target='Pg017'>17</ref>, <ref target='Pg041'>41</ref>, <ref target='Pg086'>86</ref> f., <ref target='Pg329'>329</ref>, <ref target='Pg427'>427</ref>, <ref target='Pg441'>441</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Islam's mission, <ref target='Pg444'>444</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-israel'/> +<l>Israel, <ref target='Pg389'>389</ref> f., <ref target='Pg397'>397</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Israel's, characteristics, <ref target='Pg326'>326</ref> f.</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>commerce, <ref target='Pg364'>364</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>consecration, <ref target='Pg037'>37</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>election, <ref target='Pg037'>37</ref>, <ref target='Pg323'>323-330</ref></l> +<pb n='501'/><anchor id='Pg501'/> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>hope, <ref target='Pg378'>378-391</ref>, <ref target='Pg392'>392-396</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>martyrdom, <ref target='Pg033'>33</ref>, <ref target='Pg130'>130</ref>, <ref target='Pg349'>349</ref>, <ref target='Pg367'>367-377</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>mission, <ref target='Pg328'>328-341</ref>, <ref target='Pg352'>352-354</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>cultural, <ref target='Pg363'>363</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>priesthood, <ref target='Pg342'>342-343</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>prophetic genius, <ref target='Pg039'>39</ref>, <ref target='Pg103'>103</ref>, <ref target='Pg122'>122</ref>, <ref target='Pg372'>372</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>relation to the nations, <ref target='Pg009'>9</ref>, <ref target='Pg397'>397-407</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>separateness, <ref target='Pg008'>8</ref>, <ref target='Pg347'>347</ref> f., <ref target='Pg364'>364</ref>, <ref target='Pg374'>374</ref>, <ref target='Pg445'>445</ref> f., <ref target='Pg452'>452</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>world-duty, <ref target='Pg016'>16</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>JHVH—Jahveh, <ref target='Pg045'>45</ref>, <ref target='Pg059'>59</ref>, <ref target='Pg063'>63</ref>, <ref target='Pg072'>72</ref>, <ref target='Pg114'>114</ref>, <ref target='Pg117'>117</ref>, <ref target='Pg202'>202</ref>, <ref target='Pg280'>280</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-jhvh-day'/> +<l>JHVH, Day of, <ref target='Pg122'>122</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>James, Wm., <ref target='Pg271'>271</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jastrow, J., <ref target='Pg296'>296</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jastrow, Morris, <ref target='Pg128'>128</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jealousy of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-jehuda-ha-levi'/> +<l>Jehuda ha Levi, <ref target='Pg025'>25</ref>, <ref target='Pg038'>38</ref>, <ref target='Pg070'>70</ref>, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref>, <ref target='Pg110'>110</ref>, <ref target='Pg141'>141</ref>, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref>, <ref target='Pg187'>187</ref>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg228'>228</ref>, <ref target='Pg291'>291</ref>, <ref target='Pg329'>329</ref>, <ref target='Pg339'>339</ref>, <ref target='Pg426'>426</ref>, <ref target='Pg431'>431</ref>, <ref target='Pg475'>475</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jehuda ha Nasi, <ref target='Pg128'>128</ref>, <ref target='Pg302'>302</ref>, <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref>, <ref target='Pg403'>403</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jellinek, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jeremiah, <ref target='Pg030'>30</ref>, <ref target='Pg045'>45</ref>, <ref target='Pg126'>126</ref>, <ref target='Pg249'>249</ref>, <ref target='Pg252'>252</ref>, <ref target='Pg257'>257</ref>, <ref target='Pg265'>265</ref>, <ref target='Pg320'>320</ref>, <ref target='Pg410'>410</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jerusalem, <ref target='Pg335'>335</ref>, <ref target='Pg365'>365</ref>, <ref target='Pg423'>423</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jesus of Nazareth, <ref target='Pg046'>46</ref>, <ref target='Pg433'>433</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jew and Jewry, <ref target='Pg007'>7</ref> f., <ref target='Pg359'>359</ref>, <ref target='Pg364'>364</ref>, <ref target='Pg376'>376</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jew hatred, <ref target='Pg009'>9</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jewish nationality, <ref target='Pg008'>8</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jewish religion</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-judaism'>Judaism</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Job, <ref target='Pg032'>32</ref>, <ref target='Pg124'>124</ref>, <ref target='Pg281'>281</ref>, <ref target='Pg319'>319</ref>, <ref target='Pg370'>370</ref>, <ref target='Pg372'>372</ref>, <ref target='Pg484'>484</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joel, <ref target='Pg250'>250</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joel, D., <ref target='Pg187'>187</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joel, M., <ref target='Pg003'>3</ref>, <ref target='Pg086'>86</ref>, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref>, <ref target='Pg161'>161</ref>, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref>, <ref target='Pg196'>196</ref>, <ref target='Pg307'>307</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Johanan, R., <ref target='Pg079'>79</ref>, <ref target='Pg306'>306</ref>, <ref target='Pg309'>309</ref>, <ref target='Pg327'>327</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Johanan ben Zakkai, <ref target='Pg222'>222</ref>, <ref target='Pg258'>258</ref>, <ref target='Pg403'>403</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>John the Baptist, <ref target='Pg434'>434</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>John Hyrcanus, <ref target='Pg419'>419</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jonah, <ref target='Pg127'>127</ref>, <ref target='Pg250'>250</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jose, R., <ref target='Pg046'>46</ref>, <ref target='Pg227'>227</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joseph Ibn Zaddik, <ref target='Pg136'>136</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joseph, Morris, <ref target='Pg116'>116</ref>, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref>, <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref>, <ref target='Pg420'>420</ref>, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref> f., <ref target='Pg458'>458</ref>, <ref target='Pg489'>489</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Josephus, <ref target='Pg021'>21</ref>, <ref target='Pg046'>46</ref> f., <ref target='Pg137'>137</ref>, <ref target='Pg233'>233</ref>, <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref>, <ref target='Pg413'>413</ref>, <ref target='Pg420'>420</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joshua ben Hananiah, <ref target='Pg077'>77</ref>, <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref>, <ref target='Pg340'>340</ref>, <ref target='Pg422'>422</ref>, <ref target='Pg432'>432</ref>, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref>, <ref target='Pg455'>455</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jost, M., <ref target='Pg007'>7</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joy of life, <ref target='Pg318'>318</ref>, <ref target='Pg490'>490</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Juda Ibn Balag, <ref target='Pg144'>144</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judæo-Christians, <ref target='Pg427'>427</ref> f., <ref target='Pg439'>439</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-judaism'/> +<l>Judaism, Modern or progressive, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref>, <ref target='Pg104'>104</ref>, <ref target='Pg342'>342</ref>, <ref target='Pg364'>364</ref>, <ref target='Pg422'>422</ref>, <ref target='Pg445'>445</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judaism, Rabbinic, <ref target='Pg143'>143</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judan, R., <ref target='Pg186'>186</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Justice, <ref target='Pg118'>118-124</ref>, <ref target='Pg485'>485</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Justice, Social, <ref target='Pg122'>122</ref>, <ref target='Pg487'>487</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kaddish, <ref target='Pg304'>304</ref>, <ref target='Pg331'>331</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kant, Immanuel, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref>, <ref target='Pg069'>69</ref>, <ref target='Pg189'>189</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Karaites, <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref>, <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref>, <ref target='Pg475'>475</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kaufmann, David, <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref> f., <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref> f., <ref target='Pg080'>80</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref>, <ref target='Pg153'>153</ref>, <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref> ff.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kedusha, <ref target='Pg192'>192</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kiddush hashem, <ref target='Pg348'>348</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-kingdom'/> +<l>Kingdom of God, <ref target='Pg331'>331-341</ref>, <ref target='Pg491'>491</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Klein, J., <ref target='Pg412'>412</ref>, <ref target='Pg436'>436</ref>, <ref target='Pg482'>482</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Knowledge of God, <ref target='Pg029'>29</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Knowledge, God's</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Koeberle, <ref target='Pg117'>117</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Koheleth, <ref target='Pg124'>124</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kohler, K., <ref target='Pg020'>20</ref>, <ref target='Pg032'>32</ref>, <ref target='Pg044'>44</ref>, <ref target='Pg267'>267</ref>, <ref target='Pg304'>304</ref>, <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref>, <ref target='Pg438'>438</ref>, <ref target='Pg447'>447</ref>, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kohler, M. J., <ref target='Pg409'>409</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kohut, Alex., <ref target='Pg042'>42</ref>, <ref target='Pg199'>199</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Krauskopf, J., <ref target='Pg443'>443</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kremer, A. v., <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref>, <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kuenen, A., <ref target='Pg337'>337</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Labor, <ref target='Pg224'>224</ref>, <ref target='Pg317'>317</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Lame and blind parable, <ref target='Pg302'>302</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Landsberg, M., <ref target='Pg473'>473</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Lange, F. A., <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Lauterbach, J. Z., <ref target='Pg439'>439</ref>, <ref target='Pg482'>482</ref> ff., <ref target='Pg486'>486</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Law, <ref target='Pg045'>45-47</ref>, <ref target='Pg355'>355-358</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Lazarus, L., <ref target='Pg106'>106</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Lazarus, M., <ref target='Pg014'>14</ref>, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref>, <ref target='Pg106'>106</ref>, <ref target='Pg349'>349</ref>, <ref target='Pg477'>477</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Lecky, W. E. H., <ref target='Pg345'>345</ref>, <ref target='Pg364'>364</ref>, <ref target='Pg443'>443</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Leo Hebraeus, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Leo da Modena, <ref target='Pg014'>14</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Lessing, E. G., <ref target='Pg430'>430</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Levi, R., <ref target='Pg268'>268</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Levkovits, M., <ref target='Pg178'>178</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Life a battle, <ref target='Pg282'>282</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Loew, Leopold, <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref>, <ref target='Pg027'>27</ref>, <ref target='Pg472'>472</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Loewe ben Bezalel, <ref target='Pg228'>228</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-logos'/> +<l>Logos, <ref target='Pg198'>198</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Love, <ref target='Pg031'>31</ref> f., <ref target='Pg121'>121</ref>, <ref target='Pg126'>126-131</ref>, <ref target='Pg484'>484</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Love, God's</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Loyalty to country, <ref target='Pg319'>319</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Luria, Isaac, <ref target='Pg014'>14</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Luther, Martin, <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Luz, <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Luzzatto, S. D., <ref target='Pg023'>23</ref>, <ref target='Pg030'>30</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='502'/><anchor id='Pg502'/> + +<lg> +<l>Maimonides, <ref target='Pg003'>3</ref>, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref> f., <ref target='Pg030'>30</ref>, <ref target='Pg038'>38</ref>, <ref target='Pg072'>72</ref>, <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref>, <ref target='Pg110'>110</ref>, <ref target='Pg138'>138</ref>, <ref target='Pg153'>153</ref>, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref>, <ref target='Pg170'>170</ref>, <ref target='Pg178'>178</ref>, <ref target='Pg187'>187</ref>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg224'>224</ref>, <ref target='Pg228'>228</ref>, <ref target='Pg236'>236</ref> f., <ref target='Pg268'>268</ref>, <ref target='Pg272'>272</ref>, <ref target='Pg307'>307</ref> f., <ref target='Pg321'>321</ref>, <ref target='Pg339'>339</ref>, <ref target='Pg386'>386</ref> f., <ref target='Pg404'>404</ref>, <ref target='Pg426'>426</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Makom, <ref target='Pg062'>62</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Malachi, <ref target='Pg249'>249</ref>, <ref target='Pg263'>263</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Man, <ref target='Pg182'>182</ref>, <ref target='Pg206'>206-232</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Man, child of God, <ref target='Pg256'>256</ref>, <ref target='Pg260'>260</ref>, <ref target='Pg310'>310</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Man's, brotherhood, <ref target='Pg314'>314</ref>, <ref target='Pg321'>321</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>dual nature, <ref target='Pg212'>212-217</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>destiny and origin, <ref target='Pg218'>218-230</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>fall, <ref target='Pg221'>221-225</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>freedom of will, <ref target='Pg208'>208</ref>, <ref target='Pg231'>231-237</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>individuality, <ref target='Pg208'>208</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>perfectibility, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref>, <ref target='Pg491'>491</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>self-consciousness, <ref target='Pg035'>35</ref>, <ref target='Pg216'>216</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Manasseh, King, <ref target='Pg211'>211</ref>, <ref target='Pg251'>251</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Manasseh ben Israel, <ref target='Pg339'>339</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mankind, <ref target='Pg310'>310-315</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Margolis, Max, <ref target='Pg002'>2</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-martyrdom'/> +<l>Martyrdom of Israel</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-israel'>Israel</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mazdaism</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-persian'>Persian</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Measure for measure, <ref target='Pg124'>124</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Medieval Jewry, <ref target='Pg361'>361</ref> f., <ref target='Pg376'>376</ref>, <ref target='Pg386'>386</ref>, <ref target='Pg455'>455</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Meir, R., <ref target='Pg077'>77</ref>, <ref target='Pg151'>151</ref>, <ref target='Pg154'>154</ref>, <ref target='Pg258'>258</ref>, <ref target='Pg260'>260</ref>, <ref target='Pg273'>273</ref>, <ref target='Pg356'>356</ref>, <ref target='Pg403'>403</ref>, <ref target='Pg450'>450</ref>, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Memra</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-logos'>Logos</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mendelssohn, M., vii, <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref>, <ref target='Pg030'>30</ref>, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg142'>142</ref>, <ref target='Pg165'>165</ref>, <ref target='Pg295'>295</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mercy of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Merkabah, <ref target='Pg187'>187</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Messianic hope, <ref target='Pg008'>8</ref>, <ref target='Pg334'>334</ref> f., <ref target='Pg378'>378</ref>, <ref target='Pg389'>389</ref>, <ref target='Pg445'>445</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Messianic kingdom, <ref target='Pg426'>426</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Messiah, <ref target='Pg025'>25</ref>, <ref target='Pg333'>333</ref> f., <ref target='Pg373'>373</ref>, <ref target='Pg382'>382</ref> f., <ref target='Pg389'>389</ref>, <ref target='Pg400'>400</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Metaphysical, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref>, <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref>, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Metatron—Mithras, <ref target='Pg185'>185</ref>, <ref target='Pg199'>199</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Micah, <ref target='Pg218'>218</ref>, <ref target='Pg328'>328</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Microcosm, <ref target='Pg209'>209</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mielziner, M., <ref target='Pg446'>446</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mill, John Stuart, <ref target='Pg181'>181</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Milton, J., <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Minim—Heretics, <ref target='Pg086'>86</ref>, <ref target='Pg424'>424</ref> ff.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Miracle, <ref target='Pg036'>36</ref>, <ref target='Pg160'>160-166</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Misanthropy, <ref target='Pg009'>9</ref>, <ref target='Pg398'>398</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mission of Israel</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-israel'>Israel</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Modesty, <ref target='Pg490'>490</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mohammed, <ref target='Pg429'>429</ref> f., <ref target='Pg441'>441</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mohammedan religion</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-islam'>Islam</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-mohammedan'/> +<l>Mohammedan theology, <ref target='Pg002'>2</ref>, <ref target='Pg024'>24</ref>, <ref target='Pg037'>37</ref>, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref>, <ref target='Pg141'>141</ref>, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref>, <ref target='Pg171'>171</ref>, <ref target='Pg236'>236</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Monotheism, <ref target='Pg055'>55-183</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Absolute, <ref target='Pg428'>428</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Ethical, <ref target='Pg023'>23</ref>, <ref target='Pg054'>54</ref>, <ref target='Pg069'>69</ref>, <ref target='Pg415'>415</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Montefiore, Claude G., <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref>, <ref target='Pg246'>246</ref>, <ref target='Pg348'>348</ref>, <ref target='Pg438'>438</ref>, <ref target='Pg449'>449</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Month, <ref target='Pg459'>459</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Moral order, <ref target='Pg119'>119-123</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Morgenstern, J., <ref target='Pg239'>239</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mosaic code, <ref target='Pg335'>335</ref>, <ref target='Pg345'>345</ref>, <ref target='Pg414'>414</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>cult, <ref target='Pg263'>263-268</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>law, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg016'>16</ref>, <ref target='Pg026'>26</ref>, <ref target='Pg104'>104</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mosaism, <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Moses, <ref target='Pg035'>35-37</ref>, <ref target='Pg046'>46</ref>, <ref target='Pg113'>113</ref> f., <ref target='Pg228'>228</ref>, <ref target='Pg232'>232</ref> ff., <ref target='Pg240'>240</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mueller, Max, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mutuality, <ref target='Pg488'>488</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mysticism and mystics, <ref target='Pg003'>3</ref>, <ref target='Pg014'>14</ref>, <ref target='Pg036'>36</ref>, <ref target='Pg089'>89</ref>, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref>, <ref target='Pg136'>136</ref>, <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref>, <ref target='Pg473'>473</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Naaman, <ref target='Pg414'>414</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nahmanides, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg224'>224</ref>, <ref target='Pg244'>244</ref>, <ref target='Pg294'>294</ref>, <ref target='Pg307'>307</ref>, <ref target='Pg426'>426</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nahum of Gimzo, <ref target='Pg151'>151</ref>, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Names of God, <ref target='Pg058'>58-63</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nationalism, Jewish, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref> f., <ref target='Pg335'>335</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nationality, Jewish, <ref target='Pg008'>8</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nature, <ref target='Pg148'>148</ref>, <ref target='Pg156'>156</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nature's laws, <ref target='Pg135'>135</ref>, <ref target='Pg187'>187</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Neoplatonism, <ref target='Pg002'>2</ref>, <ref target='Pg037'>37</ref>, <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref>, <ref target='Pg092'>92</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nestorians, <ref target='Pg443'>443</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-nether-world'/> +<l>Nether world, <ref target='Pg279'>279</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See also</hi> <ref target='index-sheol'>Sheol</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Neumark, David, <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref>, <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref>, <ref target='Pg070'>70</ref>, <ref target='Pg092'>92</ref>, <ref target='Pg098'>98</ref>, <ref target='Pg172'>172</ref>, <ref target='Pg284'>284</ref>, <ref target='Pg297'>297</ref>, <ref target='Pg406'>406</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>New Year's Day, <ref target='Pg465'>465-468</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nieto, David, <ref target='Pg080'>80</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nirvana, <ref target='Pg479'>479</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Noah, <ref target='Pg336'>336</ref>, <ref target='Pg452'>452</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Noahitic laws, <ref target='Pg048'>48-51</ref>, <ref target='Pg110'>110</ref>, <ref target='Pg404'>404</ref>, <ref target='Pg412'>412</ref> f., <ref target='Pg427'>427</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nomism, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg044'>44</ref>, <ref target='Pg355'>355</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nomos—Law, <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Oath, <ref target='Pg120'>120</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Objective and subjective truths, <ref target='Pg003'>3</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Œnomaos of Gadara, <ref target='Pg403'>403</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Onias the Saint, <ref target='Pg165'>165</ref>, <ref target='Pg268'>268</ref>, <ref target='Pg273'>273</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ontological proof</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-gods'>God's existence</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Optimism, <ref target='Pg132'>132</ref>, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref>, <ref target='Pg251'>251</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Order, Moral, of the world, <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Orientalism, <ref target='Pg470'>470</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Origin, <ref target='Pg374'>374</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Orthodoxy, <ref target='Pg011'>11</ref>, <ref target='Pg046'>46</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Otherworldliness, <ref target='Pg124'>124</ref>, <ref target='Pg352'>352</ref>, <ref target='Pg395'>395</ref>, <ref target='Pg440'>440</ref>, <ref target='Pg489'>489</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='503'/><anchor id='Pg503'/> + +<lg> +<l>Pain, <ref target='Pg176'>176</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-palestine'/> +<l>Palestine, <ref target='Pg003'>3</ref>, <ref target='Pg038'>38</ref>, <ref target='Pg335'>335</ref>, <ref target='Pg394'>394</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Pantheism, <ref target='Pg080'>80</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Paradise legend, <ref target='Pg177'>177</ref>, <ref target='Pg207'>207</ref>, <ref target='Pg219'>219</ref>, <ref target='Pg278'>278</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Parseeism</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-persian'>Persian</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Particularism, <ref target='Pg446'>446</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Passover, <ref target='Pg461'>461</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Patriotism, <ref target='Pg320'>320</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Paul and Paulinian dogma, <ref target='Pg025'>25</ref>, <ref target='Pg050'>50</ref> f., <ref target='Pg116'>116</ref>, <ref target='Pg021'>21</ref>, <ref target='Pg259'>259</ref>, <ref target='Pg355'>355</ref>, <ref target='Pg417'>417</ref>, <ref target='Pg428'>428</ref>, <ref target='Pg437'>437</ref>, <ref target='Pg440'>440</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Peace, <ref target='Pg379'>379</ref>, <ref target='Pg491'>491</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Pentecost miracle, <ref target='Pg359'>359</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Perles, F., <ref target='Pg350'>350</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-persian'/> +<l>Persian, <ref target='Pg085'>85</ref>, <ref target='Pg140'>140</ref>, <ref target='Pg184'>184-191</ref>, <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref> ff., <ref target='Pg300'>300</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Personality of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Pessimism, <ref target='Pg150'>150</ref>, <ref target='Pg439'>439</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Pharaoh, <ref target='Pg055'>55</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Pharisaic and Pharisees, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg020'>20</ref>, <ref target='Pg189'>189</ref>, <ref target='Pg233'>233</ref> f., <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref> f., <ref target='Pg302'>302</ref>, <ref target='Pg344'>344</ref> f., <ref target='Pg413'>413</ref>, <ref target='Pg418'>418</ref>, <ref target='Pg439'>439</ref>, <ref target='Pg457'>457</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Philanthropy, <ref target='Pg486'>486</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Philippson, Ludwig, <ref target='Pg165'>165</ref>, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref>, <ref target='Pg444'>444</ref>, <ref target='Pg446'>446</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Philipson, David, <ref target='Pg269'>269</ref>, <ref target='Pg297'>297</ref>, <ref target='Pg389'>389</ref>, <ref target='Pg446'>446</ref>, <ref target='Pg458'>458</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Philo, <ref target='Pg021'>21</ref>, <ref target='Pg067'>67</ref>, <ref target='Pg072'>72</ref>, <ref target='Pg080'>80</ref>, <ref target='Pg186'>186</ref>, <ref target='Pg189'>189</ref>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg198'>198</ref>, <ref target='Pg203'>203</ref>, <ref target='Pg214'>214</ref> f., <ref target='Pg233'>233</ref> f., <ref target='Pg268'>268</ref>, <ref target='Pg290'>290</ref>, <ref target='Pg294'>294</ref>, <ref target='Pg351'>351</ref>, <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref>, <ref target='Pg413'>413</ref>, <ref target='Pg423'>423</ref>, <ref target='Pg439'>439</ref>, <ref target='Pg452'>452</ref>, <ref target='Pg457'>457</ref>, <ref target='Pg485'>485</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Philosophy, Greek, <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Hindoo, <ref target='Pg209'>209</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Jewish, <ref target='Pg002'>2</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Philosophy of religion, <ref target='Pg070'>70</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Phineas ben Yair, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref>, <ref target='Pg165'>165</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Phylacteries</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-tefillin'>Tefillin</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Plato, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref>, <ref target='Pg209'>209</ref> f., <ref target='Pg215'>215</ref>, <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Platonism, <ref target='Pg141'>141</ref>, <ref target='Pg285'>285</ref>, <ref target='Pg289'>289</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ploss, H., <ref target='Pg449'>449</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Porter, F. Ch., <ref target='Pg215'>215</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Prayer, <ref target='Pg261'>261-277</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Predetermination, <ref target='Pg232'>232</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Preëxistence of the Soul, <ref target='Pg289'>289</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Priest, <ref target='Pg343'>343</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Priest code, <ref target='Pg263'>263</ref>, <ref target='Pg351'>351</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Priest, High, <ref target='Pg317'>317</ref>, <ref target='Pg466'>466</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Priesthood of Israel</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-israel'>Israel</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Profanation of name</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> Hillul ha Shem</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Propaganda, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref>, <ref target='Pg412'>412-419</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-prophecy'/> +<l>Prophecy, <ref target='Pg035'>35</ref>, <ref target='Pg038'>38</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Prophetic books, <ref target='Pg042'>42</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-proselyte'/> +<l>Proselyte, <ref target='Pg336'>336</ref> f., <ref target='Pg411'>411-423</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Protestantism, <ref target='Pg363'>363</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Providence, <ref target='Pg167'>167-175</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Psalmist, <ref target='Pg010'>10</ref>, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg060'>60</ref>, <ref target='Pg265'>265</ref>, <ref target='Pg299'>299</ref>, <ref target='Pg309'>309</ref>,<ref target='Pg480'>480</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Psychology, <ref target='Pg187'>187</ref>, <ref target='Pg204'>204</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ptolemy Philadelphus, <ref target='Pg347'>347</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Punishment, Divine</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-retribution'>Retribution</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Purgatory, <ref target='Pg304'>304</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Purim, <ref target='Pg470'>470</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Purity, <ref target='Pg146'>146</ref>, <ref target='Pg153'>153</ref>, <ref target='Pg291'>291</ref>, <ref target='Pg490'>490</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Pythagoras, <ref target='Pg146'>146</ref>, <ref target='Pg291'>291</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-rab'/> +<l>Rab-Abba Areka, <ref target='Pg203'>203</ref>, <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rabba, <ref target='Pg428'>428</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rabbinism, <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Radin, M., <ref target='Pg416'>416</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rashi, <ref target='Pg312'>312</ref>, <ref target='Pg388'>388</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rationalism, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg038'>38</ref>, <ref target='Pg089'>89</ref>, <ref target='Pg450'>450</ref>, <ref target='Pg474'>474</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rauwenhoff, L. W. E., <ref target='Pg002'>2</ref>, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref>, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref>, <ref target='Pg106'>106</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Redemption, Religion of, <ref target='Pg017'>17</ref>, <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Reform Judaism, <ref target='Pg269'>269</ref>, <ref target='Pg330'>330</ref>, <ref target='Pg340'>340</ref>, <ref target='Pg389'>389</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Reform liturgy, <ref target='Pg269'>269</ref>, <ref target='Pg297'>297</ref>, <ref target='Pg340'>340</ref>, <ref target='Pg389'>389</ref>, <ref target='Pg469'>469</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Reformation, <ref target='Pg363'>363</ref>, <ref target='Pg444'>444</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Reizenstein, R., <ref target='Pg310'>310</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Religion, Absolute, <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Religion's unifying power, <ref target='Pg015'>15</ref>, <ref target='Pg315'>315</ref>, <ref target='Pg321'>321</ref>, <ref target='Pg491'>491</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Repentance, <ref target='Pg246'>246</ref>, <ref target='Pg257'>257</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Responsibility, <ref target='Pg233'>233</ref> f., <ref target='Pg246'>246</ref>, <ref target='Pg255'>255</ref>, <ref target='Pg337'>337</ref>, <ref target='Pg488'>488-491</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Resurrection, <ref target='Pg282'>282-285</ref>, <ref target='Pg292'>292</ref>, <ref target='Pg297'>297</ref> f., <ref target='Pg392'>392</ref>, <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-retribution'/> +<l>Retribution, <ref target='Pg107'>107-111</ref>, <ref target='Pg298'>298</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Revelation, <ref target='Pg023'>23</ref>, <ref target='Pg034'>34</ref>, <ref target='Pg041'>41</ref>, <ref target='Pg147'>147</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Reward and punishment</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-retribution'>Retribution</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rhode, E., <ref target='Pg290'>290</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ritschl, A. B., <ref target='Pg074'>74</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ritualism, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Roman church, <ref target='Pg428'>428</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rome, <ref target='Pg401'>401</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rosenau, Wm., <ref target='Pg447'>447</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rosin, D., <ref target='Pg030'>30</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ruth, <ref target='Pg336'>336</ref>, <ref target='Pg417'>417</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Saadia, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref>, <ref target='Pg187'>187</ref>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg224'>224</ref>, <ref target='Pg236'>236</ref>, <ref target='Pg274'>274</ref>, <ref target='Pg290'>290</ref>, <ref target='Pg307'>307</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sabbath, <ref target='Pg050'>50</ref>, <ref target='Pg346'>346</ref>, <ref target='Pg455'>455-460</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sachs, M., <ref target='Pg080'>80</ref>, <ref target='Pg089'>89</ref>, <ref target='Pg141'>141</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sacrament, <ref target='Pg448'>448</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sacrifice, <ref target='Pg261'>261-270</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sadduceeism and Sadducees, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref> f., <ref target='Pg127'>127</ref>, <ref target='Pg284'>284</ref>, <ref target='Pg300'>300</ref>, <ref target='Pg434'>434</ref>, <ref target='Pg439'>439</ref>, <ref target='Pg456'>456</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Salvation, <ref target='Pg005'>5</ref>, <ref target='Pg020'>20</ref>, <ref target='Pg258'>258</ref>, <ref target='Pg402'>402</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Samaritans, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg373'>373</ref>, <ref target='Pg420'>420</ref>, <ref target='Pg454'>454</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Samuel, <ref target='Pg241'>241</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Samuel of Nehardea, <ref target='Pg127'>127</ref>, <ref target='Pg320'>320</ref>, <ref target='Pg386'>386</ref>, <ref target='Pg403'>403</ref>, <ref target='Pg420'>420</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sanctification of the name, <ref target='Pg484'>484</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Satan, <ref target='Pg086'>86</ref>, <ref target='Pg189'>189-195</ref>, <ref target='Pg300'>300</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='504'/><anchor id='Pg504'/> + +<lg> +<l>Schechter, S., <ref target='Pg003'>3</ref>, <ref target='Pg006'>6</ref>, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref>, <ref target='Pg027'>27</ref>, <ref target='Pg076'>76</ref>, <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref>, <ref target='Pg145'>145</ref>, <ref target='Pg208'>208</ref>, <ref target='Pg223'>223</ref>, <ref target='Pg239'>239</ref>, <ref target='Pg263'>263</ref>, <ref target='Pg275'>275</ref>, <ref target='Pg323'>323</ref>, <ref target='Pg348'>348</ref>, <ref target='Pg455'>455</ref>, <ref target='Pg458'>458</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Scheyer, S., <ref target='Pg214'>214</ref>, <ref target='Pg292'>292</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Schiller, Fr., <ref target='Pg132'>132</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Schlesinger, W. and L., <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Schmiedl, <ref target='Pg037'>37</ref>, <ref target='Pg090'>90</ref> ff., <ref target='Pg155'>155</ref> f., <ref target='Pg197'>197</ref> ff., <ref target='Pg393'>393</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Schreiber, E., <ref target='Pg027'>27</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Schreiner, M., <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref>, <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref>, <ref target='Pg103'>103</ref>, <ref target='Pg431'>431</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Schuerer, E., <ref target='Pg159'>159</ref>, <ref target='Pg410'>410</ref>, <ref target='Pg413'>413</ref>, <ref target='Pg416'>416</ref>, <ref target='Pg448'>448</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Schulman, S., <ref target='Pg364'>364</ref>, <ref target='Pg445'>445</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Science, Modern, <ref target='Pg128'>128</ref>, <ref target='Pg139'>139</ref>, <ref target='Pg147'>147</ref> f., <ref target='Pg215'>215</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Scripture, <ref target='Pg011'>11</ref>, <ref target='Pg040'>40</ref>, <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Seeberg, A., <ref target='Pg412'>412</ref>, <ref target='Pg436'>436</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sefiroth, Ten, <ref target='Pg203'>203</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Self-conquest, <ref target='Pg483'>483</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Self-elevation <hi rend='italic'>versus</hi> self-extinction, <ref target='Pg479'>479</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Seligman, C., <ref target='Pg071'>71</ref>, <ref target='Pg155'>155</ref>, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Semikah, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Semites and Semitic, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg104'>104</ref>, <ref target='Pg347'>347</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sermon on the Mount, <ref target='Pg438'>438</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Serpent, <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref>, <ref target='Pg221'>221</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Servant of the Lord, <ref target='Pg324'>324</ref>, <ref target='Pg367'>367-375</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Seventy languages, <ref target='Pg359'>359</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Seventy nations, <ref target='Pg403'>403</ref>, <ref target='Pg464'>464</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-shabuoth'/> +<l>Shabuoth—Feast of the Weeks, <ref target='Pg462'>462</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Shaddai, <ref target='Pg059'>59</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Shammai and Shammaite, <ref target='Pg235'>235</ref>, <ref target='Pg335'>335</ref>, <ref target='Pg418'>418</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Shekinah, <ref target='Pg046'>46</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg183'>183</ref>, <ref target='Pg197'>197</ref>, <ref target='Pg204'>204</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Shema, <ref target='Pg020'>20</ref>, <ref target='Pg057'>57</ref>, <ref target='Pg061'>61</ref>, <ref target='Pg426'>426</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-sheol'/> +<l>Sheol, <ref target='Pg279'>279</ref> f.</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See also</hi> <ref target='index-nether-world'>Nether world</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Siegfried, C., <ref target='Pg080'>80</ref> f., <ref target='Pg203'>203</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simeon ben Eleazar, <ref target='Pg416'>416</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simeon ben Gamaliel, <ref target='Pg418'>418</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simeon ben Lakish, <ref target='Pg306'>306</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simeon ben Shetach, <ref target='Pg350'>350</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simeon ben Yohai, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref>, <ref target='Pg349'>349</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simhat Torah, <ref target='Pg464'>464</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simlai, R., <ref target='Pg027'>27</ref>, <ref target='Pg287'>287</ref>, <ref target='Pg319'>319</ref>, <ref target='Pg356'>356</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simon the Just, <ref target='Pg345'>345</ref>, <ref target='Pg357'>357</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sin, <ref target='Pg231'>231-345</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sin, Original, <ref target='Pg221'>221-223</ref>, <ref target='Pg244'>244</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sinai, <ref target='Pg053'>53</ref>, <ref target='Pg060'>60</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Slavery, <ref target='Pg042'>42</ref>, <ref target='Pg146'>146</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Smith, W. R., <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref>, <ref target='Pg409'>409</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sociability, <ref target='Pg318'>318</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Social justice, <ref target='Pg487'>487</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Society, <ref target='Pg318'>318</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Socrates, <ref target='Pg037'>37</ref>, <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Solomon ben Adret, <ref target='Pg426'>426</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Soul, <ref target='Pg024'>24</ref>, <ref target='Pg212'>212</ref> f., <ref target='Pg286'>286</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Spiegel, F., <ref target='Pg063'>63</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Spinoza, B., <ref target='Pg080'>80</ref>, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref>, <ref target='Pg309'>309</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Spirit of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Spirit, Holy, <ref target='Pg011'>11</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-spirituality'/> +<l>Spirituality of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Spitta, F., <ref target='Pg434'>434</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Stade, B., <ref target='Pg042'>42</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Stanley, A. P., <ref target='Pg454'>454</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>State, Duty to the, <ref target='Pg319'>319</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Stave, E., <ref target='Pg302'>302</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Stein, L., <ref target='Pg340'>340</ref>, <ref target='Pg389'>389</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Steinschneider, M., <ref target='Pg273'>273</ref>, <ref target='Pg430'>430</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Steinthal, H., <ref target='Pg146'>146</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Stoics, <ref target='Pg110'>110</ref>, <ref target='Pg198'>198</ref>, <ref target='Pg315'>315</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Stranger, <ref target='Pg408'>408-411</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Strauss, D. F., <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref>, <ref target='Pg067'>67</ref> f., <ref target='Pg074'>74</ref>, <ref target='Pg083'>83</ref> f., <ref target='Pg096'>96</ref> f., <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref> f., <ref target='Pg119'>119</ref>, <ref target='Pg153'>153</ref> f., <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Suffering, <ref target='Pg130'>130</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Suffering, Israel's</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-martyrdom'>Martyrdom</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Suicide, <ref target='Pg484'>484</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-sukkoth'/> +<l>Sukkoth festival, <ref target='Pg463'>463</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sunday, <ref target='Pg451'>451</ref> f., <ref target='Pg459'>459</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Symbolum Apostolicum, <ref target='Pg005'>5</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Synagogal liturgy and worship, <ref target='Pg277'>277</ref>, <ref target='Pg284'>284</ref>, <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref>, <ref target='Pg389'>389</ref>, 514</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-synagogue'/> +<l>Synagogue, <ref target='Pg447'>447</ref>, <ref target='Pg475'>475</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Synagogue, Men of the Great, <ref target='Pg040'>40</ref>, <ref target='Pg079'>79</ref>, <ref target='Pg201'>201</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Tabernacles, Feast of</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-sukkoth'>Sukkoth</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Taëb, <ref target='Pg373'>373</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Tallith, <ref target='Pg454'>454</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Tamar, <ref target='Pg417'>417</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-tefillin'/> +<l>Tefillin, <ref target='Pg346'>346</ref>, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Teleological proof</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-gods'>God's existence</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Temple, Destruction of</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-ab'>Ab, Ninth of</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Teshubah</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> Repentance Theism, <ref target='Pg008'>8</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Theocracy, <ref target='Pg342'>342</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Theology, <ref target='Pg001'>1-6</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Theology, Christian, <ref target='Pg005'>5-6</ref>, <ref target='Pg342'>342</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Theology, Mohammedan</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-mohammedan'>Mohammedan</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>This-worldliness, Jewish, <ref target='Pg017'>17</ref>, <ref target='Pg124'>124</ref>, <ref target='Pg477'>477</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Tihamat, <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref>, <ref target='Pg220'>220</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Time, <ref target='Pg099'>99</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Torah, <ref target='Pg011'>11</ref>, <ref target='Pg023'>23</ref>, <ref target='Pg042'>42-47</ref>, <ref target='Pg199'>199</ref>, <ref target='Pg354'>354</ref> ff.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Torah, Reading from the, <ref target='Pg470'>470</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Toy, C. H., <ref target='Pg480'>480</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Tradition, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg014'>14</ref>, <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref>, <ref target='Pg046'>46</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Transcendentalism, <ref target='Pg143'>143</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='505'/><anchor id='Pg505'/> + +<lg> +<l>Trinity</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-christian-trinity'>Christian trinity</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Trumbull, H. Clay, <ref target='Pg461'>461</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Truth, <ref target='Pg136'>136</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Truthfulness of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Tylor, E. B., <ref target='Pg286'>286</ref>, <ref target='Pg449'>449</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Unifying power, <ref target='Pg015'>15</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Unity of God, <ref target='Pg082'>82-90</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>of man, <ref target='Pg321'>321</ref>, <ref target='Pg339'>339</ref> f.</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>of the cosmos, <ref target='Pg149'>149</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Univeralism, <ref target='Pg008'>8</ref>, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg048'>48</ref>, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref>, <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref>, <ref target='Pg445'>445</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Universe, <ref target='Pg146'>146</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Values of life, <ref target='Pg489'>489</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Vernacular, <ref target='Pg357'>357</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Virtue, Hereditary, <ref target='Pg328'>328</ref>, <ref target='Pg406'>406</ref>, <ref target='Pg489'>489</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Vision, Prophetic</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-prophecy'>Prophecy</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Water libation, <ref target='Pg464'>464</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Weber, F., <ref target='Pg045'>45</ref>, <ref target='Pg061'>61</ref>, <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref>, <ref target='Pg086'>86</ref>, <ref target='Pg117'>117</ref>, <ref target='Pg123'>123</ref>, <ref target='Pg126'>126</ref>, <ref target='Pg143'>143</ref>, <ref target='Pg145'>145</ref>, <ref target='Pg223'>223</ref>, <ref target='Pg246'>246</ref>, <ref target='Pg252'>252</ref>, <ref target='Pg361'>361</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Weiss, Isaac Hirsch, <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref>, <ref target='Pg054'>54</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Wells, H. G., <ref target='Pg071'>71</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>White, Andrew D., <ref target='Pg443'>443</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Will, Freedom of, <ref target='Pg138'>138</ref> f., <ref target='Pg199'>199</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Windelband-Tufts, <ref target='Pg067'>67</ref> ff., <ref target='Pg290'>290</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Windishman, Fr., <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Wisdom, <ref target='Pg045'>45</ref>, <ref target='Pg140'>140</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Wisdom of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Wisdom, Book of, <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Wisdom literature, <ref target='Pg060'>60</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Wise, Isaac M., <ref target='Pg423'>423</ref>, <ref target='Pg473'>473</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Woman, <ref target='Pg222'>222</ref>, <ref target='Pg472'>472</ref> f.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>World, Infinitude of, <ref target='Pg154'>154</ref>, <ref target='Pg159'>159</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Moral government of, <ref target='Pg171'>171</ref> f.</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Order of, <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Worlds, Two, <ref target='Pg159'>159</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-wrath'/> +<l>Wrath of God</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-god'>God</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Wuensche, A., <ref target='Pg430'>430</ref>, <ref target='Pg439'>439</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Xenophanes, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Yavan, <ref target='Pg424'>424</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Yethro, <ref target='Pg417'>417</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Yezer ha ra and ha tob, <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref>, <ref target='Pg215'>215</ref>, <ref target='Pg223'>223</ref>, <ref target='Pg239'>239</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zealot, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg334'>334</ref>, <ref target='Pg360'>360</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zebulon and Issachar, <ref target='Pg364'>364</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zechariah, <ref target='Pg249'>249</ref>, <ref target='Pg334'>334</ref>, <ref target='Pg410'>410</ref>, <ref target='Pg464'>464</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zedakah, <ref target='Pg121'>121</ref>, <ref target='Pg486'>486</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zekuth Aboth, <ref target='Pg406'>406</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zeller, E., <ref target='Pg310'>310</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zerubbabel, <ref target='Pg330'>330</ref>, <ref target='Pg370'>370</ref>, <ref target='Pg380'>380</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zidduk ha Din, <ref target='Pg125'>125</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zimmels, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zimmern, H., <ref target='Pg103'>103</ref>, <ref target='Pg170'>170</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zionism, <ref target='Pg390'>390</ref>, <ref target='Pg395'>395</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zizith, <ref target='Pg454'>454</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zoroastrianism</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><hi rend='italic'>See</hi> <ref target='index-persian'>Persian</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zunz, Leopold, <ref target='Pg041'>41</ref>, <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref>, <ref target='Pg367'>367</ref>, <ref target='Pg450'>450</ref>, <ref target='Pg471'>471</ref></l> +</lg> + +</div> + + +<pb n='507'/><anchor id='Pg507'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> + +<p> +The following pages contain advertisements of a +few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects. +</p> + +<pb n='509'/><anchor id='Pg509'/> + +<p> +Zionism and the Jewish Future +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>BY VARIOUS WRITERS</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Edited by Harry Sacher</hi> +</p> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Cloth, 12mo, $1.00</hi></l> +</lg> + +<p> +<q>This volume should be read by Zionists so that they should become more familiar +with what even some of them know more or less imperfectly. It should be carefully +perused by non- and anti-Zionists so that they may become informed with a subject +which many of them are inclined to censure without any knowledge of that which they +are censuring.</q>—<hi rend='italic'>B'na B'rith Messenger.</hi> +</p> + +<milestone unit='tb' rend='rule: 50%'/> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'><q>Zionism and the Jewish Future</q> is one of the most illuminating of all the serious-minded +books of the year. If we belonged to the Hebrew race we would first master all +that is said about Palestine and the movement to restore it to a living place among the +Nations. Next, we would go to the Great Jewish Encyclopedia, and look up everything +connected with the subject,—also the fifteen or more writers who have made this book. +Lastly, if we agreed with the movement, we would get in line at once. Note in especial +the bibliography of the whole matter (Appendix 4).</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>Zionism looks <q>forward, not backward,</q> and the vast hope behind it is one that will +help the non-Jewish world as much as the children of Abraham. May Israel yet have a +Hebrew University in Jerusalem. They are right—these idealists. Palestine <q>is essentially +the land of religious influences and spiritual association,</q> and also of <q>political and +geographical importance.</q> The problems in all this are fairly met and fully discussed in +this book, which Dr. H. Sacher edits.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>And how is the Gentile to approach the subject? With a perfectly open mind on +all its economic, historical and religious questions. If taken up in this way the book +grows on one; it presents wholly reasonable aspirations which all right-minded people +can endorse and will desire to aid as far as practicable. To have a <q>perfectly open +mind</q> is to take up the problems of these earnest people who discuss <q>Zionism</q> as our +friends, our neighbors, our fellow-workers. Don't be <q>tolerant</q> or patronizing towards +Jew or Gentile, American, European, Asiatic, African or Islander. We are <q>all of one +blood.</q></q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>One of the best of Californian novelists, who has enjoyed the book, writes as +follows:</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q><q>It is an excellent round-up and exposition of all the vagrant—and vague—theories +and history of the subject. It makes the evolution and logical being of the +question perfectly clear. Whereas in most Jewish minds Zionism means a belief in +Palestine as the native soil of all Jews and the refuge for the oppressed, the motive here +expressed is that by drawing the Jewish soul to its ancient Fatherland, it will create a +spiritual center for all Jewry.</q></q>—<hi rend='italic'>Daily Fresno Republican.</hi> +</p> + +<lg> +<l>The Macmillan Company</l> +<l>Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York</l> +</lg> + +<pb n='510'/><anchor id='Pg510'/> + +<p> +<hi rend='bold'>Jewish Philanthropy</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>An Exposition Of Principles And Methods Of +Jewish Social Service In The United States</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>By Boris D. Bogen, Ph.D.</hi> +</p> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Cloth, 12mo, $2.00</hi></l> +</lg> + +<p> +This book is an attempt to meet the demand on the part +of those who are engaged in or are interested in Jewish social +service, for a statement of the principles evolved through +the experience of the last two decades in various philanthropic +efforts of the Jews of this country. It is primarily +a compilation of the different ideas expressed by the leaders +of the movements, as well as a presentation of the actual +practical experiences that were met in the different lines of +philanthropic activity. +</p> + +<p> +As the first attempt in this direction the work will render +a great service in clarifying the indefinite views in vogue at +present among Jewish Social workers. +</p> + +<p> +Contents +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Introduction</hi>—The Extent and Scope of Jewish Philanthropy. +Dependency Among Jews. Charity Among Jews. National +Organizations. Methods of Fund Raising for Jewish Philanthropic +Agencies. Transients. The Immigration Problem. +Distribution. The Back to the Soil Movement. Resident-Dependents. +Dependent Women and Children. Insufficiency of +Income. Standards of Relief. Education and Social Organizations. +The Education of Immigrants. Jewish Settlements and +Neighborhood Work. Organization and Administration. Volunteer +Service. Administration. The Federation and the Synagogue. +Bibliography. Index. +</p> + +<milestone unit='tb' rend='rule: 50%'/> + +<lg> +<l>The Macmillan Company</l> +<l>Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York</l> +</lg> + +<pb n='511'/><anchor id='Pg511'/> + +<p> +<hi rend='bold'>A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>By Isaac Husik</hi> +</p> + +<p> +Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the University of Pennsylvania +</p> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Cloth, octavo, l + 452 pages, $3.00</hi></l> +</lg> + +<p> +The first complete history of mediæval Jewish rationalistic +philosophy for both the student and the general reader +which has as yet been written in any modern tongue. +</p> + +<p> +The story is told simply and interestingly. Dr. Husik +is gifted with the faculty of clear insight and he has succeeded +in grasping and in exhibiting in a very readable +manner the essential nature of the various problems treated +and the gist of the solutions offered by the different Jewish +philosophers discussed. The author has not attempted to +read into the mediæval thinkers modern ideas which +were foreign to them. He has endeavored to interpret +their ideas from their own point of view as determined by +their history and environment, and the literary sources, +religious and philosophical, under the influence of which +they came. It is an objective and not too critical exposition +of Jewish rationalistic thought in the middle ages. +</p> + +<p> +In the words of an eminent reviewer, <q>To have compressed +a comprehensive discussion of five centuries of +earnest and productive thought upon the greatest of +themes into a book of less than four hundred and fifty +pages is an achievement upon which any author may be +congratulated. To have done the work so well and in +particular to have expressed profound reflections upon +abstruse problems in a style so limpid, so fluent, so readily +understood is to have placed all who are interested in +thought and thinkers under great obligation. That an +American-Jewish scholar should have produced a pioneer +work that must, for a long time to come, be the authority +in its field is a subject of felicitation to all who have at +heart the perpetuation of Jewish learning in America.</q> +</p> + +<milestone unit='tb' rend='rule: 50%'/> + +<lg> +<l>The Macmillan Company</l> +<l>Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York</l> +</lg> + +<pb n='512'/><anchor id='Pg512'/> + +<p> +Studies in Judaism +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>By Rabbi Solomon Schechter, Litt.D.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The author is President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America +since 1902; formerly Reader in Talmudic, Cambridge University, and Professor +of Hebrew, University College of London, 1898-1902. +</p> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Cloth, 12mo, 366 pages, $1.50</hi></l> +</lg> + +<p> +<q>The book is, to our mind, the best on this subject ever written. +The author condenses a literature of several thousand pages into +564 pages, and presents to us his history in a splendid English and +splendid order. This work deserves the highest appreciation, and +without the slightest hesitation do we recommend it to the public at +large, and more especially to our co-religionists in this country.</q> +</p> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>—Jewish Tribune.</hi></l> +</lg> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Contents</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Introduction.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. <hi rend='smallcaps'>The Chassidim.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +2. <hi rend='smallcaps'>Nachman Krochmal and the <q>Perplexities of the Time.</q></hi> +</p> + +<p> +3. <hi rend='smallcaps'>Rabbi Elijah Wilna, Gaon.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +4. <hi rend='smallcaps'>Nachmanides.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +5. <hi rend='smallcaps'>A Jewish Boswell.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +6. <hi rend='smallcaps'>The Dogmas of Judaism.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +7. <hi rend='smallcaps'>The History of Jewish Tradition.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +8. <hi rend='smallcaps'>The Doctrine of Divine Retribution in Rabbinical Literature.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +9. <hi rend='smallcaps'>The Law and Recent Criticism.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +10. <hi rend='smallcaps'>The Hebrew Collection of the British Museum.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +11. <hi rend='smallcaps'>Titles of Jewish Books.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +12. <hi rend='smallcaps'>The Child in Jewish Literature.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +13. <hi rend='smallcaps'>Woman in Temple and Synagogue.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +14. <hi rend='smallcaps'>The Earliest Jewish Community in Europe.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Notes.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Index.</hi> +</p> + +<lg> +<l>The Macmillan Company</l> +<l>Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York</l> +</lg> +</div> + +</body> +<back rend="page-break-before: right"> + <div id="footnotes"> + <index index="toc" /> + <index index="pdf" /> + <head>Footnotes</head> + <divGen type="footnotes"/> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: right"> + <divGen type="pgfooter" /> + </div> +</back> +</text> +</TEI.2> |