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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Thousand Years of Jewish History, by
+Maurice H. (Maurice Henry) Harris
+
+
+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 included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: A Thousand Years of Jewish History
+ From the days of Alexander the Great to the Moslem Conquest of Spain
+
+
+Author: Maurice H. (Maurice Henry) Harris
+
+
+
+Release Date: December 11, 2013 [eBook #44409]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A THOUSAND YEARS OF JEWISH
+HISTORY***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Julia Neufeld, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+ file which includes the original illustrations.
+ See 44409-h.htm or 44409-h.zip:
+ (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44409/44409-h/44409-h.htm)
+ or
+ (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44409/44409-h.zip)
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+ Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+ Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals.
+
+ Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Map front endpaper "Palestine Before the War,
+66 B.C.E."]
+
+
+ "For a thousand years in thy sight,
+ are but ... as a watch in the night"
+
+ Psalms, xc, 4.
+
+[Illustration: JERUSALEM BESIEGED BY TITUS. (See page 167.)]
+
+
+A THOUSAND YEARS OF JEWISH HISTORY
+
+From the Days of Alexander the Great to the Moslem Conquest of Spain
+
+With Illustrations, Maps and Notes.
+
+By the
+
+REV. MAURICE H. HARRIS, A. M., PH. D.
+
+Author of "People of the Book."
+"History of the Mediaeval Jews"
+"Modern Jewish History"
+"Selected Addresses," etc.
+
+SIXTH EDITION.
+
+Revised and Enlarged
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+New York:
+Bloch Publishing Co., 40 East 14Th St.,
+1914.
+
+Copyright, 1911
+By Maurice H. Harris
+
+Press of
+Philip Cowen
+New York
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+ "Wenn es eine Stufenleiter von Leiden giebt, so hat Israel die
+ hoechste Staffel erstiegen; wenn die Dauer der Schmerzen und
+ die Geduld, mit welcher sie ertragen werden, adeln, so nehmen
+ es die Juden mit den Hochgeborenen aller Laender auf; wenn eine
+ Literatur reich genannt wird, die wenige klassische Trauerspiele
+ besitzt, welcher Platz gebuehrt dann einer Tragoedie, die
+ anderthalb Jahrtausende waehrt gedichtet und dargestellt von den
+ Helden selber?"
+
+ --ZUNZ: _Die Synagogale Poesie des Mittelalters_.
+
+
+When the impatient youth demands, like the heathen from Hillel, a
+definition of Judaism, bid him "go and learn" the history of the
+Jew. Let him follow the fascinating story from hoar antiquity, when
+the obscure Hebrews, "leaving kindred and father's house," took a
+bold and new departure for the land that God would show--the land
+that would show God.
+
+Point to the colossal figure of Moses on Sinai, "greatest of the
+prophets," who gave the first uplifting impulse with his Ten
+Words of Faith and Duty. Trace with him the soul struggle of this
+"fewest of all peoples" to reach the truth of divinity--beginning
+with a crude conception that became steadily more exalted and more
+clarified with each successive age, until, at last, the idea is
+realized of an all-pervading Spirit, with "righteousness and justice
+as the pillars of His throne," the "refuge of all generations."
+
+Make clear to him how the revelation of the divine will came to be
+expressed in Law. And, how the preservation and development of this
+Law, in the interpreting hands of prophets, scribes, rabbis, poets
+and philosophers, became henceforth the controlling motif of the
+history of the Jew, his _modus vivendi_, whether under Babylonians,
+Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabians or Franks. Help him to see that
+through it the Jew held in his keeping the religious fate of Orient
+and Occident, that took from him their respective impressions of
+Islamism and Christianity.
+
+Let him see the "God-intoxicated" teaching his message by living it;
+the Suffering Servant whose martyrdom brought healing to his smiters.
+
+Then, perhaps, he may understand that no one definition can
+completely express the Faith of the Jew and his place in the
+divine economy. But with this glimpse of his history the grandeur
+of his inheritance will sink into his consciousness, becoming
+part of himself, and he will be thrilled with the tremendous
+responsibility devolving upon him as a member of the priest-people,
+the witnesses of God, whose mission was and is to "bring light to
+the Gentiles--that salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."
+
+
+
+
+Preface to the Revised Edition
+
+
+The dual purpose of the revision of this work has been
+simplification and amplification.
+
+The language has been recast in parts and there have been added
+sub-titles within each chapter, cross-references and an index. Ideas
+such as "Religion as law," the Logos of Philo and the development of
+Messianism have been made as simple as these subjects admit of.
+
+In seeking illustrations to vivify the narrative it is unfortunate
+that so little is available. Ah! if we had pictures of Hillel, of
+Akiba the Martyr, of Judah the Saint, of the Jamnia Academy, of
+the splendor of the Babylonian Exilarch. But this very absence of
+pictures is in itself a bit of Jewish history.
+
+This new edition contains quotations from the literature of the
+periods covered, from the Apocrypha, Philo, Josephus and the Mishna.
+Three chapters have been added, two on "Stories and Sayings of
+the Sages of the Talmud" and one on "Rabbi Judah and his times."
+Other chapters have been placed in more logical sequence. Both the
+Chronological Tables and the Notes are fuller. A new feature has
+been introduced in a "theme for discussion" at the close of each
+chapter that may be found helpful to study circles and Chautauqua
+societies. This has also been introduced in the recently issued
+"Modern Jewish History."
+
+The author expresses his grateful indebtedness to Dr. David de
+Sola Pool for a most careful reading of the manuscript and for
+many corrections and suggestions; also to Mr. Philip Cowen for
+the aid rendered in collecting the illustrations. The author has
+availed himself of writings that have appeared on this epoch since
+the edition of 1904. He hopes he has succeeded in producing a more
+readable book.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+ Preface to revised edition v.
+
+ Introduction vi.
+
+ Themes for Discussion xiii.
+
+ Maps and Illustrations xii.
+
+ Chronological Tables xii.
+
+ Index 311
+
+
+ _BOOK I. JUDEA A VASSAL STATE._
+
+
+ CHAPTER I. UNDER PERSIAN SWAY.
+
+ Political Silence -- Religious activity -- The Bible Canon.
+ Notes: Persian influence -- Judaism as law -- Bible
+ books. 17-25
+
+
+ CHAPTER II. GREEK AND JEW.
+
+ Alexander the Great -- Judea part of Greco-Egypt -- Joseph
+ the Satrap. Note: Greek and Jew. 26-32
+
+
+ CHAPTER III. JUDEA FIGHTS FOR ITS FAITH.
+
+ The High Priest's office sold -- Religious Persecution --
+ Judas Maccabeus -- Feast of Hanukkah -- The Book of Daniel.
+ Note: Immortality. 33-44
+
+
+ CHAPTER IV. JUDEA FIGHTS FOR ITS INDEPENDENCE.
+
+ Death of Judas -- Jonathan -- Death of Eleazar --
+ Independence 45-51
+
+
+ CHAPTER V. THE APOCRYPHA.
+
+ I. Esdras -- II. Esdras -- Tobit -- Judith -- Additions to
+ Esther -- Wisdom Literature: Wisdom of Solomon --
+ Ecclesiasticus -- Baruch -- Song of the Three Holy
+ Children -- History of Susanna -- Bel and the Dragon --
+ Prayer of Manasses--I. Maccabees--II. Maccabees 52-66
+
+
+ CHAPTER VI. IN THE DIASPORA.
+
+ Egypt -- The Septuagint -- Onias and his temple 67-71
+
+
+ _BOOK II. JUDEA INDEPENDENT._
+
+
+ CHAPTER VII. PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES.
+
+ Simon -- Hyrcanus I. -- Pharisees and Sadducees--Essenes 77-84
+
+
+ CHAPTER VIII. A ROYAL HOUSE AGAIN.
+
+ Aristobulus -- Alexander Janneus -- Queen Salome
+ Alexandra -- The "Pairs." 85-90
+
+
+ CHAPTER IX. RIVAL CLAIMANTS FOR THE THRONE.
+
+ Aristobolus II. -- Prayer of Onias -- Pompey takes
+ Jerusalem. 91-94
+
+
+ CHAPTER X. JUDEA UNDER ROMAN SUZERAINTY.
+
+ Growth of Rome--From First Triumvirate to Empire--Herod
+ enters on the scene--The last Hasmonean
+ ruler. 95-101
+
+
+ CHAPTER XI. HEROD.
+
+ Herod as man -- Herod as builder -- Herod as father.
+ Note: Edom, type of Rome. 102-110
+
+
+ CHAPTER XII. HILLEL.
+
+ Hillel as moralist -- Hillel as legislator -- Last
+ days -- Shammai. Note: Law and equity. 111-117
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIII. HEROD'S SUCCESSORS.
+
+ Antipas and John the Baptist -- The last Herodian --
+ Judea part of a Roman province. 117-122
+
+
+ _BOOK III. JUDEA UNDER ROME._
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIV. PILATE THE PROCURATOR.
+
+ Procurators in general -- Pilate in particular --
+ Proselytes. 123-126
+
+
+ CHAPTER XV. JESUS OF NAZARETH.
+
+ The Messianic hope -- Jesus the man -- Jesus the
+ Messiah -- Christianity--Teachings of Jesus. Note: The
+ Crucifixion. 127-135
+
+
+ CHAPTER XVI. THE ALEXANDRIAN SCHOOL.
+
+ Jew and Greek -- Jewish Missionaries. 136-140
+
+
+ CHAPTER XVII. PHILO-JUDEUS.
+
+ His Bible Commentary -- His philosophy -- The Logos --
+ His Ethics. 141-146
+
+
+ CHAPTER XVIII. A JEWISH KING ONCE MORE.
+
+ The mad emperor Caligula -- Agrippa's youth -- Agrippa
+ the king -- Agrippa slain -- Agrippa II. 147-152
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIX. THE LAST PROCURATORS.
+
+ The Zealots -- The Sicarii. 153-156
+
+
+ CHAPTER XX. JUDEA'S WAR WITH ROME.
+
+ Revolution -- A peace party -- Josephus. 157-160
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXI. THE SIEGE.
+
+ The North succumbs -- Rival parties in Jerusalem. 161-167
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXII. THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
+
+ Masada, the last fortress -- The remnant again. 168-171
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXIII. JOSEPHUS AND HIS WORKS.
+
+ His early life -- Josephus vs. Jeremiah -- His "History
+ of the Jews" -- "Contra Apion." Note: Josephus
+ and Christianity. 172-180
+
+
+ _BOOK IV. THE TALMUDIC ERA._
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXIV. JOCHANAN BEN ZAKKAI.
+
+ The Academy at Jamnia -- Prayer replaces sacrifice --
+ Halacha and Agada. 183-189
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXV. THE PALESTINIAN ACADEMIES.
+
+ R. Gamaliel -- R. Joshua -- Ordination of rabbis --
+ The Prayer Book. 190-196
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXVI. JUDAISM AND THE CHURCH.
+
+ The development of Christianity -- Old and New
+ Testaments -- Gnostics. Note: Jewish Scripture and
+ Church doctrine. 197-200
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXVII. ROME'S REGIME AFTER JUDEA'S
+ OVERTHROW.
+
+ Proselytes again -- Revolt against Trajan -- Hadrian's
+ "Promise." 201-205
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXVIII. AKIBA.
+
+ Love and Law -- Akiba's Ethics. 206-210
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXIX. LAST STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY.
+
+ Bar Cochba -- General Severus -- Martyrdom. 211-216
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXX. JUDAH "THE SAINT" AND HIS TIMES.
+
+ Mair and Beruria -- Judah ha-Nasi -- Other famous
+ teachers. 217-221
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXXI. THE MISHNA.
+
+ Written and Oral Law -- Quotations -- Amoraim. 222-228
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXXII. BABYLONIA AND ITS SCHOOLS.
+
+ The Resh Galutha -- Rab and Samuel -- Babylonian
+ Schools. Note: Patriotism and Judaism. 229-238
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXXIII. CHRISTIANITY THE STATE CHURCH
+ OF ROME.
+
+ Rome's decline -- Why Christianity appealed to Romans --
+ Judaism and Christianity contrasted -- The Calendar. 239-244
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXXIV. DIVISION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
+
+ Julian -- Two Roman Empires -- Goths and Vandal s--
+ Persecution of the Jews. 245-249
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXXV. THE TALMUD.
+
+ The Gemara -- The contents -- Talmudic Literature --
+ Saboraim. Note: Law of the Talmud. 250-255
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXXVI. SAYINGS AND STORIES OF
+ THE SAGES OF THE TALMUD.
+
+ God -- Providence -- Prayer -- Righteousness -- Study of
+ the Law -- Education in general -- Parents and children --
+ Woman. 256-263
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXXVII. SAYINGS AND STORIES OF
+ THE SAGES. (_continued._)
+
+ Work -- Truth -- Justice and Honesty -- Kindness --
+ Charity -- Humility and Patience -- Sin -- Repentance --
+ Death and immortality -- Wit and Humor. 264-279
+
+
+ _BOOK V. SHEM AND JAPHETH._
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXXVIII. BEGINNING OF THE JEWISH MIDDLE AGES.
+
+ In the Byzantine Empire -- Laws of Justinian -- Jews
+ again involved in war -- Rome's successors -- Italy --
+ The Popes -- Slavery and trade. 281-287
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXXIX. IN THE SPANISH PENINSULA.
+
+ Gaul and the Franks -- Vicissitudes in Spain. 288-292
+
+
+ CHAPTER XL. ARABIA.
+
+ The land and the people -- Arabian Jews -- Jussef the
+ Proselyte -- Samuel the chivalrous. 293-298
+
+
+ CHAPTER XLI. MOHAMMED.
+
+ The Hegira. 299-304
+
+
+ CHAPTER XLII. ISLAM AND THE JEWS.
+
+ Christianity and Islam -- The Koran or the Sword -- The
+ Spread of Islam -- Fall of Visigothic Spain. 304-310
+
+
+
+
+List of Illustrations
+
+
+ PAGE
+
+ Jerusalem besieged by Titus _Frontispiece_
+
+ Antiochus Epiphanes 42
+
+ Half Shekel, Simon Maccabeus 50
+
+ Shekel, Simon Maccabeus 51
+
+ Goat-skin water bottles 66
+
+ The Temple of Jerusalem 74
+
+ Ground plan of Temple Area 75
+
+ Coin of Johanan the High Priest 84
+
+ Coin of the Time of Alexandra 87
+
+ The Pool of Siloam 90
+
+ Julius Caesar 97
+
+ Coin of Antigonus on his accession 101
+
+ Emperor Augustus 105
+
+ Coin of Agrippa I. 148
+
+ Coin of Agrippa II. 152
+
+ Battlement on a house-top 160
+
+ Emperor Titus 164
+
+ Coin of the Reign of Titus 166
+
+ The Golden Candlestick (on Arch of Titus depicting
+ carrying the spoil of Judea) 169
+
+ Flavius Josephus 173
+
+ The Arch of Titus, raised to commemorate the
+ overthrow of Judea 180
+
+ Brass Coin struck in Rome during reign of
+ Vespasian, indicating Judea's overthrow 189
+
+ Brass Coin of Nerva, marking the withdrawal of
+ certain abuses in connection with the Jewish Tax 205
+
+ Coin of the Second Revolt of Bar Cochba 216
+
+ Map, Palestine Before the War, 66 B.C.E. Front
+
+ Map, The Diaspora Back
+
+
+
+
+CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES.
+
+
+ PAGE
+
+ Under Persian Sway 17
+
+ Greek and Jew 26
+
+ Greco-Syria and the Maccabees 33, 45
+
+ The Hasmonean House 73
+
+ Emperors and Procurators 120, 152
+
+ Rome and Jewry after Judea's overthrow 201
+
+ Emperors and Rabbis 229
+
+ The Talmud's compilation and Rome's fall 250
+
+ In Christian Europe and Moslem Arabia 281
+
+
+
+
+Themes for Discussion
+
+
+ CHAPTER PAGE
+
+ I. Discuss the relations between _Judaism as
+ law_ and Mendelssohn's statement that
+ "Judaism is not a revealed religion but a
+ revealed legislation." 25
+
+ II. What was the significance of the defeat of
+ Persia by Greece for civilization in general
+ and for the Jew in particular? 30
+
+ IV. Had the Hasmoneans the right to assume the
+ office of High Priest? 51
+
+ V. Compare the treatment of wisdom in Proverbs
+ (viii) and in Ecclesiasticus. 66
+
+ VI. Are there traces of Greek philosophy in the
+ Septuagint? 71
+
+ VII. Compare modern with ancient parties in
+ Israel. 84
+
+ VIII. Contrast the Wood Festival of ancient Judea
+ with Arbor Day in modern America. 90
+
+ X. Single out great events in Israel influenced
+ by, and influencing the Jews. 101
+
+ XI. Did Herod succeed or did he fail? 110
+
+ XII. Is it possible, as Hillel said, to evolve the
+ whole law from the Golden Rule? 116
+
+ XIV. Does official Judaism discourage conversion?
+ Why did the Jews oppose a census on religious
+ grounds? 126
+
+ XV. Why cannot Jesus be accepted by the synagogue
+ to-day? 135
+
+ XVI. Why did most heathen converts to Judaism
+ ultimately become Christians? 140
+
+ XVII. Why did rabbinic Judaism neglect Philo? 146
+
+ XVIII. If Agrippa had lived and reigned as long
+ as Herod----? 152
+
+ XIX. Compare the Zealots of antiquity with to-day's
+ Russian revolutionists; the Sicarii
+ with the anarchists; the procurators with
+ the Czar's local governors. 156
+
+ XX. Make clear the difference in principle between
+ Judea's "Peace Party" and the
+ "Royalist Party" among the American
+ revolutionists. 160
+
+ XXIII. Should Josephus be regarded as a traitor? 179
+
+ XXIV. Whether the Temple's fall abolished or
+ suspended animal sacrifice is a point of difference
+ between Judaism's two schools to-day. 189
+
+ XXV. In what respect did the "Academy" differ
+ from a school? 196
+
+ XXVI. Contrast the ancient gnostic with the modern
+ agnostic. 200
+
+ XXVIII. Should Akiba's method of law deduction be
+ called casuistic? 210
+
+ XXIX. What degree of pain or peril justifies
+ disregard of ceremonial law? 216
+
+ XXX. Can the number of our duties be specified? 221
+
+ XXXI. What is Revelation, and how did the sages
+ apply it to the Oral Law? 228
+
+ XXXII. Is the Jew's first duty to his countrymen or
+ to his coreligionists? 238
+
+ XXXIV. What right had the Byzantine Empire to
+ the title "Roman"? 249
+
+ XXXV. Compare Bible and Talmud as literatures.
+ In what sense can it be said that the Talmud
+ made the Jew? 255
+
+ XXXVIII. In what respect did mediaeval slavery
+ differ from Russian serfdom and from the bond
+ service in the early colonial era of
+ America? 287
+
+ XXXIX. Why did the higher clergy oppose the mingling
+ of Jews and Christians, and the lower
+ favor it? 292
+
+ XL. Why did Judaism not succeed as a proselytising
+ religion? 298
+
+ XLI. Should Mohammed be called a prophet? 303
+
+ XLII. Amplify the probable consequences of the
+ acceptance of Mohammed by the Jews. 311
+
+
+
+
+BOOK I.
+
+JUDEA, A VASSAL STATE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+UNDER PERSIAN SWAY.
+
+
+ =PERSIA= =JUDEA= =FAMOUS=
+ =CONTEMPORARIES=
+ B.C.E. B.C.E. B.C.E
+
+ Cyrus conquer Return of Judah
+ the Babylonians 538 from Exile 536
+ Cambyses 529 Haggai and
+ Darius 522 Zechariah,
+ defeated at prophets 520-516
+ Marathon 490 Second Temple
+ Xerxes 485 rebuilt 516 FLOURISHED
+ Artaxerxes I Esther and Gautama Buddha 500
+ (Longimanus) 465 Mordecai 485 Confucius 500
+ Ezra goes to
+ Jerusalem with
+ second group
+ of exiles 458
+ Nehemiah's first
+ visit 444
+ Nehemiah Governor
+ of Judah 432 Socrates 430
+ Malachi the prophet
+ about 430
+ Darius II 424 Xenophon 400
+ Artaxerxes II
+ Artaxerxes III Plato d. 347
+ (Mnemon) 404
+ (Ochus) 358
+ Alexander, the Greek, overthrows the Persian Empire 332
+
+
+The story covered by the early dates in this table is not yet
+post-Biblical. It is already told in the later Books of Ezra,
+Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah i-viii. The history of this volume
+begins with the close of the life-work of these men.
+
+The restoration of the Jews to Judea did not materialize as
+gloriously as Isaiah of Babylon had prefigured in his sublime
+addresses (Isaiah xl-xlvi.) Life's realizations very often
+disappoint their anticipations. Cyrus, the Persian king, opened the
+door; but only a poor remnant returned to a poor land. Even then,
+enemies made their appearance, envious of the royal grant, and
+plotted against their welfare. So it took many years to rebuild the
+Temple and many more to rebuild Jerusalem and to reorganize a new
+community. This service we owe to Nehemiah.
+
+
+Political Silence.
+
+After the chronicle of Nehemiah's service in placing the Jewish
+settlement on a working basis, we are told hardly anything more of
+the doings of Israel in this epoch. Either there was no further
+historic incident of the Jews under Persian sway, or it has never
+been told. There is a silence of about a hundred years after the
+last chapter of Nehemiah, which is, roughly speaking, the last
+chapter of Jewish history in the Bible. One reason for this silence
+of course, is that the Jews had no separate political life. They
+were a subject people; their State was gone. What there is to tell
+can be disposed of in a few sentences.
+
+We perhaps infer from the sixty-third chapter of Isaiah that they
+suffered during the campaigns of the two Artaxerxes against Egypt.
+We know that some were banished to the Caspian Sea because they
+were implicated in a wide-spread insurrection against the fast
+declining Persia, instigated by the different peoples settled around
+the Mediterranean shore. We are told further that an upstart named
+Bagoas heavily taxed the Jews and made a quarrel over the priesthood
+an excuse to desecrate their Temple.
+
+That is really all. When this intriguer attempted to place his own
+candidate on the Persian throne the knell had been rung. Persia's
+days were numbered. Like its Babylonian predecessor, it had been
+"weighed in the balance and found wanting." The Greek forces of
+Alexander were advancing and about the year 332 the Persian dynasty,
+founded by Cyrus--let us say "The Great"--passed away.
+
+
+Religious Activity.
+
+But silent though the period was in external doings, it was a
+stirring time in Israel for what we might call the experience of the
+soul. When we turn to the religious life of the Jews, the epoch,
+apparently so barren, is full of significance. Great achievements
+are here disclosed behind the historian's silence.
+
+To tell the religious story, we must go back to Ezra again--the Ezra
+who came to Judea with the second group of Babylonian exiles and who
+revived the religious life of the community (_People of the Book_,
+vol. iii, ch. xxxiv), was the father of the _Scribes_. A scribe was
+not merely, as the name might imply, one who copied the writings of
+others, but one who expounded them. The Pentateuch, which contains
+many codes of law in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy,
+came to be called "the Law" as a whole. (Torah.) We shall learn how
+this term later came to include the vaster code that was gradually
+deduced from these Biblical books. In fact, from now on, _Judaism is
+interpreted as law_.
+
+How did it happen that the Jewish religion was accepted by its
+observers as a Law? In ancient times Religion and State were one.
+There was not that division between sacred affairs and secular
+that we are familiar with to-day. Duty to God and the King were
+allied; patriotism merged into piety. Hence the Pentateuch contains
+laws touching civil as well as spiritual relations, and regulates
+affairs both secular and sacred. For example, it contains laws
+about kings, servants, agriculture, war, food, dress, courts of
+justice, loans, inheritance, in fact every need that arose in the
+civilization of the time. It contains the Decalogue, regulations
+for festivals and sacrificial worship, duties to the poor, the
+stranger, the dumb animal, the code of Holiness (Levit. xvii-xxvii),
+and exhortations to noble living. It is beautiful to notice how the
+moral pervades the secular and gives to all a sanctifying touch.
+
+Thus the scribes of this latter day had to interpret Scripture for
+the daily affairs of public life as well as for the regulation
+of the holy seasons and the religious ceremonial in Israel's
+semi-independent state. So the Sanhedrin (a Greek word), a body
+of seventy members, was both a House of Legislature and an
+ecclesiastical council. It numbered 70 like the Council of Elders
+appointed by Moses (Exodus xxiv, 1).
+
+Thus it happened when all political power was taken, from the Jews,
+the presentation of religion through the forms of law very naturally
+survived.
+
+There is yet another reason for Judaism being interpreted as Law,
+which touches the genius of Judaism. Judaism has always been less
+a faith to be confessed than a life to be lived. The emphasis
+was laid on deed rather than on dogma, on law rather than creed.
+We shall later see (p. 133) that it was on this very distinction
+that Christianity broke away from the parent religion to become a
+separate Faith.
+
+The reduction of religion to law had its abuses as well as its
+excellences. It led to the multiplication of ceremonials. The laws
+of ritual cleanliness, especially for the priests and of Sabbath
+observance, were very voluminous and very minute. Perhaps too
+much importance was laid on minor detail; there was little room
+for voluntary and spontaneous action. On the other hand, too much
+freedom in religious observance has its dangers and pitfalls too.
+At its best the Jewish Law tended to sanctify every act of life
+and to bring the humblest obligation into relationship with God.
+But whenever a religion crystallizes into an institution, as it
+inevitably must, the spirit occasionally gets lost in the form. Then
+it becomes the function of the prophet to bring back the emphasis to
+religion's vital issues.
+
+
+Priest and Synagogue.
+
+A further word on the religious life of post-exilic Israel. We must
+remember at the start that Judea was a colony subject to Persia,
+but enjoyed complete autonomy in the management of its internal
+affairs. The head of the community was the High Priest. He not only
+regulated all functions in the Temple (the religious centre), but
+because religion and government could not be entirely separated,
+as explained above, he exercised secular power too. As the
+high-priesthood became a hereditary office it acquired quite a royal
+distinction. This regal splendor and "temporal" power in the High
+Priest's hands were to cause Israel much woe later and became one of
+the causes of its downfall.
+
+Distinct from the Temple, Houses of Prayer were springing up, called
+Synagogues. The Synagogue gradually developed a distinct ritual,
+and Sabbath readings from the Pentateuch and the Prophets became a
+permanent institution. This is treated in fuller detail in chapter
+xxv.
+
+The religious activities and conditions here described were not
+limited to the Persian era, but continued in the Greek period that
+immediately followed.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A word about the literature of this Second-Temple or post-exilic
+epoch. The most important of the later Biblical books are ascribed
+to it, notably the Holy Writings, specified below.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It was further the time of literary activity in editing Bible books
+already written and deducing new law from Scripture. But nothing
+of the Prophetic style of writing appeared. Haggai, Zechariah and
+Malachi were the last, and already we miss in them the earlier
+Prophetic grandeur. Ah, the days of prophecy were over! There were
+no more great names. But there was a general body called "Men of the
+Great Synagogue." "Synagogue" does not here mean House of Worship,
+but a Council of Scholars, consisting of 120 members. Under this
+title some noble masters of the Law contributed splendid literary
+service, satisfied to sink their identity in this general term.
+
+
+The Bible Canon.
+
+A sacred collection of writings, accepted as books of authority on
+religious life is called a _Canon_, a Greek word meaning rule. The
+task of deciding what was worthy to be admitted into the Canon of
+the Hebrew Scripture was a task of great responsibility. Nor was
+it completed at one time. Begun by the Men of the Great Synagogue,
+its final completion was postponed until nearly a century after the
+Christian era.
+
+The Bible Books were placed in three groups, namely: _Law_,
+_Prophets_, _Holy Writings_. This sequence marked both the order
+of their importance in rabbinic estimate and to some extent, the
+sequence of their production. 1st, The Law consists of the five
+books of the Pentateuch, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
+Deuteronomy. 2d, The Prophets fall into two groups: (a) the Former
+Prophets, comprising the historical books--Joshua, Judges, First
+and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, illustrative of the
+divine guidance of Israel; (b) the Later Prophets, the Prophetic
+Books proper: the three largest, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel; the
+twelve smaller Prophets, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
+Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. 3rd,
+The Hagiographa (Holy Writings), was a miscellaneous collections
+of Scriptures, some written very late indeed. It included Psalms,
+Proverbs, Job; five little books called Megilloth (Scrolls): Song of
+Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther; Daniel, Ezra,
+Nehemiah and First and Second Chronicles.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+These were doubtless selected from the larger library of Jewish
+literature only after long discussion. All were well weighed before
+being admitted into this sacred Canon. Some of those not chosen are
+doubtless lost. Some found their way into another collection, known
+as the Apocrypha, to be considered later.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Enough is assuredly indicated here to show that the post-exilic
+epoch was not a time of empty silence, but one of tremendous
+activity--one of the most fruitful literary periods in our history.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Persian Influence_:
+
+Persian ideas unconsciously exercised their influence on Jews living
+under Persian rule. As a result, conceptions of the future life and
+retribution beyond the grave became more definite than in their
+earlier Biblical presentation; the belief in angels and evil spirits
+received further development.
+
+
+_Judaism as Law_:
+
+That Israel laid small stress on creed is further proved by the
+late date of the formulation of any articles of faith. Even the
+thirteen creeds of Maimonides (see _History Medieval Jews_, p. 157),
+were drawn up rather to differentiate Judaism from Christianity and
+Mohammedanism, than to explain its teachings to Jews.
+
+Israel's detractors say that Judaism interpreted as Law tended
+to blur moral distinctions. This is a superficial and erroneous
+inference, for it quite as often re-inforced them and prevented
+temporizing with duty.
+
+Read "The Law and Recent Criticism," in the eleventh volume of
+the _Jewish Quarterly Review_ (London, Macmillan) in reply to a
+criticism against Judaism as Law; Montefiore, "_Bible for Home
+Reading_," vol. ii, pages 12-18, on the Law; _Hibbert Lectures_,
+1892, Montefiore, parts of chapters vi and ix on the Scriptures.
+_Introduction Literature of the Old Testament._ Driver, (Scribner.)
+
+
+_Bible Books_:
+
+The order of the Bible Books in the Septuagint, which order is
+followed by all Church translations of the Bible, differs from the
+Hebrew order, as follows: 1st, the Writings precede the Prophets.
+2d, Ruth, Lamentations, Daniel and Chronicles are taken from the
+Writings and placed as follows: Ruth after Judges, Lamentations
+after Jeremiah, Daniel after Ezekiel, Chronicles after Kings. 3d,
+Job precedes Psalms.
+
+
+ _Theme for discussion_:
+
+Discuss the relation between _Judaism as law_, and Mendelssohn's
+statement that "Judaism is not a revealed religion, but a revealed
+legislation." See _Modern Jewish History_, p. 78.
+
+
+
+
+Chronological Table.
+
+ B.C.E. | B.C.E.
+ |
+ Death of Alexander 323 | Onias I, High Priest 332
+ |
+ Division of Alexander's |
+ Empire into four Kingdoms 323 | Judea part of Greco-Egyptian
+ | realm (Ptolemaic) 301
+ |
+ | Simon the Just, High
+ Ptolemy II, Philadelphus 285 | Priest 300
+ |
+ | The Septuagint (translation
+ | of the Bible into
+ | Greek) begun at Alexandria
+ | about 250
+ |
+ Ptolemy III Euergetes 247 | Joseph, Governor of Palestine 230
+ |
+ Ptolemy IV Philopator 222 | Judea part of Greco-Syrian
+ | realm 203
+ |
+ Ptolemy VI Philometor 181 | Onias IV, builds a Temple
+ | at Leontopolis, Egypt 160
+ |
+ | Ben Sirach visits Egypt 132
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+GREEK AND JEW.
+
+
+Alexander the Great.
+
+The Greeks and the Jews have been the greatest contributors toward
+the higher civilization of mankind, the Greek in the intellectual
+and artistic realm, the Jew in the religious and moral. Therefore
+we discern the hand of Providence in bringing them together for
+they influenced each other. The meeting of Greek and Jew is one of
+the great events of history, greater than many of the battles that
+have decided the fates of empires. Greece had already lived her
+most thrilling epoch when the meeting began, but Plato, disciple of
+the moral philosopher, Socrates, had but recently passed away and
+Aristotle, profoundest philosopher of antiquity, still lived.
+
+Macedonia had absorbed other Greek principalities and Alexander,
+now sole master, carried his army eastward in the hope of founding
+a universal empire. Whenever he conquered a land, he colonized
+it with Greeks and thus spread Greek civilization. Egypt, Asia
+Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, and ultimately Ethiopia and India fell
+successively before his triumphant approach.
+
+The Persian empire that had been fast decaying, was included in
+the great array of conquests. Tired of the intriguing adventurer
+placed over them in the last years, the Jews gladly welcomed the
+conqueror. Legend weaves a pretty story of the Jewish High Priest,
+Onias, going forth with a company clad in white to meet Alexander,
+and that in this picture Alexander saw the fulfilment of a dream.
+It is certain that the Jews hailed this change of masters and many
+settled in several of the new Greek colonies he founded. In this
+rise and fall of empires a new grouping of the countries took place.
+The rebellious Samaritans were quelled and Alexander gave their land
+to the Judeans, to whom he further showed his favor by freeing them
+from taxation during the Sabbatic year. (see Lev. xxv.)
+
+Another reason for Alexander's kindness to our ancestors may be the
+fact that some Jews already settled in many places outside Judea
+became his guides and interpreters when he entered the unfamiliar
+realm of Asia. Indeed, this broad-minded conqueror was a second
+Cyrus to the Jews; but there was no Isaiah now to immortalize his
+advent in the grandeur of prophetic address, or to interpret his
+triumphant advance in terms of divine purpose.
+
+
+Judea Part of Greco-Egypt.
+
+All too soon, in the midst of his ambitions, Alexander died.
+Conflict among his generals followed, and the great empire was
+dismembered. In one of the many wars which followed, the Jews
+showed their religious fidelity by submitting to slaughter rather
+than defend themselves on the Sabbath day. Finally, the empire
+was divided into the following four kingdoms: The Greco-Syrian,
+the Greco-Egyptian, the Thracian and the Macedonian. Greco-Syria,
+including the greater part of Western Asia, with Persia as its
+centre, was claimed by one of Alexander's generals named Seleucus.
+He introduced the Seleucidan era named after him beginning with
+the year 312. This calendar was used by the Jews when they later
+came under Seleucidan sway; for this name, too, came to be applied
+to the kingdom itself. Many Jews were invited to settle in the new
+capital--Antioch, on its Mediterranean border. The next kingdom fell
+to Ptolemy Lagos and included Egypt and the adjoining Asiatic lands,
+one of which was Caelo-Syria, with boundaries from Lebanon to Egypt,
+really corresponding to Palestine. Thus the Jews first came under
+the Ptolemaic regime. It will be well to keep these geographical
+divisions distinctly in mind. The remaining two divisions of the
+empire, Thrace and Macedonia, hardly enter into this history.
+
+The Jews did not suffer in the change of rule. They were as free
+as before to live their own life, and with even greater political
+independence than under Persian rule. The High Priest continued as
+the head of the Jewish community, the centre of which was still
+Jerusalem. Alexandria, a seaport named after the conqueror, was
+made the capital of Greco-Egyptian kingdom. Many Jews settled
+there, and it gradually became the most important Jewish community
+outside of Palestine, both intellectually and religiously. If there
+were Jews in Greek towns, so also were there Greeks in Jewish
+towns. This meant a mingling of the two races and a lessening
+of Jewish isolation. Alexander had brought the Greek tongue to
+the East; it became the international language; and even the
+commercial interchange of commodities brought necessarily with it an
+interchange of ideas. The Orient was becoming Hellenized (p. 31).
+
+The first man of achievement to hear from in this epoch was the
+High Priest, Simon the Just. That he was called "The Just" tells
+much in a word. Like Aristides the Good he really earned his title.
+He rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, ravaged by war, and improved
+the water supply. Ben Sirach (one of the writers of the Apocrypha)
+speaks of Simon in these words of exalted praise:
+
+ How was he honored in the midst of the people
+ In his coming out of the sanctuary!
+ He was as the morning star in the midst of a cloud,
+ And as the moon at the full;
+ As the sun shining upon the temple of the Most High
+ And as the rainbow giving light in the bright clouds:
+ And as the flower of roses in the spring of the year,
+ As lilies by the rivers of waters,
+ And as the branches of the frankincense tree in the time of summer;
+ As fire and incense in the censer,
+ And as a vessel of beaten gold set with all manner of precious stones;
+ And as a fair olive tree budding forth fruit,
+ And as a cypress tree which groweth up to the clouds.
+ When he put on the robe of honour,
+ And was clothed with the perfection of glory,
+ When he went up to the holy altar,
+ He made glorious the precincts of the Sanctuary.
+
+Here is one of his maxims: "The world rests on three pillars, on
+the Law, on worship, and on Charity." He took a broad and moderate
+view of life. When over-zealous souls would wish to impose upon
+themselves the abnegations of the Nazarite (see Numbers vi) he
+discouraged such extremes. "Why voluntarily renounce gifts that God
+in his love has bestowed for our joy?" That voices the spirit of
+Judaism. It is said that certain wondrous manifestations of Divine
+grace ceased with his death. These are but legends, but they show
+how much he was revered and loved.
+
+
+Joseph the Satrap
+
+Joseph, the nephew of Onias, a man of resources, was appointed
+tax-gatherer of the Palestinian lands. A tax-gatherer was given a
+military retinue to enforce his claims. It was a position of great
+importance, and made him practically governor of all Palestine with
+title of Satrap. He exercised his power with severity. Still he
+brought wealth and improvement to Judea and awakened in the Jews a
+greater confidence in themselves.
+
+Certainly contact with the Greeks widened the horizon of the
+Jews, furthered their culture, and gave them a taste for the
+arts of architecture and sculpture. The Greeks also inculcated
+love of freedom, the dignity of man, and intellectual research
+in the realms of science and philosophy. But Greek civilization
+had perils as well as advantages. Nor was it transplanted to the
+East in its noblest form. The best of Greek thought was evolved in
+Athens, not in Alexandria. Then too, the Greeks everywhere were
+fond of conviviality, so often the stepping-stone to immorality.
+That was why the prophets, from Samuel on so frowned upon
+Canaanitish revelries. Some Jews quickly imitated this pagan
+frivolity and dissipation. Joseph, the satrap, in order to please
+Ptolemy Philopater, the Greco-Egyptian monarch, introduced the
+festivities of Dionysus (Bacchus) into Jerusalem; these really meant
+drunken orgies. Next he imported to the Jewish capital dissolute
+dancing-women. These associations began to loosen the adherence of
+the people to Judaism's strictly moral code. Epicureanism, that had
+become a sanction for indulgence, was beginning to take its place.
+
+
+Judea Part of Greco-Syria.
+
+In the meantime the greed and ambition of kings changed the map
+once more. Antiochus the Great, of Syria, seized Egypt and its
+Asiatic possessions in 203. This transferred Judea from the Egyptian
+to the Seleucidan rule. Warring nations had played battledore
+and shuttlecock with the land of our ancestors since the year
+600. Antiochus was checked by the newly rising power of Rome from
+retaining all the Greco-Egyptian dominions, but Celo-Syria including
+Judea remained under his sway. In the struggle some Jews sided with
+the Egyptian and some with the Seleucidan party.
+
+For Jews were beginning to differentiate; they were not any more
+all of one mind either politically or religiously. Led by the
+unfortunate example of Joseph and his successors, some Jews began
+cultivating Hellenistic (from Hellas, Greece) habits to win favor
+with their surroundings. A Jewish leader of the Greek faction
+was one Joshua, who Grecized his name to Jason. This worldly man
+encouraged his people to neglect their Jewish ideals in favor of
+pagan standards of life. The safeguards built around the Jewish
+Law by the teachers of old were ruthlessly overthrown. But these
+traitorous extremes brought their own reaction. A pious party
+sprang up to counteract them and it zealously determined to fulfil
+the Jewish Law in its strictest interpretation. These were the
+_Chassidim_ (Greek, Assidean), meaning the pious.
+
+Here then were two extreme parties in Israel--one, the Hellenists,
+whose mania for everything Greek made them almost traitors to the
+Jewish cause; and on the other hand the Chassidim, who observed the
+law with a rigidity greater than its own demands; and in the midst
+the great bulk of the people, who tried to avoid the extremes of
+both.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Greek and Jew_:
+
+Read "Hebraism and Hellenism" in Matthew Arnold's _Culture and
+Anarchy_.
+
+Someone remarks, "The Greek praised the holiness of beauty: the
+Jew the beauty of holiness." Heine writes: "The Greeks were only
+beautiful youths, the Jews strong and steadfast men."
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+What was the significance of the defeat of Persia by Greece for
+civilization in general and for the Jew in particular?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+JUDEA FIGHTS FOR ITS FAITH.
+
+ B.C.E. | B.C.E.
+ Seleucidan Era begins 312 | Judea under Greco-Syrian rule 203
+ | Uprising under Mattathias 168
+ Antiochus III, the Great 223 | Judas Maccabee 167
+ Antiochus IV Epiphanes 175 | Book of Daniel written, about 166
+ | Temple re-dedicated--Hanukkah 165
+ Antiochus V, Eupater 164 |
+
+
+High Priest's Office Sold.
+
+Antiochus was succeeded by his son of the same name, an eccentric
+despot who claimed the title of Epiphanes, the "illustrious,"
+though styled by his enemies Epimanes "the madman," and in rabbinic
+literature _Harasha_, the "wicked." The rule of this ill-balanced
+tyrant was to bring woe to Judea, for which their own internal
+troubles were in a measure responsible. Indeed, it was these
+discords that drew his attention to this particular province. The
+Hellenists, who had grown to quite a party, sought his interference
+in their behalf. Jason offered the king a bribe to make him High
+Priest and depose Onias, his own brother. What a blasphemy on the
+holy office to fight for its material powers! The pity was that
+material power should be vested in a spiritual office, so the system
+was wrong as well as the man.
+
+Imitation of Greek life went on apace. Olympic games, _gymnasia_,
+were now introduced into Judea. These games named from Olympia in
+Macedonia, Greece, where they first took place, were also religious
+festivals and were accompanied by sacrifices to the Greek god Zeus.
+Yet they involved immoralities, so contradictory were some ancient
+conceptions of religion.
+
+Menelaus, another unscrupulous character, offered to Antiochus
+a still higher bribe for the priesthood and thus obtained it,
+regardless of the fact that it had already been sold to Jason. Like
+master, like man.
+
+Led from crime to crime, Menelaus became a traitor to his people.
+He robbed the Temple of some of its treasures to pay his bribe and
+then slew the deposed but worthy Onias because he had denounced the
+sin. The outraged people rose against Menelaus, but an armed guard
+provided by the king enabled him to hold his office by force, and
+saved him for the time being.
+
+At about this time (170) Antiochus IV, like his predecessor,
+attempted to seize Egypt. Some patriotic Jews in Alexandria showed
+active sympathy for the endangered nation. Therefore Antiochus
+on his return from the expedition seized Jerusalem, aided by the
+traitor Menelaus. This attack meant the slaughter of many souls and
+the desecration and plunder of the Temple. Not content with this,
+Antiochus spread slanders against Judaism to justify his excesses.
+The rumor went forth, for example, that a golden headed ass was
+found in the Temple.
+
+
+Religious Persecution.
+
+Next year his further attack on Egypt was checked by Rome, rapidly
+becoming a great power. Again he vented his rage on the Jews and
+determined to exterminate the Jewish religion by attacking their
+most revered institutions, as the most complete means of erasing
+their distinct individuality. The predecessors of Antiochus
+Epiphanes had encouraged the spread of paganism among the Jews; but
+he, less intelligent and more despotic, tried to force it upon them.
+He did not realize that where persuasion may succeed, tyranny often
+fails. Apollonius, his general, cowardly attacked Jerusalem on the
+Sabbath day, when he knew religious scruples would prevent the Jews
+defending themselves. So it proved. Many more were slain and the
+women and children sold in slavery. A general plunder followed. The
+paganizing of Judea became now his avowed policy. Therefore a decree
+went forth forbidding the recognition of the God of Israel and His
+Law and commanding the worship of Greek divinities--"gods that were
+nothings," to quote Psalm xcvi. The Law was burned and the statue of
+Jupiter set up in the Temple. Jewish ceremonial, Sabbath, festivals,
+the Abrahamic rite, were replaced by the sacrifice of unclean
+animals. At the same time other methods were employed completely to
+subdue the people.
+
+The same policy was applied against Jews in Higher Syria and
+Phoenicia. But if some were weak enough to surrender their Faith,
+many were prepared to remain staunch to it. Eleazar in Antioch met
+a martyr's death. Hannah, a mother in Israel, taught her sons how
+to die for conscience's sake. Here are the words with which she
+exhorted them: "Doubtless the Creator of the world who formed the
+generations of man will also of His own mercy give you breath and
+life again as ye now regard not your own selves for His law's sake."
+Martyrdom such as that found its counterpart in many scattered
+places. Not succeeding by threats and persecutions Antiochus
+once more resorted to arms. Again followed an unresisted Sabbath
+slaughter. The walls of Jerusalem were leveled and Zion made a
+fortress with a Syrian garrison. Greek colonists were transplanted
+to Palestine for the purpose of Hellenizing Judea. The country was
+placed under rigid surveillance. If a copy of the Law was found on
+the monthly inspection the punishment was death. Participation in
+the festivals of Dionysius was now a compulsion.
+
+Yet many dared resist. From the worldly point of view, opposition
+seemed madness, but religious zeal counts not the material cost.
+
+In Modin, a town eighteen miles northwest of Palestine, lived
+Mattathias, with his five sons, John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar and
+Jonathan. Hither in the year 168 came officials of the tyrant with
+promises of a large bribe to Mattathias if he would make offering to
+an idol and with threats of punishment if he declined. Mattathias
+was a leading townsman and his example would bring many followers.
+Not only did he scorn the infamous proposal, but slew a coward
+who prepared to obey. That act was casting down the gauntlet to
+Antiochus; it was a declaration of war. With his brave sons around
+him, the aged hero sent this message to the people: "Whoever is
+zealous for the Lord and whosoever wishes to support the Covenant,
+follow me." That became the rallying cry. The little band deposed
+the Syrian overseer and the guard. Once more when attacked on
+the Sabbath, the Jews submitted to slaughter. Then they came to
+the realization that self-defense was their duty, even on that
+holy day. Were they not fighting for a holy cause? They began at
+first guerilla warfare on apostates and heathens. Avoiding regular
+attacks, they would swoop down with a bold clash on a town to punish
+and reform.
+
+
+Judas Maccabeus.
+
+Next year Mattathias died. Simon became the counselor and Judas
+was chosen commander of the trusty band of revolutionists. He was
+Israel's greatest warrior since David. The title given him was
+transmitted to his party--_Maccabeus_, the Hammer. But a something
+more than generalship was to decide this contest--_faith_. Judged by
+material standards, resistance seemed like a forlorn hope, but the
+intrepid bravery of this staunch band fighting _pro aris et focis_,
+"for their altars and their hearths," increased the number of their
+adherents and even won back the allegiance of some who had almost
+drifted from the fold.
+
+The first victory over the Syrians was small, but Appolonius, the
+general who had been entrusted with carrying out the persecuting
+laws, was slain. In a second engagement the "rebels" were attacked
+at Beth Horon, north of Jerusalem, and Judas won here a still more
+decided success over an army much larger than his own. Antiochus
+became alarmed. He had not the means to raise a large army to meet
+this unexpected opposition, because all his resources were taxed to
+meet troubles in other quarters--Parthia, Armenia, Phoenicia.
+
+Angered at the rebellion of this petty people, he now determined on
+their extermination, Hellenists and all. He sent Lysias with full
+power to Jerusalem to raze the city to the ground. To the Syrians
+the Jewish defeat seemed so certain that slave-dealers with money
+and chains followed the army, sure of a harvest in their repulsive
+trade. A horror like unto that of Shushan in Esther's days spread
+through the doomed city. But it raised champions, even among the
+Hellenistic Jews, who were still attached to their Faith when the
+decisive test came.
+
+It was in the year 166 that Lysias, the viceroy of Antiochus, sent
+an army of four thousand men into Judea under the generals Ptolemy,
+Nicanor and Gorgias. But Judas Maccabeus had now a well organized
+force, although it consisted of but six thousand men. Before the
+struggle began he called a solemn assembly at Mizpah, where Samuel
+had gathered Israel nine hundred years earlier, ordered a fast,
+conducted a service of prayer and read the Law. In reading the
+story of the Puritan war against Charles I of England and their
+singing hymns before the battle, we are reminded of the religious
+earnestness of these Maccabees. "When they saw the host coming
+to meet them, they said to Judas, how shall we be able, being so
+few, to fight against so great a multitude and so strong.... Judas
+answered: with the God of heaven it is all one to deliver with a
+great multitude or a small company." The usual proclamation of the
+Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy xx), was now read, excusing certain classes
+from the ranks; this reduced the army still more. Then the struggle
+once more began. By a clever stratagem Judas Maccabeus met the
+Syrian army on a plain near Emmaus, not far from the capital. With
+the words of the Law on his lips and with an encouraging appeal to
+fight for the holy cause, he gave the signal to advance. Defeating
+the first contingent of the enemy before the main army came up, the
+next battalion fled without fighting.
+
+The moral effect of this decisive victory was most valuable,
+apart from the fact that the booty obtained supplied arms to the
+Maccabees--the "sinews of war" both in a literal and metaphoric
+sense. But Lysias dared not be beaten. He therefore sent a big army
+against Judas, whose force had meanwhile increased to some ten
+thousand, proving again that nothing succeeds like success. The
+Syrians chose a new route to Beth Horon, but only to meet the old
+defeat. This was the turning point in the war. The struggle was not
+over, but confidence was restored and a respite gained.
+
+
+Feast of Hanukkah.
+
+Judas Maccabeus marched to the capital and a sorry picture of
+desolation met his gaze. His first work was to remove all signs of
+idolatry and desecration. A new altar was built, the Temple was
+repaired and cleaned and on Kislev the 25th in the year 165, it was
+reconsecrated. The ceremony recalls Solomon's consecration of the
+first Temple; not as splendid a ceremonial perhaps, but it meant
+far more. Solomon's Temple had cost treasure, but this had cost
+blood. It was more than a civil victory; it was that least, it was
+a triumph of the divine cause expressed in Israel's mission. They
+fought for Zion as an idea rather than Zion as a city--the "Zion
+from which goeth forth the law." They proved again that ideals
+can conquer battalions. This great lesson is always brought home
+to us when we celebrate our festival of Hanukkah (re-dedication)
+instituted by the Great Council--the successor of the "Great
+Synagogue"--to celebrate the victory. The Syrian had been defeated.
+He was the enemy without. But a greater foe had to be conquered,
+the enemy within--religious indifference, that lurked among the
+Hellenist worldlings and many faint-hearted souls throughout the
+land.
+
+The legend runs that when Judas Maccabeus wished to consecrate the
+Temple, but one flask of pure oil bearing the priestly seal had been
+left after the enemy's ravage. It was a measure that would last for
+a day, but--marvelous to tell--it served for eight, by which time
+new oil was prepared. The story is immortalized in the second name
+"Feast of Lights," given to the Hanukkah festival. The ceremony
+of kindling lights begins with one on the first night, continues
+with two lights on the second and thus progresses till the eighth
+and last night is reached. What is the meaning of the ceremonial
+and the story? It is the Maccabean victory told in symbol; for it
+was a story of advance from strength to strength. First, Mattathias
+stood alone for Judaism's cause, a solitary light. Next came his
+sons; then a tiny army growing instead of lessening with each
+conflict, from two thousand to six thousand, from six to ten, then
+victory crowned their efforts; and with the conquest on the field
+rose the faith in the hearts of the people in the same progressive
+way. The tiny embers became a flame, and the flame burst into a
+conflagration. This miracle is often found repeated in Israel's
+history.
+
+The Feast of Lights is called a Minor Festival in our calendar, for
+reasons accidental rather than intrinsic. It is hard to institute a
+new observance after a religion is crystallized. It is still harder
+to give it the old sanction. So the rabbis did not venture then
+to place Hanukkah or Purim on a par with Passover, Pentecost and
+Tabernacles. Yet in very truth Hanukkah is a great festival. None
+question its authority--all are thrilled by its stirring story.
+
+
+The Book of Daniel.
+
+In seeking to realize this critical time of "storm and stress," we
+shall be aided somewhat by taking a glimpse at its literature. For
+here we see pictured the struggles and sufferings experienced and
+the alternate hopes and fears that swayed the heart of the nation,
+far better than in the record of the historian.
+
+A work reflecting these times, the Book of Daniel, is perhaps the
+latest of the Bible books. The book throws light on the epoch and
+the epoch is the key to the book. Daniel is written in the form of
+a revelation of events that were to happen centuries later, made
+known through dream and vision to the God-fearing Daniel, one of the
+Babylonian exiles. These visions are presented as foretelling the
+main incidents after the exile. The pictures grow in detail as they
+reach the Maccabean uprising (168 B.C.E.), showing that the author
+probably belonged to this time.
+
+The first picture is the dream of King Nebuchadrezzar, which
+Daniel--who is as wise as he is good--is able to interpret. The
+dream presented an image with a head of gold, breast and arms of
+silver, the lower limbs of brass and iron mixed with clay. A stone
+cut without hands destroyed the image and then grew to a mountain
+that filled the earth. In the light of later events, it is thus
+explained: The golden head was Babylon, the silver breast and arms
+the kingdom of Media, the bronze trunk Persia, the lower limbs of
+baser metal and clay represented the Greek empire, split up into
+many principalities, thus bringing the picture down to the rule of
+Antiochus Epiphanes. What did the "stone" represent? It expresses
+the faith of the writer in Israel's eventual triumph and the spread
+of Judaism over the world. But it was doubtless written when the
+outcome was still uncertain, perhaps in the very height and heat of
+the struggle.
+
+The same march of events is later repeated in visions to Daniel
+himself. The four empires are depicted in the figures of beasts that
+give the same assurance of Israel's ultimate victory. "The greatness
+of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people
+of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom is an everlasting
+kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey Him."
+
+In another vision our attention is focused on the events nearer
+the Maccabean time. First a ram with two horns is the Medo-Persian
+empire. Next a he-goat represents Greece, its horn Alexander the
+Great. Four horns that uprose in its place are the four kingdoms
+into which his empire was split--Macedonia, Thrace, Syria and Egypt,
+while a little horn that overthrows Judah's sanctuary is none other
+than Antiochus Epiphanes.
+
+A last vision drops metaphor and mentions the kingdoms by actual
+name. The persecutions under Antiochus are vividly depicted:
+
+ "They shall profane the Sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall
+ take away the continual burnt offering; and they shall set up
+ the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly
+ against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the
+ people that know their God shall be strong and do exploits. They
+ that be wise among the people shall instruct many. Yet they
+ shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil
+ many days. Now when they shall fall they shall be helped with a
+ little help (the Maccabees).... And some of them that be wise
+ shall fall, to refine them and to purge and to make them white."
+
+[Illustration: ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES.]
+
+The last reference indicates the ennobling influence of martyrdom
+touchingly depicted also in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah.
+
+The death of these noble souls deepened the belief of this writer in
+the future life, as demanded by divine justice:
+
+ "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
+ some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
+ contempt. They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
+ firmament and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars
+ for ever and ever."
+
+The book was certainly written by a patriotic and pious author to
+inspire his brethren during that dark struggle, to urge them to be
+loyal to God and His Law with the staunch conviction that all would
+come right in the end. It is an appeal to the faith and courage of
+Israel, with Daniel held up as a thrilling exemplar. He is portrayed
+as unswerving in his determination to be steadfast to the God of his
+fathers; on one occasion daring a fiery furnace and on another a
+lion's den, and his faith saves him from both perils.
+
+Who can say how many may have been nerved to be loyal and to "wait
+for God's salvation" by these impassioned pictures? So, next to
+Judas Maccabeus, the hero of the Hanukkah story, let us enshrine in
+our hearts and memories the unknown author of the Book of Daniel who
+fed the faith and the courage of Israel in their days of sorrow and
+darkness.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+_Birthday of the Maccabees_:
+
+This was the title of a special day set aside by the Church to
+commemorate the martyrdom of the Jewish mother and her seven sons.
+
+_Daniel_:
+
+Immortality. In addition to the quotation from Daniel on
+immortality, here are appended further Biblical quotations that
+express this belief: Isaiah xxvi, 19; xxv, 8; Ezekiel xxxvii,
+1-14; Psalm xvi, 10, 11; xvii, 15; Proverbs xii, 28; Ecclesiastes
+xii, 7. Montefiore, _The Bible for Home Reading_, Part II, section
+v, chapter ii. Driver, "Daniel," _Cambridge Bible_, (Cambridge
+University Press.)
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+JUDEA FIGHTS FOR ITS INDEPENDENCE.
+
+ =SYRIA.= =JUDEA.=
+ B.C.E. | B.C.E.
+ Demetrius I, Soter 162 | Alliance with Rome 161
+ | Judas Maccabeus died 160
+ | Jonathan, High Priest and Tributary Prince 152
+ Alexander Balas 150 |
+ Demetrius II, Nicator 145 |
+ | Simon--Judea independent 142-135
+
+
+This Temple consecration (forever memorable through the Feast of
+Hanukkah) was the climax of the Maccabean story, but it was by no
+means its close. But this event was chosen as the occasion for the
+institution of the Festival of Hanukkah, not the independence--that
+was won later. Israel took up arms to defend its Faith, not to
+win back a separate nation. But its triumph for a spiritual cause
+awakened the possibility of wresting Judea from the Syrian grasp.
+For a while swords rested in their scabbards; but it was only an
+"armed peace." Judas Maccabeus had to build new fortifications
+against possible invasion. The petty nations around all looked on
+with ill-concealed jealousy at Judah's victories. Those who in many
+instances had become Syrian allies had now to be met on the field.
+The alert and energetic Judas marched out once more and subdued the
+Idumeans and Ammonites and won peace and security for his people
+dwelling on their borders. Appeals from brethren whose possessions
+had been despoiled and their families slain reached him from many
+sides. With the aid of his brother Simon, whom he despatched to
+Galilee while he marched to Gilead, these heathen raids were
+suppressed. Jewish refugees were brought to Judea. So there were new
+rejoicings at these victories on his return next year (164).
+
+The fight for the restoration of the Jewish faith was now over, but
+the fight for the restoration of the Jewish nation had only just
+begun.
+
+Not for very long was Judas allowed to rest. It is far easier to
+take up the sword than to lay it down. The never-sleeping Syrians
+were again in the field, defeating two of his generals. But
+once more victory crowned his arms. In the same year Antiochus,
+humiliated with defeats in Parthia and Persia as well as in Judea,
+came to a sad end. The powerful monarch had now to
+
+ "Meet face to face a greater potentate,
+ King Death, Epiphanes, the illustrious."
+
+His death left two rival governors for the regency of the Syrian
+kingdom.
+
+
+Death of Eleazar.
+
+The obstinate Hellenist party within Israel had not yet learned
+their lesson, and appealed to the new monarch, Antiochus Eupator,
+to take up their cause. So war broke out again in 163. It was the
+Sabbatic year, when nothing is sown and the land lies fallow. (See
+Leviticus xxv.) So these circumstances added further embarrassment
+to the usual evils of war. It meant scarcity of provisions and the
+terror of long siege. A brave fight in the open field against large
+odds brought reverse to the Maccabees. One of the brothers, Eleazar,
+died on the field, a martyr to his bravery. He stabbed an elephant
+supposed to bear the king, though like Samson, he fell in the
+overthrow he designed. The army retreated before the second siege
+was begun. Meanwhile Philip, the rival regent of Syria, raising
+an army against Lysias, compelled this general's withdrawal from
+Jerusalem. So Lysias concluded an honorable peace with the Judeans,
+allowing them the religious liberty for which they had at first
+taken up arms.
+
+The blessings of peace were now theirs for a space. Judas Maccabeus
+was made for the time being High Priest. He was not of the priestly
+line, but the office involved the wielding of temporal as well as
+spiritual authority. For the former, none more fitted than he.
+Yet the more strict were not satisfied that it should pass from
+the traditional priestly family! The Hellenist menace had not yet
+disappeared, though Jason and Menelaus, its fathers, were now both
+dead. This party now supported a new Syrian claimant for the throne
+against the one endorsed by the Maccabees--Demetrius (162), whose
+agent, Bacchides, appointed one of these very Hellenists, Alcimus,
+as High Priest. Thus discord was sown anew in Israel.
+
+
+Death of Judas.
+
+The Syrians with large armies twice repulsed the small army of
+Judas, but Nicanor, the cruel general of Demetrius, was slain in a
+brilliant victory by the Jews. This brought such relief to the Jews
+that "Nicanor Day" was celebrated in Judaea for some years as a day
+of rejoicing. Judas was certainly at the head of the commonwealth
+now, even though deprived of the High Priest's office. Hearing of
+Rome's great power and recognizing that it exercised a kind of
+sovereignty over Syria, Judas entered into an alliance with it, but
+too late for its interference to be of aid. For with a meagre force,
+discouraged by persistent war and overwhelming odds, he had now to
+meet a large avenging army under Bacchides. With but a few hundred
+men he went forth to meet the picked thousands of his foes, as brave
+and as determined as the Greeks of Thermopylae. When defeat was
+certain he yet stood fighting and undaunted till wounded unto death.
+So died a great man who had wrought salvation for Israel. He had
+made Judah a nation of warrior heroes exalted by religious zeal. His
+name, his spirit, continued to inspire them to determined resistance
+against foes without and within. Their religious liberty gained
+at such fearful cost, even Demetrius, though now holding Judea in
+subjection, no longer dared defy.
+
+"He put on a breast place as a giant and girt his warlike armor
+about him. He battled like a lion and the wicked shrunk for fear of
+him. He cheered Jacob by his mighty acts and his memorial is blessed
+forever."
+
+
+Jonathan.
+
+With Judas the Great and his brother John both dead, with Alcimus,
+the Hellenist, High Priest, and with Syrian garrisons in the capital
+and all the surrounding places, there was more or less conflict and
+demoralization. The outlook was not promising. But Jonathan, another
+of Mattathias' five sons, a worthy brother of Judas, kept the
+Hasmonean party together. The obnoxious Alcimus died, and there was
+no religious or political head for seven years. But confidence in
+Jonathan quietly grew; until eventually he filled both offices. He
+strengthened his forces sufficiently to withstand a new uprising and
+even to make it advisable for the Syrians to sue for peace. So when
+the Syrian throne was seized by a new claimant, Alexander Balas, he
+realized sufficiently the importance of Jonathan to appoint him High
+Priest and Tributary Prince in 152; though the deposed Demetrius,
+who still maintained a partial sway, now sought Jonathan's aid too.
+The tables were turned and Jonathan held something like a balance
+of power. Jonathan showed his foresight in remaining loyal also to
+Alexander Balas, his son, who became Antiochus VI. The Hellenist
+party quietly died out; it never had the people behind it.
+
+Loaded with honors, Jonathan was now given the golden clasp of
+independence, and his brother Simon made a Syrian commander. Enemies
+had become allies. Loyalty to the Syrians meant hard fighting again
+for the Jews, but the opportunity was given now to strengthen the
+defences of Jerusalem and to enable the city and the people to
+recover from the ravages consequent on a long series of wars. Judea
+had now an army of forty thousand men. They stood by Alexander Balas
+when all deserted him. Even then concessions were obtained from the
+new king, Demetrius II., showing that the Syrian power was broken.
+
+The treachery of Tryphon, a general of the new king, led to
+Jonathan's death and the massacre of a thousand of his men. Thus
+passed another of the patriot brothers. It is hard to say to whom
+Israel owed the greater debt, Judas or Jonathan. Judas saved the
+nation at a perilous hour; Jonathan reorganized it and gave it an
+abiding strength.
+
+
+Independence.
+
+Simon, the last brother, now stepped forward to rally and save
+Judea. This persistence (characteristic of the resolution of
+this great family) where only the non-resistance of despair was
+looked for, completely upset Tryphon's scheme and saved Judea from
+disaster. Like Jonathan, Simon became at once by popular choice the
+religious and civil head of his people with the title High Priest
+included. He felt the time had come to throw off the weak rule of
+the unreliable, vacillating Syrian power, though this was far beyond
+the original expectation when the revolt began and far beyond its
+aims. Yet the march of events made it a logical sequence. He decided
+to recognize Demetrius II. against Tryphon on condition that Jewish
+independence be recognized in turn. The terms were accepted--"We
+release you from the crown which you owe us and we remit the taxes
+that we laid on Jerusalem." Verily, the yoke of the heathen was
+taken away from Israel.
+
+The Seleucidan Era (see page 28) was now given up with the
+Seleucidan sway, and the reckoning of years began anew from 142 with
+the accession of Simon as High Priest, Commander of the Army and
+Prince of the Nation. This marked again the independence of Judah,
+that had been lost since the year 600 B. C. E., when Nebuchadrezzar
+overthrew Jerusalem and its Temple and took the Jews into Babylonian
+exile.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Calendar_:
+
+In the Jewish calendar to-day time is reckoned from the traditional
+year of the world's creation.
+
+
+_Independence_:
+
+Fighting first against the oppression of an overlord and winning
+independence as an unexpected outcome--has many historic parallels.
+In this way the American colonies threw off their allegiance to
+Great Britain in 1776.
+
+[Illustration: HALF SHEKEL, SIMON MACCABEUS, 141-135 B. C. E.]
+
+The issuing of coins marked one of the rights of Judea's
+independence. See illustrations of these coins, some of which are
+still in existence.
+
+
+_Theme for Discussion_:
+
+Had the Hasmoneans the right to assume the office of High Priest?
+
+[Illustration: A SHEKEL.
+
+SIMON MACCABEUS, 141-135 B. C. E.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE APOCRYPHA.
+
+
+In addition to the Book of Daniel there are other writings that
+throw light on these times; notably the collection known as "The
+Apocrypha." This is a Greek word meaning hidden or obscure. This
+title as applied to their _use_ was to indicate that the books were
+used for private circulation, rather than for reading at public
+worship. This title as applied to their _origin_ was to indicate
+that their authority as sacred scripture was not as certain as
+that of the Bible books--to be included in the Canon of Scripture.
+This last application has given a rather sinister meaning to the
+word "apocryphal." But the collection is full of lofty religious
+sentiment well worthy to be included in our most sacred treasures.
+
+Like the Bible, this collection was not written all at one time, nor
+in one land. It spreads over the period between 200 B.C.E. and 150
+A.C.E., written therefore under Persian, Greek and Roman rule; some
+in Judea, others in the Diaspora, lands of Jewish dispersion. While
+the term covers some writings of non-Jewish scribes, the Apocrypha
+proper includes the Jewish writings only, and only such will be
+considered here.
+
+These consist of fourteen books grouped in the following order:
+
+ I Esdras,
+ II Esdras,
+ Tobit,
+ Judith,
+ Additions to the Book of Esther,
+ Wisdom of Solomon,
+ Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus,
+ Baruch (with epistle of Jeremiah),
+ Song of the Three Holy Children,
+ History of Susanna,
+ History of Bel and the Dragon,
+ Prayer of Manasses, King of Judah,
+ I Maccabees,
+ II Maccabees.
+
+Some are narratives, some books of homilies and maxims, here and
+there an apocalypse, i.e., prophetic vision. While the narratives
+are not all histories, they are invaluable as revealing the inner
+life of the people, their brave struggles, their deep convictions,
+and their yearnings for better things. One idea seems common to all.
+Each story is presented as an illustration of the temporal trials of
+good men and women, like Tobit and Susanna, and the ultimate reward
+of their fidelity; the edifying purpose throughout tending to foster
+the faith and courage of the people in time of tribulation. In this
+respect the apocryphal books resemble the book of Daniel, which
+might be appropriately included in the collection.
+
+While these books as a whole lack the freshness and originality and
+the exquisite simplicity of the best Bible books, they show in some
+respects an advance in thought and survey. There is more mysticism
+in the apocryphal writings. Wisdom is personified, almost merging
+into a being. Angels and spirits play a larger part. Immortality is
+brought to the fore, and Asmodeus, a sort of devil, appears upon the
+scene. Some of these ideas, such as the personification of wisdom
+and the existence of a devil, were further fostered in Christianity
+and developed into distinct doctrines, while the inherent
+rationalism of Judaism gradually threw them off.
+
+Now to consider briefly the books in detail:
+
+
+I Esdras.
+
+Esdras is a later version in Greek of the events told in the Books
+of Ezra and Nehemiah, but it begins further back in the reign
+of Josiah and carries the story through the exile down to the
+re-dedication of the Second Temple. The author breathes into it some
+later religious ideas of his own time. The following story quoted
+from it is known as the "Dispute of the Courtiers":
+
+ "Now King Darius made a great feast unto all his subjects and
+ unto all that were born in his house, and unto all the princes
+ of Medea and of Persia.
+
+ "Then the three young men of the body-guard that kept the King's
+ person, spake one to another: let every one of us say one thing
+ which shall be strongest; and he whose sentences shall seem
+ wiser than the others, unto him shall Darius the King give
+ great gifts and great honors in token of victory. The first
+ wrote, Wine is the strongest. The second wrote, The King is the
+ strongest. The third wrote, Woman is the strongest: but, above
+ all things, Truth beareth away the victory.
+
+ "Then began the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine,
+ and said thus: O sirs, how exceeding strong is wine. It causeth
+ all men to err that drink it: it maketh the mind of the king and
+ of the fatherless child to be all one; of the bondman and of
+ the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich; it turneth also
+ every thought into jollity and mirth, so that a man remembereth
+ neither sorrow nor debt: and it makes every heart rich, so that
+ a man remembereth neither king nor satrap: and when they are in
+ their cups, they forget their love both to friends and brethren,
+ and a little after draw their swords: but when they awake from
+ their wine they remember not what they have done. O sirs, is not
+ wine the strongest, seeing that it enforceth to do thus. And
+ when he had so spoken, he held his peace.
+
+ "Then the second, that had spoken of the strength of the King,
+ began to say: O sirs, do not men excel in strength, that bear
+ rule over the sea and land and all things in them? But yet is
+ the King stronger: and he is their lord and hath dominion over
+ them; and in whatsoever he commandeth them they obey him. If
+ he bid them make war one against the other, they do it: and if
+ he send them out against the enemies, they go, and overcome
+ mountains, walls and towers. They slay and are slain, and
+ transgress not the King's commandment. If they get the victory
+ they bring all to the King, as well the spoil as all things
+ else. Likewise for those that are no soldiers and have not to do
+ with wars, but use husbandry, when they have reaped again that
+ which they had sown, they bring it to the King, and compel one
+ another to pay tribute unto the king. And he is but one man.
+ If he command to kill, they kill; if he command to spare they
+ spare; if he command to smite, they smite; if he command to
+ make desolate, they make desolate; if he command to build, they
+ build; if he command to cut down, they cut down; if he command
+ to plant, they plant. So all his people and all his armies obey
+ him: furthermore, he lieth down, he eateth and drinketh, and
+ taketh his rest; and these keep watch round about him, neither
+ may any one depart, and do his own business, neither disobey
+ they him in _anything_. O, sirs, how should not the king be
+ strongest, seeing that in such sort he is obeyed? And he held
+ his peace.
+
+ "Then the third, who had spoken of women, and of truth (this was
+ Zorobabel) began to speak: O, sirs, is not the king great, and
+ men are many, and wine is strong; who is it then that ruleth
+ them or hath the lordship over them? Are they not women? Women
+ have borne the king and all the people that bear rule by sea and
+ land. Even of them came they: and they nourished them up that
+ planted the vineyards from whence the wine cometh. These also
+ make garments for men; these bring glory unto men; and without
+ women, cannot men be. Yea, and if men have gathered together
+ gold and silver and every goodly thing, and see a woman which is
+ comely in favor and beauty, they let all those things go, and
+ gape after her, and even with open mouth fix their eyes fast on
+ her; and have all more desire unto her than unto gold or silver
+ or any goodly thing whatsoever. A man leaveth his own father
+ that brought him up, and his own country, and cleaveth unto his
+ wife. And with his wife he endeth his days, and remembereth
+ neither father, nor mother, nor country. By this also ye must
+ know that women have dominion over you. Do ye not labor and
+ toil and bring all to women? Yea, a man taketh his sword, and
+ goeth forth to make outroads, and to rob and to steal, and to
+ sail upon the sea and upon rivers; and looketh upon a lion; and
+ walketh in the darkness.... Yea, many there be that have run out
+ of their wits for women, and become bondmen for their sakes.
+ Many also have perished, have stumbled, and sinned, for women.
+ O sirs, how can it be but women should be strong, seeing they
+ do thus? Then the king and the nobles looked one upon another:
+ so he began to speak concerning truth. O sirs, are not women
+ strong? Great is the earth, high is the heaven, swift is the
+ sun in its course for he compasseth the heavens round about and
+ fetcheth his course again to his own place in one day. Is he not
+ great that maketh these things? Therefore great is truth and
+ stronger than all things. All the earth calleth upon truth, and
+ the heaven blesseth her: all works shake and tremble, but with
+ her is no unrighteous thing; wine is unrighteous, the king is
+ unrighteous, women are unrighteous, all the children of men are
+ unrighteous, and unrighteous are all such their works; and there
+ is no truth in them; in their unrighteousness also shall they
+ perish. But truth abideth, and is strong forever; she liveth
+ and conquereth for evermore. With her there is no accepting
+ of persons or rewards; but she doeth the things that are just
+ and refraineth from all unrighteous and wicked things; and all
+ men do well like of her works. Neither in her judgment is any
+ unrighteousness; and she is the strength, and the kingdom, and
+ the power, and the majesty of all ages. Blessed be the God of
+ truth. And with that he held his tongue. And all the people then
+ shouted and said, Great is truth, and strong above all things."
+
+
+II Esdras.
+
+II Esdras is an entirely separate work, originally written in
+Hebrew. It consists of a series of visions of the future of
+Jerusalem, but it also takes up profound religious questions, as to
+why man is created to suffer and sin. The answer it offers to these
+queries is the salvation of the righteous after death. Its view of
+life is severe and sad. Chapters i and ii and probably xv and xvi
+are later editions by a Christian hand.
+
+
+Tobit.
+
+This is the story of the trials of a good man (Tobit--Goodness) in
+the sad times of the overthrow of Israel by Assyria. He "walked in
+truth and justice, fed the hungry and clothed the naked" and was a
+strict observer of every precept of the Jewish Law. A particular
+duty he took upon himself in those gloomy days of warfare was
+the giving decent burial to those of his brethren slain in the
+battle-field--daring the tyrant's edict against it. His property
+was confiscated, yet he remained undeterred in fulfilling this holy
+obligation. It was through this very duty, voluntarily undertaken,
+that he accidentally lost his eyesight. But he never lost his faith
+in God.
+
+The story now turns from the trials of a good man to those of a good
+woman--Sara. The spirit of evil, Asmodeus, slew her husband on the
+very day of her marriage. Again her hand was sought in wedlock and
+again her husband was snatched from her side. On seven occasions
+this happened, making her the reproach of her neighbors.
+
+Now kind Providence intervenes to aid its faithful servants.
+God sends the angel Raphael, who restores the eyesight of Tobit
+and brings about a marriage between his son Tobias and the much
+tried Sara. This time the murderous scheme of Asmodeus is happily
+frustrated. Tobit obtains his lost property and virtue is rewarded.
+
+The following is a part of Tobit's prayer of thanksgiving:
+
+ "And Tobit wrote a prayer for rejoicing, and said,
+ Blessed is God that liveth for ever,
+ And blessed is His kingdom.
+ For he scourgeth, and sheweth mercy:
+ He leadeth down to the grave, and bringeth up again:
+ And there is none that shall escape his hand.
+ Give thanks unto Him before the Gentiles, ye children of Israel.
+ For he hath scattered us among them.
+ There declare His greatness,
+ And extol Him before all the living:
+ Because He is our Lord,
+ And God is our Father for ever.
+ And he will scourge us for our iniquities, and will again shew mercy.
+ And will gather us out of all the nations among whom we are scattered.
+ If ye turn to him with your whole heart, and with your whole soul,
+ To do truth before him,
+ Then will He turn unto you,
+ And will not hide His face from you,
+ And see what He will do with you.
+ And give him thanks with your whole mouth
+ And bless the Lord of righteousness.
+ And exalt the Everlasting King.
+ I, in the land of my captivity, give Him thanks
+ And shew his strength and majesty to a nation of sinners.
+ Turn, ye sinners, and do righteousness before him:
+ Who can tell if he will accept you and have mercy on you?
+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
+ Rejoice and be exceeding glad for the sons of the righteous:
+ For they shall be gathered together and shall bless the Lord of the
+ righteous.
+ O blessed are they that love thee;
+ They shall rejoice for Thy peace;
+ Blessed are all they that sorrowed for all thy scourges:
+ Because they shall rejoice for thee,
+ When they have seen all Thy glory:
+ And they shall me made glad forever.
+ Let my soul bless God the great King.
+ For Jerusalem shall be builded with sapphires and emeralds and
+ precious stones;
+ Thy walls and towers and battlements with pure gold.
+ And the streets of Jerusalem shall be paved with beryl and
+ carbuncle and stones of Ophir.
+ And all her streets shall say, Hallelujah, and give praise,
+ Saying, blessed is God, which hath exalted thee for ever."
+
+
+Judith.
+
+This is the story of a good and beautiful woman, who, like Esther,
+saved Israel from a tyrant by stratagem and bravery. Like Tobit, it
+lays stress on obedience to the Law, of which deeds of kindness form
+a part. Hence both belong to that period, whence so much emphasis
+was placed on law enacted. Both Judith and Tobit might be called
+historical romances.
+
+
+Additions to the Book of Esther.
+
+These additions introduce the religious note lacking in the biblical
+Esther, which does not even mention God. A beautiful prayer is
+ascribed to Esther, in which she, as a devout Jewess, opens her
+heart to the Lord.
+
+
+Wisdom Literature.
+
+If Syrian paganism showed the influence of the Greek at his worst
+on Jewish morals, Ben Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon are indications
+of the influence of Greek thought at its best on Jewish thinkers.
+Together with the Bible books of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes,
+they form a group called "Wisdom Literature." A large part of both
+books is devoted to the value of wisdom, but it is that wisdom the
+beginning of which is the fear of the Lord.
+
+
+Ecclesiasticus.
+
+The Wisdom of Jesus (Greek for Joshua), Ben Sirach or Ecclesiasticus
+is a commentary on the times. It was written about B.C.E. 180, in
+Judea, before the persecution began under Antiochus, the Syrian who
+was so little Greek and so largely pagan. It urges obedience to the
+Law and Commandments and gives copious rules of conduct in every
+relation of life.
+
+Ben Sirach was a Jewish scribe. Some of his sayings are edited and
+some are original. Here are a few quotations:
+
+ Woe to the sinner that goeth two ways.
+
+ Wine and music rejoice the heart, and the love of wisdom is
+ above both.
+
+ The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom and the prudence of
+ sinners is not counsel.
+
+ They (the laboring class) maintain the fabric of the world; and
+ in the handiwork of their craft is their prayer.
+
+ He that sacrificeth of a thing wrongfully gotten, his offering
+ is made a mockery.
+
+ As one that slayeth his neighbor is he that taketh away his
+ living.
+
+ As God's mercy is great, so is His correction also.
+
+ Before man is life and death, and whatsoever he liketh shall be
+ given to him.
+
+ There is a shame that bringeth sin, and there is a shame that is
+ glory and grace.
+
+ A slip on the pavement is better than a slip with the tongue.
+
+ Depart from wrong and it shall turn aside from thee.
+
+ He that keepeth the law bringeth offerings enough.
+
+ He that requiteth a good turn offereth fine flour.
+
+ If thou come to serve the Lord prepare for adversity.
+
+ Let not reverence of any man cause thee to fall.
+
+ Hide not thy wisdom in its beauty.
+
+ Rejoice not over the death of thy greatest enemy but remember
+ that we die all.
+
+ Forsake not an old friend, for the new is not comparable to him.
+
+ Unto the slave that is wise shall they that are free do service.
+
+ The bee is little among such as fly; but her fruit is the chief
+ of sweet things.
+
+ Judge none blessed before his death.
+
+ The rich man hath done wrong yet he threateneth withal. The poor
+ man is wronged and he must entreat also.
+
+ Blessed is he whose conscience has not condemned him.
+
+ He that despiseth small things by small things shall he fall.
+
+ Wisdom that is hid and treasure that is hoarded, what profit is
+ there in both?
+
+ He that setteth a trap shall be taken therein.
+
+ He that revengeth shall find vengeance from the Lord.
+
+ The stroke of the whip maketh marks in the flesh, but the stroke
+ of the tongue breaketh the bones.
+
+
+Wisdom of Solomon.
+
+The influence of Greek ideas on Ben Sirach is slight, in Wisdom
+of Solomon it is pronounced. Indeed, this latter book was written
+in Greek, in Alexandria, the centre of Hellenist government. Its
+date is about 100 B.C.E. Like most of the books of this collection,
+it is ascribed to one of the great men of the Bible. Here King
+Solomon exhorts the rulers of the earth to seek wisdom and to shun
+idolatry. He expatiates on the influence of divine wisdom on life as
+exemplified in the noble souls of Israel's great past. Here are some
+extracts:
+
+ Beware of murmuring which is unprofitable: and refrain your
+ tongue from back-biting: for there is no word so secret that
+ shall go for nought.
+
+ Honorable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor
+ that is measured by number of years.
+
+ If riches be a possession to be desired in this life, what is
+ richer than wisdom that worketh all things.
+
+ Fear is nothing else but a betraying of the succours which
+ reason offereth.
+
+ For these men (idolators) there is but small blame, if they
+ peradventure do but go astray while they are seeking God and
+ desiring Him.
+
+ Even if we sin, we are Thine. But we shall not sin, knowing that
+ we have been accounted Thine; for to be acquainted with Thee is
+ perfect righteousness.
+
+ Court not death in the error of thy life. God made not death,
+ nor delighteth He when the living perish, for He created all
+ things that they might have being.
+
+ Wisdom is the effulgence from everlasting light, and the
+ unspotted mirror of the working of God and the image of His
+ goodness.
+
+ Surely vain are all men by nature who are ignorant of God,
+ And could not out of the good things that are seen know Him that is:
+ But deemed either fire or wind or the swift air,
+ Or the circle of the stars, or the violent water, or the light of heaven,
+ To be the gods which govern the world....
+ For, if astonished at their power let them understand
+ Through them how much mightier is He that made them....
+ To know God is perfect righteousness,
+ Yea, to know thy powers is the root of immortality.
+
+
+Baruch.
+
+This is a general collection of four different writings.
+
+ (a) A Prayer of Israel in Exile (i-iii, 8.)
+
+ (b) The fount of Wisdom (iii, 9-iv, 4.)
+
+ (c) Consolation to Zion's Children (iv, 5-v, 9.)
+
+ (d) The Epistle of Jeremiah.
+
+ (e) The folly of idolatry (vi.)
+
+Baruch was the secretary of Jeremiah. See Jer., chaps. xxxii, xxxvi,
+xliii.
+
+
+Song of the Three Holy Children:
+
+These "children" are none other than the three young men, who with
+Daniel dared the fiery furnace in testimony of their faith. The song
+is presumed to have been sung in the furnace. The book, then, is an
+amplification of the Bible book of "Daniel." This amplification of
+Scripture became more and more a favorite custom of the rabbinic
+age. It is called _Agada_, i.e., story.
+
+To quote:
+
+ "At this time there is neither prince, prophet nor leader,
+ burnt offering or place of sacrifice. Nevertheless, in a
+ contrite heart and a humble spirit let us be accepted. Like as
+ burnt offerings of bullocks and thousands of fat lambs may our
+ sacrifice be in thy sight this day, and grant that we may wholly
+ go after thee. For they shall not be confounded who put their
+ trust in thee."
+
+
+History of Susanna.
+
+This is the story of a chaste woman whom wicked men tried to betray.
+In the end both her purity and their sin are discovered.
+
+
+Bel and the Dragon.
+
+Like "The Song of the Three Holy Children" this also is an addition
+to the story of Daniel. It is an _expose_ of the hypocrisy of the
+priests of the Babylonian idol Bel.
+
+
+Prayer of Manasses.
+
+This is the Greek spelling of Manasseh, one of the last Kings
+of Judah. It is a prayer ascribed to him in Babylonian exile.
+This prayer might be introduced in the confessions of the Day of
+Atonement.
+
+
+I and II Maccabees.
+
+The Books of the Maccabees are the classic authority on the
+Maccabean uprising. The first Book gives a graphic picture of the
+struggle and the events that led up to it. It is also our source for
+the subsequent events which will be related in due course, carrying
+the narrative down to 135 B.C.E. It is written from the strict
+standpoint of the Chassidim. These, it will be remembered, were
+the extremely pious party. It is couched in sober historic style.
+Its value as authentic Jewish history cannot be over-estimated.
+Written originally in Hebrew (or Aramaic), it has come down to us
+unfortunately only in a Greek translation.
+
+The second Book of Maccabees was written in Greek and is a
+condensation of a larger work. It confines itself to the series of
+events between 175 and 160. Though written in more ornate style, it
+is less reliable; but it contains some interesting stories, such as
+the martyrdom of Eleazer, Hannah and her seven sons. Like Daniel, it
+is written to edify and inspire.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Apocrypha_:
+
+In most of the Apocryphal Books, the writers have but a vague
+knowledge of the location of places, or the sequence of historical
+events. Books are loosely assigned to ancient authors without
+sufficient consideration of the historic possibility. But then the
+exact science of history is late.
+
+
+_Ecclesiasticus_:
+
+The discovery of fragments of the original Hebrew text of
+Ecclesiasticus was made by Prof. Schechter and further additions by
+Messrs. Neubauer and Cowley. See a number of articles in vols. x and
+xii of the _Jewish Quarterly Review_. (Macmillan, London.)
+
+
+_Wisdom Literature_:
+
+Montefiore, _Bible for Home Reading_, Pt. ii, Section i, chaps. i-v.
+
+Read "A Glimpse of the Social Life of the Jews in the Time of Jesus,
+the son of Sirach." Schechter, _Studies in Judaism_, 2d series, J.
+P. S. A.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Compare the treatment of wisdom in _Proverbs_ (viii) and in
+_Ecclesiasticus_.
+
+[Illustration: GOAT-SKIN WATER BOTTLES.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+IN THE DIASPORA.
+
+
+Having brought our story to the close of an epoch, we will pause
+and glance at the status of the Jew in other lands. The dispersion
+of Israel in a voluntary way had already begun, though Judea was
+still the centre of gravity. So the sway of the High Priest reached
+not only to the Palestinian provinces--Phoenicia, Samaria, Galilee,
+Gilead, Edom and Philistia--but extended through parts of Asia Minor
+and to lands on both banks of the Mediterranean Sea. These lands of
+Jewish settlement outside of Palestine are called the Diaspora.
+
+
+Egypt.
+
+The land that next to Judea contained the largest number of Jews was
+Egypt. Our narrative has been moving to and fro between these two
+lands. In no country outside of Greece itself was the Greek spirit
+so completely diffused as in Egypt. Alexandria, its new capital,
+displacing Athens as the intellectual centre of the world, was
+second in importance only to Rome. While the Greek civilization at
+its worst was tinctured with an enervated orientalism and had much
+in it debasing, yet the Greek spirit at its best also found its way
+to Alexandria, and its influence was intellectually broadening and
+elevating on the Jews resident there. Look back to Chapter ii.
+
+Under this Greek regime the Jews were given equality at least
+officially, in Egypt, and also in Cyrene (on the coast of the
+adjoining country, Lybia). The Greek Egyptian royal house was
+called the Ptolemaic, from Ptolemy, the family name of its kings.
+Ptolemy Philometer was a contemporary of Antiochus Epiphanes, and
+many Jews fled from Palestine to take refuge under his benevolent
+sway. What a contrast for Israel between Egypt under the Ptolemies
+and Egypt under the Pharaohs a thousand years earlier!
+
+When settling in lands where they would find themselves a small
+minority, Jews have usually concentrated in large cities. This has
+been a source both of strength and of weakness. _Of strength_--for
+when scattered in twos and threes in country places, the maintenance
+of their religion and their historic consciousness would become
+imperilled; while numbers closely grouped offer power of
+achievement. Cities too, are the intellectual centres of a land.
+_Of weakness_--for city dwellers lose the simplicity that goes with
+country life in close contact with nature, which deepens faith; and
+work on the soil in the open, aids in the building of character. So
+here, in a land outside of Israel, we find Jews settling in one of
+the great cities of the world.
+
+The Delta, an Alexandrian district on the sea-coast, was wholly a
+Jewish colony. The Jews participated in both the commercial and
+intellectual activities of this famous capital of antiquity. They
+exported grain, formed artisan guilds, and established schools which
+were also their synagogues.
+
+
+The Septuagint.
+
+Interest in Israel was further manifested in its hearty endorsement
+of the translation of the Jewish Scriptures into Greek given by
+Ptolemy Philadelphus. But this translation was made first and
+chiefly for the Jews themselves. Hebrew was growing more and more
+of a strange tongue to the new generation in Alexandria and its
+surroundings. Even in Palestine proper they no longer spoke Hebrew,
+but Aramaic, a sister tongue. A translation of the Bible had already
+been made in this language; it is called Targum. Indeed, the books
+of Daniel and Ezra are written in Aramaic; so are some of the
+prayers in our ritual.
+
+This Greek translation was made, secondly, for the Greeks. It gave
+the desired opportunity to the Jews to explain their faith and
+literature to the people with whom they were now brought in friendly
+contact, and would silence the slanders of ill-wishers such as the
+Egyptian priest Manetho.
+
+At first only the Pentateuch was translated, each book being
+assigned to a different scholar. A pretty story that we must
+not take too seriously says it was entrusted to seventy-two
+persons, six from each tribe. The tradition survives partly in
+name--Septuagint--(seventy), written lxx. The anniversary of this
+really great event was commemorated by the Jews as a holiday. We
+may say that this translation of our Scripture into this widely
+spoken tongue was the beginning of the mission of the Jew to carry
+God's Law to the Gentiles. The Greeks were among the great educators
+of the world. Now that the Bible was revealed in their tongue, it
+became the property of the world and its lessons reached the hearts
+of many, scattered far and wide.
+
+
+Onias and His Temple.
+
+Onias, son of the Jewish High Priest of the same name, was the most
+renowned of the Judean settlers in Alexandria. He was entrusted with
+an army in one of Philometer's campaigns. He was likewise chosen
+by the Judeans of Egypt as their Ethnarch (governor), to direct the
+affairs of the Jewish community. Around him the people coalesced
+into a strong body.
+
+He conceived the idea of building a Temple for the benefit of
+the Alexandrian Jews whom distance practically debarred from the
+benefits of the Temple in Jerusalem. If justified at all, the right
+to establish it was most naturally his as heir of the High Priest at
+Jerusalem. Yet it was a bold step, a daring precedent, since only
+one sanctuary, that at Jerusalem, had been recognized since the days
+of Josiah. Such was the law. (See Deut. xii, verses 13-15.) The new
+Temple was, not unnaturally, condemned by the Jews of Jerusalem.
+
+We might say, if it was a daring innovation, it was abundantly
+justified by the changed conditions. The Deuteronomy law was of
+great value at the time instituted, in preventing the spread of
+idolatrous notions through the ministrations of ignorant village
+priests; but "new occasions bring new duties;" that was no longer to
+be feared. Again, the two-and-a-half tribes in the days of Joshua
+(see Josh. xxii) offered a precedent in building a second altar,
+when nothing but the Jordan separated them from the rest of Israel.
+Lastly, it was almost a realization of the exquisite Messianic
+picture in Isaiah xix, 19-25, where an altar would be built in
+Egypt, and Israel, Assyria and Egypt would be united under God's
+blessing.
+
+So built it was, at Leontopolis, in old Goshen, land of early
+Israel's sojourn, and near the famous Memphis. It received royal
+sanction and aid; but it never acquired for Egyptian Jews the
+validity and sanction of the Temple at Jerusalem.
+
+Philometer's confidence was further shown in appointing Onias
+Arab-arch, i.e., commander of the Arabian province Heliopolis, and
+also custodian of the Nile ports.
+
+In the following pages we shall see Egypt gradually losing power and
+independence through the growth of Rome; but we will notice also
+that through all these changes the status of the Jews remains almost
+undisturbed--that unfriendly attacks are confined almost wholly to
+literary slanders. But then, grave persecutions often began with the
+pen throughout all Israel's history.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_The Septuagint_:
+
+So many Hebrew terms and constructions were used in this Greek
+translation that it became a modification of the language, a sort of
+Jewish-Greek.
+
+Schuerer, _Jewish Life in the Times of Christ_, 2d Division iii,
+(Scribner). This is a very valuable work on this era, but should be
+accepted with reservation.
+
+
+_Temple of Onias_:
+
+A "mound of the Jews" recently unearthed near Leontopolis, doubtless
+marks the ruins of the Temple of Onias.
+
+Read articles "Alexandria" and "Diaspora," _Jewish Encyclopedia_,
+Vols. i and iv respectively.
+
+
+_Christianity._:
+
+The fairest presentation of the Judaism of these times by a
+non-Jewish author is Toy's _Judaism and Christianity_.
+
+
+_Theme for Discussion_:
+
+"Are there traces of Greek philosophy in the Septuagint?"
+Freudenthal, _Jewish Quarterly Review_. Vol. ii.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK II.
+
+JUDEA INDEPENDENT
+
+ =Judea's Rulers and Teachers.= | =ROME.=
+ B.C.E. | B.C.E.
+ |
+ Jose b. Joezer and Jose | Final subjection of Carthage
+ b. Jochanan 170 | and Greece 146
+ |
+ Judea independent 142 |
+ |
+ Simon, Prince 142 | Pompey takes Syria and
+ Joshua b. Perachia and | closes the Seleucidan
+ Mattai the Arbelite 140-110 | dynasty 65
+ |
+ John Hyrcanus I 135 |
+ |
+ Aristobulus I 105 | =Pompey takes Jerusalem= 63
+ |
+ Alexander Janneus 104 |
+ Judah b. Tabbai and Simon | 1st triumvirate Caesar,
+ b. Shetach 100-90 | Pompey and Crassus 60
+ |
+ Salome Alexandra 78 | Caesar 48
+ Aristobulus II 69 |
+ Shemaiah and Abtalion 65-35 |
+ |
+ Hyrcanus II (tributary to 63 | 2nd triumvirate, Antony,
+ Rome) | Octavius and Lepidus 44
+ |
+ Antigonus 46-37 | 1st Emperor, Augustus 30
+ Hillel and Shammai 30 | B.C.E.--14 A.C.E.
+ Herod 37--4 B.C.E.
+
+[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM.--AS RESTORED BY CHIPIEZ.]
+
+[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF THE TEMPLE AREA, REPRESENTING ONE
+THOUSAND SQUARE FEET.
+
+A.: The colossal Royal Bridge, on arches, that spanned the Tyropoeon
+valley from Mount Zion to Mount Moriah, and led eastward into the
+Court of the Gentiles.
+
+COURT OF THE GENTILES: The outer portions of the Temple area within
+the walls. The dots in the dotted lines show the number and position
+of the Corinthian columns forming colonnades that enclosed the
+Court. Within these colonnades was the Royal porch on the south, and
+Solomon's Porch on the east. In these porches the oxen, sheep, and
+doves selected for sacrifices were sold, as in a market.
+
+BEAUTIFUL GATE: The broad gate leading from Solomon's Porch into the
+Court of Women.
+
+B. B. B.: A terrace ten and a half feet high and fifteen feet broad,
+which bounded the inner wall of the Sanctuary.
+
+A. A.: The inner wall of the Sanctuary.
+
+THE SANCTUARY consisted of the three courts: The Court of Women, the
+Court of Israel, and the Court of Priests, beyond which were the
+Holy and Most Holy Places, forming lower apartments of the Temple
+proper.
+
+C. C. C. C.: Four south-side flights of steps that led up to the
+gates in the terrace that opened into the Courts above.
+
+D. D. D. D.: Four north-side flights of steps that led up to the
+gates on the north side.
+
+E. E.: The thirteen money chests, forming the Treasury of the Temple.
+
+F. F.: Courts and chambers within the Sanctuary.
+
+G.: Nicanor Gate, leading from the Court of Women into the Court of
+Israel.
+
+H.: The fifteen terrace steps on which the Levites stood when they
+sung the fifteen "Psalms of Degrees" at the Feast of Tabernacle: and
+in the door-way of the gate, all took place that was ordered to be
+done "before the Lord."
+
+J.: Twelve steps leading up to the Porch of the Temple.
+
+B.: The two Tables, the one of marble, the other of gold, within the
+porch.
+
+THE HOLY PLACE contained the Tables of Shewbread, the Golden
+Candlestick, and the Altar of Incense. In the "Holy of Holies" a
+solitary stone marked the place where should have stood the ark,
+which Nebuchedrezzar had taken away.--From _The Wonderful Story of
+Old_.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES.
+
+
+Simon.
+
+The new kingdom acquired _de jure_ (by treaty), must yet be fought
+for to be maintained _de facto_. The citadel of Jerusalem, as
+well as that key to the mountain passes, Gazara, had still to be
+mastered. Successful in both enterprises, Israel could enjoy some
+years of long needed peace. Simon furthered the religious as well as
+the political welfare of his country. The people could till their
+ground in peace and for a time at least "sit under their own vine
+and their own fig-tree"; though it could not yet be said "there was
+none to fray them away." Simon, moreover, "strengthened those who
+had been brought low, the Law he searched out, and he beautified the
+sanctuary." He used the time of quiet for building a haven at Joppa,
+for enlarging the boundaries and for encouraging agriculture.
+
+The office of High Priest, maintained hitherto in a hereditary
+priestly family, had been gradually transferred to the Hasmonean
+House, and hence now devolved on Simon. By this time the people had
+become reconciled to the transfer. He renewed the treaty with Rome,
+which had taken the place of Greece in becoming the greatest power
+in the world and in deciding the fate of nations.
+
+When Tryphon was slain, Antiochus turned against the Jews, but
+was defeated by Simon's sons. Alas, Simon's fate was not to be
+an exception to that of the rest of his warrior brothers. None
+died a peaceful death. Simon, together with two of his sons, was
+treacherously slain by his own son-in-law, Ptolemy, an unscrupulous
+man, cruelly ambitious for the throne.
+
+
+Hyrcanus I
+
+John Hyrcanus, the oldest surviving son of Simon, became the next
+Jewish ruler. So, imperceptibly a royal house had been created, and
+the princely honor came to Hyrcanus by _hereditary succession_. In
+just that way have all royal lines been created--starting with a
+great deliverer, like Judas Maccabee. But the _title_, King, came
+later. Hyrcanus had not only to rout the usurper Ptolemy before the
+rulership could become his, but had also to resist the siege of
+Antiochus VII., the next Syrian king, who would not yet renounce
+Judea without another struggle. Peace was at last reached by
+Hyrcanus agreeing to the payment of an indemnity and tribute for a
+few outlying towns.
+
+This first repulse showed that the new kingdom was not very strong
+and that it owed its independence to Syrian weakness (due to the
+continued conflicts of rivals and pretenders), rather than to
+its own material power. But Syria's embarrassment was Judah's
+opportunity. After Antiochus had been slain in a Parthian conflict,
+John Hyrcanus, once secure, began a vigorous campaign to enlarge his
+boundaries. Very soon he had incorporated the old land of the Ten
+Tribes, now called Samaria. The complete conquest of the Samaritans
+was undertaken toward the end of his life. Their famous temple on
+Mount Gerizim was destroyed. Idumea (Edom) was also conquered and
+Judaism imposed on it by force. But that kind of conversion was
+always against the free and tolerant spirit of Judaism and against
+its very genius. We shall later see that it brought its own
+retribution and weakened the cause of Israel.
+
+
+Pharisees and Sadducees.
+
+Let us not forget that the rise of the Hasmoneans had come about in
+a measure through a conflict for religious integrity between the
+extreme pietists on the one hand, the Chassidim, and the worldly
+Hellenists on the other, with varied shades of opinion in between.
+These religious divergences had now crystallized into two schools
+that acquired the names Pharisees and Sadducees. It is hard to say
+just when these distinctions began. Perhaps they were always there;
+for we meet the two groups--conservative and progressive--under
+different names in all creeds and in nearly all eras. The division
+is naturally inherent in the human temperament. It marks broadly the
+two grand divisions into which all men become grouped in organized
+society.
+
+Now let us consider in particular the distinctions that
+differentiated these two parties in the Jewish State. The Sadducees
+were largely composed of the priestly families; but the priestly
+caste was not necessarily the religious class. It corresponded
+rather to what we would call the aristocracy--we have seen that the
+High Priest was also a prince. In this party, too, were largely the
+military. They were faithful to the Mosaic Law, the Pentateuch,
+which they rigorously enforced, but gave slight allegiance to the
+later religious injunctions that came to be developed from the Law
+by the Scribes; in so far they were religiously unprogressive. Still
+in their attitude toward life in general, they did not approve of
+holding aloof from the world, but encouraged a mingling with it and
+entering into intimate commercial and political relations with
+other nations. They regarded it their patriotic duty to aggrandize
+the nation in every way and to make it a splendid power.
+
+The name Sadducee is derived from Zadok, of the family of Aaron, the
+chief priest of the time of Solomon's Temple, who thus gave his name
+to the priestly house, "Sons of Zadok."
+
+The Pharisees, while interpreting Biblical law more leniently in
+certain respects than the Sadducees, were determined supporters
+of all the mass of legal minutiae that had been evolved from the
+Law proper and which had become a "Second Law." These rites and
+ceremonies that were added to the original Mosaic code (occasionally
+by a rather forced deduction) they considered equally binding
+with it. They called it the _Oral Law_ to distinguish it from the
+_Written Law_, and the tradition was that it, too, was revealed to
+Moses.
+
+In their political policy they equally diverged from the Sadducees,
+believing in standing somewhat apart from the peoples about them.
+They looked askance upon too intimate relations with the world at
+large; for they believed it their duty to subordinate all interests,
+national and commercial, to the religious, trusting the outcome
+rather to divine providence than to the judgment of their statesmen
+or the enterprise of energetic leaders.
+
+Further, as against the priestly aristocracy, that wished to confine
+all ecclesiastical functions to the priestly order, the Pharisees
+were more democratic in that they desired to extend the privileges
+of priestly sanctification and holiness to all. Purifying ablutions,
+they claimed, were obligatory on the whole people. _Their_ meals
+should also be consecrated, even as the repasts of the priests--so
+that all Israel should be a "Kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
+Hence, "Second Maccabees," the work of a Pharisee, declares, "Unto
+_all_ are given the heritage, the kingdom, the priesthood and the
+sanctuary."
+
+The chief characteristics of the Pharisees are expressed in
+their name: _Pharash_, the Law expounders; _Pharash_, the
+separatists--though the former is probably its true derivation.
+
+The Pharisees, it will be seen, were the more pious, the Sadducees
+the more worldly, though the Pharisees as a whole were not as pious
+as the Chassidim had been, nor the Sadducees as worldly as the
+Hellenists had been. The Sadducees further denied belief in bodily
+resurrection or in judgment after death (though not necessarily
+renouncing immortality), on the strength of the famous teaching
+of Antigonus of Socho, "Be not as servants who serve the Master
+for the sake of reward, but rather as those who serve the Master
+without thought of reward." As distinct from the Pharisees they were
+strong believers in free-will, that the destiny of men is in their
+own hands. We might call the Sadducees the rationalists and the
+Pharisees traditionalists.
+
+Some Pharisees again did carry the fulfilment of rites and
+ceremonies too far; a few, perhaps, were even ostentatious in
+their piety. By strange mischance these few have transferred their
+dubious reputation to all Pharisees as such. Most unjustly however,
+for the Pharisees earned the confidence of the great bulk of the
+people and were on the whole identified with them. So strangely has
+that sinister repute persisted that "Pharisee" is to-day defined
+in some dictionaries as self-righteous or hypocritical (see note).
+How undeserved as describing those whose trust in God was absolute,
+without reservation or misgiving. This is but one of many instances
+where the world's verdict has been unjust to the Jew.
+
+
+Essenes.
+
+We meet also a third party nearer in sympathy to the Pharisees. The
+old Chassidim, the extremists, had developed into an ascetic party
+under the name of _Essenes_, with a similar meaning--pious. They
+lived the life of a celibate brotherhood, holding the little they
+allowed themselves, in common. They hardly affected the national
+life of Israel, because they were too few and because they slighted
+patriotic obligations. They practiced all the self-denial of the
+Nazirites of old and sought to reach from cleanliness to godliness.
+Another derivation of the name Essene is "bather," baptist, from
+their frequent ablutions. Yet another is "healer."
+
+The Hasmonean royalty--to what party did they belong? Well, we might
+say that they began their career with all the religious enthusiasm
+of the Pharisees, they closed it with the political outlook of the
+Sadducees. This was something like an anti-climax.
+
+John Hyrcanus perhaps represents the dividing line. He started on a
+career of conquest simply to satisfy national ambition; though he
+had forced Judaism on the Idumeans. In his later years, he rejected
+many traditional observances of the Oral Law that completed his
+estrangement from the Pharisees. Taking a material and external
+survey, Hyrcanus left the Jews at the end of his life with an
+independent State, that in power and extent was as great as Northern
+Israel in its palmy days, as great perhaps as the realm of Solomon.
+He could mint his own coins, on some of which, still in existence,
+we find inscribed, "Jochanan, High Priest of the Commonwealth of
+the Judeans." Yes, it was all very splendid! But surely the Jews
+had learned by now the insufficiency of national glory that was
+material and external, that that kind of splendor was apart from the
+Jewish ideal, "not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, saith
+the Lord." The age needed a Jeremiah again. Alas, the era of the
+Prophets was over!
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Hasmonean_:
+
+This was the family name of Mattathias, afterwards assumed by his
+descendants.
+
+
+_Pharisees and Sadducees_:
+
+Geiger, "_History of the Jews_," vol. i, chapter viii, translation.
+
+The fact that Jesus of Nazareth condemned the false Pharisees--as
+Micah condemned false prophets (see Matthew xxiii and Luke xi) has
+much to do with their general condemnation in literature.
+
+The Talmud is also bitter against the false Pharisees, the _Zebuim_,
+the tainted ones, who do evil like Zimri and claim the goody reward
+like Phineas. In its severe denunciation of the false Pharisees, it
+divides them into six classes:
+
+1. Those who do the will of God for earthly motives. 2. The
+ostentatious who go with slow steps and say "Wait for me, I have a
+good deed to perform." 3. Those who knock their heads against a wall
+because in their looking up they fear they may see a woman. 4. Those
+who pose as saints. 5. Those who say, "Tell me of another duty." 6.
+Those who are pious because of the fear of God.
+
+"Who are the genuine Pharisees?" asks the Talmud. "Those who do the
+will of their Father in Heaven because they love Him."
+
+
+_King_:
+
+Carlyle reminds us of the derivation of "King" from _Koennen_--the
+man who "can"!
+
+
+_Samaritans_:
+
+See _People of the Book_, vol. iii, p. 244.
+
+
+_Theme for Discussion_:
+
+Compare modern with ancient parties in Israel.
+
+[Illustration: COIN OF JOHANAN THE HIGH PRIEST.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+A ROYAL HOUSE AGAIN.
+
+
+Aristobulus.
+
+In Aristobulus, eldest son and successor of John Hyrcanus, we see
+the Hasmonean further and further estranged from the generous
+spirit that called them to the fore. Judas Maccabeus wished to be
+the _Saviour_ of Judaism and the Jews, Aristobulus wanted only to
+be their _king_. The story of Abimelech in the days of the Judges
+and Jotham's parable come forcibly to mind (Judges ix). Aristobulus
+began his reign by inprisoning his mother, to prevent her succession
+to the throne, according to his father's wish, and likewise all
+his brothers but one, on suspicion of their treason. Antigonus
+was his favorite brother, and he shared the royal power with him.
+The king was certainly unpopular with the people, who accused him
+of being more Greek than Jew. Slander made him even worse than he
+was, ascribing to him the death of his beloved brother Antigonus,
+who was assassinated toward the close of his reign. He continued
+his father's policy of conquest, and subdued portions of northern
+Palestine, including Galilee, and, like his father again imposed
+Judaism upon them. While in both instances the motive for the forced
+conversion was probably ancestral pride, still it showed religious
+zeal too--though not of the highest kind.
+
+
+Alexander Janneus.
+
+The widow of Aristobulus, Salome Alexandra, released her husband's
+brother from prison at his death and by marrying Alexander Janneus,
+the eldest, and appointing him to the office of High Priest she
+allowed the kingly power to devolve upon him. Like his brother, he
+was not a man of peace, but of war. He further increased Judea's
+territory by conquest on the western Philistine side bordering on
+the Mediterranean.
+
+He was not the man to quiet the growing dissensions between
+Pharisees and Sadducees, but rather to foment them. For the royal
+Sadducean party was getting more and more estranged in policy and
+aim from the national and religious aspirations of the people. There
+was a not always silent protest against the warrior king officiating
+as High Priest. At the Feast of Tabernacles, the people pelted him
+with their citrons, which they were carrying together with palms
+(_lulab and esrog_), symbols of the harvest, for this is also called
+the Feast of Ingathering. This could not end without a tragedy, and
+a large number were slain by his foreign mercenaries. (Royal body
+guards were usually composed of foreigners.) This conflict grew
+into a civil war, both sides in turn hiring foreign troops, and
+resulted in a terrible decimating of Judah's numbers, the Pharisees
+losing more largely. Such is one of the evils of uniting religious
+authority with temporal power. The rebellion was finally put down,
+but only with an iron hand.
+
+This king, who could not be at peace, spent his last days in
+fighting the Arabians, who were just beginning to be Judea's most
+dangerous neighbor. But he inherited from his Maccabean ancestors
+love of arms without inheriting their military genius. This meant
+much wanton waste of life and some reverses. How vain this purpose
+of spending blood and substance in extending his territorial sway
+and making it nominally Jewish by force of arms, while fomenting
+religious antagonism at home--always destructive of religion itself.
+He left an even bigger State than his father, John Hyrcanus. Judea
+now meant the whole seacoast (with the exception of Ascalon) from
+Mount Carmel to Egypt and reached far east of the Jordan.
+
+
+Queen Salome Alexandra.
+
+The throne went by will to Alexander Janneus' widow, who, it
+will be remembered, was also the widow of his elder brother,
+Aristobulus. Upon her eldest son, Hyrcanus, Queen Salome bestowed
+the high priesthood. Her sympathies, however, were entirely with
+the Pharisees. The exiles came back and political prisoners were
+released. The land enjoyed a pleasing contrast under her pious and
+gentle sway. All the Pharisaic ordinances, abolished by the late
+king, were reinstituted. Indeed, all religious interests were placed
+in their hands. It was a prosperous, peaceful reign, and was later
+looked back upon as a blessed day. In the stormy days that were to
+follow, it might well seem in retrospect, a golden age.
+
+[Illustration: COIN OF THE TIME OF ALEXANDRA.]
+
+
+The "Pairs."
+
+We have seen that the priesthood and Temple were no longer the
+religious centres around which the people rallied. The Jews had
+outgrown the age of priestism, although the splendid ritual of the
+sacrificial altar still continued. The religious guides and teachers
+were the scribes, learned in the Law, who for sometime had been
+presiding in couples. Hence they are called the "Pairs." The first
+of each pair held the office of _Nasi_, Prince or President of the
+Sanhedrin, and the second that of _Ab Beth Din_, Father of the Court
+or Vice-President.
+
+Here are their names with some of the most famous sayings attributed
+to them:
+
+ _Jose ben Joezer_--Let thy house be a meeting place for the
+ wise. Cover thyself with the dust of their feet and quench thy
+ thirst with their words.
+
+ _Jose ben Jochanan_--Let thy house be opened wide and let the
+ needy be thy household.
+
+ _Joshua ben Perachia_--Procure for thyself an instructor,
+ possess thyself of a worthy associate, and judge every man in
+ the scale of merit.
+
+ _Mattai the Arbelite_--Associate not with the wicked and flatter
+ not thyself that thou canst evade punishment.
+
+ _Jehudah ben Tabbai_--Constitute not thyself dictator to the
+ Judges.
+
+ _Simon ben Shetach_--Be guarded in thy words; perchance from
+ them men may learn to lie.
+
+ _Shemaiah_--Love labor and hate pomp and suffer thyself to
+ remain unknown to the head of the State.
+
+ _Abtalion_--Ye wise be guarded in your words; or you may be
+ exiled to a place of evil waters (false doctrine) and your
+ disciples may drink and die.
+
+ _Hillel_ and _Shammai_, the last "Pair," will be treated in a
+ separate chapter.
+
+Simon ben Shetach flourished in this reign. He was brother-in-law of
+the king, by whom he had been nevertheless imprisoned. But when the
+queen came to the throne he was practically placed as the religious
+head of affairs. Simon ben Shetach and his associate, Judah ben
+Tabbai, reorganized the Council and hence were called "restorers
+of the Law." From this time on the Pharisaic became the official
+interpretation of Judaism.
+
+In all large towns Simon ben Shetach established schools for young
+men for the study of the Pentateuch and the laws interpreted from
+it. As President of the Council, he was very severe on those who
+infringed on the law. He has even been called the Judean Brutus,
+as he did not spare his own son. He reinstituted many customs
+that had been neglected during the Sadducean regime. Among these
+was the joyous "Water Celebration" during Tabernacles, a trace
+of which still survives in the ritual of _Shemini Atzereth_ (the
+eighth day that follows and concludes the festival of Succoth).
+The celebrations were accompanied by illuminations and torchlight
+processions, religious music and dancing. The water drawing at the
+Spring of Siloah was heralded by blasts of the priests' trumpets.
+Another national custom revived was the summer "Wood Festival," on
+Ab 15. It had relation to the use of wood at the altar fires, and
+was a further opportunity for joyous unbending among the youths and
+maidens.
+
+The Pharisees on the whole were the more democratic party, and
+decided that the maintenance of the Temple should be borne by all
+and not merely by voluntary offerings of the rich few. This new
+law brought enormous revenues to the Temple which later became its
+menace, attracting the covetous rather than the worshipful.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+_Sayings of the Fathers_:
+
+_Sayings of the Jewish Fathers_, chapter i. Taylor. Cambridge Press.
+Translations and notes.
+
+These sayings, which form one book of the Mishna, will be found in
+the Sabbath Afternoon Service of the Jewish Prayer Book.
+
+
+_Water Festival_:
+
+For a vivid description see _Poetry of the Talmud_, Seckles.
+
+
+_Theme for Discussion_:
+
+Contrast the Wood Festival of ancient Judea with Arbor Day in modern
+America. Mark the difference of purpose.
+
+[Illustration: THE POOL OF SILOAM.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+RIVAL CLAIMANTS FOR THE THRONE.
+
+
+Aristobulus II.
+
+Even before the good Queen Salome died storm clouds began to darken
+the horizon of Judah. Her second son, Aristobulus, inherited all
+his father's fierceness and tyranny. The throne had been naturally
+left to the elder brother, Hyrcanus, but the headstrong Aristobulus
+seized the reins of power on the dangerous theory that he was
+more fit to rule. Civil war began before the good queen had quite
+breathed her last. Hyrcanus, the weak, yielded, and all might have
+been well were it not for the interference of a new enemy who was
+eventually to bring about the ruin of the Jewish State.
+
+
+Antipater the Idumean.
+
+It will be recalled that John Hyrcanus had conquered the Idumeans
+and made them, seemingly, Jews. We shall now see the kind of Jews
+they were. One of them, Antipater, was the local governor of
+this Idumean province. He was a man who lusted for power and had
+absolutely no scruples as to the means of gaining his ends. He saw
+that if only he could place the weak Hyrcanus on the throne, he
+might become a power behind it.
+
+He began by insinuating himself into the favor of the Jewish
+nobility, and, ostensibly, as a pleader for justice, emphasized the
+evils of Aristobulus' usurpation. Letting that poison work, he came
+to the innocent Hyrcanus and played upon his fears with a made-up
+story of conspiracy against his life. Most reluctantly was Hyrcanus
+persuaded to flee with him from Jerusalem to an Arabian prince,
+Aretas. Aretas was induced to lend his aid in the expectation that
+Hyrcanus, once in power, would restore the cities Alexander Janneus
+had taken from the Arabians.
+
+So unhappy Judah was plunged in war again to gratify the unworthy
+ambitions of unworthy men and men not of their own people.
+Aristobulus was defeated in battle by Aretas and was besieged in the
+Temple Citadel.
+
+
+Prayer of Onias.
+
+An interesting incident is told at this juncture that recalls the
+Bible story of Balaam. (Numbers xxii-xxiv.) In the party of Hyrcanus
+there was a man, Onias, who, so said credulous rumor, had brought
+rain in times of drought through his fervent prayer. He was now
+brought into the camp and asked to invoke God's curse on Aristobulus
+and his allies. But such prayer he considered blasphemous, therefore
+he voiced his petition to heaven in these words: "O God, King of
+the whole world, since those that stand now with me are Thy people
+and those that are besieged are also Thy priests, I beseech Thee
+that Thou wilt neither hearken to the prayer of those against these,
+nor bring about what these pray against those." Alas, the temper of
+warfare had not patience or appreciation with this sublime attitude.
+The man was stoned. But in a sense his prayer was answered.
+
+
+Pompey Takes Jerusalem.
+
+For the Aesop fable of the two bears quarrelling over a find, thus
+affording opportunity for a third to step in and seize it, was
+here to be exemplified. Rome was ever on the watch to bring all
+outlying provinces into her net. Pompey, her victorious general,
+whose head Julius Caesar was later to demand, was just now making
+his triumphant march through Asia. The warring brothers, Hyrcanus
+and Aristobolus, appealed to his lieutenant. To leave the decision
+with Rome was a dangerous precedent, for the power that could grant
+a throne by its decision might also take it away. So, while the
+decision was rendered in favor of Aristobulus, it was as vassal
+rather than as independent king that he held his throne for some
+two years. The real gainer was Rome. It had now the right to
+revoke its decision; and it did. The people, disgusted with their
+unworthy leaders who cared nothing for the nation, but only for
+its honors--appealed to Rome to abolish the monarchy that had
+been gradually introduced and restore the old regime of the High
+Priesthood.
+
+But the headstrong Aristobulus dared resist even Rome and entrenched
+himself against invasion. This was fatal both for him and Judea.
+The temple mount was besieged. It was taken with frightful massacre
+by lustful Romans. This was in 63. Pompey sacrilegiously entered
+the Holy of Holies, in which to his surprise he found no idol;
+a spiritual God was an unfamiliar concept to the pagan mind. He
+curtailed the Jewish state and made it tributary. Aristobulus must
+grace Pompey's triumph at Rome.
+
+So much for the vain conquests of John Hyrcanus and Alexander
+Janneus. They evaporated with a word from Pompey. Thus ended the
+Judean independence for which the early Maccabees had fought so
+nobly. It had endured but seventy-nine years. Over this tributary
+State Hyrcanus II. was made High Priest. The kingship created by
+the first Aristobulus was short-lived indeed. The scheming Antipater
+had won, but graver issues were to be the outcome.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+JUDEA UNDER ROMAN SUZERAINTY.
+
+
+Growth of Rome.
+
+Rome, from the city on the Tiber, had spread over all Italy. Then
+gradually it mastered the lands on both sides of the Mediterranean.
+Greece and Carthage were absorbed in the same year, 146 B.C.E. Soon
+its tide of conquest reached Asia, and nearly all the lands in the
+East conquered by Alexander--excepting Persia--were under its sway.
+When Greco Syria--which had included Judea until the Maccabean
+independence--fell before its arms, it was to be expected that the
+never-satisfied Rome would not rest until the land of our fathers
+had been added to its possessions. We have seen how an unhappy
+series of events played into its hands and hastened this end. In
+a sense Rome was becoming the "mistress of the world." Nor was
+her sway as transitory as that of earlier world powers--Assyria,
+Babylonia, Persia or Macedonia. It was to endure for many centuries
+and it has left a lasting impress upon the world's civilization.
+
+Already the Jewish captives that Pompey took to Rome, later freed
+and called Libertini, formed together with earlier emigrants the
+beginnings of an important Jewish community. Here later still we
+find this Jewish colony on the Tiber quietly influencing Roman
+affairs.
+
+Judea, with the rest of Palestine, was now placed under the general
+supervision of Rome's Syrian governor. Internally its life was
+not interfered with, but all temporal--that is political--power
+was taken from the High Priest. His authority was confined to
+the Temple. Both Aristobulus, who had escaped from Rome, and his
+son, Alexander, made foolhardy attempts for the throne, which
+only resulted in further curtailing of Judah's power. Yet another
+desperate attempt was made for the throne. Alas, it only resulted in
+thirty thousand of the defeated malcontents being sold into slavery.
+This chafing against Rome's rule only brought its mailed hand more
+fiercely against ill-fated Israel.
+
+
+From First Triumvirate to Empire.
+
+But Rome now entered upon its own period of civil war at home and
+men lustful of power drenched this country in blood. In 60 B. C.
+E. Julius Caesar, Pompey and Crassus divided the Roman possessions
+between them and formed the First Triumvirate (Crassus given Syria,
+plundered the Temple treasures). On the death of Crassus, Caesar,
+ambitious for supreme power--the fatal weakness of this really great
+man--crossed the river Rubicon that was the boundary of his province
+of Gaul, made war on Pompey, who was soon slain, and held for a
+brief time sole sway. In 44 Caesar was killed by Brutus and Cassius.
+These in turn were overthrown by Caesar's avenger, Marc Antony,
+and a new Triumvirate was formed, consisting of Antony, Octavian
+(Augustus) and Lepidus. These were as disloyal to each other as the
+first group. Antony, seduced from his duty by the witchery of that
+fatally beautiful woman, Cleopatra of Egypt, was finally defeated
+and overthrown in the battle of Actium, 30. Octavian Augustus now
+held the reins alone and the _Roman Empire_ was launched. Augustus,
+the first emperor, reigned from 60 B.C.E. to 14 A.C.E.
+
+[Illustration: JULIUS CAESAR]
+
+These few outlines of Roman history will have to be kept in mind
+to follow events in Judea, for much was to happen to storm-tossed
+Israel between the first Triumvirate and the empire of Augustus.
+Every change in government at Rome affected the land of Israel and
+its people.
+
+Indeed, in all their subsequent history no great event occurred in
+the world without affecting the Jews in some way, and many of these
+world events were in turn influenced by them.
+
+When Pompey was killed in 48, that arch-conspirator, Antipater,
+who had sided with him while in power, now with Hyrcanus, his
+puppet, professed friendship for Caesar and helped him with Jewish
+troops for his Egyptian campaign. Caesar extended favors to both.
+Hyrcanus, as High Priest, was once more given political authority,
+and Antipater was made Procurator of Judea. We have witnessed the
+thin entering of the wedge; behold the Idumean now head of Jewish
+affairs. Caesar now granted permission to rebuild the walls of
+Jerusalem, and concessions and privileges were also conferred on
+the Jews of Alexandria and Asia Minor, for Rome's sway reached far.
+Caesar's good will made the rulership of Antipater tolerable for
+a while and when the news of Caesar's death reached the Jews they
+mourned him as a lost friend.
+
+The political power granted to Hyrcanus as High Priest carried with
+it the title of Ethnarch, which means governor of a province. But
+all power was really exercised by Antipater who, as Procurator of
+Judea, made his son Phasael governor of Jerusalem, and his son Herod
+governor of Galilee. How this intruding stranger had tightened his
+grip on the land of our fathers!
+
+
+Herod Enters on the Scene.
+
+Herod was to play an important role in Judah's fortunes. Already
+as governor of Galilee, a youth of twenty-five, he showed his
+masterfulness in the summary execution of a marauder. Summoned to
+the Sanhedrin to answer for this action, he dared defy it. Why?
+Because Cassius, now master of Syria (including Judea) at Caesar's
+death, was put under obligation by the crafty Antipater and his
+equally cunning son Herod. Together they succeeded in squeezing
+money from Judaea for the maintenance of an army against Antony. Thus
+the Jews were embroiled in Rome's conflicts to further the ambitions
+of these Idumeans. As a result Herod was now made governor of
+Celo-Syria (Palestine) and could snap his fingers at the Sanhedrin.
+Judea, in fact, was a prey to anarchy brought about by conspiracies
+and usurpations.
+
+In 42 Brutus and Cassius were defeated at Philippi by Antony and
+Octavian, and it seemed that an end had come to the fortunes of
+Herod. Antipater had been slain, caught in a final act of heartless
+duplicity against Hyrcanus. But Herod had the adroit cunning of
+his father and knew how to desert a sinking ship and change his
+allegiance to the man of rising fortunes. With plausible words Herod
+made his peace with Antony. Nor did the complaints against him and
+his brother by the Jewish nobility avail. On the contrary Antony
+made them both _tetrarchs_--subordinate governors--of Judea at the
+expense of the weak and aging Hyrcanus.
+
+
+The Last Hasmonean Ruler.
+
+Antigonus, a son of Aristobulus, taking advantage of a Parthian
+uprising, made one more effort to seize the Jewish throne. He
+succeeded. Herod was put to flight and Hyrcanus deposed altogether.
+This last scion of the Hasmonean house held a brief royal sway from
+40 to 37. He lacked the greatness of the earlier Maccabeans to hold
+the nation; and, antagonized the Sanhedrin instead of attaching it
+to him. Herod, after varied shifts, sailed to Rome, making an appeal
+at headquarters. Deceiving all by his plausibility, he obtained an
+appointment as "King of Judea" from Antony's senate. But for that
+throne he must now fight "the man in possession." There followed
+a series of engagements in which Jewish blood flowed freely. With
+the aid of Rome, Herod was of course successful, ultimately taking
+Jerusalem itself. Antigonus was put to death. Thus ended the
+Hasmonean rule in Judea so gloriously begun a little over a century
+before.
+
+
+_Theme for Discussion._
+
+Single out great events in history influenced by and influencing the
+Jews.
+
+[Illustration: COIN OF ANTIGONUS, 40 B. C. E.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+HEROD.
+
+
+What had been the result of the attempt of Alexander Janneus to
+force Judaism upon Idumea? It had begun by giving the Idumean
+Antipater, from the intimate relations created, the opportunity to
+make Hyrcanus his puppet, and ended by placing the Jewish crown upon
+the head of Herod, who was absolutely un-Jewish in ancestry and
+sympathies, and really a pagan at heart. Herod, in fact, delivered
+Judea to Rome that he might be made its vassal king.
+
+He had married Mariamne, the beautiful grand daughter of the weak
+Hyrcanus--a stroke of policy, to be allied in marriage to Judah's
+royal family.
+
+
+Herod as Man.
+
+Undoubtedly he was a man of power of a sort, born to command; but
+there was no soft spot in his nature. He had all the instincts of a
+tyrant, and neither scruple nor pity deterred him from carrying out
+his passionate will and his insatiable ambition. He inherited all
+his father's cunning, allied with fine judgment and untiring energy.
+Though of undoubted bravery, he knew how to fawn before those in
+power.
+
+The first dozen years of his reign were marked by storm and conflict
+with enemies both without and within. The feelings of the Jews can
+be imagined in having this alien thrust upon them by all-powerful
+Rome and whose first act was to slay their patriots and confiscate
+their property. Rebellion was put down with a merciless hand. Step
+by step he carried out his relentless purpose and put to death all
+the survivors of the royal line, the flower of the Jewish nobility,
+and likewise every member (except Shemaiah and Abtalion) of the
+Sanhedrin that had some years before censured one of his misdeeds.
+
+Very unwillingly he appointed his wife's brother as High Priest.
+It was a fatal distinction for the young man, for the people too
+openly expressed their regard for this scion of the Hasmonean line.
+What was the consequence? One day when refreshing himself in the
+bath, he was held under the water till life was extinct. It was
+called an accident! Alexandra, his mother, a hard woman, appealed
+to Rome through Cleopatra to punish this murder. Herod was summoned
+to answer for his conduct before Antony, but his plausible manner
+aided by bribery won his acquittal. The tyrant marked his return by
+the execution of another brother-in-law, to whom he had entrusted
+Mariamne in his absence, and whom he jealously imagined disloyal.
+
+That Antony at this time gave part of Palestine proper to Cleopatra,
+including even a bit of Judea, and that Herod must bear it without
+protest, showed on what slender tenure he held his throne. So
+completely was he under Rome's control that Antony, to satisfy the
+whim of Cleopatra who disliked Herod, commanded him to undertake a
+campaign against the Arabians, while she secretly assisted them.
+
+When Antony fell at Actium in 31 in that contest between continents,
+Herod managed adroitly at the right moment to go over to the side
+of the victorious Octavian Augustus. Before departing for Rome to
+curry favor with the Emperor, he took a precaution, which only his
+cruelty deemed necessary. He put to death his own kinsman, the aged
+Hyrcanus, to whose weakness he in a measure owed his throne.
+
+He returned in the good graces of Augustus, and received back all
+the lands taken from him by Antony for Cleopatra. But before his
+departure, he had repeated the order given prior to his previous
+visit, that Mariamne should be put to death in case his cause should
+take a fatal turn in Rome. Learning of this revolting plan in his
+absence, she upbraided him on his return. This gave his envious
+relatives opportunity to slander her and defame her honor. The
+jealous Herod believed the calumny against his innocent wife--and
+think of it--ordered her to be put to death, though, in his savage,
+sensual way, he loved her. Remorse came too late, which wild
+excesses could not drown. Soon her mother followed her to the block
+on the better founded charge of conspiracy. More deeds of needless
+bloodshed were perpetrated by his wanton command until every remnant
+of the Hasmonean house was destroyed.
+
+
+Herod as Builder.
+
+Herod was a renowned builder. He wanted to have a splendid
+capital with which he might dazzle Roman grandees and foreign
+plenipotentiaries. Notice the bent of his mind--his conception of
+a monarch--not a father of his people living up to such a maxim,
+for example, as _ich dien_ (I serve) but the possessor of glory and
+with the power to play with the life and death of his subjects. He
+must needs have grandeur without, though there was misery enough
+within. He erected temples, amphitheatres and hippodromes. He built
+for himself a palace that was a fortress too, with parks and gardens
+around it. New cities were laid out, not for the honor of Israel
+but for the honor of Augustus Caesar and named after him. Samaria
+was rebuilt and renamed Sebaste. He rebuilt a city on the coast
+and called it Caesarea, with a fine haven. One he named Antipatris
+after his father, another after his brother, Phasaelis; Agrippaeum,
+after Agrippa, and Herodium, a stronghold, after himself. Existing
+fortresses were restored and strengthened. Nor did he neglect to
+mark the outlying provinces with examples of his building passion.
+
+[Illustration: EMPEROR AUGUSTUS.]
+
+The old Temple, built in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, now looked
+shabby among these fine edifices, and he determined to rebuild it.
+This was one of his great achievements. There was no religious
+motive whatever in the project, for he had built outside of
+Jerusalem many heathen shrines. The purpose was wholly worldly. If
+there is to be a Temple, let it be gorgeous to gratify my vanity!
+It took many years to build and was not finished till long after
+Herod's death. The whole circumference of the Temple, including the
+fortress of Antonia connected with it, covered almost a mile. It
+must have been magnificent, for a proverb arose, "He who has not
+seen Herod's Temple has never seen anything beautiful." Yet, with
+all his grandeur, he was but a subject king under the sway of the
+Roman emperor. He could not make treaties or war without the consent
+of the emperor, to whom he had to supply on demand troops and money.
+
+The introduction of heathen games in theatres and race-courses, in
+which the lives of gladiators and runners were lightly sacrificed to
+gratify the brutal instincts of the spectators, deeply grieved the
+Jews, imbued with the sanctity of human life. It was in such violent
+antagonism to the ethics of Judaism. But what could they do? They
+were in the power of this pagan tyrant.
+
+He gathered in his capital, too, Greek litterateurs and artists. To
+these scholars were given state positions of trust. But this was no
+more an indication of love of culture than Temple building was love
+of religion. Ostentation was at the root of both.
+
+Yet the Pharisaic party (the great mass of the people) was too
+strong for him to carry his paganizing influence as far as he
+wished. He ungraciously yielded, out of prudence, now and then to
+the religious sensibilities of the people. The building of the
+sanctuary proper he entrusted to priests, nor were images placed
+on the Jerusalem buildings. But the Roman eagle was later erected
+over the Temple gate. For an attempt to remove it, forty-two young
+men, zealous for the law, were burnt alive. The Jewish Sanhedrin was
+shorn of all power.
+
+He appointed unfit men as High Priests and removed them when they
+did not do his bidding. That such appointments should be left in
+his unsympathetic hands. Finally, the people were heavily taxed
+to support heathen splendor of which they did not approve. So his
+reign, so hateful to them, was maintained only by despotism and
+force. An attempt was even made to assassinate him. The populace
+had to be watched by spies. Yet in the year 25 he brought all his
+energies to the fore to save the people from the consequences of
+famine. Let us remember this in his favor; also that he used his
+power to secure protection for Jews in the Diaspora.
+
+
+Herod as Father.
+
+By paying lavish court to the emperor and his son-in-law, Agrippa,
+his territory was gradually doubled. A splendid kingdom viewed
+superficially, but it brought no happiness to this unscrupulous man.
+Peace in the home, domestic joy, these are the things that prowess
+and power cannot buy. The story of how this barbarian had put to
+death his favorite wife, Mariamne, has already been told. Her two
+sons were now grown to man's estate. But Herod's sister, the wicked
+Salome, who had plotted against their mother, now tried to fill
+the king's mind with suspicions against her sons. In this purpose
+she was aided by Antipater, son of Herod by another of his wives.
+Learning that their mother had been put to death by their father's
+mandate, they openly expressed their anger, which so increased the
+king's suspicions, that he accused his sons before the emperor. The
+mildness of Augustus could only postpone the eventual tragedy--the
+execution of the young men by order of their own father.
+Antipater--the real conspirator against Herod, though his favorite
+son,--was at last detected, and of course executed also. Surely the
+latter days of this king were bitter.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+These domestic troubles were aggravated by bodily disease and the
+knowledge that he was hated by his people. Determined to be mourned
+at all costs, he imprisoned some of the most distinguished men of
+the nation with orders that they were to be killed at the moment of
+his death. Thus would he obtain a mourning at his funeral! Was not
+this the climax of savagery! This fiendish purpose was, however,
+never carried out; so he died unwept and unmourned.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+He is called "Great" to distinguish him from some puny Herods that
+followed in the fast dying Jewish State. We can call him "Great"
+only in a bad sense--an awful example of the abuse of power in the
+hands of an unscrupulous and blood-thirsty man.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+_Mariamne._
+
+Zirndorf, _Some Jewish Women_. (Jewish Pub. Soc.) Grace Aguilar,
+_Women of Israel_.
+
+
+_Rome._
+
+In Talmudic literature "Edom" is often a disguised term for Rome,
+because in the Bible story Esau is the rival of Jacob. When we
+remember that Antipater and Herod were Idumeans (Edom) and that they
+practically delivered Judea to Rome for the price of a crown, the
+rabbinic usage is peculiarly appropriate.
+
+
+_Herod._
+
+In Stephen Phillip's dramatic poem of this name, the character is
+idealized.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Did Herod succeed or did he fail?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+HILLEL
+
+
+Let us now take a glance at the religious life of Judah in this
+reign. The picture is brighter. Hillel was made president of
+the Sanhedrin in the year 30. A new direction was given to the
+development of rabbinic Judaism under his guidance. He was the
+greatest Jewish teacher since Ezra. Like Ezra he came from Babylon,
+which had remained a Jewish centre since the exile, 600 B. C. E.,
+and was to continue to be a Jewish centre for many centuries later.
+Pleasing stories are told of the sacrifices made by this poor boy to
+gratify his thirst for knowledge. Once he was almost frozen to death
+while lying on the skylight to hear the discussion, since he was not
+allowed to hear it from within. Ultimately he was placed at the head
+of the Sanhedrin where at first he was a beggar at its doors. Great
+as he was as an expounder of the Law, he is perhaps best known by
+the sweetness of his character. None could put him out of temper, it
+is said. This story is given as illustration. A man who ventured a
+wager that he would rouse Hillel's wrath called thrice at the most
+inopportune time asking the absurdest questions, and each time more
+rudely than before. The attempt failed. On hearing the explanation
+of this strange behavior, Hillel, unruffled to the last, said,
+"Better that you should lose your wager than I my temper." He united
+in himself gentleness and firmness.
+
+
+Hillel as Moralist.
+
+Many interesting instances are given of his evenness of disposition
+that disarmed the violent and won many a convert to the fold,
+where the brusqueness of his colleague--Shammai--often drove them
+away. "Be patient like Hillel, not passionate like Shammai," ran
+the saying. Thus Hillel became the peacemaker in those troublous
+Herodian days. In this connection he taught, "Be of the disciples of
+Aaron--loving and pursuing peace, loving mankind and bringing them
+nigh to the Law." His consideration for others went so far that,
+a man of standing, becoming suddenly poor, he provided him with a
+horse and servant that he might still enjoy some of the comforts of
+his earlier life.
+
+He is the author of the famous Golden Rule in its earlier form,
+uttered in reply to a heathen who would have him teach the whole
+Law while he stood on one foot: "That which is hateful to thee
+do not unto thy neighbor; this is the principle, all the rest
+is commentary." Another heathen must needs be made a priest if
+converted: Hillel gently showed him the prohibition of the Law. But
+the instances show that proselytism was encouraged.
+
+In the following maxims many phases of his character are revealed:
+
+ "He who craves to raise his name, lowers it."
+
+ "A name inflated is a name destroyed."
+
+ "My humility is my pride, my pride my humility."
+
+ "He who will not learn or teach deserves death."
+
+ "He who does not progress, retrogrades."
+
+ "Say not, 'when I have leisure I will study,' for you may never
+ have leisure."
+
+ "Study God's word; then both this world and the next will be
+ thine."
+
+ "Trust not thyself till the day of thy death."
+
+ "In a place where there is no man, strive to show thyself a man."
+
+ "Judge not thy neighbor till thou art in his place."
+
+ "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?"
+
+Do you realize how much is contained in that last maxim? Unravel it
+and you will see revealed his philosophy of life.
+
+
+Hillel as Legislator.
+
+So gentle, he was yet daring. When an old law was abused, he
+ventured to modify it. The Law, for example, for release of debts
+every seventh year, made particularly for the benefit of the poor
+(Deut. xv), hampered the growth of trade in more complex times
+and changed a generous purpose into an occasional embarrassment.
+There is a gulf of difference between a loan to buy bread and a
+loan for business enterprise. In the latter case Hillel allowed the
+stipulation to be stated in the contract, called _prosbul_, that the
+law of release was to be suspended.
+
+To Hillel is due the important service of devising a logical system
+of seven rules of deduction by which new laws to meet new needs
+could be developed out of the fewer and more general principles in
+the Bible code. It must be confessed that these deductions were
+occasionally far-fetched. None the less the custom prevailed among
+the rabbis to make laws for all exigencies in that way for many
+centuries to come. The practice arose from the reverence paid the
+five books of Moses that induced them to seek authority for every
+regulation they found needful, in their pages. We might say it was a
+virtue carried to the extreme of a fault. Hillel's method earned him
+the title "Regenerator of the Law."
+
+
+Last Days.
+
+"Where goest thou, Master," said Hillel's disciples one day when he
+hastened from the house of learning. "I go to meet a guest," Hillel
+replied. "Who is this guest of whom thou so often speakest?" The
+sweetness of the master's face deepened into earnestness. "My guest
+is my soul. Too often in intercourse with the world must its claims
+be pushed aside."
+
+But the day came, as indeed it must, when the soul was summoned to a
+greater tribunal than his own. The day of Hillel's death was a day
+of mourning in Israel. "O, pious, gentle, worthy follower of Ezra,"
+cried the sorrowing people. Contrast his death with Herod's.
+
+Such was the love and esteem in which he was held by the scholars
+of his own and later ages, that the presidency of the Sanhedrin was
+kept in his family for four centuries (like a royal succession), and
+in this way his memory reverenced for many generations.
+
+
+Shammai.
+
+In Hillel and Shammai, the "Pairs" referred to in chapter viii
+reached their culmination. A teaching of Shammai ran, "Say little
+but do much." These two men were the founders of two distinct
+schools of interpretation of Jewish Law. They were as distinct
+in their character as in their exposition of Scripture. Hillel
+was broad, tolerant and original; Shammai--narrow, strict, and
+conservative. (Hillel's opinions were usually accepted by later
+generations.) Shammai was a pessimist saying "It were better not to
+have been born." Hillel was an optimist, and said, "Being born, make
+the most of life."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+To the Shammai school we owe the many stringent prohibitions with
+regard to the Sabbath and to ecclesiastical purity. They objected
+even to teaching the young, visiting the sick, or comforting
+mourners on the Sabbath day. We are glad to state that Jewish
+practice has taken the opposite view. The rabbis of the Shammai
+school were not only severe in their religious decisions, but also
+in the interpretation of patriotism and in their views of life
+generally. Their gloomy philosophy is shown in Second Esdras: see
+chap. v., on the Apocrypha. We might compare them with the first
+Puritan settlers in America.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+This school, also unlike Hillel's, opposed the admission of
+proselytes from the heathen. Yet in those stormy times, these severe
+views against the heathen found the larger following. From these
+doubtless came the band of Zealots whose fanatic hatred of Rome and
+its institutions became almost a religion, and whose deeds, to be
+told later, form a lurid chapter in Judah's closing days.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+_Law and Equity_:
+
+According to ancient Jewish law a city home sold could be redeemed
+within a year. "But suppose the owner lock it up and depart." "Break
+the lock and lodge the money with the court," said Hillel. He
+touched a modern need in showing here that craft must not defeat the
+benevolent purpose of the Law.
+
+See Geiger's _History of Judaism_, vol. i, chap. viii.
+
+Golden rule. See Tobit iv, 15.
+
+_Sayings of the Jewish Fathers_, Taylor, pp. 34 to 37.
+
+
+_Theme for Discussion:_
+
+Is it possible as Hillel said, to evolve the whole law from the
+Golden Rule?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+HEROD'S SUCCESSORS.
+
+
+The selfish Herod had split up his kingdom among his three
+sons--Archelaus, Antipas and Philip. Before Rome had yet confirmed
+the succession, and while a procurator was placed in temporary
+charge, already the sons were intriguing against each other. Rome
+carried out Herod's wishes, only that his sons were made tetrarchs
+instead of kings. How steadily Rome moved toward its purposed end!
+
+Archelaus was made tetrarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. The
+realm of Antipas was Galilee and Perea, the Jordan dividing the two
+districts. To Philip was given the remaining provinces of Batanaea
+and Trachonitis in northern Palestine. Look at the map in front of
+this book.
+
+A word on each of these principalities in the inverse order of
+importance. Philip held a mild sway for thirty-seven years. There is
+nothing to record in these outlying provinces, partly because they
+were far removed from the Jewish centre of gravity.
+
+
+Antipas and John the Baptist.
+
+The realm of Antipas, often mentioned in the New Testament, was
+a little nearer. His recognition of Judaism was only formal. He
+inherited all his father's vices and like his father, too, he was
+a great builder. He built Sepphoris in Galilee, and Tiberias on
+the Lake of Gennesaret. In his reign and realm flourished John the
+Baptist of Perea, and also Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee. As this
+term, _Baptist_, was applied to the Essenes, because of their
+frequent ablutions (see p. 82), John may have been a leader of that
+party.
+
+We know that John preached in the wilderness in the neighborhood of
+the Jordan, the centre of the Essenes. His bold words, in which he
+denounced the king, led to his imprisonment, on political grounds,
+as an agitator. His influence on the people was feared by Rome, for
+it was hard then to separate religion and politics. It is sometimes
+hard now. It is said he was finally put to death at the wish of a
+dancer, Salome, but really to please her mother, Herodias, a wanton
+woman, to marry whom Antipas had divorced his wife, the daughter of
+an Arabian king. This not only involved him in a disastrous war,
+but Herodias caused him eventually the loss of his government and
+his freedom. For, aiming at a kingship at her instigation, he was
+banished, and his tetrarchy given to Agrippa, of whom we shall hear
+later on.
+
+
+The Last Herodian.
+
+To come now to Judea proper; together with Samaria and Idumea, it
+was entrusted to the unfit Archelaus; like his father he, too, had
+to secure his throne through bloodshed. Plots and counterplots with
+the appearance of pretenders for the thrones of Judea and Galilee,
+characterized this unhappy time. The Jews were disgusted with the
+rule of Rome and its creatures, and some began open rebellion. The
+Syrian governor finally quelled the revolt, but thousands were
+slain. Had the Jewish malcontents been organized under trustworthy
+leadership, something might have been achieved. As it was, it ended
+in their more complete subjection.
+
+There is little else to tell of the reign of Archelaus. Serious
+charges were brought against this tyrant; so serious that the
+emperor recalled him to Rome and deposed him. He had reigned ten
+years, 4 B.C.E. to 6 A.C.E., thus crossing the dividing line of what
+is called the Christian Era, from the tradition that it marked the
+birth of Jesus of Nazareth; he was actually born four years earlier
+than this date.
+
+Herod had brought Judea so completely under Roman control, that
+bit by bit all the old vested rights, privileges and local powers
+had been taken from its Sanhedrin, its High Priest and its royal
+family. Herod had practically sold Judea to Rome for the privilege
+of subserving as its king. Its fate was now wholly in Rome's hands.
+
+
+Judea Part of a Roman Province.
+
+Leaving the outlying provinces under the rule of tetrarchs,
+Rome now decided to govern Judea absolutely as a part of the
+province of Syria. It sent out governors or, as they were called,
+_Procurators_, to administer its affairs under the more immediate
+direction of Syria. The Jews were now to be ruled by strangers who
+had no understanding of their religion and no sympathy with their
+traditions or social needs; by men possessed in fact, for the most
+part, of an ill-concealed antagonism to the rites and obligations
+that entered into the lives of conscientious Jews.
+
+At its best Judea had been a Theocracy, i.e., a kingdom in which
+religion, represented by the priesthood and the Sanhedrin, directed
+the affairs of the nation. Roman rule, therefore, would be
+revolutionary, even had the procurators been good men and had sought
+to administer the province in kindness and equity. As a matter of
+fact, they were nearly all tyrants, lustful for gain at any price
+and absolutely indifferent to the welfare of the people under their
+charge; even as we shall see, in many instances wantonly wounding
+Judea's sensibilities to gratify their cruel pleasure. No wonder the
+Jews were eventually goaded into a war of desperation.
+
+As to the Jews in other lands under Roman sway, we find Augustus
+Caesar well disposed to them. He placed the harbors of the Nile
+under Judean Alabarchs (same as Arabarch). His kindness to the
+Alexandrian Jews was in marked contrast with his severity toward
+the Alexandrian Greeks. In the city of Rome he allowed the Jewish
+settlers--Libertini--to observe their religion undisturbed, and to
+build synagogues.
+
+So in the deepening shadows there was a glimmer of light too.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+For the relation of Baptism to the Essenes, read articles on those
+topics in vols. ii and v, respectively, of the _Jewish Encyclopedia_.
+
+
+_Tetrarch_:
+
+Literally, governor of a fourth part of a province.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK III.
+
+JUDEA UNDER ROME.
+
+ =ROMAN EMPERORS AND= | =JEWRY.=
+ =PROCURATORS.= |
+ C.E. | C.E.
+ =Augustus.= |
+ Coponius 6 | Archelaus, tetrarch of Judea,
+ Marcus Ambibulus 9 | deposed *
+ Annius Rufus 12 |
+ |
+ =Tiberius.= | Philo, philosopher, born 16
+ Valerius Gratus 5 15 |
+ Pontius Pilatus 26 |
+ |
+ =Caligula.= |
+ Marcellus 36 | Death of Jesus of Nazareth 28
+ |
+ =Claudius.= |
+ Marullus 37-41 | Josephus, historian born 38
+ Agrippa, King 41-44
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+PILATE THE PROCURATOR.
+
+
+Procurators in general.
+
+The Procurators fall into two groups, with a Jewish king
+intervening. The table above is the first group of these
+administrators of Judea. Their seat of government was Caesarea,
+a city that had become Jerusalem's rival. The Jews had a certain
+freedom under this regime. "The oath of allegiance to the Roman
+emperor was more an oath of confederates than of subjects." The
+Sanhedrin was still supposed to be the governing body for home
+affairs with the High Priest as its president. But the arbitrary
+appointment and removal of High Priests by the procurator, placed
+these powers at the mercy of his caprice, and ultimately the Jews
+were robbed of these prerogatives altogether. The procurator then
+could always interfere with the carrying out of Jewish law. It is
+important that these facts should be borne in mind in the events
+of the next chapter. Even in religious offenses where the High
+Priest with the Sanhedrin could pronounce the death sentence, the
+confirmation of the procurator was required for the execution.
+So heavily were the people taxed that the tax-gatherers (called
+_publicans_) were looked upon with opprobrium. Doubtless many of
+them dishonestly abused their power.
+
+Still Judea was the only province in which the worship of the
+emperor was not compulsory. The reason is obvious. To pagan
+communities it was a command which they could obey complacently;
+to the monotheistic Jews recognizing one sole spirit God, it was
+simply impossible. It was attempted by the Emperor Caligula,
+but failed. Even the local coinage bore no figure, nor were the
+standards bearing the likenesses of the emperor tolerated, as such
+was regarded as an offense by the strict interpreters of the second
+commandment. One tyrant tried and failed to force these banners
+on Judea. They violently opposed a census in the year 7 both on
+religious and on political grounds, as they regarded it as an
+infringement of their sacred rights and the precursor of slavery.
+But Joezer, the High Priest, quieted them and induced them to submit.
+
+Still, from such incidents the stern determination of the Jews
+may be inferred. Judas of Gamala, a Galilean, and a religious
+enthusiast, went about preaching the duty of rebellion and the sin
+of submission. Gradually these malcontents formed themselves into a
+new party of extremists--the _Zealots_, who believed in using the
+sword against the heathen to hasten the Messianic realization. They
+already began nursing the smouldering embers of rebellion.
+
+
+Pilate in Particular.
+
+Such was the status under the procurators in general. We will
+treat in detail the regime of only one--Pontius Pilate. It is
+characteristic of all, but especially eventful in many ways.
+
+The Jewish historian, Josephus, and the Jewish philosopher, Philo,
+have much to tell of his doings. From the trustworthy Philo we are
+told that he was of "an unbending and recklessly hard character."
+"He has been charged with corruptibility, violence, robberies,
+ill-treatment of the people, continued executions without even the
+form of trial, endless and intolerable cruelties."
+
+On his first entry into Jerusalem he determined to outrage the
+religious sensibilities of the people he was sent to protect, by
+bidding his Roman soldiers hoist a flag with the Emperor's likeness.
+They petitioned for its removal. He refused. For five days they
+stood outside the palace urging their request. When the soldiers
+with drawn swords stood ready to slay at his signal, the people
+bared their necks, preferring death to toleration of this idolatrous
+emblem. Such was the intensity of the Jews of these last years of
+their national life, such was the stuff of which they were made.
+Even tyrants reach limits beyond which they dare not pass. The
+emblem was sullenly withdrawn.
+
+At another time he appropriated the Temple treasures, sacredly
+set aside for religious purposes, for the building of an aqueduct
+to Jerusalem. This time he resorted to violence to quell the
+opposition, many lives being sacrificed.
+
+With the purpose only of annoying the people, he put up votive
+shields inscribed with the emperor's name. But they appealed to
+Tiberius who not only ordered them removed, but rebuked Pilate for
+raising them.
+
+On another occasion the Samaritans, to whom Gerizim had all the
+sanctity that Sinai had for Israel, because the Mosaic Blessings
+were announced from its heights (see Deut, xi, 29, Joshua, viii,
+33), gathered there on a rumor that sacred vessels were hidden in
+its soil. Pilate sent soldiers wantonly to slaughter them. This led
+to his recall by Tiberius.
+
+
+Proselytes.
+
+The Emperor Tiberius decided that it was kinder to the Jews to
+appoint procurators for long terms than to make frequent changes.
+It meant the greed of a smaller number to be satisfied. But, on the
+whole, his attitude was less friendly than that of his predecessor,
+Augustus. This may have been due to the fact that many Romans of
+high birth had, unsolicited, accepted the Jewish faith, and had
+sent gifts to the Temple at Jerusalem. Among these converts was
+Fulvia, wife of a Roman senator. This led to the banishment from
+Rome of many thousands of Jews to a dangerous climate. Here was the
+beginning of a religious persecution.
+
+The incident, however, shows that the worthier Romans were becoming
+more and more distrustful of pagan cults and were looking for
+something better. We shall see later how zealous Jews from Judea,
+and more particularly from Alexandria, began making converts to
+Judaism all through Asia Minor. The influence of these converts on
+future events was farther reaching than their sponsors ever dreamed.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+Read "A Procurator of Judea" in _Mother of Pearl_, by Anatole
+France. Trans., N. Y., John Lane, 1908.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+(a) Does official Judaism discourage conversion?
+
+(b) Why did the Jews oppose a census on religions grounds? See II.
+Sam. xxiv, and article Census in _Jewish Encyclopedia_, vol. iii.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+JESUS OF NAZARETH.
+
+
+So far the rule of Pontius Pilate as it concerned Judea. But his
+rule has become of wide import because of his relation to Jesus of
+Nazareth, who was put to death during his administration, though
+born in the province of Galilee governed by Herod Antipas. To
+explain how a great religion sprang up around this Galilean Jew,
+which came afterwards to regard him as its father, can be explained
+only by a complete grasp of the political and religious aspirations
+of the time.
+
+
+The Messianic Hope.
+
+The ominous mood in which the Jews realized their gradual
+deprivation of country and independence indicated the stirring of
+deep forces in their nature. Judea was to them a Holy Land, for
+"from Zion had gone forth the Law." Love of country had become
+part of their religion. Every political function had its religious
+aspect. The Sanhedrin was at once a civil and a religious body, and
+this dual characteristic pervaded all the civil institutions. So
+the longing for the restoration of the royal line of Judah, i.e.,
+the coming of the Messiah, expressed the religious as well as the
+political hopes of the nation. Not that the word Messiah had any
+peculiarly religious significance. It is the Hebrew word _M'sheach_,
+meaning "Anointed (king)," and was applied in the Bible to Saul,
+David, and even to Cyrus, the Persian, Isaiah xlv--1. In post-exilic
+times the coming of the Messiah implied the re-establishment of the
+throne in the Davidic line.
+
+Many of the pious felt further that with a king once more on
+an independent throne, the glorious pictures of the coming day
+foretold by the Prophets and not attained in the first monarchy,
+would be realized in the second. Such as "The Lord's house will
+be established on the top of the mountains; all nations will
+flock to it, saying, Come let us go up to the house of the Lord,
+to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, we
+will walk in His paths." (Isaiah and Micah.) Again, "The earth
+will be full of knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea." The
+conviction expressed by Jeremiah (chap. xxxi, 33-34) would then be
+fulfilled, that all would "know the Lord from the least of them to
+the greatest." One of the latest of the Prophets--Zechariah--had
+foretold a day when "ten men would take hold of the garments of him
+who was a Jew and would say, We will go with you, for we believe
+that God is with you." So we might quote nearly every prophet from
+Amos to Malachi, the last prophet, who said that the day of Judgment
+would be heralded by the undying Elijah. A Jewish poet in Alexandria
+voiced the same hope; heathendom would disappear and the kingdom of
+God would be established.
+
+Alas, the outlook for either the spiritual or the temporal
+realization seemed farther removed than ever. Every now and then,
+more particularly under the disturbing rule of the procurators,
+a deluded enthusiast would appear upon the scene and claim that
+he was a Messiah. Theudas was one who made this claim in the year
+45. So desperate were the times that these agitators always found
+followers. They were always ruthlessly put to death by Rome for the
+claim of Messiahship, i.e., "King of the Jews," was treason against
+Rome. Was not Judea a Roman province now?
+
+
+Jesus the Man.
+
+In chapter vii the Essenes have been mentioned. This sect, that
+lived as a brotherhood in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, shared all
+goods in common, condemned wealth and passed simple lives away from
+the great world. They, too, looked for the coming of the Messiah.
+But it was the religious climax of the prophets just quoted that
+would follow the Messiah's advent--the ushering in triumph of an
+independent nationality, that most appealed to them. This lofty view
+was also shared by the more saintly among the Israelites in general;
+nor was it ever entirely absent even from the popular view.
+
+We have already heard of John the Baptist (Essene), who so stirred
+the people by preaching that "the kingdom of God" was at hand;
+this was the Messianic hope. He evidently inspired one youth, who
+was in close sympathy with the Essene brotherhood, Joshua (Greek
+Jesus) from Nazareth, in Galilee. Galilee, like the other provinces
+in northern Palestine, was away from the learning and culture of
+Jerusalem. It was the home of simple folk who spoke a corrupt
+dialect, and who credulously accepted popular superstitions; such
+as, every disease comes from an indwelling spirit or demon.
+
+Of the life of the man Jesus who came from these surroundings
+_little is really known_, but from a few bare facts very much has
+been deduced and still more imagined. Apart from the fact that
+he was the son of a carpenter, Joseph, we only hear of him about
+two years before his death, and that occurred at the early age
+of thirty-two. We find him preaching and expounding the Law and
+sympathizing with the unfortunate classes.
+
+Though by no means a profound scholar in the Law, he exhibited
+fine moral perception and lived up to the pure ideals of the
+strict, peace-loving Essene brotherhood. In his teachings or rather
+preachings, he followed the models of the great prophets, laying
+stress upon the spirit of religion and minimizing the value of
+ceremonial. For there were formalists in those days as there were in
+the days before the Exile. Indeed, every age reveals the experience
+that the multitude is often more impressed by the ceremony than
+the idea it is intended to convey--and gives more attention to the
+outward, tangible form than to its inward, spiritual purpose, the
+exaltation of life. Nor is that tendency confined to the ignorant
+either. Religion so easily sinks into a mechanical routine unless
+we keep vigilant watch. This lesson is preached by the moralists of
+every age. It was preached by Jesus of Nazareth with rare power. He
+had soon a large following, perhaps, too, for the reason that he was
+now regarded as John the Baptist's successor.
+
+
+Jesus the Messiah.
+
+But it was not so much his ethical teaching, lofty though it was,
+that brought him into prominence and caused the crowds to gather
+about him, though a modern school of Christian apologetics lays
+stress upon that now. It was partly because he was regarded as a
+"healer," a power claimed by the Essenes; but chiefly because he was
+regarded as the long-looked for _Messiah_ who would deliver Israel
+from the thraldom of Rome and gratify their wildest expectations.
+Whether he first of his own accord laid claim to this mysterious
+title, or whether he was persuaded into it by his admirers, we
+cannot gather from the few records that tell the events of his life.
+For even the earliest of these records, the so-called Gospel of
+Mark, was not written till nearly fifty years after his death, at a
+time when startling opinions had already been formed about him; and
+they do not agree even as to his parentage and birthplace. In fact,
+once regarded as the Messiah, his biography was _recast_ to fit the
+Messianic prophecies in the Scriptures! This made the Jesus of the
+Gospels largely a mythical character.
+
+Jesus could quite honestly have believed himself to be a Messiah
+in some religious sense, though he was rather evasive when bluntly
+questioned. For many sincere enthusiasts both before and since his
+time have believed themselves specially chosen messengers of God
+to bring redemption to their people. It will be seen at the end
+of this volume that Mohammed, who flourished several centuries
+later, believed himself to be sent by God to bring salvation to the
+Arabians. In a sense he was; to call him an impostor, an earlier
+practise of the Church, is uncharitable and untrue. In Israel's
+history, since the days of the procurators not a century has passed
+but some one has come forward claiming to be the Messiah. Some were
+honest, though mistaken; some were mere adventurers.
+
+Jesus probably accepted the Essene idea of the Messiah, that is,
+he was less concerned with ushering in an earthly than a heavenly
+kingdom.
+
+This distinction was not clearly realized by the simple masses
+of the people, groaning under a hated yoke; certainly it was not
+realized by the Romans, who saw in every Messianic claim treason
+against Rome, a plot to win independence for Judea again. On the
+other hand, Jesus applying to himself on one occasion the term "son
+of God"--that may mean so little or so much--awakened the alarm
+and antagonism of the priesthood and lost for him many supporters.
+So Jesus, who was probably innocent of any blasphemous assumptions
+against Judaism and guiltless of any conspiracy against Rome to
+seize the throne and be made "King of the Jews," was nevertheless
+condemned to death like the Messiahs before him and was executed by
+the Roman method of capital punishment, crucifixion. But unlike the
+Messiahs before him--all mediocre men--his name has been treasured
+ever since as one of the great religious teachers of the world.
+
+
+Christianity.
+
+For although he died without bringing the redemption which would
+have proven his Messiahship, his followers did not lose faith in
+him. His turning kindly to the poor and despised folk, even to the
+sinful and degraded with his message of comfort, had won all hearts.
+As they believed he had performed miracles in his life-time, so now
+they tried to persuade themselves that a greater miracle had been
+fulfilled in his death--that he had not really died, but had been
+translated to heaven like Elijah or Enoch and that he would return
+some day and complete his unfinished work. In those unlettered days
+belief in the supernatural was very common. Among certain folk it is
+not so uncommon to-day.
+
+So these believers that Jesus was the Messiah became a new sect
+called _Christians_. What does "Christian" mean? Christ (Christos)
+is the Greek for Messiah. So the name Christians meant Messians, and
+the name Jesus Christ means Jesus the Messiah. Though Jesus himself
+did not speak Greek, but Aramaic, the Christian Scriptures were
+written in Greek.
+
+The Jewish Christians continued to live much as the Essenes before
+them, like them assuming voluntary poverty and faithful as of old
+to the Jewish Law. But in later years when many pagans joined this
+sect, they introduced into it many idolatrous notions, borrowed
+from the cults of Greece, Rome and Egypt. The man Jesus was exalted
+into a divinity and worshipped as such. The shedding of his blood
+at his execution was regarded as a sacrifice intended by God to
+atone for the sins of mankind, based on the ancient idea that the
+priest shed the blood of an animal in atoning for the sins of the
+people; but the Hebrew prophets and some of the psalmists had all
+condemned animal sacrifice as a means of atonement. This belief was
+a stage of religion beyond which the Jews were advancing. It died
+out altogether before the century was over--just when it was being
+revived in this way by Christians.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The next step which separated the Jews from the Christians was the
+depreciation and ultimately the abrogation of the Jewish Law. This
+was brought about by a later teacher, Paul, at first opposed to
+Christians, but later their most eloquent advocate. This abandonment
+of the Law, ultimately conceded by the early Messians, who had so
+far still clung to it, severed their relationship with the parent
+faith. Thus Paul made Christianity a new religion for the heathen
+world.
+
+The process by which this Jewish sect became a new religion, most of
+whose adherents came from the heathen world, was slow and gradual.
+We shall refer to the different steps in the development of this
+Faith as they occur, and we shall see how this sect, born in
+Judaism, became its antagonist and persecutor in later days.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Biography of Jesus_:
+
+In recasting his life from the meagre data at hand his biographers
+ascribed to him all of the miracles told of Elijah and Elisha--feeding
+the multitude with a few loaves, curing the sick, reviving the dead
+and being transported to heaven.
+
+
+_Teachings of Jesus_:
+
+He taught nothing heretical or startlingly new; he preferred to
+emphasize the old. The phrases of "the Lord's Prayer" are biblical;
+the Beatitudes (a group of Blessings in the New Testament) are
+rabbinic; his communistic views, those of the Essene school.
+
+The chief source of his teachings was the _Didache_, i.e., a summary
+of the Faith used by the Synagogue for proselytes. It contained the
+_Shema_ followed by "Thou shalt love the Lord God, etc.;" love thy
+neighbor as thyself--Hillel's Golden Rule; the Ten Commandments; a
+disquisition on "the two ways"--right and wrong.
+
+He followed the rabbis in teaching largely by _Mashal_--parable.
+Even the form "Ye have heard, etc., but I will go further yet,
+etc.," is rabbinic.
+
+
+_The Crucifixion_:
+
+The reasons why the death of Jesus should not be attributed to the
+Jews, may be summarized as follows. (See _Jewish Encyclopedia_, vol.
+iv.)
+
+Crucifixion was not a Jewish, but a Roman method of capital
+punishment. Prior to the open rebellion against Rome, 30-66 C. E.,
+many Jews were crucified as rebels, and on very meagre evidence. A
+Messiah in its eyes was a rebel; the inscription placed on the cross
+was "King of the Jews."
+
+"The mode and manner of Jesus' death undoubtedly point to Roman
+custom and law as the directive power," though Jews may have
+administered a soothing cup to lessen the suffering.
+
+None of the well established measures of precaution were taken that
+always preceded a Jewish execution. It is very doubtful whether
+Jewish law would tolerate a three-fold execution at one time.
+
+A Jewish execution on Friday is almost impossible. If Jesus died
+on Nissan 14, the execution on the eve of a festival would be
+irregular. If on Nissan 15 (Passover), the execution could not
+be held. There is no corroboration of the custom to liberate a
+condemned person on account of a holiday.
+
+ Read _As Others Saw Him_, Joseph Jacobs; Macmillan.
+
+ _Jesus of Nazareth_, Schlesinger. Albany.
+
+ _Cradle of the Christ_, Frothingham.
+
+ _The Religious Teaching of Jesus_, C. G. Montefiore, Macmillan,
+ 1910.
+
+Matthew, Mark and Luke are called Synoptic Gospels as distinct from
+the Gospel of John, a later and more doctrinal work.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Why cannot Jesus be accepted by the Synagogue to-day?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+THE ALEXANDRIAN SCHOOL.
+
+
+Jew and Greek.
+
+Before resuming the story of Judea under the procurators, let
+us take another survey of Jews and Judaism in lands outside of
+Palestine. The voluntary dispersion still went on. The Jews were
+now scattered over all the Roman Empire, which included Asiatic and
+European lands from Syria to Spain. We also find our ancestors,
+at the beginning of the Christian era, in Arabia and in Parthia,
+an Asiatic kingdom south of the Caspian Sea. But, however widely
+scattered, religion was the bond of union and Jerusalem the
+spiritual centre. From distant lands many would from time to time
+make pilgrimages to the Temple.
+
+The attitude of the heathen world was on the whole not unfriendly
+to the Jews. They were disliked for their rejection of the heathen
+gods, for their aloofness, their stern morality, their sobriety, and
+their material success; while their exclusiveness--partly but not
+wholly justifiable--led to the erroneous supposition that they were
+hostile to mankind. But the Jews of the Diaspora were less exclusive
+and more tolerant than those of Judea. This was particularly true
+of Alexandria, capital of Egypt, now part of the Roman Empire.
+There had existed here--apart from occasional outbursts of racial
+antagonism among the populace, a cordial interchange of ideas in
+which the Jews met the Greeks more than half way. (chaps. ii and vi.)
+
+The Jews admired the culture of the educated Greeks and felt drawn
+toward the lofty philosophy of Plato, the nearest Greek approach to
+the monotheism and morality of the Hebrews. The broadening effect
+of this infusion of Greek thought, gave to Judaism in Alexandria a
+distinct character, and it came to be known as Hellenistic Judaism,
+and its espousers, Hellenistic Jews. We have used the term Hellenist
+in an earlier chapter, in a bad sense as descriptive of Jews who
+yielded to those Greek influences that were pagan, to the detriment
+of Judaism. Here we apply the term in a good sense to those who were
+open to Greek influences that were intellectual, to the advantage of
+Judaism. We have already marked the effect of Greek thought in some
+of the Apocryphal writings, particularly in the "Wisdom of Solomon."
+Appreciating the metaphysics of the Greek philosophers, the Jewish
+Hellenists were anxious to bring home to the Greeks and to others
+the spiritual and moral truths of Judaism.
+
+
+Jewish Missionaries.
+
+But how to present the revelation of the Law and of the Prophets
+in a manner that would most appeal to the Greeks? In their fervor
+to make proselytes to the Law of Moses, they resorted to a strange
+expedient. There existed among the Greeks women-seers called Sibyls,
+who were supposed to foretell in mysterious oracles the destinies
+of nations. So some Jewish writers cast the Bible teachings of God
+and morality in the literary form of Sibylline oracles. Like the
+Bible prophets, these Jewish Sibylline writers, warned those who
+followed false views and bad lives, and promised salvation to those
+who accepted the law of the God of Israel. They popularized the
+teachings of the Mosaic law and so generalized it as to present
+it as a religion for mankind. These writings exerted a salutary
+influence on many followers of Greek thought.
+
+The Hellenists went so far as to try to prove from Jewish Scriptures
+many of the loftier ideas of Greek philosophy. In this way Judaism
+was represented as anticipating the highest knowledge of the time.
+In their enthusiasm, this reconciliation of Judaism and Greek
+philosophy was occasionally carried further than conditions quite
+warranted. The attempt was also made to explain every biblical law
+allegorically, as though it was intended to convey ideas other than
+those that appeared on the surface. Thus they read Greek philosophy
+into the Bible. The habit of reading the science of the day into
+the old Bible books still prevails. This poetic explaining away of
+many injunctions of Scripture led in some instances to their actual
+neglect. This was the dangerous extreme.
+
+The assumption that Jews discourage proselytes has been refuted in
+chaps. xii and xiv. It is certainly not true of the Alexandrian
+Jews who were most zealous in their missionary efforts. They not
+only felt that it was the mission of the Jew to carry his message
+to the world; they did it. The translation of their Scriptures
+into Greek, the presentation of the message of their faith in the
+form of Sibylline oracles, and the allegorizing away of many of
+their ceremonials were all employed for the bringing of Judaism to
+the Gentile. So successful were their efforts, that just when the
+Jewish state was dying, many heathens were seeking this Faith of
+their own accord, attracted by its ethics and repelled by heathen
+uncleanliness. Philo says that the adoption of Judaism by many
+heathens immediately resulted in a marked moral improvement in their
+lives. The number of female proselytes in Damascus, Asia Minor,
+Egypt and Rome steadily grew. Pagan writers remark it. Josephus
+writes:--"There is not any city of the Greeks or of the barbarians
+... to which our custom of resting on the seventh day has not been
+introduced and where our fasts and dietary laws are not observed."
+He adds further how enthusiastically these converts fulfilled all
+Jewish rites. A zealous Jewish missionary converted Helen, the queen
+of Adiabene, a province on the Tigris, and all her family. She made
+a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, sent valuable gifts to the Temple, and
+helped the people in the time of famine.
+
+So, although Judaism was a religion that imposed on its followers
+severe restraints and, although the Jews were a very small people,
+whom some heathens despised, still, many knocked at its doors to be
+admitted into the fold, even for fifty years after its Temple was
+destroyed and its nationality overthrown--tragedies which we shall
+presently have to tell. Yes, many of the very people that overthrew
+it--the Romans--accepted the Jewish faith. The Emperor Domitian made
+severe laws against proselytes to Judaism, in order to discourage
+the practice. Indeed, a cousin of the emperor, who was also a
+senator and consul, together with his wife, accepted Judaism.
+
+But ultimately the stream of converts was diverted to the new creed,
+born of Judaism, Christianity--more particularly as in its second
+stage it sent its missionaries to the heathen world proclaiming
+that acceptance of Jesus as savior and divinity would bring
+them salvation without conforming to the burdensome Jewish Law.
+Furthermore it became a doctrine of the new religion that the death
+of Jesus abrogated the Law. Thus, salvation made easy, brought
+thousands to the fold. The Jewish missionaries had really simplified
+the task for the Christian missionaries who followed later. They
+prepared the soil.
+
+This is looking a little further ahead to events yet to be related.
+By that time the followers of the two religions had become people
+of two different races: Judaism followed almost exclusively by Jews
+who were Semites; Christianity by Aryans, Greeks, Romans and other
+Europeans. This racial distinction became the final barrier which
+completely separated them.
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+_Aryans and Semites_:
+
+Not all Semites are Jews, for example the Arabians; nor are all
+Aryans Christians p. e. the Persians. Religious and racial lines are
+no longer identical.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Why did most heathen converts to Judaism ultimately become
+Christian?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+PHILO-JUDEUS.
+
+
+We are now ready to consider one to whom frequent reference has
+been made--the greatest of the Alexandrian Jewish missionary
+philosophers, styled the "noblest Judean of his age"--Philo-Judeus.
+He was born in Alexandria of good family, about 15 B. C., just when
+Herod was ruling and Hillel was teaching in Jerusalem. His brother,
+Alexander, was given the influential post of farmer of taxes. Both
+received the best education the times afforded in literature,
+music, mathematics and natural science. Philo early showed a taste
+for literature in general, and philosophy in particular. His
+circumstances enabled him to devote himself to a literary life, for
+which he was peculiarly gifted. He showed his warm interest in the
+cause of his people in his journey to Rome as one of the ambassadors
+to plead before the mad Emperor Caligula (to be told in the next
+chapter). Of this whole incident he himself gives a graphic account
+in his chronicles of the Jewish events of his time.
+
+
+His Bible Commentary.
+
+A many-sided genius, he was the best exponent of that Hellenistic
+school that sought to harmonize the revealed religion of the Torah
+with the conclusions of Greek philosophy. He was thoroughly versed
+in both. His works, as those of all this school, were written in
+Greek. While the form may be that of Plato, the spirit is that
+of the prophets. In his commentary on Scripture, following the
+allegorical method already referred to, he treats all the incidents
+in Genesis, for example, as symbolic of human development and moral
+truths underlying the historic facts on the surface. He did not,
+however, go to the extreme of neglecting Jewish observance on the
+strength of metaphoric interpretation. Indeed, he even rebuked those
+who did. He writes "just as we must be careful of the body as the
+house of the soul, so must we give heed to the letter of the written
+laws. For only when these are faithfully observed, will the inner
+meaning of which they are the symbols become more clearly realized."
+
+But he warningly adds "If a man practice ablutions and
+purifications, but defiles his mind while he cleanses his body ...
+let him none the more be called religious."
+
+In his interpretation of the Mosaic Law in the Pentateuch, he has
+the education of the heathen chiefly in mind. He reveals the harmony
+of its precepts with the laws of nature. He groups all duties under
+the Ten Commandments. He points out with enthusiasm the humanity
+of the Law, and completely refutes slanders against Judaism by
+citing examples of its purity, breadth and philanthropy, such as
+the Sabbatic year and the jubilee to eliminate poverty, the freeing
+of slaves, the boon of the Sabbath for the servant, the social
+equality in the festival rules, the restraints of the dietary laws,
+the tenderness and consideration for all human needs in the code of
+Deuteronomy. His contrasts are the severest condemnation of Greek
+and Roman morals.
+
+
+His Philosophy.
+
+In his philosophy he again applies the allegorical method to the
+Pentateuch. In this field of _Midrash_ (homiletic exposition) he
+may have influenced the later rabbis of the Talmud, even though
+rejected by them. He attempts to show that the lofty ideas found in
+the Platonic, Stoic and Neo-pythagorean philosophies were already
+taught in the Jewish Scripture. From Moses, the greatest teacher of
+mankind, the Greek philosophers derived their wisdom. From Mosaic
+Law comes the highest and truest religious revelation. Thus he
+endeavored to win Jews to an appreciation of Greek literature, and
+Greeks to an appreciation of Jewish Scripture.
+
+Philo is the first Jew to present a complete system of philosophy,
+yet he weaves it out of the Bible. Just a word about it. It is hard
+to treat the philosophy of any one writer separately, for it is
+usually linked with a whole chain of theories of earlier schools.
+A deep believer in the spiritual God of his fathers, it was one
+of the aims of his life to attain fuller knowledge of Him. While
+in his treatment of the divine idea he shows the influence of the
+Greek philosopher Plato, yet as Jew he brings to the philosophic
+abstraction the religious warmth of a believer in the living God.
+
+God alone is perfect, unchangeable, devoid of all qualities and
+indefinable. Absolutely perfect, He cannot come in contact with
+matter, which is defiling. How does Philo bridge the gap from
+the spiritual God to the material world? God acts on the world
+indirectly through intermediary causes or powers, which He first
+created.
+
+
+The Logos.
+
+These intervening powers he at times calls angels and at times
+ideas. He uses a Greek word _logos_ meaning Reason. Whence comes
+this _logos_ which we are to think of partly as a spirit and again
+as a thought? It is a product; or as he expresses it in a Greek
+idiom, a _child_ of divine intelligence. By means of this _logos_,
+the perfect spiritual divinity creates the world.
+
+This sounds unfamiliar, but the eighth chapter of Proverbs and some
+of the books of the Apocrypha speak of Wisdom as though it were a
+kind of being and that with it God laid the world's foundation. Of
+course, this is only figurative. But later the fathers of the Church
+put a new and startling construction upon Philo's Logos and read
+into it a literalness he never intended. They changed the _logos_
+into an actual human being. Unlike Philo they did not call it a
+child of divine intelligence in the Greek idiomatic sense, but a
+"son of God" in an actual and physical sense. It was then but a
+step for the Church to declare that Jesus, its Messiah, was the
+_Logos_! He was therefore a species of divinity too. It was not
+till Christianity's second stage that Jesus of Nazareth was in this
+way raised from a real man into an imaginary divinity. Thus the
+link with Judaism was broken in the rejection of its fundamental
+principle of monotheism--the belief in one indivisible God.
+
+Philo is, of course, only unconsciously the cause of this doctrinal
+change, for he did not come in contact with the new sect of
+Christians and never mentions it, and this idea developed after his
+day. In fact, the divinity of Jesus had already been adopted, and
+Philo's writings were later construed to fit it.
+
+
+His Ethics.
+
+A word on his ethics. Evil is a necessary consequence of our free
+will. Without it there could not be the contrast of good. Evil is
+associated with the body which he depicts as the opponent of the
+soul. The soul emanates from God like the _logos_, but attracted by
+sensuous matter it descends into mortal bodies. This earthly body
+then is the cause of evil. But Philo was too wise to infer from that
+the duty of asceticism. He did not teach that man must suppress
+his desires and passions and earthly longings, but that he should
+suppress them. For this, man needs the help of God. The wise and
+virtuous are uplifted out of themselves to a closer knowledge of
+God, and God's spirit dwells in them. This is highest happiness.
+While we cannot quite accept his theories, his conclusions ring true
+with all the inspiring elements of lofty religion.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_The Logos_:
+
+The Greek _logos_ also means Word. Just as Proverbs personifies
+wisdom, so the Targum (Aramaic translation of the Bible) identifies
+the "word of God" with the divine presence. Here again the Christian
+mystic goes a step further and changes a metaphor into a fact. "The
+Word of God became flesh; Jesus is that Word!" (Gospel of St John.)
+
+In his popular but exhaustive work on _Philo-Judaeus_, (J. P. S. A.
+1910) Norman Bentwich writes:
+
+ "It is idle to try and formulate a single definite notion of
+ Philo's Logos. For it is the expression of God in His multiple
+ and manifold activity, the instrument of creation, the seat of
+ ideas, the world of thought, which God first established as the
+ model of the visible universe, the guiding providence, the sower
+ of virtue, the fount of wisdom, described sometimes in religious
+ ecstacy, sometimes in philosophical metaphysics sometimes in the
+ spirit of the mystical poet."
+
+
+_Philo_:
+
+Philo represents an important type, then new--a Jew loyal to his
+faith when living in a non-Jewish atmosphere. Not all so nobly
+withstood these surrounding allurements. His own brother drifted
+from the fold. Philo wrote for indifferent Jews as well as for pagan
+Greeks.
+
+According to Montefiore, the Greek, according to Bentwich, the
+Hebrew note in Philo, is the more pronounced.
+
+
+_Greek Law and Jewish_:
+
+Philo brings out the following contrast. The Greeks were bidden not
+to refuse fire and water to those who needed it, but Judaism bids
+its followers to give to the poor and weak all that life requires.
+
+For examples of Philo's teaching read "Florilegium Philonis," by
+Montefiore, _Jewish Quarterly Review_, Vol. vii; in the same volume,
+"Philo Concerning the Contemplative Life," Conybeare; and in Vol. v,
+"Latest Researches on Philo," Cohn.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Why did rabbinic Judaism neglect Philo?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+A JEWISH KING ONCE MORE.
+
+
+In taking up again the thread of Judea's story, let its relation to
+the Roman State be clearly understood. It was under the immediate
+supervision of the procurator. He in turn was subject to the higher
+power of the governor of Syria. Both were answerable to the supreme
+authority--the emperor at Rome. Though the Syrian governors came
+little in contract with Judea, at times their intervention was
+important. We may instance Vitellius, who deserves passing mention
+in Jewish history. In contrast with the behavior of Pilate the
+procurator, was his consideration shown for Jewish sensibilities
+by this Syrian governor. "He was the noblest Roman of them all."
+He exhibited an uncommon forbearance by remitting some burdensome
+taxes; he sympathetically inquired into the needs of the people and
+removed from the High Priesthood the unworthy Caiaphas in whose time
+Jesus of Nazareth was executed. He also ordered Pilate to Rome to
+answer for his misgovernment.
+
+
+The Mad Emperor Caligula.
+
+As to the emperors: Some of these gave no thought to the Jews apart
+from appointing their procurators. With others the Jews came in
+clashing contact. Such was the case with Caligula who donned the
+purple in 37. This demented man believed himself to be a divinity,
+so that obeisance to his image was not merely an act of allegiance,
+but of worship. The consequences of this sacrilegious command to
+worship him was the first felt by the Jews of Alexandria; for the
+Ptolemaic and the Seleucid empires were both Roman now. An actual
+persecution here took place in which the Jews were besieged in their
+own quarter, the Delta. Their refusal to obey the emperor's childish
+demand gave excuse to their tormentors to attack them under the
+guise of patriotism. Patriotism may be the mantle for so many sins.
+Synagogues were defiled and many persons were slain. Philo, now
+advanced in years, led a deputation to Rome, to intercede for his
+brethren. He made an eloquent plea, assuring the emperor of Jewish
+loyalty. "They sacrifice for you daily an offering in the Temple."
+"_For_ me," sneered Caligula, "not _to_ me." The deputation suffered
+many indignities and returned dispirited.
+
+[Illustration: COIN OF AGRIPPA I. 37-44 C.E.]
+
+To Judea likewise came the same blasphemous demand with the threat
+of similar punishment. At last the mad monarch ordered his image
+to be set up in the Temple and entrusted the task to the Syrian
+governor, Petronius, a man of the stamp of Vitellius. He did
+his best to delay the wanton edict at the risk of the emperor's
+displeasure. At last yielding to the agonized entreaty of the people
+he imperilled his life by asking the emperor to revoke the order.
+Agrippa, a Jewish favorite of Caligula, succeeded in persuading the
+emperor to renounce the abortive project. Soon, however, he repented
+and determined on its execution. But relief came to Alexandria and
+Judea at one stroke--the emperor was murdered in 41.
+
+The next emperor, Claudius, restored to the Alexandrian Jews all
+the privileges that had been taken from them during the rule of his
+predecessor, and their rights were more firmly established than
+before. Religious freedom was now granted to the Jews throughout
+the whole Roman empire. But best of all, he stopped the regime of
+the procurators by appointing as king of Judea, one of their own
+brethren--Agrippa.
+
+
+Agrippa's Youth.
+
+Agrippa was the grandson of Herod the Great and Mariamne, thus
+having both Idumean and Hasmonean blood in his veins. As a child
+he was sent for his education to Rome. The influences of Rome were
+not healthy. They made the lad luxurious and extravagant. Loaded
+with debts he returned to Judea and was assisted by his uncle and
+brother-in-law, Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. After varied fortunes
+he came again to Rome, befriended by Philo's brother Alexander.
+Tiberius, emperor at that time, received him favorably and gave him
+charge of his grandson. But still his extravagant habits continued,
+and an incautious word sent him to prison, where he remained till
+the emperor died in 37.
+
+The next emperor, Caligula, who was mad enough to think himself
+a divinity, was also sane enough to make Agrippa his friend and
+even to be dissuaded by him from putting his statue in the Temple.
+Agrippa's fortunes began now to rise. On the death of tetrarch
+Philip and on the deposition of tetrarch Antipas, their Palestinian
+provinces were bestowed on him (see p. 117). He was honored with the
+titles of King and Praetor, and his iron chain was exchanged for
+one of gold. So, like Joseph, he was transferred from a prison to
+a throne. At Caligula's death he assisted Claudius in obtaining the
+imperial crown. In grateful recognition, Judea, Samaria and Idumea
+were added to Agrippa's dominions. And thus it happened that Judea
+had a king again.
+
+
+Agrippa the King.
+
+His kingdom, uniting the various tetrarchies of Herod's three sons,
+was now even vaster in area than that of his grandfather, Herod.
+But he was a very different type of man. In spite of his Roman
+associations, he possessed strong Jewish sentiment and decided to
+become the father instead of the tyrant of his people.
+
+The wild habits of his youth he laid aside and he hung up in the
+Temple the golden chain that replaced his prison fetters, as a
+mark of thankfulness and humility. His rule was a golden age for
+Judea--all too brief. Though partly of alien blood, the Pharisees
+said on one occasion, "Thou art our brother, Agrippa." He was
+amiable, benevolent, grateful and showed a forgiving disposition.
+His magnanimity changed opponents into friends.
+
+He entered with hearty enthusiasm into all the ceremonial of
+Judaism. The Mishna, explained in chap. xxxi, speaks of him in high
+praise, and tells how he carried the first fruit offering to the
+Temple with his own hand. He looked after the interests of Jews
+and Judaism at home and abroad. Through his representation, some
+statues that had been wantonly put in a Phoenician synagogue were
+removed. Still, outside of Judea he permitted the amphitheatre with
+gladiatorial combats, and bestowed gifts upon many Grecian cities
+and upon some heathen towns of Palestine.
+
+
+Rabbi Gamaliel.
+
+The Sanhedrin was invested by him with new power and dignity, and
+under the wise presidency of Rabbi Gamaliel, _hazaken_ (the elder),
+a descendant of Hillel many liberal laws were made. Gamaliel showed
+the same consideration to heathen as to Jewish poor. He was so
+esteemed that the saying arose, "When Rabbi Gamaliel died, the
+glory of the Torah passed away." One of his teachings ran: "Procure
+thyself an instructor; avoid the possibility of doubt; and do not
+tithe by conjecture."
+
+
+Agrippa Slain.
+
+Agrippa would fain have furthered the hopes of Israel in making
+them more independent of Rome, but he was watched by envious eyes.
+A conference of local vassal kings, called by him, was broken up
+by the suspicious Syrian governor. He wished to strengthen Judea's
+fortifications, but again the Syrian governor induced the emperor
+to stop the work. In fact, many jealous Romans feared that a longer
+continuance of his kingdom might develop into a menace against
+Rome. So the assassin's knife was called into play! Suddenly at a
+moment of triumphal glory, he was stricken down at the early age of
+forty-five. The kindly disposed emperor would have given the kingdom
+to his son, but he was dissuaded by his counselors. The old regime
+of the hated procurators was restored once more.
+
+
+Agrippa II.
+
+It is true this son, called Agrippa II. was given a small dominion,
+but with little independent power. He was also entrusted with the
+superintendence of the Temple which he did not always exercise
+wisely. He was well-disposed to the Jews, and even used his
+influence at court to intercede in their favor; but he felt akin
+with them far less than had his father. He imported wood for the
+Temple use and employed the discharged workmen of the finished
+Herodian Temple to pave the city with marble. At first, he did
+all he could in his impotent way to prevent hostilities between
+Rome and Judea, but his training had been Roman and his spirit was
+pagan. He moved on the line of least resistance--that meant his
+ultimate drifting toward victorious Rome. His was a weak nature
+entirely under the control of his sister Berenice. She became later
+a favorite of the Roman emperor Titus, who played so large a part in
+Judea's last days.
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+Agrippa II. continued to hold his petty kingdom for some time after
+Judea had fallen, and lived to read Josephus' history about it. He
+was the Agrippa before whom Paul appeared, and to whom he indolently
+said, "With little wouldst thou win me over to be a Christian."
+
+Paul also appeared before a later procurator, Felix.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+If Agrippa had lived and reigned as long as Herod--?
+
+[Illustration: COIN OF AGRIPPA II, 60 C. E.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE LAST PROCURATORS.
+
+ =Roman Emperors and Procurators.= | =Jewry.=
+ |
+ YEAR. | YEAR.
+ =Claudius= 41 |
+ Fadus 44 |
+ Tiberius Alexander 45 | Theudas the Messiah 45
+ Ventidius Cumanus 48 |
+ Felix 52 |
+ =Nero= 54 | Death of Philo 55
+ Festus 60 |
+ Albinus 62 |
+ Gessius Florus 66 | Josephus Gov. of Galilee 66
+
+
+Agrippa's death was a signal for general indignities by Greeks and
+Romans throughout Palestine against the people who had lost their
+defender. Burdensome taxation alone would have been borne; but each
+in turn of the second group of procurators placed over them seemed
+actuated by the wanton purpose of trampling upon everything the Jews
+held sacred, holding their religion up to scorn, and forcing them
+into rebellion through the madness of despair.
+
+_Fadus_, the first of the second group, was the most harmless. A
+deluded enthusiast named Theudas claiming to be the Messiah and to
+be gifted with supernatural powers, was apprehended and put to death
+together with many of his followers.
+
+
+The Zealots.
+
+_Tiberius Alexander_, the next procurator, was a nephew of Philo,
+but unlike his uncle, had abandoned Judaism, and therefore was a
+very unfit appointee. He found it necessary to put to death two sons
+of the Zealot Judas, the Galilean. These Zealots already briefly
+referred to were a group of irreconcilables that at times resorted
+to desperate remedies. They were the advance guard of a revolution.
+Rebellions continued to grow in gravity with each successive rule.
+During the administration of Ventidius Cumanus a rebellion broke out
+through the wanton indecency of a Roman soldier during the Passover
+celebration. In putting down the insurrection Cumanus ordered many
+thousands slain. On another occasion the Zealots started to lead
+an attack against Samaria to punish the murder of some of their
+brethren, for the base Cumanus allowed marauders to rove unmolested
+on the payment of sufficient bribe. Against the Zealots, however, he
+led an army, for their offenses were political, not moral. Through
+the intervention of young Agrippa, Cumanus was banished.
+
+But the worst Procurator was to follow--_Felix_. He goaded the
+Jews beyond endurance. All the appointees to the procuratorship
+had been bad, but the appointment of this man as Judea's ruler was
+an outrage. He was a freedman, i. e., one from the low classes.
+His tyranny in public and his lust in private life revealed his
+base origin. How natural that Judah should come to hate Rome
+when she was represented by such hateful creatures! How natural
+that the rebellious element--the Zealots--should grow in number
+and determination. These Felix punished with cruel recklessness,
+resorting often to treachery to entrap them. By such doing he
+fomented the evil. Rebellion was now rife and could no longer be
+quelled.
+
+
+The Sicarii.
+
+For a still more fanatical group now made their appearance--outcome
+of these unhappy times. They were called _Sicarii_, from the short
+dagger, _sica_, with which they secretly slew their opponents.
+These political assassinations made Jerusalem unsafe. Felix was
+even unscrupulous enough to make use of these desperate men to
+slay the High Priest Jonathan, whose influence had brought about
+his own appointment. His only crime against Felix was begging
+him to administer his office more worthily, and his only crime
+against the Sicarii was not sanctioning their outrages. These wild,
+misguided men were religious enthusiasts of a frenzied sort, for
+wanton injustice breeds such types. They would gather with crowds
+of deluded followers in the wilderness, claiming a divine call to
+overthrow Rome; Felix always had his cohorts ready to hew them
+down. He knew no remedies other than bloodshed. In one instance an
+Egyptian Jew appeared as a would-be deliverer. At once Felix ordered
+a massacre. The leader escaped; some of his surviving followers
+awaited his return as a Messiah, who would re-establish the throne
+of David once more.
+
+Gradually a large part of the nation was imbued with the spirit of
+rebellion. The mismanagement of Felix also brought quarrels among
+the priests. Conflict arose in Caesarea between Syrians and Jews as
+to civic rights and privileges. Felix partially decided in favor
+of the Syrians and again increased the disturbance by resorting
+to slaughter. In return for large bribes he deprived the Jews of
+Caesarea of their civic rights, which they had possessed from
+the days when the city was founded. At last, having done all the
+mischief he could, this creature was recalled in 60 by Emperor Nero.
+
+His successor _Festus_, meant well, but could do little in this
+demoralized state. Things had gone too far to be smoothed over. The
+upheaval had to come. The Sicarii continued their assassinations,
+regarding all the moderates as their enemies.
+
+At the death of Festus and after an interval of anarchy, Albinus--a
+second Felix--was appointed--a public plunderer, a bribe-taker from
+all parties. Well-to-do criminals could buy their freedom from him;
+only the poor remained in prison. The high-priesthood at this time
+was held by a most unscrupulous man, Ananias, who took by violence
+the tithes of the priests. At last Albinus secretly joined the
+robber bands of Sicarii. When recalled in 62, he maliciously opened
+all the prisons and set the malefactors free to fill the country
+with lawless men. How the lives and fates and fortunes of these
+hapless Judeans were bandied about to gratify the wanton lust of
+these tyrants and scoundrels!
+
+The last procurator, _Gessius Florus_, held the post till 66 and
+then the storm burst. For the climax of outrageous rule was reached
+in him. Josephus says that, compared with him, Albinus whom he
+describes as "an arch-robber and tyrant," was a law-abiding citizen
+and to be praised as a benefactor! Need we add more? He did not, as
+Albinus, even hide his crimes. His plunderings were conducted by
+wholesale. He was verily a partner of robbers. Surely the time for
+Judah to strike a blow for freedom had come.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Compare zealots of antiquity with to-day's Russian revolutionists,
+the Sicarii with the Anarchists, the local governors with the
+procurators.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+JUDEA'S WAR WITH ROME.
+
+
+Revolution.
+
+When Florus, after robbing the people, began openly to rob the
+Temple, the last thread of endurance snapped. Called in bitter irony
+a beggar, for whom forsooth alms must be collected, Florus took
+a bloody revenge. A second wanton attack upon the long suffering
+people by his arriving cohorts, compelled them to rise against the
+Roman soldiers in self defense. They gained possession of the Temple
+Mount and Florus at last, seeing the mischief he had effected,
+fled to Caesarea. Agrippa tried hard to dissuade the people from a
+hopeless struggle against Rome, but he was a man without influence.
+The Temple offerings for the Roman emperor were stopped--that was,
+so to speak, the official renunciation of their allegiance. The more
+temperate could not restrain the masses from this determination.
+
+
+A Peace Party.
+
+These moderates, who represented the judicious, formed a "Peace
+Party." Conflict arose between them and the advocates of war, in
+which Agrippa who aided the former with his troops, had his palace
+burned and his soldiers put to flight. Soon the fortress towers
+held by the Roman soldiers had to yield and the garrison was slain.
+The revolution extended to all the outlying towns in which Jews
+and Gentiles fought against each other, and spread even as far as
+Alexandria.
+
+The governor of Syria, Cestius Gallus, thoroughly alarmed, came to
+Jerusalem with a picked army, but after a partial success he was
+forced to retreat. So vigorously was he pursued by these dauntless
+men, that only by leaving most of his baggage behind him--of great
+value to the revolutionists--could he escape at all, and then with
+but a remnant of his army. This unlooked for success left the Peace
+Party in a hopeless minority. Roman allies could do naught but leave
+the capital. The Jews now began to organize their forces and some of
+the highest men in the city led in the defense.
+
+
+Josephus.
+
+At an assembly of the people Joseph ben Gorion and the High Priest
+Ananus were given charge of Jerusalem itself. Two men of the
+high-priestly family were sent as generals to Idumea. In Jerusalem
+the walls were strengthened and the youths trained for soldiers.
+Josephus, a man of but thirty years, later historian of this war and
+known so far only as a scholar, was sent to Galilee. Here he was to
+gather an army from among the people and to meet the first brunt of
+Rome's experienced hosts as they would arrive via Syria. For the
+time being he was the governor of Galilee and appointed greater and
+lesser councils to strengthen the fortifications of all the cities.
+He had further to meet the opposition to his appointment in the
+province itself, chiefly by one John of Gischala, a leader bold and
+violent. For Josephus was not entirely trusted. His attitude was
+altogether too moderate to satisfy these determined rebels. In his
+heart of hearts he realized the impossibility of success. That very
+conviction at once unfitted him for leadership.
+
+The Emperor Nero, hearing of the defeat of the governor of Syria,
+entrusted the task of quelling the rebellion to the experienced
+general, Vespasian. He at once sent a garrison of six thousand to
+the important Galilean city, Sepphoris, which took possession before
+the Jewish army arrived. As the Roman host approached Galilee,
+Josephus' untrained soldiers retreated to the highlands, leaving the
+whole Galilean plain in possession of Vespasian without his striking
+a blow.
+
+Josephus sent word to Jerusalem that if he was to meet the Romans,
+he must have an army. The request came too late. His troops, such as
+they were, retired to the fortress of Jotapata, north of Sepphoris.
+Vespasian appeared before it and a desperate struggle followed.
+Josephus was a skilful commander and his men showed dauntless
+courage, but Rome on its side had all the experience of war together
+with overwhelming numbers. The first attack failed and a siege
+began. Josephus showed wonderful craft in obtaining food for his
+garrison and in breaking the force of the Roman battering rams. But
+these means could only delay the end; they could not change it. The
+besieged were worn out by sleeplessness and starvation after holding
+out for forty-seven days. The wall was scaled when the exhausted
+watchmen were asleep. All were either slain or sold into slavery.
+The city and its fortifications were levelled to the ground.
+
+Josephus with forty companions escaped to a cave. Against his advice
+to surrender, they all decided that they would die by their own
+hands. Josephus by strategem alone managed to escape this fate.
+He appeared before Vespasian and by adroit flattery was favorably
+received into his camp.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Make clear the difference in principle between Judea's "Peace Party"
+and the "Royalist Party" among the American revolutionists in 1776.
+
+[Illustration: A BATTLEMENT ON THE HOUSE-TOP.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE SIEGE.
+
+
+The North Succumbs.
+
+When Vespasian reached Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, the people
+opened their gates and at the request of Agrippa--who had now wholly
+thrown in his fortunes with the Romans--they were well treated. In
+the meantime the army of Titus, son of Vespasian, took the city of
+Tarichea.
+
+Glance for a moment at the map of Palestine, (front of book) so
+that a mental picture may be formed of the territory involved in
+the great struggle: Phoenicia, the Lebanon Mountains and Syria ran
+across the north. Immediately south was the province of Galilee,
+partly bordering on the Mediterranean and bounded on the east by
+the province of Gaulonitis and Decapolis, the Jordan and the Sea of
+Galilee being the dividing line. Batanaea lay to the east again of
+Gaulanitis. Still farther south was Judea, with the Jordan dividing
+it from Perea. Idumea lay in the extreme south.
+
+Vespasian was still in the north and next attacked the strong
+fortress of Gamala in Gaulonitis. But after an entrance was gained
+into the city, the Jews fought so desperately that the Romans was
+repulsed with severe loss and for a time were afraid to renew the
+attack. But in a second determined sally it was taken. At the same
+time Mount Tabor was taken by a Roman force. There was now left
+in Galilee only one unconquered fortress to be taken--Gischala.
+Its conquest was entrusted to Titus. Its gates were soon opened,
+but its controlling spirit, John of Gischala, with his band of
+Zealots escaped to Jerusalem. By the end of the year 67 all northern
+Palestine was in the hands of the Romans.
+
+
+Rival Parties in Jerusalem.
+
+These defeats brought consternation to Jerusalem. The leaders, who
+had been taken from the aristocracy, were blamed and deposed. Some
+were imprisoned and leaders from among the people were put in their
+place. But the change was not made without bloodshed. Alas, here was
+the beginning of a civil conflict as well--war within war. Judea's
+cup of misery was full. John of Gischala, the escaped Zealot, was
+soon at the head of the extreme fanatic party. Fighting contingents
+of malcontents came to Jerusalem from all over the country and
+joined the Zealots, which thus became the ruling power. They threw
+discretion to the winds. An ignorant man of the common people was
+also chosen as High Priest though this office had always been in the
+hands of the aristocracy.
+
+The Idumeans were now invited to enter Jerusalem and join forces
+with the Zealots. They began at once a bloody attack on the party
+of law and order. The old leaders, men of high birth, were put to
+death. Verily it was Judea's "reign of terror." After assisting
+in all this mischief, the Idumeans departed. The new Christian
+community also left Jerusalem, deserting their brethren in the
+sore hour of need, and took refuge in a heathen city. The shrewd
+Vespasian made no haste to attack the capital, hoping that the
+opposing parties left to themselves would weaken each other and
+make his task more easy. He contented himself with placing
+fortified garrisons in the chief surrounding places.
+
+[Illustration: EMPEROR TITUS.]
+
+In the meantime Nero died, in the year 68. Galba was made emperor
+only to be murdered a few months after. These events were watched by
+Vespasian with keen eyes. The man who had the army with him might
+win the purple. He therefore made a pause in the war.
+
+Another wild Zealot, Simon Ben Giora, began a plundering expedition,
+carrying devastation wherever he went. In 69, after a year's pause,
+Vespasian vigorously renewed the struggle by subduing the remaining
+outlying districts. There was now left for subjugation a few
+fortresses and the capital.
+
+Stopped from his robber raids by Vespasian's vigor, Simon ben
+Giora was now hailed in Jerusalem. Here all was confusion and
+demoralization. The reckless tyrant of Gischala had indulged in
+terrible excesses. The people hoped that the admission of Simon
+would rid them of John's bloodthirsty rule; but there was little
+choice between them.
+
+Although Vitellius was now made emperor of Rome, the armies in Egypt
+and Palestine decided to nominate Vespasian. He hastened to Rome,
+found Vitellius murdered, and his own candidature unopposed. So in
+the year 70 he was acknowledged emperor by both east and west, and
+the prosecution of the Judean war was left in the hands of his son,
+Titus.
+
+In Jerusalem the reign of terror continued. There was now a third
+war party under one Eliezar. Each regarded the two others as
+enemies, and each held a certain portion of the city as jealously
+against the others as against the Romans. Simon ben Giora held the
+upper part of the lower city situated on one hill, and the whole
+of the upper city situated on another hill called Acra. John of
+Gischala was entrenched in the Temple Mount. Eleazar held the court
+of the Temple, but soon overpowered by John was forced to join
+forces with him. In the madness of their folly they played into the
+hands of the Romans by destroying grain rather than let it fall into
+the hands of their rivals.
+
+Titus with an immense army appeared before the walls of Jerusalem in
+the spring of the fatal year 70. Still he by no means carried all
+before him. When we read of the brave and stubborn resistance of the
+Jews in spite of the unfortunate conflicts within, we can better
+realize how successful their resistance might have been had they
+presented a united front to the enemy.
+
+The situation of the city had its natural advantages. It was built
+on two hills with a ravine between, while the Temple standing in
+spacious grounds, surrounded on all sides by strong walls, was a
+citadel in itself. Attached to it was the castle of Antonia. The
+upper and lower divisions of the city had their own separate walls,
+a town's main protection before the days of gunpowder. There was a
+common wall around both divisions and a third around the suburb,
+Bezetha.
+
+[Illustration: COIN OF THE REIGN OF TITUS, ABOUT 73 C. E.]
+
+When the battering rams of Titus began attacking the outer walls in
+three places, John and Simon stopped their feud and banded together
+at last to meet the common enemy. It was only after desperate
+fighting for many days that the Romans got possession of the first
+wall. Five days later the second wall was taken, though the enemy
+was held back for four days longer. Earth defenses were now built by
+the legions of Titus against the different fortifications, but no
+sooner were these built than they fell, undermined by the vigilant
+Simon and John.
+
+Titus now applied new measures of severity. A stricter siege was
+maintained. The city was reduced to famine and poor creatures
+stealing out to gather food were crucified in sight of the
+defenders. Then he built a wall to shut off all possible escape and
+so tried to starve them out. The sufferings of the besieged, vividly
+portrayed by Josephus, were desperate indeed and led to still more
+desperate remedies.
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+How history repeats itself! The antagonism of the masses to the
+aristocracy, characteristic of the French Revolution, found its
+precedent in Judea's war against Rome. But the motives were far from
+identical.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
+
+
+Titus built new fortifications and this time the attempt to destroy
+them was not successful. But no sooner had the last city wall fallen
+under the catapults shot from the Roman battering rams than a second
+wall appeared behind it, built by the foresight of John of Gischala.
+After many attempts this wall was scaled. The Romans now reached
+the Temple walls and took the Antonia tower, which they immediately
+destroyed.
+
+During all this time the daily sacrifices were continued in the
+Temple. In the presence of the grim monsters, war and starvation,
+this religious obligation was not forgotten. A proposition of
+surrender was made at this dire hour, but the besieged would not
+yield. For Titus chose an unfortunate ambassador--Josephus. He was
+received with a storm of arrows, for he was regarded by the warriors
+in Jerusalem as a traitor.
+
+Now, within the narrower compass of the Temple site, the siege was
+maintained, though it was but the beginning of the end. First,
+ramparts were erected by Titus against its outer walls; but these
+walls were so strong that he could only gain admittance by burning
+down the gates. Terrifically did the Jewish soldiers, wasted by
+famine, contest every inch of the ground, giving to the Romans many
+a repulse. But overwhelming numbers told. Titus had decided to save
+the Temple, but his vandal soldiers set it on fire. The attempts of
+Titus to quench it were in vain. The beautiful structure of marble
+and gold--monument of Herod's pride--was reduced to ashes. While
+it was burning the Romans began an indiscriminate slaughter of men,
+women and children.
+
+John of Gischala and Simon ben Giora with a small band, now fell
+back to the last refuge, the upper city. Their request for liberty
+on condition of surrender was refused. The lower city was now burnt
+and new ramparts built against the last stronghold. Yet it took some
+weeks before entrance was finally forced, and the Romans continued
+their savage work of burning and massacre.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK.
+
+(_From the Arch of Titus._)
+
+DEPICTING CARRYING THE SPOIL OF JUDEA.]
+
+The city was razed to the ground--a few gates of Herod's palace
+and a piece of wall were alone left standing. The survivors were
+sent to labor in unwholesome mines to gather wealth for their
+despoilers. Some were reserved for Roman sport in the amphitheatre.
+John, discovered in a subterranean vault and begging like a craven
+for mercy, was imprisoned for life. Simon ben Giora graced the Roman
+triumph.
+
+Thus fell the city of Jerusalem--the religious capital of the
+world--in the year 70 C. E., on the same date it is said--the 9th of
+Ab--on which it had fallen nearly seven hundred years earlier under
+the attacks of the Babylonians. So the Fast of Ab commemorates the
+double tragedy.
+
+
+Masada, the Last Fortress.
+
+The final work of conquest and the barbaric rejoicings, consisting
+of forced gladiatorial combats between Jewish prisoners, together
+with games and triumphs, continued some two years longer. There
+were still three outlying strongholds to be conquered--Herodium,
+Macharus, on the other side of the Dead Sea, and Masada, far to
+the south. The first two soon fell, but Masada offered a stubborn
+resistance which its natural position favored. Under Eleazar ben
+Jair and some Sicarii the dauntless bravery of Jerusalem and
+Jotapata was repeated. They determined not to die by the swords of
+the Romans, so when the soldiers entered they found the little band
+all slain by their own hands.
+
+On the site of the old Temple there was subsequently built another,
+dedicated to Jupiter Capitolinus, and, with a refinement of cruelty,
+the Jews throughout the Roman dominions had to pay toward its
+maintenance the taxes they had hitherto paid to the support of
+their own beloved sanctuary. So ended the Israelitish nation that
+under varied fortunes had continued unbroken, except during the
+Babylonian captivity, since the days of Saul, i.e., for over a
+thousand years.
+
+Judea remained a separate Roman province, but was no longer a home
+for the people whose possession it once was. So completely was it
+levelled to the ground that there was nothing left to make those who
+came there believe it had once been inhabited. Rebuilt at a latter
+day, even the name was changed to Aelia Capitolina. But great names
+cannot so easily be erased by the ruthless hand of man.
+
+
+The Remnant Again.
+
+What was now to become of the remaining Jews? What was their status
+in the world? Nation, temple, independence were gone. Gone too were
+their arms, their means, their nobility, and all political power.
+Would it not seem that this must be the end, that their name and
+identity must be ultimately merged with their surroundings? Such had
+been the fate of other nations as completely conquered--Ammon, Moab,
+Assyria, Phoenicia. But Israel was made of different stuff. Its
+epitaph was not yet to be written.
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+In the history of Rome, the conquest of Judea occupies a small
+place. It was only a little province in the East! But Greece, which
+it had also conquered, was insignificant in size. Still Hellas and
+Israel were the greatest intellectual and spiritual powers in the
+world. Rome itself received its education from the one and its
+religion from the other.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+JOSEPHUS AND HIS WORKS.
+
+
+What literature did this sad period produce? There was neither
+heart nor leisure to turn to poetry or philosophy, or even to write
+a second "Lamentations." But in the prosaic field of history some
+important works were produced by one individual, who hardly deserves
+to be included in the fold of Israel--Josephus.
+
+
+His Early Life.
+
+He was born in Jerusalem in the year 38 C. E. under the regime
+of the procurators; so he never knew an independent Judea. Of
+studious bent, he was consulted (so he tells us) on points of law
+at the early age of fourteen. At the age of 26 he went to Rome like
+Philo, to intercede with the Emperor Nero for some of his brethren,
+falsely charged by the procurator, Felix. His persuasive address
+and political shrewdness won the day. He returned dazzled with the
+splendor and magnitude of the city on the Tiber. He realized now the
+impossibility of Israel undertaking a successful war against it.
+Therefore he never should have been chosen to command one of Judea's
+campaigns.
+
+
+Josephus vs. Jeremiah.
+
+After the war he sought and obtained the liberty of some of the
+captives. But he was satisfied to receive Roman citizenship
+from the hand of the emperor who had overthrown the Jewish
+State--Vespasian, and even appended the emperor's first name,
+Flavius, to his own. When we see him living at ease on a pension and
+a tax-free estate given by Rome while his brethren were working in
+the lead mines of Egypt or glutting the slave markets of Europe we
+cannot but contrast his character with that of Jeremiah who had been
+placed in similar circumstances some centuries earlier.
+
+[Illustration: FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS.]
+
+In the last days of the first nationality, when Babylonia was
+thundering against the gates of Jerusalem, Jeremiah had belonged to
+the Peace Party of his day, not for reasons of expediency, such as
+actuated Josephus, but from intense religious conviction. (See vol.
+iii, _People of the Book_, chap. xxviii.) Nebuchadrezzar, regarding
+this attitude as friendly toward Babylon, had offered to Jeremiah
+ease and liberty after Judah was laid in the dust. But he scorned to
+receive gifts from the enemies of his country or to enjoy benefits
+through their misfortune. Though Judah had rejected his advice and
+even persecuted him for it, he made their lot his own, miserable
+though it was. Like Moses, he died in the wilderness with the
+generation who had brought that fate upon themselves, because they
+lacked his faith.
+
+
+History of the Jews.
+
+Let us forget Josephus the soldier; let us remember Josephus the
+scholar. Though in his last years he may possibly have lived as
+pagan, he certainly wrote as Jew. He loved his people, but lacked
+the magnanimity to share their misfortunes. This was his fatal
+weakness. Posterity is grateful to Josephus for his History of
+the Jews, called "Antiquities of the Jews" in twenty volumes, the
+writing of which may have formed the chief occupation of his later
+years. Perhaps he felt that he might yet serve Israel's cause in
+this way. He begins his chronicle with the Bible records, which
+he embellishes with many a Midrashic story such as that of Moses
+being given choice of a plate of gold and of fire. He carries the
+narrative right down to the procuratorship of Florus. Writing for
+Greek and Roman readers, he sought to give them a better and truer
+estimate of his people. Indeed, in all his works, he never loses an
+opportunity to defend the honor of Israel. In his next work, "Wars
+of the Jews," in seven books, he begins with Antiochus Epiphanes,
+thus duplicating part of his history. But the first two books are
+but introductory to his real theme, the war with Rome. This history
+is not only his greatest work, but one of the greatest of antiquity.
+He presents a vivid picture of the last scenes of Judea's death
+struggle, of which he was an eye witness and in part an actual
+participator. It is carefully and skilfully compiled and as a
+contemporary record it is invaluable.
+
+It was first written in his mother tongue, Aramaic, (p. 69), and
+later rewritten in Greek. The work was endorsed by Vespasian, Titus
+and Agrippa. It may be said that such a man was not of fine enough
+character to be an impartial historian; but impartial historians
+are quite a modern institution. All ancient historians took great
+liberties both with events and numbers, and put speeches of their
+own composition in the mouths of the leading characters.
+
+In connection with this work we may mention his autobiography,
+covering chiefly his questionable achievements as commander-in-chief
+in Galilee in 66. It is his _apologia pro vita sua_.
+
+
+Contra Apion.
+
+To his merit, be it further said, he gladly became the advocate of
+his people in the land of the Gentile, and jealously guarded their
+reputation. Against the traducer, Apion, an Egyptian grammarian, he
+launched a work in Israel's defense, "Josephus Against Apion," or
+"The Great Age of the Jews," in the form of a letter to a friend. It
+is in two books. In the first he replies to other traducers of the
+Jewish people. For the bad fashion had come into vogue of inventing
+absurd slanders against the Jews--a fashion, by the way, that has
+not yet passed away.
+
+He easily refutes the charges of Manetho that the Jews were expelled
+from Egypt as lepers. "If lepers why should they have been kept so
+long as slaves."
+
+Of Apion, the offender, who gives title to the book, he says: His
+writings show palpable ignorance and malevolent calumny; but as the
+frivolous part of mankind exceeds the discerning, I find myself
+under some kind of necessity to expose the 'errors of this man.' He
+shows how Apion ridicules the Sabbath by misrepresenting its origin.
+
+To the slander that Jews worship a golden ass placed in their holy
+of holies, he replies that such charge could only have been brought
+by an Egyptian, for they _do_ worship animals.
+
+He dismisses the preposterous charge that Jews annually sacrifice
+a Greek, with the information that at the time of Moses, "the Jews
+knew not the Greeks." How old "the blood accusation" is!
+
+But Josephus finds that the best and most dignified reply to all
+aspersions on Israel lies in giving an outline of their law and
+belief. This gives him an opportunity to testify to the faith that
+is in him still. He writes:
+
+ "There never was such a code of laws framed for the common good
+ of mankind as those of Moses--for the advancement of piety,
+ justice, charity, industry, regulation of society, patience,
+ perseverence in well doing, even to the contempt of death
+ itself."
+
+ "God is the source of joy and to Him they turn in all woe. This
+ worship of the one God is combined with morals."
+
+ "They weekly gather even their servants and children (on the
+ Sabbath), having suspended work to read the Law, that they might
+ know what to do."
+
+He points out the sobriety of the Law, its strict chastity,
+reverence for parents and elders, duties to the stranger, moderation
+towards enemies, easement of prisoners, especially women, kindness
+to animals and vigorous punishment of sin. It regards death, he
+says, as a blessed means of being transported from this life to a
+better. Hence Israel's record of martyrdom:
+
+ "Such is our reputation that there is hardly a nation in the
+ world that does not conform in some respect to our example."
+
+ "How many there are of our captive countrymen at this day,
+ struggling under exquisite torments because they will not
+ renounce their laws nor blaspheme the God of their forefathers."
+
+Like Philo, he regards Judaism as a universal religion that should
+be accepted by all mankind.
+
+His works are couched in simple and attractive style. Written in
+Greek, they have been translated into all tongues. They were read
+much by Christians of the Middle Ages, who regarded Josephus as a
+second Livy; but till recent years he has been neglected by his own
+people. But then so was Philo.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Historians_:
+
+Justus of Tiberias also wrote a history of the Jewish War; it is now
+lost.
+
+
+_Defenders_:
+
+Among writers in defense and appreciation of the Jews just a
+little prior to Josephus, were Alexander Polyhistor, Strabo, the
+geographer, and chiefly Nicolaus of Damascus.
+
+
+_Josephus and Christianity_:
+
+Josephus relates fully the story of John the Baptist, but does not
+mention Jesus of Nazareth! This would seem to indicate that, prior
+to the coming of Paul, Jesus left but a slight impression on his
+age. This omission seems to have so disconcerted some members of the
+Church that one actually inserted a paragraph about Jesus in the
+History of Josephus. But the clumsy forgery was later discovered.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Should Josephus be regarded as a traitor?
+
+[Illustration: THE ARCH OF TITUS.
+
+RAISED TO COMMEMORATE THE OVERTHROW OF JUDEA.]
+
+
+
+
+BOOK IV.
+
+THE TALMUDIC ERA.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+JOCHANAN BEN ZAKKAI.
+
+
+The Jews now belonged to no land, yet for that very reason, they, in
+a sense, belonged to all lands. They were cosmopolitans, citizens of
+the world. To follow their history after their dispersion by Rome,
+we shall have to turn to all the settled parts of the globe. What
+henceforth became the link to hold together their widely scattered
+members and preserve them from being absorbed by their surroundings?
+Their religion. Religions outlive states and spiritual bonds are
+stronger than temporal. But now that Judaism's centre, the Temple,
+was no more, now that the sacred capital, Jerusalem, the only
+sanctioned place for sacrificial worship, was lost--how could they
+maintain their continuity and what would become of their priesthood?
+Just here will we witness the wonderful adaptability of Judaism in
+the hands of this deathless race. It only awaited a genius to revive
+the Faith, apparently in the throes of death, and to endow it with
+new strength and vitality. The hero who undertook this sacred task
+was named Jochanan ben Zakkai.
+
+
+The Academy at Jamnia.
+
+Jochanan ben Zakkai had been a leader in the Sanhedrin, in the last
+days of Judea. When many were urging war he had stood for peace
+and he became the exponent of the Peace Party. For he saw that the
+madness of the Zealots in blindly plunging the country into conflict
+could end only in ruin. He may have felt, too, that the fulfilment
+of Israel's mission did not rely on national independence and
+that it could preach its message in a way other than in bloody
+conflict. So when the war was at its height, he managed to escape
+from Jerusalem in a coffin, since the Zealots treated all peace
+advocates as traitors. Welcomed by Vespasian, who saw the value
+of so influential a pleader for surrender, he was allowed to ask
+a favor. His reply showed that he was not of the Josephus, but of
+the Jeremiah type. He asked naught for himself, but pleaded for the
+privilege of establishing an _Academy_, where the principles of
+Judaism might be taught. This small request was granted, perhaps
+contemptuously at its apparent insignificance. Yet by that grant
+Judaism was enabled to continue its development--aye, to outlive the
+great Roman Empire at whose mercy it now stood.
+
+_Jamnia_, a place near the Mediterranean and not far from Joppa, was
+chosen as the seat of the new academy. Here came many who, being of
+the conciliatory party, were left free and untouched by Rome at the
+close of the War. Here Jochanan ben Zakkai summoned a Sanhedrin, and
+by a bold stroke decided to continue the authoritative powers of
+that body in spite of the tradition that to be effective, it must
+sit in the "hewn stone hall" of the Jerusalem Temple.
+
+
+Prayer replaces Sacrifice.
+
+But he took a more daring step still. According to the Law, now that
+the Holy City was taken, sacrifice was no longer possible; therefore
+Jochanan ben Zakkai declared that it was no longer indispensable;
+saying, charity is a substitute for sacrifice. Prayer, which
+had been an accompaniment to sacrifice was now treated as an
+independent mode of worship. The synagogue, which had in later years
+existed side by side with the sacrificial Temple, now altogether
+replaced it. Thus does genius adapt itself to altered conditions.
+
+The change was revolutionary and marked a new era in Judaism's
+development. The epoch of the Priest was over, the Altar was
+outlived--one of the ideals of the Prophets was attained. Again
+necessity was the teacher and adversity was found to "wear a
+precious jewel in its head." Furthermore, the creation of a centre
+of Jewish authority outside of Jerusalem freed Judaism from bondage
+to a particular locality. Its complete fulfilment was now confined
+neither to a city nor a nation. The whole earth could become its
+legitimate home. This also had its moral value. To the simple-minded
+it made clearer the idea that God was manifest everywhere; that
+verily "the heaven was His throne and the earth His footstool." It
+gave tangible application to the text, "In every place where I cause
+my name to be remembered, I will come unto thee and bless thee."
+
+So the survival of Judaism after the destruction of the sacrificial
+Temple, after the loss of the sacred capital and the Holy Land,
+and after the dispersion of the Jews throughout the world, made it
+more manifest that it was indeed a perennial and a universal Faith.
+Perhaps then even in this sad tragedy we may discern the hand of
+Providence.
+
+It is true that some pious souls took a disconsolate view of the
+outlook and, renouncing the world's joys, gave themselves up to
+ascetic lives of penitence. A few drifted toward the new Christian
+sect that was now severing all relations with Judaism, thinking it
+doomed. But under the guidance of Jochanan ben Zakkai, the great
+majority faced the future more hopefully and more bravely. The land
+was gone, but the religion was saved. Henceforth its rallying centre
+was to be--not a _Temple_, but a _Book_.
+
+
+The Tannaim.
+
+We have already seen that the Scribes interpreted the Bible in a way
+to derive from it new laws to meet new needs, (pp. 19-20; 80-81.)
+These deduced rules grew into a Second Law, more voluminous than
+the first. The patient continuance of this process to meet all
+religious, social and economic requirements of Israel's altered life
+became now the chief work of the Jamnia Academy and of other schools
+that sprang from it. To this work of laying bare "the whole duty of
+man" the scholars now devoted themselves and regarded it as sacred
+as divine worship. "The study of the Law," said they, "outweighs
+all virtues." The first order of these great expounders were called
+_Tannaim_ (_tanna_ means teacher). Very preciously did the students
+who sat at the feet of the sages treasure their decisions (for they
+were contained in no book) and handed them down from generation to
+generation.
+
+The people at large now learned to look to the Jamnia Sanhedrin,
+for such it became, as their authority in all religious duties and
+also for guidance in varied perplexities. In those days there was
+no fixed calendar; the new month was ascertained by watching the
+heavens for the new moon and from the date of its appearance the
+Sanhedrin decided the festivals of each month for the community.
+The new moon was announced from place to place by messengers and
+fire signals on the hills. These could not reach distant places of
+Jewish settlement far beyond Judea, and, in some cases the signals
+were tampered with. So, as there was a doubt of one day as to the
+new moon's appearance, they introduced the custom of observing an
+additional day of each festival.
+
+
+Halacha and Agada.
+
+Jochanan ben Zakkai, then, revealed his greatness in boldly
+abrogating institutions that had lost their application with the
+Temple's fall, bridging the transition between epochs, just as
+Samuel had done in his day. His great personality strengthened the
+union between the dispersed Jews. Further, like his master Hillel,
+he combined in his character gentleness and firmness (_suaviter
+in modo, fortiter in re_) and like him, too, he also exercised an
+elevating influence on his pupils by his ethical teachings. He
+showed them how to search the Scriptures to discover its noblest
+lessons. This was distinct from that branch of the Bible study
+already referred to, enabling the student to evolve new rules and
+new observances. The latter was judicial, the former homiletic.
+These gradually came to form the two great divisions of the
+scholarly activities of the Rabbis, the judicial division called
+_Halacha_ (legal decision), the ethical styled _Agada_. This latter
+word means narrative--for many a story, anecdote, moral maxim or bit
+of history would be brought in to illustrate a legal point or to
+relieve the tension of argument by a pleasing diversion. So Agada
+implied much miscellaneous material and included everything not
+strictly judicial.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Here are some of the maxims of Jochanan ben Zakkai:
+
+ "No iron tool was to be used on the altar, suggesting that
+ religion's mission is peace."
+
+ "If thou hast learnt much, do not boast of it, for that wast
+ thou created."
+
+ "Fear God as much as you fear man."
+
+ "Not more?" asked his pupils in surprise? "If you would but fear
+ him as much!" said the dying sage.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Sacrificial Worship_:
+
+The pupil has already been made familiar with the prophetic views
+on sacrifice (see _People of the Book_, vol. iii). Here follow some
+opinions of the Rabbis as to its relative place in Judaism:
+
+ "The humble-minded is considered by God to have offered all the
+ sacrifices, for it is said that the sacrifices of God are a
+ broken spirit."
+
+ "Acts of justice are more meritorious than all the sacrifices.
+ Unless the mind is purified, the sacrifice is useless; it may be
+ thrown to the dogs."
+
+ "He who engages in the study of the Law, requires neither burnt
+ offering nor meal offering."
+
+ "A day in thy courts is better than a thousand," Psalm lxxiv.
+ is thus explained: God said to David, "I prefer thy sitting and
+ studying before me to the thousands of burnt offerings which thy
+ son Solomon will offer on the alter."
+
+ "He who prays is considered as pious as if he had built an altar
+ and offered sacrifices upon it."
+
+ "As the Altar wrought atonement during the time of the Temple,
+ so after its destruction, the Table of the home."
+
+With the abolition of sacrifice, the Paschal Lamb was indicated only
+in a symbolic way by a lamb bone on the Passover table.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+R. Jochanan b. Zakkai asked his disciples: "Find out what is the
+best thing to cultivate." The first replied a generous eye; the
+second, a loyal friend; the third, a good neighbor; the fourth,
+prudence and foresight; the fifth, Eliezar, a good heart. "I
+consider R. Eliezar's judgment best, for in his answer all of yours
+are included."
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Whether the Temple's fall suspended or abolished animal sacrifice is
+a point of difference between Judaism's two schools today.
+
+[Illustration: BRASS COIN STRUCK IN ROME, 74 C. E., DURING REIGN OF
+VESPASIAN.
+
+INDICATING JUDEA'S OVERTHROW.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+THE PALESTINIAN ACADEMIES.
+
+
+Jamnia was the first of many Palestinian schools; one was located at
+Sepphoris, another at Tiberias, both in Galilee; another at Lydda
+in the south not far from the Mediterranean. So the good work grew,
+and under sadder auspices the thread of life was taken up again. A
+new royalty, so to speak, was created in Israel. The first literal
+royalty of the House of Judah had been overthrown by Babylon seven
+hundred years earlier. After the restoration, the priests became the
+monarchs of the state, exercising almost regal powers. Now in the
+dispersion the teacher was king. Rabbi Simeon taught: "There are
+three crowns: the crown of the Law, the crown of the priesthood, and
+the crown of royalty; but the crown of a good name excelleth them
+all."
+
+The head of the Academy was called Nasi (prince), also Patriarch.
+His sway was voluntarily yet gladly accepted in matters both
+religious and civil (as far as the management of internal affairs
+was granted) by the congregations in Rome, Babylonia, Greece, Egypt
+and the Parthian lands.
+
+
+Rabban Gamaliel II.
+
+The first Nasi at Jamnia was Rabban Gamaliel II. of the family of
+Hillel, for Jochanan ben Zakkai had held a unique position, _sui
+generis_, demanded by the exigencies of the time. But it was the
+wish of all that the official position should remain in the House of
+Hillel.
+
+Gamaliel was noted both as scholar and man. He was so conscientious
+that in farming his estate he would take no interest. He was
+so expert as easily to master the astronomical and mathematical
+knowledge needed for the regulation of the Jewish calendar. He
+was a stern man, but these troublous times needed a firm hand,
+religiously as well as civilly, for it was a period of unrest; the
+air was full of schemes and fantastic notions. Even so, he was
+perhaps too severe, and for a brief period during his thirty years
+of Patriarchate, he was actually deposed; the incident will be
+related presently. One indication of his severity was his frequent
+imposition of _Niddui_--excommunication. The person so condemned had
+to remain aloof from the community and live as one in mourning. He
+was thus ostracised until the ban was removed.
+
+As in the days when the Temple stood, there were still two
+parties--Hillelites and Shammaites. Rabban Gamaliel, however,
+endeavored to place himself above party, as the leader should.
+
+The following incidents will show the temper of these Jewish
+scholars: One Akabiah ben Mahallel was asked to recede from a
+particular decision. It was even intimated by some that if he
+would yield, he would be made _Ab Beth Din_ (Vice-President, next
+in order to the Nasi). To this suggestion he answered, "I would
+rather be a fool all my life than a rogue for one hour." Is not
+that magnificent? Living aloof and asked by his son for a letter of
+recommendation to his colleagues, the stern father refused. "Thine
+own works must recommend thee."
+
+Another famous teacher was Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, who opened the
+school at Lydda. His weakness lay in the fact that he would never
+trust his own judgment to deduce a rule. He accepted and taught
+only what he had learned on the authority of his teachers. That
+type of man has its value in the world and is like the priest, who
+treasures past traditions. But we need originators too, who boldly
+open up new highways; for if we mistrusted our own powers altogether
+and walked only in the old paths, knowledge would not grow and the
+world would not advance. Rabbi Eliezer taught: "Thy fellowman's
+honor must be as dear to thee as thine own. Do not allow thyself to
+be easily angered. Repent one day before thy death."
+
+
+R. Joshua.
+
+In contrast, let us single out a more interesting figure, a man
+who left his impress on his age--Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah. Broad,
+versatile and gifted, he as a youth had been a chorister in the
+Temple, now laid waste. His mother, like Samuel's, destined him
+for a religious life from his birth. Like a true genius, he
+broke through many of the disadvantages that handicapped him and
+became one of the Tannaim and the founder of a new academy at
+Bekiim. He was miserably poor and eked out a scanty existence as a
+needle-maker. For these great teachers received no emolument for
+their labors in the religious Academy. It was a service of love.
+They followed the principle laid down by Rabbi Zadok, "Do not use
+the Law as a crown to shine therewith or a spade to dig therewith."
+Rabbi Joshua was, however, so severely plain that a Roman emperor's
+daughter, combining at once a compliment and an insult, asked why
+so much wisdom should be deposited in so homely a vessel. Tradition
+says he advised her to put her father's wine in golden jars with a
+lamentable result, to prove that, good wisdom, like good wine, may
+be best preserved in plain receptacles.
+
+Many of the scholarly leaders belonged to the Jewish aristocracy,
+that was still prized even in their fallen state. Joshua was a man
+of the "common people." Yet that became for him a source of power,
+as, being closer to the masses, he was the better able to influence
+them, and he helped to bring the upper and lower classes closer
+together. By his gentleness and moderation he prevented many a split
+in Judaism that often threatened when divergence of view reached the
+danger point.
+
+Although, like Gamaliel, a great mathematician and astronomer,
+he was modest and obedient and submitted to a humiliating ordeal
+imposed by this stern Nasi because of a mistaken calculation as to
+the date of a holy day. He must travel with purse and staff on the
+very day, according to his error, Yom Kippur would have fallen. He
+came. Gamaliel embraced him and said, "Welcome, my master and my
+pupil; my master in wisdom and my pupil in obedience." Such examples
+by great teachers were most beneficial to the people at large.
+
+Very valuable to the cause, too, was his shrewd and common sense
+that exposed the folly of extreme and fantastic views. "The Law,"
+said he, "was not revealed to angels but to human beings." Some
+misguided pietists would not partake of wine or meat because, now
+that the Temple had fallen they could not be offered at its altar.
+"Why not," said he, "abstain also from bread and water since they
+too were used in the sacrificial service?" Nothing like ridicule at
+times to explode fallacies.
+
+Most important perhaps of all his service was his endeavor to close
+the breach between Israel and the Romans, which the unforgiving
+Shammaites would have widened. He advised a graceful submission to
+the inevitable. In consequence he enjoyed the confidence of the
+Roman rulers. Like Jochanan ben Zakkai, he turned out to be the man
+of the hour; and when a little later Israel again sailed into stormy
+seas, he was called to the helm.
+
+Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha deserves a brief mention as one of the
+great Tannaim of this age who, avoiding strained interpretation,
+explained the Law with logical common sense. He gladly devoted his
+wealth to the maintenance of girls orphaned by the war. He too
+founded a School and was destined, alas, to die a martyr's death.
+
+
+Ordination of Rabbis.
+
+These men and others like them assured the continuity of their
+holy work by training students in the exploration of the Law and
+transmitting to them the _Halachoth_ that they thus far deduced.
+When proficient, they were ordained as teachers by the ceremony of
+_Semicha_ (laying on of hands). This gave them right of membership
+in the Sanhedrin and certain judicial functions, and also the title
+of _rabbi_, introduced after the Temple's fall by Jochanan ben
+Zakkai.
+
+Outside of Judea, schools were also being established in Babylon,
+Parthia, Asia Minor and Egypt. In Alexandria a modest academy
+replaced the pretentious Temple of happier days. But all turned
+to Jamnia, where the Sanhedrin met as the centre of religious
+authority. It was for the time being their spiritual capital. To
+the presiding Nasi, Rome granted some civil jurisdiction in the
+administration of internal Jewish affairs. So the Sanhedrin was
+still quite a House of Legislature in its way.
+
+
+The Prayer Book.
+
+Here were regulated the institutions of Judaism and here was now
+more completely formulated the ritual of prayer already inaugurated
+in the synagogues while the Temple stood. Here is its outline:
+
+(a) _The Shema_ the prayer beginning "Hear, O Israel," (Deut. vi.
+4-9), was the centre of the first division of the service. It
+was _preceded_ by two benedictions, the first expressing God's
+providence seen in Nature, in the morning for the glory of light,
+in the evening for the soft restfulness of night; the second God's
+love for Israel manifested in the bestowal of the Law. The Shema
+was _followed_ by another benediction voicing gratitude for divine
+redemption. (b) The second division of the service was called
+_Tefillah_, the "eighteen benedictions" prayer, containing a set
+form of praises at the opening and close, with the central part
+variable to fit the different occasions of week-days, Sabbath and
+Holy Days. (c) The third section of the service was the reading from
+the Pentateuch and the Prophets.
+
+The Reader was no special official; any Israelite could "stand
+before the Ark" where the scrolls were placed, and read the service.
+Here again prevailed the idea that religious service was not to be
+paid for. Prayer for the restoration of the Land and Temple was
+now a fixed feature of every service. Perpetually to commemorate
+the Temple's loss by outward signs, such as shattering a glass at
+a wedding, became a duty in which patriotism and religion were
+blended. Two of the fasts instituted in Babylon for the fall of the
+first Temple were given a second sad sanction now, to commemorate
+the downfall of the second.
+
+As may be well understood, a long and disastrous war had demoralized
+the masses, especially the country folk. The educated classes rather
+held aloof from the _Am Haaretz_, "people of the soil," i.e., the
+ignorant masses. This is rather surprising on the part of the
+scholars, otherwise so conscientious and so benevolent. But the
+times were rude and ignorance usually went hand in hand with many
+evil practises.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_The Prayer Book_:
+
+The ritual scheme given in this chapter was gradually amplified
+by passages from Scripture especially Psalms, by additional
+introductory and closing prayers and by poems for the Festivals.
+
+See Singer translation of the old _Prayer Book_; also the _Union
+Prayer Book_, closer to the ancient, shorter ritual.
+
+In addition to complete services, the rabbis drew up a series of
+Benedictions for daily occurrences. Darmesteter thus puts it:
+
+ "Each day, each hour is unalterably arranged by regulations
+ from on high ... benedictions before the meal, after the meal
+ benedictions. At sight of the imposing phenomena of nature, of
+ a storm, the sea, the first spring blossoms, thanksgivings.
+ Thanksgiving for new enjoyment, for unexpected good fortune,
+ on eating new fruits, at the announcement of a happy event.
+ Prayers of resignation at the news of misfortune. At the tomb
+ of a beloved being, set prayers; words all prepared to console
+ the sorrow-stricken. Every emotion and every feeling, the most
+ fugitive as well as the most profound, are foreseen, noted and
+ embodied in a formula of prayer ... sanctifying the present hour
+ and keeping one in perpetual communication with the divine."
+
+
+_The Temple Fasts_:
+
+Gedalyah's Fast (Tishri 3d); Tenth of Tebeth, 17th of Tammuz, 9th of
+Ab. Only the last two apply to loss of Second Temple.
+
+See _People of Book_, Vol. iii, p. 200.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+In what respect did the "Academy" differ from a school?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+JUDAISM AND THE CHURCH.
+
+
+The Development of Christianity.
+
+In the meantime the new religion that had sprung from Judaism was
+entering its second stage of development. We have seen (p. 133) how
+its adoption of pagan ideas tended to separate Jews from Christians
+theologically. We will now see how the trend of events tended to
+separate them socially. There were still two Christian sects--the
+pagan Christians, many of them Greeks, to whom Jesus was the Son of
+God, whose blood shed on the cross was an atonement for the sins of
+mankind and whose coming abrogated the Law. These had small sympathy
+with the Jews in spite of the fact that it was the lofty morality of
+the Hebrew Scriptures that formed the backbone of the new Faith.
+
+On the other hand there were the Jewish Christians, the original
+group, but now the small minority, who remained Jews in all
+respects, but clung to the belief that Jesus of Nazareth was the
+Messiah, that he had risen from the grave and would come a second
+time to gratify the hopes not fulfilled in his first advent. They
+also fostered the belief that they could cure by miracles and drive
+out demons by declaration of a formula of their faith; for Jesus had
+also believed in this power of exorcism. They still maintained to
+a degree the customs of the Essenes (from which body, perhaps they
+may have been an outgrowth),--particularly the duty of voluntary
+poverty. Indeed, the Sanhedrin seriously considered whether they
+might not be regarded as Jews.
+
+But when Judaism and Jews became discredited through loss of land
+and Temple and Jews were taxed for the privilege of remaining loyal
+to the former, these Jewish Christians began to drift away from a
+people who had lost power and status in the world, and threw in
+their lot with the controlling majority. Such is the way of the
+world. Furthermore, some of the Jewish country folk, losing faith
+in the validity of Judaism through the loss of its Temple, were
+attracted to Christianity with its new scheme of salvation, in
+which Jesus took the place which had been filled by the altar of
+sacrifice. In this way many of the Gentile proselytes to Judaism in
+Alexandria and Asia Minor went over to the new creed. So the loss of
+the Temple with its priestly service had much to do with the spread
+of Christianity.
+
+Although great bitterness at first existed between the two Christian
+sects, the pagan branch soon absorbed the small Jewish branch and
+all too soon the Christians "knew not Joseph." For the antagonism of
+Gentile against Jew was now transmitted to the new church and, sad
+to say, it became a more bitter persecutor of the people from which
+Jesus and Paul had sprung than most of the heathen nations had been.
+
+
+Old and New Testaments.
+
+New ceremonials grew up in the new faith. Passover was turned into
+the Easter sacrificial service. The unleavened bread and wine were
+supposed to be transformed in some mystic way into the flesh and
+blood of the Savior (as Jesus was styled). Many Roman rites and
+symbols were consciously or unconsciously taken up by the new creed
+in the first few centuries of its foundation; for it grew less and
+less Jewish as the years went on. Depreciation of Judaism became now
+the accustomed tactics of the Church Fathers, for Christianity's
+justification depended in some respects on the theory of Judaism's
+insufficiency. Jews were said to be blind and obstinate in still
+clinging to the Law, now that Jesus had come. This unfortunate
+spirit of antagonism to the parent faith pervades the Christian
+Scriptures and mars its ethical teachings. These Scriptures were
+known as the _New Testament_, to distinguish them from the Jewish
+Scriptures which were called the _Old Testament_; the theory being
+that the testament or _covenant_ between God and Israel, there
+recorded, was now obsolete and superseded by a "new" covenant in
+which, as already explained, belief in Jesus, the Messiah, took
+the place of obedience to the Law. Many passages from the Psalms
+and Prophets were retranslated to fit the impression that they had
+really foretold the coming of Jesus and the events of his life. The
+whole Hebrew Bible in fact was treated as but a preparation for
+Christianity's grand climax! Even the history of Israel was regarded
+as but an allegorical picture of the life of the man of Nazareth.
+
+
+Gnostics.
+
+We cannot pass this period of religious upheaval, without a word
+about certain strange sects, neither wholly Jewish, Christian nor
+pagan, but something of all, that arose at this time. They were
+for the most part called Gnostics, from the Greek "know," claiming
+to obtain through weird processes a clearer knowledge of God.
+Very fantastic were the views of some on the problems of life and
+sin. Some of the sects were led into all sorts of absurdities and
+excesses. A few Jews were seduced by these fascinating heresies,
+notably one Elisha ben Abuyah, learned in the Law though he was.
+Having left the fold, he is said to have became a persecutor of his
+people. The Rabbis only accounted for the sad change by a complete
+revolution in his nature--so they called him _Acher_, "another man."
+
+The Sanhedrin found it wise to prohibit the reading of such mystic
+literature that would tend to lead youth astray from the sound and
+healthy teachings of Judaism.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+For an elucidating picture of the compromise of paganism with
+Christianity by a Christian writer, read "Is Catholicism a Baptized
+Paganism?" by Rev. Heber Newton, in the _Forum Magazine_, New York,
+1890.
+
+
+_Jewish Scripture and Church Doctrine_:
+
+Isaiah (particularly ch. ix, 6-7 and ch. liii), was a favorite book
+among Christian theologians from which to deduce the doctrines of
+the church. Notice the quotations used in Handel's Oratorio "The
+Messiah." Also Daniel, hence the prominent place among the prophets,
+given it by the Church. Modern critics altogether abandon this
+forced method of Biblical exegesis. (See Skinner's _Isaiah_ and
+Driver's _Daniel_ (Cambridge Bible).
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Contrast the ancient gnostic with the modern agnostic.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+ROME'S REGIME AFTER JUDEA'S OVERTHROW.
+
+ =Roman Emperors= | =Jewry=
+ |
+ Titus 79 | Jamnian Academy 70
+ Domitian 81 | Clemens, Roman proselyte,
+ | put to death, 95
+ Nerva, 96 | Revolt of the Diaspora, 115
+ Trajan, 98 | Aquila's Bible translation
+ | about 128
+ Hadrian, 117 | Akiba, president of Sanhedrin 130
+ Antoninus Pius, 138 | Bar Cochba insurrection, 132-135
+
+
+Proselytes Again.
+
+The Emperor Vespasian, who had permitted the institution of the
+Jamnian Academy, was succeeded by his son Titus. Titus lived too
+briefly after he became emperor to exert a decided influence
+on Israel, but it could never forget that to his hand had been
+entrusted the final overthrow of Judea. His brother Domitian,
+however, the next emperor, was a tyrant and a degenerate. It is said
+that at one time he contemplated the extermination of the Jews. The
+Jewish tax (_Fiscus Judaicus_) was collected with needless cruelty
+and indignity. He bitterly persecuted those Romans who in spite of
+Israel's fallen fortunes, were still drawn to its Faith and made
+severe laws against those who encouraged conversion. Proselytes
+came in sufficient numbers to make the subject an important theme
+of discussion in the Jewish Academy. It was probably in Rome itself
+where the spread of Judaism most alarmed the emperor. Perhaps its
+teachings reached the Romans through the Jewish prisoners of war.
+Certainly many high born Romans were enthusiastically prepared to
+make sacrifices for its cause. It is said that even Flavius Clemens
+and his wife Flavia Domitilla, relatives of Domitian and possible
+heirs to the throne, were pledged to Judaism. Clemens was put to
+death and his wife was exiled. But a step, and Judaism might have
+mounted the imperial throne of Rome and have exchanged destinies
+with Christianity. Perhaps not even then, for its unbending
+monotheism and strict Law brooked no easy compromise. However, it is
+one of the might-have-beens of history.
+
+One of the most famous proselytes was Aquila, a Greek of scholarship
+and wealth. Dissatisfied with the later Greek translations of the
+Bible, distorted to fit Christian doctrine, Aquila made a literal
+translation from the Hebrew that so commended itself to the Rabbis
+that it became the "authorized version," so to speak, for the
+Synagogue. An Aramaic (p. 60) translation of the Bible, following
+his model, was called after him _Targum Onkelos_--which means "a
+translation like that of Aquila." It is often printed with the
+Hebrew texts of Scripture to-day.
+
+
+Revolt against Trajan.
+
+It was the unhappy fate of Israel that the mischievous Domitian
+should have reigned so long and that the good Emperor Nerva,
+his successor, should have reigned so briefly. So although the
+injunctions against proselytes were removed during the sixteen
+months of Nerva's rule as soon as Trajan came to the throne many
+anti-Jewish laws were restored. Like Alexander the Greek, Trajan the
+Roman cherished the wild desire of conquering Asia. When he attacked
+Parthia, the Jews living in semi-independence there became his most
+vigorous opponents. In Babylon they stubbornly held the city of
+Nisibis against his legions. No sooner had he subdued the lands on
+the Euphrates and the Tigris than the Persian provinces revolted.
+
+All the Jews of the Diaspora now seized the occasion to throw off
+the hated Roman yoke. For they had never become reconciled to it;
+and, their children, now grown to manhood, had been brought up
+in the assurance that soon Judea would be won back again and the
+Temple rebuilt. "Carthage must be destroyed" had been the Roman cry;
+"Jerusalem must be rebuilt" was now the Jewish. In Egypt, in Cyprus,
+a Mediterranean island, and in Cyrene, further west on the African
+coast--they rose against their opponents. At first success came
+to their arms, though much blood flowed on both sides; but there
+could be no doubt of the ultimate outcome with Rome's overwhelming
+numbers. Yet so vigorous was their resistance that the historian
+Graetz ventures to think that, in spite of lacking cavalry and being
+indifferently armed, had these three separate Jewish uprisings
+been organized under one directing control it would have gone hard
+with the Roman legions. As it was, their beautiful synagogue in
+Alexandria was destroyed, all the Jewish inhabitants of Cyprus were
+slain and the island forbidden them in the future. Many lives were
+lost in other places of Jewish insurrection, including Judea itself.
+The revolt certainly nipped in the bud Trajan's foolish ambition to
+conquer all Asia, and he died in mortification at his failure.
+
+Gamaliel was now dead and Rabbi Joshua had become Patriarch. The
+reins of power could not have been entrusted to wiser hands, for he
+seized the moment of the accession of the new emperor, Hadrian, to
+counsel conciliation. Like Jochanan ben Zakkai, he saw the futility
+of Israel wasting its strength in fighting with colossal Rome.
+The Sanhedrin was removed from Jamnia to Oosha in upper Galilee.
+Joshua's sway was less rigorous than that of Gamaliel. At a time
+when many of his brethren felt nothing but hatred toward the
+heathen, he uttered the famous dictum: "The virtuous of all peoples
+have a share in the heavenly bliss of the life to come." This has
+since been accepted by the House of Israel as the classic expression
+of its attitude towards other religions.
+
+The new emperor Hadrian also seemed at first inclined to a policy
+of concession; but there was little choice, for revolt burst out in
+all parts of the empire, from Asia Minor in the East to Britain in
+the far West. The discouraged emperor gladly met many of his enemies
+half way. Parthia was restored to the control of its own princes. In
+Judea proper a cruel general, Quietus, was checked in his terrible
+purpose of exterminating the Jews and was ultimately executed.
+
+
+Hadrian's "Promise."
+
+To win peace and adherents, Hadrian was willing to make many
+fair promises at the opening of his reign that he had no serious
+intention of fulfiling. One of these was an offer to the Jews to
+rebuild their Temple, which they had exacted as the condition of
+laying down their arms. Imagine the boundless joy with which this
+news was received--a Cyrus come to power once more! Hebrew poets
+sang of the glories that were to come. Christians and Samaritans
+were much disconcerted at the news.
+
+But as soon as Hadrian had obtained the mastery of the situation
+and quiet was restored, he resorted to subterfuge. They might
+rebuild their Temple, but not in the same place! He knew it was
+that place or none. The Jews saw through the pretense; their hopes
+were blasted. There was talk of war again, but the wise Rabbi Joshua
+still counselled submission. So for many years the embers of revolt
+slumbered in the breasts of the Jews, but did not die out, though as
+long as Rabbi Joshua lived they did not break into flame.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Proselytes_:
+
+Read the article on this subject in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_ for
+fuller list of Roman proselytes. Notice here first, the different
+degrees of proselytism; secondly, the attitude of the synagogue
+toward the convert, favorable or unfavorable in different periods of
+its history, varying with its changing relations with the outside
+world. Based on the laws given to Noah (Genesis ix) the Tannaim
+deduced seven Noachian rules, which they regarded as obligations
+binding on all mankind. To these humane laws strangers living in
+their midst must conform. For they felt this sense of responsibility
+to those not of their religion.
+
+[Illustration: BRASS COIN OF NERVA, 96 C. E.
+
+MARKING THE WITHDRAWAL OF CERTAIN ABUSES IN CONNECTION WITH THE
+JEWISH TAX.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+AKIBA.
+
+
+Love and Law.
+
+The man who now came to the fore was of a different mould--the
+famous Rabbi Akiba. He was born in Palestine in the year 50 C. E.
+that is, some 20 years before the Temple fell. Many a pretty legend
+is woven around his life. Have you ever realized that it is only
+around great men that legends most luxuriantly grow? Imagination
+does not seek to picture incidents in the lives of the commonplace.
+Not only poor, but ignorant, Akiba despised scholars and
+scholarship. One day, so runs the story, this humble shepherd met
+Rachel, the beautiful daughter of his master, Kalba Sabua, and fell
+in love with her. Angry at his daughter's attachment for this boor,
+the rich Kalba disinherited her. Her sweet self-sacrifice in sharing
+poverty with him rather than wealth without him, roused the noblest
+qualities dormant in Akiba's nature. She was determined to bear yet
+further privation that he might become a scholar in the Law. For it
+was to his ignorance, rather than to his poverty, that the father
+had objected. Among no people was illiteracy so great a disgrace as
+among the Jews, and among none did learning simply, confer so much
+honor. So at her urgency, he reluctantly left his home to sit at
+the feet of the Rabbis of the Schools. The chronicles of chivalry
+furnish pretty stories of knights-errant hieing forth at the bidding
+of fair ladies to make conquests in distant fields of battle. Akiba
+went forth at Rachel's bidding; and is not the mastery of knowledge
+a victory as renowned as that of war? A wonderful pupil he became,
+for he had the gift of enthusiasm. But while he was winning renown
+at the Academy, she, alone and at a distance, was battling with
+poverty, at one time having to sell her hair to buy food for her
+child. But still the self-sacrificing woman would not permit his
+return.
+
+One day it was announced in the village in which she lived that
+the great scholar, Rabbi Akiba, was about to visit it. He came,
+surrounded by many disciples, and as the crowd of admirers gathered
+about him, they pushed aside a poorly clad woman who tried to reach
+his side. But espying her, he parted the crowd and caught her in his
+arms. To the astonished spectators he declared, "All that I know I
+owe to her, for she was my inspiration."
+
+So far the romantic side of his life. On its literary side he was a
+great _Tanna_, and famous scholars came from his School. His method
+of interpreting new Law from old was based on the theory that no
+word or particle in the Pentateuch was redundant; if any appeared
+in the text that it seemed could be dispensed with, then it must
+have some hidden significance. This changed the law of Moses from a
+limited group of unvarying precepts to a living fount of continuous
+tradition, and made the laws of the days of the Jewish monarchy
+capable of modification and enlargement to fit Israel's life under
+the Roman Empire. Interpretation that would produce new precepts to
+meet the changing conditions of later times was undertaken by Hillel
+(p. 113) but never before reduced to so complete a system as was
+done by Rabbi Akiba. On such a principle there was no end of the
+possible deductions from Scripture. Yet the Rabbis were too earnest
+and too conscientious knowingly to abuse it. The theory worked in
+the interest of progress. The institution of this method has earned
+for Akiba the title of "father of rabbinic Judaism."
+
+He further gave an impetus to the classification of the _Halachoth_
+already begun before his day. This classification of the Oral Law
+was called _Mishna_, or Second Law, of which we shall hear more
+later on.
+
+He, too, had a voice in fixing the canon of Scripture.
+
+
+Akiba's Ethics.
+
+Here follow some of his sayings:
+
+ "How favored is man for he was created in the Image" (of God).
+
+ "--Who slays a man sins against the devine image."
+
+ "Take thy seat below thy rank until bidden to take a higher
+ place."
+
+ "God is merciful but He does not permit this mercy to impair His
+ justice."
+
+ "Everything is foreseen, yet freedom of will is given to man."
+
+There is also ascribed to him on doubtful authority the maxim,
+"Whatever God doeth He doeth for the best."
+
+There is a mystic note throughout his teachings; mark the following:
+
+ "Everything is given in pledge ... the office is open, the
+ broker gives credit; there is the ledger and the hand writes;
+ whoever wishes to borrow may borrow, but the bailiffs daily
+ exact; the judgment is fair; and everything is prepared for the
+ Banquet."
+
+In the spirit of Hillel's Golden Rule he regarded the greatest
+principle of Judaism the law "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
+thyself."
+
+He was always entrusted with tasks of delicacy and
+consideration--the notification to R. Gamaliel that he had been
+impeached, to R. Eliezar that he had been excommunicated. To the
+latter he broke the disagreeable news in these words: "It seems your
+brethren turn away from you."
+
+
+Law and Faith.
+
+Akiba established an Academy at Bene Barak. There was a wonderful
+fascination about the man that attracted hundreds of students
+to him--tradition says thousands. That was in part due to the
+enthusiasm of his _faith_. An instance of his faith is illustrated
+in his visit to Rome, with some of his colleagues, to intercede on
+behalf of his people. They burst into tears at beholding Rome's
+splendor, mentally contrasting it with Jerusalem's desolation. He
+met their tears with a hopeful smile: "The present ruined condition
+of our beloved land foretold by the Prophets, only assures me of the
+fulfilment of their brighter prophecies of our ultimate triumph."
+
+Alas, even faith may have its drawbacks! Akiba's deep conviction
+that the restoration of Judea's independence was at hand, to be
+effected by the advent of the Messiah, induced him to encourage the
+revolt that was quietly but steadily spreading among his disaffected
+brethren.
+
+Hadrian, little understanding the spirit of this people, reported
+to the Senate after making a circuit through the Roman provinces,
+that all was peace. He was both foolish and cruel enough to display
+his absolute power and Israel's complete subjection, not only by
+altogether withdrawing permission to rebuild the Jewish Temple,
+but by ordering a heathen shrine to be reared on its site, thus
+completely to paganize Jerusalem.
+
+This was the last straw. The aged Rabbi Joshua went to implore the
+emperor to desist from this wanton project, but in vain. It was one
+of the last acts of the Patriarch's life. When he died it was said
+good counsel ceased in Israel. Like Antiochus of old, Hadrian wished
+to obliterate Judaism--and Christianity, too, for that matter,--and
+make the idolatrous worship of Serapis universal.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+_Masora_ is the technical term for the notes on the traditional
+Scripture text by the Fathers of the Synagogue. The original text
+has been thus preserved intact in these scrupulous and reverent
+hands. See article, "Masora," Isidore Harris, _Jewish Quarterly
+Review_, Vol. i.
+
+
+_Akiba_:
+
+The blessing that charity brings to the giver was a favorite idea of
+Akiba--a _Mitzvah_!
+
+Simon b. Shetach was called the "Restorer of the Law"; Hillel the
+"Regenerator of the Law"; Akiba the "Father of Rabbinic Judaism."
+
+In deciding the Canon of Scripture (p. 22), Akiba's influence kept
+_Song of Songs_ and _Esther_ in the Bible, but unfortunately kept
+_Ecclesiasticus_ out of it.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Should Akiba's method of law deduction be called casuistic?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+LAST STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY.
+
+
+Bar Cochba.
+
+Preparations for rebellion had been carefully planned for some
+years. Arms had been stored in caves. Akiba was the inspiration of
+the revolt, its Deborah, let us say. But who was to be its Barak?
+The times created the man. A hero appeared to lead the forces of
+Israel whom the multitude in admiration called Bar Cochba (son of
+a star). This title may have been suggested by the name of his
+birthplace, Koziba, but chiefly also because he was regarded by the
+enthusiasts as the long-looked-for Messiah. This man, of colossal
+strength and strategic resources, was going to make Rome feel the
+power of a scorned people. Reinforcements came fast to the banner of
+the supposed Messiah, scion of David's house, who was to throw off
+the yoke of Rome and restore the throne of Judah. Soon he had half a
+million men at his back.
+
+The Roman governor, Tinnius Rufus, who is the Talmud's archetype of
+cruelty, fled with his garrison. In the first year of the war fifty
+fortresses and a thousand towns capitulated before the advancing
+arms of Bar Cochba; for the presence of the beloved Akiba gave
+confidence to all. We might say of him as was written of Moses,
+"When Akiba raised his hand, Israel prevailed."
+
+Hadrian, who first slighted the insurrection, had soon reason to
+fear it. His best generals were dispatched to Judea only to be
+repulsed. Already Bar Cochba was having coins struck with his
+insignia. Alas the act was premature. King Ahab once said, "Let not
+him boast who putteth on his armor as he who taketh it off." In the
+meantime Roman prisoners of war were treated with great forbearance;
+indeed some heathens, impressed with the enthusiasm of the Jews, had
+joined their ranks.
+
+
+General Severus.
+
+Eventually, after Bar Cochba had held sway for two years without
+cavalry and had repulsed every Roman army, Hadrian, alarmed,
+summoned the great general, Julius Severus, from distant Britain.
+The Jewish focus of operations was at Bethar, south of Caesarea,
+and one mile from the Mediterranean, and fortifications had been
+placed north, west and east to hold control of the country. Jezreel
+commanded the centre.
+
+Like Vespasian, the great general Severus, decided on siege rather
+than attack. So he steadily cut off supplies and provisions and
+also barbarously put to death all prisoners of war. There was no
+Josephus to give us vivid details of this campaign, so we only know
+its general result. The three great outlying fortresses on the
+frontier were first mastered. The next battle took place on the
+field of Jezreel. One by one the Jewish fortresses fell. The whole
+Judean army was now concentrated in Bethar where the decisive battle
+must be waged. It was the Jerusalem of this war. Severus resolved
+to starve it out. For one year the Jews bravely held out against
+the finest army of the age. At last some Romans found a way into
+Bethar through a subterranean passage which some Samaritans, it is
+said, betrayed. Then followed an awful carnage in which Roman horses
+"waded to the nostrils in Jewish blood." More than half a million
+souls were slain and thousands more perished by fire and hunger.
+Yet so great were also the Roman losses that Hadrian in his message
+of the campaign to the Roman senate, significantly omitted the
+formula, "I and the army are well."
+
+In the year 135 Bethar fell and tradition places it on the same date
+so disastrous in Jewish annals--the 9th of Ab. The Roman soldiers
+kept up a war of extermination against the scattered bands that
+still held out. Many who had taken refuge in caves were brutally
+massacred. All the Jews throughout the Roman Empire were made to
+feel the weight of Hadrian's anger in heavy taxation. As though
+wantonly to mark its complete desolation, the plow was passed over
+Jerusalem. North of it was built a Roman city--Aelia Capitolina. On
+the Temple Mount was erected a shrine dedicated to Jupiter, with
+the vindictive purpose of obliterating the very name of Jerusalem.
+(And it _was_ forgotten--for one hundred and fifty years.) No Jew
+dared enter that city under penalty of death. But all this was but
+preliminary to his real punishment of those who were called rebels
+only because they failed. Keener sighted than Vespasian, who blotted
+out the Nation but tolerated the Faith, Hadrian saw that there was
+only one way to crush the Jew; that was by crushing his religion. To
+that abortive purpose he now devoted himself with all the inhumanity
+of a Pharaoh. To the cruel but cowardly Tinnius Rufus, who had fled
+at the first alarm, that task was entrusted. Judaism was proscribed.
+Obedience to its Law was declared a capital crime. Should they
+commit physical or spiritual suicide was the dilemma that now faced
+Israel. Was ever a people reduced to such straits?
+
+
+Law and Life.
+
+A few were ready for ignoble acquiescence and called it submitting
+to the inevitable, forgetting that "inevitable" is an elastic
+term that varies with our moral determination. Meeting secretly
+in a garret, the Rabbis considered the momentous question of the
+religious policy of this critical hour. They decided that while this
+terrible decree lasted the people might disregard Jewish observances
+under duress, since the Law was given, not that they should die, but
+live by it. But fearing that their lenient proclamation might be
+mistakenly applied to the fundamentals of religion and morals, they
+made this safeguard: Even to save his life, no Jew must commit the
+sins of _idolatry_, _adultery_, or _murder_. This vitally important
+declaration, involving the all-compelling sanction of the second,
+sixth and seventh commandments, became an abiding principle in
+Judaism.
+
+But many of the Rabbis themselves refused to take advantage of the
+leniency they were willing to grant to others, and determined to
+obey every injunction of Judaism. In particular they determined to
+teach the Law to their disciples, on which the continuance of the
+Jewish tradition depended--though they knew that death would be the
+penalty of discovery. Roman spies were everywhere ready to pounce
+upon any who committed the "crime" of fulfilling the precepts of
+Judaism in obedience to the dictates of conscience. Some were only
+fined, but others were put to death with tortures too cruel to tell.
+
+
+Martyrdom.
+
+There were ten famous martyrs among the teachers of the Law. One
+of these, Chananyah ben Teradion, had the scroll of the Law he was
+expounding, wound round him and was burnt in its flames--wet wool
+being placed on his heart to prolong his agony. His executioner,
+inspired by such lofty example of faith and courage, sought death
+with him on the same pyre.
+
+Another, Rabbi Judah ben Baba, gathered some of his disciples
+about him in a lonely spot, to ordain them as rabbis by the rite
+of _Semicha_, already explained. Roman soldiers discovered him. He
+bade his pupils fly. They refused to obey until he pointed out that
+having learnt from him important decisions of the Law, it was their
+duty to live and teach them to others. Later they found him pierced
+with three hundred lances.
+
+Rabbi Akiba was among the martyrs and would not avail himself of the
+temporary suspension of the ceremonial Law. Reproached for exposing
+his life by teaching the Law he answered in a parable that has
+since become famous, that of "The Fox and the Fishes." Seeing the
+frightened fish swimming from nets set to entrap them, a crafty fox
+on the bank called out, "Come up on land and escape the snares of
+the sea." "Nay," advised the counsellor among the fish, "far wiser
+will it be to remain in the water, your native element, even though
+made perilous by the nets of men." Was not Judaism the _native
+element_ of the Jew?
+
+Soon this noble teacher was seized and cast into prison. Rufus
+ordered him to be flayed to death by iron pincers. But religion
+cannot be killed in that way. In the midst of his agonies, a
+seraphic smile illuminated his face. "Daily," said he, "I have
+recited the _Shema_, 'Love God with heart and soul and might,'
+and now I understand its last phrase--'with all thy might,'--that
+is even though He ask thy life; here I give Him my life." With
+this wondrous recital of Israel's prayer, this sweet soul, whose
+opinions may have brought him some opponents, but whose character
+all loved, passed away. His parable of "The Fox and the Fishes"
+contained a profound truth exemplified in himself; for, dying in his
+native element, the Law, he lives immortally in the Jewish heart;
+aye, through the inspiration of his death and that of others like
+him, does Israel abide to-day. Here was another application of the
+"suffering servant" in Isaiah's fifty-third chapter.
+
+Thus ended Israel's last struggle for liberty. It severed, too, the
+last link that yet united the Jewish Christians to the parent Jewish
+body. For they said, "Why hold further relation with a community
+completely crushed and discredited in the eyes of all the world?"
+They believed that Judaism's collapse and disappearance was at hand.
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+Rome first despised the Judean revolt and then had to send its
+greatest general to quell it. Compare the similar experience of
+Britain with the Boers.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+What degree of pain or peril justifies disregard of ceremonial law?
+
+[Illustration: COIN OF THE SECOND REVOLT OF BAR COCHBA, 132-135 C.
+E.]
+
+ (Nearly all the illustrations of coins used in this book have
+ been taken from Madden's "Coins of the Jews," London: Truebner &
+ Co.)
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+R. JUDAH, "THE SAINT," AND HIS TIMES.
+
+
+Sorrowfully the Jews now took up the burden of life once more. In
+spite of dreadful devastation and dreary outlook the faith and
+spirit of the majority remained unbroken. Hadrian had tried to
+eradicate Judaism, but he had failed. The defeated were still the
+victors. In the year 138 Hadrian was succeeded by the more humane
+Antoninus Pius. The religious persecution was stopped, Rome's normal
+toleration of Judaism was resumed. The Sanhedrin was reopened at
+Oosha, the Presidency being still retained in the family of Hillel.
+Rabbi Simon, the Nasi, was the author of the maxim, "The world rests
+on three pillars--Truth, Justice and Peace." Compare the "world's
+three pillars" of Simon the Just. (p. 30).
+
+
+Mair and Beruriah.
+
+Rabbi Mair was a unique figure of this time. He is said to have
+given one-third of his means to support poor students. Not at first
+recognized because of his youth, he gave expression to the maxim,
+"Look not at the vessel, but at that which it contains; for there
+are new flasks full of old wine and old flasks which contain not
+even new wine." Did not Rabbi Joshua express a similar sentiment?
+
+Rabbi Mair was a broad man who gladly gathered knowledge from all,
+Jew and non-Jew alike. Mark this bit of wisdom: "Who studies the
+Law for its own sake is worth the whole world and is loved by God
+and man." Is not the study of the Law _for its own sake_ the very
+essence of religion? He would illustrate his lessons by fables in
+the portrayal of which he was wonderfully gifted.
+
+His wife, Beruria, is the most renowned--or perhaps the only
+renowned--woman in Talmudic annals. We might compare her to the
+Shunamite (II Kings, iv.), whom the Bible calls a "great" woman.
+Great was Beruria in strength of character, in dignity and withal in
+motherly affection. She was indeed a helpmeet to her husband and to
+many of her people in a time of storm and stress. Her own parents
+had been martyrs in the Hadrianic war. She was a scholar too. Her
+keen penetration and at the same time her womanly tenderness are
+revealed in her interpretation of the text, "Let sinners be consumed
+out of the earth." (Psalms civ. 35). Not _sinners_, but _sin_.
+Then indeed will be fulfilled the hope at the conclusion of the
+text--"The wicked will be no more."
+
+Her strength of character is perhaps best revealed in the pathetic
+story told of the consoling way in which she broke to her husband
+the terrible news of the death of their two sons. Some "jewels" had
+been entrusted to her, which she so highly prized that it was hard
+to give them up; what should she do? They must be returned said R.
+Mair. In this way fortifying him with consolation for the sorrow
+awaiting him in this double bereavement, she gently led him to the
+chamber where the dead children lay.
+
+
+Judah ha-Nasi.
+
+As the epoch of the Tannaim opened, so now it closed, with a
+remarkable man--Rabbi Judah, called _par excellence_ The Nasi, i.e.,
+greatest of all. And no Nasi before him had been permitted to
+exercise so much power over the Sanhedrin,--now located in Sepphoris
+in Galilee.
+
+Like so many of his predecessors, he devoted much of his wealth to
+the maintenance of students of the Law, and fed the poor during
+a famine. He came to be known as "the Saint." His most valuable
+service was the complete codification of all the Halachoth that
+had been gradually accumulating since post-Biblical time. While
+similar collections had been made before his time, commenced by
+Hillel, amplified by Rabbi Akiba and revised by Rabbi Mair, his
+final editing of the previous work became the officially accepted
+condensation of the Oral Law--the Mishna, superseding all earlier
+collections.
+
+It is treated in the following chapter.
+
+Rabbi Judah, not only compiled the teachings of others, but he left
+valuable maxims of his own:
+
+ "Be as careful of the observance of a light precept as of a
+ weighty one."
+
+ "Balance the material loss involved in the performance of a
+ precept against its spiritual compensation and the present
+ desirable fruits of a sinful deed against the injury to thine
+ immortal soul."
+
+ "Know what is above thee: A seeing eye, a hearing ear, and that
+ all thy actions are written in a book."
+
+No Nasi received so much reverential regard from the people at
+large. While he was dying, they gathered around his house, declaring
+in the exaggeration of grief that they would slay the person who
+would dare announce his death. At length there came forward Bar
+Kappara, a man of broad scientific attainments and withal a man of
+delicate imagination. In fact, he was a poet too, as may be judged
+by the way in which he announced Rabbi Judah's death: "Angels and
+mortals contended for the ark of the covenant; the angels have
+conquered, the ark of the covenant is gone."
+
+
+Other Famous Teachers.
+
+Just a passing word on other great men of this epoch. Rabbi Jochanan
+showed his breadth of view in encouraging the study of Greek and
+opening up its great literature to Jewish youth, and particularly in
+his recommendation of it for girls. This urging of the cultivation
+of the female mind formed a pleasing contrast to the prevailing
+practice--the comparative neglect of the education of women--which
+practice survives in some of our communities to-day!
+
+To this period also belonged that keen logician, Resh Lakish,
+likewise renowned for his colossal strength and his scrupulous
+honesty. He discerned that the Book of Job was not a history, but a
+life problem put in the form of a story. He also taught that Hell
+has no real existence. Not that he or his age altogether denied a
+future retribution for the wicked. But Hell never appealed strongly
+to the conviction of the Jew. Certainly the Synagogue does not teach
+the doctrine of "everlasting punishment" to-day.
+
+Another teacher, Rabbi Simlai, searched the Scriptures and
+enumerated 613 ordinances of Judaism--365 negative and 248
+affirmative precepts. He found them further reduced to eleven
+principles in the 15th Psalm; in Isaiah xxxiii. to six; in Micah vi.
+8 to three; in Isaiah lvi. to two; and in Amos v.-4 to one: "Seek
+ye Me and ye shall live"; to one also in Habbakuk ii.-4. "The just
+shall live by his Faith."
+
+Nor must we forget that group of rabbis who, investigating the
+religious and educational condition of various towns and finding in
+one place no teachers, asked the magistrate to present the guardians
+of the city. He marched forth the armed men. "No," said the rabbis,
+"these are not the guardians, but the destroyers of a city. Its true
+guardians are the teachers."
+
+Let us mention in this group, too, Rabbi Abbahu, the last of the
+great men of the Palestinian schools, renowned not so much as an
+expert on the _Halacha_ as a keen _Hagadist_. This is another
+way of saying that he was not so much a subtle jurist as a great
+_preacher_. He was a student of human nature. His keen insight on
+one occasion chose as the worthiest to pray for rain, a man bad by
+repute, but who, he had discerned, was noble in character.
+
+
+NOTE AND REFERENCE.
+
+For complete enumeration of the 613 precepts, see article
+"Commandments," _Jewish Encyclopedia_, vol. iv.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Can the number of our duties be specified?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+THE MISHNA.
+
+
+All the supplementary laws that grew up around the _written_ Codes
+of the Bible were called, by distinction, the _Oral Law_. These
+included the decisions of the Scribes (p. 19), the Pairs (pp. 87-8)
+and the Tannaim (p. 186). Rabbi Judah the Nasi made a compilation of
+all of these and called it The Mishna. Derived from the Hebrew verb
+_shanah_, to learn or repeat, the Mishna is popularly known as the
+Second Law. It became the recognized code for all legal decisions,
+and the authorized text-book in all the schools.
+
+It now took its place beside the Law of the Pentateuch, and just as
+that first Law was a text for further development, so too we shall
+see that this Second Law, containing Halachoth of the _Sopherim_,
+the _Pairs_ and the _Tannaim_, became the parent of a vast growth
+of precepts and prohibitions in the interpreting hands of the
+generations now to follow.
+
+The Mishna is divided into six groups (Sedarim) containing sixty
+subdivisions (Mesechtas), as follows:
+
+
+I. SEEDS: AGRICULTURAL LAWS.
+
+1, Introductory chapter on "Prayers"; 2, "Corners" of fields for the
+poor (Levit. xix., 9-10); 3, Doubtful produce (whether tithed or
+untithed); 4, Illegal mixtures (Deut. xxii. 9-11); 5, Sabbatic Year;
+6, Priests' Tithes; 7, Levites' Tithes; 8, Secondary Tithes; 9,
+Dough offerings (Numbers xv., 17-21); 10, Prohibited fruits of first
+three years (Levit. xix., 23-25); 11, First fruits.
+
+
+II. FESTIVALS.
+
+1, Sabbath; 2, Uniting localities to extend limit of Sabbath walk;
+3, Passover; 4, Half-shekel tax (Ex. xxx., 11-16); 5, Day of
+Atonement; 6, Tabernacles; 7, Festival regulations; 8, New Year; 9,
+Fasts; 10, Purim; 11, Middle days of the Festivals; 12, Festival
+Pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
+
+
+III. WOMEN
+
+1, Levirate marriage (Deut. xxv., 5-10); 2, Marriage contracts; 3,
+Vows; 4, Nazarites (Numb. vi, and xxx); 5, The suspected sinner; 6,
+Divorce; 7, Betrothal.
+
+
+IV. DAMAGES: CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LAW.
+
+1, First division--general; 2, Second division--Suits between
+master and servant, etc; 3, Third Division--Municipal and social
+regulations; 4, The Sanhedrin and Criminal Law; 5, Punishment by
+flogging; 6, Oaths; 7, Decisions between opposing traditions; 8,
+Idolatry (crime as well as sin); 9, Ethics of the Fathers; 10,
+Accidental Offences.
+
+
+V. SACRED THINGS.
+
+1, Sacrifices; 2, Meat offerings; 3, Slaughtered animals for food
+only; 4, The first born sacrifice; 5 and 6, Redemption and Exchange
+(see Levit. xxii); 7, Excommunication; 8, Profanation; 9, Temple
+sacrificial services; 10, Temple arrangements; 11, Offerings of poor
+(Levit. v, 1-10, and xii, 8).
+
+
+VI. PURIFICATION.
+
+1, Household furniture; 2, Tents and houses; 3, Leprosy; 4, The
+"Red Heifer" purification (Numb. xix.); 5, Lesser defilements; 6,
+Washing; 7, Periodic defilement; 8, Conditional impurities; 9, Open
+wounds; 10, Personal purification; 11, Washing of the hands; 12,
+Defilement of fruits.
+
+About 150 authorities are quoted in the Mishna, involving about two
+thousand statements. Here are a few specimen sentences:
+
+ "From what time should we begin to read evening prayers
+ (Shema)? From the hour when the priests enter to partake of
+ their offering till the end of the first watch, according to R.
+ Eleazer; (other) sages say till midnight. Rabban Gamaliel says,
+ till dawn. Once it happened that his sons returned (late) from a
+ feast. They said to him, 'We have not yet recited (the Shema).'
+ He replied, 'If it is not yet dawn, the obligation to read it
+ still abides; nay further, where the sages have said, 'till
+ midnight,' their injunction extends it till dawn."--Opening
+ paragraph of _Mishna_.
+
+ R. Nechunjah b. Hakanah was accustomed to offer a short prayer
+ on entering and leaving the Academy. His (disciples) asked the
+ appropriateness of such prayer. He replied: "On entering I pray
+ that no harm should happen through me, on departing I give
+ thanks for my lot."
+
+ "It is man's duty to offer a prayer at the occurrence of evil,
+ just as he prays at good fortune; for Scripture says, 'Thou
+ shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy
+ soul and with all thy might,' 'With all thy heart'--with thy two
+ inclinations of good and evil. 'With all thy soul' (life)--even
+ though He (God) take thy life. 'With all thy might'--with all
+ thy substance."--_Prayers_, i, 1.
+
+ "On New Year all who enter the world, pass before Him (God)
+ like sheep to be judged, as Scripture says: He fashioneth their
+ hearts alike, He understandeth all their doings."
+
+ "On six (different) months messengers are sent forth (to report
+ on the occurrence of the New Moon); On Nisan on account of the
+ Passover; on Ab, on account of the Fast (ninth); on Ellul, on
+ account of New Year; on Tishri, to adjust the Festivals; on
+ Kislev, on account of Hannukah; on Adar, on account of Purim.
+ In the days when the temple stood they (the messengers) also
+ went forth on Iyar, on account of Minor Passover" (see Numb. ix,
+ 10-12).
+
+ The following are prohibited from testifying:--he who gambles
+ with dice, he who lends money on usury, he who trains doves for
+ racing purposes, he who traffics in the produce of the seventh
+ year and slaves.--_New Year_, ii, 8.
+
+Here is a specimen piece from Sanhedrin, with accompanying notes,
+translated for a forthcoming work, _Library of Post-biblical Hebrew
+Literature_:
+
+ They (the Judges[1]) examined them (the witnesses) with seven
+ searching questions: "In what sabbatical year? In what year? In
+ what month? What date of the month? What day? What hour? What
+ place?" R. Jose said, "What day. What hour? What place? Did you
+ know him? Did you warn him?[2] In a case of idolatry, whom did
+ he serve? And with what did he serve?"
+
+ The more searching a judge is in his examinations, the more
+ praiseworthy he is. It happened that the son of Zaccai
+ examined (even) concerning the stems of the figs.[3] And what
+ difference is there between investigations and examinations? In
+ investigations if one should say, "I don't know," his testimony
+ is worthless. In examinations, if one should say, "I don't
+ know," and even two should say, "We don't know," their testimony
+ stands. Whether in investigations or examinations, when they
+ contradict each other, their testimony is worthless.
+
+ One witness said, "on the second of the month," and another
+ witness said, "the third of the month," their testimony stands;
+ because one knows of the intercalary month, and another does not
+ know of the intercalary month.[4] One said, "on the third," and
+ another said, "on the fifth," their testimony is worthless. R.
+ Judah said "it stands." One said, "on the fifth," and another
+ said, "on the seventh," their testimony is worthless, because at
+ the fifth (hour) the sun is in the east, and at the seventh the
+ sun is in the west.
+
+ And afterwards they introduce the second (witness[5]) and
+ examine him. If both their statements agree, they open the case
+ for the defense. If one witness says, "I possess information to
+ clear him," or one of the disciples (of the Sanhedrin) says:
+ "I possess information to condemn," they are ordered to keep
+ silence. If one of the disciples says, "I possess information to
+ clear him," they bring him up, and seat him between the judges,
+ and he does not go down during the whole day.[6] If there be
+ substantial information, they give him a hearing. And even when
+ he (the accused) says, "I possess information for clearing
+ myself," the judges give him a hearing; only there must be
+ substantial information in his words. If the judges find him not
+ guilty, they release him, but if not, they defer his verdict to
+ the next day.[7]
+
+ [1] Criminal cases were judged by a regularly constituted court of
+ three-and-twenty qualified members.
+
+ [2] No punishment could be inflicted if the culprit had not been
+ warned that he was charged with a crime and forewarned as to its
+ consequences.
+
+ [3] The witnesses testified that the crime has been committed under
+ a fig tree.
+
+ [4] _i. e._, one knew that the preceding month was what is called
+ a complete month, counting thirty days, and the days of the
+ celebration of the New Moon (Rosh Hodesh) belonged to the following
+ month; while the other believed that the preceding month was what is
+ called a defective month, counting only twenty-nine days, and that
+ the semi-holyday of the new moon was observed on two days, the first
+ of which belonged to the preceding month.
+
+ [5] It was forbidden to examine a witness in the presence of another
+ one.
+
+ [6] Even if his information is worthless, he remains seated besides
+ the Judges, the whole day, in order not to degrade him before the
+ public.
+
+ [7] A verdict of guilty cannot be pronounced on the same day as that
+ on which the trial was held.
+
+While the Mishna is strictly a code only, still its underlying
+structure is religious. The moral is everywhere impressed. One of
+its sections is a Book of Morals called Ethics of the Fathers, iv.
+9, from which rabbinic sayings have already been quoted. A complete
+translation of this section will be found in the Sabbath Afternoon
+Service of the Prayer Book.
+
+We find no system of doctrines in the Mishna and no formulated
+creed. A bad life is summed up in the general term--_epicurean_,
+which probably meant sensual self-indulgence and scoffing
+scepticism. The Jew is not asked to believe in God's existence. That
+is taken for granted; atheism hardly came within his ken. He is
+asked rather to shun anything that tends to polytheism. Revelation
+and Resurrection are regarded as fundamental beliefs. He who denies
+them will be deprived of future life. To withhold immortality from
+him who disbelieves it we might call poetic justice.
+
+While the ceremonial law was rigorous, its observance was saved from
+being mechanical by the importance laid on sincerity of intention
+and on inner devotion. Not the brazen serpent but the repentant
+heart cured afflicted Israel in the wilderness, the Mishna reminds
+us, pointing its moral with the quotation from the prophet Joel,
+"Rend your hearts, not your garments." To go beyond the Law in the
+keeping of one's word merits the highest praise. Many prohibitions
+were imposed against actions not wrong in themselves, as barriers
+against possible wrong. These formed a "fence around the Law."
+
+
+Amoraim.
+
+The acceptance of the Mishna as the Canon of Jewish Law
+curtailed--theoretically at least--the freedom of the rabbis who
+now followed, in the evolving of new Law. This later group of
+teachers was henceforth at liberty only to _expound_ the Mishna.
+They are therefore called _Amoraim_, expounders, to distinguish them
+from the Tannaim, that class of teachers who interpreted direct from
+the Scriptures and whose work closed with the Mishna.
+
+The Mishna tended still further to emphasize the legal character
+of Judaism (p. 19). While it may have robbed the individual of
+spontaneity of religious action, it strengthened the bulwarks of
+moral law.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+Another collection similar to the Mishna and arranged on the same
+plan, was called _Tosephta_ (addenda). This contains for the most
+part commentaries on Scripture and much of what has been called
+Agada (p. 187).
+
+Read article "Prof. Schuerer on Life Under the Law," by Israel
+Abrahams in _Jewish Quarterly Review_, vol. xi., and "The Law and
+Recent Criticism," Schechter, vol. iii.
+
+ "The Mishna is for the most part, free from the blemishes of
+ the Roman code. There are fewer contradictory laws, fewer
+ repetitions, fewer interpolations than in the digests: ...
+ as regards a certain outspokenness in bodily things ... its
+ language is infinitely purer than that of the mediaeval
+ casuists."--E. DEUTSCH, _The Talmud_, J. P. S. A.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+What is Revelation, and how did the sages apply it to the Oral Law?
+(See "Ethics of the Fathers," ch. i), Sabbath Afternoon Service,
+Prayer Book.)
+
+
+
+
+Chronological Table.
+
+
+ =Emperors of Rome.= | =Rabbis of the Academies.=
+ |
+ Antoninus Pius 138 | Rabbi Mair and Simon b.
+ | Yochai flourished 140
+ Marcus Aurelius 161 | Jehuda ha-Nasi, Pres. of
+ | Sanhedrin 165
+ Commodus 180 | Jehuda ha-Nasi compiles
+ | Mishna 189
+ Alexander Severus 222-235 | Rab opens Academy at
+ | Sora 220
+ Diocletian 284 | Mar Samuel, Judge at
+ | Nehardea, about 225
+ Constantine 320 | Academy of Pumbaditha 247
+ | Rab Huna dies 297
+ Constantius 337-363 |
+ Neo-Persian Dynasty 226
+ Constantine's anti-Jewish decrees 315
+ Council of Nicea widens gulf between Judaism
+ and Christianity 325
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+BABYLONIA AND ITS SCHOOLS.
+
+
+Ever since the Bar Cochba war, the numerical centre of gravity of
+the Jews had shifted to Babylonia, and soon after the compilation of
+the Mishna in Palestine, Babylonia became the religious centre too.
+
+This fertile country, in which history began, lay between the
+Euphrates and Tigris, with the Persian Gulf at the south. The
+name Babylon is sometimes used in Jewish annals to include the
+surrounding lands, with a southwestern boundary, as far as the
+Arabian Desert. This second "Land of Israel" had been a home for the
+Jews since the first forced exile there in the year 600 B. C. E., in
+the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. From Babylon came both Ezra and
+Hillel, though in the four centuries intervening between these two
+men, we hear nothing of Jewish life in Babylon.
+
+
+Babylon's Varied Rulers.
+
+This land had varied fortunes. The home of the Babylonians--one
+of the most important of the Semitic families and one of the most
+ancient civilizations--it was conquered by Cyrus the Persian,
+about 540 B. C. E. About the year 330 it was taken by Alexander
+in his triumphant march through Asia and became part of the
+Seleucidan Empire, (see p. 28). This brought into it something of
+a Greek atmosphere. In the year 160 B. C. E. it was conquered by
+Parthia--an Asiatic nation dwelling south of the Caspian Sea. This
+regime continued for four centuries, though the Parthians exercised
+no influence whatever on the Jews. In the year 226 A. C. E. a
+Neo-Persian dynasty was re-established. This continued till the
+coming of the Arabs in the seventh century--a later story.
+
+During all these changes in the controlling power, the Jews
+continued in Babylonia undisturbed. When Judea fell, in the year
+70, almost an annihilating catastrophe to those at hand, their life
+went on without a break, except that it brought to the new home a
+large number of Jewish refugees. So that by the second century after
+the Christian era, Babylon had become the centre of greatest Jewish
+influence and activity. Trajan had tried to conquer the land, but
+failed (p. 203). So Babylonian Jews remained out of the reach of the
+Roman grasp.
+
+
+Resh Galutha.
+
+What was their status here? Since the time of Cyrus the government
+had been Persian. Given almost complete political independence, the
+Jews simply paid taxes to the ruling power. As Persia had granted to
+the Jews the privilege of administering their own affairs in Judea
+so, naturally, the same permission was granted in Babylonia. There
+was this important difference. The head of the Judean community
+had been the High Priest; those were the days when the Temple
+stood. When we turn to Babylon in the century following Jerusalem's
+overthrow, we find the governor of the Jewish community was called
+Exilarch or _Resh Galutha_, Head of the Exile. _Galuth_ was a word
+freighted with emotional meaning to our fathers.
+
+The Resh Galutha, as distinct from the High Priest of an earlier
+day, was entirely a civil functionary, and the office carried more
+power. As Exilarch he was recognized by the government and occupied
+a place among the Persian nobility. At first but collectors of
+revenue, these officials were later treated as princes--perhaps as a
+mark of gratitude for the Jewish support when Parthia was fighting
+Rome. A good deal of pomp came to be associated with the office.
+These Exilarchs were all chosen from the House of David, and so
+represented a quasi-royalty. The line continued unbroken till the
+eleventh century. They exercised complete judicial authority among
+their own people. Unlike the Patriarch or Nasi of Judea, with whom
+we may also compare them, they were not necessarily learned in the
+Law.
+
+The Jews of Babylonia were for the most part engaged in agriculture,
+commerce and handicrafts, and even in work on the canals. Fortunate
+indeed were they to have again secured a home beyond Rome's cruel
+control, where, undisturbed, they might live their own life. In the
+study of the Law they found inexhaustible material for intellectual
+and religious activity. But how was religion taught and the
+continuity of Judaism maintained in Babylonia?
+
+At first they were entirely dependent on the Palestinian Academies
+established in Jamnia and Lydda and other places after the fall of
+Jerusalem, and were altogether subject to the Judean Sanhedrin. Many
+students traveled to Palestine to study at its schools. But after a
+time the community grew strong enough intellectually to establish
+academies of its own. The heads of the Academies corresponded to the
+Judean Patriarchs, only that all civil power was vested in the Resh
+Galutha, above mentioned.
+
+Step by step the Babylonian students increased in learning; and,
+acquiring confidence, came to feel less the need of the guidance
+of the parent authority. Soon this settlement further east claimed
+independent jurisdiction. This was bitterly resented in Palestine.
+The removal of the Sanhedrin to Jamnia had been the first wrench.
+The second was the removal of the central authority from the Holy
+Land altogether, to distant Babylonia. But Palestine could not stem
+the tide. As the fortunes of the Jews declined there, its schools
+declined with them. Steadily waned, too, the authority of the
+Patriarch.
+
+
+Rab and Samuel.
+
+Babylonian schools also produced great scholars, some as renowned
+as those of Palestine. For reasons given on p. 227 they are all
+_Amoraim_, not _Tannaim_. Let us mention first _Abba Areka_,
+popularly called by his many disciples Rab (Rabbi), "_the_ teacher,"
+who flourished in Babylonia a few years after the Mishna had been
+compiled in Palestine. Apart from his duties as expounder of the
+Law, the Resh Galutha appointed him to the position of supervisor
+of weights and measures. Occasioned by this occupation to travel
+in outlying districts, he discovered the ignorance of the remoter
+congregations. This led to his establishment of the Academy of Sora
+about the year 220. It continued a seat of Jewish study for eight
+hundred years. Hundreds of pupils flocked to Rab's Academy. Some he
+maintained from his own purse. At the same time the study hours were
+arranged to give pupils the opportunity of earning their living.
+Some lectures were delivered to the public at large. An Academy
+almost as famous was established at Pumbeditha; another at Nehardea.
+
+It was not only in the expounding of ritual and civil law to which
+Rab devoted his energies, but also to raising the ethical standard
+of the people. For the austere simplicity and purity of Jewish
+life had sadly degenerated in Babylonia. Wonderfully salutary and
+effective was the influence of Rab in his moral crusade. He made the
+betrothal and marriage laws more strict and more decorous. He also
+strengthened the authority of the Courts of Justice by resort to
+excommunication of refractory persons. Deservedly was this modest
+man called the Hillel of his day.
+
+Usually associated with the name of Rab was the versatile _Mar
+Samuel_, his contemporary. He was essentially the rationalist of his
+age who discouraged with his hard common sense the dreamers who were
+awaiting the speedy and miraculous coming of the Messiah. In Jewish
+Law his ability chiefly was directed toward the interpretation of
+civil jurisprudence, for which he was especially fitted. As judge of
+the Court of Nehardea, he made a brilliant record. His most famous
+decision and that which most affected the Jews, was expressed in the
+phrase, _dina d'malchuthah dina_,--"The law of the land is the law
+for us." This means that it is our duty as Jews to obey the laws of
+the countries in which we live. This principle tended to reconcile
+our fathers to the lands of their exile, taught them their true
+relation to them, and was in the spirit of the message of Jeremiah
+to the very first exiles in Babylon--"Seek the peace of the country
+whither ye are exiled and pray to the Lord for its welfare." The
+ultimate result of Samuel's dictum was that the better the Jew, the
+better the patriot.
+
+Samuel had the courage of his convictions. For when the Persian
+king, Shabur I (under whose rule the Babylonian Jews were living),
+was engaged in war against Asia Minor, many Jews fell, who were
+fighting in the ranks on the opposing side. Yet he would not
+countenance mourning for his fallen coreligionists since they had
+fought against his king!
+
+Babylonia, with its broad unbroken plains that gave such wide
+survey of the heavens, had early become the cradle of astronomy,
+and Babylonian Jews were expert in this science. So versed was
+Samuel in the course of the stars that he once said, "The tracks of
+the heavens are as familiar to me as the streets of Nehardea." His
+astronomical knowledge enabled him to arrange a fixed calendar and
+made Babylon further independent of Judea in deciding the dates of
+the festivals. As already stated (p. 186) these had previously been
+decided by the appearance of the New Moon in Palestine. Samuel was
+also a renowned physician and applied rational remedies, when the
+world of his day clung to superstitious nostrums. But medicine and
+astronomy were characteristic accomplishments of the Jewish rabbis.
+Samuel did not scorn to learn from the Persian sages. While greatly
+esteemed, not all of his contemporaries realized how profound a
+scholar he was. For in a sense he was a man in advance of his time.
+We understand him better to-day.
+
+With all his intellectual gifts, he was modest, self-denying and
+wonderfully tender-hearted. He had many laws passed to safeguard the
+interests of the poor and helpless, and, decided that the Court must
+take orphans under its fatherly protection.
+
+In the patriotic incident above mentioned, it was seen that he
+practised what he preached. Here is another instance. He had laws
+passed against exorbitant prices. When grain he had purchased
+cheaply, rose in price, he still sold it cheaply to the poor. What a
+needed lesson for our times! Here are two of his maxims:--
+
+ "Deceive neither Jew nor pagan."
+ "Respect the man in the slave."
+
+
+Zoroastrism.
+
+What was the religion of Israel's Babylonian neighbors? The
+Parthians were inclined toward Hellenism and exercised no religious
+influence on the Jews. But when the Persians again gained
+control of Babylonia (226 C. E.,) they brought with them their
+own religion--Zoroastrism. Zoroaster or Zarathustra was a great
+religious genius who flourished about 800 B.C.E. He reformed the old
+cult of the _Magi_, i. e., a caste of Persian priests and sages.
+His teachings are contained in the Parsee bible--the _Avesta_. The
+cardinal doctrine of this faith was dualism; that is, it explained
+the existence of evil in the world as the persistent conflict of
+two great spirits--Ormuzd, spirit of light and good (God), and
+Ahriman (devil), spirit of darkness and evil. In the process of ages
+Ormuzd and good will prevail. The sun is the visible representation
+of Ormuzd and fire the expression of his energy. So Ormuzd was
+worshipped under the symbol of fire. This worship spread over a
+large part of Asia. It did not deserve to be classed with the
+idolatries of the heathen world that brought so many immoralities
+in their train, for we see even while we must disagree with its
+recognition of a devil, that it expressed exalted ideas and urged
+its followers to live moral lives. But the rise of this Neo-Persian
+dynasty, awakening new religious energy, led later to a passing
+persecution of all non-fire-worshippers.
+
+At the opening of the sixth century, Mazdak, a new zealot for the
+religion of the Magi in Babylonia, tried to impose on all under
+his rule certain dangerous doctrines of his own that tended to
+undermine the moral foundations of society. Naturally the Jews,
+always normally a chaste people, stoutly resisted. This meant fight.
+Again must they lay down the book for the sword, or rather, take
+up the sword for the cause of the Book. Led by the Resh Galutha
+Mar Zutra II, they actually succeeded in throwing off the Persian
+yoke altogether for some seven years; but they were, of course,
+ultimately brought into subjection, and consequently many martyrs
+were added to the Jewish roll of honor.
+
+
+Babylonian Schools.
+
+This incident carries us ahead of our narrative. To return:
+
+The Babylonian schools--_Metibta_, as each was called (_Yeshiba_,
+Hebrew), continued to grow until they drew far more students than
+had been reached in Palestine, many of whom became great Amoraim.
+Babylon, in fact, was now a very large Jewish colony regulated by
+the laws of the Bible and Mishna as interpreted in the Academies.
+Even the Resh Galutha was in later times often a Jewish scholar,
+as for example, Mar Ukba. In addition to the _Resh Metibta_--head
+of the School--there was a _Resh Kallah_, President of the General
+Assembly--an institution not found in the Palestinian Academies.
+These were for the benefit of visiting students and met twice a year
+in the months of Adar and Elul.
+
+Most renowned of Rab's successors was Rab Huna, who died in 297.
+Following the recognized precedent, not to use the Law as a spade,
+he earned his living by farming.
+
+Reverence was shown to Judea now only in so far that the pious
+desired to be buried there. Later persecutions in Roman provinces,
+of which Judea was one, brought still more refugees to Babylonia.
+
+The next generation of scholars we must pass over rapidly with
+just a word. In Pumbeditha we may mention Rabba, who believed in
+the saving sense of humor, and also set himself the more serious
+occupation of classifying the Halachoth accumulated since the Mishna
+had been compiled. He gave to his students this fine principle,--"He
+who does good for reasons other than the good itself, it were
+better he had never been born." The method of deduction as taught
+in the Babylonian Schools was more subtle than that of Judea.
+Its hair-splitting tendency in the next generation of Amoraim
+occasionally degenerated into casuistry. But even that was the fault
+of a virtue.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Patriotism and Judaism._
+
+Mar Samuel's theory and practice best answered the query of the
+anti-Semite, Goldwin Smith, "Can Jews be Patriots?" The American
+Jews had to face this problem in the Civil War of 1861, when they
+fought in both the Union and the Confederate ranks.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Read Dr. Mielziner's _Introduction to the Talmud_, (Bloch Publ.
+Co.), chap. iv.
+
+This book is particularly recommended in connection with the
+chapters on Mishna, Talmud and the Academies.
+
+Read Article "Babylonia," _Jewish Encyclopedia_, vol. ii.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Is the Jew's first duty to his countryman or to his coreligionist?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+CHRISTIANITY THE STATE CHURCH OF ROME.
+
+
+Rome's Decline.
+
+Now we must turn our glance westward again--to Rome. At the death
+of Antoninus Pius in 161, two emperors reigned conjointly--Varus,
+a degenerate, and Marcus Aurelius, a philosopher. The Roman Empire
+was becoming steadily demoralized. It was at the mercy of a series
+of degraded creatures who engaged in scandalous conflicts for the
+bauble of royal power. At times the purple was offered to the
+highest bidder.
+
+But in 222 the throne came into the hands of the high-minded
+Alexander Severus. Unlike most of his predecessors, he respected
+Judaism, and Hillel's Golden Rule was inscribed on the walls of his
+palace. So his reign meant thirteen pleasant years for the Jews--a
+little break of sunshine through the lowering clouds.
+
+After the death of Severus, degeneracy again set in and usurper
+after usurper seized the throne. Rarely was the monotony of upstart
+emperors broken by a better type of man such as Diocletian. The
+demoralized condition of the State was reflected in the people at
+large. Paganism, even at its best, had failed as a scheme of life.
+Roman society was hopelessly corrupt and on the eve of collapse.
+The people no longer believed in the supposed divinities Jupiter
+and Apollo. The philosophers tried to explain them away as abstract
+ideas. The ceremonies of the temple became mummeries. The augurs
+(priests who were supposed to indicate the nature of events by the
+flight and cries of birds) could not look each other in the face
+without laughing.
+
+The more earnest prayed for something better. Had Judaism not been
+discredited and under a ban and its observers spurned as an alien
+race, it might have been more largely sought--though its ceremonial
+code was exacting, its moral code severe, and its sole spiritual God
+seemed abstract and aloof to worshippers of divinities that could be
+seen. Judaism made not an iota of concession to win a single pagan
+to the fold. As it was, in spite of discouraging conditions, many
+would-be proselytes knocked at the doors of the Synagogue.
+
+
+Why Christianity Appealed to Romans.
+
+But for many reasons, Christianity was in a better condition to make
+converts. Most of its adherents had come through conversion, and
+proselytism was a cardinal item in its program. The eagerness of the
+Christians to bring a religious message to the heathen, deserves
+high praise and must not be underrated, though they betrayed
+weakness in being too ready to make concessions to pagan nations
+for the sake of winning converts. The semi-idolatrous idea that
+Jesus was at once man and God was a familiar conception to the pagan
+mind. The dramatic picture of his dying on the cross to save mankind
+appealed to their emotions. The treatment of the Hebrew expression
+"holy spirit," as a being--a separate divinity, introduced a third
+element into the God-idea--the "Holy Ghost," (old English: spirit.)
+This made the Christian divinity a Trinity: God, the Father, Jesus
+the Son, and the Holy Ghost. But a three-headed God, so revolting
+to Jewish ideas, was quite a recognized theological notion in the
+heathen world.
+
+With these additions, so alluring to the pagan mind, the nobler
+Jewish teachings, which were Christianity's ethical foundations,
+were more readily accepted. Christianity became popular in Rome.
+Its adherents were found in all ranks. When they were a small and
+feeble group, the Roman emperors had persecuted them. But now, they
+were in the majority. The tables were turned. Only minorities are
+persecuted. Alas the Jews remained a minority.
+
+
+Constantine.
+
+Thus it was that an emperor named Constantine decided first
+to give toleration to all cults and ultimately to adopt
+Christianity--"partly from a genuine moral sympathy, yet doubtless
+far more in the well-grounded belief that he had more to gain from
+the zealous sympathy of its professors than to lose by the aversion
+of those who still cultivated a languid paganism." This act made it
+the religion of the empire. But since Rome was mistress of half the
+civilized world, this acquisition of power and numbers at once gave
+to the new Faith an eminence it has never lost. The effect of this
+promotion was profound and lasting and vitally affected the destiny
+of Israel.
+
+
+Judaism and Christianity Contrasted.
+
+The attitude of enthroned Christianity was at once inimical to the
+parent Faith. At first sight it would seem that it might be more
+kindly disposed to a religion to which it owed so much and to which
+it was so closely related. Alas to confess it--for such is human
+nature--the very closeness of the relationship was the cause of its
+enmity. It regarded the very persistence of Judaism as a denial
+of its theories and as a challenge to its claims. Christianity
+declared the law abrogated; Judaism called it religion's keystone.
+Christianity declared that the Messiah had come; Judaism maintained
+he had not. Christians called Jesus a divinity--Son of God; the
+Jews spurned this as blasphemy. The Church taught a Trinity; the
+Synagogue made the indivisible Unity of God its cardinal principle.
+Spiritual monotheism became for the Jew a passion.
+
+The first act by which Christianity exercised its new power was to
+prohibit Jews from making converts to Judaism and to reward those
+who deserted it. Thus it conspired for the gradual elimination of
+the Jewish Faith.
+
+As its ranks rapidly swelled, Christianity continued to make
+consciously and unconsciously more and more concessions to the
+heathen beliefs and customs that were deeply rooted in the hearts of
+people, who accepted the new creed more or less superficially. The
+original Essene ideas from which it had sprung were completely lost
+to view. Taking the imperial government as its model, the Church
+reproduced Roman administration in its systematic organization,
+even to its despotic demand of sole sway. It enforced a rigid
+uniformity of doctrine; it organized a hierarchy of patriarchs and
+bishops whose power was enforced by the State and whose provinces
+corresponded with the administrative divisions of the Empire, the
+emperor being head of the Church. In the year 325 a Council was
+called at Nicaea (Asia Minor) to draw up the official creed of
+Christianity. For it laid great stress on _belief_. This marked
+another distinction from Judaism, which, so far, had formulated no
+creed and had no particular theory of salvation. The Nicaean Council
+condemned the doctrines of the followers of Arius, a Christian whose
+idea of God was closer to Judaism, and declared the equal eternity
+and divinity of the three persons of the Trinity, with more decided
+emphasis. So the Arians were henceforth regarded as heretics. It
+further decided, that the Festival of Easter (which was the Jewish
+Passover readapted to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus) should
+now be arranged independently of the Jewish calendar.
+
+The policy of suppression directed against Judaism commenced
+by Constantine was continued with greater ardor by his son,
+Constantius. He forbade intermarriage and imposed the penalty of
+death on Jews who made proselytes of Christian slaves. He even
+prohibited their converting heathen slaves. Further prohibitive acts
+followed. This hostile attitude was continued for centuries.
+
+Thus the Jews in the Roman Empire were transferred from a heathen
+to a Christian regime. Quietly they continued on the even tenor of
+their way and prayed with greater fervency for the restoration of
+their ancestral home and for the speedy coming of the Messiah; it
+meant for them the coming of light and liberty.
+
+
+The Calendar.
+
+It became necessary for Hillel II., Palestinian Patriarch, in 359,
+to establish a fixed calendar based on that of Samuel of Babylon,
+(p. 234) to guide the people as to the time of celebrating New Moon
+and Festivals, as in these troublous times they could not always
+transmit the news obtained by observing the heavens. But the
+"second" day of the Festivals, for lands outside of Palestine, now
+no longer needed, was maintained as a matter of sentiment and is
+maintained still in conservative Judaism.
+
+This planning of a Jewish calendar by which the Festivals were
+computed perpetually and yet kept in their natural seasons, was
+a wonderful piece of astronomical and arithmetical ingenuity.
+For a lunar year of twelve months is shorter than a solar year
+of three-hundred and sixty-five and a quarter days. To average
+the difference and thus prevent, for example, Passover eventually
+occurring in Autumn and Tabernacles in Spring, an additional month
+(second Adar) was added seven times in every nineteen years.
+Further, the calendar had to be so devised that certain Festivals
+should not fall on undesirable days--for example to prevent the Day
+of Atonement falling on Friday or Sunday. This ancient calendar is
+still our guide for the Jewish year.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+THE DIVISION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
+
+
+Julian.
+
+But a brief check was made on Christian advance and its pitiless
+attempt to suppress Judaism in the coming to the throne of Julian in
+361. For this emperor did not endorse the new religion, but accepted
+the old Roman cult of the Pantheon, though in its most idealized
+form, preferring to purify instead of abolishing it. But it was too
+late; it had been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
+
+Julian, whom the Church styled "the Apostate," was both tolerant
+and philanthropic, and a man who fostered learning. As between
+Christianity and Judaism, though bred in the former, to which he
+continued to grant perfect freedom of observance, his inclination
+turned rather toward the latter, and he held it in high esteem. He
+removed the restrictive laws and special taxes against Judaism,
+imposed by his predecessors. He even took steps for the rebuilding
+of the Temple at Jerusalem. The Jews were transported with delight
+and began at once sending contributions toward its erection with
+greater zeal than was even shown, according to Scripture, by that
+generation in the wilderness in their gifts toward the Tabernacle.
+The Christians looked on with consternation, and regarded every
+unfavorable interruption as the miraculous intervention of heaven.
+Not a supposed miracle however, but a real event, brought the
+project to nought. Julian died on the battlefield.
+
+
+Two Roman Empires.
+
+In the meantime Rome was failing fast. The conflict for the throne
+on the death of each new emperor, showed that the Empire was
+crumbling from within. Long before the days of Constantine armies
+were electing their generals to the imperial dignity all over
+the empire. The throne was propped up a little longer by gaudy
+trappings, but this meant heavier taxation and further slavery.
+Finally the overgrown and undermined body split in twain, each half
+maintaining a separate existence. Byzantium, afterwards called
+Constantinople, was the capital of the Roman Empire of the East,
+while the city of Rome remained the centre of the Western half. The
+division was finally completed in the year 395. Although both were
+Christian, the duel empires were menaced by too many enemies from
+without to have the leisure to renew the anti-Jewish laws--for a
+time.
+
+
+Huns, Goths and Vandals.
+
+The influx of "barbarians," as all people outside of Rome were
+called, now came thick and fast. While some were absorbed in a
+friendly way, impressed with Rome's grandeur, and even served in
+its army, younger and healthier peoples looked contemptuously
+upon the decaying Empire and sought to absorb it rather than be
+absorbed. Even before the division, Julian had to keep off the
+incursions of the Franks and Alemanni (Germans). Theodosius, called
+the Great, bravely resisted the inflowing races, but he fought
+against destiny and therefore fought in vain. Driven by the Huns, a
+Scythian people from Tartary, under the leadership of Attila, the
+Goths crossed the Danube into the Roman territory as refugees; but
+cruelly treated, became enemies and began devastating the Western
+division of the empire. Alaric in 410 had sacked the imperial
+city itself. The Goths, to whom after much fighting, Rome granted
+important concessions, also--like Rome--fell into two divisions--the
+Ostragoths (Eastern), who settled on the Black Sea, and the
+Visigoths (Western), who occupied Dacia from the Dnieper to the
+Danube.
+
+These details make dry reading; but the break-up of the Roman Empire
+after occupying the centre of the world's stage for four hundred
+years, marks the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages. This
+change of his environment was in a measure to change the Jew.
+
+Let us complete this general survey. Already hordes of Suevi,
+Burgundians, Alemanni and Vandals had invaded Gaul and set up a
+Vandal Empire in Spain, where they contended with the Visigoths for
+control. Genseric, called the scourge of God, invaded Africa in 429
+and devastated the coast from Gibraltar to Carthage. It was he, by
+the way, who seized the Temple vessels that Titus had taken from
+Jerusalem. They had passed, like their first owners, through many
+vicissitudes. Next, the Huns began laying waste the Western Empire,
+though finally defeated by the Gothic king, Theodoric. At last
+Odoacer, in 476, at the head of barbarian mercenaries, dethroned the
+last emperor, and the Roman Empire of the West came to an end in
+that year.
+
+
+Persecution of the Jews.
+
+In the meantime Christianity held the reins of power in the
+surviving eastern half of the Roman Empire. Its Church Fathers
+began to regard it as a part of their function to preach against
+Judaism. The people at large followed by burning synagogues or
+turning them into churches. But the Emperor Theodosius I. protected
+the Jews. Later, Bishop Cyril cruelly drove them out of Alexandria
+where they had had such an illustrious career since the days of
+Alexander the Great. No redress was made to them for loss of home
+and property. His disciples, following this barbarous precedent,
+seized the cultured Hypatia, a teacher of Platonic philosophy, whose
+rare learning had made her home a gathering place for students and
+scholars,--and the fanatic crowd rent her limb from limb.
+
+But it was a bigoted and savage age. In mentioning the cruelly
+fanatic bishops, let us not forget the kind ones--Bishop Hilary of
+Poictiers in Gaul, at whose funeral the sympathetic Jews expressed
+their sorrow in the recital of Hebrew Psalms.
+
+With Theodosius II, emperor of the eastern division of the Roman
+Empire, who came to this Byzantine throne in 408, began the
+systematic restraint of Judaism--the harsh discrimination against
+Jews before the law. They were prohibited from building new
+synagogues, from exercising jurisdiction between Christian and Jew,
+and from owning Christian slaves. The bishops and clergy began
+fomenting attacks in different localities, forcing baptism on some
+by threat. Ultimately the Patriarchate of Judea, the office of Nasi,
+was abolished in 425, after the Hillel family had enjoyed this
+dignity for three and a half centuries.
+
+Israel suffered, too, at the hands of Christian ascetics who went
+to grotesque extremes and imposed absurd privations upon themselves
+to express religious zeal. Some condemned themselves to stand on
+pillars--hence called "pillar saints"; some to live as hermits in
+the desert. But with them all Jewish persecution was deemed a kind
+of piety, the logic being that Jewish beliefs were opposed to the
+truth and the Jews were the enemies of God. The most famous of these
+pillar saints was Simeon, surnamed Stylites, meaning pillar. As long
+as the Roman Empire of the West lasted, Jews were excluded from
+most public offices. The monies hitherto voluntarily contributed to
+maintain the Patriarchate were, now that this Palestinian official
+was deposed, demanded perforce to continue as a Jewish tax to aid a
+hostile State. Thus did Christian Rome follow the precedent of pagan
+Rome. This was the kind of treatment that they were now to meet in
+all Christian lands, marking the beginning of the Jewish _Middle
+Ages_.
+
+Still Christian divines were glad enough to sit at the feet of
+Jewish scholars and learn from them the Hebrew tongue. In this way
+Jerome was enabled to make from the Hebrew a new translation of
+the Bible into Latin. It was called the _Vulgate_ (Latin Vulgata,
+for public use). It has remained the authorized translation of the
+Catholic Church to this day.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+_The Holy Roman Empire_, Bryce; chapter ii and iii. (Burt, New York.)
+
+_Hypatia_, Kingsley.
+
+On the Emperor Julian's relations with the Jews, especially with
+regard to his proposition of rebuilding the Temple, see two articles
+in the _Jewish Quarterly Review_ vols. v. and x.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+What right had the _Eastern_ (Byzantine) Empire to the title
+"Roman?"
+
+
+
+
+Chronological Table.
+
+ =JEWRY.= | =ROME.=
+ |
+ Hillel II Introduces fixed | Emperor Julian 361
+ Calendar into Palestine 359 |
+ Completion of Palestinian | Division of Roman Empire 395
+ Talmud 409 |
+ Extinction of Palestinian | Rome sacked 410
+ Patriarchate 425 |
+ Death of Rabbana Ashi, |
+ editor of Talmud 427 | Fall of Western Roman
+ Completion of Babylonian | Empire 476
+ Talmud 500 |
+ Persecution of Jews by |
+ Mazdak, the Persia 500 |
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+THE TALMUD.
+
+
+The times were becoming so uncertain in Babylonia as well as in
+Palestine that the Jews felt it necessary now to collect and _write
+down_ their varied traditions and laws to insure their preservation.
+The sages could no longer trust the transmission by word of mouth;
+they could no longer rely on their memories, marvelous though
+these were. So they were reluctantly compelled to overcome their
+sentimental objection to writing down these traditions--which,
+as the very title, _Oral_ Law showed, should be transmitted from
+mouth to mouth, inscribed, as it were, only on the tablets of
+the mind. Perhaps, too, they felt that writing would crystallize
+the _Halachoth_ at the point where they were transcribed, into
+unchangeable decisions and prevent their further development. For
+while unwritten, they were fluid and could be modified from age to
+age. As a matter of fact, the writing down of the laws _did_ tend to
+crystallize them, and thus retarded the progressive growth of Jewish
+Law.
+
+
+The Gemara.
+
+The work of codifying and writing down the Oral Law was commenced by
+Rabbana Ashi about the year 400. Placed at the head of the declining
+Academy of Sora, he breathed new life into it. His knowledge won him
+both esteem and authority such as had been granted to Rabbi Judah
+ha-Nasi, compiler of the Mishna in Palestine about two hundred years
+earlier. But Rabbana Ashi's was a vaster task--the compiling of all
+supplementary laws that had grown out of the Mishna proper and from
+all the Mishna collections in the course of two hundred years. It
+included, too, the discussion and incidental material that developed
+from every legal or moral problem, together with all the logical
+steps that led to the final deduction. This vast after-growth or
+commentary was called _Gemara_, which means completion. Together
+with the Mishna, which formed the text, it was called the Talmud.
+This commentary, Gemara, is far bulkier than the Mishna. Sometimes a
+few lines of Mishna would call for pages and pages of Gemara.
+
+For about half a century Rabbana Ashi and his disciples,
+particularly Rabina, labored on this gigantic task. The completed
+work was called the _Talmud Babli_ (Babylonian), as it was not only
+written in Babylonia, but contained largely the decisions attained
+in the Babylonian schools. Though do not forget that its Mishna text
+was written in Palestine. The final touches were made about the year
+500. It contains twelve folio volumes or 2,947 leaves.
+
+A similar work had been done in Palestine about the year 400. This
+Mishna commentary was called the Palestinian Talmud. Whether it
+originally contained commentary on all the Mishna we cannot say; but
+in the copies now extant there is only commentary to the first four
+of the six sections of the Mishna and to a few additional chapters.
+For this reason it is a less important work than the Babylonian
+Talmud and but a quarter of its size. Indeed, when we speak of the
+Talmud, we usually mean the Talmud Babli.
+
+
+The Contents.
+
+The two great divisions of _Halacha_ and _Agadd_ have already been
+explained in the chapter on the Mishna (xxxi). These same two
+classes of material, the legal and the narrative, characterize
+the Gemara. It will be understood at once then that the Talmud is
+not merely a code of laws for Jewish guidance, though primarily
+that is its purpose. It gives us also, though incidentally, an
+insight into the manners and customs of the Jews, their theological
+views and general reflections on life; their hopes and their
+sufferings for a period of some six hundred years--"A work in
+which a whole people had deposited its feelings, its beliefs, its
+soul." We have fragments of biography of Jewish scholars, bits of
+inner history under Roman and Persian rule, homely philosophy of
+the sages; glimpses too of their weaknesses and occasionally of
+their superstitions--all the more reliable because unconsciously
+portrayed. Interspersed between their legal discussions will be
+found an anecdote, an abstract thought of the rabbi whose decision
+is quoted, a bit of humor, a picture of Oriental civilization.
+As direct outgrowth of many of their ritual arguments, we are
+introduced to their science; astronomy and mathematics in the
+drawing up of their calendar; botany in their agricultural laws;
+hygiene, anatomy and physiology in the _shechita laws_ (slaughtering
+animals for food); and natural history and medicine in various
+laws. There is, of course, very unequal value in their data, and
+naturally they shared some of the errors of their age.
+
+The legal discussions in themselves reveal keen mental acumen,
+subtle logic, "deductive reasoning raised to the highest power;"
+they display a vivid sense of justice and philanthropy; and, touches
+of harshness too--wrung from a patient and forgiving people in the
+hour of agony.
+
+The study of the Talmud was to become the chief occupation of the
+Jews for many centuries. It was a world in itself in which they
+lived, and in which they could forget the cruel world without. Its
+study reacted on their character. First the Jew made the Talmud,
+then the Talmud made the Jew.
+
+
+Talmudic Literature.
+
+Like the Bible, the Talmud produced a literature still vaster
+than itself. While the _Gemara_ is a commentary, it needed later
+commentaries to explain it to the student--for although so diffuse
+in treatment, its language is terse. Frequently a letter stands
+for a word and a word for a sentence. Therefore in editions of the
+Talmud to-day, Mishna and Gemara together form the text and are
+printed in the centre of each page, while commentaries in smaller
+type are grouped around it. Since the days of printing all editions
+are paged alike.
+
+
+Saboraim.
+
+After the completion of the Talmud, the work of the Academies became
+preservative rather than creative. While not adding to the laws now
+gathered in the Talmud, the rabbis reviewed them and formulated
+from them complete codes for practical application. This tended
+to give a finality to the laws so far evolved, which had both its
+good and bad side. This undertaking gave to this next school of
+commentators the name of _Saboraim_--revisers or critics--the third
+group of law expounders. (For first group, _Tannaim_, see p. 186;
+for second group, _Amoraim_, see page 228). They edited the Talmud
+and amplified it with _agadistic_ material and finally brought it
+down into the form in which we have it to-day.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Language of the Talmud_:
+
+The Mishna is written in Hebrew, and so too are some of the
+older quotations in the Gemara. Many Greek words are adopted, of
+which _Sanhedrin_ is one; some Latin words too. But the bulk of
+both Gemaras is written in a dialect of Aramaic--we might say
+Juedisch-Aramaic just as we speak of Juedisch-Deutsch to-day.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A knowledge of grammar was brought to Persia (Babylonia) from
+Greece, which resulted in the important service of introducing vowel
+points and accents. This tended to simplify the study of Hebrew
+Scriptures and made the text more certain.
+
+
+_Ethics of Talmud_:
+
+The ethics of the Talmud have been touched upon incidentally in
+preceding chapters, and at length in the two following. For a
+systematic treatment, read Part iv., Outlines of Talmudic Ethics,
+in Mielziner's _Introduction to the Talmud_. See also _Ethics of
+Judaism_, Lazarus (translation), J. P. S. A.
+
+Read "On the Study of the Talmud," _Studies in Judaism_, S.
+Schechter, J. P. S. A. 1908, for rabbinic parallels with New
+Testament teachings.
+
+
+_The Law of the Talmud_:
+
+In a note on the Mishna it was pointed out that it was free from
+some defects of Roman law. This does not exclude the fact that
+the rabbinic _halacha_ was largely indebted to Roman law. On this
+Darmesteter says:
+
+ "Certain departments of legislation, such as the laws on slavery
+ and prescription ... are almost entirely inspired by Roman
+ legislation. But all they borrow takes on modifications under
+ the manipulation of the rabbis. The Jewish mind transformed the
+ alien elements by impressing upon them its peculiar character.
+ And from this vast crucible in which three centuries had melted
+ down materials of diverse origin gathered by the schools, was to
+ emerge the essentially uniform and homogeneous work of Talmudic
+ legislation."--_The Talmud_, translated by Henrietta Szold, J.
+ P. S. A.
+
+
+_Themes for Discussion_:
+
+(a) Compare Bible and Talmud as literatures.
+
+(b) In what sense can it be said that "the Talmud made the Jew?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+SAYINGS AND STORIES OF THE SAGES OF THE TALMUD.
+
+ "Let me make the ballads of a people and I care not who makes
+ the laws."
+
+
+The maxims with which the rabbis occasionally endorsed their
+decisions and the bits of humor with which they relieved the
+tension of argument, may give a deeper insight into their character
+than their laws. These morsels of homely philosophy and casual
+reflections on human experience best reveal, too, their outlook
+on the world and on life. So in its way the _Agada_ is quite as
+precious a legacy from the Fathers as the _Halacha_.
+
+The writing of parables of which some of the rabbis were masters,
+is almost a lost art; it seems to have died out in literature. But
+no moral is pointed so aptly as through a tale and no teaching
+impressed so lastingly as through a story.
+
+Many a Hebrew philosopher like Socrates, the Greek, and the yet
+earlier prophet (_nabi_) would make the highway his school-house
+and the passing crowd his disciples. Darmesteter suggests that the
+lesson might have been conveyed in somewhat in the following way:
+
+ "Who wishes to live long," cries an _Agadist_ in the open
+ street; "who wishes to buy happiness?" The original questions
+ attract a crowd demanding to know the orator's secret. "Thou
+ desirest to live many days," he answers, "thou wishest to enjoy
+ peace and happiness? Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips
+ from speaking guile. Seek peace and pursue it. Depart from the
+ evil and do good." And paraphrasing these words of the Psalmist
+ (Ps. xxxiv, 13-15), he developed his ideas in the midst of the
+ attentive crowd.
+
+The parables and maxims that follow have been gathered promiscuously
+and are classified here under appropriate heads.
+
+
+God.
+
+ "Show me your omnipresent God," said the Emperor Trajan to R.
+ Joshua. "He cannot be seen, but let us try to look at one of his
+ ambassadors," replied the rabbi, pointing to the midday sun.
+ "I cannot," said Trojan, "the light dazzles me." "Can you then
+ expect to gaze upon the resplendent glory of the Creator?"
+
+ A Roman philosopher asked: "If your God dislikes idolatry, why
+ does he not destroy the idols?" Quickly came the wise reply:
+ "Shall He destroy the sun and the moon because the foolish
+ worship them and thus injure the innocent also?"
+
+ "Who denies idolatry may be called a Jew."
+
+ "He who possesses knowledge of God's law without fear of Him,
+ the Lawgiver, is like one to whom the inner keys of a treasury
+ have been given, but the outer ones withheld."
+
+ "God rejoiceth not at the fall of the wicked." When the angels
+ were about to chant their morning hymn on the day the Egyptians
+ were drowning, God stayed them: "The works of My hands are
+ sinking in the deep and would you sing a song?"
+
+ "Without God's law there would be neither heaven nor earth."
+
+ "The aim of creation is man's fulfilment of God's will."
+
+ "The consciousness of God's presence is the great teaching of
+ religion."
+
+ "In all God's creation there is not a single object without a
+ purpose."
+
+
+Providence.
+
+ "Man should ever say: Whatever the All-merciful doeth is for the
+ best."
+
+ "Who hath bread for to-day and feareth for the morrow, is a man
+ of little faith."
+
+ "God adjusts the burden to the camel."
+
+ "We cannot comprehend either the prosperity of the wicked or the
+ suffering of the righteous."
+
+ Rabbi Akiba was alone in the wilderness at night with but a
+ lamp to study the Law, a rooster to waken him, and an ass to
+ carry him. He was inhospitably driven from a village in which he
+ asked shelter, and had to camp in the open fields. A wind blew
+ out his light so that he could not study; a wolf destroyed his
+ rooster; a lion devoured his ass. But at the occurrence of each
+ calamity, he still said: "Praised be God, whate'er He does is
+ for the best." Entering the village next morning, he found its
+ inhabitants slain by robbers.
+
+Complete the providential application.
+
+ There is no mediator between Israel and God.
+
+ "If misfortune befalls a man, let him not cry to Michael or
+ Gabriel, but let him come unto Me: everyone who calls on the
+ name of the Lord shall be saved."
+
+ God scattered Israel through the world that the Gentile might
+ learn the purity of Jewish teaching.
+
+
+Prayer.
+
+ "Prayer without devotion is body without breath."
+
+ "Better little prayer with devotion than much, without."
+
+ "He who asks God for his neighbor what he needs for himself, his
+ own wants will be first answered."
+
+ "Blessed be the mother who sends her children to the House of
+ Prayer."
+
+(See prayer and sacrifice, page 188.)
+
+
+Righteousness.
+
+ "Who gains the approval of good men, may hope for that of
+ Heaven."
+
+ "One should conduct himself as carefully before man as before
+ God."
+
+ "What shall man do to live; kill his (lower) self. What shall
+ man do to die; sustain his (lower) self."
+
+ "The righteous are greater in death than in life."
+
+ "A good man lost to his age is like a lost pearl. The pearl
+ remains a pearl wherever it may be; only the owner feels its
+ loss."
+
+ "Alas for him who mistakes branch for tree, shadow for
+ substance."
+
+ "To him who lacks nobility of heart, nobility of blood is of no
+ avail."
+
+ "Good men promise little and do much; wicked men promise much
+ and no nothing."
+
+ "There are three classes of friends of God; the wronged who seek
+ not revenge; workers for the love of God; cheerful sufferers."
+
+ "The righteous need no monuments, their deeds are their
+ monuments."
+
+ "Three names are given to a man: the first by his parents, the
+ second by the world, the third by his works."
+
+ "The best preacher is the heart, the best teacher time, the best
+ book the world, the best friend God."
+
+ "The greatest of heroes is he who turneth an enemy into a
+ friend."
+
+
+The Study of the law.
+
+ "Study is more meritorious than sacrifice."
+
+ "A scholar is greater than a prophet."
+
+ "The soul of man is the lamp of the Lord; the law is light.
+ God's light (the Law), is in man's hands: man's light (the
+ soul), is in God's hands. Respect His light and he will respect
+ thine."
+
+ "The Gentile who studies the Law is as a High Priest."
+
+ "Who studies the Law in private, it will proclaim him in public."
+
+ "Scholars increase the world's peace. They are called builders
+ for they are engaged in upbuilding the world."
+
+ "I have learnt much from my teachers, more from my fellow
+ students, most from my pupils."
+
+ "The wise learn from all."
+
+ "He only is free who engages in the study of the Law."
+
+ "The aim of learning is moral perfection."
+
+
+Education in General.
+
+In the days when the Temple was still standing, education of the
+young formed an important part in the life of the Jewish people.
+They had schools in and out of Judea. Ignorance was despised. "A
+fool cannot be pious," 'twas said. The studies to be undertaken
+in accordance with the age of the children, the previous home
+preparation, the number to a class, were all carefully planned.
+The curriculum comprised law and morals deduced from Scripture
+and rabbinic teaching, history, grammar, languages, according
+to the time, Aramaic, Persian, Greek or Latin. Also to older
+scholars--medicine, hygiene, astronomy, botany, zoology.
+
+All Scriptural quotation of flowers were applied to children and
+schools. "Teacher" was the highest title.
+
+ "The world depends on the children in the school."
+
+ "A city without school-children will be destroyed."
+
+ "Touch not mine anointed." These are the school-children. "And
+ to my prophets do no harm." These are the disciples of the wise.
+
+ "You should revere your teacher even more than your father. The
+ latter only brought you into this world; the former points the
+ way to the next. But blessed is the son who has learnt from his
+ father, and the father who has instructed his son."
+
+ "Who does not educate his children is their enemy and his own."
+
+ "Who is best taught? He who has learnt from his mother."
+
+ "Who acquires knowledge without imparting it is like a myrtle in
+ a desert."
+
+ "Who are you whose prayer has alone been answered?" "I am a
+ teacher of little children."
+
+ "Bestow most care on the children of the poor, for from them
+ will go forth the Law."
+
+ "Pride is a sign of ignorance."
+
+ "A single coin in a jar makes the most noise."
+
+ "The rivalry of scholars advances science."
+
+ "If thou acquireth knowledge what canst thou lack; if thou
+ lackest knowledge what canst thou acquire!"
+
+
+Parents and Children.
+
+ "Three share a man: God, father and mother. When one honors
+ mother and father, God says He dwells among them; and in
+ honoring them one honors Him."
+
+ "Blessed is the generation in which the old listen to the young;
+ doubly blessed when the young listen to the old."
+
+ "Do not threaten children with punishment you do not intend to
+ inflict."
+
+ "Only when a parent induces a child to commit sin, is
+ disobedience justifiable."
+
+ "Do not limit your children to your knowledge, for they were
+ born in another age."
+
+ Rabbi Eliezar pointed out to his disciples the example of Damah.
+ His mother often abused him, yet all he would say on such
+ occasions was: 'Enough, dear mother, enough.' Once the priests
+ came to him to purchase a jewel. Finding his father resting
+ against the casket in which it lay, he asked them to come
+ later. They offered him a larger price. He replied, 'I would
+ not disturb my father's rest for all the wealth of the world.'
+ They waited. When his father woke he brought the jewel; they
+ tendered him the larger sum offered the second time. He declined
+ it, saying: 'I will not barter the satisfaction of having done
+ by duty, for gold; give me what you first offered and I will be
+ content.'
+
+ Albini allowed none of his five children to open the door for
+ their grandfather or attend his wants. That privilege must be
+ his. Once his father asked for water. On returning he found the
+ old man asleep. So there he remained, glass in hand, until his
+ father awakened.
+
+ "Reverence mother and father by neither sitting in their seats
+ nor standing in their places, by not interrupting their speech
+ nor criticising their arguments and by giving heed to their
+ wishes."
+
+ "Support the aged without reference to religion, and the learned
+ without reference to age."
+
+
+Woman.
+
+The exalted place given to woman in Jewish teaching is in pleasing
+and remarkable contrast with her inferior position in the orient
+and throughout antiquity generally. In some respects she is made
+subordinate in the Jewish law, and is given a comparatively passive
+place in religious life; but on the whole the sages of the Talmudic
+era nobly resisted the example of their environment, in the
+reverence they paid to womanhood.
+
+ "God gave more understanding to woman than to man."
+
+ "All blessing in the household comes through the wife; therefore
+ should her husband honor her."
+
+ "Man should consult his wife, treating her as a companion not a
+ plaything; making her what God intended, a help-meet for him."
+
+ "Be careful not to cause woman to cry, for God counts her tears."
+
+ "He who loves his wife as himself and honors her more than
+ himself, will train his children rightly."
+
+ Rab Jose: "I never call my wife _wife_, but _home_."
+
+ "He who dependeth on his wife's earnings will be deprived of
+ blessing."
+
+ "Who is rich? Who has a good wife."
+
+ "Culture in woman is better than gold."
+
+ "Woman's sense of shame is deeper than man's."
+
+ "He who has no wife is not a complete man."
+
+ "Israel was redeemed from Egypt on account of the virtue of its
+ women."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+SAYINGS AND STORIES OF THE SAGES.
+
+(CONTINUED)
+
+
+Work.
+
+ "Work dignifies the worker."
+
+ "He enjoys life who lives by the work of his hands."
+
+ "Work is more pleasing in God's sight than ancestral merit."
+
+ "Strip a carcass in the street and take pay for it, and say not:
+ 'I am a priest or a great man and this work is beneath me.'"
+
+ The Fourth Commandment makes rest conditional on work.
+
+ "God did not dwell in the midst of Israel till they had built a
+ sanctuary."
+
+ "Work must not be neglected for study."
+
+ "He who says 'I have toiled and not found,' believe him not; he
+ who says 'I have not toiled yet have I found,' believe him not."
+
+ "Who does not bring his son up to a trade teaches him to be a
+ robber."
+
+ "It is well to add a trade to your studies to be free from sin."
+
+ "Position cannot honor the man; the man must honor the position."
+
+ "Famine passes by the workman's door."
+
+ "Artisans need not interrupt their labors to rise before the
+ passing scholars."
+
+ "Rather be a menial than a dependent."
+
+Here is a characteristic bit of rabbinic _midrash_ on a Bible text:
+"The dove returned ... and in her mouth an olive leaf" (Gen. viii,
+11):--
+
+ "She said to the Holy One: 'Rather let my food be as bitter as
+ the olive, but received from Thy hands, than honey-sweet but
+ dependent on the hand of man.'"
+
+ "It is one's duty to support a slave crippled in his employ."
+
+ "O, River Euphrates, why is thy current not heard? My deeds
+ testify for me; what is sown at my shores will bloom in thirty
+ days."
+
+ "Judge by deeds not works."
+
+ "Say little, do much."
+
+ "Like a tree, man is known by his fruit."
+
+ "Say not, 'I will do nothing,' because thou canst not do
+ everything."
+
+ "One good deed leadeth to another."
+
+ "Thy works commend thee; thy works repel thee."
+
+ "He who makes another perform a deed, is greater than the doer."
+
+ "A worthy action done in this world anticipates and leads the
+ doer to the world to come."
+
+ "When God said to Adam, 'Thorns and thistles shall it (the
+ earth) bring forth for thee,' Adam wept and said: 'Lord of the
+ world, shall I and my ass eat from the same crib?' But when God
+ further said, 'by the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread,'
+ Adam was cheered and comforted."
+
+
+Truth.
+
+ "Truth is the seal of God."
+
+ "Jerusalem was destroyed because of the lack of truth-telling
+ people."
+
+ "Who breaks his word is as one who worships an idol."
+
+ "Thus is the liar punished: even when he speaks the truth, none
+ hearken."
+
+ "Truth is heavy, therefore few carry it."
+
+
+Justice and Honesty.
+
+ "Let justice pierce the mountain."
+
+ "The judge who renders a true judgment for but one brief hour,
+ is deemed as though he shared with God in the work of creation."
+
+ "Judge every man in the scale of merit."
+
+ "Judge not your neighbor till you stand in his place."
+
+ "Woe to the generation whose judges must be judged."
+
+ "Rabbi Phineas hospitably received two strangers. On departing
+ they accidentally left behind them a few measures of barley.
+ They returned a year later. 'Presumably our barley is spoilt by
+ this time: never mind.' 'Nay,' said Phineas, leading them to his
+ barn. He gave them five hundred measures of barley, the product
+ of their few measures, which he had sown in his fields."
+
+ He who lends on usury is compared to a shedder of blood.
+
+ "Thy neighbor's honor and his possessions should be as dear to
+ thee as thine own."
+
+ "Be honest in trade: if goods are damaged, acknowledge it."
+
+ "Credit and mutual trust should be the foundations of commerce."
+
+ A prince once made a law that a receiver of stolen property
+ should be hanged and the thief go free.
+
+ "Not the mouse but the hole is the thief."
+
+ "An Israelite must not deceive even an idolater."
+
+ "Go to sleep without supper, but rise without debt."
+
+ "Rabbi Simon bought a camel of an Ishmaelite and later
+ discovered diamonds under its saddle. 'The blessing of God
+ maketh rich,' said his overjoyed servant. 'Nay,' rebuked the
+ rabbi: 'Return those diamonds; I bought a camel, not precious
+ stones.'"
+
+ Alexander, the world conqueror, came across a simple people in
+ Africa who knew not war. He lingered to learn their ways. Two
+ citizens appeared before the chief with this point of dispute.
+ One had bought a piece of land and discovered a treasure in
+ it; he claimed that this belonged to the seller and wished to
+ return it. The seller, on the other hand, declared that he sold
+ the land with all it might contain. So he refused to accept the
+ treasure. The chief, turning to the buyer, said: "Thou hast a
+ son?" "Yes." And addressing the seller: "Thou hast a daughter?"
+ "Yes." "Marry one to the other and make the treasure their
+ marriage portion." They left content. "In my country," said the
+ surprised Alexander, "the disputants would have been imprisoned
+ and the treasure confiscated for the king." "Is your country
+ blessed by sun and rain?" asked the chief. "Yes," replied
+ Alexander. "Does it contain cattle?" "Yes." "Then it must be for
+ the sake of these innocent animals that the sun shines upon it;
+ surely its people are unworthy of such blessing."
+
+
+Kindness.
+
+ "Whoever showeth compassion is as the seed of Abraham."
+
+ "Remove from the highway what might endanger the property of
+ others."
+
+ "To deserve mercy, practice it."
+
+ A sage, meeting Elijah in the thoroughfare, asked him to reveal
+ the worthiest in the passing throng. First he singled out a
+ turnkey. "He was kind to his prisoners." Next he pointed out two
+ tradesmen. The sage ran to them and said, "Tell me your saving
+ works." They were surprised. "We are only poor workmen, said
+ to be cheerful and good-natured; we sympathize with people in
+ sorrow and we try to reconcile friends who have quarreled. That
+ is all."
+
+ "Be not cruel to inferiors."
+
+ "Rather be thrown into a fiery furnace than bring anyone to
+ public shame."
+
+ "He who declines to tend the sick and he who hateth his
+ neighbor, are as though they shed blood."
+
+ "Even though thy left hand pushes from thee, let thy right hand
+ draw towards thee."
+
+ "Hospitality is a form of divine worship."
+
+ "Cast no stone in the well from which thou hast drunk."
+
+ "One should not partake of his own meal until his animals are
+ first provided for."
+
+ "He who has no mercy on dumb animals should himself suffer pain."
+
+ While Moses was tending the flock of Jethro he noticed a lamb
+ stray from the fold. He followed it; it did not stop until it
+ reached a pool and there its slaked its thirst. "Thou dear
+ innocent creature," said Moses, "had I but known thy wishes, I
+ myself would have borne thee in my arms to the water." So he
+ gently carried it back to the flock. Then was a voice heard from
+ heaven exclaiming: "Moses, thou hast shown such compassion for
+ the dumb sheep, thou art indeed worthy to be the shepherd of the
+ flock of Israel."
+
+ "Give me your blessing," said R. Nachman to R. Isaac. He
+ replied, "Thy request reminds me of the story of a weary
+ traveler, who, after the day's exhaustion reached a well-watered
+ date tree. Refreshed by its fruit and rested in its shade, he
+ gratefully desired to bestow upon it a blessing. 'What can I
+ wish thee; thou already hast foliage, shade, fruit, water; I
+ can but pray that thy offshoots may flourish like thee,' 'Now,
+ R. Nachman, thou already hast learning, wealth, children; I can
+ only wish that thy descendants may be blessed like thee.'"
+
+
+Charity.
+
+ "Charity (righteousness) delivereth from death."
+
+ "Charity is the salt of wealth."
+
+ "He gives little who gives much with a frown, he gives much who
+ gives little with a smile."
+
+ "The truly beneficent seek out the poor."
+
+ "He who closes the door on the poor may have to open it to the
+ physician."
+
+ "Charity is greater than alms-giving; alms-giving is a duty to
+ the poor only; charity both to rich and poor."
+
+ "He who gives charity in secret is greater than Moses."
+
+ "A miser is as wicked as an idolater."
+
+ "Even he who depends on charity should practise it."
+
+ Aben-Judah was the most generous of givers to the needy. But
+ storm and pestilence swept away his wealth. There was left but a
+ single field. In contented faith he maintained his family upon
+ that. He only felt the pangs of poverty when the collectors
+ of the poor called and he had nought to give. Then he and his
+ wife decided to sell half their remaining field and hand the
+ proceeds to the charity collectors. "May the Lord restore thee
+ to thy former prosperity," said they and departed. Turning more
+ assiduously than ever to the plough, that very day he unearthed
+ a treasure. When the collectors called the next year he made up
+ the deficiency of the year preceding. On receiving it they said:
+ "Though many exceeded thy donation then, yet we had placed thee
+ at the top of the list, knowing that thy small gift came from
+ want of means, not from inclination."
+
+ King Monobases (the son of Helen of Adiabene, who became a
+ proselyte to Judaism, see p. 139), unlocked his ancestral
+ treasures at a time of famine, and distributed them among the
+ poor. His ministers rebuked him saying, "Thy fathers amassed,
+ thou dost squander." "Nay," said the benevolent king, "they
+ preserved earthly, but I, heavenly treasures; theirs could be
+ stolen, mine are beyond reach; theirs were barren, mine are
+ fruitful; they preserved money, I have preserved lives."
+
+ Said R. Akiba to the not very charitable Tarphon: "Let me
+ profitably invest some money for you." Tarphon handed his four
+ thousand golden denars. Akiba distributed them among the poor,
+ with the scriptural explanation, "He hath given to the needy,
+ his righteousness endureth forever" (Ps. cxii, 9).
+
+
+Humility and Patience.
+
+ "Teach thy tongue to say: I do not know."
+
+ "Meekness is better than sacrifice."
+
+ "God teaches us humility. He chose but a low mount, Sinai, from
+ which to promulgate the Decalogue; in a humble bush He revealed
+ himself to Moses; to Elijah, in a still small voice."
+
+ "Greatness flees from him who seeks it, and seeks him who flees
+ it."
+
+ "Rather be persecuted than persecutor."
+
+ "An aged man, whom Abraham hospitably invited to his tent,
+ refused to join him in prayer to the one spiritual God! Learning
+ that he was a fire-worshipper, Abraham drove him from his door.
+ That night God appeared to Abraham in a vision and said: I have
+ borne with that ignorant man for seventy years; could you not
+ have patiently suffered him one night?"
+
+ "Seeking the highest good to bestow on Israel, God found nothing
+ better than affliction." ("Sufferance is the badge of all our
+ tribe,"--Shakespeare.)
+
+ Rabbi Joshua always advised patience and submission, even under
+ provocation (see pp. 193, 205.) Once he pointed his advice with
+ the apologue of The Lion and the Crane: While devouring prey,
+ the lion got a bone in his throat. He offered a great reward to
+ whomever would remove it. The crane came forward, inserted his
+ long neck down the lion's throat and extracted the bone. He then
+ demanded his reward. "Reward indeed," said the lion; "was it not
+ sufficient reward that I permitted your neck to escape my sacred
+ jaws?"
+
+Make the application to Israel.
+
+ A lover, called from the side of his plighted wife, sent letters
+ to her, faithfully promising to return. Long she waited and
+ many mocked and taunted her. But each time she read her lover's
+ letters, her waning faith was strengthened.
+
+ Suffering Israel is the maiden; the unseen God her faithful
+ lover; and the Scriptural promises of redemption are His letters.
+
+ (Compare Akiba story p. 209).
+
+
+Sin.
+
+ "Put not yourself in the way of temptation, for even David could
+ not resist it."
+
+ "What the sages have forbidden on account of appearances, is
+ forbidden even in one's innermost chamber."
+
+ "Commit a sin twice and you will think it sin no more." The
+ first step counts.
+
+ "Evil passion is at first like a cobweb, and at last like a
+ rope."
+
+ "The only indication of the Messiah's advent will be the
+ disappearance of oppression."
+
+ "Beware of evil's small beginnings; Jacob's favoritism towards
+ Joseph led to Israel's Egyptian captivity."
+
+ "What is the idol man carries within him--his evil passion."
+
+ "Sinful thoughts are worse than sin."
+
+ "A sinner is foolish as well as wicked."
+
+ "The end does not justify the means."
+
+ "He who deceives his neighbor would deceive God."
+
+ "He who denies his guilt doubles his guilt."
+
+ "Sin begets sin."
+
+ "Ill weeds grow apace; neglect is their gardener."
+
+ "Slander is a species of murder."
+
+ "Arrogance is a kingdom without a crown."
+
+ "The usurer will have no share in the future life."
+
+ "He who can testify in his neighbor's behalf and does not, is a
+ transgressor."
+
+ "It is sinful to hate but noble to forgive."
+
+ "Say not 'sin cometh from God.' He giveth free choice of life
+ and death."
+
+ "The wicked, even while living, are called dead."
+
+ R. Simeon said: The whole community must bear the blame of
+ the individual sinner, emphasizing his lesson with this
+ illustration:--Here is a boat-load of passengers. One proceeds
+ to bore a hole through his seat, saying, "I am only piercing my
+ own place." What happens? (Draw the inference.)
+
+
+Repentance.
+
+ "There is no repentance without reparation."
+
+ "Better is an hour in repentance and good deeds in this world
+ than all the world to come; though better is an hour of the
+ world to come than the whole of this world."
+
+ "Even when the gates of prayer are closed, the gates of tears
+ are open."
+
+ "When a man has turned from sin, reproach him no more."
+
+ "One who has sinned and repented stands higher in God's favor
+ than the completely righteous."
+
+ "Repent one day before thy death." i.e. repent every day.
+
+ "Improve thyself and then improve others."
+
+ "Love those that reprove thee, hate those that flatter thee."
+
+ "The love that shirks from reproof is no love."
+
+ "He who does a worthy deed acquires an advocate."
+
+ "As the ocean never freezes, so the gate of repentance is never
+ closed."
+
+ "If you wish your fast to be acceptable to God let it be
+ accompanied by acts of charity and good-will." (see Isaiah
+ lviii.)
+
+ "He who says 'I will sin and repent, I will sin again and repent
+ again,' will ultimately lose power to repent."
+
+ A ship once anchored at a beautiful island waiting for a
+ favorable wind. An opportunity was offered the passengers to
+ go ashore. Some thought it safer not to leave the ship at all;
+ the wind might rise, the anchor be raised and they would be
+ left stranded. Others went to the island for a while to explore
+ it, eat of its fruits and enjoy its beauties and returned to
+ the ship refreshed and enlightened by the experience. A third
+ group lingered rather long and scurried back as the ship was
+ departing; but they lost their choice places on the boat for
+ the rest of the journey. A fourth party indulged so freely in
+ the island's pleasures, that it was hard to stir them when the
+ ship rang its bell. "There is no hurry," so they lingered. Only
+ after the last warning they made a wild rush, and had to clamber
+ up the ship's sides; so they reached it, bruised and maimed;
+ nor were their wounds quite healed at the close of the voyage.
+ There was a fifth group alas, who drank so deeply and reveled
+ so wildly that they heard neither bell nor warning. The ship
+ started without them and at night-fall wild beasts emerged from
+ their lairs and destroyed them.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Develop the analogy as a story of life.
+
+
+Death and Immortality.
+
+ "Weep for the living mourners, not for the dead."
+
+ "Attempt not to comfort one when his dead lie before him."
+
+ "None are responsible for their words in time of grief."
+
+ "Trust not thyself till the day of thy death."
+
+ "This world is the vestibule; the world to come the palace."
+
+ To a denier of resurrection R. Gabiha said: "If what never
+ before existed, exists, why may not that which once existed,
+ exist again?"
+
+ "The longest life is insufficient for the fulfilment of half
+ man's desire."
+
+ "One hour may win future life."
+
+ "He who makes the sorrowful rejoice will partake of life
+ everlasting."
+
+ "After death one is not accompanied by his gold or his jewels
+ but by his knowledge (Torah) and his good deeds." (see note on
+ Immortality p. 44.)
+
+ Alexander reached the gate of Paradise. "Who is there," asked
+ the guardian angel. "Alexander the Great." "We know him not,
+ only the righteous enter here." Then he more humbly asked for
+ a proof that he had reached the heavenly gate, and a piece
+ of a skull was given to him! Alexander's sages proceeded to
+ test it and finally placed it in one scale as a balance. They
+ poured gold in the other scale, but the small bone weighed
+ heavier. Alexander added his crown-jewels and diadem. The bone
+ out-weighed them all. Then a sage placed a few grains of dust
+ on the bone; up flew the scale! The bone was the setting of the
+ eye. It is never satisfied until covered by the dust of the
+ grave.
+
+
+Wit and Humor.
+
+ "When the wine is in, the secret is out."
+
+ "A man's character may be tested in his portion (generosity), in
+ his potion (wine-cup), and in his passion."
+
+ "If thou tellest thy secret to three persons, ten know it."
+
+ "A light for one is a light for a hundred."
+
+ "The sun will set without thy assistance."
+
+ "The soldiers fight; the kings are heroes."
+
+ "Life is lent, death is the creditor."
+
+ "If speech in season is worth one piece of silver, silence in
+ season is worth two."
+
+ "Silence is good for wise men; how much more for fools."
+
+ "Wisdom increaseth with age,--so does folly."
+
+ "The poor who owe nought are rich; the old without ailment are
+ young; the learned without religion are foolish."
+
+ "Thy yesterday is thy past; thy to-day is thy future; thy
+ to-morrow--is a secret."
+
+ "Sufficient for the hour is its trouble."
+
+ "Use thy best vase to-day; to-morrow it may be broken."
+
+ Said an Athenian to a Hebrew lad:
+
+ "Here is a _Pruta_ (a tiny coin); buy me something of which I
+ may eat enough, leave some for my host and carry some home to my
+ family." The boy brought _salt_.
+
+ A would-be wit took an iron mortar to a tailor, saying: "Put a
+ patch upon it." "I will, if you will make me some thread of this
+ sand."
+
+ R. Gamaliel bade his servant bring him something good from the
+ market. He brought--a tongue. To test his judgment, he was next
+ asked to bring something bad; he brought--a tongue. "If good
+ there is nothing better; if bad there is nothing worse."
+
+ "Life and death are in the power of the tongue."
+
+ "Why should I be slave," said the serpent's tail to its head;
+ "let me lead." "Lead on." First it dragged the body into a
+ miry ditch; no sooner did it emerge than it became entangled
+ in a thicket. Bruised and torn the serpent was extricated only
+ finally to be led into a furnace.
+
+ "When the pitcher falls upon the stone, woe to the pitcher; when
+ the stone falls upon the pitcher, woe to the pitcher; whatever
+ mishap, woe to the pitcher."
+
+ "Money, lacking for necessity, is found for superfluity."
+
+ "Peace is the wisp of straw that bindeth the sheaf of blessings."
+
+ "Discord is the cistern-leak whence drop by drop all the water
+ escapes."
+
+ R. Joshua met a little girl by the way and asked for some water.
+ She handed him her pitcher, saying: "I will also draw some for
+ the beast on which thou ridest." Quenching his thirst he said:
+ "Daughter of Israel, thou hast followed the worthy example of
+ Rebecca." "Rabbi," said she archly, "Thou hast not imitated the
+ example of Eleazar" (Gen. xxiv 22).
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+All the Agada material scattered through the Talmud has been
+gathered into one book called "The Eye of Jacob" (after the name of
+its author). But popular collections more or less complete have been
+made in modern tongues. Among these may be mentioned:--_Rabbinische_
+Blumenlese by Leopold Dukes; _Parabeln, Legenden und Gedanken aus
+dem Talmud_, by Ludwig Seligman; _Stories and Sayings from the
+Talmud_, Katie Magnus; _Gems from the Talmud_ by Isidore Myers, the
+quotations given in the original and translated into English verse:
+_Hebrew Tales_, Hyman Hurwitz; _600 Talmudic Sayings_, Henry Cohen;
+_Selections from the Talmud_, H. Polano.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+_Immortality of the Soul: Zillah._ H. L. Harris.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK V.
+
+SHEM AND JAPHETH.
+
+ =CHRISTIAN EUROPE.= | =MOSLEM ARABIA.=
+ |
+ Anti-Jewish legislation by | King Jussef of Yemen
+ the higher clergy in | converted to Judaism 500
+ Gaul 525 | (Mar Zutra II, Martyr in
+ Jews defend Naples for | Persia) 520
+ the Ostragoths 536 | Samuel Ibn Adija, hero
+ Laws of Justinian 541 | and poet, fl 540
+ | Mohammed, born 570
+ |
+ Jews persecuted by King | =The Hegira= 622
+ =Sisebut= 612 | Jews defeated at the Battle
+ | of the Foss 627
+ Jews forbidden to enter | Arabian Jewish tribes
+ Jerusalem 628 | lose their independence 628
+ | Mohammedans take Palestine 638
+ Anti-Jewish edicts in | Bostanai, Resh Galutha
+ Spanish Peninsula 681 | at Babylonia 639
+ |
+ Moslem Conquest of Spain, 711.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+BEGINNING OF THE JEWISH MIDDLE AGES.
+
+
+In the Byzantine Empire.
+
+To turn again to the history proper. The production of the Talmud is
+part of the story of Babylonian Israel. Except that fanatic outbreak
+about the year 500 (p. 236) little occurred to disturb the even
+tenor of their way. They were "happy" because they "had no history."
+
+But life was going hard for their brethren elsewhere. Many were
+settled in the lands of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire known
+as the Byzantine. It included all ancient Rome's conquests in Asia,
+Eastern Europe and Northern Africa. Our present Turkey forms the
+bulk of it.
+
+Yes, the status of the Jew was growing still more precarious. In
+many Palestinian towns, notably Caesarea and Antioch, insurrections
+broke out, usually during the circus races. Ravages against the
+Jews were actually endorsed by the emperor Zeno. Churches were
+everywhere replacing synagogues in the land which had once been
+theirs, and Jerusalem became an archbishopric where Jews were not
+even _admitted_. Such are the changes of time!
+
+
+Laws of Justinian.
+
+Under Justinian, anti-Jewish legislation was systematized. He was
+the emperor who became famous because of the Digest of Roman law,
+accomplished in his reign, in the year 541. His theory was--"one
+religion, one law, one state." Against the fulfilment of such an
+ideal the Jews stood, so to speak, as an obstacle. Therefore the
+laws of this Digest (or rather of his later Novellae) that concern
+them, are severe. Among these, was the provision that Jewish
+witnesses could not testify against Christians. Justinian, who
+further made them bear the expense of the magistrate office without
+its privileges, also forbade their celebrating Passover prior to
+Easter! He even went so far as to prohibit the recital of the
+_Shema_ since he regarded its declaration "God is one" as a protest
+against the Trinity! This meddlesome intruder, furthermore, tried so
+to modify the Synagogue service that it might encourage Christian
+ideas.
+
+Altogether there was almost an unbroken monotony of suffering
+under Byzantine rule. Judaism was made to cost its followers
+dear. But their deep faith that Providence would ultimately usher
+in a glorious dawn if they were but patiently loyal, saved them
+from despair. Under the Byzantine rule at its best they were left
+contemptuously to themselves and were granted a certain autonomy in
+the management of their communal affairs.
+
+
+Jews again Involved in War.
+
+In the early part of the sixth century, Persia tried to wrest
+Palestine from the Byzantine Empire. Jews must look on while others
+fought for the country that was once theirs. Since Byzantium was
+treating them so badly and Persia (which included Babylonia), was
+treating their brethren humanely, the Jews settled in Palestine,
+decided to support Persia with its arms. If successful, they could
+live secure under its more tolerant sway. So under the leadership of
+one Benjamin, Jews mustered an army once more.
+
+The Persians, however, were ungrateful to these allies, and when
+victory seemed to be theirs, not only refused to cede Jerusalem
+according to promise and for which the Jews had so longingly hoped,
+but even imposed oppressive taxes upon them, thus going back upon
+their own record. How cruel the world is to minorities! Further
+ill-treatment induced many to enlist under the banner of the
+Byzantine emperor Heraclius in 627. By solemn treaty he promised
+them immunity from all punishment for having taken up arms against
+him.
+
+Fortune turned in his favor. Persia withdrew. The monks now urged
+the triumphant emperor to extirpate the Jews from Palestine. He
+reminded them of his solemn promise of protection made to them. They
+told him that a promise to Jews need not be kept; and, that to slay
+them would be an act of piety! Thus sanctioned, he began a severe
+massacre. Further, those old edicts of Hadrian and Constantine
+forbidding Jews to enter Jerusalem were once more enforced in 628.
+But Judea was not long to remain in Christian hands.
+
+
+Rome's Successors.
+
+As already stated in chapter xxxiv, the Western half of the Roman
+Empire had succumbed to Northern tribes by the year 476. The
+Ostrogoths, led by Theodoric, became masters of Italy, the Visigoths
+of Spain, the Franks and Burgundians of Gaul--the Gaul that had
+been great Caesar's pride to conquer. Here we see the beginning of
+the formation of the nations of Europe. They all accepted the Roman
+system of law and government to a modified extent, and also that
+which now became the Roman religion--Christianity. So the victors
+became the disciples of the vanquished--a not unusual experience in
+history. In each of these lands and under each of these peoples,
+Israel was pretty well represented by the beginning of the sixth
+century, and in each it had a distinct history. So, in continuing
+our story we shall have to follow many strands. They were treated
+better in these new European countries than in Byzantine lands--at
+least at first.
+
+
+Italy.
+
+The Ostrogoths, the new rulers in Italy, were _Arians_. (p. 243.)
+The other group of Christians--the orthodox--called themselves Roman
+Catholics. Catholic means universal. Christianity claimed to be
+a universal Church and Rome had once claimed a universal Empire.
+This religious monopoly, the theory that this church offered the
+only saving creed, did sad mischief in the coming centuries. These
+Arian Ostrogoths were kinder to the Jews than were the catholics.
+The greater tolerance of the Arians may perhaps have been due to
+the fact that their idea of God was a little closer to that of
+the Jewish. But Arian Christians, always a small minority, soon
+disappeared, just as in the early days of the church, Jewish
+Christians were absorbed by pagan Christians. But as long as these
+two divisions of Christendom lasted, they were very bitter against
+each other. When a Byzantine army threatened the Ostrogoths,
+the Jews loyally stood by those who, if they had not treated
+them generously, had treated them justly. Later we find the Jews
+defending the seacoast of Naples for the Ostrogoths in 536. Only
+when overwhelmed by superior numbers did they at last surrender.
+Thus Italy, once the country of which Rome was the capital, was
+becoming the sport of nations. From the Ostrogoths it passed to the
+Byzantine Empire. Then in 589 it was seized by a tribe from the Elbe
+called Lombards. Its later story is told in the sequel to this book
+(_History of the Mediaeval Jews_).
+
+
+The Popes.
+
+But through all these changes, the city of Rome remained the
+religious centre of the Church as Jerusalem had been the religious
+centre of Judaism.
+
+The Roman _bishop_ (overseer) acquired power over all bishops in
+other Christian centres, and became the head of the Church with
+the title _pope_ (Greek-father). In the course of time these popes
+exercised immense power, and we shall see kings trembling before
+them. For they came to be regarded as the representatives of God on
+earth. Whoever dared oppose their will was excommunicated, i.e.,
+cut off. Then all shrunk from the person thus put under the ban
+as from a person smitten with leprosy; for the superstitious age
+regarded him as accursed and doomed. Very terrible was it when this
+dangerous power was in the hands of an unscrupulous pope, which not
+infrequently happened. But there were many good popes, too, and the
+Jews found among them, as we shall see, friends as well as foes.
+
+Gregory I, one of the earliest and also one of the greatest, would
+not allow his bishops to molest the Jews, "whom God had found
+worthy to be bearers of His truth"; though he offered the bribe of
+remission of taxes for their conversion!
+
+
+Slavery and Trade.
+
+Slavery was still a recognized institution of society, due in part
+to constant warfare, the daily business of life and to the custom of
+enslaving prisoners of war. So slaves were in nearly every household
+and in the fields, taking the place of the humble toilers of to-day.
+
+So we find Jews holding them likewise. They often converted them to
+Judaism and in all cases were kinder to them than most masters. But
+Gregory vigorously objected--not to slavery, but to the enslaving
+of Christians, and particularly to the possession of Christian
+slaves by Jews. The Church greatly feared that by proselytizing
+their slaves the Jews might increase their numbers. This was to be
+prevented at any cost.
+
+If the question were asked why Jews came to trade in slaves, the
+answer would be because they were becoming traders in general, and
+traffic in slaves was part of the commerce of the age. It is then
+part of a larger question--how came the Jews to seek trade as a
+means of livelihood? _First_, by the law of necessity. Most other
+avenues of activity were being closed to them. Not permitted to own
+lands, they could hardly be agriculturists. Gradually the army, the
+public service and most of the professions were forbidden to Jews.
+
+_Secondly_, on account of their dispersion through the world, which
+had its compensating advantages. United to their brethren by close
+fraternal ties, speaking a common tongue and moving frequently from
+place to place, the exchange of commodities was facilitated. Then
+having smaller opportunities of expenditure, and in any case of
+moderate tastes, they naturally possessed ready means.
+
+_Lastly_, their hard fate in lands of exile, the growing
+precariousness of their position under fanatic powers, quickened
+their wits in the life struggle and endowed them with the capacities
+that earn success in trade. (We are not therefore surprised to
+learn that the Jews invented bills of exchange.)
+
+This is all there was to justify the medieval belief in the colossal
+wealth of the Jews and the fantastic notions as to its acquisition.
+
+
+NOTES AND REFERENCES.
+
+
+_Slavery and the Jews_:
+
+The humanity of the Hebrew slave laws is one of the commonplaces of
+history. See Exodus xxi and Deut. xxiii.
+
+The Slave Trade, chapter vi in _Jewish Life in the Middle Ages_,
+Abrahams, J. P. S. A.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+In what respect did medieval slavery differ from Russian serfdom and
+from the bond service in the early colonial era of America?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+IN THE SPANISH PENINSULA.
+
+
+Gaul and the Franks.
+
+The "wanderings of the Jews" have begun. The drift of the migration
+is westward. They are gradually leaving the Orient and finding homes
+in European lands. In Gaul, the land that is largely France to-day,
+Jewish merchants from Asia Minor had found their way long before the
+Christian era. After the fall of Judea, many Jewish prisoners and
+slaves were brought thither. The first places of settlement were
+Arles, Narbonne, Marseilles, Orleans and Paris. We find them in
+Belgium too.
+
+The successors of Rome in Gaul were Franks. The Franks (free men)
+were a confederacy formed about 240 C. E. of tribes dwelling on the
+lower Rhine and the Weser. The Frankish Empire, which extended far,
+was not one central government, but was subdivided into several
+monarchies. Under nearly all, the Jews enjoyed the rights of Roman
+citizenship.
+
+We find the Jewish industries varied, including agriculture and
+all kinds of commerce (still in its infancy); in medicine they
+had been early distinguished. Some were soldiers too, for the
+restraints of the Church had not yet reached Western Europe. Even
+when Christianity was first introduced by the warrior Clovis, Jews
+and Christians mingled freely and held cordial relations; though the
+Jewish dietary laws occasionally caused embarrassment and ill-will
+when Jews sat at Christian tables. It was only the _higher_ clergy
+who began to look upon these cordial relations with misgivings and
+to discourage them. In this way hatred was _artificially fostered_
+by the Church. Not till the beginning of the sixth century did
+a Christian king of Burgundy begin to discriminate unfavorably
+against the Jews, and to break off kindly relations by forbidding
+Christians to sit at Jewish tables. Soon the Church Councils began
+to issue severe anti-Jewish edicts. So in different provinces and
+towns within the Frankish empire we find restrictions such as these
+gradually introduced: Jews must not make proselytes; they must not
+"insult" Christians by showing themselves in the streets on Easter;
+they must not be permitted to serve as judges or as tax-farmers.
+
+Their worst enemy at this early day was Bishop Avitus. He first
+tried to convert the Jews by preaching Church doctrines to them.
+Persuasion failing, he resorted to violence and incited a mob to
+burn their synagogues. This was in the year 576. Their fanaticism
+once fed, the masses fell upon the Jews and massacre began. Baptism
+was accepted by several in order to save their lives--others escaped
+to Marseilles.
+
+
+Vicissitudes in Spain.
+
+So far Gaul. Let us now turn to Spain or rather to the Peninsula,
+for Portugal was not yet a separate kingdom, and what is now the
+south of France was also included in the Roman territory taken
+by the Visigoths. Where the Jews were early settled in the lands
+of southern Europe, in very remote antiquity--too early even to
+trace--they were brought there as slaves in considerable numbers
+after the Judean War with Rome in 70, and were soon redeemed by
+their sympathizing brethren. As in Gaul, so here, the Visigoths,
+being of the broader Arian school, regarded the Jews with
+cordiality and esteem, and their superior knowledge gained for them
+public positions of honor and trust.
+
+So we find the public-spirited Jews gratefully defending the passes
+of the Pyrenees against the inroads of the Franks and Burgundians,
+and winning distinction by their courage and trustworthiness. How
+patriotic the Jew always becomes when given the barest tolerance, we
+shall see right through his history!
+
+Nor did they forget their religion, but became faithful disciples
+of teachers sent them from the Babylonian schools. For their
+well-wishing neighbors did not interfere with their complete
+observance of the precepts of Judaism.
+
+But as soon as the orthodox Christians--i.e., the Roman
+Catholics--obtained the upper hand, the higher clergy, behaving
+identically like those in Gaul, began to sow the seeds of mistrust
+in the hearts of the people, and forbade close intercourse with
+Jews, as sin. Anti-Jewish legislation soon followed, the unfair
+discrimination to handicap the Jews in the race of life. They were
+deprived of their public posts. How Jewish history repeats itself!
+
+Their height of misery was reached when one Sisebut came to the
+throne in 612. Jews were now prohibited from holding slaves, though
+slaves were held by all others and formed a necessary class in the
+restricted civilization of the age. The climax was reached when he
+offered them the alternative of baptism or expulsion. Very many
+preferred exile to apostacy. Some found the sacrifice of land, home
+and possessions too great, and _externally_ submitted to a Faith
+that cruel experience had taught them to abhor. Under his successor,
+Swintilla, who repealed the harsh laws, the exiles returned to the
+land and the apostates to Judaism. But the Church Council re-enacted
+the unnatural command of forced baptism and the returned converts
+were compelled to become Christians again. What sort of Christians
+could they become under such conditions? But most cruel enactment
+of all--to think that a religious council should have proposed
+it--their children were torn from them and placed in monasteries
+to become completely estranged from both their Faith and their
+kindred. This hard law was mitigated however by the opposition of
+the powerful Visigothic nobles.
+
+The next king who occupied the throne offered the remaining Jews
+the same alternative of exile or baptism. Again they submitted to
+banishment. Once more they were allowed to return though under many
+restrictions. But the forced converts were held in the Church with
+an iron grip, while, strange contradiction, they had yet to pay the
+Jewish tax! In secret and peril they still continued to observe
+the Jewish festivals. But the spies of the Church soon discovered
+this double life and compelled them to spend Jewish and Christian
+holidays away from their homes and in the presence of the clergy.
+After a few years in which this cruel vigilance was relaxed, King
+Erwig won over the clergy to his support by reinstating this Jewish
+persecution with more violence than all his predecessors. Now
+baptism was demanded, with confiscation, mutilation and exile as the
+penalties of its rejection. The Jewish Christians who had secretly
+clung to Judaism right through, were placed under complete clerical
+espionage. These abortive edicts were passed in 681. The next king,
+Egica, "bettered the instruction" of his predecessor. Jews were now
+forbidden to hold landed property, to trade with the Continent, or
+to do business with Christians. In their despair, the Jews of Spain
+entered into a conspiracy against this barbaric government. They
+were discovered, and nearly all reduced to slavery.
+
+But relief was to come from an unexpected source. A new religion,
+Mohammedanism, had been brought to life and was becoming a great
+power in the world. It was destined to change for centuries the fate
+of the Jews of the Peninsula and transform an iron into a golden
+age. But to understand this movement, we must turn to Asia once more
+and look into the life of a new people--the Arabians.
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+This age produced nothing of a literary character except polemic
+replies in Latin to works written at this time to prove Christianity
+from the Jewish Scriptures.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Why do you suppose the higher clergy opposed the mingling of Jews
+and Christians and the lower, favored it?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL.
+
+ARABIA.
+
+
+The Land and the People.
+
+The Peninsula of Arabia is bounded on the southwest by the Red
+Sea, on the southeast by the Indian Ocean, on the northeast by the
+Persian Gulf, and on the north touches the mainland of Palestine and
+Syria, reaching to the Euphrates (see second map). So that we might
+say it lies between three continents. It is divided by geographers
+into three parts: 1. Arabia Felix (fortunate)--the largest--all the
+land between the three seas. 2. Arabia Petraea (stony)--the end
+adjoining the Peninsula of Sinai. 3. Arabia Deserta--the desert
+between Palestine and the Euphrates. The old Ishmaelites used to
+dwell in Arabia Deserta--a land scorched by burning sands, with
+scant vegetation and brackish water. These Bedouins were brave,
+hardy, and of simple habits, but restless and rapacious. The
+description of the wild ass in the thirty-ninth chapter of Job well
+fits their character.
+
+The nature of the land made the building of cities and organized
+society impossible. Conditions encouraged a lawless life, and
+necessity, rather than choice, tempted the Bedouins to attack
+merchant caravans. A French proverb runs, "To know all is to excuse
+all." While not endorsing this dangerous maxim, we can see that
+their home largely decided their character. We are all influenced
+by surroundings in some degree. Yet some make the most of even hard
+conditions and barren soil. Not so the Bedouins. They never rose to
+greatness religiously--satisfied to worship stars and stones and to
+gratify the wants of the hour. So they have not advanced. But of the
+Arabs of central and southern Arabia we have a better story to tell.
+
+
+Arabian Jews.
+
+Long before the fall of the second Temple--probably before the fall
+of the first--Jews found their way to Arabia. By the time they made
+their presence felt there, we find them established in separate
+groups or tribes.
+
+There were many points of kinship between Jews and Arabians. The
+Bible hints this in making Abraham the father of both peoples
+through Isaac and Ishmael (Gen. xvii, 18-20). This tradition the
+Arabs accepted from their Jewish neighbors. They certainly both
+belonged to the same race--the Semitic. The Semites included
+Assyrians, Chaldeans, Babylonians, Syrians, Phoenicians, Hebrews,
+Arabs and Ethiopians. In spite of the religious divergence, the Jews
+adapted themselves--externally at least--to the Arabian mode of
+life. (It is a nice question in how far Jews should assimilate with
+their surroundings and in how far stand aloof.) So, while the Jews
+of southern Arabia engaged in commerce, those of the less civilized
+north were agriculturists and wandering shepherds like their Bedouin
+neighbors. Like them, too, some even formed robber bands; yet here
+at least we meet a favorable variation in that the Jews were more
+humane to their enemies. Further, the Jews adopted the patriarchal
+status of society of their Arabian surroundings--not so dissimilar
+to the social life depicted in Genesis--i.e., each group of families
+lived under the guidance of one patriarch or Sheik; such were
+Abraham and Jacob. The Sheik was a kind of king and his will was
+obeyed as law by the particular group under his sway. For there was
+no central government. In unsettled districts, hospitality becomes
+the greatest virtue, because it represents the greatest need, and
+its violation, the gravest crime. This is well illustrated in the
+Genesis story (chapters xviii and xix) of the contrasted behavior of
+Abraham and the people of Sodom.
+
+The religious ideas of the Arabians while not gross were primitive.
+They had a Holy City, later known as Mecca, near the Red Sea border,
+in the centre of which was a black stone preserved in a Temple
+called the Kaaba. This they no doubt worshipped as an idol. Indeed
+three hundred idols were associated with this place. While fierce
+in warfare, in which they frequently engaged, and remorseless in
+revenge, they mitigated these rough tendencies by the institution of
+four holy months, during which the taking of life was avoided.
+
+The Jews as such were better educated than the Arabs, and may
+have taught them writing, and were altogether looked up to as the
+intellectual superiors of the Arabs. Far from interfering with
+the religion of the Jews, the Arabs were rather prepared to take
+the position of disciples. They adopted some Jewish rites and
+accepted their calendar; moreover, the Jewish teaching exercised a
+salutary influence on their character. Many converts came to Judaism
+unsought, and when a Sheik accepted Judaism, the clan followed.
+Naturally, under such favorable auspices the Arabian Jews lived up
+to their religion with ardor and zeal, that is, as best as they
+understood it. They were students of Jewish law and turned for
+guidance probably both to Judea and Babylonia. They had their school
+too at Yathrib, later called Medina--north of Mecca, near the Red
+Sea. But the Bible was taught in Midrashic paraphrase, rather than
+in the original Hebrew text.
+
+
+Jussuf the Proselyte.
+
+The most important convert to Judaism was Jussuf, the powerful king
+of Yemen, in the southwestern quarter of the Peninsula--about the
+year 500 A. C. E. The Jewish sages were invited to teach Judaism
+to the people at large. The enthusiastic but unwise King Jussuf,
+hearing that Jews were persecuted in the Byzantine Empire (p. 281),
+put to death some of its merchants. This only paralyzed trade and
+brought on war. So the Jews were hardly fortunate in their ally,
+for he did not grasp the spirit of Judaism and tried to impose it
+by force--i.e., by the sword. This recalls the forced conversions
+of John Hyrcanus (p. 78). Yussuf stirred up enemies against himself
+and the Jews in many surrounding lands; his foes at last completely
+crushed him. Thus ended the ill-starred Jewish kingdom. Israel might
+well exclaim, "heaven save us from our friends." No, Judaism was not
+destined to spread in that way. "Not by force, not by power, but by
+my spirit, saith the Lord."
+
+
+Samuel the Chivalrous.
+
+Like the Arabs, the Jews cultivated poetry and held it in high
+esteem. Most renowned of these Jewish poets was Samuel Ibn Adiya.
+His life is perhaps more interesting than his poetry, for it shows
+how this stimulating environment at its best encouraged a fine
+spirit of chivalry among the Jews.
+
+For Samuel was also a powerful Sheik in whom the weak and
+persecuted always confidently sought protection. One day a famous
+Arabian poet and prince pursued by his enemies, sought refuge in
+his castle. Going forth to seek the aid of the Byzantine emperor,
+Justinian, he entrusted to Samuel his daughter and his arms.
+No sooner had he gone than his enemies hastened to the castle,
+demanding the arms from Samuel. But Samuel would not break his
+promise, so the castle was besieged. Obtaining possession of one
+of his sons, the savage enemies threatened to slay him unless the
+father gave up the arms. It was an agonizing alternative to the
+father, but he did not falter. "Do what you will, the brothers of
+my son will avenge this deed." So at that awful cost, the trust was
+kept. What wonder that an Arabian maxim should run "Faithful as
+Samuel." Other poets sang his praise.
+
+But we must pass quickly over the rest of this epoch till we reach
+the end of the sixth century. By this time Judaism had widely spread
+and Jewish colonies were found along the whole northwestern coast.
+In Medina their numbers were particularly large--consisting of
+three great tribes. They had built their own villages and fortified
+strongholds.
+
+It was in the year 570 that a man was born whose name, Mohammed, was
+to ring through all Asia, and whom all broad minds now recognize as
+one of the great religious teachers of mankind. Closely was his fate
+linked to Israel's, for again was Judaism to inspire a prophet and
+give birth to another world-religion.
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+Carlyle, in his _Heroes and Hero Worship_, says of the wild
+Bedouin:--"He welcomes the stranger to his tent as one having right
+to all that is there; were it his worst enemy he will slay his foal
+to treat him, will serve him with sacred hospitality for three days,
+will set him fairly on his way; and then, by another law as sacred,
+kill him if he can."
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Win did Judaism not succeed as a proselytizing religion?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI.
+
+MOHAMMED.
+
+
+Mohammed, to name him by the title that he afterwards acquired, was
+born in Mecca, five years after the Byzantine emperor Justinian, and
+belonged to a branch of the powerful Koreish tribe. He began life
+as a shepherd. At twenty-five he married Kedija, who had employed
+him as camel-driver. Traveling extensively for her, he found his
+fellow-countrymen in a condition of religious neglect. The old
+star-worship and fetichism were losing their force, just as in more
+classic lands the divinities of Olympus had lost their meaning,
+some half dozen centuries earlier. Mohammed, given much to solitary
+contemplation, yearned for something better. He became filled with
+fine aspirations to uplift his fellowmen. For a period he led an
+ascetic life, spending much time in prayer. In the solitudes of the
+wilderness he experienced at times a strange exaltation. Others,
+like himself, groping for religious truth, were brought in contact
+with Jewish and Christian colonies in Syria and Babylonia. But the
+idea of one sole God, _Allah_ (Arabic), he learned from Jewish
+teachers. A highly nervous nature, he "dreamed dreams and saw
+visions," and gave vent to his emotions in violent outbursts.
+
+It was in about his fortieth year that he felt the divine call to
+preach God to his benighted Arabian brethren after the manner of
+the Hebrew Prophets, whose words had moved him deeply. He began
+to feel that perhaps he was the ordained Messiah whom the Jews
+awaited. He had learnt the Hebrew Scriptures in the more highly
+colored _Midrashic_ form. From what he thus learned and from what
+he gathered from some hermits and from a group of ascetic Arabians,
+together with his own religious experience, he gradually evolved a
+religion for his people that came to bear his name.
+
+He did not reach these convictions without much anguish of soul his
+spirit torn by doubt--the true experience of every deep religious
+nature. First Kedijah, then his family, then a small circle of
+adherents gathered about him, convinced of his divine mission. His
+vigorous personality attracted many more. At first his purpose was
+not to teach a new religion, but to reinforce the great truths
+recognized by the noblest natures in all times, his own enthusiasm
+contributing the only new element. The humbler classes were first
+attracted, the higher holding aloof. Is that not always so? Guided
+by his first teachers, the Jews, he saw the worthlessness of
+idolatry and preached a strict monotheism. He also adopted many
+Jewish rules, among them some of the dietary laws.
+
+But gradually he made _himself_ the centre of his message. He had
+some allies, but many opponents, especially as he denounced the
+idols of the Kaaba and rode roughshod over many of the cherished
+traditions and superstitions of the Arabians. Partly for this reason
+and partly because the success of his preaching meant the withdrawal
+of rich revenues derived from the pilgrims who came to the "holy
+city" of Mecca, its people began to persecute him. His life was full
+of peril. A breach with the Arabians was a breach with the world--a
+living death. So, for a moment he temporized and was prepared to
+make a quasi acknowledgment of the old divinities. But with the
+conversion of his uncle and one Omar--a man like himself of great
+force of character--he took a rigid stand again. He was put under
+interdict by the Koreish, his own family tribe.
+
+
+The Hegira
+
+In the meantime he suffered much privation. Among the people of
+Medina however, his preaching, in which he referred to the Jewish
+Scripture for endorsement, received more kindly recognition; for
+among them, Jewish teaching had, as it were, prepared the way.
+This meant new converts. So in the year 622 Mohammed bade all his
+followers emigrate with him to Medina. This was called the famous
+_Hegira_ (flight), and marked the turning point in the movement.
+Medina became a commonwealth and Mohammed its chief and judge.
+All disputes, hitherto decided by combat, were now brought to
+him for decision. Thus he began to build up a system of law and
+justice. Here then he founded a religious settlement, and its whole
+social tone was raised. He preached particularly against greed and
+injustice. The bitter blood feuds were modified, property rights
+were respected, and the position of woman elevated. He had long
+since condemned the barbaric Bedouin practice of putting to death
+newly born daughters. The whole life of the people of his community
+was ordered with a kind of military precision in which the battle
+cry was, "No God but one God."
+
+Unfortunately he also proclaimed, "Who is not for me is against me."
+This meant war against all outside his adherents.
+
+The cardinal precepts of the New Faith were: 1. Confession of unity
+of God; 2. Stated times of prayer; 3. Alms giving.
+
+His most daring act perhaps was breaking with that fundamental
+principle of Arabian life--blood relationship. The old Arabian
+ethics had concentrated all duty within tribal boundaries. These
+were now to be disregarded and a new brotherhood built up, that of
+_Islam_ (submission)--a religious brotherhood that could disregard
+even the holiest ties outside of it. Yet to ask his followers to
+exchange kinship for faith was an unnatural demand. This long meant
+bitter resistance; but Mohammed's determination prevailed.
+
+His followers now became an army and a remorseless conflict was
+waged with all who refused to come within the fold. This, brought
+his arms against the Jews. Their strongly fortified castles were
+taken one by one. Completely to break with the old regime he even
+ordered his followers to attack the caravans in the "holy month of
+truce, Ramadhan." This was a severe test of their faith. Victory
+steadilly followed his aggressions and brought him many converts;
+many deputations came in voluntarily, dazzled into conviction by his
+success.
+
+In 630 he had conquered Mecca. This was called "The Conquest."
+Although he compelled the inhabitants to give up their idols he
+compromised so far as to retain the Kaaba and the Festival of
+Mecca and to reinstate Mecca as a holy city. Abraham, now styled
+an Arabian, was said to have worshipped the Kaaba stone and was
+credited with being the father of the ritual. Fascinated by the
+glamor of Mohammed's remarkable triumphs, adherents came to him
+from all sides. What other creeds have taken centuries to attain,
+he achieved in his lifetime. This too rapid success is one of the
+defects of his movement. It grew too fast for excellence. So some
+of his successes were failures, for to obtain them the spiritual was
+occasionally sacrificed to the worldly.
+
+As each new province came under his sway, its submission was to be
+exemplified by proclamation of the _Mueddin_ for prayer, payment of
+alms-tax and acceptance of the Moslem law. But in each instance the
+internal tribal affairs were left untouched. In 632, in the eleventh
+year of the Hegira, Mohammed died. But not till Arabia was at his
+feet. He had founded a religion and a State.
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+_Islam_, the name given to this religion, and _Moslem_, to its
+followers, are both derived from a word meaning 'submission' (to
+God). _Musselman_ is another variant.
+
+A Jew, _Waraka Ibn Naufel_, is said to have been Mohammed's chief
+teacher and one of his strongest supporters.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Should Mohammed be called a prophet?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII.
+
+ISLAM AND THE JEWS.
+
+
+Mohammed never forgave the Jews for their refusal to accept him
+as "The Prophet" of God, superseding all others. He had accepted
+so much from them--the fundamental idea of monotheism, the chief
+points of the Calendar, the Sabbath, the Day of Atonement, much
+of the Scripture and Midrashic narrative, and many details of the
+ceremonial law. He asked of them so little--it seemed--to regard
+him as God's chosen and supreme messenger to man, to all intents
+and purposes the Messiah, whose advent was foretold in their
+own Scriptures, and to whom they should henceforth look for the
+interpretation of their Faith. But that "little" they could not
+conscientiously give. For not even Moses, their only recognized
+lawgiver, "greatest of their prophets," were they prepared to
+regard quite in the way in which Mohammed asked allegiance. Their
+hearts told them that this man was not sent by God on a mission to
+them, however much he may have been sent to the Arabians. He was
+not _their_ Messiah. So to accept him would be traitorous to their
+traditions and to the teachings of the Scripture (Deut. xviii,
+15-22). For the acceptance of Mohammed would have ultimately meant
+the stultification of their religion and its submergence in a new
+cult of which he would be the founder. At that rejection, his regard
+for them turned to hate, and instead of allies, he chose to look
+upon them as rivals, as enemies of the true Faith, Their endorsement
+was the one thing needed for the complete confirmation of his
+mission. Therefore, forgetting how much he owed to their spiritual
+treasures, he became their persecutor.
+
+
+Christianity and Islam.
+
+How history was repeating itself! Was not this identically Israel's
+experience with that other creed to which its religion had given
+birth--Christianity? Its adherents likewise said to the Jews, "We
+accept your Scriptures, ethics and divinity. Accept only from us
+this individual Jesus, _greatest of all prophets_, the Messiah, in
+whom all your prophesies have been fulfilled, who represents God's
+new covenant with man." And because they refused, they were hated
+and spurned.
+
+From endeavoring to pattern his religion as closely as possible
+after the Jewish example he now in sullen resentment sought by
+arbitrary changes to emphasize its differences. Instead of turning
+to Jerusalem in prayer, Mohammedans were told to turn to Mecca. He
+changed the Jewish Yom Kippur (Ashura), which he had adopted, for
+the holy month of Ramadhan. He altered the Sabbath from Saturday
+to Friday, making it a day of worship, but not of rest. Here again
+was an attitude towards Israel parallel with its experience with
+Christianity; for after three hundred years the Church had changed
+the Sabbath to Sunday and rearranged its calendar to make Easter
+independent of Passover. Then like Christianity, too, he inserted in
+_his_ Scripture--the Koran--unkind things and calumnies about the
+Jews. Yet, on the whole, the Koran holds up many Bible characters as
+exemplars.
+
+There was a third parallel between these two daughters of Judaism.
+Just as Christianity, to win the heathen to the fold, accepted into
+its theology many heathen rites and even beliefs, so now Mohammed,
+to win the allegiance of the heathen Arabs, accepted many of their
+most cherished traditions. The Kaaba Stone--an idol--was still to
+be regarded reverently in the new Faith. Lastly, Islam, like the
+Church, also claimed to be the one true and universal Faith, (See
+pp. 198-9). Judaism that had given birth to both, never made such
+claim.
+
+Mohammed's conception of the future life was not as spiritual as
+that of Jews or Christians. In promising gross pleasure in the realm
+beyond, he unconsciously gratified the expectations of sensual
+natures.
+
+
+The Koran or the Sword.
+
+Let us hasten over the sad conflicts between Mohammed and the
+Jews--his wars against their chiefs, until he had succeeded in
+crippling their once powerful clans. The "Battle of the Foss," 627,
+is one of the unfortunate blots on the reputation of this really
+great man. Seven hundred Jews were gathered in the market-place
+and offered the alternative of "the Koran or the sword." But the
+Jews had been inured to martyrdom. There was no hesitancy in their
+choice. The grim warrior-prophet carried out his savage threat
+against them. They were all slain and the surviving women were sold.
+
+All through Arabia this religious crusade was waged against them.
+Thus fell the city of Chaibar, but no such ruthless massacre was
+repeated. Many of the defeated Jews were even left in possession of
+their lands. They continued their losing fight but little longer
+against the triumphant advance of Mohammed. By the year 628, all the
+Jewish tribes had lost their independence; the sword was taken from
+them. So that era of arms and chivalry was now closed for the Jews
+of Arabia.
+
+A Jewish woman, Zainab, who won Mohammed's favor, tried to be a
+Judith to her people and attempted to poison him. The dish was
+hardly tasted by him, so the plot failed and she paid for her daring
+with her life.
+
+
+Spread of Islam.
+
+Mohammed must be studied from the political side as founder of a
+great State as well as from the religious side as founder of a
+great creed. Indeed, he was a greater statesman than prophet. His
+followers believed in him intensely and were united to him by ties
+that death could no longer break. His fiery words embodied in the
+Koran became their inspired Scripture. With his name upon their
+lips, a crescent on their banner and the great watchword, "Allah is
+God, and Mohammed is his Prophet," these fearless warriors carried
+all before them. Islam became a great power in half a century, a
+power that had come to stay. It is accepted by nearly two hundred
+million souls to-day. Here was surely a great message--lifting the
+Arab from the slough. We see here, as in the rise of Christianity,
+the hand of Providence bringing light to the Gentiles.
+
+Under Mohammed's successor Abu Bekr, there was a momentary
+falling-off, but the movement rallied under the leadership of Omar
+who followed the master's policy of spreading the new Faith by
+conquest. At the head of the Mosque, (the Church of Islam) was now
+an emperor--a caliph. Not so many years after Mohammed's death not
+only was most of Arabia Moslem, but the sway of Islam had reached
+Persia, conquered the land and superseded Zoroastrism. Syria and
+Egypt were next wrestled from the Byzantian or Eastern Roman Empire.
+Palestine had been taken from Persia by the Byzantines in 628 only
+to be lost again in 638 and in both wars the long-suffering Jews
+who saw their old home tossed from one conqueror to another, had
+looked to the incoming enemies as deliverers, (pp. 282-3).
+
+What changes had Jerusalem seen! When the Jewish Temple was
+destroyed, it became a heathen capital--Aelia Capitolina, adorned
+with a heathen shrine. In its Christian era it became a bishopric.
+Under the Mohammedans a mosque held the place of honor. Such it
+remains to-day.
+
+Islam was now accepted in Asia, as Christianity had been accepted
+in Europe, not by individuals, but by whole nations. Somewhat
+intolerant at first against opposing creeds--some of the Mussulmen
+were fanatics--it became later renowned for its breadth and
+enlightenment. Very soon the Jews found the Mohammedans their
+friends, against whom they had nothing to fear. Jewish poets began
+to hail their advent. Even in Babylonia the Moslem sway was more
+liberal than had been that of the Persian Magi in the latter years.
+The political, social and religious status of the Jews was to remain
+undisturbed; the same secular official was to be at their head
+(pp. 231, 233). In fact, the Resh Galutha was given even heartier
+endorsement, and was treated as a prince by the government, with his
+civil and judicial powers increased, making the Jewish community
+in Babylonia almost a State in itself. It was the Caliph Omar
+who, in 638 raised Bostonai, a descendant of the House of David,
+to the post of Resh Galutha (Exilarch). The academies at Sora and
+Pumbeditha were continued without a break; their heads, called
+_Geonim_ (Illustrious) had also certain powers and took equal
+rank with the Resh Galutha. The Jews became loyal subjects of the
+Mohammedan rulers, and when Caliph Ali's successor was deposed by
+a rival house (for Islam had also now split into two wings), the
+Jews came gallantly to his support. Here and there Moslem law in its
+freshest and noblest expression reacted favorably even on Jewish
+law. New religious movements in early stages of enthusiasm always
+reach high moral levels. It will be borne in mind that the Jews in
+all their past experience were necessarily influenced to a degree by
+their environment, while remaining loyal in all essentials to the
+traditional conception of Jewish life.
+
+The ceremony of the inauguration of a Resh Galutha was henceforth
+more impressive than ever. There was quite a little court about him.
+Likewise the official organization of the two Academies was very
+elaborate with their President, Chief Judge, Assembly of Teachers or
+Senate, and their Greater and Lesser Sanhedrin. Their administration
+left its lasting impress on all Jewish communities. All looked now
+to Babylonia as their religious centre and gladly sent contributions
+toward the maintenance of the Academies. The prestige of the
+Babylonian community steadily grew with the extension of Mohammedan
+sway.
+
+
+Fall of Visigothic Spain.
+
+It was the spread of this great power that was to bring relief to
+the Jews of Spain, persecuted almost unto death. Verily the Moslem
+was unto them as a savior--for his arrival brought liberty, light
+and peace. After having subjected a large part of Asia, the sway of
+Islam spread unresistingly westward. All the north coast of Africa
+was soon under both its temporal and spiritual control. Christendom
+was alarmed at the rise of this new star and the checking of the
+advancing hosts from making inroad into Europe became now the first
+duty of every Christian monarch. Any warrior who could throw them
+back from his country's border at once sprang into fame.
+
+In the meantime, however, none could withstand them. Nearer and
+nearer they approached the borders of Spain. There the outrageously
+treated Jews (pp. 291-2) awaited their arrival as any besieged city
+at the mercy of a relentless foe awaits the coming of its army of
+release. Already across the narrow Straits of Gibraltar on the
+African side, they were making common cause with the Moslem and were
+prepared for the invasion of the Peninsula.
+
+The destined hour arrived. In the year 711 a great battle was fought
+in Xeres, in which the last Visigothic king fell before the army
+of Tarik. City after city--Cordova, Granada, Malaga, Toledo--fell
+before them, the Jews rendering valuable aid from within. The
+Mohammedans found they could not entrust their conquered towns into
+more faithful hands than these Jewish allies. Thus the Jews were
+raised at once from degration and thraldom to liberty and prestige.
+A new light had dawned and under the broad and cultured regime of
+the Moors, as these Western Mohammedans were called, a golden age
+was now to dawn for the Jews of Spain.
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+
+_The Koran_:
+
+The Moslem Scripture is called the _Koran_, meaning readings;
+compare the derivation of _Karaites_. The Koran was not written by
+Mohammed, who could not write, but it contains his teachings.
+
+
+_Theme for discussion_:
+
+Amplify the probable consequences of the acceptance of Mohammed by
+the Jews.
+
+
+
+
+Index
+
+
+ Abbahu, R., Agadist, 221.
+
+ Ab Beth Din, office of, 88, 191.
+
+ Academies, Palestinian, 190;
+ Jamnia, 183;
+ Sepphoris, 190;
+ Tiberias, 190;
+ Lydda, 191;
+ Bekiim, 137, 192;
+ Oosha, 217;
+ Babylonian, 229;
+ in the Diaspora, 194.
+
+ Agada, narrative, 64;
+ contrasted with Halacha, 187, 256;
+ _note_, 277.
+
+ Agrippa, last Jewish King, 147;
+ kingdom vaster than Herod's, 150;
+ father to his people, 150, 151;
+ assassinated, 151;
+ coin of, 148.
+
+ Agrippa II., 152;
+ coin of, 152.
+
+ Akabiah b. Mehalalel, conscientiousness of, 191.
+
+ Akiba, R., Tanna, 206;
+ his wife's loyalty, 206, 207;
+ classifies Halachoth, 207, 208;
+ maxims, 208;
+ supports Bar Cochba, 211;
+ martyrdom, 215, 216.
+
+ Alabarch or Arabarch, 120;
+ Onias appointed, 71.
+
+ Albinus, procurator, 156.
+
+ Alexander the Great, 26, 27;
+ his empire divided, 28;
+ stories about, 28, 267.
+
+ Alexander Janneus, reign of, 85-87;
+ conflict with Pharisees, 86.
+
+ Alexandria, capital of Greco-Egypt, 28;
+ intellectual centre, 67, 68;
+ Delta, Jewish quarter of, 68;
+ school of, 136.
+
+ Am-haaretz, the ignorant, 195.
+
+ Amoraim, expounders of the law, 227.
+
+ Antigonus, last Hasmonean ruler, 101;
+ coin of, 101.
+
+ Antiochus Epiphanes, 33;
+ persecutes the Jews, 34-36;
+ defeated by the Maccabees, 38;
+ defeated in Parthia and Persia, 46;
+ death of, 46;
+ bust of, 42.
+
+ Antipater, the Idumean, 91;
+ made procurator of Judea, 99.
+
+ Antipas, governor of Galilee, 117;
+ beheads John the Baptist, 117.
+
+ Antoninus Pius, 217;
+ revokes Hadrian's laws against the practise of Judaism, 217.
+
+ Antony, 103, 104.
+
+ Apion, defamer of Israel, 177;
+ "Contra Apion," 177.
+
+ Apocalypse, prophetic vision, 53.
+
+ Apocrypha, The, 52;
+ contrasted with the Bible, 53.
+
+ Apollonius attacks Jews on the Sabbath, 34, 35, 37.
+
+ Aquila, proselyte, 202;
+ translates Bible into Greek, 202.
+
+ Arabia, Jews in, 294.
+
+ Arabians, religion of, 295.
+
+ Aramaic supersedes Hebrew, 69.
+
+ Archelaus, tetrarch of Judea, 117, 118;
+ deposed, 119.
+
+ Arch of Titus, illustration, 180.
+
+ Arians, Christian heretics, 284;
+ tolerant to the Jews, 284.
+
+ Aristobulus I., reign of, 85.
+
+ Aristobulus II., 91-99.
+
+ Aryans and Semites, _note_, 140.
+
+ Ashi, R., begins compilation of the Talmud, 251.
+
+ Assideans (Chassidim) 32.
+
+ Augustus Caesar, well disposed towards Jews, 120;
+ tetrarch, 120;
+ bust of, 115.
+
+ Avitus, Bishop, persecutes Jews, 289.
+
+
+ Babylonia, geographical situation, 229;
+ history of, 230;
+ Jewish settlement in, 230, 231;
+ schools of, 229;
+ Jewish occupations in, 23;
+ Babylonian Academies become independent of those of Palestine,
+ 232, 236.
+
+ Bar-Cochba, a Messiah, 211;
+ leads insurrection against Rome, 211, 212;
+ defeated at Bethar, 213;
+ coin of second revolt, 216.
+
+ Baruch, book of, 63.
+
+ Battlement on house-top, illustration, 160.
+
+ Bedouins, character of, 293.
+
+ "Bel and the Dragon," 64.
+
+ Ben Sirach, see Ecclesiasticus.
+
+ Beruria wife of R. Mair, 218, 219.
+
+ Beth Horon, battle of, 38.
+
+ Bethar, battle of, 213.
+
+ Bible Canon, 22;
+ order of books, 23;
+ _ditto_, _note_, 24.
+
+ Byzantine Empire = Eastern Roman Empire, 246;
+ Jewish persecution in, 281, 282;
+ conflict with Persia, 282, 283.
+
+
+ Caesar, Augustus, well disposed towards Jews, 120.
+
+ Caesar, Julius, 96, 97;
+ shows good will to Jews, 99;
+ Jews lament death of, 99;
+ portrait, 97.
+
+ Calendar, Jewish, fixed by Mar Samuel, 234;
+ fixed by Hillel II., 243;
+ "second day" of Festivals, 243, 244;
+ Seleucidan era, 28;
+ Hasmonean era, 50;
+ _anno mundi_, _note_, 50.
+
+ Caligula demands divine worship, 147, 148.
+
+ Canon, the Bible, 22, 23.
+
+ Candlestick, the golden, illustration, 169.
+
+ Celo-Syria (Palestine), Judea province of, 31.
+
+ Charity, Talmudic sayings on, 269, 270.
+
+ Chassidim (Assidean), 32.
+
+ Children and Parents, Talmudic sayings on, 261, 262.
+
+ Christianity, first meaning of, 132;
+ the first Christians (Jewish) 133, 197;
+ development of, 133, 197;
+ Christians, pagan, 197;
+ ceremonial of, 198, 199;
+ State Church of Rome, 239;
+ why accepted by pagans, 139, 140, 240, 241;
+ divergence from Judaism, 242;
+ concessions to paganism, 242;
+ Nicene Creed, 242, 243;
+ pillar saints, 249;
+ Christianity and Islam similar in their attitude to Judaism,
+ 241, 305, 306;
+ its higher clergy less tolerant, 288, 289.
+
+ Church, Judaism and the, 197;
+ doctrine and Jewish Scripture, _note_, 200;
+ persecutes Judaism and the Jews, 247-249, 288.
+
+ City as dwelling place, strength and weakness of, 68.
+
+ Claudius appoints Agrippa King of Judea, 150;
+ grants religious freedom to Jews throughout the Roman Empire, 149.
+
+ Cleopatra, 103, 104.
+
+ Coins, Jewish, 50, 51;
+ (see Illustrations.)
+
+ Constantine, Roman Emperor, accepts Christianity, 241;
+ persecutes Judaism, 243.
+
+ Crucifixion, of Jesus, 132.
+
+
+ Daniel, book of, 40-44;
+ compared with Apocrypha, 53;
+ Song of the Three Holy Children, 64.
+
+ Death and Immortality, Talmudic sayings on, 272, 275.
+
+ Delta, see Alexandria.
+
+ Diaspora, The, 67, 132;
+ revolt of, 202, 203;
+ map of (back of book).
+
+ Didache, _note_, 134.
+
+ "Dispute of the Courtiers" (II. Esdras), 54-57.
+
+ Domitian, Roman Emperor, 139.
+
+
+ Ecclesiasticus, Book of, 60;
+ quotations from, 60-62;
+ _note_, 65.
+
+ Edom = Rome, _note_, 110.
+
+ Education, importance of, 221, 260;
+ Talmudic sayings on, 261;
+ schools established, 89, 260.
+
+ Egypt, Greek spirit in, see Greco-Egypt;
+ Jews in, 67-71.
+
+ Eleazar, the martyr, 35.
+
+ Eleazar, son of Mattathias, death of, 46.
+
+ Eliezar b. Hyrcanus, loyal to traditional law, 191.
+
+ Elisha b. Abuyah, 200.
+
+ Emergency law under Hadrian's persecution, 214.
+
+ Emperors of Rome, see Rome's Emperors.
+
+ Esdras I., 54;
+ "Dispute of the Courtiers," 54-57.
+
+ Esdras II., 57.
+
+ Essenes, The, 82, 129, 130, 131, 133;
+ and Jesus, 129;
+ and John the Baptist, 129.
+
+ Esther, additions to the Book of, 60.
+
+
+ Felix, procurator, 154.
+
+ Festus, procurator, 155.
+
+ Florus, procurator, 156, 157.
+
+ Franks The, 288.
+
+
+ Galilee, 129;
+ taken by Romans, 162.
+
+ Gamaliel, R., the Elder, 151.
+
+ Gamaliel II., first Nasi, 190;
+ characteristics of, 191;
+ severity of, 193.
+
+ Gaul, Jews in, 288.
+
+ Gemara, see Talmud.
+
+ Gnostics, The, 199.
+
+ God, Talmudic sayings about, 257.
+
+ Golden Rule, 112.
+
+ Goths invade Rome, 246;
+ fall into two groups, Ostragoths and Visigoths, 247.
+
+ Greco-Egypt, Jews in, 28.
+
+ Greece, Greek and Jew, 26;
+ Alexander the Great, 26, 27;
+ _note_, 32;
+ civilization of, influence on Jews, 28, 30, 31, 67.
+
+ Greco-Syria, Judea part of, 31.
+
+ Greek and Jew, 26, 136;
+ influence of Greek on Jew, 137;
+ Greek law vs. Jewish, _note_, 145.
+
+
+ Hadrian promises to rebuild Temple, 204;
+ revolt against, 211-213;
+ persecution by, 213-215.
+
+ Halacha (legal decision,) 187.
+
+ Hannah and her seven sons, 35.
+
+ Hanukkah, Feast of, 39, 40;
+ Re-dedication, 45;
+ symbolism of the Lights, 39-40;
+ why called a "minor Festival," 40.
+
+ Hasmopeans, _note_, 83;
+ their religious place, 82.
+
+ Heathen, 115;
+ attitude towards Jews, 136.
+
+ Hegira, the, 301.
+
+ Hellenism, 31.
+
+ Hellenists, 32, 33, 37;
+ Hellenist party disappears, 49;
+ in good sense, 137, 138.
+
+ Herod, the great, 107;
+ governor of Galilee, 99;
+ governor of Palestine, 100;
+ made tetrarch of Judea, 100;
+ made King by Roman Senate, 101;
+ executes Sanhedrin, 102;
+ executes his brother-in-law, 102;
+ executes his wife and mother-in-law, 103, 104;
+ executes his sons, 109;
+ rebuilds the Temple, 107;
+ erects strongholds, 106;
+ lays out cities, 107;
+ death of, 109;
+ division of kingdom, 117;
+ successors, 117.
+
+ High Priest, functions and powers of, 21;
+ heredity of, broken, 47;
+ in Hasmonean House, 77.
+
+ Hillel, 111;
+ President of Sanhedrin, 111;
+ contrasted with Shammai, 112, 115;
+ maxims, 112, 113;
+ as legislator, 113, 114, 116;
+ _prosbul_, 113;
+ last days of, 113, 114.
+
+ Hillel II., Palestian Nasi, established fixed calendar, 243.
+
+ Honesty, Talmudic sayings about, 266, 267.
+
+ Humility, Talmudic sayings on, 270, 271.
+
+ Humor of Talmudic sages, 275, 276.
+
+ Huna, Rab, Babylonian Amora, 237.
+
+ Huns under Attila invade Rome, 247.
+
+ Hyrcanus, John, reign of, 78, 79;
+ conquers Samaria and Idumea, 78;
+ imposes Judaism on Idumea, 78, 79;
+ coin of, 84.
+
+ Hyrcanus II., Ethnarch and High Priest, 99;
+ executed by Herod, 104.
+
+
+ Idumea, 102;
+ see Edom, _note_, 110;
+ conquered by John Hyrcanus, 78;
+ invited to join Zealots, 162.
+
+ Immortality, doctrine of, in Daniel, 43;
+ in other Bible books, _note_, 44;
+ Talmudic savings on, 274, 275.
+
+ Independence, won by the Maccabees, 50;
+ Judean, compared with American, _note_, 50.
+
+ Ishmael b. Elisha, R., Tanna, 194.
+
+ Islam and the Jews, 304.
+
+ Italy, passes into hands of Ostrogoths, 284.
+
+
+ Jamnia, Academy of, 183, 190;
+ a religious centre, 183, 194.
+
+ Jason buys priesthood, 33.
+
+ Jerome translates Hebrew Scriptures into Latin (Vulgate), 249.
+
+ Jerusalem, taken by Pompey, 93;
+ under Zealot leadership, 158;
+ siege of, frontispiece, 161;
+ prey of rival parties, 162;
+ its physical situation, 161, 166;
+ fall of, 168;
+ effect of its overthrow, 171, 183-185;
+ name changed to Aelia Capitolina, 213.
+
+ Jesus of Nazareth, 127;
+ birth, 116;
+ as Messiah, 130;
+ character of, 131, 132;
+ crucified by the Romans, 132, _note_, 135;
+ apotheosis of, 133, 144;
+ teachings of, _note_, 134;
+ unmentioned by Josephus, _note_, 179.
+
+ Jochanan b. Zakkai, 183;
+ exponent of "Peace Party," 183, 184;
+ establishes an academy, 184;
+ replaces sacrifice by prayer, 184, 185;
+ maxims of, 187-189.
+
+ John the Baptist, 118.
+
+ John of Gischala, Zealot leader, 158, 162, 169.
+
+ John Hyrcanus, see Hyrcanus, John.
+
+ Jonathan succeeds his brother Judas Maccabeus as head of Judea, 48;
+ High Priest and Tributary Prince, 48.
+
+ Joseph, the Satrap, 30, 31.
+
+ Josephus and his works, 172;
+ governor of Galilee, 158, surrenders to Rome, 159;
+ Rome's envoy to Jerusalem, 168;
+ pensioner of Vespasian, 173;
+ contrasted with Jeremiah, 174, 175;
+ on proselytes, 139;
+ "Antiquities of the Jews," 176;
+ "Wars of the Jews," 176;
+ "Contra Apion," 177;
+ defends Jews against slander, 177, 178;
+ shows humanity of the Jewish law, 178;
+ silent on Jesus of Nazareth, _note_, 179;
+ portrait, 173.
+
+ Joshua b. Hananiah, R., 192;
+ Tana, stories of, 192, 193;
+ the counsellor, 193, 203;
+ Patriarch, 202, 203.
+
+ Joshua (Jason) 31-33.
+
+ Jotapata fortress of Sepphoris, besieged and taken, 159.
+
+ Judah, Rabbi, ha-Nasi, "the Saint," 217;
+ Nasi, 218;
+ compiles Mishna, 219, 221;
+ maxims, 219;
+ death, 219.
+
+ Judah b. Baba, martyr, 215.
+
+ Judaism, as law, 19, 20;
+ _note_, 24;
+ survives the Temple's destruction, 185;
+ affirmative and negative precepts, 220.
+
+ Judas Maccabeus, leads revolt against Antiochus, 36;
+ defeats Lysias at Emmaus, 38;
+ victory at Beth Horon, 37, 38;
+ made High Priest, 47;
+ subdues Idumeans and Ammonites, 45;
+ makes treaty with Rome, 47;
+ death on battlefield, 48.
+
+ Judas of Gamala, Zealot, 124.
+
+ Judea, a vassal state, 15;
+ independent, 75;
+ under Rome, 181;
+ under Persian sway, 17;
+ part of Greco-Egypt, 28;
+ part of Greco-Syria, 31;
+ fights for its faith, 33;
+ fights for independence, 45;
+ under Roman suzerainty, 95;
+ under procurators, 119, 123, 153;
+ war with Rome, 157, 168;
+ a theocracy, 119.
+
+ Judith, Book of, 59, 60.
+
+ Julian, Roman Emperor, plans to rebuild the Temple for the
+ Jews, 245;
+ note on, 249.
+
+ Jussuf, Arabian proselyte, 296.
+
+ Justinian, laws of, discriminate against Jews, 282.
+
+ Justice and Honesty, Talmudic sayings about, 266, 267.
+
+
+ Kindness, Talmudic sayings on, 267, 268.
+
+ "King, Strength of," 55;
+ title, of, 78;
+ _note_, 84, 85.
+
+ Koran, _note_, 311.
+
+
+ Law, The, Judaism as, 19-21;
+ study of, 260;
+ abrogated by the Church, 133;
+ Greek vs. Jewish, _note_, 146;
+ Josephus on, 178;
+ three vital principles of, 214.
+
+ Law and equity, _note_, 116.
+
+ Logos, _note_, 145.
+
+
+ Magi, religion of, 235.
+
+ Maccabees, campaigns of, 37.
+
+ Maccabees, I and II, books of, 64, 65.
+
+ Maccabeus, Judas, see Judas Maccabeus.
+
+ Mair, R., Tanna, 217-219;
+ maxims, 217;
+ his wife Beruria, 218, 219.
+
+ Mariamne, 102.
+
+ Mar Samuel, see Samuel.
+
+ Martyrdom, under Antiochus (Greek-Syrian), 35, 36;
+ under Hadrian (Roman), 214-216.
+
+ Masora, The, _note_, 210.
+
+ Massada fortress fails, 170.
+
+ Mattathias, the patriot, resists Antiochus Epiphanes, 36.
+
+ Mazdak, the Persian, persecutes the Jews, 236.
+
+ Menelaus, a traitor, 33, 34.
+
+ Messiah, development of the doctrine of, 127-129;
+ Jesus regarded as, 130;
+ two views of, 131.
+
+ Metibta, Babylonian school, 236.
+
+ Middle Ages, Jewish, 281.
+
+ Midrash, 142, 143.
+
+ Minor Festivals, so termed, 40.
+
+ Mishna, The, 222;
+ its 60 subdivisions, 222, 223;
+ canon of Jewish law, 221;
+ quotations from, 224-226;
+ spirit of, 227.
+
+ Missionaries, Jewish, 137, 138;
+ Christian, 139.
+
+ Mohammed, 299;
+ early dreams, 299;
+ Jews his chief teachers, 300;
+ founds a new creed, 301;
+ Hegira to Medina, 301;
+ conquers Mecca ("the Conquest") 302;
+ political and religious head of Arabia, 303;
+ conquers Arabian Jews and slays 700, 306, 307;
+ Arabia's "Prophet," 305.
+
+ Mohammedanism, supersedes Arabian idolatry, 300;
+ articles of Creed, 302;
+ compromise with paganism, 305, 306;
+ early form of, patterned after Judaism, 304;
+ and Christianity similar in their attitude towards Judaism,
+ 241, 305, 306;
+ "Koran or the sword," 306;
+ rapid spread of, 307, 308;
+ later attitude towards Jews, 308-310;
+ reaches the Spanish Peninsula, 310.
+
+
+ Nasi, office of, 190.
+
+ Nazarites, 82.
+
+ Nehemiah's service, 18.
+
+ Nerva, Emperor, removes injunctions against proselytes, 202;
+ coin concerning Jewish tax, 205.
+
+ "New Moon," Feast of, how regulated, see Calendar.
+
+ "Nicanor day," 47.
+
+ Noachian laws, _note_, 205.
+
+
+ Olympian games, 33, 107.
+
+ Onias, High Priest, and Alexander, 28.
+
+ Onias of Alexandria, builds a Temple, 69, 70;
+ justification for, 70;
+ _note_, 71.
+
+ Onias, Prayer of, 92.
+
+ Oral Law, The, 80.
+
+ Ostragoths rule Italy, tolerant to Jews, 284.
+
+
+ "Pairs," The, teachings of, 83.
+
+ Pantheon, decline of, 245.
+
+ Patience, Talmudic sayings on, 270, 271.
+
+ Palestine, Academies of, 190;
+ map of, front of book;
+ taken by the Greeks, 28;
+ Romans, 93;
+ Persians, 282;
+ again by Byzantines, 283;
+ finally by the Moslems, 308.
+
+ Parents and Children, Talmudic sayings on, 261, 262.
+
+ Paul, Apostle, 93;
+ abrogates the Law, 133;
+ _note_, 152.
+
+ Patriotism and Judaism, 234;
+ _note_, 238.
+
+ "Peace Party," The, 157.
+
+ Persia, Jews under Persian sway, 17;
+ political silence vs. religious activity, 18-22;
+ Persian influence, _note_, 24;
+ conquered by Greece, 18, 19;
+ conflict with Byzantium, 282, 283;
+ history of, 230;
+ religion of, 235, 236.
+
+ Pharisees, The, 80;
+ contrasted with Sadducees, 80, 81;
+ seven classes of, note, 83;
+ slandered, 81.
+
+ Philip, tetrarch of Batanea and Gaulonitus, 117.
+
+ Philo, 141;
+ on Pilate, 124, 125;
+ on proselytes, 138;
+ as expounder of Scripture, 141, 142;
+ as philosopher, 142-144;
+ theory of the Logos, 143, 144;
+ ethics of, 144-145;
+ pleads to emperor for Jews, 148.
+
+ Pilate, the Procurator, 123;
+ slaughters the Samaritans, 125;
+ condemns Jesus of Nazareth to death, 127.
+
+ Pompey takes Jerusalem, 93.
+
+ Pool of Siloam, illustration, 90.
+
+ Popes, dangerous power of, 285.
+
+ Post-exilic literature, 22.
+
+ Prayer of Manasses, 64;
+ of Onias, 92.
+
+ Prayer, supersedes sacrifice as sole mode of worship, 184, 185;
+ Talmudic sayings on, 258;
+ vs. sacrifice, 64.
+
+ Prayer Book, The, 194, 195;
+ _note_, 196.
+
+ Priest, and Synagogue, 21;
+ High P., functions and power of, 21.
+
+ Procurators, first group, 123;
+ last group, 153;
+ their treatment of the Jews, 119, 122-124;
+ their place in the Roman system, 147;
+ Albinus, 156;
+ Felix, 154;
+ Festus, 155;
+ Florus, 156, 157;
+ Pilate, 123.
+
+ Proselytes, Greek, 137, 138;
+ Roman, 126, 137, 201, 202;
+ Queen Helen of Adiabene, 139;
+ Aquila, 202;
+ Jussuf, King of Yemen, 296;
+ by compulsion 78, 85;
+ _note_, 205.
+
+ Providence, Talmudic sayings on, 258, 259.
+
+ Ptolemies, the, 68;
+ Philadelphus, 68;
+ Philometer 70, 71.
+
+ Pumbeditha, Babylonian Academy, 237.
+
+
+ Rab (Abba Areka), Babylonian Amora, 232;
+ establishes Sora Academy, 233;
+ moralist, 233.
+
+ Rabbi, title of, 194.
+
+ Rabba, classified Halachoth, 237.
+
+ Religion as law, 19-21.
+
+ Repentance, Talmudic sayings on, 273, 274.
+
+ Resh Galutha, office of, 231;
+ under Moslem sway, 309.
+
+ Resh Lakish, expounder, 220.
+
+ Righteousness, Talmudic sayings on, 259.
+
+ Ritual of Prayer, 194-196.
+
+ Rome, history from 146 B. C. E. to establishment of the Empire,
+ 95, 96;
+ policy of, 93;
+ Pompey takes Jerusalem, 92;
+ suzerainty over Judea, 96;
+ Judea under, 77;
+ appoints procurators over Judea, 119;
+ Judea's wars with, 57, 168;
+ regime of, after Judea's overthrow, 201;
+ revolt against Trajan, 202-204;
+ suppresses the Bar Cochba revolt, 213;
+ decline of the empire, 239;
+ division of the Empire, 245;
+ influx of barbarians, 246;
+ western half of Empire succumbs to northern tribes, 247;
+ successors, 283-285.
+
+ Rome, Emperors of, that came in relations with the Jews: Antoninus
+ Pius, 217;
+ Augustus, 120, 126;
+ Caligula, 147, 148;
+ Claudius, 149, 150;
+ Domitian, 139;
+ Julian, 245;
+ Hadrian, 204, 205, 209, 213;
+ Nero, 159;
+ Nerva, 202;
+ Alexander Severus, 239;
+ Tiberius, 125;
+ Titus, 161;
+ Trajan, 202, 203;
+ Vespasian, 159, 161, 162, 165, 173, 184.
+
+
+ Sabbatic year, 46.
+
+ Saboraim, 3d group of law expounders, 253, 254.
+
+ Sacrifice ceases with fall of Jerusalem Temple, 184-185.
+
+ Sacrificial worship, _note_, 188.
+
+ Sadduccees, 79;
+ contrasted with Pharisees, 80, 81.
+
+ Salome, Alexandra, reign of, 87;
+ coin of her time, 87.
+
+ Samuel, Babylonian Amora, 233;
+ rationalist and jurist, 233, 234;
+ "land's law is ours," 234;
+ patriot, 234;
+ astronomer and physician, 234, 235;
+ maxims, 235.
+
+ Samuel, Arabian Jewish hero, 296, 297;
+ Sheik and poet, 296, 297.
+
+ Samaritans, 125.
+
+ Sanhedrin, 123, 127, 151;
+ shorn of power, 108.
+
+ Scribes, The 19, 20.
+
+ Seleucidan regime, 28;
+ era, 28.
+
+ Semicha (ordination), 194, 215.
+
+ Septuagint, The, 68, 69, 71.
+
+ Severus, Alexander respects Judaism, 239.
+
+ Severus, Julius, defeats Bar Cochba, 212, 213.
+
+ Shammai, contrasted with Hillel, 112, 115;
+ school of, 115;
+ against proselytism, 115.
+
+ Sicarii, The, 154, 155.
+
+ Simlai, R., enumerates 365 negative and 248 affirmative
+ precepts, 220.
+
+ Simon b. Giora, Zealot leader, 165, 170.
+
+ Simon, the Just, High Priest, 29, 30;
+ Ben Sirach's description of, 29.
+
+ Simon the Hasmonean, independent Prince of Judea, 50, 77, 78;
+ makes treaty with Rome, 77;
+ coins, 50, 51.
+
+ Simon ben Shetach, 88, 89;
+ establishes schools, 89.
+
+ Sin, Talmudic sayings about, 271, 272.
+
+ Slave trade and the Jews, 286.
+
+ Slavery, a medieval institution, 286.
+
+ Sibylline Oracles, Judaism expressed in, 137.
+
+ "Song of the Three Holy Children," 64.
+
+ Sora, Babylonian Academy, 233.
+
+ Spanish Peninsula, 288;
+ status of Jews before 6th century in, 289;
+ their position in 7th century in, 290, 291;
+ conquered by the Moslems, 292, 310.
+
+ "Susanna, History of," 64.
+
+ Synagogue, establishment of, 21;
+ ritual, 19; "Men of the Great," 22.
+
+ Syria (Roman) Judea province of, 119.
+
+ Syrian governors, Vitellius, well disposed toward Jews, 147;
+ Petronius risks life for Jews, 148;
+ Cestius Gallus put to rout by Jews, 158.
+
+
+ Talmud, The, 250;
+ stories from 256, 264;
+ codifying commenced, by R. Ashi, 251;
+ Babylonian, 251;
+ Palestinian, 252;
+ the Gemara, 251;
+ Halacha and Agada, 252, 253;
+ literature on, 253;
+ language of, _note_, 254;
+ influenced by Roman law, _note_, 255.
+
+ Tannaim, the first order of expounders, 186.
+
+ Targum, 145.
+
+ Tax, Jewish, 170.
+
+ Teachers, value of, sayings about, 221.
+
+ Temple, The, as a religious centre, 21;
+ desecrated by Antiochus, 34;
+ re-dedicated by the Maccabees, 45;
+ invaded by Pompey, 93;
+ rebuilt by Herod, 107;
+ besieged by Rome, 168;
+ destroyed by Rome, 170;
+ heathen temple built on site, 171;
+ religious consequence of its overthrow:
+ Jewish, 183-185;
+ Christian, 198;
+ Fast, _note_, 196;
+ as reconstructed by Chipiez, 74;
+ ground plan of Temple area, 75;
+ of Onias, 70;
+ justification for a temple outside of Jerusalem, 70, 71.
+
+ "Testaments, Old and New," significance of the title, 198, 199.
+
+ Tetrarch, 120.
+
+ Theocracy, defined, 119;
+ Roman rule antagonistic to, 119.
+
+ Theudas, a Messiah, executed, 153.
+
+ Tiberius, Roman emperor, 125.
+
+ Titus conducts war against Judea, 161, 166, 170;
+ Arch of, illustration, 180;
+ portrait, 164;
+ Coin of the reign of, 166.
+
+ Tobit, Book of, 57, 58;
+ Prayer of, 58, 59.
+
+ Traders, why Jews became, 286.
+
+ Trajan, revolt against, 202, 203.
+
+ Truth, strength of, 56, 57;
+ Talmudic sayings about, 266.
+
+
+ Vespasian, sent by Nero to quell Judean rebellion, 159;
+ conquers Galilean plain, 161;
+ conquers northern fortresses, 165;
+ crowned Roman emperor, 173;
+ grants permission to J. b. Zakkai to establish an Academy at
+ Jamnia, 184;
+ brass coin indicating Judea's overthrow, 189.
+
+ Vulgate, The, Latin translation of the Scriptures, 249.
+
+
+ Water Bottles, Goat-skin, illustration, 66.
+
+ Water Festival (Sh'mini Atzereth,) 89.
+
+ "Wine, Strength of," 54.
+
+ Wisdom literature, 60.
+
+ "Wisdom of Solomon," 62;
+ quotations from, 62, 63.
+
+ Wit and Humor of Rabbis, 275, 276.
+
+ Woman, Jewish estimate of, 262;
+ Talmudic sayings on, 263;
+ strength of, 55, 56.
+
+ Wood Festival, Ab 15th, 89.
+
+ Work, Talmudic sayings on, 264, 265.
+
+
+ Zealots, The, 124, 153, 154, 165.
+
+ Zoroastrism, religion of Persia, 235, 236.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+[Illustration: Map Back end paper "The Diaspora"]
+
+
+
+
+ * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note.
+Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as
+printed.
+
+Missing page numbers are page numbers that were not shown in the
+original text.
+
+The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up
+paragraphs, thus the page number of the illustration might not match
+the page number in the List of Illustrations.
+
+Mismatched quotation marks are not corrected if it is not sufficiently
+clear where the missing quotation mark should be placed.
+
+In the Index, hyphenation has been changed from "goatskin" to
+"goat-skin".
+
+In the book the table of Contents lists the "Preface to revised
+edition" as on page v and the Introduction as on page vi. In the
+book, the Introduction comes before the Preface on unnumbered pages.
+
+In the "Contents" for Chapter XLII, the transcriber has changed the
+numbers from 305-311 to 304-310 to conform to the book.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A THOUSAND YEARS OF JEWISH HISTORY***
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