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diff --git a/48890-tei/48890-tei.tei b/48890-tei/48890-tei.tei new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8ec5171 --- /dev/null +++ b/48890-tei/48890-tei.tei @@ -0,0 +1,15337 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> + +<!DOCTYPE TEI.2 SYSTEM "http://www.gutenberg.org/tei/marcello/0.4/dtd/pgtei.dtd" [ + +<!ENTITY u5 "http://www.tei-c.org/Lite/"> + +]> + +<TEI.2 lang="en"> +<teiHeader> + <fileDesc> + <titleStmt> + <title>Studies in Judaism, First Series</title> + <author><name reg="Schechter, Solomon">Solomon Schechter</name></author> + </titleStmt> + <editionStmt> + <edition n="1">Edition 1</edition> + </editionStmt> + <publicationStmt> + <publisher>Project Gutenberg</publisher> + <date>May 6, 2015</date> + <idno type="etext-no">48890</idno> + <availability> + <p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and + most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions + whatsoever. 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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have + to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> + </availability> + </publicationStmt> + <sourceDesc> + <bibl> + Created electronically. + </bibl> + </sourceDesc> + </fileDesc> + <encodingDesc> + </encodingDesc> + <profileDesc> + <langUsage> + <language id="en"></language> + <language id="he"></language> + <language id="la"></language> + <language id="de"></language> + <language id="fr"></language> + </langUsage> + </profileDesc> + <revisionDesc> + <change> + <date value="2015-05">May 2015</date> + <respStmt> + <name> + Produced by Chuck Greif, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. + (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain + material from the Google Print project.) + </name> + </respStmt> + <item>Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1</item> + </change> + </revisionDesc> +</teiHeader> + +<pgExtensions> + <pgStyleSheet> + .boxed { x-class: boxed } + .shaded { x-class: shaded } + .rules { x-class: rules; rules: all } + .indent { margin-left: 2 } + .bold { font-weight: bold } + .italic { font-style: italic } + .smallcaps { font-variant: small-caps } + </pgStyleSheet> + + <pgCharMap formats="txt.iso-8859-1"> + <char id="U0x2014"> + <charName>mdash</charName> + <desc>EM DASH</desc> + <mapping>--</mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2003"> + <charName>emsp</charName> + <desc>EM SPACE</desc> + <mapping> </mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2026"> + <charName>hellip</charName> + <desc>HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS</desc> + <mapping>...</mapping> + </char> + </pgCharMap> +</pgExtensions> + +<text lang="en"> + <front> + <div> + <divGen type="pgheader" /> + </div> + <div> + <divGen type="encodingDesc" /> + </div> + + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <p rend="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center">Studies in Judaism</p> + <p rend="font-size: large; text-align: center">First Series</p> + <p rend="font-size: large; text-align: center">by</p> + <p rend="font-size: x-large; text-align: center">Solomon Schechter, M.A., Litt.D.</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Philadelphia</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">The Jewish Publication Society of America</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">1911</p> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <head>Contents</head> + <divGen type="toc" /> + </div> + + </front> +<body> + +<div> +<p rend='text-align: center'> + <figure url='images/cover.jpg' rend='width: 30%'> + <figDesc>Cover Art</figDesc> + </figure> +</p> +<p> +[Transcriber's Note: The above cover image was produced by the submitter at +Distributed Proofreaders, and is being placed into the public domain.] +</p> +</div> + +<pb n='v'/><anchor id='Pgv'/> + +<div> + +<p>TO</p> + +<p> +THE EVER-CHERISHED MEMORY +</p> + +<p> +OF +</p> + +<p> +THE LATE DR. P. F. FRANKL, RABBI IN BERLIN +</p> + +<p> +THESE STUDIES ARE REVERENTLY +</p> + +<p> +DEDICATED +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='vii'/><anchor id='Pgvi'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Preface</head> + +<p> +These studies appeared originally in their first form in +<hi rend='italic'>The Jewish Quarterly</hi> and <hi rend='italic'>The Jewish Chronicle</hi>. To the +Editors of these periodicals my best thanks are due for their +readiness in placing the articles at my disposal for the +purposes of the present volume. The Introductory Essay +is new. I desire to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. +J. G. Frazer, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Dr. +J. Sutherland Black, of London, for their great kindness in +revising the proofs, and for many a valuable suggestion. +To Mr. Claude G. Montefiore I am indebted for the English +version of the Essay on <q>Chassidim</q>—my first literary +effort in this country, written at his own suggestion. +</p> + +<p> +In the transliteration of Hebrew names, I have given the +familiar English forms of the authorised version. As +regards post-Biblical names, I have with few exceptions +followed Zedner's <hi rend='italic'>Catalogue of the Hebrew Books in the +Library of the British Museum</hi>. A Hebrew word will be +found here and there in the text; I have purposely avoided +bewildering devices for representing the actual sound of the +word, contenting myself with the ordinary Roman alphabet, +in spite of its shortcomings. +</p> + +<pb n='viii'/><anchor id='Pgviii'/> + +<p> +The authorities used for the various Essays will be found +indicated in the Notes at the end of the volume, where the +reader will also find short biographical and bibliographical +notices, together with brief explanations of technical terms +for which no exact equivalent exists in English. The index +will, it is hoped, facilitate reference. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>S. S.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Cambridge</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>February 1896</hi>. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='xi'/><anchor id='Pgxi'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Introduction</head> + +<p> +The essays published in this volume under the title of +<hi rend='italic'>Studies in Judaism</hi> have been written on various occasions +and at long intervals. There is thus no necessary connection +between them. If some sort of unity may be detected +in the book, it can only be between the first three +essays—on the Chassidim, Krochmal, and the Gaon—in +which there is a certain unity of purpose. The purpose in +view was, as may easily be gathered from the essays themselves, +to bring under the notice of the English public +a type of men produced by the Synagogue of the Eastern +Jews. That Synagogue is widely different from ours. Its +places of worship have no claims to <q>beauty of holiness,</q> +being in their outward appearance rather bare and bald, +if not repulsive; whilst those who frequent them are a +noisy, excitable people, who actually dance on the <q>Season +of Rejoicing</q> and cry bitterly on the <q>Days of +Mourning.</q> But among all these vagaries—or perhaps +because of them—this Synagogue has had its moments +of grace, when enthusiasm wedded to inspiration gave +birth to such beautiful souls as Baalshem, such fine sceptics +as Krochmal, and such saintly scholars as Elijah +Wilna. The Synagogue of the West is certainly of a +more presentable character, and free from excesses; +though it is not devoid of an enthusiasm of its own which +<pb n='xii'/><anchor id='Pgxii'/> +finds its outlet in an ardent and self-sacrificing philanthropic +activity. But owing to its practical tendency +there is too little room in it for that play of intellectual +forces which finds its extravagant expression in the saint +on the one hand, and the learned heretic on the other. +</p> + +<p> +Eight of these essays are more or less of a theological +nature. But in reading the proofs I have been struck by +the fact that there is assumed in them a certain conception +of the Synagogue which, familiar though it be to the +Jewish student, may appear obscure and even strange to +the general English reader. For brevity's sake I will call +it the High Synagogue, though it does not correspond in +all details to what one is accustomed to understand under +the term of High Church. The High Synagogue has a +history which is not altogether without its points of +interest. +</p> + +<p> +Some years ago when the waves of the Higher Criticism +of the Old Testament reached the shores of this country, +and such questions as the heterogeneous composition of +the Pentateuch, the comparatively late date of the Levitical +Legislation, and the post-exilic origin of certain Prophecies +as well as of the Psalms began to be freely discussed +by the press and even in the pulpit, the invidious remark +was often made: What will now become of Judaism when +its last stronghold, the Law, is being shaken to its very +foundations? +</p> + +<p> +Such a remark shows a very superficial acquaintance +with the nature of an old historical religion like Judaism, +and the richness of the resources it has to fall back upon +in cases of emergency. +</p> + +<p> +As a fact, the emergency did not quite surprise Judaism. +The alarm signal was given some 150 years ago by an +<pb n='xiii'/><anchor id='Pgxiii'/> +Italian Rabbi, Abiad Sar Shalom Bazilai, in his pamphlet +<hi rend='italic'>The Faith of the Sages</hi>. The pamphlet is, as the title +indicates, of a polemical character, reviewing the work +of the Jewish rationalistic schools; and after warming up +in his attacks against their heterodox views, Bazilai exclaims: +<q>Nature and simple meaning, they are our misfortune.</q> +By <q>nature and simple meaning</q> Bazilai, who +wrote in Hebrew, understood what we would call Natural +Science and Philology. With the right instinct of faith, +Bazilai hit on the real sore points. For though he mostly +argues against the philosophical systems of Aristotle and +his commentators, he felt that it is not speculation that +will ever seriously endanger religion. There is hardly any +metaphysical system, old or new, which has not in course +of time been adapted by able dialecticians to the creed +which they happened to hold. In our own time we have +seen the glorious, though not entirely novel spectacle, of +Agnosticism itself becoming the rightful handmaid of +Queen Theology. The real danger lies in <q>nature</q> (or +Natural Science) with its stern demand of law and regularity +in all phenomena, and in the <q>simple meaning</q> +(or Philology) with its inconsiderate insistence on truth. +Of the two, the <q>simple meaning</q> is the more objectionable. +Not only is it very often at variance with Tradition, +which has its own code of interpretation, but it is constantly +increasing the difficulties raised by science. For +if words could only have more than one meaning, there +would be no objection to reading the first words of Genesis, +<q>In <emph>a</emph> beginning God <emph>evolved</emph>.</q> The difficulties of +science would then be disposed of easily enough. Maimonides, +who was as bold an interpreter as he was a deep +metaphysician, hinted plainly enough that were he as convinced +<pb n='xiv'/><anchor id='Pgxiv'/> +of the eternity of matter as he was satisfied of the +impossibility of any corporeal quality in the deity, he +would feel as little compunction in explaining (figuratively) +the contents of the first chapter of Genesis as he did in +allegorising the anthropomorphic passages of the Bible. +Thus in the end all the difficulties resolve themselves into +the one great difficulty of the <q>simple meaning.</q> The +best way to meet this difficulty was found to be to shift +the centre of gravity in Judaism and to place it in the +secondary meaning, thus making religion independent of +philology and all its dangerous consequences. +</p> + +<p> +This shifting work was chiefly done, perhaps not quite +consciously, by the historical school which followed upon +that of Mendelssohn and his first successors. The historical +school, which is still in the ascendant, comprises +many of the best Jewish writers who either by their +learning or by their ecclesiastical profession as Rabbis +and preachers in great communities have acquired some +important position among their brethren. The men who +have inaugurated this movement were Krochmal (1785-1841), +Rapoport (1790-1867), and Zunz (1794-1886). +</p> + +<p> +It is not a mere coincidence that the first representatives +of the historical school were also the first Jewish +scholars who proved themselves more or less ready to +join the modern school of Bible Criticism, and even to +contribute their share to it. The first two, Krochmal +and Rapoport, early in the second quarter of this century +accepted and defended the modern view about a second +Isaiah, the post-exilic origin of many Psalms, and the late +date of Ecclesiastes; whilst Zunz, who began (in 1832) +with denying the authenticity of Ezekiel, concluded his +literary career (1873) with a study on the Bible (<hi rend='italic'>Gesammelte +<pb n='xv'/><anchor id='Pgxv'/> +Schriften</hi>, i. pp. 217-290), in which he expressed +his view <q>that the Book of Leviticus dates from a later +period than the Book of Deuteronomy, later even than +Ezekiel, having been composed during the age of the +Second Temple, when there already existed a well-established +priesthood which superintended the sacrificial worship.</q> +But when Revelation or the Written Word is +reduced to the level of history, there is no difficulty in +elevating history in its aspect of Tradition to the rank of +Scripture, for both have then the same human or divine +origin (according to the student's predilection for the one +or the other adjective), and emanate from the same +authority. Tradition becomes thus the means whereby +the modern divine seeks to compensate himself for the +loss of the Bible, and the theological balance is to the +satisfaction of all parties happily readjusted. +</p> + +<p> +Jewish Tradition, or, as it is commonly called, the Oral +Law, or, as we may term it (in consideration of its claims +to represent an interpretation of the Bible), the Secondary +Meaning of the Scriptures, is mainly embodied in the +works of the Rabbis and their subsequent followers during +the Middle Ages. Hence the zeal and energy with +which the historical school applied itself to the Jewish +post-biblical literature, not only elucidating its texts by +means of new critical editions, dictionaries, and commentaries, +but also trying to trace its origins and to pursue +its history through its gradual development. To the work +of Krochmal in this direction a special essay is devoted +in this volume. The labours of Rapoport are more of a +biographical and bibliographical nature, being occupied +mostly with the minor details in the lives and writings of +various famous Jewish Rabbis in the Middle Ages; thus +<pb n='xvi'/><anchor id='Pgxvi'/> +they offer but little opportunity for general theological +comment. Of more importance in this respect are the +hints thrown out in his various works by Zunz, who was +just as emphatic in asserting the claims of Tradition as +he was advanced in his views on Bible criticism. Zunz's +greatest work is <hi rend='italic'>Die Gottesdienstlichen Vorträge</hi>—an awkward +title, which in fact means <q>The History of the Interpretation +of the Scriptures as forming a part of the divine +service.</q> Now if a work displaying such wide learning +and critical acumen, and written in such an impartial spirit +can be said to have a bias, it was towards bridging over +the seemingly wide gap between the Written Word (the +Scriptures) and the Spoken Word (the Oral Law or Tradition), +which was the more deeply felt, as most of Zunz's +older contemporaries were men, grown up in the habits +of thought of the eighteenth century—a century distinguished +both for its ignorance of, and its power of ignoring, +the teachings of history. Indeed it would seem that +ages employed in making history have no time for studying +it. +</p> + +<p> +Zunz accomplished the task he set himself, by showing, +as already indicated, the late date of certain portions of +the Bible, which by setting the early history of Israel in +an ideal light betray the moralising tendency of their +authors, and are, in fact, little more than a traditional +interpretation of older portions of Scripture, adapted to +the religious needs of the time. Placing thus the origin +of Tradition in the Bible itself, it was a comparatively +easy matter for Zunz to prove its further continuity. +Prophecy and Interpretation are with him the natural +expressions of the religious life of the nation; and though +by the loss of Israel's political independence the voice of +<pb n='xvii'/><anchor id='Pgxvii'/> +the prophets gradually died away, the voice of God was +still heard. Israel continues to consult God through the +medium of the Scriptures, and He answers His people by +the mouth of the Scribes, the Sages, the Interpreters of +the Law; whilst the liturgy of the Synagogue, springing +up at the time when Psalms were still being composed, +expands in its later stages through the work of the Poets +of the Synagogue into such a rich luxuriance <q>that it +forms in itself a treasure of history, poetry, philosophy; +and prophecy and psalms are again revived in the hymnology +of the Middle Ages.</q> This is in brief the lesson +to be learned from Zunz's <hi rend='italic'>Gottesdienstliche Vorträge</hi> as far +as it deals with the significance of Tradition; and it is in +the introduction to this work that Zunz expresses himself +to the following effect: Indispensable is the free Spoken +Word. Mankind has acquired all its ideal treasures only +by Word of Mouth; an education continuing through all +stages of life. In Israel, too, the Word of Instruction +transmitted from mouth to mouth was never silenced. +</p> + +<p> +The historical school has never, to my knowledge, offered +to the world a theological programme of its own. By the +nature of its task, its labours are mostly conducted in the +field of philology and archæology, and it pays but little +attention to purely dogmatic questions. On the whole, its +attitude towards religion may be defined as an enlightened +Scepticism combined with a staunch conservatism which +is not even wholly devoid of a certain mystical touch. +As far as we may gather from vague remarks and hints +thrown out now and then, its theological position may +perhaps be thus defined:—It is not the mere revealed +Bible that is of first importance to the Jew, but the Bible +as it repeats itself in history, in other words, as it is +<pb n='xviii'/><anchor id='Pgxviii'/> +interpreted by Tradition. The Talmud, that wonderful +mine of religious ideas from which it would be just as +easy to draw up a manual for the most orthodox as to +extract a vade-mecum for the most sceptical, lends some +countenance to this view by certain controversial passages—not +to be taken seriously—in which <q>the words of the +scribes</q> are placed almost above the words of the Torah. +Since then the interpretation of Scripture or the Secondary +Meaning is mainly a product of changing historical +influences, it follows that the centre of authority is actually +removed from the Bible and placed in some <emph>living +body</emph>, which, by reason of its being in touch with the ideal +aspirations and the religious needs of the age, is best able +to determine the nature of the Secondary Meaning. This +living body, however, is not represented by any section of +the nation, or any corporate priesthood, or Rabbihood, but +by the collective conscience of Catholic Israel as embodied +in the Universal Synagogue. The Synagogue <q>with its +long, continuous cry after God for more than twenty-three +centuries,</q> with its unremittent activity in teaching and +developing the word of God, with its uninterrupted succession +of prophets, Psalmists, Scribes, Assideans, Rabbis, +Patriarchs, Interpreters, Elucidators, Eminences, and +Teachers, with its glorious record of Saints, martyrs, +sages, philosophers, scholars, and mystics; this Synagogue, +the only true witness to the past, and forming in +all ages the sublimest expression of Israel's religious life, +must also retain its authority as the sole true guide for +the present and the future. And being in communion +with this Synagogue, we may also look hopefully for +a safe and rational solution of our present theological +troubles. For was it not the Synagogue which even in +<pb n='xix'/><anchor id='Pgxix'/> +antiquity determined the fate of Scripture? On the one +hand, for example, books like Ezekiel, the Song of Songs, +and Ecclesiastes, were only declared to be Holy Writ +in virtue of the interpretation put upon them by the +Rabbis: and, on the other hand, it was the veto of the +Rabbis which excluded from the canon the works that +now pass under the name of Apocrypha. We may, therefore, +safely trust that the Synagogue will again assert its +divine right in passing judgment upon the Bible when it +feels called upon to exercise that holy office. It is <q>God +who has chosen the Torah, and Moses His servant, and +Israel His people.</q> But indeed God's choice invariably +coincides with the wishes of Israel; He <q>performeth all +things</q> upon which the councils of Israel, meeting under +promise of the Divine presence and communion, have previously +agreed. As the Talmud somewhere expresses +itself with regard to the Book of Esther, <q>They have +confirmed above what Israel has accepted below.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Another consequence of this conception of Tradition is +that it is neither Scripture nor primitive Judaism, but general +custom which forms the real rule of practice. Holy +Writ as well as history, Zunz tells us, teaches that the law +of Moses was never fully and absolutely put in practice. +Liberty was always given to the great teachers of every +generation to make modifications and innovations in harmony +with the spirit of existing institutions. Hence a +return to Mosaism would be illegal, pernicious, and indeed +impossible. The norm as well as the sanction of Judaism +is the practice actually in vogue. Its consecration is the +consecration of general use,—or, in other words, of Catholic +Israel. It was probably with a view to this communion +that the later mystics introduced a short prayer to +<pb n='xx'/><anchor id='Pgxx'/> +be said before the performance of any religious ceremony, +in which, among other things, the speaker professes his +readiness to act <q>in the name of all Israel.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It would be out of place in an introductory essay +to pursue any further this interesting subject with its +far-reaching consequences upon Jewish life and Jewish +thought. But the foregoing remarks may suffice to show +that Judaism did not remain quite inactive at the approach +of the great religious crisis which our generation has +witnessed. Like so many other religious communities, it +reviewed its forces, entrenched itself on the field of history, +and what it lost of its old devotion to the Bible, +it has sought to make up by a renewed reverence for +institutions. +</p> + +<p> +In this connection, a mere mention may suffice of the +ultra-Orthodox party, led by the late Dr. S. R. Hirsch of +Frankfort (1808-1889) whose defiance of reason and criticism +even a Ward might have envied, and whose saintliness +and sublimity even a Keble might have admired. +And, to take an example from the opposite school, we +must at least record the name of that devout Jew, Osias +Schorr (1816-1895), in whom we have profound learning +combined with an uncompromising disposition of mind +productive of a typical champion of Radicalism in things +religious. These men are, however, representative of two +extremes, and their followers constitute mere minorities; +the majority is with the historical school. +</p> + +<p> +How long the position of this school will prove tenable +is another question. Being brought up in the old Low +Synagogue, where, with all attachment to tradition, the +Bible was looked upon as the crown and the climax of +Judaism, the old Adam still asserts itself in me, and in +<pb n='xxi'/><anchor id='Pgxxi'/> +unguarded moments makes me rebel against this new +rival of revelation in the shape of history. At times this +now fashionable exaltation of Tradition at the expense of +Scripture even impresses me as a sort of religious bimetallism +in which bold speculators in theology try to keep up +the market value of an inferior currency by denouncing +loudly the bright shining gold which, they would have us +believe, is less fitted to circulate in the vulgar use of daily +life than the small cash of historical interpretation. Nor +can I quite reconcile myself to this alliance of religion +with history, which seems to me both unworthy and unnatural. +The Jew, some writer aptly remarked, was the +first and the fiercest Nonconformist of the East, and so +Judaism was always a protesting religion. To break the +idols, whether of the past or of the present, has always +been a sacred mission of Judaism, and has indeed been +esteemed by it as a necessary preliminary to the advent +of the kingdom of God on earth. One of its daily prayers +was and still is: <q>We therefore hope in Thee, O Lord +our God, that we may speedily behold the glory of Thy +might, when ... the idols will be cut off, when the world +will be perfected under the kingdom of the Almighty.</q> +It bowed before truth, but it had never made a covenant +with facts only because they were facts. History had to +be re-made and to sanctify itself before it found its way +into its sacred annals. Nor did Judaism make a virtue of +swallowing down institutions. Such institutions as crept +into it in course of time had, when the Synagogue was +conscious of their claims to form part of religion, to submit +to the laborious process of a thorough adaptation to +prophetic notions before they were formally sanctioned. +But when this process was deemed impossible or impracticable, +<pb n='xxii'/><anchor id='Pgxxii'/> +Judaism boldly denounced the past in such fierce +language as the prophets used and as still finds its echo +in such passages of the liturgy as <q>First our ancestors +were worshippers of idols and now God has brought us +near to His service</q>; or <q>But of a truth, we and our ancestors +have sinned.</q> +</p> + +<p> +However, it would be unfair to argue any further +against a theological system which, as already said, was +never avowed distinctly by the historical school—a +school, moreover, with which speculation is a matter of +minor importance. The main strength of this school lies +in its scientific work, for which Judaism will always be +under a sense of deep gratitude. And living as we do in +an age in which history reigns supreme in all departments +of human thought, we may hope that even its theology, +as far as it goes, will <q>do</q> for us, though I neither hope +nor believe that it will do for those who come after us. I +may, however, humbly confess that the sixth essay in this +volume was written in a spirit of rebellion against this all-absorbing +Catholic Israel, with its decently veiled scepticism +on the one hand, and its unfortunate tendency with +many people to degenerate into a soulless conformity on +the other hand. There is, I am afraid, not much to be +said in favour of this essay. It is deficient both in matter +and in style. It proved to be a futile attempt to bring +within the compass of an essay what a whole book could +hardly do justice to. The Hebrew documents bearing +upon the question of dogma which I have collected from +various manuscripts and rare printed books, would alone +make a fair-sized volume. I only venture to offer it to +the public in the absence of anything better; since, so far +as I know, no other attempt has ever been made to treat +<pb n='xxiii'/><anchor id='Pgxxxiii'/> +the subject even in its meagrest outlines. I even venture +to hope that, with all its shortcomings, it will contribute +something towards destroying the illusion, in which so +many theologians indulge, that Judaism is a religion without +dogmas. To declare that a religion has no dogmas is +tantamount to saying that it was wise enough not to commit +itself to any vital principles. But prudence, useful as +it may be in worldly affairs, is quite unworthy of a great +spiritual power. +</p> + +<p> +Jewish mysticism in the Middle Ages and in modern +times is represented in this volume by two essays (<q>The +Chassidim</q> and <q>Nachmanides</q>). But in order to avoid +mistakes which might be implied by my silence, I think it +desirable to state that there are also to be found many +mystical elements in the old Rabbinic literature. Mysticism, +not as a theosophic system or as an occult science, but +as a manifestation of the spiritual and as an expression of +man's agonies in his struggle after communion with God, +as well as of his ineffable joy when he receives the assurance +that he has found it, is not, as some maintain, foreign +to the spirit of old Rabbinic Judaism. There was no need +for the mediæval Rabbi to borrow the elements of such a +mysticism from non-Jewish sources. The perusal of the +old Homilies on the Song of Songs, and on the Lessons +from the Prophets, or even a fair acquaintance with the +Jewish liturgy would, in itself, suffice to refute such baseless +assertions. Those who are at all familiar with old +Rabbinic literature hardly need to be told that <q>the sea of +the Talmud</q> has also its gulf stream of mysticism which, +taking its origin in the moralising portions of the Bible, +runs through the wide ocean of Jewish thought, constantly +commingling with the icy waters of legalism, and +<pb n='xxiv'/><anchor id='Pgxxiv'/> +unceasingly washing the desolate shores of an apparently +meaningless ceremonialism, communicating to it life, +warmth, and spirituality. To draw attention to this fact a +humble attempt has been made in the ninth essay, <q>The +Law and Recent Criticism,</q> a subject which I have essayed +to expound in a series of essays on <q>Some Aspects of +Rabbinic Theology,</q> now appearing in <hi rend='italic'>The Jewish Quarterly +Review</hi>. +</p> + +<p> +The last five essays touch rather on certain social and +familiar aspects of Judaism, and need no further comment. +They are mere <emph>causeries</emph> and hardly deserve the name of +studies. Perhaps it may be useful for those who judge of +the heaviness of a work by its bulk to know that there is +also a lighter side of Rabbinic literature. +</p> + +<p> +But I shall be better pleased if the more serious side of +this volume—Jewish mysticism and Rabbinic theology—should +attract the attention of students, and so draw some +fellow-workers into a field which is utterly neglected. +Notwithstanding the numerous Manuals and Introductions +which all more or less touch on the subject of Rabbinic +theology, there is, after nearly 250 years, not a single work +among them which, either in knowledge of facts or in +their interpretation, is a single step in advance of the +Cambridge Platonist, John Smith, in his <hi rend='italic'>Select Discourses</hi>. +But those who try so hard to determine the miraculous +distance of Christianity by the eclipses in Rabbinism, +should, if they wish to be just or prove themselves worthy +scholars, also endeavour to make themselves acquainted +with the numberless bright stars that move in the wide universe +of Jewish thought. We are often told that no creed +or theological system which has come down to us from +antiquity can afford to be judged by any other standard +<pb n='xxv'/><anchor id='Pgxxv'/> +than by its spiritual and poetic <emph>possibilities</emph>: this indulgence +Judaism is as justly entitled to claim as any other +religion. The great and saintly Franz Delitzsch who, born +with an intellect of admirable temper, was also endowed +by Heaven with a soul—and a beautiful soul it was—was +one of the few theologians who, partly at least, admitted +this claim, and sought earnestly and diligently after +these spiritual and poetic possibilities, and was amply rewarded +for his labours. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='001'/><anchor id='Pg001'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>I. The Chassidim<note place='foot'><hi rend='smallcaps'>Subjoined is a List of selected Authorities on the Subject +of the Chassidim.</hi>—<hi rend='italic'>Historical and Bibliographical Works</hi>: +Graetz (xi. including the polemical literature quoted in the Appendix), +Jost, Peter Beer, M. Bodek (סדר הרורות הנרש, Lemberg, 1865), A. Walden +(שמ תגרוליב הנדש, Warschau, 1864), Finn (קרוה נאמנה, Wilna, 1860), +D. Kahana (אצן אוסל in the periodical השחר, iv.), Zederbaum (כחר כדונה, +Odessa, 1868). <hi rend='italic'>Essays and Satires</hi>: T. Erter (הצפה, Wien, 1858), +S. Szantó (<hi rend='italic'>Jahrbuch für Israeliten</hi>, p. 108-178, 1867), A. Gottlober +(in his periodical הברקר אור, iii.), L. Löw (Ben Chananjah, ii.), Rudermann +(השחר, vi.), Rapoport (נחלת יחודה, Lemberg, 1873, p. 10), Fröhlich +(המדרין, Warschau, 1876, p. 63 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>), S. Maimon (<hi rend='italic'>Autobiographie</hi>, +Berlin, 1792). Compare also the Hebrew novels by P. Smolensky, +L. Gordon, M. Brandstätter, A. Gottlober and B. Horowitz (German). +<hi rend='italic'>Occasional references</hi> to the liturgy or the system of the Chassidim in +the <q>Responses</q> of R. Ezechiel Landau, Moses Sopher, E. Flekeles +and T. Steinhart, and in the works of Israel Samostsch, Salomon +Chelma and Chayim Walosin. Compare also Zunz (<hi rend='italic'>Gottesdienstliche +Vorträge</hi>, p. 477) and L. Löw (<hi rend='italic'>Mannheimer Album</hi>, Wien, 1874), +Senior Sachs (התחיה, i. 61) and B. L. Zeitlin (הות קשה, Paris, 1846). +The best book on the whole subject is E. Zweifel's work שלום צל ישראל +(Zitomyr 1868, three parts), which I strongly recommend to students. +The books written by the Chassidim would amount to more than 200. +They are catalogued by Bodek and Walden. I shall only draw the +attention of the student to the works of Beer, Salomon Ladier, and +Mendel Witipsker on one side, who developed the theory of the +Immanence, and those of Nachman Braslaw and Melech Liezensker, +who, on the other hand, carried the theory of Zaddikism to its utmost +consequences. The student will find a fair collection of sayings and +sentences arranged according to theological subjects in the books ררך המידים +and לשן חכמים (Anon., Lemberg, 1876).</note></head> + +<p> +Throughout the whole of that interesting field of +Theological Literature which deals with the genesis and +course of religious movements, there is probably none +whose history, even whose name, is so little known to +English students, as that of the Chassidim. And yet it +would be difficult to point, in comparatively recent times, +to a Dissenting movement more strikingly complete in its +development, more suggestive of analogy, more full of +interest in its original purpose, more pregnant of warning +in its decay. +</p> + +<p> +The Hebrew word <q>Chassidim</q><note place='foot'>חסידים, <q>pious ones</q> (Ps. xxxvii. 28, lxx. 2, etc.). The reader +is probably acquainted with the term from the Maccabean history +(1 Macc. ii. 42, vii. 13), in which the strict party, opposed to all +Hellenistic influence, are called <q>Assideans</q> [R.V. <q>Hasidaeans</q>], +Gr. Ἁσιδαῖοι.</note> merely means <q>the +Pious,</q> and appears to have been complacently adopted +by the early apostles of the sect. But the thing—Chassidism—was, +in its inception at all events, a revolt among +the Jews of Eastern Europe against the excessive casuistry +of the contemporary Rabbis. It was in fact one +more manifestation of the yearning of the human heart +towards the Divine idea, and of its ceaseless craving for +direct communion with God. It was the protest of an +emotional but uneducated people against a one-sided +expression of Judaism, presented to them in cold and +over-subtle disquisitions which not only did they not +understand, but which shut out the play of the feelings +<pb n='002'/><anchor id='Pg002'/> +and the affections, so that religion was made almost +impossible to them. +</p> + +<p> +Some account of the sect is the more necessary because, +although the Chassidim have not been wholly ignored by +historians or novelists, the references to them have generally, +for perfectly intelligible reasons, been either biassed +or inaccurate. The historians who have treated of them +have been almost exclusively men saturated with Western +culture and rationalism. To them the rude and uncouth +manifestations of an undisciplined religious spirit could +not be other than repellent; to them Chassidism was a +movement to be dismissed as unæsthetic and irrational. +</p> + +<p> +To the purposes of fiction the romantic side of Chassidism +lends itself readily, but the novelists who have used +this material have confined themselves to its externals. +Indeed, to have done more would have involved a tedious +and unremunerative study of difficult Hebrew texts, an +undertaking not to be expected from the most conscientious +writers of this class. Thus Franzos in his references +to the Jews of Barnow describes faithfully the outer signs +of the man, his long coat and tangled curls, but the inner +life, the world in which the Chassid moved and had his +being, was unknown to him and is therefore unrecorded. +</p> + +<p> +As to my treatment of the subject, I confess that there +was a time when I loved the Chassidim as there was a +time when I hated them. And even now I am not able +to suppress these feelings. I have rather tried to guide +my feelings in such a way as to love in Chassidism what +is ideal and noble, and to hate in it what turned out bad +and pernicious for Judaism. How far I have been successful +is another question. At least I have endeavoured +to write this paper in such a spirit. But of one thing I +<pb n='003'/><anchor id='Pg003'/> +must warn the reader—the desire to give some clear +notion of the leading ideas of Chassidism has compelled +me to quote some passages in which the Chassidim have +spoken in very offensive terms of their opponents. In +justice to these I must remark that unfortunately religious +struggles are usually conducted on the most irreligious +principles. Thus the Chassidim imputed to their antagonists, +the contemporary Rabbis, many vices from which +they were free. Certainly, there was, as one can read in +every history of Jewish religion, something wrong in the +state of Judaism. But I know people who maintain that +there is something very wrong in the present state of +Judaism, and who despair of a regeneration. But surely +this is a silly exaggeration. The Chassidim also exaggerated. +It would be better to take but little notice of +their accusations and dwell more on that which was +spoken in a kind and loving spirit. +</p> + +<p> +As to the literature of the subject, I can only say here +that I have made use of every book I could consult, both +in English and in foreign libraries. But I cannot pledge +myself to be what early Jewish writers called <q>a donkey +which carries books.</q> I exercise my own choice and my +own judgment on many points. +</p> + +<p> +As an active force for good, Chassidism was short-lived. +For, as I propose to show, there lurked among its central +tenets the germs of the degeneracy which so speedily +came upon it. But its early purposes were high, its doctrines +fairly pure, its aspirations ideal and sublime. +</p> + +<p> +The founder of the sect was one Israel Baalshem,<note place='foot'>בעל שם, <q>The Master of the Name,</q> a term usually applied to +exorcists, who cast out devils and performed other miracles through +adjuration by the name of God (or angels). The unbelieving Rabbis +maintained indeed that in his exorcisms Baalshem employed <q>impure +names</q> (of devils), whilst the Chassidim, on the other hand, declared +that their Master never used <q>names</q> at all, his miracles being performed +by the divine in Baalshem to which all nature owes obedience. +Occasionally the Chassidim call him בעל שם תוב (The Man of Good +Name), in allusion to Eccles. vii. 1, shortened by some into <hi rend='italic'>Besht</hi>.</note> and +the story of his parentage, birth, and childhood, and the +current anecdotes of his subsequent career play a considerable +part in Chassidic literature. But the authentic +<pb n='004'/><anchor id='Pg004'/> +materials for his biography are everywhere interwoven +with much that is pure legend and with much more that +is miraculous. This was, perhaps, inevitable, and is certainly +not an unfamiliar feature in the personal histories +of religious reformers as presented by their followers and +devotees. +</p> + +<p> +The sayings and doings of Baalshem are an essential—perhaps +the most essential—portion of any account +of the sect. For Baalshem is the centre of the Chassidic +world, and Chassidism is so intimately bound up with +the personality of its founder that any separation between +them is well nigh impossible. To the Chassidim +Baalshem is not a man who established a theory or +set forth a system; he himself was the incarnation of a +theory and his whole life the revelation of a system. +</p> + +<p> +Even those portions of his history which are plainly +legendary have their uses in indicating the ideals and in +illustrating the aspirations of the early Chassidim; while +their circulation and the ready credence they received +are valuable evidence of the real power and influence +of Baalshem's personality. +</p> + +<p> +In the tale as told by the sect little is omitted of +those biographical accessories which are proper to an +Avatar. There is all the conventional heralding of a +pre-ordained advent; all the usual signs and portents +of a new dispensation may be recognised in the almost +preternatural virtues of Baalshem's parents, in the miraculous +annunciation and exceptional circumstances of his +nativity, and in the early indication of a strong and fearless +individuality. Everywhere it seems to be suggested +that Baalshem from his infancy was conscious of a lofty +mission. It is already in tender years that he is made +<pb n='005'/><anchor id='Pg005'/> +to give evidence of an indifference to conventional restraints +and accepted ideals. +</p> + +<p> +Rabbi Eliezer and his wife, the parents of Baalshem, +dwelt, as the story goes, in Moldavia. They are described +as a pious and God-fearing couple, who, when +they had already reached old age, were still childless. +They are accredited with a spotless rectitude, which was +unimpaired by a long series of strange vicissitudes and +misfortunes. +</p> + +<p> +Ultimately, an angel of God appeared to Eliezer and +announced that, as he had successfully withstood all the +temptations and sufferings by which he had been tried, +God was about to reward him with a son, who was destined +to enlighten the eyes of all Israel. Therefore his +name should be Israel, for in him the words of Scripture +were to be fulfilled, <q>Thou art my servant, Israel, in +whom I will be glorified.</q> In due course the promise +was fulfilled, and to the aged couple a son was born, who +was named Israel according to the angel's word. The +date of Baalshem's birth is about 1700; his birthplace, in +Bukowina, in a hitherto unidentified village which the +authorities call Ukop, then still belonging to Roumania. +The child's mother died soon after he was weaned, and +his father did not long survive her. But before Eliezer +died he took his child in his arms, and blessing him, bade +him fear naught, for God would always be with him. +</p> + +<p> +As Eliezer had been greatly honoured in the community +in which he lived, his orphan son was carefully tended +and educated. He was early supplied with an instructor +in the Holy Law. But though he learned with rare facility, +he rejected the customary methods of instruction. +One day, while still quite young, his teacher missed him, +<pb n='006'/><anchor id='Pg006'/> +and on seeking found him sitting alone in the forest that +skirted his native village, in happy and fearless solitude. +He repeated this escapade so often that it was thought +best to leave him to follow his own bent. A little later +we find him engaged as assistant to a schoolmaster. +His duty was not to teach, but to take the children from +their homes to the synagogue and thence on to the school. +It was his wont while accompanying the children to the +synagogue to teach them solemn hymns which he sang +with them. In the synagogue he encouraged them to +sing the responses, so that the voices of the children +penetrated through the heavens and moved the Divine +father to compassion. Satan, fearing lest his power on +earth should thereby be diminished, assumed the shape +of a werewolf, and, appearing before the procession of +children on their way to the synagogue, put them to +flight. In consequence of this alarming incident the children's +services were suspended. But Israel, recollecting +his father's counsel to fear naught, besought the parents +to be allowed to lead the children once more in the old +way. His request was granted, and when the werewolf +appeared a second time Israel attacked him with a club +and routed him. +</p> + +<p> +In his fourteenth year Israel became a beadle at the +Beth Hammidrash.<note place='foot'>בית המדרש—<q>House of Research</q> or of <q>study</q> (of the Law), +but in which also divine service is held thrice a day.</note> Here he assiduously but secretly +pursued the study of the Law. Yet, being anxious that +none should know his design, he read and worked only +at night, when the schoolroom was empty and the usual +scholars had retired. During the daytime he slept, so +that he was popularly believed to be both ignorant and +lazy. Despite these precautions, however, his true +character was revealed to one person. A certain holy +<pb n='007'/><anchor id='Pg007'/> +man, the father of a young student at the college, had +discovered some old manuscripts which contained the +deepest secrets. Before his death he bade his son repair +to Ukop, Israel's birthplace, telling him that he would +find one Israel, son of Eliezer, to whom the precious +documents were to be entrusted. They possessed, so the +old man declared, a certain mystic and heavenly affinity +with Israel's soul. The student carried out his father's +instructions, and at last discovered the object of his +search in the beadle of the Beth Hammidrash. Israel +admitted him to his friendship and confidence on the +condition of secrecy as to his real character. The student, +however, paid dearly for this acquaintance with Israel. +Contrary to Baalshem's advice, he entered upon a dangerous +incantation in the course of which he made a mistake +so serious that it cost him his life. +</p> + +<p> +Upon the death of his friend, Baalshem left his native +village and settled as a teacher in a small town near +Brody. Here, although his true mission and character +were still unknown, he became much respected for his +rigid probity, and was frequently chosen as umpire in +disputes among Jews. On one of these occasions he +arbitrated with so much learning and impartiality that +not only did he satisfy both parties, but one of them, +a learned man of Brody, named Abraham, offered him +his own daughter in marriage. Israel, to whom it had +been revealed that Abraham's daughter was his predestined +wife, immediately accepted the offer and the act of +betrothal was drawn up. But wishing his true character to +remain unknown he stipulated that Abraham, although a +<q>Talmid Chacham</q> (student)<note place='foot'>תלמיד הכם—<q>Disciple of the Wise,</q> the usual title of a scholar +or student.</note> himself and therefore presumably +desirous that his daughter should marry a scholar, +<pb n='008'/><anchor id='Pg008'/> +should omit from the betrothal-deed all the titles of honour +usually appended to the name of a learned bridegroom. +While returning to Brody, Abraham died, and Gershon +his son, a scholar still greater and more celebrated than +his father, was surprised and shocked to find a deed of +betrothal among his father's papers, from which it appeared +that his sister was to wed a man with apparently no claim +to scholarship or learning. He protested to his sister, +but she declined to entertain any objections to a marriage +which her father had arranged. When the time for the +wedding was at hand, Israel gave up his post as teacher, +and repaired to Brody. Disguised as a peasant he presented +himself before his future brother-in-law, who was +then fulfilling some high judicial function. Gershon taking +him for a beggar offered him alms, but Israel, refusing +the money, asked for a private interview, stating that he +had an important secret to reveal. He then, to Gershon's +surprise and disgust, explained who he was and that he +had come to claim his bride. As the girl was determined +to obey her father's will the affair was settled and the day +fixed. On the morning of the wedding Israel revealed to +his bride his real character and mission, at the same time +enjoining secrecy. Evil fortunes would befall them, he +said, but a better time would eventually follow. +</p> + +<p> +After the wedding, Gershon, having in vain attempted +to instruct his seemingly ignorant brother-in-law, decided +to rid himself of his presence. He gave his sister the +choice of being separated from her husband, or of leaving +the town in his company. She chose the latter, and thereupon +the two left Brody and began a life of hardship and +suffering. Israel chose for his new home a spot on one +of the spurs of the Carpathian Mountains. No Jews lived +<pb n='009'/><anchor id='Pg009'/> +there, and Israel and his wife were thus separated from +the society of their fellows in a life of complete and unchanging +solitude. Israel dug lime in the ravines among +the mountains, and his wife conveyed it for sale to the +nearest town. Their life at this period seems to have +been one of great privation, but the harder Israel's outward +lot, the more he increased in spiritual greatness. In +his solitude he gave himself up entirely to devotion and +religious contemplation. His habit was to climb to the +summit of the mountains and wander about rapt in spiritual +ecstasies. He fasted, prayed, made continual ablutions, +and observed all the customary outward and inward +exercises of piety and devotion. +</p> + +<p> +After seven years, Gershon, who was well aware of +the bitter poverty which his sister endured, relented and +brought her and her husband back to Brody. At first +he employed Baalshem as his coachman, but as he proved +wholly unfit for this work Gershon rented a small inn +in a remote village, and there established his sister and +her husband. The business of the inn was managed +by the wife, while Baalshem passed most of his time +in a hut in a neighbouring forest. Here he once more +gave himself up to meditation and preparation for his +future work, and here, a little later, when nearly forty-two +years of age, to a few chosen spirits, afterwards his +most fervent disciples, he first revealed his true character +and mission. +</p> + +<p> +From this point unfortunately the materials for a continuous +biography are wanting; we next hear of Baalshem +discharging the functions of an ordinary Rabbi at Miedziboz +in Podolia, but for the remainder of his personal +history we have to be content with detached anecdotes +<pb n='010'/><anchor id='Pg010'/> +and fragmentary passages in his life, the sum total of +which goes to show that he resided in Podolia and Wallachia, +teaching his doctrines to his disciples and <q>working +Wonders.</q> He does not seem to have figured as a public +preacher, nor has he left behind him any written work. +He appears rather to have used the method, familiar to +students of Greek philosophy, of teaching by conversations +with his friends and disciples. These conversations, +and the parables with which they were largely interspersed, +were remembered and stored up by his hearers. +By his neighbours the country folk, Baalshem was regarded +simply as <q>a man of God.</q> He was allowed to +pursue his course undisturbed by persecution of the +serious character which his more aggressive successors +provoked. Such of the Rabbis as were aware of his +existence despised him and his ways, but the Rabbinical +world was at that time too much occupied in the +controversy between Eybeschütz and Emden to concern +itself with the vagaries of an obscure and apparently +<q>unlearned</q> eccentric. Baalshem also took part in the +disputes which were held in Lemberg, the capital of +Galicia (1757?), between the Rabbis and the Frankists,<note place='foot'>A Jewish sect, so called after their founder Jacob Leibovicz +Frank, who was himself one of the apostles of the pseudo-Messiah +Shabbethai Tsebi of Smyrna in Turkey. Among his other doctrines +he taught also a sort of Trinity, consisting of the Holy Ancient One, +the Holy King or the Messiah, and a feminine person in the Godhead, +in which he, like his master, represented the Second Person. The sect +ultimately abolished the Law, and, after many controversies with the +Rabbinic Jews, went over to Catholicism, the dominant religion in +Poland, by which they were soon absorbed. Eybeschütz, chief Rabbi +of Prague and Hamburg, was suspected by Emden to be a secret +adherent of Shabbethai Tsebi, which was tantamount to apostasy from +Judaism. Eybeschütz protested. The litigants excommunicated each +other, and the Rabbis divided into two camps, taking sides either with +Emden or with his antagonist.</note> +who denounced the Talmud to the Polish Government +and wanted to have all the Rabbinical books destroyed. +Baalshem suffered from this excitement in a most terrible +way. The abrogation of the Oral Law meant for +him the ruin of Judaism. +</p> + +<p> +Baalshem, in forming the little band of devoted followers +who were destined to spread a knowledge of his +creed, travelled considerably about Wallachia. He at +one time decided to make a pilgrimage to Palestine, but +when he reached Constantinople he felt himself inspired +<pb n='011'/><anchor id='Pg011'/> +to return and continue his work at home. He died at +Miedziboz on the eve of Pentecost, 1761. +</p> + +<p> +After his death his disciples, of whom one Beer of +Mizriez was the most prominent, undertook the proselytising +mission for which Baalshem had prepared them, +but from which he himself appears to have abstained. +They preached and taught in all the provinces of Russia +where Jews may reside, and in Roumania, and Galicia. +The number of the sect at the present day is probably +about half a million. +</p> + +<p> +Returning now to Baalshem the founder, it may be +noted that his appearance as a teacher and reformer was +accompanied and justified by a customary and adequate +number of miracles. To one disciple he revealed secrets +which could have become known to him only by divine +revelation; to another he appeared with a nimbus round +his head. On the evidence of the Chassidim we learn +that Baalshem performed all the recognised signs and +marvels which have ever been the customary minor characteristics +of men of similar type in similar environment. +When Baalshem desired to cross a stream, he spread +forth his mantle upon the waters, and standing thereupon +passed safely to the other side. Ghosts evacuated +haunted houses at the mere mention of his name. Was +he alone in the forest on a wintry night, he had but to +touch a tree with his finger tips and flames burst forth. +When his spirit wandered through the angelic spheres, as +was frequently the case, he obtained access to Paradise +for millions of pining souls who had vainly waited without +through long thousands of mournful years. These +and other miracles need not be examined. Here, as in the +case of other such blissful seasons of grace, they were the +<pb n='012'/><anchor id='Pg012'/> +ephemeral though important accessories in establishing +the inspired character of his utterances and the authority +of his injunctions. It is not as a worker of miracles, but +as a religious teacher and reformer, that Baalshem is +interesting. +</p> + +<p> +Properly to understand the nature and special direction +of his teaching, it is necessary in some measure to realise +the character of the field in which he worked; to consider, +in other words, the moral and religious condition of the +Jews in those districts where Chassidism first took root. +</p> + +<p> +In a Hebrew Hymn, written about 1000 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi>, and still +recited in the synagogue on the Day of Atonement, the +poet expresses the strange and bitter fortunes of his race +in touching words of mingled sorrow and exultation. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>Destroyed lies Zion and profaned,</l> +<l>Of splendour and renown bereft,</l> +<l>Her ancient glories wholly waned,</l> +<l>One deathless treasure only left;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>Still ours, O Lord,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>Thy Holy Word.</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +And this Divine Word it was, which a persecuted religion +has sought to preserve intact through so many centuries +of persecution, and for the sake of which no labour +seemed too severe, no sacrifice too large. <q>Bethink +Thee, O God,</q> exclaimed one of our Jewish sages who +flourished about the same period, <q>bethink Thee of Thy +faithful children who, amid their poverty and want, are +busy in the study of Thy Law. Bethink Thee of the +poor in Israel who are willing to suffer hunger and destitution +if only they can secure for their children the knowledge +of Thy Law.</q> And so indeed it was. Old and +<pb n='013'/><anchor id='Pg013'/> +young, weak and strong, rich and poor, all pursued that +single study, the Torah. The product of this prolonged +study is that gigantic literature which, as a long unbroken +chain of spiritual activity, connects together the various +periods of the Jews' chequered and eventful history. All +ages and all lands have contributed to the development +of this supreme study. For under the word Torah +was comprised not only the Law, but also the contributions +of later times expressing either the thoughts or +the emotions of holy and sincere men; and even their +honest scepticism was not entirely excluded. As in the +canon of the Bible, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon +found place in the same volume that contains the Law +and the Prophets, so at a later time people did not object +to put the philosophical works of Maimonides and the +songs of Judah Hallevi on the same level with the Code +of the Law compiled by R. Isaac Alfasi, and the commentaries +on the Bible by R. Solomon b. Isaac.<note place='foot'>The works of Maimonides or Moses b. Maimon (1135-1204) are +too many to be enumerated here. The most important are the <hi rend='italic'>Guide +of the Perplexed</hi> (מורה נבוכום) and his <hi rend='italic'>Compendium of the Law</hi> (משנה הורה). +Judah Hallevi or Abul Hassan flourished in the first half of the +twelfth century. He is well known as a poet by his <hi rend='italic'>Divan</hi> and as a +deep religious thinker by his <hi rend='italic'>Cusari</hi>. The former contains also many +songs of a secular nature. Isaac Alfasi (died 1103) is best known by +his Compendium of the Talmud, which was so greatly admired by his +contemporaries that they declared it could never have been composed +<q>without the aid of the Holy Spirit.</q> R. Solomon b. Isaac, also +called by his initials Rashi (1040-1105), is well known by his commentaries +on the Bible and the Talmud.</note> None +of them was declared infallible, but also to none of them, +as soon as people were convinced of the author's sincerity, +was denied the homage due to seekers after truth. +Almost every author was called Rabbi (<q>my master</q>) +or Rabbenu (<q>our master</q>),<note place='foot'>רבי רבינו.</note> and nearly every book was +regarded more or less as a contribution to the great bulk +of the Torah. It was called Writ,<note place='foot'>ספר, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sepher</foreign>.</note> and was treated with +a certain kind of piety. But, by a series of accidents too +long to be related here, sincerity ceased and sport took +its place. I refer to the casuistic schools commonly +known by the name of Pilpulists<note place='foot'>The Hebrew word is פלפול, meaning subtle discussion and sharp +distinction. The word is closely related to פלפל or פלפלא, which means +<q>pepper</q> or <q>seasoning.</q></note> (the <q>seasoned</q> or the +<q>sharp</q> ones), who flourished in the last two centuries +preceding ours. To the authors of this unhappy period, +a few glorious exceptions always allowed, the preceding +<pb n='014'/><anchor id='Pg014'/> +Jewish literature did not mean a <q>fountain of living +waters,</q> supplying men with truth and religious inspiration, +but rather a kind of armoury providing them with +juristic cases over which to fight, and to out-do each other +in sophistry and subtlety. As a consequence they cared +little or nothing for that part of the Jewish literature that +appeals less to the intellect than to the feelings of men. +In short, religion consisted only of complicated cases and +innumerable ordinances, in which the wit of these men +found delight. But the emotional part of it, whose root is +the Faith and Love of men, was almost entirely neglected. +</p> + +<p> +But it was precisely these higher religious emotions +that were Baalshem's peculiar province, and it was to +them that he assigned in his religious system a place befitting +their importance and their dignity. And the locality +where his ministration lay was curiously adapted for +such propaganda. To that universal study of the Law +of which I have just spoken there was one exception. +That exception was amongst the Jews in the territories +which bordered on the Carpathian Mountains, and comprise +the principalities of Moldavia, and Wallachia, Bukowina, +and the Ukraine. +</p> + +<p> +It is historically certain that the first arrival of the +Jews in Roumania was at a very early date, but there is +no trace of any intellectual productivity among the immigrants +until recent times, and it is admitted that the study +of the Law was almost entirely neglected. It was in +these districts of mental, and perhaps we might add of +even spiritual, darkness that Chassidism took its rise and +achieved its first success. <q>The sect of the Chassidim,</q> +says one of the bitterest but most trustworthy of their +opponents, <q>first gained ground in the most uncivilised +<pb n='015'/><anchor id='Pg015'/> +provinces; in the wild ravines of Wallachia and the +dreary steppes of the Ukraine.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Apart from the genius of its founder, Chassidism owed +its rapid growth to the intellectual barrenness of these +districts as compared with the intellectual fertility of the +other regions where Jews most thickly congregated. The +Roumanian Jews were to some extent under the jurisdiction +of the Rabbis of Poland. Now the Poles were celebrated +even in Germany for the elaboration of their casuistry. +These over-subtle Rabbis, delighting in the quibbles +of their sophistry, and reducing religion to an unending +number of juristic calculations and all sorts of possibilities +and impossibilities, were but too apt to forget the claims +of feeling in their eager desire to question and to settle +everything. They may have been satisfactory guides in +matters spiritual to the men of their own stamp, but they +were of no avail to their Roumanian brethren who failed +to recognise religion in the garb of casuistry. It was, +therefore, not surprising that a revolt against the excess of +intellectualism should have sprung up and flourished in +those districts where the inhabitants were constitutionally +incapable of appreciating the delights of argument. The +field was ready, and in the fulness of time came the sower +in the person of Baalshem. +</p> + +<p> +In the above estimate of the Polish Rabbis there +undoubtedly lurks a touch of exaggeration. But it represents +the view which the Chassidim took of their opponents. +The whole life of Baalshem is a protest against +the typical Rabbi thus conceived. The essential difference +in the ideals of the two parties is perhaps best illustrated +in those portions of their biographical literature +where legend treads most closely upon the heels of fact. +</p> + +<pb n='016'/><anchor id='Pg016'/> + +<p> +The hero of Polish Rabbinic biography at five years of +age can recite by heart the most difficult tractates of the +Talmud; at eight he is the disciple of the most celebrated +teacher of the time, and perplexes him by the penetrative +subtlety of his questions; while at thirteen he appears +before the world as a full-fledged Doctor of the Law. +</p> + +<p> +The hero of the Chassidim has a totally different education, +and his distinctive glory is of another kind. The +legendary stories about Baalshem's youth tell us little of +his proficiency in Talmudic studies; instead of sitting in +the Beth Hammidrash with the folios of some casuistic +treatise spread out before him, Baalshem passes his time +singing hymns out of doors, or under the green trees of +the forest with the children. Satan, however, says the +Chassid, is more afraid of these innocent exercises than +of all the controversies in the Meheram Shiff.<note place='foot'>מחרם שיף = R. Meir Shiff, whose <foreign rend='italic'>novellæ</foreign> on the Talmud are of a +very subtle kind, and were very popular with the students of this work.</note> It was +through external nature, the woods of his childhood, the +hills and wild ravines of the Carpathians where he passed +many of his maturer years, that Baalshem, according to +his disciples, reached his spiritual confirmation. The +Chassidic hero had no celebrated Rabbi for his master. +He was his own teacher. If not self-taught, it was from +angelic lips, or even the Divine voice itself, that he learned +the higher knowledge. From the source whence the +Torah flowed Baalshem received heavenly lore. His +method of self-education, his ways of life, his choice of associates +were all instances of revolt; not only did he teach +a wholly different theory and practice, but he and his disciples +seem to have missed no opportunity of denouncing +the old teachers as misleading and ungodly. Among the +many anecdotes illustrating this feature, it is told how +once, on the evening before the great Day of Atonement, +<pb n='017'/><anchor id='Pg017'/> +Baalshem was noticed by his disciples to be, contrary to +his usual custom, depressed and ill at ease. The whole +subsequent day he passed in violent weeping and lamentations. +At its close he once more resumed his wonted +cheerfulness of manner. When asked for the explanation +of his behaviour, he replied that the Holy Spirit had revealed +to him that heavy accusations were being made +against the Jewish people, and a heavy punishment had +been ordained upon them. The anger of heaven was +caused by the Rabbis, whose sole occupation was to invent +lying premisses and to draw from them false conclusions. +All the truly wise Rabbis of the olden time (such as the +Tannaim, the Amoraim<note place='foot'>המוראים—תנאים, <q>The Repeaters,</q> and <q>The Interpreters.</q> The +sayings and statements of the former are embodied in the Mishnah, a +work compiled by R. Judah the Saint about 220 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi>, and covering a +period of about 250 years (30 <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi>-220 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi>). The latter occupied +themselves mainly with the interpretation of the Mishnah, and their +discussions and controversies are incorporated in the Talmud of Jerusalem +and that of Babylon, and extend over the period from 220-500 +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi> The Talmud of Jerusalem is mostly the product of the schools +of Palestine. The Talmud of Babylon is a growth of that country. +The authorities of this latter Talmud being far away from the place +where the first great Rabbis lived and laboured, their traditions are +naturally not so historically reliable as those of the Talmud of Jerusalem. +The authorities of Palestine were also simpler in their method +of interpretation. These again are followed by the Babylonian schools +of new interpreters (of the Talmud).</note> and their followers, whom Baalshem +regarded as so many saints and prophets) had now +stood forth as the accusers of their modern successors by +whom their words were so grossly perverted from their original +meaning. On this account Baalshem's tears had been +shed, and his prayers as usual had been successful. The +impending judgment was annulled. On another occasion, +when he overheard the sounds of eager, loud discussion +issuing from a Rabbinical college, Baalshem, closing his +ears with his hands, declared that it was such disputants +who delayed the redemption of Israel from captivity. +Satan, he said, incites the Rabbis to study those portions +of Jewish literature only on which they can whet the sharpness +of their intellects, but from all writings of which the +reading would promote piety and the fear of God he +keeps them away. <q>Where there is much study,</q> says +a disciple of Baalshem, <q>there is little piety.</q> <q>Jewish +Devils</q><note place='foot'>שדין יהודאין, an expression that goes back as far as to the <hi rend='italic'>Zohar</hi>.</note> is one of the numerous polite epithets applied +to the Rabbis by the friends of Baalshem. <q>Even the +worst sinners are better than they; so blind are they in +<pb n='018'/><anchor id='Pg018'/> +the arrogance of their self-conceit that their very devotion +to the Law becomes a vehicle for their sin.</q> It will be +found when we deal with the most positive side of Baalshem's +teaching that this antagonism to the attitude and +methods of the contemporary Rabbis is further emphasised, +and it will readily be seen that his whole scheme +of religion and of conduct in relation to God and man +rendered this acknowledged hostility inevitable. In approaching +this part of our subject it should be remembered +that, as stated above, Baalshem himself wrote nothing. +For a knowledge of his sayings we are therefore dependent +on the reports of his friends and disciples. And it is +not unfrequently necessary to supplement these by the +teaching of his followers, whom we may suppose in large +measure to have caught the spirit of their master. Unfortunately +the original authorities are in a difficult Hebrew +patois which often obscures the precise meaning of +whole passages. +</p> + +<p> +The originality of Baalshem's teaching has been frequently +impugned, chiefly by the suggestion that he drew +largely from the Zohar (Book of Brightness).<note place='foot'>זוהר, <q>Brightness.</q> Cf. Dan. xii. 3,—the authors of <q>The +Brightness</q> pretending to be the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Maskilim</foreign> or <q>Wise Ones</q> mentioned +in this verse.</note> This +mystical book, <q>the Bible of the Cabbalists,</q> whether we +regard its subject-matter or its history and influence, is +unique in literature. Its pretended author is Simeon ben +Yochai, a great Rabbi of the second century, but the real +writer is probably one Moses de Leon, a Spanish Jew, who +lived eleven centuries later. The book is one of the most +interesting literary forgeries, and is a marvellous mixture +of good and evil. A passage of delicate religious fancy +is succeeded by another of gross obscenity in illustration +and suggestion; true piety and wild blasphemy are +strangely mingled together. Baalshem undoubtedly had +<pb n='019'/><anchor id='Pg019'/> +studied the Zohar, and he even is reported to have said +that the reading of the Zohar had enabled him to see into +the whole universe of things. But, for all that, Baalshem +was no copyist; and the Zohar, although it may have +suggested a hint to him here and there, was not the source +whence his inspiration was drawn. +</p> + +<p> +Its attraction for Baalshem is sufficiently explained by +the fantastic, imaginative, and emotional nature of its +contents. It lent itself more easily than the older Rabbinical +literature to new explanations unthought of by its +author. But even the Talmud and its early commentaries +became apocalyptic to the heroes of Chassidism. Nay, +the driest and most legal disquisitions about <foreign rend='italic'>meum</foreign> and +<foreign rend='italic'>tuum</foreign> could be translated into parables and allegories +and symbols full of the most exalted meanings. Baalshem, +like every other religious reformer, was partially +the product of his age. The influences of the past, the +history and literature of his own people, helped to make +him what he was. But they do not rob him of his +originality. He was a religious revivalist in the best +sense; full of burning faith in his God and his cause; +convinced utterly of the value of his work and the +truth of his teaching. +</p> + +<p> +Although there can be no real doubt of Baalshem's +claim to originality, it should be borne in mind that his +teaching is not only distinctively Jewish, but that for +every part of it parallels and analogies could be found +in the older Hebrew literature. Indeed it is not wonderful +that in a literature, extending over 2000 years, of a +people whose chief thoughts have been religion, and +who have come in contact with so many external religious +and philosophic influences, the germs can be discovered +<pb n='020'/><anchor id='Pg020'/> +of almost every conceivable system, and the +outline of almost every imaginable doctrine. +</p> + +<p> +The keynote of all Baalshem's teachings is the +Omnipresence, or more strictly the Immanence, of God. +This is the source from which flows naturally every +article of his creed; the universality of the Divinity is +the foundation of the entire Chassidic fabric. The +idea of the constant living presence of God in all existence +permeates the whole of Baalshem's scheme; it is +insisted on in every relation; from it is deduced every +important proposition and every rule in conduct of his +school. +</p> + +<p> +All created things and every product of human intelligence +owe their being to God. All generation and all +existence spring from the thought and will of God. It +is incumbent upon man to believe that all things are +pervaded by the divine life, and when he speaks he +should remember that it is this divine life which is +speaking through him. There is nothing which is void +of God. If we imagine for a moment such a thing to +be, it would instantly fall into nothingness. In every +human thought God is present. If the thought be +gross or evil, we should seek to raise and ennoble it by +carrying it back to its origin. So, if a man be suddenly +overwhelmed by the aspect of a beautiful woman, he +should remember that this splendour of beauty is owing +to the all-pervading emanation from the divine. When +he remembers that the source of corporeal beauty is +God, he will not be content to let his thought abide +with the body when he can rise to the inward contemplation +of the infinite soul of beauty, which is God. A +disciple of Baalshem has said: Even as in the jewels +<pb n='021'/><anchor id='Pg021'/> +of his beloved the lover sees only the beauty of her he +loves, so does the true lover of God see in all the appearances +of this world, the vitalising and generative +power of his divine master. If you do not see the +world in the light of God you separate the creation +from its Creator. He who does not fully believe in +this universality of God's presence has never properly +acknowledged God's Sovereignty, for he excludes God +from an existing portion of the actual world. The word +of God (to Baalshem, a synonym for God himself), which +<q>is settled in heaven</q> and <q>established on earth,</q> +is still and always speaking, acting, and generating +throughout heaven and earth in endless gradations and +varieties. If the vitalising word were to cease, chaos +would come again. The belief in a single creation after +which the Master withdrew from his completed work, is +erroneous and heretical. The vivifying power is never +withdrawn from the world which it animates. Creation +is continuous; an unending manifestation of the goodness +of God. All things are an affluence from the two +divine attributes of Power and Love, which express +themselves in various images and reflections. +</p> + +<p> +This is the doctrine of universality in Chassidism. God, +the father of Israel, God the Merciful, God the All-powerful, +the God of Love, not only created everything but is +embodied in everything. The necessity of believing this +doctrine is the cardinal Dogma. But as creation is continuous +so also is revelation. This revelation is only to be +grasped by faith. Faith, therefore, is more efficacious +than learning. Thus it is that in times of persecution, the +wise and the foolish, the sinner and the saint, are wont +alike to give up their life for their faith. They who could +<pb n='022'/><anchor id='Pg022'/> +render no answer to the questions of the casuist are yet +willing to die the most cruel of deaths rather than deny +their faith in the One and Supreme God. Their strength +to face danger and death is owing to that divine illumination +of the soul which is more exalted than knowledge. +</p> + +<p> +We should thus regard all things in the light of so +many manifestations of the Divinity. God is present in +all things; therefore there is good, actual or potential, in +all things. It is our duty everywhere to seek out and to +honour the good, and not to arrogate to ourselves the +right to judge that which may seem to be evil. In thinking +therefore of a fellow-man, we should above all things +realise in him the presence of the spirit of good. Whence +we have the Doctrine that each of us, while thinking +humbly of himself, should always be ready to think well, +and always slow to think evil, of another. This explains +the Chassidic attitude towards erring humanity. Baalshem +viewed human sin and infirmity in a very different light +from that of the ordinary Rabbi. Ever conscious of the +Divine side of Humanity, he vigorously combated the +gratuitous assumption of sinfulness in man which was +a fertile subject with contemporary preachers. They, +among the Roumanian Jews as in other communities, +delighted chiefly to dwell on the dark side of things, and +found their favourite theme in elaborate descriptions of +the infernal punishments that were awaiting the sinner +after death. It is related how on one occasion Baalshem +rebuked one of these. The preacher had been denouncing +woe to an audience of whom he knew nothing whether for +evil or for good. Baalshem, indignant at this indiscriminative +abuse and conceited arrogation of the divine office of +judgment, turned on him in the following words: <q>Woe +<pb n='023'/><anchor id='Pg023'/> +upon thee who darest to speak evil of Israel! Dost not +know that every Jew, when he utters ever so short a +prayer at the close of day, is performing a great work +before which the angels in heaven bow down?</q> Great, +as it would seem, was the value set by Baalshem upon the +smallest evidence of the higher nature in man, and few +there were, as he believed, who, if their spirit was not +darkened by pride, did not now and again give proof of +the divine stamp in which God had created them. No sin +so separates us from God that we need despair of return. +From every rung of the moral ladder, no matter how low, +let man seek God. If he but fully believe that nothing is +void of God, and that God is concealed in the midst of +apparent ruin and degradation, he will not fear lest God +be far from him. God is regained in a moment of repentance, +for repentance <q>transcends the limits of space and +time.</q> And he who leads the sinner to repentance causes +a divine joy; it is as though a king's son had been in captivity +and were now brought back to his father's gaze. +</p> + +<p> +Baalshem refused to regard any one as wholly irredeemable. +His was an optimistic faith. God was to be +praised in gladness by the dwellers in this glorious world. +The true believer, recognising the reflection of God in +every man, should hopefully strive, when that reflection +was obscured by sin, to restore the likeness of God in man. +The peculiar detestability of sin lies in this, that man +rejects the earthly manifestations of the Divinity and +pollutes them. One of Baalshem's disciples delighted in +the saying that the most hardened sinners were not to be +despaired of, but prayed for. None knows the heart of +man, and none should judge his neighbour. Let him who +burns with zeal for God's sake, exercise his zeal on himself, +<pb n='024'/><anchor id='Pg024'/> +not others. Baalshem said, <q>Let no one think himself +better than his neighbour, for all serve God; each +according to the measure of understanding which God +has given him.</q> +</p> + +<p> +From this position it is a natural step to Baalshem's +view of prayer. He is reputed to have said that all the +greatness he had achieved was the issue not of study but +of prayer. But true prayer <q>must move,</q> as Baalshem +phrased it, <q>in the realms above,</q> and not be concerned +with affairs sublunary. Your prayer should not be taken +up with your wishes and needs, but should be the means +to bring you nigh to God. In prayer man must lay aside +his own individuality, and not even be conscious of his +existence; for if, when he prays, Self is not absolutely +quiescent, the object of prayer is unattainable. Indeed +it is only through God's grace that after true prayer man +is yet alive; to such a point has the annihilation of self +proceeded. +</p> + +<p> +It may be necessary to caution the reader against +ascribing to Baalshem any modern rationalistic notions +on the subject of prayer. The power of prayer, in the +old-fashioned sense, to produce an answer from God was +never doubted by Baalshem for a moment. Baalshem's +deity is not restricted towards any side by any philosophic +considerations. All Baalshem meant was that any reference +or regard to earthly requirements was unworthy +and destructive of this communion of man with God. +The wise man, says Baalshem, does not trouble the king +with innumerable petitions about trifles. His desire is +merely to gain admission into the king's presence and to +speak with him without a go-between. To be with the +king whom he loves so dearly is for him the highest good. +<pb n='025'/><anchor id='Pg025'/> +But his love for the king has its reward; for the king +loves him. +</p> + +<p> +It has already been implied that, with regard to our +duty towards our fellow-man, we must not only honour +him for the good, and abstain from judging the evil that +may be in him, but must pray for him. Furthermore we +must work for his spiritual and moral reclamation. In +giving practical effect in his own life to this doctrine, +Baalshem's conduct was in striking contrast to that of +his contemporaries. He habitually consorted with outcasts +and sinners, with the poor and uneducated of both +sexes, whom the other teachers ignored. He thus won +for his doctrines a way to the heart of the people by +adapting his life and language to their understanding and +sympathies. In illustration of this, as well as of his +hatred of vanity and display, it is told how, on the occasion +of his being accorded a public reception by the Jews +on his arrival at Brody, instead of addressing to them in +the conventional fashion some subtle discourse upon a +Talmudical difficulty, he contented himself with conversing +upon trivial topics in the local dialect with some of +the less important persons in the crowd. +</p> + +<p> +This incident is perhaps the more noteworthy because +it occurred in Brody, which was at that time a seat of +learning and Rabbinic culture,—a place where, for that +very reason, Chassidism was never able to gain a foothold. +It is probable enough that Baalshem in his visits to this +town kept aloof from the learned and the wise, and sought +to gather round him the neglected and humbler elements +of Jewish society. It is well known that Baalshem consorted +a good deal with the innkeepers of the district, who +were held in very low repute among their brethren. The +<pb n='026'/><anchor id='Pg026'/> +following remark by one of his followers is very suggestive +in this respect. Just as only superficial minds +attach a certain holiness to special places, whilst with +the deeper ones all places are alike holy, so that to them +it makes no difference whether prayers be said in the +synagogue or in the forest; so the latter believe that not +only prophecies and visions come from heaven, but that +every utterance of man, if properly understood, contains +a message of God. Those who are absorbed in God will +easily find the divine element in everything which they +hear, even though the speaker himself be quite ignorant +of it. +</p> + +<p> +This line of conduct gave a fair opening for attack to +his opponents, an opportunity of which they were not +slow to avail themselves. Baalshem was pointed at as +the associate of the lowest classes. They avenged themselves +for his neglect of and hostility to the learned by +imputing the worst motives to his indifference to appearances. +He was accused of idling about the streets with +disreputable characters, and one polemical treatise draws +the vilest inferences from his apparent familiarity with +women. To this charge Baalshem's conduct, innocent in +itself, gave some colour; for his views and habits in relation +to women marked a strong divergence from current +customs. The position of women in contemporary circles +was neither debased nor inevitably unhappy, but it was +distinctly subordinate. Their education was almost entirely +neglected, and their very existence was practically +ignored. According to the Chassidic doctrine of Universality, +woman was necessarily to be honoured. <q>All +Jews,</q> says one Chassid, <q>even the uneducated and the +women, believe in God.</q> Baalshem frequently associated +<pb n='027'/><anchor id='Pg027'/> +with women, assigning to them not only social equality, +but a high degree of religious importance. +</p> + +<p> +His own wife he reverenced as a saint; when she died +he abandoned the hope of rising to heaven while yet alive, +like Elijah of old, saying mournfully that undivided such +translation might have happened, but for him alone it +was impossible. Then again in a form of religion utilising +so largely the emotions of Faith and Love there was +a strong appeal to the female mind. The effect of this +was soon evident, and Baalshem did not neglect to profit +by it. Among the most devoted of his early adherents +were women. One of them was the heroine of a favourite +anecdote concerning Baalshem's work of Love and Rescue. +It is related that in a certain village there dwelt +a woman whose life was so disgraceful that her brothers +at last determined to kill her. With this object they +enticed her into a neighbouring wood, but guided by the +Holy Spirit Baalshem intervened at the critical moment, +and dissuading the men from their purpose rescued the +sinner. The woman afterwards became a sort of Magdalen +in the new community. +</p> + +<p> +Above I have endeavoured to throw together in some +order of sequence the doctrines and practical rules of conduct +which Baalshem and his early disciples seem to have +deduced from their central idea of the omnipresence of +God. This was necessary in order to give a connected +idea of their creed, but it is right to say that nowhere in +Chassidic literature have these deductions been logically +co-ordinated. Perhaps their solitary attempt to formulate +and condense their distinctive views is confined to a statement +of their idea of piety or service of God, and an examination +of three cardinal virtues, Humility, Cheerfulness, +<pb n='028'/><anchor id='Pg028'/> +and Enthusiasm. What the Chassidim held as to true +service brings into relief Baalshem's characteristic manner +of regarding the Law. +</p> + +<p> +By the service of God was generally understood a life +which fulfilled the precepts of the written and oral law. +Baalshem understood by it a certain attitude towards life +as a whole. For, as God is realised in life, each activity +of life when rightly conceived and executed is at once a +manifestation and a service of the Divine. All things +have been created for the glory and service of God. The +smallest worm serves Him with all its power. Thus, +while eating, drinking, sleeping, and the other ordinary +functions of the body are regarded by the old Jewish moralists +as mere means to an end, to Baalshem they are +already a service of God in themselves. All pleasures are +manifestations of God's attribute of love; and, so regarded, +they are at once spiritualised and ennobled. Man should +seek to reach a higher level of purity and holiness before +partaking of food and drink, than even before the study +of the Law. For when the Torah had once been given +by God the whole world became instinct with its grace. +He who speaks of worldly matters and religious matters +as if they were separate and distinct, is a heretic. +</p> + +<p> +Upon the continual and uninterrupted study of the +Law, Baalshem lays but little stress. He accepted the +ordinary belief that the Law (under which term are +included not only the Pentateuch, but the whole Old Testament +and the major portion of the old Rabbinic literature) +was a revelation of God. But, as the world itself is +equally a divine revelation, the Torah becomes little more +than a part of a larger whole. To understand it aright +one needs to penetrate to the inward reality—to the infinite +<pb n='029'/><anchor id='Pg029'/> +light which is revealed in it. We should study the +Law not as we study a science for the sake of acquiring +knowledge (he who studies it so has in truth been concerning +himself with its mere outward form), but we +should learn from it the true service of God. Thus the +study of the law is no end in itself. It is studied because, +as the word of God, God is more easily discerned and +absorbed in this revelation of Him than in any other. +The Torah is eternal, but its explanation is to be made by +the spiritual leaders of Judaism. It is to be interpreted +by them in accordance with the Attribute of the age. +For he regarded the world as governed in every age by a +different Attribute of God—one age by the Attribute of +Love, another by that of Power, a third again, by Beauty, +and so on—and the explanation of the Torah must be +brought into agreement with it. The object of the whole +Torah is that man should become a Torah himself. Every +man being a Torah in himself, said a disciple of Baalshem, +has got not only his Abraham and Moses, but also his +Balaam and Haman: he should try to expel the Balaam +and develop the Abraham within him. Every action of +man should be a pure manifestation of God. +</p> + +<p> +The reason why we should do what the Law commands +is not to gain grace thereby in the eyes of God, but to +learn how to love God and to be united to Him. The +important thing is not how many separate injunctions are +obeyed, but how and in what spirit we obey them. The +object of fulfilling these various ordinances is to put oneself, +as it were, on the same plane with God, and thus, in +the ordinary phrase of the religious mystic, to become one +with Him, or to be absorbed in Him. People should get +to know, says Baalshem, what the unity of God really +<pb n='030'/><anchor id='Pg030'/> +means. To attain a part of this indivisible unity is to +attain the whole. The Torah and all its ordinances are +from God. If I therefore fulfil but one commandment in +and through the love of God, it is as though I have fulfilled +them all. +</p> + +<p> +I have now briefly to refer to the three virtues to which +the Chassidim assigned the highest place of honour. Of +these the first is called in Hebrew <q>Shiphluth,</q><note place='foot'>שפלות.</note> and is +best rendered by our word <q>Humility,</q> but in Chassidic +usage it includes the ideas of modesty, considerateness, +and sympathy. The prominence given to these qualities +is in sharp contrast to the faults of conceit, vanity, and +self-satisfaction, against which Baalshem was never weary +of protesting. He regarded these as the most seductive +of all forms of sin. But a few minutes before his death +he was heard to murmur, <q>O vanity, vanity! even in this +hour of death thou darest to approach me with thy temptations: +<q>Bethink thee, Israel, what a grand funeral procession +will be thine because thou hast been so wise and +good.</q> O vanity, vanity! beshrew thee.</q> <q>It should be +indifferent to man,</q> says the master, <q>whether he be +praised or blamed, loved or hated, reputed to be the wisest +of mankind or the greatest of fools. The test of the real +service of God is that it leaves behind it the feeling of +humility. If a man after prayer be conscious of the least +pride or self-satisfaction, if he think, for instance, that he +has earned a reward by the ardour of his spiritual exercises, +then let him know that he has prayed not to God +but to himself. And what is this but disguised idolatry? +Before you can find God you must lose yourself.</q> The +Chassidim treated Shiphluth from two sides: a negative +side in thinking humbly of oneself, a positive in thinking +<pb n='031'/><anchor id='Pg031'/> +highly of one's neighbour, in other words the love for our +fellow-man. +</p> + +<p> +He who loves the father will also love his children. +The true lover of God is also a lover of man. It is ignorance +of one's own errors that makes one ready to see the +errors of others. <q>There is no sphere in heaven where +the soul remains a shorter time than in the sphere of +merit, there is none where it abides longer than in the +sphere of Love.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The second Cardinal Virtue is <q>Cheerfulness,</q> in Hebrew +<q>Simchah.</q><note place='foot'>שמחה.</note> Baalshem insisted on cheerfulness of +heart as a necessary attitude for the due service of God. +Once believe that you are really the servant and the child +of God and how can you fall again into a gloomy condition +of mind? Nor should the inevitable sins which we all +must commit disturb our glad serenity of soul. For is not +repentance ready at hand by which we may climb back to +God? Every penitent thought is a voice of God. Man +should detect that voice in all the evidence of his senses, +in every sight and sound of external nature. It is through +his want of faith in the universality of God's presence that +he is deaf to these subtle influences and can read only +the lessons which are inscribed in books. +</p> + +<p> +The reader will be prepared to learn that Baalshem, +taking this cheerful view of things, was opposed to every +kind of asceticism. Judaism, or rather Israelitism, it is +true, was not originally much of an ascetic religion. But +there can be little doubt that in the course of history there +came in many ascetic doctrines and practices, quite enough +at least to encourage such tender souls the bent of whose +minds lay in this direction. To one of these, a former +disciple, Baalshem wrote: <q>I hear that you think yourself +<pb n='032'/><anchor id='Pg032'/> +compelled from religious motives to enter upon a course +of fasts and penances. My soul is outraged at your determination. +By the counsel of God I order you to abandon +such dangerous practices, which are but the outcome of a +disordered brain. Is it not written <q>Thou shalt not hide +thyself from thine own flesh?</q> Fast then no more than +is prescribed. Follow my command and God shall be +with you.</q> On another occasion Baalshem was heard to +observe that it is a machination of Satan to drive us into +a condition of gloom and despondency in which the smallest +error is regarded as a deadly sin. Satan's object is to +keep us away from the true service of God, and God can +only be truly served from a happy and confident disposition. +Anxious scrupulosity in details is therefore to be +avoided. It is the counsel of the Devil to persuade us +that we never have done and shall never do our duty +fully, and that moral progress is impossible. Such ideas +beget melancholy and despair, which are of evil. +</p> + +<p> +The third virtue is called in the Hebrew Chassidic +literature <q>Hithlahabuth,</q><note place='foot'>התלהבות.</note> and is derived from a verb +meaning <q>to kindle</q> or <q>set on fire.</q> The substantive +<q>Hithlahabuth,</q> so far as I am aware, was first coined by +Baalshem's followers. It is best rendered by our word +<q>Enthusiasm.</q> Every religious action, to be of any +avail, must be done with enthusiasm. A mere mechanical +and lifeless performance of an ordinance is valueless. A +man is no step nearer the goal if he thinks, forsooth, that +he has done his duty when he has gone through the whole +round of laws in every section of the code. This essential +enthusiasm is only begotten of Love. The service of +fear, if not wholly useless, is yet necessarily accompanied +by a certain repulsion and heaviness, which effectually +<pb n='033'/><anchor id='Pg033'/> +prevent the rush and ardour of enthusiasm. The inspiration +of true service is its own end. There is no thought +of this world, and there is none of the world to come. +In the Talmud there is frequent reference to one Rabbi +Elisha ben Abuyah, an apostate from Judaism, who, when +urged to repent, replied that repentance was useless, and +that for this mournful belief he had direct divine authority. +For he had been told by a voice from heaven that even +though he repented he would be excluded from sharing +the happiness of the world to come. Of him it was said by +one of the Chassidim, <q>This man indeed missed a golden +opportunity. How purely could he have served God, knowing +that for his service there could never be a reward!</q> +</p> + +<p> +From the conception of Enthusiasm springs the quality +of mobility, suggesting spiritual progress, and commonly +opposed by Baalshem and his followers to the dull religious +stagnation of self-satisfied contemporaries. Man +should not imagine himself to have attained the level of +the righteous; let him rather regard himself as a penitent +who should make progress every day. Always to remain +on the same religious plane, merely repeating to-day the +religious routine of yesterday, is not true service. There +must be a daily advance in the knowledge and love of the +Divine Master. Mere freedom from active sin is not +sufficient; such negative virtue may be but another word +for the chance absence of temptation. What boots it +never to have committed a sin if sin lies concealed in the +heart? It is only the uninterrupted communion with +God which will raise and ennoble your thoughts and +designs, and cause the roots of sin to die. The patriarch +Abraham, without any command from God, fulfilled the +whole Torah, because he perceived that the Law was the +<pb n='034'/><anchor id='Pg034'/> +life of all created things. In the Messianic age the law +will no longer seem to man as something ordained for him +from without; but the law will be within the hearts of +men; it will seem natural and self-evident to them, +because they will realise that God and life are manifested +through the law. +</p> + +<p> +Baalshem, who dealt largely in parable, has left the +following, which we may fitly add to our somewhat +inadequate presentation of his doctrine. +</p> + +<p> +There was once a king who built himself a glorious +palace. By means of magical illusion it seemed as if the +palace were full of devious corridors and mazes, preventing +the approach to the royal presence. But as there was +much gold and silver heaped up in the entrance halls, +most people were content to go no further, but take their +fill of treasure. The king himself they did not notice. +At last the king's intimate had compassion upon them +and exclaimed to them, <q>All these walls and mazes which +you see before you do not in truth exist at all. They are +mere illusions. Push forward bravely, and you shall find +no obstacle.</q> +</p> + +<p> +We must not interpret the parable to mean that Baalshem +denied the reality or even the importance of the +actual phenomenal world. The very contrary is the truth. +The world is for him full of God, penetrated through and +through by the divine, and therefore as real as God himself. +It was quite in Baalshem's manner when one of his +disciples declared that only fools could speak of the +world as vanity or emptiness. <q>It is in truth a glorious +world. We must only learn how rightly to make use of +it. Call nothing common or profane: by God's presence +all things are holy.</q> +</p> + +<pb n='035'/><anchor id='Pg035'/> + +<p> +Above we have reviewed the essential doctrines of +Baalshem and his immediate followers; we have now to +see how they fared at the hands of the sect which he +founded. This is a sad part of our task, for the subsequent +history of Chassidism is almost entirely a record +of decay. As formulated by its founder the new creed +amounted to a genuine Reformation, pure and lofty in +ideal. After his death unhappily it was rapidly corrupted +and perverted. This was due almost exclusively to the +dangerous and exaggerated development of a single point +in his teaching. That point, the honour due to the +divine in man, was relatively a minor article in the original +creed. But the later Chassidism has given it a distorted +and almost exclusive importance wholly out of proportion +to the grander and more essential features of Baalshem's +teaching, until the distinctive feature of the Chassidism +of to-day is an almost idolatrous service of their living +leaders. What little there is to say of the history of the +sect after Baalshem's death would be unintelligible without +some explanation of the origin and growth of this +unfortunate perversion. +</p> + +<p> +It has been explained that Baalshem laid but little stress +upon the study of the Law or the observance of its precepts +in themselves, but regarded them only as means to +an end. The end is union with God. Man has to discover +the presence of God in the Divine word and will. Now +this mystical service of God, although perhaps sufficing to +sensitive and enthusiastic natures, is scarcely plain or definite +enough for ordinary men. Few can realise abstractions: +and yet fewer can delight in them and find in their +contemplation sufficient nurture for their religious needs. +What then had Chassidism to offer to the ordinary majority +<pb n='036'/><anchor id='Pg036'/> +who could not recognise God in all the plenitude of +His disguise? The want of something tangible whereon to +fix the minds of the people, which has confronted the +teachers of so many creeds, was also encountered by the +Chassidim, and they unfortunately found their way out of +the difficulty by relying on and developing their doctrine +of man's position in the Universe. Man's ideal is to be a +law himself; himself a clear and full manifestation of God. +Now, not only is he God's servant and child, but in highest +development he becomes himself a part of God, albeit +in human shape, so that he may become wholly one with +his divine Father. But if man may reach this highest +level of holiness, he is virtually a kind of God-man, whom +his fellow-men of lower levels perceive by reason of his +manhood, but his essential office consists in raising them +up to God by reason of his Divinity. +</p> + +<p> +The few chosen spirits who through the successful persistency +with which they have sought God in all things have +become, though yet on earth, absorbed in Him, are known +in Chassidic literature by the name of the <q>Zaddikim.</q> +The Hebrew word Zaddik<note place='foot'>צדיק, pl. צדיקים.</note> means <q>just</q> or <q>righteous,</q> +and the term was probably chosen in conscious opposition +to the title of Rabbinic heroes, <q>disciples of the wise.</q> +For the Zaddik is not so much the product of learning +as of intuition: his final consummation is reached by a +sudden and direct illumination from God. The Zaddik +not only resembles Moses, but, in virtue of his long +communion with the Divine, he is also the true child of +God. He is, moreover, a vivifying power in creation, +for he is the connecting bond between God and his +creatures. He is the source of blessing and the fount +of grace. Man must therefore learn to love the Zaddik, +<pb n='037'/><anchor id='Pg037'/> +so that through the Zaddik he may win God's grace. +He who does not believe in the Zaddik is an apostate +from God. Here then we have the fatal exaggeration +to which I have alluded, and here its logical consequence. +The step to man-worship is short. +</p> + +<p> +This peculiar doctrine of the Intermediary soon became +the distinguishing feature of Chassidism. By a Chassid +was understood not a man who held such and such opinions +in theology and religion, but a believer in the Zaddik, +and one who sought to attain salvation through the worship +of the Zaddik. Every other doctrine of Chassidism +was rapidly pushed into the background and overlooked. +Even the grand and fundamental doctrine of Omnipresence +in the Creation was veiled by the special presence in +the Zaddik. Chassidism became mere Zaddikism, and its +subsequent history is identical with the downward development +of that cult. +</p> + +<p> +Whether Baalshem named his successor is doubtful. +But the lead after his death was assumed by his disciple +Beer of Mizriez. This man's conversion to Chassidism +was an important event for the new community; his piety +and learning were beyond dispute, and, whereas during +Baalshem's life Chassidism had found its chief adherents +among the lower classes of society, Beer managed to +gather round him many of the most learned among his +contemporaries. It was to these new and ardent disciples +of Beer that the expansion of Chassidism was chiefly due. +They came together from many quarters, and after Beer's +death separated and preached the new doctrine far and +wide. Many even went forth during the lifetime of their +master, and at his command, to found fresh branches of +the new sect. Like Beer himself, they directed their efforts +<pb n='038'/><anchor id='Pg038'/> +mainly to winning over the educated sections of +the Jews. The elder men paid little heed to their word, +but the youths, just fresh from their casuistic studies, +which had sharpened their wits and starved their souls, +lent a ready ear and an eager heart to the new doctrine. +The uneducated were by no means excluded; to +them Chassidism held out a deeper consolation and a +grander hope than the current Rabbinism of the age; +they therefore joined the young community in large numbers +without any special effort being necessary to gain +them over. +</p> + +<p> +In their methods of Prayer the Chassidim most conspicuously +differed from the older communities. Laying as +they did supreme stress on the importance and efficacy of +prayer, they soon found it necessary to secede from the existing +synagogues and erect separate buildings for themselves. +The usual salaried Reader <q>with the beautiful +voice and empty head,</q> who naturally regarded his function +as a matter of business, was done away with and his +place taken either by the Zaddik himself or by some other +distinguished person in the community. The Chassidim +also effected many changes in the liturgy. Instead of the +German they adopted the Spanish ritual. They excised +many prayers which, lacking the authority of antiquity, +were cumbrous in form or objectionable in matter. They +inserted new prayers and hymns of their own. They paid +little regard to the prescribed hours at which public worship +should be held. Prayer began when they had got +themselves into the proper devotional frame of mind. +Frequent ablutions, perusal of mystical writings, introspective +meditation were the means by which they sought +to gain the befitting mood. The prayers themselves were +<pb n='039'/><anchor id='Pg039'/> +accompanied by the usual phenomena of religious excitement. +Some in the zeal of their devotion began to dance; +others were rapt in a motionless ecstasy; some prayed +aloud; others in solemn silence. They justified their +abrogation of fixed hours for prayer by saying that you +cannot order a child when to speak with its father: such +restraint were fit only for slaves. +</p> + +<p> +As a rule the larger number of the younger Chassidim +were able to devote their whole time to religious exercises. +It was the custom among the Jews in Eastern Europe for +the young men to live at the expense of their own or their +wives' parents, in order that they might give themselves +up entirely to religious study. According to the old +notions, this meant the study of the Talmud and its Commentaries; +the Chassidim who cared little for the legal +side of Jewish literature betook themselves to the literature +of edification and mysticism. No small part of their +time was taken up with endless conversations about the +Zaddik, his piety, goodness, and self-sacrifice and the wonderful +miracles which he had wrought. If a Zaddik was +living in his own town, the youthful Chassid spent as +many hours as he could in the Zaddik's company, in order +to observe and study this embodied Torah as constantly +as possible. Where no Zaddik was at hand, periodical +pilgrimages were made to the town in which he lived, and +endless were the tales which were afterwards repeated, to +those who were obliged to stay at home, of the Zaddik's +marvellous wisdom and extraordinary deeds. The last +hours of the Sabbath day were looked upon as a special +season of grace, and the Chassidim were therefore in the +habit of collecting together in the waning of the Sabbath +and celebrating the so-called <q>Supper of the Holy Queen.</q> +<pb n='040'/><anchor id='Pg040'/> +The meal was accompanied by the usual conversations as +well as by hymns and prayers. +</p> + +<p> +The Chassidim were second to no other sect in their +loyalty and affection for each other. No sacrifice for a +brother Chassid was too great. They knew no difference +of rich and poor, old and young, wise and ignorant; for +they all, with one accord, worshipped one common ideal, +the Zaddik, who in his exalted position was equally raised +above them all. Before him all minor differences of rank +disappeared. When a Chassid travelled, he had no scruple +in asking for lodging or entertainment in the house of any +Chassid who could afford to give them. If he was in +money difficulties the purse of his host was at his disposal. +If that was not sufficient, it was supplemented by +a grant from the fund of the community. These gifts +were not looked upon in the light of charity either by +giver or receiver; they were made to the Zaddik, to whom +all Chassidim alike were debtors. It sometimes even +happened that a Zaddik said that the son of some rich +merchant was to marry the daughter of a poor schoolmaster, +and both parties were equally delighted to fulfil +the wish of their beloved chief. +</p> + +<p> +It may easily be imagined that the innovations of the +Chassidim provoked the wrath of the orthodox communities. +But in their detestation of the Rabbis the Chassidim +returned in full measure all the hatred they received. +The Zaddik is the Moses of his age: the Rabbis its Korah +and Abiram. Where the Chassidic party in any community +gained the upper hand, the Rabbi was deposed and a +Zaddik, if that was possible, elected in his place. The +issue of these bitter attacks upon the old nobility of the +Jewish race was a rigorous persecution. In many places +<pb n='041'/><anchor id='Pg041'/> +the Chassidim were excommunicated, in others their +leaders were publicly scourged and put into the stocks. +Their books were burnt and their synagogues forcibly +closed. But persecution produced only the usual result of +increasing the popularity and the numbers of the sect. +The devotion of the Chassidim to each other and to their +common cause was increased a hundred-fold by suffering. +In one case a distinguished Zaddik was accused of treason, +before the Russian authorities, and was thrown into +prison. In Russia, however, the power of money is considerable, +and on payment of a large ransom not only was +the beloved Zaddik released but as an obvious consequence +his reputation greatly profited: the day of his release was +celebrated as a yearly festival, while his sufferings were +regarded by his followers as a sin-offering that atoned for +the iniquities of his age. From this time the government +maintained a purely neutral attitude towards the new sect, +and ere long the persecution by the orthodox ceased. +</p> + +<p> +The cessation of persecution may possibly be accounted +for by the fact that Chassidism as a secession soon ceased +to be formidable. There were early divisions within the +sect. Even Beer's disciples began to quarrel over theological +differences and to found separate communities. +When once the course of corruption and spiritual decay +had begun, it was the interest of the false Zaddikim to +accentuate these differences. Each Zaddik sought to have +a whole little sect to himself, from which to draw an undivided +revenue. And each deluded little sect as it arose +boasted of the exclusive possession of the true Zaddik. +</p> + +<p> +It must not be supposed that these strictures apply to +the whole class of Zaddikim. The greater number of +Baalshem's leading disciples as well as Beer's were beyond +<pb n='042'/><anchor id='Pg042'/> +question men of pure, unalloyed piety, who would have +rejected with scorn any idea of making a trade of their +sacred profession. Their motives and their zeal were +alike ideal. Many gave up highly paid posts as Rabbis +when they joined the new sect. Some emigrated to Palestine +to lead a holy life on holy ground, others sought to +become religious specialists, following out practically, +although with some exaggeration, a favourite doctrine of +the Founder, that he who observes but one commandment +devotedly and lovingly, may reach the goal desired: the +union with God. Thus one Zaddik made it his business +never to tell the smallest falsehood, whatever the cost or +the inconvenience of truth might be. It is related that +the Russian Government, suspecting the Jews of his town +of smuggling, consented to withdraw the charge if he +declared his brethren innocent. Having no alternative but +either to bring misfortune on his brethren or to tell an untruth, +he prayed to God to save him from this dilemma by +sending death upon him. And lo! when the officials came +to fetch him before the law court they found him dead. +Another, thinking that the commandment in Exodus xxiii. +3, relating to the help that should be given to a neighbour +or enemy when <q>his ass is lying under its burden,</q> was +practically unobserved, devoted himself to its fulfilment. +He was continually to be seen in the streets, helping one +man to load his waggon, and another to drag his cart out +of the mire. A third made the service of the oppressed +his religious specialty. It is said that one day his wife, +having had a quarrel with her maid, was setting out to the +magistrate of the town to obtain satisfaction. Noticing +that her husband was about to accompany her, she asked +him whither he was bound. He replied, <q>to the magistrate.</q> +<pb n='043'/><anchor id='Pg043'/> +His wife declared that it was below his dignity to +take any part in a quarrel with a servant. She could deal +with the matter herself. The Zaddik replied, <q>That may +be, but I intend to represent your maid, who when accused +by my wife will find no one willing to take her +part.</q> And then, bursting into a passion of tears, he +quoted Job xxxi. 13: <q>If I did despise the cause of my +man-servant or of my maid-servant, when they contended +with me, what shall I do when God riseth up?</q> +</p> + +<p> +Several Zaddikim were learned men and thinkers of +no ordinary kind. The works of Solomon Ladier or of +Mendel Witipsker, read with attention and without Western +preconceptions, certainly give the impression of both +originality and depth of thought. But most characteristic +of all is the passionate yearning of authors such as these +towards the Divine. The reader is astonished and moved +by the intense sincerity and ardour of their longing after +God. But, despite the adherence of these worthy men, +the fate of Chassidism, as a regenerative force, was sealed +from the day when Zaddikism replaced the original doctrines +of the sect. +</p> + +<p> +For, apart from the obvious theological considerations +already suggested, there are two points of inherent weakness +in the cult of the Zaddik which naturally doomed it +to perversion and failure. The necessary qualifications for +<q>Zaddikship</q> are wholly undefined. We hear a great +deal about what a Zaddik actually is, but we hear very +little about what he should be. The Zaddik has many +virtues, but we are nowhere told what are his indispensable +qualifications. Moreover, the Zaddik is a being +who can be comprehended by the understanding as little +as an angel, or as God Himself. He is realised by faith, +<pb n='044'/><anchor id='Pg044'/> +not conceived by thought. Hence there is no human test +of a true Zaddik except the test of miracles; and every +student of religious history knows the deceitful character +of that test. +</p> + +<p> +The second source of danger arose from the Chassidim +holding it to be their sacred duty to provide for the Zaddik +a life of comfort and ease. The Zaddik must pursue +his divine avocations undisturbed by grosser cares. But +what were the consequences? The Chassidim believed +they could win the grace and blessing of the Zaddik +by the richness and variety of their gifts. A Zaddik's +career became a very profitable concern. The result of +both defects was that not only was the opportunity given +for every scheming charlatan to become a Zaddik, but +inducements were offered to make the deception lucrative. +Hence the anxiety of the false Zaddikim, already +noticed, to found separate communities. +</p> + +<p> +Among the Chassidim of to-day there is not one in +ten thousand who has the faintest conception of those +sublime ideas which inspired Baalshem and his immediate +disciples. It is still the interest of the wretched +ringleaders of a widely spread delusion to crush and keep +down every trace of reflection and thought so that they +may play at will with the conscience and purses of their +adherents. The new scientific movement, inaugurated by +such men as Krochmal, Zunz, and others who came under +the influence of the German critical spirit, found in them +its hottest and most fanatical opponents. That the cult +of the Zaddikim has not led to still more disastrous consequences +is solely due to the fact that the Chassidim in +general have remained faithful to the Law. It is the +Law, against the excessive study of which the original +<pb n='045'/><anchor id='Pg045'/> +Chassidim protested, that has put limits to the license of +its modern false prophets. +</p> + +<p> +Amid much that is bad, the Chassidim have preserved +through the whole movement a warm heart, and an ardent, +sincere faith. There is a certain openness of character +and a ready friendliness about even the modern +Chassidim which are very attractive. Religion is still to +them a matter of life and death. Their faith is still real +enough to satisfy the demands of a Luther, but it is diverted +and wasted upon unworthy objects. If Chassidism +is to be reformed, its worship must no longer be of man; +it must be brought back again to the source of all Beauty, +all Wisdom, and all Goodness; it must be restored to +God. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='046'/><anchor id='Pg046'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>II. Nachman Krochmal and the <q>Perplexities +Of The Time</q></head> + +<p> +In her good-natured panegyric of mediocrity which is +known under the title of <hi rend='italic'>Scenes of Clerical Life</hi>, George +Eliot remarked: <q>Let us hope that there is a saving +ignorance.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Strange as this demand may sound, the wish of the +great novelist to see her favoured mediocrities <q>saved,</q> +has been shared by the great majority of mankind. I +know that I, at least, echo that desire with all my heart. +And I am afraid that I am prompted by some rather selfish +reasons. It would be somewhat hard, when one is +born with small abilities, but a great desire for being +saved, to be deprived of the hope held out by the author +of <hi rend='italic'>Adam Bede</hi>. +</p> + +<p> +But there are some, I am afraid, who are not satisfied +with this dictum of George Eliot. They show a strong +tendency to make salvation a monopoly of ignorance. +This is a little too selfish. With all due respect to every +form of ignorance, sacred as well as profane, we ought, I +think, to believe that there is also such a thing as a saving +knowledge. Nay, we might go even farther. There may +be certain epochs in history when there is hardly any +<pb n='047'/><anchor id='Pg047'/> +other path to salvation than knowledge, and the deep +search after truth. +</p> + +<p> +We all know the words of the Psalmist, <q>The Lord +preserveth the simple.</q> But as there are periods in the +life of the individual when naïveté has to give way to +sagacity and reflection, so there are times in history at +which Providence does not choose to leave men in simplicity. +At such times doubts arise, as though of themselves; +questions suddenly become open when they had +been supposed solved for centuries; and the human mind +is stirred by a sceptical breeze of which no man can tell +whence it came. One may under those circumstances be +indifferent, but one can be simple no more. +</p> + +<p> +Even in such cases, however, man has no cause to despair. +When our dearest beliefs are shaken by all kinds +of doubts, Providence sends us also great thinkers, earnest +lovers of truth, who devote their lives to enlightening our +puzzled minds. Not that these men try to answer all the +questions by which we feel perplexed. They endeavour +to satisfy us, partly by showing that many of our difficulties +are not difficulties at all, but merely arise from superficiality, +and partly by proving that the great cause about +which we feel so much anxiety does not exactly depend +on the solution of the questions that are troubling us. +They give to the things which are dearer to us than our +life a fresh aspect, which enables us to remain attached to +them with the same devotion and love as before. To +speak again in the words of the Psalmist: <q>Thou sendest +forth Thy Spirit, and they are created, and Thou renewest +the face of the earth.</q> +</p> + +<p> +This spirit that renews the face of things is what I +understand by <q>saving knowledge.</q> As men of that +<pb n='048'/><anchor id='Pg048'/> +saving knowledge we may regard Rabban Johanan ben +Zaccai<note place='foot'>R. Johanan b. Zaccai was a contemporary of the Apostles, and +died about 110 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> He belonged to the peace party in opposition to +the Zealots, and obtained permission from the Roman government to +establish the school of Jamnia, which, after the destruction of the +Temple, became the centre of Jewish religious life. See also p. +188.</note> and his disciples, who made it possible for Judaism +to survive the destruction of the Temple, which +some believed to involve the end of the religion. As such +men we may look upon R. Saadiah Gaon and his followers, +who worked at a time when Judaism was menaced +in its inner life, namely in the tradition, by the attempts of +the narrow-minded Caraites to convert it into a bookish +religion.<note place='foot'>R. Saadiah Gaon was born in Egypt in 892, and died as the +head of the school of Sura in Babylon in 942. He is known by his +translations of and commentaries on the Bible, and many other works, +especially his philosophical treatise <hi rend='italic'>Creeds and Opinions</hi>. He was +also a great controversialist. Most of his polemical writings are directed +against the Caraites (קראים) or <q>Scripturalists,</q> a Jewish sect +founded by Anan in the eighth century. They protested against the +Oral Law, and denied Tradition. On the title <q>Gaon,</q> see note 1 to +Elijah Wilna.</note> Such men were Maimonides and his successors, +who came to the aid of religion when it had got into dogmatic +troubles by reason of its coming into contact with +various philosophical systems. And in order to approach +the subject of the present essay, I venture to say that a +man of such saving knowledge was also Nachman Krochmal, +who lived and laboured in the first half of the present +century, when Judaism had been terribly shaken by the +scepticism of Voltaire, and the platitudes of the so-called +Mendelssohnian school. +</p> + +<p> +Nachman Krochmal was born on the 17th of February +in the year 1785. His father, Solomon Krochmal, was a +merchant of Brody, a commercial frontier town in the +north-east of Galicia in Austria. In his early years Solomon +often used to visit Berlin for business purposes. He +is said to have seen Mendelssohn there on one occasion, +and to have learned greatly to revere the Jewish sage. +And it is not unlikely that Nachman's subsequent admiration +for Mendelssohn was partly due to his father's influence. +</p> + +<p> +Solomon was a man of considerable wealth, and he, +therefore, endeavoured to give his son the best possible +education. But as a respectable member of a Polish community +a hundred years ago, Solomon had to follow the +<pb n='049'/><anchor id='Pg049'/> +fashion adopted by his neighbours, and the best possible +education consisted in affording the child an opportunity +to study the Talmud and other Rabbinical works. All +other languages and their literatures were sealed books to +the child—a very absurd and regrettable fashion indeed. +But let us not be too hard on Polish Jews. I have been +told that there are countries on our globe where people +have been driven by the force of fashion into the opposite +extreme; where, with few exceptions, they think that the +Talmud, as well as the whole Hebrew literature, must +needs be excluded from the programme of a gentleman's +education. +</p> + +<p> +Happily, or the reverse, Krochmal's childhood did not +last long, for in the year 1798 we find that Nachman, a +boy of fourteen, was already married to a Miss Haberman +in Zolkiew. As a result of this foolish custom of marrying +at so very early an age, Nachman was hardly ever a boy; +we have at once to deal with him as a man. +</p> + +<p> +It was then customary in Poland, and perhaps is so still, +for the father of the bride to provide for the support of the +young couple for some years after their marriage. In +order to reduce the expense of this arrangement, the +bridegroom had to reside in the same house as his father-in-law. +Thus we see Krochmal removing from Brody to +Zolkiew, the native town of his wife. Here Krochmal +lived in the house of her father for many years, entirely +devoted to his studies; and he certainly needed all his +time for them. For he now began to expand the sphere +of his education, to embrace subjects quite new to him. +By his marriage Nachman seems to have gained a certain +amount of independence, and the first use he made of it +was to study the <hi rend='italic'>Guide of the Perplexed</hi><note place='foot'>מורה נבוכים, <hi rend='italic'>Moreh Nebuchim</hi>, generally considered to be the +greatest philosophical work by any Jewish thinker.</note> of Maimonides, +<pb n='050'/><anchor id='Pg050'/> +the <hi rend='italic'>Commentaries</hi> of Ibn Ezra on the Bible,<note place='foot'>R. Abraham Ibn Ezra, who spent some time in London, died +about 1161. He is best known by his commentaries on the Bible. He +was the first writer who doubted the unity of the book of Isaiah.</note> and other +more or less philosophical works written in the Hebrew +language. His next step was to learn German; but, as +his biographers inform us, he was not able to follow this +course without undergoing many struggles, and overcoming +many obstacles. +</p> + +<p> +It would lead us too far to give a full account of the +difficulties which the young scholar had to conquer while +pursuing his new studies. They will be sufficiently +characterised by the following extract from a Hebrew +letter of his disciple, Solomon Leb Rapoport, who, +writing in 1841 concerning his master and friend, remarks: +<q>Consider this, ye inhabitants of Germany</q>—and, +I may add, ye inhabitants of England—<q>and you +will be astounded. It is easy for you to avoid being one-sided, +and to study different sciences, for you possess +many schools and teachers from every branch of learning. +It is not so in Poland and Russia even at present, much +less was it so forty years ago. There is no teacher, no +guide, no supporter, for the Jew who desires any sort of +improvement. The Jew who wishes to enter on a new +path of learning has to prepare the road for himself. And +when he has entered on it, his friend will come to him and +ask, <q>Is it true that you have got scientific books in your +house? Mind you do not mention it to any one. There +are enough bigots in the town to persecute you and all +your family if they get scent of it.</q></q> It was under these +conditions that Krochmal pursued his studies, which were +by no means few or easy, for he was not content with a +knowledge of only the lighter portions of German literature. +He soon began to read the works of Lessing, +Mendelssohn, and more especially of Kant, who always +<pb n='051'/><anchor id='Pg051'/> +remained his favourite philosopher. In his later years +he also became acquainted with the writings of Fichte, +Schelling, and Hegel. But to the last he could not console +himself for having missed the advantages of a systematic +university education. +</p> + +<p> +After having learned German, Krochmal proceeded to +acquire a knowledge of Latin and French, and to read +the best books written in those languages. To deepen +his knowledge of Hebrew, he studied Arabic and Syraic, +but we are unable to say how far he succeeded in mastering +these languages. With these studies, which appear +to have occupied our philosopher for an interval of ten +years after his marriage, the first period of his life seems +also to end. But the hard work of ten years did not pass +over the delicate youth without undermining his health +for ever. At the age of twenty-four, Krochmal fell sick +of an illness which compelled him to interrupt his work. +He was forced to go to Lemberg to consult the doctors of +that town, and he had to remain there for a long time. +And now began Krochmal's career as a teacher. For +during his stay at Lemberg there gathered round him a +band of young scholars whom Krochmal's fame had already +reached. It is useless to enumerate the names of +all these students. Among them figured Isaac Erter, +Samson Bloch, A. Bodek, and many others. The most +gifted of them was undoubtedly Rapoport, who afterwards +became even more famous than his master Krochmal. It +is not easy to define accurately the relation that subsisted +between these two men. Graetz, in his history, calls +Rapoport a disciple of Krochmal. Rapoport himself, in +his memoir of Krochmal, describes the latter as a dear +friend with whom he was wont to discuss literary topics. +<pb n='052'/><anchor id='Pg052'/> +Zunz does not mention Rapoport at all in his account +of our author. It seems to me that this relation may +be most aptly defined by the Talmudic term <q>Talmid-Chaber,</q><note place='foot'>תלמיד חבר.</note> +<q>disciple-colleague.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, Krochmal's whole method of teaching was rather +that of a companion than of a professor. He gave no set +lectures on particular subjects, but conveyed his instruction +rather by means of suggestive conversations with his +younger friends. His usual habit was to walk with his +pupils in the neighbourhood of the town, and to try to +influence their minds each in accordance with its bent. +If any of his disciples showed an inclination for poetry, +Krochmal sought to refine his taste by directing his attention +to the best works in Hebrew and German literature. +To another, whose fancy strayed into mysticism, he recommended +the writings of Philo and Ibn Ezra, at the same +time suggesting how the works of the latter should be interpreted. +A third who, like Rapoport, was interested in +historical researches, Krochmal instructed in the methods +of critical inquiry. +</p> + +<p> +There must have been some fascinating charm in +Nachman's personality, which made him irresistible to all +who came into contact with him. Rapoport has described +his first interview with Krochmal. <q>It is more than +thirty years since I first made his acquaintance, and beheld +the glory of his presence. Though he was in weak +health, still his soul was strong; and as soon as I conversed +with him there came over me a spirit of judgment +and knowledge. I felt almost transformed into another +man.</q> Elsewhere the same writer says: <q>Oh, how sweet +to me were these walks with Krochmal—sweeter than all +the pleasures of this world. I could never have enough +<pb n='053'/><anchor id='Pg053'/> +of his wisdom; with his every word he conveyed a new +lesson.</q> +</p> + +<p> +After a lengthy stay at Lemberg, Krochmal partially, +though not entirely, recovered from his severe illness; he +remained weak and pale for the rest of his days. His +antagonists, the Chassidim, believed him to be possessed +by a demon who could find no better dwelling-place than +in the person of this arch-heretic. Had it been in their +power they would probably have dragged him to some exorcist +for the purpose of driving out his German, French, +Latin, and other symptoms of demoniacal heresy. Happily +the orthodox were powerless to do this, so Krochmal was +left unmolested, and was allowed to resume his walks and +studies. It may be here remarked that Krochmal in general +avoided giving the Chassidim any cause for reasonable +complaint. Rapoport asserts that his master was <q>deeply +religious and a strict observer of the law. He was zealously +anxious to perform every ordinance, Biblical or +Rabbinical.</q> The only liberty that Krochmal claimed for +himself and his disciples was the right to study what they +thought best and in the way they thought best. When +this liberty was attacked, he showed a firmness and resolution +which would hardly have been expected from this +quiet and gentle man. To one of his pupils, who made +concessions to the Chassidim and their Zaddikim worship, +Krochmal wrote: <q>Be firm in this matter unless you wish +to earn the contempt of every honest man. One who is +afraid of these people, and debases himself before them +bears a mean soul that was born to slavery. The man that +wishes to rise above the mob, with its confused notions +and corrupt morality, must be courageous as a lion in conquering +the obstacles that beset his path. Consideration +<pb n='054'/><anchor id='Pg054'/> +of what people will say, what bigots will whisper, what +crafty enemies will scheme—questions such as these can +have but one effect,—to darken the intellect and confuse +the faculty of judgment.</q> +</p> + +<p> +So Krochmal continued his studies without interruption +till 1814, when the death of his wife's mother brought his +period of ease and comfort to an end. His father-in-law +seems to have died some time before, and Krochmal was +forced to seek his own living. He became a merchant, +but it is to be regretted that he did not prove as successful +a man of business as he was a man of letters. He found +it a hard struggle to earn a living. But the severest +trial which he had to undergo was the death of his +wife in 1826. In a letter, dating from about this time, +to a friend who had asked him for assistance in his philosophical +inquiries, Krochmal wrote—<q>How can I help +you now? I am already an old man; my head is gray, +and my health is broken. In the last three years I have +met with many misfortunes. My beloved wife died after +a long illness. My daughter will soon leave me to get +married, my elder son will depart to seek his livelihood, +and I shall be left alone with only a child of ten years, the +son of my old age. I will lift up mine eyes unto the +hills: From whence shall my help come?</q> +</p> + +<p> +Nachman was evidently in very low spirits at this time, +but he was in too true a sense a philosopher to despair. +He turned for comfort to his studies, and at this dark +epoch of his life he first became acquainted with the +Philosophy of Hegel, whose system he was wont to call +the <q>Philosophy of Philosophies.</q> +</p> + +<p> +For the next ten years the works of Hegel and inquiries +into Jewish history appear to have absorbed all the +<pb n='055'/><anchor id='Pg055'/> +leisure that his mercantile occupation left him. We shall +presently see what the result of these studies was. No +fresh subjects were undertaken by Krochmal in the last +years of his life; he had already acquired a fund of +knowledge vast enough to engage all his thoughts. There +are, however, some remaining points in his private circumstances +which it may not be uninteresting to mention. +</p> + +<p> +Krochmal, as has been already related, was not prosperous +in his business. Things went from bad to worse, and +he was compelled in 1836 to seek a situation. <q>There +ought to be literary men poor,</q> some writer has maintained, +<q>to show whether they are genuine or not.</q> This +test Krochmal successfully passed through. Even as a +young man Nachman's strength of character was admired +by his contemporaries not less than his rare learning. In +his subsequent distress, he gave evidence of the truth of +this judgment. Despite his poverty, his friends could not +prevail upon him to accept the post of Rabbi in any Jewish +community. <q>I am unwilling,</q> he wrote to a friend, <q>to +be the cause of dissensions in any Jewish congregation. +I should prefer to die of hunger rather than become a +Rabbi under present circumstances.</q> He expressed his +views on this subject even more decidedly on a later occasion +when the Berlin congregation offered him the post of +Chief Rabbi in that town. In a letter, conveying his refusal +of this honourable office, he says: <q>I never thought +of becoming the Conscience-counsellor (<foreign lang='de' rend='italic'>Gewissensrath</foreign>) of +men. My line of studies was not directed to that end, +nor would it accord with my disposition and sentiments. +The only post that I should care to accept would be that +of teacher in the Jewish Theological Seminary, which, +as I was informed, you were thinking of establishing in +<pb n='056'/><anchor id='Pg056'/> +Berlin.</q> The plan to found such an institution was not +realised till forty years later, and in the interval Nachman +had to look for his living in other regions than Jewish theology. +Being in poor circumstances, and as his children +and friends had left him, he felt very lonely at Zolkiew. +<q>Nobody cares for me here,</q> he writes, <q>and I am equally +indifferent.</q> His one desire was to obtain a situation at +Brody, possibly as book-keeper with a salary of some thirty +pounds a year, on condition that he would be expected to +devote only half the day to his business duties, thus securing +for himself leisure for philosophical studies. +</p> + +<p> +His terms were accepted, and he obtained the humble +post he sought. He remained in Brody for the next two +years, 1836-8, but at the end of 1838 he fell so dangerously +ill that he could no longer resist the pressing request +of his daughter to live with her at Tarnopol. She had +urged him to take this step even previous to his removal to +Brody, but he had declined on the plea that he preferred +to live by the labour of his hands. Now, however, he +yielded to her wish, and betook himself to Tarnopol, where +for two years longer he lived affectionately tended by his +children and respected by all who knew him. In May +1840, Krochmal's illness began to develop fatal symptoms, +and he died in the arms of his daughter on the 31st of +July (the first of Ab), at the age of fifty-five. As Zunz +happily remarked: <q>This great man was born on the 7th +of Adar, the birthday of Moses (according to Jewish tradition), +and died on the first of Ab, the anniversary of the +death of Aaron, the High Priest.</q> +</p> + +<p> +I have tried in the foregoing remarks to give a short +sketch of our Rabbi's life according to the accounts of +Zunz, Rapoport, and Letteris. There is one other point +<pb n='057'/><anchor id='Pg057'/> +to which I must allude, as it involves a consideration on +which Letteris seems to lay much stress. This biographer +appears to think that Krochmal was in his youth greatly +influenced by the society in which he moved, consisting as +it did of many learned and enlightened men. There is, +too, the oft-quoted saying of Goethe:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>Wer den Dichter will verstehen</l> +<l>Muss in Dichters Lande gehen.</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +And I am probably expected to give some account of the +state of society in which Nachman grew up. I regret +that I must ask to be excused from doing so. I cannot +consent to take the reader to Krochmal's land. And if I +might venture to give him my humble advice, I should +only say, <q>By all means stop at home.</q> Goethe may be +right about the poet, but his remark does not apply to the +case of the scholar. It may be true, as some think, that +every great man is the product of his time, but it certainly +does not follow that he is the product of his country. +Nor could I name any other country of which Krochmal +was the product. Many a city no doubt boasted itself +a town full of <q><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Chakhamim</foreign> and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sopherim</foreign></q><note place='foot'>עיר מלאת הכמים וסופרים, meaning <q>sages</q> and <q>scribes,</q> but used +by later writers in the sense given in the text.</note> as the Hebrew +phrase is, or, as we would express it, <q>a seat of learning,</q> +full of scholars of the ancient and modern schools. +But neither these ancient scholars nor the modern were +of a kind to produce a real scholar and an enlightened +thinker like Krochmal. There were many men who knew +by heart the whole of the Halachic works of Maimonides, +the Mishnah, and even the whole of the Babylonian Talmud. +This is very imposing. But if you look a little +closer, you will find that with a few exceptions—such as +the school of R. Elijah Wilna—these men, generally +<pb n='058'/><anchor id='Pg058'/> +speaking, hardly deserve the name of scholars at all. +They were rather a sort of studying engines. The steam-engine +passes over a continent, here through romantic +scenery, there in the midst of arid deserts, by stream and +mountain and valley, always with the same monotonous +hum and shriek. So these scholars went through the +Talmud with never changing feelings. They did not +rejoice at the description which is given in tractate <hi rend='italic'>Biccurim</hi><note place='foot'>בכורים, dealing with the laws relating to the firstfruits which were +brought to the temple (Ex. xxiii. 19). The processions formed by the +pilgrims are very vividly described after the said tractate by Delitzsch +in his <hi rend='italic'>Iris</hi>, p. 190 <hi rend='italic'>sq.</hi> (English ed.). See also by the same author, +<hi rend='italic'>Jüdisches Handwerkerleben zur Zeit Jesu</hi>, p. 66 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi></note> +of the procession formed when the first-fruits were +brought into the Holy Temple. They were not much +saddened when reading in tractate <hi rend='italic'>Taanith</hi><note place='foot'>תענית, <q>Fast,</q> or תעניות, <q>Fasts.</q></note> of the unhappy +days so recurrent in Jewish history. They were +not delighted by the wisdom of <hi rend='italic'>Seder Nezikin</hi>,<note place='foot'>סדר נזיקין, <q>Order of Damages,</q> treating of the civil law of the +Jews, the procedure of courts of justice, and kindred subjects. This +Order also includes the tractate אבות, <hi rend='italic'>Aboth</hi> or <q>Sayings of the +Fathers,</q> which is very important for the study of Rabbinic doctrine +and ethics.</note> which +deals with civil law; nor were they vexed of <hi rend='italic'>Seder Taharoth</hi>,<note place='foot'>סדר תהרות, <q>Order of Purities,</q> dealing with the laws regarding +Levitical purity.</note> +which treats of the laws of cleanliness and uncleanliness, +that by their exaggeration gave cause to much +dissension in the time of the Temple. The pre-Talmudic +literature, such as the <hi rend='italic'>Siphra</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>Siphré</hi>, and <hi rend='italic'>Mechilta</hi><note place='foot'>ספרא (or הורת כהנים), ספרי, מכילתא. These three works form the +oldest Rabbinic commentary on Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. +The authorities cited in these commentaries all belong to +the period of the Tannaim. See above, note 12 to the Chassidim. +Constituting as they do, to a certain extent, one of the sources used by +the <hi rend='italic'>Gemara</hi>, they are naturally indispensable for a scientific study of +the Talmud.</note>—the +only existing means of obtaining an insight into the +Talmud—were altogether neglected. All that these +readers cared for was to push on to the end, and the +prayer recited at the close was of more importance to +them than the treatise they had perused. +</p> + +<p> +Not less melancholy was the spectacle presented by the +so-called men of <q>Enlightenment</q> (<foreign lang='de' rend='italic'>Aufklärung</foreign>). They +belonged chiefly to the rationalistic school of Mendelssohn, +but they equalled their master neither in knowledge nor +in moral character. It was an enlightenment without +foundation in real scholarship, and did not lead to an ideal +life, though again I must add that there were exceptions. +These men were rather what Germans would term <foreign lang='de' rend='italic'>Schöngeister</foreign>, +a set of dilettanti who cared to study as little as +<pb n='059'/><anchor id='Pg059'/> +possible, and to write as much as possible. They wrote +bad grammars, superficial commentaries on the Bible, +and terribly dull poems. Of this literature, with the +exception of Erter's <hi rend='italic'>Watchman</hi>,<note place='foot'>הצפה, <q><hi rend='italic'>Hatsophe</hi>,</q> a spirited satire against the orthodox and +especially against the then prevailing belief in the transmigration of +souls taught by the mystical schools. The book is written in the +purest biblical Hebrew.</note> there is scarcely a work +that one would care to read twice. Most of them +despised Rabbinism, but without understanding its noblest +forms as they are to be traced in the Talmud and later +Hebrew literature. They did not dislike Judaism, but +the only Judaism they affected was one <q>which does not +oppose itself to anything in particular</q>; or, as Heine +would have described it, <q>Eine reinliche Religion.</q> In +one respect these little men were great: in mutual +admiration, which reached such a pitch that such titles +as <q>Great Luminary,</q> <q>World-famed Sage,</q> were considered +altogether too insignificant and commonplace. +</p> + +<p> +I will now pass to the writings of Krochmal. It must +be premised that Krochmal was not a voluminous author. +All his writings, including a few letters which were published +in various Hebrew periodicals, would scarcely +occupy four hundred pages. Krochmal used to call himself +<q>der ewige Student</q> (the perpetual pupil). He did +not read books, nor study philosophical systems, with the +object of writing books of his own on them. He read +and studied in order that he might become a better and a +wiser man. Besides, he did not think himself competent +to judge on grave subjects, nor did he consider his judgment, +even if he formed one, worthy of publication. He +counselled his friends to be equally slow in publishing +their views to the world. <q>Be not,</q> he wrote to a correspondent,—<q>be +not hasty in forming your opinions before +you have studied the literature of the subject with care +and devotion. This is no easy matter, for no man can +<pb n='060'/><anchor id='Pg060'/> +obtain any real knowledge of the Torah and philosophy +unless he is prepared to give himself up in single-hearted +devotion to his studies.</q> Severe though he was to his +friends, he was still more severe to himself. Though he +had been collecting materials on subjects of Jewish history +and philosophy from his early youth, it was not until he +had endured much persuasion and pressure from his +friends that he began to write down his thoughts in a +connected form. We thus possess only one work from +the pen of this author; but that work is the <hi rend='italic'>Guide of the +Perplexed of the Time</hi>,<note place='foot'>מורה נבוכי הזמן.</note> a posthumous book published +in 1851, eleven years after Krochmal's death. His work +had been much interrupted by illness during the last years +of his life, and as a necessary consequence many parts of +his treatise finally remained in an unfinished state. Krochmal +commissioned his children to hand over his papers to +Zunz, who was to arrange and edit them as best he might. +Zunz, who in his reverence for Krochmal went so far as +to call him the man of God, gladly accepted the task, in +which he was aided by Steinschneider. Unfortunately, +the work was published in Lemberg, a place famous for +spoiling books. Even the skill of these two great masters +did not suffice to save Krochmal's work from the fate to +which all the books printed in Lemberg seem inevitably +doomed. Thus Krochmal's work is printed on bad paper, +and with faint ink; it is full of misprints and the text is +sometimes confused with the notes. A second edition +appeared in Lemberg in 1863; but, it is scarcely necessary +to add, the reprint is even worse than the original issue. +</p> + +<p> +The work occupies some 350 pages, and is divided into +seventeen chapters. The opening six treat of Religion +in general. The author first indicates the opposite dangers +<pb n='061'/><anchor id='Pg061'/> +to which men are liable. On the one hand, men +are exposed to extravagant phantasy (<foreign lang='de' rend='italic'>Schwärmerei</foreign>), superstition +and ceremonialism (<foreign lang='de' rend='italic'>Werkheiligkeit</foreign>). Some, on +the other hand, in their endeavour to avoid this danger, +fall into the opposite extreme, materialism, unbelief, and +moral degeneracy as a consequence of their neglect of +all law. He proceeds to say: Even in the ritual part +of religion, such as the regulations of the Sabbath, the +dietary laws and so forth, we find abstract definitions +necessary, and differences of opinions prevalent. In the +dogmatic aspects of religion, dealing as they do with the +grave subjects of metaphysics, the mystery of life and +death, the destiny of man, his relation to God, reward +and punishment, the inner meaning of the laws,—in +these spiritual matters, the difficulty of accurate definition +must be far greater and the opportunities for difference +of opinion more frequent and important. What +guide are we to follow, seeing that every error involves +the most dangerous consequences? Shall we abandon +altogether the effort of thinking on these grave subjects? +Such a course is impossible. Do not believe, says Krochmal, +that there ever was a time when the religious man +was entirely satisfied by deeds of righteousness, as some +people maintain. On the contrary, every man, whether +an independent thinker or a simple believer, always feels +the weight of these questions upon him. Every man +desires to have some ideal basis for his actions which +must constitute his real life in its noblest moments. +Krochmal here quotes a famous passage from the Midrash.<note place='foot'>מדרש, pl. מדרשים (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Midrashim</foreign>), <q>Research,</q> <q>Researches,</q> a +name usually applied to the homiletical part of the Rabbinic literature. +The most important collection of this kind is the <hi rend='italic'>Midrash Rabbah</hi> to +the Pentateuch. The usual way of quoting it is <hi rend='italic'>Genesis Rabbah</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>Exodus +Rabbah</hi>, and so on.</note> +The Torah, according to one of our ancient sages, +may be compared to two paths, the one burning with fire, +the other covered with snow. If a man enters on the +<pb n='062'/><anchor id='Pg062'/> +former path he will die by the heat; if he walks by the +latter path he will be frozen by the snow. What, then, +must he do? He must walk in the middle, or, as we +should say, he must choose the golden mean. But, as +Krochmal suggests, the middle way in historical and +philosophical doubts does not consist, as some idle heads +suppose, in a kind of compromise between two opposing +views. If one of two contending parties declares that +twice two make six, while his opponent asserts that twice +two make eight, a sort of compromise might be arrived +at by conceding that twice two make seven. But such +a compromise would be as false as either extreme; and +the seeker after the truth must revert to that mean +which is the heart of all things, independently of all +factions, placing himself above them. +</p> + +<p> +Having dealt with the arguments relating to the existence +of God as elaborated in the philosophical systems +of his time, Krochmal leads up to his treatment of the +History of Israel by a chapter on the ideal gifts bestowed +upon the various ancient nations, which, possessed +by them through many centuries, were lost when their +nationality ceased. We next come, in Chapter VII., to +the ideal gifts of Israel. These are the religious gift +and the faculty and desire for seeking the ideal of all +ideals, namely, God. But Israel, whose mission it was +to propagate this ideal, was, even as other nations, subject +to natural laws; and its history presents progress +and reaction, rise and decline. Krochmal devotes his +next three chapters to showing how, in the history of +Israel, as in other histories, may be detected a triple +process. These three stages are the budding, the period +of maturity, and the decay. As the history of Israel is +<pb n='063'/><anchor id='Pg063'/> +more a history of religion than of politics and battles, +its rise and decline correspond more or less with Israel's +attachment to God, and its falling away from Him. The +decay would be associated with the adoption of either of +the extremes, the dangerous effects of which have been +already mentioned. But <q>through progress and backsliding, +amid infectious contact with idolatry, amid survival +of old growths of superstition, of the crude practices +of the past; amid the solicitation of new aspects of life; +in material prosperity and in material ruin,</q> Israel was +never wholly detached from God. In the worst times it +had its judges or its prophets, its heroes or its sages, its +Rabbis or its philosophers, who strove to bring Israel +back to its mission, and who succeeded in their efforts +to do so. Even in its decay traces of the Divine spirit +made themselves felt, and revived the nation, which entered +again on a triple course and repeated its three +phases. The first of these three-fold epochs began, according +to Krochmal's eighth chapter, with the times of +the Patriarchs, and ended with the death of Gedaliah after +the destruction of the first Temple. Next, in the following +two chapters, Krochmal finds the second triple movement +in the interval between the prophets of the exile +in Babylon and the death of Bar-Cochba about 135 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi> +The author also hints at the existence of a third such +epoch beginning with R. Judah the Patriarch, the compiler +of the Mishnah (220 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi>),<note place='foot'>See <ref target='Pg017'>above</ref>, note 12 to the Chassidim. [Transcriber's Note: Footnote on the Tannaim and Amoraim.]</note> and ending with the +expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492). This idea is +not further developed by Krochmal; but it would be +interesting to ask, by the way, in which phase of the +three-fold process—rise, maturity, or decay—are we at +the present time? +</p> + +<pb n='064'/><anchor id='Pg064'/> + +<p> +The next five chapters may be regarded as an excursus +on the preceding two. Krochmal discusses the Biblical +books which belong to the period of the Exile and of the +Second Temple, such as the Second Isaiah, certain Exilic +and Maccabean psalms, Ecclesiastes, certain Apocryphal +books, and the work of the Men of the Great Synagogue. +They contain, again, researches on the various sects, such +as the Assideans, Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, the Gnostics, +the Cabbalists and their relation to the latter, and +the Minim,<note place='foot'>מינים, <q>Heretics,</q> applied to the first Christians, and more so to +certain Gnostic sects.</note> who are mentioned in the Talmud. In another +part of this excursus Krochmal describes the systems +of the Alexandrian Jewish philosophers, such as +Philo and Aristobulus, and discusses their relation to +certain theosophic ideas in various Midrash-collections. +The author also attempts to prove the necessity of Tradition; +he shows its first traces in the Bible, and explains +the term Sopherim (scribes); and he points out the +meaning of the phrase <q>A law unto Moses from Mount +Sinai,</q><note place='foot'>הלכה למשה מפיני, see below, p. <ref target='Pg186'>186</ref> and <hi rend='italic'>note</hi>. [Transcriber's Note: The footnote on <q>laws given to Moses on Sinai.</q>]</note> and similar expressions. He gives a summary +of the development of the Halachah in its different stages, +the criteria by which the older Halachahs may be discriminated; +he seeks to arrive at the origin of the Mishnah, +and deals with various cognate topics. In another +discourse Krochmal endeavours to explain the term Agadah,<note place='foot'>הגדה or אגדה—הלכה, <q>rule,</q> <q>method,</q>—<q>narrative.</q> The former +deals with the legal side of the Scriptures, and is thus more of a +juristic nature; the latter represents a collection of homilies having +mostly as their text the historical and exhortatory parts of the Bible, +and is thus more of an edifying character. The theological side of +Judaism, as well as its ideal aspirations and Messianic hopes, find their +expression in the Agadah. The two words are also used as adjectives, +as <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Halachic</foreign> (legalistic, juristic, and obligatory) and <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Agadic</foreign> (poetic, edifying, +and hyperbolic).</note> +its origin and development; the different kinds of +Agadah and their relative value. Chapter XVI. contains +the Prolegomena to a philosophy of the Jewish religion in +accordance with the principles laid down by Hegel. In +the seventeenth and last chapter the author gives a general +introduction to the Philosophy of Ibn Ezra, and quotes +illustrative extracts. +</p> + +<p> +The space of an essay does not permit me to give +<pb n='065'/><anchor id='Pg065'/> +further details of Krochmal's book. I am conscious that +the preceding outline is deficient in quality as well as in +quantity. Yet, even from this meagre abstract, the reader +will gather that Krochmal reviews many of the great +problems which concern religion in general and Judaism +in particular. Zunz somewhere remarks that Krochmal +was inspired in his work by the study of Hegel, just as +Maimonides had been by the study of Aristotle. I give +this statement solely on the authority of Zunz, as I myself +have never made a study of the works of the German +philosopher, and am therefore unable to express an opinion +on the question. +</p> + +<p> +Now there is no doubt that Krochmal's book is not +without defects. The materials are not always well +arranged, there is at times a want of proportion in the +length at which the various points are treated, and the +author occasionally seems to wander from the subject +in hand. But we shall be better able to account for these +and similar technical faults, as well as to appreciate the +real value of the author's work, if we consider the following +fact. Nachman Krochmal's object was to elaborate +a philosophy of Jewish history, to trace the leading +ideas that ran through it, and the ultimate causes that led +to its various phases. But, unfortunately, at the time +when Krochmal began to write, there did not exist a +Jewish history at all. The labours of Zunz were conducted +in an altogether different field. Not to mention +the names of the younger scholars then unborn, Graetz, +the author of the <hi rend='italic'>History of the Jews</hi>, and Weiss, who +wrote a history of the Tradition, were still studying at +college. Frankel's masterly essays on the Essenes and +the Septuagint, his well-known work, <hi rend='italic'>Introduction to the +<pb n='066'/><anchor id='Pg066'/> +Mishnah</hi>, and the results of Geiger's most interesting and +suggestive researches on the older and later Halachah, +and on the Pharisees and Sadducees, had yet to be written. +Rapoport's great treatise, <hi rend='italic'>Erech Millin</hi>,<note place='foot'>ערך מלין, a sort of encyclopædia to the Talmud, of which only +the first letter appeared.</note> had not been +published at that time, and Steinschneider was not yet +working at his historical sketch of Jewish literature. It +was not till six years after Krochmal's death (viz. in 1846) +that Landauer's memorable studies on the Jewish mystics +were given to the world. Even the bad books of Julius +Fürst, such as his <hi rend='italic'>History of the Canon</hi>, and his still worse +<hi rend='italic'>History of Jewish Literature in Babylon</hi>, were then unwritten. +Neither the most charlatanic <hi rend='italic'>History of the +Opinions and Teachings of All the Jewish Sects</hi>, by Peter +Beer, the universal provider, nor Jost's most honest but +narrow-minded and superficial <hi rend='italic'>History of the Jews</hi>, was +of much use to Krochmal. Jost's more scholarly works +were not published till long afterwards. Krochmal was +thus without the guidance of those authorities to which +we are now accustomed to turn for information. Excepting +the aid that he derived from the writings of Azariah +de Rossi,<note place='foot'>Menahem Azariah de Rossi, an Italian Jew who flourished in +the first half of the sixteenth century. His great work, מאור עינים, <hi rend='italic'>Meor +Enayim</hi>, <q>Light of the Eyes,</q> is the first attempt made by a Jew to +submit the statements of the Talmud to a critical examination, and to +question the value of tradition in its historical records.</note> Krochmal was therefore compelled to prosecute +all the necessary research for himself; he had to +establish the facts of Jewish history as well as to philosophise +upon them. Hence, in the very midst of his philosophical +analysis, the author was bound to introduce +digressions on historical subjects, in order to justify as +well as to form the basis of that analysis. He had to +survey the ground and to collect the materials, besides +constructing the plan of the edifice and working at its +erection. Nevertheless, it is precisely for these historical +excursuses that Krochmal has deserved the gratitude of +posterity. He it was who taught Jewish scholars how to +<pb n='067'/><anchor id='Pg067'/> +submit the ancient Rabbinic records to the test of criticism +and the way in which they might be utilised for the +purpose of historical studies; he it was who enabled them +to trace the genesis of the tradition, and to watch the +inner germination of that vast organism. He even indicated +to them how they might continue to connect their +own lives with it, how they might derive nourishment from +it, and in their turn further its growth. I may assert with +the utmost confidence that there is scarcely a single page +in Krochmal's book that did not afterwards give birth +to some essay or monograph or even elaborate treatise, +though their authors were not always very careful about +mentioning the source of their inspiration. Thus Krochmal +justly deserves the honourable title assigned to him +by one of our greatest historians, who terms him the +Father of Jewish Science. +</p> + +<p> +So far, I have been speaking of the importance of +Krochmal's treatise and of its significance in the region +of Jewish Science. It is necessary, I think, to add a +few words with regard to the general tendency of his +whole work. I have already alluded to the characteristic +modesty of Krochmal; I have pointed out how little he +cared for publicity, how dearly he loved retirement. The +question accordingly presents itself—What can have +been the real and sufficient causes that prevailed upon +him to yield to the solicitations of his friends and to write +upon what the Talmud would term <q>matters standing on +the heights of the world</q>? +</p> + +<p> +The answer to this question may, I think, be found in +the title of Krochmal's book, the <hi rend='italic'>Guide of the Perplexed +of the Time</hi>. It is indeed a rather unusual coincidence +for the title of a Hebrew book to have any connection +<pb n='068'/><anchor id='Pg068'/> +with its subject matter. The same merit is possessed +by the <hi rend='italic'>Guide of the Perplexed</hi> of Maimonides, the title +of which undoubtedly suggested that of Krochmal's +treatise. There is, however, one little addition in +Krochmal's title that contains a most important lesson +for us. I mean the words <q>of the Time.</q> By these +words Krochmal reminds us that, great as are the merits +of the immortal work of Maimonides—and it would be +difficult to exaggerate its value and importance—still it +will no longer suffice for us. For, as Krochmal himself +remarks, every time has its own perplexities, and therefore +needs its own guide. In order to show that these +words are no idle phrase, I shall endeavour to illustrate +them by one example at least. In the <hi rend='italic'>Guide of the +Perplexed</hi> of Maimonides, Part II., Chapter XXVI., +occurs a passage which runs thus: <q>In the famous +chapters known as the <q>Chapters of R. Eliezer the +Great,</q><note place='foot'>פרקי דריי אליעזר.</note> I find R. Eliezer the Great saying something +more extraordinary than I have ever seen in the utterances +of any believer in the Law of Moses. I refer +to the following passage: <q>Whence were the heavens +created? He (God) took part of the light of His garment, +He stretched it like a cloth, and thus the heavens +were extending continually, as it is said (Ps. civ. 2): +He covereth Himself with light as with a garment, He +stretcheth the heavens like a curtain. Whence was +the earth created? He took of the snow under the +throne of glory, and threw it; according to the words +(in Job xxxvii. 6), He said to the snow be thou earth.</q> +These are the words given there (in the <q>Chapters of +R. Eliezer the Great</q>), and I, in my surprise, ask, What +was the belief of this sage? Did he think it impossible +<pb n='069'/><anchor id='Pg069'/> +that something be produced from nothing?... If the +terms <q>the light of His garment</q> and the <q>snow of +glory</q> mean something eternal (as matter) they <emph>must</emph> +be rejected.... In short, it is a passage that greatly +confuses the notions of all intelligent and religious persons. +I am unable to explain it sufficiently.</q> +</p> + +<p> +So far Maimonides; and we are quite able to conceive +his perplexity in dealing with this passage. On one side, +Maimonides himself believed that Judaism is a dogmatic +religion, and that one of its dogmas is the principle of +<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Creatio ex nihilo</foreign>. On the other side, he found R. Eliezer—one +of the greatest authorities of the early part of the +second century—apparently denying this dogma. The +perplexity was indeed a serious one for Maimonides, but +we find no difficulty whatever in extricating ourselves from +it. In the first place, there are many who cling to the +theory which holds that there are no dogmas in Judaism +at all, and to them Maimonides' difficulty would have no +relevance. Secondly, those who believe that there are +dogmas in Judaism may regard such expressions as those +quoted above from the <q>Chapters of R. Eliezer</q> in the +light of mere poetical metaphors, or may call them fairy +tales or legends, or include them in some other section of +literature, known under the name of folklore, which is an +excuse for every absurdity, the fortunate authors of which +are responsible neither to philosophy nor to religion, and +sometimes not even to common sense. But there is a +third consideration that affords the best solution of the +difficulty. The <q>Chapters of R. Eliezer,</q> despite their +pompous title, are not the work of R. Eliezer at all. +Criticism has taught us to attach no importance to the +heading of a chapter or the title-page of a book. We are +<pb n='070'/><anchor id='Pg070'/> +now in a position to judge from the tone, style, and contents +of the work, that the <q>Chapters of R. Eliezer</q> is a +later compilation of the eighth century, and that its author +could not have been R. Eliezer, the teacher of R. Akiba, +in the second century. In this way, these particular difficulties +of Maimonides solve themselves for us in a sufficiently +easy way. But it is just these solutions that open +up new difficulties and perplexities which did not exist for +the generation of the great Spanish philosopher. Suppose +that we accept the view that Judaism is not a dogmatic +religion. But how are we to conceive a religion +without dogmas, or, if you prefer the expression, without +principles or bases of belief? Or is Judaism, as some +platitudinarians think, a mere national institute with some +useful dietary and sanitary laws, but with nothing that +makes for the sanctification of man, with no guidance to +offer us in the great problems of our life, and in the greatest +anxieties of the human soul? On the other hand, +granted that we may consider certain things as mere legend, +how are we to discriminate between these and the +things that must be taken seriously? Does it depend on +the nature of the subject, or on the position of the book in +the canon of Hebrew literature? In the thirteenth century +symbolical meanings were given to certain difficult +passages in the Talmud; but the process was carried +further, and the Biblical narratives were subjected by philosophers +to a like treatment. R. Solomon ben Adereth +and his colleagues (in the thirteenth century) settled the +question by indiscriminately excommunicating all young +men who should study philosophy; but this method is +scarcely one to be commended for present use. +</p> + +<p> +The third, or the philological solution of difficulties, +<pb n='071'/><anchor id='Pg071'/> +leads to fresh troubles. A hundred years ago men were +in that happy state of mind in which they knew everything. +They knew the exact author and date of every +Psalm; they knew the author of each and every ancient +Midrash; they knew the originator of every law and ordinance; +they even knew the writer of the Zohar, and of +other mystical books. There were certainly a few who +did not know all these things, among them Ibn Ezra, +Azariah de Rossi, and the two Delmedigos.<note place='foot'>Italian Jews of the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. The +one, Elijah Delmedigo, wrote an Examination of Religion, whilst his +grandson, Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, wrote various pamphlets of a +deeply sceptical character. See Geiger's Introduction to his <hi rend='italic'>Melo +Chofnayim</hi> (Berlin, 1840).</note> But they were +merely a miserable historical blunder, men who had no +right to be born when they were. But the philological +method has swept away all this knowingness as by a +deluge from heaven, and men find that they know nothing. +True, there linger on a few who still know all these things, +but it is they who are now the anachronism. These, and +such as these, are the perplexities of our time, to the resolution +of which the labours of Krochmal and of a noble +band of scholars have been directed in this century. +</p> + +<p> +Have these perplexities, we must ask, and these puzzles +been solved by Krochmal and his coadjutors? We +may with all certainty answer: They have only pointed out +the way, it is for ourselves to proceed by it. It would be +unreasonable to expect that difficulties which have been +accumulating during the course of thousands of years +should be solved by the men of one or two generations. +Again, we live in a century in which excavations and discoveries +in other fields have added at once to our knowledge +and to our uncertainty. Each country, we might +almost say, over and above the perplexities that trouble +mankind in general, has its own special difficulties which +are entirely unknown to those who dwell outside its +frontiers. I am not disposed to discuss these difficulties +<pb n='072'/><anchor id='Pg072'/> +in this place. Nor have I the ability to do so. But of +two things I am perfectly certain: the first is, that for a +solution of these difficulties which, in the language of +Maimonides, <q>confuse the notions of all intelligent and +religious persons,</q> the only hope is in true knowledge and +not in ignorance; and secondly, this knowledge can only +be obtained by a combination of the utmost reverence for +religion and the deepest devotion to truth. The poor old +Rabbis who have been so foully decried by their calumniators +as hedonists, and so foolishly praised by sorry apologists +as materialistic optimists, strongly insisted that when +a man woos the truth, his suit can only prosper if he is +influenced by the purest and most single-hearted affection. +<q>A man,</q> says the Siphré, <q>must not say: <q>I will study +the Torah in order that I may attain the title of Rabbi or +savant, or that I may become rich by it, or that I may be +rewarded for it in the world to come.</q> He must study for +love's sake.</q> Such a knowledge, which is free from all +taint of worldliness and of other-worldliness, a knowledge +sought simply and solely for pure love of God, who is +Truth,—such a knowledge is in the highest sense a saving +knowledge, and Nachman Krochmal was in possession +of it. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='073'/><anchor id='Pg073'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>III. Rabbi Elijah Wilna, Gaon</head> + +<p> +The three great stars of German literature are usually +characterised by German scholars in the following way: +Goethe they say represents the beautiful, Schiller the +ideal, while Lessing represents truth. I think that we +may apply the same characteristics to the three great +luminaries, with which the Jewish middle ages ceased—for +as Zunz somewhere remarked, the Jewish middle ages +lasted till the beginning of the eighteenth century—and +the modern age of Judaism opened. I am thinking of +Mendelssohn in Germany, Israel Baalshem, the founder of +the sect of the Chassidim in Podolia, and Elijah Wilna, or +as he is more frequently called, the Gaon,<note place='foot'>גאון, <q>The Great One.</q> The authorities of the Babylonian +schools after the sixth century were also called the Gaonim (גאונים), +<q>[their] Eminences.</q> The title was also given afterwards to great +Rabbis distinguished for their learning.</note> the Great One, +in Lithuania. +</p> + +<p> +As to Mendelssohn, enough, and perhaps more than +enough, has already been written and spoken about his +merits in awakening the sense for the beautiful and the +harmonious which was almost entirely dormant among the +Jews of his age. In regard to the second, namely, Israel +Baalshem, I have only to refer the reader to the first essay +in this volume. The subject of the present essay will be +R. Elijah Wilna, who, among the Jews, as Lessing among +the Germans, represented truth, both by his life and by +his literary activity. +</p> + +<pb n='074'/><anchor id='Pg074'/> + +<p> +I say that the Gaon represented truth, but these words +must be taken <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>cum grano salis</foreign>. For I do not mean at all to +say that he was in possession of the whole truth, still less +in <emph>exclusive</emph> possession of it. It is true as we shall learn +in the course of this essay, that the Gaon was a genius of +the first order. But there are matters of truth, the obtaining +of which cannot be accomplished by genius alone. +R. Elijah Wilna did not know any other language than +Hebrew. Truths, therefore, which are only to be reached +through the medium of other languages, remained a secret +to him. Again, records of ancient times which are buried +in the shelves of remote libraries or under the ruins of +past civilisations are not always a matter of intuition. +Even the most gifted of men have to wait patiently till +these are brought to light by the aid of spade and shovel, +or the pen of some obscure copyist. But R. Elijah lived +at a time when excavation had as yet done very little for +Semitic studies, and when a Jew scarcely got admittance +into the great libraries of Europe. Thus much truth +which we get now in a very easy way was beyond this +seer's eye. +</p> + +<p> +But even if all the libraries on earth had been at his disposal, +even if he had read all the cuneiform writings which +ornament the British Museum, and had deciphered all the +Hieroglyphics which the Louvre possesses, even in that +case we should not be justified in terming him a representative +of the truth, without qualifying our words. +</p> + +<p> +<q>Truth,</q> said the old Rabbis, <q>is the Seal of the Holy +One, praised be He.</q> But Heaven has no Lord Chancellor. +Neither men nor angels are trusted with the great +Seal. They are only allowed to catch a glimpse of it, or +rather to long after this glimpse. However, even the +<pb n='075'/><anchor id='Pg075'/> +longing and effort for this glimpse will bring man into +communion with God, and make his life divine. And the +life of the Gaon was, as we shall see, one long effort and +unceasing longing after the truth. +</p> + +<p> +Again, if I say that the Gaon represented truth, you +must not think that he lacked the two other qualities. A +life entirely devoted to such a great cause as that of seeking +the truth is, <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>ipso facto</foreign>, ideal and harmonious. It is +only in his influence on Judaism—more particularly on +the Jews in the North of Europe—that this feature in his +life becomes more prominent than his other admirable +qualities. +</p> + +<p> +In what this truth consisted, how the Gaon arrived at it, +and by what means he conveyed it to others, we shall see +in the course of this essay. +</p> + +<p> +R. Elijah was born at Wilna in the year 1720. His +father, Solomon Wilna, is called by his biographers the +great Rabbi Solomon, and is said to have been the descendant +of R. Moses Rivkas, the author of a learned +work, containing notes to the Code of the Law by R. +Joseph Caro.<note place='foot'>R. Joseph Caro (1488-1575) lived in Safed. The title of his +code is שלחן ערוך, <hi rend='italic'>Prepared Table</hi>. This is a code of the Oral Law +compiled from the Rabbinic literature.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Having quoted the biographers, I must point out that +there are only two biographies of the Gaon: the one by +Finn, in his book <hi rend='italic'>Faithful City</hi>,<note place='foot'>קדיה נאמנה, containing an account of the Jewish worthies of that +city.</note> on the celebrities of +Wilna, the other by Nachman of Horodna, in his book +<hi rend='italic'>Ascension of Elijah</hi>.<note place='foot'>עלית אלירו.</note> The former is a very honest account +of the Gaon's life, but a little too short. The latter is too +long, or rather too much intermixed with that sort of +absurd legend, the authors of which are incapable of marking +the line which separates the monster from the hero. +</p> + +<p> +Even in the region of imagination we must not for a +moment forget the good advice given to us by one of our +<pb n='076'/><anchor id='Pg076'/> +greatest scholars who had to deal with a kindred subject: +<q>He,</q> says this scholar, <q>who banishes the thought of +higher and lower from his study, degrades it into a mere +means of gratifying his curiosity, and disqualifies it for the +lofty task which it is called upon to perform for modern +society.</q> We shall thus cling to the higher and stop at +the hero. +</p> + +<p> +Our hero was the first-born of five brothers. They +were all famous men in their little world. According to +the tradition in Wilna, Elijah was a lovely child, with +beautiful eyes, and goodly to look at, or as it is expressed +in another place, <q>as beautiful as an angel!</q> The tradition, +or rather the legend, relates that as a child of six +years he was already the pupil of R. Moses Margalith, the +famous author of a commentary on the Talmud of Jerusalem. +At the age of seven years he is said to have already +perplexed the Chief Rabbi of his native town by his controversial +skill in Talmudical subjects. At the early age +of nine he was acquainted with the contents of the Bible, +the Mishnah, the Talmud and its ancient commentaries; +and even the Cabbalistic works of R. Isaac Loria were no +secret to the youthful scholar.<note place='foot'>A famous mystic of the sixteenth century, from Safed, who was +the more admired the less his pupils understood him.</note> At the age of twelve years +he is said to have acquired the seven liberal arts, and to +have puzzled the scholars of Wilna by his astronomical +knowledge. At thirteen, when according to Jewish law he +attained his majority, he was already the accomplished or +<q>the great one</q> (Gaon); so far tradition. I am afraid that +tradition is here, against all experience, too exact in its +dates. But we may learn from it that the child Elijah +showed many signs of the future Gaon, and was therefore +considered as the prodigy of his age. Again it is likewise +pretty certain that no man could boast of having been the +<pb n='077'/><anchor id='Pg077'/> +master of Elijah. He was not the product of any school, +nor was he biassed by the many prejudices of his time. +He was allowed to walk his own way in his struggle after +truth. +</p> + +<p> +It is rather an unfortunate thing that history is so much +made up of parallels and contrasts that the historian or +even the biographer cannot possibly point out the greatness +of some men without touching, however slightly, on +the smallness of others. It is only natural that every +strong shining object should push the minor lights of its +surroundings into the background and darken them. +Thus, when we are speaking of the superiority of the +Gaon, we cannot escape hinting at least at the shortcomings +of his contemporaries, as well as of his predecessors. +</p> + +<p> +To indicate briefly in what this superiority consisted, I +will premise here a few words from a <foreign rend='italic'>Responsum</foreign> by one +of his great predecessors, the Gaon Rabbi Hai.<note place='foot'>Hai was the last of the authorities called Gaon. With his death +(1038) the schools of Babylon fell into decay and soon disappeared.</note> Consulted +by a student as to the meaning of certain mystical +passages in the tractate <hi rend='italic'>Chagigah</hi>,<note place='foot'>חגיגה, treating of the voluntary offerings brought by the pilgrims +to Jerusalem.</note> Rabbi Hai, in warning +his correspondent not to expect from him a long philosophical +dissertation, writes as follows: <q>Know that it never +was our business to palliate matters and explain them in a +way of which the author never could have thought. This +is fashionable with other people, but our method is to +explain the words of this or that authority in accordance +with his own meaning. We do not pledge ourselves that +this meaning is <q>right rule</q> in itself, for there <emph>do</emph> exist +statements made by the old authorities that cannot be accepted +as norm.</q> Thus far the words of the Gaon of the +tenth century, which speak volumes. The Gaon of the +eighteenth century followed the same course. All his +<pb n='078'/><anchor id='Pg078'/> +efforts were directed to this point; namely, to find out +the true meaning of the Mishnah, the true meaning of +the Gemara,<note place='foot'>גמרה, <q>Perfection or Supplementary Explanations.</q> By this is +understood the interpretation given to the Mishnah by the schools in +Palestine and Babylon. See <ref target='Pg017'>above</ref>, note 12 to the Chassidim. [Transcriber's Note: Footnote on the Tannaim and Amoraim.]</note> the true meaning of the Gaonim, the true +meaning of the great codifiers, and the true meaning of +the commentators on the ancient Rabbinical literature. +Whether this meaning would be acceptable to us mattered +very little to him. His only object was to understand +the words of his predecessors, and this he obtained, as +we shall soon see, by the best critical means. This was +the method of the Gaon; that of other scholars (at least +of the great majority) was dictated by entirely different +considerations. They would not suffer the idea that +the great man could be wrong at times. To them, all that +he said was <q>right rule.</q> Now suppose a great author +like Maimonides had overlooked an important passage in +the Talmud or any other statement by a great authority, +the alternative remaining to them was either to explain +away the passage of the Talmud or to give the words of +Maimonides a strange meaning. This led originally to +the famous method of the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Pilpul</foreign> (casuistry), a kind of +spiritual gymnastic, which R. Liva of Prague in the sixteenth +century, and many others condemned as most pernicious +to Judaism and leading to the decay of the study +of the Torah. +</p> + +<p> +Now it is beyond doubt that the method of the two +Gaonim is the only right one. But, in justice to the +casuistic school, which includes many a great name, it is +only right to remember that this impartiality towards acknowledged +authorities as maintained by our hero is not at +all such an easy matter as we imagine. We quote often +with great satisfaction the famous saying, <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Amicus Plato, +amicus Socrates, sed magis amica veritas</foreign>, <q>Plato is our +<pb n='079'/><anchor id='Pg079'/> +friend, so is Socrates, but Truth is, or rather ought to be, +our greatest friend.</q> This sounds very nicely, but let us +only realise what difficulties it involves. To be a friend of +Socrates or Plato means to know them, or in other words +to have a thorough knowledge of the writings of the one +and the recorded utterances of the other. But such a +knowledge can with most men only be obtained by devoting +one's <emph>whole</emph> life to the study of their works, so that +there is not left much time for new friendships. And +the few who are able to save a few years after long wanderings +with these Greek philosophers, seldom see the +necessity of new friendships. For what else did those +long courtships of Plato or Aristotle mean except that +those who conducted them thought that thereby they +would wed Truth? +</p> + +<p> +This impartiality is the more difficult when these friends +are invested with a kind of religious authority where +humility and submission are most important factors. The +history of Lanfranc, the predecessor of Anselm of Canterbury, +gives a striking example of what this submission +meant in the Middle Ages. One day, we are told, when +he was still an ordinary monk, he was reading at the +table and pronounced a word as it ought to be pronounced, +but not as seemed right to the person presiding, who bade +him say it differently; <q>as if he had said <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>docēre</foreign>, with the +middle syllable long, as is right, and the other had corrected +it into <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>docĕre</foreign>, with the middle short, which is +wrong; for that Prior was not a scholar. But the wise +man, knowing that he owed obedience rather to Christ +than to Donatus, the grammarian, gave up his pronunciation, +and said what he was wrongly told to say; for to +make a short syllable long, or a long one short, he knew +<pb n='080'/><anchor id='Pg080'/> +to be no deadly sin, but not to obey one set over him in +God's behalf was no light transgression.</q><note place='foot'>See Dean Church's <hi rend='italic'>St. Anselm</hi>, from which this story is taken.</note> +</p> + +<p> +But this admiration—and here we turn again to the +Gaon—must not prevent us from believing that Providence +is not confined to such ungrammatical Priors, and +that the men who are really working on behalf of God +are those who teach us to pronounce rightly, and to think +rightly, and to take matters as they are, not as we desire +them to be on account of our friends. +</p> + +<p> +As for the critical means to which I have alluded, the +Gaon himself said somewhere that simplicity is the best +criterion of truth, and this is the most characteristic feature +of all his literary career. The Gaon studied Hebrew +grammar in order to obtain a clear notion of the language +in which the Scriptures are written. He tried to attain +to the knowledge of the Bible by reading the Bible itself; +and was not satisfied to become acquainted with its contents +from the numerous quotations which are made from +it in Rabbinical literature. Again, he studied mathematics, +astronomy, and philosophy, as far as they could be +found in Hebrew books. Certainly the Gaon did not +study these subjects for their own sake, and they were +considered by him only as a means to the end, or as the +phrase goes, as the <q>hand-maidens</q> of Theology, the +queen of all sciences. But it may be looked upon as a +mark of great progress in an age when Queen Theology +had become rather sulky, continually finding fault with +her hand-maidens, and stigmatising every attention paid +to them as conducive to disloyalty. To these accusations +the Gaon answered that Queen Theology does not +study her own interests. Knowledge of all arts and +sciences, the Gaon maintained, is necessary for the real +<pb n='081'/><anchor id='Pg081'/> +understanding of the Torah which embraces the whole of +them. From his own writings it is evident that he himself +was familiar with Euclid, and his <hi rend='italic'>Ayil Meshulash</hi> +contains several original developments of Euclid. It was +at his suggestion that a certain Baruch of Sclow translated +Euclid into the Hebrew language. +</p> + +<p> +Another way which led the Gaon to the discovery of +many truths was his study of the pre-Talmudic literature, +and of the Jerusalem Talmud. By some accident or other +it came to pass that only the Babylonian Talmud was +recognised as a guide <emph>in the practices of religious life</emph>. +As the great teachers and their pupils cared more for +satisfying the religious wants of their flocks than for +theoretic researches, the consequence was that a most +important part of the ancient Rabbinic literature was +almost entirely neglected by them for many centuries. +And it was certainly no exaggeration, when R. Elijah +said that even the Gaonim and Maimonides, occupied as +they were with the practical part of the law, did not pay +sufficient attention to the Talmud of Jerusalem and the +Tosephta.<note place='foot'>תוספתה, <q>Addition</q> (to the Mishnah), but also containing only +the sayings and discussions of the period of the Tannaim.</note> The Gaon was no official head of any Jewish +community, and was but little troubled by decisions +of questions which concern daily life. He was thus in +a position to leave for a little while the Babylonian Talmud +and to become acquainted with the guides of the +guide. I refer to Siphra, Siphré, Mechilta, Tosephta, +the Seder Olam,<note place='foot'>סדר עולם, <q>Order of the World,</q> dealing with the Chronology of +the Bible, and dating from about the end of the second century.</note> the Minor Tractates,<note place='foot'>These <q>Minor Tractates</q> include, among others, treatises on +proselytes, on the laws concerning funerals, the writing of the Law, +and the like. Others are more of an edifying nature, treating of good +manners, conduct, etc.</note> and above all +the Talmud of Jerusalem, which, regarded from an historical +and critical point of view, is even of more importance +than its Babylonian twin-brother. But by this means +there came a new light upon the whole of ancient Rabbinic +literature. The words of the Torah, the Midrash +<pb n='082'/><anchor id='Pg082'/> +says, are poor in one place, but we shall find them rich +in another place. The Gaon by his acquaintance with +the <emph>whole</emph> of the Torah had no difficulty whatever in +discovering the rich places. If there was a difficult passage +in this or that Tractate, he showed, by giving a +reference to some other place, that it was wanting in +some words or lines. Obscure passages in the Mishnah +he tried to elucidate by parallel passages in the Tosephta. +The too complicated controversies of the Babylonian Talmud +he tried to explain by comparing them with the +more ancient and more simple Talmud of Jerusalem. +</p> + +<p> +There is little to be told of the Gaon's private affairs. +Even the date of his marriage with a certain Miss Anna +of Kaidon is not mentioned by his biographers. But it +may be taken for granted that, in accordance with the +custom in Poland, he married at a very early age, say +about eighteen years. It was also when a young man +that he travelled for some years through Poland and +Germany. It is rather difficult to say what his object +may have been in making these travels—for the Gaon +was not the man to travel for pleasure's sake. Perhaps +it was to become acquainted with the great Rabbis of +these countries. It is also possible, as others maintain, +that the Gaon considered the many privations which a +traveller had to endure a hundred and fifty years ago, +as an atonement for his imaginary sins. Indeed we find +in many ascetic books that travelling, or as they term it +<q>receiving upon oneself to be banished into the exile,</q><note place='foot'>פבלת נלות.</note> +is recommended as a very successful substitute for penance. +At least it seems that the coachmen whom the +Gaon employed on his journeys looked at it from this +point of view. One of them went so far in adding to +<pb n='083'/><anchor id='Pg083'/> +the privations of the Gaon as to run away with his carriage +when the Rabbi alighted from it in order to read +his prayers. But the reading of the Eighteen Benedictions<note place='foot'>שמונה עשרה, <q>Eighteen.</q> They are recited thrice a day, and +form the original germ of the prayers, from which a very rich liturgy +developed in the course of time.</note> +must not be interrupted excepting in the case of +danger; and the Gaon did not consider it very dangerous +to be left without money and without luggage. +</p> + +<p> +These travels ended in the year 1745. The Gaon left +Wilna again at a later date with the purpose of going to +Palestine and settling there. But he found so many obstacles +on his way that he was soon compelled to give up +his favourite plan and to return to his native town. It is +not known whether he left Wilna again. +</p> + +<p> +The position which the Gaon occupied in Wilna was, as +already hinted, that of a private man. He could never be +prevailed upon to accept the post of Rabbi or any other +office in a Jewish community. I am unable to give the +reason for his declining all the offers made to him in this +direction. But it may be suggested here that it was in +the time of the Gaon that there arose a bitter struggle +between the Rabbi and the Jewish wardens of his native +town, which ended in the abolition of the office of Rabbi. +The history of the struggle is the more irritating, as it +arose from the pettiest reasons imaginable. People actually +discovered that there was no light in the house of +the Rabbi after the middle of the night, which fact might +lead to the conclusion that he did not study later than +12 o'clock <hi rend='smallcaps'>p.m.</hi> What an idle man! And this idleness +was the less pardonable in the eyes of the community, as +the Rabbi's wife was so unfortunate as not to have been +polite enough to some Mrs. Warden. Under such circumstances +we must not wonder if the Gaon did not find it +very desirable to meddle with congregational affairs in an +<pb n='084'/><anchor id='Pg084'/> +official capacity. The relation of the Gaon to his contemporaries +resembles rather the position in the olden times +of a Tanna or Amora,<note place='foot'>The titles of the old authorities from 70 <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> to 500 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi> See +<ref target='Pg017'>above</ref>, note 12 to the Chassidim. [Transcriber's Note: Footnote on the Tannaim and Amoraim.]</note> who neither enjoyed the title of +Nasin or that of Ab Beth Din.<note place='foot'>אב בית דין, נשיא, <q>Prince,</q> or <q>Patriarch,</q> religious head, of the +Jews (not political), and <q>Father (or president) of the Court of +Justice.</q></note> Like R. Akiba, or Mar +Samuel, the Gaon became influential among his contemporaries +only by his teaching and his exemplary life. +</p> + +<p> +It must be said in praise of the Jews of Wilna that, notwithstanding +their petty behaviour towards their ecclesiastical +chief, they willingly submitted to the authority of the +Gaon (who was devoid of all official authority). They +revered him as a saint. To converse with the Gaon was +considered as a happy event in the life of a Jew in Wilna, +to be of any use to him as the greatest distinction a man +could attain on earth. But what is remarkable is the +readiness with which even scholars acknowledged the +authority of the Gaon. Scholars are usually more slow +in recognising greatness than simple mortals. Every +new luminary does not only outshine their minor lights +and thus hurt their personal vanity, but it threatens also +sometimes to obscure certain traditions which they wish to +keep prominently in view. But the literary genius of the +Gaon was too great to be opposed with success, and his +piety and devotion to religion far above suspicion. Thus +the Gaon was very soon recognised by his contemporaries +as their master and guide; not only in literary questions, +but also in matters of belief and conduct. +</p> + +<p> +It would lead me too far to name here all the Gaon's +disciples. It seems as if all the great scholars in his country +considered themselves to be more or less his pupils. +The Gaon used to give in the Beth Hammidrash, which he +founded, public lectures on various subjects, and the students +who attended these lectures also claimed the honour +<pb n='085'/><anchor id='Pg085'/> +of being called his pupils. I shall mention here only his +greatest disciple, R. Chayim Walosin, who, after the Gaon, +influenced his countrymen more than any other scholar of +that time. This R. Chayim also did not occupy any official +post among his brethren. He was a cloth manufacturer +by profession, and was very prosperous in his business. +But it did not prevent him from being devoted to Hebrew +literature, and he enjoyed a wide-spread fame as a great +scholar. But as soon as the fame of the Gaon reached +him, he left cloth manufactory and scholarship behind, +and went to Wilna to <q>learn Torah</q> from the mouth of +the great master. It must be noticed that even the giving +up of his claim to scholarship was no little sacrifice. +All our learning, said some scholar in Wilna, disappeared +as soon as we crossed the threshold of the Gaon's house. +He made every disciple who came into close contact with +him begin at the beginning. He taught them Hebrew +grammar, Bible, Mishnah, and many other subjects, which +were, as already mentioned, very often neglected by the +Talmudists of that time. R. Chayim had also to go +through all this course. Some would have considered such +treatment a degradation. R. Chayim, however, became +the more attached to his master for it. +</p> + +<p> +In such a way the life of the Gaon was spent, studying +by himself or teaching his pupils. It must be understood +that to learn Torah meant for the Gaon more than mere +brain work for the purpose of gaining knowledge. To +him it was a kind of service to God. Contemporaries who +watched him when he was studying the Torah observed +that the effect wrought on the personality of the Gaon was +the same as when he was praying. With every word his +countenance flushed with joy; with every line he was gaining +<pb n='086'/><anchor id='Pg086'/> +strength for proceeding further. Only by looking at +matters from this point of view shall we be able to understand +the devotion and the love of the Gaon for study. +</p> + +<p> +There has been, no doubt, among the Russian Jews a +strong tendency to exaggerate the intellectual qualities of +the Gaon. But one can readily excuse such a tendency. +He was gifted by nature with such a wonderful memory +that, having read a book once, he was able to recite it +by heart for the rest of his life. Not less admirable +was his sure grasp. The most complicated controversies +in the Talmud, into which other scholars would require +whole days and weeks to find their way, the Gaon was +able to read by a glance at the pages. Already as a +boy he is said to have gone through in a single night +the tractates <hi rend='italic'>Zebachim</hi> and <hi rend='italic'>Menachoth</hi>,<note place='foot'>מנחות, זבחים, <q>Sacrifices,</q> <q>Offerings.</q> They treat of the laws +relating to sacrifices and meal-offerings.</note> containing not +less than two hundred and thirty pages, the contents of +which are sometimes so difficult as to make even an aged +scholar despair of understanding them. Again, he possessed +so much common-sense that all the intellectual +tricks of the casuistic schools did not exist for him. And +nevertheless his biographers tell us that he was so much +occupied by his studies, that he could not spare more +than one hour and a half for sleep out of twenty-four +hours. This is, no doubt, an exaggeration. But let us +say five hours a day. He had not time to take his meals +regularly. He used also, according to tradition, to repeat +every chapter in the Bible, every passage in the Talmud, +hundreds of times, even if they presented no difficulty +at all. But it was, as already said, a matter of love for +the Gaon; of love, not of passing affection. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing on earth could be more despicable to the Gaon +than amateurs who dabble with ancient literature. To +<pb n='087'/><anchor id='Pg087'/> +understand a thing clearly made him happy. He is said +to have spent more than six months on a single Mishnah +in the tractate <hi rend='italic'>Kilayim</hi>,<note place='foot'>בלאים, the laws relating to diverse seeds and garments of diverse +sorts. Cf. Deut. xxii. 9-11.</note> and felt himself the happiest +man when he succeeded in grasping its real meaning. +Not to be able to go into the depth of a subject, to miss +the truth embedded in a single passage, caused him the +most bitter grief. A story told by his pupil, R. Chayim, +may illustrate this fact. One Friday, narrates R. Chayim, +the servant of the Gaon came to him with the message +that his master wanted to see him as soon as possible. +R. Chayim went instantly. When he came into the house, +he found the Gaon lying in bed with a bandage on his +head and looking very ill. The wife of the Gaon also +reported to him that it was more than three days since +her husband had taken any food, and that he had hardly +enjoyed any sleep all this time. All this misery was +caused by reason of not having been able to understand +some difficult passages in the Talmud of Jerusalem. The +Gaon now asked his disciples to resume with him their +researches. Heaven, he said, might have mercy upon +them and open their eyes, for it is written, <q>Two are +better than one</q>: and lo! Heaven did have mercy on +them; they succeeded in getting the true meaning of +the passage. The Gaon recovered instantly, and master +and disciple had a very joyful Sabbath. +</p> + +<p> +He is also reported to have said on one occasion, he +would not like to have an angel for his teacher who would +reveal to him all the mysteries of the Torah. Such a condition +is only befitting the world to come, but in <emph>this</emph> world +only things which are acquired by hard labour and great +struggle are of any value. The German representative of +truth expressed the same thought in other words, which +<pb n='088'/><anchor id='Pg088'/> +are well worth repeating here: <q>Did the Almighty,</q> says +Lessing, <q>holding in His right hand Truth and in His left +Search after Truth, deign to tender me the one I might +prefer, in all humility and without hesitation I should +select Search after Truth.</q> +</p> + +<p> +This absorption of all his being in the study of the +Torah may also, I think, account for the fact that his +biographers have so little to say about the family of the +Gaon. Of his wife, we know only that she died in the +year 1783. Not much fuller is our knowledge about his +children. The biographers speak of them as of the family +<q>which the Lord has blessed,</q> referring to his two sons, +Rabbi Aryeh Leb and Rabbi Abraham, who were known +as great scholars and very pious men. The latter one is +best known by his edition of a collection of smaller Midrashim. +Mention is also made of the Gaon's sons-in-law, +especially one Rabbi Moses of Pinsk. But this is all, and +we are told nothing either about their lives or their callings. +From his famous letter which he sent to his family +when on his way to Palestine, we see that he was rather +what one may call a severe father. He bids his wife punish +his children most severely for swearing, scolding, and +speaking untruth. He also advises her to live as retired +a life as possible. Retirement he considers as a condition +<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>sine qua non</foreign> for a religious life. He even advises his +daughter to read her prayers at home, for in the synagogue +she may get envious of the finer dresses of her +friends, which is a most terrible sin. The only tender +feature in this letter is perhaps where he implores his +wife to be kind to his mother on account of her being a +widow, and it were a great sin to cause her the least annoyance. +From other passages we may gather that his +<pb n='089'/><anchor id='Pg089'/> +family had at times to suffer hunger and cold by the excessive +occupation of their father with the study of the +Torah and other religious works. In short, the Gaon was +a one-sided, severe ascetic, and would never have deserved +the title of a good father, a good husband, an amiable man +or any other appellation derived from those ordinary +<q>household decencies</q> which, as Macaulay informs us, +half of the tombstones claim for those who lie behind +them. But I am very much afraid that many a great man +who has made his mark in history could never claim these +household virtues as his own. I do not want to enter here +into the question whether Judaism be an ascetic religion +or not. But even those who think Judaism identical with +what is called <q>making the best of this life,</q> will not dispute +the fact that Jewish literature contains within it +enough ascetic elements to justify the conduct of our +greatest men whose lives were one long-continued self-denial +and privation. <q>The Torah,</q> says the Talmud, +<q>cannot be obtained unless a man is prepared to give his +life for it,</q> or as the Talmud puts it, in another place, <q>if +it be thy desire not to die, cease to live before thou diest.</q> +This was the principle by which the Gaon's life was actuated. +And as he did not spare himself, he could not spare +others. We could not expect him to act differently. The +Scriptures tell us: <q>Thou shalt love thy neighbour as +thyself.</q> But how is it with the man who never loved +himself, who never gave a thought to himself, who never +lived for himself, but only for what he considered to be +his duty and his mission from God on earth? Such a +man we cannot expect to spend his time on coaxing and +caressing us. As to the charge of one-sidedness at which +I have hinted, if the giving up of everything else for the +<pb n='090'/><anchor id='Pg090'/> +purpose of devoting oneself to a scholarly and saintly life +is one-sidedness, the Gaon must certainly bear this charge; +but in a world where there are so many on the other side, +we ought, I think, to be only too grateful to Providence for +sending us from time to time great and strong one-sided +men, who, by their counterbalancing influence, bring God's +spoilt world to a certain equilibrium again. To appease my +more tender readers, I should like only to say that there is +no occasion at all for pitying Mrs. Gaon. It would be a +miserable world indeed if a good digestion and stupidity +were, as a certain author maintained, the only conditions +of happiness. Saints are happy in their sufferings, and +noble souls find their happiness in sacrificing themselves +for these sufferers. +</p> + +<p> +Another severe feature in the life of the Gaon showed +itself in his dispute with the Chassidim. I regret not to +be able to enter here even into a brief account of the history +of this struggle. I shall only take leave to say that I +am afraid each party was right, the Gaon as well as the +Chassidim; the latter, in attacking the Rabbis of their +time, who mostly belonged to the casuistic schools, and in +their intellectual pursuits almost entirely neglected the +emotional side of religion; but none the less was the +Gaon right in opposing a system which, as I have shown +above, involved the danger of leading to a worship of +men. +</p> + +<p> +Excepting this incident, the Gaon never meddled with +public affairs. He lived in retirement, always occupied +with his own education and that of his disciples and +friends. It is most remarkable that, in spite of his hard +work and the many privations he had to endure, he +enjoyed good health almost all his life. He never consulted +<pb n='091'/><anchor id='Pg091'/> +a doctor. It was not until the year 1791, in the +seventieth year of his life, that he began to feel the +decline of his health. But he was not much interrupted +by the failure of his powers. As a means of recovery, he +esteemed very highly the conversation of the preacher +Jacob of Dubna, better known as the Dubna Maggid,<note place='foot'>מגיד, <q>Teller,</q> a sort of travelling preacher.</note> +whose parables and sallies of wit the Gaon used to enjoy +very much. On the eve of the Day of Atonement in the +year 1797, he fell very ill and gave his blessing to his +children. He died on the third day of the Feast of Tabernacles, +with the branch of the Lulab<note place='foot'>לולב, <q>palm branch.</q> Cf. Lev. xxiii. 40.</note> in his hands. +The Feast of Joy, relates a contemporary, was turned into +days of mourning. In all the streets of Wilna were heard +only lamenting and crying voices. The funeral orations +delivered on this occasion in Wilna, as well as in other +Jewish communities, would form a small library. His disciples +wept for their master, the people of Wilna for the +ornament of their native town, and the feeling of the Jews +in general was that <q>the Ark of God was taken away.</q> +</p> + +<p> +After the foregoing sketch, the reader will hardly +expect me to give an account of the Gaon's literary productions. +The results of so long a life and such powers +of mind devoted to one cause with such zeal and fervour, +would furnish by themselves the subject of a whole series +of essays. The tombstone set on his grave by his pious +admirers bears the inscription, <q>The Gaon gave heed and +sought and set in order</q>—that is to say, he wrote commentaries +or notes on—<q>the Bible, the Mishnah, both +Talmuds, the Siphré, Siphra, the Zohar, and many other +works.</q> Inscriptions on tombstones are proverbial for +exaggeration, and we all know the saying, <q>as mendacious +as an epitaph.</q> But a glance at the catalogue of the +<pb n='092'/><anchor id='Pg092'/> +British Museum under the heading of Elijah Wilna, will +show that this inscription makes a praiseworthy exception. +We will find that this list might be lengthened by many +other works of great importance for Jewish life and +thought. His commentary to the Code of R. Joseph +Caro, in which one will find that in many cases he knew +the sources of the religious customs and usages, put +together in this work, better than its compiler himself, +would have been sufficient to place him at the head of +Halachic scholarship, whilst his notes and textual emendations +to the Tosephta and Seder Olam, to the restoration +of which he contributed so much, would have sufficed to +establish his fame as a critic of the first order. And this +is the more astonishing when we consider that all this was +done without manuscripts or any other aid, and by mere +intuition. We cannot wonder that scholars who had +the opportunity of visiting great libraries and saw how +the emendations of the Gaon agreed sometimes with the +readings given in the best manuscripts exclaimed very +often: <q>Only by inspiration could he have found out +these secrets.</q> We have no need to go so far; we shall +simply say with the Talmud, <q>The powers of the real +sage surpass those of the prophet.</q> Nay, even had we +possessed only his <hi rend='italic'>Gleanings</hi>, which form a kind of <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>obiter +dicta</foreign> on various topics of Jewish literature, the Gaon +would have remained a model of clear thinking and real +ingenuity for all future generations. +</p> + +<p> +However, a real appreciation of the Gaon's greatness as +a scholar would only be possible either by a thorough +study of his works, to which I have alluded, or by giving +many specimens of them. The short space I am limited +to makes such an undertaking impossible. I shall therefore +<pb n='093'/><anchor id='Pg093'/> +use what remains to me to say a few words on the +salutary influence the Gaon had on his countrymen, the +Russian Jews. +</p> + +<p> +The Russian Jew is still a riddle to us. We know this +strange being only from the Reports of the Board of +Guardians or from bombastic phrases in public speeches; +for he has always been the victim of platform orators, +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>So over violent or over civil,</l> +<l>That every man with them is God or Devil.</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +From all, however, that I can gather from the best Jewish +writers in Russia, I can only judge that the Russian Jew, +when transplanted to a foreign soil, where he is cut off +from the past and uncertain of his future, is for the time +at least in a position in which his true character cannot be +truly estimated. His real life is to be sought in his own +country. There, amidst his friends and kinsmen who are +all animated by the same ideals, attached to the same traditions, +and proud of the same religious and charitable +institutions, everything is full of life and meaning to him. +Thus, a certain Russian writer addresses his younger colleagues +who find so much fault with the bygone world: +<q>Go and see how rich we always were in excellent men. +In every town and every village you would find scholars, +saints, and philanthropists. Their merits could sustain +worlds, and each of them was an ornament of Israel.</q> +And he proceeds to give dozens of names of such excellent +men, who are not all indeed known to us, but with +whom the Russian Jew connects many noble and pious +reminiscences of real greatness and heroic self-denial, and +of whom he is justly proud. +</p> + +<pb n='094'/><anchor id='Pg094'/> + +<p> +The focus, however, of all this spiritual life is the Yeshibah +(Talmudical College)<note place='foot'>ישיבה, <q>High School,</q> or <q>Academy,</q> in which the Rabbinic +literature is studied.</note> in Walosin. I hope that a +glance at its history and constitution will not be found +uninteresting. The intellectual originator of this institution +which bears the name <hi rend='italic'>Yeshibah Ets Chayim</hi> (Tree of +Life College),<note place='foot'>ישיבה עץ חיים.</note> was the Gaon himself. Being convinced +that the study of the Torah is the very life of Judaism, but +that this study must be conducted in a scientific, not in a +scholastic way, he bade his chief disciple, the R. Chayim +already mentioned, to found a college in which Rabbinical +literature should be taught according to his own true +method. It would seem that, as long as the Gaon was +alive, R. Chayim preferred to be a pupil rather than a +teacher. When, however, the Gaon died, R. Chayim did +not rest till he had carried out the command of his master, +and in the year 1803 the College was opened in Walosin. +The cloth manufacturer and disciple now became Rabbi +and master. He began on a small scale, teaching at first +only a few pupils. But even for the sustenance of a small +number he had not sufficient means, and his pious wife +sold her jewellery to help him in accomplishing his favourite +plan. This is the best refutation of the French proverb +<foreign lang='fr' rend='italic'>Avare comme une Rabbine</foreign>. The number, however, +increased daily, and before he died (1828), he was fortunate +enough to lecture to a hundred students. The number of +students in the year 1888 amounted to 400, and the Russian +Jews are thus right in asserting that they have the +greatest Talmudical College in the world. It is evident +that no private charity by a single man, however great, +could suffice to maintain such large numbers. Thus R. +Chayim was already compelled to appeal to the liberality +of his Russian brethren. The name of R. Chayim, and +<pb n='095'/><anchor id='Pg095'/> +the still greater name of his master, were recommendation +enough, and besides private offerings, many communities +promised large sums towards supporting the students in +Walosin. From time to time also messengers are sent out +by the committee to promote the interests of the Yeshibah. +The writers to whom I owe these data tell us that +these messengers travel to all parts of the world to collect +offerings for Walosin: so that it is a standing joke with +the students that the existence of the mythical river +Sambatyon<note place='foot'>סמבטיון, a mythical river which is supposed to stop its course on +Sabbath.</note> may be questioned after all, otherwise it +must long have been discovered by these messengers who +explore the whole world in their journeys. But it would +seem that this world is only a very small one. For the +whole income of the Yeshibah has never exceeded the +sum of about £1800. Of this a certain part is spent in +providing the salaries of the teaching staff and proctors, +and on the repairs of the building; whilst the rest is +distributed amongst the students. Considering that no +scholarship exceeds £13—it is only the forty immortals +of Walosin who receive such high stipends—considering +again that the great majority of the students belong to the +poorer classes and thus receive no remittance from their +parents, we may be sure that the words of the Talmud: +<q>This is the way to study the Torah; eat bread and salt, +drink water by measure, sleep on the earth, and live a +life of care,</q> are carried out by them literally. But it +would seem that the less they eat and the less they sleep, +the more they work. Indeed the industry and the enthusiasm +of these Bachurim (<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>alumni</foreign>)<note place='foot'>בחורים, sing. בחור, <q>Young man,</q> by which term the Jews usually +understand the <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>alumni</foreign> of their Talmudical schools.</note> in the study of the +Torah is almost unsurpassable. The official hours alone +extend from nine in the morning until ten in the evening, +while many of the students volunteer to continue their +<pb n='096'/><anchor id='Pg096'/> +studies till the middle of the night, or to begin the day at +three in the morning. +</p> + +<p> +As to the subject of these studies, it is confined, as may +be imagined, to the exploration of the old Rabbinic literature +in all its branches. But it would be a mistake to think +that the modern spirit has left Walosin quite untouched. +It would be impossible that among 400 thinking heads +there should not be a few who are interested in mathematics, +others again in philosophy or history, while yet others +would conjugate the irregular verbs of some classical language +when moving to and fro over their Talmud folios +and pretending to <q><emph>learn</emph>.</q> Indeed, almost all the writers +who demand that these subjects should be introduced as +obligatory into the programme of Walosin, belonged themselves +to this Yeshibah. And it is these writers who +betray the secret how secular knowledge is now invading +the precincts of Walosin, as well as of other Talmudical +Colleges in spite of all obstacles and prohibitions. In +conquering these difficulties seem to consist the pleasures +of life of many Bachurim at Walosin. Look only at that +undergraduate, how, after a heavy day's work he is standing +there in the street reading Buckle's <hi rend='italic'>History of Civilisation</hi> +in the moonlight! Poor man, he is not so romantic +as to prefer the moonlight to a cheerful, warm room, with +the more prosaic light of a candle, but he has got tired of +knocking at the door, for his landlady, to whom he has +neglected to pay rent for the last three terms, made up +her mind to let him freeze to-night. But still more cruel +to him is his fellow-sufferer, who is also wandering in the +streets with an overloaded brain and empty stomach; he +roughly shakes him out of his dreams by telling him that +Buckle is long ago antiquated, and that he had better +<pb n='097'/><anchor id='Pg097'/> +study the works of Herbert Spencer, who has spoken the +last word on every vital subject in the world. Still these +two starving and freezing representatives of English +thought in Walosin form only an exception. The general +favourites are the representatives of Jewish thought. +That such books as the <hi rend='italic'>Guide of the Perplexed</hi>, by Maimonides, +the Metaphysical Researches of Levi b. Gershom,<note place='foot'>Levi b. Gershom (1286-1344) is generally regarded as the +greatest successor of Maimonides. Besides his rationalistic commentaries +on the Bible, he wrote various treatises on metaphysics, mathematics, +astronomy, medicine, etc.</note> +and other philosophical works of the Spanish +school are read by the Walosin students it is needless to +say. These books now form a part of the Rabbinic literature, +and it would be almost unorthodox to suspect their +readers. But is worth noticing that even the productions +of the modern historico-critical school, such as the works +of Zunz, Frankel, Graetz, Weiss, are very popular with +the Bachurim, being much read and discussed by them. +</p> + +<p> +Thus Walosin deserves rightly to be considered as the +centre of Jewish thought in Russia, in which the spirit of +the Gaon is still working. +</p> + +<p> +I have very often, however, heard doubts expressed as +to the continuance of this spirit when, as it is to be hoped, +better times come for the Jews in Russia. Is it not to be +feared that liberty and emancipation will render untenable +ideas and notions which arose under entirely different circumstances? +There is no need of entertaining such fears. +Rabbi Jedaiah of Bedres<note place='foot'>בחינת עולם.</note> concludes his philosophical +work <hi rend='italic'>Examination of the World</hi>, with the following words: +<q>The conclusion of the whole matter is, go either to the +right, my heart, or go to the left, but believe all that R. +Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides) has believed, the last of +the Gaonim by time, but the first in rank.</q> About five +hundred years have passed away since these lines were +written. Time, as we have seen, has brought another +<pb n='098'/><anchor id='Pg098'/> +Gaon, and probably Time will favour us in future with +still another. But times have also altered. The rebellious +hearts of a liberal age are not likely to obey always +the command, <q>believe all that the Gaon said.</q> But the +heart of man will in all ages retain idealism enough to +love and revere the greatest of men and to follow what +was best in them. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='099'/><anchor id='Pg099'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>IV. Nachmanides<note place='foot'>In Steinschneider's <hi rend='italic'>Catalogue of the Bodleian Library</hi>, under the +name of Moses Nachmanides, pp. 1947-1965, all the works which are +ascribed to this author are put together, and also discussed as to their +authenticity. There are only to be added the new edition of the +<hi rend='italic'>Derasha</hi> by Jellinek (Vienna, 1872), in which the variants from +Schorr's MS. (החלוץ, viii. 162) are already incorporated; a new edition +of the זיכות, and the commentary to Is. lii.-liii. by Steinschneider +(Berlin, 1860); a <hi rend='italic'>Sermon</hi> for the New Year, ed. by H. Berliner (<hi rend='italic'>Libanon</hi>, +v. 564); and another Sermon at a wedding (?), ed. by Schorr +(<hi rend='italic'>Hechalus</hi>, xii. 3). For the literature on Nachmanides, besides the +references given by Steinschneider, in his <hi rend='italic'>Catalogue</hi>, and the Addenda, +p. cxviii. (cf. also the pedigree in the <hi rend='italic'>Catalogue</hi> 2305), see also Graetz, +<hi rend='italic'>Geschichte</hi>, vii., pp. 112-143, and p. 147 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>; Michael, אור החיים, +No. 1125, and Weiss, דור דור ודערקיו, v. 4 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>; Perles' <hi rend='italic'>Monatsschrift</hi>, +1860, p. 175; Zomber, <hi rend='italic'>ibid.</hi> 421; and Z. Frankel, <hi rend='italic'>ibid.</hi> 1868, p. 449, +and <hi rend='italic'>The Jewish Quarterly Review</hi>, iv. 245 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi> For Nachmanides' +disputation we have to add M. Loeb in the <hi rend='italic'>Révue des Études Juives</hi>, +xv. 1 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>, and xviii. 52 (about Abner), and Dr. Neubauer's Essay on +Jewish Controversy in the <hi rend='italic'>Expositor</hi>, vol. vii. (third series), p. 98 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>, +with the references given there. See also his article on the Bahir and +the Zohar in <hi rend='italic'>The Jewish Quarterly Review</hi>, iv. 357. With regard to +Nachmanides' mystical system see the references to S. Sachs (whose +remarks are most suggestive), Krochmal, and Jellinek in Steinschneider, +col. 1949 and 1964, Perles' <hi rend='italic'>Monatsschrift</hi>, 1858, p. 83 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>, and +Steinschneider in the Heb. <hi rend='italic'>Bibliographie</hi>, i. 34. See also Professor +Kaufmann's <hi rend='italic'>Die Geschichte der Attributenlehre</hi>, and the references +given in the index under this name. The <hi rend='italic'>Novellæ</hi> by his son R. +Nachman, alluded to in the text, are in the University Library, Cambridge +(Add. 1187, 2). The פץ הנאולה is extant in the British Museum, +MS. Add. 26,894, and the passage quoted by De Rossi is to be found +on p. 163<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, but a few words are erased by the censor. As to the poem +given at the end of this paper, see Zunz, <hi rend='italic'>Synagogale Poesie</hi>, p. 478; +Landshut, <hi rend='italic'>Amude ha-Abodah</hi> <hi rend='italic'>s.v.</hi>, the references in Sachs' <hi rend='italic'>Religiöse +Poesie der Juden</hi>, and Luzzatto in the <hi rend='italic'>Ozar Nechmad</hi>, ii. 27. Compare +also Professor Cheyne's <hi rend='italic'>The Origin of the Psalter</hi>, p. 421.</note></head> + +<p> +R. Chayim Vital, in his <hi rend='italic'>Book of the Transmigrations of +Souls</hi>, gives the following bold characteristic of the two +great teachers of Judaism, Maimonides and Nachmanides. +Their souls both sprang forth from the head of Adam—it +is a favourite idea of the Cabbalists to evolve the whole +of ideal humanity from the archetype Adam—but the +former, Maimonides, had his genius placed on the left +curl of Adam, which is all judgment and severity, whilst +that of the latter, Nachmanides, had its place on the right +curl, which represents rather mercy and tenderness. +</p> + +<p> +I start from these words in order to avoid disappointment. +For Nachmanides was a great Talmudist, a great +Bible student, a great philosopher, a great controversialist, +and, perhaps, also a great physician; in one word, great +in every respect, possessed of all the culture of his age. +But, as I have already indicated by the passage quoted by +way of introduction, it is not of Nachmanides in any of +these excellent qualities that I wish to write here. For +these aspects of his life and mind I must refer the reader +to the works of Graetz, Weiss, Steinschneider, Perles, and +others. I shall mostly confine myself to those features +and peculiarities in his career and works which will illustrate +Nachmanides the tender and compassionate, the +<pb n='100'/><anchor id='Pg100'/> +Nachmanides who represented Judaism from the side of +emotion and feeling, as Maimonides did from the side of +reason and logic. +</p> + +<p> +R. Moses ben Nachman, or Bonastruc de Portas, as he +was called by his fellow-countrymen, or Nachmanides, as +he is commonly called now, was born in Gerona about the +year 1195. Gerona is a little town in the province of Catalonia +in Spain. But though in Spain, Gerona was not +distinguished for its philosophers or poets like Granada, +Barcelona, or Toledo. Situated as it was in the North of +Spain, Gerona was under the influence of Franco-Jewish +sympathies, and thus its boast lay in the great Talmudists +that it produced. I shall only mention the name of +R. Zerahiah Hallevi Gerundi—so-called after his native +place—whose strictures on the Code of R. Isaac Alfasi, +which he began as a youth of nineteen years, will always +remain a marvel of critical insight and independent research. +Nachmanides is supposed by some authors to +have been a descendant of R. Isaac ben Reuben of Barcelona, +whose hymns are still to be found in certain rituals. +The evidence for this is insufficient, but we know that he +was a cousin of R. Jonah Gerundi, not less famous for his +Talmudic learning than for his saintliness and piety. +Nachmanides thus belonged to the best Jewish families +of Gerona. Various great men are mentioned as his +teachers, but we have certainty only about two, namely +R. Judah ben Yakar, the commentator of the prayers, +and R. Meir ben Nathan of Trinquintaines. The mystic, +R. Ezra (or Azriel), is indeed alleged to have been his +instructor in the Cabbalah, and this is not impossible, as +he also was an inhabitant of Gerona; but it is more probable +that Nachmanides was initiated into the Cabbalah by +<pb n='101'/><anchor id='Pg101'/> +the R. Judah just mentioned, who also belonged to the +mystical school. +</p> + +<p> +Whoever his masters were, they must have been well +satisfied with their promising pupil, for he undertook, at +the age of fifteen, to write supplements to the Code of +R. Isaac Alfasi. Nor was it at a much later date that he +began to compose his work, <hi rend='italic'>The Wars of the Lord</hi>, in +which he defends this great codifier against the strictures +of R. Zerahiah, to which we have referred above. I shall +in the course of this essay have further occasion to speak +of this latter work; for the present we will follow the +career of its author. +</p> + +<p> +Concerning the private life of Nachmanides very little +has come down to us. We only know that he had a +family of sons and daughters. He was not spared the +greatest grief that can befall a father, for he lost a son; +it was on the day of the New Year.<note place='foot'>New Year's Day, on the first of Tishri. It is in autumn.</note> On the other hand, +it must have been a great source of joy to him when he +married his son Solomon to the daughter of R. Jonah, +whom he revered as a saint and a man of God. As a +token of the admiration in which he held his friend, the +following incident may be mentioned. It seems that it +was the custom in Spain to name the first child in a +family after his paternal grandfather; but Nachmanides +ceded his right in behalf of his friend, and thus his +daughter-in-law's first son was named Jonah. Another +son of Nachmanides whom we know of was Nachman, to +whom his father addressed his letters from Palestine, and +who also wrote Novellæ to the Talmud, still extant in MS. +But the later posterity of Nachmanides is better known +to fame. R. Levi ben Gershom was one of his descendants; +so was also R. Simeon Duran;<note place='foot'>A famous Rabbi of the fifteenth century, known by his various +casuistical and philosophical works.</note> whilst R. Jacob +<pb n='102'/><anchor id='Pg102'/> +Sasportas, in the eighteenth century,<note place='foot'>Chiefly known through his controversial writings against the +adherents of the pseudo-Messiah Shabbethai Tsebi. He was for some +time the Rabbi of the Portuguese congregation in London.</note> derived his pedigree +from Nachmanides in the eleventh generation. +</p> + +<p> +As to his calling, he was occupied as Rabbi and teacher, +first in Gerona and afterwards in Barcelona. But this +meant as much as if we should say of a man that he is +a philanthropist by profession, with the only difference +that the treasures of which Nachmanides disposed were +more of a spiritual kind. For his livelihood he probably +depended upon his medical practice. +</p> + +<p> +I need hardly say that the life of Nachmanides, <q>whose +words were held in Catalonia in almost as high authority +as the Scriptures,</q> was not without its great public events. +At least we know of two. +</p> + +<p> +The one was about the year 1232, on the occasion of +the great struggle about Maimonides' <hi rend='italic'>Guide of the Perplexed</hi>, +and the first book of his great Compendium of +the Law. The Maimonists looked upon these works +almost as a new revelation, whilst the Anti-Maimonists +condemned both as heretical, or at least conducive to +heresy.<note place='foot'>The main objections of the opponents of Maimonides were directed +against his rationalistic notions of Revelation, and his allegorising +interpretation of the Scriptures, which amounted in some places to +a denial of miracles. He was also suspected of having denied bodily +resurrection. A history of Jewish rationalism is still a desideratum. +I am certain that it would prove at least as interesting as Reuter's +<hi rend='italic'>Geschichte der religiösen Aufklärung im Mittelalter</hi> (Berlin, 1845-60).</note> It would be profitless to reproduce the details +of this sad affair. The motives may have been pure and +good, but the actions were decidedly bad. People denounced +each other, excommunicated each other, and did +not (from either side) spare even the dead from the most +bitter calumnies. Nachmanides stood between two fires. +The French Rabbis, from whom most of the Anti-Maimonists +were recruited, he held in very high esteem +and considered himself as their pupil. Some of the +leaders of this party were also his relatives. He, too, +had, as we shall see later on, a theory of his own about +God and the world little in agreement with that of Maimonides. +It is worth noting that Nachmanides objected +<pb n='103'/><anchor id='Pg103'/> +to calling Maimonides <q>our teacher Moses</q> (Rabbenu +Mosheh),<note place='foot'>רבינו משה.</note> thinking it improper to confer upon him the +title by which the Rabbis honoured the Master of the +Prophets. The very fact, however, that he had some +theory of the Universe shows that he had a problem to +solve, whilst the real French Rabbis were hardly troubled +by difficulties of a metaphysical character. Indeed, +Nachmanides pays them the rather doubtful compliment +that Maimonides' work was not intended for them, who +were barricaded by their faith and happy in their belief, +wanting no protection against the works of Aristotle and +Galen, by whose philosophy others might be led astray. +In other words, their strength lay in an ignorance of +Greek philosophy, to which the cultivated Jews of Spain +would not aspire. Nachmanides was also a great admirer +of Maimonides, whose virtues and great merits in the +service of Judaism he describes in his letter to the French +Rabbis. Thus, the only way left open to him was to play +the part of the conciliator. The course of this struggle +is fully described in every Jewish history. It is sufficient +to say that, in spite of his great authority, Nachmanides +was not successful in his effort to moderate the violence +of either party, and that the controversy was at last settled +through the harsh interference of outsiders who well-nigh +crushed Maimonists and Anti-Maimonists alike. +</p> + +<p> +The second public event in the life of Nachmanides +was his Disputation, held in Barcelona, at the Court and +in the presence of King Jayme I., of Aragon, in the year +1263. It was the usual story. A convert to Christianity, +named Pablo Christiani, who burned with zealous anxiety +to see his former co-religionists saved, after many vain +attempts in this direction, applied to the King of Aragon +<pb n='104'/><anchor id='Pg104'/> +to order Nachmanides to take part in a public disputation. +Pablo maintained that he could prove the justice of the +Messianic claims of Jesus from the Talmud and other +Rabbinic writings. If he could only succeed in convincing +the great Rabbi of Spain of the truth of his argument, +the bulk of the Jews was sure to follow. By the way, +it was the same Talmud which some twenty years previously +was, at the instance of another Jewish convert, +burned in Paris, for containing passages against Christianity. +Nachmanides had to conform with the command +of the king, and, on the 21st of July, 1263, was begun +the controversy, which lasted for four or five days. +</p> + +<p> +I do not think that there is in the whole domain of +literature less profitable reading than that of the controversies +between Jews and Christians. These public disputations +occasionally forced the Jews themselves to +review their position towards their own literature, and +led them to draw clearer distinctions between what they +regarded as religion and what as folklore. But beyond +this, the polemics between Jews and Christians were +barren of good results. If you have read one you have +read enough for all time. The same casuistry and the +same disregard of history turn up again and again. +Nervousness and humility are always on the side of the +Jews, who know that, whatever the result may be, the +end will be persecution; arrogance is always on the side +of their antagonists, who are supported by a band of +Knights of the Holy Cross, prepared to prove the soundness +of their cause at the point of their daggers. +</p> + +<p> +Besides, was there enough common ground between +Judaism and thirteenth century Christianity to have justified +the hope of a mutual understanding? The Old +<pb n='105'/><anchor id='Pg105'/> +Testament was almost forgotten in the Church. The +First Person in the Trinity was leading a sort of shadowy +existence in art, which could only be the more repulsive +to a Jew on that account. The largest part of Church +worship was monopolised by devotion to the Virgin +Mother, prayers to the saints, and kneeling before their +relics. And a Jew may well be pardoned if he did not +entertain higher views of this form of worship than Luther +and Knox did at a later period. It will thus not be +worth our while to dwell much on the matter of this +controversy, in which the essence of the real dispute is +scarcely touched. There are only two points in it which +are worth noticing. The first is that Nachmanides declared +the Agadoth<note place='foot'>אגדות, <q>Homilies.</q> See above, p. <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref> and <hi rend='italic'>note</hi>.</note> in the Talmud to be only a series +of sermons (he uses this very word), expressing the individual +opinions of the preacher, and thus possessing no +authoritative weight. The convert Pablo is quite aghast +at this statement, and accuses Nachmanides of heterodoxy. +</p> + +<p> +Secondly,—and here I take leave to complete the +rather obscure passage in the controversy by a parallel +in his book, <hi rend='italic'>The Date of Redemption</hi>,<note place='foot'>קץ הנאולה, <q>The end of the Redemption,</q> that is the time when +the advent of the Messiah is to be expected.</note> quoted by Azariah +de Rossi—that the question of the Messiah is not of that +dogmatic importance to the Jews that Christians imagine. +For even if Jews supposed their sins to be so great that +they forfeited all the promises made to them in the Scriptures, +or that, on some hidden ground, it would please the +Almighty never to restore their national independence, +this would in no way alter the obligations of Jews towards +the Torah. Nor is the coming of the Messiah desired by +Jews as an end in itself. For it is not the goal of their +hopes that they shall be able again to eat of the fruit of +<pb n='106'/><anchor id='Pg106'/> +Palestine, or enjoy other pleasures there; not even the +chance of the restoration of sacrifices and the worship of +the Temple is the greatest of Jewish expectations (connected +with the appearance of the Messiah). What +makes them long for his coming is the hope that they +will then witness, in the company of the prophets and +priests, a greater spread of purity and holiness than is +now possible. In other words, the possibility for them +to live a holy life after the will of God will be greater +than now. But, on the other hand, considering that such +a godly life under a Christian government requires greater +sacrifices than it would under a Jewish king; and, considering +again that the merits and rewards of a good act +increase with the obstacles that are in the way of executing +it—considering this, a Jew might even prefer to live +under the King of Aragon than under the Messiah, where +he would perforce act in accordance with the precepts of +the Torah. +</p> + +<p> +Now there is in this statement much that has only to +be looked upon as a compliment to the government of +Spain. I am inclined to think that if the alternative laid +before Nachmanides had been a really practical one, he +would have decided in favour of the clement rule of the +Messiah in preference to that of the most cruel king +on earth. But the fact that he repeats this statement +in another place, where there was no occasion to be over +polite to the Government, tends to show, as we have said, +that the belief in the Messiah was not the basis on which +Nachmanides' religion was built up. +</p> + +<p> +The result of the controversy is contested by the different +parties; the Christian writers claim the victory +for Pablo, whilst the Jewish documents maintain that +<pb n='107'/><anchor id='Pg107'/> +the issue was with Nachmanides. In any case, <q><foreign lang='de' rend='italic'>Der +Jude wird verbrannt</foreign>.</q> For in the next year (1264) all +the books of the Jews in Aragon were confiscated and +submitted to the censorship of a commission, of which +the well-known author of the <hi rend='italic'>Pugio Fidei</hi>, Raymund +Martini, was, perhaps, the most important member. The +books were not burned this time, but had to suffer a +severe mutilation; the anti-Christian passages, or such as +were supposed to be so, were struck out or obliterated. +Nachmanides' account of the controversy, which he +probably published from a sense of duty towards those +whom he represented, was declared to contain blasphemies +against the dominant religion. The pamphlet was condemned +to be burned publicly, whilst the author was, as +it seems, punished with expulsion from his country. It +is not reported where Nachmanides found a home during +the next three years; probably he had to accept the +hospitality of his friends, either in Castile or in the +south of France; but we know that in the year 1267 he +left Europe and emigrated to Palestine. +</p> + +<p> +Nachmanides was, at this juncture of his life, already +a man of about seventy. But it would seem as if the +seven decades which he had spent in the Spanish Peninsula +were only meant as a preparation for the three years +which he was destined to live in the Holy Land, for it +was during this stage of his life that the greatest part of +his <hi rend='italic'>Commentary on the Pentateuch</hi> was written. In this +work, as is agreed on all sides, his finest thoughts and +noblest sentiments were put down. +</p> + +<p> +Before proceeding to speak of his works, let us first +cast a glance at his letters from Palestine, forming as +they do a certain link between his former life and that +<pb n='108'/><anchor id='Pg108'/> +which was to occupy him exclusively for the rest of his +days. We have three letters, the first of which I shall +translate here <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>in extenso</foreign>. +</p> + +<p> +The letter was written soon after his arrival at +Jerusalem in the year 1267. It was addressed to his +son Nachman, and runs as follows:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<p> +<q>The Lord shall bless thee, my son Nachman, and thou shalt +see the good of Jerusalem. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's +children (Ps. cxxviii.), and thy table shall be like that of our +father Abraham!<note place='foot'>This patriarch is famous in Jewish legend for his hospitality. +See Beer's <hi rend='italic'>Leben Abrahams</hi>, pp. 37 and 56.</note> In Jerusalem, the Holy City, I write this +letter. For, thanks and praise unto the rock of my salvation, +I was thought worthy by God to arrive here safely on the 9th +of the month of Elul, and I remained there till the day after the +Day of Atonement. Now I intend going to Hebron, to the +sepulchre of our ancestors, to prostrate myself, and there to dig +my grave. But what am I to say to you with regard to the +country? Great is the solitude and great the wastes, and, to +characterise it in short, the more sacred the places, the greater +their desolation! Jerusalem is more desolate than the rest +of the country: Judæa more than Galilee. But even in this +destruction it is a blessed land. It has about 2000 inhabitants, +about 300 Christians live there who escaped the sword of the +Sultan. There are no Jews. For since the arrival of the Tartars, +some fled, others died by the sword. There are only two +brothers, dyers by trade, who have to buy their ingredients +from the government. There the Ten Men<note place='foot'>This is the quorum necessary to form a congregation (עדת) for +the purpose of holding divine service.</note> meet, and on +Sabbaths they hold service at their house. But we encouraged +them, and we succeeded in finding a vacant house, built on pillars +of marble with a beautiful arch. That we took for a synagogue. +For the town is without a master, and whoever will take possession +of the ruins can do so. We gave our offerings towards the repairs +of the house. We have sent already to Shechem to fetch some +scrolls of the Law from there which had been brought thither +from Jerusalem at the invasion of the Tartars. Thus they will +organise a synagogue and worship there. For continually people +crowd to Jerusalem, men and women, from Damascus, Zobah +<pb n='109'/><anchor id='Pg109'/> +(Aleppo),<note place='foot'>By <hi rend='italic'>Zobah</hi>, or <hi rend='italic'>Aram Zobah</hi>, the Jews of the Middle Ages usually +understood Aleppo. See Benjamin of Tudela's <hi rend='italic'>Itinerary</hi>, i. 88, ii. 124 +(London and Berlin, 1840-41).</note> and from all parts of the country to see the Sanctuary +and to mourn over it. He who thought us worthy to let us +see Jerusalem in her desertion, he shall bless us to behold her +again, built and restored, when the glory of the Lord will return +unto her. But you, my son, and your brothers and the whole of +our family, you all shall live to see the salvation of Jerusalem and +the comfort of Zion. These are the words of your father who +is yearning and forgetting, who is seeing and enjoying, Moses +ben Nachman. Give also my peace to my pupil Moses, the son +of Solomon, the nephew of your mother. I wish to tell him ... +that there, facing the holy temple, I have read his verses, weeping +bitterly over them. May he who caused his name to rest in the +Holy Temple increase your peace together with the peace of the +whole community.</q> +</p> + +</quote> + +<p> +This letter may be illustrated by a few parallels taken +from the appendix to Nachmanides' <hi rend='italic'>Commentary to the +Pentateuch</hi>, which contains some rather incoherent notes +which the author seems to have jotted down when he +arrived in Jerusalem. After a lengthy account of the +material as well as the spiritual glories of the holy city +in the past, he proceeds to say:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<p> +<q>A mournful sight I have perceived in thee (Jerusalem); only +one Jew is here, a dyer, persecuted, oppressed and despised. At +his house gather great and small when they can get the Ten Men. +They are wretched folk, without occupation and trade, consisting +of a few pilgrims and beggars, though the fruit of the land is still +magnificent and the harvests rich. Indeed, it is still a blessed +country, flowing with milk and honey.... Oh! I am the man who +saw affliction. I am banished from my table, far removed from +friend and kinsman, and too long is the distance to meet again.... +I left my family, I forsook my house. There with my +sons and daughters, and with the sweet and dear children whom I +have brought up on my knees, I left also my soul. My heart and +my eyes will dwell with them for ever.... But the loss of all +this and of every other glory my eyes saw is compensated by having +<pb n='110'/><anchor id='Pg110'/> +now the joy of being a day in thy courts (O Jerusalem), visiting +the ruins of the Temple and crying over the ruined Sanctuary; +where I am permitted to caress thy stones, to fondle thy dust, and +to weep over thy ruins. I wept bitterly, but I found joy in my +tears. I tore my garments, but I felt relieved by it.</q> +</p> + +</quote> + +<p> +Of some later date is his letter from Acra, which may +be considered as a sort of ethical will, and which has been +justly characterised as a eulogy of humility. Here is an +extract from it:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<p> +<q>Accustom yourself to speak gently to all men at all times, and +thus you will avoid anger, which leads to so much sin.... Humility +is the first of virtues; for if you think how lowly is man, how +great is God, you will fear Him and avoid sinfulness. On the +humble man rests the divine glory; the man that is haughty to +others denies God. Look not boldly at one whom you address.... +Regard every one as greater than thyself.... Remember +always that you stand before God, both when you pray and when +you converse with others.... Think before you speak.... +Act as I have bidden you, and your words, and deeds, and thoughts, +will be honest, and your prayers pure and acceptable before God.</q> +</p> + +</quote> + +<p> +The third letter is addressed to his son (R. Solomon?) +who was staying (in the service of the king) in Castile. It +is in its chief content a eulogy of chastity.<note place='foot'>See below, p. <ref target='Pg141'>141</ref>, where a full translation of the letter is given.</note> Probably +Nachmanides had some dread of the dangerous allurements +of the court, and he begs his son never to do anything +of which he knows that his father would not approve, +and to keep his father's image always before his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +As to his works, we may divide them into two classes. +The one would contain those of a strictly legalistic (Halachic), +whilst the other those of a more homiletic-exegetical +and devotional character (Agadic). As already indicated +in the preliminary lines of this paper, I cannot dwell long +<pb n='111'/><anchor id='Pg111'/> +on the former class of our author's writings. It consists +either of Glosses or Novellæ to the Talmud, in the style +and manner of the French Rabbis, or of Compendia of +certain parts of the Law after the model set by R. Isaac +Alfasi or Maimonides, or in defences of the <q>Earlier Authorities</q> +against the strictures made on them by a later +generation. A few words must be said with regard to these +defences; for they reveal that deep respect for authority +which forms a special feature of Nachmanides' writings. +His <hi rend='italic'>Wars of the Lord</hi>, in which he defends Alfasi against +R. Zerahiah of Gerona, was undertaken when he was very +young, whilst his defence of the author of the <hi rend='italic'>Halachoth +Gedoloth</hi><note place='foot'>הלכות גדולות, a compendium of the Law, dating from the ninth +century, by R. Simon Caro.</note> against the attacks of Maimonides, which he +began at a much more mature age, shows the same deference +<q>to the great ones of the past.</q> Indeed, he says in +one place, <q>We bow before them (the earlier authorities), +and though their words are not quite evident to us we +submit to them</q>; or, as he expresses himself elsewhere, +<q>Only he who dips (deeply enough) in the wisdom of the +<q>ancient ones</q> will drink the pure (old) wine.</q> But it +would be unjust to the genius of Nachmanides to represent +him as a blind worshipper of authority. Humble and +generous in disposition, he certainly would bow before +every recognised authority, and he would also think it his +duty to take up the cudgels for him as long as there was +even the least chance of making an honourable defence. +But when this chance had gone, when Nachmanides was +fully convinced that his hero was in the wrong, he followed +no guide but truth. <q>Notwithstanding,</q> he says in his +introduction to the defences of the <hi rend='italic'>Halachoth Gedoloth</hi>, +<q>my desire and delight to be the disciple of the Earlier +Authorities, to maintain their views and to assert them, I +<pb n='112'/><anchor id='Pg112'/> +do not consider myself a <q>donkey carrying books.</q> I will +explain their way and appreciate their value, but when +their views are inconceivable to my thoughts, I will plead +in all modesty, but shall judge according to the sight of +my eyes. And when the meaning is clear I shall flatter +none, for the Lord gives wisdom in all times and ages.</q> +But, on the other hand, there seems to have been a certain +sort of literary agnosticism about Nachmanides which +made it very difficult for him to find the <q>clear meaning.</q> +The passage in the <hi rend='italic'>Wars of the Lord</hi> to the effect <q>that +there is in the art (of commenting) no such certain demonstration +as in mathematics or astronomy,</q> is well known +and has often been quoted; but still more characteristic of +this literary agnosticism is the first paragraph of the +above-mentioned defences of the <hi rend='italic'>Halachoth Gedoloth</hi>. +Whilst all his predecessors accepted, on the authority of +R. Simlai,<note place='foot'>R. Simlai flourished in Palestine in the third century. He is +best known as an Agadic teacher and a great controversialist. According +to him, 613 commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai, +of which 365 are prohibitive laws, whilst the remaining 248 are positive +injunctions.</note> the number (613) of the commandments as +an uncontested fact, and based their compositions on it, +Nachmanides questions the whole matter, and shows that +the passages relating to this enumeration of laws are only +of a homiletical nature, and thus of little consequence. +Nay, he goes so far as to say, <q>Indeed the system how to +number the commandments is a matter in which I suspect +all of us (are mistaken) and the truth must be left to him +who will solve all doubts.</q> We should thus be inclined to +think that this adherence to the words of the earlier Authorities +was at least as much due to this critical scepticism +as to his conservative tendencies. +</p> + +<p> +The space left to me I shall devote to the second class +of his writings, in which Nachmanides worked less after +given types. These reveal to us more of his inner being, +and offer us some insight into his theological system. +<pb n='113'/><anchor id='Pg113'/> +The great problem which seems to have presented +itself to Nachmanides' mind was less how to reconcile +religion with reason than how to reconcile man with +religion. What is man? The usual answer is not flattering. +He is an animal that owes its existence to the +same instinct that produces even the lower creatures, and +he is condemned, like them, to go to a place of worm and +maggot. But, may not one ask, why should a creature +so lowly born, and doomed to so hapless a future, be +burdened with the awful responsibility of knowing that +he is destined <q>to give reckoning and judgment before +the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He</q>? It +is true that man is also endowed with a heavenly soul, +but this only brings us back again to the antithesis of flesh +and spirit which was the stumbling-block of many a theological +system. Nor does it help us much towards the solution +of the indicated difficulty; for what relation can there +be between this <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>materia impura</foreign> of body and the pure intellect +of soul? And again, must not the unfavourable +condition in which the latter is placed through this uncongenial +society heavily clog and suppress all aspiration for +perfection? It is <q>a house divided against itself,</q> doomed +to an everlasting contest, without hope for co-operation or +even of harmony. +</p> + +<p> +The works <hi rend='italic'>The Sacred Letter</hi> and <hi rend='italic'>The Law of Man</hi> +may be considered as an attempt by Nachmanides, if not +to remove, at least to relieve the harshness of this antithesis. +The former, in which he blames Maimonides for following +Aristotle in denouncing certain desires implanted +in us by nature as ignominious and unworthy of man, +may, perhaps, be characterised as a vindication of the +flesh from a religious point of view. The contempt in +<pb n='114'/><anchor id='Pg114'/> +which <q>that Greek,</q> as Nachmanides terms Aristotle, +held the flesh is inconsistent with the theory of the +religious man, who believes that everything (including +the body, with all its functions) is created by God, whose +work is perfect and good, without impure or inharmonious +parts. It is only sin and neglect that disfigure God's creations. +I cannot enter into any further details of this work, +but I may be permitted to remark that there is a very +strong similarity between the tendency of the <hi rend='italic'>Sacred +Letter</hi> and certain leading ideas of Milton. Indeed, if +the first two chapters of the former were a little condensed +and put into English, they could not be better +summarised than by the famous lines in the <hi rend='italic'>Paradise +Lost</hi>:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>Whatever hypocrites austerely talk</l> +<l>Of purity, and place, and innocence,</l> +<l>Defaming as impure what God declares</l> +<l>Pure, and commands to some, leaves free to all,</l> +<l>Our Maker bids increase; who bids abstain</l> +<l>But our destroyer, foe to God and man?</l> +<l>Hail, wedded love, mysterious law!...</l> +<l>Far be it that I should write thee sin or blame</l> +<l>Or think thee unbefitting holiest place,</l> +<l>Perpetual fountain of domestic sweets.</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +The second of these two works, the <hi rend='italic'>Law of Man</hi>, may +be regarded as a sanctification of grief, and particularly +of the grief of griefs, death. The bulk of the book is +legalistic, treating of mourning rites, burial customs, and +similar topics; but there is much in the preface which +bears on our subject. For here again Nachmanides takes +the opportunity of combating a chilling philosophy, which +tries to arm us against suffering by stifling our emotions. +<pb n='115'/><anchor id='Pg115'/> +<q>My son,</q> he says, <q>be not persuaded by certain propositions +of the great philosophers who endeavour to +harden our hearts and to deaden our sensations by their +idle comfort, which consists in denying the past and despairing +of the future. One of them has even declared +that there is nothing in the world over the loss of which +it is worth crying, and the possession of which would +justify joy. This is an heretical view. Our perfect +Torah bids us to be joyful in the day of prosperity and +to shed tears in the day of misfortune. It in no way +forbids crying or demands of us to suppress our grief. On +the contrary, the Torah suggests to us that to mourn over +heavy losses is equivalent to a service of God, leading +us, as it does, to reflect on our end and ponder over our +destiny.</q> +</p> + +<p> +This destiny, as well as Reward and Punishment in +general, is treated in the concluding chapter of the <hi rend='italic'>Law +of Man</hi>, which is known under the title of <hi rend='italic'>The Gate of +Reward</hi>.<note place='foot'>שער הנמול, <q>Treatise on Reward (and Punishment).</q></note> Nachmanides does not conceal from himself +the difficulties besetting inquiries of this description. +He knows well enough that in the last instance we must +appeal to that implicit faith in the inscrutable justice of +God with which the believer begins. Nevertheless he +thinks that only the <q>despisers of wisdom</q> would fail +to bring to this faith as full a conviction as possible, which +latter is only to be gained by speculation. I shall have +by and by occasion to refer to the results of this speculation. +Here we must only notice the fact of Nachmanides +insisting on the <emph>bodily</emph> resurrection which will take place +after the coming of the Messiah, and will be followed by +the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Olam Habba</foreign><note place='foot'>עלם הבא.</note> (the life in the world to come) of which +the Rabbis spoke. +</p> + +<pb n='116'/><anchor id='Pg116'/> + +<p> +Irrational as this belief may look, it is only a consequence +of his theory, which, as we have seen, assigns even +to the flesh an almost spiritual importance. Indeed, he +thinks that the soul may have such an influence on the +body as to transform the latter into so pure an essence +that it will become safe for eternity. For, as he hints in +another place, by the continual practising of a thing the +whole man, the body included, becomes so identified with +the thing that we call him after it, just as the Holy Singer +said: I am prayer,<note place='foot'>Ps. cix. 4; ואנ תפלה.</note> so that— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>Oft converse with heavenly habitants</l> +<l>Begins to cast a beam on the outward shape,</l> +<l>The unpolluted temple of the mind,</l> +<l>And turns it by degrees to the soul's essence,</l> +<l>Till all be made immortal.</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +But if even the body holds such a high position as to +make all its instincts and functions, if properly regulated, +a service of God, and to destine it for a glorious future of +eternal bliss and rejoicing in God, we can easily imagine +what a high place the soul must occupy in the system of +Nachmanides. To be sure it is a much higher one than +that to which philosophy would fain admit her. A beautiful +parable of the Persian poet Yellaladeen (quoted by +the late Mr. Lowell) narrates that <q>One knocked at the +beloved's door, and a voice asked from within, <q>Who is +there?</q> and he answered, <q>It is I.</q> Then the voice said, +<q>This house will not hold me and thee,</q> and the door was +not opened. Then went the lover into the desert and +fasted and prayed in solitude, and after a year he returned +and knocked again at the door, and again the voice asked +<q>Who is there?</q> and he said <q>It is thyself</q>; and the door +<pb n='117'/><anchor id='Pg117'/> +was opened to him.</q> This is also the difference between +the two schools—the mystical and the philosophical—with +regard to the soul. With the rationalist the soul is +indeed a superior abstract intelligence created by God, but, +like all His creations, has an existence of its own, and is +thus separated from God. With the mystic, however, the +soul is God, or a direct emanation from God. <q>For he +who breathes into another thing (Gen. ii. 7) gives unto it +something of his own breath (or soul),</q> and as it is said in +Job xxxii. 8, <q>And the soul of the Almighty giveth them +understanding.</q> This emanation, or rather immanence—for +Nachmanides insists in another place that the Hebrew +term employed for it, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Aziluth</foreign>,<note place='foot'>אצילות.</note> means a permanent +dwelling with the thing emanating—which became manifest +with the creation of man, must not be confounded +with the moving soul (or the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Nephesh Chayah</foreign>),<note place='foot'>נפש חיח.</note> which is +common to man with all creatures. +</p> + +<p> +It may be remarked here that Nachmanides endows all +animals with a soul which is derived from the <q>Superior +Powers,</q> and its presence is proved by certain marks of +intelligence which they show. By this fact he tries to +account for the law prohibiting cruelty to animals, <q>all +souls belonging to God.</q> Their original disposition was, +it would seem, according to Nachmanides, peaceful and +harmless. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l rend='margin-left: 16'>About them frisking played</l> +<l>All beasts of earth, since wild, and of all chase</l> +<l>In wood or wilderness, forest or den.</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +It was only after man had sinned that war entered into +creation, but with the coming of the Messiah, when sin +will disappear, all the living beings will regain their +<pb n='118'/><anchor id='Pg118'/> +primæval gentleness, and be reinstituted in their first +rights. +</p> + +<p> +The special soul of man, however, or rather the <q>over-soul,</q> +was pre-existent to the creation of the world, +treasured up as a wave in the sea or fountain of souls—dwelling +in the eternal light and holiness of God. There, +in God, the soul abides in its ideal existence before it +enters into its material life through the medium of man; +though it must be noted that, according to Nachmanides' +belief in the Transmigration of souls, it is not necessary +to perceive in the soul of every new-born child, <q>a fresh +message from heaven</q> coming directly from the fountain-head. +Nachmanides finds this belief indicated in the commandment +of levirate marriage, where the child born of +the deceased brother's wife inherits not only the name of +the brother of his actual father, but also his soul, and thus +perpetuates his existence on earth. The fourth verse of +Ecclesiastes ii. Nachmanides seems to interpret to mean +that the very generation which passes away comes up +again, by which he tries to explain the difficulty of God's +visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children; the +latter being the very fathers who committed the sins. +However, whatever trials and changes the soul may have +to pass through during its bodily existence, its origin is in +God and thither it will return in the end, <q>just as the +waters rise always to the same high level from which their +source sprang forth.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It is for this man, with a body so superior, and a soul so +sublime—more sublime than the angels—that the world +was <emph>created</emph>. I emphasise the last word, for the belief in +the creation of the world by God from nothing forms, +according to Nachmanides, the first of the three fundamental +<pb n='119'/><anchor id='Pg119'/> +dogmas of Judaism. The other two also refer to +God's relation to the world and man. They are the belief +in God's Providence and his <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yediah</foreign>.<note place='foot'>ידיעה, <q>Knowledge,</q> <q>Foreknowledge,</q> <q>Omniscience.</q></note> Creation from +nothing is for Nachmanides the keynote to his whole +religion, since it is only by this fact, as he points out in +many places, that God gains real dominion over nature. +For, as he says, as soon as we admit the eternity of +matter, we must (logically) deny God even <q>the power of +enlarging the wing of a fly, or shortening the leg of an +ant.</q> But the whole Torah is nothing if not a record of +God's mastery in and over the world, and of His miraculous +deeds. One of the first proclamations of Abraham +to his generation was that God is the Lord (or Master) of +the world (Gen. xviii. 33). The injunction given to Abraham, +and repeated afterwards to the whole of Israel (Gen. +xvii. 2, and Deut. xviii. 13), to be perfect with God, Nachmanides +numbers as one of the 613 commandments, and +explains it to mean that man must have a whole belief +in God without blemish or reservation, and acknowledge +Him possessed of power over nature and the world, man +and beast, devil and angel, power being attributable to +Him alone. Indeed, when the angel said to Jacob, <q>Why +dost thou ask after my name</q> (Gen. xxxii. 29), he meant +to indicate by his question the impotence of the heavenly +host, so that there is no use in knowing their name, the +power and might belonging only to God. +</p> + +<p> +We may venture even a step further, and maintain that +in Nachmanides' system there is hardly room left for such +a thing as nature or <q>the order of the world.</q> There are +only two categories of miracles by which the world is +governed, or in which God's Providence is seen. The +one is the category of the manifest miracles, as the ten +<pb n='120'/><anchor id='Pg120'/> +plagues in Egypt, or the crossing of the Red Sea; the +other is that of the hidden miracles, which we do not perceive +as such, because of their frequency and continuity. +<q>No man,</q> he declares, <q>can share in the Torah of our +Teacher, Moses (that is, can be considered a follower of +the Jewish religion), unless he believes that all our affairs +and events, whether they concern the masses or the individual, +are all miracles (worked by the direct will of +God), attributing nothing to nature or to the order of the +world.</q> Under this second order he classes all the promises +the Torah makes to the righteous, and the punishments +with which evil-doers are threatened. For, as he +points out in many places, there is nothing in the nature +of the commandments themselves that would make their +fulfilment necessarily prolong the life of man, and cause +the skies to pour down rain, or, on the other hand, would +associate disobedience to them with famine and death. +All these results can, therefore, only be accomplished in +a supernatural way by the direct workings of God. +</p> + +<p> +Thus miracles are raised to a place in the regular +scheme of things, and the difficulty regarding the possibility +of God's interferences with nature disappears by +their very multiplication. But a still more important +point is, that, by this unbroken chain of miracles, which +unconditionally implies God's presence to perform them, +Nachmanides arrives at a theory establishing a closer +contact between the Deity and the world than that set +forth by other thinkers. Thus, he insists that the term +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shechinah</foreign>, or <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Cabod</foreign><note place='foot'>בכוד, שבינה.</note> (Glory of God), must not be understood, +with some Jewish philosophers, as something separate +from God, or as <emph>glory created</emph> by God. <q>Were this +the case,</q> he proceeds to say, <q>we could not possibly +<pb n='121'/><anchor id='Pg121'/> +say, <q>Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place,</q> +since every mark of worship to anything <emph>created</emph> involves +the sin of idolatry.</q> Such terms as <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shechinah</foreign>, or <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Cabod</foreign>, +can therefore only mean the immediate divine presence. +This proves, as may be noted in passing, how unphilosophical +the idea of those writers is who maintain that the +rigid monotheism of the Jews makes God so transcendental +that He is banished from the world. As we see, +it is just this assertion of His absolute Unity which not +only suffers no substitute for God, but also removes every +separation between Him and the world. Hence also +Nachmanides insists that the prophecy even of the successors +of Moses was a direct communion of God with +the prophet, and not, as others maintained, furnished +through the medium of an angel. +</p> + +<p> +The third fundamental dogma, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yediah</foreign>, includes, according +to Nachmanides, not only the omniscience of God—as +the term is usually translated—but also His recognition +of mankind and His special concern in them. Thus, he +explains the words in the Bible with regard to Abraham, +<q>For I know him</q> (Gen. xviii. 19), to indicate the special +attachment of God's Providence to the patriarch, which, on +account of his righteousness, was to be uninterrupted for +ever; whilst in other places we have to understand, under +God's knowledge of a thing, his determination to deal with +it compassionately, as, for instance, when Scripture says +that God knew (Exod. ii. 25), it means that His relation to +Israel emanated from His attribute of mercy and love. +But just as God knows (which means loves) the world, He +requires also to be recognised and known by it. <q>For this +was the purpose of the whole creation, that man should +recognise and know Him and give praise to His name,</q> as +<pb n='122'/><anchor id='Pg122'/> +it is said, <q>Everything that is called by my name (meaning, +chosen to promulgate God's name), for my glory have +I created it.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It is this fact which gives Israel their high prerogative, +for by receiving the Torah they were the first to know +God's name, to which they remained true in spite of all +adversities; and thus accomplished God's intention in +creating the world. It is, again, by this Torah that the +whole of Israel not only succeeded in being real prophets +(at the moment of the Revelation), but also became <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Segulah</foreign>,<note place='foot'>סגולה. See Exod. xix. 5.</note> +which indicates the inseparable attachment between +God and His people, whilst the righteous who never disobey +His will become the seat of His throne. +</p> + +<p> +The position of the rest of humanity is also determined +by their relation to the Torah. <q>It is,</q> Nachmanides tells +us, <q>a main principle to know that all that man contrives +to possess of knowledge and wisdom is only the fruits of +the Torah or the fruits of its fruits. But for this knowledge +there would be no difference between man and the +lower animated species. The existence of the civilised +nations of the world does not disprove this rule both +Christians and Mahometans being also the heirs of the +Torah. For when the Romans gained strength over +Israel they made them translate the Torah which they +studied, and they even accommodated some of their laws +and institutions to those of the Bible.</q> Those nations, +however, who live far away from the centre of the world +(the Holy Land) and never come into contact with Israel +are outside the pale of civilisation, and can hardly be +ranked together with the human species. <q>They are the +isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have +seen my glory.</q> +</p> + +<pb n='123'/><anchor id='Pg123'/> + +<p> +What Nachmanides meant by maintaining that all knowledge +and wisdom were <q>the fruits of the Torah, or the +fruits of these fruits,</q> will be best seen from his <hi rend='italic'>Commentary +on the Pentateuch</hi>. I have already made use of this +Commentary in the preceding quotations, but, being the +greatest of the works of Nachmanides, it calls for some +special attention by itself. Its general purpose is edification, +or as he says, <q>to appease the mind of the students +(labouring under persecution and troubles) when they read +the portion on Sabbaths and festivals, and to attract their +heart by simple explanations and sweet words.</q> The explanations +occupy a considerable space. As Dr. Perles +has shown in his able essay on this work of Nachmanides, +our author neglected no resource of philology or archæology +accessible in his age which could contribute to establish +the <q>simple explanations</q> on a sound scientific +basis. The prominent feature of this Commentary, however, +is the <q>sweet words.</q> Indeed, how sweet and soothing +to his contemporaries must have been such words as +we read at the end of the <q>Song of Moses</q> (Deut. xxxii.): +<q>And behold there is nothing conditional in this Song. It +is a charter testifying that we shall have to suffer heavily +for our sins, but that, nevertheless, God will not destroy +us, being reconciled to us (though we shall have no merits), +and forgiving our sins for his name's sake alone.... And +so our Rabbis said, Great is this song, embracing as it +does both the past (of Israel) and the future, this world +and the world to come.... And if this song were the +composition of a mere astrologer we should be constrained +to believe in it, considering that all its words were fulfilled. +How much more have we to hope with all our +hearts and to trust to the word of God, through the mouth +<pb n='124'/><anchor id='Pg124'/> +of his prophet Moses, the faithful in all his house, like unto +whom there was none, whether before him or after him.</q> +A part of these sweet words may also be seen in the numerous +passages in which he attempts to account for +various laws, and to detect their underlying principles. +</p> + +<p> +For though <q>the Torah is the expression of God's simple +and absolute will, which man has to follow without any +consideration of reward,</q> still this will is not arbitrary, and +even that class of laws which are called <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>chukkim</foreign><note place='foot'>חקים.</note> (which +means, according to some Jewish commentators, motiveless +decrees) have their good reasons, notwithstanding that +they are unfathomable to us. <q>They are all meant for the +good of man, either to keep aloof from us something hurtful, +or to educate us in goodness, or to remove from us an +evil belief and to make us know his name. This is what +they (the Rabbis) meant by saying that commandments +have a purifying purpose, namely, that man being purified +and tried by them becomes as one without alloy of bad +thoughts and unworthy qualities.</q> Indeed, the soul of +man is so sensitive to every impurity that it suffers a sort +of infection even by an unintentional sin. Hence the injunction +to bring a <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Korban</foreign> (sacrifice) even in this case; +the effect of the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Korban</foreign>, as its etymology (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Karab</foreign>)<note place='foot'>קרב, קרבן.</note> indicates, +is to bring man back to God, or rather to facilitate +this approach. All this again is, as Nachmanides points +out, only an affluence from God's mercy and love to mankind. +God derives no benefit from it. <q>If he be righteous +what can he give thee?</q> And even those laws and +institutions which are intended to commemorate God's +wonders and the creation of the world (for instance, the +Passover festival and the Sabbath) are not meant for His +glorification, or, as Heine maliciously expressed it:— +</p> + +<pb n='125'/><anchor id='Pg125'/> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>Der Weltkapellenmeister hier oben</l> +<l>Er selbst sogar hört gerne loben</l> +<l>Gleichfalls seine Werke....</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +<q>For all the honour (we give to Him), and the praising of +His work are counted by Him less than nothing and as +vanity to Him.</q> What He desires is that we may know +the truth, and be confirmed in it, for this makes us worthy +of finding in Him <q>our Protector and King.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The lessons which Nachmanides draws from the various +Biblical narratives also belong to these <q>sweet words.</q> +They are mostly of a typical character. For, true as all +the stories in the Scriptures are, <q>the whole Torah is,</q> as +he tells us (with allusion to Gen. v. 1.), <q>the book of the +generations of Adam,</q> or, as we should say, a history of +humanity written in advance. Thus the account of the +six days of the creation is turned into a prophecy of the +most important events which would occur during the succeeding +six thousand years, whilst the Sabbath is a forecast +of the millennium in the seventh thousand, which will +be the day of the Lord. Jacob and Esau are, as in the +old Rabbinic homilies generally, the prototypes of Israel +and Rome; and so is the battle of Moses and Joshua with +Amalek indicative of the war which Elijah and the +Messiah the son of Joseph will wage against Edom (the +prototype of Rome), before the Redeemer from the house +of David will appear.<note place='foot'>According to a Jewish tradition (the date of which is uncertain) +the advent of the Messiah, the Son of David, will be preceded by that +of the Messiah, the Son of Joseph. The latter will perish in the battle +against Gog and Magog (the Antichrist of Jewish literature), but will +soon be brought back to life on the appearance of the former. Cf. G. +H. Dalman's <hi rend='italic'>Der leidende und der sterbende Messias der Synagoge</hi> +(Berlin, 1881).</note> Sometimes these stories convey +both a moral and a pre-justification of what was destined to +happen to Israel. So Nachmanides' remarks with reference +to Sarah's treatment of Hagar (Gen. xvi. 6): <q>Our +mother Sarah sinned greatly by inflicting this pain on +Hagar, as did also Abraham, who allowed such a thing to +pass; but God saw her affliction and rewarded her by a +<pb n='126'/><anchor id='Pg126'/> +son (the ancestor of a wild race), who would inflict on +the seed of Abraham and Sarah every sort of oppression.</q> +In this he alluded to the Islamic empires. Nor +does he approve of Abraham's conduct on the occasion of +his coming to Egypt, when he asked Sarah to pass as his +sister (Gen. xii.). <q>Unintentionally,</q> Nachmanides says, +<q>Abraham, under the fear of being murdered, committed +a great sin when he exposed his virtuous wife to such a +temptation. For he ought to have trusted that God would +save both him and his wife.... It is on account of this +deed that his children had to suffer exile under the rule of +Pharaoh. There, where the sin was committed, also the +judgment took place.</q> It is also worth noticing that, in +opposition to Maimonides, he allows no apology for the +attack of Simeon and Levi on the population of Shechem +(Gen. xxxiv. 25). It is true that they were idolaters, immoral, +and steeped in every abomination; but Jacob and +his sons were not commissioned with executing justice on +them. The people of Shechem trusted their word, therefore +they ought to have spared them. Hence Jacob's protest, +and his curse against their wrath, which would have +been quite unjustified had he looked on the action of his +sons as a good work. +</p> + +<p> +Besides these typical meanings, the matters of the +Torah have also their symbolical importance, which places +them almost above the sphere of human conception; they +are neither exactly what they seem to be nor entirely what +their name implies, but a reflex from things unseen, which +makes any human interference both preposterous and dangerous. +Of <q>the things <emph>called</emph> Tree of Life and Tree of +Knowledge,</q> Nachmanides tells us that their mystery is +very great, reaching into higher worlds. Otherwise, why +<pb n='127'/><anchor id='Pg127'/> +should God, who is good and the dispenser of good, have +prevented Adam from eating the fruit (of the latter), whilst +in another place he says: <q>And if thou wilt be worthy, and +understand the mystery of the word <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Bereshith</foreign><note place='foot'>בראשית, <q>In the beginning,</q> Gen. i. 1.</note> (with +which the Torah begins), thou wilt see that in truth the +Scripture, though apparently speaking of matters here below +(on earth), is always pointing to things above (heaven);</q> for +<q>every glory and every wonder, and every deep mystery, +and all beautiful wisdom are hidden in the Torah, sealed +up in her treasures.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It is very characteristic of the bent of Nachmanides' +mind, that he is perhaps the first Jewish writer who mentions +the apocryphal book <hi rend='italic'>The Wisdom of Solomon</hi>, which +he knew from a Syriac version, and which he believed to +be genuine. And when we read there (vii. 7-25), <q>Wherefore +I prayed and understanding was given to me. I called +upon God and the spirit of wisdom came upon me.... +For God has given me unmistakable knowledge to know +how the world was made, and the operations of the planets. +The beginning, ending, and midst of the times, the alterations +and the turnings of the sun, the changes of the +seasons, the natures of the living creatures and the furies +of the wild beasts, the force of the spirits and the reasonings +of men, the diversities of plants and the virtues of the +roots. All such things that are either secret or manifest, +them I knew</q>—the wise king was, according to Nachmanides +(who quotes the passages which I have just cited), +speaking of the Torah, which is identical with this wisdom, +a wisdom which existed before the creation, and by +which God planned the world. Hence it bears the impression +of all the universe, whilst on the other hand when +it is said, <q>The king brought me into his chambers,</q> +<pb n='128'/><anchor id='Pg128'/> +those secret recesses of the Torah are meant in which all +the great mysteries relating to Creation and to the Chariot +(Ezekiel i.) are hidden. +</p> + +<p> +We must content ourselves with these few sparks +struck from the glowing fires of these inner compartments, +which, imperfectly luminous as my treatment has +left them, may yet shed some light on the personality of +Nachmanides, which is the main object of this essay. +But I do not propose to accompany the mystic into the +<q>chambers of the king,</q> lest we may soon get into a +labyrinth of obscure terms and strange ways of thinking +for which the Ariadne thread is still wanting. We might +also be confronted by the Fifty Gates of Understanding, +the Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom, and the Two Hundred +and Thirty-One Permutations or Ciphers of the Alphabet, +the key to which I do not hold. It is also questionable +whether it would always be worth while to seek for it. +When one, for instance, sees such a heaping on of nouns +(with some Cabbalists) as the Land of Life, the Land of +Promise, the Lord of the World, the Foundation Stone, +Zion, Mother, Daughter, Sister, the Congregation of +Israel, the Twin Roes, the Bride, Blue, End, Oral Law, +Sea, Wisdom, etc., meant to represent the same thing or +attribute, and to pass one into another, one cannot possibly +help feeling some suspicion that one stands before +a conglomerate of words run riot, over which the writer +had lost all control. +</p> + +<p> +Indeed Nachmanides himself, in the preface to the +above-mentioned Commentary, gives us the kind advice +not to meditate, or rather brood, over the mystical hints +which are scattered over this work, <q>speculation being +(in such matters) folly, and reasoning over them fraught +<pb n='129'/><anchor id='Pg129'/> +with danger.</q> Indeed, the danger is obvious. I have, +to give one or two instances, already alluded to the theory +which accepts the Torah or the Wisdom as an agent in +the creation of the world. But the mystic pushes further, +and asks for the Primal Being to which this Wisdom owes +its origin. The answer given is from the great Nothing, +as it is written, And the Wisdom shall be found from +Nothing.<note place='foot'>מאין; Job xxvii. 12.</note> What is intended by this, if it means anything, +is probably to divest the first cause of every possible +quality which by its very qualifying nature must be limiting +and exclusive. Hence, God becomes the Unknowable. +But suppose a metaphysical Hamlet, who, handling words +indelicately, should impetuously exclaim, To be or not to +be, that is the question?—into what abyss of utter negations +would he drag all those who despair, by his terrible +Nothing. +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, into what gross anthropomorphisms +may we be drawn by roughly handling certain metaphors +which some Cabbalists have employed in their struggling +after an adequate expression of God's manifestations in +His attribute of love, if we forget for a single moment +that they are only figures of speech, but liable to get +defiled by the slightest touch of an unchaste thought. +</p> + +<p> +But the greater the dangers that beset the path of +mysticism, the deeper the interest which we feel in the +mystic. In connection with the above-mentioned warning, +Nachmanides cites the words from the Scriptures, <q>But +let not the priests and the people break through to come +up unto the Lord, lest he break forth upon them</q> (Exod. +xix. 24). Nevertheless, when we read in the Talmud the +famous story of the four Rabbis<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Chagigah</hi> 14<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>. The activity of these four Rabbis falls chiefly +in the second century. R. Akiba died as a martyr in the Hadrianic +persecution (about 130). Elisha b. Abuyah, the apostate, was usually +called אחר, <hi rend='italic'>Acher</hi>, <q>the other one.</q></note> who went up into the +<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Pardes</foreign>, or Garden of Mystical Contemplation, we do not +<pb n='130'/><anchor id='Pg130'/> +withhold our sympathy, either from Ben Azzai, who shot +a glance and died, or from Ben Zoma, who shot a glance +and was struck (in his mind). Nay, we feel the greatest +admiration for these daring spirits, who, in their passionate +attempt to <q>break through</q> the veil before the +Infinite, hazarded their lives, and even that which is +dearer than life, their minds, for a single glance. And +did R. Meir deny his sympathies even to Other One +or Elisha ben Abuyah, who <q>cut down the plants</q>? +He is said to have heard a voice from heaven, <q>Return, +oh backsliding children, except Other One,</q> which prevented +his repentance. Poor fallen Acher, he mistook +hell for heaven. But do not the struggle and despair +which led to this unfortunate confusion rather plead for +our commiseration? +</p> + +<p> +Nachmanides, however, in his gentle way, did not mean +to storm heaven. Like R. Akiba, <q>he entered in peace, +and departed in peace.</q> And it was by this peacefulness +of his nature that he gained an influence over posterity +which is equalled only by that of Maimonides. <q>If he +was not a profound thinker,</q> like the author of the <hi rend='italic'>Guide +of the Perplexed</hi>, he had that which is next best—<q>he +felt profoundly.</q> Some writers of a rather reactionary +character even went so far as to assign to him a higher +place than to Maimonides. This is unjust. What a +blank would there have been in Jewish thought but for +Maimonides' great work, on which the noblest thinkers of +Israel fed for centuries! As long as Job and Ecclesiastes +hold their proper place in the Bible, and the Talmud +contains hundreds of passages suggesting difficulties relating +to such problems as the creation of the world, God's +exact relation to it, the origin of evil, free will and predestination, +<pb n='131'/><anchor id='Pg131'/> +none will persuade me that philosophy does +not form an integral part of Jewish tradition, which, in its +historical developments, took the shape which Maimonides +and his successors gave to it. If Maimonides' <hi rend='italic'>Guide</hi>, +which he considered as an interpretation of the Bible and +of many strange sayings in the old Rabbinic homilies +in the Talmud, is Aristotelian in its tone, so is tradition +too; even the Talmud in many places betrays all sorts +of foreign influences, and none would think of declaring +it un-Jewish on this ground. I may also remark in passing +that the certainty with which some writers deprecate +the aids which religion may receive from philosophy is +a little too hasty. For the question will always remain, +What religion? The religion of R. Moses of Tachau or +R. Joseph Jabez<note place='foot'>The former lived in the twelfth, the latter in the sixteenth, +century. They are both known for their hostility to philosophy.</note> would certainly have been greatly +endangered by the slightest touch of speculation, while +that of Bachya,<note place='foot'>Bachya wrote in the eleventh century a famous book called +חובות חלבבות, <hi rend='italic'>The Duties of the Heart</hi>. For the others see above, p. <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref> +and <hi rend='italic'>note</hi>, p. <ref target='Pg049'>49</ref> and <hi rend='italic'>note</hi>, p. <ref target='Pg102'>102</ref> and <hi rend='italic'>note</hi>, p. <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref> and <hi rend='italic'>note</hi>, p. <ref target='Pg071'>71</ref> and +<hi rend='italic'>note</hi>. They all belong to the rationalistic school.</note> Maimonides, Jedaiah of Bedres, and +Delmedigo undoubtedly received from philosophy its +noblest support, and became intensified by the union. +</p> + +<p> +But apart from that consideration, the sphere of the activity +of these two leaders seems to have been so widely +different that it is hardly just to consider them as antagonists, +or at least to emphasise the antagonism too much. +Maimonides wrote his chief work, the <hi rend='italic'>Guide</hi>, for the few +elect, who, like Ibn Tibbon<note place='foot'>A younger contemporary of Maimonides, who translated the +<hi rend='italic'>Guide</hi> from Arabic into Hebrew.</note> for instance, would traverse +whole continents if a single syllogism went wrong. And +if he could be of use to one wise man of this stamp, +Maimonides would do so at the risk of <q>saying things +unsuitable for ten thousand fools.</q> But with Nachmanides, +it would seem, it was these ten thousand who +formed the main object of his tender care. They are, as +we have seen, cultivated men, indeed <q>students,</q> having +<pb n='132'/><anchor id='Pg132'/> +enjoyed a proper education; but the happy times of +abstract thinking have gone, and being under a perpetual +strain of persecutions and cares, they long for the Sabbath +and Festivals, which would bring them both bodily and +spiritual recreation. They find no fault with religion, a +false syllogism does not jar on their ears; what they are +afraid of is that, being engaged as they are, all the six +days of work, in their domestic affairs, religion may be +too good a thing for them. <q>To appease their minds,</q> +to edify them, to make life more sweet and death less +terrible to them, and to show them that even their weaknesses, +as far as they are conditioned by nature, are not +irreconcilable with a holy life, was what Nachmanides +strove after. Now and then he permits them a glance +into the mystical world in which he himself loved to move, +but he does not care to stifle their senses into an idle +contemplation, and passes quickly to some more practical +application. To be sure, the tabernacle is nothing but a +complete map of the superlunar world; but nevertheless +its rather minute description is meant to teach us <q>that +God desires us to work.</q> +</p> + +<p> +This tendency toward being useful to the great majority +of mankind may account for the want of consistency of +which Nachmanides was so often accused. It is only the +logician who can afford to be thoroughgoing in his theory, +and even he would become most absurd and even dangerous +but for the redeeming fact <q>that men are better than +their principles.</q> But with Nachmanides these <q>principles</q> +would have proved even more fatal. Could he, +for instance, have upset authority in the face of the ten +thousand? They need to be guided rather than to guide. +But he does not want them to follow either the Gaon or +<pb n='133'/><anchor id='Pg133'/> +anybody else slavishly, <q>the gates of wisdom never having +been shut,</q> whilst on the other hand he hints to them that +there is something divine in every man, which places him +at least on the same high level with any authority. Take +another instance—his wavering attitude between the +Maimonists and the Anti-Maimonists, for which he was +often censured. Apart from other reasons, to which I +have pointed above, might he not have felt that, in spite +of his personal admiration for Maimonides' genius, he had +no right to put himself entirely on the side where there +was little room for the ten thousand who were entrusted +to his guidance, whilst the French Rabbis, with all their +prejudices and intolerance, would never deny their sympathies +to simple emotional folk? +</p> + +<p> +This tender and absorbing care for the people in general +may also account for the fact that we do not know +of a single treatise by Nachmanides of a purely Cabbalistic +character in the style of the <hi rend='italic'>Book of Weight</hi>, by +Moses de Leon, or the <hi rend='italic'>Orchard</hi>, by R. Moses Cordovora, +or the <hi rend='italic'>Tree of Life</hi> by R. Isaac Loria.<note place='foot'>ספר המשקל. See above, p. <ref target='Pg018'>18</ref>. R. Moses Cordovora, the author +of the סררם, lived in Safed in the sixteenth century. For R. Isaac +Loria, the author of the עץ החיים, see <ref target='Pg076'>above</ref>, note 5 to Elijah Wilna.</note> The story that +attributes to him the discovery of the <hi rend='italic'>Zohar</hi> in a cave in +Palestine, from whence he sent it to Catalonia, needs as +little refutation as the other story connected with his +conversion to the Cabbalah, which is even more silly and +of such a nature as not to bear repetition. The <hi rend='italic'>Lilac of +Mysteries</hi><note place='foot'>שושן סודות.</note> and other mystical works passed also for a +long time under his name, but their claim to this honour +has been entirely disproved by the bibliographers, and +they rank now among the <hi rend='italic'>pseudepigraphica</hi>. It is true +that R. Nissim, of Gerona, said of Nachmanides that he +was too much addicted to the belief in the Cabbalah, and +as a fellow-countryman he may have had some personal +<pb n='134'/><anchor id='Pg134'/> +knowledge about the matter. But as far as his writings +go, this belief finds expression only in incidental remarks +and occasional citations from the Bahir,<note place='foot'>סשר הבהיר, a forgery by a Provençal Jew of the thirteenth century, +who attributed it to a Rabbi of the first century.</note> which he never +thrusts upon the reader. It was chiefly when philosophy +called in question his deep sympathies with even lower +humanity, and threatened to withdraw them from those +ennobling influences under which he wanted to keep them, +that he asserted his mystical theories. +</p> + +<p> +Nachmanides' inconsistency has also proved beneficial +in another respect. For mysticism has, by its over-emphasising +of the divine in man, shown a strong tendency +to remove God altogether and replace Him by the +creature of His hands. Witness only the theological +bubble of Shabbethai Tsebi—happily it burst quickly +enough—which resulted in mere idolatry (in more polite +language, Hero Worship) on the one side, and in the +grossest antinomianism on the other. Nachmanides, +however, with a happy inconsistency, combined with the +belief of man's origin in God, a not less strong conviction +of man's liability to sin, of the fact that he <emph>does</emph> sin—even +the patriarchs were not free from it, as we have seen +above—and that this sin <emph>does</emph> alienate man from God. +This healthy control over man's extravagant idea of his +own species was with Nachmanides also a fruit of the +Torah, within the limits of which everything must move, +the mystic and his aspirations included, whilst its fair +admixture of 365 <emph>Do not's</emph> with 248 <emph>Do's</emph> preserved him +from that <q>holy doing nothing</q> which so many mystics +indulged in, and made his a most active life. +</p> + +<p> +Much of this activity was displayed in Palestine, <q>the +land to which the providence of God is especially attached,</q> +and which was, as with R. Judah Hallevi, always +<pb n='135'/><anchor id='Pg135'/> +<q>his ideal home.</q> There he not only completed his +<hi rend='italic'>Commentary on the Pentateuch</hi>, but also erected synagogues, +and engaged in organising communities, whose +tone he tried to elevate both by his lectures and by his +sermons. His career in Palestine was not a long one, +for he lived there only about three years, and in 1270 +he must already have been dead. A pretty legend narrates +that when he emigrated to Palestine his pupils asked +him to give them a sign enabling them to ascertain the +day of his death. He answered them that on that day +a rift in the shape of a lamp would be seen in the tombstone +of his mother. After three years a pupil suddenly +noticed this rift, when the mourning over the Rabbi began. +Thus, stone, or anything else earthly, breaks finally, and +the life of the master passes into light. +</p> + +<p> +What life meant to him, how deeply he was convinced +that there is no other life but that originating in God, how +deeply stirred his soul was by the consciousness of sin, +what agonies the thought of the alienation from God +caused him, how he felt that there is nothing left to him +but to throw himself upon the mercy of God, and how he +rejoiced in the hope of a final reunion with Him—of all +these sentiments we find the best expression in the following +religious poem, with which this paper may conclude. +Nachmanides composed it in Hebrew, and it is still preserved +in some rituals as a hymn, recited on the Day of +Atonement. It is here given in the English translation of +Mrs. Henry Lucas.<note place='foot'>This hymn is now incorporated in her excellent little book, +<hi rend='italic'>Songs of Zion</hi>, pp. 13-15.</note> +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>Ere time began, ere age to age had thrilled,</l> +<l>I waited in his storehouse, as he willed;</l> +<l>He gave me being, but, my years fulfilled,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>I shall be summoned back before the King.</l> +</lg> + +<pb n='136'/><anchor id='Pg136'/> + +<lg> +<l>He called the hidden to the light of day,</l> +<l>To right and left, each side the fountain lay,</l> +<l>From out the stream and down the steps, the way</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>That led me to the garden of the King.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Thou gavest me a light my path to guide,</l> +<l>To prove my heart's recesses still untried;</l> +<l>And as I went, thy voice in warning cried:</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>"Child! fear thou him who is thy God and King!"</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>True weight and measure learned my heart from thee;</l> +<l>If blessings follow, then what joy for me!</l> +<l>If nought but sin, all mine the shame must be,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>For that was not determined by the King.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>I hasten, trembling, to confess the whole</l> +<l>Of my transgressions, ere I reach the goal</l> +<l>Where mine own words must witness 'gainst my soul,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>And who dares doubt the writing of the King?</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Erring, I wandered in the wilderness,</l> +<l>In passion's grave nigh sinking powerless;</l> +<l>Now deeply I repent, in sore distress,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>That I kept not the statutes of the King!</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>With worldly longings was my bosom fraught,</l> +<l>Earth's idle toys and follies all I sought;</l> +<l>Ah! when he judges joys so dearly bought,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>How greatly shall I fear my Lord and King!</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Now conscience-stricken, humbled to the dust,</l> +<l>Doubting himself, in thee alone his trust,</l> +<l>He shrinks in terror back, for God is just—</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>How can a sinner hope to reach the King?</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Oh, be thy mercy in the balance laid,</l> +<l>To hold thy servant's sins more lightly weighed,</l> +<l>When, his confession penitently made,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>He answers for his guilt before the King.</l> +</lg> + +<pb n='137'/><anchor id='Pg137'/> + +<lg> +<l>Thine is the love, O God, and thine the grace,</l> +<l>That folds the sinner in its mild embrace;</l> +<l>Thine the forgiveness, bridging o'er the space</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>'Twixt man's works and the task set by the King.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Unheeding all my sins, I cling to thee;</l> +<l>I know that mercy shall thy footstool be:</l> +<l>Before I call, oh, do thou answer me,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>For nothing dare I claim of thee, my King!</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>O thou, who makest guilt to disappear,</l> +<l>My help, my hope, my rock, I will not fear;</l> +<l>Though thou the body hold in dungeon drear,</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 4'>The soul has found the palace of the King!</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Postscript</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The third letter of Nachmanides to which I have +alluded above, is embodied in the following will by R. +Solomon, son of the martyr Isaac. Neither the date +nor the country of the testator is known, but style and +language make it probable that he was a Spanish Jew, +and lived in the fourteenth century. I give here a translation +from the whole document as it is to be found in the +Manuscripts. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<p> +These are the regulations which I, Solomon, the son of the martyr, +Rabbi Isaac, the son of R. Zadok, of blessed memory, draw +up for myself. That as long as I am in good health, and free +from accident, and think of it, I shall not eat before I have studied +one page of the Talmud or of its commentaries. Should I transgress +this rule intentionally, I must not drink wine on that day, or +I shall pay half a <foreign rend='italic'>Zehub</foreign><note place='foot'>זהוב, a gold piece. The country and the date of the writer not +being certain, it is impossible to determine the value of this coin.</note> to charity. Again, that I shall every +week read the Lesson twice in the Hebrew text, and once in the +Aramaic version. Should I intentionally omit completing the +Lesson as above, then I must pay two <foreign rend='italic'>Zehubs</foreign> to charity. Again, +that I shall every Sabbath take three meals, consisting of bread or +fruit. Should I omit to do so, I must give in charity half a <foreign rend='italic'>Zehub</foreign>. +<pb n='138'/><anchor id='Pg138'/> +Again, in order to subdue my appetites, and not to enjoy in this +world more than is necessary for the maintenance of my body, I +must not eat at one meal more than one course of meat, and not +more than two courses altogether; nor must I drink more than +two cups of wine at one meal, apart from the blessing-cup (over +which grace is said), except on Sabbath, Festivals, Chanukah (the +Maccabean Dedication Feast), New Moon, and at other religious +meals (for instance, wedding-dinners and similar festive occasions). +Again, I must not have any regular meal on the day preceding +Sabbath or Festivals. I must not have during the day +more than one course, so that I shall enter upon the holy day with +a good appetite. Should I transgress this resolve intentionally +I shall have to fast a day, or to pay two <foreign rend='italic'>Zehubs</foreign>. Again, that I +shall not eat the fish called <foreign rend='italic'>burbot</foreign>,<note place='foot'>The lawfulness of eating this fish (= sturgeon?) was contested +for many centuries, and the controversy still continues.</note> if I think of it. Again, even +on the above-mentioned days, I must not eat more than three +courses at a meal, nor drink more than three cups of wine, exclusive +of the blessing-cup. Again, ... I must not swear by God, +nor mention the name of Heaven without a purpose, nor curse +any man in the name of God. Should I, God forbid, transgress +it, I must not drink more than one cup of wine on that day exclusive +of the blessing-cup. Should I, however, transgress this +after dinner, I must abstain from wine the following day. Should +I transgress it, I have to pay half a <foreign rend='italic'>Zehub</foreign>. Again, that I shall +get up every night to praise God, to supplicate for His mercy, and +to confess. On those nights when confession is not to be said +(Sabbaths and Festivals), I shall say hymns and psalms. This I +shall do when I am in my house, and in good health, free from +any accident. Should I transgress it, I shall drink not more than +one cup of wine the following day, except the blessing-cup. I +again take upon myself to give in charity the following proportion +of my expenditure—from each dress which I shall have made for +myself or for one member of my family, costing more than ten +<foreign rend='italic'>Zehubs</foreign>, I must pay one <foreign rend='italic'>Pashut</foreign><note place='foot'>פשוט, a smaller coin than the Zehub.</note> for each ten <foreign rend='italic'>Zehubs</foreign>. Again, if +I should buy an animal, or a slave, or a female slave, or ground, +that I shall also pay at the same rate. And if I shall buy clothes +for sale, called <foreign rend='italic'>fashas</foreign>, I shall pay two <foreign rend='italic'>Pashuts</foreign> for each garment. +As often as I have occasion to say the benediction of thanksgivings +<pb n='139'/><anchor id='Pg139'/> +for having escaped danger I shall pay a <foreign rend='italic'>Zehub</foreign>, except when +I am travelling [also involving danger in those times!], in which +case I shall have to pay a <foreign rend='italic'>Zehub</foreign> on my arrival, and two <foreign rend='italic'>Pashuts</foreign> +daily during the journey. Again, from every kind of fish bought +for me, costing more than a <foreign rend='italic'>Zehub</foreign>, I shall pay a <foreign rend='italic'>Pashut</foreign> for each +<foreign rend='italic'>Zehub</foreign>. And also, if I shall be deemed worthy by God to marry +my children, and to be present at their wedding, to cause them to +give to the poor from the dowry brought to them by their wives, +whether in money or in kind, at the rate of one per cent. If God +will find me worthy of having sons, I must give in charity according +to my means at the time. +</p> + +<p> +I shall also, between New Year and the Day of Atonement in +each year, calculate my profits during the past year and (after deducting +expenses) give a tithe thereof to the poor. Should I be +unable to make an accurate calculation, then I shall give approximately. +This tithe I shall put aside, together with the other +money for religious (charitable) purpose, to dispose of it as I +shall deem best. I also propose to have the liberty of employing +the money in any profitable speculation with a view to augmenting +it. But in respect of all I have written above I shall not hold +myself guilty if I transgress, if such transgression be the result of +forgetfulness; but in order to guard against it, I shall read this +through weekly. +</p> + +<p> +I also command my children to take upon themselves as many of +the above regulations as may be in their power to observe, and also +to bind them (<hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi> the regulations), from generation to generation, +upon their children. And he who carries them out, and even +adds to them, at pain of discomfort to himself, shall merit a special +blessing. And this is the text of the will which I, the above-mentioned +Solomon, draw up for my children, may God preserve +them. That they shall pray thrice daily, and endeavour always +to utter their prayers with devotion. Again, that this prayer +shall be said in the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Beth Hammidrash</foreign>, or in the synagogue together +with the congregation. Again, that they shall apply all their +powers to maintain the synagogues and the houses of study, which +our ancestors have built, as well as to continue the endowments +established by my ancestors and myself. They must always endeavour +<pb n='140'/><anchor id='Pg140'/> +to imitate them, so that goodness shall never cease from +among them. Again, that they shall always have a chair on +which a volume of the Talmud, or some other Talmudical work, +shall lie; so that they shall always open a book when they come +home. At least, they shall read in any book they like four lines +before taking their meal. Again, that they shall every week read +the Lesson twice in the Hebrew text, and once in the Aramaic +version. Again, to take three meals on the Sabbath.... +</p> + +<p> +Again, that they shall be always modest, merciful, and charitable, +for these are the qualities by which the children of Israel are +known. Let also all their thoughts and meditations be always directed +to the service of the Lord, and be as charitable and benevolent +as possible, for this is all that remains to man of his labour. +They shall also endeavour to regulate their diet according to the +rules laid down by Rabbi Moses (b. Maimon, or Maimonides), so +as to fulfil the words of Scripture: <q>The righteous eateth to the +satisfying of his soul.</q> And let them always be careful not to take +the name of God in vain, to be honest in all business transactions, +and let their yea be always yea. They shall always be under the +obligation to train their children to the Study of the Torah, but +one shall devote his life exclusively to the study thereof. And +it shall be incumbent upon his brothers to support this one, and to +invest his moneys, and to provide for him that he and his family +may live respectably, so that he be not distracted by worldly cares +from his studies. Let also the elder love the younger brothers as +their own children, and the younger respect the elder as a parent. +Thus they may always bear in mind that they are of a God-fearing +family. Let them love and honour scholars, thus to merit the +honour of having scholars for their sons and sons-in-law. This +will they shall themselves read weekly, and shall also make it incumbent +upon their children, from generation to generation, to +read weekly, in order to fulfil what is written (Gen. xviii. 19), +<q>For I know him that he will command his children,</q> etc., and +also the words of Isaiah (lix. 21), <q>And this is my covenant,</q> etc. +But as often as they shall read this will, they shall also read the +two letters below written, which Rabbi Moses ben Nachman sent +to his sons, with a view of being serviceable to them in many respects. +<pb n='141'/><anchor id='Pg141'/> +Should, heaven forbid, they be by any sad accident prevented +from fulfilling the injunctions above laid down, they must +fine themselves by not drinking wine on that day, or by eating one +course less at the dinner, or by giving some fine in charity.... +</p> + +</quote> + +<p> +And this is the letter which the above-mentioned Rabbi +sent from the Holy Land to Castile, when his son was +staying before the king (in his service):— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<p> +<q>... May God bless you and preserve you from sin and punishment. +Behold, our master, King David, had a son, wise and +of an understanding heart, like unto whom there was never one +before or after. Nevertheless he said to him (1 Kings ii. 2): <q>And +keep the charge of the Lord thy God,</q> etc. He also said to him: +<q>And thou, my son, know the God of thy father</q> (1 Chron. +xxviii. 9). Now, my son, if thou wilt measure thyself with Solomon, +thou wilt find thyself a worm—not a man, merely an insect; +nevertheless, if thou wilt seek God, he will make thee great; and if +thou wilt forsake him, thou wilt be turned out and forsaken. My +son, be careful that thou read the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shema</foreign><note place='foot'>שמע, <q>Hear,</q> the verses from Deut. vi. 4-9, xi. 13-21, and +Num. xv. 37-41, recited twice a day by the Jews.</note> morning and evening, +as well as that thou say the daily prayers. Have always with thee +a Pentateuch written correctly, and read therein the Lesson for +each Sabbath.... <q>Cast thy burden upon the Lord,</q> for the +thing which thou believest far from thee is often very near unto thee. +Know, again, that thou art not master over thy words, nor hast +power over thy hand; but everything is in the hand of the Lord, +who formeth thy heart.... Be especially careful to keep aloof +from the women [of the court?]. Know that our God hates immorality, +and Balaam could in no other way injure Israel than by +inciting them to unchastity. [Here come many quotations from +Malachi and Ezra.]... My son, remember me always, and let +the image of my countenance be never absent from before thine +eyes. Love not that which I hate.... Let the words of the +Psalmist be always upon thy lips, <q>I am a stranger in the earth: +hide not thy commandments from me</q> (Ps. cxix. 19); and God, +who is good and the dispenser of good, shall increase thy peace +and prolong thy life in peace and happiness, and promote thy honour +according to thy wish and the wish of thy father who begat thee, +Moses ben Nachman.</q> +</p> + +</quote> + +</div> + +<pb n='142'/><anchor id='Pg142'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>V. A Jewish Boswell</head> + +<p> +There is a saying in the Talmud <q>Nothing exists of +which there is not some indication in the Torah.</q> These +words are often quoted, and some modern authors have +pressed them so far as to find even the discoveries of +Columbus and the inventions of Watt and Stephenson +indicated in the Law. This is certainly misapplied ingenuity. +But it is hardly an exaggeration to maintain +that there is no noble manifestation of real religion, no +expression of real piety, reverence, and devotion, to which +Jewish literature would not offer a fair parallel. +</p> + +<p> +Thus it will hardly be astonishing to hear that Jewish +literature has its Boswell to show, more than three centuries +before the Scottish gentleman came to London to +admire his Johnson, and more than four centuries before +the Sage of Chelsea delivered his lectures on Hero Worship. +And this Jewish Boswell was guided only by the +motives suggested to him in the old Rabbinic literature. +In this literature the reverence for the great man, and +the absorption of one's whole self in him, went so far +that one Rabbi declared that the whole world was only +created to serve such a man as company.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 30<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Again, the fact that, in the language of the Rabbis, +the term for studying the Law and discussing it is <q>to +<pb n='143'/><anchor id='Pg143'/> +attend</q> or rather <q>to serve the disciples of the Wise</q> +may also have led people to the important truth that the +great man is not a lecturing machine, but a sort of living +Law himself. <q>When the man,</q> said one Rabbi, <q>has +wholly devoted himself to the Torah, and thoroughly +identified himself with it, it becomes almost his own +Torah.</q> Thus people have not only to listen to his +words but to observe his whole life, and to profit from +all his actions and movements. +</p> + +<p> +This was what the Jewish Boswell sought to do. His +name was Rabbi Solomon, of St. Goar, a small town on +the Rhine, while the name of the master whom he served +was R. Jacob, the Levite, better known by his initials +Maharil, who filled the office of Chief Rabbi in Mayence +and Worms successively. The main activity of Maharil +falls in the first three decades of the fifteenth century. +Those were troublous times for a Rabbi. For the preceding +century with its persecution and sufferings—one +has only to think of the Black Death and its terrible consequences +for the Jews—led to the destruction of the +great Schools, the decay of the study of the Law, and +to the dissolution of many congregations. Those which +remained lost all touch with each other, so that almost +every larger Jewish community had its own <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Minhag</foreign> or +ritual custom.<note place='foot'>מנהג, pl. מנהגים (<foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Minhagim</foreign>), applied usually to those ritual customs +and ceremonies for which there is no distinct authority in the +Scriptures or even in the Talmud.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It was Maharil who brought some order into this chaos, +and in the course of time his influence asserted itself +so strongly that the rules observed by him in the performing +of religious ceremonies were accepted by the +great majority of the Jewish communities. Thus the personality +of Maharil himself became a standing Minhag, +suppressing all the other Minhagim (customs). +</p> + +<pb n='144'/><anchor id='Pg144'/> + +<p> +But there must have been something very strong and very +great about the personality of the man who could succeed +in such an arduous task. For we must not forget that +the Minhag or custom in its decay degenerates into a kind +of religious fashion, the worst disease to which religion +is liable, and the most difficult to cure. It is therefore +an irreparable loss both for Jewish literature and for Jewish +history, that the greatest part of Maharil's posthumous +writings are no longer extant, so that our knowledge about +him is very small. But the little we know of him we owe +chiefly to the communicativeness of his servant, the Solomon +of St. Goar whom I mentioned above. +</p> + +<p> +Solomon not only gave us the <q>Customs</q> of his master, +but also observed him closely in all his movements, and +conscientiously wrote down all that he saw and heard, +under the name of <hi rend='italic'>Collectanea</hi>. It seems that the bulk +of these <hi rend='italic'>Collectanea</hi> was also lost. But in the fragments +that we still possess we are informed, among other things, +how Maharil addressed his wife, how he treated his pupils, +how careful he was in the use of his books, and even how +clean his linen was. Is this not out-Boswelling Boswell? +</p> + +<p> +The most striking point of agreement between the +Boswell of the fifteenth and him of the eighteenth century, +is that they both use the same passage from the +Talmud to excuse the interest in trifles which their labours +of love betrayed. Thus Solomon prefaces his <hi rend='italic'>Collectanea</hi> +with the following words: <q>It is written, His leaf shall +not wither. These words were explained by our Sages +to mean that even the idle talk of the disciples of the wise +deserves a study. Upon this interpretation I have relied. +In my love to R. Jacob the Levite, I collected everything +about him. I did not refuse even small things, though many +<pb n='145'/><anchor id='Pg145'/> +derided me. Everything I wrote down, for such was the +desire of my heart.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Thus far Solomon. Now, if we turn to the introduction +to Boswell's <hi rend='italic'>Life of Johnson</hi>, we read the following sentence: +<q>For this almost superstitious reverence, I have +found very old and venerable authority quoted by our +great modern prelate, Secker, in whose tenth sermon +there is the following passage: <q>Rabbi Kimchi, a noted +Jewish commentator who lived about five hundred years +ago, explains that passage in the first Psalm, <q>His leaf +also shall not wither</q> from Rabbins yet older than himself, +that even the idle talk, so he expressed it, of a good +man ought to be regarded.</q></q> +</p> + +<p> +Croker's note to this passage sounds rather strange. +This editor says: <q>Kimchi was a Spanish Rabbi, who +died in 1240. One wonders that Secker's good sense +should have condescended to quote this far-fetched and +futile interpretation of the simple and beautiful metaphor, +by which the Psalmist illustrates the prosperity of the +righteous man.</q> Now Kimchi died at least five years +earlier than Croker states, but dates, we know from +Macaulay's essay on the subject, were not Croker's strong +point. But one can hardly forgive the editor of Boswell +this lack of sympathy. Had he known what strong +affinity there was between his most Christian author and +the humble Jew Solomon, he would have less resented +this condescension of Archbishop Secker. +</p> + +<p> +As for the Jewish Boswell himself, we know very little +about him. The only place in which he speaks about his +own person is that in which he derives his pedigree from +R. Eleazar ben Samuel Hallevi (died 1357), and says that +he was generally called <q>Der gute (the good) R. Salman.</q> +<pb n='146'/><anchor id='Pg146'/> +He well deserved this appellation. In his Will we find +the following injunction to his children: <q>Be honest, and +conscientious in your dealing with men, with Jews as well +as Gentiles, be kind and obliging to them; do not speak +what is superfluous.</q> And wisdom is surely rare enough +to render inappropriate a charge of superfluousness +against the work of those who in bygone times spent +their energies in gathering the crumbs that fell from the +tables of the wise. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='147'/><anchor id='Pg147'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>VI. The Dogmas Of Judaism</head> + +<p> +The object of this essay is to say about the dogmas of +Judaism a word which I think ought not to be left unsaid. +</p> + +<p> +In speaking of dogmas it must be understood that +Judaism does not ascribe to them any saving power. The +belief in a dogma or a doctrine without abiding by its real +or supposed consequences (<hi rend='italic'>e.g.</hi> the belief in <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>creatio ex +nihilo</foreign> without keeping the Sabbath) is of no value. And +the question about certain doctrines is not whether they +possess or do not possess the desired charm against certain +diseases of the soul, but whether they ought to be +considered as characteristics of Judaism or not. +</p> + +<p> +It must again be premised that the subject, which occupied +the thoughts of the greatest and noblest Jewish +minds for so many centuries, has been neglected for a +comparatively long time. And this for various reasons. +First, there is Mendelssohn's assertion, or supposed assertion, +in his <hi rend='italic'>Jerusalem</hi>, that Judaism has no dogmas—an +assertion which has been accepted by the majority of +modern Jewish theologians as the only dogma Judaism +possesses. You can hear it pronounced in scores of +Jewish pulpits; you can read it written in scores of Jewish +books. To admit the possibility that Mendelssohn was in +error was hardly permissible, especially for those with +<pb n='148'/><anchor id='Pg148'/> +whom he enjoys a certain infallibility. Nay, even the fact +that he himself was not consistent in his theory, and on +another occasion declared that Judaism <emph>has</emph> dogmas, only +that they are purer and more in harmony with reason than +those of other religions; or even the more important fact +that he published a school-book for children, in which the +so-called Thirteen Articles were embodied, only that +instead of the formula <q>I believe,</q> he substituted <q>I am +convinced,</q>—even such patent facts did not produce +much effect upon many of our modern theologians.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Jerusalem</hi>, in Mendelssohn's <hi rend='italic'>Sämmtliche Werke</hi> (Vienna, 1838), +especially from p. 264 onwards, and a letter by him published in +Frankel-Graetz's <hi rend='italic'>Monatsschrift</hi>, 1859, p. 173. For Mendelssohn's +position, see Graetz's <hi rend='italic'>Geschichte</hi>, xi. 86 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>, especially p. 88 and +note 1; Kayserling, <hi rend='italic'>Leben und Werke</hi> of M., 2d ed., p. 394; Steinheim, +<hi rend='italic'>Moses Mendelssohn</hi> (Hamburg, 1840), p. 30 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>; Holdheim, +<hi rend='italic'>Moses Mendelssohn</hi> (Berlin, 1859), p. 18 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>; Leopold Löw's pamphlet, +<hi rend='italic'>Jüdische Dogmen</hi> (Pesth, 1871).</note> +They were either overlooked or explained away so as to +make them harmonise with the great dogma of dogmalessness. +For it is one of the attributes of infallibility +that the words of its happy possessor must always be +reconcilable even when they appear to the eye of the +unbeliever as gross contradictions. +</p> + +<p> +Another cause of the neglect into which the subject has +fallen is that our century is an <emph>historical</emph> one. It is not +only books that have their fate, but also whole sciences +and literatures. In past times it was religious speculation +that formed the favourite study of scholars, in our time it +is history with its critical foundation on a sound philology. +Now as these two most important branches of Jewish +science were so long neglected—were perhaps never cultivated +in the true meaning of the word, and as Jewish literature +is so vast and Jewish history so far-reaching and +eventful, we cannot wonder that these studies have absorbed +the time and the labour of the greatest and best +Jewish writers in this century. +</p> + +<p> +There is, besides, a certain tendency in historical studies +that is hostile to mere theological speculation. The historian +deals with realities, the theologian with abstractions. +<pb n='149'/><anchor id='Pg149'/> +The latter likes to shape the universe after his +system, and tells us how things <emph>ought to be</emph>, the former +teaches us how they <emph>are</emph> or <emph>have been</emph>, and the explanation +he gives for their being so and not otherwise includes in +most cases also a kind of justification for their existence. +There is also the <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>odium theologicum</foreign>, which has been the +cause of so much misfortune that it is hated by the historian, +whilst the superficial, rationalistic way in which +the theologian manages to explain everything which +does not suit his system is most repulsive to the critical +spirit. +</p> + +<p> +But it cannot be denied that this neglect has caused +much confusion. Especially is this noticeable in England, +which is essentially a theological country, and where +people are but little prone to give up speculation about +things which concern their most sacred interest and +greatest happiness. Thus whilst we are exceedingly poor +in all other branches of Jewish learning, we are comparatively +rich in productions of a theological character. We +have a superfluity of essays on such delicate subjects as +eternal punishment, immortality of the soul, the day of +judgment, etc., and many treatises on the definition of +Judaism. But knowing little or nothing of the progress +recently made in Jewish theology, of the many protests +against all kinds of infallibility, whether canonised in this +century or in olden times, we in England still maintain +that Judaism has no dogmas as if nothing to the contrary +had ever been said. We seek the foundation of Judaism +in political economy, in hygiene, in everything except religion. +Following the fashion of the day to esteem religion +in proportion to its ability to adapt itself to every possible +and impossible metaphysical and social system, we are +<pb n='150'/><anchor id='Pg150'/> +anxious to squeeze out of Judaism the last drop of faith +and hope, and strive to make it so flexible that we can +turn it in every direction which it is our pleasure to follow. +But alas! the flexibility has progressed so far as +to classify Judaism among the invertebrate species, the +lowest order of living things. It strongly resembles a certain +Christian school which addresses itself to the world in +general and claims to satisfy everybody alike. It claims +to be socialism for the adherents of Karl Marx and +Lassalle, worship of man for the followers of Comte and +St. Simon; it carefully avoids the word <q>God</q> for the +comfort of agnostics and sceptics, whilst on the other hand +it pretends to hold sway over paradise, hell, and immortality +for the edification of believers. In such illusions many +of our theologians delight. For illusions they are; you +cannot be everything if you want to be anything. Moreover, +illusions in themselves are bad enough, but we are +menaced with what is still worse. Judaism, divested of +every higher religious motive, is in danger of falling into +gross materialism. For what else is the meaning of such +declarations as <q>Believe what you like, but conform to +this or that mode of life</q>; what else does it mean but +<q>We cannot expect you to believe that the things you are +bidden to do are commanded by a higher authority; there +is not such a thing as belief, but you ought to do them +for conventionalism or for your own convenience.</q> +</p> + +<p> +But both these motives—the good opinion of our +neighbours, as well as our bodily health—have nothing to +do with our nobler and higher sentiments, and degrade +Judaism to a matter of expediency or diplomacy. Indeed, +things have advanced so far that well-meaning but ill-advised +writers even think to render a service to Judaism +<pb n='151'/><anchor id='Pg151'/> +by declaring it to be a kind of enlightened Hedonism, or +rather a moderate Epicureanism. +</p> + +<p> +I have no intention of here answering the question, +What is Judaism? This question is not less perplexing +than the problem, What is God's world? Judaism is also +a great Infinite, composed of as many endless Units, the +Jews. And these Unit-Jews have been, and are still, +scattered through all the world, and have passed under an +immensity of influences, good and bad. If so, how can +we give an exact definition of the Infinite, called Judaism? +</p> + +<p> +But if there is anything sure, it is that the highest motives +which worked through the history of Judaism are the +strong belief in God and the unshaken confidence that at +last this God, the God of Israel, will be the God of the +whole world; or, in other words, Faith and Hope are the +two most prominent characteristics of Judaism. +</p> + +<p> +In the following pages I shall try to give a short +account of the manner in which these two principles of +Judaism found expression, from the earliest times down to +the age of Mendelssohn; that is, to present an outline of +the history of Jewish Dogmas. First, a few observations +on the position of the Bible and the Talmud in relation to +our theme. Insufficient and poor as they may be in proportion +to the importance of these two fundamental documents +of Judaism, these remarks may nevertheless suggest +a connecting link between the teachings of Jewish antiquity +and those of Maimonides and his successors. +</p> + +<p> +I begin with the Scriptures. +</p> + +<p> +The Bible itself hardly contains a command bidding us +<emph>to believe</emph>. We are hardly ordered, <hi rend='italic'>e.g.</hi>, to believe in the +existence of God. I say hardly, but I do not altogether +deny the existence of such a command. It is true that we +<pb n='152'/><anchor id='Pg152'/> +do not find in the Scripture such words as: <q>You are +commanded to believe in the existence of God.</q> Nor is +any punishment assigned as awaiting him who denies it. +Notwithstanding these facts, many Jewish authorities—among +them such important men as Maimonides, R. +Judah Hallevi, Nachmanides—perceive, in the first words +of the Ten Commandments, <q>I am the Lord thy God,</q> +the command to believe in His existence.<note place='foot'>See the Commentaries on Maimonides' סשר המצות, especially R. +Simeon Duran's זוהר הרקיע; cf. also ancient and modern commentaries +on Exod. xx. 2.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Be this as it may, there cannot be the shadow of a +doubt that the Bible, in which every command is dictated +by God, and in which all its heroes are the servants, the +friends, or the ambassadors of God, presumes such a +belief in every one to whom those laws are dictated, and +these heroes address themselves. Nay, I think that the +word <q>belief</q> is not even adequate. In a world with so +many visible facts and invisible causes, as life and death, +growth and decay, light and darkness; in a world where +the sun rises and sets; where the stars appear regularly; +where heavy rains pour down from the sky, often accompanied +by such grand phenomena as thunder and lightning; +in a world full of such marvels, but into which no +notion has entered of all our modern true or false explanations—who +but God is behind all these things? <q>Have +the gates,</q> asks God, <q>have the gates of death been open +to thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of +death?... Where is the way where light dwelleth? +and as for darkness, where is the place thereof?... +Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops +of dew?... Canst thou bind the sweet influences of +Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?... Canst thou +send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, +Here we are?</q> (Job xxxviii.). Of all these wonders, God +<pb n='153'/><anchor id='Pg153'/> +was not merely the <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>prima causa</foreign>; they were the result of +His direct action, without any intermediary causes. And +it is as absurd to say that the ancient world believed in +God, as for a future historian to assert of the nineteenth +century that it believed in the effects of electricity. We +<emph>see</emph> them, and so antiquity <emph>saw</emph> God. If there was any +danger, it lay not in the denial of the existence of a God, +but in having a wrong belief. Belief in as many gods +as there are manifestations in nature, the investing of +them with false attributes, the misunderstanding of God's +relation to men, lead to immorality. Thus the greater +part of the laws and teachings of the Bible are either +directed against polytheism, with all its low ideas of God, +or rather of gods; or they are directed towards regulating +God's relation to men. Man is a servant of God, or His +prophet, or even His friend. But this relationship man +obtains only by his conduct. Nay, all man's actions are +carefully regulated by God, and connected with His holiness. +The 19th chapter of Leviticus, which is considered +by the Rabbis as the portion of the Law in which the +most important articles of the Torah are embodied, is +headed, <q>Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your own God +am holy.</q> And each law therein occurring, even those +which concern our relations to each other, is <emph>not</emph> founded +on utilitarian reasons, but is ordained because the opposite +of it is an offence to the holiness of God, and profanes +His creatures, whom He desired to be as holy as He is.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Siphra</hi> (ed. Weiss), pp. 86<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, 93<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Thus the whole structure of the Bible is built upon the +visible fact of the existence of a God, and upon the belief +in the relation of God to men, especially to Israel. In +spite of all that has been said to the contrary, the Bible +<emph>does</emph> lay stress upon belief, where belief is required. The +<pb n='154'/><anchor id='Pg154'/> +unbelievers are rebuked again and again. <q>For all this +they sinned still, and believed not for His wondrous +work,</q> complains Asaph (Ps. lxxviii. 32). And belief is +praised in such exalted words as, <q>Thus saith the Lord, +I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of +thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, +in a land that was not sown</q> (Jer. ii. 2). The Bible, +especially the books of the prophets, consists, in great +part, of promises for the future, which the Rabbis justly +termed the <q>Consolations.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Baba Bathra</hi>, 14<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>; cf. Fürst's <hi rend='italic'>Kanon</hi>, p. 15.</note> For our purpose, it is of +no great consequence to examine what future the prophets +had in view, whether an immediate future or one more +remote, at the end of days. At any rate, they inculcated +hope and confidence that God would bring to pass a +better time. I think that even the most advanced Bible +critic—provided he is not guided by some modern Aryan +reasons—must perceive in such passages as, <q>The Lord +shall reign for ever and ever,</q> <q>The Lord shall rejoice +in his works,</q> and many others, a hope for more than +the establishment of the <q>national Deity among his +votaries in Palestine.</q> +</p> + +<p> +We have now to pass over an interval of many centuries, +the length of which depends upon the views held +as to the date of the close of the canon, and examine +what the Rabbis, the representatives of the prophets, +thought on this subject. Not that the views of the +author of the <hi rend='italic'>Wisdom of Solomon</hi>, of Philo and Aristobulus, +and many others of the Judæo-Alexandrian school +would be uninteresting for us. But somehow their influence +on Judaism was only a passing one, and their doctrines +never became authoritative in the Synagogue. We +must here confine ourselves to those who, even by the +<pb n='155'/><anchor id='Pg155'/> +testimony of their bitterest enemies, occupied the seat of +Moses. +</p> + +<p> +The successors of the prophets had to deal with new +circumstances, and accordingly their teachings were +adapted to the wants of their times. As the result of +manifold foreign influences, the visible fact of the existence +of God as manifested in the Bible had been somewhat +obscured. Prophecy ceased, and the Holy Spirit +which inspired a few chosen ones took its place. Afterwards +this influence was reduced to the hearing of a +Voice from Heaven, which was audible to still fewer. +On the other hand the Rabbis had this advantage that +they were not called upon to fight against idolatry as +their predecessors the prophets had been. The evil inclination +to worship idols was, as the Talmud expresses +it allegorically, killed by the Men of the Great Synagogue, +or, as we should put it, it was suppressed by the +sufferings of the captivity in Babylon. This change of +circumstances is marked by the following fact:—Whilst +the prophets mostly considered idolatry as the cause of all +sin, the Rabbis show a strong tendency to ascribe sin to +a defect in, or a want of, belief on the part of the sinner. +They teach that Adam would not have sinned unless he +had first denied the <q>Root of all</q> (or the main principle), +namely, the belief in the Omnipresence of God. Of Cain +they say that before murdering his brother he declared: +<q>There is no judgment, there is no judge, there is no +world to come, and there is no reward for the just, and +no punishment for the wicked.</q><note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Sanhedrin</hi>, 38<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, and <hi rend='italic'>Pseudo-Jonathan</hi> to Gen. iv. 8.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In another place we read that the commission of a sin +in secret is an impertinent attempt by the doer to oust +God from the world. But if unbelief is considered as +<pb n='156'/><anchor id='Pg156'/> +the root of all evil, we may expect that the reverse of +it, a perfect faith, would be praised in the most exalted +terms. So we read: Faith is so great that the man who +possesses it may hope to become a worthy vessel of the +Holy Spirit, or, as we should express it, that he may hope +to obtain by this power the highest degree of communion +with his Maker. The Patriarch Abraham, notwithstanding +all his other virtues, only became <q>the possessor of both +worlds</q> by the merit of his strong faith. Nay, even the +fulfilment of a single law when accompanied by true faith +is, according to the Rabbis, sufficient to bring man nigh +to God. And the future redemption is also conditional +on the degree of faith shown by Israel.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Mechilta</hi>, 33<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It has often been asked what the Rabbis would have +thought of a man who fulfils every commandment of the +Torah, but does not believe that this Torah was given by +God, or that there exists a God at all. It is indeed very +difficult to answer this question with any degree of certainty. +In the time of the Rabbis people were still too +simple for such a diplomatic religion, and conformity +in the modern sense was quite an unknown thing. But +from the foregoing remarks it would seem that the +Rabbis could not conceive such a monstrosity as atheistic +orthodoxy. For, as we have seen, the Rabbis thought +that unbelief must needs end in sin, for faith is the origin +of all good. Accordingly, in the case just supposed +they would have either suspected the man's orthodoxy, +or would have denied that his views were really what he +professed them to be. +</p> + +<p> +Still more important than the above cited Agadic passages +is one which we are about to quote from the tractate +Sanhedrin. This tractate deals with the constitution, +<pb n='157'/><anchor id='Pg157'/> +of the supreme law-court, the examination of the witnesses, +the functions of the judges, and the different +punishment to be inflicted on the transgressors of the +law. After having enumerated various kinds of capital +punishment, the Mishnah adds the following words: +<q>These are (the men) who are excluded from the life +to come: He who says there is no resurrection from +death; he who says there is no Torah given from +heaven, and the Epikurus.</q><note place='foot'>אפיקורוס, Lat. Epicurus.</note> This passage was considered +by the Rabbis of the Middle Ages, as well as +by modern scholars, the <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>locus classicus</foreign> for the dogma +question. There are many passages in the Rabbinic +literature which exclude man from the world to come +for this or that sin. But these are more or less of an +Agadic (legendary) character, and thus lend themselves +to exaggeration and hyperbolic language. They cannot, +therefore, be considered as serious legal dicta, or as the +general opinion of the Rabbis. +</p> + +<p> +The Mishnah in Sanhedrin, however, has, if only by +its position in a legal tractate, a certain <foreign rend='italic'>Halachic</foreign> (obligatory) +character. And the fact that so early an authority +as R. Akiba made additions to it guarantees its high +antiquity. The first two sentences of this Mishnah are +clear enough. In modern language, and positively speaking, +they would represent articles of belief in Resurrection +and Revelation. Great difficulty is found in defining what +was meant by the word <foreign rend='italic'>Epikurus</foreign>. The authorities of the +Middle Ages, to whom I shall again have to refer, explain +the Epikurus to be a man who denies the belief in reward +and punishment; others identify him with one who denies +the belief in Providence; while others again consider the +Epikurus to be one who denies Tradition. But the parallel +<pb n='158'/><anchor id='Pg158'/> +passages in which it occurs incline one rather to think +that this word cannot be defined by one kind of heresy. +It implies rather a frivolous treatment of the words of +Scripture or of Tradition. In the case of the latter (Tradition) +it is certainly not honest difference of opinion that +is condemned; for the Rabbis themselves differed very +often from each other, and even Mediæval authorities +did not feel any compunction about explaining Scripture +in variance with the Rabbinic interpretation, and sometimes +they even went so far as to declare that the view +of this or that great authority was only to be considered +as an isolated opinion not deserving particular attention. +What they did blame was, as already said, scoffing and +impiety. We may thus safely assert that reverence for +the teachers of Israel formed the third essential principle +of Judaism.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Mishnah</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>Sanhedrin</hi>, x. e, § 1, and Talmud, <hi rend='italic'>ibid.</hi> 90<hi rend='italic'>a</hi> and <hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, +and Rabbinowicz's <hi rend='italic'>Variae Lectiones</hi>, ix. p. 247 notes. Besides the +ordinary commentaries on the Talmud, account must also be taken of +the remarks of Crescas, Duran, Albo, and Abarbanel on the subject. +Cf. also Kämpf in the <hi rend='italic'>Monatsschrift</hi> (1863), p. 144 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>; Oppenheim, +<hi rend='italic'>ibid.</hi> (1864), p. 144; Friedmann in the <hi rend='italic'>Beth Talmud</hi>, i. p. 210 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi> +See also Talmudical Dictionaries, <hi rend='italic'>s.v.</hi> אפיקורום. The explanation I +have adopted agrees partly with Friedmann's and partly with Oppenheim's +views.</note> +</p> + +<p> +I have still to remark that there occur in the Talmud +such passages as <q>the Jew, even if he has sinned, is still a +Jew,</q> or <q>He who denies idolatry is called a Jew.</q> These +and similar passages have been used to prove that Judaism +was not a positive religion, but only involved the negation +of idolatry. But it has been overlooked that the statements +quoted have more a legal than a theological character. +The Jew belonged to his nationality even after having +committed the greatest sin, just as the Englishman does +not cease to be an Englishman—in regard to treason and +the like—by having committed a heinous crime. But he +has certainly acted in a very un-English way, and having +outraged the feelings of the whole nation will have to suffer +for his misconduct. The Rabbis in a similar manner +did not maintain that he who gave up the belief in Revelation +and Resurrection, and treated irreverently the teachers +<pb n='159'/><anchor id='Pg159'/> +of Israel, severed his connection with the Jewish nation, +but that, for his crime, he was going to suffer the heaviest +punishment. He was to be excluded from the world to +come. +</p> + +<p> +Still, important as is the passage quoted from Sanhedrin, +it would be erroneous to think that it exhausted the +creed of the Rabbis. The liturgy and innumerable passages +in the Midrashim show that they ardently clung to +the belief in the advent of the Messiah. All their hope +was turned to the future redemption and the final establishment +of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Judaism, +stripped of this belief, would have been for them devoid of +meaning. The belief in reward and punishment is also +repeated again and again in the old Rabbinic literature. +A more emphatic declaration of the belief in Providence +than is conveyed by the following passages is hardly conceivable. +<q>Everything is foreseen, and free will is given. +And the world is judged by grace.</q> Or, <q>the born are to +die, and the dead to revive, and the living to be judged. +For to know and to notify, and that it may be known +that He (God) is the Framer and He the Creator, and +He the Discerner, and He the Judge, and He the Witness,</q> +etc.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sayings of the Fathers</hi>, iii. § 9, and iv. § 22.</note> +</p> + +<p> +But it must not be forgotten that it was not the habit of +the Rabbis to lay down, either for conduct or for doctrine, +rules which were commonly known. When they urged +the three points stated above there must have been some +historical reason for it. Probably these principles were +controverted by some heretics. Indeed, the whole tone +of the passage cited from Sanhedrin is a protest against +certain unbelievers who are threatened with punishment. +Other beliefs, not less essential, but less disputed, remain +<pb n='160'/><anchor id='Pg160'/> +unmentioned, because there was no necessity to assert +them. +</p> + +<p> +It was not till a much later time, when the Jews came +into closer contact with new philosophical schools, and +also new creeds which were more liable than heathenism +was to be confused with Judaism, that this necessity was +felt. And thus we are led at once to the period when the +Jews became acquainted with the teachings of the Mohammedan +schools. The Caraites came very early into contact +with non-Jewish systems. And so we find that they +were also the first to formulate Jewish dogmas in a fixed +number, and in a systematic order. It is also possible that +their separation from the Tradition, and their early division +into little sects among themselves, compelled them to take +this step, in order to avoid further sectarianism. +</p> + +<p> +The number of their dogmas amounts to ten. According +to Judah Hadasi (1150), who would appear to have +derived them from his predecessors, their dogmas include +the following articles:—1. <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Creatio ex nihilo</foreign>; 2. The existence +of a Creator, God; 3. This God is an absolute unity +as well as incorporeal; 4. Moses and the other prophets +were sent by God; 5. God has given to us the Torah, +which is true and complete in every respect, not wanting +the addition of the so-called Oral Law; 6. The Torah +must be studied by every Jew in the original (Hebrew) +language; 7. The Holy Temple was a place elected by +God for His manifestation; 8. Resurrection of the dead; +9. Punishment and reward after death; 10. The Coming +of the Messiah, the son of David. +</p> + +<p> +How far the predecessors of Hadasi were influenced by +a certain Joseph Albashir (about 950), of whom there exists +a manuscript work, <q>Rudiments of Faith,</q> I am unable to +<pb n='161'/><anchor id='Pg161'/> +say. The little we know of him reveals more of his intimacy +with Arabic thoughts than of his importance for his +sect in particular and for Judaism in general. After Hadasi +I shall mention here Elijah Bashazi, a Caraite writer +of the end of the fifteenth century. This author, who was +much influenced by Maimonides, omits the second and the +seventh articles. In order to make up the ten he numbers +the belief in the eternity of God as an article, and divides +the fourth article into two. In the fifth article Bashazi +does not emphasise so strongly the completeness of the +Torah as Hadasi, and omits the portion which is directed +against Tradition. It is interesting to see the distinction +which Bashazi draws between the Pentateuch and the +Prophets. While he thinks that the five books of Moses +can never be altered, he regards the words of the Prophets +as only relating to their contemporaries, and thus subject +to changes. As I do not want to anticipate Maimonides' +system, I must refrain from giving here the articles laid +down by Solomon Troki in the beginning of the eighteenth +century. For the articles of Maimonides are copied by +this writer with a few slight alterations so as to dress them +in a Caraite garb. +</p> + +<p> +I must dismiss the Caraites with these few remarks, my +object being chiefly to discuss the dogmas of the Synagogue +from which they had separated themselves. Besides, +as in everything Caraitic, there is no further development +of the question. As Bashazi laid them down, they are +still taught by the Caraites of to-day. I return to the Rabbanites.<note place='foot'>See אדרת אליהו (Jovslow, 1835), p. 48. In my exposition of the +dogmas of the Caraites I have mainly followed the late Dr. Frankl's +article <q>Karaiten</q> in Ersch u. Gruber's <hi rend='italic'>Encyclopädie</hi> (sec. ii. +vol. xxxvi. pp. 12-18). See also his <hi rend='italic'>Ein mutazilitischer Kalam</hi> +and his <hi rend='italic'>Beiträge zur Literaturgeschichte der Karäer</hi> (Berlin, 1887) +on Bashazi. Cf. also Jost's <hi rend='italic'>Geschichte</hi>, ii. c. 13.</note> +</p> + +<p> +As is well known, Maimonides (1130-1205), was the first +Rabbanite who formulated the dogmas of the Synagogue. +But there are indications of earlier attempts. R. Saadiah +<pb n='162'/><anchor id='Pg162'/> +Gaon's (892-942) work, <hi rend='italic'>Creeds and Opinions</hi>, shows such +traces. He says in his preface, <q>My heart sickens to +see that the belief of my co-religionists is impure and +that their theological views are confused.</q> The subjects +he treats in this book, such as creation, unity of God, +resurrection of the dead, the future redemption of Israel, +reward and punishment, and other kindred theological +subjects might thus, perhaps, be considered as the essentials +of the creed that the Gaon desired to present in a +pure and rational form. R. Hannaneel, of Kairowan,<note place='foot'>Kairowan was one of the greatest centres of Jewish learning in +North Africa during that period.</note> in +the first half of the eleventh century, says in one of his +commentaries that to deserve eternal life one must believe +in <emph>four</emph> things: in God, in the prophets, in a future world +where the just will be rewarded, and in the advent of the +Redeemer. From R. Judah Hallevi's <hi rend='italic'>Cusari</hi>, written in +the beginning of the twelfth century, we might argue that +the belief in the election of Israel by God was the cardinal +dogma of the author.<note place='foot'>See, however, Professor D. Kaufmann's note in the <hi rend='italic'>Jewish +Quarterly Review</hi>, i. p. 441. From this it would seem that the creed of +R. Judah Hallevi may be formulated in the following articles:—The +conviction of the existence of God, of His eternity, of His guidance of +our fathers, of the Divine Origin of the Law, and of the proof of all +this, the pledge or token of its truth, the exodus from Egypt.</note> Abraham Ibn Daud, a contemporary +of Maimonides, in his book <hi rend='italic'>The High Belief</hi>,<note place='foot'>אמונה רמה, <hi rend='italic'>Emunah Ramah</hi>, pp. 44 and 69; cf. Gulmann, +<hi rend='italic'>Monatsschrift</hi>, 1878, p. 304.</note> +speaks of <emph>rudiments</emph>, among which, besides such metaphysical +principles as unity, rational conception of God's +attributes, etc., the belief in the immutability of the Law, +etc., is included. Still, all these works are intended to furnish +evidence from philosophy or history for the truth of +religion rather than to give a definition of this truth. The +latter task was undertaken by Maimonides. +</p> + +<p> +I refer to the thirteen articles embodied in his first work, +<hi rend='italic'>The Commentary to the Mishnah</hi>. They are appended +to the Mishnah in Sanhedrin, with which I dealt above. +But though they do not form an independent treatise, +Maimonides' remarks must not be considered as merely +incidental. +</p> + +<pb n='163'/><anchor id='Pg163'/> + +<p> +That Maimonides was quite conscious of the importance +of this exposition can be gathered from the concluding +words addressed to the reader: <q>Know these (words) +and repeat them many times, and think them over in the +proper way. God knows that thou wouldst be deceiving +thyself if thou thinkest thou hast understood them by having +read them once or even ten times. Be not, therefore, +hasty in perusing them. I have not composed them without +deep study and earnest reflection.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The result of this deep study was that the following +Thirteen Articles constitute the creed of Judaism. They +are:— +</p> + +<p> +1. The belief in the existence of a Creator; 2. The +belief in His Unity; 3. The belief in His Incorporeality; +4. The belief in His Eternity; 5. The belief that all worship +and adoration are due to Him alone; 6. The belief in +Prophecy; 7. The belief that Moses was the greatest of +all Prophets, both before and after him; 8. The belief that +the Torah was revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai; 9. The +belief in the Immutability of this revealed Torah; 10. The +belief that God knows the actions of men; 11. The belief +in Reward and Punishment; 12. The belief in the coming +of the Messiah; 13. The belief in the Resurrection of the +dead. +</p> + +<p> +The impulse given by the great philosopher and still +greater Jew was eagerly followed by succeeding generations, +and Judaism thus came into possession of a dogmatic +literature such as it never knew before Maimonides. Maimonides +is the centre of this literature, and I shall accordingly +speak in the remainder of this essay of Maimonists +and Anti-Maimonists. These terms really apply to the +great controversy that raged round Maimonides' <hi rend='italic'>Guide of +<pb n='164'/><anchor id='Pg164'/> +the Perplexed</hi>, but I shall, chiefly for brevity's sake, employ +them in these pages in a restricted sense to refer to +the dispute concerning the Thirteen Articles. +</p> + +<p> +Among the Maimonists we may probably include the +great majority of Jews, who accepted the Thirteen Articles +without further question. Maimonides must indeed have +filled up a great gap in Jewish theology, a gap, moreover, +the existence of which was very generally perceived. A +century had hardly elapsed before the Thirteen Articles +had become a theme for the poets of the Synagogue. And +almost every country where Jews lived can show a poem +or a prayer founded on these Articles. R. Jacob Molin +(1420) of Germany speaks of metrical and rhymed songs +in the German language, the burden of which was the +Thirteen Articles, and which were read by the common +people with great devotion. The numerous commentaries +and homilies written on the same topic would form a small +library in themselves.<note place='foot'>For the various translations of the Thirteen Articles which were +originally composed in Arabic, see Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 1887. +Cf. Rosin, <hi rend='italic'>Ethik des Maimonides</hi>, p. 30; Weiss, <hi rend='italic'>Beth Talmud</hi>, i. p. 330, +and <hi rend='italic'>Ben Chananjah</hi>, 1863, p. 942, and 1864, pp. 648 and 697, and +Landshut, עמודי העבודה, p. 231.</note> But on the other hand it must +not be denied that the Anti-Maimonists, that is to say +those Jewish writers who did not agree with the creed +formulated by Maimonides, or agreed only in part with +him, form also a very strong and respectable minority. +They deserve our attention the more as it is their works +which brought life into the subject and deepened it. It +is not by a perpetual Amen to every utterance of a great +authority that truth or literature gains anything. +</p> + +<p> +The Anti-Maimonists can be divided into two classes. +The one class categorically denies that Judaism has dogmas. +I shall have occasion to touch on this view when I +come to speak of Abarbanel. Here I pass at once to the +second class of Anti-Maimonists. This consists of those +who agree with Maimonides as to the existence of dogmas +<pb n='165'/><anchor id='Pg165'/> +in Judaism, but who differ from him as to what these +dogmas are, or who give a different enumeration of +them. +</p> + +<p> +As the first of these Anti-Maimonists we may regard +Nachmanides, who, in his famous <hi rend='italic'>Sermon in the Presence +of the King</hi>, speaks of three fundamental principles: Creation +(that is, non-eternity of matter), Omniscience of God, +and Providence. Next comes R. Abba Mari ben Moses, +of Montpellier. He wrote at the beginning of the fourteenth +century, and is famous in Jewish history for his +zeal against the study of philosophy. We possess a small +pamphlet by him dealing with our subject, and it forms +a kind of prologue to his collection of controversial letters +against the rationalists of his time.<note place='foot'>מנחת קנאות. See pp. 1-16.</note> He lays down +three articles as the fundamental teachings of Religion: +1. Metaphysical: The existence of God, including His Unity +and Incorporeality; 2. Mosaic: <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Creatio ex nihilo</foreign> by God—a +consequence of this principle is the belief that God +is capable of altering the laws of nature at His pleasure; +3. Ethical: Special Providence—<hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi> God knows all our +actions in all their details. Abba Mari does not mention +Maimonides' Thirteen Articles. But it would be false to +conclude that he rejected the belief in the coming of the +Messiah, or any other article of Maimonides. The whole +tone and tendency of this pamphlet is polemical, and it is +therefore probable that he only urged those points which +were either doubted or explained in an unorthodox way by +the sceptics of his time. +</p> + +<p> +Another scholar, of Provence, who wrote but twenty +years later than Abba Mari—R. David ben Samuel +d'Estella (1320)—speaks of the seven pillars of religion. +They are: Revelation, Providence, Reward and Punishment, +<pb n='166'/><anchor id='Pg166'/> +the Coming of the Messiah, Resurrection of the +Dead, <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Creatio ex nihilo</foreign>, and Free Will.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Hammaskir</hi>, viii. pp. 63 and 103.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Of authors living in other countries, I have to mention +here R. Shemariah, of Crete, who flourished at about the +same time as R. David d'Estella, and is known from his +efforts to reconcile the Caraites with the Rabbanites. +This author wrote a book for the purpose of furnishing +Jewish students with evidence for what he considered the +five fundamental teachings of Judaism, viz.: 1. The Existence +of God; 2. The Incorporeality of God; 3. His +Absolute Unity; 4. That God created heaven and earth; +5. That God created the world after His will 5106 years +ago—5106 (1346 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi>), being the year in which Shemariah +wrote these words.<note place='foot'>See Steinschneider, <hi rend='italic'>Cat. München</hi>, No. 210.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In Portugal, at about the same time, we find R. David +ben Yom-Tob Bilia adding to the articles of Maimonides +thirteen of his own, which he calls the <q>Fundamentals of +the Thinking Man.</q> Five of these articles relate to the +functions of the human soul, that, according to him, +emanated from God, and to the way in which this divine +soul receives its punishment and reward. The other eight +articles are as follows: 1. The belief in the existence of +spiritual beings—angels; 2. <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Creatio ex nihilo</foreign>; 3. The +belief in the existence of another world, and that this +other world is only a spiritual one; 4. The Torah is above +philosophy; 5. The Torah has an outward (literal) meaning +and an inward (allegorical) meaning; 6. The text of +the Torah is not subject to any emendation; 7. The +reward of a good action is the good work itself, and the +doer must not expect any other reward; 8. It is only by +the <q>commands relating to the heart,</q> for instance, the +belief in one eternal God, the loving and fearing Him, and +<pb n='167'/><anchor id='Pg167'/> +not through good actions, that man attains the highest +degree of perfection.<note place='foot'>See the Collection דברי הבמימ, by Ashkenazi, pp. 56<hi rend='italic'>b</hi> <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi></note> Perhaps it would be suitable to +mention here another contemporaneous writer, who also +enumerates twenty-six articles. The name of this writer +is unknown, and his articles are only gathered from quotations +by later authors. It would seem from these quotations +that the articles of this unknown author consisted +mostly of statements emphasising the belief in the attributes +of God: as, His Eternity, His Wisdom and Omnipotence, +and the like.<note place='foot'>See Albo, c. iii. Probably identical with the author mentioned +by Duran, 13<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +More important for our subject are the productions of +the fifteenth century, especially those of Spanish authors. +The fifteen articles of R. Lipman Muhlhausen, in the preface +to his well-known <hi rend='italic'>Book of Victory</hi><note place='foot'>ספר נצחון, <q>Sepher Nizzachon.</q></note> (1410), differ but +slightly from those of Maimonides. In accordance with +the anti-Christian tendency of his polemical book, he lays +more stress on the two articles of Unity and Incorporeality, +and makes of them four. We can therefore dismiss +him with this short remark, and pass at once to the +Spanish Rabbis. +</p> + +<p> +The first of these is R. Chasdai Ibn Crescas, who composed +his famous treatise, <hi rend='italic'>The Light of God</hi>, about 1405. +Chasdai's book is well known for its attacks on Aristotle, +and also for its influence on Spinoza. But Chasdai deals +also with Maimonides' Thirteen Articles, to which he was +very strongly opposed. Already in his preface he attacks +Maimonides for speaking, in his <hi rend='italic'>Book of the Commandments</hi>, +of the belief in the existence of God as an <q>affirmative +precept.</q> Chasdai thinks it absurd; for every commandment +must be dictated by some authority, but on +whose authority can we dictate the acceptance of this +authority? His general objection to the Thirteen Articles +<pb n='168'/><anchor id='Pg168'/> +is that Maimonides confounded dogmas or <emph>fundamental +beliefs</emph> of Judaism, without which Judaism is inconceivable, +with beliefs or <emph>doctrines</emph> which Judaism inculcates, but the +denial of which, though involving a strong heresy, does +not make Judaism impossible. He maintains that if +Maimonides meant only to count fundamental teachings, +there are not more than seven; but that if he intended +also to include doctrines, he ought to have enumerated +sixteen. As beliefs of the first class—namely, fundamental +beliefs—he considers the following articles: 1. God's +knowledge of our actions; 2. Providence; 3. God's omnipotence—even +to act against the laws of nature; +4. Prophecy; 5. Free will; 6. The aim of the Torah is +to make man long after the closest communion with God. +The belief in the existence of God, Chasdai thinks, is an +axiom with which every religion must begin, and he is +therefore uncertain whether to include it as a dogma or +not. As to the doctrines which every Jew is bound to +believe, but without which Judaism is not impossible, +Chasdai divides them into two sections: (<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>) 1. <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Creatio ex +nihilo</foreign>; 2. Immortality of the soul; 3. Reward and Punishment; +4. Resurrection of the dead; 5. Immutability +of the Torah; 6. Superiority of the prophecy of Moses; +7. That the High Priest received from God the instructions +sought for, when he put his questions through the medium +of the Urim and Thummim; 8. The coming of the Messiah. +(<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>) Doctrines which are expressed by certain religious +ceremonies, and on belief in which these ceremonies +are conditioned: 1. The belief in the efficacy of prayer—as +well as in the power of the benediction of the priests to +convey to us the blessing of God; 2. God is merciful to +the penitent; 3. Certain days in the year—for instance, +<pb n='169'/><anchor id='Pg169'/> +the Day of Atonement—are especially qualified to bring +us near to God, if we keep them in the way we are commanded. +That Chasdai is a little arbitrary in the choice +of his <q>doctrines,</q> I need hardly say. Indeed, Chasdai's +importance for the dogma-question consists more in his +critical suggestions than in his positive results. He was, +as we have seen, the first to make the distinction between +fundamental teachings which form the basis of Judaism, +and those other simple Jewish doctrines without which +Judaism is not impossible. Very daring is his remark, +when proving that Reward and Punishment, Immortality +of the soul, and Resurrection of the dead must not be considered +as the basis of Judaism, since the highest ideal of +religion is to serve God without any hope of reward. Even +more daring are his words concerning the Immutability +of the Law. He says: <q>Some have argued that, since +God is perfection, so must also His law be perfect, and +thus unsusceptible of improvement.</q> But he does not +think this argument conclusive, though the fact in itself +(the Immutability of the Law) is true. For one might +answer that this perfection of the Torah could only be in +accordance with the intelligence of those for whom it was +meant; but as soon as the recipients of the Torah have +advanced to a higher state of perfection, the Torah must +also be altered to suit their advanced intelligence. A +pupil of Chasdai illustrates the words of his master by a +medical parallel. The physician has to adapt his medicaments +to the various stages through which his patient has +to pass. That he changes his prescription does not, however, +imply that his medical knowledge is imperfect, or +that his earlier remedies were ignorantly chosen; the varying +condition of the invalid was the cause of the variation +<pb n='170'/><anchor id='Pg170'/> +in the doctor's treatment. Similarly, were not the Immutability +of the Torah a <q>doctrine,</q> one might maintain +that the perfection of the Torah would not be inconsistent +with the assumption that it was susceptible of modification, +in accordance with our changing and progressive +circumstances. But all these arguments are purely of a +theoretic character; for, practically, every Jew, according +to Chasdai, has to accept all these beliefs, whether he +terms them fundamental teachings or only Jewish doctrines.<note place='foot'>See אור ה (ed. Johannisburg), preface, and pp. 20<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>, 44<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, 59<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, +and elsewhere. The style of this author is very obscure. Cf. Joel's +pamphlet on this author (Breslau, 1874).</note> +</p> + +<p> +Some years later, though he finished his work in the +same year as Chasdai, R. Simeon Duran (1366-1444,) a +younger contemporary of the former, made his researches +on dogmas. His studies on this subject form a kind of +introduction to his commentary on Job, which he finished +in the year 1405. Duran is not so strongly opposed to +the Thirteen Articles as Chasdai, or as another <q>thinker +of our people,</q> who thought them an arbitrary imitation +of the thirteen attributes of God. Duran tries to justify +Maimonides; but nevertheless he agrees with <q>earlier +authorities,</q> who formulated the Jewish creed in Three +Articles—The Existence of God, Revelation, and Reward +and Punishment—under which Duran thinks the Thirteen +Articles of Maimonides may be easily classed. Most +interesting are his remarks concerning the validity of dogmas. +He tells us that only those are to be considered +as heretics who abide by their own opinions, though they +know that they are contradictory to the views of the +Torah. Those who accept the fundamental teachings of +Judaism, but are led by their deep studies and earnest +reflection to differ in details from the opinions current +among their co-religionists, and explain certain passages +<pb n='171'/><anchor id='Pg171'/> +in the Scripture in their own way, must by no means be +considered as heretics. We must, therefore, Duran proceeds +to say, not blame such men as Maimonides, who +gave an allegorical interpretation to certain passages in +the Bible about miracles, or R. Levi ben Gershom, who +followed certain un-Jewish views in relation to the belief +in <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Creatio ex nihilo</foreign>. Only the views are condemnable, +not those who cherish them. God forbid, says Duran, +that such a thing should happen in Israel as to condemn +honest inquirers on account of their differing opinions. +It would be interesting to know of how many divines as +tolerant as this persecuted Jew the fifteenth century can +boast.<note place='foot'>See the first pages of the מגן (Leghorn, 1758), and his +משסם, pp. 13 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi></note> +</p> + +<p> +We can now pass to a more popular but less original +writer on our theme. I refer to R. Joseph Albo, the +author of the <hi rend='italic'>Roots</hi>,<note place='foot'>עקרים, <hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, <q>Fundamentals.</q></note> who was the pupil of Chasdai, a +younger contemporary of Duran, and wrote at a much +later period than these authors. Graetz has justly denied +him much originality. The chief merit of Albo consists +in popularising other people's thoughts, though he does +not always take care to mention their names. And the +student who is a little familiar with the contents of the +<hi rend='italic'>Roots</hi> will easily find that Albo has taken his best ideas +either from Chasdai or from Duran. As it is of little +consequence to us whether an article of faith is called +<q>stem,</q> or <q>root,</q> or <q>branch,</q> there is scarcely anything +fresh left to quote in the name of Albo. The late Dr. +Löw, of Szegedin, was indeed right, when he answered +an adversary who challenged him—<q>Who would dare to +declare me a heretic as long as I confess the Three Articles +laid down by Albo?</q> with the words <q>Albo himself.</q> +For, after all the subtle distinctions Albo makes between +<pb n='172'/><anchor id='Pg172'/> +different classes of dogmas, he declares that every one +who denies even the immutability of the Law or the coming +of the Messiah, which are, according to him, articles +of minor importance, is a heretic who will be excluded +from the world to come. But there is one point in his +book which is worth noticing. It was suggested to him +by Maimonides, indeed; still Albo has the merit of having +emphasised it as it deserves. Among the articles which +he calls <q>branches</q> Albo counts the belief that the perfection +of man, which leads to eternal life, can be obtained +by the fulfilling of <emph>one</emph> commandment. But this command +must, as Maimonides points out, be done without any +worldly regard, and only for the love of God. When one +considers how many platitudes are repeated year by year +by certain theologians on the subject of Jewish legalism, +we cannot lay enough stress on this article of Albo, and +we ought to make it better known than it has hitherto +been.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, i. c. 23, and Maimonides' <hi rend='italic'>Commentary on the +Mishnah</hi> (end of tractate Maccoth). On Albo compare Schlesinger's +Introduction and notes to the <hi rend='italic'>Ikkarim</hi>, Joel's pamphlet, p. 82; Paulus, +<hi rend='italic'>Monatsschrift</hi>, 1874, p. 463, and Brüll's <hi rend='italic'>Jahrb.</hi> iv. p. 52.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Though I cannot enter here into the enumeration of the +Maimonists, I must not leave unmentioned the name of +R. Nissim ben Moses of Marseilles, the first great Maimonist, +who flourished about the end of the thirteenth +century, and was considered as one of the most enlightened +thinkers of his age.<note place='foot'>I know his work from a MS. in the British Museum, Orient. 39.</note> Another great Maimonist +deserving special attention is R. Abraham ben Shem-Tob +Bibago, who may perhaps be regarded as the most prominent +among those who undertook to defend Maimonides +against the attacks of Chasdai and others. Bibago wrote +<hi rend='italic'>The Path of Belief</hi><note place='foot'>דרך אמונה, <hi rend='italic'>Derech Emunah</hi>. Cf. Steinschneider, <hi rend='italic'>Monatsschrift</hi>, +1883, p. 79 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi></note> in the second half of the fifteenth +century, and was, as Dr. Steinschneider aptly describes +him, a <foreign rend='italic'>Denkgläubiger</foreign>. But, above all, he was a believing +Jew. When he was once asked, at the table of King +<pb n='173'/><anchor id='Pg173'/> +John II., of Aragon, by a Christian scholar, <q>Are you the +Jewish philosopher?</q> he answered, <q>I am a Jew who +believes in the Law given to us by our teacher Moses, +though I have studied philosophy.</q> Bibago was such a +devoted admirer of Maimonides that he could not tolerate +any opposition to him. He speaks in one passage of the +prudent people of his time who, in desiring to be looked +upon as orthodox by the great mob, calumniated the +Teacher (Maimonides), and depreciated his merits. Bibago's +book is very interesting, especially in its controversial +parts; but in respect to dogmas he is, as already +said, a Maimonist, and does not contribute any new point +on our subject. +</p> + +<p> +To return to the Anti-Maimonists of the second half +of the fifteenth century. As such may be considered +R. Isaac Aramah, who speaks of three foundations of +religion: <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Creatio ex nihilo</foreign>, Revelation (?), and the belief +in a world to come.<note place='foot'>See עקידת יצחק, gate 55.</note> Next to be mentioned is R. Joseph +Jabez, who also accepts only three articles: <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Creatio ex +nihilo</foreign>, Individual Providence, and the Unity of God.<note place='foot'>See his ימוד האמונה and מאמר האחרות.</note> +Under these three heads he tries to classify the Thirteen +Articles of Maimonides. +</p> + +<p> +The last Spanish writer on our subject is R. Isaac +Abarbanel. His treatise on the subject is known under +the title <hi rend='italic'>Top of Amanah</hi>,<note place='foot'>ראש אמנה.</note> and was finished in the year +1495. The greatest part of this treatise forms a defence +of Maimonides, many points in which are taken from +Bibago. But, in spite of this fact, Abarbanel must not +be considered a Maimonist. It is only a feeling of piety +towards Maimonides, or perhaps rather a fondness for +argument, that made him defend Maimonides against +Chasdai and others. His own view is that it is a mistake +<pb n='174'/><anchor id='Pg174'/> +to formulate dogmas of Judaism, since every word in the +Torah has to be considered as a dogma for itself. It was +only, says Abarbanel, by following the example of non-Jewish +scholars that Maimonides and others were induced +to lay down dogmas. The non-Jewish philosophers are +in the habit of accepting in every science certain indisputable +axioms from which they deduce the propositions +which are less evident. The Jewish philosophers in a +similar way sought for first principles in religion from +which the whole of the Torah ought to be considered as +a deduction. But, thinks Abarbanel, the Torah as a +revealed code is under no necessity of deducing things +from each other, for all the commands came from the +same divine authority, and, therefore, all are alike evident, +and have the same certainty. On this and similar grounds +Abarbanel refused to accept dogmatic articles for Judaism, +and he thus became the head of the school that forms +a class by itself among the Anti-Maimonists to which +many of the greatest Cabbalists also belong. But it is +idle talk to cite this school in aid of the modern theory +that Judaism has no dogmas. As we have seen, it was +rather an <foreign rend='italic'>embarras de richesse</foreign> that prevented Abarbanel +from accepting the Thirteen Articles of Maimonides. To +him and to the Cabbalists the Torah consists of at least +613 Articles. +</p> + +<p> +Abarbanel wrote his book with which we have just +dealt, at Naples. And it is Italy to which, after the +expulsion of the Jews from Spain, we have to look chiefly +for religious speculation. But the philosophers of Italy +are still less independent of Maimonides than their predecessors +in Spain. Thus we find that R. David Messer +Leon, R. David Vital, and others were Maimonists. +<pb n='175'/><anchor id='Pg175'/> +Even the otherwise refined and original thinker, R. Elijah +Delmedigo (who died about the end of the fifteenth +century) becomes almost impolite when he speaks of the +adversaries of Maimonides in respect to dogmas. <q>It +was only,</q> he says, <q>the would-be philosopher that dared +to question the articles of Maimonides. Our people have +always the bad habit of thinking themselves competent +to attack the greatest authorities as soon as they have got +some knowledge of the subject. Genuine thinkers, however, +attach very little importance to their objections.</q><note place='foot'>See בהיגת הדת, ed. Reggio, p. 28.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, it seems as if the energetic protests of Delmedigo +scared away the Anti-Maimonists for more than +a century. Even in the following seventeenth century +we have to notice only two Anti-Maimonists. The one +is R. Tobijah, the Priest (1652), who was of Polish descent, +studied in Italy, and lived as a medical man in +France. He seems to refuse to accept the belief in the +Immutability of the Torah, and in the coming of the Messiah, +as fundamental teachings of Judaism.<note place='foot'>See מעשה מבית (Venice, 1707), 16<hi rend='italic'>a</hi> and 23<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>. His language is +very vague.</note> The other, +at the end of the seventeenth century (1695), is R. Abraham +Chayim Viterbo, of Italy. He accepts only six +articles: 1. Existence of God; 2. Unity; 3. Incorporeality; +4. That God was revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai, +and that the prophecy of Moses is true; 5. Revelation +(including the historical parts of the Torah); 6. Reward +and Punishment. As to the other articles of Maimonides, +Viterbo, in opposition to other half-hearted Anti-Maimonists, +declares that the man who denies them is <emph>not</emph> to be +considered as a heretic; though he ought to believe +them.<note place='foot'>See the Collection by Ashkenazi (as above, note 18), p. 29<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +I have now arrived at the limit I set to myself at the +beginning of this essay. For, between the times of +<pb n='176'/><anchor id='Pg176'/> +Viterbo and those of Mendelssohn, there is hardly to be +found any serious opposition to Maimonides worth noticing +here. Still I must mention the name of R. Saul +Berlin (died 1794); there is much in his opinions on +dogmas which will help us the better to understand the +Thirteen Articles of Maimonides. As the reader has +seen, I have refrained so far from reproducing here the +apologies which were made by many Maimonists in behalf +of the Thirteen Articles. For, after all their elaborate +pleas, none of them was able to clear Maimonides of the +charge of having confounded dogmas or fundamental +teachings with doctrines. It is also true that the Fifth +Article—that prayer and worship must only be offered +to God—cannot be considered even as a doctrine, but +as a simple precept. And there are other difficulties +which all the distinctions of the Maimonists will never +be able to solve. The only possible justification is, I +think, that suggested by a remark of R. Saul. This +author, who was himself—like his friend and older +contemporary Mendelssohn—a strong Anti-Maimonist, +among other remarks, maintains that dogmas must never +be laid down but with regard to the necessities of the +time.<note place='foot'>See his בשמים ראש, p. 331.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Now R. Saul certainly did not doubt that Judaism is +based on eternal truths which can in no way be shaken +by new modes of thinking or changed circumstances. +What he meant was that there are in every age certain +beliefs which ought to be asserted more emphatically +than others, without regard to their theological or rather +logical importance. It is by this maxim that we shall +be able to explain the articles of Maimonides. He asserted +them, because they were necessary for his time. +</p> + +<pb n='177'/><anchor id='Pg177'/> + +<p> +We know, for instance, from a letter of his son and from +other contemporaries, that it was just at his time that +the belief in the incorporeality of God was, in the opinion +of Maimonides, a little relaxed. Maimonides, who +thought such low notions of the Deity dangerous to +Judaism, therefore laid down an article against them. +He tells us in his <hi rend='italic'>Guide</hi> that it was far from him to +condemn any one who was not able to demonstrate the +Incorporeality of God, but he stigmatised as a heretic +one who refused to believe it. This position might be +paralleled by that of a modern astronomer who, while +considering it unreasonable to expect a mathematical +demonstration of the movements of the earth from an +ordinary unscientific man, would yet regard the person +who refused to believe in such movements as an ignorant +faddist. +</p> + +<p> +Again, Maimonides undoubtedly knew that there may +be found in the Talmud—that bottomless sea with its +innumerable undercurrents—passages that are not quite +in harmony with his articles; for instance, the well-known +dictum of R. Hillel, who said, there is no Messiah for +Israel—a passage which has already been quoted <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>ad +nauseam</foreign> by every opponent of Maimonides from the +earliest times down to the year of grace 1896. Maimonides +was well aware of the existence of this and similar +passages. But, being deeply convinced of the necessity +of the belief in a future redemption of <emph>Israel</emph>—in opposition +to other creeds which claim this redemption exclusively +for their own adherents—Maimonides simply +ignored the saying of R. Hillel, as an isolated opinion +which contradicts all the consciousness and traditions of +the Jew as expressed in thousands of other passages, and +<pb n='178'/><anchor id='Pg178'/> +especially in the liturgy. Most interesting is Maimonides' +view about such isolated opinions in a letter to the wise +men of Marseilles. He deals there with the question of +free will and other theological subjects. After having +stated his own view he goes on to say: <q>I know that +it is possible to find in the Talmud or in the Midrash +this or that saying in contradiction to the views you have +heard from me. But you must not be troubled by them. +One must not refuse to accept a doctrine, the truth of +which has been proved, on account of its being in opposition +to some isolated opinion held by this or that great +authority. Is it not possible that he overlooked some +important considerations when he uttered this strange +opinion? It is also possible that his words must not be +taken literally, and have to be explained in an allegorical +way. We can also think that his words were only to be +applied with regard to certain circumstances of his time, +but never intended as permanent truths.... No man +must surrender his private judgment. The eyes are not +directed backwards but forwards.</q> In another place +Maimonides calls the suppression of one's own opinions—for +the reason of their being irreconcilable with the isolated +views of some great authority—a moral suicide. +</p> + +<p> +By such motives Maimonides was guided when he left +certain views hazarded in the Rabbinic literature unheeded, +and followed what we may perhaps call the +religious instinct, trusting to his own conscience. We +may again be certain that Maimonides was clear-headed +enough to see that the words of the Torah: <q>And there +arose no prophet since in Israel like unto Moses</q> (Deut. +xxxiv. 10), were as little intended to imply a doctrine as +the passage relating to the king Josiah, <q>And like unto +<pb n='179'/><anchor id='Pg179'/> +him was there no king before him that turned to the Lord +with all his heart ... neither after him arose there any +like him</q> (2 Kings xxiii. 25). And none would think of +declaring the man a heretic who should believe another +king to be as pious as Josiah. But living among followers +of the <q>imitating creeds</q> (as he calls Christianity and +Mohammedism), who claimed that their religion had superseded +the law of Moses, Maimonides, consciously or unconsciously, +felt himself compelled to assert the superiority +of the prophecy of Moses. And so we may guess +that every article of Maimonides which seems to offer +difficulties to us contains an assertion of some relaxed +belief, or a protest against the pretensions of other creeds, +though we are not always able to discover the exact necessity +for them. On the other hand, Maimonides did not +assert the belief in free will, for which he argued so earnestly +in his <hi rend='italic'>Guide</hi>. The common <q>man,</q> with his simple +unspeculative mind, for whom these Thirteen Articles were +intended, <q>never dreamed that the will was not free,</q> and +there was no necessity of impressing on his mind things +which he had never doubted.<note place='foot'>See Weiss's admirable monograph on Maimonides, published +in the <hi rend='italic'>Beth Talmud</hi>, i.</note> +</p> + +<p> +So much about Maimonides. As to the Anti-Maimonists, +it could hardly escape the reader that in some of the +quoted systems the difference from the view of Maimonides +is only a logical one, not a theological. Of some authors +again, especially those of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, +it is not at all certain whether they intended to oppose +Maimonides. Others again, as for instance R. Abba +Mari, R. Lipman, and R. Joseph Jabez, acted on the +same principle as Maimonides, urging only those teachings +of Judaism which they thought endangered. One +could now, indeed, animated by the praiseworthy example +<pb n='180'/><anchor id='Pg180'/> +given to us by Maimonides, also propose some articles +of faith which are suggested to us by the necessities +of our own time. One might, for instance, insert the +article, <q>I believe that Judaism is, in the first instance, +a divine religion, <emph>not</emph> a mere complex of racial peculiarities +and tribal customs.</q> One might again propose +an article to the effect that Judaism is a proselytising +religion, having the mission to bring about God's kingdom +on earth, and to include in that kingdom all mankind. +One might also submit for consideration whether +it would not be advisable to urge a little more the principle +that religion means chiefly a <foreign lang='de' rend='italic'>Weltanschauung</foreign> and +worship of God by means of holiness both in thought +and in action. One would even not object to accept the +article laid down by R. Saul, that we have to look upon +ourselves as sinners. Morbid as such a belief may be, it +would, if properly impressed on our mind, have perhaps +the wholesome effect of cooling down a little our self-importance +and our mutual admiration that makes all +progress among us almost impossible. +</p> + +<p> +But it was not my purpose to ventilate here the question +whether Maimonides' articles are sufficient for us, or +whether we ought not to add new ones to them. Nor do +I attempt to decide what system we ought to prefer for +recitation in the Synagogue—that of Maimonides or that +of Chasdai, or of any other writer. I do not think that +such a recital is of much use. My object in this sketch +has been rather to make the reader <emph>think</emph> about Judaism, +by proving that it regulates not only our actions, but also +our thoughts. We usually urge that in Judaism religion +means life; but we forget that a life without guiding +principles and thoughts is a life not worth living. At +<pb n='181'/><anchor id='Pg181'/> +least it was so considered by the greatest Jewish thinkers, +and hence their efforts to formulate the creed of Judaism, +so that men should not only be able to do the right thing, +but also to think the right thing. Whether they succeeded +in their attempts towards formulating the creed +of Judaism or not will always remain a question. This +concerns the logician more than the theologian. But +surely Maimonides and his successors <emph>did</emph> succeed in +having a religion depending directly on God, with the +most ideal and lofty aspirations for the future; whilst the +Judaism of a great part of our modern theologians reminds +one very much of the words with which the author of +<hi rend='italic'>Marius the Epicurean</hi> characterises the Roman religion +in the days of her decline: a religion which had been +always something to be done rather than something to +be thought, or believed, or loved. +</p> + +<p> +Political economy, hygiene, statistics, are very fine +things. But no sane man would for them make those +sacrifices which Judaism requires from us. It is only for +God's sake, to fulfil His commands and to accomplish His +purpose, that religion becomes worth living and dying for. +And this can only be possible with a religion which +possesses dogmas. +</p> + +<p> +It is true that every great religion is <q>a concentration +of many ideas and ideals,</q> which make this religion able +to adapt itself to various modes of thinking and living. +But there must always be a point round which all these +ideas concentrate themselves. This centre is Dogma. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='182'/><anchor id='Pg182'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>VII. The History of Jewish Tradition</head> + +<p> +There is an anecdote about a famous theologian to the +effect that he used to tell his pupils, <q>Should I ever +grow old and weak—which usually drives people to embrace +the safer side—and alter my opinions, then pray +do not believe me.</q> The concluding volume of Weiss's +<hi rend='italic'>History of Jewish Tradition</hi><note place='foot'>The Hebrew title of the work is דור דור ורורשיו.</note> shows that there was no +need for our author to warn his pupils against the dangers +accompanying old age. For though Weiss had, when +he began to write this last volume, already exceeded his +three-score and ten, and, as we read in the preface, had +some misgivings as to whether he should continue his +work, there is no trace in it of any abatement of the +great powers of the author. It is marked by the same +freshness in diction, the same marvellous scholarship, the +same display of astonishing critical powers, and the same +impartial and straightforward way of judging persons and +things, for which the preceding volumes were so much +distinguished and admired. +</p> + +<p> +This book, which is recognised as a standard work +abroad, is, I fear, owing to the fact of its being written +in the Hebrew language, not sufficiently known in this +country. Weiss does not want <emph>our</emph> recognition; we are +rather in need of his instruction. Some general view +<pb n='183'/><anchor id='Pg183'/> +of his estimate of Jewish Tradition may, therefore, be +of service to the student. It is, indeed, the only work of +its kind. Zunz has confined himself to the history of the +Agadah. Graetz gave most of his attention to the political +side of Jewish history. But comparatively little has +been done for the Halachah, though Frankel, Geiger, +Herzfeld, and others have treated some single points +in various monographs. Thus it was left for Weiss to +write the <hi rend='italic'>History of Tradition</hi>, which includes both the +Agadah and the Halachah. The treatment of this latter +must have proved, in consequence of the intricate and +intractable nature of its materials, by far the more difficult +portion of his task. +</p> + +<p> +In speaking of the <emph>History</emph> of Tradition, a term which +suggests the fluctuating character of a thing, its origin, +development, progress, and retrogression, we have already +indicated that Weiss does not consider even the Halachah +as having come down from heaven, ready-made, and definitely +fixed for all time. To define it more clearly, Tradition +is, apart from the few ordinances and certain usages +for which there is no precedent in the Bible, the history +of interpretation of the Scriptures, which was constantly +liable to variation, not on grounds of philology, but +through the subjective notions of successive generations +regarding religion and the method and scope of its +application. +</p> + +<p> +Weiss's standpoint with reference to the Pentateuch is +the conservative one, maintaining both its unity and its +Mosaic authorship. Those passages and accounts in the +Bible in which the modern critic discerns traces of different +traditional sources, are for Weiss only indicative +of the various stages of interpretation through which the +<pb n='184'/><anchor id='Pg184'/> +Pentateuch had to pass. The earliest stage was a very +crude one, as may be seen from the case of Jephthah's +vow, for which only a misinterpretation of certain passages +in the Pentateuch (Gen. xxii. 2; Num. xxv. 4) could +be made responsible. Nor was Jephthah, who felt himself +bound to carry out his vow, acquainted with the provision +for dissolving vows<note place='foot'>That is, vows of an ascetic nature (not vows or oaths enforced +by a court of justice), which the tribunal could annul when there was +sufficient reason for it.</note> that was sufficiently familiar to later +ages. When, on the other hand, Jeremiah declared sacrifices +to be altogether superfluous, and said that God did +not command Israel, when he brought them from the +land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices +(vii. 22), he was not in contradiction with Leviticus, but +interpreted the laws contained in this book as a concession +to popular custom, though not desirable on their +own account. This concession, whenever it was of a +harmless nature, the prophets carried so far as to permit +altars outside the Tabernacle or Temple, though +this was against the plain sense of Deuteronomy. Elijah +even bewailed their destruction (1 Kings xix. 10). He +and other prophets probably interpreted the law in question +as directed against the construction and maintenance +of several chief sanctuaries, but not against sacrificing in +different places on minor occasions. This is evidently a +free interpretation, or rather application, of the Law. +Occasionally the conception as to when and how a law +should be applied took a completely negative form. In +this manner is to be explained the action of Solomon in +suspending the Fast of the Day of Atonement before +the festival he was going to celebrate in honour of the +consecration of the Temple (1 Kings viii. 65), the king +being convinced that on this unique occasion the latter +was of more religious importance than the former. Weiss +<pb n='185'/><anchor id='Pg185'/> +thinks that the later custom of holding public dances in +the vineyards on the 10th of Tishri might have had its +origin in this solemn, but also joyful, festival. Ezekiel, +again, though alluding more frequently than any other +prophet to the laws in the Pentateuch, is exceedingly +bold in his interpretation of them, as, for instance, when +he says that <emph>priests</emph> shall not eat anything that is dead +or torn (xliv. 31), which shows that he took the verses +in Exod. xxii. 30, and Deut. xiv. 20, to have been meant +only as a good advice to the laymen to refrain from eating +these unclean things, but not as having for them the +force of a real commandment. +</p> + +<p> +Starting from this proposition, that there existed always +some sort of interpretation running side by side with the +recognised Scriptures, which from the very looseness of +its connection with the letter of the Scripture could claim +to be considered a thing independent in itself, and might +therefore be regarded as the <hi rend='italic'>Oral Law</hi>, in contradistinction +to the <hi rend='italic'>Written Law</hi>, the author passes to the age of +the Second Temple, the period to which the rest of the +first volume is devoted. In these pages Weiss reviews the +activity of Ezra and Nehemiah, the ordinances of the Men +of the Great Synagogue, the institutions of the Scribes, the +Lives of the so-called Pairs,<note place='foot'>The ten Rabbis who are named as the bearers of tradition during +the period between 170 and 30 <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> The <q>pair</q> in each case is supposed +to have consisted of the president and the vice-president of the +Sanhedrin for the time being. See, however, Kuenen, <hi rend='italic'>Gesammelte +Schriften</hi>, p. 49 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi></note> the characteristics of the +three sects, the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes, and +the differences between the schools of Shammai and Hillel. +To each of these subjects Weiss gives his fullest attention, +and his discussions of them would form perfect monographs +in themselves. To reproduce all the interesting +matter would mean to translate the whole of this portion +of his work into English. I shall only draw attention to +one or two points. +</p> + +<pb n='186'/><anchor id='Pg186'/> + +<p> +First, this liberal interpretation was active during the +whole period referred to. Otherwise no authority could +have abolished the <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>lex talionis</foreign>, or have permitted war on +Sabbath, or made the condition that no crime should be +punished without a preceding warning (which was chiefly +owing to the aversion of the Rabbis to the infliction of +capital punishment), or have sanctioned the sacrificing of +the Passover when the 14th of Nisan fell on Sabbath. +Indeed Shemaiah and Abtalyon, in whose name Hillel +communicated this last law, were called the Great Interpreters.<note place='foot'>דרשנים גדולים.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Secondly, as to the so-called <hi rend='italic'>laws given to Moses on +Sinai</hi>.<note place='foot'>הלכות למשה מסיני. They amount, in the whole of Rabbinic literature, +to about forty, of which more than ten concern the preparation of +the phylacteries, whilst others relate to the libations of water at the +Feast of Tabernacles and similar subjects.</note> Much has been said about these. The distinction +claimed for them by some scholars, viz. that they were +never contested, is not tenable, considering that there prevailed +much difference of opinion about some of them. +Nor is the theory that they were ancient religious usages, +dating from time immemorial, entirely satisfactory. For +though the fact may be true in itself, this could not have +justified the Rabbis in calling them all Sinaitic laws, especially +when they were aware that not a few of them were +contested by certain of their colleagues, a thing that would +have been quite impossible if they had a genuine claim to +Mosaic authority. But if we understand Weiss rightly +these laws are only to be considered as a specimen of the +whole of the Oral Law, which was believed to emanate, +both in its institutional and in its expository part, from the +same authority. The conviction was firmly held that +everything wise and good, be it ethical or ceremonial in +its character, whose effect would be to strengthen the +cause of religion, was at least potentially contained in the +Torah, and that it only required an earnest religious mind +<pb n='187'/><anchor id='Pg187'/> +to find it there. Hence the famous adage that <q>everything +which any student will teach at any future time was already +communicated to Moses on Mount Sinai</q>; or the injunction +that any acceptable truth, even if discovered by an +insignificant man in Israel, should be considered as having +the authority of a great sage or prophet, or even of Moses +himself. The principle was that the words of the Torah +are <q>fruitful and multiply.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It will probably be said that the laws of clean and unclean, +and such like, have proved rather too prolific; but +if we read Weiss carefully, we shall be reminded that it +was by the same process of propagation that the Rabbis +developed from Deut. xxii. 8, a whole code of sanitary and +police-laws which could even now be studied with profit; +from the few scanty civil laws in Exod. xxi., a whole <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>corpus +juris</foreign>, which might well excite the interest and the admiration +of any lawyer; and from the words <q>And thou shalt +teach them diligently unto thy children,</q> a complete school-system +on the one hand, and on the other the <foreign rend='italic'>résumé</foreign> of a +liturgy that appears to have sufficed for the spiritual needs +of more than fifty generations of Israelites. +</p> + +<p> +Before we pass to the age of the Tannaim,<note place='foot'>This is the time when the school of R. Johanan b. Zaccai began +its activity. Others place the Tannaitic age in Hillel's time (30 <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi>).</note> the subject +of Weiss's second volume, we must take account of two +important events which have greatly influenced the further +development of Tradition. I refer to the destruction of +the Temple and the rise of Christianity. With the former +event Judaism ceased to be a political commonwealth, and +if <q>the nation was already in the times of Ezra converted +into a church,</q>—an assertion, by the way, which has not +the least basis in fact,—it became the more so after it had +lost the last remains of its independence. But it was a +church without priests, or, since such a thing, as far as +<pb n='188'/><anchor id='Pg188'/> +history teaches us, has never existed, let us rather call it a +Synagogue. +</p> + +<p> +From this fact diverse results flowed. A Synagogue +can exist not only without priests, but also without sacrifices, +for which prayer and charity were a sufficient substitute. +With the progress of time also many agricultural +laws, as well as others relating to sacerdotal purity, +gradually became obsolete, though they lingered on for +some generations, and, as a venerable reminiscence of a +glorious time, entered largely into Jewish literature. This +disappearance of so many laws and the weakening of the +national element, however, required, if Judaism was to continue +to exist, the strengthening of religion from another +side. The first thing needed was the creation of a new +religious centre which would not only replace the Temple +to a certain degree, but also bring about a greater solidarity +of views, such as would render impossible the ancient +differences that divided the schools of Hillel and Shammai. +The creator of this centre was R. Johanan ben Zaccai, +who founded the school of Jamnia, and invested it with +the same authority and importance as the Sanhedrin had +enjoyed during Temple times. The consciousness that +they were standing before a new starting-point in history, +with a large religious inheritance from the past, actuated +them not only to collect the old traditional laws and to +take stock of their religious institutions, but also to give +them more definite shape and greater stability. As many +of these traditions were by no means undisputed, the best +thing was to bring them under one or other heading of +the Scriptures. This desire gave the impulse to the famous +hermeneutic schools of R. Akiba and R. Ishmael. +</p> + +<p> +The next cause that contributed to give a more determinate +<pb n='189'/><anchor id='Pg189'/> +expression to the Law was the rise of Christianity. +This is not the place to give an account of the views which +the Rabbis entertained of Christianity. Suffice it to say +they could not see in the destruction of the Law its fulfilment. +They also thought that under certain conditions +it is not only the letter that killeth, but also the spirit, or +rather that the spirit may sometimes be clothed in a letter, +which, in its turn, will slay more victims than the letter +against which the loudest denunciations have been levelled. +Spirit without letter, let theologians say what they will, is +a mere phantasm. However, the new sect made claims to +the gift of prophecy, which, as they thought, placed them +above the Law. It would seem that this was a time of +special excitement. The student of the Talmud finds that +such marvels as predicting the future, reviving the dead, +casting out demons, crossing rivers dry-shod, curing the +sick by a touch or prayer, were the order of the day, and +performed by scores of Rabbis. Voices from heaven were +often heard, and strange visions were frequently beheld. +Napoleon I. is said to have forbidden the holy coat of +Treves to work miracles. The Jewish legislature, however, +had no means of preventing these supernatural +workings; but when the Rabbis saw their dangerous consequences, +they insisted that miracles should have no influence +on the interpretation and development of the Law. +Hence the saying with regard to Lev. xxvii. 34, that no +prophet is authorised to add a new law. And when R. +Eliezer b. Hyrkanos (about 120 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi>) thought to prove the +justice of his case by the intervention of miracles, the +majority answered that the fact of this or that variation, +effected at his bidding, in the established order of nature, +proved nothing for the soundness of his argument. Nay, +<pb n='190'/><anchor id='Pg190'/> +they even ignored the <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Bath-Kol</foreign><note place='foot'>בת קרל.</note> (the celestial voice), +which declared itself in favour of R. Eliezer, maintaining +that the Torah having once been given to mankind, it is +only the opinion of the majority that should decide on its +interpretation and application. Very characteristic is the +legend connected with this fact. When one of the Rabbis +afterwards met Elijah and asked him what they thought +in heaven of the audacity of his colleagues, the prophet +answered, <q>God rejoiced and said, my children have conquered +me.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Into such discredit did miracles fall at that period, whilst +the opinion of the interpreting body, or the Sanhedrin, became +more powerful than ever. These were merely dogmatical +consequences. But new laws were enacted and +old ones revived, with the object of resisting Christian influences +over the Jews. To expand the Oral Law, and +give it a firm basis in the Scriptures, were considered the +best means of preserving Judaism intact. <q>Moses desired,</q> +an old legend narrates, <q>that the Mishnah also +(that is Tradition) should be written down;</q> but foreseeing +the time when the nations of the world would translate +the Torah into Greek, and would assert their title to rank +as the Children of God, the Lord refused to permit tradition +to be recorded otherwise than by word of mouth. +The claim of the Gentiles might then be refuted by asking +them whether they were also in possession of <q>the +Mystery.</q> The Rabbis therefore concentrated their attention +upon <q>the Mystery,</q> and this contributed largely +towards making the expository methods of R. Akiba and R. +Ishmael, to which I have above referred, the main object +of their study in the schools. +</p> + +<p> +It would, however, be a mistake to think that the Sanhedrin +<pb n='191'/><anchor id='Pg191'/> +now spent their powers in <q>enforcing retrograde +measures and creating a strange exegesis.</q> I especially +advise the student to read carefully that admirable chapter +(VII., of Vol. II.) in which Weiss classifies all the Ordinances, +<q>Fences,</q> Decrees, and Institutions, dating both +from this and from earlier ages, under ten headings, and +also shows their underlying principles. The main object +was to preserve the Jewish religion by strengthening the +principle of Jewish nationality, and to preserve the nationality +by the aid of religion. But sometimes the Rabbis +also considered it necessary to preserve religion against +itself, so to speak, or, as they expressed it, <q>When there +is time to work for the Lord, they make void thy Torah.</q> +This authorised the <hi rend='italic'>Beth Din</hi><note place='foot'>בית דין, lit. <q>Court of Justice,</q> as above, note 16 to Elijah Wilna, +but it means also a sort of permanent Synod, in which of course justice +was also administered as a part of religion.</note> to act in certain cases +against the letter of the Torah. <q>The welfare of the +World</q> was another great consideration. By <q>World</q> +they understood both the religious and the secular world. +From a regard to the former resulted such <q>Fences</q> and +Ordinances as were directed against <q>the transgressors,</q> +as well as the general injunction to <q>keep aloof from what +is morally unseemly, and from whatever bears any likeness +thereto.</q> In the interests of the latter—the welfare +of the secular world—they enacted such laws as either +tended to elevate the position of women, or to promote +the peace and welfare of members of their own community, +or to improve the relations between Jews and their +Gentile neighbours. They also held the great principle +that nothing is so injurious to the cause of religion as +increasing the number of sinners by needless severity. +Hence the introduction of many laws <q>for the benefit of +penitents,</q> and the maxim not to issue any decree which +may prove too heavy a burden to the majority of the community. +<pb n='192'/><anchor id='Pg192'/> +The relaxation of certain traditional laws was also +permitted when they involved a serious loss of property, or +the sacrifice of a man's dignity. Some old decrees were +even permitted to fall into oblivion when public opinion +was too strong against them, the Rabbis holding that it +was often better for Israelites to be unconscious sinners +than wilful transgressors. The <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Minhag</foreign>, or religious custom, +also played an important part, it being assumed that +it must have been first introduced by some eminent authority; +but, if there was reason to believe that the custom +owed its origin to some fancy of the populace, and that it +had a pernicious effect on the multitude, no compunction +was felt in abolishing it. +</p> + +<p> +Very important it is to note that the Oral Law had not +at this period assumed a character of such rigidity that all +its ordinances, etc., had to be looked upon as irremovable +for all times. With those who think otherwise, a favourite +quotation is the administratory measure laid dawn in Tractate +<hi rend='italic'>Evidences</hi>,<note place='foot'>עדיות, <q>Evidences given by Witnesses.</q> The tractate consists +mostly of a number of laws attested by various Rabbis as having come +down to them as old traditions.</note> I. 5, where we read that no <hi rend='italic'>Beth Din</hi> has +the right of annulling the dicta of another <hi rend='italic'>Beth Din</hi>, unless +it is stronger in numbers (having a larger majority) and +greater in wisdom than its fellow tribunal. Confess with +becoming modesty that the world is always going downhill, +decreasing both in numbers and in wisdom, and the result +follows that any decision by the earlier Rabbis is fixed law +for all eternity. Weiss refutes such an idea not only as +inconsistent with the nature of Tradition, but also as contradictory +to the facts. He proves by numerous instances +that the Rabbis did abolish ordinances and decrees introduced +by preceding authorities, and that the whole conception +is based on a misunderstanding. For the rule in +question, as Weiss clearly points out, originally only meant +<pb n='193'/><anchor id='Pg193'/> +that a <hi rend='italic'>Beth Din</hi> has no right to undo the decrees of +another <hi rend='italic'>contemporary Beth Din</hi>, unless it was justified in +doing so by the weight of its greater authority. This was +necessary if a central authority was to exist at all. Weiss +is indeed of opinion that the whole passage is a later interpolation +from the age of R. Simeon b. Gamaliel II., when +certain Rabbis tried to emancipate themselves from the +authority of the Patriarch. But it was not meant that the +decision of a <hi rend='italic'>Beth Din</hi> should have perpetual binding +power for all posterity. This was left to the discretion of +the legislature of each generation, who had to examine +whether the original cause for maintaining such decision +still existed. +</p> + +<p> +The rest of this volume is for the greater part taken up +with complete monographs of the Patriarchs and the heads +of the schools of that age, whilst the concluding chapters +give us the history of the literature, the Midrash, Mechilta, +Siphra, Siphré, Mishnah, etc., which contain both the +Halachic and the Agadic sayings emanating from these +authorities. +</p> + +<p> +With regard to these Patriarchs, I should like only to +remark that Weiss defends them against the charge made +by Schorr and others, who accuse them of having assumed +too much authority on account of their noble descent, and +who describe their opponents as the true friends of the +people. Weiss is no lover of such specious phrases. The +qualifications required for the leadership of the people +were a right instinct for the necessities of their time, a fair +amount of secular knowledge, and, what is of chief importance, +an unbounded love and devotion to those over whose +interests they were called to watch. These distinctions, as +Weiss proves, the descendants of Hillel possessed in the +<pb n='194'/><anchor id='Pg194'/> +highest degree. It is true that occasionally, as for instance +in the famous controversy of R. Gamaliel II. with R. +Joshua b. Hananiah, or that of R. Simeon b. Gamaliel II. +with R. Nathan and R. Meir, they made their authority +too heavily felt;<note place='foot'>The family of Hillel, which was supposed to be descended from +the house of David, supplied the Jews with patriarchs for many generations. +Gamaliel II. flourished about 120 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi>, whilst Simon b. +Gamaliel's activity as Patriarch falls about 160 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi></note> but this was again another necessity of +those troubled times, when only real unity could save +Israel. +</p> + +<p> +However, Weiss is no partisan, and the love he lavishes +on his favourite heroes does not exhaust his resources of +sympathy and appreciation for members of the other +schools. Weiss is no apologist either, and does not make +the slightest attempt towards explaining away even the +defects of R. Akiba in his somewhat arbitrary method of +interpretation, which our author thinks much inferior to +the expository rules of R. Ishmael; but this does not prevent +him from admiring his excellences. +</p> + +<p> +Altogether it would seem that Weiss thinks R. Akiba +more happy in his quality as a great saint than in that of +a great exegete. What is most admirable is the instinct +with which Weiss understands how to emphasise the right +thing in its right place. As an indication of the literary +honesty and marvellous industry of our author, I would +draw attention to the fact that the sketch of R. Akiba +and his school alone is based on more than two thousand +quotations scattered over the whole area of the Rabbinic +literature; but he points in a special note to a sentence +attributed to R. Akiba, which presents the whole man +and his generation in a single stroke. I refer to that passage +in Tractate <hi rend='italic'>Joys</hi>,<note place='foot'>שמכות, <hi rend='italic'>Semachoth</hi>. It is a euphemistic title, the tractate dealing +with the laws relating to funeral ceremonies and mourning.</note> in which R. Akiba speaks of the +four types of sufferers. He draws the comparison of a +king chastising his children; the first son maintains stubborn +silence, the second simply rebels, the third supplicates +<pb n='195'/><anchor id='Pg195'/> +for mercy, and the fourth (the best of sons) says: +<q>Father, proceed with thy chastisement, as David said, +Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me +from my sin</q> (Ps. li. 4). This absolute submission to +the will of God, which perceives in suffering only an expression +of His fatherly love and mercy, was the ideal of +R. Akiba. +</p> + +<p> +The great literary production of this period was the +Mishnah, which, through the high authority of its compiler, +R. Judah the Patriarch, his saintliness and popularity, +soon superseded all the collections of a similar +kind, and became the official text-book of the Oral Law. +But a text requires interpretation, whilst other collections +also demanded some attention. This brings us to the two +<hi rend='italic'>Talmuds</hi>, namely, the Talmud of Jerusalem and the Talmud +of Babylon, the origin and history of which form +the subject of Weiss's third volume. +</p> + +<p> +Here again the first chapters are more of a preliminary +character, giving the student some insight into the labyrinth +of the Talmud. The two chapters entitled <q>The +instruments employed in erecting the great Edifice,</q> and +the <q>Workmanship displayed by the Builders,</q> give evidence +of almost unrivalled familiarity with the Rabbinical +literature, and of critical powers of the rarest kind. Now +these instruments were by no means new, for, as Weiss +shows, the Amoraim employed in interpreting the Mishnah +the same explanatory rules that are known to us +from the School of R. Ishmael as <q>the Thirteen Rules +by which the Torah is explained,</q> though they appear +in the Talmud under other names, and are in reality only +a species of Midrash. Besides this there comes another +element into play. It was the exaggerated awe of all +<pb n='196'/><anchor id='Pg196'/> +earlier authorities that endeavoured to reconcile the most +contradictory statements by means of a subtle dialectic +for which the schools in Babylon were especially famous. +There were certainly many opponents of this system, and +from the monographs which Weiss gives on the various +heads of the western and eastern schools we see that not +all followed this method, and some among them even condemned +it in the strongest words. However, it cannot be +denied that there is a strong scholastic feature in the Talmud, +which is very far from what we should look for in +a trustworthy exegesis. Thus we must not always expect +to find in the Talmud the true meaning of the sayings +of their predecessors, and it is certain that a more +scientific method in many cases has led to results the +very opposite of those at which the later Rabbis have +arrived. This fact was already recognised in the sixteenth +century, though only in part, by R. Yom-Tob +Heller and others. Only he insisted that in this matter +a line must be drawn between theory and practice. But +Weiss gives irrefragable proofs that even this line was +often overstepped by the greatest authorities, though they +remained always within the limits of Tradition. Indeed, +as Weiss points out, not every saying to be found in the +Talmud is to be looked upon as representing Tradition; +for there is much in it which only gives the individual +opinion or is merely an interpolation of later hands; nor +does the Talmud contain the <emph>whole</emph> of Tradition, this +latter proceeding and advancing with the time, and corresponding +to its conditions and notions. As we read +Weiss, the conviction is borne in upon us that there was +a Talmud before, and another after <hi rend='italic'>The Talmud</hi>. +</p> + +<p> +Much space in this volume is given to the Agadah and +<pb n='197'/><anchor id='Pg197'/> +the so-called <q>Teachers of the Agadah.</q> Weiss makes +no attempt at apology for that which seems to us strange, +or even repugnant in this part of the Rabbinic literature. +The greatest fault to be found with those who wrote down +such passages as appear objectionable to us is, perhaps, +that they did not observe the wise rule of Johnson, who +said to Boswell on a certain occasion, <q>Let us get serious, +for there comes a fool.</q> And the fools unfortunately +did come in the shape of certain Jewish commentators +and Christian controversialists, who took as serious things +which were only the expression of a momentary impulse, +or represented the opinion of some isolated individual, or +were meant simply as a piece of humorous by-play, calculated +to enliven the interest of a languid audience. But +on the other hand, as Weiss proves, the Agadah contains +also many elements of real edification and eternal truths +as well as abundant material for building up the edifice +of dogmatic Judaism. Talmudical quotations of such a +nature are scattered by thousands over Weiss's work, particularly +in those chapters in which he describes the lives +of the greatest Rabbinical heroes. But the author lays the +student under special obligations by putting together in +the concluding pages of this volume some of these sentences, +and classifying them under various headings. I give +here a few extracts. For the references to authorities I +must direct the reader to the original:— +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>The unity of God is the keystone of dogmatic Judaism. +The Rabbis give Israel the credit of having proclaimed to +the world the unity of God. They also say that Israel +took an oath never to change Him for another God. This +only God is eternal, incorporeal, and immutable. And +though the prophets saw Him in different aspects, He +<pb n='198'/><anchor id='Pg198'/> +warned them that they must not infer from the visions +vouchsafed to them that there are different Gods. <q>I +am the first,</q> He tells them, which implies that he had no +father, and the words, <q>There is no God besides me,</q> mean +that he has no son. Now, this God, the God of Israel, is +holy in every thinkable way of holiness. He is merciful +and gracious, as it is said, <q>And I will be gracious to whom +I will be gracious,</q> even though he who is the recipient of +God's grace has no merit of his own. <q>And I will show +mercy to whom I will show mercy,</q> that is, even to those +who do not deserve it. His attributes are righteousness, +loving-kindness, and truth. God speaks words of eternal +truth, even as He himself is the eternal life. All that the +Merciful One does is only for good, and even in the time +of His anger He remembers His graciousness, and often +suppresses His attribute of judgment before His attribute +of mercy. But with the righteous God is more +severe than with the rest of the world, and when His hand +falls in chastening on His saints His name becomes awful, +revered, and exalted. This God of Israel, again, extends +His providence over all mankind, and especially over Israel. +By His eye everything is foreseen, yet freedom of choice +is given, and the world is judged by grace, yet all according +to the works wrought. Hence, know what is above +thee, a seeing eye and a hearing ear, and that all thy deeds +are written in a book.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>They [the Rabbis] believed that God created the world +out of nothing, without toil and without weariness. This +world was created by the combination of His two attributes, +mercy and justice. He rejoices in His creation, and +if the Maker praises it, who dares to blame it? And if +He exults in it, who shall find a blemish in it? Nay, it is +<pb n='199'/><anchor id='Pg199'/> +a glorious and a beautiful world. It is created for man, +and its other denizens were all meant but to serve him. +Though all mankind are formed after the type of Adam, no +one is like his fellow-man (each one having an individuality +of his own). Thus he is able to say, <q>For my sake, also, +was the world created</q>; and with this thought his responsibilities +increase. But the greatest love shown to man is +that he was created in the image of God. Man is a being +possessed of free will, and, though everything is given on +pledge, whosoever wishes to borrow may come and borrow. +Everything is in the gift of Heaven except the fear of +God. In man's heart abide both the evil inclination and +the good inclination; and the words of Scripture, <q>Thou +shalt not bow down before a strange god,</q> point to the +strange god who is within man himself, who entices him +to sin in this world, and gives evidence against him in +the next. But the Holy One—blessed be He!—said, <q>I +have created the evil inclination, but I have also created +its antidote, the Torah.</q> And when man is occupied with +the Torah and in works of charity, he becomes the master +of the evil inclination; otherwise, he is its slave. When +man reflects the image of God, he is the lord of creation, +and is feared by all creatures; but this image is defaced +by sin, and then he has no power over the universe, and is +in fear of all things.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>Another principle of Judaism is the belief in reward +and punishment. <q>I am the Lord, your God,</q> means, +<q>it is I who am prepared to recompense you for your +good actions, and to bring retribution upon you for your +evil deeds.</q> God does not allow to pass unrewarded even +the merit of a kind and considerate word. By the same +measure which man metes out, it shall be meted out to +<pb n='200'/><anchor id='Pg200'/> +him. Because thou drownedst others, they have drowned +thee, and at the last they who drowned thee shall themselves +be drowned. Though it is not in our power to +explain either the prosperity of the wicked or the affliction +of the righteous, nevertheless know before whom thou +toilest, and who thy employer is, who will pay thee the +reward of thy labour. Here at thy door is a poor man +standing, and at his right hand standeth God. If thou +grantest his request, be certain of thy reward; but if +thou refusest, think of him who is by the side of the +poor, and will avenge it on thee. <q>God seeketh the +persecuted</q> to defend him, even though it be the wicked +who is persecuted by the righteous. The soul of man +is immortal, the souls of the righteous being treasured +up under the throne of God. Know that everything is +according to the reckoning, and let not thy imagination +give thee hope that the grave will be a place of refuge +for thee, for perforce thou wast formed, and perforce thou +wast born, and thou livest perforce, and perforce thou wilt +die, and perforce thou wilt in the future have to give +account and reckoning before the Supreme King of kings, +the Holy One, blessed be He.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>The advent of the Messiah is another article of the +belief of the Rabbis. But if a man tell thee that he +knows when the redemption of Israel will take place, +believe him not, for this is one of the unrevealed secrets +of the Almighty. The mission of Elijah is to bring peace +into the world, while the Messiah, in whose days Israel +will regain his national independence, will lead the whole +world in repentance to God. On this, it is believed, will +follow the resurrection of the dead.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>Another main principle in the belief of the Rabbis +<pb n='201'/><anchor id='Pg201'/> +is the election of Israel, which imposes on them special +duties, and gives them a peculiar mission. Beloved are +Israel, for they are called the children of God, and His +firstborn. <q>They shall endure for ever</q> through the merit +of their fathers. There is an especial covenant established +between God and the tribes of Israel. God is their father, +and He said to them, My children, even as I have no +contact with the profanity of the world, so also withdraw +yourselves from it. And as I am holy, be ye also holy. +Nay, sanctify thyself by refraining even from that which is +not forbidden thee. There is no holiness without chastity.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>The main duty of Israel is to sanctify the name of God, +for the Torah was only given that His great name might +be glorified. Better is it that a single letter of the law +be cast out than that the name of Heaven be profaned. +And this also is the mission of Israel in this world: to +sanctify the name of God, as it is written, <q>This people +have I formed for myself, that they may show forth my +praise.</q> Or, <q>And thou shalt love the Lord thy God,</q> +which means, Thou shalt make God beloved by all creatures, +even as Abraham did. Israel is the light of the +world; as it is said, <q>And nations shall walk by thy light.</q> +But he who profanes the name of Heaven in secret will +suffer the penalty thereof in public; and this whether the +Heavenly Name be profaned in ignorance or in wilfulness.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>Another duty towards God is to love Him and to fear +Him. God's only representative on earth is the God-fearing +man. Woe unto those who are occupied in the study +of the Torah, but who have no fear of God. But a still +higher duty it is to perform the commandments of God +from love. For greater is he who submits to the will of +God from love than he who does so from fear.</q> +</p> + +<pb n='202'/><anchor id='Pg202'/> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>Now, how shall man love God? This is answered in +the words of Scripture, <q>And these words shall be upon +thy heart.</q> For by them thou wilt recognise Him +whose word called the world into existence, and follow +His divine attributes.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>God is righteous; be ye also righteous, O Israel. +By righteousness the Rabbis understand love of truth, +hatred of lying and backbiting. The seal of the Holy +One, blessed be He, is Truth, of which the actions of man +should also bear the impress. Hence, let thy yea be +yea, and thy nay, nay. He who is honest in money transactions, +unto him this is reckoned as if he had fulfilled +the whole of the Torah. Greater is he who earns his livelihood +by the labour of his hands than even the God-fearing +man; whilst the righteous judge is, as it were, the companion +of God in the government of the world. For upon +three things the world stands: upon truth, upon judgment, +upon peace; as it is said, <q>Judge ye the truth and +the judgment of peace in your gates.</q> But he who breaks +his word, his sin is as great as if he worshipped idols; +and God, who punished the people of the time of the Flood, +will also punish him who does not stand by his word. +Such a one belongs to one of the four classes who are +not admitted into the presence of the Shechinah; these +are the scoffers, the hypocrites (who bring the wrath of +God into the world), the liars, and the slanderers. The +sin of the slanderer is like that of one who would deny +the root (the root of all religion, <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi> the existence of God). +The greatest of liars, however, is he who perjures himself, +which also involves the sin of profanation of the name of +God. The hypocrite, who insinuates himself into people's +good opinions, who wears his phylacteries and is enwrapped +<pb n='203'/><anchor id='Pg203'/> +in his gown with the fringes, and secretly commits +sins, equally transgresses the command, <q>Thou shalt +not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.</q></q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>God is gracious and merciful; therefore man also +should be gracious and merciful. Hence, <q>Thou shalt +love thy neighbour as thyself,</q> which is a main principle +in the Torah. What is unpleasant to thyself, do not unto +thy neighbour. This is the whole Torah, to which the +rest is only to be considered as a commentary. And this +love is also extended to the stranger, for as it is said with +regard to Israel, <q>And thou shalt love thy neighbour as +thyself,</q> so is it also said, <q>And thou shalt love him (the +stranger) as thyself.</q> And thus said God to Israel, <q>My +beloved children, Am I in want of anything that I should +request it of you? But what I ask of you is that you +should love, honour, and respect one another.</q> Therefore, +love mankind, and bring them near to the Torah. Let +the honour of thy friend be as dear to thee as thine own. +Condemn not thy fellow-man until thou art come into his +place, and judge all men in the scale of merit. Say not +<q>I will love scholars, but hate their disciples;</q> or even, +<q>I will love the disciples, but hate the ignorant,</q> but love +all, for he who hates his neighbour is as bad as a murderer. +Indeed, during the age of the second Temple, +men studied the Torah and the commandments, and performed +works of charity, but they hated each other, a sin +that outweighs all other sins, and for which the holy +Temple was destroyed. Be careful not to withdraw thy +mercy from any man, for he who does so rebels against +the kingdom of God on earth. Walk in the ways of God, +who is merciful even to the wicked, and as He is gracious +alike to those who know Him, and to those who know +<pb n='204'/><anchor id='Pg204'/> +Him not, so be thou. Indeed, charity is one of the three +pillars on which the world is based. It is more precious +than all other virtues. The man who gives charity in +secret is greater even than Moses our teacher. An act +of charity and love it is to pray for our fellow-man, and to +admonish him. <q>Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, +and not suffer sin upon him</q> (Lev. xix. 18), means +it is thy duty to admonish him a hundred times if need be, +even if he be thy superior; for Jerusalem was only destroyed +for the sin of its people in not admonishing one +another. The man whose protest would be of any weight, +and who does not exercise his authority (when any wrong +is about to be committed), is held responsible for the whole +world.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>Peacefulness and humility are also the fruit of love. +Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace, and pursuing +peace. Let every man be cautious in the fear of God; +let him ever give the soft answer that turneth away wrath; +let him promote peace, not only among his own relatives +and acquaintances, but also among the Gentiles. For (the +labour of) all the prophets was to plant peace in the world. +Be exceeding lowly of spirit, since the hope of man is but +the worm. Be humble as Hillel, for he who is humble +causes the Divine presence to dwell with man. But the +proud man makes God say, <q>I and he cannot dwell in the +same place.</q> He who runs after glory, glory flees from +him, and he who flees from glory, glory shall pursue him. +Be of those who are despised rather than of those who +despise; of the persecuted rather than of the persecutors; +be of those who bear their reproach in silence and answer +not.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>Another distinctive mark of Judaism is faith in God, +<pb n='205'/><anchor id='Pg205'/> +and perfect confidence in Him. Which is the right course +for a man to choose for himself? Let him have a strong +faith in God, as it is said, <q>Mine eye shall be upon the +faithful (meaning those possessing faith in God) of the +land.</q> And so also Habakkuk based the whole Torah on +the principle of faith, as it is said, <q>And the just shall live +by his faith</q> (ii. 4). He who but fulfils a single commandment +in absolute faith in God deserves that the Holy +Spirit should rest on him. Blessed is the man who fears +God in private, and trusts in Him with all his heart, for +such fear and trust arms him against every misfortune. +He who puts his trust in the Holy One, blessed be He, +God becomes his shield and protection in this world +and in the next. He who has bread in his basket for +to-day, and says, <q>What shall I have to eat to-morrow?</q> +is a man of little faith. One consequence of real faith is +always to believe in the justice of God's judgments. It is +the duty of man to thank God when he is visited with +misfortune as he does in the time of prosperity. Therefore, +blessed is the man who, when visited by suffering, +questions not God's justice. But what shall he do? Let +him examine his conduct and repent.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q>For repentance is the greatest prerogative of man. +Better is one hour of repentance and good deeds in this +world than the whole life of the world to come. The aim +of all wisdom is repentance and good deeds. The place +where the truly penitent shall stand is higher than that of +the righteous. Repentance finds its special expression in +prayer; and when it is said in Scripture, <q>Serve God with +all thy heart,</q> by this is meant, serve Him by prayer, which +is even greater than worship by means of sacrifices. +Never is a prayer entirely unanswered by God. Therefore, +<pb n='206'/><anchor id='Pg206'/> +even though the sword be on a man's neck, let him +not cease to supplicate God's mercy. But regard not thy +prayer as a fixed mechanical task, but as an appeal for +mercy and grace before the All-Present; as it is said, +<q>For He is gracious and full of mercy, slow to anger, +abounding in loving-kindness, and repenteth him of the +evil.</q></q> +</p> + +<p> +The last two volumes of Weiss's work deal with the +history of Tradition during the Middle Ages, that is, from +the conclusion of the Talmud to the compilation of the +Code of the Law by R. Joseph Caro. I have already indicated +that with Weiss Tradition did not terminate with +the conclusion of the Talmud. It only means that a +certain undefinable kind of literature, mostly held in dialogue +form and containing many elements of Tradition, +was at last brought to an end. The authorities who did +this editorial work were the so-called <foreign rend='italic'>Rabbanan Saburai</foreign><note place='foot'>מבוראי, <q>Elucidators</q> or <q>Explainers.</q> The heads of the +schools in Babylon during the fifth and sixth centuries were so +designated.</note> +and the <foreign rend='italic'>Gaonim</foreign>, whose lives and literary activity are fully +described by Weiss. But, while thus engaged in preserving +their inheritance from the past, they were also enriching +Tradition by new contributions, both the Saburai and +the Gaonim having not only added to and diminished from +the Talmud, but having also introduced avowedly new +ordinances and decrees, and created new institutions. +</p> + +<p> +Now, it cannot be denied that a few of these ordinances +and decrees had a reforming tendency (see the second and +twentieth chapters of vol. iv.); in general, however, they +took a more conservative turn than was the case in the +previous ages. This must be ascribed to the event of the +great schism within the Rabbinical camp itself. I refer +to the rise of Caraism, which took place during the first +half of the eighth century. +</p> + +<pb n='207'/><anchor id='Pg207'/> + +<p> +There is probably no work in which the Halachic or +legalistic side of this sect is better described than in this +volume of Weiss. I regret that I am unable to enter into +its details. But I cannot refrain from pointing to one of +the main principles of the Caraites. This was <q>Search +the Scriptures.</q> Now this does not look very dissimilar +from the principle held by the Rabbis. For what else is +the Talmud, but a thorough searching through the Bible +for whatever was suggestive by time and circumstances? +The light which the Caraites applied to the searching of +the Scriptures was the same which illumined the paths of +the Rabbis' investigations. They employed most of the +expository rules of the Tannaite schools. The fact is that +they were only determined to find something different from +what the Rabbis found in the Scriptures. They wanted +to have gloomy Sabbaths and Festivals, and discovered +authority for it in the Bible; they wanted to retain most +of the dietary laws which had their root only in Tradition, +but insisted on petty differences which they thought might +be inferred from the Scriptures, and they created a new +<q>order of inheritance,</q> and varied the forbidden degrees +in marriage, in all which the only merit was that they were +in contradiction to the interpretation of the Rabbis. They +also refused to accept the Liturgy of Rabbinical Judaism, +but never succeeded in producing more than a patch-work +from verses of the Bible, which, thus recast, they +called a prayer-book. There were undoubtedly among +their leaders many serious and sincere men, but they give +us the impression of prigs, as for instance, Moses Darai, +when he reproaches the Rabbinical Jews for having an +<q>easy religion,</q> or Israel Hammaarabi, when he recommended +his book on the laws regarding the slaughtering +<pb n='208'/><anchor id='Pg208'/> +of animals, as having the special advantage that his decisions +were always on the more stringent side. Those +who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land were by the +Caraites canonised as <q>mourners.</q> The Rabbanite R. +Judah Hallevi also visited the ruins of Jerusalem, but he +did something more than <q>mourn and sigh and cry,</q> he +became a God-intoxicated singer, and wrote the <q>Zion-Elegy.</q> +The novel terminology which they use in their exegetical +and theological works, was only invented to spite +the Rabbanites, and marks its authors as pedants. On +the other hand, it is not to be denied that their opponents +did not employ the best means to conciliate them. The +Middle Ages knew no other remedy against schism than +excommunication, and the Gaonim were the children of +their time. Nor were the arguments which the latter +brought forward in defence of Tradition always calculated +to convince the Caraites of their error. When R. Saadiah, +in his apology for the institution of the Second Day of +the Festival,<note place='foot'>The Rabbinic Jews of the dispersion add one day to each +festival, and thus celebrate the Passover eight days, the Feast of +Weeks two days, etc. The custom arose out of the uncertainty +about the first day of the month, the prerogative of fixing the New +Moon resting with the great <hi rend='italic'>Beth Din</hi> in Palestine, which had not +always the means of communicating in time the evidence given before +them that the New Moon had been seen by qualified witnesses. The +prerogative was abolished in the fourth century, and the calendar fixed +for all future time, but the additional day is still kept by the Rabbinic +Jews as the <q>Custom of their Fathers.</q></note> went the length of assigning to it a Sinaitic +origin, he could only succeed in making the Caraites more +suspicious of the claims of Tradition than before. In a +later generation one of his own party, R. Hai Gaon, had +to declare his predecessor's words a <q>controversial exaggeration.</q> +The zeal which some of the Gaonim showed +in their defence of such works as the <hi rend='italic'>Chambers</hi> and the +<hi rend='italic'>Measure of the Stature</hi><note place='foot'>שיעור קומה, היכלות, <q>Chambers (of Heaven)</q> and the <q>Measure +of the Stature,</q> mystical works in which occasionally gross anthropomorphisms +are to be found. Their authorship is unknown.</note> was a not less unfortunate thing, +for it involved the Rabbanites in unnecessary responsibilities +for a new class of literature of doubtful origin, +which in succeeding centuries was disowned by the best +minds in Judaism. +</p> + +<p> +The Gaonic period, to which we also owe the rise of the +Massorah and the introduction of points in the text of the +<pb n='209'/><anchor id='Pg209'/> +Bible—of which Weiss treats fully in the twenty-third +and twenty-fourth chapters of vol. iv.—comes to an end +with the death of R. Hai. The famous schools of Sura +and Pumbeditha, over which these two Gaonim presided, +fell into decay, and Babylon ceased to be the centre of +Judaism. To be more exact, we should say that Judaism +had no longer any real centre. Instead of dwelling in one +place for centuries, we now have to be perpetually on our +journey, accompanying our authors through all the inhabited +parts of the world—France, Italy, Spain, Germany, +with an occasional trip to Africa and Russia. There we +shall meet with the new schools, each of which, though +interpreting the same Torah, occupied with the study of +the same Talmud, and even conforming more or less to +the same mode of life, has an individuality and character +of its own, reflecting the thought and habits of the country +which it represents. Thus <q>geographical Judaism</q> becomes +a factor in history which no scholar can afford to +neglect. It is true that Judaism never remained entirely +unbiassed by foreign ideas, and our author points in many +a place to Persian, Greek, and Roman influences on +Tradition; still, these influences seem to have undergone +such a thorough <q>Judaization</q> that it is only the practised +eye of the scholar that is able to see through the transformation. +But it requires no great skill to discriminate +between the work produced by a Spanish and that of a +French Rabbi. Though both would write in Hebrew, +they betray themselves very soon by the style, diction, +and train of thought peculiar to each country. The +Spaniard is always logical, clear, and systematising, whilst +the French Rabbi has very little sense of order, is always +writing occasional notes, has a great tendency to be +<pb n='210'/><anchor id='Pg210'/> +obscure, but is mostly profound and critical. Hence the +fact that whilst Spain produced the greatest codifiers of +the law, we owe to France and Germany the best commentaries +on the Talmud. What these codes and commentaries +meant for Judaism the student will find in +Weiss's book, and still more fully in his admirable essays +on Rashi (Solomon b. Isaac), Maimonides, and R. Jacob +Tam (published in his periodical, <hi rend='italic'>Beth Talmud</hi>, and also +separately). It is enough for us here only to notice the +fact of the breadth of Tradition, which could include +within its folds men of such different types as the sceptics, +Maimonides, Solomon b. Gabirol, and Abn Ezra on one +side, and the simple <q>non-questioning</q> Rabbenu Gershom, +Rashi, and Jacob Tam on the other. +</p> + +<p> +The last three centuries, which occupy our author's +attention in the fifth volume, are not remarkable for their +progress. The world lives on the past. The rationalists +write treatises on Maimonides' philosophical works, whilst +the German Talmudists add commentary to commentary. +It is, indeed, the reign of authority, <q>modified by accidents.</q> +Such an accident was the struggle between the +Maimonists and Anti-Maimonists, or the rise of the Cabbalah, +or the frequent controversies with Christians, all of +which tended to direct the minds of people into new channels +of thought. But though this period is less original in +its work, it is not on that account less sympathetic. One +cannot read those beautiful descriptions which Weiss gives +of R. Meir of Rothenburg and his school, or of R. Asher +and his descendants, without feeling that one is in an +atmosphere of saints, who are the more attractive the +less they were conscious of their own saintliness. The +only mistake, perhaps, was that the successors of these +<pb n='211'/><anchor id='Pg211'/> +<q>Chassidim or pious men of Germany</q> looked on many +of the religious customs that were merely the voluntary +expression of particularly devout souls as worthy of imitation +by the whole community, and made them obligatory +upon all. +</p> + +<p> +This brings us to the question of the Code already mentioned +(by R. Joseph Caro), with which Weiss's work concludes. +I have already transgressed the limits of an +essay, without flattering myself that I have done anything +like justice to the greatest work on Jewish Tradition +which modern Jewish genius has produced. But I should +not like the reader to carry away with him the false impression +that our author shares in the general cry, <q>Save +us from the Codifiers.</q> Weiss, himself a Rabbi, and the +disciple of the greatest Rabbis of the first half of this century, +is quite aware of the impossibility of having a law +without a kind of manual to it, which brings the fluid +matter into some fixed form, classifying it under its proper +headings, and this is what we call codifying the law. And +thus he never passes any attempt made in this direction +without paying due tribute to its author—be it Maimonides +or Caro. But however great the literary value of a +code may be, it does not invest it with the attribute of infallibility, +nor does it exempt the student or the Rabbi +who makes use of it from the duty of examining each paragraph +on its own merits, and subjecting it to the same +rules of interpretation that were always applied to Tradition. +Indeed, Weiss shows that Maimonides deviated in +some cases from his own code, when it was required by +circumstances. +</p> + +<p> +Nor do I know any modern author who is more in +favour of strong authority than Weiss. His treatment of +<pb n='212'/><anchor id='Pg212'/> +the struggle between the Patriarch R. Gamaliel and his +adversaries, which I have touched on above, proves this +sufficiently. What Weiss really objects to, is a <emph>weak</emph> +authority—I mean that phonograph-like authority which +is always busy in reproducing the voice of others without +an opinion of its own, without originality, without initiative +and discretion. The real authorities are those who, drawing +their inspiration from the past, also understand how to +reconcile us with the present and to prepare us for the +future. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='213'/><anchor id='Pg213'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>VIII. The Doctrine of Divine Retribution in Rabbinical Literature</head> + +<p> +<q>Blessed be he who knows.</q> These are the words +with which Nachmanides, in his classical treatise, <hi rend='italic'>Gate of +Reward</hi>, dismisses a certain theory of the Gaonim with +regard to this question; after which he proceeds to expound +another theory, which seems to him more satisfactory. +This mode of treatment implies that, unsatisfactory +as the one or other theory may appear to us, it would be +presumptuous to reject either entirely, there being only +One who knows the exact truth about the great mystery. +But we may indicate our doubt about one doctrine by putting +by its side another, which we may affirm to be not +more absolutely true, but more probable. This seems to +have been the attitude, too, of the compilers of the ancient +Rabbinical literature, in which the most conflicting views +about this grave subject were embodied. Nor did the Synagogue +in general feel called upon to decide between these +views. There is indeed no want of theodicies, for almost +every important expounder of Job, as well as every Jewish +philosopher of note, has one with its own system of retribution. +Thus Judaism has no fixed doctrine on the subject. +It refused a hearing to no theory, for fear that it should +<pb n='214'/><anchor id='Pg214'/> +contain some germ of truth, but on the same ground it +accepted none to the exclusion of the others. +</p> + +<p> +These theories may, perhaps, be conveniently reduced +to the two following main doctrines that are in direct +opposition to each other, whilst all other views about the +subject will be treated as the more or less logical results of +the one or other doctrine. +</p> + +<p> +1. There is no death without (preceding) sin, nor affliction +without (preceding) transgression.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 55<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> This view is cited +in the name of R. Ammi, who quoted in corroboration the +verses Ez. xviii. 20, and Ps. lxxxix. 33. Though this +Rabbi flourished towards the end of the third century, +there is hardly any doubt that his view was held by the +authorities of a much earlier date. For it can only be +under the sway of such a notion of Retribution that the +Tannaim were so anxious to assign some great crime as +the antecedent to every serious calamity by which mankind +was visited. The following illustrations will suffice:—<q>Pestilence +comes into the world for capital crimes +mentioned in the Torah, which are not brought before the +earthly tribunal.... Noisome beasts come into the world +for vain swearing and for profanation of the name (of God). +Captivity comes upon the world for strange worship and +incest, and for shedding of blood and for (not) giving +release to the land.</q> As an example of the misfortune +befalling the individual I will merely allude to a passage in +another tractate of the Talmud, according to which leprosy +is to be regarded as the penalty for immorality, +slander, perjury, and similar sins.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sayings of the Fathers</hi> (ed. C. Taylor), v. 12-15. See also +<hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 32 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>, and <hi rend='italic'>Mechilta</hi> (ed. Friedman), 95<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>. <hi rend='italic'>Arachin</hi>, 16<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +If we were now to complement R. Ammi's view by adding +that there is no happiness without some preceding +merit—and there is no serious objection to making this +<pb n='215'/><anchor id='Pg215'/> +addition—then it would resolve itself into the theory of +Measure for Measure, which forms a very common standard +of reward and punishment in Jewish literature. +Here are a few instances:—<q>Because the Egyptians +wanted to destroy Israel by water (Exod. i. 22), they were +themselves destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea, as +it is said, Therefore I will <emph>measure</emph> their former work +into their bosom (Is. lxv. 7);</q> whilst, on the other hand, +we read, <q>Because Abraham showed himself hospitable +towards strangers, providing them with water (Gen. xviii. +4), God gave to his children a country blessed with plenty +of water (Deut. viii. 1).</q> Sometimes this form of retribution +goes so far as to define a special punishment to +that part of the body which mostly contributed to the +committing of the sin. Thus we read, <q>Samson rebelled +against God by his eyes, as it is said, Get her (the Philistine +woman) for me, for she pleases <emph>my eyes</emph> (Judg. xvi. +21); therefore his <emph>eyes</emph> were put out by the Philistines +(Judg. xviii. 9)</q>; whilst Absalom, whose sinful pride began +by his <emph>hair</emph> (2 Sam. xiv. 25), met his fate by his <emph>hair</emph> +(2 Sam. xviii. 9).<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Mechilta</hi>, 25<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>, 32<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>. <hi rend='italic'>Gen. Rabbah</hi>, ch. 48, and <hi rend='italic'>Tossephta +Sotah</hi>, iv. 7, and parallels.</note> Nahum of Gemzo himself explained +his blindness and the maimed condition of his arms and +legs as a consequence of a specific offence in having neglected +the duty of succouring a poor man. Addressing +the dead body of the suppliant who perished while Nahum +was delaying his help, he said, <q>Let my eyes (which had +no pity for your pitiful gaze) become blind; may my +hands and legs (that did not hasten to help thine) become +maimed, and finally my whole body be covered with +boils.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Taanith</hi>, 21<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> <q>This was the hand that wrote it,</q> said Cranmer +at the stake; <q>therefore it shall first suffer punishment.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It is worth noticing that this retribution does not always +<pb n='216'/><anchor id='Pg216'/> +consist in a material reward, but, as Ben Azzai expressed +it: <q>The reward of a command is a command, and the +reward of a transgression is a transgression.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sayings of the Fathers</hi>, iv. 5.</note> So again: +<q>Because Abraham showed himself so magnanimous in +his treatment of the king of Sodom, and said, I will not +take from thee a thread; therefore, his children enjoyed +the privilege of having the command of Zizith, consisting +in putting a thread or fringe in the border of their garments.</q> +In another passage we read, <q>He who is anxious +to do acts of charity will be rewarded by having the +means enabling him to do so.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Baba Bathra</hi>, 9<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> In more general terms +the same thought is expressed when the Rabbis explained +the words, Ye shall sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be +holy (Lev. xi. 44), to the effect that if man takes the initiative +in holiness, even though in a small way, Heaven will +help him to reach it to a much higher degree.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Yoma</hi>, 39<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Notwithstanding these passages, to which many more +might be added, it cannot be denied that there are in the +Rabbinical literature many passages holding out promises +of <emph>material</emph> reward to the righteous as well as threatening +the wicked with <emph>material</emph> punishment. Nor is there any +need of denying it. Simple-minded men—and such the +majority of the Rabbis were—will never be persuaded +into looking with indifference on pain and pleasure; they +will be far from thinking that poverty, loss of children, +and sickness are no evil, and that a rich harvest, hope of +posterity, and good health, are not desirable things. It +<emph>does</emph> lie in our nature to consider the former as curses and +the latter as blessings; <q>and if this be wrong there is +no one to be made responsible for it but the Creator of +nature.</q> Accordingly the question must arise, How can +a just and omnipotent God allow it to happen that men +<pb n='217'/><anchor id='Pg217'/> +should suffer innocently? The most natural suggestion +towards solving the difficulty would be that we are <emph>not</emph> +innocent. Hence R. Ammi's assertion that affliction and +death are both the outcome of sin and transgression; or, +as R. Chanina ben Dossa expressed it, <q>It is not the wild +beast but sin which kills.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Berachoth</hi>, 33<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +We may thus perceive in this theory an attempt <q>to +justify the ways of God to man.</q> Unfortunately it does +not correspond with the real facts. The cry wrung from +the prophets against the peace enjoyed by the wicked, +and the pains inflicted on the righteous, which finds its +echo in so many Psalms, and reaches its climax in the +Book of Job, was by no means silenced in the times of +the Rabbis. If long experience could be of any use, it +only served to deepen perplexity. For all this suffering +of the people of God, and the prosperity of their wicked +persecutors, which perplexed the prophets and their immediate +followers, were repeated during the death-struggle +for independence against Rome, and were not lessened +by the establishment of Christianity as the dominant religion. +The only comfort which time brought them was, +perhaps, that the long continuance of misfortune made +them less sensible to suffering than their ancestors were. +Indeed, a Rabbi of the first century said that his generation +had by continuous experience of misery become as +insensible to pain as the dead body is to a prick of a +needle.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 13<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> The anæsthetic effect of long suffering may, +indeed, help one to endure pain with more patience, but +it cannot serve as an apology for the deed of the inflictors +of the pain. The question, then, how to reconcile hard +reality with the justice of God, remained as difficult as +ever. +</p> + +<pb n='218'/><anchor id='Pg218'/> + +<p> +The most important passage in Rabbinical literature relating +to the solution of this problem is the following:—With +reference to Exod. xxxiii. 13, R. Johanan said, in the +name of R. José, that, among other things, Moses also +asked God to explain to him the method of his Providence, +a request that was granted to him. He asked God, Why +are there righteous people who are prosperous, and righteous +who suffer; wicked who are prosperous and wicked +who suffer? The answer given to him was, according to +the one view, that the prosperity of the wicked and the +suffering of the righteous are a result of the conduct of +their ancestors, the former being the descendants of righteous +parents and enjoying their merits, whilst the latter, +coming from a bad stock, suffer for the sins of those to +whom they owe their existence. This view was suggested +by the Scriptural words, <q>Keeping mercy for thousands +(of generations) ... visiting the iniquity of the fathers +upon the children</q> (Exod. xxxiv. 7), which were regarded +as the answer to Moses' question in the preceding chapter +of Exodus.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Berachoth</hi>, 7<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> Prevalent, however, as this view may have +been in ancient times, the Rabbis never allowed it to pass +without some qualification. It is true that they had no +objection to the former part of this doctrine, and they +speak very frequently of the <q>Merits of the Fathers</q> for +which the remotest posterity is rewarded; for this could +be explained on the ground of the boundless goodness of +God, which cannot be limited to the short space of a lifetime. +But there was no possibility of overcoming the +moral objection against punishment of people for sins +they have not committed. +</p> + +<p> +It will suffice to mention here that, with reference to +Joshua vii. 24, 25, the Rabbis asked the question, If he +<pb n='219'/><anchor id='Pg219'/> +(Achan) sinned, what justification could there be for putting +his sons and daughters to death? And by the force +of this argument they interpreted the words of the Scriptures +to mean that the children of the criminal were only +compelled to be present at the execution of their father. +</p> + +<p> +Such passages, therefore, as would imply that children +have to suffer for the sins of their parents are explained +by the Rabbis as referring to cases in which the children +perpetuate the crimes of their fathers.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Mechilta</hi>, 68<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, and parallels. <hi rend='italic'>Siphra</hi>, 112<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>. <hi rend='italic'>Pessikta</hi> of R. +Kahana, 167<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>. Cp. <hi rend='italic'>Sanhedrin</hi>, 44<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> The view of +R. José, which I have already quoted, had, therefore, to +be dropped, and another version in the name of the same +Rabbi is accepted. According to this theory the sufferer +is a person either <q>entirely wicked</q> or <q>not perfectly +righteous,</q> whilst the prosperous man is a person either +<q>perfectly righteous,</q> or <q>not entirely wicked.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It is hardly necessary to say that there is still something +wanting to supplement this view, for the given classification +would place the not entirely wicked on the same +level with the perfectly righteous, and on a much higher +level than the imperfectly righteous, who are undoubtedly +far superior. The following passage may be regarded as +supplying this missing something:—<q>The wicked who +have done some good work are as amply rewarded for it +in <emph>this</emph> world as if they were men who have fulfilled the +whole of the Torah, so that they may be punished for +their sins in the next world (without interruption); whilst +the righteous who have committed some sin have to suffer +for it (in this world) as if "they were men who burned the +Law,</q> so that they may enjoy their reward in the world to +come (without interruption).<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Aboth</hi> de R. Nathan, 40<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>, 59<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, and 62<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> Thus the real retribution +takes place in the next world, the fleeting existence on +earth not being the fit time either to compensate righteousness +<pb n='220'/><anchor id='Pg220'/> +or to punish sin. But as, on the one hand, God +never allows <q>that the merit of any creature should be +cut short,</q> whilst, on the other hand, He deals very +severely with the righteous, punishing them for the +slightest transgression; since, too, this reward and punishment +are only of short duration, they must take place in +this short terrestrial existence. There is thus established +a sort of divine economy, lest the harmony of the next +world should be disturbed. +</p> + +<p> +Yet another objection to the doctrine under discussion +remains to be noticed. It is that it justifies God by +accusing man, declaring every sufferer as more or less +of a sinner. But such a notion, if carried to its last +consequences, must result in tempting us to withhold +our sympathies from him. And, indeed, it would seem +that there were some non-Jewish philosophers who argued +in this way. Thus a certain Roman official is reported +to have said to R. Akiba, <q>How can you be so eager +in helping the poor? Suppose only a king, who, in his +wrath against his slave, were to set him in the gaol, and +give orders to withhold from him food and drink; if, +then, one dared to act to the contrary, would not the +king be angry with him?</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Baba Bathra</hi>, 10<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> There is some appearance +of logic in this notion put into the mouth of a heathen. +The Rabbis, however, were inconsistent people, and responded +to the appeal which suffering makes to every +human heart without asking too many questions. Without +entering here into the topic of charity in the Rabbinic +literature, which would form a very interesting chapter, +I shall only allude now to the following incident, which +would show that the Rabbis did not abandon even those +afflicted with leprosy, which, according to their own +<pb n='221'/><anchor id='Pg221'/> +notion, given above, followed only as a punishment for +the worst crimes. One Friday, we are told, when the +day was about to darken, the Chassid Abba Tachnah +was returning home, bearing on his shoulders the baggage +that contained all his fortune; he saw a leprous man +lying on the road, who addressed him: <q>Rabbi, do me +a deed of charity and take me into the town.</q> The +Rabbi now thought, <q>If I leave my baggage, where shall +I find the means of obtaining subsistence for myself and +my family? But if I forsake this leprous man I shall +commit a mortal sin.</q> In the end, he allowed the good +inclination to prevail over the evil one, and first carried +the sufferer to the town.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Eccles. Rabbah</hi>, ix. 7.</note> The only practical conclusion +that the Rabbis drew from such theories as identify +suffering with sin were for the sufferer himself, who +otherwise might be inclined to blame Providence, or even +to blaspheme, but would now look upon his affliction as +a reminder from heaven that there is something wrong +in his moral state. Thus we read in tractate <hi rend='italic'>Berachoth</hi>:<note place='foot'>5<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> +<q>If a man sees that affliction comes upon him, he ought +to inquire into his actions, as it is said, Let us search and +try our ways, and turn again to the Lord (Lam. iii. 40).</q> +This means to say that the sufferer will find that he +has been guilty of some offence. As an illustration of +this statement we may perhaps consider the story about +R. Huna, occurring in the same tractate.<note place='foot'>7<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> Of this Rabbi +it is said that he once experienced heavy pecuniary losses, +whereupon his friends came to his house and said to him, +<q>Let the master but examine his conduct a little closer.</q> +On this R. Huna answered, <q>Do you suspect me of +having committed some misdeed?</q> His friends rejoined, +<q>And do you think that God would pass judgment without +<pb n='222'/><anchor id='Pg222'/> +justice?</q> R. Huna then followed their hint, and +found that he did not treat his tenant farmer so generously +as he ought. He offered redress, and all turned +out well in the end. Something similar is to be found +in the story of the martyrdom of R. Simeon ben Gamaliel +and R. Ishmael ben Elisha. Of these Rabbis we are +told that on their way to be executed the one said to +the other, <q>My heart leaves me, for I am not aware of +a sin deserving such a death</q>; on which the other answered, +<q>It might have happened that in your function +as judge you sometimes—for your own convenience—were +slow in administering justice.</q><note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Mechilta</hi>, 95<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, and parallels.</note> +</p> + +<p> +But even if the personal actions of the righteous were +blameless, there might still be sufficient ground for his being +afflicted and miserable. This may be found in his relations +to his kind and surroundings, or, to use the term now more +popular, by reason of human solidarity. Now, after the +above remarks on the objections entertained by the Rabbis +against a man's being punished for the sins of others, it +is hardly necessary to say that their idea of solidarity has +little in common with the crude notions of it current in +very ancient times. Still, it can hardly be doubted that +the relation of the individual to the community was more +keenly felt by the Rabbis than by the leaders in any other +society, modern or ancient. According to the view given +by an ancient Rabbi whose name is unknown, it would, +indeed, seem that to them the individual was not simply a +member of the Jewish commonwealth, or a co-religionist, +but a limb of the great and single body <q>Israel,</q> and that +as such he communicated both for good and evil the sensations +of the one part to the whole. In the <hi rend='italic'>Midrash</hi>, +where a parallel is to be found to this idea, the responsibility +<pb n='223'/><anchor id='Pg223'/> +of the individual towards the community is further +illustrated by R. Simeon ben Yochai, in the following way: +<q>It is,</q> we read there, <q>to be compared to people sitting +on board a ship, one of the passengers of which took an +awl and began to bore holes in the bottom of the vessel. +Asked to desist from his dangerous occupation, he answered, +<q>Why, I am only making holes on my own seat,</q> +forgetting that when the water came in it would sink the +whole ship.</q> Thus the sin of a single man might endanger +the whole of humanity. It was in conformity with +the view of his father that R. Eliezer, the son of R. Simeon +(ben Yochai) said, <q>The world is judged after the merits or +demerits of the majority, so that a single individual by his +good or bad actions can decide the fate of his fellow-creatures, +as it may happen that he is just the one who constitutes +this majority.</q><note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Kiddushin</hi>, 40<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>. <hi rend='italic'>Mechilta</hi>, 63<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>. <hi rend='italic'>Lev. Rabbah</hi>, iv.</note> Nor does this responsibility cease +with the man's own actions. According to the Rabbis +man is responsible even for the conduct of others—and +as such liable to punishment—if he is indifferent to the +wrong that is being perpetrated about him, whilst an energetic +protest from his side could have prevented it. And +the greater the man the greater is his responsibility. He +may suffer for the sins of his family which is first reached +by his influence; he may suffer for the sins of the whole +community if he could hope to find a willing ear among +them, and he may even suffer for the sins of the whole +world if his influence extend so far, and he forbear from +exerting it for good.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 54<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> Thus the possibility is given that +the righteous man may suffer with justice, though he himself +has never committed any transgression. +</p> + +<p> +As a much higher aspect of this solidarity—and as may +have already suggested itself to the reader from the passage +<pb n='224'/><anchor id='Pg224'/> +cited above from the anonymous Rabbi—we may +regard the suffering of the righteous as an atonement for +the sins of their contemporaries. <q>When there will be +neither Tabernacle nor the Holy Temple,</q> Moses is said +to have asked God, <q>what will become of Israel?</q> Whereupon +God answers, <q>I will take from among them the +righteous man whom I shall consider as pledged for them, +and will forgive all their sins;</q> the death of the perfect +man, or even his suffering being looked upon as an expiation +for the shortcoming of his generation.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Exodus Rabbah</hi>, c. 35, and parallels.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It is hardly necessary to remind the reader of the affinity +of this idea with that of sacrifices in general, as in both +cases it is the innocent being which has to suffer for the +sins of another creature. But there is one vital point which +makes all the difference. It is that in our case the suffering +is not enforced, but is a voluntary act on the part of +the sacrifice, and is even desired by him. Without entering +here on the often-discussed theme of the suffering of +the Messiah, I need only mention the words of R. Ishmael +who, on a very slight provocation, exclaimed, <q>I am the +atonement for the Jews,</q> which means that he took upon +him all their sins to suffer for them.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Negaim</hi>, ii. 1.</note> This desire seems +to have its origin in nothing else than a deep sympathy +and compassion with Israel. To suffer <emph>for</emph>, or, at least +<emph>with</emph> Israel was, according to the Rabbis, already the ideal +of Moses. He is said, indeed, to have broken the Two +Tables with the purpose of committing some sin, so that +he would have either to be condemned together with Israel +(for the sin of the golden calf), or to be pardoned together +with them.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Exod. Rabbah</hi>, c. 46.</note> And this conduct was expected not only from +the leaders of Israel, but almost from every Jew. <q>When +Israel is in a state of affliction (as, for instance, famine) one +<pb n='225'/><anchor id='Pg225'/> +must not say, I will rather live by myself, and eat and drink, +and peace be unto thee, my soul. To those who do so the +words of the Scriptures are to be applied: And in that day +did the Lord God of Hosts call to weeping and to mourning, +... and behold joy and gladness.... Surely this +iniquity shall not be purged out from you till ye die</q> (Is. +xxii. 12-14). Another passage is to the effect that, when a +man shows himself indifferent to the suffering of the community, +there come the two angels (who accompany every +Jew), put their hands on his head, and say, <q>This man who +has separated himself shall be excluded from their consolations.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Taanith</hi>, 11<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +We might now characterise this sort of suffering as the +chastisement of love (of the righteous) to mankind, or +rather to Israel. But we must not confuse it with the +Chastisement of Love often mentioned in the Talmud, +though this idea also seems calculated to account for the +suffering of the righteous. Here the love is not on the +side of the sufferer, but proceeds from him who inflicts +this suffering. <q>Him,</q> says R. Huna, <q>in whom God +delights he crushes with suffering.</q> As a proof of this +theory the words of Is. liii. 10 are given, which are interpreted +to mean: him whom the Lord delights in He puts +to grief. Another passage, by the same authority, is to +the effect that where there is no sufficient cause for punishment +(the man being entirely free from sin), we have +to regard his suffering as a chastisement of love, for it +is said: <q>Whom the Lord loveth He correcteth</q> (Proverbs +iii. 11).<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Berachoth</hi>, 5<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> To what purpose He corrects him may, perhaps, +be seen from the following passage: <q>R. Eleazar ben +Jacob says: If a man is visited by affliction he has to be +thankful to God for it: for suffering draws man to, and +<pb n='226'/><anchor id='Pg226'/> +reconciles him with God, as it is said: For whom God +loveth he correcteth.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Tanchuma</hi>, כי תצא, § 2. Cp. <hi rend='italic'>Mechilta</hi>, 72<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It is in conformity with such a high conception that +affliction, far from being dreaded, becomes almost a +desirable end, and we hear many Rabbis exclaim, <q>Beloved +is suffering,</q> for by it fatherly love is shown to man +by God; by it man obtains purification and atonement, +by it Israel came in possession of the best gifts, such as +the Torah, the Holy Land, and eternal life.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Siphré</hi>, 73<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, and parallels.</note> And so +also the sufferer, far from being considered as a man +with a suspected past, becomes an object of veneration, +on whom the glory of God rests, and he brings salvation +to the world if he bears his affliction with joyful submission +to the will of God.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Taanith</hi>, 8<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> Continuous prosperity is by no +means to be longed after, for, as R. Ishmael taught, <q>He +who has passed forty days without meeting adversity has +already received his (share of the) world (to come) in +this life.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Arachin</hi>, 16<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> Nay, the standing rule is that the really +righteous suffer, whilst the wicked are supposed to be +in a prosperous state. Thus, R. Jannai said, <q>We (average +people) enjoy neither the prosperity of the wicked nor +the afflictions of the righteous,</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sayings of the Fathers</hi>, iv. 15.</note> whilst his contemporary, +Rab, declared that he who experiences no affliction and +persecution does not belong to them (the Jews).<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Chagigah</hi>, 5<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +2. The second main view on Retribution is that recorded +by the Rabbis as in direct opposition to that of +R. Ammi. It is that there is suffering as well as death +without sin and transgression. We may now just as well +infer that there is prosperity and happiness without preceding +merits. And this is, indeed, the view held by +R. Meir. For in contradiction to the view cited above, +R. Meir declares that the request of Moses to have +<pb n='227'/><anchor id='Pg227'/> +explained to him the mysterious ways of Providence was +<emph>not</emph> granted, and the answer he received was, <q>And I will +shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy</q> (Exod. xxxiii. +19), which means to say, even though he to whom the +mercy is shown be unworthy of it. The old question +arises how such a procedure is to be reconciled with the +justice and omnipotence of God. The commentaries try +to evade the difficulty by suggesting some of the views +given above, as that the real reward and punishment are +only in the world to come, or that the affliction of the +righteous is only chastisement of love, and so on. From +the passages I am about to quote, however, one gains the +impression that some Rabbis rather thought that this +great problem will indeed not bear discussion or solution +at all. Thus we have the legend: <q>The angels said to +God, why have you punished Adam with death? He +answered, On account of his having transgressed my +commandment (with regard to the eating of the tree of +knowledge). But why had Moses and Aaron to die? +The reply given to them is the words, Eccl. ix. 2: <q>All +things come alike to all; there is one event to the righteous +and to the wicked, to the good and to the clean and +to the unclean.</q></q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 55<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> Another legend records, <q>When +Moses ascended to heaven, God showed him also the +great men of futurity. R. Akiba was sitting and interpreting +the law in a most wonderful way. Moses said +to God: Thou hast shown me his worth, show me also +his reward; on which he is bidden to look back. There +he perceives him dying the most cruel of deaths, and his +flesh being sold by weight. Moses now asks: Is this the +reward of such a life? whereupon God answers him: +Be silent; this I have determined.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Menachoth</hi>, 29<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='228'/><anchor id='Pg228'/> + +<p> +It is impossible not to think of the fine lines of the +German poet:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>Warum schleppt sich blutend, elend,</l> +<l>Unter Kreuzlast der Gerechte,</l> +<l>Während glücklich als ein Sieger</l> +<l>Trabt auf hohem Ross der Schlechte?</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Also fragen wir beständig,</l> +<l>Bis man uns mit einer Handvoll</l> +<l>Erde endlich stopft die Mäuler—</l> +<l>Aber ist das eine Antwort?</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +Still, one might perhaps suggest that these passages +when examined a little closer, not only contain a rebuke +to man's importunity in wanting to intrude into the secrets +of God, but also hint at the possibility that even God's +omnipotence is submitted to a certain law—though designed +by His own holy will—which He could not alter +without detriment to the whole creation. Indeed, in one +of the mystical accounts of the martyrdom of R. Akiba +and other great Rabbis, God is represented as asking the +sufferers to accept His hard decree without protest, unless +they wish Him to destroy the whole world. In another +place again, we read of a certain renowned Rabbi, who +lived in great poverty, that once in a dream he asked the +divine Shechinah how long he would have still to endure +this bitter privation? The answer given to him was: +<q>My son, will it please you that I destroy the world for +your sake?</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Taanith</hi>, 25<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> It is only in this light that we shall be +able to understand such passages in the Rabbinic literature +as that God almost suffers Himself when He has to +inflict punishment either on the individual or on whole +communities. Thus God is represented as mourning for +<pb n='229'/><anchor id='Pg229'/> +seven days (as in the case when one loses a child) before +He brought the deluge on the world; He bemoans the +fall of Israel and the destruction of the Temple, and the +Shechinah laments even when the criminal suffers his just +punishment. And it is not by rebelling against these +laws that He tries to redeem His suffering. He himself +has recourse to prayer, and says: <q>May it be my will +that my mercy conquer my wrath, that my love over-rule +my strict justice, so that I may treat my children with +love.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Gen. Rabbah</hi>, xxvii.; <hi rend='italic'>Pessikta</hi>, 136<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>; <hi rend='italic'>Sanhedrin</hi>, vi. 5; <hi rend='italic'>Berachoth</hi>, +7<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> If now man is equal to God, he has nevertheless, +or rather on that account, to submit to the law of God +without any outlook for reward or punishment; or, as +Antigonos expressed it, <q>Be not as slaves that minister to +the Lord with a view to receive recompense.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sayings of the Fathers</hi>, i. 3, p. 27, ed. Taylor. See also note 8.</note> Certainly +it would be hazardous to maintain that Antigonos's saying +was a consequence of this doctrine; but, at any rate, we +see a clear tendency to keep the thought of reward (in +spite of the prominent part it holds in the Bible) out of +view. Still more clearly is it seen when, with reference +to Ps. cxii., <q>Blessed is the man ... that delighteth +greatly in his commandments,</q> Rabbi Eleazar remarks +that the meaning is that the man desires only to do His +commandments, but he does not want the rewards connected +with them.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Abodah Zarah</hi>, 19<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>; <hi rend='italic'>Siphré</hi>, 79<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> This is the more remarkable, as the +whole contents of this psalm are nothing else than a long +series of promises of various rewards, so that the explanation +of Rabbi Eleazar is in almost direct contradiction to +the simple meaning of the words. On the other hand, +also, every complaint about suffering must cease. Not +only is affliction no direct chastisement by God in the +way of revenge; but even when it would seem to us that +we suffer innocently, we have no right to murmur, as +<pb n='230'/><anchor id='Pg230'/> +God himself is also suffering, and, as the Talmud expresses +it, <q>It is enough for the slave to be in the position of his +master.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Berachoth</hi>, 58<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This thought of the compassion—in its strictest sense +of fellow-suffering—of God with His creatures becomes +a new motive for avoiding sin. <q>Woe to the wicked,</q> +exclaims a Rabbi, <q>who by their bad actions turn the +mercy of God into strict justice.</q><note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Exod. R.</hi>, 30, and parallels.</note> And the later mystics +explain distinctly that the great crime of sin consists in +causing pain, so to speak, to the Shechinah. One of +them compared it with the slave who abuses the goodness +of his master so far as to buy with his money arms to +wound him. But, on the other hand, it becomes, rather +inconsistently, also a new source of comfort; for, in the +end, God will have to redeem Himself from this suffering, +which cannot be accomplished so long as Israel is still +under punishment.<note place='foot'>See ראשית חבמה, i. 9.</note> Most interesting is the noble prayer +by a Rabbi of a very late mystical school: <q>O God, +speedily bring about the redemption. I am not in the +least thinking of what I may gain by it. I am willing to +be condemned to all tortures in hell, if only the Shechinah +will cease to suffer.</q><note place='foot'>See רמתים נמים, 33<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +If we were now to ask for the attitude of the Synagogue +towards these two main views, we should have to answer +that—as already hinted at the opening of this paper—it +never decided for the one or the other. R. David Rocca +Martino dared even to write a whole book in Defence of +Adam proving that he committed no sin in eating the +fruit of the tree of knowledge against the literal sense of +the Scriptures, which were also taken by the Rabbis +literally.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 55<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, and <hi rend='italic'>Siphra</hi>, 27<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> By this he destroyed the prospects of many a +theodicy, but it is not known to me that he was severely +<pb n='231'/><anchor id='Pg231'/> +rebuked for it. It has been said by a great writer that the +best theology is that which is not consistent, and this advantage +the theology of the Synagogue possesses to its +utmost extent. It accepted with R. Ammi the stern principle +of divine retribution, in as far as it makes man feel +the responsibility of his actions, and makes suffering a +discipline. But it never allowed this principle to be +carried so far as to deny the sufferer our sympathy, and +by a series of conscious and unconscious modifications, +he passed from the state of a sinner into the zenith of the +saint and the perfectly righteous man. But, on the other +hand, the Synagogue also gave entrance to the very opposite +view which, abandoning every attempt to account +for suffering, bids man do his duty without any hope of +reward, even as God also does His. Hence the remarkable +phenomenon in the works of later Jewish moralists, that, +whilst they never weary of the most detailed accounts of +the punishments awaiting the sinner and the rewards in +store for the righteous, they warn us most emphatically +that our actions must not be guided by these unworthy +considerations, and that our only motive should be the love +of God and submission to His holy will. +</p> + +<p> +Nor must it be thought that the views of the Rabbis +are so widely divergent from those enunciated in the +Bible. The germ of almost all the later ideas is already +to be found in the Scriptures. It only needed the process +of time to bring into prominence those features +which proved at a later period most acceptable. Indeed, +it would seem that there is also a sort of domestication +of religious ideas. On their first association with man +there is a certain rude violence about them which, when +left to the management of untutored minds, would certainly +<pb n='232'/><anchor id='Pg232'/> +do great harm. But, let only this association last +for centuries, during which these ideas have to be subdued +by practical use, and they will, in due time, lose +their former roughness, will become theologically workable, +and turn out the greatest blessing to inconsistent +humanity. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='233'/><anchor id='Pg233'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>IX. The Law And Recent Criticism<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Judaism and Christianity, a Sketch of the Progress of Thought +from Old Testament to New Testament</hi>, by C. H. Toy, Professor in +Harvard University. London, 1890.</note></head> + +<p> +Professor Toy's work, <hi rend='italic'>Judaism and Christianity</hi>, gives +an admirable conspectus of the results of the modern +critical school in their bearing on the genesis of Christianity. +The author takes various important doctrines of +Christianity, traces them back to their origin in Israelitism, +pursues their course through their various phases +in Judaism, until they reach their final development in +the teaching of Jesus and His disciples, which, in the +author's judgment, is the consummation of that which +the prophets and their successors had to give to the +world. Laying so much stress as Professor Toy does on +the saying, <q>By their fruits shall ye know them,</q> he +ought also, perhaps, to have told us what, in the course +of time, has become of these several doctrines. For +when, for instance, with regard to the doctrine of original +sin, he remarks that <q>in certain systems of Christian +theology the human race is involved in the condemnation +of the first man</q> (p. 185, n. 1); or that, in the +New Testament, <q>the demand for a mediating power between +God and humanity is pushed to the farthest point +which thought can occupy consistently with the maintenance +of the absoluteness of the one Supreme Deity</q> +(p. 121), he is rather evading a difficulty than answering +it. Such elaboration would, however, have been outside +<pb n='234'/><anchor id='Pg234'/> +the scope of Professor Toy's book, which claims only to +be a sketch of the progress of thought from the Old +Testament to the New. For his own solution of the +indicated difficulty, Toy, to judge from his liberal standpoint, +would probably refer us to Dr. Hatch's Hibbert +lectures; the issue of such an appeal must, I imagine, +remain for long doubtful and disputed. +</p> + +<p> +A delightful characteristic of Toy's book is its transparent +clearness and sobriety, which will make it interesting +reading, even to those who are acquainted with +the writer's authorities in their original sources. Almost +entirely new, as well as most suggestive, is the justice +which Toy does to the law in recognising it as a factor +for good in the history of religion. In this point Toy is +not only up to his date, but beyond it. It is true that +even the Pharisees have made some advance in the estimation +of the liberal school. They are no longer condemned +<foreign rend='italic'>en masse</foreign> as so many hypocrites. It is even +admitted that there were a few honest men among +them, such as Rabban Gamaliel, the teacher of Paul, +or R. Akiba, the patriot of Bethar. We are now too +polite to be personal. But with regard to the law, on +the other hand, there is at present a markedly opposite +tendency. The general idea seems to be that, as the +doctrine of the resurrection of Christ must be loosely +interpreted in a spiritual sense, it must logically have +been preceded by a universal spiritual death, and the +germs of the disease which brought this death about +are to be sought for in the law. Hence the strained +efforts to discover in the law the source of all religious +evil,—cant, hypocrisy, formalism, externalism, transcendentalism, +and as many <q>isms</q> more, of bad reputation. +</p> + +<pb n='235'/><anchor id='Pg235'/> + +<p> +It was probably with this current representation of the +law in view that Toy, when speaking of the Levitical legislation, +and of its fixing <q>men's minds on ceremonial +details which, in some cases, it put into the same category +and on the same level with moral duties,</q> asks the question: +<q>Would there not thence result a dimming of the +moral sense and a confusion of moral distinctions? The +ethical attitude of a man who could regard a failure in the +routine of sacrifice as not less blameworthy than an act of +theft cannot be called a lofty one</q> (p. 186). The answer +which he gives is more favourable than such a leading +question would induce us to expect. He tells us that, <q>in +point of fact, the result was different</q> (<hi rend='italic'>ibid</hi>). <q>The Levitical +law is not to be looked on as a mere extension and +organisation of the ritual.... Its ritual was, in great +part, the organised expression of the consciousness of sin</q> +(p. 226). Of the law in general Toy says that it had +<q>larger consequences than its mere details would suggest,</q> +for it <q>cultivated the moral sense of the people +into results above its mechanical prescriptions,</q> and <q>it +developed the sense of sin, as Paul points out</q> (Gal. iii. +19), <q>and therewith a freer feeling, which brought the +soul into more immediate contact with God</q> (p. 227); +whilst in another place he reminds us <q>that much of the +law is moral, and that no one could fail to see a spiritual +significance beneath its letter</q> (p. 245), and he even admits +that <q>the great legal schools which grew up in the +second century, if we may judge by the sayings of the +teachers which have come down to us, did not fail to discriminate +between the outward and the inward, the ceremonial +and the moral</q> (p. 186). +</p> + +<p> +These and similar passages will suffice to show that +<pb n='236'/><anchor id='Pg236'/> +Toy's estimate of the law is a very different one from that +of Smend and his school. However, it must not be supposed +that he is not on the look-out for the germs of the +disease. He must find these germs somewhere, or else +the progress, which his book is intended to illustrate, +would be difficult to detect. And thus he repeats the old +accusations, though not without modification. +</p> + +<p> +Professor Toy's objections may, perhaps, be summed up +in the passage in which he represents the Jewish law as +<q>an attempt to define all the beliefs and acts of life</q> +(p. 239), or as <q>the embodiment of devotion to a fixed +rule of belief and conduct</q> (p. 237). Toy does not +entirely condemn this system, and even speaks of it as a +<q>lofty attempt</q> (p. 239); but, on the whole, he considers +that it must have resulted in bad theology, as well as in +doubtful conduct. Without following Professor Toy over +the whole area of his investigations, which would require +a volume for itself, I will only take the opportunity of +making a few general remarks upon the nature and +character of this legal system, which seems to hold the +key to the spiritual history of Judaism. +</p> + +<p> +First, as to its theology, Toy's description of the law as +an attempt to define all the <emph>beliefs</emph> of life—an assertion +which is also made by Schürer—is not wholly accurate. +For such an attempt was never made by Judaism. The +few dogmas which Judaism possesses, such as the Existence +of God, Providence, Reward, and Punishment—without +which no revealed religion is conceivable—can +hardly be called a creed in the modern sense of the term, +which implies something external and foreign to man's +own knowledge, and received only in deference to the +weight of authority. To the Jew of the Christian era, +<pb n='237'/><anchor id='Pg237'/> +these simpler dogmas were so self-evident that it would +have cost him the greatest effort <emph>not</emph> to believe them. +Hence the fact that, whilst there have come down to us +so many controverted points between the Sadducees and +Pharisees with regard to certain juristic and ritual questions, +we know of only one of an essentially dogmatic +character, viz. the dispute concerning the Resurrection. +</p> + +<p> +It is thus difficult to imagine to what Professor Toy can +be alluding when he speaks of the <q>interest they (the +Jews) threw into the discussion and determination of +minutiæ of faith</q> (p. 241). Discussions upon <emph>minutiæ</emph> +of faith are only to be read in the works of the later +schoolmen (as Saadiah, Maimonides and their followers), +in which such subtle problems as <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Creatio ex nihilo</foreign>, the +origin of evil, predestination, free will and similar subjects +are examined; but this period is very distant from that +with which Toy is concerned. The older schools and +the so-called houses of Shammai and Hillel, most of whose +members were the contemporaries of the Apostles, show +very little predilection for such <emph>minutiæ</emph>. Their discussions +and differences of opinion about ritual matters are +very numerous, scattered as they are over the whole of +the ancient Rabbinic literature, but I can only remember +two of a metaphysical character, or touching upon the +<emph>minutiæ</emph> of faith. The one, dealing with the efficacy of +certain sacrifices, discusses whether it only extends to +the remission of the pending punishment for sins, or also +includes their purification and washing away; the other +considers the question whether it would not have been +better for man not to have been created.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Pessikta</hi> of R. Kahana, 61<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, and parallels, and <hi rend='italic'>Erubin</hi>, +13<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> But this latter +controversy, which is said to have lasted for two years +and a half, by no means led to any big metaphysical or +<pb n='238'/><anchor id='Pg238'/> +theological system, but only to the practical advice that, +as we have been created, we ought to be watchful over +our conduct. It is, indeed, a noteworthy feature of Judaism +that theological speculations have never resulted in +the formulation of any imposing or universal doctrine, but +usually in divers ceremonial practices. To give one illustration: +according to Professor Toy (p. 210) the conclusion +which the author of 1 Tim. ii. 11-14 draws from the +fact that woman was the immediate agent of the introduction +of sin was the subordination of her sex. The Rabbis +also noticed the same fact, and in their less abstract language +speak of woman as having brought death and grief +into the world; but the conclusion which they drew was +that since woman had extinguished the <q>light of the +world,</q> she ought to atone for it by lighting the candles +for the Sabbath.<note place='foot'>Tal. Jer., <hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 5<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> Nor is Toy quite correct when he maintains +that the conception of the Memra as Creator and +Lord, etc., and as <q>representative of the immediate divine +activity,</q> did not keep its hold on Jewish thought, having +been discarded in the later literature (p. 104). For +the Shechinah of the Talmud, the <hi rend='italic'>Metatron</hi><note place='foot'>מטטרון, the name of an angel, already found in the Talmud, but +playing a more important part in the <hi rend='italic'>Book of Chambers</hi>, where he is +identified with Enoch. The etymology of the word is doubtful, some +authors considering it to be of Persian origin (<hi rend='italic'>Mithra</hi>); others again +deriving it from the Greek μετὰ τύραννον, or μετὰ θρόνον.</note> of the Gaonic-mystical +literature, the Active Intelligence of the philosophical +schools, as well as the Ten Sephiroth<note place='foot'>ספירות.</note> (Emanations) +of the Cabbalists, all owe their existence to the same theosophic +scruples and subtleties in which the Logos of Philo +and the Memra<note place='foot'>מימרא, <q>The Word,</q> sometimes substituted for God. See J. +Levy's <hi rend='italic'>Chaldäisches Wörterbuch</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>s.v.</hi></note> of the Targums originated. Thus, they +always kept—though under various forms—their hold +on the Jewish mind. Judaism was always broad enough +to accommodate itself to these formulæ, which for the +one may mean the most holy mysteries, and for the other +empty and meaningless catchwords. The objection—in +fact, the active opposition—of the Synagogue began when +<pb n='239'/><anchor id='Pg239'/> +these possible or impossible explanations of the universe +tended to transgress the bounds of abstract speculation, +and, passing over into real concrete beings, to be worshipped +as such. An instance from comparatively modern +times might be found in one of the vagaries of the followers +of the Pseudo-Messiah, Shabbethai Tsebi. For +many generations the controversy had raged among the +Cabbalists, whether the first of the above-mentioned Ten +Emanations (called by some <hi rend='italic'>Original Adam</hi>, by others, +<hi rend='italic'>Crown</hi><note place='foot'>בחר, אדם קדמון.</note>) is to be considered as a part of the Deity or +as something separate, and so to speak, having a reality +in itself. The danger of establishing a Being near the +Deity, having an existence of its own and invested with +divine attributes, could not have escaped the thoughtful, +and there are indeed some indications to this effect. The +Synagogue as such, however, remained during the whole +controversy strictly neutral, and allowed these theosophists +to fight in the air as much as they liked. But the moment +that the sect of Shabbethai Tsebi identified the incarnate +Original Adam with their leader, and worshipped him as +a sort of God-Messiah, the Synagogue at once took up +a hostile attitude against those who separated God from +His world, and, declaring Shabbethai Tsebi and his followers +to be apostates, excluded them from Judaism for +ever. +</p> + +<p> +Nor can it be proved that legalism or nomism has ever +tended to suppress the spiritual side of religion, either in +respect of consciousness of sin, or of individual love and +devotion. With an equal logic quite the opposite might +be argued. Professor Toy tells us himself that it is no +<q>accident that along with this more definite expression of +ethical-religious law we find the first traces of a more +<pb n='240'/><anchor id='Pg240'/> +spiritual conception of righteousness in the <q>new heart</q> +of Jeremiah and Ezekiel</q> (p. 235), whilst in another passage +we read that <q>a turning point is marked by the +Deuteronomist Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who announce the +principles of individual responsibility and inwardness of +obedience</q> (p. 184). Now, two things are certain; first, +that Ezekiel urges the necessity of the new heart as well as +of individual responsibility more keenly than any of his +predecessors; secondly, that in Ezekiel the legalistic tendency +is more evident than in Deuteronomy and Jeremiah. +The logical conclusion would thus be that the higher ideals +of religion are not only not inconsistent with legalism, but +are the very outcome of it, and the so-called Priestly Code, +by the very fact of its markedly legalistic tendency, +should be considered as a step in the right direction. The +latter assertion sounds like a paradox, but it will seem less +so when the prevailing characteristic of this portion of the +Pentateuch, as given even by Kuenen, who is by no means +a champion of the Law, is borne in mind. <q>The centre +of gravity,</q> according to the great Dutch critic, <q>lies for +the priestly author elsewhere than for the prophet; it lies +in man's attitude, not towards his fellow-men, but towards +God; not in his social, but in his personal life</q> (<hi rend='italic'>Hibbert +Lectures</hi>, p. 161). It is here that we seem to strike the +keynote of the <foreign lang='de' rend='italic'>Weltanschauung</foreign> of the Priestly Legislation. +In it man is more than a social being. He has also an +individual life of his own, his joys and sorrows, his historical +claims, his traditions of the past, and his hopes for +the future—and all these have to be brought under the +influence of religion, and to become sanctified through +their relation to God. Hence, the work of the Priestly +narrator and legislator opens with a cosmogony of his +<pb n='241'/><anchor id='Pg241'/> +own, in which we find the grand theological idea of man +being created in the Divine image; hence, too, his religious +conception of the history of the nation and the control +claimed by him over all the details of human life, +which became with him so many opportunities for the +worship of God. To him, God is not a mere figurehead; +He not only reigns, but governs. Everywhere,—in the +temple, in the judge's seat, in the family, in the farm, and +in the market-place,—His presence is felt in enforcing +the laws bearing His <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>imprimatur</foreign>, <q>I am the Lord thy +God.</q> By thus diffusing religion over the whole domain +of human life—not confining it to the social institutions +which are represented only by a few personages, such as +the king, the princes, the priests, the judges or elders—they +made it the common good of the whole people, +and the feeling of personal responsibility for this good +became much deeper than before. Thus it came to pass +that whilst, during the first temple, the apostasy of kings +and aristocracy involved the entire people, so that the +words <q>And he (the king) did evil in the sight of the +Lord,</q> embrace the whole nation, during the second +temple it was no longer of much consequence which side +the political leaders took. Both during the Hellenistic +persecutions, as well as afterwards in the struggles of +some Maccabean kings with the Pharisees, the bulk of the +people showed that they considered religion as their own +personal affair, not to be regulated by the conscience of +either priest or prince. It is true that this success may +be largely ascribed to such contemporary religious factors +as the Synagogue with its minimum of form, the Scribes +with their activity as teachers, and the Psalmists with +their divine enthusiasm; but the very circumstance that +<pb n='242'/><anchor id='Pg242'/> +these factors arose and flourished under the influence of +the Priestly Code would suffice to prove that its tendency +was not so sacerdotal as some writers would have us +believe. Jewish tradition indeed attributes the composition +of the daily public prayers, as well as of others for +private worship, to the very men whom modern biblical +criticism holds responsible for the introduction of the +Priestly Code. Now this fact may perhaps be disputed, +but there is little doubt that the age in which these +prayers were composed was one of flourishing legalism. +Nor is there any proof that the synagogues and their +ritual were in opposition to the temple. From the few +documents belonging to this period, it is clear that there +was no opposition to the legalistic spirit by which the +Priestly Code was actuated. This would prove that legalism +meant something more than tithes and sacrifices for +the benefit of the priests. +</p> + +<p> +Nor is it true that the legal tendency aimed at narrowing +the mind of the nation, turning all its thoughts into the one +direction of the law. Apart from the fact that the Torah +contained other elements besides its legalism, the prophets +were not forgotten, but were read and interpreted from a +very early age. It was under the predominance of the +Law that the Wisdom literature was composed, which is +by no means narrow or one-sided, but is even supposed by +some critics to contain many foreign elements. In the +book of Job, the great problems of man's existence are +treated with a depth and grandeur never equalled before +or since. This book alone ought partly to compensate the +modern school for the disappearance of prophecy, which +is usually brought as a charge against the Law. Then, +too, the Psalms, placed by the same school in the post-exilic +<pb n='243'/><anchor id='Pg243'/> +period, are nothing but another aspect of prophecy, +with this difference, perhaps, that in the Prophets God +speaks to man, while in the Psalms it is man who establishes +the same communion by speaking to God. There +is no reason why the critical school, with its broad conception +of inspiration, and with its insistence that prophecy +does <emph>not</emph> mean prediction, should so strongly emphasise +this difference. If <q>it is no longer as in the days of +Amos, when the Lord Yahveh did nothing without revealing +his counsel to his servants the prophets,</q> there is in +the days of the Psalmists nothing in man's heart, no element +in his longings and meditations and aspirations, +which was not revealed to God. Nay, it would seem that +at times the Psalmist hardly ever desires the revelation of +God's secrets. Let future events be what they may, he is +content, for he is with God. After all his trials, he exclaims, +<q>And yet I am continually with thee; thou hast +taken hold of my right hand. According to thy purpose +wilt thou lead me, and afterwards receive me with glory. +Whom have I (to care for) in heaven? and possessing +thee, I have pleasure in nothing upon earth. Though my +flesh and my heart should have wasted away, God would +for ever be the rock of my heart and my portion</q> (Ps. +lxxiii. 23-26). How an age producing a literature containing +passages like these—of which Wellhausen in his <hi rend='italic'>Abriss</hi> +(p. 95) justly remarks, that we are not worthy even to +repeat them—can be considered by the modern school as +wanting in intimate relation to God and inferior to that of +the prophets is indeed a puzzle. +</p> + +<p> +Now a few words as to the actual life under the Law. +Here, again, there is a fresh puzzle. On the one side, we +hear the opinions of so many learned professors, proclaiming +<pb n='244'/><anchor id='Pg244'/> +<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>ex cathedrâ</foreign>, that the Law was a most terrible burden, +and the life under it the most unbearable slavery, deadening +body and soul. On the other side we have the testimony +of a literature extending over about twenty-five +centuries, and including all sorts and conditions of men, +scholars, poets, mystics, lawyers, casuists, schoolmen, +tradesmen, workmen, women, simpletons, who all, from the +author of the 119th Psalm to the last pre-Mendelssohnian +writer—with a small exception which does not even deserve +the name of a vanishing minority—give unanimous +evidence in favour of this Law, and of the bliss and happiness +of living and dying under it,—and this, the testimony +of people who were actually living under the Law, +not merely theorising upon it, and who experienced it in +all its difficulties and inconveniences. The Sabbath will +give a fair example. The law of the Sabbath is one of +those institutions the strict observance of which was already +the object of attack in early New Testament times. +Nevertheless, the doctrine proclaimed in one of the Gospels—that +the son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath—was +also current among the Rabbis. They, too, taught +that the Sabbath had been delivered into the hand of man +(to break, if necessary), and not man delivered over to the +Sabbath.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Mechilta</hi>, 104<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> And they even laid down the axiom that a +scholar who lived in a town, where among the Jewish population +there could be the least possibility of doubt as to +whether the Sabbath might be broken for the benefit of a +dangerously sick person, was to be despised as a man neglecting +his duty; for, as Maimonides points out, the laws +of the Torah are not meant as an infliction upon mankind, +<q>but as mercy, loving-kindness, and peace.</q><note place='foot'>See Tal. Jer., <hi rend='italic'>Yoma</hi>, 45<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>. Cf. Maimonides, <hi rend='italic'>Mishneh Torah</hi>, +הלבות שבת פב הג.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The attacks upon the Jewish Sabbath have not abated +<pb n='245'/><anchor id='Pg245'/> +with the lapse of time. The day is still described by +almost every Christian writer on the subject in the most +gloomy colours, and long lists are given of minute and +easily transgressed observances connected with it, which, +instead of a day of rest, would make it to be a day of +sorrow and anxiety, almost worse than the Scotch Sunday +as depicted by continental writers. But it so happens +that we have the prayer of R. Zadok, a younger contemporary +of the Apostles, which runs thus: <q>Through the +love with which Thou, O Lord our God, lovest Thy people +Israel, and the mercy which Thou hast shown to the +children of Thy covenant, Thou hast given unto us in love +this great and holy Seventh Day.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Tosephta Berackoth</hi>, iii. 7.</note> And another Rabbi, +who probably flourished in the first half of the second +century, expresses himself (with allusion to Exod. xxxi. 13: +Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep ... that ye may know +that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you)—<q>The Holy +One, blessed be He, said unto Moses, I have a good gift +in my treasures, and Sabbath is its name, which I wish +to present to Israel. Go and bring to them the good +tidings.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 10<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>. The name of the Rabbi is not given, but the +fact that R. Simeon b. Gamaliel (160 <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.c.</hi>) already refers to this interpretation +makes it clear that its anonymous author must have lived at +least a generation before.</note> The form again of the Blessing over the +Sanctification-cup<note place='foot'>כום של קדוש.</note>—a ceremony known long before the +destruction of the Second Temple—runs: <q>Blessed art +Thou, O Lord our God, who hast sanctified us by Thy +commandments, and hast taken pleasure in us, and in love +and grace hast given us Thy holy Sabbath as an inheritance.</q> +All these Rabbis evidently regarded the Sabbath +as a gift from heaven, an expression of the infinite mercy +and grace of God which He manifested to His beloved +children. +</p> + +<p> +And the gift was, as already said, a <emph>good</emph> gift. Thus +the Rabbis paraphrase the words in the Scripture <q>See, +<pb n='246'/><anchor id='Pg246'/> +for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath</q> (Exod. xvi. +29): God said unto Israel behold the gem I gave you, My +children I gave you the Sabbath for your good. Sanctify +or honour the Sabbath by choice meals, beautiful garments; +delight your soul with pleasure and I will reward you (for +this very pleasure); as it is said: <q>And if thou wilt call +the Sabbath a delight and the holy of the Lord honourable +(that is honouring the Sabbath in this way) ... then +shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord</q> (Is. lviii. 13, 14).<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Midrash</hi> to the Psalms xcii. and <hi rend='italic'>Deut. Rabbah</hi> iii. The +Rabbis perceived in the words וקראת לשבת עננ (Isa. lviii. 13), a command +to make the Sabbath a day of pleasure, whilst the word הסצף was understood +by them to mean <q>needs,</q> <q>wants,</q> or <q>business</q> (<emph>not</emph> <q>pleasure</q>). +Cf. <hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 113<hi rend='italic'>a</hi> and <hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The delight of the Sabbath was keenly felt. Israel +fell in love with the Sabbath, and in the hyperbolic language +of the Agadah the Sabbath is personified as the +<q>Bride of Israel,</q> whilst others called it <q>Queen Sabbath,</q><note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Gen. Rabbah</hi>, xi. (and parallels), and <hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 119<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> +and they are actually jealous of a certain class +of semi-proselytes who, as it seems, were willing to observe +the Sabbath, but declined to submit to the covenant +of Abraham. The Gentile Sabbath-keepers—who, +like all the nations of the world, envy Israel their Sabbath—the +Rabbis considered as shameless intruders deserving +punishment.<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Maaseh Torah</hi> (ed. Schönblum) and <hi rend='italic'>Deut. Rabbah</hi>, i.</note> No, it was Israel's own Queen or +Bride Sabbath whose appearance in all her heavenly +glory they were impatiently awaiting. Thus we are told +of R. Judah b. Ilai that when the eve of the Sabbath +came <q>he made his ablutions, wrapped himself up in his +white linen with fringed borders looking like an angel of +the Lord of Hosts,</q> thus prepared for the solemn reception +of Queen Sabbath. Another Rabbi used to put on +his best clothes, and arise and invite the Sabbath with +the words: <q>Come in Bride, come in.</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 25<hi rend='italic'>b</hi> and 119<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>.</note> What the Bride +brought was peace and bliss. Nay, man is provided with +a super soul for the Sabbath, enabling him to bear both +the spiritual and the material delights of the day with +<pb n='247'/><anchor id='Pg247'/> +dignity and solemnity.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Betsah</hi>, 16<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>. Cf. Baer's notes in his <hi rend='italic'>Prayer-Book</hi>, p. 203 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi></note> The very light (or expression) +of man's face is different on Sabbath, testifying to his +inward peace and rest. And when man has recited his +prayers (on the eve of the Sabbath) and thus borne testimony +to God's creation of the world and to the glory +of the Sabbath, there appear the two angels who accompany +him, lay their hands on his head and impart to +him their blessing with the words: <q>And thine iniquity +is taken away and thy sin purged</q> (Is. vi. 7).<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 119<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, and <hi rend='italic'>Gen. Rabbah</hi>, xi.</note> For +nothing is allowed to disturb the peace of the Sabbath; +not even <q>the sorrows of sin,</q> though the Sabbath had +such a solemn effect on people that even the worldly +man would not utter an untruth on the Day of the Lord. +Hence it was not only forbidden to pray on Sabbath for +one's own (material) needs, but everything in the liturgy +of a mournful character (as for instance the confession +of sin, supplication for pardon) was carefully avoided. It +was with difficulty, as the Rabbis say, that they made +an exception in the case of condoling with people who +had suffered loss through the death of near relatives. +There is no room for morbid sentiment on Sabbath, for +the blessing of the Lord maketh rich, and He addeth +no sorrow with it (Prov. x. 22).<note place='foot'>See <hi rend='italic'>Sabbath</hi>, 10<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>, and <hi rend='italic'>Gen. Rabbah</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>ibid.</hi></note> The burden of the +Sabbath prayers is for peace, rest, sanctification, and joy +(through salvation) and praise of God for this ineffable +bliss of the Sabbath. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the Sabbath of the old Rabbis and the +same spirit continued through all ages. The Sabbath +was and is still celebrated by the people who did and +do observe it, in hundreds of hymns, which would fill volumes, +as a day of rest and joy, of pleasure and delight, +a day in which man enjoys some foretaste of the pure +<pb n='248'/><anchor id='Pg248'/> +bliss and happiness which are stored up for the righteous +in the world to come. Somebody, either the learned +professors, or the millions of the Jewish people, must +be under an illusion. Which it is I leave to the reader +to decide. +</p> + +<p> +It is also an illusion to speak of the burden which a +scrupulous care to observe six hundred and thirteen commandments +must have laid upon the Jew. Even a superficial +analysis will discover that in the time of Christ +many of these commandments were already obsolete (as +for instance those relating to the tabernacle and to the +conquest of Palestine), while others concerned only certain +classes, as the priests, the judges, the soldiers, the +Nazirites, or the representatives of the community, or +even only one or two individuals among the whole population, +as the King and the High-Priest. Others, again, +provided for contingencies which could occur only to a +few, as for instance the laws concerning divorce or +levirate marriages, whilst many—such as those concerning +idolatry, and incest, and the sacrifice of children to +Moloch—could scarcely have been considered as a practical +prohibition by the pre-Christian Jew; just as little +as we can speak of Englishmen as lying under the +burden of a law preventing them from burning widows +or marrying their grandmothers, though such acts would +certainly be considered as crimes. Thus it will be found +by a careful enumeration that barely a hundred laws +remain which really concerned the life of the bulk of +the people. If we remember that even these include +such laws as belief in the unity of God, the necessity of +loving and fearing Him, and of sanctifying His name, +of loving one's neighbour and the stranger, of providing +<pb n='249'/><anchor id='Pg249'/> +for the poor, exhorting the sinner, honouring one's +parents and many more of a similar character, it will +hardly be said that the ceremonial side of the people's +religion was not well balanced by a fair amount of +spiritual and social elements. Besides, it would seem +that the line between the ceremonial and the spiritual +is too often only arbitrarily drawn. With many commandments +it is rather a matter of opinion whether they +should be relegated to the one category or the other. +</p> + +<p> +Thus, the wearing of Tephillin<note place='foot'>תפלין.</note> or phylacteries has, +on the one hand, been continually condemned as a meaningless +superstition, and a pretext for formalism and +hypocrisy. But, on the other hand, Maimonides, who +can in no way be suspected of superstition or mysticism, +described their importance in the following words: +<q>Great is the holiness of the Tephillin; for as long as +they are on the arm and head of man he is humble and +God-fearing, and feels no attraction for frivolity or idle +things, nor has he any evil thoughts, but will turn his +heart to the words of truth and righteousness.</q> The +view which R. Johanan, a Palestinian teacher of the +third century, took of the fulfilment of the Law, will +probably be found more rational than that of many a +rationalist of to-day. Upon the basis of the last verse +in Hosea, <q>The ways of the Lord are right, and the +just shall walk in them, but the transgressors shall fall +therein,</q> he explains that while one man, for instance, +eats his paschal lamb with the purpose of doing the +will of God who commanded it, and thereby does an act +of righteousness, another thinks only of satisfying his +appetite by the lamb, so that his eating it (by the very +fact that he professes at the same time to perform a religious +<pb n='250'/><anchor id='Pg250'/> +rite) becomes a stumbling-block for him.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Nazir</hi>, 23<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> Thus all +the laws by virtue of their divine authority—and in this +there was in the first century no difference of opinion +between Jews and Christians—have their spiritual side, +and to neglect them implies, at least from the individual's +own point of view, a moral offence. +</p> + +<p> +The legalistic attitude may be summarily described as +an attempt to live in accordance with the will of God, caring +less for what God is than for what He wants us to be. +But, nevertheless, on the whole this life never degenerated +into religious formalism. Apart from the fact that during +the second temple there grew up laws, and even beliefs, +which show a decided tendency towards progress and +development, there were also ceremonies which were popular +with the masses, and others which were neglected. Men +were not, therefore, the mere soulless slaves of the Law; +personal sympathies and dislikes also played a part in +their religion. Nor were all the laws actually put upon +the same level. With a happy inconsistency men always +spoke of heavier and slighter sins, and by the latter—excepting, +perhaps, the profanation of the Sabbath—they +mostly understood ceremonial transgressions. The statement +made by Professor Toy (p. 243), on the authority of +James (ii. 10), that <q>the principle was established that he +who offended in one point was guilty of all,</q> is hardly correct; +for the passage seems rather to be laying down a +principle, or arguing that logically the law ought to be +looked upon as a whole, than stating a fact. The fact +was that people did not consider the whole law as of equal +importance, but made a difference between laws and laws, +and even spoke of certain commandments, such as those +of charity and kindness, as outweighing all the rest of the +<pb n='251'/><anchor id='Pg251'/> +Torah. It was in conformity with this spirit that in +times of great persecution the leaders of the people had +no compunction in reducing the whole Law to the three +prohibitions of idolatry, of incest, and of bloodshed. Only +these three were considered of sufficient importance +that men should rather become martyrs than transgress +them. +</p> + +<p> +These, then, are some of the illusions and misrepresentations +which exist with regard to the Law. There are +many others, of which the complete exposure would require +a book by itself. Meanwhile, in the absence of +such a book to balance and correct the innumerable volumes +upon the other side, Professor Toy has done the +best he could with existing materials, and produced a +meritorious work deserving of wide recognition and +approval. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='252'/><anchor id='Pg252'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>X. The Hebrew Collection of the British Museum</head> + +<p> +The Hebrew collection in the British Museum forms +one of the greatest centres of Jewish thought. It is only +surpassed by the treasures which are contained in the +Bodleian Library at Oxford. The fame of these magnificent +collections has spread far and wide. It has penetrated +into the remotest countries, and even the Bachurim +(<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>alumni</foreign>) of some obscure place in Poland, who otherwise +neither care nor know anything about British civilisation, +have a dim notion of the nature of these mines of Jewish +learning. +</p> + +<p> +All sorts of legends circulate amongst them about the +<q>millions</q> of books which belong to the <q>Queen of England.</q> +They speak mysteriously of an autograph copy of +the Book of Proverbs, presented to the Queen of Sheba on +the occasion of her visit to Jerusalem, and brought by the +English troops as a trophy from their visit to Abyssinia, +which is still ruled by the descendants of that famous lady. +They also talk of a copy of the Talmud of Jerusalem +which once belonged to Titus, afterwards to a Pope, was +presented by the latter to a Russian Czar, and taken away +from him by the English in the Crimean war; of a manuscript +<pb n='253'/><anchor id='Pg253'/> +of the book <hi rend='italic'>Light is Sown</hi>,<note place='foot'>אור זרוה by R. Isaac b. Moses of Vienna (thirteenth century), +mostly on legal subjects.</note> which is so large that +no shelf can hold it, and which therefore hangs on iron +chains. How they long to have a glance at these precious +things! Would not a man get wiser only by looking +at the autograph of the wisest of men? +</p> + +<p> +But even the students of Germany and Austria, who are +inaccessible to such fables, and by the aid of Zedner's, +Steinschneider's, and Neubauer's catalogues have a fair +notion of our libraries, cherish the belief that they would +gain in scholarship and wisdom by examining these grand +collections. How often have I been asked by Jewish students +abroad: <q>Have you really been to the British Museum? +Have you really seen this or that rare book or +manuscript? Had you not great difficulties in seeing +them? Is not the place where these heaps of jewels are +treasured up always crowded by students and visitors?</q> +</p> + +<p> +Yet how little does our English public know of these +wonderful things! We are fairly interested in Græco-Roman +art. We betray much curiosity about the different +Egyptian dynasties. We look with admiration at the +cuneiform inscriptions in the Nimrod room. We do not +even grudge a glance at the abominable idols of the savage +tribes. But as to the productions of Jewish genius,—well, +it is best to quote here the words of Heine, who +ridiculed this indifference to everything that is Jewish, +in the following lines:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>Alte Mumien, ausgestopfte,</l> +<l>Pharaonen von Ægypten,</l> +<l>Merowinger Schattenkön'ge,</l> +<l>Ungepuderte Perticken,</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Auch die Zopfmonarchen China's</l> +<l>Porzellanpagodenkaiser—</l> +<pb n='254'/><anchor id='Pg254'/> +<l>Alle lernen sie answendig,</l> +<l>Kluge Mädchen, aber, Himmel!</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Fragt man sie nach grossen Namen,</l> +<l>Aus dem grossen Goldzeitalter</l> +<l>Der arabisch-althispanisch</l> +<l>Jüdischen Poetenschule,</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Fragt man nach dem Dreigestirn</l> +<l>Nach Jehuda ben Halevy,</l> +<l>Nach dem Salomon Gabirol</l> +<l>Und dem Moses Iben Esra.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Fragt man nach dergleichen Namen,</l> +<l>Dann mit grossen Augen schaun</l> +<l>Uns die Kleinen an—alsdann</l> +<l>Stehn am Berge die Ochsinnen.</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +Now Heine goes on to advise his beloved one to study +the Hebrew language. It would be indeed the best remedy +against this indifference. But this is so radical a cure +that one cannot hope that it will be made use of by many. +A few remarks in English, trying to give some notion of +the Hebrew collection in the British Museum, may, therefore, +not be considered altogether superfluous. +</p> + +<p> +The Hebrew collection in the Museum may be divided +into two sections: Printed Books, and Manuscripts. The +number of the printed books amounted in the year 1867, +in which Zedner concluded his catalogue, to 10,100 volumes. +Within the last twenty-eight years about 5000 +more have been added. +</p> + +<p> +This enormous collection has grown out of very small +beginnings. The British Museum was first opened to the +public in the year 1759. Amongst the 500,000 volumes +which it possessed at that time only a single Jewish work, +the <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>editio princeps</foreign> of the Talmud (Bomberg, Venice, 1520-1523) +<pb n='255'/><anchor id='Pg255'/> +was to be found on its shelves. According to an +article by Zedner in the <hi rend='italic'>Hebräische Bibliographie</hi> (ii. p. +88), this copy of the Talmud once belonged to Henry +VIII. But very soon the Museum was enriched by a +small collection of Hebrew books, presented to it by Mr. +Solomon da Costa, surnamed Athias, who had emigrated +to England from Holland. The translation of the Hebrew +letter with which the donor accompanied his present +to the Trustees of the Museum was first published in +the <hi rend='italic'>Gentleman's Magazine</hi>, February 1760, and was afterwards +republished by the Rev. A. L. Green, in an article +in the <hi rend='italic'>Jewish Chronicle</hi>, 1859. I shall only reproduce +here the passage relating to the history of this collection. +After expressing his gratitude to the <q>crowning city, the +city of London, in which he dwelt for fifty-four years in +ease and quietness and safety,</q> and telling us that he +bequeaths these books to the British nation as a token of +his gratitude, Da Costa proceeds to say that they are 180 +books, which had been gathered and bound for Charles +II., with valuable bindings and marked with the king's +own cipher. These books were intended as a present +from the London Jewish community to Charles for certain +privileges which he had bestowed on them. The sudden +death of the king seems to have frustrated the intention +of the first donors. The books were scattered, and Da +Costa had to collect them again. +</p> + +<p> +Small as this collection is, it is most valuable on account +of its including many early editions of Venice, Constantinople, +Naples, etc. The original letter of Da Costa, with +a full list of the 180 books, is preserved in a MS. in the +British Museum (Additional, 4710-11). +</p> + +<p> +Of still greater importance is the Michaelis collection. +<pb n='256'/><anchor id='Pg256'/> +It consists of 4420 volumes, and was bought by the Trustees +of the Museum in 1848. Other successive acquisitions, +especially the purchase of a large number of printed +books from the Almanzi collection, brought the Museum +into possession of one of the most complete and one of +the largest Hebrew libraries in the world. +</p> + +<p> +After the foregoing remarks on the quantity of this +collection, I shall now attempt to give some idea of its +quality. The following table, taken from the Preface of +Zedner's <hi rend='italic'>Catalogue</hi>, shows its manifold contents:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>1. Bibles, 1260</l> +<l>2. Commentaries on the Bible, 510</l> +<l>3. Talmud, 730</l> +<l>4. Commentaries on the Talmud, 700</l> +<l>5. Codes of Law, 1260</l> +<l>6. Decisions, 520</l> +<l>7. Midrash, 160</l> +<l>8. Cabbalah, 460</l> +<l>9. Sermons, 400</l> +<l>10. Liturgies, 1200</l> +<l>11. Divine Philosophy, 690</l> +<l>12. Scientific works, 180</l> +<l>13. Grammars, Dictionaries, 450</l> +<l>14. History, Geography, 320</l> +<l>15. Poetry, Criticism, 770</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +The reader can see that almost every branch of human +thought, religious and secular, is amply represented in +this collection. Looking at this table from a geographical +point of view, we may perhaps classify the authors in the +following way:—France and Germany in the Middle +Ages, Poland and the East in modern times, are represented +by the fourth, fifth, and sixth classes. The Rabbis +of Spain and Italy would probably excel in the last five +classes. In the productions of classes eight and nine all +the before-mentioned countries would have an equal share. +English Judaism, by reason of its large number of occasional +prayers and wedding hymns (Zedner, pp. 472, 652), +may perhaps be represented in the last class (criticism +<pb n='257'/><anchor id='Pg257'/> +excluded). We in England are a pious, devotional people, +and leave the thinking to others. +</p> + +<p> +But what is still more welcome to the student is the fact +that all these branches of Jewish learning are represented +in the British Museum by the best editions. It would be +a rather tedious task to enumerate here all the early editions +of which this collection can boast. There is hardly +any Hebrew book of importance from the Bible down to +the Code of R. Joseph Caro of which the Museum does +not possess the first printed edition. There are also many +books and editions in the Museum of which no second +copy is known to be in existence. An enumeration of +these rare books and editions would require long lists, the +perusal of which would be rather trying. But I shall say +a few words to show the importance of such early editions +for the student. They possess, first, the advantage of +being free from the misprints which crept in with every +fresh republication. The art of editing books in a correct +and scientific way is of a very recent date. And even +Hebrew literature does not find that support from the +public which would enable scholars to edit Jewish books +in such a way as Roman and Greek classics are prepared +by Oxford and Cambridge students. A new edition of a +Hebrew book meant therefore an addition of new mistakes +and misprints. And it is only by examining the <foreign rend='italic'>editiones +principes</foreign> that the scholar finds his way out of these +perplexities. +</p> + +<p> +Another advantage is the fact that these early editions +escaped the hand of the censor, whose office was not introduced +till a comparatively late date. The same advantage +is also possessed by the Hebrew books published at Constantinople, +Salonica, and other Mohammedan cities. Only +<pb n='258'/><anchor id='Pg258'/> +Christian countries indulged in the barbarous pleasure of +burning and disfiguring Jewish books. It is one of the +most touching points in the life of R. David Oppenheim, +of Prague, who spent all his life and fortune in collecting +Hebrew works, and whose collection now forms one of the +greatest ornaments of the Bodleian Library, that he was +not allowed by the censor to enjoy the use of his treasures. +He had to put them under the protection of Lipman Cohen, +his father-in-law in Hanover, many hundreds of miles from +his own home. With the exception of the Bible hardly +any Jewish books escaped mutilation. In certain Christian +countries some books were not allowed to be published +at all; of others, again, whole chapters had to be omitted, +while of others many passages had to be expunged. The +words Roman, Greek, Gentile, were strictly forbidden, and +had to be changed into Turks, Arabs, Samaritans, or worshippers +of the stars and planets. One can imagine what +confusion such stupid alterations caused. Fancy what +blunders would have been committed in history if the old +chroniclers had been compelled to change the Pope into +the Grand Turk or the Shah of Persia, the Christian rulers +into as many califs and pashas, or Rome and Athens into +Pekin and Mecca! +</p> + +<p> +It may perhaps be interesting to learn that Jews sometimes +imitated their bitter enemies in this work of mutilation. +Thus in the later editions of the <hi rend='italic'>Book of Genealogies</hi> +by Abraham Zacuto,<note place='foot'>יוחסין, Yuchasin.</note> a passage was left out reproducing +the evidence given by the widow of Moses de Leon to the +effect that the cabbalistic work, the Zohar, was a forgery +manufactured by her poor dear husband. Another omission +of this kind is to be found in the Code of R. Joseph +Caro, mentioned above. Here the earliest editions declare, +<pb n='259'/><anchor id='Pg259'/> +in the heading of section 605, <q>a certain religious usage</q> +to be <q>a custom of folly.</q> In the republications, the last +three words were left out. From such nonsensical omissions +and changes only the earliest editions, which are +abundant in the Museum, were exempt. +</p> + +<p> +A remarkable feature about the books of this Hebrew +collection also is that many of them are provided in the +margin with manuscript notes by their former possessors. +These often happen to bear very great names in literature. +I shall only mention here R. Jacob Emden, Almanzi, +Michael, Gerundi, and Heidenheim. Of the works written +by R. Jacob Emden, the Museum possesses an almost +complete author's copy with abundant corrections, notes, +and emendations by the author himself. His works are +still very popular among Polish and Russian Jews, especially +his Prayer-Book, and his Responses. It would be +advisable for publishers in these countries to avail themselves +of this copy on the occasion of a new edition. Of +Christian scholars I should name here Isaac Casaubon. A +rather amusing mistake occurs in Ben-Jacob's <hi rend='italic'>Treasure of +Books</hi> in connection with this name. Among the many +valuable copies of Kimchi's grammatical work <hi rend='italic'>Perfection</hi>,<note place='foot'>מכלל, Miklal.</note> +possessed by the Museum, there is included one which +belonged to Casaubon, and is full of notes by him. The +author of the <hi rend='italic'>Treasure</hi> speaks of a <hi rend='italic'>Perfection</hi> with notes +by Rabbi Yitzchak Kasuban. I was at first at a loss to +guess who that Rabbi Casaubon might be. When examining +Zedner I found it was no other than the famous +Christian scholar, Isaac Casaubon. It is not known that +Casaubon's ambition lay in this direction. But when +Philo was regarded as a Father of the Church, Ben Gabirol +quoted for many centuries as a Mohammedan philosopher, +<pb n='260'/><anchor id='Pg260'/> +why should not Casaubon obtain for once the dignity of a +Rabbi? +</p> + +<p> +After having given the reader some notion of the collection +of printed works, I should like now to invite him to +accompany me through the Manuscript Department of the +Museum. But I am afraid that I shall make a bad guide +here; for the Museum is still without a descriptive catalogue +of the Hebrew manuscripts, which is the only means +of enabling the student to obtain a general view of the +number and nature of these works. The manuscript catalogue +of Dukes goes only as far as 1856. It was, as we +shall soon see, just after this time that the Museum made +its largest and, to a certain degree also, its most valuable +acquisitions in Hebrew manuscripts. The following remarks +must, therefore, not be taken as the result of a +systematic study of this collection, which would be quite +impossible without the aid of a catalogue. They rest +partly on the descriptions given of a certain number of +manuscripts in the catalogue by Dukes, but for the greater +part on occasional glances at this or that MS. +</p> + +<p> +As to the history of the collection, it has grown out of +small beginnings just as that of printed books. The collection +of Dr. Sloane, which laid the foundation of the +Museum Library, contained only nine Hebrew MSS. +Later acquisitions, as the Harleian collection, the Cottonian +collection, the Royal collection, and many other +smaller collections marked as Additional up to 1854, increased +the number of the Hebrew manuscripts to 232. +Of much more importance was the Almanzi collection, +bought by the trustees of the Museum in 1865, and consisting +of 335 MSS. Of succeeding acquisitions I shall +mention here only the Yemen MSS., which were brought +<pb n='261'/><anchor id='Pg261'/> +to this country by the famous Shapira. The number of +Hebrew MSS. at the present day is said to exceed one +thousand. But we must not forget that many MSS. contain +more than one work; in some cases even three or +four, so that the number of Hebrew works is far greater +still. +</p> + +<p> +I shall now speak of the nature and importance of these +MSS. As to their contents they may be easily grouped +under the following headings: Biblical MSS., Commentaries +(to the Bible) and Super-Commentaries, parts of the +Talmud and their Commentaries, Theology, Philosophy +and Ethics, Massorah, Grammar and Lexicography, Cabbalah, +Poetry, Mathematics, Astronomy, Astrology and +Magic, Historical and Polemical Literature, etc. All +these branches of theological and secular learning and even +of human folly are fairly represented in the collection of +Hebrew MSS. in the Museum, though often only by a +part or a fragment of a work. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the Babylonian Talmud is to be found only in two +MSS. (Harl. 5508 and Add. 25,717) both of them including +11 Tractates, hardly a third part of the whole work. +Indeed poor <q>Rabbinus Talmud</q> had to go to the <foreign rend='italic'>auto de +fé</foreign> on so many occasions that one cannot wonder if only +disjointed limbs are to be found of him in libraries. The +only complete MS. copy which escaped this vandalism is +that in the Royal Library in Munich, from which Mr. +Rabbinowicz has edited his monumental work, <hi rend='italic'>Variae +Lectiones of the Talmud</hi>. +</p> + +<p> +All other libraries, Oxford included, have to be satisfied +with fragments. Still worse, as it is seen, fared the Jerusalem +Talmud, and excepting the well-known copy in +Leyden from which the Venice edition was prepared, not +<pb n='262'/><anchor id='Pg262'/> +even fragments of this Talmud are to be found in the +majority of libraries. To my knowledge it is only the +British Museum which can boast of the Jerusalem Talmud +in MS. extending over <hi rend='italic'>Order of Seeds</hi> and one tractate of +<hi rend='italic'>Order of Festivals</hi><note place='foot'>זרעים, מועד, the former treating of the agricultural laws of the +Bible, the latter of those relating to the Sabbath, Passover, and other +festivals.</note> (Or. 2122-24) with commentaries of R. +Solomon Syrillo, the first few pages of which were edited +by Dr. Lehmann of Mayence. The Museum also possesses +a great part of the Tosephta extending over 14 +Tractates (Add. 27,296). Of Midrashim we find in the +Museum two excellent manuscripts of the Genesis <hi rend='italic'>Rabbah</hi>, +one of the Leviticus <hi rend='italic'>Rabbah</hi>, and one of the <hi rend='italic'>Siphra</hi> and +the <hi rend='italic'>Siphré</hi> (Add. 27,169 and 16,406), besides two copies +of the Midrash <hi rend='italic'>Haggadol</hi> and other Aagadic collections +brought from Yemen. The <hi rend='italic'>Midrash</hi> by Machir b. Abba +Mari to the minor prophets included in the Harleian collection +(5704) is unique. Of Liturgies, besides a great +number of MSS. representing the most peculiar rites, I +shall mention the Machzor<note place='foot'>מחזר, <q>Cycle,</q> containing the liturgy for the festivals.</note> Vitri (Add. 27,200-1) composed +by the disciples of R. Solomon b. Isaac, and forming +in itself almost a small library. For, apart from the +prayers for festivals and week days which gave it its title, +it includes, besides the <hi rend='italic'>Sayings of the Fathers</hi> with a large +commentary, three of the Minor Tractates of the Talmud, +many responses by German and French Rabbis, and a +whole series of religious hymns by German and Spanish +authors, and many other literary pieces. Cabbalah is represented +by various valuable writings of the pre-Zoharistic +time (see for instance Add. 15,299) and the works of +R. Moses de Leon and R. Abraham Abulafia. Of Poetry, +I shall point here to the Tarshish of R. Moses Ibn Ezra, +the Makames by Judah Al Charisi (Add. 27,122), and the +Divan of R. Abraham of Bedres (Add. 27,188). Of works +<pb n='263'/><anchor id='Pg263'/> +relating to grammar and lexicography, I may refer to a +Codex (Add. 27,214) which contains the lexicon of R. +Menahem ben Saruk, which is considered as the oldest +Hebrew MS. in the Museum, dating from the year 1091. +Of historical works, I mention the chronicle of R. Joseph +the Priest (Add. 27,122) and the letter of R. Sherira Gaon +(Arundel 51), the oldest existing copy of this work (1189), +which was edited by Dr. Neubauer in his <hi rend='italic'>Mediæval Jewish +Chronicles</hi>. +</p> + +<p> +These examples will suffice to show the significance of +the MSS. collection of this Library. And the student +may rest assured that in whatever branch of Jewish +thought he is interested, he will always find in the Museum +some Hebrew manuscript useful for his purpose. +</p> + +<p> +I ought now to say a few words as to the value of this +collection of manuscripts. Now, if the work contained in +a MS. has never been edited, as for instance the Machzor +Vitri<note place='foot'>Since then edited by the Mekize Nirdamim.</note> and so many others, its value is established by the +mere fact of its existence. For those who published MSS. +were not always guided by the best literary motives. And +while they published and republished many books of +which one edition would have been more than enough, +many other works of the greatest importance for Jewish +literature and history remained in manuscript. As an +instance, it will suffice to mention here the Zohar, which +has passed through twenty-four editions since the sixteenth +century, whilst the earliest Jewish Midrash, the +<hi rend='italic'>Pessikta de Rab Kahana</hi>, had to linger in the libraries till +the year 1868, when it was edited by Mr. S. Buber. Thus +there are still many pearls of Jewish literature which exist +only in MS. Likewise most publishers were careless in +their choice of the manuscript from which our editions +<pb n='264'/><anchor id='Pg264'/> +have been prepared. Almost the whole of Jewish literature +will have to be re-edited before a scientific study of it +will be possible. But such critical editions can only be +obtained by the aid of the MSS. not yet made use of, in +which better readings are to be found. From this fact +even those MSS. the contents of which have been several +times reprinted, as for instance the MSS. of the Midrash +<hi rend='italic'>Rabbah</hi>, gain the greatest literary importance. And the +more MSS. the editor of a work has at his disposal, the +more certain is he of being able to furnish us with a good +text. +</p> + +<p> +But even when the whole of Jewish literature lies +before the student in the best of texts, there will still +remain a great charm about manuscripts. Printed books, +like the great mass of the modern society for which they +are prepared, are devoid of any originality. They interest +us only as classes, and it is very seldom that they have a +story of their own to tell. It is quite different with manuscripts, +where the fact of their having been produced by a +living being invests them with a certain kind of individuality. +This is specially the case with Hebrew MSS., which +were not copied by men shut up in cloisters, but by sociable +people living in the world and sharing its joys and +sorrows. Even women were employed in this art, and I +remember to have read in some MS. or catalogue a postscript +by the lady copyist, which, if I remember rightly, +ran as follows: <q>I beseech the reader not to judge me +very harshly when he finds that mistakes have crept into +this work; for when I was engaged in copying it God +blessed me with a son, and thus I could not attend to my +business properly.</q> +</p> + +<p> +To be sure, some of these copyists were curious folk. +<pb n='265'/><anchor id='Pg265'/> +Their mind as well as that of the world around them must +have been of a peculiar constitution hardly conceivable to +us. Take, for example, Benjamin, the copyist of a certain +Machzor in the Museum (Add. 11,639). This Machzor +was written in times of bitter persecution. The copyist, +who was himself a learned man, alludes in one place to +the sufferings which the Jews in a certain French town +had to undergo in the year 1276. On one of them, +the martyr R. Samson, Benjamin the copyist composed a +lamentation written in a most mournful strain. But this +lamentation is followed by a wine-song, one of the jolliest +and wildest parodies for the feast of Purim. +</p> + +<p> +Speaking of this Machzor I should like to remark that +it forms one of the greatest ornaments of the Museum. +Besides including the whole of the Pentateuch, the above-mentioned +Tarshish by R. Moses Ibn Ezra, and many +other smaller literary pieces which would require a small +volume to describe them properly, this MS. is most richly +illuminated, and contains very many illustrations. The +subjects of these illustrations are biblical, sometimes also +apocryphal, such as—Adam and Eve in Paradise, Noah +in the Ark, Abraham meeting the angels, Sarah behind +the door listening to the conversation of her husband with +his guests, Moses with the rod in his hands dividing the +Red Sea, Samson riding on the back of a lion, Solomon +on his throne, Daniel in the lion's den, the king Ahasuerus +holding out the golden sceptre to Esther, Judith addressing +Holofernes, the Leviathan, the mythical bird Bar +Yochni, and many other similar subjects. In passing I +recommend these illustrations and illuminations to the +attention of the artist as the most worthy examples of +Jewish ecclesiastical art,—if there is such a thing as a +<pb n='266'/><anchor id='Pg266'/> +special Jewish art. The artist will find the Museum best +suited for this purpose, its collection being considered as +the richest of the kind. Besides this Machzor I must also +allude to the illuminated Bible (Or. 2226-28) written in +Lisbon for R. Judah Alchakin—it is said to be one of the +finest specimens of such works—and the illuminated +Mishneh Torah of Maimonides, executed for R. Joseph of +the famous Yachya family, also thought to be most artistically +done. The liturgies for the Passover Eve service +will also offer to the artist a rich harvest, especially Codex, +Add. 27,210, which the wealthy Lady Rosa Galico presented +to her son-in-law on his wedding-day, and Codex, +Add. 14,762, even the binding of which is considered as +an artistic curiosity. +</p> + +<p> +Leaving now these marvels to the appreciation of the +artist, the greatest wonder which suggests itself to us is +how the Jews could maintain such a cultured taste in such +unhappy times, and get the means of satisfying it. These +reflections about the owners present themselves the more +strongly to our mind when we meet with one of those old +Jewish prayer-books, which in many cases formed the +whole religious and literary treasure of the family. In +their fly-leaves, in which the births and deaths of successive +generations are very often registered, the <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>spiritus +familiaris</foreign> seems to be still haunting the pages. When +you turn them over and see the service for Passover Eve, +are you not bound to think of the anxiety with which these +poor creatures engaged in this ceremony lest they might +be attacked suddenly by a fanatic mob? must you not ask +how they could bear life under such circumstances? And +when you turn a few more pages and arrive at the prayers +read for the dead, must you not ask how did they die? +<pb n='267'/><anchor id='Pg267'/> +Were they perhaps burnt alive <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>ad majorem Dei gloriam</foreign>, +or torn to pieces by a <q>saintly mob</q>? Take again the +illuminated copies of the Bible and the Mishneh Torah, +both of which were finished only a few years before the +great expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal, times +when the earth already <q>burnt under their feet, and the +heaven was also very unkind to them.</q> And nevertheless +Jews were still, as these MSS. show us, cultivating science +and art. Another instance of such a devotion to science +in spite of the unfavourable times may be seen from a +colophon to Codex Or. 39. It contains the book <hi rend='italic'>Nissim</hi>, +a philosophical treatise on the fundamental teachings of +Judaism, together with a philosophical commentary on the +Pentateuch by R. Nissim of Marseilles, a contemporary +of R. Solomon ben Adereth in the thirteenth century. +The Museum copy was written by R. Jacob, the son of +David, who also added some annotations to the book. +At the end he says: <q>I have copied this book <hi rend='italic'>Nissim</hi> for +my own use, that I may study in it, I and my children and +my grandchildren.... I have finished it to-day, Sunday, +the 28th of Ab, 5333 (1573), at Venice, in the year of the +expulsion which befell us on account of our sins.</q> Now, +only observe this poor R. Jacob, who has to go through all +these horrors, yet is still occupied in copying MSS. for his +own pleasure, and in meditating on the most complicated +problems of philosophy and religion. +</p> + +<p> +But it is not always stories of this heroic nature that +the MSS. tell us. They betray also very much of the +instability of human affairs and their weakness. You +find in many copies the words that they must not +<q>be sold or given in mortgage.</q> But scarcely a generation +has passed away, and they are already in the possession +<pb n='268'/><anchor id='Pg268'/> +of a new owner, who writes the same injunction to +be broken again by his children in their turn. In Codex +27,122, we find commendatory letters for a worthy poor +man, who is so unhappy as to have two grown-up daughters, +and not to have the means of supplying them with +marriage portions. Indeed, he must have been very poor, +not possessing even a book in his house, or else his +troubles could not have been so great. For in Codex +Harl. 5702, we find the owner saying: <q>To eternal +memory that I have acquired this <hi rend='italic'>Third Book of Avicena</hi> +from the hands of my father-in-law, R. Jekuthiel, as a +part of my dowry.</q> +</p> + +<p> +As a sign of human weakness I give the following two +instances. There lies before me a cabbalistic Codex (Add. +27,199), which acquired some notoriety from the fact of +its having been copied by the famous grammarian, R. +Elijah Levita, for his pupil Cardinal Aegidius. At the +end of this MS. we read: <q>I (Levita) have finished (the +copying of) this book on Wednesday, the day of Hoshana +Rabba,<note place='foot'>Eve of the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles.</note> 5277 (1516), on which day I have seen my head +in the shadow of the moon. Praised be God (for it), for +now I am sure not to die in the following year.</q> These +words relate to a well-known superstition, according to +which, when a man is going to die in the course of the +next year his shadow disappears from him on the preceding +Hoshana Rabba. But is it not humiliating to see +that the great Levita, who was superior to many prejudices +of his time, and taught Christians Hebrew, and who +denied the antiquity of the vowels in the Bible, which was +considered by the great majority of his contemporaries +as a mortal heresy—is it not humiliating to see this +enlightened man trembling for his life on this night, and +<pb n='269'/><anchor id='Pg269'/> +anxiously observing his shadow? Another Codex lies +before me (Add. 17,053), containing the Novellæ to three +tractates of the Talmud. Its owner must accordingly +have been a learned man. But in the fly-leaf of this MS. +we read the following words: <q>Memorandum—Thursday, +the 25th of Sivan, 5295 (1535), I have taken an oath +in the presence of R. David Ibn Shushan and R. Moses +de Castro, etc., not to play (cards) any more.</q> I might +perhaps suggest on this occasion that in our days when +all sorts of Judaisms are circulating, a cooking Judaism, +a racing Judaism, a muscular Judaism, and so many +Judaisms more—it would be interesting to take up also +the subject of playing Judaism, and to write its history. +</p> + +<p> +In conclusion I shall mention the colophon to Codex +Harl. 5713, which may have some interest for the English +reader. It runs: <q>I have written it in honour of the +noble and pious, etc., Humphrey Wanley, the noble Librarian +of my Lord Treasurer. May his glory be increased. +In the year 5474 (1714) in the holy community of London, +under the reign of the noble and happy Queen Anne. +May the Lord increase her splendour and glory.</q> The +signature of the copyist is <q>Aaron the son of Moses, +born in the city of Navaschadok in Poland.</q> By the way, +we learn from this signature that the immigration of Polish +Jews into this country had already begun in the time of +Queen Anne, and perhaps still earlier. +</p> + +<p> +Thus everything in a MS., the arrangement of the +matter, the remarks of the owners, the signature of the +copyist, sets the reader thinking, and contributes many +a side-light to the history of the Jews. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='270'/><anchor id='Pg270'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>XI. Titles of Jewish Books</head> + +<p> +It is now more than half a century since Isaac Reggio +in his edition of Elijah Delmedigo's <hi rend='italic'>Examination of +Religion</hi>, made the remark that this book adds to its other +merits that of bearing a title corresponding to its contents,—a +merit that is very rare in Jewish books. Reggio proceeds +to give a few specimens confirming his assertion, +and concludes his remarks with a eulogy on Delmedigo, +who in this respect also had the courage to differ from +his contemporaries. Zunz also once wrote an article on +titles of books. But this article unfortunately appeared +in some German periodical which the British Museum +does not possess, and I could not even succeed in ascertaining +whether Zunz treats at all of titles of Hebrew +books, nor am I aware that the subject has been taken up +by any other scholar, Isaac D'Israeli's few notes on the +subject in his <hi rend='italic'>Curiosities of Literature</hi> being scarcely +worth mention. It seems to me, however, interesting +enough to deserve some illustration, though I can by no +means hope to be complete. +</p> + +<p> +The titles of the books contained in the Bible need not +be discussed here; information concerning them is to be +found in every critical introduction to the Old Testament. +The Rabbinical works dating from antiquity also offer +<pb n='271'/><anchor id='Pg271'/> +little opportunity for reflection on their titles. The Talmud, +as a work, has no title at all; for Talmud simply +means <q>teaching</q> or <q>study.</q> Sometimes it is termed +ShaSS, an abbreviation of <hi rend='italic'>Shisha Sedarim</hi>,<note place='foot'>ששח סדרים. ש֜֜ם.</note> meaning the +Six Orders or divisions contained in the Mishnah. This +last word means, according to some authors, <q>Repetition.</q> +Other Tannaitic collections of laws or expositions of the +Scriptures are called <q>the Book</q> (Siphra), <q>the Books</q> +(Siphré), or <q>Additions</q> (Tosephta to the Mishnah). +The word <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Baraitha</foreign><note place='foot'>ברייתה.</note> means the external Mishnah that +enjoyed less authority than the Mishnah of R. Judah the +Patriarch. Some approach to titles we find in the names +given to the different tractates included in the Mishnah, +as <hi rend='italic'>Berachoth</hi>, because it treats of Benedictions, <hi rend='italic'>Peah</hi><note place='foot'>פאה.</note> +(Corner) which contains the particulars concerning the +law in Lev. xix. and so forth. Of the few works quoted +in the Talmud it will suffice to mention the <hi rend='italic'>Seder Olam</hi>, +the Order of the World, the name of which is very suitable +to the chronological contents of the book. In general, +I may observe that as long as the law which prohibited +the writing down of the Oral teachings was in force, there +hardly existed Jewish books. But where there are no +books there is also no need for titles. The few titles, +however, which can be proved to be historical are simple +and to the point. It is not till about the beginning of the +Middle Ages, when this prohibitive law had, for reasons not +to be explained here, been abolished, that we can speak of +Hebrew books. But here also the Title-confusion begins. +</p> + +<p> +In order that we may have some general view of the +thousands of titles that are catalogued by the Jewish +bibliographers, it will perhaps be well to arrange them +under the following six classes:— +</p> + +<pb n='272'/><anchor id='Pg272'/> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>Simple titles</hi>, that have no other object than that of +indicating the subject matter of the book. These are, as +we have just seen, the only kind of titles known to antiquity. +The few books which the Gaonim left us bear +such simple titles as could have served as models to later +generations. Among them may be mentioned the <hi rend='italic'>Halachoth</hi> +or collection of Laws, <hi rend='italic'>Creeds and Opinions</hi>, by R. +Saadiah Gaon, the <hi rend='italic'>Book on Buying and Selling</hi>, by R. +Hai Gaon, containing the laws relating to commercial +transactions. It may be noticed that this last book is +one of the best arranged in Jewish literature, and displays +more systematising powers than even the Code of +Maimonides. The greatest part of the literary activity +of the Gaonim consists in their Responsa, in which they +gave decisions on ritual questions, or explanations of difficult +passages in the Talmud. The titles borne by the +various collections of those Responsa belong to a period +later than the author's. The great majority of the books +produced by the Franco-German school may also be included +in this class. They are termed <q>Commentaries,</q> +<q>Additions</q> or <q>Glosses,</q> <q>Novellæ,</q> or <q>Confirming +Proofs,</q> and similar modest titles which show both their +relation to, and dependence on, another older authority. +The largest collection of Midrashim we possess bears the +simple title <q>Bag.</q><note place='foot'>ילקות, Yalkut.</note> Many of the Responsa satisfy themselves +with the words <q>Questions to, and Answers by.</q> +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>Titles taken from the first word with which the book +begins</hi>, or from the first word of the Scriptural verse occurring +first in the book. This class is strongly represented +by the Midrashim. Thus the Midrash to the Song of +Songs is also quoted as the Midrash <hi rend='italic'>Chazitha</hi>,<note place='foot'>חזית.</note> <q>Midrash, +Seest thou</q> (the first text with which this Midrash deals +<pb n='273'/><anchor id='Pg273'/> +being Proverbs xxii. 28). The Midrash to the Psalms is +called Midrash <hi rend='italic'>Shocher Tob</hi>,<note place='foot'>ישוהר נשב.</note> <q>Midrash, He that diligently +seeketh the good</q> (Prov. xi. 37). The Midrash +containing the legendary story of the wars of the sons of +Jacob with the Canaanites is quoted as Midrash <hi rend='italic'>V'yisseu</hi>,<note place='foot'>ויסען.</note> +<q>Midrash, And they journeyed,</q> as the story begins with +the verse from Gen. xxxv. 5. And this is the case with +the titles of many other Midrashim. Whether the work +cited under the strange name of <hi rend='italic'>Meat on Coals</hi> did not +begin with those words, containing some law relating to +the salting of meat, I do not venture to decide. Under +this class we may also arrange those books that are called +after a phrase which is often used in the book, <hi rend='italic'>e.g.</hi>, the +Midrash <hi rend='italic'>Yelamdenu</hi> (He may teach us), or the <hi rend='italic'>Vehizhir</hi>, +<q>And He commanded us,</q> almost every paragraph in +these books beginning with the phrases mentioned.<note place='foot'>ילמרנו והזחיר.</note> +Probably all the books belonging to this class received +from the hands of their authors or compilers no titles at +all. The student who had to quote them gave them +names after the phrase or word which first caught his eye. +In later centuries this class disappears almost entirely (see, +however, Ben-Jacob's <hi rend='italic'>Treasure</hi>, p. 201, No. 827). +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>Pompous titles.</hi> The largest contributions to this +class were made by the mystical writers. Books which +profess to know what is going on in the heavens above +and the earth beneath cannot possibly be satisfied with +modest titles. Thus we have the <q>Book of Brightness</q> +(Zohar), <q>the shining book</q> (Bahir), <q>the Confidential +Shepherd</q> (Moses).<note place='foot'>רעיא מחימנא.</note> The books which the Zohar +quotes bear such titles as the Book of Adam, the Book of +Enoch. The only excuse for the Zohar is that the manufacturing +of such books with pseudo-epigraphical titles +<pb n='274'/><anchor id='Pg274'/> +had already begun in antiquity. It is not, however, till +the Gaonic period that a whole apocryphal literature suddenly +emerges which perplexes the Gaonim themselves. +No one is spared. Angels, patriarchs, and martyrs are +called upon to lend their names to these books. What +one resents most is that history came within the range of +the forger's activity. There is, for instance, the Josippon, +which professes to be written by Josephus, the well-known +Jewish historian of the first century. But in spite of all +the care taken by the author to disguise himself in the +garb of antiquity, the Josippon is a forgery of the ninth +or tenth century. Of a similar kind is the Book of Jasher, +containing legendary stories relating to Biblical personages. +It pretends to be identical with the Book of Jasher +quoted in Joshua x. 13 and 2 Sam. i. 18. Some sixty +years ago a certain Mr. Samuel of Liverpool had the misfortune +to make himself ridiculous by maintaining the pretensions +of this book; for, indeed, it does not require +much knowledge of the Agadic literature to see that the +Book of Jasher is only a compilation of comparatively late +Midrashim. +</p> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>Titles suggested by other Titles.</hi> As an instance of +this we may take Maimonides' great Code of Law, which +bears the title <hi rend='italic'>Mishneh Torah</hi>. The importance of the +book made it the object of study for hundreds of scholars, +who wrote their commentaries and glosses on it. Among +the titles of the commentaries such Title-genealogies may +be discovered as Maggid <hi rend='italic'>Mishneh</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>Mishneh</hi> Lammelech; +which last word again suggested such titles as Emek ha-<hi rend='italic'>Melech</hi>, +Shaar ha-<hi rend='italic'>Melech</hi>, and so on.<note place='foot'>עמק המלך, משנה למלך, מגיד משנה, משנה תורה, ששר המלך.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The same process may be observed in other standard +works, the importance of which made them a subject of +<pb n='275'/><anchor id='Pg275'/> +investigation and interpretation as the <q>Prepared Table,</q> +one of the glosses to which is called <hi rend='italic'>Mappah</hi>, <q>Tablecloth,</q> +whilst others provided it with the <hi rend='italic'>Shewbread</hi> and +with <hi rend='italic'>New Fruit</hi>. +</p> + +<p> +V. <hi rend='italic'>Euphemistic Titles</hi>, as <q>The Tractate of Joys,</q> +treating of funeral ceremonies and kindred subjects. It +does not seem that this title was known to antiquity, but +it is certain that already the earlier authorities quoted it +by this name. <q>The Book of Life</q> (the German Jewish +title of which is <hi rend='italic'>Alle Dinim, von Freuden</hi>), is the name of +a very popular book containing the prayers to be read in +the house of mourning as well as in the cemetery, which +is also called the House of Life. +</p> + +<p> +VI. <hi rend='italic'>Titles taken from the Bible</hi>, or Fancy Titles. This +is the largest class of all, though it was utterly unknown +in antiquity. It will be, perhaps, convenient to arrange +this class of titles under the following sub-divisions. (<hi rend='italic'>a</hi>) +Titles taken from the Bible, but also fulfilling the purpose +of indicating the name of the author. For instance, +<q>Seed of Abraham</q> (Ps. cv. 6), is the title of nine different +books, the name of whose authors happened to be +Abraham; <q>And Isaac entreated</q> (Gen. xxv. 21), is by +Isaac Satanow on the Prayers; <q>Then Isaac sowed</q> +(<hi rend='italic'>ibid.</hi> xxvi. 12), edited by R. Isaac Perles, contains an +index to the Zohar. <q>Jacob shall take root</q> (Is. xxvii. +6) is the name of a book on Grammar and Massorah +by R. Jacob Bassani. R. Joseph of Posen left two collections +of sermons and commentaries on the Pentateuch, +of which the one is called <q>And Joseph nourished</q> +(Gen. xlvii. 12), the other <q>And Joseph gathered</q> +(<hi rend='italic'>ibid.</hi> 14). Authors with the name of Judah are represented +among others by such titles as <q>And this of Judah</q> +<pb n='276'/><anchor id='Pg276'/> +(Deut. xxxiii.7), a treatise on the laws concerning the +killing of animals; or <q>Judah shall go up</q> (Judges i. 2), +a pamphlet containing a collection of prayers to be said +on a journey. <q>Moses began</q> (Deut. i. 5) forms the title +of three different books on various subjects, the authors +of which had the name Moses. <q>Moses shall rejoice,</q> +a phrase occurring in the morning prayer for Sabbaths, +is also the title of two books, the authors of which were +named Moses. The <q>Rod of Aaron</q> enjoyed, as it seems, +a goodly popularity; there are four bearing this name, +not to speak of a fifth, <q>The Rod of Aaron brought forth +buds</q> (Exod. xvii. 23), which is the name of a collection +of Responsa by R. Aaron ben Chayim. But other Rods +also were fashionable; there are, besides the five Rods +of Moses, also Rods of Ephraim, Dan, Judah, Joseph, +Naphtali, and Manasseh. By authors of the name of +David we find books with the title <q>And David said,</q> or +a <q>Prayer of David,</q> and other phrases occurring in the +Psalms relating to David; whilst the <q>Tower of David</q> +became the stronghold of other writers, and the <q>Shield +of David</q> protected as many as nine more. The <q>Chariot +of Solomon</q> (Cant. iii. 9) adorns the title-pages of five +books by authors named Solomon. The Caraite Solomon +Troki was so fond of that title that he called his two +polemical treatises <q>He made himself a chariot,</q> while +R. Solomon of Mir's collection of sermons has the title, +<q>This Bed which is Solomon's</q> (Cant. iii. 7). As to +family names, there were not many authors in the enjoyment +of that luxury (especially among the German Jews), +but we find them indicating the fact of their being Priests +or Levites. Among such books are the collection of +Responsa, by R. Raphael Cohen, which has the title +<pb n='277'/><anchor id='Pg277'/> +<q>And the Priest shall come again</q> (Lev. xiv. 39), and +the Cabbalistic treatise by R. Abraham Cohen, of Lask, +with the title <q>And the Priest shall reckon unto him</q> +(Lev. xxvii. 18). Probably the author deals with numbers. +R. Hirsch Horwitz, the Levite, called his Novellæ +to the Talmud <q>The Camp of Levi.</q> The title <q>The +Service of the Levite</q> (with allusion to Exodus xxxviii. +21) is borne by five other books by authors who were +Levites. And there may be found hundreds of books +with titles suggesting the Priestly or Levitical descent of +their authors. Most anxious is Joseph Ibn Kaspi (Joseph +the Silvern, so called after his native place Argentière, in +the south of France) to provide most of his numerous +books with some Biblical titles combined with silver, as a +<q>Bowl of Silver</q> (Numb. vii. 13), or <q>Points of Silver</q> +(Song of Songs i. 11), or <q>Figures of Silver</q> (Prov. xxv. +10), and other similar phrases. On the other hand Azulai +manages to indicate at least one of his three Hebrew +names, Chayim Joseph David, in most of his works, of +which the number exceeds seventy, as Chayim Shaal,<note place='foot'>ח֜֜ם שאל.</note> +<q>He asked Life</q> (Ps. xxi. 4), or <q>The knees of Joseph</q> +(alluding to Gen. xlviii. 12), and <q>Truth unto David</q> +(Ps. cxxxii. 11). +</p> + +<p> +(<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>) The Tabernacle with its furniture was also a great +favourite with many authors. There are not only six tabernacles +(two on Cabbalah, two on grammar, and two on +Talmudical subjects), but also three <q>Arks of the Testimony,</q> +two <q>Altars of gold,</q> two <q>Tables of Shewbread,</q> +four <q>Candlesticks of the Light,</q> two <q>Sockets of Silver,</q> +and two <q>Pillars of Silver.</q> Others again preferred the +vestments of the priests as the <q>Plate of Judgment,</q> the +<q>Robe of the Ephod,</q> the <q>Mitre of Aaron,</q> the <q>Plate +<pb n='278'/><anchor id='Pg278'/> +of Gold,</q> the <q>Bell and Pomegranate,</q> <q>Wreathen Chains,</q> +and the <q>Arches of Gold.</q> Many of these books were +written by authors claiming to be priests. (<hi rend='italic'>c</hi>) But besides +the canonical, other costumes were also fashionable. +R. Mordecai Yafeh composed ten books, every one of them +bearing the name of some garment or apparel, as <q>Apparel +of Royalty,</q> <q>Apparel of Blue,</q> <q>Apparel of White,</q> and +so the whole suit with which Mordecai went out from the +presence of the king (Esther viii. 15). These ten works +range from codifications of the law and occasional sermons +to philosophy, astronomy, and Cabbalah. By other writers +we have three <q>Coats of many colours</q> (Gen. xxxvii. 4), +one <q>Bridal Attire,</q> and the <q>Thread of Scarlet</q> is not +missing. (<hi rend='italic'>d</hi>) The ingredients for incense as well as other +articles used in the Tabernacle or in the Temple were also +fancied by some authors, and we have two books with the +title of <q>Principal Spices,</q> two <q>Pure Myrrh,</q> three +<q>Arts of the Apothecary,</q> one <q>Oil of Holy Ointment,</q> +five <q>Meat Offerings mingled or dry,</q> three or four <q>Flour +of the Meat Offering,</q> and also one <q>Two Young Pigeons</q> +(Bene Yonah) by R. Jonah Zandsopher. But the appetite +of the authors did not stop at these holy things. It extended +also to such lay articles as <q>Spiced Wine,</q> <q>Juice +of Pomegranate</q> (Cant. viii. 2), <q>Forests of Honey,</q> the +<q>Book of the Apple,</q> and <q>Seven Kinds of Drink.</q> +</p> + +<p> +(<hi rend='italic'>e</hi>) Field and flock also suggested to Hebrew writers as +well as to Mr. Ruskin such titles as <q>The Fruit of the +Hand,</q> the <q>Rose of Sharon,</q> the <q>Lily of the Valleys,</q> +or <q>The Shepherds' Tents,</q> and <q>In the Green Pastures</q> +(Ps. xxiii. 2). +</p> + +<p> +The specimens given for every class may with very little +trouble be doubled and redoubled. But it is not my intention +<pb n='279'/><anchor id='Pg279'/> +to reproduce here whole catalogues. Reggio thinks +all such titles, which do not correspond with the context +of the book, absurd and confusing. He suggests that +the Jews followed in this respect the Arabic writers. There +is no doubt that Reggio is not altogether wrong in his +complaint. Almost all the titles included in class vi., as +the reader might have observed, never indicate to the +student the subject of which the books treat. How can +one guess that the Responsa, the Dance of Mahanaim +(two companies), is of a polemical nature against the tendencies +of reform? This list may be lengthened by hundreds +of titles. But even these incomprehensible titles +are better than the <hi rend='italic'>Chad Gadyah Lo Israel</hi> (One Kid No +Israel),<note place='foot'>חד גדיא לא ישראל.</note> the un-Hebrew title of a pamphlet trying to prove +the un-Jewish origin of the well-known folk-song sung on +Passover Eve. But, on the other hand, it must not be +overlooked that even this class has, though not always, +something suggestive and even practical about it. The +<q>Choice of Pearls</q> is undoubtedly more attractive than +the prosaic <q>Collection of Proverbs and Sayings,</q> which +is what the book contains. <q>Understanding of the Seasons</q> +(1 Chr. xii. 32), sounds also better than the simple +<q>Collection of Sermons on different occasions.</q> <q>The +Lips of those who Sleep</q> recommends itself as a very +suggestive title for a catalogue, especially when one thinks +of the Agadic explanation given to Cant. vii. 10, according +to which the study of the book of a departed author +makes the lips of the dead man to speak. Such titles as +<q>Bunch of Lilies</q> for a collection of poems are still usual +with us. Such a title as the <q>Jealousy Offering,</q> or the +<q>Law of Jealousies,</q> in polemical literature is very appropriate +for its subject. R. Jacob Emden, who named one +<pb n='280'/><anchor id='Pg280'/> +of his pamphlets <q>Rod for the fool's back</q> (Prov. xxvi. 3), +will be envied for his choice by many a controversialist +even to-day. Wittily devised is the pun-title, <q>City of +Sihon</q> for a mathematical book by R. Joseph Tsarphathi, +alluding to Numb. xxi. 27, <q>For Hesbon (reckoning) is +the City of Sihon.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Other titles were probably intended more as mottoes +than titles. <q>Go forth and behold, ye daughters of +Zion</q> (Cant. iii. 11), is put in the title-page of R. Jacob's +German-Jewish paraphrase of the Pentateuch, which was +written chiefly for the use of ladies. <q>Let another man +praise thee and not thine own mouth, a stranger and not +thine own lips</q> (Prov. xxvii. 2), forms the title of a book +extending over only one and a half page in quarto. It +contains letters by seven Rabbis (among them R. Liva of +Prague) recommending the Ascetic, R. Abraham Wangos, +who has a daughter to marry, and wants also to make a +pilgrimage to the Holy Land, as deserving the support +of his brethren. +</p> + +<p> +There is also another objection to these titles. It is +that they seem sometimes not quite consonant with our +notions of modesty. Thus we have <q>Desirable and +Sweet</q> on astronomy, <q>Sweeter than Honey</q> or <q>He +shall comfort us,</q> and many others of this kind. But it +must not be thought that we have a right to infer from +the title to the author. There is, indeed, an anecdote +that three authors were rather too little careful about +the choice of their titles, namely Maimonides in calling +his Code <hi rend='italic'>Mishneh Torah</hi> (which is the traditional title of +the Book of Deuteronomy), R. Moses Alshech in calling +his homiletical commentaries <hi rend='italic'>Torah</hi> of Moses, and +R. Isaiah Horwitz in calling his book <hi rend='italic'>Shene Luchoth ha-Berith</hi> +<pb n='281'/><anchor id='Pg281'/> +(The Two Tables of the Covenant). These authors, +as the story goes, had for their punishment that their +works are never quoted by the titles they gave to them, +the former two being usually cited as Rambam or +Alshech, whilst the last is more known by its abbreviated +title of SHeLa<note place='foot'>שני לוחות הכרית. ש֜֜לה.</note> than by its full name. +</p> + +<p> +I do not remember where I have read this story, but I +am quite sure that its pious author would have been more +careful about repeating it had he known that this accusation +against Maimonides was a favourite topic with +apostates, who thought to hit Judaism in the person of +its representative Maimonides. But, as R. Solomon +Duran in his polemical work remarks, Maimonides was +too much of a truly great man to find any satisfaction +in such petty vanity. Nor do I believe that even the +character of less-known authors can in any way be impugned +by the seemingly conceited titles of their books; +just as on the other hand the humility of the author is +not proved by calling his book <q>The Offering of the +Poor,</q> or other modest titles. The fancy title was in +common use, and was therefore a commonplace with no +significance whatever. The real disadvantage of such +titles lies in the fact that, as already pointed out, they conceal +from the student the contents of the book which he +might otherwise consult in the course of his researches. +</p> + +<p> +Did these authors perhaps foresee that there would +come a time in which index-knowledge would pass for +deep scholarship? and did they thus by using these +obscure titles try to put a check on the dabblers who +speak the more of a book the less they have read of its +contents? If this be the case we can only admire their +foresight. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='282'/><anchor id='Pg282'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>XII. The Child in Jewish Literature</head> + +<p> +<q>I saw a Jewish lady only yesterday with a child at +her knee, and from whose face towards the child there +shone a sweetness so angelical that it seemed to form a +sort of glory round both. I protest I could have knelt +before her, too, and adored in her the divine beneficence +in endowing us with the maternal <foreign rend='italic'>storgé</foreign> which began with +our race and sanctifies the history of mankind.</q> These +words, which are taken from Thackeray's <hi rend='italic'>Pendennis</hi>, may +serve as a starting-point for this paper. The fact that the +great student of man perceived this glory just round the +head of a Jewish lady rouses in me the hope that the small +student of letters may, with a little search, be able to discover +in the remains of our past many similar traces of this +divine beneficence and sanctifying sentiment. Certainly +the glimpses which we shall catch from the faded leaves +of ancient volumes, dating from bygone times, will not be +so bright as those which the novelist was so fortunate as +to catch from the face of a lady whom he saw but the previous +day. The mothers and fathers, about whom I am +going to write in this essay, have gone long ago, and the +objects of their anxiety and troubles have also long ago +vanished. But what the subject will lose in brightness, it +may perhaps gain in reality and intensity. A few moments +<pb n='283'/><anchor id='Pg283'/> +of enraptured devotion do not make up the saint. It is a +whole series of feelings and sentiments betrayed on different +occasions, expressed in different ways, a whole life of +sore troubles, of bitter disappointments, but also moments +of most elevated joys and real happiness. +</p> + +<p> +And surely these manifestations of the divine beneficence, +which appear in their brightest glory in the literature +of every nation when dealing with the child, shine +strongest in the literature of the Jewish nation. In it, +to possess a child was always considered as the greatest +blessing God could bestow on man, and to miss it as the +greatest curse. The patriarch Abraham, with whom Israel +enters into history, complains—<q>Oh Lord, what wilt Thou +give me, seeing I go childless!</q> +</p> + +<p> +The Rabbis regarded the childless man as dead, whilst +the Cabbalist in the Middle Ages thought of him who died +without posterity as of one who had failed in his mission +in this world, so that he would have to appear again on +our planet to fulfil this duty. To trace out the feelings +which accompanied the object of their greatest anxiety, +to let them pass before the reader in some way approaching +to a chronological order, to draw attention to +some points more worthy of being emphasised than +others, is the aim of this essay. +</p> + +<p> +I said that I propose to treat the subject in chronological +order. I meant by this that I shall follow the +child in the different stages through which it has to pass +from its birth until it ceases to be a child and attains its +majority. This latter period is the beginning of the thirteenth +year in the case of a female, and the beginning of +the fourteenth year in the case of a male. I shall have +occasion later on to examine this point more closely. +</p> + +<pb n='284'/><anchor id='Pg284'/> + +<p> +But there is the embryo-period which forms a kind of +preliminary stage in the life of the child, and plays a +very important part in the region of Jewish legends. +Human imagination always occupies itself most with +the things of which we know least. And so it got hold +of this semi-existence of man, the least accessible to experience +and observation, and surrounded it by a whole +cycle of legends and stories. They are too numerous +to be related here. But I shall hint at a few points +which I regard as the most conspicuous features of +these legends. +</p> + +<p> +These legends are chiefly based on the notion of the +pre-existence of the soul on the one hand, but on the +other hand they are a vivid illustration of the saying +of the Fathers, <q>Thou art born against thy will.</q> Thus +the soul, when it is brought before the throne of God, +and is commanded to enter into the body, pleads before +Him: <q>O Lord, till now have I been holy and pure; +bring me not into contact with what is common and unclean.</q> +Thereupon the soul is given to understand that +it was for this destiny alone that it was created. Another +remarkable feature is the warning given to man before +his birth that he will be responsible for his actions. He +is regularly sworn in. The oath has the double purpose +of impressing upon him the consciousness of his duty to +lead a holy life, and of arming him against the danger +of allowing a holy life to make him vain. As if to render +this oath more impressive, the unborn hero is provided +with two angels who, besides teaching him the +whole of the Torah, take him every morning through +paradise and show him the glory of the just ones who +dwell there. In the evening he is taken to hell to witness +<pb n='285'/><anchor id='Pg285'/> +the sufferings of the reprobate. But such a lesson +would make free will impossible. His future conduct +would only be dictated by the fear of punishment and +hope of reward. And the moral value of his actions +also depends, according to Jewish notions, upon the +power to commit sin. Thus another legend records: +<q>When God created the world, He produced on the +second day the angels with their natural inclinations to +do good, and the absolute inability to commit sin. On +the following days again He created the beasts with their +exclusively animal desires. But He was pleased with +neither of these extremes. If the angels follow my will, +said God, it is only on account of their impotence to act +in the opposite direction. I shall therefore create man, +who will be a combination of both angel and beast, so that +he will be able to follow either the good or evil inclination. +His evil deeds will place him beneath the level of animals, +whilst his noble aspirations will enable him to obtain a +higher position than angels.</q> Care is therefore taken to +make the child forget all it has seen and heard in these +upper regions. Before it enters the world an angel strikes +it on the upper lip, and all his knowledge and wisdom +disappear at once. The pit in the upper lip is a result of +this stroke, which is also the cause why children cry when +they are born. +</p> + +<p> +As to the origin of these legends, the main features of +which are already to be found in the Talmud, I must refer +the reader to the researches of Löw and others.<note place='foot'>The main authorities on the subjects of this essay are <hi rend='italic'>Die +Lebensalter</hi>, by Dr. Leopold Löw; <hi rend='italic'>The Jewish Rite of Circumcision</hi>, +by Dr. Asher; an article by Dr. Perles in the Graetz <hi rend='italic'>Jubelschrift</hi>, +p. 23 <hi rend='italic'>seq.</hi>; <hi rend='italic'>Merkwürdigkeiten der Juden</hi>, by Schudt; the מקורי המנהגים +and other works on ritual customs; Güdemann's <hi rend='italic'>Geschichte des Erziehungswesens +und der Cultur der Juden</hi>; and <hi rend='italic'>Das Kind in Brauch +und Sitte der Völker</hi>, by Dr. Ploss.</note> Here +we have only to watch the effect which these legends had +upon the minds of Jewish parents. The newly born child +was in consequence looked upon by them as a higher +being, which, but a few seconds before, had been conversing +<pb n='286'/><anchor id='Pg286'/> +with angels and saints, and had now condescended +into our profane world to make two ordinary mortals +happy. The treatment which the child experienced from +its parents, as well as from the whole of the community, +was therefore a combination of love and veneration. One +may go even further and say that the belief in these +legends determines greatly the destination of the child. +What other destination could a being of such a glorious +past have than to be what an old German Jewish poem +expressed in the following lines:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>Geboren soll es wehren</l> +<l>Zu Gottes Ehren.</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +<q>The child should be born to the honour of God.</q> The +mission of the child is to glorify the name of God on earth. +And the whole bringing up of the child in the old Jewish +communities was more or less calculated to this end. The +words of the Bible, <q>And ye shall be unto me a kingdom +of priests,</q> were taken literally. Every man felt it his +duty to bring up his children, or at least one member of +his family, for this calling. How they carried out this +programme we shall see later on. +</p> + +<p> +Now, regarding almost every infant as a predestined +priest, and thinking of it as having received a certain +preparation for this calling before it came into this world, +we cannot wonder that the child was supposed to show +signs of piety from the days of its earliest existence, and +even earlier. Thus we read that even the unborn children +joined in with the chorus on the Red Sea and sang the +Song (of Moses). David, again, composed Psalms before +perceiving the face of this world. On the Day of Atonement +they used to communicate to the unborn child, +<pb n='287'/><anchor id='Pg287'/> +through the medium of its mother, that on this great day +it had to be satisfied with the good it had received the day +before. And when a certain child, afterwards named +Shabbethai, refused to listen to such a request, R. Johanan +applied to it the verse from the Psalm, <q>The wicked are +estranged from the womb.</q> Indeed, Shabbethai turned +out a great sinner. It will perhaps be interesting to hear +what his sin was. It consisted in forestalling the corn in +the market and afterwards selling it to the poor at a much +higher price. Of a certain child the legend tells that it +was born with the word <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>emeth</foreign> (truth) engraved on its fore-head. +Its parents named it Amiti,<note place='foot'>אמתי, אמת.</note> and the child proved +to be a great saint. +</p> + +<p> +The priest, however, could not enter into his office without +some consecration. As the first step in this consecration +of the child we may consider the Covenant of Abraham. +But this was prefaced by a few other solemn acts which +I must mention. One of the oldest ceremonies connected +with the birth of a child was that of tree-planting. In +the case of a boy they planted a cedar, in that of a girl +a pine; and on their marriage they cut branches from +these trees to form the wedding-canopy. Other rites followed, +but they were more of a medical character, and +would be better appreciated by the physician. In the +Middle Ages superstition played a great part. To be sure, +I have spoken of saints; but we ought not to forget that +saints, too, have their foolish moments, especially when they +are fighting against hosts of demons, the existence of +which is only guaranteed by their own over-excited brains. +Jewish parents were for many centuries troubled by the +fear of Lilith,<note place='foot'>לילית, Is. xxxiv. 14.</note> the devil's mother, who was suspected of +stealing children and killing them. The precautions they +<pb n='288'/><anchor id='Pg288'/> +took to prevent this atrocity were as foolish as the object +of their fear. I do not intend to enumerate here all these +various precautions. Every country almost has its own +usages and charms, one more absurd than the other. It +will suffice to refer here to the most popular of these +charms, in which certain angels are invoked to protect +the child against its dangerous enemy Lilith. But of +whatever origin they may be, Judaism could do better +without them. The only excuse for their existence among +us is to my mind that they provoked the famous Dr. Erter +to the composition of one of the finest satires in the +Hebrew language. +</p> + +<p> +Of a less revolting character was the so-called ceremony +of the <q>Reading of the Shema.</q><note place='foot'>See <ref target='Pg141'>above</ref>, note 39 to Nachmanides. [Transcriber's Note: The footnote on <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shema</foreign>.]</note> It consisted in taking +all the little children of the community into the house of +the newly-born child, where the teacher made them read +the Shema, sometimes also the ninety-first Psalm. The +fact that little children were the chief actors in this ceremony +reconciles one a little to it despite its rather doubtful +origin. In some communities these readings took +place every evening up to the day when the child was +brought into the covenant of Abraham. In other places +they performed the ceremony only on the eve of the day +of the <hi rend='italic'>Berith Milah</hi><note place='foot'>ברית מילה, <q>Covenant of Circumcision.</q> This is the usual +expression in Hebrew literature for the rite of circumcision.</note> (Ceremony of the Circumcision). +Indeed, this was the night during which Lilith was supposed +to play her worst tricks, and the watch over the +child was redoubled. Hence the name <q>Wachnacht,</q> or +the <q>Night of Watching.</q> They remained awake for the +whole night, and spent it in feasting and in studying +certain portions of the Bible and the Talmud, mostly relating +to the event which was to take place on the following +day. This ceremony was already known to Jewish +<pb n='289'/><anchor id='Pg289'/> +writers of the thirteenth century. Nevertheless, it is considered +by the best authorities on the subject to be of +foreign origin. Quite Jewish, as well as entirely free from +superstitious taint, was the visit which was paid to the +infant-boy on the first Sabbath of his existence. It was +called <q>Shalom Zachar,</q><note place='foot'>שלום זכר.</note> probably meaning <q>Peace-boy,</q> +in allusion to a well-known passage in the Talmud +to the effect that the advent of a boy in the family brings +peace to the world. +</p> + +<p> +At last the dawn of the great day of the Berith came. +I shall, however, only touch here on the social aspects of +this rite. +</p> + +<p> +Its popularity began, as it seems, in very early times. +The persecutions which Israel suffered for it in the times +of Antiochus Epiphanes, <q>when the princes and elders +mourned, the virgins and the young men were made +feeble, and the beauty of women was changed, and when +certain women were put to death for causing their children +to be circumcised,</q> are the best proof of the attachment +of the people to it. The repeated attempts against +this law, both by heathen and by Christian hands, only +served to increase its popularity. Indeed R. Simeon ben +Eleazar characterised it as the law for which Israel +brought the sacrifice of martyrdom, and therefore held +firmly by it. In other words they suffered for it, and it +became endeared to them. R. Simeon ben Gamaliel declares +it to be the only law which Israel fulfils with joy +and exultation. As a sign of this joy we may regard the +eagerness and the lively interest which raised this ceremony +from a strictly family affair to a matter in which the +whole of the community participated. Thus we find that +already in the times of the Gaonim the ceremony was +<pb n='290'/><anchor id='Pg290'/> +transferred from the house of the parents to the synagogue. +Here it took place after the prayers, in the +presence of the whole congregation. The synagogue +used to be specially illuminated in honour of the event. +Certain pieces of the daily prayer, of a rather doleful +nature, such as the confession of sins, were omitted, lest +the harmony of the festival should be disturbed. As a +substitute for these prayers, various hymns suitable for +the occasion were composed and inserted in the liturgy +for the day. As the most prominent members among +those present figured the happy father of the child and +the medical man who performed the ceremony, usually +called the Mohel or Gozer,<note place='foot'>גוזר, מוהל.</note> both wearing their festal +garments and having certain privileges, such as being +called up to the Reading of the Law and chanting certain +portions of the prayers. It is not before the tenth century +that a third member suddenly emerges to become almost +as important as the father of the child. I refer to the +<foreign rend='italic'>Sandek</foreign> or Godfather. In some countries he was also +called the Baal Berith (Master of the Covenant). In Italy +they seemed to have had two Sandeks. This word was +for a long time supposed to be the Greek word σύνδικος. +But it is now proved beyond doubt that it is a corruption +of the word σύντεκνος used in the Greek church for godfather. +In the church he was the man who lifted the +neophyte from the baptismal waters. Among the Jews, +the office of the Sandek was to keep the child on his +knees during the performance of the rite. The Sandek's +place was, or is still, near the seat of honour, which is +called the Throne of Elijah, who is supposed to be the +angel of the covenant. Other angels, too, were believed +to officiate at this rite. Thus the angel Gabriel is also +<pb n='291'/><anchor id='Pg291'/> +said to have performed the office of Sandek to a certain +child. According to other sources the archangel Metatron +himself attended. Probably it was on this account +that later Rabbis admonished the parents to take only +a pious and good Jew as Sandek for their children. +Christian theologians also declared that no good Christian +must render such a service to a Jew. The famous Buxtorf +had to pay a fine of 100 florins for having attended +the Berith of a child, whose father he had employed as +reader when editing the well-known Basel Bible. The +poor reader himself, who was the cause of Buxtorf's +offence, was fined 400 florins. Of an opposite case in +which a Jew served as godfather to a Christian child, we +find a detailed account in Schudt's <hi rend='italic'>Merkwürdigkeiten der +Juden</hi>, a very learned and very foolish book. When the +father was summoned before the magistrate, and was +asked how he dared to charge a Jew with such a holy +Christian ceremony, he coolly answered, because he knew +that the Jew would present him with a silver cup. As +to the present, I have to remark that with the Jews also +the godfather was expected to bestow a gift on the child. +In some communities he had to defray the expenses of +the festival-dinner, of which I shall speak presently. In +others, again, he had also to give a present to the mother +of the child. +</p> + +<p> +Much older than the institution of the Sandek is the +festival-dinner just alluded to, which was held after the +ceremony. Jewish legend supplies many particulars of +the dinner the patriarch Abraham gave at the Berith of +his son Isaac. This is a little too legendary, but there is +ample historical evidence that such meals were already +customary in the times of the Second Temple. The +<pb n='292'/><anchor id='Pg292'/> +Talmud of Jerusalem gives us a detailed account of the +proceedings which took place at the Berith dinner of +Elisha ben Abuyah, who afterwards obtained a sad celebrity +as Acher. Considering that Elisha's birth must have +fallen within the first decades after the destruction of the +Temple, and that these sad times were most unsuitable for +introducing new festivals, we may safely date the custom +back to the times of the Temple. The way in which the +guests entertained themselves is also to be gathered from +the passage referred to. First came the dinner, in which +all the guests participated; afterwards the great men of +Jerusalem occupied one room, indulging there in singing, +hand clapping, and dancing. The scholars again, who +apparently did not belong to the great men, were confined +to another room, where they employed themselves in discussing +biblical subjects. In later times special hymns, +composed for this festival, were inserted in the grace after +dinner. After the dinner, sermons or speeches used also +to be given, the contents of which were usually made up +of reflections on biblical and Talmudical passages relating +to the event of the day. Sometimes they consisted of +a kind of learned puns on the name which the child received +on this occasion. +</p> + +<p> +With this meal the first consecration of the child-priest +was concluded. In some places they used to come to the +father's house on the third day after the circumcision with +the purpose of making inquiries after the child's health. +In the case when the child was the first-born the ceremony +of <q>redeeming the child</q><note place='foot'>פדיון הבן.</note> in accordance with Exodus xiii. +used to take place. The details of this ceremony are to +be found in almost every prayer-book, and there is nothing +fresh to add. But perhaps I may be allowed to draw +<pb n='293'/><anchor id='Pg293'/> +attention to another distinction that the first-born received +in the Middle Ages. I refer to an account given by the +author of the book, <hi rend='italic'>The Ordinance of the Law</hi>,<note place='foot'>הקת תהורה, on educational matters.</note> who +flourished in the thirteenth century. He says: Our predecessors +made the rule to destine every first-born to God, +and before its birth the father had to say, <q>I take the vow +that if my wife presents me with a son, he shall be holy +unto the Lord, and in His Torah he shall meditate day and +night.</q> On the eighth day after the Berith Milah they +put the child on cushions, and a Bible on its head, and +the elders of the community, or the principal of the college, +imparted their blessings to it. These first-born sons +formed, when grown up, the chief contingent of the Yeshiboth +(Talmudical Colleges), where they devoted the +greatest part of their lives to the study of the Torah. In +later centuries the vow was dropped, but from the abundance +of the Yeshiboth in Poland and elsewhere it seems +as if almost every child was considered as having no other +calling but the study of the Torah. Indeed, the growing +persecutions required a strengthening of the religious +force. +</p> + +<p> +With these ceremonies the first act of consecration +ended in the case where the new-born child was a boy. +I will now refer to the ceremony of the name-giving, which +was common to males and females. In the case of the +former this ceremony was connected with the Berith +Milah. The oldest formula, which is already to be found +in the <hi rend='italic'>Ritual Rab Amram Gaon</hi>, is composed in Aramaic. +It is, like many prayers in that language, a most beautiful +composition, and very suitable for the occasion. Our +present Hebrew prayer is far less beautiful, and dates +from a much later age. In some countries the ceremony +<pb n='294'/><anchor id='Pg294'/> +of naming was repeated in the house of the parents. It +took place on the Sabbath, when the mother returned home +from her first visit to the synagogue after her recovery. +Here the friends and relatives of the family assembled, +and after arranging themselves round the cradle of the +child they lifted it three times, shouting the new name at +every lifting. This name was the so-called <q>profane</q> +name, whilst the name it received in the synagogue was +the <q>sacred</q> or Hebrew name. The ceremony concluded +with the usual festival-dinner. By the way, there +was perhaps a little too much feasting in those days. The +contemporary Rabbis tried indeed to suppress some of +the banquets, and put all sorts of restrictions on dinner-hunting +people. But considering the fact that, as Jews, +they were excluded from every public amusement, we +cannot grudge them the pleasure they drew from these +semi-religious celebrations. For people of an ascetic +disposition it was, perhaps, the only opportunity of enjoying +a proper meal. In the same way, in our days, the +most severe father would not deny his lively daughter the +pleasure of dancing or singing charitably for the benefit +of suffering humanity. The ceremony described was known +to the authors of the Middle Ages by the name of <hi rend='italic'>Holle +Kreish</hi>. These words are proved by Dr. Perles to be of +German origin, and based on some Teutonic superstition +into the explanation of which I cannot enter here. +</p> + +<p> +Of much more importance was the ceremony of name-giving +in the case of a girl, it being the only attention the +female child received from the synagogue. The usages +varied. In some countries the name was given on the +first Sabbath after the birth of the child. The father +was <q>called up to the Reading of the Law,</q> on which +<pb n='295'/><anchor id='Pg295'/> +followed the formula, <q>He who blessed our ancestors +Abraham,</q> etc., <q>may He also bless,</q> etc., including the +blessing and announcement of the child's name. After +the prayer the congregation assembled in the house of +the parents to congratulate them. In other countries the +ceremony took place on the Sabbath when the mother attended +the synagogue after the recovery. The ceremony +of Holle Kreish seems to have been especially observed +in the case of a girl. +</p> + +<p> +Though the feasting was now over for the parents, the +child still lived in a holiday atmosphere for a long time. +In the legend of the <q>Ages of Man</q> the child is described +in the first year of its existence as a little prince, +adored and petted by all. The mother herself nourished +and tended the child. Although the Bible already speaks +of nurses, many passages in the later Jewish literature +show a strong aversion to these substitutes for the mother. +In the event of the father of the child dying, the mother +was forbidden to marry before her suckling infant reached +the age of two years, lest a new courtship might lead to +the neglect of the child. +</p> + +<p> +More difficult is it to say wherein the other signs of +loyalty to the little prince consisted; as, for instance, +whether Jews possessed anything like lullabies to soothe +the little prince into happy and sweet slumber. At least +I am not aware of the existence of such songs in the +ancient Jewish literature, nor are they quoted by mediæval +writers. The <q>Schlummerlied,</q> by an unknown Jewish +bard, about which German scholars wrote so much, contains +more heathen than Jewish elements. From the +protest in <hi rend='italic'>The Book of the Pious</hi>, against using non-Jewish +cradle-songs, it seems that little Moshechen was +<pb n='296'/><anchor id='Pg296'/> +lulled to sleep by the same tunes and words as little +Johnny. The only Jewish lullaby of which I know, is +to be found in the work of a modern writer who lived +in Russia. How far its popularity goes in that country +I have no means of ascertaining. This jingle runs as +follows:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>O! hush thee, my darling, sleep soundly my son,</l> +<l>Sleep soundly and sweetly till day has begun;</l> +<l>For under the bed of good children at night</l> +<l>There lies, till the morning, a kid snowy white.</l> +<l>We'll send it to market to buy Sechora,<note place='foot'>סחורה, <q>business,</q> or <q>wares.</q></note></l> +<l>While my little lad goes to study Torah.</l> +<l>Sleep soundly at night and learn Torah by day,</l> +<l>Then thou'lt be a Rabbi when I have grown gray.</l> +<l>But I'll give thee to-morrow ripe nuts and a toy,</l> +<l>If thou'lt sleep as I bid thee, my own little boy.<note place='foot'>I am indebted for the English adaptation to Mrs. Henry Lucas.</note></l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +But naturally the holiday atmosphere I spoke of was +very often darkened by clouds resulting from the illness +of the child. Excepting small-pox, the child was subject +to most of those diseases which so often prove fatal to +our children. These diseases were known under the collective +name of <q>the difficulties (or the pain) of bringing +up children.</q> These difficulties seem to have been still +greater in Palestine, where one of the old Rabbis exclaimed +that it was easier to see a whole forest of young +olive trees grow up than to rear one child.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Bereshith Rabbah</hi>, chapter xx. For another reading see ראשית הכמה +(ed. Cracow), p. 374.</note> To avoid +so mournful a subject, I refrain from repeating the touching +stories relating to the death of children. The pain +was the more keenly felt since there was no other way +of explaining the misfortune which befell the innocent +creature than that it had suffered for the sins of the +parents; and the only comfort the latter had was that +<pb n='297'/><anchor id='Pg297'/> +the child could not have lost much by its being removed +from this vale of tears at such an early period. A remarkable +legend describes God Himself as giving lessons +so many hours a day to these prematurely deceased +children.<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>Abodah Zarah</hi>, 3<hi rend='italic'>b</hi>.</note> Indeed, to the mind of the old Rabbis, the +only thing worth living for was the study of the Law. +Consequently the child that suffered innocently could +not have a better compensation than to learn Torah from +the mouth of the Master of masters. +</p> + +<p> +But even when the child was healthy, and food and +climate proved congenial to its constitution, there still +remained the troubles of its spiritual education. And to +be sure it was not an easy matter to bring up a <q>priest.</q> +The first condition for this calling was learning. But +learning cannot be acquired without honest and hard +industry. It is true that R. Akiba numbers wisdom +among the virtues which are hereditary from father to son. +Experience, however, has shown that it is seldom the case, +and the Rabbis were already troubled with the question +how it happens that children so little resemble their +fathers in respect of learning. +</p> + +<p> +Certainly Jewish legends can boast of a whole series of +prodigies. Thus a certain Rabbi is said to have been so +sharp as to have had a clear recollection of the mid-wife +who made him a citizen of this world. Ben Sira again, +instantly after his birth, entertains his terrified mother +with many a wise and foolish saying, refuses the milk she +offers him, and asks for solid food. A certain Nachman +was born with a prophecy on his lips, predicting the fate +of all nations on earth, as well as fixing the date for the +advent of the Messiah. The youngest of seven sons of +Hannah, who became martyrs under the reign of Antiochus +<pb n='298'/><anchor id='Pg298'/> +Epiphanes, was according to one version aged two +years, six months, six hours, and thirty minutes. But the +way in which he defied the threats of the tyrant was +really worthy of one of seventy. R. Judah de Modena is +said to have read the lesson from the prophets in the +synagogue at the age of two years and a half. A famous +Cabbalist, Nahum, at the age of three, gave a lecture on +the decalogue that lasted for three days. The Chassidim +pretended of one of their Zaddikim that he remembered +all that he had been taught by the angels before his birth, +and thus excused their Zaddik's utter neglect of studying +anything. Perhaps I may mention in this place a sentence +from Schudt, which may reconcile one to the harmless +exaggerations of the Chassidim. It relates to a case +where a Jewish girl of six was taken away by a Christian +with the intention of baptising her, for he maintained that +this was the wish and pleasure of the child. Probably +the little girl received her instruction from the Christian +servant of the house, as has happened many times. +Schudt proves that this wish ought to be granted in spite +of the minority of the child. He argues: As there is a +maxim, <q>What is wanting in years may be supplied by +wickedness,</q> why could not also the reverse be true that +<q>What is wanting in years can be supplied by grace</q>? +Of a certain R. Meshullam, again, we know that he +preached in the synagogue at Brody, at the age of nine, +and perplexed the chief Rabbi of the place by his deep +Talmudical learning. As the Rabbi had a daughter of +seven, the cleverness exhibited by the boy Rabbi did not +end without very serious consequences for all his life. +</p> + +<p> +Happily all these prodigies or children of grace are +only exceptional. I say happily, for the Rabbis themselves +<pb n='299'/><anchor id='Pg299'/> +disliked such creatures. They were more satisfied +with those signs of intelligence that indicate future greatness. +The following story may serve as an instance:—R. +Joshua ben Hananiah once made a journey to Rome. +Here he was told that amongst the captives from Jerusalem +there was a child with bright eyes, its hair in +ringlets, and its features strikingly beautiful. The Rabbi +made up his mind to redeem the boy. He went to the +prison and addressed the child with a verse from Isaiah, +<q>Who gave Jacob for a spoil and Israel to the robbers?</q> +On this the child answered by continuing the second half +of the same verse, <q>Did not the Lord, He against whom +we have sinned? For they would not walk in His ways, +neither were they obedient unto His law</q> (Isaiah xlii. +24). The Rabbi was so delighted with this answer, that +he said: <q>I am sure he will grow up to be a teacher in +Israel. I take an oath to redeem him, cost what it +may.</q> The child was afterwards known under the name +of R. Ishmael ben Elisha. Such children were ideals +of the Rabbis, but they hated the baby scholar, who +very often grew impertinent and abused his elders. The +Rabbis much preferred the majority of those tiny creatures, +who are characterised by the already mentioned +legends on the <q>Ages of Men</q> as little animals playing, +laughing, crying, dancing, and committing all sorts +of mischief. +</p> + +<p> +But these children must be taught. Now, there is the +well-known advice of Judah ben Tema, who used to say +that the child at five years was to be taught Scripture, +at ten years Mishnah, at thirteen to fulfil the Law, etc. +This saying, incorporated in most editions in the fifth +Chapter of the <hi rend='italic'>Sayings of the Fathers</hi>, is usually considered +<pb n='300'/><anchor id='Pg300'/> +as the programme of Jewish education. But, +like so many programmes, this tells us rather how things +ought to have been than how they were. In the times of +the Temple, the participation of the youth in religious +actions began at the tenderest age. As soon as they +were able to walk a certain distance with the support +of their parents, the children had to accompany them +on their pilgrimages to Jerusalem. In the Sabbatical +year they were brought to the Temple, to be present at +the reading of Deuteronomy by the king.<note place='foot'>This is the way in which Deut. xxxi. 10-12 was explained.</note> The period +at which the child's allegiance to the Synagogue began +is still more distinctly described. Of the many Talmudical +passages relating to this question, I shall select the +following quotation from a later Midrash, because it is +the most concise. In allusion to Leviticus xix. 23, 24, +concerning the prohibition of eating the fruits of a tree +in the first three years, this Midrash goes on to say: +<q>And this is also the case with the Jewish child. In +the first three years the child is unable to speak, and +therefore is exempted from every religious duty, but in +the fourth year all its fruits shall be holy to praise the +Lord, and the father is obliged to initiate the child in +religious works.</q> Accordingly the religious life of the +child began as soon as it was able to speak distinctly, +or with the fourth year of its life. As to the character +of this initiation we learn from the same Midrash and +also from other Talmudical passages, that it consisted in +teaching the child the verses, <q>Hear, O Israel: the Lord +our God <emph>is</emph> One</q> (Deut. vi. 4), and <q>Moses commanded +us a Torah, the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob</q> +(Deut. xxxiii. 4). It was also in this year that the boys +began to accompany their parents to the synagogue, carrying +<pb n='301'/><anchor id='Pg301'/> +their prayer-books. At what age the girls first +came out—not for their first party, but with the purpose +of going to the synagogue—is difficult to decide +with any degree of certainty. But if we were to trust a +rather doubtful reading in Tractate <hi rend='italic'>Sopherim</hi>,<note place='foot'>סופרים, <q>Scribes</q>; treating of the regulations concerning the +writing of the Law, but containing also much liturgical matter.</note> we might +maintain that their first appearance in the synagogue was +also at a very tender age. I hope that they behaved there +more respectfully than their brothers, who played and +cried instead of joining in the responses and singing +with the congregation. In some communities they proved +so great a nuisance that a certain Rabbi declared it would +be better to leave them at home rather than to have the +devotion of the whole congregation disturbed by these +urchins. Another Rabbi recommended the praiseworthy +custom of the Sephardim,<note place='foot'>סשרדים, by which name the Jews of the Spanish rite are designated.</note> who confined all the boys +in the synagogue to one place, and set a special overseer +by their side, with a whip in his hands, to compel +them to keep quiet and to worship with due devotion. +</p> + +<p> +A strange custom is known among the Arabian and Palestinian +Jews under the name of <hi rend='italic'>Chalaka</hi>. It means the +first hair-cutting of the boy after his fourth birthday. As +on this occasion loyalty to the Scripture is shown by not +touching the <q>corners</q> (Lev. xix. 17), the whole action is +considered a religious ceremony of great importance. In +Palestine it usually takes place on the second day of the +Feast of the Passover when the counting of the seven +weeks begins. On this day friends and relatives assemble +at the house of the parents. Thither the boy is brought, +dressed in his best garments, and every one of the assembly +is entrusted with the duty of cutting a few hairs, +which is considered a great privilege. The ceremony is as +usual followed by a dinner given to the guests. The Jews +<pb n='302'/><anchor id='Pg302'/> +in Safed and Tiberias perform the ceremony with great +pomp in the courtyard surrounding the (supposed) grave +of R. Simeon ben Yochai, in one of the neighbouring +villages. +</p> + +<p> +Another custom already mentioned in the Talmud, but +which quite disappeared in later times, is that of weighing +the child. It would be worth reviving if performed in the +way in which the mother of Doeg ben Joseph did it. This +tender-hearted mother weighed her only son every day, +and distributed among the poor, in gold, the amount of +the increased weight of her child. +</p> + +<p> +I pass now to the second great consecration of the boy,—the +rites performed on the day when the boy went to +school for the first time. This day was celebrated by the +Jews, especially in the Middle Ages, in such a way as to +justify the high esteem in which they held the school. +The school was looked upon as a second Mount Sinai, and +the day on which the child entered it as the Feast of Revelation. +Of the many different customs, I shall mention +here that according to which this day was fixed for the +Feast of Weeks. Early in the morning, while it was still +dark, the child was washed and dressed carefully. In +some places they dressed it in a <q>gown with fringes.</q> +As soon as day dawned the boy was taken to the synagogue, +either by his father or by some worthy member of +the community. Arrived at their destination, the boy was +put on the Almemor, or reading-dais, before the Scroll of +the Law, from which the narrative of the Revelation (Exod. +xx. 2-26) was read as the portion of the day. From the +synagogue the boy was taken to the house of the teacher, +who took him into his arms. Thereupon a slate was +brought, containing the alphabet in various combinations, +<pb n='303'/><anchor id='Pg303'/> +the verse, <q>Moses has commanded,</q> etc. in Deut. xxxiii. 4, +the first verse of the Book of Leviticus, and the words, +<q>The Torah will be my calling.</q> The teacher then read +the names of the letters, which the boy repeated. After +the reading, the slate was besmeared with honey, which the +boy licked off. This was done in allusion to Ezekiel iii. +3, where it is said: <q>And it (the roll) was in my mouth +as honey for sweetness.</q> The boy was also made to eat +a sweet cake, on which were written passages from the +Bible relating to the importance of the study of the Torah. +The ceremony was concluded by invoking the names of +certain angels, asking them to open the heart of the boy, +and to strengthen his memory. By the way, I am very +much afraid that this invocation was answerable for the +abolition of this ceremony. The year in which this ceremony +took place is uncertain, probably not before the fifth, +nor later than the seventh, according to the good or bad +health of the child. +</p> + +<p> +The reverence for the child already hinted at was still +further increased when the boy entered the school. <q>The +children of the house (school) of the master</q> is a regular +phrase in Jewish literature. It is on their pure breath +that the existence of the world depends, and it is their +merit that justifies us in appealing to the mercy of God. +Words of Scripture, uttered by them quite innocently, +were considered as oracles; and many a Rabbi gave up +an undertaking on account of a verse pronounced by a +schoolboy, who hardly understood its import. Take only +one instance: R. Johanan was longing to see his friend +Mar Samuel in Babylon. After many disturbances and +delays, he at last undertook the journey. On the way he +passed a school where the boys were reciting the verse +<pb n='304'/><anchor id='Pg304'/> +from 1 Samuel xxviii. 3, <q>And Samuel died.</q> This was +accepted by him as a hint given by Providence that all +was over with his friend. +</p> + +<p> +Especially famous for their wisdom and sharpness were +the children of Jerusalem. Of the many illustrative +stories given in the Midrash to Lamentations, let the following +suffice: R. Joshua was one day riding on his donkey +along the high road. As he passed a well, he saw a +little girl there, and asked her to give him some water. +She accordingly gave water to him and to his animal. +The Rabbi thanked her with the words: <q>My daughter, +you acted like Rebecca.</q> <q>To be sure,</q> she answered, +<q>I acted like Rebecca; but you did not behave like +Eleazar.</q> I must add that there are passages in Jewish +literature from which, with a little ingenuity, it might be +deduced that Jewish babies are the most beautiful of their +kind. The assertion made by a monk that Jewish children +are inferior to Christian children is a dreadful libel. +The author of the <hi rend='italic'>Old Victory</hi>,<note place='foot'>נצראן ישן, a controversial work published by Wagenseil. See +above, p. <ref target='Pg203'>203</ref>, for another victory.</note> in whose presence this +assertion was made, was probably childless, or he would +have simply scratched out the eyes of this malicious monk, +instead of giving a mystical reason for the superior beauty +of any other children than his own. +</p> + +<p> +Another point to be emphasised is that the boys were +not confined all day long to the close air of the schoolroom. +They had also their hours of recreation. This +recreation consisted chiefly, as one can imagine, in playing. +Their favourite game was the ball, boys as well as +girls being fond of this form of amusement. They did +not deny themselves this pleasure even on festivals. +They were also fond of the kite and games with nuts, in +which their mothers also took part. Letter-games and +<pb n='305'/><anchor id='Pg305'/> +riddles also occupied their minds in the recreation hours. +The angel Sandalphon,<note place='foot'>סנדלפון, who is probably known to the English reader from +Longfellow's poem.</note> who also bears in the Cabbalah +the name of <q>Boy,</q> was considered by the children as +their special patron, and they invoked him in their plays, +addressing to him the words: <q>Sandalphon, Lord of the +forest, protect us from pain.</q> Speaking generally, there +are very few distinctively Jewish games. From the researches +of Zunz, Güdemann, and Löw on this subject, it +is clear that the Jews always adopted the pastimes of the +peoples among whom they dwelt. +</p> + +<p> +But it must not be thought that there was too much +playing. Altogether, Jewish education was far from spoiling +the children. And though it was recommended—if +such recommendation were necessary—to love children +more than one's own soul, the Rabbis strongly condemned +that blind partiality towards our own offspring, which ends +in burdening our world with so many good-for-nothings. +The sad experience of certain biblical personages served +as a warning for posterity. Even from the quite natural +behaviour of Jacob towards his son Joseph, which had the +best possible results in the end, they drew the lesson that +a man must never show to one of his children marks of +greater favour than to the others. In later times they +have been even anxious to conceal this love altogether, +and some Rabbis went so far as to refrain from kissing +their children. The severity of Akabya ben Mahalaleel +is worth mentioning, if not imitating. When this Rabbi, +only a few minutes before his death, was asked by his +son to recommend him to his friends and colleagues, the +answer the poor boy received was: <q>Thy conduct will +recommend thee to my friends, or will estrange thee from +them.</q> Another Rabbi declared (with reference to Prov. +<pb n='306'/><anchor id='Pg306'/> +xxviii. 27) that it is life-giving to a youth to teach him +temperance in his diet, and not to accustom him to meat +and wine. R. Judah, the Pious, in the Middle Ages, gives +the advice to rich parents to withdraw their resources +from their sons if they lead a disorderly life. The struggle +for their existence, and the hardship of life, would +bring them back to God. When the old Rabbi said that +poverty is a most becoming ornament for Israel, his remark +was probably suggested by a similar thought. And +many a passage in the Rabbinic literature gives expression +to the same idea as that in Goethe's divine lines:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<lg> +<l>Wer nie sein Brot mit Thränen ass,</l> +<l>Wer nie die kummervollen Nächte</l> +<l>Auf seinem Bette weinend sass,</l> +<l>Der kennt Euch nicht, Ihr himmlischen Mächte.</l> +</lg> + +</quote> + +<p> +I have spoken of a kingdom of priests, but there is one +great disadvantage of such a polity. One or two priests +in a community may be sustained by the liberality of +the congregation. But if a community consisted of only +priests, how could it then be maintained? Besides, the +old Jewish ideal expected the teacher to be possessed of a +divine goodness, imparting his benefits only as an act of +grace. Salaries, therefore, either for teaching or preaching, +or for giving ritual decisions, were strongly forbidden. +The solution of the question put by the Bible, <q>And if ye +shall say, What shall we eat?</q> is to be found in the law +that every father was obliged to teach his son a handicraft, +enabling him to obtain a living. +</p> + +<p> +I have now to speak of the time when childhood is +brought to a conclusion. It is, as I stated above, in the +case of a girl at the beginning of the thirteenth year, and +<pb n='307'/><anchor id='Pg307'/> +in that of a boy at the beginning of the fourteenth year. +As a reason for this priority I will reproduce the words of +R. Chisda, who said that God has endowed woman with +a greater portion of intelligence than man, and therefore +she obtains her maturity at an earlier period than man +does. A very nice compliment, indeed; but like all compliments +it is of no practical consequence whatever. It +is not always the wiser who get the best of it in life. +Whilst the day on which the girl obtained her majority +passed unnoticed either by her or by her family, it was +marked in the case of the boy as the day on which he +became a Son of the Law,<note place='foot'>בר מצוה.</note> and was signalised by various +rites and ceremonies, and by the bestowing on him of +beautiful presents. I miss only the wig, which used to +form the chief ornament of the boy on this happy day. +</p> + +<p> +Less known, however, is the origin of this ceremony, +and the reason for fixing its date. It cannot claim a very +high antiquity. I may remark that in many cases centuries +elapse before an idea or a notion takes practical shape +and is crystallised into a custom or usage, and still longer +before this custom is fossilised into a law or fixed institution. +As far as the Bible goes, there is not the slightest +indication of the existence of such a ceremony. From +Lev. xxvii. 5, and Num. xiv. 29, it would rather seem that +it was not before the twentieth year that the man was considered +to have obtained his majority, and to be responsible +for his actions. It was only in the times of the Rabbis, +when Roman influence became prevalent in juristic matters +at least, that the date of thirteen, or rather the <foreign rend='italic'>pubertas</foreign>, +was fixed as giving the boy his majority. But it would +be a mistake to think that before having obtained this +majority the boy was considered as under age in every +<pb n='308'/><anchor id='Pg308'/> +respect. Certainly the law made every possible effort to +connect him with the synagogue, and to initiate him in his +religious duties long before the age of thirteen. +</p> + +<p> +We have seen that the boy's first appearance in the synagogue +was at the beginning of the fourth year. We have +noticed the complaints about his troublesome behaviour. +But how could we expect the poor child to be attentive to +things which quite surpassed the intellectual powers of his +tender age? There was no better reason for this attendance +either in the Temple or in the synagogue than that +the parents might be rewarded by God for the trouble of +taking their children there. These cares, by the way, fell +most heavily upon the women. The mother of R. Joshua +enjoyed this burden so much that she carried her boy, +when still in the cradle, to the <q>House of Study of the +Law,</q> in order that his ears might be accustomed to the +sound of the Torah. In later times there was another excuse +for taking the little children to the synagogue. They +were there allowed to sip the wine of the Sanctification +Cup,<note place='foot'>קידוש, <q>Sanctification</q>—<q>benediction</q>—on the eve of Sabbath, +which is pronounced over a cup of wine.</note> which was the exclusive privilege of the children; +an easy way of worshipping, but, as you can observe, it is +a method that they enjoy and understand most excellently. +They did not less enjoy and understand the service with +which they were charged on the day of <q>The Rejoicing of +the Law.</q><note place='foot'>שמכת תורה, or on the 23rd of Tishri, when the last portion from the +Pentateuch is read.</note> On this feast they were provided with flags, +which they carried before the bearers of the Torah, who +feasted them after the service with sweets. Another treat +was that of being called up on this day to the Torah, a +custom that is still extant. In the Middle Ages they went +in some countries so far as to allow these little fellows who +did not wear caps <q>to be called up</q> to say the blessings +over the Law bare-headed. A beautiful custom was that +<pb n='309'/><anchor id='Pg309'/> +every Sabbath, after finishing the weekly lesson and dressing +the Scroll of the Law, the children used to come up to +the Almemor and kiss the Torah. Leaving the synagogue +they kissed the hands of the scholars. At home the initiation +began with the blessing the child received on every +eve of the Sabbath, and with its instruction in <q>Hear O +Israel</q> and other verses as already mentioned. Short +prayers, consisting of a single sentence, were also chosen +for children of this age. The function of the child on the +eve of the first day of Passover is well known. Besides +the putting of the four questions for the meaning of the +strange ceremony (Exod. xiii. 14), the boy had also to +recite, or rather to sing, the <q>Praise.</q><note place='foot'>הלל, <q>Praise,</q> <hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi> Ps. cxiii.-cxviii.</note> But I am afraid +that they enjoyed better the song of <q>One Kid,</q> which +was composed or rather adapted for their special entertainment +from an old German poem. +</p> + +<p> +Within three or four years after entering the synagogue, +and with the growth of intellect and strength, +the religious duties of the boy increased, and became of +a more serious character. He had not only to attend +the school, which was troublesome enough, but he was +also expected to attend the services more regularly, and +to gain something by it. Yet the Rabbis were not so +tyrannical as to put unjust demands on the patience of +the child. The voice of God on Mount Sinai, the Rabbis +said, was adapted to the intellect and powers of all who +witnessed the Revelation—adapted, as the Midrash says, +to the powers of old and young, children and women. It +was in accordance with this sentiment that the Rabbis +suited their language to the needs of the less educated +classes. Thus we read in the Tractate <hi rend='italic'>Sopherim</hi> that +according to the law the portion of the week, after having +<pb n='310'/><anchor id='Pg310'/> +been recited in Hebrew, must be translated into +the language of the vernacular for the benefit of the unlearned +people, the women, and the children. Another +consideration children experienced from the Rabbis was +that at the age of nine or ten the boy was initiated into +the observance of the Day of Atonement by fasting a +few hours. Lest, however, this good work might be overdone, +and thus endanger the child's health, the sage R. +Acha used to tell his congregation after the Addition-Prayer +<q>My brethren, let every one of you who has a +child go home and make it eat.</q> In later centuries, +when the disease of small-pox became so fatal, some +Rabbis declared it to be the duty of every father to +leave the town with his children as soon as the plague +showed itself. The joy with which the Rabbis hailed +Dr. Jenner's discovery deserves our recognition. None +of them perceived in vaccination a defiance of Providence. +R. Abraham Nansich, from London, wrote a +pamphlet to prove its lawfulness. The Cabbalist Buzagli +disputed Dr. Jenner's priority, but nevertheless approved +of vaccination. R. Israel Lipschütz declared that the +Doctor acquired salvation by his new remedy. +</p> + +<p> +With his advancing age, not only the boy's duties but +also his rights were increased. An enumeration of all +these rights would lead me too far, but I shall mention +the custom which allowed the boy the recital of <q>Magnified</q><note place='foot'>קדִש, the name of a prayer commencing יתגדל ויתקדש, <q>Magnified +and sanctified be,</q> etc.</note> +and <q>Bless ye</q><note place='foot'>Prayer beginning ברכו, <q>Bless ye,</q> etc.</note> in the synagogue. Now this +privilege is restricted to the orphan boy. It is interesting +to hear that girls were also admitted to recite the +Magnified in the synagogue, in cases where their parents +left no male issue. I have myself witnessed such a case. +In some countries the boy had the exclusive privilege of +<pb n='311'/><anchor id='Pg311'/> +reading the prayers on the evenings of the festivals and +Sabbaths. R. Samson ben Eleazar, in the fifteenth century, +received his family name Baruch Sheamar<note place='foot'>ברוך שאמר, beginning of a prayer, <q>Blessed be He,</q> etc.</note> from +the skill with which he recited this prayer when a boy. +He chanted it so well that he was called by the members +of the community Master Baruch Sheamar. As to the +question whether the boy, while under age, might lawfully +be considered as one of the Ten when such a quorum +was required, or one of the three in the case of +grace after meals, I can only say that the authorities +never agreed in this respect. Whilst the one insisted +upon his having obtained his majority, the other was +satisfied with his showing such signs of intelligence as +would enable him to participate in the ceremony in question. +Here is an instance of such a sign. Abaye and +Raba, the two celebrated heroes of the Babylonian Talmud, +were sitting at the table of Rabbah. Before saying +grace he asked them, <q>Do you know to whom these +prayers are addressed?</q> Thereupon one boy pointed +to the roof, whilst the other boy went out and pointed +to the sky. The examiner was satisfied with their answer. +</p> + +<p> +The privilege of putting on the phylacteries forms now +in most countries the chief distinction of <q>The Son of +the Law</q>; in olden times, however, every boy had claim +to it as soon as he showed himself capable of behaving +respectfully when wearing the holy symbol. It even happened +that certain honours of the synagogue were bestowed +on boys, though under age. We possess a copy +of a Jewish epitaph dating from about the third century, +which was written in Rome for a boy of eight years, who +is there designated as archon. The fact is the more curious, +as on the other hand the Palestinian R. Abuha, who +<pb n='312'/><anchor id='Pg312'/> +lived in the same century, maintained that no man must +be elected as Warden before he has achieved his fiftieth +year. That boys were admitted to preach in the synagogue +I have already mentioned.<note place='foot'>See Schürer's <hi rend='italic'>Die Gemeindeverfassung der Juden in Rom</hi>, +p. 24. Cf. <hi rend='italic'>Hebräische Bibliographie</hi>, xix. p. 79.</note> +</p> + +<p> +From all these remarks it will easily be seen that in +olden times the boy enjoyed almost all the rights of +majority long before the day of his being <q>The Son of +the Law.</q> The condition of the novice is hardly distinguishable +from that of the initiated priest. The Talmud, +the Gaonim, and even R. Isaac Alfasi and Maimonides +knew neither the term <q>The Son of the Law</q> (in our +sense of the word) nor any ceremony connected with it. +There is only one slight reference to such an institution, +recorded in the Tractate <hi rend='italic'>Sopherim</hi>, with the quotation of +which I shall conclude this paper. We read there: <q>In +Jerusalem there was the godly custom to initiate the children +at the <emph>beginning</emph> of the thirteenth year by fasting the +whole Day of Atonement. During this year they took +the boy to the priests and learned men that they might +bless him, and pray for him that God might think him +worthy of a life devoted to the study of the Torah and +pious works.</q> For, this author says, <q>they were beautiful, +and their lives harmonious and their hearts directed +to God.</q> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='313'/><anchor id='Pg313'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>XIII. Woman in Temple and Synagogue</head> + +<p> +The learned Woman has always been a favourite subject +with Jewish students; and her intellectual capabilities +have been fully vindicated in many an essay and even +fair-sized book. Less attention, however, has been paid +to woman's claims as a devotional being whom the +Temple, and afterwards the Synagogue, more or less +recognised. At least it is not known to me that any +attempt has been made to give, even in outline, the history +of woman's relation to public worship. It is needless to +say that the present sketch, which is meant to supply +this want in some measure, lays no claim to completeness; +but I venture to hope that it will help to direct the attention +of the friends of research to the matter, and that it +may induce others to deal more fully with the subject and +do it the justice it deserves. +</p> + +<p> +The earliest allusion to women's participation in <emph>public</emph> +worship, is that in Exodus xxxviii. 8, to the women who +assembled to minister at the door of the <q>tent of meeting,</q> +of whose mirrors the lavers of brass were made (cf. +1 Sam. ii. 22). Philo, who is not exactly enamoured of +the emancipation of women, and seeks to confine them to +the <q>small state,</q> is here full of their praise. <q>For,</q> he +says, <q>though no one enjoined them to do so, they of +<pb n='314'/><anchor id='Pg314'/> +their own spontaneous zeal and earnestness contributed +the mirrors with which they had been accustomed to deck +and set off their beauty, as the most becoming first-fruits +of their modesty, and of the purity of their married life, +and, as one may say, of the beauty of their souls.</q> In +another passage Philo describes the Jewish women as +<q>competing with the men themselves in piety, having +determined to enter upon a glorious contest, and to the +utmost extent of their power to exert themselves so as not +to fall short of their holiness.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It is, however, very difficult to ascertain in what this +ministry of women consisted. The Hebrew term <q>Zobeoth</q><note place='foot'>זבאת.</note> +would suggest the thought of a species of religious +Amazons, who formed a guard of honour round the +Sanctuary. Some commentators think that the ministry +consisted in performing religious dances accompanied +by various instruments. The Septuagint again speaks +<q>of the women who fasted by the doors of the Tabernacle.</q> +But most of the old Jewish expositors, as well as +Onkelos, conceive that the women went to the tent of +meeting to pray. Ibn Ezra offers the interesting remark, +<q>And behold, there were women in Israel serving the +Lord, who left the vanities of this world, and not being +desirous of beautifying themselves any longer, made of +their mirrors a free offering, and came to the tabernacle +every day to pray and to listen there to the words of +the commandments.</q> When we find that in 1 Sam. i. +12, <q>Hannah continued to pray before the Lord,</q> she +was only doing there what many of her sisters did +before and after her. We may also judge that it was +from the number of these noble women, who made religion +the aim of their lives, that the <q>twenty-two</q> heroines +<pb n='315'/><anchor id='Pg315'/> +and prophetesses sprang who form part of the glory of +Jewish history. Sometimes it even happened that their +husbands derived their religious inspiration from them. +Thus the husband of the prophetess Deborah is said to +have been an unlettered man. But his wife made him +carry to the Sanctuary the candles which she herself had +prepared, this being the way in which she encouraged +him to seek communion with the righteous. +</p> + +<p> +The language in which the husband of the <q>Great +Woman</q> of Shunem addresses his wife: <q>Wherefore wilt +thou go to him</q> (the prophet)? <q>it is neither New Moon +nor Sabbath</q> (2 Kings iv. 23), proves that on Festivals +and Sabbaths the women used to attend some kind of worship, +performed by the prophet, though we cannot say in +what this worship consisted. The New Moon was especially +a woman's holiday, and was so observed even in the +Middle Ages, for the women refrained from doing work +on that day. The explanation given by the Rabbis is that +when the men broke off their golden earrings to supply +material for the golden calf, the women refused to contribute +their trinkets, for which good behaviour a special +day of repose was granted to them. Some Cabbalists even +maintain that the original worshippers of the golden calf +continue to exist on earth, their souls having successively +migrated into various bodies, while their punishment consists +in this, that they are ruled over by their wives. +Rather interesting as well as complimentary to women +is the remark which the Rabbis made with regard to +the <q>Great Woman.</q> As will be remembered, it is <emph>she</emph> +who says, <q>I perceive that this (Elisha) is a holy man +of God</q> (2 Kings iv. 19). In allusion to this verse +the Talmud says: <q>From this fact we may infer that +<pb n='316'/><anchor id='Pg316'/> +woman is quicker in recognising the worth of a stranger +than man.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The great woman, or women, continued to pray and to +join in the public worship also after the destruction of the +first Temple. Thus Esther is reported by tradition to +have addressed God in a long extempore prayer before +she presented herself before the throne of Ahasuerus to +plead her people's cause; and women were always enjoined +to attend the reading of the Book of Esther. When +Ezra read the Law for the first time, he did so in the presence +of the men and the women (Neh. viii. 3). In the +Book of the Maccabees we read of <q>The women girt with +sackcloth ... and the maidens that ran to the gates.... +And all holding their hands towards heaven made supplication.</q> +In the Judith legend, mention is also made of +<q>Every man and woman ... who fell before the Temple, +and spread out their sackcloth before the face of the Lord +... and cried before the God of Israel.</q> In the second +Temple, the women, as is well known, possessed a court +reserved for their exclusive use. There the great illuminations +and rejoicings on the evening of the Feast of Tabernacles +used to be held. On this occasion, however, the +women were confined to galleries specially erected for +them. It was also in this Women's Hall that the great +public reading of certain portions of the Law by the king, +once in seven years, used to take place, and women had +also to attend at the function. On the other hand, it is +hardly necessary to say that women were excluded from +performing any important service in the Temple. If we +were to trust a certain passage in the <q>Chapters of R. +Eliezer,</q> we might perhaps conclude that during the first +Temple, the wives of the Levites formed a part of the +<pb n='317'/><anchor id='Pg317'/> +choir, but the meaning of the passage is too obscure and +doubtful for us to be justified in basing on it so important +an inference. Nor can the three hundred maidens who +were employed for the weaving of the curtains in the Temple, +be looked upon as having stood in closer connection +with the Temple, or as having formed an order of women-priests +or girl-devotees (as one might wrongly be induced +to think by certain passages in Apocryphal writings of the +New Testament). But on the other hand, it is not improbable +that their frequent contact with the Sanctuary of +the nation produced in them that religious enthusiasm and +zeal which may account for the heroic death which—according +to the legend—they sought and found after the +destruction of the Temple. It is to be remarked that, +according to the law, women were even exempted from +putting their hands on the head of the victim, which +formed an important item in the sacrificial worship. It is, +however, stated by an eye-witness, that the authorities permitted +them to perform this ceremony if they desired to do +so, and that their reason for this concession was <q>to give +calmness of the spirit, or satisfaction, to women.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Still greater, perhaps, was <q>the calmness of spirit</q> +given to women in the synagogue. We find in ancient +epitaphs that such titles of honour were conferred upon +them as <q>Mistress of the Synagogue,</q> and <q>Mother of +the Synagogue,</q> and, though they held no actual office +in the Synagogue, it is not improbable that they acquired +these titles by meritorious work connected with a religious +institution, viz.: Charity. There was, indeed, a tendency +to exclude women from the synagogue at certain seasons, +but almost all the authorities protest against it, many of +them declaring such a notion to be quite un-Jewish. Some +<pb n='318'/><anchor id='Pg318'/> +Jewish scholars even think that the ancient synagogues +knew of no partition for women. I am rather inclined to +think that the synagogue took for its model the arrangements +in the Temple, and thus confined women to a place +of their own. But, whether they sat side by side with +the men or occupied a special portion of the edifice, there +can be no doubt that the Jewish women were great synagogue-goers. +To give only one instance. One Rabbi asks +another: Given the case that the members of the synagogue +are all descendants of Aaron, to whom then would +they impart their blessing? The answer is, to the women +who are there. +</p> + +<p> +Of the sermon they were even more fond than their +husbands. Thus one woman was so much interested in +the lectures of R. Meir, which he was in the habit of +giving every Friday evening, that she used to remain there +so long that the candles in her house burnt themselves +out. Her lazy husband, who stopped at home, so strongly +resented having to wait in the dark, that he would not +permit her to cross the threshold until she gave some offence +to the preacher, which would make him sure that +she would not venture to attend his sermons again. +</p> + +<p> +The prayers they said were the Eighteen Benedictions +which were prescribed by the Law. But it would +seem that occasionally they offered short prayers composed +by themselves as suggested by their personal feelings +and needs. Thus, to give one instance, R. Johanan +relates that one day he observed a young girl fall on her +face and pray: <q>Lord of the world, Thou hast created +Paradise, Thou hast created hell, Thou hast created the +wicked, Thou hast created the righteous; may it be Thy +will that I may not serve as a stumbling-block to them.</q> +<pb n='319'/><anchor id='Pg319'/> +The fine Hebrew in which the prayer is expressed, and +the notion of the responsibility of Providence for our +actions, manifest a high degree of intelligence and reflection. +It would also seem that some women went so far +in their religious sensibility as to lead a regular ascetic +life, and, according to the suggestion of some scholars, +even took the vow of celibacy. Of these the Rabbis did +not approve, and stigmatised them as the <q>destroyers of +the world.</q> Perhaps it was just at this period that Judaism +could not afford to give free play to those morbid +feelings, degenerating into religious hysterics, which led +some to join rival sects, and others to abandon themselves +to the gross immorality we read of in the history of +the Gnostics. +</p> + +<p> +The same circumstances may have been the cause of +public opinion being led to accept the view of R. Eliezer, +who thought it inadvisable—it would seem on moral +grounds—to permit woman to study the Law. This +opinion was opposed to that of Ben Azzai, who considered +it incumbent upon every father to teach his +daughter Torah. But justified as the advice of R. Eliezer +may have been in his own time, it was rather unfortunate +that later generations continued to take it as the guiding +principle for the education of their children. Many great +women in the course of history indeed became law-breakers +and studied Torah; but the majority were entirely +dependent on men, and became in religious matters +a sort of appendix to their husbands, who by their good +actions insured salvation also for them, and sometimes the +reverse. Thus there is a story about a woman which, put +into modern language, would be to the effect that she +married a minister and copied his sermons for him; he +<pb n='320'/><anchor id='Pg320'/> +died, and she then married a cruel usurer, and kept his +accounts for him. +</p> + +<p> +The fact that women were exempted from certain affirmative +laws, which become operative only at special seasons—<hi rend='italic'>e.g.</hi>, +the taking of the palm branch on the Feast of +Tabernacles—must also have contributed to weaken their +position as a religious factor in Judaism. The idea that +women should vie with men in the fulfilment of every law, +became even for the Rabbis a notion connected only with +the remotest past. This is the impression one gains when +reading the legend about Michal, the daughter of Saul, +putting on phylacteries, or the wife of the prophet Jonah +making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at the three Festivals. +It would indeed seem as if women were led to strive for +the satisfaction of their religious wants in another direction. +Yet it was said of Jewish women, <q>The daughters +of Israel were stringent and laid certain restrictions on +themselves.</q> They were also allowed to form a quorum +by themselves for the purpose of saying the Grace, but +they could not be counted along with males for this end. +It was also against the early notion of the dignity of the +congregation that women should perform any public service +for men. +</p> + +<p> +One privilege was left to women—that of weeping. +In Judges xi. 40, we read of the daughters of Israel that +went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah; while in +2 Chronicles xxxv. 25, we are told how <q>all the singing +men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their +lamentations.</q> Of this privilege they were not deprived, +and if they were not allowed to sing any longer, they at +least retained the right to weep as much as they pleased. +Even in later times they held a public office as mourning +<pb n='321'/><anchor id='Pg321'/> +women at funerals. In the Talmud fragments of compositions +by women for such occasions are to be found. Indeed, +woman became in these times the type of grief and +sorrow. She cannot reason, but she feels much more +deeply than man. Here is one instance from an old +legend: Jeremiah said, <q>When I went up to Jerusalem +(after the destruction of the Temple) I lifted my eyes and +saw there a lonely woman sitting on the top of the mountain, +her dress black, her hair dishevelled, crying, <q>Who +will comfort me?</q> I approached her and spake to her, +<q>If thou art a woman, speak to me. If thou art a ghost, +begone.</q> She answered, <q>Dost thou not know me?... +I am the Mother, Zion.</q></q> +</p> + +<p> +In general, however, the principle applied to women +was: The king's daughter <emph>within the palace</emph> is all glorious +(Psalm xlv. 14), but <emph>not</emph> outside of it. In the face of the +<q>Femina in ecclesia taceat,</q> which was the ruling maxim +with other religions, Jewish women could only feel flattered +by this polite treatment by the Rabbis, though it +meant the same thing. We must not think, however, +that this prevented them from attending the service of the +synagogue. According to the Tractate <hi rend='italic'>Sopherim</hi>, even +<q>the little daughters of Israel were accustomed to go to +the synagogue.</q> In the same tractate we find it laid +down as <q>a duty to translate for them the portion (of the +Law) of the week, and the lesson from the prophets</q> into +the language they understand. The <q>King's daughter</q> +occasionally asserted her rights without undue reliance on +the opinion of the authorities. And thus being ignorant +of the Hebrew language women prayed in the vernacular, +though this was at least against the letter of the law. +And many famous Rabbis of the twelfth and thirteenth +<pb n='322'/><anchor id='Pg322'/> +centuries express their wonder that the <q>custom of +women praying in other (non-Hebrew) languages extended +over the whole world.</q> It is noteworthy that +they did not suppress the practice, but on the contrary, +they endeavoured to give to the Law such an interpretation +as would bring it into accord with the general custom. +Some even recommended it, as, for example, the author +of <hi rend='italic'>The Book of the Pious</hi>, who gives advice to women to +learn the prayers in the language familiar to them. +</p> + +<p> +At about the same period a lengthy controversy was +being waged by the commentators of the Talmud and the +codifiers, about woman's partaking in the fulfilment of the +laws for special seasons, from which, as already remarked, +they were exempted. To the action itself there could not +be much objection, but the difficulty arose when women +also insisted on uttering the blessing. Now the point at +issue was whether they could be permitted to say, for +instance, <q>Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, etc., who +hast sanctified us by Thy Commandments, and <emph>hast commanded +us</emph>, concerning the taking of the Palm branch,</q> +since in reality the women had <emph>not</emph> been commanded to do +it. To such logical and systematic minds as Maimonides +and R. Joseph Caro, the difficulty was insurmountable, +and they forbade women to use the formula; but with +the less consistent majority women carried their point. +Rather interesting is the answer received by R. Jacob, of +Corbeil, with regard to this question. This Rabbi is said +to have enjoyed the mysterious power which enabled him +to appeal in cases of doubt to the celestial authorities. +Before them he put also this women's case for decision. +Judgment was communicated to him in the verse from the +Scriptures, <q>In all that Sarah saith unto Thee, hearken +<pb n='323'/><anchor id='Pg323'/> +unto her voice</q> (Gen. xxi. 12). Nor was it unknown for +a pious Jew to compose a special hymn for his wife's use +in honour of the Sabbath. +</p> + +<p> +How long this custom of women praying in the vernacular +lasted, we have no means of ascertaining. Probably +was already extinct about the end of the fifteenth century. +For R. Solomon Portaleone, who lived in the sixteenth +century, already regrets the abolition of <q>this beautiful +and worthy custom.</q> <q>When they prayed in the vernacular,</q> +he says, <q>they understood what they were saying, +whilst now they only gabble off their prayers.</q> As +a sort of compromise we may regard the various <q>Supplications</q>;<note place='foot'>תהנות.</note> +they form a kind of additional prayers supplementary +to the ordinary liturgy, and are written in +German. Chiefly composed by women, they specially answer +the needs of the sex on various occasions. These +prayers deserve a full description by themselves, into +which I cannot enter here; I should like only to mention +that in one of these collections in the British Museum, a +special supplication is added for servant-maids, and if I +am not quite mistaken, also one for their mistresses. +</p> + +<p> +It is also worth noticing that the manuals on the +<q>Three Women's Commandments</q> (mostly composed in +German, sometimes also in rhymes), contained much more +than their titles would suggest. They rather served as +headings to groups of laws, arranged under each commandment. +Thus the first (about certain laws in Lev. xii. +and xv.) becomes the motto for purity in body and soul; +the second (the consecration of the first cake of the +dough) includes all matters relating to charity, in which +women were even reminded to encourage their newly +married husbands not to withhold from the poor the +<pb n='324'/><anchor id='Pg324'/> +tithes of the bridal dowry, as well as of their future yearly +income; whilst the third (the lighting of the Sabbath +lamp) becomes the symbol for spiritual light and sweetness +in every relation of human life. +</p> + +<p> +As another compromise may also be considered the institution +of <q>Vorsugern</q> (woman-reader) or the <q>Woilkennivdicke</q> +(the well-knowing one) who reads the prayers +and translates them into the vernacular for the benefit +of her less learned sisters. In Poland and in Russia, even +at the present time, such a woman-reader is to be found +in every synagogue, and from what I have heard the institution +is by no means unknown in London. The various +prayer-books containing the Hebrew text as well as the +Jewish-German translation, which appear in such frequent +editions in Russia, are mostly intended for the use of +these praying women. Not uninteresting is the title-page +of R. Aaron Ben Samuel's Jewish-German translations +and collections of prayers which appeared in the beginning +of the eighteenth century. He addressed the Jewish +public in the following terms: <q>My dear brethren, buy +this lovely prayer-book or wholesome tonic for body and +soul, which has never appeared in such German print +since the world began; and make your wives and children +read it often, thus they will refresh their bodies and souls, +for this light will shine forth into your very hearts. As +soon as the children read it they will understand their +prayers, by which they will enjoy both this world and the +world to come.</q> +</p> + +<p> +An earlier translator of the prayer-book addresses himself +directly to the <q>pious women</q> whom he invites to buy +his book, <q>in which they will see very beautiful things.</q> +Recent centuries seem, on the whole, to have been distinguished +<pb n='325'/><anchor id='Pg325'/> +for the number of praying-women they produced. +The virtues which constituted the claim of women +to religious distinction were modesty, charity, and daily attendance +at the synagogue morning and evening. In the +memorial books of the time hundreds of such women are +noticed. Some used also to spin the <q>Fringes,</q> which +they presented to their friends; others fasted frequently, +whilst <q>Old Mrs. Hechele</q> not only attended the synagogue +every day, and did charity to poor and rich, but also +understood the art of midwifery, which she practised in the +community without accepting payment for her services. +According to R. Ch. J. Bachrach women used also to say +the <q>Magnified</q> prayer in the synagogue when their +parents left no male posterity. +</p> + +<p> +In bringing to a close this very incomplete sketch, perhaps +I ought to notice the confirmation of girls introduced +during this century in some communities in Germany, +which the <q>Reformed</q> Rabbis recommended, but of which +the <q>Orthodox</q> Rabbis disapproved. It would be well if +in the heat of such controversies both sides would remember +the words of R. Zedekiah b. Abraham, of Rome, who +with regard to a certain difference of opinion on some +ritual question, says: <q>Every man receives reward from +God for what he is convinced is the right thing, if this +conviction has no other motive but the love of God.</q> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='326'/><anchor id='Pg326'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>XIV. The Earliest Jewish Community in Europe</head> + +<p> +Roman Judaism has disappeared from our guide-books. +Civilisation has levelled down the walls of the Ghetto, and +its former inhabitants are not any longer <q>a people that +dwell alone.</q> But with this well-deserved destruction +a good deal of the interest was also destroyed which the +traveller used to attach to <q>the peculiar people</q> enclosed +in that terrible slum of Rome. +</p> + +<p> +Still, if there is anything eternal in the <q>eternal city,</q> +which was neither reconstructed by the Cæsars, nor improved +upon by the Popes, it is the little Jewish community +at Rome. It has survived the former; it has suffered +for many centuries under the latter, and, partaking in the +general revival which has come upon the Italian nation, +it may still be destined for a great future. Indeed, the +history of the relation of Israel to Rome is so old that it is +not lacking even in legendary elements. On the day on +which King Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh, +the Rabbis narrate, there came down the angel Gabriel. +He put a reed into the sea, which, by means of the slime +that adhered to it, formed itself, in the course of time, +into a large island, on which the city of Rome was built—an +event with which the troubles of Israel began. These +<pb n='327'/><anchor id='Pg327'/> +were the evil consequences of the first <foreign rend='italic'>mésalliance</foreign>. Even +more unfortunate for Israel (and it is not impossible that +this is the meaning of the legend) were the results of that +spiritual mixed marriage between Judaism and paganism +which took place at a much later period, whereat a blunt +soldier, who sympathised with neither, and <q>who dealt in +salvation as he dealt in provinces,</q> acted as best man. +As a fact, the parties concerned never understood each +other properly. The declaration of love, and the final +proposal, were made in an Alexandrine jargon, strange to +both, the obscurities of which only grew with the commentaries +each successive generation added to them. +Under such circumstances, a happy union was not to be +expected, and the family quarrel which fills the annals of +civilised Europe soon broke out. Judaism, more particularly +Roman Judaism, witnessed this struggle from the +beginning, and its fortunes were greatly dependent on +the chance which of these two elements, the Jewish or the +pagan, won the ascendency. +</p> + +<p> +However, I am theologising too much, whilst I am +deviating from the subject of these lines. Nor could I +think of giving here, even in outline, the history of the +oldest Jewish community in Europe. This has been +already admirably done by Dr. A. Berliner, who has made +the history of the Jews of Rome the subject of his studies +for nearly a quarter of a century. I intend only to reproduce +here, in a stray fashion, some of those impressions +and reflections which, I am certain, must occur to every +Jewish traveller in Italy. +</p> + +<p> +Now I do not think for a moment that we Jews should +have a point of view of our own for looking at things and +men in this paradise of Europe. It would be as silly to +<pb n='328'/><anchor id='Pg328'/> +have a Jewish Baedeker as to think of orthodox mathematics +or an ecclesiastical logic or a racial morality—though +unfortunately there exist such things. But on the +other hand, if we have not, like the fox in the fable, left +our heart at home, let us not do violence to our feelings by +passing over everything Jewish, over sights which might +remind us of our history, with a certain indifference which +would be affected on our part. We are not all little +Goethes, nor even little Ruskins, and our artistic enjoyment +is hardly so intense as to shut our hearts against +impressions which force themselves upon us either by +the way of remembrance of the past, or even as a living +contrast in the present. +</p> + +<p> +It so happened that my first visit to the Vatican was +on a Friday. After doing my work in the Vatican +Library, which is open till noon, I went into the adjoining +Church of St. Peter. +</p> + +<p> +One should be, like the angel of death in the legend, +full of eyes, properly to see all the wonders of art and +marvels of architecture at which human genius and piety +laboured busily through centuries, in adorning the grandest +of sacred buildings in the world. But there is Baedeker +or Murray serving at least as a pair of good spectacles +to the layman, and it was by their aid that I made my +round in St. Peter. But lo, whilst you are observing the +celebrated Pietà by Michael Angelo, and, according to +the instruction of your guides, admiring both the grief +of the Mother and the death of the Son, you notice in its +vicinity a little column, surrounded by rails to which the +pilgrims approach with a certain awe; for <q>Tradition +affirms it to have been brought from Jerusalem.</q> Naturally, +one is instantly reminded of the report, given by the +<pb n='329'/><anchor id='Pg329'/> +famous traveller of Tudela, of the curiosities of Rome, +which among other things records, <q>That there are also +to be seen in St. Giovanni in Porta Latina (probably +meant for Lateran) the two brazen pillars, constructed +by King Solomon of blessed memory, whose name, +Solomon, the son of David, is engraved upon each; of +which he was also told that every year about the 9th +of Ab (the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem), +these pillars sweat so much that water runs down from +them.</q> So far Benjamin of Tudela in the twelfth century. +In our days pillars weep no longer, and even of +men it is considered a special sign of good breeding to +behave pillar-like; but a sigh is still permissible at the +sight of this temple-column, which in its captivity symbolises, +not less than the Pietà, the grief of a whole +people. Of course, not possessing on the spot either +the <hi rend='italic'>Itinerary</hi> or even Urlick, one is unable to establish +the connection between these two traditions and their +claim to authenticity. Perhaps one may even comfort +oneself on the same ground on which the famous curé +tried to appease his flock who were sobbing bitterly at +his telling them the Passion story. He exclaimed: <q>My +children, do not weep so much; it happened long ago, +and even perhaps is not quite true.</q> +</p> + +<p> +However, the Vatican is the last place in the world to +exercise your critical faculties; you are so deeply absorbed +in seeing, that you have no time to think. So on I went, +from aisle to aisle, from niche to niche, from chapel to +chapel, looking, staring, and admiring, till of a sudden my +eyes were struck by a large statue, on which the words, +<q>Thou shalt have no other God before me,</q> are engraved. +There I stood before a question of exegesis, where one is +<pb n='330'/><anchor id='Pg330'/> +permitted to use his right senses without any regard to +the æsthetic side. Yet not all the manifold expositions +of the Decalogue, nor all the talk about the subjective-objective, +the absolute and the real, with which metaphysicians +have tried to confuse the notion of the Unity of +God, will reconcile one to the meaning which Mediæval +Art has impressed upon the Ten Commandments. The +truth has to be sought elsewhere, and thus my thoughts +were turned to the synagogue, and thither I went. +</p> + +<p> +The day was already drawing to its close, and, by a +marvellous coincidence, I arrived at the synagogue just as +the congregation was intoning the words: <q>The Lord is +one, and His name is one to His renown and glory.</q> +Here was sound, simple exegesis, though sadly lacking +in the illustrative matter in which the Vatican is so rich. +But what need was there of any real or artificial <q>aid to +the believer,</q> in the presence of such a living faith, as +enabled this little community to maintain its protesting +position in the teeth of the mistress of the world! And +this even at a time, when it only required a hint from the +successors of the old Roman Emperors to make the whole +world renounce its right of thinking and judging, and, +were we to believe Herr Janssen, even to feel perfectly +happy in this torpor. +</p> + +<p> +But, by the way, are our own times much better? As +I write these lines (October 1893) I hear that a Bill has +been brought into the German Diet, asking that the Talmud +should be submitted to a Commission (which <foreign rend='italic'>en passant</foreign>, +has been sitting in unbroken session in that country +since the days of Pfefferkorn in the fifteenth century) +with the purpose of examining its contents, while in the +Vatican the very pupils of Loyola are offering every convenience +<pb n='331'/><anchor id='Pg331'/> +and comfort to the student who should care to +devote his time to Rabbinic literature. Does not the work +of a great number of our poets, historians, theologians, +and so-called seers in this blessed century of ours, in many +respects prove but a strained effort to destroy the few +humanitarian principles which were established a few +generations ago, as well as to deify every brutal warrior +who was successful in his day? Again, is the national +idea so much sublimer, so much grander, than that of a +universal religion, that we would willingly permit the +former to employ the means which have been denied to +the latter as inhuman and barbarous? Every age has its +own idolatry, and the eternal wandering Jew will always +be the chosen victim of the Moloch in fashion. +</p> + +<p> +Let us, however, return to the synagogue, which withstood +many a cruelty, both ancient and modern. The +place where the synagogue stands is near the Ghetto, +now called Piazza di Scuola. It is, besides a few other +communal houses, the only building left there,—all those +narrow, dirty, and typhoid-breeding streets which formed +the old Ghetto having been demolished by a sage and +humane government, which by this action wiped out the +last stain from its history. There, on this vast blank is +the synagogue, a comparatively small, insignificant building, +laden with heavy age and looking down on her +children whom she has been nursing, consoling, and protecting +for centuries, but who, now grown old, have forsaken +her and scattered to all the ends of the city. Of +all her former acquaintances there appears to be left +only father Tiber, who would seem to be murmuring to +her many an old tale of the times before she was called +into existence. And if he listened to the special prayers +<pb n='332'/><anchor id='Pg332'/> +recited within her walls by the deputies of the Jewish +communities, when preparing themselves to go to the +court of the Pope, the Tiber heard many a sigh and +cry, wrung out from the heart of a Jewish captive who, +preferring death to slavery even under the masters of +the world, found his last repose in its waters. But insignificant +as this synagogue appears, she proved the spiritual +bulwark against all the attacks of the time, and you +admire her brave resistance all the more when you look +at that multitude of churches and cloisters in the closest +vicinity of the Ghetto, impressing you as so many intrenchments, +all directing their missiles and weapons +against this humble, defenceless building, threatening it +with death and destruction. One of these churches, +probably founded by some Jewish convert, who gained +in it both salvation and a good living, bears on its gates +in Hebrew letters the inscription: <q>I have spread out +my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which +walketh in the way that was not good, after their own +thoughts. A people that provoketh me to anger continually +to my face</q> (Isaiah lxv. 2, 3). Menace is followed +by persuasion, the cited verses being accompanied +by the Latin words: <q>Indulgentia plenaria quotodiana +perpetua pro vivis et defunctis.</q> Theologians who like +to quarrel most about things they can know least, have +for ages discussed the question, whether prayers for the +dead are of any use; here the matter is decided by a +simple advertisement. It is not to be denied that one +would enjoy the fortunes accumulated by one's late sinner +of an uncle all the better for being sure that a few +pennyworths of prayer enable the legatee to make one's +benefactor in Hades comfortable and happy. +</p> + +<pb n='333'/><anchor id='Pg333'/> + +<p> +The thought is very consoling indeed, and it is not to be +wondered at that the Roman synagogue could not entirely +withstand its temptations, and introduced into the offering-blessing +after one is called up to the Torah, the words: +<q>To the advancing of the soul of the departed.</q> Of +course much of this tendency may be attributed to the +Ford Jabbok,<note place='foot'>מעבר יכק.</note> which was and is still very popular in +that country; but the fact that the author of this Jewish +<q>Book of the Dead</q> was an Italian (from Modena), shows +clearly that there was some Catholic influence at work, +from which even the fellow-countrymen of Azariah de +Rossi and Judah Messer Leon could not entirely emancipate +themselves. +</p> + +<p> +I ought to have spoken of Roman synagogues, since +the building in the Ghetto to which I have been constantly +alluding comprises four prayer-houses devoted to Spanish +and Italian rites. It says much for Roman Judaism, that +they did not consider ritual differences of such importance +as to prevent them from forming one community for all +charitable and congregational purposes. In Verona and +in Modena some congregations even retained the German +rite, which their ancestors who immigrated from the Rhine +provinces brought with them, whilst they accepted the +Spanish pronunciation. I wish that the Anglo-Jewish +community could see their way to imitate their example. +Not that I think for a moment that the Spanish pronunciation +is more correct than the German. Each system +has its own mistakes and corruptions; and it is more +than probable that the prophet Isaiah, or even the author +of Ecclesiastes, would be as little able to follow the +prayers in Bevis Marks as in Duke's Place. But since +the non-Jewish scientific world has, though only by pure +<pb n='334'/><anchor id='Pg334'/> +accident, accepted the Spanish way of reading the Hebrew, +I should like to see this trifling difference of <hi rend='italic'>Ba</hi>ruch over +<hi rend='italic'>Bu</hi>ruch at last disappear, by pronouncing the camets-vowel +<hi rend='italic'>a</hi> instead of <hi rend='italic'>o</hi>, and accepting similar little changes, which +are of no real importance to us. +</p> + +<p> +The inside of these synagogues is even more simple +than their outside. I was told that the synagogue which +was burned down last winter, and which also formed a +part of this building, could boast of many fine decorations +and carvings, etc., but I could observe nothing of the kind +in the synagogues I had occasion to frequent. Nor is +there much of natural decorum in them, and they reconcile +one perfectly to the worst of the Small Synagogues elsewhere. +I venture to think that in this respect, too, we +have to recognise Catholic influence. It was, I think, one +of the leaders in the Oxford Movement who expressed his +delight at seeing in Italy a woman poorly-dressed coming +into the church, who, after putting down the basket from +her back, kneels before one of the many altars and says +her prayers. A good deal of this familiarity in the place +of worship may also be noticed in the Roman synagogues, +where I have seen a woman come into the partition for +men, notwithstanding their having a separate gallery, +without bonnet or hat on her head, and with an infant in +her arms, and listen there to the prayers, till she walked +home with her husband. The other people were also +very restless, coming and going often, whilst, as soon as +the reading of the Law was over, the greater part of the +worshippers left the synagogue. It was not a very delightful +sight. A minus of decorum does not always mean +a plus of devotion; just as little as a maximum of respectability +and stiffness are to be taken as signs of true piety. +</p> + +<pb n='335'/><anchor id='Pg335'/> + +<p> +It is not uninteresting to notice that the Roman synagogue, +in spite of its old traditions, did not entirely shut +itself against modern reforms. Among them there is that +of <q>calling up the people to the Torah</q> by the simple formula, +<q>Let the Priest</q> (or <q>the Levite</q>) <q>step forth,</q><note place='foot'>יעמוד. In olden times the weekly lesson from the Law used to +be read by seven members of the congregation who were <q>called up</q> +for this purpose; the Priest and the Levite took precedence of laymen +for this honour. At the present day, the members of the congregation +are still called up, but the actual reading is performed by an official.</note> +and so on, not mentioning either names or titles, which I +should like to recommend most strongly to our congregations. +I hope that no man will suspect me of such heresy +as that of questioning the wisdom of the Synagogue Regulations. +But I am inclined to think that the business of +conferring the degrees of <hi rend='italic'>Rabbi</hi>, <q>Associate</q> or <q>Master,</q> +does not exactly fall within the sphere of activity of the +Wardens. The matter could only be decided by a proper +Board of examination. As the Council is not provided +with such a Board, nor is every aspirant to this honour +prepared to undergo the examination required, the wisest +course would be to give up titles altogether, calling up all +people alike in the way indicated. +</p> + +<p> +The robes the ministers wear (somewhat similar to those +of the Greek clergy), are probably also an innovation of +modern date,—the old orthodox Rabbis looking at any +special vestment for the Preacher or Reader with the same +feeling of disgust which the old Puritans entertained for +surplice or mitre. But the principle of <q>The Beauty of +Holiness</q> proved too strong for resistance, and it was +only a pardonable vanity when the reformers applied it +to their own persons; <q>Vanity of vanities,</q> saith the +preacher, so often, that he gets rather to like it. This +vanity is greatly redeemed by the fact that the preacher +does not grudge his uniform to his humbler brother, the +beadle, who is in most cases to be distinguished from the +officiating ministry only by the brass-plate on his breast, +<pb n='336'/><anchor id='Pg336'/> +on which the word <q>Servant</q> is engraved. Considering +the great confusion arising from the meaningless <q>Reverend</q> +and the universal white neck-tie, such a label, indicating +the proper office of the bearer, might, perhaps, +prove as useful among the English Jews as it is among +the Jews of Rome. +</p> + +<p> +It was with a pupil of the Rabbinical College, in company +with his friends, that I took my first walk through +ancient Rome. I felt attracted to him by his striking face +of that peculiar fine Jewish type, which is more common +among the Jews in the East than among us. And when +he was reading the lesson from the Prophets in the synagogue, +where I made his acquaintance, he reminded me of +that Jewish boy with bright eyes, black curls, and features +strikingly beautiful walking as a captive from Jerusalem +through the streets of Rome some seventeen centuries ago, +whose proficiency in the words of Isaiah caused his redemption. +It would be an exaggeration to say that my +companion's remarks were very instructive from an artistic +point of view. Being born and bred in Rome, he passed +with utter indifference many objects which we are bidden +to admire, whilst at others he actually shouted out <q>Image,</q> +or made some other prosaic remark. But in a country +where one is determined to play the heathen for so +many weeks, to worship superannuated deities, to get into +raptures at every reminiscence of superseded and vanishing +religions, and to be delighted at the sights of <q>greasy +saints and martyrs hairy,</q> there can be no great harm in +being called back to one's true nature. +</p> + +<p> +The feelings crowding upon one, when entering that +part of the ancient city which probably was in the mind +of the Rabbis when they spoke of <q>Guilty Rome,</q> are +<pb n='337'/><anchor id='Pg337'/> +of a conflicting nature. Every stone and every brick +there saw the humiliation of Israel, in every theatre and +every circus the Jew served as a comic figure, and was +held up to ridicule, whilst there was, perhaps, hardly a +single lane or gate through which those who resented +the yoke of the <q>anti-Semites of Antiquity</q> did not pass, +in order to <q>be butchered to make a Roman holiday.</q> +What concerns a Jew most in this perished world of +ruins, and at the same time causes him the deepest grief, +is the triumphal arch of Titus, <q>commemorating the defeat +of the Jews, and dedicated to him by his successor, +Domitian.</q> Enough has been said and written about it +both by antiquarians and theologians, the former admiring +the workmanship of the reliefs, the latter perceiving +in it a proof of the fulfilment of the well-known passages +in the New Testament about the destruction of the Temple, +which came to pass in spite of the efforts made by +Titus to save it. Those who have read Bernay's essay on +the <q>Chronik des Sulpicius Severus</q> know that the behaviour +of <q>the delight of the human species</q> on that +occasion is rather open to doubt, and it is more probable +that, instead of trying to rescue it, he commanded that +it should be set on fire. Josephus, who witnessed the +shame of his compatriots and co-religionists, has left us +a full account of the triumphal procession. Only a +flunkey like Josephus could maintain that calm indifference +with which he describes the events of the <q>bitter +day,</q> the perusal of which makes one's blood boil. His +description fairly agrees with the famous relief on the +arch, showing that part of the procession in which the +table with the shewbread, the candlestick with the seven +lamps, and the golden trumpets figure as the chief objects. +<pb n='338'/><anchor id='Pg338'/> +The only thing which we miss is the <q>Law of +the Jews,</q> which, according to Josephus, was carried in +the triumph as <q>the last of all the spoils.</q> Was it only +an oversight of the artist, or had he no place for it, or is +it Josephus who committed the error, mistaking some +other object for the Scroll of the Law? I dearly hope +that this last was the case, and that Heine was under the +impulse of a true and real and poetic inspiration when he +wrote (speaking of the Holy Scripture to which he owed +his conversion): <q>The Jews, who appreciate the value +of precious things, knew right well what they did when, +at the burning of the second temple they left to their fate +the golden and silver implements of sacrifice, the candlesticks +and lamps, even the breastplate of the High Priest +adorned with great jewels, but saved the Bible. This +was the real treasure of the temple, and, thanks be to +God! it was not left a prey to the flames, nor to the fury +of Titus Vespasian, the wretch, who, as the Rabbi tells us, +met with so dreadful a death.</q> +</p> + +<p> +However, there were others who brought the glad tidings +of the Old Testament to Rome long before there +existed a New one. And this is, on the other side, what +makes Rome a sort of Terra Sancta even to the Jew. It +is true that we have not to look for the footprints of the +prophets, for whom even tradition never claimed <q>the gift +of missionary-travelling.</q> But might not the ground there +have received a sort of consecration by the fact that it was +traversed by the ambassadors of Judas Maccabæus (about +161 <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi>) <q>to make a league of amity and confederacy</q> +with the Roman Senate? Of the embassy of Simon the +Maccabee (about 140 <hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi>) there is actual historical evidence +that they began to propagate in Rome the Jewish +<pb n='339'/><anchor id='Pg339'/> +religion. Some seventy or eighty years later the Jews +had already their own quarter in Rome, with their own +synagogues, which they were in the habit of visiting, +<q>most especially on the sacred Sabbath days, when they +publicly cultivate their national philosophy.</q> That many +of the oldest teachers of Israel, the Tannaim, went to +Rome as deputies, and that one of them (R. Mathia ben +Chares) founded a school there early in the second century, +is also an authenticated fact. One would like to +know what they taught, and in what way they expounded +their <hi rend='italic'>national philosophy</hi>. Most of all one would like to +know what were the spiritual means they employed in +their proselytising work, in which they were, according to +the testimony of history, so successful. Did they preach +in the streets? Or did they hold public controversies? +Or did they even send out Epistles which, in form at least, +served as a model to apostles of another creed? How +many a problem would be solved; how many a miracle +would disappear; how many a book would become superfluous, +if we could obtain certainty about these points! +The Talmud tells us little, almost nothing, about these +important things, whilst we get from the Roman writers +only sneers and raillery. To these respectable Romans +the Jews were only a mob of unlettered atheists. Indeed, +to a good orthodox heathen, a religion without images and +statues, with a God without a pedigree and without a +theogony, was an impossible thing. Those poor metaphysicians! +</p> + +<p> +However, why dwell so long on a past world? A +famous Rabbi once exclaimed: <q>If a man would ask thee, +<q>Where is thy God?</q> answer him: <q>In the great city of +Rome.</q></q> The underlying idea was the mystical notion +<pb n='340'/><anchor id='Pg340'/> +that wherever Israel had to migrate, they were accompanied +by the Divine presence. And Rome was, in the +times of the Rabbis, the point to which the streams of +Jewish migration from the Holy Land chiefly converged. +But now, instead of to Rome, might we not point to London +and New York as centres of Jewish migrations? +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='361'/><anchor id='Pg361'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Index</head> + +<p> +This Index contains the most important names of persons, titles of books, +technical terms and Hebrew words occurring in the text. In the notes to +the text, the Hebrew words are for the most part +given also in Hebrew characters. +</p> + +<lg> +<l>Abarbanel, Isaac, <ref target='Pg173'>173</ref>, <ref target='Pg174'>174</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abaye, <ref target='Pg311'>311</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ab Beth Din</foreign>, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abba Mari b. Moses, <ref target='Pg165'>165</ref>, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abba Tachnah, the Chassid, <ref target='Pg221'>221</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abraham, Baalshem's father-in-law, <ref target='Pg007'>7</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abraham, son of Elijah Wilna, <ref target='Pg088'>88</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abraham of Bedres, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abraham Abulaphia, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abraham Ibn Daud, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abraham Ibn Ezra, <ref target='Pg050'>50</ref>, <ref target='Pg052'>52</ref>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg071'>71</ref>, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref>, <ref target='Pg314'>314</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abraham b. Shem—Tob Bibago, <ref target='Pg172'>172</ref>, <ref target='Pg173'>173</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abtalyon, <ref target='Pg186'>186</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Abuha, <ref target='Pg311'>311</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Acha, <ref target='Pg310'>310</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Acher</foreign>, <ref target='Pg292'>292</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Adam, Primal</hi>, <ref target='Pg239'>239</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Agadah</foreign>, pl. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Agadoth</foreign>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref>, <ref target='Pg183'>183</ref>, <ref target='Pg197'>197</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Agadic</foreign>, <ref target='Pg110'>110</ref>, <ref target='Pg156'>156</ref>, <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref>, <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref>, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref>, <ref target='Pg279'>279</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Ages of Man</hi>, <ref target='Pg295'>295</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Akabyah b. Mahalaleel, <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Akiba, <ref target='Pg070'>70</ref>, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref>, <ref target='Pg130'>130</ref>, <ref target='Pg188'>188</ref>, <ref target='Pg190'>190</ref>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg220'>220</ref>, <ref target='Pg227'>227</ref>, <ref target='Pg228'>228</ref>, <ref target='Pg234'>234</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Almemor</foreign>, <ref target='Pg302'>302</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ammi, <ref target='Pg214'>214</ref>, <ref target='Pg217'>217</ref>, <ref target='Pg226'>226</ref>, <ref target='Pg231'>231</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Amora</foreign>, pl. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Amoraim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg017'>17</ref>, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref>, <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Amram Gaon, <ref target='Pg293'>293</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Anna of Kaidon, wife of Elijah Wilna, <ref target='Pg082'>82</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Anselm, St., of Canterbury, <ref target='Pg079'>79</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Antigonos of Socho, <ref target='Pg229'>229</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Anti-Maimonists, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Aristotle, <ref target='Pg079'>79</ref>, <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Aryeh Leb, son of Elijah Wilna, <ref target='Pg088'>88</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Ascension of Elijah</hi>, <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Asher b. Jechiel, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Assideans, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Ayil Meshulash</foreign>, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Azariah de Rossi, <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref>, <ref target='Pg071'>71</ref>, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref>, <ref target='Pg333'>333</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Aziluth</foreign>, <ref target='Pg117'>117</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Azulai, <ref target='Pg277'>277</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='Index-Baalshem'/> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Baalshem</hi>, Israel, <ref target='Pg003'>3-12</ref>, <ref target='Pg014'>14-35</ref>, <ref target='Pg073'>73</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bachrach, Ch. J., <ref target='Pg325'>325</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Bachur</foreign>, pl. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Bachurim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg095'>95</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bachya, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Baraitha</foreign>, <ref target='Pg271'>271</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Baruch Sheamar</foreign>, <ref target='Pg311'>311</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bashazi, <ref target='Pg161'>161</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Bath-Kol</foreign>, <ref target='Pg190'>190</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Beer of Mizriez, <ref target='Pg011'>11</ref>, <ref target='Pg037'>37</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Beer, Peter, <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ben Azzai, <ref target='Pg130'>130</ref>, <ref target='Pg216'>216</ref>, <ref target='Pg319'>319</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Benjamin of Tudela, <ref target='Pg329'>329</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ben-Jacob, <ref target='Pg259'>259</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ben Sira, <ref target='Pg297'>297</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ben Zoma, <ref target='Pg130'>130</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='362'/><anchor id='Pg362'/> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Bereshith</hi>, <ref target='Pg127'>127</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Berith Milah</hi>, <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref>, <ref target='Pg292'>292</ref>, <ref target='Pg293'>293</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Berliner, A., <ref target='Pg327'>327</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bernays, Isaak, <ref target='Pg337'>337</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Beth Din</foreign>, <ref target='Pg191'>191-193</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Beth Hammidrash</foreign>, <ref target='Pg007'>7</ref>, <ref target='Pg016'>16</ref>, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref>, <ref target='Pg139'>139</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Beth Talmud</foreign>, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Biccurim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bloch, Samson, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bodek, A., <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Book of Brightness</hi> (<hi rend='italic'>see</hi> <ref target='Index-Zohar'>Zohar</ref>)</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Book of the Pious</hi>, <ref target='Pg295'>295</ref>, <ref target='Pg322'>322</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Book of Victory</hi>, <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Book of Weight</hi>, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Boswell, <ref target='Pg142'>142</ref>, <ref target='Pg197'>197</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Buckle, <ref target='Pg096'>96</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Burbot</foreign>, <ref target='Pg138'>138</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Buzagli, the Cabbalist, <ref target='Pg310'>310</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Cabbalah, Cabbalists, <ref target='Pg099'>99</ref>, <ref target='Pg128'>128</ref>, <ref target='Pg129'>129</ref>, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref>, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref>, <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref>, <ref target='Pg315'>315</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Cabod</foreign>, <ref target='Pg120'>120</ref>, <ref target='Pg121'>121</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Caraites, <ref target='Pg048'>48</ref>, <ref target='Pg160'>160</ref>, <ref target='Pg161'>161</ref>, <ref target='Pg207'>207</ref>, <ref target='Pg208'>208</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Casaubon, Isaac, <ref target='Pg259'>259</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Chagigah</foreign>, <ref target='Pg077'>77</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Chakhamim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg057'>57</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Chambers</hi>, the, <ref target='Pg208'>208</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Chanina b. Dossa, <ref target='Pg217'>217</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Chanukah</foreign>, <ref target='Pg138'>138</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Chapters of R. Eliezer the Great</hi>, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg069'>69</ref>, <ref target='Pg316'>316</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Chasdai Ibn Crescas, <ref target='Pg167'>167-173</ref>, <ref target='Pg180'>180</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Chassidim</foreign>, Chassid, Chassidic, Chassidism, <ref target='Pg001'>1-4</ref>, <ref target='Pg011'>11</ref>, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg014'>14-16</ref>, <ref target='Pg021'>21</ref>, <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref>, <ref target='Pg025'>25-27</ref>, <ref target='Pg030'>30</ref>, <ref target='Pg033'>33</ref>, <ref target='Pg035'>35-41</ref>, <ref target='Pg043'>43-45</ref>, <ref target='Pg053'>53</ref>, <ref target='Pg073'>73</ref>, <ref target='Pg090'>90</ref>, <ref target='Pg298'>298</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Chayim Vital, <ref target='Pg099'>99</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Chayim Walosin, <ref target='Pg085'>85</ref>, <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref>, <ref target='Pg094'>94</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Chisda, <ref target='Pg307'>307</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Chukkim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg124'>124</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Code of the Law</hi>, by Caro, <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref>, <ref target='Pg092'>92</ref>, <ref target='Pg206'>206</ref>, <ref target='Pg211'>211</ref>, <ref target='Pg257'>257</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Collectanea</hi>, <ref target='Pg144'>144</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Commentary on the Pentateuch</hi>, by Nachmanides, <ref target='Pg107'>107</ref>, <ref target='Pg108'>108</ref>, <ref target='Pg123'>123</ref>, <ref target='Pg135'>135</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Creeds and Opinions</hi>, by Saadiah Gaon, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Crown</hi>, <ref target='Pg239'>239</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Cusari</foreign>, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Date of the Redemption</hi>, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>David Rocca Martino, <ref target='Pg230'>230</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>David Messer Leon, <ref target='Pg174'>174</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>David b. Samuel d'Estella, <ref target='Pg165'>165</ref>, <ref target='Pg166'>166</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>David b. Yom-Tob Bilia, <ref target='Pg166'>166</ref>.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Defence of Adam</hi>, <ref target='Pg230'>230</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Delmedigo, <ref target='Pg071'>71</ref>, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref>, <ref target='Pg175'>175</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Disputation</hi>, by Nachmanides, <ref target='Pg103'>103</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Dukes, L., <ref target='Pg260'>260</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Eighteen Benedictions</hi>, <ref target='Pg083'>83</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eleazar, <ref target='Pg229'>229</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eleazar b. Jacob, <ref target='Pg225'>225</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eliezer, father of Baalshem, <ref target='Pg005'>5</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eliezer b. Hyrkanos, <ref target='Pg189'>189</ref>, <ref target='Pg319'>319</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eliezer b. Samuel Hallevi, <ref target='Pg145'>145</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eliezer b. Simeon, <ref target='Pg223'>223</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Elijah Levita, <ref target='Pg268'>268</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Elijah Wilna, <ref target='Pg057'>57</ref>, <ref target='Pg073'>73-77</ref>, <ref target='Pg081'>81-92</ref>, <ref target='Pg096'>96</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Elisha b. Abuyah, <ref target='Pg033'>33</ref>, <ref target='Pg130'>130</ref>, <ref target='Pg292'>292</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Emden, Jacob, <ref target='Pg010'>10</ref>, <ref target='Pg259'>259</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Epikurus</hi>, <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Erech Millin</foreign>, <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Erter, Isaac, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref>, <ref target='Pg059'>59</ref>, <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Essenes, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg185'>185</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Examination of the World</hi>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eybeschütz, J., <ref target='Pg010'>10</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ezra, or Azriel, the mystic, <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Faithful City</hi>, the, <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Fichte, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Finn, <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Ford Jabbok</hi>, <ref target='Pg333'>333</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Frankists, <ref target='Pg010'>10</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Frankl, Z., <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Fürst, J., <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gamaliel I., <ref target='Pg234'>234</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gamaliel II., <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg212'>212</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='363'/><anchor id='Pg363'/> + +<lg> +<l><foreign rend='italic'>Gaon</foreign>, pl. <foreign rend='italic'>Gaonim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg073'>73</ref>, <ref target='Pg076'>76-78</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg098'>98</ref>, <ref target='Pg206'>206</ref>, <ref target='Pg208'>208</ref>, <ref target='Pg209'>209</ref>, <ref target='Pg289'>289</ref>, <ref target='Pg312'>312</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Garden of Mystical Contemplation</hi>, <ref target='Pg129'>129</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Gate of Reward</hi>, <ref target='Pg115'>115</ref>, <ref target='Pg213'>213</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Geiger, A., <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Gemara</foreign>, <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gershon, brother-in-law of Baalshem, <ref target='Pg008'>8</ref>, <ref target='Pg009'>9</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ghetto, <ref target='Pg326'>326</ref>, <ref target='Pg331'>331-333</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gnostics, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Goethe, <ref target='Pg057'>57</ref>, <ref target='Pg073'>73</ref>, <ref target='Pg306'>306</ref>, <ref target='Pg328'>328</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Gozer</foreign>, <ref target='Pg290'>290</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Graetz, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg099'>99</ref>, <ref target='Pg183'>183</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Great Interpreters</hi>, <ref target='Pg186'>186</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Green, A. L., <ref target='Pg255'>255</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Guide of the Perplexed</hi>, <ref target='Pg049'>49</ref>, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg102'>102</ref>, <ref target='Pg130'>130</ref>, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref>, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Guide of the Perplexed of the Time</hi>, <ref target='Pg060'>60</ref>, <ref target='Pg067'>67</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hadasi, Judah, <ref target='Pg160'>160</ref>, <ref target='Pg161'>161</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hai Gaon, <ref target='Pg077'>77</ref>, <ref target='Pg208'>208</ref>, <ref target='Pg209'>209</ref>, <ref target='Pg272'>272</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Halachah</foreign>, pl. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Halachoth</foreign>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref>, <ref target='Pg183'>183</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Halachic</foreign>, <ref target='Pg057'>57</ref>, <ref target='Pg092'>92</ref>, <ref target='Pg110'>110</ref>, <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref>, <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref>, <ref target='Pg207'>207</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Halachoth Gedoloth</foreign>, <ref target='Pg111'>111</ref>, <ref target='Pg112'>112</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hannaneel of Kairwan, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hegel, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref>, <ref target='Pg054'>54</ref>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Heine, <ref target='Pg059'>59</ref>, <ref target='Pg124'>124</ref>, <ref target='Pg254'>254</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>High Belief</hi>, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hillel the Great, <ref target='Pg185'>185</ref>, <ref target='Pg186'>186</ref>, <ref target='Pg188'>188</ref>, <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref>, <ref target='Pg237'>237</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Hillel, R., <ref target='Pg177'>177</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>History of Jewish Tradition</hi>, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref>, <ref target='Pg182'>182</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Hithlahabuth</foreign>, <ref target='Pg032'>32</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Holle Kreisch</hi>, <ref target='Pg294'>294</ref>, <ref target='Pg295'>295</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Huna, <ref target='Pg221'>221</ref>, <ref target='Pg225'>225</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Isaac Alfasi, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref>, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref>, <ref target='Pg111'>111</ref>, <ref target='Pg312'>312</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Isaac Aramah, <ref target='Pg173'>173</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Isaac Loria, <ref target='Pg076'>76</ref>, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Isaac b. Ruben, <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ishmael, <ref target='Pg188'>188</ref>, <ref target='Pg190'>190</ref>, <ref target='Pg224'>224</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ishmael b. Elishah, <ref target='Pg222'>222</ref>, <ref target='Pg299'>299</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Israel Baalshem (<hi rend='italic'>see</hi> <ref target='Index-Baalshem'>Baalshem, Israel</ref>)</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jacob of Corbeil, <ref target='Pg322'>322</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jacob Dubna, <ref target='Pg091'>91</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jacob the Levite, or Maharil, <ref target='Pg143'>143</ref>, <ref target='Pg144'>144</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jacob Sasportas, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref>, <ref target='Pg102'>102</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jacob Tam, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jannai, <ref target='Pg226'>226</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jedaiah of Bedres, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Jerusalem</hi>, by Mendelssohn, <ref target='Pg147'>147</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Johanan, <ref target='Pg249'>249</ref>, <ref target='Pg287'>287</ref>, <ref target='Pg303'>303</ref>, <ref target='Pg318'>318</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Johanan b. Zaccai, <ref target='Pg048'>48</ref>, <ref target='Pg188'>188</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jonah Gerundi, <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref>, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jonah, son of Nachmanides, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>José, <ref target='Pg218'>218</ref>, <ref target='Pg219'>219</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joseph Albashir, <ref target='Pg160'>160</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joseph Albo, <ref target='Pg171'>171</ref>, <ref target='Pg172'>172</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joseph Caro, <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref>, <ref target='Pg092'>92</ref>, <ref target='Pg206'>206</ref>, <ref target='Pg211'>211</ref>, <ref target='Pg322'>322</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joseph Jabez, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref>, <ref target='Pg173'>173</ref>, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Joshua b. Hananiah, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg299'>299</ref>, <ref target='Pg304'>304</ref>, <ref target='Pg308'>308</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jost, M., <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judah Alcharisi, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judah Hallevi, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg034'>34</ref>, <ref target='Pg152'>152</ref>, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref>, <ref target='Pg208'>208</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judah b. Ilai, <ref target='Pg246'>246</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judah Messer Leon, <ref target='Pg333'>333</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judah de Modena, <ref target='Pg298'>298</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judah the Patriarch, <ref target='Pg063'>63</ref>, <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judah the Pious, <ref target='Pg306'>306</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judah b. Tema, <ref target='Pg299'>299</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judah b. Yakar, <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Karab</foreign>, <ref target='Pg124'>124</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Kilayim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kimchi, D., <ref target='Pg145'>145</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Korban</foreign>, <ref target='Pg124'>124</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Krochmal, Nachman, <ref target='Pg044'>44</ref>, <ref target='Pg046'>46</ref>, <ref target='Pg048'>48-68</ref>, <ref target='Pg071'>71</ref>, <ref target='Pg072'>72</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Kuenen, <ref target='Pg240'>240</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Law of Man</hi>, <ref target='Pg113'>113-115</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Laws unto Moses on Mount Sinai</hi>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='364'/><anchor id='Pg364'/> + +<lg> +<l>Lessing, <ref target='Pg073'>73</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Letteris, M., <ref target='Pg056'>56</ref>, <ref target='Pg057'>57</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Levi b. Gershom, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref>, <ref target='Pg171'>171</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Light of God</hi>, <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Lilac of Mysteries</hi>, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Lilith</hi>, <ref target='Pg287'>287</ref>, <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Lipman of Mühlhausen, <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref>, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Liva of Prague, <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Lowell, R., <ref target='Pg116'>116</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Löw, L., <ref target='Pg171'>171</ref>, <ref target='Pg285'>285</ref>, <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Lucas, Mrs. Henry, <ref target='Pg135'>135</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Macaulay, <ref target='Pg089'>89</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Maggid</foreign>, <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Magnified</hi>, <ref target='Pg310'>310</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Maimonides, or Moses b. Maimon, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg048'>48</ref>, <ref target='Pg049'>49</ref>, <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg070'>70</ref>, <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref>, <ref target='Pg102'>102</ref>, <ref target='Pg103'>103</ref>, <ref target='Pg111'>111</ref>, <ref target='Pg126'>126</ref>, <ref target='Pg130'>130</ref>, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref>, <ref target='Pg140'>140</ref>, <ref target='Pg161'>161-168</ref>, <ref target='Pg170'>170-181</ref>, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref>, <ref target='Pg211'>211</ref>, <ref target='Pg249'>249</ref>, <ref target='Pg274'>274</ref>, <ref target='Pg280'>280</ref>, <ref target='Pg281'>281</ref>, <ref target='Pg312'>312</ref>, <ref target='Pg322'>322</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Maimonists, Anti-Maimonists, <ref target='Pg163'>163-165</ref>, <ref target='Pg173'>173</ref>, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mar Samuel, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mathia b. Chares, <ref target='Pg339'>339</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Measure of the Stature</hi>, <ref target='Pg208'>208</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Mechilta</foreign>, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref>, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref>, <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Meheram Schiff, <ref target='Pg016'>16</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Meir, <ref target='Pg130'>130</ref>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg226'>226</ref>, <ref target='Pg318'>318</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Meir b. Nathan of Trinquintaines, <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Meir of Rothenburg, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Memra</foreign>, <ref target='Pg238'>238</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Men of the Great Synagogue</hi>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg185'>185</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Menachoth</foreign>, <ref target='Pg086'>86</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mendelssohn, Moses, <ref target='Pg048'>48</ref>, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref>, <ref target='Pg073'>73</ref>, <ref target='Pg147'>147</ref>, <ref target='Pg151'>151</ref>, <ref target='Pg176'>176</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Metatron</foreign>, <ref target='Pg238'>238</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Midrash</foreign>, pl. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Midrashim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg061'>61</ref>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg071'>71</ref>, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref>, <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref>, <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref>, <ref target='Pg222'>222</ref>, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref>, <ref target='Pg272'>272</ref>, <ref target='Pg273'>273</ref>, <ref target='Pg304'>304</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Milton, <ref target='Pg114'>114</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Minhag</foreign>, pl. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Minhagim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg143'>143</ref>, <ref target='Pg192'>192</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Minim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Minor Tractates, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Mishnah</foreign>, <ref target='Pg057'>57</ref>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref>, <ref target='Pg076'>76</ref>, <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref>, <ref target='Pg082'>82</ref>, <ref target='Pg085'>85</ref>, <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref>, <ref target='Pg091'>91</ref>, <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref>, <ref target='Pg190'>190</ref>, <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref>, <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref>, <ref target='Pg271'>271</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mistress of the Synagogue, <ref target='Pg317'>317</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Moses Cordevora, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Moses Ibn Ezra, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Moses de Leon, <ref target='Pg018'>18</ref>, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref>, <ref target='Pg258'>258</ref>, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Moses of Tachau, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Mother Zion</hi>, <ref target='Pg321'>321</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nachman, son of Nachmanides, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nachmanides, or Moses b. Nachman, <ref target='Pg099'>99-141</ref>, <ref target='Pg213'>213</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nahum of Gemzo, <ref target='Pg215'>215</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Nasi</foreign>, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nathan, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Nephesh Chayah</foreign>, <ref target='Pg117'>117</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Neubauer, Dr. A., <ref target='Pg263'>263</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Night of Watching</hi>, <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nissim of Gerona, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nissim of Marseilles, <ref target='Pg267'>267</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Olam Habba</foreign>, <ref target='Pg115'>115</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Old Victory</hi>, <ref target='Pg304'>304</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Oral Law, <ref target='Pg010'>10</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Orchard</hi>, the, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Ordinance of the Law</hi>, <ref target='Pg293'>293</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Pablo Christiano, <ref target='Pg103'>103</ref>, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref>, <ref target='Pg106'>106</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Pairs</hi>, the, <ref target='Pg185'>185</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Paradise Lost</hi>, <ref target='Pg114'>114</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Pardes</foreign>, <ref target='Pg129'>129</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Pashut</foreign>, <ref target='Pg138'>138</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Path of Belief</hi>, <ref target='Pg172'>172</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Perles, J., <ref target='Pg099'>99</ref>, <ref target='Pg123'>123</ref>, <ref target='Pg294'>294</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Pharisees, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg185'>185</ref>, <ref target='Pg237'>237</ref>, <ref target='Pg241'>241</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Philo, <ref target='Pg052'>52</ref>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg154'>154</ref>, <ref target='Pg238'>238</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Pilpul Pilpulist</foreign>, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Plato, <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Pugio Fidei</hi>, <ref target='Pg107'>107</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Raba, <ref target='Pg311'>311</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Rabbanan Saburai</hi>, <ref target='Pg206'>206</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rabbah, <ref target='Pg311'>311</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rabbenu, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Rabbenu Mosheh</hi>, <ref target='Pg103'>103</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rabbinowicz, R. N. N., <ref target='Pg261'>261</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Raimund Martini, <ref target='Pg107'>107</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Rapoport, Solomon Leb, <ref target='Pg050'>50</ref>, <ref target='Pg053'>53</ref>, <ref target='Pg056'>56</ref>, <ref target='Pg066'>66</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Reggio, Isaac, <ref target='Pg270'>270</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Roots</hi>, the, <ref target='Pg171'>171</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ruskin, <ref target='Pg328'>328</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='365'/><anchor id='Pg365'/> + +<lg> +<l>Saadiah Gaon, <ref target='Pg048'>48</ref>, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref>, <ref target='Pg108'>108</ref>, <ref target='Pg272'>272</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Sacred Letter</hi>, <ref target='Pg113'>113</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sadducees, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg185'>185</ref>, <ref target='Pg237'>237</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Salman the Good, <ref target='Pg145'>145</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sambatyon</foreign>, <ref target='Pg095'>95</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Sanctification-cup</hi>, <ref target='Pg245'>245</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sandalphon, <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sandek</foreign>, <ref target='Pg290'>290</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sanhedrin, the, <ref target='Pg188'>188</ref>, <ref target='Pg190'>190</ref>, <ref target='Pg191'>191</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Saul Berlin, <ref target='Pg176'>176</ref>, <ref target='Pg180'>180</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Sayings of the Fathers</hi>, <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Aboth</foreign>, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref>, <ref target='Pg299'>299</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Schelling, <ref target='Pg051'>51</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Schiller, <ref target='Pg073'>73</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Schlummerlied</hi>, <ref target='Pg295'>295</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Schorr, O., <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Schudt, <ref target='Pg291'>291</ref>, <ref target='Pg298'>298</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sechorah</foreign>, <ref target='Pg296'>296</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Seder Nezikin</hi>, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Seder Olam</hi>, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref>, <ref target='Pg092'>92</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Seder Taharoth</hi>, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Segulah</foreign>, <ref target='Pg122'>122</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sephardim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg301'>301</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sepher</foreign>, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sephiroth</foreign>, Ten, <ref target='Pg238'>238</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Sermon in the Presence of the King</hi>, by Nachmanides, <ref target='Pg165'>165</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Shabbethai Tsebi, <ref target='Pg134'>134</ref>, <ref target='Pg239'>239</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shalom Zachar</foreign>, <ref target='Pg289'>289</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Shammai, <ref target='Pg185'>185</ref>, <ref target='Pg188'>188</ref>, <ref target='Pg237'>237</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shechinah</foreign>, <ref target='Pg120'>120</ref>, <ref target='Pg121'>121</ref>, <ref target='Pg228'>228-230</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Shema</foreign>, reading of the, <ref target='Pg141'>141</ref>, <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Shemaiah, <ref target='Pg186'>186</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Shemariah of Crete, <ref target='Pg166'>166</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sherira Gaon, <ref target='Pg263'>263</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Shiphluth, <ref target='Pg030'>30</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Simchah</foreign>, <ref target='Pg031'>31</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simeon Duran, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref>, <ref target='Pg170'>170</ref>, <ref target='Pg171'>171</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simeon b. Eleazar, <ref target='Pg289'>289</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simeon b. Gamaliel, <ref target='Pg222'>222</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simeon b. Gamaliel II., <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simeon b. Yochai, <ref target='Pg018'>18</ref>, <ref target='Pg223'>223</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simlai, <ref target='Pg112'>112</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Siphra</hi>, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref>, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref>, <ref target='Pg091'>91</ref>, <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref>, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Siphré</hi>, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref>, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref>, <ref target='Pg091'>91</ref>, <ref target='Pg193'>193</ref>, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Solomon b. Adereth, <ref target='Pg070'>70</ref>, <ref target='Pg267'>267</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Solomon b. Gabirol, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Solomon of St. Goar, <ref target='Pg143'>143-145</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Solomon b. Isaac, Rashi, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Solomon b. Isaac b. Zadok, <ref target='Pg137'>137</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Solomon Ladier, <ref target='Pg043'>43</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Solomon Portaleone, <ref target='Pg323'>323</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Solomon, son of Nachmanides, <ref target='Pg110'>110</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Solomon Syrillo, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Solomon Wilna, <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Son of the Law</hi>, <ref target='Pg307'>307</ref>, <ref target='Pg312'>312</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Sopherim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Spencer, Herbert, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Steinschneider, M., <ref target='Pg099'>99</ref>, <ref target='Pg172'>172</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Taanith</hi>, <ref target='Pg058'>58</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Talmid Chaber</hi>, <ref target='Pg052'>52</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Talmid Chakam</hi>, <ref target='Pg007'>7</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Talmud (of Jerusalem or Babylon), <ref target='Pg016'>16</ref>, <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref>, <ref target='Pg033'>33</ref>, <ref target='Pg049'>49</ref>, <ref target='Pg052'>52</ref>, <ref target='Pg057'>57-59</ref>, <ref target='Pg064'>64</ref>, <ref target='Pg076'>76</ref>, <ref target='Pg078'>78</ref>, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref>, <ref target='Pg082'>82</ref>, <ref target='Pg086'>86</ref>, <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref>, <ref target='Pg089'>89</ref>, <ref target='Pg091'>91</ref>, <ref target='Pg092'>92</ref>, <ref target='Pg096'>96</ref>, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref>, <ref target='Pg104'>104</ref>, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref>, <ref target='Pg111'>111</ref>, <ref target='Pg129'>129</ref>, <ref target='Pg131'>131</ref>, <ref target='Pg140'>140</ref>, <ref target='Pg151'>151</ref>, <ref target='Pg155'>155</ref>, <ref target='Pg158'>158</ref>, <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref>, <ref target='Pg196'>196</ref>, <ref target='Pg206'>206</ref>, <ref target='Pg207'>207</ref>, <ref target='Pg209'>209</ref>, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref>, <ref target='Pg238'>238</ref>, <ref target='Pg252'>252</ref>, <ref target='Pg254'>254-256</ref>, <ref target='Pg261'>261</ref>, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref>, <ref target='Pg271'>271</ref>, <ref target='Pg272'>272</ref>, <ref target='Pg277'>277</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Tanna</foreign>, pl. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Tannaim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg017'>17</ref>, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref>, <ref target='Pg187'>187</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Tephillin</foreign>, <ref target='Pg249'>249</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Thackeray, <ref target='Pg282'>282</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Thirteen Articles of the Creed, <ref target='Pg148'>148</ref>, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref>, <ref target='Pg164'>164</ref>, <ref target='Pg170'>170</ref>, <ref target='Pg176'>176</ref>, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Thirteen Rules</hi> (of Interpretation), <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Tobijah, the Priest, <ref target='Pg175'>175</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Tosephta</hi>, <ref target='Pg081'>81</ref>, <ref target='Pg082'>82</ref>, <ref target='Pg092'>92</ref>, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref>, <ref target='Pg271'>271</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Toy, Prof., <ref target='Pg233'>233-239</ref>, <ref target='Pg251'>251</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Tractate Berachoth</hi>, <ref target='Pg221'>221</ref>, <ref target='Pg271'>271</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Tractate Evidences</hi>, <ref target='Pg192'>192</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Tractate Joys</hi>, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Tractate Sanhedrin</hi>, <ref target='Pg156'>156</ref>, <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref>, <ref target='Pg159'>159</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Tractate Sopherim</hi>, <ref target='Pg301'>301</ref>, <ref target='Pg312'>312</ref>, <ref target='Pg321'>321</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Tree of Life</hi>, the, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Troki, Solomon, <ref target='Pg161'>161</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Variae Lectiones</hi> (of the Talmud), <ref target='Pg261'>261</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Viterbo, Abraham Chayim, <ref target='Pg175'>175</ref>, <ref target='Pg176'>176</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Vorsugerin</hi>, <ref target='Pg324'>324</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='366'/><anchor id='Pg366'/> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Wars of the Lord</hi>, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Watchman</hi>, the, <ref target='Pg059'>59</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Weiss, T. H., <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg099'>99</ref>, <ref target='Pg182'>182</ref>, <ref target='Pg183'>183</ref>, <ref target='Pg185'>185-187</ref>, <ref target='Pg191'>191-197</ref>, <ref target='Pg206'>206</ref>, <ref target='Pg207'>207</ref>, <ref target='Pg209'>209-212</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Wellhausen, <ref target='Pg243'>243</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Wisdom of Solomon</hi>, <ref target='Pg127'>127</ref>, <ref target='Pg154'>154</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Woilkennivdicke</hi>, <ref target='Pg324'>324</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yediah</foreign>, <ref target='Pg119'>119</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yeshibah</foreign>, pl. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Yeshiboth</foreign>, <ref target='Pg094'>94-96</ref>, <ref target='Pg293'>293</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Yom-Tob Heller, <ref target='Pg196'>196</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zaddik</foreign>, pl. <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zaddikim</foreign> (Zaddikism), <ref target='Pg036'>36-44</ref>, <ref target='Pg053'>53</ref>, <ref target='Pg298'>298</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zadoc, <ref target='Pg245'>245</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zebachim</foreign>, <ref target='Pg086'>86</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zedner, <ref target='Pg254'>254-256</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zehub</foreign>, <ref target='Pg137'>137-139</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zerahiah Hallevi of Gerona (or Gerondi), <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref>, <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref>, <ref target='Pg111'>111</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Zion-Elegy</hi>, <ref target='Pg208'>208</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Zobeoth</foreign>, <ref target='Pg314'>314</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='Index-Zohar'/> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Zohar</hi>, <ref target='Pg018'>18</ref>, <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref>, <ref target='Pg071'>71</ref>, <ref target='Pg091'>91</ref>, <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref>, <ref target='Pg258'>258</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Zunz, Leopold, <ref target='Pg044'>44</ref>, <ref target='Pg052'>52</ref>, <ref target='Pg056'>56</ref>, <ref target='Pg060'>60</ref>, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref>, <ref target='Pg073'>73</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>, <ref target='Pg183'>183</ref>, <ref target='Pg279'>279</ref>, <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref></l> +</lg> + +</div> + +</body> +<back rend="page-break-before: right"> + <div id="footnotes"> + <index index="toc" /> + <index index="pdf" /> + <head>Footnotes</head> + <divGen type="footnotes"/> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: right"> + <divGen type="pgfooter" /> + </div> +</back> +</text> +</TEI.2> diff --git a/48890-tei/images/cover.jpg b/48890-tei/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..abfeb70 --- /dev/null +++ b/48890-tei/images/cover.jpg |
