Principles of Judaism No. 12 · Isaac Leeser Digital Repository · Legacy Projects from Judaica DH at Penn Libraries

Title

Principles of Judaism No. 12

Author

Isaac Mayer Wise

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Isaac Leeser

Location(s)

Philadelphia

Format

Letter. 7 page(s) on 4 sheet(s).

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Type

Letter

Language(s)

English

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content

Small Pin No 4.4/
Principles of Judaism No 12
Occident copy July
1.
To the Editor of the Occident.
Dear Sir
The object of this letter is to continue my objections against the dogma of the resurection of the body, and to vindicate the doctrine of the immortality of the soul; wherefore you will excuse me, that I at once commence without all fashionable any farther prefaces. The process of life is a continual struggle of the principle of life with the organic matter; that principle of life puts in this manner the organic machine thus in such a rapid and uninterrupted motion, that the latter is so much impaired and enfeebled, that the former might would make its escape, if the mate=rial machine be were not strengthened by rest, and nutritious food. So we see the principle of life always active struggling to escape from its organic prison, which calls to our mind the words of an ancient sage Hebrew “thou livest against thy will.” Still we feel sorry experience regret when the hour of departure comes; the principle of life has thus been so long accustomed itself to its organic companion, that the hour of separation is an hour of agony and pain; wherefore said the ancient sage “thou diest against thy null” Hebrew said the ancient sage. There is no man who is as pious and so righteous, so virtuous and good as he could be; none has ever done as much good as he could might have done; none developes his mental faculties capacities to that the highest degree which they are capable of attaining; consequently every man has his faults, his infirmities, his sins, which he like so very much is exceedingly anxious to cover with the veil of obscurity and forgetfulness.

But notwithstanding all this, Still we know that above us is the eye, which sees every thing; an Ear which hears every thing and all our transactions are recorded in the books of everlasting memorial; we still we must give account before a Judge who knows the thoughts of the heart, although we wish to have our transactions covered and forgotten „thou sh wilt Hebrew Thou will have to give an account „of thy deeds against they will.” Life in general is a chain of antiteses opposites?, of struggles, of sacrifices, of self-denial, of temp=tations; such is the life of the virtuous, while that of the vicious is a series of miseries, of calamities and self-contempt, wherefore an-other ancient sage said Hebrew “It is would have been better for man not to be born have been created than to be born have been.” After I have now lived against my will, and sacrificed my joys and pleasures, born the persecutions, the wounding scoff, the ironic satire, the hellish malignity of men; after I went have gone frorth triumphantly from all tempta=tions and irritations excitement; after I have died and have given account of my acts; after the truth has become mine, and I am permitted to live in the company of adequate congenial spirits, ravished and satisfied with the glory of the Glory of the Most High, I shall I be forced to live again on this earth? No, that is impossible, I think too much of the goodness of God, that I could think the should inflict such a so horrible a wrong done by God himself on his creatures.
Hence we must consider keep in mind that God said to Adam, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art

and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3. 19.) Abigail said to David, “But the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God” (I Samuel 25. 29). David said, “For thou wilt not cead gild my soul to the grave, thou wilt not suffer thy pious one to see distruction; thou wist make known unto me the path of life, the fulness of joy (which is) with thy presence, (and) the pleasures (which are) at thy right hand for evermore” (Psalm 16. 10,11.) We do not see, how any one can torture these passages to ? into a resurrection of the body.
If a general resurrection of the body will take place, the question it is to be asked, arises will the arisen ones the revived die again or not? in case they die again, another general resurrection must take place, and then an-other one, and another one and so forth into to an infinity of resurrections; but in case they die not, then it will be a new creation, but not these very same bodies which have died; for they are so composed, that they continually change their state and particles, dimensions, form and colour, consequently they must die. Hence, what use is in the resurrection of the body? If our opponents say, the soul cannot perfectly exist, enjoy the purest pleasures & live in the happiest manner before God in the chorus assembly of Angels and adequate congenial spirits then they must first deny the doctrines of Judaism, which makes teaches God to be a pure, and absolute spirit, and as God exists without the aid of a body, just as well the disembodied human spirit which is the immage of God, can exist with all his its excellencies and all his faculties: And if they admit this thesis portion, then they must confess, that the soul not only derives no

advantage from a resurection of his the body, but he is again forced into a piece of clay of clay, which enfeebles his its faculties, and deprives him it of the highest joy, to be with God, to know the truth. I recieved lately a book, of which a very few copies exist, viz: The book of Hebrew Tobias the Physician the grandson of the author of “Beginning of Wisdom” Hebrew, in which a great deal of Kabbalah and physical matters are mingled in the same manner that his grandfather has intermixed mixed up the Kabbalah with the most sublime moral philosophy. One passage of this book is remarkable and has a strong bearing upon our subject, wherefore I shall give you an epitome of it; bear in mind, the author was a Kabbalist of the dark ages: “The principle of Rabbi Jacob Yakof (Kiddushin Vol 39) Hebrew “the reward to virtue is not in this world” (but in a world to come) has met with decided opposition among the Rabbis and among the doctors of our age; they supposed, the soul is in a pure state is unfit to recieve either reward or punishment, wherefore they said a resurrection of the body must take place; and since so many Jews died for their faith, or pined away in oppression and distress because of their Religion, they say, the resurrection must take place shortly after the coming of the messiah, that those pious martyrs may be rewarded and enabled to rejoice in the final triumph of Judaism; but as to those who adhere to the principle of Rabbi Jacob Yakof the doctrine of a resurrection of the body is altogether superfluous.” I hope my opponents will not excommunicate this old author writer.

fol. 3.
wherefor they painted the would called by them Hebrew or also Hebrew with such splendid colours; but others made the a mistake to take in assuming this Hebrew for the future state of life of the same human beings, which produced the phantastic doctrine of the resurrection of the body. And even if we take for granted, that this world will be destroyed and re-created, still the resurrection is an impossibility. In the crust of the earth we see, that the former destructions of organic life was were effected by water, as the remains of marine animals in all parts of the globe plainly show; the water stood very long over the whole globe, which the thick strata having settled down from standing water plainly indicate; the organic beings were buried under the mud, which the water was mixed with, and after the seperation of land and water, volcanic eruptions threw the organic matter upon the surface of the earth, as some volcanoes do even in our times, and of which the surface of the earth bears evidence; after which then a new creation of organic being commen,ced. No seed, no egg, no being of former kingdoms of life could escape the general destruction, nor remain uncorrupted for so long a period of time in the dissolving water of the sea; consequently each successive creation change was an independent one, entirely new, a creation. It cannot be called a gradual transition; for each successive creation represents a greater variety of kinds, more accomplished complicated and more artful organizations, so that only the inorganic matter was improved by the previous creations, but the animate beings themselves were always created anew and independent of these former existing.

This destructive and re-creative process we meet with six times in the crust of the earth (remember the six days of creation) consequently we are bound to say “these are the laws of nature established by the will of God for such revolutions.” If now the world should be destroyed and re-created once more, it must certainly be in the same way as formerly; all bodies must be dissolved, the organic matter improved, which will be thrown up by thrown volcanic eruptions of the earth's surface, and a new and independent creation be commenced. Now it would it be possible enough, that the same souls with their devel-oped capacities, acquired abilities, increased energies and pure, consciousness of their former state be re-clothed in an improved organic body, and live again a human life though of a higher order; still this very body in which we are clothed now cannot resurrect to be once more our garment as the old doctrine of resurrection asserts; then it must therefore be a new creation and no such thing as a resurrection. I hope you will confess, that I seriously reflected on my subject, and that I can in some measure account for that fatal “no,” which I uttered in Charleston; I must tell you if my opponents can give as much ground for their “yes” I am perfectly satisfied; But still if you can prove by the bible, that I am bound to believe a literal resurrection of the body, I shall calmly lay aside all these insurmountable difficulties, and—believe. I am now about writing an Essay on immortality, which I trust, since it is a reading matter to every man and not merely to the Jew, will be

published next summer, and I hope, it will diffuse better views on that important subject, than those entertained now.
Assuring you of my best friendship
and esteem I am always
truly yours
Isaac M. Wise DD

Identifier

LSDCBx9FF17_1