Literary Production. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
- Title
- Literary Production. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
- Author
- Morais, Sabato
- Date Created
- 1894
- Format
- 10 pages on 4 sheets
- Language(s)
- English
- Source
- Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
- Sabato Morais Collection, Box 10, Folder 10
- Has Format
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p3qz23221/manifest.json
- Link to Colenda
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3qz23221
- Provenance
- Transfer of Custody from the Hebrew Education Society, 10 March 1913.
- Is Format Of
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx10FF10_6.xml
- content
-
S. MORAIS,
546 N. FIFTH STREET,
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
94
About the work
"Israël among Nations"
A book which created a sensation, when it was first issued, and to which the translation in our vernacular has lent greater prominence, is, "Israël chez les nations", or, Israel among the nations. The volume has already gone through four editions and, unless my memory betrays me--a not infrequent occurrence--I may add, that one of the editions was bought by the Israelitish Alliance, whose central seat is in Paris. The object was to let the contents of the popular book be read far and wide, by means of the numerous branches and patrons of that organization. An English rendition, published in New York, elicited a review from two scholarly persons, possibly also from more, unknown to me. One of the reviewers, who passed on it a favorable judgment, no--ticed nevertheless, several inaccuracies, due to a lack of thorough familiarity, on the part of the author, with rules and practices followed by observant Israel-ites; the other reviewer equally favorable, still regretted that the author is not acquainted with the movement within the syna--gogue in this country, where "Reform" has succeeded so well, that it walks untramelled. That is a great pity, in the reviewer's conception.
I admire the courage of a Christian Frenchman in boldly attacking Antisemitism, where such con- ma--temptible -lignant writings as "La France Juive" and "La libre parole," aiming to injure our people socially and poli--tically, have spread among the masses. But my criticism against the work of on Leroi Beaulieu's work, so universally admired, proceeds from entirely different causes than from some flaws met in Biblical or post-Biblic--al quotations, or from ignorance displayed about the rapid strides taken by "American Judaism". My strictures have reference to sentiments expressed by the gifted au--thor. No doubt, he meant to pay us a compliment superlatively great high by the following epigramatic sayings: "The development of the mind in the Jew, has outstripped that of the body." And again: "I do not know a more intellectual race. The Jew lives mainly by his head." But unintentionally, I must judge, the high tribute lapses into a debasing accusation. I apply to it, in a measure, the sentence of the book of Proverbs, which runs thus: "He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising up early in the morning, the blessing shall be counted to him a curse," meaning, that his stand--ing where very many papers by hear him sound the praises of a certain man individual will excite jealousy, rankling in other hearts.
Even worse than that is the effect in the present instance, because of the conclusion which Leroi Beaulieu himself draws from his premises. After having extolled the Jew to the highest pitch, by reason of his intellectual vigor, he continues: "We reproach the Jew for not always sup--porting himself by the labor of his hand, but the Jew would often be at a loss to do so; since rarely has he muscles enough." That is positively untrue. With my own eyes have I seen many a man born in our religion endure bodily fatigue with an ease perfectly astonishing. And travellers who have particularly visited Oriental countries, cannot have failed to discover among the children of our race, sinewy workmen handling the axe and the hammer with almost Samson like facility agility. I dislike exceedingly this extravagant exaltation of the mind in the Jew, to the disparagement of the body, for it is misleading and mischief breeding; as proved by the very supreme laudation which our French author bestows on the us. Jew For, he says: "Deprived of weapons, the Jew resorts to the devices of the weak; to cunning, tri--ckery and deceit." And in another page, so writes:
"The Jewish conscience, was never allowed full play; the meaning of the world 'Honor,' it has never had the chance to learn." And further on, predicting a reaction for the better, he adds: "long suffering Israel will witness the fulfilment of prophecies, delayed for twenty centuries by the blindness of the Scribes and the stubborness of the Rabbis." Now, my animadversion against a book which has won the loud approbation of my people, who regard it as a diadem encircling their brows, may be considered the effect of pessimism, or of ill-nature. It is neither, only I could not suppress deep regret on reading the remarks which I have just quoted: The blindness of the Scribes and the stubborness of the Rabbis" have retarded our rising equally vigorous in body as in mind. They have stolen from our breasts a sense of honor. Brethren. Those frequently maligned preceptors of Israel have scarcely received so groundless a charge ever before. I will not draw attention to the lesson from the Pentateuch and that from the prophets, to prove our ances--tors finished artisans, hardworking laborers, men profoundly conscientious, as we read today [Hebrew] "acting with fidelity" concerning those engaged in repairing the Temple. I will not cite our Bezalel and Aholiab, nor
nor the builders and carpenters and diggers in the quaries in the time of King Joash, for those days were comparatively early stages in our na--tional existence. But I will ask my brethren hearers to read Franz Delitzsch's "Jewish Artisan life." The author was a staunch believer in Christianity, but he was also a ripe scholar, thoroughly versed in Jewish literature and he knew well what he spoke wrote of about. A perusal of that work from his prolific pen, will convince the most skeptic, that Jews always appreciated the instruction of the inspired Psalmist, viz, [Hebrew] "When thou eatest of the fruit of thy labor, happy wilt thou be, and it will go well with thee". Why, the despised Rabbis, ventured so far in their hyperbolical talk language as to declare him greater who works hard for his living, greater than one who fears the Lord [Hebrew] And again [Hebrew] "Honorable is handicraft, for it ennobles him who practices it. Nor were those Scribes and Rabbis mere theorists. They personally carried out the maxims which they tried to in--culcate. They did not sit the whole day in Scientific Academies, depending on large emoluments derived from from Congregations, or communities. They went forth to earn a living.
For so they taught. Moses told us to choose life and eschew death. To choose life signifies to go in quest of a trade, to eschew death, signifies to avoid idleness which is a canker eating on our vitals. Were I now to attempt to show how many of point out all the Scribes and Rabbis, whom Leroi Beaulieu styles blind and stubborn gained their daily bread by the sweat of that despite the charge that went about with wide open eyes and careful diligence in search of their their brows, daily bread, I could not exhaust the subject in a single lecture; for, we meet them in every line of workmanship, from needle making to the compound--ing of rare drugs for the restoration of human health. Franz Delitzsch reckons a great many vast number, and in an ar--ticle which I found in a Hebrew Annual, an anonymous writer, by whose erudition i discovered the renowned Rapoport, mention is made of scores of daily labours among men whom in considerateness belittles. As to the sense of honor, which the French author of "Israel among nations" denies us by reason as a consequence of long continued persecutions, I will simply say assert with positiveness that our revered teachers recommended that we manifest it in the highest degree. The Talmud which was not redacted till the fifth or sixth century
of the Christian era--an era not very propitious to Israel--teems with sentences demanding unswerving obedience to the strictest probity. We read [Hebrew] [Hebrew] "It is forbidden to practise deception (in business) even towards non-Israelites. "Nay," writes another authority, "to steal from a gentile is a heavier sin, for the desecration of the name of Israel's God is added to the theft." [Hebrew] [Hebrew] So scrupulous were our preceptors in that respect, that they exceeded the required limits. It is related that a certain Rabbi, who was a vine grower, lamented before his friends that four hundred casks of wine had turned our. They, in their turn His friends, more candid than complimentary, remarked that perhaps it was a Divine visitation. At that the Rabbi appeared displeased and asked. "Do you suspect me of wrong doing."? His friend They answered. "We have heard that you refuse to your garden--er a share of the prunings of your plants, as demanded. Why, retorted the other. "My gardener has stolen steals the produce itself." The friends then quoted the Rabbinical maxim "Whosever steals from a thief, is no better than a thief." But what strong--er evidence of our scribes and Rabbis' [?] sense of honor than the following?: We are told by them, that when sum--moned before the bar of the highest tribunal, the first question put is this [Hebrew] "Hast thou dealt honestly?
Brethren. I deem it a pity, not that Leroi Beaulieu needed a better acquaintance with with our ceremonial laws, that I overlook; not that he failed to appreciate the so called "American Judaism"; but that, I care not for, but I deem it a pity that the spirit guiding our Scribes and Rabbis, was a star hidden which the heavy which a cloud of Christian prejudice, hid from his sight. I will ne--vertheless do give the author of "Israël Chez les nations" the credit of for good intentions, for so he ends such he so concludes his now celebrated book: "In writing these pages, cast--ing off from my lips any word of malevolence; refusing to believe that difference in blood has put an everlasting enmity between the progeny of Japheth and that of Shem, I bear the con--sciousness of having contributed a very small share towards the work of peace." - Identifier
- p3qz23221
- identifier
- SMBx10FF10_6
Part of Literary Production. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
Morais, Sabato, “Literary Production. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated”, Sabato Morais Digital Repository, accessed September 19, 2024, https://judaicadhpenn.org/legacyprojects/s/morais/item/83233