Lecture 38. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated · Sabato Morais Digital Repository · Legacy Projects from Judaica DH at Penn Libraries

Title

Lecture 38. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated

Author

Morais, Sabato

Location(s)

United States -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

United States -- Pennsylvania

Format

10 pages on 4 sheets

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?

Language(s)

English

Source

Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

Sabato Morais Collection, Box 12, Folder 4

Has Format

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p3gb1z22m/manifest.json

Link to Colenda

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3gb1z22m

Provenance

Transfer of Custody from the Hebrew Education Society, 10 March 1913.

Is Format Of

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx12FF4_18.xml

content

Post Biblical lecture
38

Properly Strictly speaking, the political history of our people, came to an end the fatal day of the tenth of August in the year 70 of the Christian vulgar era, the day fatal day epoch which saw the Temple delivered to the flames and Jerusalem razed to the ground. Still, it would be doing ourselves injustice, to let stir--ring episodes subsequent to the conquest by Titus go unnoticed. For notwithstanding the ill-will of a prejudiced world, that calls our fathers last efforts to regain independence sheer madness; an unwarranted undertaking incited by superstition, those unsuc--cessful endeavours be worthy of the respect of all the right-thinking. They are, at all events any rate, a just cause of pride to Hebrews, whose hearts beat yet still in unison accord of sentiments with their people.
Thirty or forty years had rolled away, since the triumphal arch was raised at Rome to record the overthrow of Judea. During that interval, the minds wearied with the memory of long and bloody wars, sought relief by turning to the Torah, which neither sword nor fire could destroy. They studied the oral traditions in colleges which

the wise-hearted Johanan Ben Zacchaï had established beyond Jerusalem. Humiliating as it must have been--specially to the young generation--to pay a capitation tax for the support of the Temple of Jupiter, no concerted attempt was seems to have been made to rise against resist the oppressive law. It was patiently borne, as other tyrannic rules were endured under Vespasian and Titus, Domitian and Nerva,--though the latter's mild reign of very short du--ration offered some respite. But after Trajan mounted the throne, unrelenting persecutions incited aroused a spirit of revolt. Writers have described Trajan as a righteous emperor, but Rabbinical legends paint him in different colours. Naturally, Israel's sages could not appreciate his conduct towards his own race and those belonging adhering to the heathenism. belief. To them the warlike emperor who aspired to be a second Alexander, may have shown every consideration, but he was cruel, to excess to persons who rejected paganism. Both Alike Christians and Jews, whom he confounded together, suffered martyrdom under his rule. Mere coincidences added to the strong antipathy he felt against our people. It is reported by the Talmudists, that on one occasion, when all were feasting over

a joyful event in the emperor's family, the Jews were heard to recite lamentations. It was the anniver--sary of the breaking up of their nationality and the burn--ing of their Sanctuary. On another, when all mourned bewailed a domestic loss sustained by Trajan, the Jews displayed lights in their houses and synagogues. It was the com--memorative epoch of Maccabean victories. The Both circum--stances was were construed into wilful contempt, and both intensified hatred. Be that so or not, it is beyond doubt that our ancestors cherished evinced no kindly sentiments partiality for a ruler, whose ambi--tious schemes were directed to the conquest of far off regions, where the believers in the Unity had so far always been free from the Roman yoke. In the kingdom of Parthia--east of Palestine, between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, a vast num- population -ber of Hebrews had lived for ages. They were go--verned by their own laws, and had been allowed a considerable degree of liberty. But now Trajan cast a covetous look towards that country. An ex--ploit which generals of renowned genius had not ac--complished, he resolved to perform. He would boast of having seen the monarch of a once redoutable

Oriental nation bend his the knee and own alle--giance to powerful Rome. To that effect, he mus--tered a large army from a number of Roman pro--vinces in the East and marched on to against the conquest of Parthians. But no sooner had had the legions which had kept African cities in subjection had been with--drawn, than the Jews rushed to arms and attacked the Greeks with whom Egypt was thickly populated. History is silent upon the cause of the outbreak. We miss Josephus, despite his shortcomings. For the information gathered concerning this period is meagre. It is mainly derived from three chapters by Dion Cassius,--a contemporary writer. But we know that from the earliest stages of history, the hatred of the Greeks against the Jews has been deep rooted, and we have often read of their revilings, and vile and shameless insults to the religion of Moses. Perhaps a wish for retalal retaliation actuated our predecessors, relieved from the pressure of brought to bear by Roman soldiery; perhaps a feeling of insecurity, and the necessity of taking the offensive before being set upon, still if the account of the atrocities committed is true, our ancestors deserve our unqualified denunciation.

But may we not incline to believe that exaggerations were expressly indulged in by our inveterate enemies, who wrote in Greek and for Greek reading peoples? However, if our fathers did become guilty of the unheard of cruelties attributed to them, the requital of their crime came soon with tremendous force. Trajan sent his nephew Hadrian, as the arm of his vengeance, and not-withstanding a stout resistance, Jews in Egypt, in Cyrene, in the island of Cyprus,--wherever the insurrection had spread--were slaughtered. Hundreds of thousands fell by the sword. But Trajan was not destined to exercise long his fierce severity. He died on the ship that would have conveyed him to Rome, to have his brow wreathed at the capital. Hadrian succeeded his uncle, but did not follow in his wake the same military system as his predecessor. His--torians have pictured that emperor as a man of great literary taste, as a philosopher, averse to blood shed in the pursuit of conquest. It cannot must be denied admitted, that viewed from a certain standpoint, the portrait has not been in cannot be deigned considered overdrawn. Yet, Rabbinical writings accompany his couple Hadrian's name, like that of Titus,

with the epithet of Rashang (wicked). To explain the cause find reason the proper reason, it is necessary to relate study the origin and issue of last struggle of our fathers for independence. Strange as it may sound, it is true nevertheless true that Hadrian himself had inspired the hope of our na--tional revival. He relinquished the idea of com--pelling the Parthians to submit to Rome, and thus he virtually was the means of restoring all the Jews beyond the Euphrates to freedom. He entered into familiar intercourse with the Sages of Israel, and displayed a spirit of liberality towards a people whom he knew to have acted behaved bravely. But he went further, he promised to rebuild Jerusalem, and permit the reconstruction of the Temple. At that, the Jews felt that a new life had been breathed into them. They imagined that Zion would again raise up her turrets as if old, and he made vocal with the festive songs of her children. Accordingly pilgrims moved quickly on towards the holy city; facilities were given to the travellers, and the new coins struck, representing Hadrian, in the act of offering to the God of Israel, were expended freely

to purchase a new political existence. But the bright glowing anticipations were doomed to be distressingly frustrated. There are reports that tribes and sects inimical to our people, to our people, poisoned the mind of Hadrian. That is not at all improbable, but whatever motive may have been at work, the imperial reaction was terrible. Hadrian mocked the Jews in their fond expectations. He had promised to rebuild Jerusalem, and he did raise a town upon its ruins, but only for the residence of a Roman colony. Even the name it bore round which glorious associations clustered was wiped away. He had promised to set up a new temple where the Sanctuary of the Lord had stood, and he did rear a structure, but it was dedicated to a heathenism god. This revulsion of feelings took such a hold on his mind, that he determined to blot out Judaism. He decreed that to introduce one's male children into the Abrahamic covenant, to teach them Holy Writ, to observe the Sabbath, was to incur the penalty of death. In vain the prudent Rabbi Joshua Ben Levy Hayonish Hananajah, whom the emperor in his inquisitiveness had often questioned, journeyed in his as far as Egypt

to entreat Hadrian to recall his mandate. He remain--ed inexcrable inflexible. The Talmud teems with stories of parents who were hurried on to the stake, because they had transgressed the royal ordinance and [?] to perform the covenant of god with Abram, others teachers who secreted themselves on roofs, on or in cellars with the holy books sacred scroll to read and impart its knowledge, but who, informed against by spies, were consigned to the rack, and who has not all have heard of the tortures of Israel's sages, who died in the agonies rather of tortures than forswear their trust anticipating and even surpassing those of inflicted by the Spanish inquisition. Our ancestors had now touched the lowest depth of misery. The metropolis of their former kingdom was forbid to them. Aliae Capitolina was its the name given to it, and none who dared disobeyed the emperor Alinus Hadrianus Alius, after whom the city of David was called, dared enter it. On the site of the Solomon's Temple, pagans worshipped Jupiter in its new shrine. Chased away from their inheritance, persecuted and despised, our ancestors forefathers thought that Pharaoh and Antiochus had arisen again to try their faith so severely most terrifically. But as in those dark

days of antiquity deliverance came when the gloom of suffering was the deepest, so it was imagined [?] conceived that the dawn of a brighter era would at this period also soon break. A champion would now step forth, buckle on the armour to fight the battles of for the people of God and win the victory. The man under whose lead the final struggle sanguinary battles to regain liberty were fought did arrived. But I must defer to another lecture the stirring nar--rative of that his deeds and the final struggle of our predecessors to regain liberty and independence.

Identifier

p3gb1z22m

identifier

SMBx12FF4_18