Lecture 28. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated · Sabato Morais Digital Repository · Legacy Projects from Judaica DH at Penn Libraries

Title

Lecture 28. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated

Author

Morais, Sabato

Location(s)

United States -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

United States -- Pennsylvania

Format

11 pages on 5 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/p3j38m27r/manifest.json

Link to Colenda

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3j38m27r

Provenance

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

Is Format Of

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx12FF4_8.xml

content

Post Biblical history
28

The An effective means by which to remain humble minded after having gained a high station in life, is to frequently look at objects remaining of bringing back to mind past sufferings and privations. Agrippa, who by a stroke of turn in the wheel of good fortune was raised to the throne upon which his grand father Herod had sat upon, acted according to that sensible plan. Arriving at Jerusa--lem, where he was greeted King, he hung in a conspicuous place of the Temple, the golden chain given him by Caligula, and having the same weight as that of the iron chain which he had dragged in a Roman prison. That chain object served as a monitor, recalling to mind the lesson, which Moses had written to teach a Hebrew ruler wisdom, namely [Hebrew] "Let him not lift up his heart above his brethren." Both Josephus and the Tal--mudists lavish praises on Agrippa's conduct character. He is described as pious for attending public wor--ship and conforming with all the precepts of the Law; as zealous for watching over the in--terest of the religion, never suffering allowing its heathen enemies to do it injury; as considerate

for relieving the people from the payment of house taxes, and for granting Israelites assistance from the public funds, like the poor of his own faith. Among instances illus--trating his humblety Agrippa's meek disposition, the following ones are related. A certain influential man speaker, called Simon, took advan--tage of Agrippa's absence from Jerusalem to charge him with double dealing and insincerity. The king having heard of it the attack on his character, sent for the person accuser, and asked that he would show evidences of the faults he had said to have detected. As none was point--ed out, Agrippa forgave the man and dismissed him with a gift, as a token of his pardon. On one occasion, Agrippa was walking out with a number of his high officers, when he saw a bridal party coming on. Fearing that his presence might dis--trub the procession, then usual at weddings, he re--tired, saying: "I receive royal honors every day, let the Jewish bride be co crowned queen once in her life." Another time, it being the seventh year, upon the feast of Tabernacles, when the book of Deuteronomy was to be read, according to tradition, by the chief of the nation in the court of the Temple, Agrippa was seen to shed

tears. He had reached that sentence, in which Moses commanded thus: [Hebrew] "From among thy own brethren thou mayest set a king over thee, thou mayest not set over thee a stranger, who is not thy brother." Agrippa must have thought at that moment of his Idumean extraction, and his of the wickedness of his grand parent Herod, that had caused woful suffering. But his hearers reassured him the reader exalted reader by exclaiming, "be not troubled Agrippa, thou art our brother, indeed thout art our brother."
Unfortunately Unhappily, the reign which might have afforded Judea some rest from external and internal agitations, was of very short duration. The reason which, according to Josephus, brought it to an end, within four years cannot be credited. We may believe what that historian tells us about Agrippa's ambition to which was not confined to a laudable endeavour to enlarge and beautify the country, but displayed itself in building magnificent theatres and circuses, in the Roman fashion. Human nature is such besides his laudable endeavouring besides to enlarging and beatifying the country Human nature is such that it needs real heroism, to resist temptations, when the means are within reach to gratify our cravings. We may believe also that Agrippa did not always remain of the same meek temperament and that to satisfy vanity he invited neighboring kings to witness observe his luxurious surroundings, but that

he should, even for an instant, have felt pleased at being called a god, and he should have been wonderfully punished in a most fearful manner by reason of it, is in--credible, though the story be substantially repeated receive a confirmation in the New Testament. Josephus says that Agrippa went to Cesarea to celebrate some festivities in honor of the Roman emperor. On the second day of the public games, he came to the theatre dressed in a garment robe of pure silver, so dazzling that the rays of the sun striking upon it made the face of the wearer shine. At that, voices were heard on all sides crying out "a god, a god." Immediately an owl perched over Agrippa's head--an evil omen which had been predicted to him by a fellow prisoner at Rome. Agrippa saw the owl ill-foreboding bird and said "your god will soon become dust." He was forthwith taken seized with excruciating pains torments, and after five days of intense suffering agonies he died. Now: can it be admitted that Jews who would have laid down their lives rather than allow the mere emblems of idolatry in their cities, should become all at once so corrupt of a sudden so depraved as to call him a god, who had risked much three years before to prevent

Caligula from setting up his image in the Temple? It may be possible that Romans, present at the entertainments had shouted out the impious cry. They were accustomed to deify mortals, but that Hebrews should have become guilty of that profanity, or that Arippa should have winked at the blasphemy, is beyond credibility credibility.
The premature death of King Agrippa died in his fifty fourth year. That premature demise which plunged the Jews into deep mourning, was the sign of most for horridly shameful scenes on that part of the Greek population of Samaria and Cesarea. Many of the Romans who hated the Jews joined in abominable acts, and thus intensified the ani--mosities which inflamed made inflamed the passions in the last national struggle, so terrible and rendered it so terrible.
Agrippa had left three daughters, and one son named after him, and pursuing then a course of studies in Rome. As the youth was only seventeen years of age, the Roman emperor, sent Fadus to govern Judea. It was during his the administration of that latter proconsul, that a severe famine broke out in the land. In that sad emergency assistance arrived providentially from a source unlooked for.

In a country called Adiabene situated in Western Asia, where Kurdistan now lies, a king named Monobaz had married Helena his own sister-- a circumstance not at all uncommon among heathens. He had by her a number of several sons, two of whom have a commendable record in Jewish history--Monobaz and Isates. The latter, however, became the his parents' favorite. Such a predilection naturally created jea--lousy, and to ward off troubles, the father sent Isates to live with a friendly ruler in another a distant land. When King Monobaz was old, wishing to secure the throne for Isates called him nearer home. Helena as soonas her husband died, assembled the nobility and prevailed upon her people them to place the crown on the head of Isates. Monobaz his elder brother, generously agreed, and the other brothers, being provided for were made to settle abroad, some in Italy, others in Parthia. Now, it happened that in the country to which Isates had been sent by his father, as a safeguard against domestic quarrels, a Jewish merchant named Hananiah became the bosom friend of the young prince from Adiabene. In the course of frequent con--versations, Hananiah explained to Isates the principles

and ordinances of the Law of Moses.; and they The youth was so profoundly impressed, that he deter--mined the to embrace the Jewish religion. When he Isates was proclaimed a king, he disclosed his sentiments to his mother, who had also without his previous knowledge shared his feelings. For she also had been secretly instructed in Judaism, and had privately followed its rules. Helena, however, moved by political reasons, was unwilling that her son should venture openly to declare himself a convert to the Hebrew faith. But a Galilean Jew, called Eleazar, having sur--prised him in the act of reading the Pentateuch, said that un--less he carried out outwardly the belief which he had accepted inwardly, his conversion was of no account. Both his mother and Hananiah tried to dissuade him from heeding the dangerous an advice, attended with great dangers, but Isates resolved concluded to act boldly, and let his nation know the creed he professed. As a result a sedition broke out, and some of the principal men in the kingdom country invited the king of the Arabs to fight Isates as he being in their estimation an enemy of the dominant religion. Fortunately the army stood by Isates, so that he defeated the Arabs, punished the aristocracy opposed to him, and order was restored.

Helena thankful for her son's success, resolved to go and worship the God she adored, in His sacred temple at Jerusalem. She arrived in the capital of Judea, just as the famine was raging. Imbued with the maxims of the religion which extol mercy and compassion as high most ennobling virtues, Helena of Adiabene scattered blessings broadcast. She ordered ship loads of grain from Alexandria, abundance of fruits from Cyprus, and having filled the hungry, she distributed large means gold which her son Isates had placed at his disposal, to supply other wants. The Talmud makes laudable mention of Helena as a generous donor also to the Temple Sanctuary. She present--ed to it a chandelier and a plate of massive gold. But perhaps the most illustrious of that family of righteous proselytes is Monobaz II, who succeeded his brother Isates in the govern--ment of the kingdom of Adiabene. It is nar--rated that his open handed liberality had become distasteful to some of his relatives. They said to him: "your ancestors ammassed untold fortunes, but you are giving away what they well guarded."

To these compliments he was often subjected, but he would would reason thus: "My ancestors gathered riches and laid them by on earth, I am gathering riches which will do me service in heaven. My ancestors put money where thieves can steal it, I store it where no robber can deprive me of it; they took pains about things which are fleeting, I take good care of human life, and by doing that so acting I commission a herald to pave the way to my lasting hap--piness, for it is said written, "thy righteousness shall walk before thee." [Hebrew] The piety of the royal house of Adiabene, was equal to the munificent charity that gained it a well deserved notoriety in post Biblical history. Three graves were seen not far from Jerusalem long after the days of Josephus. They contained the remains of Helena, and her two sons Isates and Monobaz, whose would last wish was to be buried in the ground hallowed by the prophets and sages of Israel. whose teachings had been dear to their hearts. The descendants of that worthy triad, attached to --loving the people, whose religion they had adopted, fought side by side with the patriots who that resisted tyrannic Rome.

Some bled for Judea and fell upon the battle field, others were taken captives and carried to the seven hilled city, when Titus burned the Temple, and scattered away like chaff the worshippers of the One Eternal God.

Identifier

p3j38m27r

identifier

SMBx12FF4_8