Lecture 64. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Jan 1897 · Sabato Morais Digital Repository · Legacy Projects from Judaica DH at Penn Libraries

Title

Lecture 64. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Jan 1897

Author

Morais, Sabato

Date Created

1 January 1897

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 5

Has Format

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p3qn5zw7k/manifest.json

Link to Colenda

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3qn5zw7k

Provenance

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

Is Format Of

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx12FF5_21.xml

content

S. MORAIS,
546 N. FIFTH STREET,
PHILADELPHIA, PA.

Jan. 97
A Post Biblical Lecture
64

Very many have been the lectures, which I delivered, here form time to time, upon post-biblical history. Beginning with the account of the epoch-making sy--nod under the presidency of Ezra, the priest, after the restoration of Babylonian captives to Palestine, I reached the period of the total expulsion of Jews from Spain and Portugal.
My reason for allowing long intervals to elapse be--fore resuming those narratives was twofold. Firstly, because I feared that the subjects treated, might prove too dry--so to say--to command general attention. Se--condly, because an accurate presentation of those sub--jects involves the necessity of abundant reading and research, not always within reach of the lecturer.
This morning, however, I shall come back to a topic of the same character, by briefly referring to that stage of our history, which--though sad--is always invariably of deep in--terest to me. The Spanish family of Duran, has furnished us with authors of wide learning in several branches of our literature. Prolific in their writings, they enriched sacred lore us with commentaries,

with treatises on Jewish doctrines and philosophy, on Talmudical decisions & on the origin and development of the Hebrew Grammar. and, because they Moreover, some members of that family who succeeded to escape being burnt alive in the seething caldron of the Inqui--sition, some members of that family, undertook, as soon as they would throw off the mask which made them appear devoted Catholics, undertook to take up the cudgel in the defense of the religion that they fondly loved.
Interesting is to read in a volume of response [Hebrew] [Hebrew], called Tashbetz, by Simeon Ben Zenach Duran, an apologetic discussion regarding his own person and others situated alike. That erudite Jew from of Spain had fled form the thumb screws and consuming flames of the autos da fe of wicked Iberia, to the more humane dominions of Otto--man rulers. He settled in Algier. Chosen there as ecclesiastical Chief or Chacham, he argued with keen reasoning powers, in favor of the practice just introduced to receive a stipulated sum, as compensation for religious services rendered. All know that in early history, our preceptors and preachers derived their earnings from manual labor, as tillers of the soil, or by from their ability to handleing mechanical tools skilfully.

Their controlling idea principle was that as Israel had ob--tained the knowledge of the rules of life gratuitously from God and His inspired servants, so likewise it behooved them to impart for nothing no remuneration whatever the knowledge of the Torah, which they possessed. But times had radically changed. In the Spain and Portugal of the Middle ages, our men of learning could not imitate their Palestinian predecessors. Agriculture and handicraft were not universal pursuits, still our Rabbis who dwelt there did not go then invariably as now invariably regularly in quest of material rewards for their endeavours to familiarize their contemporaries with the Torah. In a letter by Maimonides, preserved yet among his multifarious writings, the celebrated sage of Cordova states that, notwith-standing his exhaustive work as a court Physician at Cairo, where he had settled, he robbed himself of daily rest and of Sabbath rest for a single purpose. He aimed to spread abroad the knowledge of ordinances of the Torah, among querists, anxious to acquire it. Probably others in Spain and and elsewhere, followed the same commendable practice.

But Simeon Ben Zemach Duran had lost his all. In his native land, as a doctor of medicine-- a profession almost exclusively under the control of Jews--he could, with ease, gain a respectable livelihood, but he had reached a foreign country in a state of destitution; nor was his former calling available in the Barbary states, as in Spain. All he had possessed, had gone partly to bribe spies, who lay in ambush to catch him, and consign his body to an unmerciful church, and partly to satisfy the greed of covert enemies, who hungered after the property of suspected Marranos. In the same plight, as Simeon Ben Zemach Duran, were, doubtless, many of his brother refugees, who had sought an asylum abroad, there--fore he decided that their acting as ministers of religion for pay, could not be condemned as a venal offence, and therefore he himself had accepted a situation for in self support. But the most attractive personality of the Duran family was, in my judgment, Prifort Duran, who used to signed his name "Ephod", [Hebrew] three initial Hebrew letters words which stand in Hebrew for "I am Prifort Duran." Very Recently, I came in possession of a valuable grammar, which he that exegete wrote

in the fourteenth year century of the vulgar era, but which remained inedited till late years. Now: it happened that about a century before the final expulsion of 1492, Prifort Duran, who lived in Catolonia, had long prentended for some time to bow to the cross, in order to save his body from terrible tortures, and his substance from depredation. Weary and disgusted with his en--forced duplicity, he watched with lynx eyes for any opportunity, when he might facilitating his fleeing to a spot in which he could declare himself a believing Jew. The occasion arrived at length, and he ran fled to a seaport town in France, with the intention of emigrating from thence to Palestine. But Prifort Duran had a friend, who also had feigned attachment to the Catholic faith. The two agreed to meet in a safe place, and to journey together to the Holy Land. In fain did Duran wait for his friend's arrival. He could not account for the disap--pointment, since that friend had seemed likewise very anxious to throw off the mask long worn. Later on, however he received a letter [?] sent from Avignon.

It had been written by Bonet or Benedict Ben Gudan, the expected travelling companion. In that epistle the last mentioned Marrano, related that while in Avigńon, he had made the acquaintance of a cer-tain Master Paul, a baptised Jew, whose former name was Solomon Levi. He has held serious very earnest con--versations with the convert, and through them he had become convinced that Catholicism is right and Judaism wrong. Prifort Duran felt greatly surprised amazed, but he was not tardy in acknowledging receipt of that strange unexpected surprising letter. With a biting sarcasm and and the keenest irony which the Catholic church misunderstood at first as the confession of an earnest sincere Christian, Duran pretended to fully concur in the new ideas by imbibed by Bonet Ben Gudan. He also would advised commended the principle theory of discarding the Unity and embracing the Trinity, he also would was ready to admit the wonderful immaculate conception that brought forth a man god, also the dogma of a blood's redemption through the crucifixion of the Creator's own begotten son; in short, every thing taught by that Saul of Tarsus, who became St Paul,

had taught, and all which Solomon Levi, who had become Maestro Paul of Santa Maria, swore to. But I shall reserve for another lecture, a fuller delineation of the character of that famous letter, purposely crushed in a obscure peculiar style. This Sabbath I will close my nar--rative with words of thanksgiving. For the Almighty, who neither slumbers nor sleeps, has watched over the preservation of this dear city of ours. When on the third day of this week, an angry wind, [?] in the face of a frozen atmosphere, threatened a far-extended confla--gration, the Creator of nature, commanded the element of water to force back the element of fire. Thus were its strides, towards a conquest of destruct--ion, cut short. I thank God also for the feelings of instinctive humanity exhibited on that trying occasion; how even because the herculean efforts of those engaged in the work of deliverance, were recognized and rewarded and fraternally praised. Oh! may He who directs sublunary events, and causes good often to rise spring up from apparent evil, make this week's event occurrence, to unite more closely the hearts of capitalists to the hearts of the laborers.

May the latter be benefitted in their domestic and social interests, and the fear of mischievous discord between the employer and the employed, be chased away. Oh! may the day also speedily arrive, when the noblest of propositions just emanated from the capital of this land of liberty, be eagerly accepted by all the nations of the potentates. earth. For, then the aspirations of our Isaiah and Micah will receive universal fulfilment. "A nation shall not raise a sword against another nation, and the art of war will be learnt no more." So may it be. Amen.

Identifier

p3qn5zw7k

identifier

SMBx12FF5_21