Lecture 58. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated · Sabato Morais Digital Repository · Legacy Projects from Judaica DH at Penn Libraries

Title

Lecture 58. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated

Author

Morais, Sabato

Location(s)

United States -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

United States -- Pennsylvania

Format

12 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 5

Has Format

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p36q1t228/manifest.json

Link to Colenda

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p36q1t228

Provenance

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

Is Format Of

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx12FF5_15.xml

content

S. MORAIS,
546 N. FIFTH STREET.
PHILADELPHIA, 189

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

Post Biblical
58

The sketch which I began, in the course of my series, relative to Gersonides, the renowned French Jew of Bagnoles, who flourished in the fourteenth century, would do that author injustice, if, after my having alluded to his principal work in disparaging terms, I did not show internal evidences supporting my views. Let me then explain what the book Milchamoth Ha-Shem really contains. It is divided into six parts, or treatises. The first treatise devotes its fourteen chapters to the subject of im--mortality. I will acknowledge at once that I share the opinion of orthodox thinkers about the wis--dom of our prophets inspired writers. They purposely abstained from discussing a topic beyond human comprehension. That they believed in a hereafter, their ingenious words and their actions prove beyond a shadow of a doubt. For, what means the frequent phrase to be gathered to one's fathers, or to one's people after death; what the expression [Hebrew] met in Holy Writ?-- "Thou wilt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward take me on to glory," what else than an open avowal of a reunion with the departed and with the the soul of the Universe; our spiritual Lord?

Again: did Aaron, dreading the extinction of the his soul with the dissolution of the body, lament when asked to prepare himself to leave this earth, or did Moses complain, when the sentence went forth that he would pass away from hence, after having surveyed the promised land from the top of Pisgah? No: both believed that [Hebrew] The Lord causeth to die & maketh alive, He bringeth down to the grave & bringeth up again" I could multiply proofs corroborative of the fact, that our Bible teaches immortality, yet, it is very true that its lessons are mere allusions; not treatises. Quite differently have some of our philosophers and Sages acted. Commencing with the famous Saadiah, who presided over the Rabbinical aca--demy at Sura in Persia during the tenth cen--tury, down to the illustrious Mendelssohn of last century, Jewish scholars gave us essays and volumes were penned aiming to de--monstrate what is not palpably demonstrable to mor-tal vision, but which reasoning enlightened fiath must reasonably accept. Gersonides was no exception to those who chose to descant upon that abstruse subject, but in the daringness of his investigations the French Jew distanced many. With an astonishing erudition he dwelt on ideas advanced by celebrated Greek and Arabian

philosophers, whom he partly refutes, setting forth at length his own notions, which we must con--sider just as objectionable, as those that he opposes. According to him, the soul is not inherently im--mortal, but it can gain immortality by means of "an active intelligence" working with it ([Hebrew]). The greater the activity of that intelligence; the higher the degree of metaphysical knowledge gained through it, the greater and higher will be the eternal bliss hereafter. And in order imagining to fortify his notions by quotations, Gersonides gives a forced interpretation alike to both Scripture and Talmud. It was perhaps a qualm of conscience that urged the author to say at the conclusion of his first treatise, the author said what follows: "Should any one hold that human everlasting happiness will be attained otherwise than we have stated, because he prefers to take to the letter what prophetic and legendary books have written, concerning reward and punishment after death, we are ready to admit our mental shortsightedness, although we shaped our views after in a manner which we deem in full accord with our religion."

But in reality those views do not agree with Judaism, either Biblical or traditional. In none of our sacred books, we find that the soul is depend--ent on the profound learning which the active intel--lect could grasp, for its existence after it has left the body. The practise of virtue is the pass--port to the regions of immortality. Righteous--ness, not a mastery of sciences, real or imaginary, positive or speculative is insisted upon by the teachers of Israel [Hebrew] "The memory of the righteous is a blessing," writes the inspired moralist, and the Talmudists in their figurative language tell us that in the world to come the righteous, crowned in glory, enjoy the contemplation of the Divinity [Hebrew] [Hebrew] But unjewish it is as it would be unjust, if true, is the theory of Gersonides and of the medieval school, because it would cut off the un--instructed young and all among mankind, in-capable of deep researches, whereas we read [Hebrew] [Hebrew] "I have made the souls..." says saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy" The spirit breathed into us is from God, and like Him, it must be deathless, in all human creatures.

More objectionable Stranger and more startling still, is, in my judgment, the second treatise of Milchamoth Ha-shem "the battles for the Lord" by Gersonides. Its eight chapters try to explain in what manner the knowledge of future events may be disclosed to man. Our philosopher firmly believed in dreams, he even credited the magic art, while he claimed to put firm have a strong faith in prophecy. In all earnest--ness he thought that one could dream that a certain person went to a certain place, where he found another certain person, with whom he had a quarrel and that, having exchanged certain words, which brought on a fight, both were wounded in a certain part of the body. Gersonides actually held that such a dream will be realized in all its details. And how erratic must our philosophizer have been, who fancied that negros are more apt than others to dream what will come to pass! In the course of his second treatise the author, who believed that the stars influence man's actions in various ways, assures his readers that it is possible for a physician to discover

in a dream effective remedies, and even from one who never studied medicine, to find out a cure to his own ailments. The most wonderful instance of foreknowledge through divination, or the magic art, is that told us of a boy six or seven years old. The child could answer all questions on subjects of which he was naturally ignorant because of his unripe age, and his replies proved invariably correct. Upon that Gerosnides philosophi--zes with his usual acuteness to carry out his point, and imagines that his far fetched supports from our sacred writings must solve all doubts rising in our minds. Would that he had remem--bered and been instructed by the sentence of Eccle--siastes [Hebrew] "In many dreams and vanities, there are many words, but fear thou God." It seems almost incredible that a man with a sound understand--ing--and Gersonides was confessedly a great scholar and thinker--would entertain and defend ideas against which common sense rebels, but many went astray who in the middle ages and left common sense behind to followed Greek and Arabian preceptors.

The six chapters of the third treatise of Milchamoth Ha shem, discuss a topic, which Maimonides with profound wisdom avoided by confessing man's incapacity ever to comprehend it; namely, how God knows all that happens in its every particular. The illus--trious Sage of Cordova in his Moreh Nebuchim reasoned to show that our endeavouring to discover that is tantamount to an attempt arrogant conception on our part, that to become ourselves we may ourselves may of our ability to become what God is. But Gersonides, who so admired his great predecessor, did not profit by the lesson. With a skill that reveals the extent of his reasoning powers and his vast learning, he subjects the question to every possible and impossible argument and arrives, after intellectual efforts, at a decisive conclusion, which no believing Jew would dare accept. Contrary to Maimonides, who did not consider it any detraction of man's mental faculties to say that we are inexpressibly too low to reach up to our Maker and discern how the knowledge of human affairs comes up to Him in the minutest

form, Gersonides lays down as his definite decision, that God has a general knowledge of what occurs to nations and communities, but none of what befalls single individuals. Thus at a single blow stroke the Jewish philosopher would cut off asunder the precious golden thread that binds each of us to our blessed Creator. We may suffer, and but our suffering remains hidden from Him. Our prayers can be of no avail. The Lord attends to the wants of peoples and nations, not of persons. We, who so daily so address so the Deity [Hebrew] "Thou hearest the prayer of every mouth," reject the soul-withering theory of the French Jewish philosopher. He does try strive hard, as usual to pull the Bible after his own manner of thinking with the ropes which his fancy manufactured, but in doing so, he twist Holy Writ out of all shape. We on the contrary read it just as it stands plainly enough not to be misunderstood. leave room for a misapprehension. All will recall the address of Moses shortly before his death. In it the arch prophet adjured every Israelite to remain faithful to the covenant of the Lord, both him that was then present and any who did not hearing the admonition and all

attend that that were not present at the memorable assemblage. But should a man, or woman, a family or tribe wickedly say [Hebrew] "It will be well with me though I should walk in the stubborness of my heart"--imagining that in the prosperity of the whole nation, the prosperity of the individual must necessarily follow, the Lord will not forgive such [Hebrew] But He will make him, or her, or them feel the weight of Divine wrath [Hebrew] A still clearer evidence assertion of God's knowledge of every human action is the sentence in Leviticus, where the brutal worship of Moloch, to which innocent babes were sacrificed is strongly condemned. We read that if the people of the land shall ignore the man's crime of having given some of his offspring to the Moloch, God will set His face against that man and his accomplices and destroy them. [Hebrew] [Hebrew] [Hebrew] [Hebrew] [Hebrew] Too many of our thinkers of the middle ages were befogged by the lurid lights which Aristotle and his sworn

adherents raised high, so that what our prophets wrote could no longer be deciphered, but we simple-hearted, uninfluenced by a distorted philosophy, read our Bible straightly, and do not have not the temerity to ask how God knows us and our wishes and our wants. Our hear We feel like Elihu of old [Hebrew] "that His eyes are upon the ways of man and and He sees all his steps," and we humbly lo bow to to the declaration of the son of Amoz in the name of his heavenly Master [Hebrew] [Hebrew] "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For, as the heavens are higher are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

Identifier

p36q1t228

identifier

SMBx12FF5_15