Lecture 46. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated · Sabato Morais Digital Repository · Legacy Projects from Judaica DH at Penn Libraries

Title

Lecture 46. 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 5

Has Format

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p3pn8z07r/manifest.json

Link to Colenda

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3pn8z07r

Provenance

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

Is Format Of

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx12FF5_3.xml

content

Post-Biblical
46

The history of "Judah the Prince" [Hebrew], offered abundant opportunities for saying what might be of general interest. When, a short time ago, I made it that history the subject of one of my occasional lectures of the series on the schools of Judea, I tried to show that the man known by who bore the appellation of [Hebrew] "Our holy Rabbi the holy" justified the title given him by a grateful posterity. For he had dispensed his large riches in a manner that benefitted many, while his lite--rary labors saved our national traditions from oblivion through our in the accepted compilation of the his Mishna. One of the Hebrew Sages who appears to have lived about the time of Judah the Prince, wrote that the splendid qualities and natural endowments of which distinguished our illustrious Rabbi, were noticeable also in his children.
But I have searched in vain to find how the his--tory of the sons of our Rabbi the holy, bears out confirming that assertion. The oldest child who succeeded his father as President of the college at Tiberius, or Patriarch (and first in order of the "Emoriam", or interpreters of the Mishnah) has not left behind traces of a great remarkable strongly marked individuality.

With the exception of some excellent maxims with which he is credited, and, which are interspersed through the Talmud, little is told which that may prove the activity and direct influence of Gamliel III. Those maxims, however show reveal a man possessed of a well balanced mind and a tender heart. He used to say: The following of a trade joint to the study of the Law is high--ly to be praised; for, occupations will drive away evil inclinations. A mere knowledge of sacred literature is insufficient to keep us from sin, active Work must e associated with [?] learning. To his pupils, the Sage recommended self-dependence, rather than a reliance on the patronage of men in social or political heights, and he laid great stress on the necessity of extending kindness towards persons of in every condition of life. Commenting on a Biblical passage which promises God's mercy as a reward to the observance of the precepts, Gamliel said: The living goodness of the Creator will only be exhi--bited towards such as show loving-kindness to all their fellow-creatures. That religion is best, which copies the ways of the Lord by deeds of benevolence, mercy forbearance and human forgiveness.

But if historical accounts of the life of Gamliel III are very meagre, those about his son give ample scope to lecture thereon. However, Before I allude to them, I deem it necessary essential to say that modern critics are greatly widely at variance concerning dates and events in the period of which I intend to speak and I candidly admit that the Talmud cannot be followed altogether as a guide in matters pertaining to chronology and genealogy. A large number of writers contend that the illustrious grand father Judah the Prince viz, our Rabbi the Holy, and not his grand-child is the man to whom certain incidents recorded in Rabbinical works have reference. I have adopted the contrary opinion, as entertained by Professors Graetz and Luzzatto, for reasons which seem to me forcible. The difference of views among historians arose from a confusion of names and from circumstances which I could not present here con--sistently with the customary brevity of my sketches. Let me simply tell, that the son of Gamliel II went also by the appellation of "Judah the Prince," [Hebrew] and that the name of Antoninus, who is reported to have been on intimate terms with the Jewish Rabbi, was a name borne by several Roman emperors in succession.

With the short prefatory explanation I will proceed. During the period that pagan Rome was pro- display--ducing the soul-revolting sight of rival emperors murdering one another, and of a people brutalized by the indulgence of vice, the unhappy country of our fathers felt the ill-effects of quarrels and dissolution depravity among her masters. To add to her misery, the religion of Christianity which had begun to assert itself and which the ruling heathens could not distinguish from Judaism, gave cause to internal wranglings and abuses, and served as a cause pretext for increasing taxation and multiplying vexations.
finally, one of the several called Antoninus princes (I will let the savants decide which it was) being enlightened and humane understood the value of the religion, whose renowned Sage, Hillel, had taught the golden rule [Hebrew] [Hebrew] "Do not unto others, what is displea--sing to thee." Accordingly, he showed its adherents particular favors, and even made a present of a costly chan--delier to a Palestenian Synagogue. But because that Ro-man emperor was unprejudiced and willing to learn, he sought did not disdain to seek the intimacy of Judah II, the Jewish patriarch.

The Talmudists assert that he ate and drank with the Sage, advised with him on important matters, and in several instances various important cases closely followed his counsel. The Rabbi cherished greatly knew how to appreciate a friend--ship that enabled him to improve the sorrowful condition of his brethren, and advance forward their inte--rest. He knew felt that his belief did not put lay any obstacle in the way of an alliance of goodwill and amity between a Jew and a non-Israelite. The father of our people, Abraham, had set a bright example of tolerance, when he took into his con--fidence Aner, Eshcol and Mamré, three Emorite brothers, and while among the custodians of our the traditions, Meir, a splendid luminary (as the name denotes) in our literary horizon, had cultivated the acquaintance of Nimos or Euonymous, a heathen philosopher.
I will now quote a few instances illustrating the fa--miliar intercourse and mutual trust between the emperor and the sage. Antoninus being wor engaged in let Judah know, at one time expensive foreign wars, and became alarmed at noticing that his finances fell short of the expenditure. He informed Judah through a trusty messenger that the national treasury was being very nigh emptied out, while the wants of the country were increasing. Judah gave no answer, but took the messenger who brought word

to a garden connected with his house, and pulled off some of the old plants and set others in their stead, then said he to the messenger to the man who brought him word: "Go and report what you have seen." Antoninus immediately caught the sense of the Rabbi's action, and he remo--ved a number of incompetent and dishonest officials, and supplied their vacant places with efficient and reliable men. In the course of conversation, Antonius said once to Judah. I think that when we are called to judgment after death, both our body and soul can manage to escape punishment. The body may plead in this manner. I did not sin, for flesh has no sense, the soul which possesses wis--dom and power did all the wrong. But the soul on in its part turn may exonerate itself by saying: why, I am only a spirit an ethereal substance, I have no means to act, the body which has limbs did all the mischief. Rabbi Judah replied. I will tell you Listen to a story. A king had a beautiful garden, in which a tree of delicious fruits had grown. He set there as guardians two men; one of them was lame, the other blind.

One day the lame one said to the blind, I long to have my fill of the sweet fruits I see. Do, let me stand on your shoulders, and I shall steal them at pleasure and we two shall have enjoyment. As said so it was done. But the king noticed the theft, and took the guardians to task. The blind man denied the charge in toto, bringing forward alleging his want of sight as his defence, the lame alleged on his part brought forward his inability to climb up as his justification advocate. The king placed one on the top of the other, and in that position had them both scourged. The Rabbi then continued so likewise it will happen, that the punishment which the soul receives, will (in some manner unknown inexplicable to us) sorely affect the body, whose receptacle and medium it was.
On another occasion Antoninus asked: Is it right to be praying all the time? The Rabbi answered. It is wrong for what you call for prayer necessarily becomes then through that usage, The emperor did not agree a mere re--hersal of empty words. The emperor did not agree to that opinion. One morning Rabbi Judah rose up early and presenting himself to the King's mansion, greet--ed the ruler thus: "Peace be with you good dear Sovereign". Shortly after he returned and said: "I hail your ap--pearance O monarch." Many minutes had not passed, when he came back and exclaimed: "May you enjoy good health O King!"

Antoninus objected to that behaviour seemed annoyed and told the Sage: "I think that you are treating me with levity". Well then, rejoined Rabbi Judah, if you who are a mortal consider such a conduct as mine undue familiarity, or an unbecoming jest, how can you recommend it with regard to the Almighty, whom we must approach with a mind devotionally prepared? Now, the anecdotes which I have narrated will furnish an idea of the Character of Judah II and of his intellectual calibre. Clearly, he was wise and pious. The Jewish historian Hirsch Graetz intimates, however, that the Rabbi, presuming on the privileges granted him by his imperial friend, did not always use them wisely and piously; that he sometime treated his colleagues with harshness arbitrariness, and exacted fees and services un--becoming of a religious teacher. I concede that the certain occurrences recorded in the Talmud leads us to infer that, inference, but inas--much as to look for perfect consistency, is to go in search of a very rare Jewel, we should pass lightly over the short comings and of a distinguished man, solely to remember his sterling merits.

Let us remember recall the fact that during a number of years, our some ancestors, harassed by the wickedness of Rome enjoyed some respite only through the esteem and af-fection which an emperor entertained for our Rabbi. We we should not forget that Judah II promoted by his influence national learning; and that though sur--rounded by luxuries, he retained simple habits to the last. It is those virtues highly commendable that won for the Sage the reverence of his contemporaries, and handed down his name to posterity encircled with a halo of sanctity.

Identifier

p3pn8z07r

identifier

SMBx12FF5_3