Letter from Morais, Sabato to Dropsie, Moses A. Philadelphia, PA; Dec 1888
- Title
- Letter from Morais, Sabato to Dropsie, Moses A. Philadelphia, PA; Dec 1888
- Date Created
- 25 December 1888
- Format
- 2 pages on 1 sheet
- Language(s)
- English
- Source
- Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
- Sabato Morais Collection, Box 4, Folder 14
- Has Format
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p35x25z3p/manifest.json
- Link to Colenda
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p35x25z3p
- Provenance
- Transfer of Custody from the Hebrew Education Society, 10 March 1913.
- Is Format Of
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx4FF14_23.xml
- content
-
S. MORAIS,
546 NORTH FIFTH ST.,
Philadelphia, December 25th 1888
Moses A. Dropsie Esq
Dear Sir
Conceding that according to the Rabbinical axiom "a part of the year is reckoned a year," as for instance: A sovereign mounting the Nirine King chosen in Adar, when Nisan began, would have been considered as having entered into the second year of his reign; admitting again, that the Jewish sages have taught "a part of the day is taken as the whole," for example, some acts denoting mourning during the first hour of the seventh day, counts for the entire day, and absolves from any no further mourning needs be observed the rest of the day, still I do not find that the maxims have a universal application. Certainly not in cases of Meum and Tuum. Thus a person renting letting a house or a field by the year dares not remove evict the tenant after the first day or week of the twelfth month has arrived. So I learn from J Talmudical authorities.
But I will search farther, and communicate the re-sult of my studies.
Permit me to call your attention to the circumstance that Monsieur Dupin Ainee--an eminent French loyer--arguing against Monsieur J. Salvador, though, of course, to the greatly prejudiced against the Hebrew contemporaries of Jesus, agrees with you that the Romans took always good care not to part with the regret of passing judgment on what involved the penalty of death, however indifferent they may have been in other respects. He quotes Tacitus! Apend Benianos, jus valet gladii, caetera trans nuthiatur.
Yours truly
S. Morais
P. S. Having inquired further into the subject, I have become convinced that to apply indiscriminately the maxim of the Talmudist Abba Shaul, "a portion of the day is like the whole" indiscriminately would be to err; for in the very instance of the observance of mourn-ing, it is said that a person having cost a relative three days before a Biblical holiday, though exo-riated from keeping the rest of the week, is not allowed to bathe till the evening of the third day, and we do not consider in that case "a portion of the day is like the whole" (see Moed Katan. 19. 2 & Rashi in Loed) SM - Identifier
- p35x25z3p
- identifier
- SMBx4FF14_23
Part of Letter from Morais, Sabato to Dropsie, Moses A. Philadelphia, PA; Dec 1888
Morais, Sabato and Dropsie, Moses A., “Letter from Morais, Sabato to Dropsie, Moses A. Philadelphia, PA; Dec 1888”, Sabato Morais Digital Repository, accessed October 18, 2024, https://judaicadhpenn.org/legacyprojects/s/morais/item/88760