Three lectures delivered at YMHA. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Jan 1891 · Sabato Morais Digital Repository · Legacy Projects from Judaica DH at Penn Libraries

Title

Three lectures delivered at YMHA. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Jan 1891

Author

Morais, Sabato

Date Created

1 January 1891

Location(s)

United States -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

United States -- Pennsylvania

Format

8 pages on 8 sheets

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?

Language(s)

English

Source

Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

Sabato Morais Collection, Box 13, Folder 3

Has Format

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p3902021x/manifest.json

Link to Colenda

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3902021x

Provenance

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

Is Format Of

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx13FF3_1.xml

content

[Hebrew] Ladies and Gentlemen It is not improbable that among my hearers, there may be found persons who have heard of the Rabbi, on whose life-work I intend briefly to speak. Still, I presume that to Israelites who hail from Northern Europe, he who will form the subject of my remarks is not very generally known. For notwithstanding that he was a prolific writer, yet his productions, with perhaps a single exception, did not spread among our brethren whose language is Teutonic or Slavonic in its origin. His literary labors are household words mostly to scholars among our fellow-believers who live in Moham--medan countries, and in a measure also to Italian Jews. Not because, like our distinguished philosophers and comment--ators of the middle ages, he used the Arabic in his compositions, or because he was familiar with the idioms of the Tuscans, in whose midst he finally took up his abode--for Hebrew alone he employed in whatever issued from his pen--, but because the tenor of his writings was pietistic, and Russia, Poland, Austria, Roumenia, abounded with authors of the same mental disposition, mainly bent on the dissemination of books ascetic or casuistic in their character.
I scarcely need say that after the close of that splendid era, created in Spain and Portugal by our own celebrities, the Jewish world saw but few who occupied themselves in the history; the literature; the inner spirit of our religion. The majority of our Rabbis devoted their attention to the, external practices of our faith, and to enforce the strict performance thereof, were all their efforts. [Hebrew] Hyam Joseph David Azulaï stands foremost among such

Yet it would be unjust to assert that his merit consists in having exclusively brought out of the press volumes exhorting to acts of devotion. For his travels had broadened the regions of his intellect, and he could and did direct his ripe thoughts to varied and interesting subjects.
Born in 1725 of very pious parents, whose progeni--tors had emigrated from Fez of Morocco to Jerusalem, he had hardly reached his twentieth year, when his vast erudition through the whole range of Talmudical learning, won for him the honorable position of President of the college in the city of Zion. In that early stage of his life, he showed clear signs of a searching mind by a pamphlet in which he demonstrated that many a bibliographer blund--dered in his statements, by reason of a culpable want of historical accuracy. That youthful production, which he named E'lim Dabar, is alluded to in other writings sub--sequently given to the press, but it is not now extant. Azulaï may not have found the opportunity of transmit--ting it to posterity, for it was only in later times when he settled abroad, that every facility was afforded him to issue many editions of his productions.
In his days the custom of sending a messenger from the Holy Land to collect Congregational offerings in aid of the poor in Jerusalem was prevalent. At twenty seven years of his age, he was commissioned to travel to Italy, France, Germany and Holland in quest of assistance for his townsmen in a state of destitution. That circumstance afforded him the occasion of coming in contact with

erudite persons and of vising rare libraries. It is related that while in Paris, queen Marie Antoinette, the ill-fated con--sort of Louis XVI, saw him pass. His handsome appear--ance, heightened by a fine Oriental costume, attracted her attention. She inquired about his nationality and the object of his temporary sojourn in the capital of France. Gratified at what was told her, she sent for Rabbi Azulaï, requested him to bless her child--the Dauphin--and gave permission that he might remain two hours a day for a certain period at the Royal library. There he met Rabbi Israel De Valabronne, librarian and interpreter (Dragoman) to the King of France. The learned man showed our Rabbi about twenty five thousand manuscripts in a variety of languages, and among them five thousand by Jewish authors.
Proceeding to Germany, where he received a hearty wel--come as due to his personal character and vast knowledge, he was made specially welcome at the house of Ezekiel Landau--the famous author of Nodang BiYudah,--on Rabbinical queries and responses. The wife of the celebrated host, belonged to that class of women, not at all rare in the last century, but almost extinct in ours. She possessed more than an ordinary acquaintance with our literature, so that when Azulaï put a question to Landau, she gave its solution in German to her husband, who repeated it to his guest. The latter, who had understood his host--ess, promptly said: "A woman has conquered." [Hebrew] The first mission of the Palestinian Rabbi to Europe proved quite successful, and the messenger returned home enriched with the experience of men, of books, and

languages. His ascetic nature led him to change his habitation from Jerusalem to Hebron. To that city had migrated two Israelites of high repute--Aaron Alfanderi and Hyam Cohen, who had sought to rest their bones where the pa--triarchs had found a grave. With those two he plunged into Kabbalistical depths, which he had already sound--ed before. All that have read his multifarious works, will at once discover that each of them is tinctured with notions drawn from the Zohar and subsequent books of the Luria, the Cordovero and the Vital schools.
To the praise of Azulaï, it must be said that although thoroughly embued with the idea that Judaism rests on Kabbalistical foundations, and that it must fall when those are removed, nevertheless he did not coerce others into his views; he tried to win them over to his side by persuasive gentleness. Witness, his dispassionate remarks against Jacob Amdea, who assailed the citadel of Zoharism, following in the wake of Leon De Modena in his Ari Nohem and other anti-Kabbalists. Azulaï was a man of deep rooted convictions, and his contact with many who did not share his views failed to influence his conduct.
In 1770, the Hebron Congregations, relying on his ability to stir up among our brethren everywhere a wish to hasten to the help of multitudes who flocked to that city, in what was considered then a holy pilgrimage, and to encourage their spending their remaining years in studies and prayers, begged that he would travel through Turkey, go to Asia Minor, visit the Grecian

Isles, stop at London, and collect the free will offerings of Israelites, who had at heart the welfare of Zion. In the metropolis of Great Britain he experienced the satis--faction of meeting one of his teachers, Rabbi Jacob Kimchi, a scion of the celebrated family that enriched our literature with Biblical expositions, Grammars and Lexicons and poetical effusions. How long Azulaï remained away from Western Asia it is uncertain, but having returned there, he appeared to yearn for Europe, and notably for an Italian city, which had shown him exceptional reverence. Having lost a married daughter, and having sent a son of his to Poland, where Talmudism flourished, he settled himself at Leghorn in Tuscan Italy, and from thence he habitually forwarded the annual contributions obtained in aid of the Holy Land.
At Leghorn he was afforded all facilities for publishing his works at the expense of pious Jews who abounded there at the time. Particularly a certain Jacob Pereyra de Leon, made the Rabbi welcome in his house, supplying all his wants, providing the prescribed number with whom daily to offer prayers, and sparing no means to render his stay pleasant and promotive of his literary interests. To that Maecenas Azulaï dedicated one of his books on rules of piety called Moré Be Ezbang. Twenty five years he passed away tranquilly in the favorite occupation of writing, correcting proofs, answering religious questions con--cerning which he was consulted, and carrying on a far-

extended correspondence with the learned of his time.
G. B. De Rossi, the librarian of the Duchess of Parma, author of the Dictionary of Hebrew writers, alluding to an ancestor of the subject of my remarks, said: "The grand son is now at Leghorn enjoying a far advanced age, and shedding lustre on his lineage by his productions, notably his biographies, en--titled Shem Ha-Geodolim".
Rabbi Azulaï who held divine services with the requisite num--ber in his dwelling every day of the year, did not attend public worship elsewhere, but the tradition at Leghorn is that the single exception was on the penitential Sabbath. Then he preached in the largest Synagogue, built by the descend--ants of the refugees of Spain and Portugal. An immense concourse of people, anxious to hear his pulpit teachings and admonitions, divided into two rows accompanied him from the door of his house to that of the synagogue. He walked in the middle, and his venerable looks attracted uni--versal attention. More than four score years had he lived, when on the 11th day of Adar 5566-1806- he departed from earht, receiving the encomiums of the learned from near and from far. Joseph David Zuidheim, noted for his writings and for his having participated in the ce--lebrated Sanhedrin convened by Napoleon Bonaparte, pro--nounced a eulogy form the text "Out of Zion proceeds instruc--tion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem," in refe--rence to the birth place of the distinguished deceased and to his immense erudition.
Candor compels that I shall say how among fifty books of larger or smaller size, which issued from the

pen of our author, only that which he divided into three parts, and called Shem Ha-Gedolim possesses much interest; the subjects of all the others have a limited value, and the style lacks that simplicity which affords pleasure to the reader and enchains his attention. The morality of Azulaï's teaching is unexceptionable; the sincerity of his belief undoubted, but that vein of Kabbalism running through all, and that strained diction which requires study to comprehend, detract greatly from the merit of the compositions. His manner of writing has found apologists among persons who are fond of double entendre, and Jeu de mots, to which the Hebrew language lends itself greatly, but pursuits and the lovers of plain and clear expressions, cannot but regret that confusion and obscurity which characterize the general compositions of Azulaï. Still, a man who weilded a pen surpassingly flowing; a man who did not subscribe to the ideas running through the Palestenian Rabbi's works, wrote a poem to his honor, because he held in high esti--mation the character and scholarship of the deceased, and recognized his sterling piety and goodness. Isaac Samuel Reggi of Gorizia inserted in 1825 in an Annual pu--blished at Vienna, and termed Bickurè A'ittim, a poem which begins thus: "Soul, temple of all good, crown completion of beauty sublimity, that since form the vale of grief thou hast departed, among archangels thy throne has been uplifted, a celestial robe, a crown of joy enhance thy splendid beauty." And in this strain the poet proceeds to depict the loos which Judaism met by the demise of one so profoundly

devout and widely learned.
I have said that the moral imparting of Azulaï was fault--less and I cannot close my lecture more fittingly than by offering a specimen of the high standard of his tuition. In one of his multifarious works, called Berith Olam, which is a running comment to Sepher Ha-Chassidim by Rabbi Judah son of Samuel who lived in France early in the thirteenth century, Azulaï writes: "Let man acquire the habit of refusing to accept money whenever the receiving of it may possibly eventuate in the profanation of the name of God. It is unnecessary to say that such a course must be adopted, when so unholy a result will surely follow. Thus, by way of illustration, people will censure teachers of religion, who show by their action that gain is their principal object. And the contempt felt for the greedy and the covetous, will be experienced for the faith they represent, and occasion a disobedience of the precepts. Let him therefore who fears the Lord, be extremely watchful, so as to remove a shadow of suspicion against his character, which might reflect dishonor on our belief; let him put his full trust in the Lord and confide in His Providence." [Hebrew]

(This lecture, delivered before "the Hebrew Literature Society" in Jan. 1891, was greatly enlarged upon and somewhat embelished in diction, during its delivery)

Identifier

p3902021x

identifier

SMBx13FF3_1