Vayehi. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
- Title
- Vayehi. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
- Author
- Morais, Sabato
- Format
- 8 pages on 4 sheets
- Language(s)
- English
- Source
- Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
- Sabato Morais Collection, Box 9, Folder 9
- Has Format
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p30g3hj1t/manifest.json
- Link to Colenda
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p30g3hj1t
- Provenance
- Transfer of Custody from the Hebrew Education Society, 10 March 1913.
- Is Format Of
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx9FF9_3.xml
- content
-
An address on the Parashat Vaihi
Dear Brethren! In pondering on the section of this sabbath, I am reminded of a maxim of our sages in the Mishná. It is the following [Hebrew] "Know what to answer the unbe-liever". The application of this Rabbinical apothegm on the subject of my meditation, will become apparent to those, who have read the productions of modern critics on our Bible; for, among the passages, which they pitilessly dissect in quest of imperfection blemishes, the prophetic benediction of Jacob has not escaped the poignancy of their skeptical analysis. They who carp at seeming in--congruities, in order to disprove the authenticity of Holy Writ, could not concede the genuineness of the 49th Chapter of the book of Genesis. Guided by human criticism, they not alone deny the sainted patriarch the knowledge of future events, but likewise the ability of couching his words in a poetical strain. They cannot conceive how at an advanced age, when the men--tal faculties are impaired, and at a moment when every thought should be centred in that of approaching death, an effusion so sublime could have been poured forth. Yet, their reasoning is futile, so futile that it does not require much acumen, to demonstrate it such. We will not--as upon a former occasion--descant on every historical incident
prognosticated in the blessing that Jacob bestowed on his children, conformably with their various aptitudes, but not satisfied with a mere cursory view of the context, in order to discover whether it bears indications of its authenticity. And as we begin our research, the truth opens itself to our intellects in all its brightness radiancy; for, if the presumption of the hyper-critics be admitted, that the chapter in question under consideration--having emanated from the pen of an unknown writer, is of less antiquity than that universally credited, a grave question will suggest itself to our mind. We would ask: who, at any period subsequent to the selection of the twelve Israelitish tribes at the fort of Sinai, could have ventured to asperse the character of sundry of the ancient fathers? Would Moses, for instance, have per--petuated the memory of the incestuous act committed by Reuben, which divested him of the right of primogeniture, unless the right--eous patriarch had thus spoken and decreed "Unstable as water thou shalt not excell, because thou wenttest up to thy father's couch?"... Would the divine legislator have imprecated the violence of Simeon,--exhibited in vindication of his sister's outraged honor,--and more espe--cially that of Levy, whose progeny had been constituted ministers of the sanctuary, if the hoary-headed parent had not reverted in terms of abhorrence to the demeanour of his two sons
towards the inhabitants of Shechem! O my soul come not unto their secret, O my honor, be not united in their assemblage, for in their anger they slew man". Is it not more probable, on the con--trary, that the tribe hallowed by the Lord, would have erased a pas--sage unauthoritatively added in the law committed to their vigi--lance, and which moreover cast obloquy on their progenitor? And the later we date the origin of that beautiful episode, which adorns the last pages of Genesis, the greater would be the diffi--culties to be encountered in reconciling it with any hypothesis of ours for, if on account of the poetical excellencies wherewith it abounds, it be transferred to the age of David and Solomon, when the Hebrew language had reached its apex, we cannot fail to perceive that the lofty and momentous position assigned to the Levites by those two monarchs, would have, even more successfully, guarded against the interpolation. The first book of Chronicles relates, that twenty four thousand of the descendants of Levy, were to oversee the work of the house of the Eternal, that six thousand were appointed officers and judges, and many others had become guardians and singers in the newly erected Temple. And if we reflect that also that vast number of individuals invested with sacerdotal func--tions, derived their extraction from the same lineal stock, we
cannot but acknowledge the impracticability of wedding spuriously engrafting aught into the Pentateuch derogatory of their parentage.
Should, however, the chapter at issue be ascribed to Helkiah the priest, whom many an infidel (without a shadow of argument) charges with having concocted the entire law, then the outpouring of so much tenderness coined towards Joseph, would indeed be alike preposterous and ill-timed. How could the blessings intended to have surpassed all those granted by Jacob's ancestors to their progeny, even [Hebrew] as highly "as the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills", be applicable to a tribe, whose glory the armies of Assyria had, a century before, levelled with the earth? If an augury expressed with so much fervour had been directed to Judah, that still weilded weilded a mighty power, the suspicion wrongfully attached to the high-priest aforenamed, might possess some plau-sibleness, but when the wishes of for an incessant happiness are tendered to a race already extinct in those his days, it would be impious folly to persist in [?] imputing to Helkiah the invention of that passage. I am also fully aware that some among modern critics have been so far misled in their skepticism, as to call Ezra, who restored the captives of Chaldea to the promised land, the sole author of
the Scriptures, but without even pausing to refute an assertion un--tenable in every respect, I would simply observe, touching the subject of our inquiry, that the total dissimilarity of style and language be--tween the book named after that benefactor of our nation, and the patriarchal benediction, would be superadded to the difficulties advan--ced above, by a concurrence in the opinion just-cited. While the 49th Chapter of Genesis--irrespective of the prophetic verities it contains,--is an admirable memento of terseness and elegance of diction, the writings of Ezra unmistakably display a decline of Hebrew literature verily, my friends! that chapter placed but where it now stands, would be a plant which evinces its exotic nature by refusing to reward with its blossoms our incessant cares. No, all the strenuous efforts of criticism to stamp it as an interpolation, have been abortive, for, if removed to a period posterior to the demise of the righteous Jacob, it loses its significance and import. Nor should our belief in its au--thenticity flag under the thought of the critical situation and decre--pitude of the speaker. On the contrary, that consideration ought to lend new force unto it, for, doubtless, the future of the twelve tribes his children and their return to Canaan, was not a transitory reflection, but an idea he cherished during the seventeen years of foreign sojourn, by him
who had been promised "to spread abroad to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south". And the glorious imageries which had so long enlivened his spirit, when kindled by a divine afflatus, assumed at the solemn hour of death a prophetic vision, and a lan--guage of superhuman ardour.
This much have I deemed proper to say, not because I fear that any among my hearers may be tainted with the errors which the works of modern critics have striven to disseminate, but to warn my youth-ful junior brethren, who may be induced to scan those pages, not to receive as a dictum their specious arguing, for, it is even as our sages have told us, that in the very biblical passage at which infidels cavil, a strong refutation can be found against them. Yet, it will not be by listening to a weekly recital of the Pentateuch, or to occasional strictures thereon, that will be discerned we shall detect the falsity of doctrines which have unhappily obtained in our days many disciples, it is by dint of serious studies. Wherefore the maxim of our Rabbins that I chose for my text is preceded by another which recommends to ponder sedulously on the law of God [Hebrew] [Hebrew], that is, if it be thy wish to learn how to answer the unbeliever, thou must seek that knowledge in the volumes of truth. Oh! that such desire were experienced by our youths, for, while engaged to strengthen themselves in their ancestral faith, they would also grow wisely beneficent and spiritually religious!!!
Beneficent Lord! On this Sabbath, that we complete the perusal of that heavenly volume, wherein the lives of sainted men are truthfully recorded, we beseech thy mercy, that the noble example they exhibit they become the polar-star, by which we may be guided on earth. May we, when reflecting on the godliness of Abraham our father, on the [?] of Isaac, and the pious fortitude of Jacob, feel that we also are deeply imbued with love for Thee, with kindliness towards all thy creatures, and with submission to thy inscrutable will. Grant O Lord! that the virtues, which pre-eminently adorned the character of Rachel's first darling son, may be engrafted in the breasts of our cherished offspring. May they, like Joseph, resist the allurements of the impious, solely to follow integrity and righteousness. May his forgiving spirit, and his profound reverence be copied by our children. Oh! may the exquisite feelings of filial attachment which that doting son of Jacob evinced towards his aged parent, sweeten also the winter of our years. His eagerness in anticipating the desires and wants of the decrepid patriarch, his devotion in executing his last bidding, the tokens of homage which he paid to his memory, may be the model, on which our sons and daughters, will shape their demeanour towards the authors of their life, and the guardians of their tender age, for, then shall we acknowledge ourselves happy, when "our seed shall be known among the gentiles, & our offspring arming the people, & all that see them shall proclaim that they are the progeny whom the Lord hath blessed" Amen.
May this be thy gracious will. Amen. - Identifier
- p30g3hj1t
- identifier
- SMBx9FF9_3
Part of Vayehi. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated
Morais, Sabato, “Vayehi. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated”, Sabato Morais Digital Repository, accessed September 19, 2024, https://judaicadhpenn.org/legacyprojects/s/morais/item/91281