THUS saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that Iam the Lord who exercise loving kindness, judgement, and righteousness in the earth: for in these things Idelight, saith the Lord. JEREMIAH 9. 23–4.
HE that planted the ear, shall He not hear? He that formed the eye, shall He not see? He that instructeth the nations, shall not He correct, Even He that teacheth man knowledge? PSALM 94. 9–10.
GOD, WHOM SHALL ICOMPARE TOTHEE! GOD, whom shall Icompare to Thee, When Thou to none canst likened be? Under what image shall Idare To picture Thee, when everywhere All Nature’s forms Thine impress bear? Hearts, seeking Thee, from search refrain, And weary tongues their praise restrain. Thyself unbound by time and place, Thou dost pervade, support, embrace The world and all created space. Deep, deep beyond all fathoming, Far, far beyond all measuring, We can but seek Thy deeds alone; When bow Thy saints before Thy throne Then is Thy faithfulness made known. Thy righteousness we can discern, Thy holy law proclaim and learn. Is not Thy presence near alway To them who penitently pray, But far from those who sinning stray? Pure souls behold Thee, and no need Have they of light: they hear and heed Thee with the mind’s keen ear, although The ear of flesh be dull and slow. Their voices answer to and fro. Thy holiness for ever they proclaim: The Lord of Hosts! thrice holy is His name. YEHUDAH HALEVI.
(Trans. Alice Lucas.)
GREAT IS TRUTH GREAT is Truth, and stronger than all things. All the earth calleth upon Truth, and the heaven blesseth her; all works shake and tremble, but with her is no unrighteous thing.... Truth abideth, and is strong for ever; she liveth and conquereth for evermore.... She is the strength, and the kingdom, and the power, and the majesty, of all ages. Blessed be the God of Truth. 1 ESDRAS 4. 35, 36, 38, 40.
TRUTH is the seal of God. TALMUD.
THE RIGHT LIFE IT hath been told thee, Oman, what is good, and what the Lord doth require of thee: only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. MICAH 6. 8.
WOE unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! ISAIAH 5. 20–2.
THE proper study of a wise man is not how to die, but how to live. A man who desires to help others by counsel or deed will refrain from dwelling on men’s faults, and will speak but sparingly of human weaknesses. But he will speak at large of man’s virtue and power, and the means of perfecting the same, that thus men may endeavour joyously to live, so far as in them lies, after the commandment of reason. BENEDICT SPINOZA, 1674.
THE GOODNESS OF GOD’S WORK MEN frequently think that the evils in the world are more numerous than the good things; many sayings and songs of the nations dwell on this idea. They say that the good is found only exceptionally, whilst evil things are numerous and lasting. The origin of this error is to be found in the circumstance that men judge of the whole universe by examining one single person only. If anything happens to him contrary to his expectation, forthwith they conclude that the whole universe is evil. All mankind at present in existence forms only an infinitesimal portion of the permanent universe. It is of great advantage that man should know his station. Numerous evils to which persons are exposed are due to the defects existing in the persons themselves. We seek relief from our own faults; we suffer from evils which we inflict on ourselves, and we ascribe them to God who is far from connected with them. As Solomon explained it: The foolishness of man perverteth his way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord. MOSES MAIMONIDES, 1190.
THE TWO NATURES IN MAN IT is because man is half angel, half brute, that his inner life witnesses such bitter war between such unlike natures. The brute in him clamours for sensual joy and things in which there is only vanity; but the angel resists and strives to make him know that meat, drink, sleep are but means whereby the body may be made efficient for the study of the truths, and the doing of the will, of God. Not until the very hour of death can it be certain or known to what measure the victory has been won. He who is but a novice in the fear of God will do well to say audibly each day, as he rises: ‘This day Iwill be a faithful servant of the Almighty. Iwill be on my guard against wrath, falsehood, hatred, and quarrelsomeness, and will forgive those who wound me.’ For whoso forgives is forgiven in his turn; hard-heartedness and a temper that will not make up quarrels are a heavy burden of sin, and unworthy of an Israelite. MOSES OF COUCY, 13thcent.
FREEDOM OF THE WILL FREE will is granted to every man. If he desire to incline towards the good way and be righteous, he has the power to do so; and if he desire to incline towards the unrighteous way and be a wicked man, he has also the power to do so. Give no room in your minds to that which is asserted by heathen fools, and also by many of the ignorant among the Israelites themselves, namely: that the Holy One, blessed be He, decrees that a man from his birth should be either a righteous man or a wicked man. Since the power of doing good or evil is in our own hands, and since all the wicked deeds which we have committed have been committed with our full consciousness, it befits us to turn in penitence and to forsake our evil deeds; the power of doing so being still in our hands. Now this matter is a very important principle; nay, it is the pillar of the Law and of the commandments. MOSES MAIMONIDES, 1180.
THE WICKED SAITH IN HIS HEART FOR they said within themselves, reasoning not aright, ‘Short and sorrowful is our life; And there is no healing when a man cometh to his end, And none was ever known that returned out of Hades. Because by mere chance were we born, And hereafter we shall be as though we had never been: And our name shall be forgotten in time, And no man shall remember our works; And our life shall pass away as the traces of a cloud, And shall be scattered as is a mist. For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow, And there is no putting back of our end. Come therefore and let us enjoy the good things that now are; And let us use the creation with all our soul as youth’s possession. Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and perfumes; And let no flower of spring pass us by: Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered: Let none of us go without his share in our proud revelry: Everywhere let us leave tokens of our mirth: Because this is our portion, and our lot is this. Let our strength be to us a law of righteousness; For that which is weak is convicted to be of no service.’ Thus reasoned they, and they were led astray; For their wickedness blinded them, And they knew not the mysteries of God, Neither hoped they for wages of holiness, Nor did they judge that there is a prize for blameless souls. Because God created man for incorruption, And made him an image of His own everlastingness. WISDOM OF SOLOMON 2.1, 2, 4–9, 11, 21–3.
REPENTANCE OF THE WICKED THEY shall say within themselves repenting: ‘Verily we went astray from the way of truth, We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, And we journeyed through trackless deserts, But the way of the Lord we knew not. What did our arrogancy profit us? And what good have riches and vaunting brought us? Those things all passed away as a shadow, As a ship passing through the billowy water, Whereof, when it is gone by, there is no trace to be found, Neither pathway of its keel in the billows: Or as when a bird flieth through the air, No token of her passage is found, But the light wind, lashed with the stroke of her pinions, And rent asunder with the violent rush, is passed through by the motion of her wings, And afterwards no sign of her coming is found therein: So we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be; And of virtue we had no sign to show, But in our wickedness we were utterly consumed. Because the hope of the ungodly man is as chaff carried by the wind, And passeth by as the remembrance of a guest that tarrieth but a day. ‘But the righteous live for ever, And in the Lord is their reward, And the care for them with the Most High.’ WISDOM OF SOLOMON 5.3, 6–11, 13–15.
WISE COUNSEL
I THE soul, when accustomed to superfluous things, acquires a strong habit of desiring others which are necessary neither for the preservation of the individual nor for that of the species. This desire is without limit; whilst things which are necessary are few, and restricted within certain bounds. Lay this well to heart, reflect on it again and again; that which is superfluous is without end (and therefore the desire for it also without limit). Thus you desire to have your vessels of silver, but golden vessels are still better; others even have vessels studded with sapphires, emeralds, or rubies. Those, therefore, who are ignorant of this truth, that the desire for superfluous things is without limit, are constantly in trouble and pain. When they thus meet with the consequences of their course they complain of the judgements of God; they go so far as to say that God’s power is insufficient, because He has given to this Universe the properties which they imagine cause these evils. MOSES MAIMONIDES.
II PREFER one in hand to two in hope; a little certainty is better than a great perhaps. Sooner a servant among the noble than leader among the common; for some of their honour will stick to you, while you must share the contempt of your contemptible followers. The proud cedar is felled, the lowly bush is untouched; fire rises and dies away, water flows down and for ever. If for what beauty or riches you have, you raise your head above neighbour or brother, you feed hateful envy, and the beggar whom you despise may yet triumph over you. Better enough in freedom than plenty at the table of another. Love thy children with impartial love; the hope oft errs that you place on the more promising, and all your joy may come from him that you have kept in the background. BENEDICT OF OXFORD, 1195.
(Trans. Joseph Jacobs.)
III THERE are seven marks of an uncultured, and seven of a wise, man. The wise man does not speak before him who is greater than he in wisdom, and does not break in upon the speech of his fellow; he is not hasty to answer; he questions according to the subject-matter, and answers to the point; he speaks upon the first thing first, and upon the last, last; regarding that which he has not understood, he says, ‘Ido not understand it’, and he acknowledges the truth. ETHICS OF THE FATHERS.
THE DUTY OF HOLINESS I AM the Lord your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for Iam holy. LEVITICUS 11. 44.
IN rabbinical ethics, holiness is the highest ideal. The entire system of the Jewish law has the hallowing of life as its aim, to be reached through good works, through observance of the Sabbath and Holy-days, and through the sanctification of God’s name (Kiddush Hashem). Holiness became for rabbinical Judaism synonymous with purity of life, purity of action, and purity of thought; and under its influence personal purity in Judaism became the highest standard and maxim of ethics found in any religious system. K. KOHLER,79 1904.
‘CLEANLINESS is next to Godliness.’—Carefulness leads to cleanliness; cleanliness to purity; purity to humility; humility to saintliness; saintliness to fear of sin; fear of sin to holiness; and holiness to immortality. TALMUD.
THE CITY OF GOD DO not seek for the City of God on earth, for it is not built of wood or stone; but seek it in the soul of the man who is at peace with himself and is a lover of true wisdom. If a man practises ablutions of the body, but defiles his mind—if he offers hecatombs, founds a temple, adorns a shrine, and does nothing for making his soul beautiful—let him not be called religious. He has wandered far from real religion, mistaking ritual for holiness; attempting, as it were, to bribe the Incorruptible and to flatter Him whom none can flatter. God welcomes the genuine service of a soul, the sacrifice of truth; but from display of wealth He turns away. Will any man with impure soul and with no intention to repent dare to approach the Most High God? The grateful soul of the wise man is the true altar of God. PHILO JUDAEUS, 1st cent.
THINK not meanly of thyself, and despair not of perfection. MOSES MAIMONIDES, 1200.
A MAN should so live that at the close of every day he can repeat: ‘Ihave not wasted my day’. ZOHAR.
HUMILITY THE man who does good works is more likely to be overtaken by pride in them than by any other moral mischance, and its effect on conduct is injurious in the extreme. Therefore, among the most necessary of virtues is that one which banishes pride; and this is, humility. First among the signs by which the meek are known is that when misfortunes come to them their endurance triumphs over their fear and grief, and they willingly submit to the decree of God, and own that His judgements are righteous. In matters of justice, however, the meek will be high-spirited and fearless, punishing the wicked without fear for favour. He will help the oppressed and rescue him from the power of the oppressor. BACHYA IBN PAKUDAH, 1040.
AT all times let a man fear God as well in private as in public, acknowledge the truth, and speak the truth in his heart; and let him rise early and say: Sovereign of all worlds! Not because of our righteous acts do we lay our supplications before Thee, but because of Thine abundant mercies. DAILY PRAYER BOOK.
WISDOM begetteth humility. ABRAHAM IBN EZRA, 1167.
SAYINGS FROM THE TALMUD
I BE thou the cursed, not he who curses. Be of them that are persecuted, not of them that persecute. Look at Scripture: there is not a single bird more persecuted than the dove; yet God has chosen her to be offered up on His altar. The bull is hunted by the lion, the sheep by the wolf, the goat by the tiger. And God said, ‘Bring Me a sacrifice, not from them that persecute, but from them that are persecuted’. Scripture ordains that the Hebrew slave who ‘loves’ his bondage shall have his ear pierced against the door-post (Exodus 21). Why? Because it is that ear which heard on Sinai, ‘They are My servants, they shall not be sold as bondsmen’. They are My servants, not servants’ servants. And this man voluntarily throws away his precious freedom—‘Pierce his ear!’
II EVEN when the gates of heaven are shut to prayer, they are open to tears. Prayer is Israel’s only weapon, a weapon inherited from his fathers, a weapon tried in a thousand battles. When the righteous man dies, it is the earth that loses. The lost jewel will always be a jewel, but the possessor who has lost it—well may he weep. To one who denied resurrection, Gabiha ben Pasissa said: ‘If what never before existed, exists, why may not that which once existed exist again?’ Life is a passing shadow, says Scripture. Is it the shadow of a tower, of a tree? Ashadow that prevails for a while? No, it is the shadow of a bird in its flight—away flies the bird, and there is neither bird nor shadow. Repent one day before thy death. There was a king who bade all his servants to a great repast, but did not indicate the hour. Some went home and put on their best garments and stood at the door of the palace; others said, ‘There is ample time, the king will let us know beforehand’. But the king summoned them of a sudden; and those that came in their best garments were well received, but the foolish ones who came in their slovenliness, were turned away in disgrace. Iron breaks the stone, fire melts iron, water extinguishes fire, the clouds drink up the water, a storm drives away the clouds, man withstands the storm, fear unmans man, wine dispels fear, sleep drives away wine, and death sweeps all away—even sleep. But Solomon the Wise says: ‘Charity delivereth from death’.
III FOUR shall not enter Paradise: the scoffer, the liar, the hypocrite, and the slanderer. The cock and the owl both await the daylight. ‘The light’, says the cock, ‘brings delight to me; but what are you waiting for?’ Thy friend has a friend, and thy friend’s friend has a friend: be discreet. He who is ashamed will not easily commit sin. Commit a sin twice, and you will think it perfectly allowable. There is a great difference between him who is ashamed before his own self, and him who is only ashamed before others. The sun will go down all by himself, without thy assistance. Not what thou sayest about thyself, but what others say. He who humiliates himself will be lifted up; he who raises himself up will be humiliated. Whosoever runs after greatness, greatness runs away from him; he who runs from greatness, greatness follows him. If the young tell thee, Build; and the old tell thee, Destroy—follow the counsel of the elders; for often the destruction of the elders is construction, and the construction of the young is destruction.
IV ‘FEAR God, as much as you fear man’, said Johanan ben Zakkai.80 ‘Not more?’ asked his pupils in surprise. ‘If you would but fear Him as much!’ said the dying sage. The righteous are masters of their passions. Not so the wicked: they are the slaves of their desires. The righteous need no monuments: their deeds are their monuments. The righteous promise little and do much; the wicked promise much and do not perform even a little. Let thy yea be yea, and thy nay be nay. In Palestine it was considered a sign of descent from a good family if any one first broke off in a quarrel. The greatest of heroes is he who turneth an enemy into a friend. Giving is not the essential thing, but to give with delicacy of feeling. Scripture does not say, ‘Happy is he who giveth to the poor’, but, ‘Happy is he who wisely considereth the poor’. He who makes the sorrowful rejoice will partake of life everlasting. As the ocean never freezes, so the gate of repentance is never closed. The best preacher is the heart, the best teacher time, the best book the world, the best friend God. He who curbs his wrath, his sins will be forgiven. Whosoever does not persecute them that persecute him, whosoever takes an offence in silence, he who does good because of love, he who is cheerful under his sufferings, they are the friends of God, and of them the Scripture says, ‘But they that love Him shall be as the sun, when he goeth forth in his might’.
THE DEDICATED LIFE MOSES has shown that we should all confess our gratitude for the powers we possess. The wise man should dedicate his sagacity, the eloquent man should devote his excellence of speech, to the praise of God in prose and verse; and, in general, the natural philosopher should offer his physics, the moralist his ethics, the artist and the man of science the arts and sciences they know. So, too, the sailor and the pilot will dedicate their favourable voyage, the husbandman his fruitful harvest, the herdsman the increase of his cattle, the doctor the recovery of his patients, the general his victory in fight, and the statesman or the monarch his legal chieftaincy or kingly rule. Let no one, however humble and insignificant he be, despairing of a better fortune, scruple to become a suppliant of God. Even if he can expect nothing more, let him give thanks to the best of his power for what he has already received. Infinite are the gifts he has: birth, life, nature, soul, sensation, imagination, desire, reason. Reason is a small word, but a most perfect thing, a fragment of the world-soul, or, as for the disciples of the Mosaic philosophy it is more pious to say, a true impression of the Divine Image. PHILO JUDAEUS, 1st cent.
GOD AND MAN RABBI AKIBA81 said: Beloved is man, for he was created in the image of God; but it was by a special love that it was made known to him that he was created in the image of God. Everything is foreseen, yet freedom of choice is given; and the world is judged by grace, yet all is according to the amount of the work.
BEN AZZAI82 said: Despise not any man, and carp not at anything; for there is not a man that has not his hour, and there is not a thing that has not its place.
HILLEL83 said: If Iam not for myself, who will be for me? And being for myself only, what amI? and, if not now, when? Separate not thyself from the community. Trust not in thyself until the day of thy death. Judge not thy neighbour until thou art come into his place. ETHICS OF THE FATHERS.
GOLDEN RULES THOU shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. LEVITICUS 19. 18.
RABBI AKIBA said: Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself. This is a fundamental principle of religion.
HILLEL used to say: Whatever is hateful unto thee, do it not unto thy fellow. This is the whole Law; the rest is but commentary. TALMUD.
‘THOU shalt not hate the brother in thy heart’ (Leviticus 19.17). Our Rabbis taught that this precept might be explained to mean only that you must not injure him, nor insult him, nor vex him, and so the words ‘in thine heart’ are added to forbid us even to feel hatred in our heart without giving it outward expression. Causeless hatred ranks with the three capital sins: Idolatry, Immorality, and Murder. The Second Temple, although in its time study of the Law and good works flourished and God’s Commandments were obeyed, was destroyed because of causeless hatred, one of the deadly sins. ACHAÏ (GAON), 8th cent.
(Trans. E. N. Adler.)
DEEDS THE BEST COMMENDATION WHEN Akabya,84 son of Mahalalel, was on his death-bed, his son asked, ‘Father, commend me to thy friends’. ‘No, my son,’ said he, ‘Ishall not commend thee.’ ‘Hast thou found aught unworthy in me?’ ‘No, my son,’ replied he, ‘thy deeds will bring thee near unto men, and thy deeds will drive thee from them.’ TALMUD.
RABBI HANINA, son of Dosa, said: He in whom the spirit of his fellow men taketh delight, in him the Spirit of the All-present taketh delight; and he in whom the spirit of his fellow men taketh not delight, in him the Spirit of the All-present taketh not delight.
RABBI JUDAH THE PRINCE85 said, Which is the right course that a man should choose for himself? That which he feels to be in itself honourable to the doer, and which also brings him the respect of his fellow men. Reflect upon three things, and thou wilt not come within the power of sin: Know what is above thee—a seeing Eye, a hearing Ear, and all thy deeds are written in a Book. ETHICS OF THE FATHERS.
A MEDIAEVAL JEWISH MORALIST
I NO crown carries such royalty with it as doth humility; no monument gives such glory as an unsullied name; no worldly gain can equal that which comes from observing God’s laws. The highest sacrifice is a broken and contrite heart; the highest wisdom is that which is found in the Law; the noblest of all ornaments is modesty; the most beautiful of all things man can do is to forgive wrong. Cherish a good heart when thou findest it in any one; hate, for thou mayest hate it, the haughtiness of the overbearing man, and keep the boaster at a distance. There is no skill or cleverness to be compared to that which avoids temptation; there is no force, no strength that can equal piety. All honour to him who thinks continually and with an anxious heart of his Maker; who prays, reads, and learns, and all these with a passionate yearning for his Maker’s grace.
II LET thy dealings be of such sort that a blush need never visit thy cheek; be sternly dumb to the voice of passion; commit no sin, saying to thyself that thou wilt repent and make atonement at a later time. Let no oath ever pass thy lips; play not the haughty aristocrat in thine heart; follow not the desire of the eyes; banish carefully all guile from thy soul, all unseemly self-assertion from thy bearing and thy temper. Speak never mere empty words; enter into strife with no man; place no reliance on men of mocking lips; wrangle not with evil men; cherish no too fixed good opinion of thyself, but lend thine ear to remonstrance and reproof. Be not weakly pleased at demonstrations of honour; strive not anxiously for distinction; never let a thought of envy of those who do grave wrong cross thy mind; be never enviously jealous of others, or too eager for money. Honour thy parents; make peace whenever thou canst among people, lead them gently into the good path; place thy trust in, give thy company to, those who fear God.
III IF the means of thy support in life be measured out scantily to thee, remember that thou hast to be thankful and grateful even for the mere privilege to breathe, and that thou must take up that suffering as a test of thy piety and a preparation for better things. But if worldly wealth be lent to thee, exalt not thyself above thy brother; for both of ye came naked into the world, and both of ye will surely have to sleep at last together in the dust. Bear well thy heart against the assaults of envy, which kills even sooner than death itself; and know no envy at all, save such envy of the merits of virtuous men as shall lead thee to emulate the beauty of their lives. Surrender not thyself a slave to hate, that ruin of all the heart’s good resolves, that destroyer of the very savour of food, of our sleep, of all reverence in our souls. Keep peace both within the city and without, for it goes well with all those who are counsellors of peace; be wholly sincere; mislead no one by prevarications, by words smoother than intention, as little as by direct falsehood. For God the Eternal is a God of Truth; it is He from whom truth flowed first, He who begat truth and sent it into creation. ELEAZAR (ROKËACH) OF WORMS, c. 1200.
THE MYSTERY OF PAIN THE mystery of pain is an old problem. The Rabbis were deeply impressed with its gravity and complexity. The sorrows of the universe and the agony of Israel; the suffering of the nation and the pain of the individual, formed the inspiration of some of their noblest thoughts. They fully realized that suffering can chasten and heal and purify, even ‘as salt cleanses meat’. And so they call God’s chastisements the blessed scourges of love, and tell us that even as the olive only gives forth its sweet and perfumed oil on being crushed, so also Israel only reaches perfection through crushing sorrows. They tell us that in the thick darkness of the world-problem is God—the ‘Light Behind’; that all things work together for good—even Death; they represent God as saying to mankind, ‘with thy very wounds Iwill heal thee’; they say that those whom God afflicts bear His name; that only through a ‘sorrow’s crown of sorrows’ cometh true life. Heaven is not to be won by rest and ease and quiet. Only those who have suffered and endured greatly have achieved greatly. The world’s greatest workers, thinkers, and teachers have only reached the pinnacle of fame by surmounting obstacles which to ordinary men, content with the lower slopes, would have seemed insuperable. Man has ever risen nearer to God by the altar-stairs of pain and sorrow—those altar-stairs which lead through darkness, for ever upwards, towards the very Throne of God. S. ALFRED ADLER, 1906.
MEETING ADVERSITY ACCORDING to ancient Jewish custom, the ceremony of cutting our garments when our nearest and dearest on earth is lying dead before us, is to be performed standing up. This teaches: meet all sorrow standing upright. The future may be dark, veiled from the eye of mortals—but not the manner in which we are to meet the future. To rail at life, to rebel against a destiny that has cast our lines in unpleasant places, is of little avail. We cannot lay down terms to life. Life must be accepted on its own terms. But hard as life’s terms are, life (it has been finely said) never dictates unrighteousness, unholiness, dishonour. J. H. HERTZ, 1900.
THE CONTEMPLATION OF DEATH THE contemplation of death should plant within the soul elevation and peace. Above all, it should make us see things in their true light. For all things which seem foolish in the light of death are really foolish in themselves. To be annoyed because So-and-so has slighted us or been somewhat more successful in social distinctions, pulled himself somehow one rung higher up the ladder than ourselves—how ridiculous all this seems when we couple it with the thought of death! To pass each day simply and solely in the eager pursuit of money or of fame, this also seems like living with shadows when one might take one’s part with realities. Surely when death is at hand we should desire to say, ‘Ihave contributed my grain to the great store of the eternal. Ihave borne my part in the struggle for goodness.’ And let no man or woman suppose that the smallest social act of goodness is wasted for society at large. All our help, petty though it be, is needed; and though we know not the manner, the fruit of every faithful service is surely gathered in. Let the true and noble words of a great teacher ring in conclusion upon our ears: ‘The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life and rest in unvisited tombs’. C. G. MONTEFIORE, 1893.
REMEMBER thy last end, and cease from enmity. ECCLESIASTICUS 28. 6.
LIGHT IN DARKNESS WHEN Adam saw for the first time the sun go down, and an ever-deepening gloom enfold creation, his mind was filled with terror. God then took pity on him, and endowed him with the divine intuition to take two stones—the name of one was Darkness and the name of the other Shadow of Death—and rub them against each other, and so discover fire. Thereupon Adam exclaimed with grateful joy: ‘Blessed be the Creator of Light’. TALMUD.
WHENCE AND WHITHER
I AKABYA, son of Mahalalel, said, ‘Reflect upon three things, and thou wilt not come within the power of sin: know whence thou camest, and whither thou art going, and before whom thou wilt in future have to render account and reckoning’. ETHICS OF THE FATHERS.
II AN old Saxon chieftain was once revelling with his boon companions in the brilliantly lighted banqueting hall, when he noticed a bird flying from end to end, and he exclaimed: ‘Even thus is our fate. Out of the darkness we come; we speed for a while through a gay and merry world, and then again into darkness we lapse.’ Ah, not so, dear Congregants! ‘The dust returneth to the earth, as it was, but the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.’ Our true essence is deathless—spirit of God’s undying Spirit, soul of His immortal Soul. If we have risen to a true conception of life and our duty, if we have proved ourselves faithful to our mission, then our end will not be a leap in the dark, but— ‘Life’s race well run, Life’s work well done, Life’s crown well won’: then come rest and peace—rest with God, peace everlasting. HERMANN ADLER, 1898.
TIME AND ETERNITY GOD, the Source of life, has placed in our nature the blessed hope of immortality, by which we may console ourselves for the vanity of life, and overcome the dread of death. If thou art in truth of the higher sphere, why should the thought of leaving this lower region trouble thee? Especially since the very pleasures which thou seekest on earth are, in reality, but briars and thorns. Therefore seek them not. But what shouldst thou do? This: Use thy time as thou wouldst a doubtful companion: extract the good and avoid the evil. Avail thyself of the few opportunities of improvement in his company, and use thy discretion so that thou mayest suffer no injury from thy association with him. And remember that the companionship of time is but of short duration. It flies more quickly than the shades of evening. We are like a child that grasps in his hand a sunbeam. He opens his hand soon again, but, to his amazement, finds it empty and the brightness gone. YEDAYA PENINI, 14th cent.
WHATSOEVER thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. ECCLESIASTES 9. 10.
ACCUSTOM thyself to complete any good work thou hast undertaken. DERECH ERETZ ZUTTA, 8th cent. THE HEART ENNOBLES ANY CALLING RABBI BAROKA, a saintly mystic, one day as he was walking through the crowded market-place of his town, met Elijah, the wandering spirit of prophecy in Jewish lore. ‘Who of all this multitude has the best claim to Heaven?’ asks the Rabbi of his spirit companion. The prophet points to a disreputable, weird-looking creature, a turnkey. ‘That man yonder, because he is considerate to his prisoners, and refrains from all unnecessary cruelty. In that miniature hell over which he presides he has suppressed many a horror.’ ‘And who else is here sure of eternal life?’ continues the Rabbi. Elijah then points to two motley-dressed fellows, clowns, who were supplying amusement to the bystanders. The Rabbi’s astonishment knew no bounds. ‘Scorn them not,’ explains the prophet; ‘it is always their habit, even when not performing for hire, to cheer the depressed and the sorrowful. Whenever they see a sufferer they join him, and by merry talk cause him to forget his grief.’ The heart ennobles any calling. Aturnkey may leave the saintly behind in true merit of life; and a jester may be first in the kingdom of heaven, if disinterestedly he has diminished the sadness of human lives.
II ‘WE LIVE IN DEEDS, NOT YEARS’ A KING had a vineyard, and he hired a number of labourers, one of whom worked more diligently and better than the others. What did the king? He took him by the hand and showed him friendship, and walked in the vineyard conversing with him. At eventide, all the labourers came to receive their hire, and the king paid that labourer too for a full day’s work. Then were the other labourers sorely vexed. They said, ‘Behold, we have worked the whole day, whereas this one has only worked a few hours’. Then said the king, ‘Why do you speak thus? Consider. This one, in a few hours, did more work for me than you who toiled the whole day long.’
III THE ACORN A RABBI was once passing through a field where he saw a very old man planting an oak-tree. ‘Why are you planting that tree?’ said he. ‘You surely do not expect to live long enough to see the acorn growing up into an oak-tree?’ ‘Ah,’ replied the old man, ‘my ancestors planted trees not for themselves, but for us, in order that we might enjoy their shade or their fruit. Iam doing likewise for those who will come after me.’
IV EARTHLY TREASURES ALEXANDER, the world conqueror, came across a simple people in Africa who knew not war. He lingered to learn their ways. Two citizens appeared before their chief with this point of dispute: One had bought a piece of land and discovered a treasure in it; he claimed that this belonged to the seller, and wished to return it. The seller, on the other hand, declared that he sold the land with all it might contain. So he refused to accept the treasure. The chief, turning to the buyer, said: ‘Thou hast a son?’ ‘Yes.’ And addressing the seller, ‘Thou hast a daughter?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Marry one to the other and make the treasure their marriage portion.’ They left content. ‘In my country’, said the surprised Alexander, ‘the disputants would have been imprisoned, and the treasure confiscated for the king.’ ‘Is your country blessed by sun and rain?’ asked the chief. ‘Yes,’ replied Alexander. ‘Does it contain cattle?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Then it must be for the sake of these innocent animals that the sun shines upon it; surely its people are unworthy of such blessing.’
V ALEXANDER AT THE GATES OF PARADISE ALEXANDER the Great, in his travels in the East, one day wandered to the gate of Paradise. He knocked, and the guardian angel asked, ‘Who is there?’ ‘Alexander,’ was the answer. ‘Who is Alexander?’ ‘Alexander, you know—the Alexander—Alexander the Great—Conqueror of the world.’ ‘We know him not—he cannot enter here. This is the Lord’s gate; only the righteous enter.’ Alexander then more humbly begged for something to show he had reached the heavenly gate, and a small fragment of a human skull was thrown to him, with the words, ‘Weigh it’. He took it away, and showed it contemptuously to his Wise Men, who brought a pair of scales, and, placing the bone in one, Alexander put some of his silver and gold against it in the other; but the small bone outweighed them all. More and more silver and gold were put into the scale, and at last all his crown jewels and diadems were in; but they all flew upwards like feathers before the weight of the bone, till one of the Wise Men placed a few grains of dust on the bone. Up flew the scale! The bone was that which surrounded the eye, and nothing will ever satisfy the eye until covered by the dust of the grave.
VI HEAVENLY TREASURES KING MONOBAZ, who in the days of the Second Temple became a proselyte to Judaism, unlocked his ancestral treasures at a time of famine, and distributed them among the poor. His ministers rebuked him, saying, ‘Thy fathers amassed, thou dost squander’. ‘Nay,’ said the benevolent king, ‘they preserved earthly, but Iheavenly, treasures; theirs could be stolen, mine are beyond mortal reach; theirs were barren, mine will bear fruit time without end; they preserved money, Ihave preserved lives. The treasures which my fathers laid by are for this world, mine are for eternity.’
VII TOLERATION An aged man, whom Abraham hospitably invited to his tent, refused to join him in prayer to the one spiritual God. Learning that he was a fire-worshipper, Abraham drove him from his door. That night God appeared to Abraham in a vision and said: ‘Ihave borne with that ignorant man for seventy years: could you not have patiently suffered him one night?’
VIII THE TORAH IS ISRAEL’S LIFE ONCE the Romans issued a decree that the Jews should no longer occupy themselves in the study of the Torah. Rabbi Akiba, however, was most zealous in spreading a love and knowledge of the Torah amongst all the Jewish communities. One day his friend Pappus met him and spake thus: ‘Akiba, art thou not afraid? Thou surely must know that thy deeds will bring thee into mortal danger!’ ‘Stay a while!’ retorted Akiba, ‘let me tell thee a story: Afox was walking on the brink of a stream, in the clear waters of which were a number of fishes running to and fro. Said the fox to the fishes, ‘Why do you run so?’ ‘We run’, replied they, ‘because we fear the fishermen’s nets.’ ‘Come up on the dry land’, said the fox, ‘and live with me in safety, even as my forefathers once lived in safety with yours.’ But the fishes said, ‘This surely is not the cleverest amongst animals that speaks thus. Water is our natural home. If we are not safe there, how much less safe should we be on land, where we must surely die!’ It is exactly so with us Jews’, continued Akiba. ‘The Torah is our life and the length of our days. We may, whilst loving and studying the Torah, be in great danger from our enemies; but if we were to give up its study, we should speedily disappear and be no more.’
IX ISRAEL’S LOYALTY THERE was once a man who betrothed himself to a beautiful maiden and then went away, and the maiden waited and he came not. Friends and rivals mocked her and said, ‘He will never come’. She went into her room and took out the letters in which he had promised to be ever faithful. Weeping she read them and was comforted. In time he returned, and inquiring how she had kept her faith so long, she showed him his letters. Israel in misery, in captivity, was mocked by the nations for her hopes of redemption; but Israel went into her schools and synagogues and took out the letters, and was comforted. God would in time redeem her and say, ‘How could you alone among all the mocking nations be faithful?’ Then Israel would point to the Law and the Prophets and answer, ‘Had Inot your promise here?’
X THE JEWELS RABBI MEIR sat during the whole of the Sabbath-day in the School instructing the people. During his absence from the house his two sons died, both of them of uncommon beauty, and enlightened in the Law. His wife bore them to her bedchamber, and spread a white covering over their bodies. In the evening Rabbi Meir came home. ‘Where are my sons?’ he asked. ‘Irepeatedly looked round the School, and Idid not see them there.’ She reached him a goblet. He praised the Lord at the going out of the Sabbath, drank, and again asked: ‘Where are my sons?’ ‘They will not be afar off’, she said, and placed food before him that he might eat. When he had said grace after the meal, she thus addressed him: ‘With thy permission, Iwould fain propose to thee one question’. ‘Ask it then’, he replied. ‘Afew days ago a person entrusted some jewels into my custody, and now he demands them of me; should Igive them back again?’ ‘This is a question’, said the Rabbi, ‘which my wife should not have thought it necessary to ask. What! wouldst thou hesitate to restore to every one his own?’ ‘No,’ she replied; ‘but yet Ithought it best not to restore them without acquainting you therewith.’ She then led him to the chamber, and took the white covering from the dead bodies. ‘Ah, my sons! my sons!’ loudly lamented the father. ‘My sons! the light of my eyes!’ The mother turned away and wept bitterly. At length she took her husband by the hand, and said: ‘Didst thou not teach me that we must not be reluctant to restore that which was entrusted to our keeping? See—the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!’
XI THE TWO SHIPS TWO ships were once seen to be sailing near land. One of them was going forth from the harbour, and the other was coming into the harbour. Every one was cheering the outgoing ship, and every one was giving it a hearty send-off. But the incoming ship was scarcely noticed. A wise man was looking at the two ships, and he said: ‘Rejoice not over the ship that is setting out to sea, for you know not what destiny awaits it, what storms it may encounter, what dangers it may have to undergo. Rejoice rather over the ship that has reached port safely and brought back all its passengers in peace.’ It is the way of the world, that when a human being is born, all rejoice; but when he dies, all sorrow. Rather ought the opposite to be the case. No one can tell what troubles await the child on its journey into manhood. But when a man has lived and dies in peace, all should rejoice, seeing that he has completed his journey, and is departing this world with the imperishable crown of a good name.
XII THE MAN AND HIS THREE FRIENDS A CERTAIN man had three friends, two of whom he loved dearly, but the other he lightly esteemed. It happened one day that the king commanded his presence at court, at which he was greatly alarmed, and wished to procure an advocate. Accordingly he went to the two friends whom he loved; one flatly refused to accompany him, the other offered to go with him as far as the king’s gate, but no farther. In his extremity he called upon the third friend, whom he least esteemed, and he not only went willingly with him, but so ably defended him before the king that he was acquitted. In like manner, every man has three friends when Death summons him to appear before his Creator. His first friend, whom he loves most, namely, his money, cannot go with him a single step; his second, relations and neighbours, can only accompany him to the grave, but cannot defend him before the Judge; while his third friend, whom he does not highly esteem—his good works—goes with him before the King, and obtains his acquittal.
XIII VANITY OF HUMAN PLEASURE A FOX was eyeing longingly some luscious fruit in a very fine garden. But there was no way for him to enter. At last he espied an opening through which, he thought, he might possibly get in, but soon found the hole too small to admit his body. ‘True,’ he said, ‘the hole is small, but if I fast three days my body will become sufficiently reduced to admit me.’ He did so; and to his joy he now feasted to his heart’s content upon the grapes and all the other good things in the orchard. But lo! when he desired to escape before the master of the garden came upon him he saw, to his great consternation, that the opening had again become too small for him. Poor animal! he had a second time to fast three days; and having made good his escape, he cast a farewell glance upon the scene of his late revels, saying: ‘Ogarden, charming art thou and exquisite are thy fruits! But of what avail hast thou been unto me? What have Inow for all my labour and cunning?’ It is even so with man. Naked he comes into the world, naked he must leave it. Of all his toil therein he carries nothing away with him save the fruits of his good deeds.
XIV BODY AND SOUL THE Roman Emperor Antoninus once said to Rabbi Judah the Prince, ‘On the great Day of Judgement, soul and body will each plead excuse for sin committed. The body will say to the Heavenly Judge, “It is the soul, and notI, that has sinned. Without it Iam as lifeless as a stone.” On the other hand, the soul will say, “How canst Thou impute sin to me? It is the body that has dragged me down.”’ ‘Let me tell you a parable’, answered Rabbi Judah the Prince. ‘Aking once had a beautiful garden stocked with the choicest fruits. He set two men to keep guard over it—a blind man and a lame man. “Isee some fine fruit yonder”, said the lame man one day. “Come up on my shoulder”, said the blind man, “Iwill carry you to the spot, and we shall both enjoy the fruit.” The owner, missing the fruit, haled both men before him for punishment. “How could Ihave been the thief?” queried the lame man, “seeing that Icannot walk?” “Could Ihave stolen the fruit?” retorted the blind man; “Iam unable to see anything.” What did the king? He placed the lame man on the shoulders of the blind man and sentenced them both as one.’ In the same way will the Divine Judge of the Universe mete out judgement to body and soul jointly.
ALMIGHTY, WHAT IS MAN? ALMIGHTY! what is man? But flesh and blood. Like shadows flee his days, He marks not how they vanish from his gaze, Now like a flower blowing, Now scorched by sunbeams glowing. And wilt Thou of his trespasses inquire? How may he ever bear Thine anger just, Thy vengeance dire? Then spare him, be Thou merciful, OKing, Upon the dreaded day of reckoning! Almighty! what is man? A faded leaf! If Thou dost weigh him in the balance—lo! He disappears—a breath that thou dost blow. His heart is ever filled With lust of lies unstilled. Wilt Thou bear in mind his crime Unto all time? He fades away like clouds sun-kissed, Dissolves like mist. Then spare him! let him love and mercy win, According to Thy grace, and not according to his sin! SOLOMON IBN GABIROL, 1050.
(Trans. Emma Lazarus.)
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RESIGNATION RIGHTEOUS art Thou, OGod, and ever just, And none can question, none withstand Thy will; And though our hearts be humbled to the dust, Teach us, through all, to see Thy mercy still. Our life is measured out by Thee above, And to Thy will each human heart must bow; No frail remonstrance mars our perfect love, No man shall say to Thee, ‘What doest Thou?’ When suffering to human fault is due, Forgive, OLord, and stay Thine hand, we pray; And when it brings but trial of faith anew, Turn Thou the night of gloom to trustful day. When blessings bring Thy sunshine to our heart, Let gratitude uplift each soul at rest; And when to bear our griefs becomes our part, Let faith and hope exhort us—God knows best. The Lord hath given—praise unto His Name! But with that praise our task is but begun. The Lord hath taken—still our thought the same, His is Law our Law; His will, not ours, be done. A. A. GREEN, 1917.
IMMORTALITY THERE are those who gain eternity in a lifetime, others who gain it in one brief hour. TALMUD.
RABBI JACOB86 said: This world is like a vestibule before the world to come. Prepare thyself in the vestibule, so that thou mayest enter into the palace. Better is one hour of repentance and good deeds in this world than the whole life in the world to come; and better is one hour of blissfulness of spirit in the world to come than the whole life of this world. ETHICS OF THE FATHERS.
ETERNAL HOPE WHOM have Iin heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that Idesire beside Thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: But God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever. PSALM 73. 25–6.
TRUE WISDOM SURELY there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine. Iron is taken out of the earth, And brass is molten out of the stone. Man setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out to the farthest bound The stones of thick darkness and of the shadow of death. He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots. He cutteth out passages among the rocks, And his eye seeth every precious thing. He bindeth the streams that they trickle not, And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living. The deep saith, It is not in me: And the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumour thereof with our ears, God understandeth the way thereof, And He knoweth the place thereof, And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding. JOB 28. 1–4, 9–15, 20, 22–3, 28.
RABBI TARPHON87 said: The day is short, and the work is great, but the labourers are idle, though the reward be great, and the Master of the work is urgent. It is not incumbent upon thee to complete the work; but neither art thou free to desist from it. Faithful is thine Employer to pay the reward of thy labour. But know that the reward unto the righteous is not of this world. ETHICS OF THE FATHERS.
REMEMBER also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, or ever the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, Ihave no pleasure in them: or ever the sun and the light, and the moon and the stars be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return to God who gave it. This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: fear God, and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. ECCLESIASTES 12. 1–2, 7, 13.
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