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Dedication
Dedication
To The Memory Of Edward L. Heinsheimer The Lamented President of the Board of Governors of The Hebrew Union College In offering herewith to the English-reading public the present work on Jewish Theology, the result of many years of research and of years of activity as President and teacher at the Hebrew Union College of Cincinnati, I bespeak for it that fairness of judgment to which every pioneer work is entitled. It may seem rather strange that no such work has hitherto been written by any of t
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Preface
Preface
While a work of this nature cannot lay claim to completeness, I have attempted to cover the whole field of Jewish belief, including also such subjects as no longer form parts of the religious consciousness of the modern Jew. I felt especially called upon to elucidate the historical relations of Judaism to the Christian and Mohammedan religions and dwell on the essential points of divergence from them. If my language at times has been rather vigorous in defense of the Jewish faith, it was because
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Chapter I. The Meaning of Theology
Chapter I. The Meaning of Theology
2. Theology and Philosophy of Religion differ widely in their character. Theology deals exclusively with a specific religion; in expounding one doctrinal system, it starts from a positive belief in a divine revelation and in the continued working of the divine spirit, affecting also the interpretation and further development of the sacred books. Philosophy of Religion, on the other hand, while dealing with the same subject matter as Theology, treats religion from a general point of view as a mat
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Chapter II. What is Judaism?
Chapter II. What is Judaism?
3. Owing to this twofold nature of a universal religious truth and at the same time a mission intrusted to a specially selected nation or race, Judaism offers in a sense the sharpest contrasts imaginable, which render it an enigma to the student of religion and history, and make him often incapable of impartial judgment. On the one hand, it shows the most tenacious adherence to forms originally intended to preserve the Jewish people in its priestly sanctity and separateness, and thereby also to
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Chapter III. The Essence of the Religion of Judaism
Chapter III. The Essence of the Religion of Judaism
3. Neither is Judaism the creation of a single person, either prophet or a man with divine claims. It points back to the patriarchs as its first source of revelation. It speaks not of the God of Moses, of Amos and Isaiah, but of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, thereby declaring the Jewish genius to be the creator of its own religious ideas. It is therefore incorrect to speak of a “Mosaic,” “Hebrew,” or “Israelitish,” religion. The name Judaism alone expresses the preservation of the religi
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Chapter IV. The Jewish Articles of Faith
Chapter IV. The Jewish Articles of Faith
2. There is no Biblical nor Rabbinical precept, “Thou shalt believe!” Jewish thinkers felt all the more the need to point out as fundamentals or roots of Judaism those doctrines upon which it rests, and from which it derives its vital force. To the rabbis, the “root” of faith is the recognition of a divine Judge to whom we owe account for all our doings. 31 The recital of the Shema , which is called in the Mishnah “accepting the yoke of God's sovereignty,” and which is followed by the solemn aff
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A. God As He Makes Himself Known To Man
A. God As He Makes Himself Known To Man
2. God-consciousness, or “knowledge of God,” signifies an inner experience which impels man to practice the right and to shun evil, the recognition of God as the moral power of life. “Because there is no knowledge of God,” therefore do the people heap iniquity upon iniquity, says Hosea, and he hopes to see the broken covenant with the Lord renewed through faithfulness grounded on the consciousness of God. 57 Jeremiah also insists upon “the knowledge of God” as a moral force, and, like Hosea, he
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B. The Idea Of God In Judaism
B. The Idea Of God In Judaism
3. The pagan gods, and to some extent the triune God of the Christian Church, semi-pagan in origin also, are the outcome of the human spirit's going astray in its search for God. Instead of leading man upwards to an ideal which will encompass all material and moral life and lift it to the highest stage of holiness, paganism led to depravity and discord. The unrelenting zeal displayed by prophet and law-giver against idolatry had its chief cause in the immoral and inhuman practices of the pagan n
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C. God In Relation To The World
C. God In Relation To The World
2. That which the scientist terms nature—the cosmic life in its eternal process of growth and reproduction—is declared by Judaism to be God's creation. Ancient heathen conceptions deified nature, indeed, but they knew only a cosmogony, that is, a process of birth and growth of the world. In this the gods participate with all other beings, to sink back again at the close of the drama into fiery chaos,—the so-called “twilight of the gods.” Here the deity constitutes a part of the world, or the wor
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Chapter XXXIII. Man's Place in Creation
Chapter XXXIII. Man's Place in Creation
3. According to the Haggadists, 629 before the fall man excelled even the angels in appearance and wisdom, so that they were ready to prostrate themselves before him. Only when God caused a deep sleep to fall upon man, they recognized his frailty and kinship with other beings of the earth. The idea expressed in this legend resembles the one implied in the legend of Paradise, viz. man has a twofold nature. With his heavenly spirit he can soar freely to the highest realm of thought, above the stat
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Chapter XXXIV. The Dual Nature of Man
Chapter XXXIV. The Dual Nature of Man
Thus both man and beast possess a soul, nefesh . The soul of man is merely distinguished by its richer endowment, its manifold faculties by which it is enabled to move forward to higher things. Thus the animal soul is bound for all time to its destined place, while the divine spirit in man makes him a free creative personality, self-conscious and god-like. For this reason the creation of man forms a special act in the account in Genesis. Both the plant and animal worlds rose at God's bidding fro
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Chapter XXXV. The Origin and Destiny of Man
Chapter XXXV. The Origin and Destiny of Man
3. This moral consciousness, however, which tells man to walk in the ways of God and be perfect, is also the source of shame and remorse. With such an ideal man must feel constantly that he falls short, that he is not what he ought to be. Only the little child, who knows nothing as yet of good and evil, can preserve the joy of life unmarred. Similarly, primitive man, being ignorant of guilt, could pass his days without care or fear. But as soon as he becomes conscious of guilt, discord enters hi
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Chapter XXXVI. God's Spirit in Man
Chapter XXXVI. God's Spirit in Man
3. Thus the diverse gifts of the divine spirit are distributed differently among the various classes and tribes of men, according to their capacity and the corresponding task which is assigned them by Providence. The divine spark is set aglow in each human soul, sometimes feebly, sometimes brightly, but it blazes high only in the privileged personality or group. The mutual relationship between God and man is recognized by the Synagogue in the Eighteen Benedictions, where the one directly followi
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Chapter XXXVII. Free Will and Moral Responsibility
Chapter XXXVII. Free Will and Moral Responsibility
3. From these passages and many similar ones the sages derived their oft-repeated idea that man stands ever at the parting of the ways, to choose either the good or the evil path. 710 Thus the words spoken by God to the angels when Adam and Eve were to be expelled from Paradise: “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil,” are interpreted by R. Akiba: “He was given the choice to go the way of life or the way of death, but he chose the way of death by eating of the forbidden f
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Chapter XXXVIII. The Meaning of Sin
Chapter XXXVIII. The Meaning of Sin
The rabbis usually employed the term aberah , that is, a transgression of a divine commandment. In contrast to this they used mitzwah , a divine command, which denotes also the whole range of duty, including the desire and intention of the human soul. From this point of view every evil design or impulse, every thought and act contrary to God's law, becomes a sin. 3. Sin arises from the weakness of the flesh, the desire of the heart, and accordingly in the first instance from an error of judgment
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Chapter XXXIX. Repentance Or the Return To God
Chapter XXXIX. Repentance Or the Return To God
2. The great value of the gift of divine grace, by which the sinner may repent and return to God with a new spirit, appears in the following rabbinical saying: “Wisdom was asked, ‘What shall be the sinner's punishment?’ and answered, ‘Evil pursues sinners’ ; 768 then Prophecy was asked, and answered, ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die’ ; 769 the Torah, or legal code, was consulted, and its answer was: ‘He shall bring a sin-offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be
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Chapter XL. Man, the Child of God
Chapter XL. Man, the Child of God
2. Still, this simple idea of man's filial relation to God and God's paternal love for man did not begin in its beautiful final form. For a long time the Jew seems to have avoided the term “Father” for God, because it was used by the heathen for their deities as physical progenitors, and did not refer to the moral relation between the Deity and mankind. Thus worshipers of wooden idols would, according to Scripture, “say to a stock, Thou art my father.” 807 Hosea was the first to call the people
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Chapter XLI. Prayer and Sacrifice
Chapter XLI. Prayer and Sacrifice
The Mosaic cult, in the so-called Priestly Code, was founded upon this stage of religious life, forming a hierarchical institution like those of other ancient nations. It differed from them, however, in one essential point. The prime element in the cult of other nations was magic, consisting of oracle, incantation and divination, but this was entirely contrary to the principles of the Jewish faith. On the other hand, all the rites and ceremonies handed down from remote antiquity were placed in t
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Chapter XLII. The Nature and Purpose of Prayer
Chapter XLII. The Nature and Purpose of Prayer
3. According to the rabbinic viewpoint, prayer has the power to reverse every heavenly decree, inasmuch as it appeals from the punitive justice of God, which has decided thus, to His attributes of grace and mercy, which can at any time effect a change. When the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah with the message: “Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die,” he replied, “Finish thy message and go; I have received the tradition from my royal ancestor David that, even when the sword already to
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Chapter XLIII. Death and the Future Life
Chapter XLIII. Death and the Future Life
2. It was just this keen longing for an energetic life on earth, this mighty yearning to “walk before God in the land of the living,” 883 which made it more difficult for Judaism to brighten the “valley of the shadow of death” and to elevate the vague notion of a shadowy existence in the hereafter into a special religious teaching. Until long after the Exile the Jewish people shared the view of the entire ancient world,—both the Semitic nations, such as the Babylonians and Phœnicians, and the Ar
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Chapter XLIV. The Immortal Soul of Man
Chapter XLIV. The Immortal Soul of Man
2. The creation of man which is described in the Bible in the words, “God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” 911 corresponds to the child-like conceptions of a primitive people. On the other hand, Scripture speaks of death in parallel terms, “The dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit (Ruah, the life-giving breath) returneth unto God who gave it.” 912 The conception that the soul enters into man as
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Chapter XLV. Divine Retribution: Reward and Punishment.
Chapter XLV. Divine Retribution: Reward and Punishment.
But the great enigma of human destiny, which vexes the author of the seventy-third Psalm and that of the book of Job, still presses for a better solution. It is true that the popular belief and popular legends which are preserved in post-Biblical writings as well, insisted on a justice which requites “measure for measure.” 952 Still insight into actual life does not confirm the teaching of the popular philosophy that the “righteous will be requited in the earth” and that “evil pursueth sinners.”
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Chapter XLVI. The Individual and the Race
Chapter XLVI. The Individual and the Race
2. This social bond existing between the individual and the race imposes upon him in accordance with his occupation certain duties in the same degree as it confers benefits. Ben Zoma, a colleague of Ben Azzai, expressed this as follows: When he saw great crowds of people together, he exclaimed, “Praised be Thou who hast created all these to serve me.” In explanation of this blessing he said, “How hard the first man in his loneliness must have toiled, until he could eat a morsel of bread or wear
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Chapter XLVII. The Moral Elements of Civilization
Chapter XLVII. The Moral Elements of Civilization
3. Another moral factor for human development is industry, which secures to the individual his independence and his dignity when he engages in creative labor after the divine pattern, and which rewards him with comfort and the joy of life. This also is so highly valued by Judaism that industrial activity, which unlocks from the earth ever new treasures to enrich human life, is enjoined upon all, even those pursuing more spiritual vocations. “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall st
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Chapter XLVIII. The Election of Israel
Chapter XLVIII. The Election of Israel
3. The real purpose of the election and mission of Israel was announced by the great prophet of the Exile when he called Israel the “servant of the Lord,” who has been formed from his mother's bosom and delivered from every other bondage, in order that he may declare the praise of God among the peoples, and be a harbinger of light and a bond of union among the nations, the witness of God, the proclaimer of His truth and righteousness throughout the world. 1027 The entire history of Israel as far
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Chapter XLIX. The Kingdom of God and the Mission of Israel
Chapter XLIX. The Kingdom of God and the Mission of Israel
2. The establishment of the kingdom of the One and Only God throughput the entire world constitutes the divine plan of salvation toward which, according to Jewish teaching, the efforts of all the ages are tending. This “Kingdom of God” is not, however, a kingdom of heaven in the world to come, which men are to enter only after death, and then only if redeemed from sin by accepting the belief in a supernatural Savior as their Messiah, as is taught by the Church. Judaism points to God's Kingdom on
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Chapter L. The Priest-people and its Law of Holiness
Chapter L. The Priest-people and its Law of Holiness
3. Through Biblical and post-Biblical literature and history there runs a twofold tendency, one anti-sacerdotal,—emanating from the prophets and later the Hasideans or Pharisees,—the other a mediating tendency, favorable to the priesthood. The ritualistic piety of the priests was bitterly assailed by the prophets as being subversive of all morality, and later on the Sadducean hierarchy also constituted a threat to the moral and spiritual welfare of the people. Before even the revelation at Sinai
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Chapter LI. Israel, the People of the Law, and its World Mission
Chapter LI. Israel, the People of the Law, and its World Mission
2. Those who define Judaism as a religion of law completely misunderstand its nature and its historic forces. This is done by all those Christian theologians who endeavor to prove the extraordinary assertion of the apostle Paul that the Jewish people was providentially destined to produce the Old Testament law and become enmeshed in it, like the silkworm in its cocoon, finally to dry up and perish, leaving its prophetic truth for the Church. This fateful misconception of Judaism is based upon a
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Chapter LII. Israel, the Servant of the Lord, Martyr and Messiah Of the Nations
Chapter LII. Israel, the Servant of the Lord, Martyr and Messiah Of the Nations
2. The Bible contains two answers: the first by Ezekiel, priest and prophet; the other by the great unknown seer of the Exile whose words of comfort are given in the latter part of Isaiah. Ezekiel gave a stern and direct answer: “The nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity because of their iniquity, because they broke faith with Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they fell all of them by the sword. According to their un
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Chapter LIII. The Messianic Hope
Chapter LIII. The Messianic Hope
3. The real Messianic hope involved the reëstablishment of the throne of David, and was expressed most perfectly in the words of Isaiah: “And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a twig shall grow forth out of his roots. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after t
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Chapter LIV. Resurrection, a National Hope
Chapter LIV. Resurrection, a National Hope
2. The picture of a resurrection was first drawn by the prophet Hosea, who applied it to Israel. In his distress over the destiny of his people he says: “Come, and let us return unto the Lord; for He hath torn, and He will heal us, He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.” 1231 Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones which rose to a new life under the mighty sway of the spirit of God, 1232 gave mo
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Chapter LV. Israel and the Heathen Nations
Chapter LV. Israel and the Heathen Nations
Just as the creation of the world opens with the separation of light from darkness, so the process of the spiritual and moral development of mankind begins, according to the divine plan of salvation, with the separation of Israel from the heathen nations. 1250 The sharper the contrast became between the spiritual God of Israel and the crude sensual gods of heathendom, the wider grew the chasm between Judaism and heathenism, between Israel and the nations. As light is opposed to darkness, so Isra
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Chapter LVI. The Stranger and the Proselyte
Chapter LVI. The Stranger and the Proselyte
2. We would, however, misunderstand the spirit of all antiquity, including ancient Israel, if we consider this as an expression of universal love for mankind and the recognition of every human being as fellow-man and brother. Throughout antiquity and during the semi-civilized Middle Ages, a stranger was an enemy unless he became a guest. If he sought protection at the family hearth or (in the Orient) under the tent of a Sheik, he thereby entered into a tutelary relation with both the clan or tri
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Chapter LVII. Christianity and Mohammedanism, the Daughter-Religions Of Judaism
Chapter LVII. Christianity and Mohammedanism, the Daughter-Religions Of Judaism
2. In general, however, rabbinic Judaism was not in a position to judge Christianity impartially, as it never learned to know primitive Christianity as presented in the New Testament. We see no indication in either the oldest Talmudic sources or Josephus that the movement made any more impression in Galilee or Jerusalem than the other Messianic agitations of the time. All that we learn concerning Jesus from the rabbis of the second century and later is that magic arts were practiced by him and h
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Chapter LVIII. The Synagogue and its Institutions
Chapter LVIII. The Synagogue and its Institutions
4. The rite of circumcision is enjoined upon the father in the Mosaic Code as a “sign” of the covenant with Abraham, to be performed on every son on the eighth day after birth. 1426 Therefore it is held in high esteem, and the father terms the act in his benediction “admission into the covenant of Abraham” ; 1427 but in spite of this it is not a sacrament and does not determine membership in the Jewish community. The operation was not to be performed by a person of sacred calling such as priest
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Chapter LIX. The Ethics of Judaism and the Kingdom of God
Chapter LIX. The Ethics of Judaism and the Kingdom of God
2. Both the term ethics (from the Greek ethos ) and morality (from the Latin mores ) are derived from custom or habit. In distinction to this, the Hebrew Scripture points to God's will as perceived in the human conscience as the source of all morality. Those ethical systems which dispense with religion fail to take due cognizance of the voice of duty which says to each man: “Thou shalt” or “Thou shalt not!” Duty distinguishes man from all other creatures. However low man may be in the scale of f
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