Chapter I: AM the creature of God, and so is my fellow-man; my calling is in

the town, and his in the fields; I go early to my work, and he to his; he does not boast of his labour nor I of mine, and if thou wouldst say, ‘I accomplish great things and he little things’, we have learnt that _whether a man accomplish great things or small, his reward is the same if only his heart be set upon Heaven_.

TALMUD.

OUR HERITAGE

OUR laws have been such as have always inspired admiration and imitation in all other men.

Nay, farther, multitudes of mankind have had a great inclination of a long time to follow our religious observances; for there is not any city of the Grecians, nor any of the barbarians, nor any nation whatsoever, whither our custom of resting on the seventh day hath not come, and by which our fasts and lighting up lamps, and many of our prohibitions as to our food, are not observed;[8] they also endeavour to imitate our mutual concord with one another, and the charitable distribution of our goods, and our diligence in our trades, and our fortitude in undergoing distresses on account of our laws. And what is here matter of the greatest admiration, our Law hath no bait of pleasure to allure men to it, but it prevails by its own force; and as God himself pervades all the world, so hath our Law passed through all the world also.

As to the laws themselves more words are unnecessary, for they are visible in their own nature, and appear to teach not impiety, but the truest piety in the world. They are enemies to injustice; they banish idleness and luxurious living; and they instruct men to be content with what they have, and to be laborious in their calling. They forbid men to make war from a desire of getting more, but make men courageous in defending the laws. On which account I am so bold as to say that we are become the teachers of other men in the greatest number of things, and those of the most excellent nature only; for what is more excellent than inviolable piety? What is more just than submission to laws, and more advantageous than mutual love and concord? And this so far that we are to be neither divided by calamities, nor to become injurious and seditious in prosperity; but to contemn death when we are in war, and in peace to apply ourselves to our handicrafts, or to our tillage of the ground; while we in all things and in all ways are satisfied that God is the Judge and Governor of our actions.

FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS, 1st cent.

OUR FATHERS

LET us now praise famous men,
Our fathers in their generations.
The Lord manifested in them great glory,
Even His mighty power from the beginning.
Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms,
And were men renowned for their power,
Giving counsel by their understanding,
Such as have brought tidings in prophecies:
Leaders of the people by their counsels,
And by their understanding men of learning for the people;
Wise were their words in their instruction:
Such as sought out musical tunes,
And set forth verses in writing:
Rich men furnished with ability,
Living peaceably in their habitations:
All these were honoured in their generations,
And were a glory in their days.
There be of them, that have left a name behind them,
To declare their praises.
And some there be, which have no memorial;
Who are perished as though they had not been,
And are become as though they had not been born,
And their children after them.
But these were men of mercy,
Whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten.
With their seed shall remain continually a good inheritance;
Their children are within the covenants.
Their seed standeth fast,
And their children for their sakes.
Their seed shall remain for ever,
And their glory shall not be blotted out.
Their bodies are buried in peace,
And their name liveth for evermore.
Peoples will declare their wisdom,
And the congregation telleth out their praise.

ECCLESIASTICUS 44. 1‒15.

THE OBLIGATIONS OF HEREDITY

JEWISH history admonishes the Jews: ‘_Noblesse oblige_’. The privilege of belonging to a people to whom the honourable title of the ‘Veteran of History’ has been conceded puts serious responsibilities on your shoulders. You must demonstrate that you are worthy of your heroic past.

S. M. DUBNOW, 1893.

* * * * *

OUR virtues are Israel’s: all our success in life we owe to the fact that the blood of the ‘toughest of peoples’ is coursing in our veins. Our vices are our own. Now the world inverts the distribution. Our virtues it credits to us, to our individual brilliancy, diligence, courage. Whereas the crimes, vices, and failings of any single Jew, no matter how estranged from his people or his people’s faith he may be, it puts down to his Jewishness, and fathers them upon the entire Jewish race.

Is it not a matter of sacred honour, as far as in us lies to counteract the world’s injustice to our people by rendering, when the opportunity is ours, some repayment for all we owe to Israel?

J. H. HERTZ, 1915.

ZEDAKAH[9]――CHARITY

TUR, II, § 247

THE dispensing of charity according to one’s means is a positive precept, which demands greater care and diligence in its fulfilment than all the other positive precepts of the Law. For its neglect may possibly lead to the taking of life, inasmuch as the denial of timely aid may compass the death of the poor man who needs our immediate help.

Whoso closes his eyes to this duty and hardens his heart to his needy brother is called a worthless man, and is regarded as an idolater. But whosoever is careful in the fulfilment of this duty attests himself as belonging to the seed of Abraham, whom the Lord hath blessed: ‘For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do _Zedakah_ and justice’ (Genesis 18. 19).

Charity is the main foundation of Israel’s pre-eminence, and the basis of the Law of Truth. As the prophet says unto Zion: ‘By _Zedakah_ shalt thou be established’ (Isaiah 54. 14). Its practice will alone bring about Israel’s redemption: ‘Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and they that return of her with _Zedakah_’ (Isaiah 1. 27). Charity is greater than all sacrifices, says Rabbi Eleazar; even as it is written, ‘To do _Zedakah_ and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice’ (Proverbs 21. 3).

Whoso pities the poor shall himself receive compassion from the Holy One, blessed be He. Let man further reflect that as there is a wheel of fortune revolving in this world, perchance some day either he himself, or his son, or his son’s son, may be brought down to the same lowly state. Nor let it enter his mind to say: ‘How can I give to the poor and thus lessen my possessions?’ For man must know that he is not the master of what he has, but only the guardian, to carry out the will of Him who entrusted these things to his keeping.

Whosoever withholds alms from the needy thereby withdraws himself from the lustre of the Shechinah and the light of the Law.

Let man therefore be exceedingly diligent in the right bestowal of charity.

JACOB BEN ASHER, 1320.
(_Trans. A. Feldman._)

ZEDAKAH――JUSTICE.

_‘NEITHER shalt thou favour a poor man his cause’_ (Exodus 23. 3). It is one of the deep and fundamental traits of Judaism that whilst presupposing sympathy and commiseration with the poor and the hapless, it nevertheless fears that in a suit-at-law justice might be outraged _in favour of the poor man_ even when he is in the wrong――outraged just because of his very distress. Sympathy and compassion are emotions that have their proper place and use, but even these noble feelings must be silenced in the presence of Justice. In this Scriptural command there is a height of conception, a sublimity of moral view, which compels the reverence of all.

A. GEIGER, 1865.

THE JEWISH POOR

THE Kingdom of God――the Rabbis held――is inconsistent with a state of social misery. They were not satisfied with feeding the poor. Their great ideal was not to allow a man to be poor, not to allow him to come down into the depths of poverty. They say, ‘Try to prevent it by teaching him a trade. Try all methods before you permit him to become an object of charity, which must degrade him, tender as your dealings with him may be.’

S. SCHECHTER, 1893.

* * * * *

IT is an arduous task to think for the Jewish poor. He has a rooted notion that he is the best, the only judge, of what is good for you to do for him. And the fact is that these self-confident recipients of your generosity really are often your betters in many qualifications. Large-mindedness is needed here. We must respect old habits; we must fathom the deep moral springs of life. We must beware that our brothers do not divest themselves of their best, and assume our worst.