BM 570 E56f .^ Gmde /or 0a A A JCS( 5 1 zn :GIO § 4 2 2 L LIBR ARYF 1 -ACII =j 6 H.G.Enelow A) s THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE FAITH OF ISRAEL COMMISSION ON JEWISH EDUCATION of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the Central Conference of American Rabbis David Philipson, Chairman Edward N. Calisch S. Felix Mendelsohn H. G. Enelow Julian Morgenstern Harry W. Ettelson Joseph Rauch Rudolph Grossman William Rosenau Max Heller Samuel Schulman Samuel Koch Abba H. Silver Kaufmann Kohler Abram Simon Harry Levi Henry Slonimsky Louis L. Mann Louis Witt David Marx Louis Wolsey George Zepin, Secretary UNION GRADED SERIES Edited by Emanuel Gamoran, Ph. D. Educational Director Department of Synagog and School Extension The Faith of Israel A Guide for Confirmation By Rabbi H. G. Endow, D. D. Temple Emanu-El, New York "Then shah thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.'' {Isaiah LVIII, 14) Cincinnati The Union of American Hebrew Congregations Copyright 191 7 by Th« TJaion of American Hebrew CoDgregationa p:nn TO MY MOTHER PREFACE It is not the object of this work to serve as a text-book of the Jewish reHgion or of Jewish history. It is rather designed as a survey of the Jewish reHgion, for the special benefit of young people preparing for Confirmation, and to lead up to Confirmation as a spiritual experience. Therefore, the aim of this book is twofold : First, to unify the pupil's knowledge of the subject, gained in the regular classes of the School; and, secondly, to stimulate the pupil to further study and review. For this reason, the sub- jects are treated in outline, and not in detail, it being left to the pupil to ascertain the latter, under the direction of the teacher. For instance, there is no attempt to treat the Holy Days exhaustively ; other- wise, at least three chapters would have been given to the subject. It is hoped that the tone of the lessons may suggest topics for further study and discussion, and that the questions following each lesson may serve the same purpose. This, of course, means added responsibility for the teacher. But it is such as rests on every good and conscientious instructor. No teacher has a right to teach without adequate preparation; and this is particularly true of the religious instructor. The material for the full elucidation of the lessons is not contained in this book; but it is not hard to find, and the teacher who has not yet mastered it, should know where to find it readily and how to bring it within the range of the pupil. With proper and fre- quent use of such material, a guide to which is found iii iv Preface in the appended list of books, it is hoped that these lessons may accomplish their purpose. There are twenty lessons in the book. As the aver- age Religious School gives about six months — from November to April — to active preparation for Con- firmation, aside from the month or two of training for the ceremony, meeting once a week, it is felt that this number of lessons would prove suitable. It allows the use of a lesson a week, with several weeks free for review. Where the lessons are used in- tensively, two weeks will be found necessary for each. A word should be added about the method underlying these lessons. They originated in chats with boys and girls preparing for Confirmation. These chats were never quite the same from year to year, though the subjects were. The illustrations, from both books and experience, varied, and pupils were constantly encouraged to offer new ones, as well as to use such sources as the Bible, the Prayer Book, Selections from the Talmud, works of later Jewish literature, ceremonial objects, etc. Only by following a similar method, may the teacher hope to find these lessons useful. The author is indebted to members of the Edi- torial Committee of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, as well as to other friends who have read the manuscript, for many valuable sug- gestions, and will be grateful for such criticisms and suggestions as may occur to those using the book. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Preface iii A List of Books v LESSON L The Meaning of the Word Confirmation . . i IL What Confirmation Does for Us 5 IIL The Story of Confirmation 8 IV. The Day of Confirmation 12 V. The Teachers of Our Religion 15 VL The Bible 20 VIL Other Jewish Writings 24 VIIL God 29 IX. Revelation 34 X. The Place and the Duty of Man 39 XI. The Choice of Israel 43 XII. The Religious Life 48 XIII. The Prayer Book S3 XIV. The Ten Commandments 58 XV. The Law of Holiness 63 XVI. The Holy Days ^^ XVII. The Jewish Calendar 71 XVIII. The Reward of a Good Life 77 XIX. The Glory of Jewish History 82 XX. The Messianic Hope 87 A LIST OF BOOKS Abrahams, Chapters on Jewish Literature Abrahams, Festival Studies Abrahams, Judaism Abrahams, Jewish Life in the Middle Ages Abrahams, Singer's Daily Prayer Book with Anno- tations Cohen, Jewish Life in Modern Times Darmesteter, The Talmud Dembitz, Jewish Services in Synagogue and Home Deutsch, The Talmud Dubnow, Jewish History Enelow, What Do Jews Believe? Enelow, Aspects of the Bible Enelow, The Jewish Life Enelow, The Synagogue in Modern Life Enelow, The Effects of Religion Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews Goodman, A History of the Jews Goodman, The Synagogue and the Church Graetz, History of the Jews Isaacs, Stories from the Rabbis Joseph, Judaism as Creed and Life Kohler, Hebrew Union College and Other Addresses Kohler, Jewish Theology, Systematically and Histor- ically Considered Lazarus, The Ethics of Judaism Lucas, The Jewish Year Lucas, Talmudic Legends vi A List of Books Mielziner, Introduction to the Talmud Montagu, Thoughts on Judaism Montefiore, Liberal Judaism Montefiore, Outlines of Liberal Judaism Montefiore, The Bible for Home Reading Philipson, The Reform Movement in Judaism Rosenau, Jewish Ceremonial Institutions and Customs Schechter, Studies in Judaism, ist and 2d Series Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish Fathers The Union Prayer Book, Vols. I and II The Jewish Encyclopedia Articles on Judaism in Hastings' Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics THE FAITH OF ISRAEL THE FAITH OF ISRAEL Lesson I THE MEANING OF THE WORD CONFIRMATION Before we can learn anything about any subject, we must thoroughly understand the meaning of the words we use. Suppose we want to study geography. The first thing to do is to find out just what the word geography means. If we are told that geography came from two Greek words, the first meaning "earth" and the second "writing", and that the word therefore means description of the earth, we know at least just what it is that we undertake to study. The same is true of this Confirmation work. Here, we have gotten together, so many boys and girls, all of us intent upon one thing, namely, to prepare for Confirmation. Now, I believe you will agree with me when I say that the first thing of which we ought to make sure, is that we know just what we mean to prepare for. Just what is it that we mean by Confirmation? First of all, what does the word mean? I 2 The Faith oj Israel I suppose we all know that the word Confirma- tion is derived from the verb "to confirm". Now, then, what does the word "to confirm" mean? It means "to bear witness to the truth of something", "to assure by added proof". We sometimes speak of confirming a report, by which, of course, we mean to bear witness to the truth of such a report. Suppose William says that his troop of boy scouts tramped all the way out to Harrod's Creek last Saturday. Several boys and girls question whether such a long tramp had really been made. But James says he is in position to confirm that statement, as he was on the tramp himself. James, thus, bears witness to the truth of William's assertion. He confirms it. Confirmation, then, is the act of bearing witness to the truth of something. But the word "to confirm" has a second meaning, too. It means, also, to add firmness to something, to strengthen something. Suppose Jane and Mary have been very good and devoted friends. All of a sudden Jane thinks Mary has done something she should not have done. She begins to doubt her friendship and to lose faith in her. But I go to Jane and tell her she is mistaken in thinking that Mary is not worthy of her faith and friendship. Mary is worthy. I try, thus, to confirm, to strengthen, Jane's faith in Mary. Confirmation, thus, becomes the act of adding strength, or firmness, or stability to something. A religious confirmation is the act of bearing witness to the truth of a certain religion, and thus adding strength to it. Meaning of Word Confirmation 3 Now, we know that what we shall try to do here is to prepare for Jewish Confirmation. A Jewish Confirmation is the act of bearing witness to the truth of the Jewish Religion and of adding strength and stability to it. However, we cannot bear witness to the truth of anything unless we know; and we cannot know, unless we study. If we bear witness to something without knowing much about it, our testimony is not worth much. It is the same in regard to our religion. We know that we belong to the Jewish religion by birth. We feel that we ought to serve it and to bear witness to its truth. What is it we read in the Bible? "Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen." (Isaiah XLIII, 10). But the Lord adds, according to the Prophet: "That ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He." For, how can our religion gain any strength in our life, and through us in the world, unless we know and understand it thoroughly? Therefore, in order to be able to bear witness to the truth of our Religion, and to add strength to it, we must get the proper knowledge, and such knowl- edge we can obtain only by studious and earnest preparation. That is what we intend to do in this Confirmation Class. The Faith of Israel Questions (i) Why is it important to know the exact meaning of words? Give some examples. (2) What is the first meaning of the word "to confirm"? Give an example or two. (3) What is the second meaning of the word "to confirm"? Give an example. (4) What does a religious confirmation mean? What does Jewish Confirmation mean? (5) What must we do before we are ready for the act of Confirmation, and why? (6) In the chapter from Isaiah quoted in our lesson, what other thoughts connected with our sub- ject can you find? What Confirmation Does for Us Lesson II WHAT CONFIRMATION DOES FOR US In our last lesson we spoke about what it is that we do at Confirmation. We bear witness to the truth of the Jewish religion, and undertake to add strength to our faith, to make it strong and enduring as far as we can. But at the same time we cannot fail to see that Confirmation, also, does something for us. As a matter of fact, when we refer to Confirmation Day, we do not say that Judaism is confirmed, but rather that certain boys and girls are confirmed. Suppose Robert and Ruth are in the Confirmation Class. When Confirmation has come, we do not say that Robert and Ruth confirm, but that they are confirmed. In other words, we use the verb "to confirm" in the passive, not in the active form.. Why, then, do we do so? It is simply this. Confirmation means the time in the life of boys and girls when they begin to witness to their faith, and avow their real desire to live up to it as best they can. In this desire and this effort they are confirmed, or strengthened, by the approval of their parents and their teachers, as well as by all other men and women who would like the Jewish religion upheld. Think, for example, of a boy named Louis, who for a long while has heard about a certain society 6 The Faith of Israel famous for its good work. His brother and some of his friends belong to it, and are proud of it. Now, Louis has heard a great deal about it, and admires it. He thinks it is just the sort of society a boy should join. He applies for admission. He declares that he likes the work of the society and that he would like to help. Finally, he is made a member. As he is admitted, or initiated, the older members tell him just what he will have to do in order to make a good member. They give him advice and strength for the work. We might say, he is confirmed in the society. This is just exactly what happens when we are confirmed in the Jewish religion. We are given knowledge and advice as to what we shall have to do in order to make good Jews and Jewesses. One thing, however, we must not forget. Con- firmation does not mean "joining" or "adm.ission". It means "strengthening". I call your attention to this, because some might think that at Confirmation we join the Jewish religion, in the same way that one joins a society to which one did not belong before. Of course, we all know that that is not so. Jews we are from our very birth. If our parents were Jews, so are we. The Jewish religion is ours from the very beginning. That is where we belong. We are born into the Jewish religion. But when we are confirmed, we make it known that we mean to be Jews not only because we were born Jews, but also because we have come to see what a fine thing it means to be a Jew, and what we must do in order to be good and honorable Jews. Anybody can be something simply because he was born that way. What Confirmation Does for Us 7 If a man is born«of a prominent family, it is no merit of his. But the question is, Does he Hve in a way worthy of his name? Thus, a Jew is a Jew simply because he was born of Jewish parents. But it takes knowledge and will and effort and the right sort of life to make of us good Jews and good Jewesses. That is what Confirmation tries to do for us. It tries to make of us good Jews and good Jewesses, worthy of the people whose name we bear, an honor to ourselves and a blessing to our fellows. Questions (i) What was said in our last lesson about the mean- ing of Confirmation? (2) What, then, do we mean by "being confirmed"? Can you give an example? (3) What difference is there between Jews and Jews? Give examples from the Bible of different kinds of Jews. Give other examples. (4) What does Confirmation do for us as Jews? (5) Read Joshua XXIV and tell why we might call it the story of a Confirmation of the whole people of Israel? Can you think of similar events in Jewish history? Th^ Faith of Israel Lesson III THE STORY OF CONFIRMATION You will want to know that the Confirmation service is a rather new thing in Jewish life. I refer particularly to two things: the name Confirmation, and the presence of girls in the class. When we think of the fact that our Jewish religion is thousands of years old, and then consider that it is only about a hundred years that we have had such a practice as Confirmation, we must admit that the latter is not very old. A hundred years is not a very long period in comparison with four thousand years, is it? And if we regard Abraham the Patriarch, as the father of the Jewish faith, it is about four thousand years old. Formerly, boys only were confirmed. You prob- ably know that they used to be confirmed at the age of thirteen; and not in classes, but singly. Whenever a boy reached the age of thirteen, he was confirmed; except that people did not call it by that name. They used to say that the boy became Bar Mitzwa. On the thirteenth birthday, he was Bar Mitzwa. In honor of the event he was called up to the reader's desk, or pulpit, at the synagogue, on the Sabbath nearest his birthday, and allowed to recite a blessing and read the Scripture in Hebrew. Sometimes he made a speech, too, on some religious subject, either at the synagogue or at home. That was the way Bar Mitzwa Day was celebrated. The Story of Confirmation 9 Do you know what the words Bar Mitzwa mean? Of course, they are not English. They are Hebrew, and their exact meaning is "Son of Duty". Bar means "son" and Mitzwa, "duty". Sometimes you may still hear the word Mitzwa used by older people. When some one has done a good deed, we sometimes hear older folk say that he has done a mitzwa. First, the word mitzwa meant "a duty", and then it came to signify a good deed, because it is our common duty to do good deeds. Now, when a boy reached the age of thirteen, it was thought that it was time for him to begin to practice good deeds on his own account and in good earnest. Up to that age, he was held to be too young for a full religious life. But from that time on he had to answer for his own life and his own deeds. That is why he was called Bar Mitzwa, or a "Son of Duty". It was about a hundred years ago that the service of Confirmation was introduced. The first service of that nature was held in the year 181 1, in the synagogue connected with the Jacobson School at Seesen, near the Harz Mountains, in Northern Germany. Israel Jacobson, the founder of the school, on that occasion confirmed five boys. In Berlin we find the first Confirmation in the year 1817. But there, again, boys only were confirmed. At the Tem- ple of Hamburg we first find a class of Jewish boys and girls confirmed together, and namely, in the year 1822. From Germany, Confirmation was brought over to America, and we have had Confirmation services in this country ever since the year 1846. In that year, Confirmation services were held at a 10 The Faith of Israel synagogue in New York. In the year 1848, the first Confirmation services were held at Temple Emanu-El of New York. Since then, Confirmation has become one of our most beautiful and impressive services. Almost every Jewish boy and girl looks forward to it, and it is a happy occasion for young and old. Confirmation differs in two important ways from the old-time Bar Mitzwa. First, instead of every boy having a ceremony all by himself, on the Sab- bath nearest his thirteenth birthday, a whole class is confirmed together. Secondly, girls are confirmed, as well as boys. And I must add, that we are not confirmed any more just when we are thirteen, but rather at fourteen or fifteen, or even later, because we are better prepared at that age, and likely to know a little more about our religion and history than at thirteen. One reason why we are confirmed as a class, and not alone, is that we are thus taught the lesson of union. "United we stand; divided we fall", is an old saying. It was the maxim of the Colonies during the War of the Revolution. It is, also, the maxim of the Jewish faith and the Jewish people. We must stand shoulder to shoulder, and work together, for the good of all and the honor of our sacred faith — that is the lesson we are taught by being confirmed together. And, surely, there is no reason why girls should not help in the common task as well as boys. Therefore, we have both boys and girls in our Con- firmation classes. One thing, however, let us bear in mind: namely, The Story of Confirmation li that though Bar Mitzwa has been changed to Con- firmation, the meaning of the service is the same. It means that with Confirmation we enter upon a Hfe of duty. We undertake to be responsible for what we do or fail to do. We give ourselves freely to a life of good deeds. We take our place as responsible members of the Jewish people and as upholders of the Jewish religion. That is what Bar Mitzwa meant, and what Confirmation still means. Questions (i) About how old is the Jewish religion? How far back do we find Confirmation? (2) What was the name of the ceremony before Confirmation came up? What does the old name mean? How was the old ceremony observed? (3) When and where was Confirmation introduced? Since when has it been observed in America? (4) In what ways does Confirmation differ from the old-time Bar Mitzwa? Why were these changes made? (5) In what way do Confirmation and Bar Mitzwa agree? (6) Read up the life of Israel Jacobson (for instance, in "The Jewish Encyclopedia"), and tell how it is related to the history of Confirmation. 12 The Faith of Israei Lesson IV THE DAY OF CONFIRMATION We know now what Confirmation means, and a little of its history. But we have said nothing as yet about the day on which it takes place, and the reason for the choice of that special day. Now, I must tell you that at first Confirmation was not held in all places at the same time. It took place on any Sabbath or festival that seemed best to the rabbi. Some held Confirmation during the feast of Hanukkah, because it marks the re-dedication of the Temple by the Maccabees. Others chose Pass- over, on account of its connection with the beginnings of the Jewish people. Each was regarded as a fit occasion for Confirmation, because it is the act by which our young people give themselves to the holy cause of Israel. By and by, however, it was felt that it would be best to have Confirmation everywhere on the same day. Shabuoth, or the Feast of Weeks, was finally selected as the best day for holding Confirmation services. At present, nearly all Jewish boys and girls are confirmed on Shabuoth, You will want to know why Shabuoth was chosen. Think of the great event in Jewish history in memory of which we keep that festival. It takes us back to the time when Moses gave the Law to Israel at Mount Sinai. It was then that the people of Israel pledged themselves to observe the Law and to hand it down The Day of Confirmation 13 to their children. That great event in our history is marked by Shabuoth. Therefore, what more fitting than to make it the day on which Jewish boys and girls shall pledge their strength and loyal support to the religion of their fathers? Right here, I am sure, you will be interested to hear a little story found in the Talmud. Rabbi Meir, we are told, said that when the Israelites stood before Mount Sinai to receive the Law, the Lord said to them: "If I should give you the Law, what good sureties can you bring me to vouch for you that you will guard it?" The Israelites answered : "Our ancestors will vouch for us!" But the Lord said: "Oh, no: your ancestors need sureties them- selves." Then the Israelites said: "Our Prophets will vouch for us!" But the Lord said: "Your prophets, also are not sufficient." Finally, the Israelites exclaimed: "Our children will be our sureties." And the Lord said: "These are certainly good sureties and on their account I will give you the Lav/." At our Confirmation, we declare our intention to redeem the pledge of our forefathers. We agree to carry on the noble work that they took up. We agree to maintain the holy covenant that the Lord made with them and that our fathers have guarded with such love and courage for thousands of years. It is as a token of our being at one with those who first got the Law, that we have chosen Shabuoth as the day of Confirmation. Meantime, let us be sure that we know the mean- ing of the word "Shabuoth". It means "Weeks", 14 The Faith of Israel and you will recall that the festival was called the Feast of Weeks, because it comes seven weeks after the first day of Passover. Those weeks were the time of the early harvest in Palestine. Shabuoth was the spring harvest festival, too. In ancient times, there- fore, it had a double meaning. It was the first harvest festival of the year, and the people gave thanks for the yield of the land. Besides, it was observed in memory of the giving of the Law at Sinai, and the people gave thanks for the gift of the Law. Both meanings of the Feast of Shabuoth are important. On the one hand, we commemorate Israel's receiving of the Law. On the other, we give the first-fruits of our spiritual life to God. There- fore, we have set Shabuoth aside as the day for Confirmation. Questions (i) On what days was Confirmation held originally? Why were the various festivals considered proper? (2) What day was finally chosen, and why? (3) What event does Shabuoth mark? (4) What connection is there between Sinai and Confirmation? Can you tell Rabbi Meir's story? (5) What does the word "Shabuoth" mean? What were the two meanings of the festival, and what does it mean to us? (6) Find in the Bible the story of the Law-giving at Sinai, and tell why it is impressive. The Teachers of Our Religion 15 Lesson V THE TEACHERS OF OUR RELIGION At present, if we want to learn about our religion, we know what to do. We turn to the great works in which its teachings are contained, such as the Bible, or the Talmud, and the later works of Jewish liter- ature. Then, we have our own teachers, who help us to understand those writings. In this way, any one who really wishes to master our religion has the means to do so. But does not this question arise: Who were the first teachers of the Jewish religion? And from whom did people learn its lessons before books were in existence, and, especially, before there was such a thing as a Bible, or a Talmud, or the various text- books and histories of our religion? Indeed, who were the men to whose teachings and labors we owe the Bible and all the other works of Jewish literature? Now, it is most interesting to trace the series of teachers that followed one another in the course of Jewish history. First, there were the Patriarchs. They were the first teachers of our religion. We all know the story of Abraham, of how he left his native home in Chaldea and became a wanderer. Now, Abraham was really the first teacher of our religion. He left his home in order that he might obey the voice of God without hindrance from the people round about, and he de- voted the rest of his life to the service of God. Be- 1 6 The Faith of Israel sides, he faithfully taught his religion to his children and all the members of his household, and there is a story to the eflfect that he converted even strangers whom he met in his wanderings or entertained at his home, to the faith he loved. Abraham we call the first patriarch, which means the first father, of the Jewish people. His son, Isaac, and his grandson, Jacob, are the other patriarchs. They were the first teachers of our religion. Then came the Prophets. Who were the Prophets? They were men whose chief aim was to tell their people the will of God, and to plead with them to live a righteous life. Again and again they proclaimed that an unrighteous life was worth nothing, was abom- inable, and could not last. "Let justice well up as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream!" Thus taught one of the Prophets, Amos {Amos V, 24). Another Prophet, Isaiah, taught as follows: "Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes, cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow!" {Isaiah I, 16-17). Still another Prophet, Micah, taught: "It hath been told thee, O man, 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 VI, 8). In these utterances is summed up what all the Prophets sought to teach. Of course, the greatest of our Prophets was Moses. "There hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses", we read in the Bible {Deuteronomy XXXIV, 10). Moses was both the deliverer, law- The Teachers of Our Religion 17 giver, and teacher of Israel. It was he that summed up the purpose of the Jewish people when he said, speaking in the name of God: "If ye will hearken unto My voice, indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be Mine own treasure from among all peoples; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." {Exodus XIX, 5-6). Moses gave us the Decalogue, and to him go back many of the teach- ings upon which our religion rests; such as, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." {Deu- teronomy VI, 4-5). "Ye shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy." {Leviticus XIX, 2). And, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." {Leviticus XIX, 18). During the period of the Prophets, there was another class of men who also acted as teachers of our religion, namely, the Priests. But they were not as important as the Prophets. When the Prophets ceased, another class of teachers arose to spread our religion among the people. The name they were given was that of Sages, or wise men. What they tried to do was to master the great lessons that the Prophets had taught and, in turn, impress them on the minds, and embody them in the lives, of the people. Ex- amples of their teachings we find in the book of Prov- erbs in the Bible and in the book of Ecclesiasticus in the Apocrypha. Later on, these teachers were known as Scribes, and still later as Rabbis. Though the titles differed, the object of all these teachers 1 8 The Faith of Israel really was the same. It was, first, to preserve the teachings of the Jewish religion that had come down from the Patriarchs and the Prophets, either in written form or by oral teaching; secondly, to ex- plain these teachings to the people, so that they might be clear to everybody; and, thirdly, to in- duce the people to live the good and pure life that these teachings required. When we think of Ezra and of Johanan ben Zakkai, we get a good idea of the work of the Scribe and the rabbi. Thus, we see that the Jewish religion, in the course of its history, has had a long, unbroken chain of teachers. First, the Patriarchs; then, the Prophets; and, finally, the sages and the rabbis, whose succes- sors have continued to this very day. Moreover, it is these teachers that in the course of time created those noble works of Jewish literature to which we now go for knowledge of our Religion. Questions (i) By what means can we now gain a knowledge of the Jewish Religion? (2) What are some of the chief works containing the teachings of our Religion? Have you seen copies of them? Can you describe them? Who were their authors? (3) Name the various groups of teachers of the Jewish Religion, following one another in history. (4) Describe the work of the Patriarchs. Why was it important? The Teachers of Our Religion 19 (5) Who were the Prophets? Why were they more important than the priests as teachers of our Religion? Can you name some Prophets? Can you give some examples of their teach- ings? (6) Who were the teachers of our Religion after the Prophets? Wherein did their work consist? Tell about the work of Ezra and of Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai. 20 The Faith of Israel Lesson VI THE BIBLE We must all agree that no one can become the best kind of Jew or Jewess who does not know at least the most important parts of our history and religion. Could we call any one a good American who docs not know the leading facts of American history and does not realize what America stands for? As Americans we are justly expected to know those things. And as Jews we must know the chief facts of our Jewish history and religion. For the study of these things we go, first of all, to the Bible. What really is the Bible? Our first impulse, of course, is to say that it is a book. We are all accustomed to seeing the Bible printed and bound up in one volume; so, naturally, we form the idea that it is just one book that came into being at some one place and one time. But let us examine it a little more closely, and we see our mistake. Our first impression was wrong. The Bible is not one book, though we usually see it bound up in one volume. It contains a number of books, and these books differ from one another in their contents, and came from the hands of different authors writing in ages far apart. The Bible is really a collection of books, and the one thing all these books have in common is that they were regarded by our forefathers as the most sacred books in their possession. That is why they were all gathered The Bible 21 together, and called the sacred Scriptures. Our English word Bible comes from the Greek word "biblia", meaning books, which was applied to the Bible because it contained the most sacred and most important books. That is very well, you will say. But whence came the original books included in the Bible? The fact is that at first the Jewish people, like other ancient peoples, were taught by word of mouth. That is how they received the lessons of religio h and conduct, and their teachers were either priests or prophets, or learned men in general. In this way, a group of religious ideas and laws grew up, and they were called the Torah, which means "the Teaching", or the "Law". That is what the word Torah meant originally. At present, you will find, it is applied specifically to the first part of the Bible, though sometimes people mean by it the whole Bible or even the whole of Jewish religious knowledge. The word "Torah" is Hebrew, and comes from a verb meaning "to teach". By and by, however, teachers began to write down the teachings they had received, as well as their own, and that is how the written books came into existence that later on formed the Bible. If we look into the Bible more closely, we find that it contains several kinds of books, coming from different authors and ages. For this reason, it is divided into three main sections, which are as follows : I. The Torah, or Law. The Torah consists of the five books of Moses: GENESIS, EXODUS, LEVITICUS, 22 The Faith of Israel NUMBERS, and DEUTERONOMY. It is also called the Pentateuch, which comes from the Greek and means Five Books. II. The Prophets. This section embraces: (a) The books of JOSHUA, JUDGES, I and II SAMUEL, and I and II KINGS. All these are called "The Early Prophets". (b) The Books of ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, EZEKIEL, and the Twelve Minor Prophets, namely: HOSEA, JOEL, AMOS, OBADIAH, JONAH, MIC AH, NAHUM, HABAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH, HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, MALACHI. The only reason why these latter are called Minor Prophets is that their books are not as large as those of the first three. By calling them "Minor", we do not mean that they were any less important than the others. On the contrary, some of them were among the greatest prophets. III. Hagiographa, or Sacred Writings, is the name of the last section. It contains the following books: (i) PSALMS; (2) PROVERBS; (3) JOB; (4) THE FIVE SCROLLS: THE SONG OF SONGS; RUTH; LAMENTA- TIONS; ECCLESIASTES, and ESTHER; (5) DANIEL; (6) EZRA; (7) NEHEMIAH, and (8) I and II CHRONICLES. This is the order in which the books appear in the original Hebrew Bible. In the English version The Bible 23 used in churches, the order differs somewhat. All told, counting each book separately, there are 39 books in the Bible. In the Hebrew, however, some books are counted together as one, and that reduces the number to 24. To these books we must go, if we would learn the earliest history of the Jewish people, as well as the great teachings of our faith. Questions (i) What must we know in order to make good Jews? (2) What can we learn from the Bible? (3) What is the Bible? What does the name mean? Find out what the word Scriptures means, and why it is applied to the Bible. (4) Give the three main divisions of the Bible. (5) Give the names of the books of the Bible in their proper order. (6) How many books are there in the Bible? (7) State the meaning of the word Torah and trace the growth of the Torah. 24 The Faith of Israel Lesson VII OTHER JEWISH WRITINGS The Bible has been called "a well of living waters". It forms the chief source of what we know about the faith and the earliest history of the Jewish people. But we must not forget that the Bible is not the only great work produced by Jewish teachers. It is the greatest, but not the only one. If we would learn our religion properly, we must know the other im- portant works of Jewish literature, as well as the Bible. It is just like what we find in the study of Ameri- can history. We all know that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States form the greatest records of our country. We all regard the years of the Revolution as the most important period in American history. But who could justly claim to be a good citizen, if he is familiar with only those records and that period? It is easy to see that a good citizen ought to know at least the chief events and teachings of American history since that time. Similarly, to be good Jews we should try to know what has been done and taught by the Jews since the early days of the Bible. Among Jewish writings since the Bible, there is, first of all, a group of books called "THE APOC- RYPHA". The word "Apocrypha" comes from the Greek, and means "Hidden Writings". The books going by that name were so termed, because, for one Other Jewish Writings 25 reason or another, they were put aside by the men who made up the Bible; they were hidden, so to speak. None the less, they are valuable for a knowl- edge of our history and faith. The most important books in this group are: (i) I and II MACCA- BEES, which contain the story of the Maccabean War; (2) The book of TOBIT and the book of JUDITH, which contain religious lessons in the form of stories; and (3) THE SA YINGS OF JESUS THE SON OF SIRAH (also called ECCLESIAS- TIC US) and THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON, which contain religious teachings in the form of wise sayings, similar to the Book of Proverbs in the Bible. Even more important than the Apocrypha to the Jewish student is the great work known as the TALMUD. The Talmud contains the teachings of the rabbis who devoted their time to the study of the Bible and sought to spread a knowledge of its teachings among the people. In their study, the rabbis were helped by the oral teachings that came down from age to age. We have seen how such a mode of instruction prevailed in Israel before the books of the Bible were written. Naturally, it was impossible to write down everything. Some things had to be left to personal explanation, just as at present it is impossible to put everything down in books. That is where the part of the teacher comes in. Just so, the Bible could not contain everything, and even what it contained required explanation. People had to be taught how to apply its laws in everyday life. This is what the rabbis of the Talmud sought to do. 26 The Faith of Israel The word "Talmud" comes from a Hebrew word, and really means "study". As it took many ages to bring forth the Bible, so it took many ages to create the Talmud. As a matter of fact, the teachings of rabbis for a period of some eight centuries are found in the Talmud, and they cover every possible subject. The Talmud was begun in Palestine, and finished in Babylon. The teachings contained in the Talmud at first were handed down by word of mouth, from teacher to pupil. It was done by what is called the oral method. But when the number of teachings had grown rather large, efforts were made by various rabbis to get them together in the form of a book. It is said that Hillel and Akiba and Meir, each of whom was a famous teacher, made such attempts. But the first one who really succeeded in making such a collection was the great teacher. Rabbi Judah Ha-Nassi. His work was given the name of the MISH- NAH. That was about the year 200 C. E. Later on, another collection of teachings, based on the Mishnah, was made in Palestine, and still an- other in Babylon. These later collections were called the GEMARA, and, namely, the Palestinian Gemara and the Babylonian Gemara, according to the country of its origin. The Palestinian Gemara was closed in the fourth century, while the Babylonian Gemara was completed about the year 500 C. E. The Mishnah and the Gemara together form the Talmud. As the word Talmud means "Study", so Mishnah Other Jewish Writings 27 means oral teachings learnt by constant repetition, and Gemara means oral traditions learnt by heart. One thing more we might note about the Talmud. It is divided in six general sections, according to the various subjects it treats, and it contains chiefly two kinds of teachings: laws and moral lessons. The parts that contain the laws are called HALAKAH, and those containing moral lessons are called AGADA. But both the Halakah and the Agada were meant to do the same thing, namely, to help Jewish men and women to make their lives pure, upright, and noble. Even when the Talmud was closed, it did not mean the end of Jewish literature. On the contrary, Jewish teachers have been adding from age to age to the mass of Jewish writings. Their common aim has been to keep on explaining what our Religion really means and what it would have us do. With the Bible as foundation, they have built up a vast literature for our benefit. There are the Midrash works, which are very much like certain parts of the Talmud and contain beautiful ethical explanations of the Bible. Then there are numerous works re- lating to the various questions of religion and con- duct, and particularly to the Jewish religion. Such men as Saadya, Maimonides, Rashi, Mendelssohn, Geiger, I. M. Wise, and a large number of other rabbis, have added to our literature from age to age. And if we would know the history of our Re- ligion, and understand it thoroughly, we must keep on studying not only the teachings of the Bible, but also the teachings of the later works that came from the hands of Jewish teachers. 38 The Faith oj Israel Questions (i) Is the Bible the only source of Jewish knowl- edge? If not, why not? (2) What are the Apocrypha? Name the most important of that group of books. (3) What is the Talmud? What does it mean and what does it contain? (4) How did the Talmud grow? What do we call its various teachings? Name some famous rabbis of the Talmud. (5) What kind of Jewish literaiy work was done after the Talmud? Name some great Jewish authors after the Talmud. Have you seen any of their works, in the original or trans- lation? Describe them. (6) What must we do to get a good knowledge of the Jewish faith and Jewish history? God 29 Lesson VIII GOD We often use the word Religion. But I am afraid we do not always have a clear idea of what it means. What does the word really mean? Religion means the relation of man to God. There have been all kinds of religions in the world. But all of them have had this one thing in common, that they taught about the relation of man to God. Nothing can be called a religion that does not dwell, first of all, on the idea of God, and, secondly, on the idea of what relation there exists between man and God. What is the Jewish idea of God? First, that God is One. This is the first of all Jewish ideas. We all know that the first hero of Jewish history, Abraham, started out with this idea, and made it the work of his life to uphold and spread it. He left his native land, his father's house, his kith and kin, because he realized how great this idea was, and that it was his duty to cling to it, and teach it to others. The Jews have always shared his be- lief. God is one and there is none beside Him. The Jew has always denied the existence of many gods. Our watchword has been: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One". {Deuter. VI, 4). Just as firm has been the Jewish idea that God is holy. What do we mean by holy? One who is per- fect in all the moral virtues: in purity, justice, mercy, truth, and every other virtue. It is thus that the 30 The Faith of Israel Jew has always thought of God. God is perfect in every moral quality. He is not only the one God, but he is also different from the gods that other peoples worshiped now and then, because He is holy, and demands holiness from those that worship Him. This idea the Prophets taught time and again, and one of the greatest prophets expressed it in the well-known words: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory". {Isaiah VI, 3). These words are found frequently in our Prayer-book. Now, this one and holy God has always been here, and He created all. As we look about, we see the host of wonderful things that are round about us. We see the heavens, the stars, the fields with so many plants and flowers upon them, the hills and dales. We see them all beautifully arranged, and each doing its part to make the world a bright, orderly, and happy place. We see man, also, with his numerous gifts and powers, which enable him not only to live, but also to do so many great and wonderful things. Who made all these? From whom came all these things? There is only one an- swer: God made them all, and from Him came all the glory of Creation, all the beauty of Nature, and all the gifts and powers of man. One thing more. God not only made everything in the beginning, but He has at all times been with His creatures, and ruled and blessed them, and al- ways will continue to do so. All that we have, we receive from Him, no matter in how roundabout a way it may reach us. He is the source of all the joys, God 31 and the strength, and the beauties that we possess. Even what we get from our parents, or learn from our teachers, or obtain by our own efforts, we owe to Him, because He is the maker of all. Some people have failed to see this, and served all sorts of lesser things as if they were God and the source of the blessings of life. Various stars, and animals, and plants, and human beings, have been thus worshiped. To such worship the true Jew has always been op- posed. We know only one God, and He is the maker of heaven and earth, and also the source of all the joys and blessings of life. It is well to recall some of the important passages in the Bible on this subject. (I) The first and second Commandments: "I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them ; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments". {Exodus XX, 2-5). "I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images". {Isaiah XLH, 8). (H) "I am the Lord, and there is none else, 32 The Faith of Israel beside Me there is no God; I form tlie light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am the Lord, that doeth all these things. I, even I, have made the earth, and created man upon it; I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded". (75am/t XLV, 5-12). "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork". {Psalm XIX, 2). (III) "How precious is Thy lovingkindness, O God ! and the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Thy wings". {Psalm XXXVI, 8). "The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works". {Psalm CXLV, 9). (IV) The Twenty-third Psalm. All these passages form a good summary of the Jewish idea of God — that God is One, that He is a Holy God, that He has created all, and that His providence lovingly watches over all. Questions (i) What does Religion mean? What place has God in Religion? (2) What is our first idea about God? To whom do we trace it back? (3) What is holiness? Trace the idea of God's holiness in the second commandment. What idea of God do we draw from all that we see round about us? (4) What is God's relation to His creatures? And what idea of God do we draw from that? God 33 What made some people serve idols? (5) Recite the passages from the Bible concerning God, given in this lesson. Do you know similar passages? Can you find such passages in the Bible? (6) Find in the Prayer-book the passage from Isaiah about God's holiness. What do we call the prayer in which it occurs? How often does it occur in the Prayer-book? 34 The Faith of Israel Lesson IX REVELATION We have seen how the feast of Shabuoth came to be chosen as the day most fit for Confirmation. It is the festival celebrated in honor of the giving of the Torah, or the Law, to Israel. I suppose you are aware that this great event is called the Revelation. "Revelation" is a word used quite often, and it is easy to find out what it means. It is the act of making known, or disclosing, something. But when we speak of "the Revelation", in connection with Jewish history, we mean the act by which the Lord gave the Torah, disclosed His Law, to Israel. Now, it is perfectly natural to wonder as to just how that great event happened. How did God make Himself known to Israel? How did He speak to them? How did He make them hear Him? Indeed, some people find it hard to understand it, saying that they never had heard God speak, and they wonder how our forefathers had managed to do so. Still, it seems to me that there are times when the Lord speaks to each one of us. There must have been times when every one of us heard His Voice, and heard it distinctly. Take, for instance, the case of a boy who had some hard task to perform and who in his heart prayed God to help him, and did so very earnestly; presently he felt that God was promising him such help, and bidding him go ahead and be Revelation 35 strong, and do it, just as once upon a time Joshua was told to do; don't you think that such a boy has a right to feel that he has heard God speak to him? Of course, God's Voice may be unlike other voices. It is not a physical voice. It is not a voice produced by the usual organs of speech. But are all voices physical? Don't we often hear things, and feel things, that are said to us by voices other than phys- ical? God speaks to our hearts, just as our mother does, as our father does, and such words are the ones we hear most distinctly. We can't fail to hear them. We can't escape them. Now, this is just what happened to the Jewish people at Sinai. The Lord revealed Himself to them. For once. He revealed Himself to a whole people at the same time, and not merely to one or two or a handful of people. They all heard His Voice, and they heard it because they were eager to do so. They had prayed and longed and prepared themselves for God's Voice, and then it came. It is true that when it came to putting what was said on that occasion into words, and in writing, one person was chosen to do so, Moses. But the people heard the Voice themselves. That is why they lis- tened so readily to Moses. And they heard much more than could be put in words or written down; just as we hear much more than can be put into words when some one we love speaks to us, or pleads with us, or blesses us. That unspoken, unwritten part of what the Lord said to them, the Jews bore away from Sinai in their hearts, and they have kept it there ever since. It became 36 The Faith of Israel part of the Torah, the part that can never be fully told or explained, though many teachers have tried to do so. It was "entrusted to the heart", as the rabbis put it. It can never be taken away. It be- came the basis of the oral teachings and traditions of the rabbis, who often referred to it, harked back to it. That is why the Revelation has always been regarded as so wonderful an event in Israel's history. Yet, as we know. Revelation did not stop at Sinai. Time and again, we are told, the Lord re- vealed Himself and spoke to people; to men, women, and children. The Bible is full of instances. And the people who were particularly accustomed to hear God's Voice were the Prophets. I have sometimes asked young people to tell me what they thought the Prophets were, and why they in particular were chosen to hear God's Voice so regularly. One girl once answered that the Prophets were smart. But surely that was not all. Were the Prophets merely smart? Was Moses merely smart, or Amos or Isaiah or Jeremiah? Was Deborah merely smart? And is it enough to be smart to hear God's Voice? Hardly! More than smart were the Prophets. They were godly. They loved to think of God, to seek Him, to make sure as to what He wanted them to do, and their chief desire in life was to become God's messengers and servants. If they could impart God's will to their people and get them to live an upright and holy life, they were satisfied. That was the kind of men the Prophets were, and that is why they were fit to hear God's Voice, why God's secret was revealed to them so often. As we read in the Revelation 37 book of Amos (III, 7) : "For the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His counsel unto His servants the prophets." And just think what has happened since. Has not the Lord kept on revealing Himself to people? Do not we find in every age men and women who have heard God's Voice? Indeed, we do. And it is this that has made it possible for our Religion to keep alive and grow, and meet the needs of every new age. This is what has kept our religion young. There are men like Hillel, and Rabbi Judah the Prince, and Saadya Gaon, and Judah Ha-Levi, and Moses Men- delssohn, and Abraham Geiger, and Isaac M. Wise. Of course, none of them was as great as the Prophets. Yet, each of them heard the Voice of God. They and their like have continued the work of the Prophets. Let us, also, think of this ! Has not God repeatedly revealed Himself to other men? When we read the story of Abraham Lincoln, especially during the period of the Civil War, can we help feeling that Lincoln often took his troubles and difficulties to God and sought counsel from Him, and got it? And, in our own way, may not we also hear God's Voice? But in order so to do, we must live a certain kind of life. "The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him," we read in the Psalms (CXLV, 18), "to all that call upon Him in truth". That is where the example of the Prophets and the other great teachers may help us. Questions (i) What does the word "revelation" mean? What is meant by "the Revelation"? 38 The Faith of Israel (2) Have you ever had the experience of hearing God's Voice? Do you know of others who have? How does God's Voice differ from the ordinary voice? (3) What made the Revelation at Sinai so wonder- ful? Describe it. What was the part of the Revelation "entrusted to the heart"? (4) Why were the Prophets fit to hear God's Voice? Can you describe their character? (5) How has Revelation been kept up (a) in Israel and (b) in the world at large? How has it affected the Jewish religion? (6) How can we fit ourselves for God's revelations? (7) Tell something about the life and the work of the several great men named in this lesson. The Place and the Duty of Man 39 Lesson X THE PLACE AND THE DUTY OF MAN Man is the most wonderful creature on earth. No other creature can be called his equal. It is true that in some respects man does not seem to be the equal of other animals. Is he as strong as the lion? Is he as large as the elephant? Can he fly like the eagle? Does he stay on earth as long as a tree? No. In many ways, man is more feeble and fragile than other parts of Creation. Yet, we know full well that man is the pride and crown of Creation. What is it that puts him above the rest of Nature? Of course, it is his mind, his reason, his soul. He may not be as strong or as fleet or as long-lived as some other things on the face of the earth. But when the Lord blessed him with the supreme gift of reason, and endowed him with mind and soul. He lifted him to a place high above all other creatures. Thus, man was made the master of Crea- tion, to do with it as his will and wisdom may prompt. Think what a great privilege thus is granted to Man! Man is made ruler of this vast and beautiful world. All other animals, all plants, all lands and streams and seas, are handed over to him as a sacred trust. You may recall the words of the Psalmist: "The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; but the earth hath He given to the children of men". {Psalm CXV, 16). It depends upon man what shall become of this beautiful earth and of all this realm of Nature. 4© The Faith of Israel Shall they be used for the honor and beauty and joy of the world, or not? It is a sacred trust, indeed, and from age to age, and in every place, men are called upon to answer the question as to how they have taken care of their trust. Let us bear in mind one great law that rules all life. It is this: Position and duty go together. When one is raised to the highest place, the greatest duty is put upon him. No one can hold a high place without yielding to just as high a duty. If a man is made President of the United States, he naturally takes on greater and more varied duties than one who is merely a county clerk. The engineer of a railroad has a higher position than the fireman, but his duty also is greater. Take Mr. Taft, for example. He has held many places in the course of his public life. He has been lawyer, judge, governor of the Philippine Islands, Secretary of State, and finally became President. Each office he has had has car- ried its own duties. The higher he rose, the higher became his duties. But his duties as President were the greatest, because his office was the highest. Thus, when man was given the highest place in Nature, he was also assigned the most solemn duties. He is expected to live a life more beautiful, noble, and pure than any other being on earth. He is expected to live in accordance with the light of his mind, his spirit, his soul. He is expected to take care of his soul, which is the most precious part of him. For, by giving him a soul, God created man in His own image; He made man godlike. "God created man in His own image," we are told in the Bible, The Place and the Duty of Man 41 "in the image of God created He him". {Genesis I, 27). But no man lives up to his place or duty, who forgets all this and falls into the habit of living just like an animal, merely eating and drinking and sleeping, and giving never a thought either to God or to his soul. What, then, does our religion tell us about man — his place and duty? It tells us that man is the greatest of all God's creatures on earth. He is made in the image and likeness of God. By dint of his mind and soul he is given the first place in Nature. Therefore, it is his duty to live at all times so nobly as to show himself worthy of his high position. First of all, he should be grateful to God for the way He has made him and the place He has given him. "I will give thanks unto Thee," says the Psalm- ist, "for I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well". {Psalm CXXXIX, 14). And, next, he should try to show his gratitude by the life he lives. He can do so only by paying heed all the time to the soul within him, and by striving to live a just, loving, and humble life before his God. "The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inward parts," we are told in the Bible. {Prov- erbs XX, 27). And, again, the Prophet Micah teaches us, "It hath been told thee, O man, 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 VI, 8), 42 The Faith of Israel Questions (i) What place does man hold in Creation? What gives him his place? (2) What follows from man's high position? What are man's special duties? (3) Trace the relation between position and duty. Give some examples. (4) Can you sum up our idea of man? Recite the several passages from the Bible quoted in this lesson. (5) Recite the eighth Psalm, and show how it expresses the thought of our lesson. (6) Find in the Prayer-book prayers which contain the idea of our lesson. The Choice of Israel 43 Lesson XI THE CHOICE OF ISRAEL In the history of the human race, Israel has enjoyed a specially high place. Israel has been called "the chosen people". What does this title really mean? It means that the Jews were chosen by the Lord as the first of all peoples to know Him, as well as to serve Him, and it was made their particular duty to spread that knowledge and to live according to it. This choice of Israel, and Israel's acceptance of the choice, is called the covenant of the Lord with Israel. The beginnings of the Jewish people, as we know, go back to Abraham and the other patriarchs of whom we hear in the book of Genesis. But the real history of Israel as a people starts after the deliver- ance from Egypt, at Sinai. It was there that they obtained the law through Moses, and were set apart for all time as the special people of God. There they pledged themselves to do and to obey the Divine word. From that time on Israel has had one par- ticular work to do in the world. He has been the servant of the One God. His chief duty has been to serve God and to spread the truth about Him every- where. He has had to live a life fit for the service and the approval of God. If we compare the world to a sanctuary, Israel was meant to be the priest and teacher therein. "Now, therefore," said the Lord, when Israel was first chosen, "if ye will hearken unto 44 T^he Faith of Israel My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be Mine own treasure from among all peoples; for all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation". {Exodus XIX, 5-6). This has formed the special task of Israel in the world. It has made him a unique and peculiar people. There has been no other people like the Jews in all history. The Prophets, therefore, have called Israel the Servant of the Lord. "Behold My servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My spirit upon him; he shall make the right to go forth to the nations". {Isaiah XLII, i). "And now saith the Lord that formed me to be His servant: 'It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the offspring of Israel; I will also give thee for a light of the nations, that My salvation may be unto the end of the earth'." {Isaiah XLIX, 5-6). In order to fulfil his noble task, Israel has had to endure a great deal of hardship and suffering. That is but natural. Nothing great has ever been done in the world without struggle and hardship. This is true of persons, as well as of peoples. Only those doing nothing, do not have to struggle and suffer. But whoever wants to achieve something, must be ready for all kinds of hardship. Think of Moses; think of Nehemiah ; think of Lincoln. Would any of them have achieved anything without meeting with hardship, and overcoming it? Or think of the American colonies during the War of the Revolution; The Choice of Israel 45 what could they have done without the readiness and the power to endure a great deal of suffering? The greater the task, the greater the hardship and the trials. Thus, the Jews have had to suffer a great deal in the course of the ages as they went about doing the great work that was allotted them. There is no history as full of hardship and suffering as the history of Israel. But there is none so heroic, either. That is just what has made it the most heroic history in the world. Just because the Jews were chosen for a divine work, they have had to suffer a great deal. But hardship has only served to make Israel stronger and braver all the time. And what is more, the Lord has taken care of Israel and kept watch over him. "Behold, He that keepeth Israel doth neither slumber nor sleep". {Psalm CXXI, 4). However, God's covenant with the people of Israel has not yet come to an end. The duty that has rested on our fathers from Sinai down, still rests on us, and will continue to rest on those coming after us. "Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath," we read in the Bible, "but with him that standeth here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day". {Deuteronomy XXIX, 13-14). It is an endless duty. As long as there are Jews at all in the world, they are under the solemn oath to stand for the truth of God in the world, to live according to His law, and to proclaim His rule among the na- tions. "As for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith the Lord ; My spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not de- 46 The Faith of Israel part out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever". {Isaiah LIX, 2i). And this duty will rest upon Israel until all the world has become a kingdom of God and all men have learnt to know and serve Him. "In that day shall the Lord be One and His name One". {Zecha- riah XIV, 9). To be a true child of Israel means not only to be born of Jewish parents, but also to try to live in accord with the noble history and the great task of the Jew. The true child of Israel will seek at all times to prove that he knows the meaning of the choice of Israel. He will seek to live a life so pure and honest and true, as one has a right to expect of one belonging to a holy people. He will try to show that he means to help in the doing of the work for which Israel has been chosen. Nor will he shrink from what he may have to suffer because of his being a Jew. It is of such that the Lord says, in the words of the Prophet Isaiah: "I will give them their recompense in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the children which the Lord hath blessed". {Isaiah LXI, 8-9). Questions (i) By what special title has Israel been known? What does it mean? The Choice of Israel 47 (2) To what event do we date back the beginning of Israel as a people? For what purpose does the Jewish people exist? (3) What has Israel been called by the Prophets, and why? (4) Tell about the relation of duty and hardship. Apply it to the history of Israel and to the life of the Jew today. (5) What do we mean by the Lord's covenant with Israel? How long has it existed? What does that covenant mean to us? (6) Recite and explain the verses from the Bible quoted in this lesson. (7) Find in the Prayer-book passages expressing the thought of our lesson. 48 The Faith of Israel Lesson XII THE RELIGIOUS LIFE We have seen that ReHgion means the relation of man to God. If there is such a relation in our life, it is clear that we should try to show it. No religion is worth anything that does not show itself one way or another in actual life. We do not want a mere religion of words, an empty religion. Religion must be lived. "It is no vain thing for you," Moses has said, "it is your life". {Deuteronomy XXXII, 47). What, then, must we do in order to live a really religious life? First of all comes worship. The worship of God has always been a part of the religious life. It must always remain a part of it. We all know that men have worshiped God in different ways. But nowhere and at no time do we find really religious men and women that do not worship at all. "Exalt ye the Lord our God," says the Psalmist, "and prostrate yourselves at His footstool". {Psalm XCIX, 5). Even among Jews, worship has not always had the same form. In ancient times, for instance, the bringing of sacrifices was regarded as a necessary part of worship. Kneeling, too, belonged to the reg- ular form of worship, though now it does not. Only on the Day of Atonement Jews still kneel in many synagogues. "O come, let us bow down and bend the knee," we read in the Psalms, "let us kneel before the Lord our Maker". {Psalm XCV, 6). Later on. The Religious Life 49 we find various customs In the services of the Syna- gogue. In many different ways the Jews of the vari- ous ages have sought to express their devotion and piety, A reHgion as old as ours is bound to have witnessed many changes in the forms of worship. But at no time has it been thought possible for a Jew to live the religious life without some kind or some way of Divine worship. Our worship at present consists largely in prayer. Prayer is the lifting of our heart to God. Prayer includes the praise of God, hope in Him, confidence in Him, gratitude to Him, and the seeking of His aid in our daily life. It is the communion of our spirit with God. If we love God, we shall naturally want to pray to Him; just as we are eager to speak with anyone we love, with father or mother, about what is nearest to our heart. We cannot say that we really live the religious life, if we do not pray. The habit of prayer is part of the religious life. Prayer in the morning, prayer at night, prayer at table, prayer on all important occasions — that is worship. It has been an old custom among Jews for a person to select some one prayer, or Bible verse, as his own favorite, special prayer, to be recited whenever the need for prayer arises. That is a good custom. It trains one to the habit of praying, and, besides, offers the words for prayer, which we are not always able to find for ourselves. Another part of the religious life is the observance of some religious forms, or ceremonies. This is a very important point, on which we should have our mind quite clear. Forms or ceremonies have always 50 The Faith of Israel been a part of the religious life. But we must bear in mind one thing: namely, that forms in themselves have never had any religious value. Such value they have only when they serve to express a religious idea or to call to mind a religious duty. Take, for instance, the old form of the booth during the feast of Taber- nacles; it has religious value only if it serves to express the idea of how God has led His people, and to remind the Jewish people of the duty of gratitude to Him. The same may be said of all Jewish cere- monies, both of the past and the present; for ex- ample, the Seder on Passover, or fasting on the Day of Atonement, or the reciting of Kaddish in a period of mourning, and many others. Forms, then, are not religious in themselves. They are valuable only if they express a religious idea or call to mind a religious duty. But in the religious life we must have some forms and ceremonies, because it is natural for us to want to express our religious ideas, and we need reminders every now and then of our duties. That is why we must have religious forms and ceremonies. Indeed, that is why we delight in them. They express the spirit of our faith and help us to guard our religious life. Certain ceremonies that existed in the past have passed away. But some religious forms still are in force, and those we ought to keep up. They are part of our religious life. We ought to keep the Sabbath, observe the Holy Days, attend Divine worship, sup- port the synagogue and the religious school, be confirmed, say the Kaddish in time of mourning, and uphold all other forms that are helpful in our religious The Religious Life 51 life. Otherwise, if we neglect the forms, we are very likely to lose our religious ideal and to forget our duties. Finally, the religious life consists in doing what is right at all times and in all places. Right conduct is the most important part of the religious life. It means to do the right in private and in public, in the open and in secret, against all odds. Without upright conduct, no one can be said to live a religious life, no matter how much he prays and how many forms he keeps up. The real core of the religious life is found in purity, honesty, kindness, industry, faith- fulness, obedience, charity, and every other form of right doing. Those are the real molds in which the religious life is cast. Without them, there can be no true and loving relation between man and God. "Ye shall be holy," we are told in the Bible, "for I the Lord your God am holy". (Leviticus XIX, 2). Questions (i) What gives real worth to a religion? What do we mean by a religious life? (2) What are the three sides of the religious life named in this lesson? (3) What is worship? What do you know about worship in the past? What is our worship today? Can you recite some prayers? Have you a special prayer of your own? Find some famous prayers of the Bible. 52 The Faith of Israel (4) What are ceremonies for? Name some cere- monies of the past. Name some ceremonies of today, and explain their meaning. (5) What place has conduct in the religious life? Do you know what the Prophets taught on this subject? Give some examples. (6) Recite the Bible verses given in this lesson. Recite the first Psalm, and explain how it illustrates our lesson. Can you do the same with the fifteenth Psalm? The Prayer-Book 53 Lesson XIII THE PRAYER-BOOK When we go to Synagogue or Temple, we use a prayer-book, in order to be able to take part in the service. Some say they can see no use in a prayer- book. They think they can pray without one. Yet, we soon discover that there are many good reasons for using a prayer-book at Divine services. Without one our attention is likely to wander. We may be unable to find the right words to express our prayers. We might not even know what to pray for. Likewise, everybody in a place of worship might have a differ- ent prayer in mind, and thus make praying together of no use at all. When we pray, we do so not only for ourselves, but also for our fellows, for the whole community, for all Israel. These are some of the reasons why at Jewish services a prayer-book has been used from very early times. Of course, the prayer-book that we use now is not exactly like those of other days. Jewish prayer-books have undergone certain changes in the course of time. When we consider that it is over two thousand years now since the order of Divine services at the Synagogue began to be arranged, it is only natural that many changes should have occurred in the services, as well as in the prayer-book. There is another thing. The Jewish people have not lived in the same country always. They have lived in many countries, and though they have always 54 The Faith of Israel been one people in regard to their religion, they differed in many customs. When the prayer-book first began to form, the Jews lived chiefly in Palestine and Babylon. That is where the foremost rabbis were found, and where the idea arose to fix the prayers for Divine services and collect them in one book. Two or three hundred years before the fall of the Temple, the form of many prayers was fixed, while it is over a thousand years ago that the first complete Jewish prayer-book was compiled in Babylon by the Gaon Amram (846-864). By and by, however, we find large Jewish com- munities elsewhere; in Spain, in Italy, in France, Germany, Poland, and so forth. They all used the prayer-book (or Siddiir, in Hebrew, meaning Order of Prayer). But it was only natural for them to make such changes in it as they thought best for their needs. Thus, we find certain differences between the prayer-book used, let us say, in Spain and that of the Jews of Germany and Poland. Sometimes the difference is merely in the order of the prayers, and then again it is in the prayers themselves. Likewise, there are differences between the prayer-book used in Orthodox synagogues and those of Reform temples. Yet, in spite of all such changes, there are certain features that we find in every Jewish prayer-book. Those are the parts that were always present in our service, and have been kept no matter what may have been added or omitted. They are the original and most important features of our worship, and every Jewish prayer-book contains them. These parts may be divided into three groups, and The Prayer-Book 55 together they express the object of worship. They are as follows: First, profession of faith; secondly, petitions for all; and, thirdly, silent devotion and private prayer. No matter what Jewish prayer-book we may take up, we shall find these features. With- out them our worship would not be complete. First, there is the Shema: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One!" It is called the Shema from the first word of the verse in Hebrew, which, as every Jewish child knows, is Shema Yisrael Adonay Elohenu Adonay Ehad. This has formed the undying watchword of the Jew. The Shema, with the passages following it, forms the profession of faith. The same is true of the Kedusha (Sanctifica- tion) and the Kaddish, as well as of the Adoration. They all express our faith in God, and our praise of Him in time of both joy and sorrow. The Kaddish, for instance, which is recited by mourners, is a prayer expressing our trust in God, and praise of Him, when we have lost a dear one. Then, there is the so-called Tefillah, or Supplication, which begins with "Praise be unto Thee, Lord our God and God of our fathers". These prayers belong to the group of petitions. They recite God's mercies to our fathers and ask that He may continue them for us. And, finally, there are periods for silent devotion, both before and after the service, as well as during it, when we may med- itate in silence and offer such private prayers as are in our hearts. In addition to these main features, the prayer- book contains many prayers that were composed from time to time as special need arose. For instance, 56 The Faith of Israel the persecutions of the Middle Ages often inspired the composition of new prayers. Also, the prayer- book contains hymns, or songs of praise, and other religious poems. Among the most beautiful are the hymns known as Adon Olam ("Lord of the World"), Yigdal ("Extolled be God") , and En Kelohenu ("There is None like our God"). We may ask, "Where did the contents of our prayer-book come from?" Let us bear in mind that some of the most important parts were taken from the Bible. The Shema is found in the book of Deuter- onomy (VI, 4). Of course, the Psalms, the finest religious poems in the world, are from the same sacred source. Other prayers, also, were taken from the Bible. Others were taken from the Talmud, in which are found some beautiful prayers, composed by the rabbis. And others, still, were written by poets and saints of later times. Indeed, we know that for hundreds of years the great poets of Israel wrote their noblest poems on religious themes, and it was considered the highest possible honor for such a poem to be taken into the prayer-book. These poets were called Payyetanim, and the poem was called Piyyut. One can see how closely these words resemble our English words "poet" and "poem". They all go back to a common origin in the Greek language. In this way, the Jewish prayer-book came into being. It contains special parts for week-day serv- ices, the Sabbath, as well as festivals and Holy Days. Also, it contains certain selections from the Bible, as well as from later Jewish literature, for public and The Prayer-Book 57 private reading. The prayer-book has always meant a great deal to the Jewish religious life. Ought we not to make it mean as much to us today? Questions (i) Why do we need a prayer-book? How does it help Divine services? (2) What has caused the various changes in the Jewish prayer-book? How did it grow, and who compiled the first complete prayer-book? What is the Hebrew name for it? (3) What features are common to all Jewish prayer- books? Name them, and place them in your own prayer-book. (4) Find other passages in your prayer-book coming under the different heads named in this lesson. (5) Where did the contents of the prayer-book come from? (6) Name and explain the several Hebrew titles occurring in this lesson. (7) Do you know any prayers by heart? Recite them. 58 The Faith of Israel Lesson XIV THE TEN COMMANDMENTS The basis of our religious life lies in the Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, or the Ten Words, as they are termed in Hebrew {Asereth Ha-Dibroth). These Commandments the Israelites received from Moses at Mount Sinai, and they have always been regarded as our most sacred laws. No one can say that he lives up to the demands of the Jewish religion, if he does not follow at least the Decalogue. The best people will try to do many other things which form part of the religious life, though they are not named in the Decalogue. For example, we know that it is part of the religious life to help the needy, though we are not told so in the Decalogue. But the least one can do, and must do, in order to deserve the title of a religious person, is to observe what is laid down in the Ten Commandments. That is the basis and the beginning of all religion. Of course, every boy and girl in the Confirmation class knows the Decalogue by heart. It is one of the things every Jewish child is supposed to know. If, however, you happen not to know it, or to have for- gotten part of it, you had better find it in your Bible {Exodus XX, 2-14), and learn it. What we wish to do in this lesson, is to examine what the Decalogue really contains and what duties it tries to teach us. The first thing we notice is that the Decalogue The Ten Commandments 59 contains two classes of duties. The first class sums up our duties toward God, and the second our duties to our neighbors. Philo, the great Jewish teacher of the first century, called attention to the fact that the first four commandments contain our duties to God, and the last five our duties to our neighbors, while the fifth commandment deals with our duty to our parents. The fifth commandment, thus, serves as a link between the two parts of the Decalogue. This, Philo said, was because our parents in a way take the place of God on earth and therefore should be given in our regard a position between God and our neighbors. Let us look a little more closely at the first group of duties, as contained in the first four command- ments. What do they teach us? They teach that God is One; that He brought Israel out of Egypt; that we must have no other gods before Him and inust make no images in the attempt to represent Him. We are taught further not to worship any of the Lord's creatures as if they were gods, and to remember that while the Lord is good and gracious to those that serve Him truly. He will punish those that hate Him and do not live according to His will. In the third commandment, we are taught not to take the name of the Lord in vain. This means that we must use the name of the Lord neither in a frivolous nor an insincere manner. If one swears by the Lord falsely, or prays to Him without sincerity or devotion, or names Him when there is really no need for it, one takes the name of the Lord in vain. Against this we are warned in the third commandment. 6o The Faith of Israel Finally, the fourth commandment bids us keep the Sabbath-day holy. Thus we are meant to keep up the holiness of our life and from week to week to renew the thought of our relation to God. From these four commandments dealing with our duties to God, we are led to the fifth, which bids us honor our father and mother. They are given a place next to the Lord, because, as I have said, they act for Him on earth, and every child owes more to its parents than to anybody else. The good father and the good mother provide for their children, care for them in health and sickness, look after their schooling and pleasures, and try in every way to make them happy. It is, therefore, the duty of the good child to honor its father and mother, to do everything that will make them happy, and to try at all times to be to them a source of joy and not of grief. "A wise son maketh a glad father; but a foolish son is the grief of his mother". {Proverbs X, i). Now, let us examine the second group of command- ments, namely, the remaining five. You will notice that four of them are very brief, and the last — the tenth — is not long either. But short as they are, they are the more forceful. No one can possibly fail to understand them. They are plain and straight. When we have once learnt them, we know what they want us to do. And they are so important, that every good life depends on them. What do they teach us? They teach us our first duties to our fellow-men. In the sixth commandment we are taught to respect the life of our fellow-men. In the seventh, we are taught to respect their purity. The Ten Commandments 6 1 In the eighth, we are taught to respect their property. In the ninth, we are taught to respect their good name. And, finally, in the tenth commandment we are warned not to covet what belongs to our neighbor, because coveting is wrong in itself and, besides, may lead to the breaking of the other commandments. Many a man has been led to steal and murder, be- cause he coveted what belonged to others. The Decalogue has formed the foundation of the Jewish religion. The laws it contains are so impor- tant, that they have been adopted by other religions and peoples. The life of the whole world may now be said to be ruled by the laws of the Decalogue. If we would live the true religious life, let us make sure that we know the Ten Commandments and live according to them. Let us repeat what the people said to Moses when the Decalogue was first given: "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do". {Exodus XIX, 8). Questions (i) What is the place of the Decalogue in the religious life? Name some religious duties not mentioned in the Decalogue, and show how they are implied in the Decalogue. (2) How many classes of duties are named in the Decalogue, and what are they? Give Philo's description. (3) Give the contents of the first group of com- mandments. Try to explain and illustrate each of them. 62 The Faith of Israel (4) What can you tell about the fifth commandment? (5) Give the contents of the second group of com- mandments. Why is the tenth so important? (6) Recite the Decalogue, and tell about its place in the life of the world. The Law of Holiness 63 Lesson XV THE LAW OF HOLINESS When we spoke of the Ten Commandments, we said that they formed the foundation of our religion. But they do not embrace all of the Jewish religion. There are many things the good Jew and Jewess are expected to do that are not named in the Decalogue. They are either mentioned elsewhere in the Bible and Jewish literature, or they are left to our con- science. The latter are the sort of duties of which our rabbis said that they were "assigned to the heart". Very often it is this kind of duties, I mean the kind left to our own conscience or feeling, that is the finest. Now, there is one particular command that was laid upon the Jewish people, though it is not given in the Ten Commandments. Yet, in a way, it is the highest command found in the Bible and forms the greatest law of the Jewish religion. We may call it the noblest ideal which the Jewish religion has set before men. I refer to the command found in the Book of Leviticus. "Ye shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy". {Leviticus XIX, 2). We may call this the law of Holiness, and it is easy to see why it is the greatest of all laws. For, if one tries to be holy and to imitate the holiness of the Lord, one is sure to try to observe all other laws of the religious life. We may ask, what does it mean to be holy, and, 64 The Faith of Israel especially, what does it mean to be holy as God is holy? This question was asked of some rabbis long ago, and the answer ran as follows: To be holy means to live a holy life, and to be holy like God means to try to imitate God's qualities. God is merciful, compassionate, just; therefore, we should try to be merciful, compassionate, and just, as well as to cultivate every other quality that we associate with God. This is not to say that we can become just like God. But we can try. We can make the imitation of God the chief ideal of our life, and even if we do not succeed altogether, our good intentions will speak for us. As a matter of fact, such love of holiness became the highest ideal of the Jewish people. It is in accord with the ancient command found in the Bible just before the Decalogue, "Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation". {Exodus XIX, 6). The best Jewish men and women have tried to live a life of holiness. And what is more, they have felt that by living a holy life, they not only did their proper duty, but also hallowed the Name of God. The good Jew has felt that by living a true religious life, and particularly, by making a sacrifice for the sake of his religion when called upon to do so, he bore witness to the holiness of God, and even added to it. "The Lord says: 'If you make yourselves holy, I shall account it to you as if you had made Me holy'." This is the way the rabbis expressed it. The more holiness among men, the greater the holiness of God. On the other hand, whenever a man did something contrary to the Jewish religion, and particularly The Law of Holiness 65 something of a shameful nature, it was felt that he desecrated the Name of God. An act that meant the hallowing of the Divine Name was called in Hebrew Kiddush Ha-Shem, and an act desecrating the Name of God was called Hillul Ha-Shem. No Jew, worthy of the name, ever wanted to be charged with Hillul Ha-Shem, while it was considered a noble thing to have done something for Kiddush Ha-Shem. Numerous Jewish martyrs, as history tells us, have died for Hallowing of the Divine Name. This still holds good. One does not belong to the highest type of Jewish men and women by obeying merely the Ten Commandments. That is but the beginning. Any decent person now has that much religion. The noblest Jewish men and women try to go beyond that. They seek to live according to the law of holiness. They use all religious forms and practices as a means of increasing the holiness of their lives; as we read in the Bible: "That ye may re- member, and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God". {Numbers XV, 40). They aim to fulfil the old command: "Ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation". They refrain from doing anything that might mean a dishonor to their Religion, a desecration of the Name of God, while they delight in every opportunity for doing something that would mean an honor to their reli- gion and a hallowing of God's Name. Such people are the best Jews and Jewesses. 66 The Faith of Israel Questions (i) What is meant by "duties left to the heart"? (2) What is the law of holiness? How does it com- pare with the other laws of religion? (3) What does it mean to be holy? (4) What do we mean by the imitation of God? (5) Tell about the meaning of Kiddush Ha-Shetn and Hillul Ha-Shem.t What do the words mean? How have they worked in Jewish history? How do they apply to our own life? Give instances of acts on the part of people, particularly of boys and girls, involving either Kiddush or Hillul Ha-Shem. (6) Recite and explain the Bible verses in this lesson. The Holy Days 67 Lesson XVI THE HOLY DAYS The observance of the Holy Days forms an im- portant part of our reHgious Hfe. If we examine the various Jewish festivals carefully, we shall find that each of them conveys some particular meaning. None the less, there are certain things which they all have in common, and those we must bear in mind if we would observe our festivals properly. First, all our holy days are meant to give us rest from our daily work. Now, work is one of the chief duties of life. It is the duty of all to do some kind of work. Nothing is more dangerous than idleness. It wastes our powers. It is the mother of many vices. One pities a young man who goes about doing nothing. Nor can anything worth while and honorable be gained without toil. But, on the other hand, work without occasional rest also is bad. It must weaken our body and stunt our mind. Our holy days, there- fore, are intended to afford us rest every now and then from our daily work. Secondly, the object of our holy days is to turn our thoughts to religion, with its joys and duties. As we go along from day to day, with our minds fixed on work and play, we are very apt to grow lax in our religious life. Even the strongest and most loyal need to refresh their mind and interest. That is what the holy days are meant to do. Each in its 68 The Faith of Israel own way seeks to quicken us anew and fill us with fresh fervor and loyalty. And, thirdly, each holy day offers a special oppor- tunity for divine worship. Worship, of course, is a daily duty. Every day something happens for which we owe thanks to the Lord. Every day we need His assistance. Every day it is proper to pray for His help and guidance. But there are certain seasons when for one reason or another it is proper to offer special acts of worship. It may be because some great event of the past is recalled, or because some marked change has taken place in the life of Nature. One or the other of these things is connected with our holy days. That is why they invite to special acts of divine worship. Let us consider our leading Jewish holy days. First, of course, comes the Sabbath. The ob- servance of the Sabbath has always been one of the first Jewish duties. The fact that one of the Ten Commandments is devoted entirely to it, is enough to show how sacred it is. "Ye shall keep My Sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord". {Leviticus XIX, 30). Next we name the three great historical festivals: Passover (or PESAH), Weeks (or SHABUOTH), and Tabernacles (or SUKKOTH). Passover is observed in memory of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt; and, also, in honor of the coming of spring. Weeks is kept in memory of the Revelation, or the giving of the Law at Sinai, and, also, in honor of the early harvest. And Tabernacles is observed in memory of the sojourn of Israel in the wilderness The Holy Days 69 and the Lord's kind Providence during that period, and, also, in honor of the late harvest. Thus, we see that each of these three historical festivals has a double meaning; one taken from the history of Israel and the other from the life of Nature. In ancient times these were the feasts of pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Then, there is the Solemn Season. It comes in the fall of the year, and lasts ten days. It begins with the Day of the New Year, or ROSH HA- SH AN A, and ends with the Day of Atonement, or YOM KIPPUR. These holy days refer not to any particular events in history, but to the life of each one of us. Their aim is to have each one of us look into his and her own conduct, in order to find out where we have failed and to try to do better in the future. These days form a season of prayer, penitence, and resolution. That is why they are called the Solemn Season {Yamim Noraim), or the Ten Days of Peni- tence {Asereth Y'me T'shuhah). Nor must we forget the feasts of Hanukkah and Purim. The former begins on the 25th day of Kislev and lasts eight days, and is observed in honor of the Maccabean victory. The latter falls on the 14th day of Adar, and marks the deliverance of the Jews of Persia, in the days of King Ahasuerus, thanks to the efforts of Queen Esther and Mordecai, from Haman, the enemy of the Jews, and his followers. Both these festivals serve to remind us of the many perils that the Jewish people have had to face, and of the heroism of our fathers, by means of which they have always come out victorious. If we are careful to keep all our holy days in the 70 The Failk of Israel proper way, they will be sure to inspire us with love for our faith and for the heroic history of our people. They will help us to enter ever more deeply into the meaning of our Religion and our duties. They will deepen our devotion to God and to Israel. They will fill our lives with the joy of faith. But if we neglect our holy days, we are very likely to grow careless of our Religion, and to forget what little we have learnt. Some teachers of the Talmud have said: "Whoever despises the holy days, is like ar worshiper of idols". They meant to say that he that neglects the holy days is very apt to forsake his faith altogether. But if we would remain loyal to our religion, and would learn to understand it more and more, it is necessary that we observe our holy days. They are meant to bring joy, goodness, and beauty into our life. Questions (i) What are the things that all our holy days have in common? (2) Is work a duty, and why? Why is rest one of our duties? (3) In what way do the holy days help our religious life? Why are they days for special worship? (4) Explain fully the meaning of the following holy days: (a) The Sabbath. (b) The Historical Feasts. (c) The Solemn Season. (d) Hanukkah and Purim. (5) Why is observance of the holy days important? The Jewish Calendar 71 Lesson XVII THE JEWISH CALENDAR In order to be able to observe our holy days properly, we must know the Jewish calendar. It differs from the one in common use in several respects, and as all our holy days are fixed according to it, it is easy to see that to know it is for us very important. First of all, the Jewish calendar reckons the day not from sunrise to sunset, but from evening to evening. It follows the example set in the biblical story of the Creation, where we read as follows: "And there was evening and there was morning, one day". {Genesis I, 5). The day, according to the Jewish calendar, thus includes both what we call day and what we call night. It covers twenty-four hours, from one evening to the next. The evening begins when three stars can be plainly seen in the skies. The day, therefore, begins and ends when the stars have come out. In the case of Sabbath or holy day, that is when it opens and closes. Seven days form a week. In the Jewish calendar the days have no special name, but are called, accord- ing to their order, the first day, the second day, and so forth, to the seventh day. The seventh day is called the Sabbath, while the sixth day, or Friday, is called the Eve of Sabbath (in Hebrew EREBH SHABBATH) and Saturday night is called the Closing of Sabbath (in Hebrew MOTZAE SHAB- BATH). 72 The Faith of Israel The Sabbaths are known by the name of the section of the Torah read in the Synagogue. The Torah is divided into 54 sections, one of which is read on each Sabbath. Each section is called Sidra. In many synagogues only a selection from the Sidra is read. But in any event the Sabbath is called by the Hebrew name of that week's Sidra. But several Sabbaths in the year have a special meaning and special name. They are as follows: (i) SHABBATH BERESHITH: the Sabbath of the Beginning. This is the first Sabbath after the feast of Tabernacles, when the reading of the Torah starts anew from the beginning. (2) SHABBATH ZAKOR: the Sabbath of Remembrance. This is the Sabbath before Purim, when the attack of Am^alek on Israel is recalled, and we prepare for the observance of Purim, as Haman is said to have been a descendant of Amalek. (3) SHABBATH HA-GADOL: the Great Sab- bath. This is the Sabbath before Passover when we prepare for the great festival of Passover. (4) SHABBATH NAHEMU: the Sabbath of Consolation. This is the Sabbath following the Ninth of Ab, the day of the destruction of the Temple and the fall of Jerusalem, and it is meant for the consola- tion and encouragement of Israel. (5) SHABBATH SHUBAH: the Sabbath of Repentance. This is the Sabbath between Rosh Ha-Shana and Yom Kippur, and is meant to stir within us thoughts of penitence and the desire to make our life better and nobler than in the past. From the week we pass on to the month. Here, The Jewish Calendar 73 again, the Jewish calendar is peculiar. The month is regulated not by the sun, but by the moon. It takes the moon twenty-nine and a half days to run its course around the earth. This period is called a month in the Jewish calendar. But as it would be inconvenient in practice to have one-half of a day belong to one month and the other half of the same day to another month, the Jewish month has either twenty-nine or thirty days. In one case it is called a defective month, in the other, a full month. The appearance of the new moon marks the beginning of the month. In ancient times the day of the New Moon was a half holiday. A month thus regulated by the course of the moon is called a lunar month ("lunar" meaning moon), and twelve such months form a lunar year. In ancient Palestine, the New Moon was fixed by actual observation. In order to avoid confusion, the chief of the Sanhedrin, with two other members, was given the right to announce the appearance of the New Moon. But even then certain rules must have existed by which observation was tested as to whether it was correct or no. In the course of time, however, it became more and more difficult to depend on observation for the fixing of the New Moon, and to spread the news among Jews living far from Palestine. This was particularly the case in times of persecution. Therefore, calculation based on the science of astronomy took the place of observation, and the calendar was fixed for all time. Thus, the Jews, no matter how far apart they lived, knew that they all had the same calendar and were able to 74 The Faith of Israel observe their holy days at the same time. The permanent calendar was fixed by Hillel II, head of the Sanhedrin, about the year 360 C. E. As the days of the week have no special names in the Jewish calendar, so originally the months had none. They were known as the first month, the second month, and so on. In the Bible some months are mentioned by special names, as follows: the first month is called ABIB {Exodus XXIII, 15), the second —ZIV (I Kings VI, i), the seventh.— ETHAN I M (I Kings VIII, 2), and the eighth— 5 t/L (I Kings VI, 38). But if all the other months had special names in most ancient times, there is no trace of them. It was when the Jews lived in Babylon that they adopted names for their months from the Bab- ylonian calendar. Those names have come down to us. They are as follows: I. Nisan VII. Tishri II. lyyar VIII. Heshwan III. Siwan IX. Kislev IV. Tamuz X. Tebet V. Ab XI. Shebat VI. Ellul XII. Adar Although the Jewish year is thus reckoned by lunar months, it was provided that the first month should be in the spring. It is the month in which the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt. "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you". {Exodus XII, 2). And as the lunar year is about eleven days shorter than the solar year (or the year regulated b}' The Jewish Calendar 75 the sun), the difference is wiped out every two or three years by the addition of a month after the twelfth month. If this were not done, the first month would some years fall in the winter. Years that have such a month added are called leap-years. At first the Sanhedrin had the right to announce every year whether it was to be a leap-year or a common year, and it was done by actual observation of the signs of spring. But in the course of time this matter, also, was figured out by the aid of astronomy, and the sequence of common and leap-years laid down per- manently. The name of an additional month in a leap-year is Adar Sheni (or We-Adar), meaning "Second Adar". While in the calendar Nisan is counted as the first month, in practical life Tishri came to be treated as such, because it opens with the Holy Day of the New Year. The following is a list of the leading Jewish holy days and their dates: Nisan 14 Eve of Passover 15 First Day of Passover 21 Seventh Day of Passover Sivan 6 Shabuoth or Weeks Ab 9 Ninth of Ab Tishri I New Year 10 Day of Atonement 15 First Day of Tabernacles 22 Eighth Day of Tabernacles 23 Rejoicing of the Law (Simhath Torah) Kislev 25 Hanukkah 76 The Faith of Israel Adar 14 Purim (We-Adar 14 Purim in leap-years) Questions (i) Why is knowledge of the Jewish calendar important? (2) In what ways does the Jewish calendar differ from the one in common use? (3) How are the days named in the Jewish calen- dar? How are the Sabbaths named? Can you give the special Sabbaths? (4) What determines the month in the Jewish calendar? What is a lunar month? How was the new moon fixed? Who finally fixed the Jewish calendar? What was the Sanhedrin? (5) Why is a leap-year necessary in the Jewish calendar? How is a year turned into a leap- year? (6) Give the names and the dates of the leading Jewish holy days. The Reward of a Good Life TJ Lesson XVIII THE REWARD OF A GOOD LIFE The right kind of people will try to live a good life for its own sake. Their chief aim will be to become good men and women, rather than to obtain some special reward for their goodness. An old Jewish teacher has left us the following precept in regard to the religious life: "Be not like servants who serve their master in order to receive a reward, but like- servants who serve their master without expectation of reward". In this spirit the noblest men and women have lived and worked. Think of Moses; think of Isaiah; think of Hillel; think of Abraham Lincoln! They were men who sought to make their life good, true, and pure without expecting any special compensa- tion. When Moses follows the Divine command to free Israel from bondage, he does not do so for the sake of any reward, but rather in order to do what is right. A similar motive prompts Isaiah in his work as a prophet, and Hillel as a teacher, and Lincoln as a patriot. Each of them seeks to do the right for its own sake. And the same may be said of all other truly great and noble men. None the less, it is true that the good life does bring its reward, just as the evil life brings penalties. Each one of us is responsible for his own life, and we cannot escape its consequences. There is a great 78 The Faith of Israel difTerence between the life that is carried on in accordance with the teachings of rehgion and that from which rehgion is shut out. The godly life has compensations that an ungodly life does not contain ; and I wish to call your attention to some of them. First of all, the reward of a godly life is that it is richer than the ungodly life, that it contains more inner beauty and worth. We must all agree that the more wisdom, knowledge, and goodness we try to put into life, the richer it will become. We cannot help realizing that there is more in the life of a person who strives all the time to improve his mind and heart, than in the life of one who does not care how he lives and what the condition of his heart and mind rnay be. The life of Amos, of Rabbi Akiba, of I/ioses Mendelssohn, was full of riches, because they sought to live in a godly way. Such riches will be the reward of all who try to live in accordance with the teachings of religion. Their life will not be a mere existence, like that of unthinking animals; but it will be a rich, beautiful, joyous life. "Ye shall therefore keep My statutes and Mine ordinances;" we read in Leviticus, "which if a man do, he shall live by them". {Leviticus XVIII, 5). We may construe this to mean that we really live only insofar as we fulfil the objects of re- ligion. That is what makes the richest and most joyous life. Therefore, the Psalmist says: "Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than when their corn and their wine increase". {Psalm IV, 8). And, again: "I love Thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold!" {Psalm CXIX, 127). A beautiful illustration we find in the dream of The Reward of a Good Life 79 King Solomon, related in the Bible (I Kings III, 5-15). Solomon was still young at the time. He loved the Lord and tried to follow in the footsteps of his father. When the Lord, in the dream, offered to give him whatever he asked, Solomon asked for an understanding heart, that he might discern between good and evil. He did not ask for riches, nor for power, nor for a long life, but for wisdom, the sort of wisdom that would lead to goodness. It is true that Solomon became a very rich and mighty king. But his wisdom was his greatest wealth. It put more beauty and riches into his life than could come from any other form of wealth. When Solomon forgot the wisdom of goodness, which he had loved so dearly as a young man, all his other riches was of no use; it lost its lustre. Then, the reward of a religious life is health and happiness. Here we have two gifts that all people want: health and happiness. But the surest way of securing them is to follow the teachings of religion. There are many people who have lost both their health and happiness by living an ungodly life. If we do wrong, we cannot be happy. If we live a life of vice, we cannot be healthy. The more we cling to right and virtue, to what is true, pure, and upright, the more certain we can be of enjoying health and happiness. Of course, the best of people at times are sorely tried by misfortune and illness. But even then they have the inward happiness that comes from a right life. The more godly a life we live, the more health and happiness will be ours. "Great peace have they that love Thy law," says the Psalm- 8o The Faith of Israel ist, "and there is no stumbling for them". {Psalm CXIX, 165). And, lastly, those that have lived a godly life on earth are sure of their reward when they have passed away. While we are young, we do not often think of death. At the same time, we know full well that some time or other we must all leave this earth. We all have some dear ones who have gone before us. What awaits us after death, we do not know. But this we do know, that the Spirit lives on and none need be afraid of death who has lived in a godly way, for his reward will surely be according to the good and pure life he has sought to live. "Light is sown for the righteous," says the Psalmist, "and gladness for the upright in heart". {Psalm XCVII, 11). The godly person can pass into death without fear, saying with the old Jewish poet: "I place my soul within His palm Before I sleep as when I wake, And though my body I forsake. Rest in the Lord in fearless calm." Questions (i) What is the noblest reason for living a good life? Can you give some examples? (2) What are the rewards of a religious life? (3) What is a truly rich life? (4) How does goodness affect our happiness? Can you give examples? The Reward of a Good Life 8i (5) How is goodness related to death? Can you tell of some good men or women dying bravely? (6) (a) Tell and explain the dream of Solomon, (b) Tell something about the life and the work of the noble men named in this lesson. 82 The Faith of Israel Lesson XIX THE GLORY OF JEWISH HISTORY Who is there that does not care to read history? There may be people that do not care for mathe- matics, or Latin, or physics, but almost everybody likes to read history. A knowledge of history is necessary for any one who wants to understand the world he lives in and the people to which he belongs. What intelligent American, for example, would get along without some knowledge of the history of his country? The greater our history, the prouder we are of it, and the more we can learn from it. How very true is this of Jewish history! There is no history so wonderful as that of the Jewish people; none so full of lessons for the present, and particu- larly for those who aim to live the life of good Jews and Jewesses. One cannot be a good Jew without some knowledge of the great past of Israel. Indeed, we may say that our history is our most glorious possession. What is it, you will ask, that forms the glory of our Jewish history? This question I shall now try to answer. First, there is the length of Jewish history. It is surely glorious for a people to have been able to live on for a very long period of time. "The hoary head is a crown of glory" — thus the Bible speaks of an aged person {Prov. XVI, 31). Does not a The Glory of Jeivish History 83 similar erown of glory rest on the head of an ancient people? Especially, when we think of so many other peoples, once strong and mighty, that perished while this one people has lived on. That is just what Jewish history relates. For thousands of years the Jewish people has lived on; in many countries and under all kinds of conditions. Many of their neighbors succumbed, such as the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Romans, and others of whom we read in history; they all fell; but the Jewish people has continued to this very day. Then, there is the heroism of Jewish history. We hear about heroism in the history of other peoples. There is the heroism of the Spartans, for instance. But no history is so full of it as that of Israel. Jewish history throbs with heroism in every period and place. It is full of heroic thoughts and heroic deeds. Moses was a hero, Joshua was a hero, Deborah, Jeremiah, the Maccabees, Akiba — they were all heroes, though each in a different way. These are but a few names out of an endless number that might be given. Nor has Jewish heroism been confined to a few great individuals here and there. The whole people of Israel has been heroic. Indeed, it is impossible to be a true Jew without being a hero. There were always Jewish men and women ready to act like heroes when it was a question of preserving their sacred faith. Jewish history is full of martyrs. In- deed, at times whole communities became martyrs for the sake of their faith, as happened in Spain, for example. That was considered the highest form of Kiddush Ha-Shem, while to act the coward was 84 The Faith of Israel called Hillul Ha-Shem. The heroism of Jewish history is one of its glories. Finally, we must think of the purpose of Jewish history. For what object has the Jew sought to live on? The glory of a people depends mainly on the purpose for which it lives. Is there not a difference between a people whose sole purpose is to get a great deal of wealth, or to seize many lands, and a people whose chief aim is to develop upright, educated, and happy men and women? When we read the story of the settlement of America, we learn something about this difference; some came here merely to get the wealth of the country, while others came to escape from the tyranny of the Old World, ready to work hard for liberty and happiness. Therefore, I say, the purpose of Jewish history is the chief part of its glory. What has it been? No one has summed it up so well as the Prophet Isaiah of Babylon. "Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen". {Isaiah XLIII, lo). Here we have a clear description of Israel's purpose. The Jews are God's witnesses; they are His servants; they are meant to know God, to understand and believe Him, and to proclaim Him in the world. They are meant to serve God in the world and to advance the cause of Righteousness. And when we read our history, we find that is what the Jews have lived for as a people. How often have not the Jews been willing to suffer persecution, to sacrifice their possessions, even to abandon their homes and go into exile, rather than give up their The Glory of Jewish History 85 faith? A history with such a purpose behind it is certainly the most glorious in the world. "The hoary head is a crown of glory, it is found in the way of righteousness." The last half of this verse, as well as the first, we may apply to the Jewish people. Its history is made glorious by its old age, by its heroism, as well as by the righteous purpose that has inspired it through the long ages. It is a record that must needs inspire us, too. Questions (i) What makes history a valuable study? Why is Jewish history especially valuable to us? (2) What forms the glory of Jewish history? De- scribe the three features named in the lesson, and give others if you can. (3) Why is there any glory in the old age, (a) of an individual, (b) of a people? Try to think of some reasons, and apply them to the Jewish people. (4) Why do we admire heroes? Can you give instances of Jewish heroism, (a) on the part of individuals, and (b) on the part of the whole people? (5) In what way has the purpose of Israel made for the glory of his history? President Wilson has said: "America came into existence not in order to show the world the most notable example it has ever had of the accumula- tion and use of material wealth, but in order to 86 The Faith of Israel show the way to mankind in every part of the world to justice, and freedom, and liberty". Can you explain these words? And can you bring out in a similar way the purpose for which Israel was created? The Messianic Hope 87 Lesson XX THE MESSIANIC HOPE We all know that the greatest Jewish teachers were the Prophets. Though we have had a long chain of teachers and leaders since the days of Amos and Isaiah, of Micah and Jeremiah, and the other Prophets, none has equaled them in importance. But they were great not only because they taught the people of their age the lessons of life and duty, but also because of their noble ideas and hopes con- cerning the future of the human race. This latter side of the work of the Prophets we shall now consider, A great deal in the life of every man, we must agree, depends on his view of the future. Our work, our ambitions, our efforts are ruled by the sort of future we place before ourselves. Boys and girls at school, young people at college, are guided in the choice of their studies and the manner of their work by what they expect to be and do in days to come. The higher and nobler a future a man makes his goal, the harder he will work and the more nobly he will strive to live. On the other hand, a man indififerent to his future, will be careless of his work and conduct in the present. And this rule holds good, also, in the case of a people, a religious community, and the whole human race. The nobler a future they set before themselves, and strive to attain, the nobler a life they will naturally try to live. And the greatest 88 The Faith of Israel leaders of the human race are those that make it look forward to the noblest future. Now, it was one of the chief merits of the Prophets that they not only taught the men and women of their time the lessons of righteous conduct, but also inspired them with the noblest dream of the future. This dream and hope the Prophets pictured for their people time and again, in words of rare fervor and eloquence, and urged them to live in such a way as to render such a future possible, to make the golden dream a reality. Moreover, the Prophets believed that Israel was especially anointed by God to work in the world in behalf of such a future, and that every individual working toward that end is God's anointed, or, according to the Hebrew word for "anointed", God's Messiah (in Hebrew, Mashiah). Hence, the Prophets' hope of the future has been called the Messianic Hope, and the future to which they looked forward and sought to inspire the human race is named the Messianic Future. In this connection, the Prophets used a term that had been known long in Jewish history and has been used much since, though men have differed as to its true meaning. I refer to the word Messiah. As has just been said, the word comes from the Hebrew Mashiah and means "the Anointed". To whom was this word first applied? We need only turn to our Bible to answer this question. Originally, every king of Israel was called "the Anointed" (or the Messiah), because he was anointed with oil when he was made king. We recall how Samuel, for instance, poured oil on the head of Saul and of David as a symbol of The Messianic Hope 89 their choice. Every king of Israel, thus, was called the Messiah, In the course of time, when the Jews were suffering adversities and had no king of their own, many looked forward to a king who would come and end their troubles. Naturally, they referred to this prince of their hope as the future Messiah. It was at a time of such expectation that the Christians arose, saying that the Jewish hope had been fulfilled, that the Messiah (or as the Greek form of the word has it, the Christ) had come, and, namely, in the person of Jesus. The Jews have never accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus may have been a great teacher, but he was not the Messiah, nor did he bring about the happy state his people expected. There are many Jews who still hope for a special Messiah, who would restore the Jewish kingdom. Other Jews do not believe in the coming of such a person. But all Jews believe in the Messianic future that the Prophets forecast as the great goal of the human race. And what will be the nature of this Messianic future, according to the vision of the Prophets? The following four words may be said to sum it up: Knowledge, Righteousness, Peace, and Unity. In the future all men, first of all, shall know the great truths of religion and love them with all their heart, and not depend upon others to teach and urge them. The knowledge of God will be a natural thing for every one; as Jeremiah expresses it: "Be- hold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith 90 The Faith of Israel the Lord, I will put My law into their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying: 'Know the Lord'; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more". {Jeremiah XXXI, 31-34). Secondly, in the future all will live a righteous life, as a result of the knowledge and love of God. The various forms of wrong and evil that now are found in the world, shall cease. Oppression of the weak, cruelty to the poor, injustice, hatred, perse- cution, both among individuals and nations, shall be no more. In their place. Righteousness shall rule. "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 the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the land; and he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the v/icked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins". {Isaiah XI, 1-5). Thirdly, there will be Peace. "The work of right- eousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteous- The Messianic Hope 91 ness quietness and confidence for ever". {Isaiah XXXII, 17). The result of the ceasing of injustice and hatred, of cruelty and oppression, will be a grow- ing feeling of friendship among men and of fellowship and peace among peoples. Men will no longer be afraid of one another, nor seek to hurt and destroy one another, but will realize that they are all members of the same human race and try to help one another and v/ork together for the good of all. War shall cease, and peace take its place. "In the end of days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow unto it. And many nations shall go and say: 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths'; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide concerning mighty nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid." Again: "And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion together; and a little child shall lead them. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the 92 The Faith of Israel knowledge of the Lord, e.s the waters cover the sea". (Micah IV, 1-4; Isaiah XI, 1-9). And, lastly, this condition of knowledge, right- eousness, and peace will tend to weld the human race ever more together, and to unite it in the worship of One God, the only true God. Different peoples shall no longer call upon different gods. There shall be no more strife among the followers of many reli- gions as to whose is the true and whose the false. But all shall come to see that God is One, and His name One, and that He is the God of Truth, Right- eousness, and Mercy, whom it behooves all men to worship. "And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall the Lord be One, and His name one". (Zechariah XIV, 9). This is the kind of future that the Prophets pic- tured. Such a condition, they taught, some day would come to pass among men. Israel is anointed to help bring it to pass; he is the Messiah of the Lord; he is the Servant of the Lord. "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My spirit upon him, he shall make the right to go forth to the nations. He shall not fail nor be crushed, till he have set the right in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his teaching". (Isaiah XLII, 1-4). This is the purpose of Israel in the world. And every man helping to establish such a condition, has a share in the messianic work. The messianic hope has played a great part in the life of the Jewish people. No matter how much wrong the Jew may have had to suffer, there was always the hope for the golden future to inspire him The Messianic Hope 93 with strength and confidence. Time and again some Jews imagined that the messianic age had arrived, and that some one individual was the Messiah. But we know that the messianic age of the Prophets has not yet come. The world has not yet attained to the condition of Knowledge, Righteousness, Peace, and Unity that the Prophets pictured as the golden future of the human race. And this is where our duty lies. It is the duty of every Jew and Jewess to do whatever they can toward bringing about the happy condition that the Prophets forecast. To live in such a manner as to lessen evil, misery, and ignorance among men, to increase happiness, knowledge, and joy, and to pre- pare the world for the messianic future — this is the duty of every man and woman in Israel. For such a life it is the aim of our Confirmation lessons to pre- pare us, and to dedicate us to such a life is the holy purpose of our Confirmation. Questions (i) Wherein lay the greatness of the Jewish Proph- ets? (2) Why does a man's view of the future affect his work? How does this rule apply to a people? (3) How has the Prophets' idea of the future influenced the world? (4) What sort of a future did the Prophets forecast? What are its leading features to be? What do we call it, and why? Can you explain the words "Messiah" and "Messianic"? 94 The Faith of Israel (5) Has the Messianic hope been realized? If not, why not? How have Jews and Christians differed in regard to the Messiah? (6) What duty d(5es the Messianic hope put upon us? How is it related to Confirmation? (7) Recite the passages from the Bible quoted in this lesson. I'MVERSITV OF CALIFORNIA LIIJRARV Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped belov. OHiOti — LO/ilffL APR! 1*90 TP-n I r\j\\^ APR 9 «fc-n fttC'O LD-URi JUNl9ia90 Form L9-Series 4939 Universih ol Calrfomia, Los Angeles III IP