interred return to this world, for the mercy of God acts thrice on man, according to the words of Job, "Lo, all this God doeth twice and thrice to man," sending them even for a third time to amend their conduct : but it sometimes happens that instead of gaining sanctity and purity they separate and go away from the holy place; which arises from the forgetfulness of the city where the injury was committed, that is, the body (a small city, &c.). They forget themselves and what they had passed in the other life, and what they had already done in this world. Plato asserts the same in the Tymeo; this he says, "is also vanity," because man, from wickedness, although he descends thrice to this world, does not amend his conduct. Or, "I see, even the wicked buried, who merited interment no more than animals which are left as prey for birds, coming from under the throne of honour (i. e. the heavens), but they separated themselves and returned not to it, being forgotten from the wickedness they performed in that celestial abode." Solomon continues the subject, and gives the reason why wickedness is most practised in the world, and says, "Because the sentence for an evil action is not immediately executed, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully bent in them to do evil;" as if he had said, "If the eyes were to see immediate punishment, every one would be warned either by himself or what he sees occur to others; but by the Lord benevolently being D'DR 778 long-suffering,' mankind is heedless of sinning, considering it better to enjoy present pleasure than to care for future punishments;" in support of it, he continues with "though a sinner do evil a hundred times," i. e. innumerable, "and his days be prolonged, or hath long life, surely I know that it will be well with the fearers of God who fear before him," not to offend his presence; "but well it shall not be," neither real nor certain, "with the wicked, nor shall he prolong his days in the next world; they shall be transitory and short as a shadow, because he feared not before God," nevertheless, "there is a vanity done upon earth; there are just men to whom it happeneth like the work of the wicked, and there are wicked to whom it happeneth according to the work of the just;" the wicked prosper and adversity happens to the just as if their conduct was the reverse, but this also is vanity;" for the welfare and troubles of this life are nothing compared to those of the world to come. 66 The whole may be differently explained by saying, with the ancients, God should not be served, like slaves working for pay (but as Maimonides says, from virtuous, disinterested motives); for one who thus serves Him incurs the risk of relinquishing his love, for at the slightest displeasure or punishment, he considers himself aggrieved at the reward not being commensurate to his services. And as this cannot be, the just should console himself the more at seeing the welfare enjoyed by the wicked, relying upon the justice and righteousness of God that his reward will be far superior, and believe— that the chief reward of the precepts is not * שכר מצות בהאי עלמא ליכא given in this world;" for what is mundane and temporal cannot be the reward for the spiritual and heavenly, which the Divine Law is. And as the Allwise often gives riches to unworthy and wicked men, He thereby proves felicity does not consist in them, since the undeserving enjoy them. But, although this sometimes occurs, we generally see the good protected by special Providence, receiving benefit in this world, and the wicked evil; and what the prophet says, is undeniable, "he who getteth riches unjustly, they shall leave him in the middle of his days, and in his end he shall be low;" and David says, "Men of blood and the deceitful shall not live half their days." Conformably to this, the Sage says that the wicked sometimes commit a hundred sins, &c. but he knows it will be well with the fearers of God who fear his presence, judging it to be impossible, according to His most upright justice, but that He would take care of His works; so that the very prosperity of the wicked should serve as an inducement to fear Him; by understanding the general rule, that he who acts ill ends ill, and that it will not be well with the wicked, nor will his days be prolonged, although the contrary sometimes happens; and as these effects are incomprehensible to men, who know not the heart, they never can learn why God punishes some and rewards others: he says, this inquiry and research is also vain; by which the verses are reconciled.8 7 Psalm 55: 23. As the apparent slight put on the female sex in Talmudic writings has often been a theme of vituperation by the uninformed, or wilfully perverted by those who know better; a few words in explanation will prove the fallacy of their arguments. Women are exempted from the study of the law. Why? Because, having many precepts peculiar to the sex, if added to those of man, their duties would be increased and rendered more onerous. They may not serve as witnesses. Let it be remembered, that, among the Jews, the accuser of a criminal had to throw the first stone. Would this be consonant with the delicacy of female feelings? Were such the law of England, what would be the sensations of a father, son, or husband at seeing his daughter, mother, or wife place the rope round the neck of the murderer, whose crime she had witnessed? The three blessings in our morning service of "Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, king of the universe, who hath not made me a heathen;" "Blessed, &c. who hath not made me a slave;" "Blessed, &c. who hath not made me a woman;" have been adduced as proof, that the inspired authors of our Rituala placed women, slaves, and heathens on a par. What malversation or ignorance! On reflection, no unprejudiced nor reasonable mind will judge them misplaced, when it considers that in the first, thanks are given to the Almighty for having instilled into us a knowledge of His existence, by which spiritual felicity is attainable: the second, in having preserved us from the most degraded and abject state of human nature; and, lastly, what man is there who is not thankful to his Creator in having delivered him from the pangs of child-birth, &c.? The only connection they bear to each other is the relative position of major to minor; being spiritual, temporal, and, lastly, individual. Were those who are opposed to Judaical forms only to consider, they would find the Compilers of our Prayers substituted in lieu of the latter, the following to be said by females, "Blessed, &c. who hath made me according to his will." Is not this a proof that they considered females equally bound to offer their daily orisons to the throne of mercy as man? By the Hebrew laws they deservedly held a far superior station in society and religious customs to females of any other Oriental nation.-TRANSLator. a Vide Note, Vol. I. page 196. ESTHE R. QUESTION. Esther 2:5. There was a Jew in Shushan, the capital, whose name was Mordecai, Ibid. the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. RECONCILIATION. This verse seems to contain a contradiction; for in the beginning it says, a Jew," that is a man of the tribe of Judah, and ends " he was a Benjamite;" our Sages conciliate it in different ways. R. Nachman says that the appellation of was a title of nobility, and that Mordecai having been introduced among the grandees of the kings of Judah, had the title given to him although he was of the tribe of Benjamin. R. Judah ben Levi says his father was of the tribe of Judah and his mother of Benjamin, as the tribes were accustomed to intermarry; for we find David, who was of the tribe of Judah, married Michal, the daughter of Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin. Ahimaaz, of the tribe of Naphthali, married the daughter of King Solomon. Jehoiadah, the high priest, a descendant of Levi, married Jehosheba, daughter of Joram, king of Judah2; the remainder of the tribe of Benjamin intermarried with the others. That such marriages were always lawful, Holy Scripture proves, as it plainly says, "And the priest's daughter, when married to a strange man, ,"3 that is, of another tribe. According to this Mordecai may have been of both. R. Johanan solves it differently, asserting that this title of " Jew,” is applicable to those who deny idolatry; therefore, although Mordecai was a Benjamite, from having refused to bow to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar, and had rejected idolatry, he might therefore have been termed a Jew. The most probable is, that all taken captives with the kings of Judah at the destruction of the Temple were termed "Jews," although many of the tribe of Benjamin were among them; but they were generally so termed as if all were of the tribe of Judah. When Ahijah the Shilonite prophesied to Jeroboham that the Lord would give him ten tribes, but that one tribe should remain with the descendants of David, he made no account of Benjamin, although both remained, considering them as accessories, and included in that of Judah, by which there remains no doubt. 1 Kings, 4:15. 2 2 Chron. 22:11. 3 Levit. 22:12. 4 1 Kings, 11:31. DANIE L. QUESTION. Dan. 1:5. And the king appointed them a daily ration of the king's provisions, and of the wine which he drank; and so nourishing them for three years. Dan. 2:1. And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamt dreams. his son RECONCILIATION. In Seder Olam this second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign is understood to be the second year after the destruction of the Holy Temple; for in the first year of his reign he took Jehoiakim prisoner and carried him to Babylon in chains, as stated in Chronicles, and Daniel with him. After that Jehoiakim regained the favour of Nebuchadnezzar, who restored his kingdom on condition of his becoming tributary. At the expiration of three years he revolted: three years after he returned against him, again took him prisoner, and he died ignominiously on the road, as had been foretold by Jeremiah. Then Jehoiakin succeeded; he reigned only three months and was carried captive to Babylon with Ezekiel, leaving Zedekiah as king. After reigning eleven years, for not having kept his oath to Nebuchadnezzar, the Lord permitted him to come against and take him prisoner, destroying the holy city of Jerusalem and burning the holy Temple; so that this dream of Nebuchadnezzar could only have happened in the second year after the destruction of the Temple, because Daniel and his companions as children were reared and instructed in the sciences for the space of three years, at the expiration of which they were examined by the king and judged to be most learned, and as men were invited with the other sages to interpret the dream. How then can it be understood for the second year of his reign, if from the education of these young men Daniel succeeded in explaining the dream? Therefore it could only have been the second from the destruction, and saying the second of his reign is not opposed to it, as it must not be understood for his reigning in Babylon, but when, after conquering Judea in the space of two years, he subdued Ammon, Egypt, Moab, and twenty-one nations, as related by Jeremiah, remaining then universal monarch. Proud of his grandeur, the Lord showed him in dreams that his monarchy would shortly terminate and others succeed it, as experience has shown. 12 Chron. 36:6. EZRA. QUESTION 1. Ezra 1:9. And this is the number of them, thirty changers of gold, &c. Ezra 8:11. All the vessels of gold and silver were 5400. Recapitulating the vessels in verses 9 and 10 there are only 2,499; how then in the next are they stated to be 5,400. RECONCILIATION. The most valuable vessels, were 2,499 as detailed by Ezra, but the smaller ones of less value were 2,901. Not to waste time in enumerating them, they are included in the 5,400, as is said in Chronicles," And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, &c. he, Nebuchadnezzar, carried to Babylon." The small ones then are included in the larger number. QUESTION 2. Ezra 2:1. And these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, &c. Ezra 2:64. The whole congregation together was 42,360. Enumerating particularly the number of all the families that went to Jerusalem from Babylon with Zerubbabel, as described in that same chapter, there appear only 29,818, whence arises the error saying they were in all 42,360, when there were 12,542 short of that number? RECONCILIATION. Although state interest and the glory of power had such influence over Jeroboham and his friends as to lead them to pervert the Law, there were many righteous persons animated by holy zeal who abandoned their country and property, and went to reside in the lands of Judah and Benjamin, and remained intermixed with those tribes. This truth is proved from Chronicles, where it says, that Asa, as a pious and upright king, "gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and out of Simeon; for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw the Lord his God was with him." And in Hezekiah's time it says, "For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun," &c. and it testifies that in the life time of Josiah, "And they gave the money that the Levites gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin,” from which it is seen many of the Ten Tribes joined these two, as all professed the same religion. From this results the immense number of Jews that are found to have been killed at the destruction of the second Temple by Titus, by 12 Chron. 36:18. 12 Chron. 15:9. 2 2 Chron. 30:18. 3 2 Chron. 34:9. |