,,jewish ,,history  ,,an ,,essay ,,in   
,,the ,,philosophy ,,of ,,history  ,by  
,s4 ,m4 ,dubnow     ,,preface ,,to ,,the
 ,,german ,,translation   ,the author of
 the present essay1 ,s4 ,m4 ,dubnow1    
occupies a well-nigh dominating position
 in ,russian-,jewish literature as an   
historian and an acute critic4 ,his     
investigations into the history of the  
,polish-,russian ,jews1 especially his  
achievements in the history of          
,chassidism1 have been of fundamental   
importance in these departments4 ,what  
raises ,mr4 ,dubnow far above the status
 of the professional historian1 and     
awakens the reader's lively interest in 
him1 is not so much the matter of his   
books1 as the manner of presentation4   
,it is rare to meet with an historian in
 whom scientific objectivity and        
thoroughness are so harmoniously        
combined with an ardent temperament and 
plastic ability4 ,mr4 ,dubnow's         
scientific activity1 first and last1 is 
a striking refutation of the widespread 

opinion that identifies attractiveness  
of form in the work of a scholar with   
superficiality of content4 ,even his    
strictly scientific investigations1     
besides offering the scholar a wealth of
 new suggestions1 form instructive and  
entertaining reading matter for the     
educated layman4 ,in his critical       
essays1 ,mr4 ,dubnow shows himself to be
 possessed of keen psychologic insight4 
,by virtue of this quality of delicate  
perception1 he aims to assign to every  
historical fact its proper place in the 
line of development1 and so establish   
the bond between it and the general     
history of mankind4 ,this psychologic   
ability contributes vastly to the       
interest aroused by ,mr4 ,dubnow's      
historical works outside of the limited 
circle of scholars4 ,there is a passage 
in one of his books#a in which1 in his  
incisive manner1 he expresses his views 
on the limits and tasks of historical   
writing4 ,as the passage bears upon the 
methods employed in the present essay1  

and1 at the same time1 is a             
characteristic specimen of our author's 
style1 ,i take the liberty of quoting3  
,the popularization of history is by no 
means to be pursued to the detriment of 
its severely scientific treatment4 ,what
 is to be guarded against is the notion 
that tedium is inseparable from the     
scientific method4 ,i have always been  
of the opinion that the dulness commonly
 looked upon as the prerogative of      
scholarly inquiries1 is not an inherent 
attribute4 ,in most cases it is         
conditioned1 not by the nature of the   
subject under investigation1 but by the 
temper of the investigator4 ,often1     
indeed1 the tediousness of a learned    
disquisition is intentional3 it is      
considered one of the polite conventions
 of the academic guild1 and by many is  
identified with scientific thoroughness 
and profound learning4444 ,if1 in       
general1 deadening1 hide-bound caste    
methods1 not seldom the cover for       
poverty of thought and lack of          

cleverness1 are reprehensible1 they are 
doubly reprehensible in history4 ,the   
history of a people is not a mere mental
 discipline1 like botany or mathematics1
 but a living science1 a magistra vitae1
 leading straight to national           
self-knowledge1 and acting to a certain 
degree upon the national character4     
,history is a science by the people1 for
 the people1 and1 therefore1 its place  
is the open forum1 not the scholar's    
musty closet4 ,we relate the events of  
the past to the people1 not merely to a 
handful of archaeologists and           
numismaticians4 ,we work for national   
self-knowledge1 not for our own         
intellectual diversion4    #a ,in the   
introduction to his ,historische        
,mitteilungen1     ,vorarbeiten zu einer
 ,geschichte der pol-nischrussischen    
,juden4  ,these are the principles that 
have guided ,mr4 ,dubnow in all his     
works1 and he has been true to them in  
the present essay1 which exhibits in a  
remarkably striking way the author's art

 of making all things seem fresh and    
new1 important and attractive4 ,new and 
important his essay undoubtedly is4 ,the
 author attempts1 for the first time1 a 
psychologic characterization of ,jewish 
history4 ,he endeavors to demonstrate   
the inner connection between events1 and
 develop the ideas that underlie them1  
or1 to use his own expression1 lay bare 
the soul of ,jewish history1 which      
clothes itself with external events as  
with a bodily envelope4 ,jewish history 
has never before been considered from   
this philosophic point of view1         
certainly not in ,german literature4    
,the present work1 therefore1 cannot    
fail to prove stimulating4 ,as for the  
poet's other requirement1               
attractiveness1 it is fully met by the  
work here translated4 ,the qualities of 
,mr4 ,dubnow's style1 as described      
above1 are present to a marked degree4  
,the enthusiasm flaming up in every     
line1 coupled with his plastic1         
figurative style1 and his scintillating 

conceits1 which lend vivacity to his    
presentation1 is bound to charm the     
reader4 ,yet1 in spite of the racy      
style1 even the layman will have no     
difficulty in discovering that it is not
 a clever journalist1 an artificer of   
well-turned phrases1 who is speaking to 
him1 but a scholar by profession1 whose 
foremost concern is with historical     
truth1 and whose every statement rests  
upon accurate1 scientific knowledge2 not
 a bookworm with pale1 academic blood   
trickling through his veins1 but a man  
who1 with unsoured mien1 with fresh1    
buoyant delight1 offers the world the   
results laboriously reached in his      
study1 after all evidences of toil and  
moil have been carefully removed2 who   
derives inspiration from the noble and  
the sublime in whatever guise it may    
appear1 and who knows how to communicate
 his inspiration to others4  ,the       
translator lays this book of an         
accomplished and spirited historian     
before the ,german public4 ,he does so  

in the hope that it will shed new light 
upon ,jewish history even for           
professional scholars4 ,he is confident 
that in many to whom our unexampled past
 of four thousand years' duration is now
 terra incognita1 it will arouse        
enthusiastic interest1 and even to those
 who1 like the translator himself1      
differ from the author in religious     
views1 it will furnish edifying and     
suggestive reading4 ,j4 ,f4             
,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,english          
,,translation   ,the ,english           
translation of ,mr4 ,dubnow's ,essay is 
based upon the authorized ,german       
translation1 which was made from the    
original ,russian4 ,it is published     
under the joint auspices of the ,jewish 
,publication ,society of ,america and   
the ,jewish ,historical ,society of     
,england4 ,h4 ,s4     ,,table ,,of      
,,contents   ,,preface ,,to ,,the       
,,german ,,translation  ,,introductory  
,,note  ,i  ,,the ,,range ,,of ,,jewish 
,,history    ,historical and            

,unhistorical ,peoples    ,three ,groups
 of ,nations    ,the ,most ,historical  
,people    ,extent of ,jewish ,history  
,,ii  ,,the ,,content ,,of ,,jewish     
,,history    ,two ,periods of ,jewish   
,history    ,the ,period of             
,independence    ,the ,election of the  
,jewish ,people    ,priests and         
,prophets    ,the ,babylonian ,exile and
 the ,scribes    ,the ,dispersion       
,jewish ,history and ,universal ,history
    ,jewish ,history ,characterized     
,,iii  ,,the ,,significance ,,of        
,,jewish ,,history    ,the ,national    
,aspect of ,jewish ,history    ,the     
,historical ,consciousness    ,the      
,national ,idea and ,national ,feeling  
,the ,universal ,aspect of ,jewish      
,history    ,an ,historical ,experiment 
,a ,moral ,discipline    ,humanitarian  
,significance of ,jewish ,history       
,schleiden and ,george ,eliot  ,,iv     
,,the ,,historical ,,synthesis    ,three
 ,primary ,periods    ,four ,composite  
,periods  ,v  ,,the ,,primary ,,or      

,,biblical ,,period    ,cosmic ,origin  
of the ,jewish ,religion    ,tribal     
,organization    ,egyptian ,influence   
and ,experiences    ,moses    ,mosaism a
 ,religious and ,moral as well as a     
,social and ,political        ,system   
,national ,deities    ,the ,prophets and
 the two ,kingdoms    ,judaism a        
,universal ,religion  ,,vi  ,,the       
,,secondary ,,or ,,spiritual-,,political
 ,,period    ,growth of ,national       
,feeling    ,ezra and ,nehemiah    ,the 
,scribes    ,hellenism    ,the          
,maccabees    ,sadducees1 ,pharisees1   
and ,essenes    ,alexandrian ,jews      
,christianity  ,,vii  ,,the ,,tertiary  
,,talmudic ,,or ,,national-,,religious  
,,period    ,the ,isolation of ,jewry   
and ,judaism    ,the ,mishna    ,the    
,talmud    ,intellectual ,activity in   
,palestine and ,babylonia    ,the ,agada
 and the ,midrash    ,unification of    
,judaism  ,,viii  ,,the ,,gaonic        
,,period1 ,,or ,,the ,,hegemony ,,of    
,,the ,,oriental ,,jews 7#ejj-ihj7      

,the ,academies    ,islam    ,karaism   
,beginning of ,persecutions in ,europe  
,arabic ,civilization in ,europe  ,,ix  
,,the ,,rabbinic-,,philosophical        
,,period1 ,,or ,,the ,,hegemony ,,of    
,,the ,,spanish ,,jews 7#ihj-adib7      
,the ,spanish ,jews    ,the             
,arabic-,jewish ,renaissance    ,the    
,crusades and the ,jews    ,degradation 
of the ,jews in ,christian ,europe      
,the ,provence    ,the ,lateran ,council
    ,the ,kabbala    ,expulsion from    
,spain  ,x  ,,the ,,rabbinic-,,mystical 
,,period1 ,,or ,,the ,,hegemony ,,of    
,,the ,,german-,,polish ,,jews          
7#adib-aghi7    ,the ,humanists and the 
,reformation    ,palestine an ,asylum   
for ,jews    ,messianic ,belief and     
,hopes    ,holland a ,jewish ,centre    
,poland and the ,jews    ,the           
,rabbinical ,authorities of ,poland     
,isolation of the ,polish ,jews         
,mysticism and the ,practical ,kabbala  
,chassidism    ,persecutions and ,morbid
 ,piety  ,,xi  ,,the ,,modern ,,period  

,,of ,,enlightenment 7,,the ,,nineteenth
 ,,century7    ,the ,french ,revolution 
,the ,jewish ,middle ,ages    ,spiritual
 and ,civil ,emancipation    ,the       
,successors of ,mendelssohn    ,zunz and
 the ,science of ,judaism    ,the       
,modern ,movements outside of ,germany  
,the ,jew in ,russia    ,his            
,regeneration    ,anti-,semitism and    
,judophobia  ,,xii  ,,the ,,teachings   
,,of ,,jewish ,,history    ,jewry a     
,spiritual ,community    ,jewry         
,indestructible    ,the ,creative       
,principle of ,jewry    ,the ,task of   
the ,future    ,the ,jew and the        
,nations    ,the ,ultimate ,ideal       
,,introductory ,,note   ,what is ,jewish
 ,history8 ,in the first place1 what    
does it offer as to quantity and as to  
quality8 ,what are its range and        
content1 and what distinguishes it in   
these two respects from the history of  
other nations8 ,furthermore1 what is the
 essential meaning1 what the spirit1 of 
,jewish ,history8 ,or1 to put the       

question in another way1 to what general
 results are we led by the aggregate of 
its facts1 considered1 not as a whole1  
but genetically1 as a succession of     
evolutionary stages in the consciousness
 and education of the ,jewish people8   
,if we could find precise answers to    
these several questions1 they would     
constitute a characterization of ,jewish
 ,history as accurate as is attainable4 
,to present such a characterization     
succinctly is the purpose of the        
following essay4     ,,jewish ,,history 
,,an ,,essay ,,in ,,the ,,philosophy    
,,of ,,history     ,i  ,,the ,,range    
,,of ,,jewish ,,history       ,le peuple
 juif n'est pas seulement considrable   
par son     antiquit1 mais il est encore
 singulier en sa dure1 qui a            
toujours continu depuis son origine     
jusqu' maintenant 444     ,s'tendant    
depuis les premiers temps jusqu'aux     
derniers1     l'histoire des juifs      
enferme dans sa dure celle de toutes nos
     histoires4--,,pascal1 ,penses1     

,,ii1 #g4  ,to make clear the range of  
,jewish history1 it is necessary to set 
down a few general1 elementary          
definitions by way of introduction4  ,it
 has long been recognized that a        
fundamental difference exists between   
historical and unhistorical peoples1 a  
difference growing out of the fact of   
the natural inequality between the      
various elements composing the human    
race4 ,unhistorical is the attribute    
applied to peoples that have not yet    
broken away1 or have not departed very  
far1 from the state of primitive        
savagery1 as1 for instance1 the         
barbarous races of ,asia and ,africa who
 were the prehistoric ancestors of the  
,europeans1 or the obscure1 untutored   
tribes of the present1 like the ,tartars
 and the ,kirghiz4 ,unhistorical        
peoples1 then1 are ethnic groups of all 
sorts that are bereft of a distinctive1 
spiritual individuality1 and have failed
 to display normal1 independent capacity
 for culture4 ,the term historical1 on  

the other hand1 is applied to the       
nations that have had a conscious1      
purposeful history of appreciable       
duration2 that have progressed1 stage by
 stage1 in their growth and in the      
improvement of their mode and their     
views of life2 that have demonstrated   
mental productivity of some sort1 and   
have elaborated principles of           
civilization and social life more or    
less rational2 nations1 in short1       
representing not only zoologic1 but also
 spiritual types4#b    #b ,the primitive
 peoples that change with their         
environment1     constantly adapting    
themselves to their habitat and to      
external nature1 have no history4444    
,only those nations and     states      
belong to history which display         
self-conscious action2     which evince 
an inner spiritual life by diversified  
manifestations2 and combine into an     
organic whole what they     receive from
 without1 and what they themselves      
originate4     7,introduction to        

,weber's ,allgemeine ,weltgeschichte1 i1
     pp4 #af-ah47  ,chronologically     
considered1 these latter nations1 of a  
higher type1 are usually divided into   
three groups3 #a1 the most ancient      
civilized peoples of the ,orient1 such  
as the ,chinese1 the ,hindoos1 the      
,egyptians1 the ,chaldeans2 #b1 the     
ancient or classic peoples of the       
,occident1 the ,greeks and the ,romans2 
and #c1 the modern peoples1 the         
civilized nations of ,europe and        
,america of the present day4 ,the most  
ancient peoples of the ,orient1 standing
 at the threshold of history1 were the  
first heralds of a religious            
consciousness and of moral principles4  
,in hoary antiquity1 when most of the   
representatives of the human kind were  
nothing more than a peculiar variety of 
the class mammalia1 the peoples called  
the most ancient brought forth          
recognized forms of social life and a   
variety of theories of living of fairly 
far-reaching effect4 ,all these         

culture-bearers of the ,orient soon     
disappeared from the surface of history4
 ,some 7the ,chaldeans1 ,phoenicians1   
and ,egyptians7 were washed away by the 
flood of time1 and their remnants were  
absorbed by younger and more vigorous   
peoples4 ,others 7the ,hindoos and      
,persians7 relapsed into a              
semi-barbarous state2 and a third class 
7the ,chinese7 were arrested in their   
growth1 and remained fixed in           
immobility4 ,the best that the antique  
,orient had to bequeath in the way of   
spiritual possessions fell to the share 
of the classic nations of the ,west1 the
 ,greeks and the ,romans4 ,they greatly 
increased the heritage by their own     
spiritual achievements1 and so produced 
a much more complex and diversified     
civilization1 which has served as the   
substratum for the further development  
of the better part of mankind4 ,even the
 classic nations had to step aside as   
soon as their historical mission was    
fulfilled4 ,they left the field free for

 the younger nations1 with greater      
capability of living1 which at that time
 had barely worked their way up to the  
beginnings of a civilization4 ,one after
 the other1 during the first two        
centuries of the ,christian era1 the    
members of this ,european family of     
nations appeared in the arena of        
history4 ,they form the kernel of the   
civilized part of mankind at the present
 day4  ,now1 if we examine this accepted
 classification with a view to finding  
the place belonging to the ,jewish      
people in the chronological series1 we  
meet with embarrassing difficulties1 and
 finally arrive at the conclusion that  
its history cannot be accommodated      
within the compass of the               
classification4 ,into which of the three
 historical groups mentioned could the  
,jewish people be put8 ,are we to call  
it one of the most ancient1 one of the  
ancient1 or one of the modern nations8  
,it is evident that it may lay claim to 
the first description1 as well as to the

 second and the last4 ,in company with  
the most ancient nations of the ,orient1
 the ,jewish people stood at the        
threshold of history4 ,it was the       
contemporary of the earliest civilized  
nations1 the ,egyptians and the         
,chaldeans4 ,in those remote days it    
created and spread a religious          
world-idea underlying an exalted social 
and moral system surpassing everything  
produced in this sphere by its ,oriental
 contemporaries4 ,again1 with the       
classical ,greeks and ,romans1 it forms 
the celebrated historical triad         
universally recognized as the source of 
all great systems of civilization4      
,finally1 in fellowship with the nations
 of to-day1 it leads an historical life1
 striding onward in the path of progress
 without stay or interruption4 ,deprived
 of political independence1 it          
nevertheless continues to fill a place  
in the world of thought as a distinctly 
marked spiritual individuality1 as one  
of the most active and intelligent      

forces4 ,how1 then1 are we to denominate
 this omnipresent people1 which1 from   
the first moment of its historical      
existence up to our days1 a period of   
thirty-five hundred years1 has been     
developing continuously4 ,in view of    
this ,methuselah among the nations1     
whose life is co-extensive with the     
whole of history1 how are we to dispose 
of the inevitable barriers between the  
most ancient and the ancient1 between   
the ancient and the modern nations--the 
fateful barriers which form the         
milestones on the path of the historical
 peoples1 and which the ,jewish people  
has more than once overstepped8  ,a     
definition of the ,jewish people must   
needs correspond to the aggregate of the
 concepts expressed by the three        
group-names1 most ancient1 ancient1 and 
modern4 ,the only description applicable
 to it is the historical nation of all  
times1 a description bringing into      
relief the contrast between it and all  
other nations of modern and ancient     

times1 whose historical existence either
 came to an end in days long past1 or   
began at a date comparatively recent4   
,and granted that there are historical  
and unhistorical peoples1 then it is    
beyond dispute that the ,jewish people  
deserves to be called the most          
historical 7historicissimus74 ,if the   
history of the world be conceived as a  
circle1 then ,jewish history occupies   
the position of the diameter1 the line  
passing through its centre1 and the     
history of every other nation is        
represented by a chord marking off a    
smaller segment of the circle4 ,the     
history of the ,jewish people is like an
 axis crossing the history of mankind   
from one of its poles to the other4 ,as 
an unbroken thread it runs through the  
ancient civilization of ,egypt and      
,mesopotamia1 down to the present-day   
culture of ,france and ,germany4 ,its   
divisions are measured by thousands of  
years4  ,jewish history1 then1 in its   
range1 or1 better1 in its duration1     

presents an unique phenomenon4 ,it      
consists of the longest series of events
 ever recorded in the annals of a single
 people4 ,to sum up its peculiarity     
briefly1 it embraces a period of        
thirty-five hundred years1 and in all   
this vast extent it suffers no          
interruption4 ,at every point it is     
alive1 full of sterling content4        
,presently we shall see that in respect 
to content1 too1 it is distinguished by 
exceptional characteristics4     ,,ii   
,,the ,,content ,,of ,,jewish ,,history 
,from the point of view of content1 or  
qualitative structure1 ,jewish history1 
it is well known1 falls into two parts4 
,the dividing point between the two     
parts is the moment in which the ,jewish
 state collapsed irretrievably under the
 blows of the ,roman ,empire 7#gj ,c4   
,e474 ,the first half deals with the    
vicissitudes of a nation1 which1 though 
frequently at the mercy of stronger     
nations1 still maintained possession of 
its territory and government1 and was   

ruled by its own laws4 ,in the second   
half1 we encounter the history of a     
people without a government1 more than  
that1 without a land1 a people stripped 
of all the tangible accompaniments of   
nationality1 and nevertheless successful
 in preserving its spiritual unity1 its 
originality1 complete and undiminished4 
,at first glance1 ,jewish history during
 the period of independence seems to be 
but slightly different from the history 
of other nations4 ,though not without   
individual coloring1 there are yet the  
same wars and intestine disturbances1   
the same political revolutions and      
dynastic quarrels1 the same conflicts   
between the classes of the people1 the  
same warring between economical         
interests4 ,this is only a surface view 
of ,jewish history4 ,if we pierce to its
 depths1 and scrutinize the processes   
that take place in its penetralia1 we   
perceive that even in the early period  
there were latent within it great powers
 of intellect1 universal principles1    

which1 visibly or invisibly1 determined 
the course of events4 ,we have before us
 not a simple political or racial       
entity1 but1 to an eminent degree1 a    
spiritual people4 ,the national         
development is based upon an            
all-pervasive religious tradition1 which
 lives in the soul of the people as the 
,sinaitic ,revelation1 the ,law of      
,moses4 ,with this holy tradition1      
embracing a luminous theory of life and 
an explicit code of morality and social 
converse1 was associated the idea of the
 election of the ,jewish people1 of its 
peculiar spiritual mission4 ,and ye     
shall be unto me a kingdom of priests   
and a holy nation is the figurative     
expression of this ideal calling4 ,it   
conveys the thought that the            
,israelitish people as a whole1 without 
distinction of rank and regardless of   
the social prominence of individuals1   
has been called to guide the other      
nations toward sublime moral and        
religious principles1 and to officiate  

for them1 the laity as it were1 in the  
capacity of priests4 ,this exalted ideal
 would never have been reached1 if the  
development of the ,jewish people had   
lain along hackneyed lines2 if1 like the
 ,egyptians and the ,chaldeans1 it had  
had an inflexible caste of priests1 who 
consider the guardianship of the        
spiritual treasures of the nation the   
exclusive privilege of their estate1 and
 strive to keep the mass of the people  
in crass ignorance4 ,for a time1        
something approaching this condition    
prevailed among the ,jews4 ,the priests 
descended from ,aaron1 with the ,temple 
servants 7the ,levites71 formed a       
priestly class1 and played the part of  
authoritative bearers of the religious  
tradition4 ,but early1 in the very      
infancy of the nation1 there arose by   
the side of this official1 aristocratic 
hierarchy1 a far mightier priesthood1 a 
democratic fraternity1 seeking to       
enlighten the whole nation1 and         
inculcating convictions that make for a 

consciously held aim4 ,the ,prophets    
were the real and appointed executors of
 the holy command enjoining the         
conversion of all ,jews into a kingdom  
of priests and a holy nation4 ,their    
activity cannot be paralleled in the    
whole range of the world's history4     
,they were not priests1 but popular     
educators and popular teachers4 ,they   
were animated by the desire to instil   
into every soul a deeply religious      
consciousness1 to ennoble every heart by
 moral aspirations1 to indoctrinate     
every individual with an unequivocal    
theory of life1 to inspire every member 
of the nation with lofty ideals4 ,their 
work did not fail to leave its traces4  
,slowly but deeply idealism entered into
 the very pith and marrow of the        
national consciousness4 ,this           
consciousness gained in strength and    
amplitude century by century1 showing   
itself particularly in the latter part  
of the first period1 after the crisis   
known as the ,babylonian ,exile4 ,thanks

 to the exertions of the ,soferim       
7,scribes71 directed toward the broadest
 popularization of the ,holy ,writings1 
and constituting the formal complement  
to the work of the ,prophets1 spiritual 
activity became an integral part of     
,jewish national life4 ,in the closing  
centuries of its political existence1   
the ,jewish people received its         
permanent form4 ,there was imposed upon 
it the unmistakable hallmark of         
spirituality that has always identified 
it in the throng of the nations4 ,out of
 the bosom of ,judaism went forth the   
religion that in a short time ran its   
triumphant course through the whole     
ancient world1 transforming races of    
barbarians into civilized beings4 ,it   
was the fulfilment of the ,prophetical  
promise--that the nations would walk in 
the light of ,israel4  ,at the very     
moment when the strength and fertility  
of the ,jewish mind reached the         
culminating point1 occurred a political 
revolution--the period of homeless      

wandering began4 ,it seemed as though1  
before scattering the ,jewish people to 
all ends of the earth1 the providence of
 history desired to teach it a final    
lesson1 to take with it on its way4 ,it 
seemed to say3 ,now you may go forth4   
,your character has been sufficiently   
tempered2 you can bear the bitterest of 
hardships4 ,you are equipped with an    
inexhaustible store of energy1 and you  
can live for centuries1 yea1 for        
thousands of years1 under conditions    
that would prove the bane of other      
nations in less than a single century4  
,state1 territory1 army1 the external   
attributes of national power1 are for   
you superfluous luxury4 ,go out into the
 world to prove that a people can       
continue to live without these          
attributes1 solely and alone through    
strength of spirit welding its widely   
scattered particles into one firm       
organism6--,and the ,jewish people went 
forth and proved it4  ,this proof       
adduced by ,jewry at the cost of        

eighteen centuries of privation and     
suffering1 forms the characteristic     
feature of the second half of ,jewish   
history1 the period of homelessness and 
dispersion4 ,uprooted from its political
 soil1 national life displayed itself on
 intellectual fields exclusively4 ,to   
think and to suffer became the watchword
 of the ,jewish people1 not merely      
because forced upon it by external      
circumstances beyond its control1 but   
chiefly because it was conditioned by   
the very disposition of the people1 by  
its national inclinations4 ,the         
extraordinary mental energy that had    
matured the ,bible and the old writings 
in the first period1 manifested itself  
in the second period in the encyclopedic
 productions of the ,talmudists1 in the 
religious philosophy of the middle ages1
 in ,rabbinism1 in the ,kabbala1 in     
mysticism1 and in science4 ,the         
spiritual discipline of the school came 
to mean for the ,jew what military      
discipline is for other nations4 ,his   

remarkable longevity is due1 ,i am      
tempted to say1 to the acrid spiritual  
brine in which he was cured4 ,in its    
second half1 the originality of ,jewish 
history consists indeed1 in the         
circumstance that it is the only history
 stripped of every active political     
element4 ,there are no diplomatic       
artifices1 no wars1 no campaigns1 no    
unwarranted encroachments backed by     
armed force upon the rights of other    
nations1 nothing of all that constitutes
 the chief content--the monotonous and  
for the most part idea-less content--of 
many other chapters in the history of   
the world4 ,jewish history presents the 
chronicle of an ample spiritual life1 a 
gallery of pictures representing        
national scenes4 ,before our eyes passes
 a long procession of facts from the    
fields of intellectual effort1 of       
morality1 religion1 and social converse4
 ,finally1 the thrilling drama of       
,jewish martyrdom is unrolled to our    
astonished gaze4 ,if the inner life and 

the social and intellectual development 
of a people form the kernel of history1 
and politics and occasional wars are but
 its husk1#c then certainly the history 
of the ,jewish diaspora is all kernel4  
,in contrast with the history of other  
nations it describes1 not the accidental
 deeds of princes and generals1 not     
external pomp and physical prowess1 but 
the life and development of a whole     
people4 ,it gives heartrending          
expression to the spiritual strivings of
 a nation whose brow is resplendent with
 the thorny crown of martyrdom4 ,it     
breathes heroism of mind that conquers  
bodily pain4 ,in a word1 ,jewish history
 is history sublimated4#d    #c         
,history1 without these 7inner1         
spiritual elements71 is a     shell     
without a kernel2 and such is almost all
 the history     which is extant in the 
world4 7,macaulay1 on ,mitford's        
,history     of ,greece1 ,collected     
,works1 i1 #aih1 ed4 ,a4 and ,c4        
,armstrong     and ,son47    #d ,a      

,jewish historian makes the pregnant    
remark3 ,if ever the     time comes when
 the prophecies of the ,jewish seers are
     fulfilled1 and nation no longer    
raises the sword against     nation2    
when the olive leaf instead of the      
laurel adorns the     brow of the great1
 and the achievements of noble minds are
     familiar to the dwellers in        
cottages and palaces alike1 then     the
 history of the world will have the same
 character as     ,jewish history4 ,on  
its pages will be inscribed1 not the    
warrior's prowess and his victories1 nor
 diplomatic schemes     and triumphs1   
but the progress of culture and its     
practical     application in real life4 
,in spite of the noteworthy features    
that raise ,jewish history above the    
level of the ordinary1 and assign it a  
peculiar place1 it is nevertheless not  
isolated1 not severed from the history  
of mankind4 ,rather is it most          
intimately interwoven with world-affairs
 at every point throughout its whole    

extent4 ,as the diameter1 ,jewish       
history is again and again intersected  
by the chords of the historical circle4 
,the fortunes of the pilgrim people     
scattered in all the countries of the   
civilized world are organically         
connected with the fortunes of the most 
representative nations and states1 and  
with manifold tendencies of human       
thought4 ,the bond uniting them is      
twofold3 in the times when the powers of
 darkness and fanaticism held sway1 the 
,jews were amenable to the physical     
influence exerted by their neighbors in 
the form of persecutions1 infringements 
of the liberty of conscience1           
inquisitions1 violence of every sort2   
and during the prevalence of enlightment
 and humanity1 the ,jews were acted upon
 by the intellectual and cultural       
stimulus proceeding from the peoples    
with whom they entered into close       
relations4 ,momentary aberrations and   
reactionary incidents are not taken into
 account here4 ,on its side1 ,jewry made

 its personality felt among the nations 
by its independent1 intellectual        
activity1 its theory of life1 its       
literature1 by the very fact1 indeed1 of
 its ideal staunchness and tenacity1 its
 peculiar historical physiognomy4 ,from 
this reciprocal relation issued a great 
cycle of historical events and spiritual
 currents1 making the past of the       
,jewish people an organic constituent of
 the past of all that portion of mankind
 which has contributed to the treasury  
of human thought4  ,we see1 then1 that  
in reference to content ,jewish history 
is unique in both its halves4 ,in the   
first national period1 it is the history
 of a people to which the epithet       
peculiar has been conceded1 a people    
which has developed under the influence 
of exceptional circumstances1 and       
finally attained to so high a degree of 
spiritual perfection and fertility that 
the creation of a new religious theory  
of life1 which eventually gained        
universal supremacy1 neither exhausted  

its resources nor ended its activity4   
,not only did it continue to live upon  
its vast store of spiritual energy1 but 
day by day it increased the store4 ,in  
the second lackland half1 it is the     
instructive history of a scattered      
people1 organically one1 in spite of    
dispersion1 by reason of its unshaken   
ideal traditions2 a people accepting    
misery and hardship with stoic calm1    
combining the characteristics of the    
thinker with those of the sufferer1 and 
eking out existence under conditions    
which no other nation has found         
adequate1 or1 indeed1 can ever find     
adequate4 ,the account of the people as 
teacher of religion--this is the content
 of the first half of ,jewish history2  
the account of the people as thinker1   
stoic1 and sufferer--this is the content
 of the second half of ,jewish history4 
,a summing up of all that has been said 
in this and the previous chapter proves 
true the statement with which we began1 
that ,jewish history1 in respect to its 

quantitative dimensions as well as its  
qualitative structure1 is to the last   
degree distinctive and presents a       
phenomenon of undeniable uniqueness4    
,,iii  ,,the ,,significance ,,of        
,,jewish ,,history   ,we turn now to the
 question of the significance to be     
attached to ,jewish history4 ,in view of
 its peculiar qualities1 what has it to 
offer to the present generation and to  
future generations as a subject of study
 and research8  ,the significance of    
,jewish history is twofold4 ,it is at   
once national and universal4 ,at present
 the fulcrum of ,jewish national being  
lies in the historical consciousness4   
,in the days of antiquity1 the ,jews    
were welded into a single united nation 
by the triple agencies of state1 race1  
and religion1 the complete array of     
material and spiritual forces directed  
to one point4 ,later1 in the period of  
homelessness and dispersion1 it was     
chiefly religious consciousness that    
cemented ,jewry into a whole1 and       

replaced the severed political bond as  
well as the dulled racial instinct1     
which is bound to go on losing in       
keenness in proportion to the degree of 
removal from primitive conditions and   
native soil4 ,in our days1 when the     
liberal movements leavening the whole of
 mankind1 if they have not completely   
shattered the religious consciousness1  
have at least1 in an important section  
of ,jewry1 effected a change in its     
form2 when abrupt differences of opinion
 with regard to questions of faith and  
cult are asserting their presence2 and  
traditional ,judaism developed in       
historical sequence is proving powerless
 to hold together the diverse factors of
 the national organism1--in these days  
the keystone of national unity seems to 
be the historical consciousness4        
,composed alike of physical1            
intellectual1 and moral elements1 of    
habits and views1 of emotions and       
impressions nursed into being and       
perfection by the hereditary instinct   

active for thousands of years1 this     
historical consciousness is a remarkably
 puzzling and complex psychic           
phenomenon4 ,by our common memory of a  
great1 stirring past and heroic deeds on
 the battle-fields of the spirit1 by the
 exalted historical mission allotted to 
us1 by our thorn-strewn pilgrim's path1 
our martyrdom assumed for the sake of   
our principles1 by such moral ties1 we  
,jews1 whether consciously or           
unconsciously1 are bound fast to one    
another4 ,as ,renan well says3 ,common  
sorrow unites men more closely than     
common joy4 ,a long chain of historical 
traditions is cast about us all like a  
strong ring4 ,our wonderful1            
unparalleled past attracts us with      
magnetic power4 ,in the course of       
centuries1 as generation followed       
generation1 similarity of historical    
fortunes produced a mass of similar     
impressions which have crystallized1 and
 have thrown off the deposit that may be
 called the ,jewish national soul4 ,this

 is the soil in which1 deep down1 lies  
imbedded1 as an unconscious element1 the
 ,jewish national feeling1 and as a     
conscious element1 the ,jewish national 
idea4  ,it follows that the ,jewish     
national idea and the national feeling  
connected with it have their origin     
primarily in the historical             
consciousness1 in a certain complex of  
ideas and psychic predispositions4      
,these ideas and predispositions1 the   
deposit left by the aggregate of        
historical impressions1 are of necessity
 the common property of the whole       
nation1 and they can be developed and   
quickened to a considerable degree by a 
renewal of the impressions through the  
study of history4 ,upon the knowledge of
 history1 then1 depends the strength of 
the national consciousness4#e    #e ,a  
different aspect of the same thought is 
presented with     logical clearness in 
another publication by our author4 ,the 
national idea1 and the national feeling1
 says     ,mr4 ,dubnow1 must be kept    

strictly apart4 ,unfortunately the      
difference between them is usually      
obliterated4 ,national     feeling is   
spontaneous4 ,to a greater or less      
degree it is     inborn in all the      
members of the nation as a feeling of   
kinship4 ,it has its flood-tide and its 
ebbtide in     correspondence to        
external conditions1 either forcing the 
nation to defend its nationality1 or    
relieving it of the     necessity for   
self-defense4 ,as this feeling is not   
merely a     blind impulse1 but a       
complicated psychic phenomenon1 it can  
be     subjected to a psychologic       
analysis4 ,from the given historical    
facts or the ideas that have become the 
common treasure of a     nation1        
thinking men1 living life consciously1  
can1 in one way     or another1 derive  
the origin1 development1 and vital force
 of     its national feeling4 ,the      
results of such an analysis1            
arranged in some sort of system1 form   
the content of the     national idea4   

,the task of the national idea it is to 
clarify     the national feeling1 and   
give it logical sanction for the        
benefit of those who cannot rest        
satisfied with an unconscious           
feeling4     ,in what1 to be specific1  
does the essence of our ,jewish national
     idea consist8 ,or1 putting the     
question in another form1 what     is   
the cement that unites us into a single 
compact organism8     ,territory and    
government1 the external ties usually   
binding a     nation together1 we have  
long ago lost4 ,their place is filled   
by abstract principles1 by religion and 
race4 ,undeniably these     are factors 
of first importance1 and yet we ask the 
question1     do they alone and         
exclusively maintain the national       
cohesion     of ,jewry8 ,no1 we reply1  
for if we admitted this proposition1    
we should by consequence have to accept 
the inference1 that     the laxity of   
religious principle prevailing among    
free-thinking ,jews1 and the            

obliteration of race peculiarities      
in the 'civilized' strata of our people1
 bring in their train     a             
corresponding weakening1 or1 indeed1 a  
complete breaking up1     of our        
national foundations--which in point of 
fact is not the     case4 ,on the       
contrary1 it is noticeable that the     
latitudinarians1 the libres penseurs1   
and the     indifferent on the subject  
of religion1 stand in the forefront     
of all our national movements4 ,seeing  
that to belong to it is     in most     
cases heroism1 and in many martyrdom1   
what is it that     attracts these ,jews
 so forcibly to their people8 ,there    
must be     something common to us all1 
so comprehensive that in the face     of
 multifarious views and degrees of      
culture it acts as a     consolidating  
force4 ,this 'something1' ,i am         
convinced1 is the     community of      
historical fortunes of all the scattered
 parts of     the ,jewish nation4 ,we   
are welded together by our glorious     

past4 ,we are encircled by a mighty     
chain of similar historical             
impressions suffered by our ancestors1  
century after century     pressing in   
upon the ,jewish soul1 and leaving      
behind a     substantial deposit4 ,in   
short1 the ,jewish national idea is     
based chiefly upon the historical       
consciousness4 ,note of the     ,german 
trl4  ,but over and above its national  
significance1 ,jewish history1 we       
repeat1 possesses universal             
significance4 ,let us1 in the first     
place1 examine its value for science and
 philosophy4 ,inasmuch as it is         
pre-eminently a chronicle of ideas and  
spiritual movements1 ,jewish history    
affords the philosopher or psychologist 
material for observation of the most    
important and useful kind4 ,the study of
 other1 mostly dull chapters of         
universal history has led to the fixing 
of psychologic or sociologic theses1 to 
the working out of comprehensive        
philosophic systems1 to the             

determination of general laws4 ,surely  
it follows without far-fetched proof1   
that in some respects the chapter       
dealing with ,jewish history must supply
 material of the most original character
 for such theses and philosophies4 ,if  
it is true1 as the last chapter set out 
to demonstrate1 that ,jewish history is 
distinguished by sharply marked and     
peculiar features1 and refuses to       
accommodate itself to conventional      
forms1 then its content must have an    
original contribution to make to        
philosophy4 ,it does not admit of a     
doubt that the study of ,jewish history 
would yield new propositions            
appertaining to the philosophy of       
history and the psychology of nations1  
hitherto overlooked by inquirers        
occupied with the other divisions of    
universal history4 ,inductive logic lays
 down a rule for ascertaining the law of
 a phenomenon produced by two or more   
contributory causes4 ,by means of what  
might be called a laboratory experiment1

 the several causes must be disengaged  
from one another1 and the effect of each
 observed by itself4 ,thus it becomes   
possible to arrive with mathematical    
precision at the share of each cause in 
the result achieved by several          
co-operating causes4 ,this method of    
difference1 as it is called1 is         
available1 however1 only for a limited  
number of phenomena1 only for phenomena 
in the department of the natural        
sciences4 ,it is in the nature of the   
case that mental and spiritual          
phenomena1 though they may be observed1 
cannot be artificially reproduced4 ,now1
 in one respect1 ,jewish history affords
 the advantages of an arranged          
experiment4 ,the historical life of     
ordinary nations1 such nations as are   
endowed with territory and are organized
 into a state1 is a complete            
intermingling of the political with the 
spiritual element4 ,totally ignorant as 
we are of the development either would  
have assumed1 had it been dissevered    

from the other1 the laws governing each 
of the elements singly can be discovered
 only approximately4 ,jewish history1 in
 which the two elements have for many   
centuries been completely disentangled  
from each other1 presents a natural     
experiment1 with the advantage of       
artificial exclusions1 rendering        
possible the determination of the laws  
of spiritual phenomena with far greater 
scientific exactitude than the laws of  
phenomena that result from several      
similar causes4  ,besides this high     
value for the purposes of science1 this 
fruitful suggestiveness for philosophic 
thought1 ,jewish history1 as compared   
with the history of other nations1      
enjoys another distinction in its       
capacity to exercise an ennobling       
influence upon the heart4 ,nothing so   
exalts and refines human nature as the  
contemplation of moral steadfastness1   
the history of the trials of a martyr   
who has fought and suffered for his     
convictions4 ,at bottom1 the second half

 of ,jewish history is nothing but this4
 ,the effective educational worth of the
 ,biblical part of ,jewish history is   
disputed by none4 ,it is called sacred  
history1 and he who acquires a knowledge
 of it is thought to advance the        
salvation of his soul4 ,only a very few1
 however1 recognize the profound1 moral 
content of the second half of ,jewish   
history1 the history of the diaspora4   
,yet1 by reason of its exceptional      
qualities and intensely tragic          
circumstances1 it is beyond all others  
calculated to yield edification to a    
notable degree4 ,the ,jewish people is  
deserving of attention not only in the  
time when it displayed its power and    
enjoyed its independence1 but as well in
 the period of its weakness and         
oppression1 during which it was         
compelled to purchase spiritual         
development by constant sacrifice of    
self4 ,a thinker crowned with thorns    
demands no less veneration than a       
thinker with the laurel wreath upon his 

brow4 ,the flame issuing from the       
funeral pile on which martyrs die an    
heroic death for their ideas is1 in its 
way1 as awe-inspiring as the flame from 
,sinai's height4 ,with equal force1     
though by different methods1 both touch 
the heart1 and arouse the moral         
sentiment4 ,biblical ,israel the        
celebrated--medieval ,judah the         
despised--it is one and the same people1
 judged variously in the various phases 
of its historical life4 ,if ,israel     
bestowed upon mankind a religious theory
 of life1 ,judah gave it a thrilling    
example of tenacious vitality and power 
of resistance for the sake of           
conviction4 ,this uninterrupted life of 
the spirit1 this untiring aspiration for
 the higher and the better in the domain
 of religious thought1 philosophy1 and  
science1 this moral intrepidity in night
 and storm and in despite of all the    
blows of fortune--is it not an imposing1
 soul-stirring spectacle8 ,the          
inexpressible tragedy of the ,jewish    

historical life is unfailing in its     
effect upon a susceptible heart4#f ,the 
wonderful exhibition of spirit          
triumphant1 subduing the pangs of the   
flesh1 must move every heart1 and       
exercise uplifting influence upon the   
non-,jew no less than upon the ,jew4    
#f ,if there are ranks in suffering1    
,israel takes precedence of     all the 
nations--if the duration of sorrows and 
the patience     with which they are    
borne ennoble1 the ,jews are among the  
aristocracy of every land--if a         
literature is called rich in     the    
possession of a few classic tragedies1  
what shall we say     to a ,national    
,tragedy lasting for fifteen hundred    
years1 in     which the poets and the   
actors were also the heroes8 7,zunz1    
,die synagogale ,poesie4 ,translation by
 ,george ,eliot in     ,daniel          
,deronda47  ,for non-,jews a knowledge  
of ,jewish history may1 under certain   
conditions1 come to have another1 an    
humanitarian significance4 ,it is       

inconceivable that the ,jewish people   
should be held in execration by those   
acquainted with the course of its       
history1 with its tragic and heroic     
past4#g ,indeed1 so far as ,jew-haters  
by profession are concerned1 it is      
running a risk to recommend the study of
 ,jewish history to them1 without adding
 a word of caution4 ,its effect upon    
them might be disastrous4 ,they might   
find themselves cured of their modern   
disease1 and in the possession of ideas 
that would render worthless their whole 
stock in trade4 ,verily1 he must have   
fallen to the zero-point of             
anti-,semitic callousness who is not    
thrilled through and through by the     
lofty fortitude1 the saint-like         
humility1 the trustful resignation to   
the will of ,god1 the stoic firmness1   
laid bare by the study of ,jewish       
history4 ,the tribute of respect cannot 
be readily withheld from him to whom the
 words of the poet#h are applicable3    
,to die was not his hope2 he fain       

,would live to think and suffer pain4   
#g ,as examples and a proof of the      
strong humanitarian influence           
,jewish history exercises upon          
,christians1 ,i would point to the      
relation established between the ,jews  
and two celebrities of     the          
nineteenth century1 ,schleiden and      
,george ,eliot4 ,in his old     age1 the
 great scientist and thinker            
accidentally1 in the     course of his  
study of sources for the history of     
botany1     became acquainted with      
medieval ,jewish history4 ,it filled him
     with ardent enthusiasm for the     
,jews1 for their intellectual           
strength1 their patience under          
martyrdom4 ,dominated by this           
feeling1 he wrote the two admirable     
sketches3 ,die ,bedeutung     der ,juden
 fr ,erhaltung und ,wiederbelebung der  
,wissenschaften     im ,mittelalter     
7#ahgf7 and ,die ,romantik des          
,martyriums     bei den ,juden im       
,mittelalter 7#ahgh74 ,according to his 

own     confession1 the impulse to write
 them was the wish to take at     least 
the first step toward making partial    
amends for the     unspeakable wrong    
inflicted by ,christians upon ,jews4 ,as
 for     ,george ,eliot1 it may not be  
generally known that it was her         
reading of histories of the ,jews that  
inspired her with the     profound      
veneration for the ,jewish people to    
which she gave     glowing utterance in 
,daniel ,deronda4 7,she cites ,zunz1 was
     personally acquainted with ,emanuel
 ,deutsch1 and carried on a             
correspondence with ,professor ,dr4     
,david ,kaufmann4 ,see     ,george      
,eliot's ,life as related in her        
,letters and     ,journals4 ,arranged   
and edited by her husband1 ,j4 ,w4      
,cross1     ,vol4 iii1 ed4 ,harper and  
,brothers47 ,her enthusiasm prompted    
her1 in #ahgi1 to indite her passionate 
apology for the ,jews1     under the    
title1 ,the ,modern ,hep6 ,hep6 ,hep6   
#h ,pushkin4  ,when1 in days to come1   

the curtain rises upon the touching     
tragedy of ,jewish history1 revealing it
 to the astonished eye of a modern      
generation1 then1 perhaps1 hearts will  
be attuned to tenderness1 and on the    
ruins of national hostility will be     
enthroned mutual love1 growing out of   
mutual understanding and mutual esteem4 
,and who can tell--perhaps ,jewish      
history will have a not inconsiderable  
share in the spiritual change that is to
 annihilate national intolerance1 the   
modern substitute for the religious     
bigotry of the middle ages4 ,in this    
case1 the future task of ,jewish history
 will prove as sublime as was the       
mission of the ,jewish people in the    
past4 ,the latter consisted in the      
spread of the dogma of the unity of     
creation2 the former will contribute    
indirectly to the realization of the not
 yet accepted dogma of the unity of the 
human race4     ,,iv  ,,the ,,historical
 ,,synthesis   ,to define the scope of  
,jewish history1 its content and its    

significance1 or its place among        
scientific pursuits1 disposes only of   
the formal part of the task we have set 
ourselves4 ,the central problem is to   
unfold the meaning of ,jewish history1  
to discover the principle toward which  
its diversified phenomena converge1 to  
state the universal laws and philosophic
 inferences deducible from the peculiar 
course of its events4 ,if we liken      
history to an organic being1 then the   
skeleton of facts is its body1 and the  
soul is the spiritual bond that unites  
the facts into a whole1 that conveys the
 meaning1 the psychologic essence1 of   
the facts4 ,it becomes our duty1 then1  
to unbare the soul of ,jewish history1  
or1 in scientific parlance1 to          
construct1 on the basis of the facts1   
the synthesis of the whole of ,jewish   
national life4 ,to this end1 we must    
pass in review1 by periods and epochs1  
one after another1 the most important   
groups of historical events1 the most   
noteworthy currents in life and thought 

that tell of the stages in the          
development of ,jewry and of ,judaism4  
,exhaustive treatment of the            
philosophical synthesis of a history    
extending over three thousand years is  
possible only in a voluminous work4 ,in 
an essay like the present it can merely 
be sketched in large outline1 or painted
 in miniature4 ,we cannot expect to do  
more than state a series of general     
principles substantiated by the most    
fundamental arguments4 ,complete        
demonstration of each of the principles 
must be sought in the annals that       
recount the events of ,jewish history in
 detail4  ,the historical synthesis     
reduces itself1 then1 to uncovering the 
psychologic processes of national       
development4 ,the object before us to be
 studied is the national spirit         
undergoing continuous evolution during  
thousands of years4 ,our task is to     
arrive at the laws underlying this      
growth4 ,we shall reach our goal by     
imitating the procedure of the          

geologist1 who divides the mass of the  
earth into its several strata or        
formations4 ,in ,jewish history there   
may be distinguished three chief        
stratifications answering to its first  
three periods1 the ,biblical period1 the
 period of the ,second ,temple1 and the 
,talmudic period4 ,the later periods are
 nothing more than these same formations
 combined in various ways1 with now and 
then the addition of new strata4 ,of the
 composite periods there are four1 which
 arrange themselves either according to 
hegemonies1 the countries in which at   
given times lay the centre of gravity of
 the scattered ,jewish people1 or       
according to the intellectual currents  
there predominant4  ,this1 then1 is our 
scheme3    ,i4 ,the chief formations3   
a7 ,the primary or ,biblical period4    
b7 ,the secondary or spiritual-political
 period       7the period of the ,second
 ,temple1 #ech       ,b4 ,c4 ,e4 to #gj 
,c4,e47     c7 ,the tertiary or         
national-religious period       7the    

,talmudic period1 #gj-ejj74    ,,ii4    
,the composite formations3     a7 ,the  
,gaonic period1 or the hegemony of      
the ,oriental ,jews 7#ejj-ihj74     b7  
,the ,rabbinic-philosophical period1 or 
the       hegemony of the ,spanish ,jews
 7#ihj-adib74     c7 ,the               
,rabbinic-mystical period1 or the       
hegemony       of the ,german-,polish   
,jews       7#adib-aghi74     d7 ,the   
modern period of enlightenment 7the     
nineteenth century74     ,v  ,,the      
,,primary ,,or ,,biblical ,,period   ,in
 the daybreak of history1 the hoary days
 when seeming and reality merge into    
each other1 and the outlines of persons 
and things fade into the surrounding    
mist1 the picture of a nomad people1    
moving from the deserts of ,arabia in   
the direction of ,mesopotamia and       
,western ,asia1 detaches itself clear   
and distinct from the dim background4   
,the tiny tribe1 a branch of the        
,semitic race1 bears a peculiar stamp of
 its own4 ,a shepherd people1 always    

living in close touch with nature1 it   
yet resists the potent influence of the 
natural phenomena1 which1 as a rule1    
entrap primitive man1 and make him the  
bond-slave of the visible and material4 
,tent life has attuned these ,semitic   
nomads to contemplativeness4 ,in the    
endless variety of the phenomena of     
nature1 they seek to discover a single  
guiding power4 ,they entertain an       
obscure presentiment of the existence of
 an invisible1 universal soul animating 
the visible1 material universe4 ,the    
intuition is personified in the         
,patriarch ,abraham1 who1 according to  
,biblical tradition1 held communion with
 ,god1 when1 on the open field1 he      
looked up toward heaven1 and counted the
 stars1 or when1 at the setting of the  
sun1 he fell into benumbing sleep1 and  
terror seized upon him by reason of the 
impenetrable darkness4 ,here we have a  
clear expression of the original1 purely
 cosmical character of the ,jewish      
religion4  ,there was no lack of human  

influence acting from without4 ,chaldea1
 which the peculiar ,semitic shepherds  
crossed in their pilgrimage1 presented  
them with notions from its rich         
mythology and cosmogony4 ,the natives of
 ,syria and ,canaan1 among whom in the  
course of time the ,abrahamites settled1
 imparted to them many of their         
religious views and customs4            
,nevertheless1 the kernel of their pure 
original theory remained intact4 ,the   
patriarchal mode of life1 admirable in  
its simplicity1 continued to hold its   
own within the circle of the            
firmly-knitted tribe4 ,it was in        
,canaan1 however1 that the shepherd     
people hailing from ,arabia showed the  
first signs of approaching              
disintegration4 ,various tribal groups1 
like ,moab and ,ammon1 consolidated     
themselves4 ,they took permanent        
foothold in the land1 and submitted with
 more or less readiness to the          
influences exerted by the indigenous    
peoples4 ,the guardianship of the       

sublime traditions of the tribe remained
 with one group alone1 the sons of      
,jacob or the sons of ,israel1 so named 
from the third ,patriarch ,jacob4 ,to   
this group of the ,israelites composed  
of smaller1 closely united divisions1 a 
special mission was allotted2 its       
development was destined to lie along   
peculiar lines4 ,the fortunes awaiting  
it were distinctive1 and for thousands  
of years have filled thinking and       
believing mankind with wondering        
admiration4  ,great characters are      
formed under the influence of powerful  
impressions1 of violent convulsions1 and
 especially under the influence of      
suffering4 ,the ,israelites early passed
 through their school of suffering in   
,egypt4 ,the removal of the sons of     
,jacob from the banks of the ,jordan to 
those of the ,nile was of decisive      
importance for the progress of their    
history4 ,when the patriarchal          
,israelitish shepherds encountered the  
old1 highly complex culture of the      

,egyptians1 crystallized into fixed     
forms even at that early date1 it was   
like the clash between two opposing     
electric currents4 ,the pure conception 
of ,god1 of ,elohim1 as of the spirit   
informing and supporting the universe1  
collided with the blurred system of     
heathen deities and crass idolatry4 ,the
 simple cult of the shepherds1          
consisting of a few severely plain      
ceremonies1 transmitted from generation 
to generation1 was confronted with the  
insidious1 coarsely sensual animal      
worship of the ,egyptians4 ,the         
patriarchal customs of the ,israelites  
were brought into marked contrast with  
the vices of a corrupt civilization4    
,sound in body and soul1 the son of     
nature suddenly found himself in        
unsavory surroundings fashioned by      
culture1 in which he was as much        
despised as the inoffensive nomad is by 
civilized man of settled habit4 ,the    
scorn had a practical result in the     
enslavement of the ,israelites by the   

,pharaohs4 ,association with the        
,egyptians acted as a force at once of  
attraction and of repulsion4 ,the       
manners and customs of the natives could
 not fail to leave an impression upon   
the simple aliens1 and invite imitation 
on their part4 ,on the other hand1 the  
whole life of the ,egyptians1 their     
crude notions of religion1 and their    
immoral ways1 were calculated to inspire
 the more enlightened among the         
,israelites with disgust4 ,the hostility
 of the ,egyptians toward the intruders1
 and the horrible persecutions in which 
it expressed itself1 could not but bring
 out more aggressively the old spiritual
 opposition between the two races4 ,the 
antagonism between them was the first   
influence to foster the germ of         
,israel's national consciousness1 the   
consciousness of his peculiar character1
 his individuality4 ,this early         
intimation of a national consciousness  
was weak4 ,it manifested itself only in 
the chosen few4 ,but it existed1 and the

 time was appointed when1 under more    
favorable conditions1 it would develop1 
and display the extent of its power4    
,this consciousness it was that inspired
 the activity of ,moses1 ,israel's      
teacher and liberator4 ,he was          
penetrated alike by national and        
religious feeling1 and his desire was to
 impart both national and religious     
feeling to his brethren4 ,the fact of   
national redemption he connected with   
the fact of religious revelation4 ,i am 
the ,lord thy ,god who have brought thee
 forth out of the land of ,egypt was    
proclaimed from ,sinai4 ,the ,god-idea  
was nationalized4 ,thenceforth ,eternal 
became the name peculiar to the ,god of 
,israel4 ,he was1 indeed1 the same      
,elohim1 the ,creator of the world and  
its ,guide1 who had been dimly discerned
 by the spiritual vision of the         
,patriarchs4 ,at the same time ,he was  
the special ,god of the ,israelitish    
nation1 the only nation that avouched   
,him with a full and undivided heart1   

the nation chosen by ,god ,himself to   
carry out1 alone1 ,his sublime plans4#i 
,in his wanderings1 ,israel became      
acquainted with the chaotic religious   
systems of other nations4 ,seeing to    
what they paid the tribute of divine    
adoration1 he could not but be dominated
 by the consciousness that he alone from
 of old had been the exponent of the    
religious idea in its purity4 ,the      
resolution must have ripened within him 
to continue for all time to advocate and
 cherish this idea4 ,from that moment   
,israel was possessed of a clear theory 
of life in religion and morality1 and of
 a definite aim pursued with conscious  
intent4    #i ,this is the true         
recondite meaning of the verses ,exod4  
vi1     #b-c3 ,and ,god spake unto      
,moses1 and said unto him1 ,i am the    
,eternal3 and ,i appeared unto ,abraham1
 unto ,isaac1 and unto     ,jacob1 as   
,el-,shaddai 7,god ,almighty71 but by my
 name     ,eternal ,i was not known unto
 them4  ,its originators designed that  

this ,israelitish conception of life    
should serve not merely theoretically1  
as the basis of religious doctrine1 but 
also practically1 as the starting point 
of legislation4 ,it was to be realized  
in the daily walks of the people1 which 
at this very time attained to political 
independence4 ,sublime religious        
conceptions were not to be made the     
content of a visionary creed1 the       
subject of dreamy contemplation1 but1 in
 the form of perspicuous guiding        
principles1 were to control all spheres 
of individual and social life4 ,men must
 beware of looking upon religion as an  
ideal to be yearned for1 it should be an
 ideal to be applied directly1 day by   
day1 to practical contingencies4 ,in    
,mosaism1 so-called1 the religious and  
the ethical are intimately interwoven   
with the social and the political4 ,the 
chief dogmas of creed are stated as     
principles shaping practical life4 ,for 
instance1 the exalted idea of ,one ,god 
applied to social life produces the     

principle of the equality of all men    
before the ,one ,supreme ,power1 a      
principle on which the whole of         
,biblical legislation is built4 ,the    
commands concerning love of neighbor1   
the condemnation of slavery1 the        
obligation to aid the poor1 humane      
treatment of the stranger1 sympathy and 
compassion with every living being--all 
these lofty injunctions ensue as        
inevitable consequences from the        
principle of equality4 ,biblical        
legislation is perhaps the only example 
of a political and social code based1   
not upon abstract reasoning alone1 but  
also upon the requirements of the       
feelings1 upon the finest impulses of   
the human soul4 ,by the side of formal  
right and legality1 it emphasizes1 and1 
in a series of precepts1 makes tangible1
 the principle of justice and humanity4 
,the ,mosaic law is a propaganda by     
deed4 ,everywhere it demands active1    
more than passive1 morality4 ,herein1 in
 this elevated characteristic1 this     

vital attribute1 consists the chief     
source of the power of ,mosaism4 ,the   
same characteristic1 to be sure1        
prevented it from at once gaining ground
 in the national life4 ,it established  
itself only gradually1 after many       
fluctuations and errors4 ,in the course 
of the centuries1 and keeping pace with 
the growth of the national              
consciousness1 it was cultivated and    
perfected in detail4  ,the conquest of  
,canaan wrought a radical transformation
 in the life of the ,israelitish people4
 ,the acquiring of national territory   
supplied firm ground for the development
 and manifold application of the        
principles of ,mosaism4 ,at first1      
however1 advance was out of the         
question4 ,the mass of the people had   
not reached the degree of spiritual     
maturity requisite for the espousal of  
principles constituting an exalted      
theory of life4 ,it could be understood 
and represented only by a thoughtful    
minority1 which consisted chiefly of    

,aaronites and ,levites1 together       
forming a priestly estate1 though not a 
hierarchy animated by the isolating     
spirit of caste that flourished among   
all the other peoples of the ,orient4   
,the populace discovered only the       
ceremonial side of the religion2 its    
kernel was hidden from their sight4     
,defective spiritual culture made the   
people susceptible to alien influences1 
to notions more closely akin to its     
understanding4 ,residence in ,canaan1   
among related ,semitic tribes that had  
long before separated from the          
,israelites1 and adopted altogether     
different views and customs1 produced a 
far greater metamorphosis in the        
character of the ,israelites than the   
sojourn in ,egypt4 ,after the first     
flush of victory1 when the unity of the 
,israelitish people had been weakened by
 the particularistic efforts of several 
of the tribes1 the spiritual bonds      
confining the nation began to relax4    
,political decay always brings religious

 defection in its train4 ,whenever      
,israel came under the dominion of the  
neighboring tribes1 he also fell a      
victim to their cult4 ,this phenomenon  
is throughout characteristic of the     
so-called era of the ,judges4 ,it is a  
natural phenomenon readily explained on 
psychologic grounds4 ,the ,mosaic       
national conception of the ,eternal     
entered more and more deeply into the   
national consciousness1 and1            
accommodating itself to the limited     
mental capacity of the majority1 became 
narrower and narrower in compass--the   
lot of all great ideas6 ,the ,eternal   
was no longer thought of as the only    
,one ,god of the whole universe1 but as 
the tutelar deity of the ,israelitish   
tribe4 ,the idea of national tutelar    
deities was at that time deeply rooted  
in the consciousness of all the peoples 
of ,western ,asia4 ,each nation1 as it  
had a king of its own1 had a tribal god 
of its own4 ,the ,phoenicians had their 
,baal1 the ,moabites their ,kemosh1 the 

,ammonites their ,milkom4 ,belief in the
 god peculiar to a nation by no means   
excluded belief in the existence of     
other national gods4 ,a people worshiped
 its own god1 because it regarded him as
 its master and protecting lord4 ,in    
fact1 according to the views then       
prevalent1 a conflict between two       
nations was the conflict between two    
national deities4 ,in the measure in    
which respect for the god of the        
defeated party waned1 waxed the number  
of worshipers of the god of the         
victorious nation1 and not merely among 
the conquerors1 but also among the      
adherents of other religions4#aj ,these 
crude1 coarsely materialistic           
conceptions of ,god gained entrance with
 the masses of the ,israelitish people4 
,if ,moab had his ,kemosh1 and ,ammon   
his ,milkom1 then ,israel had his       
,eternal1 who1 after the model of all   
other national gods1 protected and      
abandoned his clients at pleasure1 in   
the one case winning1 in the other      

losing1 the devotion of his partisans4  
,in times of distress1 in which the     
,israelites groaned under the yoke of   
the alien1 the enslaved forgot their    
conquered ,eternal4 ,as they paid the   
tribute due the strange king1 and       
yielded themselves to his power1 so they
 submitted to the strange god1 and paid 
him his due tribute of devotion4 ,it    
followed that liberation from the yoke  
of the stranger coincided with return to
 the ,god of ,israel1 the ,eternal4 ,at 
such times the national spirit leaped   
into flaming life4 ,this sums up the    
achievements of the hero-,judges4 ,but  
the traces of repeated backsliding were 
deep and long visible1 for1 together    
with the religious ideas of the strange 
peoples1 the ,israelites accepted their 
customs1 as a rule corrupt and noxious  
customs1 in sharp contrast with the     
lofty principles of the ,mosaic ,law1   
designed to control social life and the 
life of the individual4    #aj ,ye have 
forsaken me1 says ,god unto ,israel1 and

 served     other gods2 wherefore ,i    
will deliver you no more4 ,go and cry   
unto the gods which ye have chosen3 let 
them deliver you in     the time of your
 tribulations 7,judges ,x1 #ac-ad74 ,the
 same     idea is brought out still more
 forcibly in the arguments     adduced  
by ,jephthah in his message to the king 
of ,ammon 7more     correctly1 ,moab71  
who had laid claim to ,israelitish      
lands3     ,thou1 says ,jephthah1 mayest
 possess that which ,kemosh thy     god 
giveth thee to possess1 but what the    
,lord our ,god giveth     us to possess1
 that will we possess 7,judges xi1 #bd74
 ,usually     these words are taken     
ironically2 to me they seem to convey   
literal truth rather than irony4  ,the  
,prophet ,samuel1 coming after the      
unsettled period of the ,judges1 had    
only partial success in purifying the   
views of the people and elevating it out
 of degradation to a higher spiritual   
level4 ,his work was continued with more
 marked results in the brilliant reigns 

of ,saul1 ,david1 and ,solomon4 ,an end 
was put to the baleful disunion among   
the tribes1 and the bond of national    
tradition was strengthened4 ,the        
consolidated ,israelitish kingdom       
triumphed over its former oppressors4   
,the gods of the strange peoples cringed
 in the dust before the all-powerful    
,eternal4 ,but1 with the division of the
 kingdom and the political rupture      
between ,judah and ,israel1 the period  
of efflorescence soon came to an end4   
,again confusion reigned supreme1 and   
customs and convictions deteriorated    
under foreign influence4 ,prophets like 
,elijah and ,elisha1 feverish though    
their activity was1 stood powerless     
before the rank immorality in the two   
states4 ,the northern kingdom of        
,israel1 composed of the ,ten ,tribes1  
passed swiftly downward on the road to  
destruction1 sharing the fate of the    
numberless ,oriental states whose end   
was inevitable by reason of inner decay4
 ,the inspired words of the early       

,israelitish ,prophets1 ,amos1 ,hosea1  
and ,micah1 their trumpet-toned         
reproofs1 their thrilling admonitions1  
died unheeded upon the air--society was 
too depraved to understand their import4
 ,it was reserved for later generations 
to give ear to their immortal           
utterances1 eloquent witnesses to the   
lofty heights to which the ,jewish      
spirit was permitted to mount in times  
of general decline4 ,the northern       
kingdom sank into irretrievable ruin4   
,then came the turn of ,judah4 ,he1 too1
 had disregarded the law of             
sanctification from ,sinai1 and had     
nearly arrived at the point of stifling 
his better impulses in the morass of    
materialistic living4  ,at this critical
 moment1 on the line between to be and  
not to be1 a miracle came to pass4 ,the 
spirit of the people1 become flesh in   
its noblest sons1 rose aloft4 ,from out 
of the midst of the political           
disturbances1 the frightful infamy1 and 
the moral corruption1 resounded the     

impressive call of the great ,prophets  
of ,judah4 ,like a flaming torch carried
 through dense darkness1 they cast a    
glaring light upon the vices of society1
 at the same time illuminating the path 
that leads upward to the goal of the    
ethical ideal4 ,at first the negative1  
denouncing element predominated in the  
exhortations of the ,prophets3          
unsparingly they scourged the           
demoralization and the iniquity1 the    
social injustice and the political      
errors prevalent in their time2 they    
threatened divine punishment1 that is1  
the natural consequences of evil-doing1 
and appealed to the reason rather than  
the feelings of the people4 ,but        
gradually they elaborated positive      
ideals1 more soul-stirring than the     
ideals identified with the old religious
 tradition4 ,the ,prophets were the     
first to touch the root of the evil4 ,it
 is clear that they realized that alien 
influences and the low grade of         
intelligence possessed by the masses    

were not the sole causes of the frequent
 backsliding of the people4 ,the ,jewish
 doctrine itself bore within it the germ
 of error4 ,the two chief pillars of the
 old faith--the nationalizing of the    
,god-idea1 and the stress laid upon the 
cult1 the ceremonial side of religion1  
as compared with moral                  
requirements--were first and foremost to
 be held responsible for the flagrant   
departures from the spirit of ,judaism4 
,this was the direction in which reform 
was needed4 ,thereafter the sermons of  
the ,prophets betray everywhere the     
intense desire1 on the one hand1 to     
restore to the ,god-idea its original   
universal character1 and1 on the other  
hand1 while strongly emphasizing the    
importance of morality in the religious 
and the social sphere1 to derogate from 
the value of the ceremonial system4 ,the
 ,eternal is no longer the national ,god
 of ,israel1 belonging to him           
exclusively2 ,he becomes the ,god of the
 whole of mankind1 the same ,elohim1    

,creator and ,preserver of the world1   
whom the ,patriarchs had worshiped1 and 
to whom1 being ,his creatures1 all men  
owe worship4 ,his precepts and ,his laws
 of morality are binding upon all       
nations2 they will bring salvation and  
blessing to all without distinction4#aa 
,the ideal of piety consists in the     
profession of ,god and a life of        
rectitude4 ,the time will come when all 
nations will be penetrated by true      
knowledge of ,god and actuated by the   
noblest motives2 then will follow the   
universal brotherhood of man4 ,until    
this consummation is reached1 and so    
long as ,israel is the only nation      
formally professing the one true ,god1  
and accepting ,his blessed law1         
,israel's sole task is to embody in     
himself the highest ideals1 to be an    
ensign to the nations1 to bear before   
them the banner of ,god's law1 destined 
in time to effect the transformation of 
the whole of mankind4 ,israel is a      
missionary to the nations4 ,as such he  

must stand before them as a model of    
holiness and purity4 ,here is the origin
 of the great idea of the spiritual     
,messianism of the ,jewish people1 or1  
better1 its missionism1 an eternal idea1
 far more comprehensive than the old    
idea of national election1 which it     
supplanted4    #aa ,two ,biblical       
passages1 the one from ,deuteronomy1 the
 other     from ,deutero-,isaiah1 afford
 a signal illustration of the           
contrast between the religious          
nationalism of the ,mosaic law     and  
the universalism of the ,prophets4      
,moses says to ,israel3     ,thou art an
 holy people unto the ,lord thy ,god3   
the ,lord thy     ,god hath chosen thee 
to be a special people unto himself1    
above all people that are upon the face 
of the earth4 ,the ,lord     did not set
 his love upon you1 nor choose you1     
because ye were     more in number than 
any people3 for ye were the fewest of   
all     people4 ,but because the ,lord  
loved you4444 7,deut4 vii1 #f-h74       

,and these are the words of the         
prophecy3 ,listen1 ,o isles1     unto   
me1 and hearken1 ye people1 from far6   
,the ,lord hath     called me444 and    
said unto me1 ,thou art my servant1 ,o  
,israel1     in whom ,i will be         
glorified6 ,but ,i had thought1 ,i have 
labored     in vain1 ,i have spent my   
strength for nought1 and in vain2 yet   
surely my judgment is with the ,lord1   
and my work with my ,god4     ,for now  
said the ,lord unto me444 ,it is too    
light a thing that     thou shouldest be
 my servant to raise up the tribes of   
,jacob1     and to restore the preserved
 of ,israel3 no1 ,i will also give      
thee for a light to the ,gentiles1 that 
my salvation may reach     unto the end 
of the earth 7,is4 xlix1 #a-f74  ,these 
sublime teachings were inculcated at the
 moment in which ,judah was hastening to
 meet his fate4 ,it had become          
impossible to check the natural results 
of the earlier transgressions4 ,the     
inevitable happened2 ,babylon the mighty

 laid her ponderous hand upon tiny      
,judah4 ,but ,judah could not be        
crushed4 ,from the heavy chastisement   
the ,jewish nation emerged purified1    
re-born for a new life4     ,,vi  ,,the 
,,secondary ,,or ,,spiritual-,,political
 ,,period   ,the rank and file of a     
people are instructed by revolutions and
 catastrophes better than by sermons4   
,more quickly than ,isaiah and          
,jeremiah1 ,nebuchadnezzar brought the  
,jews to a recognition of their tasks4  
,the short span of the ,babylonian      
,exile 7#ehf-ech ,b4 ,c4 ,e47 was a     
period of introspection and searching   
self-examination for the people4        
,spiritual forces hitherto latent came  
into play2 a degree of                  
self-consciousness asserted itself4 ,the
 people grasped its mission4 ,at last it
 comprehended that to imitate inferior  
races1 instead of teaching them and     
making itself a model for them to       
follow1 was treason to its vocation in  
life4 ,when the hour of release from the

 ,babylonian yoke struck1 the people    
suddenly saw under its feet a new earth1
 and to a new heaven above it raised    
eyes dim with tears of repentance and   
emotion4 ,it renewed its covenant with  
,god4 ,like the ,exodus from ,egypt1 so 
the second national deliverance was     
connected with a revelation4 ,but the   
messages delivered by the last          
,prophets--especially by the great      
unknown1 the author of the latter part  
of the ,book of ,isaiah--were too       
exalted1 too universal in conception1   
for a people but lately emerged from a  
severe crisis to set about their        
realization at once4 ,they could only   
illumine its path as a guiding-star1    
inspire it as the ultimate goal1 the    
far-off ,messianic ideal4 ,meanwhile the
 necessity appeared for uniform         
religious laws1 dogmas1 and customs1 to 
bind the ,jews together externally as a 
nation4 ,the moralizing religion of the 
,prophets was calculated to bring about 
the regeneration of the individual1     

regardless of national ties2 but at that
 moment the chief point involved was the
 nation4 ,it had to be established and  
its organization perfected4 ,the        
universalism of the ,prophets was       
inadequate for the consolidating of a   
nation4 ,to this end outward religious  
discipline was requisite1 an official   
cult and public ceremonies4 ,led by such
 considerations1 the ,jewish captives1  
on their return to ,jerusalem1 first of 
all devoted themselves to the erection  
of a ,temple1 to the creating of a      
visible religious centre1 which was to  
be the rallying point for the whole     
nation4  ,the days of the ,prophets were
 over4 ,their religious universalism    
could apply only to a distant future4   
,in the present1 the nation1 before it  
might pose as a teacher1 had to learn   
and grow spiritually strong4 ,aims of   
such compass require centuries for their
 realization4 ,therefore1 the           
spiritual-national unification of the   
people was pushed into the foreground4  

,the place of the ,prophet was filled by
 the ,priest and the ,scribe4           
,zerubbabel1 ,ezra1 and ,nehemiah were  
permeated by the purpose to make        
religion and the cult subservient to the
 cause of national union and isolation4 
,the erection of the ,temple1 the solemn
 service with the singing of ,psalms and
 the public reading from the ,book of   
the ,law 7the ,pentateuch1 which        
underwent its final redaction at that   
time71 the removal of whatever might    
arouse the remembrance of strange and   
heathen institutions--these were the    
levers of their unifying activity4 ,at  
first sight this activity might appear  
almost too one-sided4 ,but if we summon 
to mind a picture of the conditions     
prevailing in those days1 we are forced 
to the conclusion that1 in the interest 
of national restoration1 a consistent   
course was imperative4 ,in point of     
fact1 however1 some of ,ezra's          
innovations testify to the broad-minded1
 reformatory character of this activity2

 as1 for instance1 the public reading of
 the ,pentateuch1 introduced with a view
 to making the people see the necessity 
of obtaining detailed knowledge of the  
principles of its religion1 and obeying 
the precepts of the ,law1 not blindly1  
but with conscious assent4 ,the object  
steadily aimed at was the elevation of  
the whole body of the people to the     
plane of spirituality1 its              
transformation1 in accordance with the  
,biblical injunction1 into a kingdom of 
priests4  ,this injunction of civilizing
 import became the starting point of the
 activity of all of ,ezra's successors1 
of the so-called school of the ,soferim1
 the ,scribes1 those versed in the art  
of writing4 ,the political calm that    
prevailed during the two centuries of   
the ,persian supremacy 7#ech-ccb ,b4 ,c4
 ,e471 was calculated to an eminent     
degree to promote spiritual development 
and the organization of the inner life  
of the people4 ,during this period1 a   
large part of the writings after the    

,pentateuch that have been received into
 the ,bible were collected1 compiled1   
and reduced to writing4 ,the immortal   
thoughts of the ,prophets clothed       
themselves in the visible garb of       
letters4 ,on parchment rolls and in     
books they were made accessible to      
distant ages4 ,the impressive traditions
 transmitted from earliest times1 the   
chronicles of the past of the people1   
the ,psalms brought forth by the        
religious enthusiasm of a long series of
 poets1 all were gathered and put into  
literary shape with the extreme of care4
 ,the spiritual treasures of the nation 
were capitalized1 and to this process of
 capitalization solely and alone        
generations of men have owed the        
possibility of resorting to them as a   
source of faith and knowledge4 ,without 
the work of compilation achieved by the 
,soferim1 of which the uninstructed are 
apt to speak slightingly1 mankind to-day
 had no ,bible1 that central sun in     
world-literature4  ,these two centuries 

may fitly be called the school-days of  
the ,jewish nation2 the ,scribes were   
the teachers of ,jewry4 ,in the way of  
original work but little was produced4  
,the people fed upon the store of       
spiritual food1 of which sufficient had 
been laid up for several generations4   
,it was then that the ,jews first earned
 their title to the name1 the ,people of
 the ,book4 ,they made subservient to   
themselves the two mightiest instruments
 of thought1 the art of writing and of  
reading4 ,their progress was brilliant1 
and when their schooling had come to an 
end1 and they stepped out into the      
broader life1 they were at once able to 
apply their knowledge successfully to   
practical contingencies4 ,they were     
prepared for all the vicissitudes of    
life4 ,their spiritual equipment was    
complete4  ,nothing could have been more
 opportune than this readiness to assume
 the responsibilities of existence1 for 
a time of peril and menace was again    
approaching4 ,from out of the ,west1 a  

new agent of civilization1 ,hellenism1  
advanced upon the ,east4 ,alexander the 
,great had put an end to the huge       
,persian monarchy1 and brought the whole
 of ,western ,asia under his dominion   
7#ccb ,b4 ,c4 ,e474 ,his generals       
divided the conquered lands among       
themselves4 ,with all their might1 the  
,ptolemies in ,egypt and the ,seleucidae
 in ,syria hellenized the countries     
subject to their rule4 ,in the old      
domain of the ,pharaohs1 as in          
,babylonia1 in ,phoenicia1 and in       
,syria1 the ,greek language was         
currently spoken1 ,greek ceremonies were
 observed1 the ,greek mode of life was  
adopted4 ,athens ceded her rights of    
primogeniture to ,new ,athens1          
,alexandria1 capital of ,egypt1 and     
cosmopolitan centre of the civilized    
world4 ,for a whole century ,judea      
played the sad part of the apple of     
discord between the ,egyptian and the   
,syrian dynasty 7#cbj-bjc ,b4 ,c4 ,e474 
,by turns she owned the sway of the     

,ptolemies and the ,seleucidae1 until   
finally1 in #bjc1 she was declared a    
,syro-,macedonian province4 ,here1 as in
 the other parts of their realm1 the    
rulers devoted themselves energetically 
to the dissemination of ,greek culture4 
,meeting with resistance1 they had      
resort to main force4 ,at first1 indeed1
 a large part of the people permitted   
itself to be blinded by the beauty of   
,japheth1 and promoted assimilation with
 the ,greeks4 ,but when the spread of   
,hellenism began to threaten the        
spiritual individuality of ,judaism1 the
 rest of the nation1 endowed with       
greater capacity of resistance1 arose   
and sturdily repulsed the enemy4        
,hellenism was the first gravely        
dangerous opponent ,judaism had to      
encounter4 ,it was not the ordinary     
meeting of two peoples1 or of two kinds 
of civilization4 ,it was a clash between
 two theories of life that stood        
abruptly opposed to each other1 were1   
indeed1 mutually exclusive4 ,it was a   

duel between the ,eternal on the one    
side1 and ,zeus on the other--between   
the ,creator of the universe1 the       
invisible spiritual ,being who had1 in a
 miraculous way1 revealed religious and 
ethical ideals to mankind1 and the deity
 who resided upon ,olympus1 who         
personified the highest force of nature1
 consumed vast quantities of nectar and 
ambrosia1 and led a pretty wild life    
upon ,olympus and elsewhere4 ,in the    
sphere of religion and morality1        
,hellene and ,judean could not come     
close to each other4 ,the former deified
 nature herself1 the material universe2 
the latter deified the ,creator of      
nature1 the spirit informing the        
material universe4 ,the ,hellene paid   
homage first and foremost to external   
beauty and physical strength2 the       
,judean to inner beauty and spiritual   
heroism4 ,the ,hellenic theory          
identified the moral with the beautiful 
and the agreeable1 and made life consist
 of an uninterrupted series of physical 

and mental pleasures4 ,the ,judean      
theory is permeated by the strictly     
ethical notions of duty1 of purity1 of  
holiness2 it denounces licentiousness1  
and sets up as its ideal the controlling
 of the passions and the infinite       
improvement of the soul1 not of the     
intellect alone1 but of the feelings as 
well4 ,these differences between the two
 theories of life showed themselves in  
the brusque opposition in character and 
customs that made the ,greeks and the   
,jews absolute antipodes in many spheres
 of life4 ,it cannot be denied that in  
matters of the intellect1 especially in 
the field of philosophy and science1 not
 to mention art1 it might have been     
greatly to the advantage of the ,jews to
 become disciples of the ,greeks4 ,nor  
is there any doubt that the brighter    
aspects of ,hellenism would make an     
admirable complement to ,judaism4 ,an   
harmonious blending of the ,prophets    
with ,socrates and ,plato would have    
produced a many-sided1 ideal            

,weltanschauung4 ,the course of         
historical events from the first made   
such blending1 which would doubtless    
have required great sacrifices on both  
sides1 an impossible consummation4 ,in  
point of fact1 the events were such as  
to widen the abyss between the two      
systems4 ,the meeting of ,judaism and   
,hellenism unfortunately occurred at the
 very moment when the classical         
,hellenes had been supplanted by the    
hellenized ,macedonians and ,syrians1   
who had accepted what were probably the 
worst elements of the antique system1   
while appropriating but few of the      
intellectual excellencies of ,greek     
culture4 ,there was another thwarting   
circumstance4 ,in this epoch1 the       
,greeks were the political oppressors of
 the ,jews1 outraging ,jewish national  
feeling through their tyranny to the    
same degree as by their immoral life    
they shocked ,jewish ethical feeling and
 ,jewish chastity4  ,outraged national  
and religious feeling found expression  

in the insurrection of the ,maccabees   
7#afh ,b4 ,c4 ,e474 ,the hoary priest   
,mattathias and his sons fought for the 
dearest and noblest treasures of        
,judaism4 ,enthusiasm begets heroism4   
,the ,syrian-,greek yoke was thrown off1
 and1 after groaning under alien rule1  
the ,persian1 the ,egyptian1 and the    
,syro-,macedonian1 for four hundred     
years1 ,judea became an independent     
state4 ,in its foreign relations1 the   
new state was secured by the            
self-sacrificing courage of the first   
,maccabean brothers1 and from within it 
was supported by the deep-sunk pillars  
of the spiritual life4 ,the rise of the 
three famous parties1 the ,sadducees1   
the ,pharisees1 and the ,essenes1 by no 
means testifies1 as many would have us  
believe1 to national disintegration1 but
 rather to the intense spiritual        
activity of the people4 ,the three      
tendencies afforded opportunity for the 
self-consciousness of the nation to     
express itself in all its variety and   

force4 ,the unbending religious         
dogmatism of the ,sadducees1 the        
comprehensive practical sense of the    
,pharisees in religious and ,rational   
concerns1 the contemplative mysticism of
 the ,essenes1 they are the most        
important offshoots from the ,jewish    
system as held at that time4 ,in        
consequence of the external conditions  
that brought about the destruction of   
the ,maccabean state#ab after a         
century's existence 7#afe-fc ,b4 ,c4    
,e471 the ,pharisee tendency1 which had 
proved itself the best in practice1 won 
the upper hand4 ,when ,judea was held   
fast in the clutches of the ,roman      
eagle1 all hope of escape being cut off1
 the far-seeing leaders of the people   
gained the firm conviction that the only
 trustworthy support of the ,jewish     
nation lay in its religion4 ,they       
realized that the preservation of       
national unity could be effected only by
 a consistent organization of the       
religious law1 which was to envelop and 

shape the whole external life of the    
people4 ,this explains the feverish     
activity of the early creators of the   
,mishna1 of ,hillel1 ,shammai1 and      
others1 and it interprets also the      
watchword of still older fame1 ,make a  
fence about the ,law4 ,if up to that    
moment religious usage in its           
development had kept abreast of the     
requirements of social and individual   
life1 the requirements out of which it  
had grown forth1 it now became a        
national function1 and its further      
evolution advanced with tremendous      
strides4 ,for the protection of the old 
,mosaic ,laws1 a twofold and a threefold
 fence of new legal ordinances was      
erected about them1 and the cult became 
more and more complicated4 ,but the     
externals of religion did not monopolize
 all the forces4 ,the moral element in  
the nation was promoted with equal      
vigor4 ,hillel1 the head of the         
,pharisee party1 was not a legislator   
alone1 he was also a model of humane    

principles and rare moral attainments4  
#ab ,the external causes of the downfall
 of the ,maccabean state1     dynastic  
quarrels1 are well known4 ,much less    
light has been     thrown upon the      
inner1 deeper-lying causes of the       
catastrophe4     ,these are possibly to 
be sought in the priestly-political     
dualism of the ,judean form of          
government4 ,the ideal of a     nation  
educated by means of the ,bible was a   
theocratic state1     and the first     
princes of the ,maccabean house1 acting 
at once     as regents and as high      
priests1 in a measure reached this      
ideal4 ,but the attempts of other       
nations had demonstrated                
conclusively enough that a dualistic    
form of government cannot     maintain  
itself permanently4 ,sooner or later one
 of the two     elements1 the priestly  
or the secular1 is bound to prevail     
over the other and crush it4 ,in the    
,judean realm1 with its     profoundly  
religious trend1 the priestly element   

obtained the     ascendency1 and        
political ruin ensued4 ,the             
priestly-political     retreated before 
the priestly-national form of           
government4     ,though the religious   
element was powerless to preserve the   
state from destruction1 we shall see    
that it has     brilliantly vindicated  
its ability to keep the nation          
intact4  ,while ,judaism1 in its native 
country was striving to isolate itself1 
and was seizing upon all sorts of       
expedients to insure this end1 it       
readily entered into relations1 outside 
of ,judea1 with other systems of        
thought1 and accepted elements of the   
classical culture4 ,instead of the      
violent opposition which the            
,palestinian ,judaism of the            
pre-,maccabean period1 that is1 the     
period of strife1 had offered to        
,hellenism1 the tendency to make mutual 
concessions1 and pave the way for an    
understanding between the two theories  
of life1 asserted itself in ,alexandria4

 ,in the capital city of the hellenized 
world the ,jews constituted one of the  
most important elements of culture4     
,according to ,mommsen1 the ,jewish     
colony in ,alexandria was not inferior1 
in point of numbers1 to the ,jewish     
population of ,jerusalem1 the           
metropolis4 ,influenced by ,greek       
civilization1 the ,jews in turn         
exercised decisive influence upon their 
heathen surroundings1 and introduced a  
new principle of development into the   
activity of the cultivated classes4 ,the
 ,greek translation of the ,biblical    
writings formed the connecting link     
between ,judaism and ,hellenism4 ,the   
,septuaginta1 the translation of the    
,pentateuch1 in use since the third     
century before the ,christian era1 had  
acquainted the classical world with     
,jewish views and principles4 ,the      
productions of the ,prophets and1 in    
later centuries1 of the other ,biblical 
authors1 translated and spread          
broadcast1 acted irresistibly upon the  

spirit of the cultivated heathen1 and   
granted him a glimpse into a world of   
hitherto unknown notions4 ,on this soil 
sprang up the voluminous                
,judeo-,hellenic literature1 of which   
but a few1 though characteristic1       
specimens have descended to us4 ,the    
intermingling of ,greek philosophy with 
,jewish religious conceptions resulted  
in a new religio-philosophic doctrine1  
with a mystic tinge1 of which ,philo is 
the chief exponent4 ,in ,jerusalem1     
,judaism appeared as a system of        
practical ceremonies and moral          
principles2 in ,alexandria1 it presented
 itself as a complex of abstract symbols
 and poetical allegories4 ,the          
,alexandrian form of ,judaism might     
satisfy the intellect1 but it could not 
appeal to the feelings4 ,it may have    
made ,judaism accessible to the         
cultivated minority1 to the upper ten   
thousand with philosophic training2 for 
the masses of the heathen people        
,judaism continued unintelligible4 ,yet 

it was pre-eminently the masses that    
were strongly possessed by religious    
craving4 ,disappointed in their old     
beliefs1 they panted after a new belief1
 after spiritual enlightenment4 ,in the 
decaying classical world1 which had so  
long filled out life with materialistic 
and intellectual interests1 the moral   
and religious feelings1 the desire for a
 living faith1 for an active            
inspiration1 had awakened1 and was      
growing with irresistible force4  ,then1
 from deep out of the bosom of ,judaism1
 there sprang a moral1 religious        
doctrine destined to allay the burning  
thirst for religion1 and bring about a  
reorganization of the heathen world4    
,the originators of ,christianity stood 
wholly upon the ground of ,judaism4 ,in 
their teachings were reflected as well  
the lofty moral principles of the       
,pharisee leader as the contemplative   
aims of the ,essenes4 ,but the same     
external circumstances that had put     
,judaism under the necessity of choosing

 a sharply-defined practical1 national  
policy1 made it impossible for ,judaism 
to fraternize with the preachers of the 
new doctrine4 ,judaism1 in fact1 was    
compelled to put aside entirely the     
thought of universal missionary         
activity4 ,instead1 it had to devote its
 powers to the more pressing task of    
guarding the spiritual unity of a nation
 whose political bonds were visibly     
dropping away4  ,for just then the      
,jewish nation1 gory with its own blood1
 was struggling in the talons of the    
,roman eagle4 ,its sons fought          
heroically1 without thought of self4    
,when1 finally1 physical strength gave  
out1 their spiritual energy rose to an  
intenser degree4 ,the state was         
annihilated1 the nation remained alive4 
,at the very moment when the ,temple was
 enwrapped in flames1 and the ,roman    
legions flooded ,jerusalem1 the         
spiritual leaders of ,jewry sat musing1 
busily casting about for a means        
whereby1 without a state1 without a     

capital1 without a ,temple1 ,jewish     
unity might be maintained4 ,and they    
solved the difficult problem4     ,,vii 
,,the ,,tertiary ,,talmudic ,,or        
,,national-,,religious ,,period   ,the  
solution of the problem consisted       
chiefly in more strictly following out  
the process of isolation4 ,in a time in 
which the worship of ,god preached by   
,judaism was rapidly spreading to all   
parts of the classical world1 and the   
fundamental principles of the ,jewish   
religion were steadily gaining          
appreciation and active adherence1 this 
intense desire for seclusion may at     
first glance seem curious4 ,but the     
phenomenon is perfectly simple4 ,a      
foremost factor was national feeling1   
enhanced to a tremendous degree at the  
time of the destruction of ,jerusalem4  
,lacking a political basis1 it was      
transferred to religious soil4 ,every   
tradition1 every custom1 however        
insignificant1 was cherished as a jewel4
 ,though without a state and without    

territory1 the ,jews desired to form a  
nation1 if only a spiritual nation1     
complete in itself4 ,they considered    
themselves then as before the sole      
guardians of the law of ,god4 ,they did 
not believe in a speedy fulfilment of   
the prophetical promise concerning the  
end of time when all nations would be   
converted to ,god4 ,a scrupulous keeper 
of the ,law1 ,judaism would not hear of 
the compromises that heathendom1 lately 
entered into the bosom of the faith1    
claimed as its due consideration4 ,it   
refused to sacrifice a single feature of
 its simple dogmatism1 of its essential 
ceremonies1 such as circumcision and    
,sabbath rest4 ,moreover1 in the period 
following close upon the fall of the    
,temple1 a part of the people still     
nursed the hope of political            
restoration1 a hope repudiating in its  
totality the proclamation of quite      
another ,messianic doctrine4 ,the       
delusion ended tragically in ,bar       
,kochba's hapless rebellion 7#ace ,c4   

,e471 whose disastrous issue cut off the
 last remnant of hope for the           
restoration of an earthly kingdom4      
,thereafter the ideal of a spiritual    
state was replaced by the ideal of a    
spiritual nation1 rallying about a      
peculiar religious banner4 ,jewry grew  
more and more absorbed in itself4 ,its  
seclusion from the rest of the world    
became progressively more complete4     
,instinct dictated this course as an    
escape from the danger of extinction1   
or1 at least1 of stagnation4 ,it was    
conscious of possessing enough vitality 
and energy to live for itself and work  
out its own salvation4 ,it had its      
spiritual interests1 its peculiar       
ideals1 and a firm belief in the future4
 ,it constituted an ancient order1 whose
 patent of nobility had been conferred  
upon it in the days of the hoary past by
 the ,lord ,god ,himself4 ,such as it   
was1 it could not consent to ally itself
 with parvenus1 ennobled but to-day1 and
 yesterday still bowing down before gods

 of silver and gods of gold4 ,this      
white-haired old man1 with a stormy past
 full of experiences and thought1 would 
not mingle with the scatter-brained     
crowd1 would not descend to the level of
 neophytes dominated by fleeting1       
youthful enthusiasm4 ,loyally this      
weather-bronzed1 inflexible guardian of 
the ,law stuck to his post--the post    
entrusted to him by ,god ,himself--and1 
faithful to his duty1 held fast to the  
principle j'y suis1 j'y reste4  ,as a   
political nation threatened by its      
neighbors seeks support in its army1 and
 provides sufficient implements of war1 
so a spiritual nation must have         
spiritual weapons of defense at its     
command4 ,such weapons were forged in   
great numbers1 and deposited in the vast
 arsenal called the ,talmud4 ,the       
,talmud represents a complicated        
spiritual discipline1 enjoining         
unconditional obedience to a higher     
invisible power4 ,where discipline is   
concerned1 questions as to the necessity

 for one or another regulation are out  
of place4 ,every regulation is          
necessary1 if only because it           
contributes to the desired end1 namely1 
discipline4 ,let no one ask1 then1 to   
what purpose the innumerable religious  
and ritual regulations1 sometimes       
reaching the extreme of pettiness1 to   
what purpose the comprehensive code in  
which every step in the life of the     
faithful is foreseen4 ,the ,talmudic    
religious provisions1 all taken         
together1 aim to put the regimen of the 
nation on a strictly uniform basis1 so  
that everywhere the ,jew may be able to 
distinguish a brother in faith by his   
peculiar mode of life4 ,it is a uniform 
with insignia1 by which soldiers of the 
same regiment recognize one another4    
,despite the vast extent of the ,jewish 
diaspora1 the ,jews formed a            
well-articulated spiritual army1 an     
invisible state of ,god 7civitas dei74  
,hence these knights of the spirit1 the 
citizens of this invisible state1 had to

 wear a distinct uniform1 and be        
governed by a suitable code of army     
regulations4  ,as a protection for      
,jewish national unity1 which was       
exposed to the greatest danger after the
 downfall of the state1 there arose and 
developed1 without any external         
influence whatsoever1 an extraordinary  
dictatorship1 unofficial and spiritual4 
,the legislative activity of all the    
dictators--such as1 ,rabbi ,jochanan ben
 ,zakkai1 ,rabbi ,akiba1 the            
,hillelites1 and the ,shammaites--was   
formulated in the ,mishna1 the oral law1
 which was the substructure of the      
,talmud4 ,their activity had a          
characteristic feature1 which deserves  
somewhat particularized description4    
,the laws were not laid down arbitrarily
 and without ceremony4 ,in order to     
possess binding force1 they required the
 authoritative confirmation to be found 
in the ,mosaic ,books4 ,from these1     
whether by logical or by forced         
interpretation of the holy text1 its    

words1 or1 perchance1 its letters1 they 
had to be derived4 ,each law1 barring   
only the original traditions1 the       
,halacha le-,moshe mi-,sinai1 was       
promulgated over the supreme signature1 
as it were1 that is1 with the           
authentication of a word from the ,holy 
,scriptures4 ,or it was inferred from   
another law so authenticated4 ,the      
elaboration of every law was thus       
connected with a very complicated       
process of thought1 requiring both      
inductive and deductive reasoning1 and  
uniting juridical interpretation with   
the refinements of casuistry4 ,this     
legislation was the beginning of        
,talmudic science1 which from that time 
on1 for many centuries1 growing with the
 ages1 claimed in chief part the        
intellectual activity of ,jewry4 ,the   
schools and the academies worked out a  
system of laws at once religious and    
practical in character1 which           
constituted1 in turn1 the object of     
further theoretic study in the same     

schools and academies4 ,in the course of
 time1 however1 the means became the    
end4 ,theoretic investigation of the    
law1 extending and developing to the    
furthest limits1 in itself1 without     
reference to its practical value1       
afforded satisfaction to the spiritual  
need4 ,the results of theorizing often  
attained the binding force of law in    
practical life1 not because             
circumstances ordered it1 but simply    
because one or another academy1 by dint 
of logic or casuistry1 had established  
it as law4 ,the number of such          
deductions from original and secondary  
laws increased in geometric progression1
 and practical life all but failed to   
keep up with the theory4 ,the close of  
the ,mishna1 that is1 its reduction to  
writing1 had no daunting effect upon the
 zeal for research4 ,if anything1 a new 
and strong impetus was imparted to it4  
,as up to that time the text of the     
,holy ,scriptures had been made the     
basis of interpretation1 giving rise to 

the most diverse inferences1 so the     
rabbis now began to use the law book    
recently canonized as a new basis of    
interpretation1 and to carry its        
principles to their utmost consequences4
 ,in this way originated first the      
,palestinian ,gemara4 ,later1 when the  
,patriarchate in ,palestine was stripped
 of its glory by persecutions1 and1 in  
consequence1 the centre of activity had 
to be transferred from the ,talmud      
academies of ,palestine to those of     
,babylonia1 supreme place and exclusive 
dominion were obtained by the           
,babylonian ,gemara1 put into permanent 
form about the year #ejj ,c4 ,e41 a     
gigantic work1 the result of two hundred
 years of mental labor4  ,this busy     
intellectual activity was as            
comprehensive as it was thoroughgoing4  
,talmudic legislation1 the ,halacha1 by 
no means confines itself to religious   
practices1 extensive as this field is4  
,it embraces the whole range of civil   
and social life4 ,apart from the dietary

 laws1 the regulations for the festivals
 and the divine service1 and a mass of  
enactments for the shaping of daily     
life1 the ,talmud elaborated a          
comprehensive and fairly well-ordered   
system of civil and criminal law1 which 
not infrequently bears favorable        
comparison with the famous rationi      
scriptae of the ,romans4 ,while         
proceeding with extreme rigor and       
scrupulousness in ritual matters1 the   
,talmud is governed in its social       
legislation by the noblest humanitarian 
principles4 ,doubtless this difference  
of attitude can be explained by the fact
 that religious norms are of very much  
greater importance for a nation than    
judicial regulations1 which concern     
themselves only with the interests of   
the individual1 and exercise but little 
influence upon the development of the   
national spirit4  ,the most sympathetic 
aspects of the ,jewish spirit in that   
epoch are revealed in the moral and     
poetic elements of the ,talmud1 in the  

,agada4 ,they are the receptacles into  
which the people poured all its         
sentiments1 its whole soul4 ,they are a 
clear reflex of its inner world1 its    
feelings1 hopes1 ideals4 ,the collective
 work of the nation and the trend of    
history have left much plainer traces in
 the ,agada than in the dry1 methodical 
,halacha4 ,in the ,agada the learned    
jurist and formalist appears transformed
 into a sage or poet1 conversing with   
the people in a warm1 cordial tone1     
about the phenomena of nature1 history1 
and life4 ,the reader is often thrown   
into amazement by the depth of thought  
and the loftiness of feeling manifested 
in the ,agada4 ,involuntarily one pays  
the tribute of reverence to its         
practical wisdom1 to its touching       
legends pervaded by the magic breath of 
poesy1 to the patriarchal purity of its 
views4 ,but these pearls are not strung 
upon one string1 they are not arranged  
in a complete system4 ,they are imbedded
 here and there1 in gay variety1 in a   

vast mass of heterogeneous opinions and 
sentiments naive at times and at times  
eccentric4 ,the reader becomes aware of 
the thoughts before they are            
consolidated4 ,they are still in a      
fluid1 mobile state1 still in process of
 making4 ,the same vivacious1 versatile 
spirit is revealed in the ,midrashim    
literature1 directly continuing the     
,agada up to the end of the middle ages4
 ,these two species of ,jewish          
literature1 the ,agada and the          
,midrashim1 have a far greater absolute 
value than the ,halacha4 ,the latter is 
an official work1 the former a national 
product4 ,like every other special      
legislation1 the ,halacha is bound to   
definite conditions and times1 while the
 ,agada concerns itself with the eternal
 verities4 ,the creations of the        
philosophers1 poets1 and moralists are  
more permanent than the work of         
legislators4  ,beautiful as the ,agada  
is1 and with all its profundity1 it     
lacks breadth4 ,it rests wholly on the  

national1 not on a universal basis4 ,it 
would be vain to seek in it for the     
comprehensive universalism of the       
,prophets4 ,every lofty ideal is claimed
 as exclusively ,jewish4 ,so far from   
bridging over the chasm between ,israel 
and the other nations1 knowledge and    
morality served to widen it4 ,it could  
not be otherwise1 there was no influx of
 air from without4 ,the national horizon
 grew more and more contracted4 ,the    
activities of the people gathered       
intensity1 but in the same measure they 
lost in breadth4 ,it was the only result
 to be expected from the course of      
history in those ages4 ,let us try to   
conceive what the first five centuries  
of the ,christian era1 the centuries    
during which the ,talmud was built up1  
meant in the life of mankind4           
,barbarism1 darkness1 and elemental     
outbreaks of man's migratory instincts1 
illustrated by the great migration of   
races1 are characteristic features of   
those centuries4 ,it was a wretched     

transition period between the fall of   
the world of antique culture and the    
first germinating of a new ,christian   
civilization4 ,the ,orient1 the centre  
and hearth of ,judaism1 was shrouded in 
impenetrable darkness4 ,in ,palestine   
and in ,babylonia1 their two chief      
seats1 the ,jews were surrounded by     
nations that still occupied the lowest  
rung of the ladder of civilization1 that
 had not yet risen above naive mysticism
 in religion1 or continued to be        
immersed in superstitions of the        
grossest sort4  ,in this abysmal night  
of the middle ages1 the lamp of thought 
was fed and guarded solely and alone by 
the ,jews4 ,it is not astonishing1 then1
 that oblivious of the other nations    
they should have dispensed light only   
for themselves4 ,furthermore1 the       
circumstance must be considered that1 in
 the period under discussion1 the       
impulse to separate from ,judaism gained
 ground in the ,christian world4 ,after 
the ,council of ,nicaea1 after          

,constantine the ,great had established 
,christianity as the state-church1 the  
official breach between the ,old        
,testament and the ,new ,testament      
partisans became unavoidable4  ,thus the
 ,jews1 robbed of their political home1 
created a spiritual home for themselves4
 ,through the instrumentality of the    
numberless religious rules which the    
,talmud had laid down1 and which shaped 
the life of the individual as well as   
that of the community1 they were welded 
into a firmly united whole4 ,the ,jewish
 spirit--national feeling and individual
 mental effort alike--was absorbed in   
this pursuit of unification4 ,head1     
heart1 hands1 all human functions of the
 ,jew1 were brought under complete      
control and cast into fixed forms1 by   
these five centuries of labor4 ,with    
painful exactitude1 the ,talmud         
prescribed ordinances for all the       
vicissitudes of life1 yet1 at the same  
time1 offered sufficient food for brain 
and heart4 ,it was at once a religion   

and a science4 ,the ,jew was equipped   
with all the necessaries4 ,he could     
satisfy his wants from his own store4   
,there was no need for him to knock at  
strange doors1 even though he had       
thereby profited4 ,the consequences of  
this attitude1 positive as well as      
negative consequences1 asserted         
themselves in the further course of     
,jewish history4     ,,viii  ,,the      
,,gaonic ,,period1 ,,or ,,the ,,hegemony
 ,,of ,,the ,,oriental ,,jews 7#ejj-ihj7
   ,with the close of the ,talmud1 at   
the beginning of the sixth century1 the 
feverish intellectual activity abated4  
,the ,jewish centre of gravity continued
 in ,babylonia4 ,in this country1 in    
which the ,jewish race had heard its    
cradle song at the dawn of existence1   
and later on ,judaea capta had sat and  
wept remembering ,zion1 ,judaism1 after 
the destruction of the second ,temple   
and hundreds of years of trials1 was    
favored with a secure asylum4 ,in the   
rest of the diaspora1 persecution gave  

the ,jews no respite1 but in ,babylonia1
 under ,persian rule1 they lived for    
some centuries comparatively free from  
molestation4 ,indeed1 they enjoyed a    
measure of autonomy in internal affairs1
 under a chief who was entitled         
,exilarch 7,resh-,galutha74 ,the ,law   
and the word of ,god went forth from    
,babylonia for the ,jews of all lands4  
,the ,babylonian ,talmud became the     
anthoritative code for the ,jewish      
people1 a holy book second only to the  
,bible4 ,the intellectual calm that     
supervened at the beginning of the sixth
 century and lasted until the end of the
 eighth century1 betrayed itself in the 
slackening of independent creation1     
though not in the flagging of           
intellectual activity in general4 ,in   
the schools and academies of            
,pumbeditha1 ,nahardea1 and ,sura1      
scientific work was carried on with the 
same zest as before1 only this work had 
for its primary object the sifting and  
exposition of the material heaped up by 

the preceding generations4 ,this was the
 province of the ,sabureans and the     
,geonim1 whose relation to the ,talmud  
was the same as that of the ,scribes    
7the ,soferim7 of the ,second ,temple to
 the ,bible 7see above1 ch4 vi74 ,in the
 later period1 as in the earlier1 the   
aim was the capitalization of the       
accumulated spiritual treasures1 an     
undertaking that gives little occasion  
for movement and life1 but all the more 
for endurance and industry4  ,this      
intellectual balance was destroyed by   
two events3 the appearance of ,islam and
 the rise of ,karaism4 ,islam1 the      
second legitimate offspring of ,judaism1
 was appointed to give to religious     
thought in the slumbering ,orient the   
slight impulse it needed to start it on 
its rapid career of sovereign power4    
,barely emancipated from swaddling      
clothes1 young ,hotspur at once began to
 rage4 ,he sought an outlet for his     
unconquerable thirst for action1 his    
lust for world-dominion4 ,the victorious

 religious wars of the followers of     
,allah ensued4 ,this foreign movement   
was not without significance for the    
fate of the ,jews4 ,they were surrounded
 no longer by heathens but by           
,mohammedans1 who believed in the ,god  
of the ,bible1 and through the mouth of 
their prophet conferred upon the ,jews  
the honorable appellation of the ,people
 of the ,book4 ,in the eighth century   
the wars ceased1 and the impetuous      
energy of the rejuvenated ,orient was   
diverted into quieter channels4 ,the    
,bagdad ,khalifate arose1 the peaceful  
era of the growth of industry1 the      
sciences1 and the arts was inaugurated4 
,endowed with quick discernment for     
every enlightening movement1 the ,jews  
yielded to the vivifying magic of young 
,arabic culture4  ,partly under the     
influence of the ,arabic tendency to    
split into religio-philosophic sects1   
partly from inner causes1 ,karaism      
sprang up in the second half of the     
eighth century4 ,its active career began

 with a vehement protest against the    
,talmud as the regulator of life and    
thought4 ,it proclaimed the creators of 
this vast encyclopedia to be usurpers of
 spiritual power1 and urged a return to 
the ,biblical laws in their             
unadulterated simplicity4 ,the weakness 
of its positive principles hindered the 
spread of ,karaism1 keeping it forever  
within the narrow limits of a sect and  
consigning it to stagnation4 ,what gave 
it vogue during the first century of its
 existence was its negative strength1   
its violent opposition to the ,talmud1  
which aroused strenuous intellectual    
activity4 ,for a long time it turned    
,judaism away from its one-sided        
,talmudic tendency1 and opened up new   
avenues of work for it4 ,true to their  
motto3 ,search diligently in the ,holy  
,scriptures1 the adherents of ,karaism  
applied themselves to the rational study
 of the ,bible1 which had come to be1   
among the ,talmudists1 the object of    
casuistic interpretation and legendary  

adornment4 ,by the cultivation of       
grammar and lexicography as applied to  
the ,biblical thesaurus of words1 they  
resuscitated the ,hebrew language1      
which1 ousted by the ,aramaic dialect1  
had already sunk into oblivion4 ,by the 
same means they laid the foundation of a
 school of rejuvenated poetry4 ,in      
general1 thought on religious and       
philosophic subjects was promoted to a  
higher degree by the lively discussions 
between them and the ,talmudists4  ,by  
imperceptible steps ,talmudic ,judaism1 
influenced at once by the enlightened   
,arabs and the protesting ,karaites1    
departed from the four ells of the      
,halacha1 and widened its horizon4      
,among the spiritual leaders of the     
people arose men who occupied themselves
 not only with the study of the ,talmud 
but also with a rational exegesis of the
 ,bible1 with philology1 poetry1        
philosophy4 ,the great ,gaon ,saadiah   
7#hib-idb7 united within himself all    
strands of thought4 ,over and above a   

large number of philological and other  
writings of scientific purport1 he      
created a momentous religio-philosophic 
system1 with the aim to clarify ,judaism
 and refine religious conceptions4 ,he  
was an encyclopedic thinker1 a          
representative of the highest ,jewish   
culture and of ,arabic culture as       
well--he wrote his works in ,arabic by  
preference4 ,in this way ,jewish thought
 gained ground more and more in the     
,orient4 ,it was in the ,west1 however1 
that it attained soon after to the      
climax of its development4  ,gradually  
the centre of gravity of ,jewry shifted 
from ,asia ,minor to ,western ,europe4  
,beginning with the sixth century1 the  
sparsely sown ,jewish population of     
,occidental ,europe increased rapidly in
 numbers4 ,in ,italy1 ,byzantium1       
,france1 and ,visigothic ,spain1        
important ,jewish communities were      
formed4 ,the medieval intolerance of the
 ,church1 though neither so widespread  
nor so violent as it later became1      

suffered its first outbreak in that     
early century4 ,the persecutions of the 
,jews by the ,visigothic kings of ,spain
 and the ,bishops ,avitus of ,clermont  
and ,agobard in ,france 7sixth to the   
ninth century7 were the prelude to the  
more systematic and the more bloody     
cruelties of subsequent days4 ,the      
insignificant numbers of the ,european  
,jews and the insecurity of their       
condition stood in the way of forming an
 intellectual centre of their own4 ,they
 were compelled to acknowledge the      
spiritual supremacy of their ,oriental  
brethren in faith4 ,with the beginning  
of the tenth century the situation      
underwent a change4 ,arabic             
civilization1 which had penetrated to   
,spain in previous centuries1 brought   
about a radical transformation in the   
character of the country4 ,the realm of 
the fanatic ,visigoths1 half barbarous  
and wholly averse to the light of       
progress1 changed into the prosperous   
and civilized ,khalifate of the         

,ommeyyades4 ,thither the best forces of
 ,oriental ,jewry transferred           
themselves4 ,with the growth of the     
,jewish population in ,arabic ,spain and
 the strengthening of its communal      
organization1 the spiritual centre of   
the ,jewish people gradually established
 itself in ,spain4 ,the academies of    
,sura and ,pumbeditha yielded first     
place to the high schools of ,cordova   
and ,toledo4  ,the ,jewry of the ,east  
resigned the national hegemony to the   
,jewry of the ,west4 ,the ,geonim       
withdrew in favor of the ,rabbis4 ,after
 centuries of seclusion1 the ,jewish    
spirit once more asserted itself1 and   
enjoyed a period of efflorescence4 ,the 
process of national growth became more  
complex1 more varied4     ,,ix  ,,the   
,,rabbinic-,,philosophical ,,period1    
,,or ,,the ,,hegemony ,,of ,,the        
,,spanish ,,jews 7#ihj-adib7   ,the five
 centuries marked at their beginning by 
the rise of ,arabic-,jewish civilization
 in ,spain and at their end by the      

banishment of the ,jews from ,spain     
7#ihj-adib71 offer the ,jewish historian
 an abundance of culture manifestations 
and intellectual movements so luxuriant 
that it is well-nigh impossible to      
gather them up in one formula4 ,the     
monotony formerly prevailing in ,jewish 
national life1 both in its external and 
in its internal relations1 was succeeded
 by almost gaily checkered variety4     
,swept along by the movement towards    
enlightenment that dominated their      
surroundings1 the ,jews of ,arabic      
,spain threw themselves into energetic  
work in all the spheres of life and     
thought4 ,while they had political      
ground more or less firm under their    
feet1 and for the most part enjoyed     
peace and liberty1 the ,jews in the     
,christian lands of ,europe stood upon  
volcanic soil1 every moment threatening 
to swallow them up4 ,exposed constantly 
to persecutions1 they lived more or less
 isolated1 and devoted themselves to    
one-sided though intense intellectual   

activity4 ,sombre shadows and streaks of
 bright light alternate with each other 
in this period4 ,in its second half1 the
 clouds massed themselves heavily upon  
the darkening horizon4 ,even the        
privileged ,spanish ,jews suffered an   
untoward change in their affairs at the 
beginning of the thirteenth century3    
gradually they were withdrawn from under
 the sovereignty of the ,arabs1 and made
 subject to the power of the ,catholic  
monarchs4 ,they became thenceforward the
 equal partners of their brethren in    
faith in the rest of ,europe4 ,all      
without distinction had a share in the  
spiritual martyrdom which is the        
greenest bayleaf in the crown of ,jewish
 history4 ,to think and to suffer became
 the watchword of the whole nation4  ,at
 first1 as we have said1 a considerable 
portion of the ,jewish people enjoyed   
the happy possibility of thinking4 ,this
 was during the classical epoch of the  
,arabic-,jewish ,renaissance1 which     
preceded the ,italian ,renaissance by   

four centuries4 ,there is a fundamental 
difference between the two ,renaissance 
periods3 the earlier one was signalized 
by a re-birth of the sciences and of    
philosophy1 the later one pre-eminently 
of the arts and of literature4 ,the     
eleventh and twelfth centuries marked   
the meridian of the intellectual        
development of medieval ,judaism4 ,as   
once1 in ,alexandria1 the union of      
,judaic with ,hellenic culture brought  
in its train a superabundance of new    
ideas of a universal character1 so again
 the amalgamation1 on ,spanish soil1 of 
,jewish culture with ,arabic gave rise  
to rich intellectual results1 more      
lasting and fruitful than the           
,alexandrian1 inasmuch as1 in spite of  
their universal character1 they did not 
contravene the national spirit4 ,the    
,jewish people dropped its misanthropy  
and its leaning toward isolation4 ,the  
,jews entered all sorts of careers3 by  
the side of influential and cultivated  
statesmen1 such as ,chasdai ibn ,shaprut

 and ,samuel ,hanagid1 at the courts of 
the ,khalifs1 stood a brilliant group of
 grammarians1 poets1 and philosophers1  
like ,jonah ibn ,ganach1 ,solomon       
,gabirol1 and ,moses ibn ,ezra4 ,the    
philosophic-critical scepticism of      
,abraham ibn ,ezra co-existed in peace  
and harmony with the philosophic-poetic 
enthusiasm of ,jehuda ,halevi4 ,the     
study of medicine1 mathematics1 physics1
 and astronomy went hand in hand with   
the study of the ,talmud1 which1 though 
it may not have occupied the first place
 with the ,spanish ,jews of this time1  
by no means disappeared1 as witness the 
compendium by ,alphassi4 ,unusual       
breadth and fulness of the spiritual    
life is the distinction of the epoch4   
,this variety of mental traits combined 
in a marvelous union to form the great  
personality of ,maimonides1 the crown of
 a glorious period4 ,with one ,strong   
,hand1 this intellectual giant brought  
order out of the ,talmudic chaos1 which 
at his word was transformed into a      

symmetrical1 legal system2 with the     
other1 he guided the ,perplexed through 
the realm of faith and knowledge4 ,for  
rationalistic clarity and breadth of    
view no counterpart to the              
religio-philosophic doctrine which he   
formulated can be found in the whole    
extent of medieval literature4 ,the main
 feature of the philosophy of           
,maimonides and of the systems based    
upon it is rationalism1 not a dry1      
scholastic1 abstract rationalism1 but a 
living rationalism1 embracing the whole 
field of the most exalted psychic       
phenomena4 ,it is not philosophy pure   
and simple1 but religious philosophy1 an
 harmonization1 more or less felicitous1
 of the postulates of reason with the   
dogmas of faith4 ,it is reason mitigated
 by faith1 and faith regulated by       
reason4 ,in the darkness of the middle  
ages1 when the ,romish ,church          
impregnated religion with the crudest   
superstitions1 going so far as to forbid
 its adherents to read the ,bible1 and  

when the greatest philosopher           
representatives of the ,church1 like    
,albertus ,magnus1 would have rejected  
offhand1 as a childish fancy or1 indeed1
 as an heretical chimera1 any attempt to
 rescue the lower classes of the people 
from their wretched state of spiritual  
servitude--in a time like this1 the     
truly majestic spectacle is presented of
 a philosophy declaring war on          
superstition1 and setting out to purify 
the religious notions of the people4    
,not a breath of this ample spiritual   
development of the ,jews of ,arabic     
,spain reached the ,jews living in the  
,christian countries of ,europe4 ,their 
circumstances were too grievous1 and in 
sombreness their inner life matched     
their outer estate4 ,their horizon was  
as contracted as the streets of the     
,jewries in which they were penned4 ,the
 crusades 7beginning in #ajif7 clearly  
showed the ,jews of ,france and ,germany
 what sentiments their neighbors        
cherished towards them4 ,they were the  

first returns which ,christianity paid  
the ,jewish people for its old-time     
teaching of religion4 ,the descendants  
of the chosen people1 the originators of
 the ,bible1 were condemned to torture  
of a sort to exhaust their spiritual    
heritage4 ,judaism suffered the tragic  
fate of ,king ,lear4 ,was it conceivable
 that the horrors--the rivers of blood1 
the groans of massacred communities1 the
 serried ranks of martyrs1 the          
ever-haunting fear of the morrow--should
 fail to leave traces in the character  
of ,judaism8 ,the ,jewish people        
realized its imminent danger4 ,it       
convulsively held fast to its precious  
relics1 clung to the pillars of its     
religion1 which it regarded as the only 
asylum4 ,the ,jewish spirit again       
withdrew from the outer world4 ,it gave 
itself up wholly to the study of the    
,talmud4 ,in northern ,france and in    
,germany1 ,talmudic learning degenerated
 into the extreme of scholastic         
pedantry1 the lot of every branch of    

science that is lopped off from the main
 trunk of knowledge1 and vegetates in a 
heavy1 dank atmosphere1 lacking light   
and air4 ,rashi 7#ajfd-aaje71 whose     
genial activity began before the first  
crusade1 opened up ,jewish religious    
literature to the popular mind1 by his  
systematic commentaries on the ,bible   
and the ,talmud4 ,on the other hand1 the
 ,tossafists1 the school of commentators
 succeeding him1 by their petty         
quibbling and hairsplitting casuistry   
made the ,talmudic books more intricate 
and less intelligible4 ,such being the  
intellectual bias of the age1 a sober1  
rationalistic philosophy could not      
assert itself4 ,in lieu of an ,ibn ,ezra
 or a ,maimonides1 we have ,jehuda      
,hachassid and ,eliezer of ,worms1 with 
their mystical books of devotion1 ,sefer
 ,chassidim1 ,rokeach1 etc41 filled with
 pietistic reflections on the other     
world1 in which the earth figures as a  
vale of tears4 ,poetry likewise took on 
the dismal hue of its environment4      

,instead of the varied lyrical notes of 
,gabirol and ,halevi1 who sang the weal 
and woe1 not only of the nation1 but    
also of the individual1 and lost        
themselves in psychologic analysis1     
there now fall upon our ear the         
melancholy1 heartrending strains of     
synagogue poetry1 the harrowing outcries
 that forced themselves from the        
oppressed bosoms of the hunted people1  
the prayerful lamentations that so often
 shook the crumbling walls of the       
medieval synagogues at the very moment  
when1 full of worshipers1 they were     
fired by the inhuman crusaders4 ,a      
mighty chord reverberates in this       
poetry3 ,morituri te salutant4  ,one    
small spot there was1 in the whole of   
,europe1 in which ,jews could still hope
 to endure existence and enjoy a measure
 of security4 ,this was ,southern       
,france1 or the ,provence4 ,the         
population of ,provence had assimilated 
the culture of the neighboring country1 
,arabic ,spain1 and become the mediator 

between it and the rest of ,europe4     
,this work of mediation was undertaken  
primarily by the ,jews4 ,in the twelfth 
century several universities existed in 
,provence1 which were frequented in     
great numbers by students from all      
countries4 ,at these universities the   
teachers of philosophy1 medicine1 and   
other branches of science were for the  
most part ,jews4 ,the rationalistic     
philosophy of the ,spanish ,jews was    
there proclaimed ex cathedra4 ,the      
,tibbonides translated all the more     
important works of the ,jewish thinkers 
of ,spain from ,arabic into ,hebrew4    
,the ,kimchis devoted themselves to     
grammatical studies and the             
investigation of the ,bible4 ,in        
,montpellier1 ,narbonne1 and ,lunel1    
intellectual work was in full swing4    
,rational ideas gradually leavened the  
masses of the ,provenal population4     
,conscience freed from intellectual     
trammels began to revolt against the    
oppression exercised by the ,roman      

clergy4 ,through the ,albigensian       
heresy1 ,innocent ,,iii1 founder of the 
papal power1 had his attention directed 
to the ,jews1 whom he considered the    
dangerous protagonists of rationalism4  
,the heresy was stifled1 ,provence in   
all her magnificence fell a prey to the 
,roman mania for destruction1 and1 on   
the ruins of a noble civilization1 the  
,dominican ,inquisition raged with all  
its horrors 7#abac74  ,thenceforward the
 ,catholic ,church devoted herself to a 
hostile watch upon the ,jews4 ,either   
she persecuted them directly through her
 ,inquisition1 or indirectly through her
 omnipotent influence on kings and      
peoples4 ,in the hearts of the citizens 
of medieval ,europe1 the flame of       
religious hatred was enkindled1 and     
religious hatred served as a cloak for  
the basest passions4 ,jewish history    
from that time on became a history of   
uninterrupted suffering4 ,the ,lateran  
,council declared the ,jews to be       
outcasts1 and designed a peculiar1      

dishonorable badge for them1 a round    
patch of yellow cloth1 to be worn on    
their upper garment 7#abae74 ,in ,france
 the ,jews became by turns the victims  
of royal rapacity and the scapegoats of 
popular fanaticism4 ,massacres1         
confiscations1 banishments followed by  
dearly purchased permission to return1  
by renewed restrictions1 persecutions1  
and oppressions--these were the measures
 that characterized the treatment of the
 ,jews in ,france until their final     
expulsion 7#acid74 ,in ,germany the     
,jews were not so much hated as         
despised4 ,they were servi camerae1     
serfs of the state1 and as such had to  
pay oppressive taxes4 ,besides1 they    
were limited to the meanest trades and  
to usury and peddling4 ,they were shut  
up in their narrow ,jewries1 huddled in 
wretched cabins1 which clustered about  
the dilapidated synagogue in a          
shamefaced way4 ,what strange homes6    
,what gigantic misery1 what boundless   
suffering dumbly borne1 was concealed in

 those crumbling1 curse-laden dwellings6
 ,and yet1 how resplendent they were    
with spiritual light1 what exalted      
virtues1 what lofty heroism they        
harbored6 ,in those gloomy1 tumbledown  
,jew houses1 intellectual endeavor was  
at white heat4 ,the torch of faith      
blazed clear in them1 and on the pure   
domestic hearth played a gentle flame4  
,in the abject1 dishonored son of the   
,ghetto was hidden an intellectual      
giant4 ,in his nerveless body1 bent     
double by suffering1 and enveloped in   
the shabby old cloak still further      
disfigured by the yellow wheel1 dwelt   
the soul of a thinker4 ,the son of the  
,ghetto might have worn his badge with  
pride1 for in truth it was a medal of   
distinction awarded by the papal ,church
 to the ,jews1 for dauntlessness and    
courage4 ,the awkward1 puny ,jew in his 
way was stronger and braver than a      
,german knight armed cap-a-pie1 for he  
was penetrated by the faith that moves  
mountains4 ,and when the worst came to  

the worst1 he demonstrated his courage4 
,when his peaceful home was stormed by  
the bestialized hordes of ,armleder1 or 
the drunken bands of the ,flagellants1  
or the furious avengers of the ,black   
,death1 he did not yield1 did not       
purchase life by disgraceful treason4   
,with invincible courage he put his head
 under the executioner's axe1 and       
breathed forth his heroic spirit with   
the enthusiastic cry3 ,hear1 ,o ,israel1
 the ,lord our ,god is ,one4  ,at length
 the turn of the ,spanish ,jews arrived4
 ,for the unbroken peace they had       
enjoyed1 they had to atone by centuries 
of unexampled suffering4 ,by degrees1   
the ,arabs were forced out of the       
,pyrenean ,peninsula1 and the power they
 had to abdicate was assumed by the     
,catholic kings of ,castile and ,aragon4
 ,in #abcf occurred the fall of         
,cordova1 the most important centre of  
,arabic ,jewish culture4 ,thereafter    
,arab power held sway only in the       
province of ,granada4 ,the fortunes of  

the ,spanish ,jews underwent a          
calamitous change4 ,the kings and the   
upper ten thousand were1 indeed1        
favorably disposed toward them4 ,at the 
courts of ,castile and ,aragon1 the     
,jews were active as ministers1         
physicians1 astronomers4 ,but the       
people1 incited by the propaganda of the
 clerics1 nursed frightful hatred       
against the ,jews1 not only as infidels1
 but also as intellectual aristocrats4  
,the rage of the populace was the       
combustible material in the terrific    
explosions that occurred periodically1  
in the bloody saturnalia of the         
,pastouraux 7#acbj71 in the ,black      
,death riots 7#acdh71 in the massacre of
 ,seville 7#acia74  ,dire blows of      
fortune were unable to weigh down the   
,spanish ,jew1 accustomed to            
independence1 as they did the ,german   
,jew4 ,he carried his head proudly on   
high1 for he was conscious that in all  
respects he stood above the rabble      
pursuing him1 above its very leaders1   

the clerics4 ,in spite of untoward fate 
his mental development proceeded1 but   
inevitably it was modified by the trend 
of the times4 ,by the side of the       
philosophic tendency of the previous    
age1 a mystical tendency appeared in    
literature4 ,the ,kabbala1 with its     
mist-shrouded symbolism1 so grateful to 
the feelings and the imagination1 chimed
 in better than rationalistic philosophy
 with the depressed humor under which   
the greater part of the ,jews were then 
laboring4 ,another force antagonistic to
 rationalistic philosophy was the       
,rabbinism transplanted from ,france and
 ,germany4 ,the controversy between     
,rabbinism and philosophy1 which dragged
 itself through three-quarters of a     
century 7#abcb-acje71 ended in the      
formal triumph of ,rabbinism4 ,however1 
philosophic activity merely languished1 
it did not cease entirely2 in fact1 the 
three currents for some time ran along  
parallel with one another4 ,next to the 
pillars of ,rabbinism1 ,asheri1 ,rashba1

 ,isaac ben ,sheshet1 loomed up the     
philosophers1 ,gersonides 7,ralbag71    
,kreskas1 and ,albo1 and a long line of 
,kabbalists1 beginning with ,nachmanides
 and ,moses de ,leon1 the compiler of   
the ,zohar1 and ending with the         
anonymous authors of the mysterious     
,kana and ,pelia4  ,the times grew less 
and less propitious4 ,catholicism       
steadily gained ground in ,spain4 ,the  
scowling ,dominican put forward his     
claim upon the ,jewish soul with        
vehement emphasis1 and made every effort
 to drag it into the bosom of the       
alone-saving ,church4 ,the conversion of
 the ,jews would have been a great      
triumph1 indeed1 for ,catholicism       
militant4 ,the conversion methods of the
 ,dominican monk were of a most         
insinuating kind--he usually began with 
a public religious disputation4         
,unfortunately1 the ,jews were experts  
in the art of debate1 and too often by  
their bold replies covered the          
self-sufficient dignitaries of ,rome    

with confusion4 ,the ,jews should have  
known1 from bitter experience1 that such
 boldness would not be passed over      
silently4 ,from sumptuous debating hall 
to ,dominican prison and scaffold was   
but a short step4 ,in #acia1 one of     
these worthy soul-catchers1 ,bishop     
,ferdinando ,martinez1 set the fanatical
 mob of ,seville on the ,jews1 and not  
without success4 ,terrorized by the     
threat of death1 many accepted          
,catholicism under duress4 ,but they    
became ,christians only in appearance2  
in reality they remained true to the    
faith of their fathers1 and1 in secret1 
running the risk of loss of life1 they  
fulfilled all the ,jewish ordinances4   
,this is the prologue to the thrilling  
,marrano tragedy4  ,finally1 the moment 
approached when gloomy ,catholicism     
attained to unchallenged supremacy in   
the ,pyrenean ,peninsula4 ,on the ruins 
of the enlightened culture of the       
,arabs1 ,ferdinand the ,catholic and    
,isabella of ,castile reared the        

reactionary government of medieval      
,rome4 ,the ,inquisition was introduced 
7#adhj74 ,torquemada presided as high   
priest over the rites attending the     
human sacrifices4 ,ad gloriam ecclesiae1
 the whole of ,spain was illuminated4   
,everywhere the funeral pyres of the    
,inquisition flared to the skies1 the   
air was rent by the despairing shrieks  
of martyrs enveloped in flames or racked
 by tortures1 the prisons overflowed    
with ,marranos1--all instruments of     
torture were vigorously plied4  ,at last
 the hour of redemption struck3 in #adib
 all ,jews were driven from ,spain1 and 
a few years later from ,portugal4       
,jewish-,arabic culture after five      
centuries of ascendency suffered a      
sudden collapse4 ,the unhappy people    
again grasped its staff1 and wandered   
forth into the world without knowing    
whither4     ,x  ,,the                  
,,rabbinic-,,mystical ,,period1 ,,or    
,,the ,,hegemony ,,of ,,the             
,,german-,,polish ,,jews 7#adib-aghi7   

,the expulsion from ,spain was a        
stunning blow4 ,the hoary martyr people 
which had defied so many storms in its  
long life was for a moment dazed4 ,the  
soil of ,europe was quaking under its   
feet4 ,at the time when the medieval    
period had formally come to a close for 
,occidental ,christendom1 and the modern
 period had opened1 the middle ages     
continued in unmitigated brutality for  
the ,jews4 ,if anything1 the life of the
 ,jews had become more unendurable than 
before4 ,what1 indeed1 had the          
much-vaunted modern age to offer them8  
,in the ranks of the humanistic movement
 ,reuchlin alone stood forth prominently
 as the advocate of the ,jews1 and he   
was powerless before the prejudices of  
the populace4 ,the ,reformation in      
,germany and elsewhere had illuminated  
the minds of the people1 but had not    
softened their hearts4 ,luther himself1 
the creator of the ,reformation1 was not
 innocent of hating the followers of an 
alien faith4 ,the ,jews especially did  

not enjoy too great a measure of his    
sympathies4 ,the wars growing out of the
 ,reformation1 which in the sixteenth   
and seventeenth centuries devastated    
,europe in the name of religion1 were   
not calculated to favor the spread of   
tolerance and milder manners4 ,the      
conflict raging in the bosom of the     
,church and setting her own children by 
the ears1 was yet insufficient to divert
 her maternal care from her unbelieving 
stepchildren4 ,in ,spain and ,portugal1 
stakes continued to burn two centuries  
longer for the benefit of the ,marranos1
 the false ,christians4 ,in ,germany and
 ,austria1 the ,jews were kept in the   
same condition of servitude as before4  
,their economic circumstances were      
appalling4 ,they were forced to emigrate
 en masse to ,poland1 which offered the 
adherents of their faith a comparatively
 quiet life1 and by and by was invested 
with the ,jewish hegemony4 ,some of the 
smaller states and independent towns of 
,italy also afforded the ,jews an       

asylum1 though one not always to be     
depended upon4 ,a group of hard-driven  
,spanish exiles1 for instance1 under the
 leadership of ,abarbanel had found     
peace in ,italy4 ,the rest had turned to
 ,turkey and her province ,palestine1   
,for a time1 indeed1 the ,jewish        
spiritual centre was located in ,turkey4
 ,what ,europe1 old1 ,christian1 and    
hardhearted1 refused the ,jews1 was     
granted them by ,turkey1 young1         
,mussulman1 and liberal4 ,on hearing of 
the banishment of the ,jews from ,spain1
 ,sultan ,bajazet exclaimed3 ,how can   
you call ,ferdinand of ,aragon a wise   
king1 the same ,ferdinand who has made  
his land poor and enriched ours8 ,his   
amazement characterizes the relation of 
,turkey to the ,jews of the day4 ,the   
one-time ,marrano1 ,joseph ,nassi1 rose 
to be a considerable dignitary at the   
court of ,sultan ,selim 7#aeff-aehj74   
,occasionally he succeeded1 by          
diplomatic means1 in wreaking vengeance 
upon ,european courts in retaliation for

 the brutal tortures inflicted upon his 
people4 ,with the generosity of a       
,maecenas1 he assembled ,jewish scholars
 and poets1 and surrounded himself with 
a sunlit atmosphere of intellectuality  
and talent4 ,all other ,jewish          
communities looked up to that of        
,constantinople4 ,now and again its     
rabbis played the part of ,patriarchs of
 the synagogue4 ,to this commanding     
position the rabbis of ,palestine       
especially were inclined to lay claim4  
,they even attempted to restore the     
,patriarchate1 and the famous           
controversy between ,jacob ,berab and   
,levi ben ,chabib regarding the ,semicha
 is another evidence of the same        
assertive tendency4 ,among the ,spanish 
exiles settled in the ,holy ,land a     
peculiar spiritual current set in4 ,the 
storm-tossed wanderers1 but now returned
 to their native ,jordan from the shores
 of the blood-stained ,tagus and        
,guadalquivir1 were mightily moved at   
the sight of their ancestral home4      

,ahasuerus1 who on his thorn-strewn     
pilgrim's path had drained the cup of   
woe to the dregs1 suddenly caught sight 
of the home of his childhood razed level
 with the ground4 ,the precious1        
never-to-be-forgotten ruins exhaled the 
home feeling1 which took possession of  
him with irresistible charm4 ,into his  
soul there flowed sweet memories of a   
golden youth1 past beyond recall4 ,the  
impact of these emotions enkindled      
passionate longing for ,zion in the     
heart of the forlorn1 homeless martyr4  
,he was seized by torturing thirst for  
political resurrection4 ,such melancholy
 feelings and vehement outbursts found  
expression in the practical ,kabbala1   
originating with ,ari 7,isaac ,luria7   
and his famous ,safed school4 ,a        
mystical belief in the coming of        
,messiah thenceforward became one of the
 essential elements of the ,jewish      
spirit4 ,it vanquished the heart of the 
learned ,joseph ,karo1 who had brought  
,rabbinism to its climax by the         

compilation of his celebrated ritual    
code1 the ,shulchan ,aruch4 ,with equal 
force it dominated the being of ,solomon
 ,molcho1 the enthusiastic youth who1 at
 one time a ,marrano1 on his public     
return to ,judaism proclaimed the speedy
 regeneration of ,israel4 ,he sealed his
 faith in his prophecy with death at the
 stake 7#aecb74 ,the ,marranos beyond   
the ,pyrenees and the unfortunate ,jews 
of ,italy1 who1 in the second half of   
the sixteenth century had to bear the   
brunt of papal fanaticism1 on the       
increase since the ,reformation1 were   
kept in a state of constant excitement  
by this ,messianic doctrine1 with its   
obscure stirrings of hope4 ,a mournful  
national feeling pervades the ,jewish   
literature of the time4 ,recollections  
of torments endured enflamed all hearts4
 ,a series of chronicles were thus      
produced that record the centuries of   
,jewish martyrdom--,jocha-sin1 ,shebet  
,jehuda1 ,emek ha-,bacha1 etc4 ,the art 
of printing1 even then developed to a   

considerable degree of perfection1      
became for the dispersed ,jews the      
strongest bond of spiritual union4 ,the 
papal index librorum prohibitorum was   
impotent in the face of the             
all-pervading propaganda for thought and
 feeling carried on by the printing     
press4  ,after ,palestine and ,turkey1  
,holland for a time became the spiritual
 centre of the scattered ,jews 7in the  
seventeenth century74 ,holland was      
warmly attached to the cause of liberty4
 ,when it succeeded in freeing itself   
from the clutches of fanatical ,spain   
and her rapacious king1 ,philip ,,ii1 it
 inaugurated the golden era of liberty  
of conscience1 of peaceful development  
in culture and industry1 and granted an 
asylum to the persecuted and abandoned  
of all countries4 ,by the thousands the 
harassed ,ghetto sons1 especially the   
,marranos from ,spain and ,portugal1    
migrated to ,holland4 ,amsterdam became 
a second ,cordova4 ,the intellectual    
life was quickened4 ,freedom from       

restraint tended to break down the      
national exclusivism of the ,jew1 and   
intercourse with his liberal            
surroundings varied his mental pursuits4
 ,rabbinism1 the ,kabbala1 philosophy1  
national poetry--they all had their     
prominent representatives in ,holland4  
,these manifold tendencies were united  
in the literary activity of ,manasseh   
ben ,israel1 a scholar of extensive1    
though not intensive1 encyclopedic      
attainments4 ,free thought and religious
 rationalism were embodied in ,uriel    
,acosta4 ,to a still higher degree they 
were illustrated in the theory of life  
expounded by the immortal author of the 
,theologico-,political ,tractate        
7#afdj-afgg74 ,this advanced state of   
culture in ,holland did not fail to     
react upon the neighboring countries4   
,under the impulse of enthusiasm for the
 ,bible ,puritan ,england under         
,cromwell opened its portals to the     
,jews4 ,in ,italy1 in the dank          
atmosphere of rabbinical dialectics and 

morbid mysticism1 great figures loom    
up--,leon de ,modena1 the antagonist of 
,rabbinism and of the ,kabbala1 and     
,joseph del ,medigo1 mathematician1     
philosopher1 and mystic1 the disciple of
 ,galileo4  ,these purple patches were  
nothing more than the accidents of a    
transition period4 ,the people as a     
whole was on the decline4 ,the ,jewish  
mind darted hither and thither1 like a  
startled bird seeking its nest4 ,holland
 or ,turkey was an inadequate substitute
 for ,spain1 if only for the reason that
 but a tiny fraction of the ,jews had   
found shelter in either4 ,the ,jewish   
national centre must perforce coincide  
with the numerical centre of the        
dispersed people1 in which1 moreover1   
conditions must grant ,jews the         
possibility of living undisturbed in    
closely compacted masses1 and of        
perfecting a well-knit organization of  
social and individual life4 ,outside of 
,spain these conditions were fulfilled  
only by ,poland1 which gradually1       

beginning with the sixteenth century1   
assumed the hegemony over the ,jewry of 
the world4 ,this marks the displacement 
of the ,sephardic 7,spanish1 in a       
broader sense1 ,romanic7 element1 and   
the supremacy of the ,ashkenazic        
7,german-,polish7 element4  ,poland had 
been a resort for ,jewish immigrants    
from ,germany since the outbreak of the 
,crusades1 until1 in the sixteenth      
century1 it rose to the position of a   
,jewish centre of the first magnitude4  
,as the merchant middle class1 the ,jews
 were protected and advanced by the     
kings and the ,szlachta4 ,the consequent
 security of their position induced so  
rapid a growth of the ,jewish element   
that in a little while the ,jews of     
,poland outnumbered those of the old    
,jewish settlements in ,occidental      
,europe4 ,the numerous privileges       
granted the ,jews1 by ,boleslaus of     
,kalish 7#abdf71 ,kasimir the ,great    
7#acdg-acgj71 ,witowt 7#achh71 ,kasimir 
,,iv 7#addg71 and some of their         

successors1 fortified their position in 
the extended territory covered by       
,poland1 ,lithuania1 and the ,ukraine4  
,their peculiar circumstances in ,poland
 left an impress upon their inner life4 
,an intense mental activity was called  
forth4 ,this activity can be traced back
 to ,german beginnings1 though at the   
same time it is made up of many original
 elements4 ,for a space ,rabbinism      
monopolized the intellectual endeavors  
of the ,polish ,jews4 ,the rabbi of     
,cracow1 ,moses ,isserles1 and the rabbi
 of ,ostrog1 ,solomon ,luria 7d4 #aegb71
 disputed first place with the foremost 
rabbinical authorities of other         
countries4 ,their decisions and circular
 letters regarding religious and legal  
questions were accorded binding force4  
,associates and successors of theirs    
founded ,talmud academies throughout the
 country1 and large numbers of students 
attended them4 ,commentators upon the   
,talmud and expounders of classical     
works in ,jewish theological literature 

appeared in shoals4 ,jewish printing    
establishments in ,cracow and ,lublin   
were assiduous in turning out a mass of 
writings1 which spread the fame of the  
,polish rabbis to the remotest          
communities4 ,the large autonomy enjoyed
 by the ,polish and ,lithuanian ,jews   
conferred executive power upon          
rabbinical legislation4 ,the ,kahal1 or 
,jewish communal government1 to a       
certain degree invested with judicial   
and administrative competence1 could not
 do without the guiding hand of the     
rabbis as interpreters of the law4 ,the 
guild of rabbis1 on their side1 chose a 
college of judges1 with fairly extensive
 jurisdiction1 from among their own     
members4 ,the organization of the       
,rabbinical ,conferences1 or the ,synods
 of the ,four ,countries1 formed the    
keystone of this intricate              
social-spiritual hierarchy4 ,the        
comprehensive inner autonomy and the    
system of ,talmud academies 7,yeshiboth7
 that covered the whole of ,poland      

remind one of the brilliant days of the 
,exilarchate and the ,babylonia of the  
,geonim4 ,one element was lacking1 there
 was no versatile1 commanding thinker   
like ,saadia ,gaon4 ,secular knowledge  
and philosophy were under the ban in    
,poland4 ,rabbinism absorbed the whole  
output of intellectual energy4 ,as      
little as the ,poles resembled the      
,arabs of the golden age1 did the       
,polish ,jews resemble their brethren in
 faith in the ,orient at ,saadia's time 
or in the ,spain of ,gabirol and        
,maimonides4 ,isolation and clannishness
 were inevitable in view of the         
character of the ,christian environment 
and the almost insuperable barriers     
raised between the classes of ,polish   
society4 ,but it was this exclusiveness 
that gave peculiar stability and        
completeness to the life of the ,jew as 
an individual and as a member of ,jewish
 society1 and it was the same           
exclusiveness that afforded opportunity 
for the development of a sharply defined

 culture1 for its fixation to the point 
of resisting violent shocks and beyond  
the danger point of extinction through  
foreign invasion4  ,the fateful year    
#afdh formed a turning point in the     
history of the ,polish ,jews1 as in the 
history of the countries belonging to   
the ,polish crown4 ,the ,cossack        
butcheries and wars of extermination of 
#afdh-afeh were the same for the ,polish
 ,jews that the ,crusades1 the ,black   
,death1 and all the other occasions for 
carnage had been for the ,jews of       
,western ,europe4 ,it seemed as though  
history desired to avoid the reproach of
 partiality1 and hastened to mete out   
even-handed justice by apportioning the 
same measure of woe to the ,jews of     
,poland as to the ,jews of ,western     
,europe4 ,but the ,polish ,jews were    
prepared to accept the questionable gift
 from the hands of history4 ,they had   
mounted that eminence of spiritual      
stability on which suffering loses the  
power to weaken its victim1 but1 on the 

contrary1 endues him with strength4     
,more than ever they shrank into their  
shell4 ,they shut themselves up more    
completely in their inner world1 and    
became morally dulled against the       
persecutions1 the bitter humiliations1  
the deep scorn1 which their surroundings
 visited upon them4 ,the ,polish ,jew   
gradually accustomed himself to his     
pitiable condition4 ,he hardly knew that
 life might be other than it was4 ,that 
the ,polish lord to whom he was a means 
of entertainment might treat him with a 
trace of respect1 or that his neighbors1
 the middle class merchant1 the ,german 
guild member1 and the ,little ,russian  
peasant1 might cherish kindly feelings  
toward him1 he could not conceive as a  
possibility4 ,seeing himself surrounded 
by enemies1 he took precautions to      
fortify his camp1 not so much to protect
 himself against hostile assaults from  
without--they were inevitable--as to    
paralyze the disastrous consequences of 
such assaults in his inner world4 ,to   

compass this end he brought into play   
all the means suggested by his          
exceptional position before the law and 
by his own peculiar social constitution4
 ,the ,kahal1 the autonomous rabbinical 
administration of communal affairs1 more
 and more assumed the character of an   
inner dictatorship4 ,jewish society was 
persistently kept under the discipline  
of rigid principles4 ,in many affairs   
the synagogue attained the position of a
 court of final appeal4 ,the people were
 united1 or rather packed1 into a solid 
mass by purely mechanical processes--by 
pressure from without1 and by drawing   
tight a noose from within4 ,besides this
 social factor tending to consolidate   
the ,jewish people into a separate      
union1 an intellectual lever was applied
 to produce the same result4 ,rabbinism 
employed the mystical as its adjutant4  
,the one exercised control over all     
minds1 the other over all hearts4 ,the  
growth of mysticism was fostered both by
 the unfortunate conditions under which 

the ,polish ,jews endured existence and 
by the ,messianic movements which made  
their appearance among the ,jews of     
other countries4  ,in the second half of
 the seventeenth century1 mysticism     
reached its zenith in ,turkey1 the      
country in which1 had stood the cradle  
of the practical ,kabbala4 ,the         
teachings of ,ari1 ,vital1 and the      
school established by them spread like  
wildfire4 ,messianic extravagances      
intoxicated the baited and persecuted   
people4 ,in ,smyrna appeared the false  
,messiah1 ,sabbatai ,zebi4 ,as by magic 
he attracted to himself a tremendous    
company of adherents in the ,east and in
 the ,west4 ,for a quarter of a century 
7#afej-afgf71 he kept the ,jewish       
communities everywhere in a state of    
quivering suspense4  ,the harassed      
people tossed to and fro like a fever   
patient1 and raved about political      
re-birth4 ,its delirious visions still  
further heated its agitated blood4 ,it  
came to its senses but slowly4 ,not even

 the apostasy and death of ,sabbatai    
,zebi sufficed to sober all his         
followers4 ,under the guise of a        
symbolic faith in a ,messiah1 many of   
them1 publicly or secretly1 continued   
the propaganda for his doctrines4  ,this
 propaganda prepared the fertile soil   
from which1 in the eighteenth century1  
shot up ,messianic systems1 tending to  
split ,judaism into sects4 ,nowhere did 
the mystical teachings evoke so ready a 
response as in ,poland1 the very centre 
of ,judaism4 ,at first an ally of the   
rabbinical school1 mysticism grown      
passionate and uncontrollable now and   
again acted as the violent opponent of  
,rabbinism4 ,secret devotion to the     
,sabbatian doctrines1 which had made    
their home in ,poland1 sometimes led to 
such extremes in dogma and ethics that  
the rabbis could not contain themselves4
 ,chayyim ,malach1 ,judah ,chassid1 and 
other ,galician mystics1 in the second  
decade of the eighteenth century brought
 down upon themselves a rabbinical      

decree of excommunication4 ,the mystical
 tendency was the precursor of the      
heretical half-,christian sect of       
,frankists1 who ventured so far as to   
lift a hand against the fundamentals of 
,judaism3 they rejected the ,talmud in  
favor of the ,zohar 7#agef-aggc74 ,at   
the same time a much more profound      
movement1 instinct with greater         
vitality1 made its appearance among the 
,polish-,jewish masses1 a movement      
rooted in their social and spiritual    
organization4 ,the wretched1 debased    
condition of the average ,jew1 conjoined
 with the traditions of the ,kabbala and
 the excrescences of ,rabbinism1 created
 a foothold for ,chassidic teaching4    
,chassidism replaced ,talmudic          
ratiocination by exalted religious      
sentiment4 ,by the force of enthusiasm  
for faith1 it drew its adherents        
together into a firmly welded unit in   
contrast with ,rabbinism1 which sought  
the same goal by the aid of the formal  
law4 ,scenting danger1 the rabbinical   

hierarchy declared war upon the         
,kabbala4 ,emden opposed ,eibeschtz1 the
 ,polish ,sabbatians and ,frankists were
 fought to the death1 the ,wilna ,gaon  
organized a campaign against the        
,chassidim4 ,too late6 ,rabbinism was   
too old1 too arid1 to tone down the     
impulsive outbreaks of passion among the
 people4 ,in their religious exaltation 
the masses were looking for an elixir4  
,they were languishing1 not for light to
 illumine the reason1 but for warmth to 
set the heart aglow4 ,they desired to   
lose themselves in ecstatic             
self-renunciation4 ,chassidism and its  
necessary dependence upon the ,zaddik   
offered the masses the means of this    
forgetfulness of self through faith4    
,they were the medium through which the 
people saw the world in a rosy light1   
and the consequences following upon     
their prevalence were seen in a marked  
intensification of ,jewish              
exclusiveness4  ,the same aloofness     
characterizes the ,jews of the rest of  

the eighteenth century diaspora4        
,wherever1 as in ,germany1 ,austria1 and
 ,italy1 ,jews were settled in          
considerable numbers1 they were         
separated from their surroundings by    
forbidding ,ghetto walls4 ,on the whole1
 no difference is noticeable between    
conditions affecting ,jews in one       
country and those in another4           
,everywhere they were merely tolerated1 
everywhere oppressed and humiliated4    
,the bloody persecutions of the middle  
ages were replaced by the burden of the 
exceptional laws1 which in practice     
degraded the ,jews socially to an       
inferior race1 to citizens of a         
subordinate degree4 ,the consequences   
were uniformly the same in all          
countries3 spiritual isolation and a    
morbid religious mood4 ,during the first
 half of the century of reason1 ,jewry  
presented the appearance of an exhausted
 wanderer1 heavily dragging himself on  
his way1 his consciousness clouded1 his 
trend of thought obviously              

anti-rationalistic4 ,at the very moment 
in which ,europe was beginning to       
realize its medieval errors and repent  
of them1 and the era of universal ideals
 of humanity was dawning1 ,judaism      
raised barricades between itself and the
 world at large4 ,elijah ,gaon and      
,israel ,besht were the contemporaries  
of ,voltaire and ,rousseau4 ,apparently 
there was no possibility of establishing
 communication between these two        
diametrically opposed worlds4 ,but      
history is a magician4 ,not far from the
 ,poland enveloped in medieval darkness1
 the morning light of a new life was    
breaking upon slumbering ,jewry in      
,german lands4 ,new voices made         
themselves heard1 reverberating like an 
echo to the appeal issued by the great  
century in behalf of a spiritual and    
social regeneration of mankind4     ,,xi
  ,,the ,,modern ,,period ,,of          
,,enlightenment 7,,the ,,nineteenth     
,,century7   ,two phenomena signalized  
the beginning of the latest period in   

,jewish history3 the lofty activity of  
,mendelssohn and the occurrence of the  
great ,french ,revolution4 ,the man     
stands for the spiritual emancipation of
 the ,jews1 the movement for their      
political emancipation4 ,at bottom1     
these two phenomena were by no means the
 ultimate causes of the social and      
spiritual regeneration of the ,jewish   
people4 ,they were only the products of 
the more general causes that had        
effected a similar regeneration in all  
the peoples of ,western ,europe4 ,the   
new currents1 the abandonment of effete 
intellectual and social forms1 the      
substitution of juster and more         
energetic principles1 the protest       
against superstition and despotism--all 
these traits had a common origin1 the   
resuscitation of reason and free        
thought1 which dominated all minds      
without asking whether they belonged to 
,jew or to ,christian4 ,it might seem   
that the rejuvenation of the ,jews had  
been consummated more rapidly than the  

rejuvenation of the other peoples4 ,the 
latter had had two centuries1 the period
 elapsing since the middle ages1 that   
is1 the period between the ,reformation 
and the great ,revolution1 in which to  
prepare for a more rational and a more  
humane conduct of life4 ,as for the     
,jews1 their middle ages began much     
later1 and ended later1 almost on the   
eve of #aghi1 so that the revolution in 
their minds and their mode of life had  
to accomplish itself hastily1 under the 
urgence of swiftly crowding events1 by  
the omission of intermediate stages4    
,but it must be taken into consideration
 that long before1 in the               
,judeo-,hellenic and in the             
,arabic-,spanish period1 the ,jews had  
passed through their century of reason4 
,in spite of the intervening ages of    
suffering and gloom1 the faculty of     
assimilating new principles had         
survived4 ,for the descendants of ,philo
 and ,maimonides the rationalistic      
movement of the eighteenth century was  

in part a repetition of a well-known    
historical process4 ,they had had the   
benefit of a similar course of studies  
before1 and1 therefore1 had no need to  
cram on the eve of the final            
examination4  ,in point of fact1 the    
transformation in the life of the ,jews 
did take place with extraordinary       
swiftness4 ,it was hastened in ,france  
by the principles of the ,revolution and
 the proclamation of the civil equality 
of ,jews with the other citizens4 ,in   
,germany1 however1 it advanced upon     
purely spiritual lines4 ,mendelssohn and
 ,lessing1 the heralds of spiritual     
reform1 who exposed old prejudices1     
carried on their labors at a time in    
which the ,jews still stood beyond the  
pale of the law1 a condition which it   
did not occur to ,frederick ,,ii1 the   
philosopher upon the throne1 to improve4
 ,a whole generation was destined to    
pass before the civil emancipation of   
the ,german ,jews was accomplished4     
,meantime their spiritual emancipation  

proceeded apace1 without help from the  
ruling powers4 ,a time so early as the  
end of the eighteenth century found the 
,german ,jews in a position to keep step
 with their ,christian fellow-citizens  
in cultural progress4 ,enlightened ,jews
 formed close connections with          
enlightened ,christians1 and joined them
 in the universal concerns of mankind as
 confederates espousing the same        
fundamental principles4 ,if they        
renounced some of their religious and   
national traditions1 it was by no means 
out of complaisance for their neighbors4
 ,they were guided solely and alone by  
those universal principles that forced  
non-,jews as well as ,jews to reject    
many traditions as incompatible with    
reason and conscience4 ,non-,jews and   
,jews alike yielded themselves up to the
 fresh inspiration of the time1 and     
permitted themselves to be carried along
 by the universal transforming movement4
 ,mendelssohn himself1 circumspect and  
wise1 did not move off from religious   

national ground4 ,but the generation    
after him abandoned his position for    
that of universal humanity1 or1 better1 
,german nationality4 ,his successors    
intoxicated themselves with deep        
draughts of the marvelous poetry created
 by the magic of ,goethe and ,schiller4 
,they permitted themselves to be rushed 
along by the liberty doctrines of #aghi1
 they plunged head over heels into the  
vortex of romanticism1 and took an      
active part in the conspicuous movements
 of ,europe1 political1 social1 and     
literary1 as witness ,brne1 ,heine1 and 
their fellow-combatants4  ,the          
excitement soon evaporated4 ,when the   
noise of the liberty love-feasts had    
subsided1 when the cruel reaction 7after
 #ahad7 had settled heavily upon the    
,europe of the nineteenth century1 and  
,god's earth had again become the arena 
of those agents of darkness whom        
dreamers had thought buried forever     
beneath the ruins of the old order1 then
 the ,german ,jews1 or such of them as  

thought1 came to their senses4 ,the more
 intelligent ,jewish circles realized   
that1 in devotion to the ,german        
national movement1 they had completely  
neglected their own people4 ,yet their  
people1 too1 had needs1 practical or    
spiritual1 had its peculiar national    
sphere of activity1 circumscribed1      
indeed1 by the larger sphere of         
mankind's activities as by a concentric 
circle1 but by no means merged into it4 
,to atone for their sin1 thinking ,jews 
retraced their steps4 ,they took in hand
 the transforming of ,jewish inner life1
 the simplification of the extremely    
complicated ,jewish ritual1 the         
remodeling of pedagogic methods1 and1   
above all1 the cultivation of the       
extended fields of ,jewish science1     
whose head and front is ,jewish         
historical research in all its vastness 
and detail4 ,heine's friend1 ,zunz1 laid
 the cornerstone of ,jewish science in  
the second decade of the nineteenth     
century4 ,his work was taken up by a    

goodly company of zealous and able      
builders occupied for half a century    
with the task of rearing the proud      
edifice of a scientific historical      
literature1 in which national           
self-consciousness was sheltered and    
fostered4 ,at the very height of this   
reforming and literary activity1 ,german
 ,jewry was overwhelmed by the civil    
emancipation of #ahdh4 ,again a stirring
 movement drew them into sympathy with a
 great general cause1 but this time     
without drawing them away from ,jewish  
national interests4 ,cultural and civil 
assimilation was accomplished as an     
inner compelling necessity1 as a natural
 outcome of living4 ,but spiritual      
assimilation1 in the sense of a merging 
of ,judaism in foreign elements1 was    
earnestly repudiated by the noblest     
representatives of ,judaism4 ,it was    
their ideal that universal activity and 
national activity should be pursued to  
the prejudice of neither1 certainly not 
to the exclusion of one or the other1   

but in perfect harmony with each other4 
,in point of fact1 it may be asserted   
that1 in spite of a frequent tendency to
 go to the one or the other extreme1 the
 two currents1 the universal and the    
national1 co-exist within ,german       
,jewry1 and there is no fear of their   
uniting1 they run parallel with each    
other4 ,the ,jewish genius is versatile4
 ,without hurt to itself it can be      
active in all sorts of careers3 in      
politics and in civil life1 in          
parliament and on the lecture platform1 
in all branches of science and          
departments of literature1 in every one 
of the chambers of mankind's            
intellectual laboratory4 ,at the same   
time it has its domestic hearth1 its    
national sanctuary2 it has its sphere of
 original work and its                  
self-consciousness1 its national        
interests and spiritual ideals rooted in
 the past of the ,jew4 ,by the side of a
 ,lassalle1 a ,lasker1 and a ,marx      
towers a ,riesser1 a ,geiger1 a ,graetz4

 ,the leveling process unavoidably      
connected with widespread culture1 so   
far from causing spiritual desolation in
 ,german ,judaism1 has1 on the contrary1
 furnished redundant proof that even    
under present conditions1 so unfavorable
 to what is individual and original1 the
 ,jewish people has preserved its       
vitality to the full4  ,an analogous    
movement stirred the other countries of 
,western ,europe--,france1 ,italy1 and  
,england4 ,the political emancipation of
 the ,jews was accomplished earlier in  
them than in ,germany4 ,the             
reconstruction of the inner life1 too1  
proceeded more quietly and regularly1   
without leaps and bounds1 and religious 
reform established itself by degrees4   
,yet even here1 where the ,jewish       
contingent was insignificant1 the       
spiritual physiognomy of the ,jews      
maintained its typical character4 ,in   
these countries1 as in ,germany1 the    
,jew assimilated ,european culture with 
all its advantages and its drawbacks4   

,he was active on diplomatic fields1 he 
devoted himself to economic             
investigations1 he produced intellectual
 creations of all kinds--first and last 
he felt himself to be a citizen of his  
country4 ,none the less he was a loyal  
son of the ,jewish people considered as 
a spiritual people with an appointed    
task4 ,crmieux1 ,beaconsfield1 ,luzzatti
 are counterbalanced by ,salvador1      
,frank1 ,munk1 ,reggio1 and ,montefiore4
 ,all the good qualities and the        
shortcomings distinctive of the         
civilization of modern times adhere to  
the ,jew4 ,but at its worst modern      
civilization has not succeeded in       
extinguishing the national spirit in    
,jewry4 ,the national spirit continues  
to live in the people1 and it is this   
spirit that quickens the people4 ,the   
genius of ,jewish history1 as in        
centuries gone by1 holds watch over the 
sons of the eternal people scattered to 
all ends of the earth4 ,west-,european  
,jewry may say of itself1 without       

presumption3 ,cogito ergo sum4  ,russian
 ,jewry1 the ,jewry that had been       
,polish1 and that is counted by the     
millions1 might1 if necessary1 prove its
 existence by even more tangible marks  
than ,occidental ,jewry4 ,to begin with1
 the centre of gravity of the ,jewish   
nation lies in ,russia1 whose ,jews not 
only outnumber those of the rest of     
,europe1 but continue to live in a      
compact mass4 ,besides1 they have       
preserved the original ,jewish culture  
and their traditional physiognomy to a  
higher degree than the ,jews of other   
countries4 ,the development of the      
,russian ,jews took a course very       
different from that of the ,jews of the 
,west4 ,this difference was conditioned 
by the tremendous contrast between      
,russian culture and ,west-,european    
culture1 and by the change which the    
external circumstances of ,jews outside 
of ,russia underwent during the modern  
period4 ,the admission of the ,polish   
provinces into the ,russian ,empire at  

the end of the eighteenth century found 
the numerous ,jewish population in an   
almost medieval condition1 the same     
condition in which the non-,jewish      
population of ,russian ,poland was at   
that time4 ,the ,polish regime1 as we   
saw above1 had isolated the ,jews alike 
in civil and spiritual relations4 ,the  
new order did not break down the        
barriers4 ,the masses of ,jews cooped up
 in the ,pale of ,settlement were strong
 only by reason of their inner unity1   
their firmly established patriarchal    
organization4 ,the bulwark of ,rabbinism
 and the citadel of ,chassidism         
protected them against alien influences4
 ,they guarded their isolation          
jealously4 ,true to the law of inertia1 
they would not allow the privilege of   
isolation to be wrested from them4 ,they
 did not care to step beyond the        
ramparts4 ,why1 indeed1 should the ,jews
 have quitted their fortress1 if outside
 of their walls they could expect       
nothing but scorn and blows8 ,the       

unfortunates encaged in the sinister    
,pale of ,settlement could have been    
lured out of their exclusive position   
only by complete civil emancipation     
combined with a higher degree of culture
 than had been attained by ,russian     
society1 an impossible set of           
circumstances in the first half of the  
nineteenth century4 ,the legislative    
measures of the time1 in so far as they 
relate to the ,jews1 breathe the spirit 
of police surveillance rather than of   
enlightenment and humanity4 ,to         
civilizing and intellectual influences  
from without the way was equally barred4
 ,yet all this watchfulness was of no   
avail4 ,nothing could prevent the       
liberty principles espoused by the ,jews
 of ,western ,europe from being smuggled
 into the ,pale1 to leaven the sad1     
serried masses4 ,a sluggish process of  
fermentation set in1 and culminated in  
the literary activity of ,isaac ,beer   
,levinsohn and of the ,wilna reformers  
of the second and fourth decades of the 

nineteenth century4 ,they were the      
harbingers of approaching spring4  ,when
 spring finally came 7after #ahee71 and 
the sun sent down his genial rays upon  
the wretched ,jewry of ,russia1 life and
 activity began to appear at once1      
especially in the upper strata4 ,as in  
,germany1 so in ,russia spiritual       
emancipation preceded political         
emancipation4 ,still shorn almost       
entirely of the elementary rights of    
citizens1 the ,russian ,jews            
nevertheless followed their ideal       
promptings1 and participated            
enthusiastically in the movement for    
enlightenment which at that time held   
the noblest of the ,russians enthralled4
 ,in a considerable portion of the      
,russian ,jewish community a process of 
culture regeneration began1 an eager    
throwing off of outworn forms of life   
and thought1 a swift adoption of humane 
principles4 ,jewish young men crowded   
into the secular schools1 in which they 
came in close contact with their        

,christian contemporaries4 ,influenced  
by their new companions1 they gave      
themselves up to ,russian national      
movements1 often at the cost of         
renunciation of self4 ,some of them1    
indeed1 in one-sided aspiration strove  
to become1 not ,russians1 but men4 ,the 
influence exercised by literature was   
more moderate than that of the schools4 
,rabbinic and ,chassidistic literature1 
on the point of dying out as it was1    
abandoned the field to the literature of
 enlightenment in the ,hebrew language1 
a literature of somewhat primitive      
character4 ,it consisted chiefly of     
naive novels and of didactic writings of
 publicists1 and lacked the solid       
scientific and historical element that  
forms the crown of ,western ,jewish     
literature4 ,it is indisputable1        
however1 that it exerted an educational 
influence4 ,besides1 it possesses the   
merit of having resuscitated one of the 
most valuable of ,jewish national       
possessions1 the ,hebrew language in its

 purity1 which in ,russia alone has     
become a pliant instrument of literary  
expression4 ,a still greater field was  
reserved for the ,jewish-,russian       
literature that arose in the sixties4   
,it was called into being in order to   
present a vivid and true picture of the 
social and spiritual interests of the   
,jews4 ,proceeding from discussions of  
current political topics1 this          
literature gradually widened its limits 
so as to include ,jewish history1       
,jewish science1 and the portrayal of   
,jewish life1 and more and more         
approached the character of a normal    
,european literature4 ,all this was in  
the making1 and the most important work 
had not yet begun4 ,the lower strata of 
the people had not been touched by the  
fresh air4 ,in time1 if all had gone    
well1 they1 too1 would have had their   
day4 ,and if the minority of the ,jewish
 people in the ,west in a short span of 
time brought forth so many notable      
workers in so many departments of life  

and thought1 how much superior would be 
the culture achievements of the ,eastern
 majority6 ,how vigorously the mighty   
mental forces latent in ,russian ,jewry 
would develop when their advance was no 
longer obstructed by all sorts of       
obstacles1 and they could be applied to 
every sphere of political1 social1 and  
intellectual life6  ,nothing of all this
 came to pass2 exactly the opposite     
happened4 ,not only were the barriers in
 the way of a prosperous1 free          
development of ,jewry not removed1 but  
fresh hindrances without number were    
multiplied4 ,some spectre of the middle 
ages1 some power of darkness1 put brakes
 upon the wheel of history4 ,it first   
appeared in the ,west1 under the name   
anti-,semitism1 among the dregs of      
,european society4 ,but in its earliest 
abode it was and is still met with an   
abrupt rebuff on the part of the most   
intelligent circles1 those whom even the
 present age of decadence has not       
succeeded in robbing of belief in lofty 

moral ideals4 ,anti-,semitism in the    
,west is in anima vili4 ,its cult is    
confined to a certain party1 which      
enjoys a rather scandalous reputation4  
,but there are countries in which this  
power of darkness1 in the coarser form  
of ,judophobia#ac1 has cast its baleful 
spell upon the most influential members 
of society and upon the press4 ,there it
 has ripened noxious fruit4 ,mocking at 
the exalted ideals and the ethical      
traditions of religious and thinking    
mankind1 ,judophobia shamelessly        
professes the dogma of misanthropy4 ,its
 propaganda is bringing about the moral 
ruin of an immature society1 not yet    
confirmed in ethical or truly religious 
principles4 ,upon its victims1 the      
,jews1 it has the same effect as the    
misfortunes of the middle ages1 which   
were meted out to our hoary people with 
overflowing measure1 and against which  
it learnt to assume an armor of steel4  
,the recent severe trials are having the
 same result as the persecutions of     

former days3 they do not weaken1 on the 
contrary1 they invigorate the ,jewish   
spirit1 they spur on to thought1 they   
stimulate the pulse of the people4      
,the hammer shivers glass1   ,but iron  
by its blows is forged4#ad    #ac ,as   
anti-,semitism is called in ,russia4    
#ad ,pushkin4  ,the historical process  
,jewry has undergone repeatedly1 it must
 undergo once again4 ,but now1 too1 in  
this blasting time of confusion and     
dispersion1 of daily torture and the    
horrors of international conflict1 the  
keeper of ,israel slumbereth not and    
sleepeth not4 ,the ,jewish spirit is on 
the alert4 ,it is ever purging and      
tempering itself in the furnace of      
suffering4 ,the people which justly     
bears the name of the veteran of history
 withdraws and falls into a revery4 ,it 
is not a narrow-minded fanatic's flight 
from the world1 but the concentrated    
thought of a mourner4 ,jewry is absorbed
 in contemplation of its great1         
unparalleled past4 ,more than ever it is

 now in need of the teachings of its    
past1 of the moral support and the      
prudent counsels of its history1 its    
four thousand years of life crowded with
 checkered experiences4     ,,xii  ,,the
 ,,teachings ,,of ,,jewish ,,history    
,let us return now to the starting point
 of our discussion1 and endeavor to     
establish the thoughts and lessons to be
 deduced from the course of ,jewish     
history4  ,above all1 ,jewish history   
possesses the student with the          
conviction that ,jewry at all times1    
even in the period of political         
independence1 was pre-eminently a       
spiritual nation1 and a spiritual nation
 it continues to be in our own days1    
too4 ,furthermore1 it inspires him with 
the belief that ,jewry1 being a         
spiritual entity1 cannot suffer         
annihilation3 the body1 the mold1 may be
 destroyed1 the spirit is immortal4     
,bereft of country and dispersed as it  
is1 the ,jewish nation lives1 and will  
go on living1 because a creative        

principle permeates it1 a principle that
 is the root of its being and an        
indigenous product of its history4 ,this
 principle consists first in a sum of   
definite religious1 moral1 or           
philosophic ideals1 whose exponent at   
all times was the ,jewish people1 either
 in its totality1 or in the person of   
its most prominent representatives4     
,next1 this principle consists in a sum 
of historical memories1 recollections of
 what in the course of many centuries   
the ,jewish people experienced1 thought1
 and felt1 in the depths of its being4  
,finally1 it consists in the            
consciousness that true ,judaism1 which 
has accomplished great things for       
humanity in the past1 has not yet played
 out its part1 and1 therefore1 may not  
perish4 ,in short1 the ,jewish people   
lives because it contains a living soul 
which refuses to separate from its      
integument1 and cannot be forced out of 
it by heavy trials and misfortunes1 such
 as would unfailingly inflict mortal    

injury upon less sturdy organisms4      
,this self-consciousness is the source  
from which the suffering ,jewish soul   
draws comfort4 ,history speaks to it    
constantly through the mouth of the     
great apostle who went forth from the   
midst of ,israel eighteen hundred years 
ago3 ,call to remembrance the former    
days1 in which1 after ye were           
enlightened1 ye endured a great conflict
 of sufferings2 partly1 being made a    
gazing-stock both by reproaches and     
afflictions2 and partly1 becoming       
partakers with them that were so        
used4444 ,cast not away therefore your  
boldness1 which hath great recompense of
 reward 7,epistle to the ,hebrews1 x1   
#cb-cd1 #ce74  ,jewish history1         
moreover1 arouses in the ,jew the desire
 to work unceasingly at the task of     
perfecting himself4 ,to direct his      
attention to his glorious past1 to the  
resplendent intellectual feats of his   
ancestors1 to their masterly skill in   
thinking and suffering1 does not lull   

him to sleep1 does not awaken a         
dullard's complacency or hollow         
self-conceit4 ,on the contrary1 it makes
 exacting demands upon him4 ,jewish     
history admonishes the ,jews3 ,noblesse 
oblige4 ,the privilege of belonging to a
 people to whom the honorable title of  
the 'veteran of history' has been       
conceded1 puts serious responsibilities 
on your shoulders4 ,you must demonstrate
 that you are worthy of your heroic     
past4 ,the descendants of teachers of   
religion and martyrs of the faith dare  
not be insignificant1 not to say wicked4
 ,if the long centuries of wandering and
 misery have inoculated you with faults1
 extirpate them in the name of the      
exalted moral ideals whose bearers you  
were commissioned to be4 ,if1 in the    
course of time1 elements out of harmony 
with your essential being have fastened 
upon your mind1 cast them out1 purify   
yourselves4 ,in all places and at all   
times1 in joy and and in sorrow1 you    
must aim to live for the higher1 the    

spiritual interests4 ,but never may you 
deem yourselves perfect4 ,if you become 
faithless to these sacred principles1   
you sever the bonds that unite you with 
the most vital elements of your past1   
with the first cause of your national   
existence4  ,the final lesson to be     
learned is that in the sunny days of    
mankind's history1 in which reason1     
justice1 and philanthropic instinct had 
the upper hand1 the ,jews steadfastly   
made common cause with the other        
nations4 ,hand in hand with them1 they  
trod the path leading to perfection4    
,but in the dark days1 during the reign 
of rude force1 prejudice1 and passion1  
of which they were the first victims1   
the ,jews retired from the world1       
withdrew into their shell1 to await     
better days4 ,union with mankind at     
large1 on the basis of the spiritual and
 the intellectual1 the goal set up by   
the ,jewish ,prophets in their sublime  
vision of the future 7,isaiah1 ch4 ii1  
and ,micah1 ch4 iv71 is the ultimate    

ideal of ,judaism's noblest votaries4   
,will their radiant hope ever attain to 
realization8 ,if ever it should be      
realized1--and it is incumbent upon us  
to believe that it will1--not a slight  
part of the merits involved will be due 
to ,jewish history4 ,we have adverted to
 the lofty moral and humanitarian       
significance of ,jewish history in its  
role as conciliator4 ,with regard to    
one-half of ,jewish history1 this       
conciliatory power is even now a        
well-established fact4 ,the first part  
of ,jewish history1 the ,biblical part1 
is a source from which1 for many        
centuries1 millions of human beings     
belonging to the most diverse           
denominations have derived instruction1 
solace1 and inspiration4 ,it is read    
with devotion by ,christians in both    
hemispheres1 in their houses and their  
temples4 ,its heroes have long ago      
become types1 incarnations of great     
ideas4 ,the events it relates serve as  
living ethical formulas4 ,but a time    

will come--perhaps it is not very far   
off--when the second half of ,jewish    
history1 the record of the two thousand 
years of the ,jewish people's life after
 the ,biblical period1 will be accorded 
the same treatment4 ,this latter part of
 ,jewish history is not yet known1 and  
many1 in the thrall of prejudice1 do not
 wish to know it4 ,but ere long it will 
be known and appreciated4 ,for the      
thinking portion of mankind it will be a
 source of uplifting moral and          
philosophical teaching4 ,the thousand   
years' martyrdom of the ,jewish people1 
its unbroken pilgrimage1 its tragic     
fate1 its teachers of religion1 its     
martyrs1 philosophers1 champions1 this  
whole epic will in days to come sink    
deep into the memory of men4 ,it will   
speak to the heart and the conscience of
 men1 not merely to their curious mind4 
,it will secure respect for the silvery 
hair of the ,jewish people1 a people of 
thinkers and sufferers4 ,it will        
dispense consolation to the afflicted1  

and by its examples of spiritual        
steadfastness and self-denial encourage 
martyrs in their devotion4 ,it is our   
firm conviction that the time is        
approaching in which the second half of 
,jewish history will be to the noblest  
part of thinking humanity what its first
 half has long been to believing        
humanity1 a source of sublime moral     
truths4 ,in this sense1 ,jewish history 
in its entirety is the pledge of the    
spiritual union between the ,jews and   
the rest of the nations4