ever he can, to make his brothers feel comfortable-and that the Father, who loves them all, should find pleasure in the happiness of his children? 158. How are we to understand—according to the interpretation of our wise men-the expression in Deut. 13 ch. 20 v.; 10 ch. The » לאהבה את ה' אלהיך ולדבקה בו : . 5 .v. and 13 ch 20 Eternal thy God thou shalt love, and to him thou shalt AD- הדבק בדרכיו ובמעשיו גמול חסדים וגו' . מה הוא רחום אף אתה רחום מה הוא חנון אף אתה חנון וגו' "Imitate thy God, in his acts of kindness and ciful, so be thou too merciful; as he is gracious, so shalt thou be gracious; and as he is kind to all, so shall thy kindness extend to all his creatures." 159. Are there any other expressions in the Talmud, which teach, that the love of our neighbour is the foundation of our whole law? Will you please to state some of them? Rabbi Akiba (one of » רבי עקיבא אומר ואהבת לרעך כמוך זהו כלל גדול בתורה the most eminent of our teachers) says: The principal article of our religion is: Love thy neighbour as thyself." And when a heathen once asked our great teacher Hillel, concerning our religion, and wanted to know, in few words, in what it really consisted; this Rabbi answered him: -Do nothing to thy neigh » מה דעלך סני לחברך לא תעביד הא לך כל התורה כלה ואידך פירושה זיל גמור • bour, that thou wouldst dislike to be done to thee. Here thou hast the whole law; all the rest is but a commentary (or consequence), go and learn it." 12 160. Whom does Holy Writ style pyn neighbour, fellow-man, brother? Are those persons also understood, who profess another religion? Not alone Israelites, but also all other men who live in the same state with us, are included in these terms; no matter what religion they may profess, or to what nation they may belong. 161. Can you prove this from Holy Writ? It can be incontrovertibly established from many passages; for in the first place, whenever the Israelite alone is meant, the words "y (Hebrew) or (children of Israel) are expressly added; for instance: Lev. 25 ch. 46 v.; Deut. 15 ch. 12 v. and 24 ch. 7 v. and many other places;—and secondly, we find, that the Egyptians even, who at that time treated the ,Israelites most cruelly וישאלו איש מאת רעהו ואשה מאת רעותה: are expressly called our neighbours, our fellow-men. (Exod. 11 ch. 2 v.) 162. What rule of conduct does Scripture recommend us to observe towards the Egyptians, after we had been delivered from their slavery, and had left their land—and towards the people of EDом, who were the first to march out with a strong army to extirpate the Israelites, without their having received any provocation from them? 66 Thou shalt not reject the * לא תתעב אדמי כי אחיך הוא: Edumite, for he is thy brother." The Egyptian also thou shalt * לא תתעב מצרי כי גר היית בארצו • not reject, for a stranger thou hast been in his land." (Deut. 23 ch. 8 v.) 163. What conclusion ought we to draw from this? That we are in a much greater degree obliged, according to the doctrines of our religion, to love those as brothers, who are in fact our neighbours, our fellow-citizens, and are the inhabitants of the same state, where we enjoy equal protection with them, and to whom we are accordingly bound by gratitude and the ties of a common country. 164. What does religion demand of us in relation to the foreigner and stranger? A stranger ye shall not * וגר לא תונה ולא תלחצנו כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים • offend with words, nor oppress; for you have yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt." (Ex. 22 ch. 20 v.) And if a stranger dwell * וכי יגור אתך גר בארצכם לא תונו אתו כאזרח מכם יהיה לכם הגר הגר אתכם ואהבת לו כמוך אני ה' אלהיכם : with you in your land, you shall not do him any wrong; he shall be as good to you, as a native of your land, and thou shalt love him, this stranger, as thyself, I am the Eternal your God." (Lev. 19 ch. 34 v.) 66 -You, the whole congre » הקהל חקה אחת לכם ולגר הגר חקת לדרתיכם ככם כגר לפני ה'. עולם gation, have but one law, as well the stranger, who sojourns with you, as yourselves (the Israelites). An immutable statute this shall be for all your generations that you and the stranger shall be alike before the Eternal." (Num. 15 ch. 15 v.) אשר לא ישא פנים ולא For the Eternal » כי ה' אלהיכם הוא וגו' יקח שחד ואהב גר לתת לו לחם ושמלה ואהבתם your God is, &c. who judges not את הגר וגו'. the appearance of the person, and takes no bribes-and who loves the stranger, to give him food and clothing; ye therefore must love the stranger, &c." (Deut. 10 ch. 17-19 v.) 165. But does Holy Writ any where make a difference, between the Israelite and the other, who is no Israelite, in those laws and prohibitions, which forbid us the committal of something against our fellow-men? No where do we find a trace of such a difference. God says, thou shalt not commit murder! thou shalt not steal, not cheat! And, You shall do no » לא תעשו עול במשפט במדה במשקל ובמשורה • injustice, in judgment, in dry measure, in weight, and wet measure.” (Lev. 19 ch. 35 v.) In every place the action itself is prohibited, as being an abomination to God, without respect to the person, against whom it is committed.* 166. What do our wise men say concerning him, who permits himself to offend or to cheat any one, who is not a Jew? Our sages declare unanimously, that such an Israelite offends not only most grossly against the express laws of God; but that he is at the same time guilty of the unpardonable offence of profaning the holy name of God: because he lowers his religion and his fellow-believers in the estimation of the other nations. And we find written (Lev. 22 ch. 32 v.): -And you shall not pro * ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל אני ה' מקדשכם fane my holy name; I will be sanctified among the children of Israel, I am the Eternal who sanctifies you." * It appears however that slavery was absolutely interdicted amongst the Jews themselves, whereas it was permitted to buy foreign or domestic slaves (Lev. 25 ch. 44 and 45 v.) belonging to other nations; it must nevertheless be observed, that it was prohibited, to subject a stranger even in the first instance to slavery, as the buying of slaves alone is permitted, but not stealing them. Translator. 167. Do the Talmudists, who did not enjoy the privileges of citizens, which bind us more closely to the other inhabitants of the state, teach us to love and benefit our fellow-men, who profess another religion? Yes; for they teach: every Israelite is commanded by the divine law, to love those persons of all nations, who observe the seven precepts of the children of Noah. He is accordingly obliged, to visit their sick, to bury their dead, to support their poor, and to assist those of them, who may stand in need of assistance, as well as those of the Israelites; and there is therefore no act of philanthropy, which a true Israelite can abstain from exercising towards the observers of the precepts given to Noah. (69.) 168. Should we now loan money without interest, to a man who is not a Jew? By all means; for there is no difference in this respect even between an Israelite and a stranger, as long as he wants the money for the purchase of necessaries of life, and not for the sake of trading with it. And we find the following precept of philanthropy and benevolence: 66 -If thy brother be * וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו גר ותושב וחי עמך אל תקח מאתו נשך ותרבית ויראת מאלהיך וחי אחיך עמך את כספך לא תתן לו בנשך ובמרבית לא תתן אכלך : come poor near hand sink (be reduced) thou shalt assist him, as also the stranger and sojourner, that he may live with thee. Thou shalt not take from him any interest or advance, and thou shalt fear thy God, and suffer thy brother to live near thee. Thou shalt not loan him thy money on interest, nor thy food at advance." (Lev. 25 ch. 35 v.) |