A History of Mediaeval Jewish PhilosophyHusik, Isaac
ReligionJewish
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy
Husik, Isaac
Philosophy, Jewish; Philosophy, Medieval
This may seem like an unwarranted magnifying of the virtues of our
people. But in reality it is true that the chain of individuals from
Adam to Moses and thereafter was a remarkable one of godly men. Adam was
surely a godlike man since he was made by the hand of God and was not
dependent on the inherited constitution of his parents, and on the food
and climate he enjoyed in the years of his growth. He was made perfect
as in the time of mature youth when a person is at his best, and was
endowed with the best possible soul for man. Abel was his successor in
excellence, also a godly man, and so down the line through Seth and
Noah, and so on. There were many who were unworthy and they were
excluded. But there was always one in every generation who inherited the
distinguished qualities of the Adam line. And even when, as in the case
of Terah, the individual was unworthy in himself, he was important as
being destined to give birth to a worthy son, who would carry on the
tradition, like Abraham. Among Noah's sons, Shem was the select one, and
he occupied the temperate regions of Palestine, whereas Japheth went
north and Ham went south--regions not so favorable to the development of
wisdom.[191]
The laws were all given directly to Moses with all their details so that
there is no doubt about any of them. This was absolutely necessary, for
had there been any detail left out, a doubt might arise respecting it
which would destroy the whole spiritual structure of Judaism. This is
not a matter which philosophical reasoning can think out for itself. As
in the natural generation of plant and animal the complexity of elements
and conditions is so great that a slight tilting of the balance in the
wrong direction produces disease and death, so in the spiritual creation
of Israel the ceremonies and the laws are all absolutely essential to
the whole, whether we understand it or not, and none could be left to
speculation. All were given to Moses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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