History of the Jews, Vol. 4 (of 6)Graetz, Heinrich
History
History of the Jews, Vol. 4 (of 6)
Graetz, Heinrich
Jews -- History
Judaism, then, according to Albo, is a discipline for eternal
salvation. It is "the Divine Legislation" (Dath Elohith), and, as
such, comprises many religious laws--613 according to the customary
calculation--to enable each individual to promote his own salvation.
For even a single religious precept fulfilled with intelligence
and devotion, and without mental reservation or ulterior motive,
entitles man to salvation. Consequently, the Torah, with its numerous
prescriptions, is not intended as a burden for its disciples, nor are
the Jews threatened, as Christian teachers maintain, with a curse in
the event of their not observing the entire number of commandments.
On the contrary, the object is to render easy the path to higher
perfection. Therefore, the Agada says that every Israelite has a share
in Eternal Life (Olam ha-ba), for each one can obtain this end by the
fulfillment of a single religious duty.
Arrived at this point, the religious philosopher of Soria propounds
the question whether Judaism can ever be altered as previous
dispensations were by the Sinaitic Revelation. This question required
specially careful consideration, as Christians always maintained that
Christianity was a new revelation, as Judaism had been in its time;
that the "New Covenant" took the place of the "Old," and that by the
Gospel, the Torah had been fulfilled, _i. e._, abrogated. Albo had
acknowledged the existence of rudimentary revelations previous to that
of Sinai, and to avoid being entrapped by the consequences of his
own system he put forward a peculiar distinction. That which God had
once revealed by His own mouth direct to man was, by virtue of that
fact, unalterable and binding for all time; but that which had been
communicated only by a prophetic intermediary might suffer change or
even annulment. The Ten Commandments which the Israelites had received
direct from God, amid the flames of Sinai, were unalterable; in them
the three cardinal principles of a divine legislation are laid down.
On the other hand, the remaining prescriptions of Judaism, imposed on
the people solely through the mediation of Moses, were open to change
or even revocation. But this instability of a portion, perhaps a large
portion, of the Jewish religious law was only a theory, propounded
simply as a possibility. In practice the obligations of the Torah were
to be regarded as binding and unalterable, until it should please God
to reveal other laws through the medium of a prophet as great as Moses,
and in as open and convincing a manner as on Sinai. Hitherto no prophet
had made good his claim so far as to render necessary the rescinding of
any portion of Judaism.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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