7
THE JEWISH CHRONICLE
WHAT DOES THE WORLD OWE THE JEW
BY E. B. BENJAMIN
Obviously, the very most impor- shortly, his teachings were the greater part of the lay moral didac-
\ny plea in behalf of our people
:
is almost invariably made on the taut thing derived from us is the teachings of his predecessors, the tics of Christian life.
From this it must not be sup-
ground of what the world owes the idea of the Deity. Sooner than prophets.
.
It
must
be
added,
however,
that
posed
that we are responsible for
ew. Just as this was the case in anyone we have ever heard of, and
J collecting recently for the Jewish at a relatively remote date, our Christ laid much more emphasis the legal order of the world. As a
war sufferers, so it will be the case forefathers conceived the one an- upon two ideas, the one of this matter of fact most of our present
ill whatever efforts looking to the thropomorphic god—aside from its world as but a means to a greater day legal institutions descend from
improvement of conditions, follow religious advantages, by the way, a end, and the other of the surpass- those of the Romans and Saxons.
the \var. Now while it is fast be- simple, tremendous economic gain. ing virtue of meekness, than did the '\ nd aside from this all people have
coming dangerous for any Ameri- It is seriously to be questioned old Testament reformers. In these at all times had laws since the days
little whether in the early stages of our respects be greatly resembles Bud- of the origin of the rudest tribe.
a
can to make a racial plea,
that for us religious development, Jehovalywas dha, and many authorities have Justice is something that has
consideration will show
anything other than a tribal god; claimed that Christ was influenced 'evolved along with the develop-
this
especially
holds
true. Being
for the
most part
decidedly
new but at any rate he was one god and as much by Indian as by Hebrew inent of man. In most of our ideas
of right and wrong there cannot be
Americans, and being generally re- ultimately became the one and only thought.
in
said
to be anything distinctively
We
filld
The one conception
garded, anyway, as somewhat clan- God. Necessarily this unity bad to
nish," we have to be constantly on be adhered to, and it is a matter the gospel which cannot be attrib- Jewish. They have been "organic
guard lest we appear more Jewish of pride that through exile and uted to either Buddha or the necessities" for thousands of years.
above all, bondage our forefathers retained prophets of Israel, is the idea of What the early Jew did was to
than American. We,
their faith. It was our idea of the the universal brotherhood of man group these ideas under the head of
therefore, should avoid extrava- Divinity which was carried over —which, in claiming an absolute divine inspiration, thus forming the
gance
racial
claim. to this end lies into Christianity, and although the equality before GA of all races, religious morality which has been
The of only
means
in a thorough and precise under- new creed lost something of the old omits what had hitherto been the popularly in vogue ever since.
iill Christians arc role of I srael as the "big brother"
The Bible consists, however, of
standing of our cause. Such un- Jewish unity, still
d to us alone, for of mankind. Au explanation of far more than mere moral didac-
derstanding, it seems to me, is not indebted to us, an
this omission can possibly be found tics It contains inspiring stories
over-common. Perhaps it is a the omnipotent God-head.
It is perfectly true that other na- in the fact that Jesus was not very of hero and heroine, exquisite alle-
great misfortune that religion is so
intimately bound up with our his- tions of ancient times evolved the well received by his own people• pries, poems and songs of king and
tory, perhaps a great advantage. idea of one god ; for instance, cer- One rarely finds pride of race in an prophet—in short it is a veritable
But at any rate the union leads fre- taro of the East Indians and the outcast,
literary treasure, a sublime heritage.
Whatever were his peculiar char
quently, in the consideration of the Chinese sect founded by Lao-tse.
pre-eminently the Bible is a
It
But this idea differed from the Jew- acteristics as a reformer, it was
Jew from an historical standpoint,
through Christ that our ancient law \vork which mirrors perfectly the
to the naive distortion associated ish conception inasmuch is it was
pantheistic rather than anthropo- of conduct, probably the most re- human being in all his phases and
\vith any religious dogma.
carried vicissitudes, immoral as well as
Occasionally listening to some of morphic. From us, I repeat, Chris- markable ever recorded, was
our brethren one would believe tianity, ancient as well as modern, over indirectly to the European na- moral. Other nations have their
that there was a time when there derives its idea of a personal ( iod. thins. That system, nearly as ap- literature, and often, as in the case
course Christians are in- lineable today as it was thousands of the Greeks, very wonderful ones,
Of
was but two kinds of people on
none that compares with our
earth : Hebrews and barbarians. debted to us even more directly, of years ago, underlies our present but
(Continued on page 16)
Nor is it unusual for us to feel that Jesus himself was a Jew, a rabbi ideals of justice and provides the
our forefathers brought every cul- who journeyed about his country
tore into the world the world knows seeking to reform his people.
Ask The Man
—this sentiment is, on the whole, I Christianity, it seems to me, cannot
That Knows Him
think, rather typical. Indeed the be really understood . except as a
attitude of the average Jew, who development of Judaism, centering
on account of his historico-religious in a Messianic Christ. Though
Weltanschauung still clings to the when .I say this I would have it
"chosen people" idea, is hardly less known that I speak of the Chris-
objectionable than that of the Rus- tianity of .Christ, not of any creed
sian who curses the "dirty Jew." of developed Christianity. The
FOR
Of course, we are all perfectly first principles of the Gospel, "Love
aware that our forefathers gave the Lord thy God with all thy
much to the Christian world; we heart, with all thy soul, and with all
are told so frequently by Chris- thy might," and "Love thy neigh-
tians themselves. The thing is to bor as thyself," were certainly not
define those contributions and to original with Jesus. .,1 side from
A SMOKER'S CREDIT"
define them accurately and dispas- the Messianic idea .and one other
sionately. conception to be touched upon
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