' 16 — THE JEWISH NEWS

Two Sanhedrins: Key To TheJesus Story

(Continued from Page 1)

About the Sadducees, Josephus
(who is the primary source of
our information about the dif-
ferent sects) wrote that they
denied predestination and di-
vine influence on men's acts,
whether they be good or bad.
They believed only in the Torah,
the written law, and they denied
the .validity and binding power
of the tradition of the sages,
the oral law. Justice and pun-
ishment, they held, must be ad-
ministered in this world, since
they did not believe in reward
and punishment in the world
beyond the grave. They were
harsh in their judgments. They
had no followers among the
populace, though some officials
and wealthy Jews were influ-
enced by their teachings.
The beliefs of the Pharisees
ran diametrically opposite to
those of the Sadducees. The
Pharisees laid great import-
ance upon the oral law. They
held that Divine Providence
governed all the acts of a man,
though they also believed that
free choice was man's also, for
his is the power to choose the
good or the evil. They be-
lieved in reward and punish-
ment in the future world, and
in resurrection. They regard-
ed the soul as immortal. The
Pharisees exerted great and
wide influence over the mass-
es of the people because they
were lenient in their judg-
ments and never applied to
those who ran athwart the
law any severe punishment.
The Essenes appear to have
been the successors of the early
Hasidim. Like them, the Es-
. senes were highly individual-
istic in their attitude toward
JewiSh life. The Essenes refused
to send any sacrifice to the
Temple. They appointed priests
of their own, and for the Tem-
ple altar substituted their own
table. Before every meal they
bathed their bodies in cold
water, and before partaking of
food a priest said grace. They
were strict in the observance of
the laws of the Bible, and since
they could not observe the laws
in the cities where the Phari-
sees had modified the Halakot

Rankin True to Color:
Slurs Mrs. Rosenberg

WASHINGTON, (AJP) — Rep.
John Rankin (D-Miss.) rose in
the House of Representatives
last week to term Assistant De-
fense Secretary Anna M. Rosen-
berg as "a little Yiddish woman
from Austria-Hungary who will
have more power over the lives
of the American people than
was ever excercised by an
American President."
Rankin's slur of Mrs. Rosen-
berg came after the FBI dis-
closed that the "Mrs. Rosen-
berg" alleged to have belonged
to a Communist-front organiza-
tion, and because of whom the
Assistant Defense Secretary was
made the subject of a second set
of hearings before the Senate
Armed Services Committee, had
been located. The committee
had afforded Anna M. Rosen-
berg a 13-0 vote of confidence
prior to the disclosure of the
FBI discovery of the other Mrs.
Rosenberg.
In the company. of Gerald L.
K. Smith, leader of an anti-
Semitic "Christian" Party, and
anti-Zionist Benjamin H. Freed-
man, of New York City, Ran-
kin was reportedly among the
elements supporting the inquiry
of "Red" charges against Mrs.
Rosenberg.
Commenting on Rankin's lat-
est reference to Mrs. Rosenberg,
a leading New York City daily
n e w s p a p e r, The Post, said:
"Once again Rankin has dem-
onstrated that he is as much
at home on the floor as in the
gutter."

Truman Invited to Concert
Of Israel Philharmonic
WASHINGTON, (J T A) — Dr.
Serge Koussevitsky at a press
conference outlined plans for a
concert of the Israel Philhar-
monic Orchestra in Constitu-
tion Hall here Jan. 7, which will
open a series of concerts in 55
major cities of the United States.
President Truman was invited to
attend the opening here..

(laws), they formed communi-
ties of their own. In these com-
munities they found it possible
to live in accordance with their
own customs.
The Essenes held that all
things were predestined and de-
termined. They believed in the
absolute rule of Fate, and denied
that men had free will. They
held all rulers in high esteem
and obeyed them, because; be-
lieving in Fate, they believed
that no man could attain to any
office save by the will of God.
Their rule of life was love. For
them, love of God, love of virtue,
and love of their fellow man was
the motto by which they lived.
It is quite likely that John the
Baptist was either a member of
the Essenes or else was greatly
inflenced by this monastic
order.
Josephus in describing the
various sects and parties,
writes about two other groups
that were, in reality, offshoots
of the Pharisees. One, Jose-
phus named the "Fourth Phi-

losophy" because this group
came forth after the Phari-
sees, the Sadducees and the
Essenes. There was still an-
other group which Josephus
permits to remain nameless,
but which might well be called
the "Apocalyptic-Pharisees."
Undoubtedly the firs': appear-
ance of the Fourth Philosophy
was made when Augustus Caesar
annexed Judea and declared it
a province of Rome in the year
6 C. E. At that time Quirinius
was sent to take a census of
Judea with a view to levying
taxes upon the people. Against
the imposition and collection of
these taxes Judas of Galilee in-
veighed, and he incited the
Jews to revolt against the Rom-
ans and urged them not to pay
taxes. The followers of Judas
from time to time committed
seditious acts against the Rom-
ans. Being a small minority,
they were easily suppressed.
The members of this Fourth
Philosophy, however, were not
entirely destroyed; they con-

Christian Advocate's Commendation

An editorial in the Jan. 22, 1948, issue of the Christian
Advocate, official organ of the Methodist Church, published
by the Methodist Publishing House, 740 Rush St., Chicago,
under the heading "Who Crucified Jesus?":

"The Jewish people did not crucify Jesus."
"The Synoptic Gospels, Peter and Paul, and the Aposto-
lic Fathers—in a word, the founders of Christianity, and
the creators! of the church—have never accused the Jewish
people of the death of Jesus of Nazareth."
"The crucifixion of Jesus was committed by Pilate,
the Roman procurator, not by the Jews. True, the high
priest delivered Jesus to Pilate for trial but that was not
done by the will of the Jewish people. Political conditions
which prevailed at that time in Judea forced some of the
leaders to fight against their own brethren, and to help
the Romans to destroy the real Jewish patriots."
It is in such words that Solomon Zeitlin, head of the
Rabbinical Department at Dropsie College, in Philadelphia,
concludes his brilliant and scholarly study of "the most
momentous events in human history" ( 'Who Crucified •
Jesus?" Harpers; $2.75). He says, "the trial and crucifixion
of Jesus was the culmination and .denouncement of the
whole dramatic struggle that gave birth to a new faith for
mankind. This new faith wielded great influence not only
on the life of its Christian devotees, but moulded the whole
course of human civilization."
But th8 volume is more than merely a critical study
of the single event of the crucifixion. It is, indeed, an ex-
tremely satisfying description of the social, economic, and
political life of the Jews who lived under the procurator-
ship of Pontius Pilate, written by one of the most impres-
sive Jewish scholars of the day. Dr. Zeitlin speaks of Jesus
with the utmost respect and appreciation, of the New Testa-
ment record with eminent approval, and Of the teachings
of Jesus with genuine reverence.
Caiphas, the high priest who was responsible for hail-
ing Jesus before Pilate, was a quisling, thoroughly hated by
the Jews and despised even by the Romans. The Sanhedrin
which passed the judgment was a political body, quite sep-
arate and distinct from the religious group which ruled in
all spiritual matters for the Jews. The execution was justi-
fied by the Romans on the ground that Jesus was an in=
surrectionist who plotted a rebellion against the empire,
and the Christian church for 20 years was believed by the
Romans to be a seditious organization.
All this, Dr. Zeitlin explains with minute care and con-
vincing scholarship. And his evidence should be studied with
great care by every preacher and teacher of the -Christian
gospel. This is an extremely illuminating and important book.

Friday, December 29, 1950

tinued to fight against the
Romans, and were especially
hostile against those Jews who
were , puppets in the hands of
the authorities. Not being able
to engage in open battle against
the Romans and traitorous Jews,
these adterents of the Fourth
Philosophy resorted to the use
of the sica, a short dagger, to
get rid of those who favored
peace at any price with the en-
emy. From their use of the sica
they received the name "Sicarii."
Josephus makes mention of
another group active in Judea,
but gives it no name; however,
he refers to its members as
"wicked." This group, to which
Josephus applies the epithet
"sorcerers and deceivers," was
really composed of the Apoca-
lyptic-Pharisees. They believed
in the revelation of God and
therefore the name "Apocalypts"
is given to them. These Apoca-
lyptic-Pharisees, like the Sicarii,
preached the gospel: no lordship
of man over man; the equality
of men; the only ruler over man
is God. But they differed from
the Sicarii in their. method. The
Apocalypts were opposed to ter-
roristic acts, and the use of vio-
lence. They preached love, not
v i o l e n c e. The Apocalyptic-
Pharisees were a God-fearing
people, anticipating the day
when God would redeem his
own.
It was at this time—a time of
political, economic and religious
strife—that Jesus of Nazareth
preached his Sermon on the
Mount. On his arrival in Jeru-
salem he was hailed by his Jew-
ish followers as "the son of
David," the "King of the Jews."
But a few short days later, Jesus
was crucified by the Romans as
"the King of the Jews."
Next Week: Delving into the
New Testament for the true
story of Jesus. The Gospels
as sources. The Sermon on
the Mount. Jesus' contro-
versies with the Pharisees.

Israel Pickles
On Sale inU.S.

NEW YORK, (ISI) — Kosher
style pickles, canned in Israel,
are now on sale in the United
States following the arrival of
1500 cases from Tel Aviv.
Packed in 11-ounce tins, the
pickled cucumbers are a
smooth - skinned variety that
flourishes in Israel. They are
prepared in vinegar, salt and
spices at the Aka Works, a large
food processing firm in Tel Aviv.
Aka packs a wide variety of
foods, including peas, sauer-
kraut, olives, apricots, oranges
and fruit syrups. The concern
grows the vegetables and fruits
on its own farms which cover
more than 3,000 acres.
C. W. Gerstel, managing di-
rector of Aka, returned to Israel
this week after a trip to the
U.S. to arrange for the distribu-
tion of the pickles. The first
shipment of 100,000 tins arrived
aboard the Henrietta Szold, a
ship of the American - Israeli
line.

Hebrew U. Professor,
Novelist Win Awards

•

TEL AVIV (JTA)—Prof. Moshe
Zvi Segal of the faculty of the
Hebrew University, has been
awarded the Bialik Prize for his
recent work, "Introduction to
the Scriptures." The novelist S.
I. Agnon also received the Bia-
lik Prize for his revised edition
of "Guest for the Night."
Earlier Tel Aviv's 'Mayor Is-
rael Rokach awarded the city's
Klausner Prize for Literature to
three graduates of the Hebrew
University—W. Ankory, Chamiel
Frunstein and Haim Frunstein-
each of whom received 100
pounds.

Morgenthau Congratulates Detroit's
Donors to UJA Through Louis Berry

At the United Jewish
Appeal conference in
Atlantic City, at which
the 1951 UJA campaign
was launched officially,
LOUIS B E R R Y (left)
presented a check for
$250,000 to HE N R Y
MORGENTHAU, JR., to
fulfill Detroit's pledge of
a $1,000,000 remittance
in six weeks. Mr. Mor-
genthau thanked the
Jewish community of
Detroit for outstanding
contributions t o the
UJA.

PRE.TTY.SURE WE'RE IN
THE OLD FORTRESS OF

MASADA . THIS WAS THE.
LAST STRONGHOLD OF
ANCIENT ISRAEL TO HOLD
OUT AGAINST THE ROMAN
INVASION 2000 YEARS AGO.

J

1 411: 4(0

[ ■ k

4.0f+114

Bar ASTRO

-

i

is

4;
THE ROMAN EMPEROR
AN
ARMY
INTO
ORDERED
THE DEFIANT LITTLE NATION

1

11 ALL BEGAN WHEN THE ROMAN
EMPIRE STRETCHED OVER ALL THE
Arr t KNOWN WORLD AT THAT TIME.
%
ONLY THE SMALL NATION
OF ISRAEL GAVE RESISTANCE

TO THE WAR-RING ROMANS._

To CONQUER IT. HUMAN
FLESH COULD NOT DEFY

ROMAN STEEL FOR LONe...

"HOWEVER, SACK IN THE DESERT
A JEWISH FORCE HELD THEIR. GROUND
IN THIS VERY FORTRESS, MASADA.
THEY MIRACULOUSLY HELD OUT
AGAINST CoNTINuouS ROMAN ATTACKS
FOR 2 yEAlp. WHEN THE FINAL END
OF THEIR RgehIGTH WAS NEAR THEY
SLEW THEMSELVES RATHER THAN
ommt. Naotr
SURRENDVI.,"

