Josephus' Reply to Anti-Semite

One of. the anti-Semitic intel-
lectuals of Greco-Roman times. a
certain Apion, who was a pop-
ular lecturer and publicist in
Alexandria, wrote a scurrilous
attack on the Bible. Josephus re-
plied with two vehement essays

from which the following pas-
sages are excerpted, from his
"Against Apron":
*

. THE RELIGION OF MOSES
Now there a r e innumerable
differences in the particular cus-
toms and laws that hold amonc , all
mankind, which a man may briefly
reduce under the following heads:
Some legislators have permitted
their governments to be under
monarchies, others put them under
oligarchies, and others under a re-
publican form; but our legislator
had no regard to any of these
forms, but he ordained our govern-
meet to be what, by a strained ex-1
pression, may be termed a Theoc-
racy, by ascribing the authority
and the power to God, and by per-
suading all the people to have a
regard to Him as the Author of all
the good things enjoyed either in
common by all mankind or by each
one in particular, and of all that
they themselves obtain by praying
to Him in their greatest difficulties.
He informed them that it was im-
possible to escape God's observa-
tion,either in any of our outward
. actions or in any of our inward
thoughts. Moreover he represented
God as unbegotten and immutable
through all eternity, superior to
all mortal conceptions in font*
and though known to us by His
power, yet unknown to us as to
His essence.
I do not now explain how these
notions of God are in harmony
with the sentiments of the wisest
among the Greeks. However, their
sages testify with great assurance
that these notions are just and ag-
reeable to the divine nature' for
Pythagoras and Anaxagoras and
Plato and the Stoic •philosophers
that succeeded them. and almost
all the rest profess the same senti-
ments, and had the same notions
of the nature of God; yet durst not
these men disclose those true no-
tions to more than a few, because
the body of the people Were prej-
udiced beforehand with other
opinions. But our legislator. whose
actions harmonized with his laws.
did not only prevail with those who
were his contemporaries accept
these notions, but so firmly im-
printed this faith in God upon all
their posterity that it could never
he removed.
The reason why the constitution
of our legislation was ever better
directed than other legislations
to the utility of all is this: that
Moses did not make religion a
part of virtue, but he declared
other virtues to be a part of reli-
gion—I mean justice, and fortitude.
and temperance, and a universal
agreement of the members of the
community with one another. All
our actions and studies are part
of piety toward God. for he hath
left none of these in suspense or
undetermined. There are two,ways
of arriving at any sort of learning
and morality: the one is by in-
struction in words, the other by
practical exercises. Now, other
lawgivers have separated these
two ways in their opinions, and,
choosing the one which best
pleased each of them, ,neglected
the other. Thus did the Lacede-
monians and the Cretans teach by
practical exercises, but not by
words; while the Athenians and al-
most all the other Greeks made
laws about what was to be done,
or left undone, but had no regard
to exercising them thereto in prac-
lice.
But our legislator very carefully
joined these two methods of in-
struction together; for he neither
left these practical exercises to be .
performed without verbal instruc-
tion, nor did he permit the learn-
ing of the law to proceed without
the exercises for practice; but be-
ginning immediately from the earl-
iest infancy and the regulation of
our diet, he left nothing of the very
smallest consequence to be done at

the pleasure and disposal of the
individual.
Accordingly, he made a fixed
rule of law, what sorts of food they
should abstain from, and what
sorts they should use; as also what
communion they should have with
others, what great diligence they
should use in their occupations,
and what times of rest should be
interposed, in order that, by living
under that law as under a father
and a master, we might be guilty
of no sin, neither voluntary nor out
of ignorance. For he did not suffer
the guilt of ignorance to ,go with-
out punishment, but be demon-
strated the Iaw to be the best and
the most necessary instructions of
all, directing the people to cease
from their other employments and
to assemble together for the hear-
ing and the exact learning of the
law—and this not once or twice or
oftener, but every week; which all
the other legislators seem to have
neglected.
THE LAWS OF MOSES
Education of children
Again the Law does not allow
the birth of our children to be
made occasions for festivity and
an excuse for drinking to excess.
It enjoins sobriety in their up-
bringing from the very first. It or-
ders that they shall be taught to
read, and shall learn both the laws
and the deeds of their forefathers,
in order that they may imitate the
latter, and, being grounded in the
former, may neither transgress
nor have any excuse for being ig-
norant of them.
Funeral ceremonies
The pious rites which it pro-
vides for the dead do not consist
of costly obsequies or the erection
of conspicuous monuments. The
funeral ceremony is to be under-
taken by the nearest relatives, and
all who pass while a burial is pro-
ceeding must join the procession
and share the mourning of the
family. After the funeral the house
and its inmates must be purified
(in order that anyone guilty of
murder may be very far from
thinking himself pure).
Honoring Parents
Honoring parents ,is_raiiked by
ly to honoring
the Law as second on
God. If a son does not respond to
the benefits received from them—
for the slightest failure in his duty
toward them—the Law hands him
over to be stoned. It requires re-
spect to be paid by the young to
all their elders. because God is
the most Ancient of all. It allows
us to conceal nothing from our
friends, for there is no friendship
without absolute confidence; in the
event of subsequent estrangement,
it forbids the disclosure of secrets.

Tau Epsilon Phi Cited
for Goodfellow Efforts

Tau Epsilon Phi Fraternity, true
to its custom. collected one of the
largat a m o u n t s of money on
Wayne State University's campus
for the Old Newsboys' Goodfellow
Fund.
Phi Gamma Chapter of TEPS
collected more than $240, placing
second highest, in its one-day drive
for Detroit's needy children. Ed
Buchman was chairman of the an-
nual project, in which members
sell the WS1.7 Collegian for charity.
All fraternities take part.
TEPS took its Collegians off-
campus as well. One contributor,
Judge John B. Swainson, said "It
gives us assurance through this
kind of exemplary conduct by the
brothers of Tau Epsilon Phi Frat-
ernity and the students of Wayne
State University that their future
and the future of the Americans is
in good and reliable hands."
The chapter numbers among its
other service projects a blood bank,
holiday party at an orphange and
entertainment for needy children
of the area at its fraternity house
and at basketball games.

"PORGY and BESS," one of
America's first true operas, comes
to the Masonic Auditorium 8:20
p.m. Jan. 5.

A judge Who accepts bribes suf-
fers capital punishment. He who
refuses to a supplicant the aid which
he has power to give is account-
able to justice. None may appro-
priate goods which he did not de-
posit , lay hands on any of his
neighbor's property, or receive in-
terest. These and many similar
regulations are the ties which
bind us together.
Attitude toward aliens
The consideration given by our
legislator to the equitable treat-
ment of aliens also merits atten-
tion. It will be seen that he took
the best of all possible measures
at once to secure our own customs
from corruption, and to throw
them open ungrudgingly to any
who elect to share them. To all
who desire to come and live under ,
the same laws with us, he gives a
gracious welcome, holding that it
is not family ties alone which con-1
stitute relationship, but agreement
in the principles of conduct. 13n the
other hand, it was not his pleasure
that casual visitors should be ad-
mitted to the intimacies of our
daily life.
Humanity of the Law
The duty of sharing with others
was inculcated by our legislator
in other matters. We must furnish
fire, water, food to all who ask
for them, point out the road, not
leave a corpse unburied, show
consideration even to declared
enemies. , He does not allow us to
burn up their country, or cut down
their fruit trees, and forbids even
the despoiling of fallen combat-
ants. He has taken measures to
prevent outrage to prisoners of
war. especially women. So thor-
ough a lesson has he given us in
gentleness and humanity that he
does not overlook even the brute
beasts. nutborizing their use only
in accordance with the Law, and
forbidding all other employment
of them. Creatures which take ref-
uge in our houses. like supplicants,
we are forbidden to kill. He would
not suffer us to take the parent
birds with their young. and bade
us even in an enemy's country to
spare and not to kill the beasts
employed in labor. Thus, in every
particular, he had an eye to mercy,
using the laws I have mentioned to
enforce the lesson. and drawing up
for transgressors other penal laws
admitting of no excuse.

ENCOMIUM ON THE TORAH
"Upon the laws it was unneces-
sary to expatiate. A glance at them
showed that they teach not im-
piety, but the most genuine piety;
that they invite men not to hate
their fellows, but to share their
possession; that they are the foes of
injustice and scrupulous for jus-
tice, banish sloth and extravag-
ance, and teach men to be self-de-
pendent and to work with a will:
that they deter them from war for
' the sake or conquest, but 'render
them valiant defenders of the laws
themselves; inexorable in punish-
' ment, not to be duped by studied
words, always supported by
tions. For actions are our imari-
' able testimonials, plainer than any
I would therefore
documents.
boldly maintain that we have in-
troduced to the rest of the world
a very large number of very beau-
' tiful ideas. What greater beauty
than inviolable piety? What higher
justice than obedience to the laws?
I What more beneficial than to be
in harmony with one another. to be
' a prey neither to disunion in ad-
versity, nor to arrogance and fac-
tion in prosperity; in war to de-
'spire death, in peace to devote
oneself to crafts or agriculture:
and to be convinced that every-
thing in the whole universe is
under the eye and direction of God?
Had these precepts been either
committed to writing or more con-
sistently observed by others before
us, we should have owed them a
debt of gratitude as their disciples.
If, however, it is seen that no one
observes them better than our-
selves, and if we have shown that
we were the first to discover them.
then the Apions and Molons and
all who delight in lies and abuse
may be left to their own confusion.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, December 16, 1966

-

27

Bnai Davi d Married Club
Judith Doifinan
to Hold New Year's Party
The Mr. and Mrs. Club of Bnai
Burton Paris of Chicago
6 David Synagogue will hold a New

Year's Eve Party at the synagogue
beginning 9 p.m. Breakfast will
be served.
The festivities will include hors
d'oeuvres. dinner and a continental
breakfast. There will be favors and
a' dance band. Black tie is optional.
For reservations. contact the
synagogue, EL 6-8210, Mel Volin,
LI 3-3784. or June Cohen, LI 2-
0233.

Gan Israel Girls' Reunion
in Detroit This Weekend

The girls reunion of Camp Gan
Israel is taking place this weekend
at the Lubavitcher Center. A spe-
cial feature of the week end will
be a play presented by the camp
drama group, "The Miracle of the
Dreidle."

.4 Itr

MISS JUDITH DORFMAN

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Dorf-
man announced the engagement of
their daughter Judith Ann to Bur-
ton Paris at a reception held at
their home on Plainview Ave.
The prospective bridegroom is
the son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel
Paris of Chicago.
A July wedding is planned.

Workmen's Circle Branch
to Host New Year's Ball

tarry Freedman

Orchestra mad Entertahtaseat

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BALLROOM

DANCING
JACK BARNES

BY

Workmen's Circle Branch 227
will start its ' Gala New Year's
Eve Ball" 9 p.m. Dec. 31 at the
Workmen's Circle Center.
There will be music by Jack
Weiner and his orchestra, a floor
show, favors. buffet dinner and
champagne. For information or
reservations, call Sydney Guyer.
KE 3-9954, or the Workmen's
Circle office. KE 7-5440.

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