• • - THE DETROIT WSW NEWS 19:1982 10 - Vudatsm and Gentile Faiths' Volume Compares Major Religions comparative religion "from the vantage of Judaism." Prof. Schultz commences his study of comparative religion by contrasting the Confucian and rabbinic tra- ditions. The Chinese classical age, he points out, coincided with the period of the War- ring States (481-221 BCE). In the land of Israel, it began in the Fifth Century BCE following the return of many of the exiled Jews to their homeland by By ALLEN WARSEN "Judaism and the Gentile Faiths: Comparative Studies in Religion," authored by Joseph P. (Fairleigh- Schultz University Dickinson Press), treats the study of THE SMART CHARTER TO LAS VEGAS H.M.H. & F. 557-5145 * ***************** * -X COME COME TO OUR ISLAND * * PAY 7 - STA Y 11 1 - -r, 4 , -.0( •■ I. . Ui -0( 1 5 FREE* i 1 Let us pamper you with free massages. 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In China, Confucius and his disciples Mencius and Hsun-tzu laid the in- tellectual foundation that inaugurated the Confu- cian political and social order "which endured for more than 2,000 years." In Israel, "Ezra, the priest and scribe, together with a collegium of priests, edited the Pentateuch and laid the foundation for post-exilic Judaism, in which rabbinic Judaism is the most char- acteristic form. The Pharisaic-rabbinic tradi- tion begun by Ezra and further developed by a long line of teachers has per- sisted to the present." In Confucianism, "Li re- presents the ideal social order of the golden age of antiquity." In Judaism, "Torah refers to the Pen- tateuch, the oral law and the Jewish literary creativ- ity of all ages." In the teaching of Li, filial piety is unconditional, In rabbinic ruling, as ex- pounded by Maimonides, a son may disobey an unethi- cal order given him by his father. In other words, in Judaism filial obedience is conditional. Li, moreover, stressed the idea of eternal har- mony which is co- existence with Heaven (God), and failed to pro- vide for change. In Judaism, "the Torah, though prior in time to the world, is a creation of God," and social orders if imperfect may be mod- ified and if oppressive overthrown. Profound is the author's examination of the literary classic "Bhagavad Gita" ("Song of the Blessed Lord") and the classic text of the Jewish mystics, the "Zohar." Interwoven into the famous epic "Mahbharata," the "Gita" contends that God is imminent and tran- scendent. The eminence --- "that created the cosmos is explores the messianic con- no illusion, but an emana- cept in Judaism and Chris- tion, a development from tianity. The term mashiakh (mes- God." The "Zohar" likewise as- siah) does not appear in the serts that the universe was prophetic writings of the the effect of God's emana- pre-Babylonian period. The belief in a redeemer first tions or "Sefirot." "Sefu-ah," incidentally, developed during the as Gershom Sholem Babylonian exile and be- pointed out, signifies came firmly established "brilliance or luminary during the time of Roman oppressive rule. or sphere." Various messianic Kabalistic mysticism, moreover, considers God as movements then "Ein Sof' (infinite) and in- emerged in Judea, in- comprehensible, whose es- cluding the Judean Des- sence is known only to Him- ert Sect, whose members believed in two Messiahs: self. The concept of an incom- "a priestly Messiah of the prehensible "Ein Sor the House of Aaron and a author states, (in Hin- royal Messiah of the duism) "is strikingly re- House of David." Christianity, too, made miniscent of the higher Brahman of pure intelli- its appearance in Judea at gence." In contrast, the that time. The very name "Sefirot" that are com- Christianity denotes mes- prphensible remind of the sianism, and the Greek lower Brahman, "the god of word "christos" is a transla- the phenomenal world, the tion from the Hebrew term mashiakh. world of the senses." Unlike the Jewish view of Enlightening is the author's comparison be- the Messiah as God's or- tween the Israelite wars dained representative, since the days of Joshua and Christian theology con- the Islamic holy war, ceives of Christ as "the in- carnation of God" and re- "jihad." Whereas the Israelite gards him "the suffering wars, with the only ex- Messiah who redeems hu- ception "the forcible conversion of the Idu- Local Authors maens by John Hyr- canus" (135-105 BCE), in New Volume Thomas LoCicero, who were waged either for wrote "Murder in the territorial expansion (the Davidic wars) or the de- Synagogue," an account of fense of the land of Israel, the assassination of Rabbi Morris Adler, is one of 23 the "jihad" aimed at con- quering the world and Michigan authors with converting its peoples to short stories in "The Third Coast: Contemporary Mohammedanism. Moslem law, further- Michigan Fiction" (WSU more, divided the world into Press). the "dar-al-Islam," territory The book is edited by ruled and inhabited by Mus- James Tipton and Robert E. lims, and "dar-al-harb," Wegner, both of Alma Col- land outside of Islam. The lege and features authors jihad the Mohammedans from the Detroit area, considered their best Kalamazoo, Battle Creek weapon to transform non- andthe northern portion of Islamic into Islamic land. the state. Thus the "jihad" closely LoCicero, an Oak Park resembled the Roman "be- resident, is a graduate of the llum justum," the just law. University of Michigan. His In the chapter "Road to contribution to the book, "A the Millenium," the author Round with J.C.," is a fic- tionalized account of his ex- periences while working at a local golf course and tells of his encounter with J.C., an unusual course employee who plays the game using an "imaginary ball." HONEYMOONING . manity by his agony and death." The conception of the agonizing Jesus is reminis- cent of "the rabbinical legend that the Messiah dwells among the lepers and beggars at the gate of Rome." The belief in the com- ing of the Messiah has continued throughout the last two millenia of Jewish history, and has become an integral pars -- of the Jewish religion. is best expressed by the 12th "Principle of Faith": "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and, though he tarry, I will wait daily for his coming." (Translation by the late Dr. Joseph H. Hertz.) "Judaism and the Gentile Faiths" is a pioneering work in the field of comparative religion and is a major con- tribution to the scientific study of the world's reli- gions. The author, Joseph P. Schultz, is professor of Judiac studies at the Uni- versity of Missouri, Kansas City. t$ diit.IVJ) WO) iluzs Kosher Passover Tours AT uksT YEA" PgicEs Packages Start At $535. . featuring EDEN ROC Miami Beach BAHAMAS PRINCESS Freeport, Grand Bahama Mini•Vacations. Minutes Away. Need to get away from it all? 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