The Science of the Talmud: An Essay Written for the Young Men's Hebrew Association of Philadelphia (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

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Excerpt from The Science of the Talmud: An Essay Written for the Young Men's Hebrew Association of Philadelphia

Under the Seleucidean kings of Syria, into whose hands Palestine fell after the death of Alexander of Macedon, the Jews, being cruelly oppressed and hindered in their religious rites and services, rose in revolt under the Maccabees and regained their independence, but, alas! Only for a short time. Jerusalem was shortly taken by Roman arms under Pompey, and Judea was soon afterward reduced to a Roman province. Several attempts were made by the brave Jews to shake off the yoke of the Romans, but it was impossible for them to withstand the most powerful empire that ever existed. So the temple was destroyed by Titus, and Jeru salem laid waste, and finally the population was decimated, exiled and taken into captivity under the Emperor Hadrian.

During all these vicissitudes and changes of fortune which befell Israel from the time of the birth of the nation, the moral and religious life of the people grew slowly but steadily in strength, depth and breadth. The law which, according to tradition, was proclaimed to the people of Israel from Mount Sinai, remained for along time a dead letter, the people preferring the image of the golden calf, and the brazen serpent, and the service of Baal, Moloch and Ashtoreth, to the abstract idea of an unseen, unknow able, infinite and everlasting Supreme Being. All through the period of the Judges and during the greater portion of the reign of the Kings, the people continued to serve heathen gods and to sacrifice to them. But gradually dawn broke upon them and the light of a truer religion opened their eyes, and with the more enlightened belief came also purer ideas of morality and justice. The great prophets appeared in the arena. Isaiah, with his grand moral perceptions, his clear religious ideas, his divine gift of elo quence, spoke words which could not fail to pierce the hearts of the feeling, so that all in Israel who had eyes saw the light, and all who had ears heard the words of truth. Jeremiah in Jeru salem and Ezekiel in Babylon, and especially the great unknown prophet, whose divine speeches are attached to those of Isaiah, continued the work of teaching the people true religion and pure morals.

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