.THE COVENANT OF CIRCUMCISION ברית מילה ,אות called ,אות ברית 66 THE Sabbath naturally directs our attention to the covenant of circumcision. This commandment, too, is a sign or token," and "sign or token of the Covenant:" As it is said, "Ye shall circumcise the foreskin of your flesh : and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you." (Genesis xvii. 11.) It is of the very first importance; accordingly we find in the Talmud, (Treatise Nedarim, folio 34,) "R. Meir saith, Most important is circumcision: though Abraham was virtuous and pious, served God and observed his commandments, he was not called PERFECT until circumcision was bestowed on him: As it is said, Walk before me and be perfect: and I will erect my covenant between me and thee.' (Genesis xvii. 1, 2.) R. Simeon saith, Most important is circumcision, as it is equivalent to all the commandments of the law: For it is said, This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you, concerning all these things.' (Exod. xxiv. 8.)" It would be a vain effort on our parts, fully and minutely to detail the reasoning and illustrations by which the Rabbies prove the importance and sublime purpose of circumcision : and the manner in which they prove that by it alone Abraham acquired perfection; as these elucidations are too profound and abstruse, and cannot therefore be submitted to the general reader, who might consider them as not in unison with the spirit of the present age. We must therefore content ourselves with a few superficial remarks; which will, however, we trust, give our readers some additional information on this subject. The Divine command on which it is founded is solemn, impressive, and accompanied with a denunciation, the first of its kind we meet with in Holy Writ: As it is said, "And when Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am almighty God; walk before me and be perfect: and I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and I will multiply thee exceedingly.' And Abram fell on his face; and God spoke further to him and said: 'I am! behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt become a father of many nations. Thy name shall no longer be called Abram but ABRAHAM, for I have appointed thee a father of many nations. I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, I will turn thee into nations, and kings shall descend from thee. And I will erect my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee, to their generations, as an everlasting covenant, that I am GOD unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojourn, the whole land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.' And God said further unto Abraham, 'And thou shalt therefore observe my covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee to their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall observe, between me and you, and between thy seed after thee: Every male child among you shall be circumcised. Ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be in token of the Covenant between me and you. When he is eight days old, every male among you shall be circumcised to all your generations; those who are born in your house, or those who may be purchased with money from any strangers who are not of thy seed. He must surely be circumcised who is born in thy house or is purchased with thy money: and my covenant shall be in your flesh, as an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male, who shall not circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my Covenant.' (Genesis xvii. 1-14.) The observance of the command, thus emphatically given to Abraham, was but twice interrupted; the first time, during the bondage of the Israelites in Egypt; the second, during their wanderings in the desert: As we find in Bereshith Rabbah, (Chapter 46,)"R. Phineas said, in the name of R. Levy, Abraham fell twice on his face, denoting his foreknowledge that the covenant of circumcision would twice be interrupted: 1. In Egypt: 2. In the Desert. In Egypt they were uncircumcised, but Moses afterwards caused the rite to be performed on them; as did Joshua on their children, who, during the wanderings in the Desert, had remained uncircumcised." The importance of circumcision arises from two principal causes. The First is, that, as the Talmud says, in accordance with the text of Holy Writ, "Abraham was not considered as PERFECT, until the covenant of circumcision was afforded to him." In like manner it is indispensably necessary to his descendants, in order to attain that great end and aim of our being,-perfection, that every individual among them should be circumcised. The Second is, that, as circumcision is the token of the Covenant, appointed by the Deity, obedience is due to a commandment, the infringement of which breaks that covenant, and calls forth a dire denunciation. We would not at all have alluded to the first of these causes,- -as the second is amply sufficient, and divine commandments are subjects of obedience, not of ratiocination, but for the twofold direction of the command itself, which renders it imperative on the parent to cause the rite to be performed; or, should the parent have neglected it, this duty then devolves on the man himself. If the merit of this observance consisted in obedience only, it would, like all other enactments of Holy Writ, be left to the free will of the man on whom it operates, to perform or to decline it, according to the dictates of his volition. But as circumcision, and that on the eighth day, has a further merit, namely, that to the seed of Abraham (the Israelites) there can be no perfection without it, and as thus its importance commences at a time, when the helpless state of him that is operated on precludes free-will and the merit of obedience; it is a duty incumbent on the parent to secure that means of perfection to his offspring. This seems to be the sense of the discourse in Bereshith Rabbah, (chap. xiv.) between R. Hoshaiah and a heathen philosopher, who asked of the former: If circumcision is thus precious and important, why was it not bestowed on Adam?" R. Hoshaiah retorted, "Why do we cut the hair off our heads and not our beards?" The philosopher answered: "Because those are grown in the folly of our childhood; whilst the beard is the production of our riper years." R. Hoshaiah replied: "Were this reason the true one, our hands, feet, or other members ought likewise to be cut off. For they too are grown in the folly of our childhood." The philosopher retorted: "This has no connection with my question, from which we are altogether digressing." R. Hoshaiah answered: "To dismiss thee without any instruction would be unbecoming. I therefore only say, acids must be mitigated; wheat must be ground; and man, too, must undergo preparation." It appears the Rabbi, in the first instance, refused him any explanation; as he did not consider the philosopher capable of conceiving the profound reasons which can be given: and he therefore points out to him the folly of questioning Divine commands, when he cannot truly account for a fashion which is but of human origin. But as this did not induce the philosopher to desist from his pertinacious questioning, the Rabbi, whilst he admits that it would be improper to dismiss him without any in struction whatever, limits the information he affords to the mere remark, that man needs preparation. We, too, will follow the example which R. Hoshaiah has left us, and not obtrude on the philosophic questioner of the present day the profound motives which dictated the command to Abraham, but will content ourselves with a few observations in elucidation of the Rabbi's words: "Man must undergo preparation." We concede that this appears to for this is a כי חרפה הוא לנו : be no reply to the question proposed tion was, For if man is required to undergo a preparation, why was that preparation not afforded to Adam? But the meaning of the philosopher's ques"How can man improve the creation of his God, who, had he considered circumcision so precious and important to human perfection, would have created Adam accordingly?" The reply of the Rabbi had the following meaning: "Adam came perfect from the hands of his Maker: Had he preserved that state of perfection, there would, indeed, have been no occasion for man's undergoing any preparation. But as he did not do so, man needs preparation in order to mitigate his acerbities." By PERFECTION is meant moral perfection. We do not intend to define the fall of Adam; but one fact is universally agreed in—namely, that before his transgression he was pure and innocent, so that those appetites which at present degenerate into sinful desires, were then ennobled by innocence and free from passion. Subsequently he became corrupted by the sway of the passions; and the proof of their sinfulness is shame. Therefore, Holy Writ teaches, that, before their transgression, they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed." (Genesis ii. 25.) But when disobedience of the divine command stripped them of the innocence and purity in which they were clothed, sin engendered its consequenceshame; as we are told, "And the eyes of both were opened, and they discovered that they were naked." Therefore when summoned into the Divine presence, Adam says, "I was afraid, because I am naked:" which calls forth the rebuke, "Who 66 shameful disgrace unto us." (Gen. xxxiv. 14.) Their meaning could not be, that it would be a disgrace to them in the eyes of the world, were they, the only circumcised family then in existence, to give their sister to one, who, in this respect, resembled the great mass of mankind: But as they wished to impress him with the importance and advantage of this observance, as contributing to human perfection; they prove the sinfulness of the passions by citing the shame which attends their indulgence. As we said before, it is a duty incumbent on the parent to cause the rite of circumcision to be performed on his offspring. In addition to its being the covenant established by the Deity, it is likewise symbolic of what is due to all the commandments of religion; namely unconditional obedience, although human reason may not fathom their cause. Self-conceit would (as in the present day it actually does) cavil at the performance of this duty; and start the question, "What right have parents to force their helpless babes into a Covenant, and impose on them a religious system, independent of their inclination, will, and consciousness?" We could, in reply, retort by asking, "What right had Abraham, the father of circumcision, to bind his son on the altar, and to take up a knife with the fixed intention to slay him?" The answer to both questions is the same: The right is conferred by the command of the Deity, the great Lord of life and being, whose justice is equalled by his mercy, who commands nought but what is really conducive to our true good, however little the blind command all other considerations yield; alike mute is the arrogance of philosophy and the repugnance of pity. xv. 23.) כי חטאת קסם מרי ואון fold researches of human reason can conceive his motives. In obedience to that command the right is exercised. And we who know, that "he spoke and it was, he commanded "For like the sin and it stood firm;" that when he of sorcery is rebellion,-like iniquity said, "Let there be," creation, in all and idols is perverseness." (1 Sam. its glorious variety, was perfect,are we to question his commandWe stated at the commencement ments, and reason on the extent of of this article that circumcision is obedience due to him, or of the called 1, "a sign or token." It rights which that obedience confers? has this appellation in common with Far from us be such presumption. the Sabbath, and most probably for That perfect obedience of which the father of the faithful bequeathed us the same reason; namely, though the observance is peculiar to Israelhis glorious example, is at least par-ites, yet it is not for their sole benefit tially to be perpetuated in his descendants, the sons of Jacob. How ever parental tenderness may repine; however the helpless innocent, scarcely ushered into the world, may implore pity by its unconscious cries; Abraham is to be imitated. Despight the yearnings of the father's heart, the keen edge of the knife initiates the new-born Israelite into the established covenant; for the Lord of the universe commands it; to that only, nor yet for the mere purpose of distinguishing their community from others; but it is intended as a sign or token to all the nations of the earth, that the law of Moses is truly that Israelites are witnesses to the the revelation of the Most High; and facts of that revelation; and, in order to be accredited as such, they are stamped with the indelible seal of the covenant. (To be continued.) II. CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS. THE TALMUD.-NO. III. In our last article on this subject we availed ourselves of the assistance and authority of Rabenu Moses bar Maimon (Maimonides) to acquaint our readers with the circumstantial details of the order in which the traditions of the oral law were transmitted, and for that purpose submitted to them the preface to his Jad Hachazaka. We now continue to use the assistance which the numerous and comprehensive works of that great author, and his acknowledged critical acumen, have placed at our disposal; and, in order to elucidate whatever may have remained obscure and incomplete in our former article, and also to examine the various divisions of the Talmud, we introduce to our readers the following treatise, which was originally written by Maimonides in Arabic, but was subsequently, at the request of the Jews of Marseilles, translated into Hebrew by R. Jehuda ben Solomon Alchophni, called El Charisi, a native of Spain, who lived in the beginning of the 13th century; and though in it our author digresses into an investigation of prophecy, we trust his remarks on that important subject will be considered of some interest. PREFACE TO THE TALMUDIC TREATISE, "ZERAIM." BY MAIMONIDES. KNOW that every commandment HE!) gave to Moses our teacher, which the Holy One (blessed be (peace be with him!) was accom panied by its exposition: First the commandment was imparted to him, and then its full and particular elucidation. This was the case with every thing that is comprised in the book of the Law. The manner in which it was communicated to the Israelites was, as the Talmud relates, (Treatise Erubin, chap. v., fol. 55,) "After the Divine commandment had been given to Moses he withdrew to his tent, and was followed by Aaron, to whom Moses communicated the commandment that had been given to him, and the exposition which accompanied the same; both of which he taught him. When this was done, Aaron took his place at the right hand of Moses. His two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, next entered, and to them Moses repeated the whole of what he had already told Aaron, whose sons seated themselves, one at the left hand of Moses, the second at the right hand of Aaron. The seventy elders were next ushered in, and to them Moses recapitulated all that he had said to Aaron and to his sons. The tent was then thrown open to the body of the people, and to every one who came to seek the Lord. To them all Moses once more stated the whole of what he had already imparted to Aaron, to his sons, and to the seventy elders; so that every one could hear the commandment and its exposition as it fell from the lips of Moses. Thus Aaron heard the instruction, repeated by Moses, four different times, his sons heard it thrice, the elders twice, and the body of the people once. When this was done, Moses retired, and Aaron repeated the commandment he had four times heard from Moses, together with its exposition, to all who were present; and when his sons had thus likewise heard the commandment four times, namely, thrice from Moses, and once from their father; Aaron also retired, and was succeeded by his sons; who likewise repeated to all who were present the whole of the commandment, together with its exposition; upon which they withdrew. seventy elders, who in like manner heard the instruction recapitulated four times, namely, twice from The or Moses, once from Aaron, and once from his sons, then began to instruct those who were present in the commandment and its exposition; so that the body of the people also heard it four times, namely, from Moses, from Aaron, from his sons, and from the seventy elders." When the congregation dispersed, the people instructed each other in what they had heard from the mouth of Moses, and wrote the commandments on megiloth, rolls. The chiefs of the nation went about to teach the whole people of Israel, and to expound to them the commandment, until the people acquired a perfect knowledge thereof. The commandment itself was, as we said before, preserved in writing; the exposition was committed to memory, with all its details and particular explanations. In accordance with this is the comment of our Rabbies in the Torath Cohanim, (Leviticus xxv. 1.,) "And the Lord spake unto Moses on Mount Sinai." Why does Holy Writ, in this particular passage, use the words """ on Mount Sinai" as the whole of the law was delivered on that Mount? It is done to denote that, as the law of shmita (the agrarian rest of the seventh year) was given at Mount Sinai, with all and every the explanations, details, and particular enactments thereunto appertaining; thus, and in like manner, all and every commandment was given at Sinai, accompanied by the explanations, details, and particular enactments thereunto respectively appertaining." As an instance, we cite: The Holy One (blessed be HE!) said to Moses, "In booths ye shall dwell seven days." (Leviticus xxiii. 42.) This commandment was written down; but in addition thereto, Moses received from the Deity the full and circumstantial explanation which this commandment required. Such as: That this command is compulsory only on males, not on females; that sick or wayfaring men are exempt from its observance ; that the booth must be thatched with vegetable materials, but only such as are longer in a state of actual vegetation, nor yet with any manufactured no |