of the word bu, is "concord," or " harmony." Thus Jerusalem is called, iw, "The inheritance of concord," being destined to teach mankind to find true happiness in that concord which is promised hereafter to be the portion of the human race: As it is said, "And many nations shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and admonish many people and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah ii. 3, 4.) And further: "For then I will turn to the nations a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." (Zeph. iii. 9.) Harmony, the obedience to the law of creation enacted by truth, is the reciprocal operation of the various parts of the universe, and the basis of their preservation. Were that harmony interrupted, even but for an instant, chaos would resume its sway, and, amidst the wreck of the universe, time would cease to be. The present life is a

66

As

stepping-stone to that to come. man sows in this world, he reaps in the next. It is but a continuation of existence on a different scene. And such is the harmony which pervades all existence, that man finds all that is desirable in the past revived in the rewards of a future state. Society is based on the peace and concord of all that dwell under its institutions. And the examples are but too frequent in the pages of history, that, while unanimity gives power to the weak, discord destroys the powerful,

For it is said, Truth, justice, and peace shall ye judge in your gutesOur sage teacher, having thus fully carried out the truth of his maxim, in all its bearings, closes his instructions by impressing on our minds, that, though his principles apply alike to the universe and whatever it contains, yet his doctrine is chiefly addressed to man as a member of society, and, in a great measure, dependent for his happiness on the perfection of the institutions under which he lives. And, lest we might fall into the erroneous supposition, that what he has said is the result of logical deductions only, and resting on his own authority alone, he calls our attention to that sacred source of truth, REVELATION, and to the unquestionable authority of its Divine character.

BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.

and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burntoffering; " (Gen. xxii. 2;) no communication by means of a prophet had sufficient authority to recall the Divine command; and therefore "the Angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, 'Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him.'" (Gen. xi. 12.) Direct as had been the command, direct likewise was its repeal. When the man of God who had been sent to Jeroboam, and who had been commanded by the Lord, "to eat no bread, to drink no water,

and not to return by the same way he came," suffered himself to be

succeeding commandments are in the third person: As we read:

66

commission of another prophet, he was punished for having preferred an inferior authority to the direct command of God. (1 Kings xi. 32.) But that which has been communicated by a prophet may be altered or modified by a similar communication. When, therefore, the Holy One (blessed be HE!) vouchsafed to make known his Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, he did so directly, and in the hearing of all the assembled myriads of Israel, who were called upon to obey these commands. Nevertheless, it requires some reflection: As the Talmud says, "The two first sentences, I am the Lord thy God, &c., and, Thou shalt have no other gods, &c., we heard from the mouth of Omnipotence." (Treatise Mackoth, folio 24.) This Talmudic assertion appears the more strange, as Holy Writ expressly states, These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the Mount, out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, &c. And he wrote them on two tables of stone, and gave them unto me." (Deut. v. 22.) And further: "And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments which the Lord spake unto you in the mount in the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly and the Lord gave them to me. ." (Deut. x. 4.) So that it appears clear, that the whole of the Ten Commandments were all equally heard by all Israel from the mouth of Omnipotence. Why then does the Talmud make a distinction between the first and the succeeding commands? However startling this assertion of the Talmud appears, we nevertheless, upon mature investigation, discover that it is founded on Holy Writ. The commencement of the Commandments is, &c., 8, "I am," &c. 7's, "which I have brought thee out," &c.

:

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who taketh 1D his name in vain," &c. ; This is the case with all the other commandments. Thus there is evidently a distinction between the first two and the succeeding ones. And though all Israel heard the whole Ten Commandments delivered by the Deity, 'yet the difference in the language could not fail to attract the attention of the Talmud, which therefore emphatically marks this direct revelation, where the Lord speaks in the first person. Nor is it by any means without sufficient motive that this most direct and powerful style of revelation is made use of. The causes which seduced the ancient Heathens into the worship of idols are various. Some fell into the error of supposing, that although there exists a First Cause, yet his powers are material, and that he is himself the soul of the various orbits: Such was the system of Epicurus and his disciples. Others asserted, that as the Deity had created the astral bodies of a higher degree, and more nearly approximating to him than this nether world, and as they they therefore hold a superior rank in creation, it behoves man to pay his adorations to them; that by so doing man was acting in accordance with the will of the Creator, who, like a mortal king, desired that due homage should be paid to those whom he delighteth to honour. Many maintained, that, from the infinite greatness of God, it was impossible there should be any affinity between Him and man: Hence they inferred the necessity of mediators between God and man: This was the error of Ahab and the other idolatrous kings of Israel and of Judah. Some thought that the Deity has no connexion whatever with this nether world, which, according to

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' The wording here is altogether in the first person, I am; I brought out; before me. But all the

emanations of the angelic orbits: They therefore believed it to be their duty to worship those from whom they supposed all good to flow: Such

was the conduct of those wretched women who said to the Prophet, "Since we have left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, we have wanted all things," &c. (Jeremiah xliv. 18.) Others there were, who, although they admitted the existence of an immaterial Being, yet harboured a more pernicious (because a less gross) error; and maintained that the Deity does not notice the conduct or actions of man. These were they who replied to the exhortations of the prophet by saying, "The Lord hath abandoned the earth; the Lord doth not hehold." (Ezekiel ix. 9.) Accordingly, they maintained that it is inconsistent with the greatness of God that he should deem man worthy of his attention; and that theirs was the true idea of the Divine dignity, when they say, that man is too contemptible for the notice of the Deity. To refute all these erroneous opinions, the Deity deigned to declare to the Israelites, in the most distinct and emphatic manner, speaking in his own proper person, "I am the Lord," I alone am eternal and immaterial, and there is none else beside me. "Thy God," I am the God of all men, and notice their actions and conduct. "I have brought thee out from the land of Egypt;" mine is the especial providence which watches over every man. "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me;" neither the heavens nor the heavenly bodies, neither angels nor any created being whatever, is to be worshipped as the benefactor of man. There is no mediator between God and man. "For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God;" I will not give mine honour to another; "visiting the iniquity of the fathers, &c., to those that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me;" I do not abandon the earth; I do not consider those who obey my laws, and those who transgress my commandments, as alike unworthy of my notice: But, supreme as I am in dignity, power, and greatness, I reward man according to his deeds. Such being the momentous instructions conveyed in these commands, they were of importance sufficient for this direct and

especial revelation, addressed to the Israelites by the Deity when speak. ing to them all in the first person. There is, moreover, this material difference between these commands delivered in the first person and the others;—that if an accredited and approved Prophet of the Lord were -to meet the exigencies of the moment, in the name of the Lord,-for a short time to suspend any of the other commandments, (as, for instance, the Sabbath,) he must be obeyed. But if the same prophet were, in the name of the Deity, to declare that God has commanded, for a certain time, the heavenly bodies, or any being in existence, to be adored as a mediator between God and man, we are bound not to obey that prophet; because what has once been in the fullest and most direct manner commanded to the nation

12 ", "from the mouth of Omnipotence itself" speaking in the first person, cannot be suspended, modified, or altered, unless by means of a similar direct and emphatic declaration, addressed by the Deity, when speaking in the first person, to all the assembled myriads of Israel, their wives and their children, in the same manner as he spoke at Sinai.

CHAPTER XIX.

מפי הגבורה

66

FROM what we have now stated, it results, that it is impossible for Divine laws to undergo any alteration in the three fundamental principles; namely, the existence of the Deity, Revelation of the Divine laws from him, and Rewards and Punishments, or Divine Providence; the whole of which have been pronounced 'by the mouth of Omnipotence," when speaking in the first person. Accordingly we have, in a former part of this work, (First Division, chap. 25,) stated, that, whatever modifications or alterations Divine laws may undergo, their essential principles still remain immutable. This is an unquestionable fact, which admits of no doubt. Other laws of Moses, however, may be open to the question, whether they can be subjected to any alteration or not. After the most mature reflection which we have been able to afford to

the consideration of this subject, we are of opinion, that it is not permitted to any man to deviate from the faith which has been transmitted to him in an authentic and credible manner, which in its origin is founded on Divine revelation, and which inculcates such fundamental principles and the essential branches they involve, as we have already enumerated. From such a faith no man is justified in any way to deviate, except it is proved by sufficient evidence that the Deity has proclaimed his will to alter that which, in a previous revelation, he had commanded. The nature of this evidence requires that the truth of the messenger should be fully approved. This is not done by means of miracles, as it is possible that miracles may be wrought by men who are not prophets of the Lord: For although we may not be able to explain certain effects or acts which to us appear supernatural, it is not thence demonstrated that these must necessarily be miraculous. All that is thereby proved, is, that the man who produces these effects, or who performs these deeds, is gifted with knowledge and skill surpassing ours. The standard by which the truth of the messenger is to be ascertained and judged, is the mission of Moses. The messenger who declares himself commissioned by God to alter, modify, or repeal laws founded on previous revelations, must

either be greater than Moses, or at least his equal. An entire nation, myriads of men, women, and children, must again attain the highest degree of prophetic inspiration, and hear the Deity declare to them all, that this messenger is his trusty servant in whom they are to believe; as was the case with Moses. Such messenger must, moreover, not work his wonders privately, but control the course of nature in the presence of assembled nations. The effects of his wonders must be durable; as was the case with those of Moses. He must vanquish every opponent, as Moses overcame Korah and his adherents. He must convince every wise man of his age, and force them all to confess the Divine authority of his mission, as Moses did to Pharaoh and to the wise men of Egypt. But if, in all or any of these circumstances, .this messenger does not come up to the example of Moses, there is no sufficient cause to alter commandments founded on previous revelation, communicated to a messenger approved and accredited like Moses. Whether, in days to come, the Divine laws which at present we obey, may actually undergo any alteration or modification, is foreign to our present inquiry: For, should that time ever arrive, sufficient evidence of the Divine pleasure will assuredly be afforded to us. (To be continued.)

I WILL now begin to treat of my original subject: Know then, that as a blind person cannot form an idea of colours, nor a deaf man imagine the sound of the voice, so is the body insensible to the delights of the soul: And in the same manner as fishes can have no idea of fire, (for they exist only in water, its opposite element,) so are the delights of the spiritual world unknown to the inhabitants of that which is temporal. We have, indeed, few pleasures here but those of the senses, and the sensations

which arise from them. And all beyond these is to us as without existence; for we understand it not, nor do we even attain an incipient idea of it without deep and great investigation. Thus, however, is it proper that we should be circumstanced; for we are in a corporeal world, and, therefore, can only feel slight and finite pleasures: But those of the soul are perpetual, endless, and eternally existent; between which and earthly joys there is neither comparison, approximation, nor similitude in the remotest degree. Nor

is it considered proper by those versed in the law, nor by divines, nor by philosophers, to say that the angels, and other celestial influences enjoy no pleasurable sensations; for they, in truth, do possess these, knowing and comprehending the truths of the Creator; (blessed be HE!) a felicity, infinite and excellent far above the bodily pleasures which fall to our lot. Still we are so circumstanced, that he who will purify himself can do so, and will after death be exalted to a high degree; whence he will neither desire, nor look down upon, terrestrial enjoyments, excepting with the same eye as that with which a king, long and firmly seated on his throne, would in retrospection view the sports of his childish years, when he valued them before he could discriminate between the advantages of the two stations: Thus do we, now in our life-time, enjoy and receive bodily pleasures, in the ignorance of spiritual joys.

If these two kinds of pleasure are considered, the inferiority of the one, and the excellence of the other, are manifest even in this world; for the greater part of mankind will be found exerting all their powers of body and mind, in various painful and irksome occupations, with a view of acquiring honours and regard, in preference to the ordinary gratifications of the senses, to which some prefer revenge. Many abandon the greatest of the pleasures, fearful of the shame which might follow, or anxious to acquire a good name amongst mankind; and if such be their intention in this corporeal world, how much more so must it be in the spiritual, which is the world to come! for there our souls attain to a knowledge of the Creator. (Blessed be HE!) This delight is indivisible, incomparable, indescribable: On it the Prophet reflecting said, "How great is the good thou hast prepared for those who fear thee!" And thus the Rabbanim (peace be with them!) remarked: "In the world to come there is neither eating, nor drinking, nor washing, nor clothing; but the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads, rejoicing in the splendour

of the Divine Presence." When they say, "with their crowns on their heads," they mean to express the durability of the soul in its retention of its essential understanding, which is of the Creator; (blessed be HE!) and by the existence of the soul they mean that understanding. This is one of the subjects into which philosophical investigation has far extended. And when they say, "rejoice in the splendour of the Divine Presence," they mean, that the soul receives bliss from the comprehensive understanding of the truth of the Creator, (blessed be HE!) in the same way as holy spirits, and other degrees of angels, enjoy happiness in what they attain and know concerning His existence. Now the principal good, and the chief aim, is to attain to this superior degree and excellence; the soul perpetually existing with its Creator, (holy be His name!) who is the eternal, self-existing, never-ending Cause. This is "the great good," to which none other approximates, or bears comparison; for how can eternity, infinite, and ever-enduringly perpetual, be assimilated to that which is subject to cessation and period? On this it is said, "In order that it may be well with thee, and that thy days may be lengthened to eternity." The great and signal evil is, the cutting off of the soul, mentioned in the law; as, soul shall surely be cut off," &c.; on which the Rabbanim have said,

"that

Cutting off in this world is cutting off in the world to come." It is also written: " May the soul of my lord be bound in the bundle of life!" Those who much delight in worldly pursuits and pleasures, despising truth, and encouraging falsehood, will never attain to the great degree, but will be left as a cut-off wall.

The prophet (peace be with him !) explained that the world to come is not intelligible to the worldly senses, in the exclamation, "No eye has seen it, O God, save thine !" In explanation of this, the Rabbanim remark, that "all the prophets speak only as to the coming of the Messiah; but the world to come no eye has seen, except that of God."