Many of the Piyyutim[138] and Selichoth belong to this class; also a few sections in the ordinary Ritual (see note 2), and the repetition [[453]]of the Amidah, and the Kiddush in the Synagogue on the eve of Sabbaths and Festivals.
(4.) It is further asserted that the Ritual was formulated in bygone times; our wants and tastes are different from those of former ages. We can neither pray for the same things nor in the same way as our ancestors. But what did our ancestors pray for? For the well-being of their body and of their soul; for the realisation of our national hopes and the ultimate triumph of our holy Religion. Just the same ends we wish to obtain at present, and these objects form the substance of our Ritual.—There are some petitions which seem to many out of place, and out of date. Such are petitions against cruel oppressors. Our fathers had good reason to cry to the Almighty for relief, for they were oppressed, whilst we, living in a free country, in the enjoyment of all the rights of citizens, have no cause whatever for complaint. If we were to separate ourselves from our brethren in distant countries, we could expunge all such petitions from the Ritual. This is, however, not the case; we feel deeply grieved at the sufferings of our brethren. We should like to see them relieved from oppression and persecution, and pray to God for His interference in behalf of the persecuted. When we use the term “revenge” (נקם) we do not associate with it any base desire to see the enemy crushed or annihilated; we use it rather in the sense of a just and merited penalty for evil-doers, and associate with it the idea of the ultimate victory and triumph of our holy Religion after long periods of oppression and persecution. It is their Faith for which our fathers suffered, and our brethren in some countries still suffer, and the triumph of which forms the centre of these petitions. Intense grief and sorrow sometimes suggested harsh expressions, such as “Destroy our enemies,” “Put an end to them,” but these are figurative expressions, and are used in the sense explained by Beruria, the wife of Rabbi Meir: “May the sinners cease from sinning, and sinners will be no more.” Similarly we pray in the Amidah: “Let our slanderers have no hope of success, so that evil-doers may soon vanish and disappear; break the power of the presumptuous, and humble them.” In these words we give expression to our feeling of indignation against the slanderers of our holy Religion, the revilers of Judaism, such, e.g., as from time to time renew the blood-accusations, [[454]]or by false and deceptive arguments or other means entice Jews to abandon their faith.[139]
(5.) We hear frequently the complaint that the Public Service is too long. This complaint is of a relative character; it is different from the feeling of joy expressed in the words, “Blessed are those who dwell in thy house;” it is different from the sentiment of those chasidim (Mishnah, Berachoth v. 1) who sat still a while before the commencement of the prescribed prayer, or those who after the conclusion thereof sit down again, saying, “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to thy name; the upright shall dwell in thy presence” (Ps. cxl. 14). As regards the length of the Service, we should bear in mind the principle of our Sages: It makes no difference whether the Service is long or short: only be devout. It is provocative of irreverence to protract the Service unnecessarily until it becomes wearisome; but it is equally unbecoming to hurry over it as though it were an unpleasant task. On the whole the Services, especially when they are well regulated, are not too long, unless too much time be spent in singing or in unnecessary interruptions.
In all cases in which a modification seems advisable and lawful it must be borne in mind that the Ritual is a Sanctuary every element of which is holy, and that hasty reforms may be less effective than is hoped. It may perhaps be easy to pull down, but it is not so easy to build up. Devout members of a congregation may easily be alienated, but not so easily will new members be attracted, or if attracted, permanently retained.
7. On Page 424.
Rabban Gamaliel said, “Provide thyself a teacher, and be quit of doubt” (Aboth i. 16). The rule laid down in these words for every individual applies also to the whole community. Questions like those mentioned in the preceding note frequently arise in Jewish congregations, and cause dissension where union is so much needed. A teacher must be appointed in every community, [[455]]who shall be able to guide and to instruct it as to what is right and wrong. In fact, such a teacher has, as a rule, been appointed in Jewish congregations; he is known by various names: Haham (חכם), Rav (רב “Teacher”), Rabbi (רבי “My teacher”), Teacher of righteousness (מורה צדק), and Judge (דין). The weight of his authority is less to be determined by the nature of his office or by written conditions than by his learning, piety, and personal influence. According to the rule, “Judge not alone” (ibid. iv. 8), he is generally assisted by two councillors (dayganim), with whom he forms a court of judgment—Beth-din—when questions of more than ordinary importance have to be decided. The congregation must accept his decisions as final, and must have confidence that he, like the high-priest of old, will give his answers according to “light and integrity.”
VI. The Dietary Laws.
“Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing” (Deut. xiv. 3); that is, according to our traditional explanation, everything that the Word of God declares to be abominable (Sifre, ad locum). One of the sections of the Dietary Laws concludes thus: “For I am the Lord that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. xi. 45).
Holiness is therefore the only object of these laws that is distinctly mentioned in the Pentateuch. But what is the nature of the holiness which they are intended to produce or to promote? “The Dietary Laws,” says Maimonides, “train us in the mastery over our appetites; they accustom us to restrain the growth of desire, the indulgence in seeking that which is pleasant, and the disposition to consider the pleasure of eating and drinking the end of man’s existence” (“The Guide,” III., chap. xxv. p. 167). And, indeed, [[456]]wherever the Law commands restraint of some bodily enjoyment, or restriction of any of our appetites, such commandment is followed or preceded by the exhortation to be holy, or the warning not to defile oneself.