BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Religious books for the use of children at home or in school were unknown in olden times. The Torah was taught, and with it every thing else. A great part of the Book of Proverbs and many of the Psalms may have been intended for the education of the young. In the early post-Biblical time we meet with books like The Wisdom of Solomon, The Wisdom of Joshua, son of Sirach, and Sayings of the Fathers, which may have served the same purpose. To these may be added “The Duties of the Heart,” by Bachya ibn Pekuda, “The Examination of the World” (Bechinath Olam), “The Choice of the Pearls,” by Ibn Gabirol, Abraham ibn Ezra’s “Foundation of the Fear of God, and Principle of the Law,” and “The Book of the Righteous,” by Rabbenu Jacob Tam, and “The Moral Lessons” (Toaliyyoth) by Rabbi Levi ben Gerson, and “The Shulhan Aruch” of R. Judah Aryeh di Modena. All these works are excellent books for the instruction of the young. They inculcate religious lessons, and shew the way to a pious life, but they are not text books of religion in the modern sense of the term. This branch of literature began to develop in the last century, with the exception of Abraham Jaghel’s Lekach-tob, which was written in the beginning of the seventeenth century, and was the first Catechism of Jewish Religion. It was composed in the Hebrew Language and subsequently translated into Latin and English. Since last century, however, religious books of all sizes, forms and tendencies have been produced in all [[509]]countries, especially in Germany. The following list contains such books as are included in the Jews’ College Library:—
English—
Albu, I., חק לישראל. London, 1860.
Asher, B. H., Initiation of the Youth. London, 1850.
Asher, D., Outlines of Jewish Religion. Manchester, 1845.
Cahen, M., Catechism of Religion. Liverpool, 1890.
Cahun, B., The Thirteen Articles of Faith. English and French. London, 1885.
Cohen, M. R., Principles of Judaism. Sydney, 1855.
Cohen, S. I., Elements of Jewish Faith. Philadelphia, 1813.