Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-09-21
CAN, A CHRISTIAN 60 To
HEAVEN
The Reply Of the Jew.
& Sermon Preached by the Rev.
Rabbi TuSE1a. at the Syna-
gOgue, Saturday, I2th.


are sure viii interest nlOet Of our readers
Z and We propose 70 give them s.n outline
Of his remarks.
/ Ch0osing hls text from the Lesson O
/ the Day, DEUTERONOMY, 29th, last verse
! The secret things belong unto the
/ Lord our God; bat the things which ara
/ revealed bslong TO Us and TO our children
( forever, to do ali the words Of tbis law y
The speaker said that he had used thiI
I text on several occasions, il being par.
ticularly appropriate for moral reflection
/ on the Sabbath Immediately preceding
Z the New Year; but would now use it il
/ reference TO > rather novel theme, sug.
! gssted by a discourse recently published
/ on the question, "Can JetO go tC
/ Heaven?" In that sermon, the preacher
/ Fefuted the theory Of those who maintain
/ that the Jews, IS well IS the heathens,
not believing IN the peculiar doctrines oi
4 Christianity, cannot be saved, but are
doomed TO 3 region the very reverse Of
/ Heaven. -
He proposed now, by way Of contrast,
/ to show what the Jewish religion teaches
respecting the fate Of those who do not
believe in the peculiar doctrines Of Ju-
daism.
What is, and must be the reply Of the
Jew to the query: Can Christian go to
Heaven? Il is invariably and uneQuiVO-
cally, Yesfn Yes, s Christian, ss well
Is the vOtary Of any other creed, may,
according 70 cur religion, inherit eternal
bliss even though he do not believe q
word Of any of the doctrines, nor practice
any of the rites and ceremonies, peculiar
to Judaism.
He said that he would. first OF all,
prove this from the nature of Judaism
itself, and then verify the same by the
testimony of the Jewish teachers and
authorities, from the time Of the Talmud
down 20 the present day.
"The secret things belong unto the
Lord cur God" Judaism teaches nc
mysteries. 1t does not require man to
believe in doctrines contrary TO our con-
vietious. 1t does not wish to do violence
TO our reason by sUbjecting It bliHdiy and
implicitly to faith. Go through the
Hebrew Scriptures, from Genesis ts
Malachi, and you will not find anywhere
q law eDjOiBins or enforcing 5eLjef. The
fact Is, the Hebrew language, as preserved
IN Holy Writ, mas not even word eX-
pressing the idea commonly conveyed by
the word Faith,n or Belief,n as USED
il the Christian creed. Henca, we no
where find tae phrase "Thou shslt BE-
EeUe in G0d.n But We do fad the in
Junction thou shalt khO1U the Lord"
cJc. The Isgaelite is required to uss bis
reason, that lie may know and eOmpre-
hsud Whist is hight and true. be is not
bound TO receive creed OF trust. hGO1Ct-
edge, not faith, is demanded Of the true
IsIaelite. If there be any mysteries IL
this world, which the mind of mau can
not comprehend, they are not taught IN
Israe's creed. d" The secret things be-
long unto the Lord" They do not con-
eern us. We may dispense with them
What concerns US is piaiDly revealed
unto Us; iC is: "To 80 all the words of
this law" That belongs to Us and to cur
children forever. Hence, Judaism teach
es no dcgmas on the belief OF which our
salvation depends. You viii search io
vain il cur Bible for any such passage as
" He that believeth shall be saved, and
he that believeth not shall be con-
demned." According to our religion,
mans conduct here on earth will de.
uermine the character o. bic future
destiny. It teaches that eternal happi-
ness will be the reward OF al who DO
what is right and just TO the best OF their
knowledge, without regard 20 the par
licular creed which they confess. Juda-
ism, in this respect, is truly liberal and
rational.
phe speaker then referred 10 the teach
ings OF the Jewish Fathers, IS well IS to
later authorities, by whom this liberal
spirit Of Judaism Is fully sUbstsniisted.
He began with the oldest-tbe author
ities Of the TdlHlUd. The ancient Tai
mudists, with al their faults and short
cOmiDgs, with all their sbsurdities and Pc
cuiiarities, never hsTbCred that selfish,
narrow minded spirit which excludes the
piOus and upright from the realms Of
happiness, for 10 other fault than that Of
not believing in the principles Of Juda-
ism. The following passages may serve
as specimens Of their hbsrallty Ia this re-
speet:
"God is merciful to those who are not
decidedly good or bad. The really wicked
sloae-b0th Jewish sEd beathen-wbO
dsseerated the holy law, by Iewdness and
other crimes, are punished in hell twelve
months, after which their souls are ami
haated. On the day of judgment, when
the dead shall rise, all others, like the pi-
Gus, Will inherit life eternal. ~ HOSh
hdshG5l, ~
Again: God will not withhold his
reward from any Of his creatures. - Bal.
Raa10 80.
Again: Rabbi Jcsua, basiDg bis view
on pp. 8, is, maintained that only the
wicked among the Gentiles will be con-
demDed TO perdition, but that "the
righteous among them viii participate
in the bliss Of the future world. ~ San
bedr. 81 and l05).
Similar sentiments were expressed By
the learned Rabbis in the middle ages.
He quoted one from every century, be-
ginning with the eleventh century.
10 fafw Tod or ~ ~ laa
ical work, RuSdTi, r. Jehuda Haievid, |
says: We Seny no mans right to be
rewarded for his yirtuous deeds, no mat
ter TO what nation he may belong.
There is but this distinction, namely, /
that those who in this life walked most
closely with God, will enjoy a more per-
feet bliss in the future. e.p-hUSdTi, l, Z
iii.
r Lipman, Of the fourteenth century.
says that the word OF the Psalmist, "Lst
ali flesh bless His holy name" tpp. las
ha.j imply the doctrine that all the
pious, even though they are not Israel
ties, will enjoy the bliss Of fatUrity.
Such, too, was the opinion Of orthodox
Rsbbis and Cabbalists of the 10th and
10th centuries. One Of these, Solomon
UIphUseJ1, expressly declares that the up
right OF all nations, particularly the pious
Christians, are not condemned, buC OBJ
tain eternal life.
The celebrated AdlDlonioles 125h CEN
tury) maintains that immortal happI-
ness Is acquired by knowledge and mo- |
rslity, and that cOnseq IDENTIFY all the
righteous Of whatever creed, are re-
wRrded with 2 happy life.
So, too, iD the following century 17th)
the illustTious champion of Israel, Mea1s- |
sebeH Israel, who takes 1t for granted
that only q part Of the Isrselites viii be
raised from the dead, expressly states
that all others who believe Ia God and
lead piOus life, though not of the Jew
sh persuasion, will be raised to ever
lasting bliss.
About the beginningkOf the last CEN
Jury 8 learned Rabbi, ia response to the
question of q princess, whether he
.nought that Christians could 20 to
Heaven, remarked: "God would be cruel
indeed, IL it should doom to perdition
hose whom He had never commanded |
70 observe the Jewish laws"
And so, towards the close Of the last !
century, the pious philosopher, the re-
lowned Moses Mendelss0hn, IN bis work |
on liberation, declared that according |
% The principles of Judaism, all the IN |
la6sto1ats Of the earth are destined to be |
saved. Jerusalem, p. ITO.
In regard to the views OF all enlight- |
mad IaFaaIffaa r.ff