Morning journal and courier., 1881-11-28
Church nrishkan Israel.

Interesting Lecsur by Rev. pr. Kleeberg.
 Rev Dr. Kleeberg delivered g very able i lecture on the Talmud last evening, before large congregation, at the church on Court
 street. It was given much praise, and prob ably other lectures will be given. He said
 that the Talmud is to the Jews what the New Testament is to the Christian. The Talnud is based on the Old Testament As the Christian considers the New Testament high CT than the Old, so the Jew considers the Talmud higher than the Old. and the same with regard to the Talmud as a spiritual guide As the Christian generally studies | the New Testament much more than the Old. so the Jew dwells most on the Talmud. If this statement is correct, then it is obvious Il that the remark often heard from Christians, | that the Jew stands still under the yoke of l the Old Testament, must be erroneous. The Talmud cannot be termed at all yoke, for it l is unlimited in its literature. It began with Moses, but it has not yet found it's termina- tion. Let us hear what the Talmud says itself of it's origin. Moses, it is well known spent forty days and forty nights on Mt. Si mai because God instructed him there in oth- CT law beside the unwritten law. This oral law should have never been committed to
 writing and to 8 stereotype form, but 1t ! should have been transmitted from genera
 tion to generation by means of oral instruc-
 tion; but nevertheless, in order to save it from oblivion, it was committed to writing, and before the destruction of the first tenn ple Rabbi Judah Hanassi wrote the Mishna,
 weerefrom was developed the Talmud, con- ! <,f1 ,hokA ixrod statements made in the Talmud are based on the Bible The speaker gave one example. Moses broke the first tablets of stone when he saw that the Israelites had made golden calf and God told him to make two other tablets in place of those ''which thou hast , broken" Here the Talmud explains and , says thou must not think that this thou hast
 broken involves reproach toward Moses. , Do not read (which, D but read rightfully, ol ! happily-those which thou hast rightfully
 or happily, broken, for the Hebrew word s'aohich, '' in its root, means also happily or 'trightfully." The speaker gave a good many anecdotes or legends showing the beauty of the Talmud. He defended the dis
 cussion of minute points in the Talmud as
 no more trivial than similar discussions
 by Christians of the same age an6 ! also later ages. For instance, 1T
 
 l question what constitutes breach of the law | in writing on the Sabbath, which is forbid den in the Talmud. The Talmud discussed I \ at length whether man was guilty who ' wrote two letters of word and whether i 8 was guilt where two men wrote each par t of word, or where the letters were writt CT in ink which faded afterward and became in , visible, or whether the law was broken If ht wrote it with his foot or his left hand, O :, ! with his mouth. The speaker said that tn e Christian theologians of the middle ages dis f. cussed at length and for years what name = of fruit it was that Adam and Eve ate. Tn speaker drew contrast between the two 1t They discussed at length whether Adam hal l. navel as he was not born of woman, ant a how many angels could stand ol
 the point of needle. The Tal IS mud holds that Elijah, who was taken t. e heaven in chariot of fire, makes his dwell -- ing sometimes in heaven, sometimes on earth
 that he meets all good Israelites in distress
 Once a rabbi met him in market plac e 1 where dense crowd was congregated. Tn
 rabbi asked him to point out those presen It l who would go to heaven, and Elijah pointe
 him out jailer and two clowns. The rabb at ! asked the jailer and the clowns what thei
 saving works were? They looked at hin
 l surprised The former said he didn't kno1 'e that he had any except that he treated tn
 unfortunate prisoners under his charge wit
 all possible consideration and kindness, an
 the two latter said that they made it poiH
 in their business to make people forget thei g. sorrows and woes and make them cheerful and happy. The speaker here added wha T. would the Young Mems Christian association 'f in New Haven say if a jailer and two clowns T. or comedian or singers had the first claims t ,,ss | heaven The speaker added many beautifU Id sayings from the Talmud.
 at Admirable music was furnished previou @ to and after the lecture by Prof Wehner.