The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-22
WHAT Is JUDAISM.
Rabbi Isaac NJ. Wise Answers the I'm
portant Question.
From the New orleans Picayune.

From the New Orleans Picayune.
There was a splendid audience at Tenn
pie Sinai last night to listen to the address
| by Rev. DR.. Wise, president of the He
/ brew Union College, at Cincinnati in
which he defined Judaism. The temple
was crowded from front to rear, and from
! top to bottom. Among those present were
| people of all denominations Rev DR..
/ B. NJ. Palmer sat on a front seat, and
several other clergymen were in the audi
ence. On the platform were DR.. Wise
and Rabbits Heller of this city and Moses
of Chicago.
| Rabbi Braunfeld opened the services,
and Rabbi Heller introduced DR.. Wise as
his beloved teacher. Dr. Wise stepped to
the pulpit with firm step. notwithstand-
ing his rs years, and delivered his address
in a very interesting and entertaining
style. The address was in substance as
follows:
l have promised to define before this
congregation what Judaism is.
Ii may look like presumption on my
part that | should rise before so large
and intelligent a congregation to define
Judaism in this pulpit, where for twenty
2
Judaism, but circumstances have ripened
in me the idea and impelled me to speak on
this subject A definition of so vast an
objet, an ideal object of 5000 years stand
ing, a subject so vast that ii comprises
the religious sentiment and religious wis
dom of the world, is not easy. 1t cannot
well be done. and it ought not to be
done. Defining religion and putting it in
words is to make a dogma, and dogmas
are definitions of modes or phases of be-
lief We have never reduced Judaism to
a dogma, and we know that dogmas are
the cause of sectarianism, and have been
and are now the cause of all the differ
ences in the various creeds of the churches
II is almost wrong to reduce anything
in Judaism to a dogma.
AS l have promised to define what Juda-
ism is l will take the definition of the
prophet, and his words stand forever and
cannot be cosidered a dogma, because all
the words Of the prophet are of equal holi-
ness. Thus, says Jehovah: Let the
wise man not boast of wisdom; let the
hero not boast of his heroismi let the
rich man not boast of his riches, but let
him reason and become wise to know me-
to know God. Let him reason to know
God that he may thus raise up Justice
and righteousness in the world. 1t is this
that l desire. says jehovah"
Here you have the whole the essence
of Judaism, in as few words as can be
expressed. jeremiah says what Judaism
is not. Boast not in your wisdom We
wise men," Judaism is not the product
of human philosophy or of human
thought; it is not the work of evolution
Judaism has not made its God; God has
made Judaism. Human wisdom has not
begotten it, nor brought 1t forth Here
is a lesson to ali-Judaism is not crank
ism. 1t Is not any Of the modern idea
nor the modern system. 1t is a thing Of
itself and of Il particular origin. 1t is no
hero worship, for that Is the highest phase
of heathenism. Greek and Roman and
German myihologies are founded on the
highest expression of hero-worship; and
Jupiter and the other gods were all hu-
man beings
Judaism respects the memory of its
great men, but it defes them not.
1t thinks of them as examples, but
thinks of them as models, only Judaism
Is not the dictation of might of poten-
tates. of men of wealth and power, who
created state religions and dictated to
the world what it should believe The
emperors Of Rome proclaimed themselves