New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-06-22
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
ESSAYS on JUDAISM,

u Tndepehdence. By Claude Reignier Gender p.
G L. LII D.. ~ r. A. s. pd new ee'' Explora P
ton FUND.-.
In any previous generation RABBI A MOSES
of Louisville, would doubtless have shared with
Spinoza the pleasures and the pains OF eXpul-
sion from the Synagogue as return Tor MS
remarkable essay. Judaism Religion ana not
Race" which forms a salient feature OF the ne"
volume published by the Union OF American
Hebrew Congregations Other Jews have OF la'e
dared TO say similar things. but Raooi Moses
was almost the first Of those who attempted 10
show by systematic proofs how far from purify
as race the Jewish people are TO thoSe aiming
tho Chosen People whose antique prejudices may
he shocked by his frankness, he points out mat
nur,tv Of race has everywhere been bar 10
,roaroes and achievement. This Is principle
,ou known now TO anthropologsts, but one when
has ling been ignored in the interest OF 'heoIieS
Growing out Of national feeling or preJudiceS III
regard 10 language. Taking the wandering A'"o
Of the desert for q typical Semitic faooi NO'e''
has shown how far the jew Doth IN "'s' anu
East. had diverged from the model lie rlulc"ie'
tho enthusiasts who had set Aryan ana 9e'''i'e
=, contrast and denies that any such orlsii'''
woes ever existed as some students OF Ia"Eu"ee
Imagined. He shows how Renan' Tor EXAMINE
created an almost divine character LOT '"c "'
nothet,cal Aryans. by selecting the H"cs' p"'',
dies ~ tho noblest Grec!an tribes the gT'"uVS'
achievements q the Hellenic genius IN p'7"''
-. ard sc,onco tho rare capacity Of The Roman
people for military ara polNc'' o'H"'''NI' -.
au tho product or SOW deyeiopment-a"d con-
'~-.,nc hem hv mere assertion into innate attn
,,,.ns q so-caned Aryan families. Thus tAey
,,.oro made polvtheists by race Impulse alone
..A,,o beraf IN the unity Of God was sood
,,rb FOR the inferior Semitcs.
Thus adds Rabbi Moses. the conviction spread
chat however earnestly history stroVe' II V'"''
M, modify the nature Of either Semitic OF 'H""'
The two races were supposed to he oppos''es ii'i'
the first In the face Of the most patent l"O'' -
mas insisted tina, the Jew was moho'helS' ''
oorsA no was a Semitic. not because ne was a
low This was in spite of the fact that the pio"is
., q rank and stubborn polythesm among ''7
1eraal,tas lasting down TO the time OF 'S uV
strnction as a nation. were indispu'aDie p"''
as Rabbi Moses reads history. the lsraeh'eS "e'7
never one people in the scientlhc sens "a .'1
.a-n Even now they are about equally divided
between the long heads and the snort hed1S. 'ie
do,,cbocenhau and brachycephali Of ethnologlc
lore II was a religious community 'ha' con-
ouared and overspread Palestine, not body OF
,o,r,a descended from single father. As they
-rarched through the desert they took up me
N,id,an,,es: IN Canaan they did not destroy the
aboriginal tribes on the contrary, they assifn-
Hated them and incorporated them among the
p-orshinncrs Of Jehovah. Carried into BabyIonia'
the Jewish exnes converted whole provinces ana
the few who returned to Palestine subsequently
linternarried with the pagans VINO had peeh
settled there by the conquerers In every
nrovince and city Of the Roman Empire numer-
ous Gentiles embraced the faith OF Israel and
formed Furnishing congregations. And the olood
OF these Gentiles rolls in our veins. Abraham IS
not our father Isaac did not beget us, Jacob we
know not; but Yahoe the Maker Of Heaven and
earth the Father Of all men, the Father OF justice
and mercy. He is our Father and God. He Is the
Redeemer and Guide Of spiritual and universal
Israel from generation to generation No better
proof could be given Of the slenderness OF the
racial connection which. as Pigment or as reality
served 10 carry the ancient Hebrew religious
tradition. than is furnished by Major ConGers
sketch Of the Maccabaean revolution. The greater
number Of the people appeared to be ready 70
cast aside their ancestral faith in order TO take
I'D the modified Hellenism Of Alexander's Asiatic
successors 1t was a very small group that
gathered about Judas Maccabaeus and his
brothers and it was only the military skill and
fortune OF a single man which saved the worship
OF Jehovah from being utterly blotted out
The volume published by the Hebrew Union
covers nearly all the questions likely to be raised,
whether In Jewish theology. morals, history.
society, politics charity The point Of view
is by no means uniform. though il is everywhere
Jewish. To the essayists here represented by
their work. even comparative religion has no
real problems which Judaism cannot solve Dr.
Wise Of Cincinnati shows that Judaism is not
without an array Of dogmas strenuously de-
Tended. Nevertheless. this ancient religion docs
not stand still. Important notifications in Jew
ish philosophy have taken place since the time
os Moses Mendelssohn. as shown by DR.. Gottheil.
Nor must the silence Of the ancient Hebrew
records be misinterpre;ed, Rabbi Joseph Stolz,
of Chicago say It IS by those who deny TO the
ancient Israelites belief in Immortality. Many
Gentiles would go further even than DR. Colt
hard Deutsch DR.. Samuel Sale in celebrating
the labors Of the Jews for the preservation and
advancement OF science. philosophy literature
and general culture during the medieval period
They would perhaps show some misgfvings a
the thought Of such enthusiasm for the Talmud
as IS shown By specialists like DR.. NJ Mielziner
and Dr. Alexander Kohut; but even in the frag-
ments Of this body Of learning which are aces
sible outside Of the Hebrew, its value IS excmpli-
fed Folklore and philosophy, science and super
stition, mysticism and practical life have all con-
tiibuted 10 swell this deposit OF a thousand
years Of meditation and study NO race ana no
religious community ever raised 10 Itself a more
Characteristic literary monument. The volume
also contains the brief address Of the Roman
Catholic Archbishop Of Zante refuting the popu-
lar superstition not unknown 10 Western Europe
but prevalent in the East. that the Jews sacri-
feed Christian children in some OF their rites ana
a vigorous speech by Archbishop Ireland against
Anti-semiiisrn. Though the essays are Of various
nov maj
soid contribution TO the study OF Judaism. espec!-
ally In America The reprint Of Major Conder's
little work is also a welcome addition 10 the ma
terIal for correct estimate OF Hebrew history
THE RISE OF MODERN DEM0Ch1 ~ IN % 81