New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-11-12
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
THREE VOLUMES OF STUDIES pN 40
: PEcrs OF JEWISH LIFE.

THREE VOLUMES OF STUDIES PN A.
: pEcrs OF JEWISH LIFE /
NouvEILEs EruPEsss oG 81 NEnssne Manuel
sxxu ia. Paris: Calmann Levy. new"
York: Brentano
STUDIES IN JUDAISM BY scheshter Of C Cam
hr1dSe Pm XIV soS. The Macmillan Company
JEWISH LIFE IN THE MIDDLE AGES r ny
Israel Abrahams. NJ. A. pp,,, xSs' The Jewish
Macmillan COMPANY Phlad r,n. i"'
Publication Society OF America
rhese volumes view the problems OF jewish
life. past and present. from many sides Fac"
o,thor baa written on varied series OF tneihes'
ana or,v Mr.. Abrahams has given the sempia"ee
10 unity N his entire work. In the posthumous
essavs Of NJ. Franck the matters OF which lie
treats are approached from the vantage-sroo"u
~ tho general scholar and the versatile studentol
law He had. indeed. the advantage FOR critic's'he
Jewish literature of being himself Jew. Du' TIC
had also like his distinguished friend anu asSo-
ciate in the Ligue pour la Palx' jules 0""o.'
the benefit Of Victor Cousins phi'osorhic teaon'
ing. The eclecticism Of Cousin was not proiounu'
hut n was practical and IT contributed 10 the
MAILING NJ some of the greatest men IN the
France of the last generation. Its most ehec'''e
word was federation, and 1t nourished III fraIen'
a man whom NJ. Manuel compares 10 Me"-
delssohn a kindly spirit toward all rehsi""s'
without weakening the stern monotneism 'hat 10
exhibited. for example. in the present Voiu"e Wy
an elaborate estimate Of the Oriental faiths, that
are now affecting the mind of Europe ana Oh .l.e
whole Western world To man who began his
literary career with work on the Capaia' anu
whose mature years were filed with the phiio-
sonb,c discussion of law civil. penal. ecclesl-
sst,cal and international Tamudc investigations
must have had their attraction. These essays
Give M outline of his own researches. but they
indicate clearly the interest which he had IN the
subtect and the warmth with which he was
ready to greet all efforts to make the Talmud
or any substantial part Of 1t accessible 10 the
general reader. That massive compilation APP
pealed to him not only as professor OF law ana
a legal historian, but also as treasury OF prac-
teal wisdom.
Even readers who are repealed by an essay on
the civil legislation OF the Talmud can find en-
tertainment in an analysis Of its proverbal pni-
losophy. Perhaps NJ. Franck was less indulgent
to the higher phases Of this philosophy than ne
might have been; but a great deal OF gravity
is relieved by suddenly coming upon an in)unc-
ton like this: IF only one man says you have
the ears of an ass never mind: but when Sec
ond says 1t, put on bride" or TINS mali
c,ous dictum. worthy of Montague. Beware OF
is a physician" There are not many OF these
ANTIQUE witticisms. and too large proportion
is at the expense Of women-for example
this "Of the ten measures Of garrulity which
have been dispensed to mankind. the women got
nine"-but there arc enough to indicate that
Jewish philosophy had its satircal aspects
It has been said confidently by Jews acquainted
with their law and tradition that nothing can
be either done or thought in the world OF which
there is no presage in the Talmud. Perhaps
they would lave to force the meaning Of the
words somewhat in order to discover the antici-
patton. for example, of some modern scientific
hypothesis. But in a less definite way they may
have good reason for their boast Human nat
ure is at bottom much the same in all ages. and
the Talmud is a sort Of encyclopaedia Of human
nature. 1T is not" says NJ Franck. 1.-The work OF
one man. of one school, or OF one particular
sect though 1t is the work Of one race and Of one
religion. 1t is the collective work of Judaism
and Of the Jewish people for a period Of seven
or eight centuries of their existence. They have
put into 1t their life their faith their hopes
their piety and their superstitions. their ignor
ance and their knowledge. their hates and their
predictions" Seven centuries is long time
for q multitude Of men to ne putting themselves
on record. and the true significance Of NJ.
Francks remark will be better understood In
the future than II is ncw
There Is one meaning of 1t which can be COM
pretended now. however, and that lies in the fact
that the Talmud must have made the Jewish race
what II has been down to the present day. No
wonder that the modern Tamudst sees all
things in the volumes that have been his lifelong
study They really bound his horizon He can
not see anything unless II is within that horizon
To some extent both Mr.. schechter and Mr.. Abra-
TT 18TH
at times exhibit mode of thought which is not
modern at least not modern in any Gentle sense
of the word. Mr.. schechter's account Of a GER
tain modern sect among Rumanian Jews which
called itself THE Pious is even more interesting
as a revelation of his own mind than as descrip-
ton Of popular movement He has himself
hated this sect in his time. and he has loved It.
The miracles attributed to its founder appeal to
him in such way that he leaves his readers In
doubt to his faith In them. II he speaks of
them In one place as not authenticated he as
sumes in another that they belonged to the life
Of the man. and not to the fancy Of a later gen.
GRAFTON. 1t Is possible that a man Of learning
who was not a Jew might maintain balanced
mind on such question: on the other hand. II
10 not violent inference that such mental atti-
tude can be observed only within the charmed
circle Of Hebrew tradition. But the article has
other merits. 1t is skilful In what 1t does not
say in the parallels which II forces upon the
readers attention without ever suggesting them
even by word.
The general impression left by the paper is that
founders Of new religions, like Mr.. Schechter's
hero, Israel Baalshem. are an habitual by-prod
uct of Judaism in Oriental and semi Oriental re-
gions. The reader looks back and fixes certain
dates in his mind, and as he does so II dawns
upon him that the Talmud precedes merely by
q century or two this series Of more or less OBJ
scure masters who have taken the place of the
ancient prophets. He imagines that II he only