The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-12
JEWS TO OBSERVE
ATONtMEN1 DAY
Conception of Jewish Festival of Yon
kuppur, Which VIII be Observed
is Very Inter
esting.
HOTTEST HEBREW DAY
Services viii be Held at Jewish Tenn
pie to Commemorate the Day
Ask Forgiveness of
Guilt.

The Jewish festival, the Day OF
Atonement Yom Kuppur. the hottest
/ day of the entire year in the Jewish
calender, will fall on Thursday, Octo-
Der IS, the date being known as the
tenth of Tishri. 1t will be observed
by the Jews of Keokuk at their temple.
A clear understanding of the CON
| ception of atonement as enunciated
by Judaism will no doubt be welcom-
ed by those who seek to know 1t
! has been the sad fate of Judaism to
| be misunderstood and misrepresented
The libels with which it has been
labeled have been the consequence OF
secondhand information and gross
/ misconception. A learned historian
! such as Tacitus was. accused the
/ Jews of worshipping an ass in their
4 sanctum sanctorum, and that they
observed frequent fasts in memory
! of their long starvation when com
ing out of Egypt. Juvenal, the satir-
/ ist, could only see laziness in the OBJ
servance OF the Sabbath, and the
stole philosopher, Seneca, considered
! it harmful practice. Down through
the ages like misunderstanding has
4 prevailed. To obvate such result
in regard to the idea of atonemnt
we take occasion to present it at this
season when the Day of Atonement
! is at hand.
In the general acceptance of the
1 term, atonement associates with it
exemption from the consequences Of
wrong-doing. This, however, is basic
/ ally at variance with the teaching of
Judaism in that it conflicts radically
with the established uniformity of the
universe which God is created The
/ creative intellect has evolved this uni
formity to realize itself and not to
defeat itself. This consideration is
fundamental to the conception OF
atonement as expressed by Judaism.
/ The penaly of wrong-doing is in
herent in the act, and must realize
itself as cause and effect. In the
moral domain this relaxation obtains
with as equal certainty as in the phys
ical, and God Himself is bound to
respect this causal relation, since it
| is the educative expression of adap-
tation to His will in the moral devel-
opment of man.
Our knowledge of the physical laws
has been made possible only through
their uniform and unalterable mode of
operation. Capricious interference, if
at all conceivable, would wholly de-
stroy their purpose, and enthrone the
play of blind chance as the expression
of Supreme Reason, which of course
is preposterous.
1t is likewise with the moral laws.
Their iron-clad uniformity of cause
and effect has brought man into a
knowledge of them, to be employed
in the progressive unfolding of his
spiritual nature to the goal of Divine
perfection. Interference with their
iron-clad uniformity would likewise
establish the rule of chance, and eyict
at the time, from the world the
4 very existence of that which men
himself possesses, namely, intelli-
gence, the absurdity of which is vivid
ly apparent. To be true to HIMSELF
God can not intefere with their
modus operandi.
OF course we know that we shah
be assailed with the argument of ON
impotence, but we shall not enter into
the arena of theological polemics.
For US omnipotence does not appear
10 tolerate irrationally any more
than Gods reason. Omnipotence can
not be conceived to work against
Gods perfection for the sole purpose
of exercising itself. For Judaism
such a conception is unthinkable, de
rogatory to the very Godhead.
Atonement therefore, as taught by
Judaism does not imply exemption
from the penalty of transgression
The individual must needs expect to
reap the fruit of his planning Every
man that cateth sour grapes his teeth
shall be set on edge" The Day OF
Atonement does not intercept this
consequence HE who said. Il will
sin and the Day of Atonement shall
atone; the Day of Atonement makes
no atonement" Obvious it is then
from this presentation that viscarious
atonement is wholly foreign to Juda
ism.
Herein is to be observed the dis
tinguishing feature of the atonemen'
idea as set forth by Judaism Indi
vldual responsibility as found in the
Old Testament is its very essence
Since there can be no escape from the
penalty of wrong-doing, likewise
there can not be any shifting of the
burden on to some one else. Every
man shall die for his own iniquity.'
Such responsibility is not merely th'
rigid requirement of justice but is
also the sin qua non of mora
growth.