The Denver Jewish news., 1923-02-14

Sunclnl care
be taken to stay away
from these shadim." The reader sees
n phantomagoria pass before his eyes
sometimes strange. odd, ridiculous,
sometimes impish, bold, audacious.
The Hagoda unveils for you new
life. The human soul seems to have
transfused nature with her sentiments,
her passions. her language, trees, ami
mails. stones are endowed with speech.
The souls of the dead converse with
one another in the graveyards. 1t Is
the unwilling of vast fairy world in
which reason most perforce, yielding to
the riotous Imagination.
These phantastic tales about demons
and conversations of the dead are still
told IN the old Jewish homes. Your
grandmother, perhaps could tell you
many tales of ''shadim, ruchas, masini'
which she saw with her own eyes.
History
Although the Hagoda tells the his
tory of Jewish life, of Jewish travelling,
of Jewish troubles, nevertheless 1t does
not seem to have an accurate idea of
time as reality and dreams miDgle in
nebulous vagueness. The various
cpochs of the past seem to be put upon
the same plane. Ncbuchadnezar, Yes
passion, Titus, Adrian and all the enc
mics of Israel merge into one type and
I, taI fA, hn nth har N tbn
long martyrolOgie of its history. We
cannot find in the Hagoda a clear and
accurate data Of the man that took
part in the destruction of Jerusalem
and Bas HamikdOsh. Nothing can bc
found of the final catastrophe of the
nation and of those who directed the
destruction of the Temple.
The Hagoda contains legends that
thrill the people and go into the depths
of the Jewish heart. 1t tells you the
story of Martha. the wife of Joshua
Ben Gamala, the Koen gOdel who died
of hunger in the streets of Jerusalem.
1t tells you about Zodak who bewails
the misery of his land and in grief
condemns himself to forty year fast.
lie ate only one fig a day and he
grew so thin that the fig could be
seen to pass down his throat" (Tal-
lnud) 1t tells the fortunes of the
children of the High priest, Ishmoel
Ben Elisha. who We're sold as slaves
to two masters. These masters hap
rcned to consult each other about their
slaves and finally decided that they
would marry them and share the chill
drcn. In the night they locked the
slaves in IA chamber. The youth re-
naincd in one corner, the maiden in
The other. The youth said: Il. n priest,
the son of II high priest should marry
daughter of IA high priest should marry
II slave!" They lamented all night
With the dawn came recognition and
d, ach lenped towards the other. They
stood clasped in close embrace until
their souls took flight. The narrator
recalling the verse of the "Kinos" ex-
claimed, For those things weep, mine
eyes, mine eyes runeth down with
water" (Threni 1 XVD.
Such are the recollectiOns that re-
main of the catastrophe and ''tZores' of
Israel. But we can hardly call this
history. They are only tales, legends
and although we do find here and there
some accurate notes, still it is covered
with thick wall and can hardly be
considered as an historic volume
The Hagoda is rich with local colors,
1t conveys Jewish manners, customs
and beliefs, the spirit of the institu-
lion of religion the souls and the life
of the nation.
1t would be impossible. in the col
rmns of "A newspaper to quote all the
wonderful fairy tales, all the gorgeous
dreams contained in the Hagoda of
the Talmud.
| As Heine said it.
! Beautiful old stories,
Tales of angels, fairy legends,
Silly histories of martyrs,
| Festal songs and words of wisdom
Hyperboles, most quaint it maybe
Yet replete with strength, and fire
And faith-how they CLEAN,
And flow and glitter.