BM 
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 GOLLANCZ 
 
 JUDAISM A DUEL 
 SYSTEM
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 of* S 
 NORTH LONDON SYNAGOGUE. 
 
 N?15 
 
 .. 
 
 c Tgmnmitt (Mont* Jl.A.Dr.tit 
 
 RABBI. 
 
 <- "i 
 
 / //. 
 
 November 24 '. h 5661 - 1900 
 
 Prinred for the Wardens ofttie North London Synagogue 
 
 FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 
 
 ooooooooooooooo
 
 Judaism a Dual Spstcm. 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 PREACHED AT THE 
 
 NORTH LONDON SYNAGOGUK, 
 
 ON 
 
 SABBATH rr6in ' NOVEMBER 2 4 th., 56611900. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. DR. HERMANN GOLLANCZ, 
 M.A., D. LIT., RABBI. 
 
 PRINTED BY REQUEST. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 ALFRED J. ISAACS & SONS, 
 16, CAMOMILE STREET, AND BURY STREET, E.C. 
 
 1901.
 
 Judaism a Dual Spstem. 
 
 Our Sages made use of an apparently curious expres- 
 sion, when they said with reference to the Patriarchs: 
 "Abraham ordained the Morning Prayer, Isaac the 
 Afternoon Prayer, and Jacob the Evening Prayer." ') 
 And they adduce the words of Scripture in support of 
 their assertion : TiTN BlpCPI h 
 
 " Abraham rose up early in the morning unto the 
 place where he stood before the Lord " 2 ) he stood 
 there for the purpose of offering the Morning Prayer. 
 
 nnn? )w 
 
 " Isaac went forth to meditate in the field " ^ : as he medi- 
 tated upon the setting sun, he prayed unto the Creator 
 of the hosts of heaven. 
 
 "And Jacob lighted upon a certain place and tarried 
 there all night " *) : he lighted upon this place, in order 
 to entreat Heaven in prayer, before he set out upon the 
 dark eve of his wandering career. 
 
 i) Talmud T. Berachoth, . 26 b. 
 
 21 Genesis XXII, 3. 
 
 3) Ibid. XXIV, 63. 
 
 4) lbid.XXVIII.il. 
 
 2G951KO
 
 We have, on a former occasion and in another place, 
 incidentally shown in what sense the words of our Sages 
 may be understood : " Abraham ordained the Morning 
 Prayer " ; for we witnessed in Abraham the rise of 
 Religious Truth, the dawn, as it were, of the Religious 
 Idea in man, the Morning- Prayer, so to speak, of the 
 world's infant state. 
 
 And if we regard Abraham as representing the 
 beginning of true religious thought, what more natural 
 than to regard Isaac heir to Abraham's possessions and 
 promises as representing the growth and development 
 of the Religious Idea among mankind ? 
 
 Let us, therefore, in continuation of our subject, 
 occupy ourselves this day with a scene in the life of 
 Isaac, the Patriarch. 
 
 We take our text from the portion of the day 
 Genesis, Ch. XXVI. verses 1922. pj"|5P n "Q>* T"l!n 
 
 jn n^Ti * DTI nra in DP IKED*! *?rM 
 o^ KTp'n DW ttb 10*6 prnr TI DJ; TU 
 mn TO IISPPI :IDJ; iwynn ^ pt^y 
 prijpi * n^tr rw tnp 11 ! rrTj; D: 
 anpi n^j; iai bi nin is 
 iri5i w ; n aTrji nnjr ^ natn nnm
 
 " And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a 
 well of living water. 
 
 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, 
 saying, the water is our's : and he called the name of the well 
 Esek : because they strove with him. 
 
 And they digged another well, and strove for that also : and 
 he called the name of it Sitnah. 
 
 And he removed from thence, and digged another well, and 
 for that they strove not : and he called the name of it Rehoboth ; 
 and he said, "For now the Lord hath given us enlargement, and 
 we shall be fruitful in the land." 
 
 In these simple words of Holy Writ, we are introduced 
 into the history of the contention between- the herdmen 
 of Gerar and the herdmen of Isaac. On the face of the 
 narrative itself, the subject of dispute was clearly the 
 right of possession to some material advantages, namely 
 the wells of springing water which had been opened or 
 re-opened in the valley of Gerar. 
 
 But, brethren, without gainsaying the importance and 
 blessing of such a possession as water, especially in an 
 Eastern clime, I would this day bid you read with me 
 between the lines, and direct your attention to a blessing 
 of yet greater value to a well-spring of living water, 
 which is, at least, as refreshing and requisite for mankind 
 as its material symbol. 
 
 You are doubtless well aware of the saying of the 
 Sages: mm H^K D'D TN "the purest draughts are
 
 those supplied by the Torah." In very deed, " He who 
 devotes himself heart and soul to the dictates of 
 Religion, will, in course of time, render himself an ever- 
 increasing fountain and a never-ceasing stream of know- 
 ledge and of power " 2 ) ; for, while the gift of water can 
 but minister to our wants in this world, the greatness of 
 the Torah, of Religious Truth, consists, in this, "that it 
 giveth life to its adherents, both in this world and in the 
 
 world to come "3) Qiin njnu Kvitf min 
 :an D^iysi nrn abijn r 
 
 After these introductory remarks, I need scarcely 
 say that it is not my intention to ask you to transplant 
 yourselves thousands of miles away in space, or thou- 
 sands of years back in time ; to bid your eyes dwell 
 upon an Eastern Scene, the valley, the well, the rival 
 claimants with their Oriental associations of dress and 
 speech. The scene lies nearer home : in point of time 
 it may be applied to modern days ; and it is with your 
 mental eye that I would bid you look upon the spiritual 
 well of human existence, upon the Jewish Religion in 
 particular. 
 
 "And Isaac's servants digged in the valley and 
 found there a well of living water." (v. 19). 
 
 The D^n D'D INS "the well of living water" 
 which the servants of Isaac the followers of the Patri- 
 
 1) Talmud T. Baba Kama f. 82 a. 
 
 2) Cf. Pirke Aboth, VJ. i. 
 
 3) Ibid 7.
 
 arch his descendants, the Jewish people, found in the 
 valley of life, was their precious Religion. Many a time 
 and oft this world in which we live, in which the vicissi- 
 tudes of earthly existence are made manifest, is styled 
 by the Jewish poets "a vale of tears" 1 ) &O3H pft> ; 
 and what would the world be without the vivifying 
 influence of this sacred well-spring of Religion, without 
 its invigorating draughts, its soothing potions ? 
 
 But any Religion, even the Jewish Religion, whilst 
 being a very Fountain of Salvation, may at the same 
 time become a source of contention. 
 
 " And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's 
 herdmen, saying, the water is ours, D^DH ifo (v. 20). 
 
 Herein are typified the dissensions and disputes which 
 take their origin in the exercise of Religion. In these 
 words we would recognise the two distinct and well- 
 defined classes of Jews into which the followers of Judaism 
 array themselves. 
 
 There is the exclusively ceremonial Jew, on the one 
 hand, and the exclusively spiritual Jew, on the other ; 
 the one who constructs and exercises his Religion accord- 
 ing to the moral element, the other according to the 
 national element in the Jewish Code. 
 
 i) Cf. Psalm LXXX1V, 7.
 
 The danger of these attitudes lies not in the fact that 
 these diversities of opinion exist with regard to one and 
 the same object, but that each claims with equal injustice 
 Q^En 13*? "the water is ours." 
 
 One calls the name of the well Esek, p*>* which, in 
 Hebrew, means either 'contention' or ' occupation' and 
 '-study: 
 
 The ceremonial Jew considers that the virtue of his 
 Religion lies in the forms and ceremonies in the study 
 and practice of its precepts, and thanks his God for the 
 opportunity He has afforded him min "HIH2 plC>^ 
 'of occupying himself ' with the ceremonial demands of 
 his Faith. 
 
 With this class the form in Religion is all-important ; 
 and not infrequently the spirit is lost sight of in the 
 attempt to carry out the letter of the law, and to the 
 members of this class their Religion remains as it began, 
 the well Esek a source of occupation, a system of 
 ceremonies. 
 
 Then there is the other class the so-called spiritual 
 or moral Jew. 
 
 According to his own confession, the Judaism of which 
 he boasts is lodged and locked in his heart; but most 
 frequently his outward actions would lead us to suspect 
 the truth of his contention. 
 
 This other well, this second aspect of Religion, for the 
 possession of which this easy-going, less demonstrative
 
 Jew would scarcely trouble to put forth his claim, might 
 truly be called Sitnah, (Hit2D*) which means 'obstacle' 
 or 'hindrance', inasmuch as it acts as a hindrance and 
 obstacle, it prevents its professors from realising the 
 true nature of the Jewish Religion, which is far 
 above the rivalries of party measures, and very different 
 from the systems expounded by the herdmen of either 
 side of the contending parties. 
 
 If, however, we would find out the true essence of 
 Judaism, it behoves us to look away from the standpoint 
 taken up by the herdmen, to leave to them their narrow 
 views and petty quarrels, their Esek and their Sitnah 
 their ' contentions ' and their 'obstacles.' And it behoves 
 us to look for instruction to the master of the herdmen 
 himself, to imitate Isaac our forefather, of whom it is 
 said mnK IS! -|m D^D pn^l 'and he removed 
 
 from thence, and digged another well and he 
 
 called the name of it Rehoboth " (v. 22). 
 
 To find out the nature of true Judaism, we must 
 remove from each of the views expressed by the herd- 
 men, and form a different conception of the well of 
 Judaism one against which there can be no contention 
 IT^S? 1IH fc^l one which we should call Rehoboth 
 a 'comprehensive,' 'wider,' and 'enlarged ' view of Religion, 
 one embracing all parties among us, and one which (if 
 we faithfully adhere to it) will suffer us to hold our own 
 "Si IJ'HSl "and to be fruitful in the world" (ibid).
 
 The Jewish Religion is a combination of both form 
 and spirit, of ceremony and morality, of a national 
 and an ethical system. 
 
 This is the only true meaning of Judaism : properly 
 understood, it is a Dual System, which is not easily 
 divisible into its elements : presenting, as it does, different 
 sides to the outward observer, it forms in reality one 
 homogeneous Code. 
 
 Who would call a man a good Jew, who, while 
 scrupulously discharging the ceremonials of his Faith, 
 fails in the moral duties which this very Faith demands ? 
 Who, on the other hand, can call a man a good few, who 
 faithfully attends to the ethical rules of the Jewish 
 Law-Book, and neglects the ceremonial duties, the 
 distinctive, national and characteristic demands of 
 Judaism ? 
 
 When Isaiah, Amos, and other prophets railed against 
 the observance of the forms, it was not against the forms 
 themselves, but against the observance of the form at 
 the sacrifice of the spirit. 
 
 The forms of the Jewish Religion are the 3*OD 3!"U IT ') 
 "the golden crown edging" the Altar of our Faith 
 which, while adorning, also protect the sanctity of our 
 Religion, which give point and poetry to our religious 
 beliefs and national aspirations. 
 
 x) Exod. XXX, 3.
 
 II 
 
 The Jewish Religion may, on account of the variety 
 of its parts, be compared to the coat of many colours 
 which Jacob, the patriarch, presented to his son Joseph ; *) 
 or as the Midrash Jalkut puts it 2 > THDOB^ Hl^Pl hSV 
 
 .6 noo apy6 -oj/i otr 
 
 The fact, brethren, that men exist among us, who, 
 owing to the inconveniences which the forms and cere- 
 monies of our religious system entail upon them, would 
 gladly throw them off, proves nothing with regard to the 
 utility or necessity of the due observance of such forms 
 and ceremonies. 
 
 A brief survey of a few ceremonies observed by us 
 will go far to prove my contention, that some of the 
 noblest lessons are breathed in, and may be taught by 
 the ceremonial portion of the Jewish Religion if pro- 
 perly understood and explained. 
 
 This consideration is, perhaps, of little importance to 
 such of our brethren who are satisfied to slavishly enact 
 a number of forms, without looking beneath and beyond 
 the acts which, in their opinion, constitute a religious 
 observance ; but it means a great deal to such, who, while 
 anxious to conform to the outward signs and symbols of 
 their Faith, are desirous of being enlightened as to the 
 spiritual sense and teachings underlying and forming 
 the essence of their external worship. 
 
 For the sake of clearness, let us now briefly consider 
 these ceremonies under two heads ; first, such as are 
 
 1) Gen. XXXVII, 3. 
 
 2) 140
 
 12 
 
 more general, and then some special ceremonies in 
 connection with our chief Festivals. 
 
 Does it destroy, I ask, does it not enhance the true 
 spirit of Religion, if (for example) in carrying out the 
 Scriptural command with regard to the Jl S X or ' Fringed 
 Garment ', J ) we be led to connect with this one act, 
 simple and primitive as it may appear to some the 
 thought of our submission and loyalty to the entire 
 system of God's commands, the spirit of which should 
 not alone govern our conduct during the solemn mo- 
 ments of the hour of Prayer, but should influence even 
 to a greater degree our every action in the outer world 
 in which we move ? 
 
 Is the donning of the ' Tephillin ' 2 > a meaningless 
 ceremonial, if we be impressed with the truth taught in 
 the formula which precedes the act of placing them on 
 our arm and forehead ? Is not this the lesson ? That one 
 portion of the ceremonial is to remind us of God's never 
 shortened and ever out-stretched arm on behalf of His 
 creatures ; and that by placing the frontlet between our 
 eyes, near the seat of the brain, we are called upon to 
 make the earnest resolution to render all our powers and 
 faculties subservient to the Will of our Heavenly Father. 
 
 The ' Mezuzah ' >) which we affix to our doorposts is 
 not to be regarded with a superstitious eye as a talisman 
 
 1) Numbers XV, 37-41. 
 
 2) Cf. Deut. VI, 8., XI, 18. 
 
 3) Cf. Deut. VI, 9., XI, 20.
 
 against evil, but as a comforting and an admonishing 
 symbol of the truth, that " He, the Guardian of Israel, 
 sleepeth not, nor slumbereth". 
 
 If the recital of the ' Berachoth] the 'blessings' pre- 
 ceding or following the enjoyment of some gift of God, 
 kindle the eye of gratitude, and raise our thoughts from 
 the gift to the Giver, can such a recital be called a 
 hollow form, a spiritless ceremony? 
 
 Again, the Dietary Laws, which might almost be 
 regarded as ultimate laws serving material and hygienic 
 ends, do they not teach us, secondarily, the noble lessons 
 of moderation and self-restraint ? Do they not teach us 
 the spiritual truth : " And ye shall sanctify yourselves 
 and be holy . . . and not defile your souls"? 2 ) 
 
 What Religious System offers such a degree of 
 spiritual thought as the Jewish, which raises the very 
 table at which we partake of our food to the standard of 
 a Heavenly Altar? nOXl ITJ^tf "On )3HV ^1 
 
 hy isro mro ap snpen rvot? pn innn 
 to urftiff D"p snpan ma |W vcoyi CIK 
 
 (3 
 
 And what about the Sabbath, the greatest form of 
 all? 
 
 Would any one assert, as far as the Jewish Religion 
 is concerned, that the Sabbath was instituted for self- 
 
 1) Psalm CXXI, 4. 
 
 2) Levit. X(, 44 ; Vide the entire Chapter. 
 
 3) Talmud T. Menachoth f. 97 a; T. Chagiga f. 27.
 
 '4 
 
 indulgence and pleasure, and not, as the Rabbis were 
 wont to employ it, as a day of rest from worldly pursuits 
 and cares, a day consecrated to higher devotion, to 
 more saintly conduct? 
 
 If we would descend to more special points, and 
 hurriedly run through the chief observances which mark 
 the months of the Jewish Calendar, I would feel inclined 
 to enquire, whether the introduction of the ni "the 
 unleavened bread" into the Jewish household on Passover, 
 and the removal of all leaven, for which we are 
 enjoined to seek *)3H TIN 1 ? ' with the strictest scrutiny 
 and precision', whether such an observance should not 
 rouse within us this reflection, the necessity for removing 
 all moral leaven from our hearts, all moral leaven from 
 our habitations and daily pursuits ? 
 
 The " Counting of the Omer " should teach us a lesson 
 as to the value of Time, and the right use we should 
 make of Life. 
 
 The Flowers which come to deck our Feast of Weeks 
 might well impress upon our minds, that, as far as this 
 earth is concerned, the life between the cradle and the 
 grave is one of blossom and decay. 
 
 Are there not some among us who ask : ' Why observe 
 in this heaven-favoured land, in this advanced age, such 
 fasts as the Ninth of Ab, seeing that the destruction of
 
 the Temple and our consequent dispersion is, in reality, 
 a blessing, and should be regarded rather as a matter 
 of congratulation for the Hebrew race ' ? 
 
 I would ask in reply : ' Is there, indeed, no necessity 
 to mourn the loss of the Temple, the loss of Canaan, and 
 the loss of our polity ; seeing that, even at the present 
 day, the cry of our oppressed brethren calls bitterly unto 
 us from the very dust of some countries of the earth ' ? 
 No, brethren, it is only the recollection of our sometime 
 glory, of our Kingdom that has gone, of our nationality 
 of which we boasted once, that can rouse within us that 
 sympathy with our downtrodden brethren, which we 
 must grant them, because the world denies it to them. 
 
 Again, the sound of the ' Shophar' or 'Ram's Horn' 
 in the month of Ellul ; how sublime its import, preparing, 
 as it should, for the awe-inspiring season which is at 
 hand, and rousing to the consciousness of neglected 
 duties religious, national, and social ! 
 
 Does it destroy, I ask once more, does it not enhance 
 the spirituality of our Religion, if, during the Feast of 
 Tabernacles, while sitting under the shade of the rustic 
 booth or ' SuecahJ we be reminded of the contrasting 
 lessons man's mortality and man's immortality, a lesson 
 which I can hear preached by the leaves which form its 
 very roof? How refreshing and soothing if the Succah 
 preach unto us the further lesson of God's ever-watchful 
 Providence amid the storm and stress of life, which often 
 well-nigh shatter the frail tenement of mortality !
 
 1 6 
 
 To many, perhaps, the taking of the Palm-liranch 
 and its characteristic employment during Divine Service 
 on Tabernacles, would seem a useless, even grotesque 
 ceremonial. But if we are taught to connect with the 
 ceremony this reflection, namely, that by pointing to the 
 four corners of the earth, by pointing with the l Lulal>' 
 above us and about us, we are to bring home to us the 
 idea that God is everywhere in the world, that His All- 
 seeing eye is open to all the wants of His creatures, 
 that our every action is watched and weighed in the 
 balance of Righteousness ; then, indeed, in this instance 
 as in many others, a new aspect will be given to ap- 
 parently meaningless ordinances, life and spirit will be 
 breathed into the dry bones of a seemingly mysterious 
 Ritualism. 
 
 And what more valuable doctrine can be taught to 
 mortal man than this the Omnipresence of God ! 
 
 What more rational belief than this? That while God 
 deigns to accept at our hands the various modes and 
 outward means whereby we would worship Him, He 
 would fain look with greater pleasure upon the spirit 
 which needs must accompany this outer worship, which 
 needs must be the essence and motive power of the 
 ceremonies of Judaism. Oh Brethren ! remembering 
 this, I would conclude with the prophet's aspiration : 
 
 njnffT! ^pOD ptPEtt D'B DrONS'l. 
 
 "In joy may you draw the water (of instruction) out 
 
 of the wells of salvation " ! ') H^V^M 76 " And unto 
 
 the Lord to whom Salvation belongeth" I would pray: 
 
 i"6D "jnS"D "|DV ty "May Thy Blessing descend 
 upon thy people, Selah"! 2 > 
 
 i) Isaiah XII, 3. a) Psalm III. 9.
 
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