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Article THE TALMUD. ← Page 4 of 4 Article THE TALMUD. Page 4 of 4 Article PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND. Page 1 of 2 →
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The Talmud.
and the obligation to " follow God , " by imitating the mercy attributed to Him by Scripture . Next the speaker alluded to the holy influence exercised by the women , of whom the Talmud not only records the noblest deeds , but whom ,
even as the Angels themselves , it makes at times the bearers of most sublime thoughts . Regarding the latter , it was shown at some length how both they and their counterparts the ' demons' were—though partly adopted from
Persian or rather Zoroastrian metaphysics—made the vehicles of national Jewish doctrines . Indeed , all those pantheistic and dualistic principles which the people had gathered from the creed of other nations , were transformed under the skilful hand
of the Talmudical masters into strictly monotheistic elements , by being either idealized into abstract notions of right and wrong , or surrounded by a
poetical halo which deprived them of any real existence . Thus Satan ( Sammael , the " Primeval Serpent" ) , —though mythologically his functions are precisely similar to those of the Persian " Evil Spirit , " i . e . those of Seducer , Accuser ,
and Angel of Death—is yet explained away philosophically as meaning merely "Passion " which seduces , produces remorses , and kills . The sjDeaker adduced among other instances the legend of Isaac , in which " Satan , " as the Angel of
Death , appears first as an accuser of Abraham ( as of Job ) before God , next as a seducer to Ahraham in the garb of an old man , to Isaac in that of a youth , finally to Sarah , informing her of the danger in which her son had been placed . The
speaker further alluded to the legend of the death of Moses , in which Satan , eager to vanquish the " divine man , " is thwarted by God ' s name even to the end .
In the same manner Asmodeus ( the Persian Aeshma ) , " Lilith , " and the rest of the demoniacal powers , as well as those allegorical monsters the "Leviathans , " the "Cocks , " the " Bulls , " and the rest of the ever-repeated reproaches to the
Talmud ( all of which are taken almost bodily from the Zendavesta ) , have to play their instructive part . They are either reduced into their original meanings in the Talmud , or they are ridiculed and made to incalculate some moral lesson . On the
other hand the famous " Sea Fairy Tales , " taken from Indian sources , are made into guises of political , if not religious satires . After dwelling on the causes of the obscurity of some of the matters found in the Talmud and
The Talmud.
their apparent want of dignity—occasioned partly by the circumstances and the manners of the period , and partly by the neglect of copyists , and the undying fanaticism which ever tried to " improve" this important record of
humanitythe speaker instanced the various modes in which the Talmudical authors figured to themselves the Messianic times , and the utter and absolute freedom with which they expressed their opinion on this as on every other religious topic .
Further remarks on the value of the Talmud as . a " human study" in our days , and the scientific manner in which it should be treated , followed . It required , the speaker said , a certain system and method entirely of its own , being itself in
almost every respect an exceptional work . Above all , however , the investigator should not only be armed with patience and perseverance such as is scarcely needed for any other branch of study , but he must leave all and every prejudice , religions
and otherwise , behind him , Then , and then only ,, might he hope to gather in it some of the richest and most precious fruits of human thought and . fancy . The legend of Elijah standing on the
mountainsof Judea three days before the appearance of the-Messiah , proclaiming peace and redemption to all mankind , formed the conclusion of the discourse *
Palestine Exploration Fund.
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND .
Since we noticed the operations of this society in our issue of the 5 th inst ., two very important letters have been received from Bro . Warren at Jerusalem . The works are being conducted with the greatest activity . South of the well of
Joabhe has found a covered aqueduct running from four to twelve feet beneath the surface of the ground . This has been explored till it abruptly terminated . It would seem to have been part of an old system of aqueducts , by means of which
the superfluous water of the wells and springs , would be secretly carried away to the south of the city . It will be remembered that Hezekiah , on the approach of the Assyrian host , covered up the fountains in order that the enemy might have no
water . Probably he either built or used these aqueducts . On the west of the Temple the ancient bed of the Kedron running down the valley of Jehoshaphat has been discovered , by a system of shafts and borings , to have been formerly some forty
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Talmud.
and the obligation to " follow God , " by imitating the mercy attributed to Him by Scripture . Next the speaker alluded to the holy influence exercised by the women , of whom the Talmud not only records the noblest deeds , but whom ,
even as the Angels themselves , it makes at times the bearers of most sublime thoughts . Regarding the latter , it was shown at some length how both they and their counterparts the ' demons' were—though partly adopted from
Persian or rather Zoroastrian metaphysics—made the vehicles of national Jewish doctrines . Indeed , all those pantheistic and dualistic principles which the people had gathered from the creed of other nations , were transformed under the skilful hand
of the Talmudical masters into strictly monotheistic elements , by being either idealized into abstract notions of right and wrong , or surrounded by a
poetical halo which deprived them of any real existence . Thus Satan ( Sammael , the " Primeval Serpent" ) , —though mythologically his functions are precisely similar to those of the Persian " Evil Spirit , " i . e . those of Seducer , Accuser ,
and Angel of Death—is yet explained away philosophically as meaning merely "Passion " which seduces , produces remorses , and kills . The sjDeaker adduced among other instances the legend of Isaac , in which " Satan , " as the Angel of
Death , appears first as an accuser of Abraham ( as of Job ) before God , next as a seducer to Ahraham in the garb of an old man , to Isaac in that of a youth , finally to Sarah , informing her of the danger in which her son had been placed . The
speaker further alluded to the legend of the death of Moses , in which Satan , eager to vanquish the " divine man , " is thwarted by God ' s name even to the end .
In the same manner Asmodeus ( the Persian Aeshma ) , " Lilith , " and the rest of the demoniacal powers , as well as those allegorical monsters the "Leviathans , " the "Cocks , " the " Bulls , " and the rest of the ever-repeated reproaches to the
Talmud ( all of which are taken almost bodily from the Zendavesta ) , have to play their instructive part . They are either reduced into their original meanings in the Talmud , or they are ridiculed and made to incalculate some moral lesson . On the
other hand the famous " Sea Fairy Tales , " taken from Indian sources , are made into guises of political , if not religious satires . After dwelling on the causes of the obscurity of some of the matters found in the Talmud and
The Talmud.
their apparent want of dignity—occasioned partly by the circumstances and the manners of the period , and partly by the neglect of copyists , and the undying fanaticism which ever tried to " improve" this important record of
humanitythe speaker instanced the various modes in which the Talmudical authors figured to themselves the Messianic times , and the utter and absolute freedom with which they expressed their opinion on this as on every other religious topic .
Further remarks on the value of the Talmud as . a " human study" in our days , and the scientific manner in which it should be treated , followed . It required , the speaker said , a certain system and method entirely of its own , being itself in
almost every respect an exceptional work . Above all , however , the investigator should not only be armed with patience and perseverance such as is scarcely needed for any other branch of study , but he must leave all and every prejudice , religions
and otherwise , behind him , Then , and then only ,, might he hope to gather in it some of the richest and most precious fruits of human thought and . fancy . The legend of Elijah standing on the
mountainsof Judea three days before the appearance of the-Messiah , proclaiming peace and redemption to all mankind , formed the conclusion of the discourse *
Palestine Exploration Fund.
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND .
Since we noticed the operations of this society in our issue of the 5 th inst ., two very important letters have been received from Bro . Warren at Jerusalem . The works are being conducted with the greatest activity . South of the well of
Joabhe has found a covered aqueduct running from four to twelve feet beneath the surface of the ground . This has been explored till it abruptly terminated . It would seem to have been part of an old system of aqueducts , by means of which
the superfluous water of the wells and springs , would be secretly carried away to the south of the city . It will be remembered that Hezekiah , on the approach of the Assyrian host , covered up the fountains in order that the enemy might have no
water . Probably he either built or used these aqueducts . On the west of the Temple the ancient bed of the Kedron running down the valley of Jehoshaphat has been discovered , by a system of shafts and borings , to have been formerly some forty