achievements to her brilliant record. As for their successors and
imitators, our contemporaries, whose literary productions are before us,
on them we may not yet pass judgment; their work is still on probation.
One striking circumstance in connection with their activity should be
pointed out, because it goes to prove the soundness of judgment, the
penetration, and expansiveness characteristic of Jews. While the
movement for woman's complete emancipation has counted not a single
Jewess among its promoters, its more legitimate successor, the movement
to establish woman's right and ability to earn a livelihood in any
branch of human endeavor--a right and ability denied only by prejudice,
or stupidity--was headed and zealously supported by Jewesses, an
assertion which can readily be proved by such names as Lina Morgenstern,
known to the public also as an advocate of moderate religious reforms,
Jenny Hirsch, Henriette Goldschmidt, and a number of writers on subjects
of general and Jewish interest, such as Rachel Meyer, Elise Levi
(Henle), Ulla Frank-Wolff, Johanna Goldschmidt, Caroline Deutsch, in
Germany; Rebekah Eugenie Foa, Julianna and Pauline Bloch, in France;
Estelle and Maria Hertzveld, in Holland, and Emma Lazarus, in America.
One other name should be recorded. Fanny Neuda, the writer of "Hours of
Devotion," and a number of juvenile stories, has a double claim upon our
recognition, inasmuch as she is an authoress of the Jewish race who has
addressed her writings exclusively to Jewish women.
We have followed Jewish women from the days of their first flight into
the realm of song through a period of two thousand years up to modern
times, when our record would seem to come to a natural conclusion. But I
deem it proper to bring to your attention a set of circumstances which
would be called phenomenal, were it not, as we all know, that the
greatest of all wonders is that true wonders are so common.
It is a well-known fact, spread by literary journals, that the
Rothschild family, conspicuous for financial ability, has produced a
goodly number of authoresses. But it is less well known, and much more
noteworthy, that many of the excellent women of this family have devoted
their literary gifts and attainments to the service of Judaism. The
palaces of the Rothschilds, the richest family in the world, harbor many
a warm heart, whose pulsations are quickened by the thought of Israel's
history and poetic heritage. Wealth has not abated a jot of their
enthusiasm and loyal love for the faith. The first of the house of
Rothschild to make a name for herself as an authoress was Lady
Charlotte Rothschild, in London, one of the noblest women of our time,
who, standing in the glare of prosperity, did not disdain to take up the
cudgels in defense of her people, to go Sabbath after Sabbath to her
poor, unfortunate sisters in faith, and expound to them, in the school
established by her generosity, the nature and duties of a moral,
religious life, in lectures pervaded by the spirit of truth and faith.
Two volumes of these addresses have been published in German and English
(1864 and 1869), and every page gives evidence of rare piety,
considerable scholarship, thorough knowledge of the Bible, and a high
degree of culture. Equal enthusiasm for Judaism pervades the two volumes
of "Thoughts Suggested by Bible Texts" (1859), by Baroness Louise,
another of the English Rothschilds.
Three young women of this house, in which wealth is not hostile to
idealism, have distinguished themselves as writers, foremost among them
Clementine Rothschild, a gentle, sweet maiden, claimed by death before
life with its storms could rob her of the pure ideals of youth. She died
in her twentieth year, and her legacy to her family and her faith is
contained in "Letters to a Christian Friend on the Fundamental Truths of
Judaism," abundantly worthy of the perusal of all women, regardless of
creed. This young woman displayed more courage, more enthusiasm, more
wit, to be sure also more precise knowledge of Judaism, than thousands
of men of our time, young and old, who fancy grandiloquent periods
sufficient to solve the great religious problems perplexing mankind.
Finally, mention must be made of Constance and Anna de Rothschild, whose
two volume "History and Literature of the Israelites" (1872) created a
veritable sensation, and awakened the literary world to the fact that
the Rothschild family is distinguished not only for wealth, but also for
the talent and religious zeal of its authoresses.
I have ventured to group these women of the Rothschild family together
as a conclusion to the history of Jewish women in literature, because I
take their work to be an earnest of future accomplishment. Such examples
cannot fail to kindle the spark of enthusiasm slumbering in the hearts
of Jewish women, and the sacred flame of religious zeal, tended once
more by women, will leap from rank to rank in the Jewish army. As it is,
a half-century has brought about a remarkable change in feeling towards
Judaism. Fifty years ago the following lines by Caroline Deutsch, one of
the above-mentioned modern German writers, could not have awakened the
same responsive chord as now:
"Little cruet in the Temple
That didst feed the sacrificial flame,
What a true expressive symbol
Art thou of my race, of Israel's fame!
Thou for days the oil didst furnish
To illume the Temple won from foe--
So for centuries in my people
Spirit of resistance ne'er burnt low.
It was cast from home and country,
Gloom and sorrow were its daily lot;
Yet the torch of faith gleamed steady,
Courage, like thy oil, forsook it not.
Mocks and jeers were all its portion,
Death assailed it in ten thousand forms--
Yet this people never faltered,
Hope, its beacon, led it through all storms.
Poorer than dumb, driven cattle,
It went forth enslaved from its estate,
All its footsore wand'rings lighted
By its consciousness of worth innate.
Luckless fortunes could not bend it;
Unjust laws increased its wondrous faith;
From its heart exhaustless streaming,
Freedom's light shone on its thorny path.
Oil that burnt in olden Temple,
Eight days only didst thou give forth light!
Oil of faith sustained this people
Through the centuries of darkest night!"
We can afford to look forward to the future of Judaism serenely. The
signs of the times seem propitious to him whose eye is clear to read
them, whose heart not too embittered to understand their message aright.
Our rough and tumble time, delighting in negation and destruction,
crushing underfoot the tender blossoms of poetry and faith, living up to
its quasi motto, "What will not die of itself, must be put to death,"
will suddenly come to a stop in its mad career of annihilation. That
will mark the dawn of a new era, the first stirrings of a new
spring-tide for storm-driven Israel. On the ruins will rise the Jewish
home, based on Israel's world-saving conception of family life, which,
having enlightened the nations of the earth, will return to the source
whence it first issued. Built on this foundation, and resting on the
pillars of modern culture, Jewish spirit, and true morality, the Jewish
home will once more invite the nations to exclaim: "How beautiful are
thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!"
May the soft starlight of woman's high ideals continue to gleam on the
thorny path of the thinker Israel; may they never depart from Israel,
those God-kissed women that draw inspiration at the sacred fount of
poesy, and are consecrated by its limpid waters to give praise and
thanksgiving to Him that reigns on high; may the poet's words ever
remain applicable to the matrons and maidens of Israel:[35]
"Pure woman stands in life's turmoil
A rose in leafy bower;
Her aspirations and her toil
Are tinted like a flower.
Her thoughts are pious, kind, and true,
In evil have no part;
A glimpse of empyrean blue
Is seen within her heart."
MOSES MAIMONIDES
"Who is Maimonides? For my part, I confess that I have merely heard the
name." This naive admission was not long since made by a well-known
French writer in discussing the subject of a prize-essay, "Upon the
Philosophy of Maimonides," announced by the _academie universitaire_ of
Paris. What short memories the French have for the names of foreign
scholars! When the proposed subject was submitted to the French minister
of instruction, he probably asked himself the same question; but he was
not at a loss for an answer; he simply substituted Spinoza for
Maimonides. To be sure, Spinoza's philosophy is somewhat better known
than that of Maimonides. But why should a minister of instruction take
that into consideration? The minister and the author--both presumably
over twenty-five years of age--might have heard this very question
propounded and answered some years before. They might have known that
their colleague Victor Cousin, to save Descartes from the disgrace of
having stood sponsor to Spinozism, had established a far-fetched
connection between the Dutch philosopher and the Spanish, pronouncing
Spinoza the devoted disciple of Maimonides. Perhaps they might have been
expected to know, too, that Solomon Munk, through his French
translation of Maimonides' last work, had made it possible for modern
thinkers to approach the Jewish philosopher, and that soon after this
translation was published, E. Saisset had written an article upon Jewish
philosophy in the _Revue des Deux Mondes_, in which he gave a popular
and detailed exposition of Maimonides' religious views. All this they
did not know, and, had they known it, they surely would not have been so
candid as the German thinker, Heinrich Ritter, who, in his "History of
Christian Philosophy," frankly admits: "My impression was that mediaeval
philosophy was not indebted to Jewish metaphysicians for any original
line of thought, but M. Munk's discovery convinced me of my
mistake."[36]
Who was Maimonides? The question is certainly more justifiable upon
German than upon French soil. In France, attention has been invited to
his works, while in Germany, save in the circle of the learned, he is
almost unknown. Even among Jews, who call him "Rambam," he is celebrated
rather than known. It seems, then, that it may not be unprofitable to
present an outline of the life and works of this philosopher of the
middle ages, whom scholars have sought to connect with Spinoza, with
Leibnitz, and even with Kant.[37]
While readers in general possess but little information about Maimonides
himself, the period in which he lived, and which derives much of its
brilliancy and importance from him, is well known, and has come to be a
favorite subject with modern writers. That period was a very dreamland
of culture. Under enlightened caliphs, the Arabs in Spain developed a
civilization which, during the whole of the middle ages up to the
Renaissance, exercised pregnant influence upon every department of human
knowledge. A dreamland, in truth, it appears to be, when we reflect that
the descendants of a highly cultured people, the teachers of Europe in
many sciences, are now wandering in African wilds, nomads, who know of
the glories of their past only through a confused legend, holding out to
them the extravagant hope that the banner of the Prophet may again wave
from the cathedral of Granada. Yet this Spanish-Arabic period bequeathed
to us such magnificent tokens of architectural skill, of scientific
research, and of philosophic thought, that far from regarding it as
fancy's dream, we know it to be one of the corner-stones of
civilization.
Prominent among the great men of this period was the Jew Moses ben
Maimon, or as he was called in Arabic, Abu Amran Musa ibn Maimun Obaid
Allah (1135-1204). It may be said that he represented the full measure
of the scientific attainments of the age at the close of which he
stood--an age whose culture comprised the whole circle of sciences then
known, and whose conscious goal was the reconciliation of religion and
philosophy. The sturdier the growth of the spirit of inquiry, the more
ardent became the longing to reach this goal, the keener became the
perception of the problems of life and faith. Arabic and Jewish thinkers
zealously sought the path leading to serenity. Though they never entered
upon it, their tentative efforts naturally prepared the way for a great
comprehensive intellect. Only a genius, master of all the sciences,
combining soundness of judgment and clearness of insight with great
mental vigor and depth, can succeed in reconciling the divergent
principles of theology and speculation, if such reconciliation be within
the range of the possible. At Cordova, in 1135, when the sun of Arabic
culture reached its zenith, was born Maimonides, the man gifted with
this all-embracing mind.
Many incidents in his life, not less interesting than his philosophic
development, have come down to us. His father was his first teacher. To
escape the persecutions of the Almohades, Maimonides, then thirteen
years old, removed to Fez with his family. There religious persecution
forced Jews to abjure their faith, and the family of Maimon, like many
others, had to comply, outwardly at least, with the requirements of
Islam. At Fez Maimonides was on intimate terms with physicians and
philosophers. At the same time, both in personal intercourse with them
and in his writings, he exhorted his pseudo-Mohammedan brethren to
remain true to Judaism. This would have cost him his life, had he not
been rescued by the kindly offices of Mohammedan theologians. The
feeling of insecurity induced his family to leave Fez and join the
Jewish community in Palestine. "They embarked at dead of night. On the
sixth day of their voyage on the Mediterranean, a frightful storm arose;
mountainous waves tossed the frail ship about like a ball; shipwreck
seemed imminent. The pious family besought God's protection. Maimonides
vowed that if he were rescued from threatening death, he would, as a
thank-offering for himself and his family, spend two days in fasting and
distributing alms, and devote another day to solitary communion with
God. The storm abated, and after a month's voyage, the vessel ran into
the harbor of Accho."[38] The travellers met with a warm welcome, but
they tarried only a brief while, and finally settled permanently in
Egypt. There, too, disasters befell Maimonides, who found solace only in
his implicit reliance on God and his enthusiastic devotion to learning.
It was then that Maimonides became the religious guide of his brethren.
At the same time he attained to eminence in his medical practice, and
devoted himself zealously to the study of philosophy and the natural
sciences. Yet he did not escape calumny, and until 1185 fortune refused
to smile upon him. In that year a son, afterwards the joy and pride of
his heart, was born to him. Then he was appointed physician at the court
of Saladin, and so great was his reputation that Richard Coeur de Lion
wished to make him his physician in ordinary, but Maimonides refused the
offer. Despite the fact that his works raised many enemies against him,
his influence grew in the congregations of his town and province. From
all sides questions were addressed to him, and when religious points
were under debate, his opinion usually decided the issue. At his death
at the age of seventy great mourning prevailed in Israel. His mortal
remains were moved to Tiberias, and a legend reports that Bedouins
attacked the funeral train. Finding it impossible to move the coffin
from the spot, they joined the Jews, and followed the great man to his
last resting-place. The deep reverence accorded him both by the moral
sense and the exuberant fancy of his race is best expressed in the brief
eulogy of the saying, now become almost a proverb: "From Moses, the
Prophet, to Moses ben Maimon, there appeared none like unto Moses."
In three different spheres Maimonides' work produced important results.
First in order stand his services to his fellow-believers. For them he
compiled the great Codex, the first systematic arrangement, upon the
basis of Talmudic tradition, of all the ordinances and tenets of
Judaism. He gave them a system of ethics which even now should be
prized, because it inculcates the highest possible ethical views and the
most ideal conception of man's duties in life. He explained to them,
almost seven hundred years ago, Islam's service to mankind, and the
mission Christianity was appointed by Providence to accomplish.
His early writings reveal the fundamental principles of his subsequent
literary work. An astronomical treatise on the Jewish calendar, written
in his early youth, illustrates his love of system, but his peculiar
method of thinking and working is best shown in the two works that
followed. The first is a commentary on parts of the Talmud, probably
meant to present such conclusions of the Babylonian and the Jerusalem
Talmud as affect the practices of Judaism. The second is his Arabic
commentary on the Mishna. He explains the Mishna simply and clearly from
a strictly rabbinical point of view--a point of view which he never
relinquished, permitting a deviation only in questions not affecting
conduct. Master of the abundant material of Jewish literature, he felt
it to be one of the most important tasks of the age to simplify, by
methodical treatment, the study of the mass of written and traditional
religious laws, accumulated in the course of centuries. It is this work
that contains the attempt, praised by some, condemned by others, to
establish articles of the Jewish faith, the Bible being used in
authentication. Thirteen articles of faith were thus established. The
first five naturally define the God-idea: Article 1 declares the
existence of God, 2, His unity, 3, His immateriality, 4, His eternity,
5, that unto Him alone, to whom all created life owes its being, human
adoration is due; the next four treat of revelation: 6, of revelations
made through prophets in general, 7, of the revelation made through
Moses, 8, of the divine origin of the Law, 9, of the perfection of the
Law, and its eternally binding force; and the rest dwell upon the
divine government of the world: 10, Divine Providence, 11, reward and
punishment, here and hereafter, 12, Messianic promises and hopes, and
13, resurrection.
Maimonides' high reputation among his own people is attested by his
letters and responses, containing detailed answers to vexed religious
questions. An especially valuable letter is the one upon "Enforced
Apostasy," _Iggereth ha-Sh'mad_. He advises an inquirer what to do when
menaced by religious persecutions. Is one to save life by accepting, or
to court death by refusing to embrace, the Mohammedan faith? Maimonides'
opinion is summed up in the words: "The solution which I always
recommend to my friends and those consulting me is, to leave such
regions, and to turn to a place in which religion can be practiced
without fear of persecution. No considerations of danger, of property,
or of family should prevent one from carrying out this purpose. The
divine Law stands in higher esteem with the wise than the haphazard
gifts of fortune. These pass away, the former remains." His responses as
well as his most important works bear the impress of a sane,
well-ordered mind, of a lofty intellect, dwelling only upon what is
truly great.
Also his second famous work, the above-mentioned Hebrew Codex, _Mishneh
Torah_, "Recapitulation of the Law," was written in the interest of his
brethren in faith. Its fourteen divisions treat of knowledge, love, the
festivals, marriage laws, sanctifications, vows, seeds, Temple-service,
sacrifices, purifications, damages, purchase and sale, courts, and
judges. "My work is such," says Maimonides, "that my book in connection
with the Bible will enable a student to dispense with the Talmud." From
whatever point of view this work may be regarded, it must be admitted
that Maimonides carried out his plan with signal success, and that it is
the only one by which method could have been introduced into the
manifold departments of Jewish religious lore. But it is obvious that
the thinker had not yet reached the goal of his desires. In consonance
with his fundamental principle, a scientific systemization of religious
laws had to be followed up by an explanation of revealed religion and
Greek-Arabic philosophy, and by the attempt to bring about a
reconciliation between them.
Before we enter upon this his greatest book, it is well to dispose of
the second phase of his work, his activity as a medical writer.
Maimonides treated medicine as a science, a view not usual in those
days. The body of facts relating to medicine he classified, as he had
systematized the religious laws of the Talmud. In his methodical way, he
also edited the writings of Galen, the medical oracle of the middle
ages, and his own medical aphorisms and treatises are marked by the same
love of system. It seems that he had the intention to prepare a medical
codex to serve a purpose similar to that of his religious code. How
great a reputation he enjoyed among Mohammedan physicians is shown by
the extravagantly enthusiastic verses of an Arabic poet:
"Of body's ills doth Galen's art relieve,
Maimonides cures mind and body both,--
His wisdom heals disease and ignorance.
And should the moon invoke his skill and art,
Her spots, when full her orb, would disappear;
He'd fill her breach, when time doth inroads make,
And cure her, too, of pallor caused by earth."
Maimonides' real greatness, however, must be sought in his philosophic
work. Despite the wide gap between our intellectual attitude and the
philosophic views to which Maimonides gave fullest expression, we can
properly appreciate his achievements and his intellectual grasp by
judging him with reference to his own time. When we realize that he
absorbed all the thought-currents of his time, that he was their
faithful expounder, and that, at the same time, he was gifted with an
accurate, historic instinct, making him wholly objective, we shall
recognize in him "the genius of his peculiar epoch become incarnate."
The work containing Maimonides' deepest thought and the sum of his
knowledge and erudition was written in Arabic under the name _Dalalat
al-Hairin_. In Hebrew it is known as _Moreh Nebuchim_, in Latin, as
_Doctor Perplexorum_, and in English as the "Guide of the Perplexed." To
this book we shall now devote our attention. The original Arabic text
was supposed, along with many other literary treasures of the middle
ages, to be lost, until Solomon Munk, the blind _savant_ with clear
vision, discovered it in the library at Paris, and published it. But in
its Hebrew translation the book created a stir, which subsided only with
its public burning at Montpellier early in the thirteenth century. The
Latin translation we owe to Buxtorf; the German is, I believe,
incomplete, and can hardly be said to give evidence of ripe
scholarship.[39]
The question that naturally suggests itself is: What does the book
contain? Does it establish a new system of philosophy? Is it a
cyclopaedia of the sciences, such as the Arab schools of that day were
wont to produce? Neither the one nor the other. The "Guide of the
Perplexed" is a system of rational theology upon a philosophic basis, a
book not intended for novices, but for thinkers, for such minds as know
how to penetrate the profound meaning of tradition, as the author says
in a prefatory letter addressed to Joseph ibn Aknin, his favorite
disciple. He believes that even those to whom the book appeals are often
puzzled and confused by the apparent inconsistencies between the literal
interpretation of the Bible and the evidence of reason, that they do not
know whether to take Scriptural expressions as symbolic or allegoric, or
to accept them in their literal meaning, and that they fall a prey to
doubt, and long for a guide. Maimonides is prepared to lead them to an
eminence on which religion and philosophy meet in perfect harmony.