If the Jewish people were preserved in moral vigor by the influence
of their domestic life, the care they bestowed on the education of the
young kept them intellectually fresh. Schools were erected in every town
and country district. It was forbidden a Jew to reside in cities where
no provision had been made for the instruction of children. Teachers
were called the guardians of cities. The destruction of Jerusalem was
attributed to the fact that the schools had been suffered to fall into
neglect. Synagogues were often used for purposes of primary instruction.
"A sage is greater than a prophet," said the proverb. To increase in
knowledge, at least in a certain kind of knowledge, was a part of the
Jew's religion. According to the theory of the Rabbies the revelation
of God to man is fully embodied in the books of the Old Testament,
especially in the books of the Pentateuch, commonly called the
Tora,--the Law. They contain, either by direct statement or by
implication, whatever it is necessary for men to know. They anticipate
all future legislation. Though apparently scanty in substance, they
are replete with suggestions of profound and inexhaustible wisdom. To
penetrate the hidden meanings of "the Law" became, on this account, the
primary obligation of the devout; and ignorance was not only despised
on its own account, but was, in addition, branded as a sign of deficient
piety. The ordinances of the Jewish sages are all ostensibly deduced
from the words of the Sacred Law. Without such sanction no enactment of
any later lawgiver, however salutary in itself, could aspire to general
recognition. The civil and criminal law, the principles of science,
sanitary and police regulations, even the rules of courtesy and decorum,
are alike rested on scriptural authority. The entire Talmud may be
roughly described as an extended commentary on the Mosaic Law.* The
authors of the Talmud led a studious life, and relied in great measure
upon the habit of study to preserve the vitality of their faith. Among
the sayings of the sages** we read such as these. Jose ben Joeser says:
"Let thy house be the resort of the wise, and let the dust of their feet
cover thee, and drink in thirstily their words." Joshua ben Perachia
says: "Get thee an instructor, gain a companion [for thy studies], and
judge all men upon the presumption of their innocence." Hillel says:
"Who gains not in knowledge loses.... Say not, 'When I am at leisure
I will study'; 't is likely thou wilt never be at leisure.... He who
increases flesh increases corruption; he who increases worldly goods
increases care; he who increases servants increases theft; but he who
increases in the knowledge of the Law increases life." Jochanan ben
Sakkai says: "If thou art wise in the knowledge of the Law, take not
credit to thyself, for to this end wast thou created."
* For a concise but comprehensive account of the origin of
the Talmud, vide the art. Talmud in Johnson's Encyclopaedia.
** Collected in the Tract Aboth (Fathers).
After the destruction of the Temple by Titus, academies sacred to the
study of the Law were erected in different cities of Palestine, and
similar institutions flourished on the banks of the Euphrates. In the
eleventh century the chief seats of Jewish learning were transplanted
to the West; and since that time the European Jews have excelled their
brethren of the East in all the elements of mental culture. In the
course of their manifold wanderings the Jews carried their libraries
everywhere with them. Wherever a synagogue arose, a school for young
children and a high school for youths were connected with it. In the
dark night of the ghetto the flame of knowledge was never quenched.
While the nations of Europe were still sunk in barbarism the Jews
zealously devoted themselves to the pursuit of medicine, mathematics,
and dialectics, and the love of learning became an hereditary quality
in their midst. The efforts of many generations have contributed to keep
their intellectual faculties bright; and, unlike most oppressed races,
they have emerged from a long epoch of systematic persecution well
fitted to attack the problems of the present with fresh interest and
undiminished capacity.