If now we cast a glance upon the present aspect of Reformed Judaism we
are confronted by a state of affairs that by no means corresponds to
the great anticipations which were connected with the movement in its
earlier stages. The ancient institutions have been cleared away,--that
was unavoidable; they had long been tottering to their ruin,--but
an adequate substitute for what was taken has not been provided. The
leaders have penetrated to the foundations of their religion, but
upon these bare foundations they have erected what is at best a mere
temporary structure incapable of affording them permanent shelter and
protection. The temper of the Reform school has been critical.
Its members were admirably fitted to analyze and to dissect; their
scholarship is unquestionably great; the stainless purity of their lives
has elevated the character of their people and entitled them to sincere
respect But they lacked the constructive genius needed for the creation
of new institutions. In the year 1822 Wholwill declared that "the Jews
must raise themselves and their principle to the level of science.
Science is the one bond that alone can unite the whole human race." The
emphasis thus placed on science has continued to distinguish the Reform
movement down to the present day. In the sphere of religion, however, it
is not sufficient to apprehend the abstract truth of ideas with the
help of intellect, but it is necessary to array these ideas in concrete
forms, in order that they may warm the heart and stimulate the will.
We hold it erroneous to believe that the age of symbolism is passed. The
province of religion is to bring the human soul into communion with
the Infinite. In the lower religions the conception of the Infinite was
meagre and insufficient and the symbols in use proportionately gross.
At the present day it is the ideal of moral perfection that alone is
capable of exciting our devotion and kindling our enthusiasm. Now it is
true that the material symbolism of the churches and the synagogues, the
venerable, the bread and wine, the scrolls of the Pentateuch tricked
out in fanciful vestments, fail to appeal to the sympathies of many
educated men and women of our time; not, however, because they are
symbols, but because they are inadequate symbols, because of an almost
painful disparity between their earthy origin and the vastness of the
spiritual ideas which they are intended to suggest. There is, on the
other hand, a species of symbolism peculiarly adapted to the needs of
the present generation, and which, if properly understood, might be
employed to incalculable advantage in the interest of a revival of the
religious sentiment. We allude to the symbolism of association.
The tendency to associate the efforts of individuals in corporate action
has never been more markedly displayed than in our own day. So long as
such associations confine themselves to certain finite objects, they are
mere social engines organized with a view to utility and power, and
with such we are not concerned. The characteristic of symbols is their
suggestiveness. They have a meaning in themselves, but they suggest
illimitable meanings beyond their scope. Now a form of organization is
not only conceivable, but has actually been attempted, that fully meets
the requirements of the symbolic character. The Christian Church is
designed to be such an organization. Not only does it propose to unite
its members and to satisfy their spiritual needs during the term of
their sojourn on earth, but it aspires to typify the union of all saints
under the sovereignty of Jesus, and thus to give to the believer a
presentiment of the felicity and perfection of the higher world. In
like manner the Hebrews have been acquainted with the symbolism of
association from a very early period of their history. If they delight
to style themselves the chosen people, the meaning of that phrase, so
often misunderstood, is purely symbolical.
Recognizing the fact that the majority of mankind are at no time
prepared to entertain the ideals of the few, they undertook to work out
among themselves a nobler conception of religion and a loftier morality,
trusting that the force of their example would in the end bring about
the universal adoption of their faith and ethical code. In this sense
the choice of Israel was interpreted by the Prophets. They believed that
their selection by the Deity imposed upon them heavier responsibilities,
and regarded it in the light of an obligation rather than a privilege.
What the statue is to the ideal of beauty, a whole people resolved to
be in relation to the ideal of the good. The same conception still
dominates the thoughts of the Reformers, and is expressed by them in
their doctrine of Israel's messianic mission. They claim that the
Jews have been for the past three thousand years the "Swiss guard of
monotheism." They still believe themselves to be the typical people,
and their firm persuasion on this head is the one strong feature of
the Reformers' creed. If they will use their world-wide association to
illustrate anew the virtues for which their race became renowned in the
past,--and we refer especially to the purity of the sexual relations
among them, their pious reverence for domestic ties,--they may still
become, as they aspire to do, exemplars of purity to be joyfully
imitated by others. If they will use it in the spirit of their ancient
lawgiver to tone down the harsh distinctions of wealth and poverty, to
establish juster relations between the strong and weak, in brief, to
harmonize the social antagonisms of modern life, they may confer an
inestimable benefit upon mankind. But the manner in which the symbolism
of association might be applied to invigorate the religious sentiment,
and to expel the coldness of the times by the fervor of a new
enthusiasm, is a subject of too vast dimensions to be thus summarily
despatched, and we shall hope to recur to it on some future occasion.*
* In an article on the religious aspects of the social
question.
The present condition of liberal Judaism is strongly akin to that of
liberal Christianity. The old is dead, the new has not been born. It
is hardly safe to predict what possible developments the future may yet
have in store. As regards the Jews, however, it is right to add that
such changes as have taken place in the constitution of their religion
have not brought them in any sense nearer to Christianity. On the
contrary, since the belief in a personal Messiah has been dropped, the
hope of their conversion has become more vague and visionary than
ever. Those whom the worship of the synagogue and the temple no longer
attracts either become wholly sceptical and indifferent, or, as is often
the case, transfer their allegiance to the new humanitarian doctrine
which is fast assuming the character of a religion in the ardor it
inspires and the strong spiritual union it cements. For the great body
of the Jews, however, the central doctrine of Judaism remains unshaken,
and doubtless, so long as Christianity exists, Judaism as a distinct
creed will coexist with it. The modern Jews, like their ancestors,
believe that their mission is not yet ended, and they await with
patience the rising of some new man of genius amongst them, who will
combine the qualities of the popular leader with.'the attributes of
the scholar, and will give body and form to the ideas elaborated by the
Reformers. As a religious society they desire to remain distinct. But
as citizens, they are eager to remove whatever distinctions still hamper
their intercourse with their neighbors of other creeds. Never has the
desire to return to Palestine and retrieve their lost nationality been
more foreign to their sentiments than at the present day, though recent
speculations have misled many to believe otherwise. They know they can
no more return thither. They would not if they could. They love the land
of their birth; they wish to join their labors with those of others in
promoting the progress of the entire human race. They have ceased to
regret the past, and desire nothing more earnestly than to live in the
present and for the future.