"
"Be circumspect in the fear of the Lord, soft in speech, slow in wrath,
kind and friendly to all, even to the heathen."
Alluding to the laws inimical to the heathen, Rabbi Mosha says: "What
wise men have said in this respect was directed against the ancient
idolators, who believed neither in a creation nor in a deliverance from
Egypt; but the nations among whom we live, whose protection we enjoy,
must not be considered in this light, since they believe in a creation,
the divine origin of the law, and many other fundamental doctrines of
our religion. It is, therefore, not only our duty to shelter them
against actual danger, but to pray for their welfare and the prosperity
of their respective governments."[56]
[56] Introductory Essay to _Hebrew Tales_, by Hyman Hurwitz;
published at London in 1826.
Let the impartial reader compare these teachings of the Rabbis with the
intolerant doctrines and practices of Christian pastors, even in modern
times as well as during the Middle Ages: when they taught that out of
the pale of the Church there could be no salvation; that no faith should
be kept with heretics, or infidels: when Catholics persecuted
Protestants, and Protestants retaliated upon Catholics:
Christians have burned each other, quite persuaded
That all the Apostles would have done as they did!
It will probably occur to most readers, in connection with the
rabbinical doctrine, that it is unlawful to over-reach any one, that the
Jews appear to have long ignored such maxims of morality.
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