Jewish Theology Part 10

If Christ has come to destroy the works of the Devil, there would be no need for him to come, unless there were a Devil. On the other hand, if the Devil is to be considered merely the personification of evil, then a Christ who would be only the personification of the ideal, but not a real personality, would suffice equally."(587) At present Christian theologians and even philosophers have recourse to Platonic and Buddhist ideas, that evil is implanted in the world from which humanity must free itself, and they thus present Christianity as the _religion of redemption par excellence_.(588) Over against this, Judaism still maintains that there is no radical or primitive evil in the world. No power exists which is intrinsically hostile to G.o.d, and from which man must be redeemed.

According to the Jewish conception, the goodness and glory of G.o.d fill both heaven and earth, while holiness penetrates all of life, bringing matter and flesh within the realm of the divine. Evil is but the contrast of good, as shade is but the contrast of light. Evil can be overcome by each individual, as he realizes his own solemn duty and the divine will.

Its only existence is in the field of morality, where it is a test of man's freedom and power. Evil is within man, and against it he is to wage the battles of life, until his victory signalizes the triumph of the divine in his own nature.(589)

Chapter x.x.xII. G.o.d and the Intermediary Powers

1. In addition to the angels who carried out G.o.d's will in the universe, the Biblical and post-Biblical literature recognizes other divine powers which mediate between Him and the world of man. The more a seer or thinker became conscious of the spirituality and transcendency of G.o.d, the more he felt the gulf between the infinite Spirit and the world of the senses. In order to bridge this gap, the Deity was replaced by one of His manifestations which could appear and act in a world circ.u.mscribed by s.p.a.ce and time.(590) As we found in prophecy the direct revelation of G.o.d giving way to a mediating angel, so either "the Glory" or "the Name" of JHVH takes the place of G.o.d himself. That is, instead of G.o.d's own being, His reflected radiance or the power invested in His name descends from on high. The rabbis kept the direct revelation of G.o.d for the hallowed past or the desired future, but at the same time they needed a suitable term for the presence of G.o.d; they therefore coined the word _Shekinah_-"the divine Condescension" or "Presence"-to be used instead of the Deity himself. Thus the verse of the Psalm:(591) "G.o.d standeth in the congregation of G.o.d," is translated by the Targum, "The divine Presence (_Shekinah_) resteth upon the congregation of the G.o.dly." Instead of the conclusion of the speech to Moses, "Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them,"(592) the Targum has, "And I shall let My Presence (_Shekinah_) dwell among them." Thus in the view of the rabbis _Shekinah_ represents the visible part of the divine majesty, which descends from heaven to earth, and on the radiance of which are fed the spiritual beings, both angels and the souls of the saints.(593) G.o.d himself was wrapped in light, whose brilliancy no living being, however lofty, could endure; but the _Shekinah_ or reflection of the divine glory might be beheld by the elect either in their lifetime or in the hereafter. In this way the rabbis solved many contradictory pa.s.sages of Scripture, some of which speak of G.o.d as invisible, while others describe man as beholding Him.(594)

2. Just as the references to G.o.d's appearing to man suggested luminous powers mediating the vision of G.o.d, so the pa.s.sages which represent G.o.d as speaking suggest powers mediating the voice. Hence arose the conception of the divine _Word_, invested with divine powers both physical and spiritual. The first act of G.o.d in the Bible is that He spoke, and by this word the world came into being. The _Word_ was thus conceived of as the first created being, an intermediary power between the Spirit of the world and the created world order. The word of G.o.d, important in the cosmic order, is still more so in the moral and spiritual worlds. The Word is at times a synonym of divine revelation to the men of the early generations or to Israel, the bearer of the Law. Hence the older Haggadah places beside the _Shekinah_ the divine _Word_ (Hebrew, _Maamar_; Aramaic, _Memra_; Greek, _Logos_) as the intermediary force of revelation.

Contact with the Platonic and Stoic philosophies led gradually to a new development which appears in Philo. The Word or Logos becomes "the first-created Son of G.o.d," having a personality independent from G.o.d; in fact he is a kind of vice regent of G.o.d himself. From this it was but a short step toward considering him a partner and peer of the Almighty, as was done by the Church with its doctrine that the Word became flesh in Christ, the son of G.o.d.(595) In view of this the rabbinical schools gave up the idea of the personified Word, replacing it with the _Torah_ or the _Spirit of G.o.d_. The older term was retained only in liturgical formulas, such as: "Who created the heavens by His Word," or, "Who by His Word created the twilight and by Wisdom openeth the gates of heaven."(596)

3. As has been shown above,(597) Wisdom is described in the Bible as the first of all created beings, the a.s.sistant and counselor of G.o.d in the work of creation. Then we see that Ben Sira identifies Wisdom with the Torah.(598) Thus the Torah, too, was raised to a cosmic power, the sum and substance of all wisdom. In fact, the Torah, like the Logos of Plato, was regarded as comprising the ideas or prototypes of all things as in a universal plan. The Torah is the divine pattern for the world. In such a connection _Torah_ is far from meaning the Law, as Weber a.s.serts.(599) It means rather the heavenly book of instruction which contains all the wisdom of the ages, and which G.o.d himself used as guide at the Creation.

G.o.d is depicted as an architect with His plan drafted before He began the erection of the edifice,-a conception which avoids all danger of deifying the Logos.

4. Several other conceptions, however, do not belong at all to the intermediary powers, where Weber places them.(600) This applies to _Metatron_ (identical with the Persian Mithras),(601) whom the mystic lore calls the charioteer of the heavenly throne-chariot, represented by the rabbis as the highest of the angels, leader of the heavenly hosts, and vice-regent of G.o.d. That no cosmic power was ascribed to him is proved by the very fact of his identification with Enoch, whom the pre-Talmudic Haggadah describes as taken up into heaven and changed into an angel of the highest rank, standing near G.o.d's throne.(602)

5. The only real mediator between G.o.d and man is the _Spirit of G.o.d_, which is mentioned in connection with both the creation and divine revelation. In the first chapter of Genesis the Spirit of G.o.d is described as hovering over the gloom of chaos like the mother bird over the egg, ready to hatch out the nascent world.(603) G.o.d breathed His spirit into the body of man, to make him also G.o.d-like.(604) The prophet likewise is inspired by the spirit of G.o.d to see visions and to hear the divine message.(605) Thus the spirit of G.o.d has two aspects; it is the cosmic principle which imbues primal matter with life; it is a link between the soul of man and G.o.d on high. The view of Ezekiel was but one step from this, to conceive the spirit as a personal being, and place him beside G.o.d as an angel.

The prophets and psalmists, feeling the spirit of G.o.d upon them, considered it an emanation of the Deity. Still, a profounder insight soon disapproved the severance of the Spirit of G.o.d from G.o.d himself, as if He were not altogether _spirit_. Therefore the accepted term came to be the _Holy Spirit_.(606) In this form, however, his personality became more distinct and his separate existence more defined. Henceforth he is the messenger of G.o.d, performing miracles or causing them, speaking in the place of G.o.d, or defending His people Israel. Nay, more, the Holy Spirit is supposed to have dictated the words of Scripture to the sacred writers, and to have inspired the Men of the Great Synagogue in collecting the sacred writings into a canon.(607)

Moreover, the workings of the Holy Spirit continued long after the completion of the Biblical canon. All the chief inst.i.tutions of the Synagogue originally claimed that they were prompted by the Holy Spirit, resting upon the leaders of the community. This claim was basic to the authority of tradition and the continuity of the authority of Jewish lore.

It seems, however, that certain abuses were caused by miracle-workers who disseminated false doctrines under the alleged inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the rabbis restricted such claims to ancient times and insisted more strongly than ever upon the preservation of the traditional lore. For a time a subst.i.tute was found in the _Bath Kol_ ("Echo" or "Whisper of a heavenly voice"), but this also was soon discredited by the schools.(608) Obviously the rabbis desired to avert the deification of either the Holy Spirit or the Word. Sound common sense was their norm for interpreting the truth of the divine revelation. In other words, they relied on G.o.d alone as the living force in the development of Judaism.

6. But some sort of mediation was ascribed to several other spiritual forces. First, the _Name_ of G.o.d often takes the place of G.o.d himself.(609) When the name of the Deity was called over some hallowed spot, the worshipers felt that the presence of G.o.d also was bound up with the sacred place.(610)

"My name is in him," says G.o.d of the angel whom He sends to lead the people.(611) The invocation of the name was believed to have an actual influence upon the Deity. Furthermore, since G.o.d is frequently represented as swearing by His own name,(612) this ineffable name was invested with magic powers, as if G.o.d himself dwelt therein.(613) Thus it came to be used as a talisman by the popular saints.(614) Indeed, G.o.d is described as conjuring the depths of the abyss by His holy name, lest they overflow their boundaries.(615) Moreover, the Name, like the Word, or Logos, was regarded as a creative power, so that we are told that before the world was created there were only G.o.d and His holy Name.(616) Owing to the introduction of _Adonai_ (the Lord) for JHVH, the p.r.o.nunciation of the Name fell into oblivion and the Name itself became a mystery; therefore its cosmic element also was lost and it dropped into the sphere of mystic and philosophical speculation.

7. Another attribute of G.o.d which received some attention, owing to the frequent mention of the omnipotence of G.o.d in the Bible, was _ha Geburah_ (the Power). A familiar rabbinic expression is: "We have heard from the mouth of the Power," that is, from the divine omnipotence.(617) Two fundamental principles were early perceived in the moral order of the world: the punitive justice and compa.s.sion of G.o.d. These were taken as the meanings of the two most common Biblical names of G.o.d, _JHVH_ and _Elohim_. Elohim, being occasionally used in dispensing justice,(618) was thought to signify G.o.d in His capacity as Judge of the whole earth, and hence as the divine Justice. JHVH, on the other hand, meant the divine mercy, as it was used in the revelation of the long-suffering and merciful G.o.d to Moses after the sin of Israel before the golden calf.(619) Thus both the rabbis and Philo(620) often speak of these two attributes, justice and mercy, as though they const.i.tuted independent beings, deliberating with G.o.d as to what He should do. The Midrash tells in a parable how before the creation of man, Justice, Mercy, Truth, and Peace were called in by G.o.d as His counselors to deliberate whether or no man should be created.(621)

8. One Haggadah concludes from the pa.s.sage about Creation in Proverbs, that there are three creative powers, Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge.(622) Another derives from Scripture seven creative principles: Knowledge, Understanding, Might, Grace and Mercy, Justice and Rebuke;(623) and seven attributes which do service before G.o.d's throne: Wisdom, Judgment and Justice, Grace and Mercy, Truth and Peace.(624) By combining these lists of three and seven this was finally enlarged to ten, which became the basis for the entire mystic lore. Thus the Babylonian master Rab enumerates ten creative principles: Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge, Might and Power, Rebuke, Justice and Righteousness, Love and Mercy.(625) It is hard to say whether the ten attributes of the Haggadah are at all connected with the ten _Sefiroth_ (cosmic forces or circles) of the Cabbalah. These last are hardly the creation of pure monotheism, but rather emanations from the infinite, conceived after the pattern of heathen ideas.(626)

9. The a.s.sumption of all these intermediaries aimed chiefly to spiritualize the conception of G.o.d and to elevate Him above all child-like, anthropomorphic views, so that He becomes a free Mind ruling the whole universe. At the same time, it became natural to ascribe material substance to these intermediaries. As they filled the chasm between the supermundane Deity and the world of the senses, they had to share the nature of both matter and mind. Hence the Shekinah and the Holy Spirit are described by both the rabbis and the medieval philosophers as a fine, luminous, or ethereal substance.(627) The entire ancient and medieval systems were modeled after the idea of a ladder leading up, step by step, from the lowest to the highest sphere; G.o.d, the Most High, being at the same time above the highest rung of the ladder and yet also a part of the whole.

10. Our modern system of thought holds the relation of G.o.d to nature and man to be quite different from all this. To our mind G.o.d is the only moral and spiritual power of life. He is mirrored in the moral and spiritual as well as intellectual nature of man, and therefore is near to the human conscience, owing to the divine forces within man himself. Not the world without, but the world within leads us to G.o.d and tells us what G.o.d is.

Hence we need no intermediary beings, and they all evaporate before our mental horizon like mist, pictures of the imagination without objective reality. Ibn Ezra says in the introduction to his commentary on the Bible that the human reason is the true intermediating angel between G.o.d and man, and we hold this to be true of both the intellect and the conscience.

For the theologian and the student of religion to-day the center of gravity of religion is to be sought in psychology and anthropology. In all his upward striving, his craving and yearning for the highest and the best, in his loftiest aspirations and ideals, man, like Isaiah the prophet, can behold only the hem of G.o.d's garment; he seeks G.o.d above him, because he feels Him within himself. He must pa.s.s, however, through the various stages of growth, until his self-knowledge leads to the knowledge of the G.o.d before whom he kneels in awe. Then finally he feels Him as his Father, his Educator in the school of life, the Master of the universal plan in which the individual also has a place in building up the divine kingdom of truth, justice, and holiness on earth. For centuries he groped for G.o.d, until he received a Book to serve as "a lamp to his feet and a light to his path," to interpret to him his longing and his craving.

Israel's Book of Books must ever be re-read and re-interpreted by Israel, the keeper of the book, through ages yet to come. Well may we say: the mediator between G.o.d and the world is _man_, the son of G.o.d; the mediator between G.o.d and humanity is _Israel_, the people of G.o.d.

PART II. MAN

Chapter x.x.xIII. Man's Place in Creation

1. The doctrine concerning man is inseparably connected with that about G.o.d. Heathenism formed its deities after the image of man; they were merely human beings of a larger growth. Judaism, on the contrary, a.s.serts that G.o.d is beyond comparison with mankind; He is a purely spiritual being without form or image, and therefore utterly unlike man. On the other hand, man has a divine nature, as he was made in the image of G.o.d, fashioned after His likeness. The highest and deepest in man, his mental, moral, and spiritual life, is the reflection of the divine nature implanted within him, a force capable of ever greater development toward perfection. This unique distinction among all creatures gives man the highest place in all creation.

2. The superiority of the human race is expressed differently in various pa.s.sages in Scripture. According to the first chapter of Genesis the whole work of creation finds its culmination in man, whose making is introduced by a solemn appeal of G.o.d to the hosts of heaven: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."(628) This declaration proclaimed that man was the completion and the climax of the physical creation, as well as the beginning of a new order of creation, a world of moral aims and purposes, of self-perfection and self-control. In the world of man all life is placed at the service of a higher ideal, after the divine pattern.

The second chapter of Genesis depicts man's creation differently. Here he appears as the first of created beings, leading a life of perfect innocence in the garden of divine bliss. Before him G.o.d brings all the newly created beings that he may give them a name and a purpose. But the Serpent enters Paradise as tempter, casting the seed of discord into the hearts of the man and the woman. As they prove too feeble to resist temptation, they can no longer remain in the heavenly garden in their former happy state. Only the memory of Paradise remains, a golden dream to cast hope over the life of struggle and labor into which they enter. The idea of the legend is that man's proper place is not among beings of the earth, but he can reach his lofty destiny only by arduous struggle with the world of the senses and a constant striving toward the divine. The same idea is expressed more directly in the eighth Psalm:

"What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?

And the son of man, that Thou thinkest of him?

Yet Thou hast made him but little lower than the G.o.dly beings (Elohim) And hast crowned him with glory and honor.

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet."

3. According to the Haggadists,(629) before the fall man excelled even the angels in appearance and wisdom, so that they were ready to prostrate themselves before him. Only when G.o.d caused a deep sleep to fall upon man, they recognized his frailty and kinship with other beings of the earth.

The idea expressed in this legend resembles the one implied in the legend of Paradise, viz. man has a twofold nature. With his heavenly spirit he can soar freely to the highest realm of thought, above the station of the angels; yet his earthly frame holds him ever near the dust. It is this very contrast that const.i.tutes his greatness, for it makes him a citizen of two worlds, one perishable, the other eternal. He is the highest result of Creation, the pride of the Creator.(630) Thus he was appointed G.o.d's vice-regent on earth by the words spoken to the first man and woman: "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth."(631) The rabbis add a striking comment upon the word _R'du_, which is used here for "have dominion" but which may also mean, "go down." They say: "The choice is left in man's own hand. If you maintain your heaven-born dignity, you will have dominion over all things; if not, you will descend to the level of the brute creation."(632)

4. An ancient Mishnah derives a significant lesson from the story of the creation of man(633): "Both the vegetable and animal worlds were created in mult.i.tudes. Man alone was created as a single individual in order that he may realize that he const.i.tutes a world in himself, and carries within him the true value of life. Hence each human being is ent.i.tled to say: 'The whole world was created for my sake.' He who saves a single human life is as one who saves a whole world, and he who destroys a single human life is as one who destroys a whole world."

5. While it is man's spiritual side which is the image of G.o.d, yet he derives all his powers and faculties from earthly life, just as a tree draws its strength from the soil in which it is rooted. Judaism does not consider the soul the exclusive seat of the divine, as opposed to the body. In fact, Judaism admits no complete dualism of spirit and matter, however striking some aspects of their contrast may be. The whole human personality is divine, just so far as it a.s.serts its freedom and molds its motives toward a divine end. In recognition of this fact Hillel claimed reverence for the human body as well as mind, comparing it to the homage rendered to the statue of a king, for man is made in the image of G.o.d, the King of all the world.(634) Thus the Greek idea that man is a _microcosm_, a world in miniature, reflecting the cosmos on a smaller scale, was expressed in the Tannaitic schools as well.(635) The stamp of divinity is borne by man in his entire heaven-aspiring nature, as he strives to elevate the very realm of the senses into the sphere of morality and holiness.

6. In this respect the Jewish view parts from that of Plato and the Hindu philosophers. These divide man into a pure celestial soul and an impure earthly body and hold that the physical life is tainted by sin, while the spirit is divine only in so far as it frees itself from its prison house of flesh. Judaism, on the other hand, emphasizes the unified character of man, by which he can bend all his faculties and functions to a G.o.dlike mastery over the material world. This appears first in his upright posture and heavenward glance, which proclaim him master over the whole animal world cowering before him in lowly dread. His whole bodily structure corresponds to this, with its constant growth, its wondrous symmetry, and the unique flexibility of the hands, with which he can perform ever new and greater achievements. Above all, we see the n.o.bility of man in his high forehead and receding jaw, which contrast so strikingly with the structure of most animals and even with many of the lower races. Indeed, primitive man could scarcely imagine a n.o.bler pattern by which to model his deity than the figure of a man.

7. In fact, the Biblical verse, "G.o.d created man after the image of the divine beings" (_elohim_), was originally taken literally, in the sense that angels posed as models for the creation of man.(636) The phrase was referred to the spiritual, G.o.d-like nature of man only when the difference between material and spiritual things became better understood, and man obtained a clearer knowledge of himself. Man grew to feel that his craving for the perfect, whether in the field of truth and right, or of beauty, is the force which lifts him, in spite of all his limitations, into the realm of the divine. His soaring imagination and ceaseless longing for perfection disclose before his eyes a partial vista of the infinite. The human spirit carries mortal man above the confines of time and s.p.a.ce into those boundless realms where G.o.d resides in lonely majesty.(637)

Man did not emanate perfect from the hand of the Creator, but ready for an ever greater perfection. Being the last of all created beings, as the Midrash says, he can be put to shame by the smallest insect, which is prior to him. Yet before the beginning of creation a light shone upon his spirit that has illumined his achievements through untold generations.(638)

8. The resemblance of man to G.o.d is attributed also to his free will and self-consciousness, by which he claims moral dignity and mastery over all things.(639) Still, all these superior qualities which we call human are not ready-made endowments, free gifts bestowed by G.o.d; they are simply potentialities which may be gradually developed. Man must strive to attain the place destined for him in the scheme of creation by the exertion of his own will and the unfolding of the powers that lie within him. The impulse toward self-perfection, which is constantly stimulated by the desire to overcome obstacles and to extend one's power, knowledge, and possessions, forms the kernel of the divine in man. This is the "spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty, that giveth them understanding."(640) Thus the teaching of modern science, of the gradual ascent of man through all the stages of animal life, does not impair the lofty position in creation which Judaism has a.s.signed him. Plant and animal are what they have always been, children of the earth; man with his heaven-aspiring soul is the image of his Creator, a child of G.o.d. Giver of name and purpose to all things about him, he ranks above the angels; he "marches on while all the rest stand still."(641)

Chapter x.x.xIV. The Dual Nature of Man

1. According to Jewish doctrines, man is formed by a union of two natures: the flesh, which he shares with all the animals, and the spirit, which renders him a child of G.o.d. The former is rooted in the earth and is earthward bent; the latter is a "breath from G.o.d" and strives to unfold the divine in man until he attains the divine image. This discord brings a tremendous internal conflict, leading from one historic stage to another, achieving ever higher things, intellectual, moral, and spiritual, until at last the whole earth is to be a divine kingdom, the dwelling-place of truth, goodness, and holiness.

2. According to the Biblical view man consists of flesh (_basar_) and spirit (_ruah_). The term flesh is used impartially of all animals, hence the Biblical term "all flesh"(642) includes both man and beast. The body becomes a living being by being penetrated with the "breath of life"

(_ruah hayim_), at whose departure the living body turns at once into a lifeless clod. This breath of life is possessed by the animal as well as by man, as both of them breathe the air. Hence in ancient tongues "breath"

and "soul" are used as synonyms, as the Hebrew _nefesh_ and _neshamah_, the Latin _anima_ and _spiritus_, the Greek _pneuma_ and _psyche_. A different primitive belief connected the soul with the blood, noting that man or beast dies when the hot life-blood flows out of the body, so that we read in the Bible, "the blood is the soul."(643) In this the soul is identified with the life, while the word _ruah_, denoting the moving force of the air, is used more in the sense of spirit or soul as distinct from the body.

Thus both man and beast possess a soul, _nefesh_. The soul of man is merely distinguished by its richer endowment, its manifold faculties by which it is enabled to move forward to higher things. Thus the animal soul is bound for all time to its destined place, while the divine spirit in man makes him a free creative personality, self-conscious and G.o.d-like.

For this reason the creation of man forms a special act in the account in Genesis. Both the plant and animal worlds rose at G.o.d's bidding from the soil of mother earth, and the soul of the animal is limited in origin and goal by the earthly sphere. The creation of man inaugurates a new world.

G.o.d is described as forming the body of man from the dust of the earth and then breathing His spirit into the lifeless frame, endowing it with both life and personality. The whole man, both body and soul, has thus the potentiality of a higher and n.o.bler life.

3. Accordingly Scripture does not have a thorough-going dualism, of a carnal nature which is sinful and a spiritual nature which is pure. We are not told that man is composed of an impure earthly body and a pure heavenly soul, but instead that the whole of man is permeated by the spirit of G.o.d. Both body and soul are endowed with the power of continuous self-improvement. In order to see the great superiority of the Jewish view over the heathen one, we need only study the old Babylonian legend preserved by Berosus. In this the deity made man by mixing earth with some of its own life-blood, thus endowing the human soul with higher powers. In the Bible the difference between man and beast does not lie in the blood, although the blood is still thought to be the life. The distinction of man is in the spirit, _ruah_, which emanates from G.o.d and penetrates both body and soul, lifting the whole man into a higher realm and making him a free moral personality.