THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 4824, 29 November 1902, Page 7 (Supplement)

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

A REMARKABLE WORK. One of tho greatest of literary undertakings synchrom.sc-s r/iUi, and renders liienioraldu, tho oia-ning of tho :20th century. it is tiie production of the Jewish Encyclopaedia, tho first volume of r.-hich. issued a year ago, is dm followed hy an equal!;/ valuable second one. U-ho whole undertaking, which is estimated to extend to 12 volumes of over BUUO pag'-s, is expected to bo completed by 11 /JO; and in tho meantime somo 400 Jewish and Gentile contributors of tho highest standing havo been enlisted in its production. Tho work is Intended to be a complete record of tho history, religion, •litcratuiro, and customs of tho Jewish people from the earliest times to the present day. As almost every article in tho colossal undertaking has to be created and built up from tho most scattered and obscure sources, and as it is intended to illustrate tho letterpress with no loss than 2000 original drawings, it can bo readily understood that the estimate of the publishers Messrs Funk and Waguall (New Vork and London), of £120,000 as the cost of production is not likely to bo much hoyoud tho mark. Tho most destructive things of modern Gentile criticism, which undermine every foundation of Jewish law and religion. aro calmly and approvingly quoted. Quito as revolutionary in tho opposite way is it to find our Christian baptism traced back in origin, not only totho rite for receiving proselytes into tho fold, but also to THE PENANCE OF ADAM AND EVE for their transgression. To atone for their sin they stood up to tho nock in water, fasting and doing penance— Adam in tho Jorda.n for 40 days, and Evo in tho Tigris for 37 days, Tho Talmud sooins to bo fertile in such wild imaginings; for almost every sacred character and doctrine reviewed in the volume is decorated with a string of similar legends. There is quite a weird account of UlO false prophet and magician, .Balaam. He, witli his two sons, James and Jambres, takes tho part of Mcphistophcles against tho immaculate Moses in a five-net, melodrama. It was at his subtle instigation that the latter was exposed in the ark of bulrushes. In one incident in his wicked career ho is represented as usurping tho throne of Ethiopia Hound two sides of tho capital ho built high walls, dug moats on tho third side, and on tho fourth, by moans of witchcraft, ho placed serpents to render the city unapproachable. For nine years tho king vainly besieged tho city, 'then Moses tho Magnificent camo. ITo sent tho army into the forests to collect storks. They gobbled up tho serpents. and tho city was taken Apart from tho Talmud and other expository literature there aro a jargo number of Apocryphal Jewish writings. Many Inf theso contain vivid stories of imagination. It is claimed that 45 atorTos in tho Arabian Nights, including the seventh of Sinbad, arc from theso and other Jewish sources. A very characteristic example is tho talo of THE CONVERSION OF JOSEPH’S' JATFE, Ascnath, daughter of Potiphar of On. that virtuous phragon of masculine perfection, Joseph, was as irresistible to cho daughter as to tho mother, and as coy. ’When tho girl gives herself away, he, sue more, refuses to kiss her, saying : -at is not befitting a pious man who blesses tho living God with his lips, who eats the blessed broad of life, drinks of tho blessed cup of immortality, aqd anoints himself with the oil of corruption, to kiss a foreign woman who blesses dead anil dumb idols with her lips, eating tho broad of death from their table, drinking of their libations from tho cup .of treachery, and anointing herself with tho ointment of perdition. In fact, a pious man kisses besides his mother and his sister only his own wife; nor does a pious woman kiss a strango man; for this is an abomination unto tho Lord God.” After this unloving lecture and rebuke the girls burst into tears. Tho condescending demigod compassionately puts his hands on her head, and loquaciously prays for her conversion. The story goes on to show how, after eight days of weeping and penance, the desired change was accomplished ; an angel fed fier with a honey comb of the celestial bees, and hor beauty became marvellous. . Then the saint kissed her,, no loss than throe times; but not for pleasure, only ceremoniously and religiously, 'lue first timo gave her the breath of life, the second the breath of wisdom, tho third the breath of truth. ■- No doubt all this would make the girl very good, but we can fancy that she would only have a poor timo with such a man. Them is a lot of fighting and declamation of a mildly exciting kind in the rest of the story, in which little Benjamin anticipates tho Goliath episode of David, tho victim being the King of Egypt’s wicked son, who dared to fancy Joseph’s dutiful wife. Another legend, with greater dramatic possibilities is that of THE. DEVIL’S SON-IN-LAW. He was a good and gifted youth, Bar “lahnou hy name, rich beyond the dreams of avarice. His saintly merchant father has exacted an oath from him that he would never cross tho sea. But tho sight of a ship from his distant possessions, loaded with gold and jewels, sent him a roaming. The fate’of Jonah befel him. A vulture rescued him, and it dropped him in an undesirable region, where it seems some kind of religious service is held in tho Hebrew language. : The officiating Rabbi hid him, but tho long-nosed fiend smelt the smell of a mortal. Arraigned before the Satanic judgment seat ho was condemned to death for the perjury to his oath. But afterwards tho devil, wishing a tutor to his son in worldly learning, pardoned him on tho plea that his- father was mentally incompetent at the time of its exaction. One day, when tho demon was from homo, Bar Shalmon opened a forbidden door, and saw tho beautiful daughter of tho Ting. Tho rest of the story is after the Vonus and Tannhauser pattern and the True Thomas of lircildoune legends. He died by a kiss on the evo of deserting her.