A Book of Jewish Thoughts

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Transcriber's note:

Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (italics).

Text in small capitals has been replaced by all capitals.

Footnotes are identified in the text with a number in brackets [2] and have been accumulated in a single section at the end of the text.

Transcriber’s notes are used when making corrections to the text or to provide additional information for the modern reader. These notes are not identified in the text, but have been accumulated in a single section at the end of the book.

A BOOK OF JEWISH THOUGHTS

Selected and Arranged

by

THE CHIEF RABBI

(DR. J. H. HERTZ)

Humphrey Milford Oxford University Press London Edinburgh Glasgow New York Toronto Melbourne Cape Town Bombay 5680――1920

TO THE SACRED MEMORY OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914‒1918

PREFATORY NOTE

THIS Book of Jewish Thoughts brings the message of Judaism together with memories of Jewish martyrdom and spiritual achievement throughout the ages. Its first part, ‘I am an Hebrew’, covers the more important aspects of the life and consciousness of the Jew. The second, ‘The People of the Book’, deals with Israel’s religious contribution to mankind, and touches upon some epochal events in Israel’s story. In the third, ‘The Testimony of the Nations’, will be found some striking tributes to Jews and Judaism from non-Jewish sources. The fourth part, ‘The Voice of Prayer’, surveys the Sacred Occasions of the Jewish Year, and takes note of their echoes in the Liturgy. The fifth and concluding part, ‘The Voice of Wisdom’, is, in the main, a collection of the deep sayings of the Jewish sages on the ultimate problems of Life and the Hereafter.

The nucleus from which this Jewish anthology gradually developed was produced three years ago for the use of Jewish sailors and soldiers. To many of them, I have been assured, it came as a re-discovery of the imperishable wealth of Israel’s heritage; while to the non-Jew into whose hands it fell it was a striking revelation of Jewish ideals and teachings. I can pray for no better result for this enlarged Library Edition.

Grateful acknowledgement is due to the authors, translators, and publishers, for their courteous permission to reprint selections from their works; to Dayan H. M. Lazarus, M.A., and Miss Elsa Linde, for various useful suggestions; and to the Revs. J. Mann, D.Litt., S. Lipson, and I. Livingstone for help in the preparation of the Index of Subjects.

J. H. H. London, 1920.

TABLE OF CONTENTS