piled by R. Aaron Pisaurensis, or Pesaro (q. v.), which contains an index of all the passages of Holy Writ quoted in the Talmud, will make good our assertion. Passing over some minor points, such as on astronomy or mathematics or the science of interpretation of dreams (a tilthy specimen of the latter is especially given in Tr. Berakol//, fol. 57, col. 1), we will only touch another point, tlie Talmudical praise of women. Thus, we read on p. 5G, among other moral sayings, "Love your wife like yourself, honor her more than yourself." Without arguing the question from what we know of the position of Jewish females in the countries where the Talmud is studied and its precepts obeyed — a posi- tion which proves the very contrary to the sa3'ing al- luded to — it is well known to every student of the Tal- mud that the doctors of the Talmud in general do not hold in high estimation the female sex. They put them in the category with slaves and children. Again and again we read, " Women, slaves, and children are ex- empted." "You shall teach the law to your sons, and not to your daughters." " He who teaches his daugh- ter the law is like as if he teaches her to sin." " The mind of woman is weak." " The world cannot exist without males and females, but blessed is he whose chil- dren are sons; woe to him whose children are daugh- ters." We also remember the teaching of the Talmud- ical sages, that a man may consider his wife like a piece of butcher's meat. We also remember that in the morn- ing prayer the husband thanks God "that he hath not made him a woman." As to the precept which the writer in the Quurlerly Review quotes as one of the moral sayings of the Talmud, we must believe him on his word, or search over the 2947 pages of that stu- [)endous work, since the writer has tliought proper to conceal the treatise and the i)age of the Talmud from which he has translated the above sentence. We are inclined to believe that the reviewer had the following passage (Tr. Sanhedrin, fol. 76, col. 2) before him : " Kabbi Judah has said that Rab has said, He who marries his daughter to an old man, and he who gives a wife to his son when too young, and he who returns to the Goi (Gentile) the things the Gentile has lost, concerning him the Scripture says, ' In order to add drunkenness to thirst, the Lord will not forgive him' (Deut. xxix, 18, 19). They replied. He who loves his wife like himself, and he who honors her more than himself, and he who directs his sons and daughters in the right way, and gives them into marriage at the proper ages, concerning him the Scripture says, 'And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin' (Job v, 24)." This, how- ever, is not a command, but optional according to the Talmud and the following, as given in Tr. Yebamoth, fol. 62, col. 2 :
"Ral)bi Tauchuma said that rabbi Hanilai had said, Every man who is without a wife is without joy, without blessing, without goodness. Without joy because it is wriiteiv 'Thou shalt rejoice, thou and thine household' (Dene, xiv, 26) : without a blessing, for it is written, ' That he may cause tlie blessing to rest iji thine house' (Ezek. xliv, iJU) : without goodness, for it is written, 'It is not good that the man should be alone.' In the west they add that the man who is without a wife is also without a law and without a wall. Without a law, for it is written 'Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?' (Job vi, 13) ; without a wall, because it is written 'A woman shall compass a man' (Jer. xxxi, 22). Rabba, the son of 0!ah, sMys, also without peace, as it is written, 'And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be iu peace, and shalt visit thy habitation, aud shall not sin.' . . . He who loves his wife like himself, and he who hon- ors her moie than himself, and he who directs his sons aud his daughters in the righfway, and gives them into marriage at the proper ases.concerning hitn the Scripture says, 'And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace, aud thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shult not sin.'"
We venture to think that these are the passages of the Talmud wiiich the reviewer has picked out. We must, however, be allowed to observe that it is not the imperative, "Love your wife," but the participle with
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the article, " He wlio loves."' It will be seen that we have not translated the wliole paragraph; we dcire not. We will leave tliat to the reviewer and his admirers, tor what we have left out, and imieh oftlu- li)llowin<ij, belonijs to the deliled and detiling portions of ihe work, in which the 'ralmiid is so rich. From another such foul page {Sanhedrin, fol. 22, col. I) the reviewer has copied, " He who forsakes the love of Ids youth, (iod's altar weeps tor him." "He who sees his wife die before him has, as it were, been present at the desi ruction of the sanctuary itself. Aroinid him the worlil grows dark." The sen- tences are badly rendered; and, even if they were not, seeing in what connection they stand and through what a quagmire the reviewer was obliged to wade to tish them out, they are worthless. Another such moral say- ing runs thus: "When the thief has no opportunity for stealing, he considers himself an honest man." V\'lio of the Talmudical sages has said tliis? The Talmud re- lates that when Abishag the Shunammite was brought to king David she said to him, "Marry me;" the king re- plied, "It is not lawful for me to marry you." As a reproach to the king, the Talmud makes the Slumammite say, a-^pD X":b'»-i '^23 N33;b ni-.Dn (Sanhedriii, ibid.), which the reviewer translated as above. After all, it would be strange, indeed, if we could not gather from a work of 2947 pages some good sayings and sentences.- But, unless the whole work be translated, it will never be known what the Talmud really is. For instance, in one of the treatises of the Talmud called Challah we find, almost verbatim, what our Lord says in Matt. V, 28; and yet that portion of the Talmud is written in language so obscene and immoral that it would be difficult to meet its equal among the most li- centious publications of ancient or modern times. We challenge any admirer of the Talmud to translate the treatise and publish it, and then every one will be able to give the right reply to the query so often raised by the reviewer, " Wliat is the Talmud?" The article in question thus concludes :