of the motives of the commandments. And his example
was imitated. The Law was the expression of the
Will of God, and obeyed and loved as such. But
the Law was also the expression of the Divine Reason.
Hence man had the right and the duty to examine and
realise how his own human reason was satisfied by
the Law. In a sense the Jew was a quite simple
believer. But never a simpleton. ‘Know
the Lord thy God’ was the key-note of this aspect
of Jewish theology.
SOME OBSERVANCES OF JUDAISM
The historical consciousness of Israel was vitalised
by a unique adaptability to present conditions.
This is shown in the fidelity with which a number
of ancient festivals have been maintained through
the ages. Some of these were taken over from pre-Israelite
cults. They were nature feasts, and these are
among the oldest rites of men. But, as Maimonides
wisely said eight centuries ago, religious rites depend
not so much on their origins as on the use men make
of them. People who wish to return to the primitive
usages of this or that church have no grasp of the
value and significance of ceremonial. Here, at
all events, we are not concerned with origins.
The really interesting thing is that feasts, which
originated in the fields and under the free heaven,
were observed and enjoyed in the confined streets
of the Ghetto. The influence of ceremonial is
undying when it is bound up with a community’s
life. ’It is impossible to create festivals
to order. One must use those which exist, and
where necessary charge them with new meanings.’
So writes Mr. Montefiore in his Liberal Judaism
(p. 155).
This is precisely what has happened with the Passover,
Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. These
three festivals were originally, as has been said,
nature feasts. But they became also pilgrim feasts.
After the fall of the Temple the pilgrimages to Jerusalem,
of course, ceased, and there was an end to the sacrificial
rites connected with them all. The only sense
in which they can still be called pilgrim feasts is
that, despite the general laxity of Sabbath observance
and Synagogue attendance, these three celebrations
are nowadays occasions on which, in spring, summer,
and autumn, a large section of the Jewish community
contrives to wend its way to places of public worship.
In the Jewish Liturgy the three feasts have special
designations. They are called respectively ‘The
Season of our Freedom,’ ’the Season of
the Giving of our Law,’ and ‘the Season
of our Joy.’ These descriptions are not
biblical, nor are they found in this precise form until
the fixation of the Synagogue liturgy in the early
part of the Middle Ages. But they have had a
powerful influence in perpetuating the hold that the
three pilgrim feasts have on the heart and consciousness
of Israel. Liberty, Revelation, Joy—these
are a sequence of wondrous appeal. Now it is
