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Page 45
In the midst of his more serious studies Levinsohn diverted himself
occasionally with lighter composition, in which many an antiquated
custom served as the butt for his biting satire. In his youth he had a
penchant for poetry, and his poem on the flight, or expulsion, of the
French from Russia was complimented by the Government. His muse dealt
with ephemeral themes, but his _bons mots_ are current among his
countrymen to this day. A novel sort of plagiarism was the fashion of
the time. Authors attributed their work to others, instead of claiming
the product of others as their own. Levinsohn's _Hefker Welt_, in
Yiddish, and _Sayings of the Saints_ and _Valley of the Dead_, in
Hebrew, belong to this category. But the deep student did not persist
long in this species of diversion. Wittgenstein, the field-marshal, and
professors at the Lyceum of his town, supplied him with books, and he,
an omnivorous reader, plunged again into his graver work, the result of
which was the little book since translated into English, Russian, and
German, _Efes Dammim_ (_No Blood!_). As the name indicates, it was
intended as a defence against the blood, or ritual murder, accusation.
It was the right word in the right time and place. In Zaslav, Volhynia,
this monstrous libel had been revived, and popular fury rose to a high
pitch. Several years later the Damascus Affair stirred the Jewish world
to determined action, designed to stamp it out once for all. To wage war
against this superstitious belief seems to have fallen to the lot of
several of Levinsohn's family. In 1757, when it asserted itself in
Yampoly, Volhynia, his great-uncle, by the unanimous consent of the
Council of the Four Countries, was sent to Rome to intercede with the
Pope. After six years of pleading, he returned to his native land with a
signed statement addressed to the Polish king and nobles, which declared
the accusation to be utterly false. Another uncle of his had performed a
similar task in 1749. True scion of a noble family, Levinsohn followed
in their wake, and his effort was declared to be a "sharp sword forged
by a master, to fight for our honor."
Everything was against Levinsohn when he started on his third great
work, _The House of Judah_ (_Bet Yehudah_). He found himself poor, sick,
and alone, and deprived of his fine library. In those days, and for a
long time before and afterwards, Hebrew authors were paid in kind. In
return for their copyright they received a number of copies of their
books, which they were at liberty to dispose of as best they could. Now,
while Levinsohn's copies of his _Bet Yehudah_ were still at the
publisher's, a fire broke out, and most of them were consumed.
The _Te'udah be-Yisra�l_ had been prompted by a desire to prove the
compatibility of modern civilization with Judaism. Levinsohn's object in
writing his _Bet Yehudah_ was the reverse. The impetus came from without
the Jewish camp. The book represents the author's views on certain
Jewish problems propounded by his Christian friend, Prince Emanuel
Lieven, just as Mendelssohn's _Jerusalem_ was written at the instigation
of Lavater. Though there is a similarity in the causes that produced the
two books, there is a marked difference in their methods. Mendelssohn
treats his subject as an impartial non-Jewish philosopher might have
done. He is frequently too reserved, for fear of offending. Levinsohn,
in Greek-Catholic Russia, is strictly frank. He is conscious of the
difficulties under which he is laboring. To discuss religion in Russia
is far from agreeable. "It is," he says, "as if a master, pretending to
exhibit his skill in racing, were to enter into competition publicly
with his slave ... and at the same time wink at him to slacken his
speed." Of one thing he is certain: Judaism is a progressive religion.
It had been and might be reformed from time to time, but this can and
must be only along the lines of its own genius. To improve the moral and
material condition of the Jews by weaning them away from the faith of
their fathers (as was tried by Nicholas) will not do. On the contrary,
make them better Jews, and they will be better citizens.
The _Bet Yehudah_ may justly be called the connecting link between the
_Te'udah_, which preceded it, and _Zerubbabel_, which followed it. The
latter, though written in Hebrew, was really intended exclusively for
the Gentile world, as the former had been mainly for the Jewish world.
It is a continuation, but not yet a conclusion, of the self-assigned
task of Levinsohn. The Talmud, we have seen, was at that time the object
of assaults of zealous Christians and disloyal Jews, and hostile works
against Judaism were the order of the day. Most of them, however, like
the fabulous snake, vented their poison and died. It was different with
McCaul's poignant diatribe against the cause of Judaism and the honor of
the Talmud, which had been translated into many languages. Montefiore,
while in Russia, urged Levinsohn to defend his people against their
traducers, and the bed-ridden sage, almost blind and hardly able to hold
a pen, finally consented. What _Zerubbabel_ accomplished, can be judged
from the fact that in the second Hebrew edition of McCaul's _Old Paths_
(1876) are omitted many of the calumnies and aspersions of the first
edition, published in 1839.
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