CHAPTER II
Some years ago a learned man asked me a question of great importance;
the problem and the solution which we gave in our reply deserve the
closest attention. Before, however, entering upon this problem and its
solution I must premise that every Hebrew knows that the term Elohim is
a homonym, and denotes God, angels, judges, and the rulers of
countries, and that Onkelos the proselyte explained it in the true and
correct manner by taking Elohim in the sentence, “and ye shall be like
Elohim” (Gen. iii. 5) in the last-mentioned meaning, and rendering the
sentence “and ye shall be like princes.” Having pointed out the
homonymity of the term “Elohim” we return to the question under
consideration. “It would at first sight,” said the objector, “appear
from Scripture that man was originally intended to be perfectly equal
to the rest of the animal creation, which is not endowed with
intellect, reason, or power of distinguishing between good and evil:
but that Adam’s disobedience to the command of God procured him that
great perfection which is the peculiarity of man, viz., the power of
distinguishing between good and evil—the noblest of all the faculties
of our nature, the essential characteristic of the human race. It thus
appears strange that the punishment for rebelliousness should be the
means of elevating man to a pinnacle of perfection to which he had not
attained previously. This is equivalent to saying that a certain man
was rebellious and extremely wicked, wherefore his nature was changed
for the better, and he was made to shine as a star in the heavens.”
Such was the purport and subject of the question, though not in the
exact words of the inquirer. Now mark our reply, which was as
follows:—“You appear to have studied the matter superficially, and
nevertheless you imagine that you can understand a book which has been
the guide of past and present generations, when you for a moment
withdraw from your lusts and appetites, and glance over its contents as
if you were reading a historical work or some poetical composition.
Collect your thoughts and examine the matter carefully, for it is not
to be understood as you at first sight think, but as you will find
after due deliberation; namely, the intellect which was granted to man
as the highest endowment, was bestowed on him before his disobedience.
With reference to this gift the Bible states that “man was created in
the form and likeness of God.” On account of this gift of intellect man
was addressed by God, and received His commandments, as it is said:
“And the Lord God commanded Adam” (Gen. ii. 16)—for no commandments are
given to the brute creation or to those who are devoid of
understanding. Through the intellect man distinguishes between the true
and the false. This faculty Adam possessed perfectly and completely.
The right and the wrong are terms employed in the science of apparent
truths (morals), not in that of necessary truths, as, e.g., it is not
correct to say, in reference to the proposition “the heavens are
spherical,” it is “good” or to declare the assertion that “the earth is
flat” to be “bad”; but we say of the one it is true, of the other it is
false. Similarly our language expresses the idea of true and false by
the terms emet and sheker, of the morally right and the morally wrong,
by tob and ra’. Thus it is the function of the intellect to
discriminate between the true and the false—a distinction which is
applicable to all objects of intellectual perception. When Adam was yet
in a state of innocence, and was guided solely by reflection and
reason—on account of which it is said: “Thou hast made him (man) little
lower...