will make obedience to others of none effect. The doctrine that the giving of money to the poor can change the course of God's judgment, or alter this sentence, is very little short of blasphemy: for it represents him as an unjust judge who can be bribed, whose severity can be bought off, and whose favour can be purchased with money. A more degrading view of the Divine character can scarcely be imagined. Such conduct in a human judge would stamp him with infamy, and cannot possibly be true of Him who is a God of truth and justice. This one feature of rabbinic religion is sufficient to prove that it is the invention of men, and of men too without any very exalted notion of justice and equity.
Besides, this view or almsgiving takes away all the virtue of obedience and love to God, and turns it into a mere mercenary transaction. The great beauty of almsgiving is that it proceeds from love to God and man, and that its motives be mercy and obedience. But the man, who gives alms in order to atone for other transgressions, or to avert the punishment which he deserves, is not performing an act either of obedience or charity, he is simply making a purchase and driving a bargain which is much to his advantage. He has got money, and with that money he can buy a house, or a horse, or deliverance from punishment. It is, therefore, a simple question of interest. He considers which will be the most profitable investment of his money, and if he decide that deliverance from God's wrath is the most advantageous, he lays it out in almsgiving. Obedience, or love to God or man, is here altogether out of the question. Can any one, who has got the law and the prophets in his hands, imagine that such a doctrine can come from God? or can any reasonable being suppose, that escape from God's wrath, or the enjoyment of his favour depends not upon man's moral worth, but upon his ability to give alms: in a word, that his salvation depends not upon the state of his heart, but the laying out of his money? This one doctrine, if thoroughly believed and acted upon, would overturn the whole law of Moses, and offer life not to the obedient, but to the moneyed.
In this doctrine of almsgiving, however, the oral law errs at
the very foundation. It has chosen the Hebrew word (
Hebrew characters)
to stand for "almsgiving," whereas its true signification is
"righteousness," as may be easily proved by reference to passages
where it cannot possibly signify "almsgiving," as for instance—
(Hebrew characters)
"And it shall be our righteousness (not our almsgiving), if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our
