in time and in eternity. Any religion, therefore, whose tendency
is to render obedience to that command impossible, must
not only be contrary to the will of God, but to the happiness
of man; and this is one of the many reasons for which we think
that Judaism must be false. The religion of the oral law has
a direct tendency to diminish a son's respect for his mother.
We do not mean to say that in this or any other Christian
country Jewish sons despise their mothers. The co-existence
of Christianity necessarily counteracts the development of rabbinical
principles. We intend only to exhibit the natural and
necessary consequences, if there were no counteracting force.
The contempt which the oral law pours upon women in general,
and the encouragement which it gives to polygamy have necessarily
the effect of lessening their respect both in the eyes of
their husbands and their sons, and this tendency is still more
increased by the rabbinic doctrine of divorce, which we now
propose to consider. The law of Moses permits divorce under
certain circumstances. It says, "When a man hath taken a
wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she 'find no
favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness,
(
Hebrew characters), in her; then let him write her a bill of divorcement,
and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house,"
&c. (Deut. xxiv. 1.) But this permission, founded on grave
and important considerations, the rabbies have perverted into
an unlimited licence to divorce on the most trifling pretext.
(Hebrew characters)
"The school of Shamai says, A man is not to divorce his wife unless he shall find some uncleanness in her, for they interpret the verse according to its simple meaning, if she find no favour in his eyes on account of his finding some uncleanness in her. The school of Hillel thinks, that if a woman let the broth burn it is sufficient for they interpret the words, 'a matter of uncleanness,' to mean, Either uncleanness, or any other matter in which she has offended him. But R. Akiva thinks, that a man may divorce his wife, if he only find another handsomer than she is, for he interprets the verse thus, 'If she find no favour in his eyes,' where he explains
