--- title: Times and Seasons description: Issues of 1841 to 1842. authors: - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints editors: - Ebenezer Robinson - Don Carlos Smith - Smith, Joseph, Jr. - Taylor, John collections: - periodicals tags: - newspaper - times-and-seasons - nauvoo - nineteenth-century periodical: Times and Seasons volume: 3 number: 15 published: 1842-06-01 publisher: E. Robinson and D. C. Smith; later John Taylor publisher_place: Commerce and Nauvoo, Illinois language: en type: article reference: "“The Jews,” *Times and Seasons* 3, no. 15 (June 1, 1842): 810–811." printed_title: THE JEWS. source: url: https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1842-06-01_3_15 transcription: Text from the Centerplace.org transcription (https://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v3n15.htm), with its page breaks; this Internet Archive scan is the reference copy (its OCR was used only as a witness for OCR repair) identifier: per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1842-06-01_3_15 start_page: 810 end_page: 811 curator_note: A Mormon newspaper published by the church in Nauvoo; included for historical study. Inclusion does not imply endorsement. rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1842 (Nauvoo, Illinois); published before 1931, so public domain in the United States source: https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1842-06-01_3_15 publication_year: 1842 --- # The Jews It will be seen by the following that the Jews are as zealous in the propagation of what they consider to be true principles as any of the sects of modern date; that they try to inculcate attendance on divine worship, and "true piety, real religion, and acts of devotion to God," just as much as any other religionist's of our day. Dr. Criezenach in the third part of his "Schulchan Aruch," says, that a few things are necessary, in order to maintain and promote the fear of God, in a congregation in Israel. 1. Books, in which all the duties of men, citizens and Israelites are distinctly taught in a language intelligible to all." 2. The congregation in Israel are further in need of spiritual guides, whose endeavours [endeavors] it should be to inculcate a life in unison with the doctrine taught in the books." 3. The Jewish congregations need properly conducted places of worship, for the instruction and edification of the people: and to enkindle the love of the young for the Jewish religion, and nation. Every one knows who is acquainted with the history of the synagogue, that these were the purposes for which it was instituted, and that the next to the divine help we are indebted to the synagogue alone, for the miracle, that the Jewish religion has weathered the fearful storms which it has encountered for 2000 years. In the synagogue the Jews obtained strength to suffer and to withstand the numerous temptations to apostacy [apostasy], through the exhortations and instructions, imparted by the more learned through the prayers which he offered alone or in common with the pious congregation, and through intercourse occasioned by diligent attendance at the place of worship." * * * "and thus the dearest recollections of youth are associated with religion which penetrated the soul and filled it with the utmost abhorrence of falsehood and sin." "Unhappily in our days the synagogue has ceased to be of this use to Judaism; a great part of most congregations never visit it at all; and another part equally numerous go unwillingly by." 4. It is necessary that the doctrines, and forms of the Jewish religion should extend their sanctifying influence to domestic life. Neither the school, nor the synagogue can give true piety if religion be wanting in domestic life; if the business of every day be not begun and ended by acts of devotion to God:" in speaking of children reading the prayer book (Jewish) in a careless way, he says that children will obey with unwilling hearts if they can spell well enough to do it their thoughts will in the mean time be occupied on some other subject while they are reading, and they will lay it aside without having gained a spark of real religion, like a burden which they are glad to get rid of." Dr. Criezenach has published the following thesis. 1. The Talmud cannot be reduced to practice without ordained teachers. 2. No authenticated code of the Talmud has ever yet existed. 3. The Talmud has never been completed. 4. The Mishna is an incomplete work. 5. The Gemara is now an incomplete work. 6. The Academy of Jerusalem consisted of opponents of the Talmud. 7. The Talmudists have never agreed in interpreting the Bible. 8. The Talmud contains only a small number of the traditional ordinances: 9. The authors of that part of the Talmud which is not traditional, do not pretend that their work is anything more than the ordinances of men. 10. There is no ordination of priests among the Israelites. 11. Such an ordination cannot and dare not be introduced. 12. As there is no ordained clergy every one is at liberty to interpret the scriptures. 13. The decrees of the synod were only in force for a time. 14. All these decrees lost their force when ordination ceased. 15. The traditional ordinances have no higher authority than the decrees of the synod. 16. The Talmudists have introduced and abrogated laws. 17. The Talmud does not admit of any exclusion of the Agada. 18. The histories, and interpretation of the Talmud have no mystical sense, and very seldom an allegorical one. 19. The articles of faith of Marmonides are not founded in the Talmud. 20. The Talmud has never been followed in the spirit of it. 21. Moses has not introduced any ordination according to the sense in which that word is usually taken. 22. The laws of Moses are sufficiently intelligible. (Jewish Intelligencer).