Bible View of Slavery – A Discourse Delivered at the Jewish Synagogue "Bene Jeshurun" on the Eve of the Civil War – ...

Bible View of Slavery – A Discourse Delivered at the Jewish Synagogue "Bene Jeshurun" on the Eve of the Civil War – New York, 1861
Bible View of Slavery, a Discourse, Delivered at the Jewish Synagogue "Bene Jeshurum" [sic], New York, on the Day of the National Fast, Jan. 4, 1861, by Rev. M.J. Raphall [Rabbi Morris Jacob Raphall]. New York: Rudd & Carlton, 1861. English.
In November 1860, after a tumultuous election which focused on the questions of slavery and the future of the Unite States as a federation, Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery and the withdrawal of the southern states, was elected president. Consequently, several southern states announced their intention to secede from the Union. Outgoing President James Buchanan, in a desperate attempt to prevent the collapse of the United States and restore the peace, declared a Day of National Fast and Prayer on January 4, 1861.
On that same day, which happened to be Shabbat's eve, Rabbi Morris Jacob Raphall delivered an uncharacteristically long sermon at the Bene Jeshurun Synagogue. In his sermon, he compared the situation of the American nation on the brink of civil war to that of the people of Ninveh when Jonah the Prophet came to warn them of the impending destruction of their town. Rabbi Raphall dedicated most of his sermon to proving that Judaism allows and even supports slavery. Therefore, Raphall claimed, the American nation should not fight and shed blood in an effort to abolish slavery. Instead, "If our northern fellow-citizens, content with following the word of God, would not insist on being 'righteous overmuch', or denouncing 'sin' which the Bible knows not… they would entertain more equity and less ill feeling towards their Southern brethren. And if our Southern fellow-citizens would adopt the bible view of slavery, and discard that heathen slave code which permits a few bad men to indulge in an abuse of power that throws a stigma and disgrace on the whole body of slaveholders – if both North and South would do what is right, then 'God will see their works and that they turned from the evil of their ways'". The sermon was a great success and Raphall was asked to deliver it again to a large crowd.
The sermon was printed in the present booklet with an introduction by Raphall, in which he declares that there is nothing in the Bible to suggest that slavery is a sin and that "The long tirade in the 'Tribune' must go for what it is worth... But I am convinced my discourse will not fall, for it embodies 'the word of our God, which standeth good forever'".
The sermons and speeches that were delivered by various spiritual leaders on the National Day of Fast, including this sermon, were published in a series of booklets and compiled into a volume.
Morris Jacob Raphall (1798-1868), an orthodox rabbi, was born in Stockholm and acquired a broad religious and general education in Denmark, England and Germany. He was active in England and published the "Gal'ed - Hebrew Review, and Magazine of Rabbinical Literature", the first Jewish journal in England. During the Damascus Affair in 1840, he travelled to Syria to assist in the investigation of the affair and published a four-lingual work (in Hebrew, English, French and German) refuting the blood libel. In 1849, he migrated to New York, where he was appointed rabbi and preacher of the Bene Jeshurun community. He was a prolific writer and translated classic Judaic works and scholarly books into English, from partial translations of the Mishna and Maimonides to the writings of Naphtali Hertz Weisel. For all his achievements, Rabbi Raphall is remembered because of his support of slavery.
VIII, 9-41 pp., [1] leaf, 18.5 cm. Good condition. Re-bound with the original front cover laid down. Large open tears to corners and margins of front cover. Minor stains to several leaves. Bookplate of Norman Evelyn Drachler to inside front cover.
Not in NLI.