Israel and Humanity - Foreword by Dr. Alfred Levy, Chief Rabbi of France
FOREWORD[1]
By publishing, thirteen years after his death, the masterpiece of the learned rabbi She Benamozegh IsraelandL'Humanite, the son of the author and his worthy successor, Dr. Samuel Colombo, piously honor his memory and s 'revere themselves.
They allow first to posterity to appreciate the incomparable erudition, the vision, the outstanding qualities of heart and mind of the minister of God whose life was devoted to the study and exhibition of our holy teachings.
They then make Israel a real service by publishing a work intended to show all that is broad, generous, sublime in his ideal of love for God, justice, dedication, spirit of brotherhood and harmony to humanity.
Chosen by God to fulfill earthly mission eminently religious, that spread around the world the concept of monotheism, Israel would find in Judaism the elements of this universal religion dedicated to mankind and that in messianic times, will together under its wide umbrella, all the nations of the globe.
Up one God, Creator and Father of all men, young one family of brothers who confuse a whole[2] in the adoration of her divine Father, this is the Jewish conception par excellence, one for which Israel, the first - born of the Lord, this people-priest, has both struggled and suffered, this is a dream and it continues to achieve which he had to keep his individuality. It does not require that all people convert to Judaism and practice all the commandments, but they arrive at the eonceptiou of the One God, while worship in their own way.
It is to develop this idea mistress Benamozegh Elijah spent the treasures of his prodigious erudition. Drawing its arguments to biblical sources, and even Talmudic Kabbalistic he attended the universal thought of Judaism in the idea that he conceived of God, humanity and its ultimate end, in both Jewish law regarding the Mosaic laws in what regards the laws Noachides for the Gentile.
In this monument to the glory of Judaism. we know what we should admire most powerful or the plowing or implies that the wealth of material it revealed. This increases the merit of this voluminous work is the loyalty with which the author addresses all the questions and answers in advance to all the objections which he states that his book may lead, not a problem that does raised and it seeks to solve. Israel, and we know the writer infinitely grateful, out of this study, absolutely free of any hint of egotism, of personal interest. He desires only the good of humanity, it aspires only one goal: the establishment of the kingdom of God on the light. So he courageously continued his work, faithful to the Mosaic, preserving its traditions and practice, as desired until the day when, according to the expression that ends all his offices, God will be One and His name One. C'eent is the supreme desire of the round which we assoelons the bottom of our heart.
Say, in conclusion, the author found in one of his disciples, Mr. Aimé Pallière (Loëtmol) an admirer of his ideas he made his own for most and which he has managed to[3] turn on literary author, while he was abroad, who desired that his book was read in all countries, he appeared in our language. All our thanks go to him and worthy publishers of this work.
July 23, 1913
ALFRED LEVY
Grand Rabbi of France
