Bible View of Slavery (Civil War Rabbi Defends Bible View of Slavery)

Book Description

Rabbi Morris J. Raphall : The First Rabbi to Deliver a Prayer to Congress Defends Slavery by Citing the Bible(CIVIL WAR/ JUDAICA) RAPHALL, Rev. M.J. Bible View of Slavery, A Discourse. Delivered at the Jewish Synagogue, Bnai Jeshurum, New York on the Day of the National Fast, Jan. 4, 1861. New York: Rudd & Carleton, 1861 viii, 11-41pp, [2 adverts]. Self wrappers, front wrapper professionally repaired to margins. Slight damp staining to bottom pages throughout pamphlet, not affecting text, otherwise Near Very Good Condition. Custom clamshell case.Rabbi Morris J. Raphall (1798-1868) secured his place in United States history by being the first rabbi to deliver an invocation before the House of Representatives in 1860. In association with Isaac Leeser and S. M. Isaacs he became a popular voice of Jewish education and a passionate opponent of the Reform movement. In 1861 he delivered what became the most highly publicized rabbinical statement of the 19th century when he composed “Bible View of Slavery.” Freely equating the meaning of the word servant with that of slave, Raphall places Judaism squarely against abolitionism by denying that it was anywhere prohibited in the Bible. When Noah cursed his son, Ham, and Ham’s descendants, to be forever a Ngebed Ngabadim (the meanest of slaves) he did so apparently with the lord’s permission. Raphall does insist however that slaves are entitled to certain rights and should not be considered strictly as “things”. This sermon was widely reprinted drawing praise from the South and criticism from Jewish and non-Jewish abolitionists in the North.Singerman 1723

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