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Chemistry: The Central Science, 12e (Brown et al.)
Chapter 10 Gases
10.1 Multiple Choice Questions
1) Which of the following statements about gases is false?

A) Gases are highly compressible.
B) Distances between molecules of gas are very large compared to bond distances within molecules.
C) Non-reacting gas mixtures are homogeneous.
D) Gases expand spontaneously to fill the container they are placed in.
E) All gases are colorless and odorless at room temperature.
Answer: E
Diff: 1 Page Ref: Sec. 10.1
2) Of the following, __________ has a slight odor of bitter almonds and is toxic.
A) NH3
B) N2O
C) CO
D) CH4
E) HCN
Answer: E
3) Of the following, __________ has the odor of rotting eggs.

A) NH3
B) H2S
C) CO
D) NO2
E) HCN
Answer: B
4) One significant difference between gases and liquids is that __________.

A) a gas is made up of molecules
B) a gas assumes the volume of its container
C) a gas may consist of both elements and compounds
D) gases are always mixtures
E) All of the above answers are correct.
Answer: B
1
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
5) Molecular compounds of low molecular weight tend to be gases at room temperature. Which of the
following is most likely not a gas at room temperature?
A) Cl2
B) HCl
C) LiCl
D) H2
E) CH4
Answer: C
6) Gaseous mixtures __________.

A) can only contain molecules
B) are all heterogeneous
C) can only contain isolated atoms
D) are all homogeneous
E) must contain both isolated atoms and molecules
Answer: D
7) Which of the following equations shows an incorrect relationship between pressures given in terms of
different units?
A) 1.20 atm = 122 kPa
B) 152 mm Hg = 2.03 × 104Pa
C) 0.760 atm = 578 mm Hg
D) 1.0 torr = 2.00 mm Hg
E) 1.00 atm = 760 torr
Answer: D
8) The pressure exerted by a column of liquid is equal to the product of the height of the column times
the gravitational constant times the density of the liquid, P = ghd. How high a column of water (d = 1.0
g/mL) would be supported by a pressure that supports a 713 mm column of mercury (d = 13.6 g/mL)?
A) 14 mm
B) 52 mm
C) 713 mm
D) 1.2 × 104 mm
E) 9.7 × 103 mm
Answer: E
2
9) The pressure exerted by a column of liquid is equal to the product of the height of the column times
the gravitational constant times the density of the liquid, P = ghd. How high a column of methanol (d =
0.79 g/mL) would be supported by a pressure that supports a 713 mm column of mercury (d = 13.6
g/mL)?
A) 713 mm
B) 41 mm
C) 1.2 × 104 mm
D) 9.7 × 103 mm
E) 17 mm
Answer: C
10) If one was told that their blood pressure was 130/80, their systolic pressure was __________.
A) 130 Pa
B) 130 mm Hg
C) 80 Pa
D) 80 mm Hg
E) 80 psi
Answer: B
11) Which statement about atmospheric pressure is false?

A) As air becomes thinner, its density decreases.
B) Air actually has weight.
C) With an increase in altitude, atmospheric pressure increases as well.
D) The warmer the air, the lower the atmospheric pressure.
E) Atmospheric pressure prevents water in lakes, rivers, and oceans from boiling away.
Answer: C
Diff: 1 Page Ref: Sec. 10.2, 10.3
12) In ideal gas equation calculations, expressing pressure in Pascals (Pa), necessitates the use of the gas
constant, R, equal to __________.
A) 0.08206 atm L mol-1K-1
B) 8.314 J mol-1K-1
C) 62.36 L torr mol-1K-1
D) 1.987 cal mol-1K-1
E) none of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: Sec. 10.2, 10.3
13) The first person to investigate the relationship between the pressure of a gas and its volume was
__________.
A) Amadeo Avogadro
B) Lord Kelvin
C) Jacques Charles
D) Robert Boyle
E) Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
Answer: D
3
14) Of the following, __________ is a correct statement of Boyle's law.

A) PV = constant
P
B) = constant
V
V
C) = constant
P
V
D) = constant
T
n
E) = constant
P
Answer: A
15) "Isothermal" means __________.

A) at constant pressure
B) at constant temperature
C) at variable temperature and pressure conditions
D) at ideal temperature and pressure conditions
E) that H rxn = 0
Answer: B
16) Of the following, __________ is a valid statement of Charles' law.

P
A) = constant
T
V
B) = constant
T
C) PV = constant
D) V = constant × n
E) V = constant × P
Answer: B
17) Which one of the following is a valid statement of Avogadro's law?

P
A) = constant
T
V
B) = constant
T
C) PV = constant
D) V = constant × n
E) V = constant × P
Answer: D
4
18) The volume of an ideal gas is zero at __________.
A) 0 °C
B) -45 °F
C) -273 K
D) -363 K
E) -273 °C
Answer: E
19) Of the following, only __________ is impossible for an ideal gas.

V V
A) 1 = 2
T1 T2
B) V1T1 = V2T2
V T
C) 1 = 1
V2 T2
T
D) V2 = 2 V1
T1
V T
E) 1 = 1 = 0
V2 T2
Answer: B
20) The molar volume of a gas at STP is __________ L.

A) 0.08206
B) 62.36
C) 1.00
D) 22.4
E) 14.7
Answer: D
21) How many moles of gas are there in a 45.0 L container at 25.0°C and 500.0 mm Hg?
A) 0.630
B) 6.11
C) 18.4
D) 1.21
E) 207
Answer: D
5
22) How many moles of gas are there in a 50.0 L container at 22.0°C and 825 torr?
A) 2.29 × 104
B) 1.70 × 103
C) 2.23
D) 0.603
E) 18.4
Answer: C
23) Standard temperature and pressure (STP), in the context of gases, refers to __________.
A) 298.15 K and 1 atm
B) 273.15 K and 1 atm
C) 298.15 K and 1 torr
D) 273.15 K and 1 pascal
E) 273.15 K and 1 torr
Answer: B
24) The volume of 1.20 mol of gas at 61.3 kPa and 25.0°C is __________ L.
A) 135
B) 48.5
C) 52.4
D) 108
E) 55.7
Answer: B
25) Sodium bicarbonate is reacted with concentrated hydrochloric acid at 37.0°C and 1.00 atm. The
reaction of 6.00 kg of bicarbonate with excess hydrochloric acid under these conditions will produce
__________ L of CO2.
A) 1.09 × 102
B) 2.85 × 104
C) 1.82 × 104
D) 8.70 × 102
E) 1.82 × 103
Answer: E
26) Sodium bicarbonate is reacted with concentrated hydrochloric acid at 25.0°C and 1.50 atm. The
reaction of 7.75 kg of bicarbonate with excess hydrochloric acid under these conditions will produce
__________ L of CO2.
A) 1.82 x 103
B) 2.85 x 104
C) 1.82 x 104
D) 1.50 x 103
E) 8.70 x 102
Answer: D
6
27) The volume of a sample of gas (2.49 g) was 752 mL at 1.98 atm and 62°C. The gas is __________.
A) SO2
B) SO3
C) NH3
D) NO2
E) Ne
Answer: D
28) The density of __________ is 0.900 g/L at STP.

A) CH4
B) Ne
C) CO
D) N2
E) NO
Answer: B
29) The density of NO2 in a 3.50 L tank at 780.0 torr and 37.0°C is __________ g/L.
A) 1.64
B) 9.30
C) 1.86
D) 2.92
E) 3.27
Answer: C
30) The density of NO2 in a 4.50 L tank at 760.0 torr and 25.0°C is __________ g/L.
A) 1.64
B) 9.30
C) 1.68
D) 1.88
E) 3.27
Answer: D
31) The density (in g/L) of CO2 at 1140 torr and 60.0°C is __________.
A) 2.42
B) 16.2
C) 5.70
D) 44.0
E) 10.9
Answer: A
7
32) Of the following gases, __________ has density of 2.104 g/L at 303 K and 1.31 atm.
A) He
B) Ne
C) Ar
D) Kr
E) Xe
Answer: C
33) A 255 mL round-bottom flask is weighed and found to have a mass of 114.85 g. A few milliliters of
an easily vaporized liquid are added to the flask and the flask is immersed in a boiling water bath. All of
the liquid vaporizes at the boiling temperature of water, filling the flask with vapor. When all of the
liquid has vaporized, the flask is removed from the bath, cooled, dried, and reweighed. The new mass of
the flask and the condensed vapor is 115.23 g. Which of the following compounds could the liquid be?
(Assume the ambient pressure is 1 atm.)
A) C4H10
B) C3H7OH
C) C2H6
D) C2H5OH
E) C4H9OH
Answer: D
34) A sample of an unknown volatile liquid was injected into a Dumas flask (mflask = 27.0928 g,
Vflask = 0.1040 L) and heated until no visible traces of the liquid could be found. The flask and its
contents were then rapidly cooled and reweighed (mflask+vapor = 27.4593 g). The atmospheric pressure
and temperature during the experiment were 0.976 atm and 18.0 °C, respectively. The unknown volatile
liquid was __________.
A) C6H12
B) C6H14
C) C7H14
D) C7H16
E) C6H6
Answer: B
35) The density of air at STP is 1.285 g/L. Which of the following cannot be used to fill a balloon that
will float in air at STP?
A) CH4
B) NO
C) Ne
D) N H3
E) HF
Answer: B
8
36) Removal of __________ from the natural gas both purifies the natural gas and serves as an
alternative method of production of an industrially important chemical element.
A) CO2
B) H2S
C) NH3
D) As2O3
E) He
Answer: B
37) 10.0 grams of argon and 20.0 grams of neon are placed in a 1200.0 ml container at 25.0°C. The
partial pressure of neon is __________ atm.
A) 20.4
B) 8.70
C) 0.700
D) 3.40
E) 5.60
Answer: A
38) 30.0 grams of argon and 15.0 grams of xenon are placed in a 120.0 ml container at 22.0°C. The
partial pressure of xenon is __________ atm.
A) 8.70
B) 22.9
C) 0.700
D) 174
E) 5.60
Answer: B
39) A mixture of Xe, Kr, and Ar has a total pressure of 6.70 atm. What is the mole fraction of Kr if the
partial pressures of Xe and Ar are 1.60 atm and 2.80 atm, respectively.
A) 0.174
B) 0.256
C) 0.343
D) 0.481
E) 0.570
Answer: C
40) The average kinetic energy of the particles of a gas is directly proportional to __________.
A) the rms speed
B) the square of the rms speed
C) the square root of the rms speed
D) the square of the particle mass
E) the particle mass
Answer: B
9
41) The kinetic-molecular theory predicts that pressure rises as the temperature of a gas increases
because __________.
A) the average kinetic energy of the gas molecules decreases
B) the gas molecules collide more frequently with the wall
C) the gas molecules collide less frequently with the wall
D) the gas molecules collide more energetically with the wall
E) both the gas molecules collide more frequently with the wall and the gas molecules collide more
energetically with the wall
Answer: E
42) According to kinetic-molecular theory, in which of the following gases will the root-mean-square
speed of the molecules be the highest at 200°C?
A) HCl
B) Cl2
C) H2O
D) SF6
E) None. The molecules of all gases have the same root-mean-square speed at any given temperature.
Answer: C
43) According to kinetic-molecular theory, if the temperature of a gas is raised from 100°C to 200°C,
the average kinetic energy of the gas will __________.
A) double
B) increase by a factor of 1.27
C) increase by a factor of 100
D) decrease by half
E) decrease by a factor of 100
Answer: B
44) Which of the following is not part of the kinetic-molecular theory?

A) Atoms are neither created nor destroyed by ordinary chemical reactions.
B) Attractive and repulsive forces between gas molecules are negligible.
C) Gases consist of molecules in continuous, random motion.
D) Collisions between gas molecules do not result in the loss of energy.
E) The volume occupied by all of the gas molecules in a container is negligible compared to the volume
of the container.
Answer: A
10
45) Of the following gases, __________ will have the greatest rate of effusion at a given temperature.
A) NH3
B) CH4
C) Ar
D) HBr
E) HCl
Answer: B
46) The root-mean-square speed of H2S at 26.0°C is __________ m/sec.

A) 334
B) 62.4
C) 468
D) 751
E) 214
Answer: C
Diff: 5 Page Ref: Sec, 10.8
47) A tank containing both HF and HBr gases developed a leak. The ratio of the rate of effusion of HF
to the rate of effusion of HBr is __________.
A) 4.04
B) 0.247
C) 2.01
D) 0.497
E) 16.3
Answer: C
48) At 333 K, which of the pairs of gases below would have the most nearly identical rates of effusion?
A) N2O and NO2
B) CO and N2
C) N2 and O2
D) CO and CO2
E) NO2 and N2O4
Answer: B
49) At STP, the ratio of the root-mean-square speed of CO2 to that of SO2 is __________.
A) 2.001
B) 2.119
C) 1.000
D) 1.207
E) 1.456
Answer: D
11
50) Arrange the following gases in order of increasing average molecular speed at 25°C.
He, O2, CO2, N2
A) He < N2 < O2 < CO2

B) He < O2 < N2 < CO2
C) CO2 < O2 < N2 < He
D) CO2 < N2 < O2 < He
E) CO2 < He < N2 < O2
Answer: C
51) Arrange the following gases in order of increasing average molecular speed at 25°C.
Cl2, O2, F2, N2
A) Cl2 < F2 < O2 < N2

B) Cl2 < O2 < F2 < N2
C) N2 < F2 < Cl2 < O2
D) Cl2 < F2 < N2 < O2
E) F2 < O2 < N2 < Cl2
Answer: A
52) Which one of the following gases would have the highest average molecular speed at 25°C?
A) O2
B) N2
C) CO2
D) CH4
E) SF6
Answer: D
53) A sample of oxygen gas (O2) was found to effuse at a rate equal to three times that of an unknown
gas. The molecular weight of the unknown gas is __________ g/mol.
A) 288
B) 96
C) 55
D) 4
E) 10.7
Answer: A
12
54) A sample of oxygen gas was found to effuse at a rate equal to two times that of an unknown gas.
The molecular weight of the unknown gas is __________ g/mol.
A) 64
B) 128
C) 8
D) 16
E) 8.0
Answer: B
55) A mixture of two gases was allowed to effuse from a container. One of the gases escaped from the
container 1.43 times as fast as the other one. The two gases could have been __________.
A) CO and SF6
B) O2 and Cl2
C) CO and CO2
D) Cl2 and SF6
E) O2 and SF6
Answer: D
56) A mixture of carbon dioxide and an unknown gas was allowed to effuse from a container. The
carbon dioxide took 1.25 times as long to escape as the unknown gas. Which one could be the unknown
gas?
A) Cl2
B) CO
C) HCl
D) H2
E) SO2
Answer: B
57) How much faster does 235UF6 effuse than 238UF6?

A) 1.013 times as fast
B) 1.009 times as fast
C) 1.004 times as fast
D) 1.006 times as fast
E) 1.018 times as fast
Answer: D
58) An ideal gas differs from a real gas in that the molecules of an ideal gas __________.
A) have no attraction for one another
B) have appreciable molecular volumes
C) have a molecular weight of zero
D) have no kinetic energy
E) have an average molecular mass
Answer: A
13
59) A real gas will behave most like an ideal gas under conditions of __________.
A) high temperature and high pressure
B) high temperature and low pressure
C) low temperature and high pressure
D) low temperature and low pressure
E) STP
Answer: B
60) Which one of the following gases would deviate the least from ideal gas behavior?
A) Ne
B) CH3Cl
C) Kr
D) CO2
E) F2
Answer: A
61) Which noble gas is expected to show the largest deviations from the ideal gas behavior?
A) helium
B) neon
C) argon
D) krypton
E) xenon
Answer: E
62) The van der Waals equation for real gases recognizes that __________.
A) gas particles have non-zero volumes and interact with each other
B) molar volumes of gases of different types are different
C) the non-zero volumes of gas particles effectively decrease the amount of "empty space" between
them
D) the molecular attractions between particles of gas decreases the pressure exerted by the gas
E) all of the above statements are true
Answer: E
63) When gases are treated as real, via use of the van der Waals equation, the actual volume occupied by
gas molecules __________ the pressure exerted and the attractive forces between gas molecules
__________ the pressure exerted, as compared to an ideal gas.
A) decreases, increases
B) increases, increases
C) increases, decreases
D) does not affect, decreases
E) does not affect, increases
Answer: C
14
10.2 Bimodal Questions

1) A gas at a pressure of 10.0 Pa exerts a force of __________ N on an area of 5.5 m2.
A) 55
B) 0.55
C) 5.5
D) 1.8
E) 18
Answer: A
2) A gas at a pressure of 325 torr exerts a force of __________ N on an area of 5.5 m2.
A) 1.8 × 103
B) 59
C) 2.4 × 105
D) 0.018
E) 2.4
Answer: C
3) A gas vessel is attached to an open-end manometer containing a nonvolatile liquid of density 0.791
g/mL as shown below.
The difference in heights of the liquid in the two sides of the manometer is 43.4 cm when the
atmospheric pressure is 755 mm Hg. Given that the density of mercury is 13.6 g/mL, the pressure of the
enclosed gas is __________ atm.
A) 1.03
B) 0.967
C) 0.993
D) 0.990
E) 0.987
Answer: B
15
4) A gas vessel is attached to an open-end manometer filled with a nonvolatile liquid of density 0.993
g/mL as shown below.
The difference in heights of the liquid in the two sides of the manometer is 32.3 mm when the
atmospheric pressure is 765 mm Hg. Given that the density of mercury is 13.6 g/mL, the pressure of the
enclosed gas is __________ atm.
A) 1.05
B) 1.01
C) 0.976
D) 0.993
E) 1.08
Answer: A
5) In a Torricelli barometer, a pressure of one atmosphere supports a 760 mm column of mercury. If the
original tube containing the mercury is replaced with a tube having twice the diameter of the original,
the height of the mercury column at one atmosphere pressure is __________ mm.
A) 380
B) 760
C) 1.52 × 103
D) 4.78 × 103
E) 121
Answer: B
6) A sample of a gas (5.0 mol) at 1.0 atm is expanded at constant temperature from 10 L to 15 L. The
final pressure is __________ atm.
A) 1.5
B) 7.5
C) 0.67
D) 3.3
E) 15
Answer: C
16
7) If 50.75 g of a gas occupies 10.0 L at STP, 129.3 g of the gas will occupy __________ L at STP.
A) 3.92
B) 50.8
C) 12.9
D) 25.5
E) 5.08
Answer: D
8) A sample of H2 gas (12.28 g) occupies 100.0 L at 400.0 K and 2.00 atm. A sample weighing 9.49 g
occupies __________ L at 353 K and 2.00 atm.
A) 109
B) 68.2
C) 54.7
D) 147
E) 77.3
Answer: B
9) A sample of a gas (1.50 mol) is contained in a 15.0 L cylinder. The temperature is increased from
P 
100°C to 150°C. The ratio of final pressure to initial pressure  2  is __________.
 P1 
A) 1.50
B) 0.667
C) 0.882
D) 1.13
E) 1.00
Answer: D
10) A sample of a gas originally at 25°C and 1.00 atm pressure in a 2.5 L container is subject to a
pressure of 0.85 atm and a temperature of 15°C. The final volume of the gas is __________ L.
A) 3.0
B) 2.8
C) 2.6
D) 2.1
E) 0.38
Answer: B
17
11) A sample of a gas originally at 29°C and 1.25 atm pressure in a 3.0 L container is allowed to
contract until the volume is 2.2 L and the temperature is 11°C. The final pressure of the gas is
__________ atm.
A) 2.9
B) 2.8
C) 1.6
D) 2.1
E) 0.38
Answer: C
12) The reaction of 50 mL of Cl2 gas with 50 mL of CH4 gas via the equation:
Cl2 (g) + CH4 (g) → HCl (g) + CH3Cl (g)
will produce a total of __________ mL of products if pressure and temperature are kept constant.
A) 100
B) 50
C) 200
D) 150
E) 250
Answer: A
13) The reaction of 100 mL of Cl2 gas with 100 mL of CH4 gas via the equation:
Cl2 (g) + CH4 (g) → HCl (g) + CH3Cl (g)
A) 100
B) 50
C) 200
D) 150
E) 250
Answer: C
14) The reaction of 50 mL of N2 gas with 150 mL of H2 gas to form ammonia via the equation:
N2 (g) + 3H2 (g) → 2NH3 (g)
will produce __________ mL of ammonia if pressure and temperature are kept constant.
A) 250
B) 50
C) 200
D) 150
E) 100
Answer: E
18
15) The reaction of 25 mL of N2 gas with 75 mL of H2 gas to form ammonia via the equation:
N2 (g) + 3H2 (g) → 2NH3 (g)
will produce __________ mL of ammonia if pressure and temperature are kept constant.
A) 250
B) 50
C) 200
D) 150
E) 100
Answer: B
16) The reaction of 50 mL of Cl2 gas with 50 mL of C2H4 gas via the equation:
Cl2 (g) + C2H4 (g) → C2H4Cl2 (g)
A) 100
B) 50
C) 25
D) 125
E) 150
Answer: B
17) The amount of gas that occupies 60.82 L at 31.0°C and 367 mm Hg is __________ mol.
A) 1.18
B) 0.850
C) 894
D) 11.6
E) 0.120
Answer: A
18) The amount of gas that occupies 36.52 L at 68.0°C and 672 mm Hg is __________ mol.
A) 127
B) 1.15
C) 878
D) 24.4
E) 12.7
Answer: B
19) The pressure of a sample of CH4 gas (6.022 g) in a 30.0 L vessel at 402 K is __________ atm.
A) 2.42
B) 6.62
C) 0.413
D) 12.4
E) 22.4
Answer: C
19
20) The temperature of a sample of CH4 gas (10.34 g) in a 50.0 L vessel at 1.33 atm is __________ °C.
A) 984
B) -195
C) 195
D) 1260
E) -1260
Answer: A
21) The volume of 0.25 mol of a gas at 72.7 kPa and 15°C is __________ m3.
A) 8.1 × 10-5
B) 1.2 × 10-4
C) 4.3 × 10-4
D) 8.2 × 10-3
E) 2.2 × 10-1
Answer: D
22) A gas in a 325 mL container has a pressure of 695 torr at 19°C. There are __________ mol of gas in
the flask.
A) 1.24 × 10-2
B) 1.48 × 10-2
C) 9.42
D) 12.4
E) 80.6
Answer: A
23) A 0.133 mol sample of gas in a 525 mL container has a pressure of 312 torr. The temperature of the
gas is __________°C.
A) 20.3
B) -253
C) -20.3
D) 203
E) 22.4
Answer: B
24) The mass of nitrogen dioxide contained in a 4.32 L vessel at 48°C and 141600 Pa is __________ g.
A) 5.35 × 104
B) 53.5
C) 10.5
D) 70.5
E) 9.46 × 10-2
Answer: C
20
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whether he waited until the ship went to pieces. In this case, also, if
a Talmudist, it would have been his duly to have staged where he
was, and if he perished, die in the fulfilment or the command, to
show no mercy to idolaters. But he did not—he had compassion on
them, and, to save their lives, relinquished his only chance of safety,
by telling them to throw him into the sea. It is plain, therefore, Jonah
was not a Talmudist. We have here, then, three inspired prophets,
Daniel, Elisha, and Jonah, all bearing a practical testimony against
the Talmudic principle, which extends God’s law against the
Canaanites to all idolaters, and under all circumstances.
Lastly, We have the testimony of the God of Israel himself. He who
gave the command to destroy the Canaanites on account of their
exceeding wickedness, shows by his own dealings with the world,
that this case is an exception to the general rule, for “The Lord is
good to all, and his mercies are over all his works.” He provides food
and clothing for the idolater, as well as for those who worship him in
truth; or, as the New Testament says, “He maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the
unjust.” (Matt. vi. 45.) He, then, whose conduct most resembles that
of his Creator, is, beyond all doubt, the nearest to the truth. The
Talmud, therefore, is wrong, and the New Testament explanation of
the command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” is right. We
ask the Jews, then, to account for this fact, that Jesus of Nazareth
was right, and those who condemned him wrong, respecting one-half
of the whole law. And we ask, moreover, those Jews who abhor the
above Talmudic principles, how they can conscientiously join in the
synagogue prayers, which ascribe to the Talmud Divine authority?
We ask them why, at the very least, they have never publicly
protested against these enormities; but allow their brethren through
the world to remain victims to a system, which not only contradicts
the written law of God, but outrages all the better feelings of even
fallen humanity?
No. VI.
COMPULSORY CONVERSION OF THE GENTILES.
When, at the close of the fifteenth century, the Jews were driven out
of Spain, some of the magnanimous exiles, who had preferred loss
of all things to a compulsory change of religion, arrived at the
frontiers of Portugal, and there sought an asylum. A permanent
abode was refused, and a temporary sojourn was granted them on
two conditions—1st, That each should pay a certain quantity of gold
for his admission; and 2dly, That if they were found in Portugal after
a certain day, they should either consent to be baptized, or be sold
for slaves.[12] Now Jews of every degree and shade of religious belief
will agree with us, that these conditions were most disgraceful to
those who imposed them. To refuse gratuitous assistance to the poor
and needy, merely because they had been brought up in a different
religious faith, was utterly unworthy of those professing faith in
Divine revelation. To compel the unfortunate to choose between loss
of liberty or of conscience was the act of a fiend. But now suppose
that the Portuguese had endeavoured to persuade these poor exiles
that their conduct, however base it might appear, was commanded
by God himself. Suppose, further, that when called upon to prove
that this command was from God, they had confessed that no such
command was to be found in the written books of their religion, that it
was only a tradition of their oral law, do you think that the Jewish
exiles would have been satisfied with such proof, and submitted?
Would they not, in the first place, have questioned the authority of a
command resting merely upon uncertain tradition? And would they
not have argued, from the detestable nature of the command itself,
that it could not possibly emanate from the God of truth and love?
We ask you then to apply these principles to ‫ תורה שבעל פה‬the oral
law. The Portuguese refused to perform an act of humanity to the
unfortunate Jewish exiles, unless they were paid for it. Your oral law,
as we showed in our last number, forbids you to give medical advice
to a sick idolater gratuitously. The Portuguese voluntarily undertook
to convert the Jews by force. Your oral law teaches compulsory
conversion as a Divine command. If the oral law could be enforced,
liberty of conscience would be at an end. Neither Jew nor Gentile
would be permitted to exercise the judgment, which God has given
him. His only alternative would be submission to Rabbinic authority,
or death. The dreadful command to kill, by any means, those
Israelites who have become epicureans, or idolaters, or apostates, is
well known,[13] and sufficiently proves that the oral law recognises no
such thing as liberty of conscience in Israel. It pronounces a man an
apostate if he denies its Divine authority, and demands his life as the
penalty. The execution of this one command would fill the world with
blood and horror; and recall all the worst features of inquisitorial
tyranny. Not now to mention those Israelites who have embraced
Christianity, there are in England, and every part of Europe, many
high-minded and honourable Jews, who have practically renounced
the authority of the oral law. The Rabbinical millennium would
commence by handing over all such to the executioner. Their talents,
their virtue, their learning, their moral excellence, would avail
nothing. Found guilty of epicureanism or apostasy, because they
dared to think for themselves, and to act according to their
convictions, they would have to undergo the epicurean’s or the
apostate’s fate.
Such is the toleration of the oral law towards native Israelites, but it
is equally severe to converts. It allows no second thoughts. It
legislates for relapsed converts, as the Spanish Inquisition did for
those Jews who, after embracing Christianity, returned to their
former faith and sentences all such to death.
‫ ואחר כך וצה לחזור מאחרי ה׳ ולהיות גר תושב בלבד‬, ‫בן נח שנתגייר ומל וטבל‬
‫ אלא יהיה כישראל לכל דבר או יהרג ׃‬, ‫ אין שומעין לו‬, ‫כשהיה מקודם‬
“A Noahite who has become a proselyte, and been circumcised and
baptized, and afterwards wishes to return from after the Lord, and to
be only a sojourning proselyte, as he was before, is not to be
listened to—on the contrary, either let him be an Israelite in
everything, or let him be put to death.” (Hilchoth Melachim, c. x. 3.)
In this law there is an extraordinary severity. The oral law admits that
a Noahite, that is, a heathen who has taken upon himself the seven
commandments of the children of Noah, may be saved. It cannot,
therefore, be said that the severity was dictated by a wish to deter
men from error, and to restrain them from rushing upon everlasting
ruin, as the Inquisition pleads. The oral law goes a little further, and
not only will not permit a man to change his creed, but will not even
suffer him to change his ceremonial observances. Though the man
should commit no crime, and though he should continue to worship
the one true God, in spirit and in truth, yet if he only alter the outward
forms of his religion, modern Judaism requires that he should be put
to death.
But the tender care of the oral law is not limited to the narrow
confines of Judaism, it extends also to the heathen, amongst whom
it directs the true faith to be propagated by the sword. First, it gives a
particular rule. In case of war with the Gentiles, it commands the
Jews to offer peace on two conditions—the one that they should
become tributaries, the other that they should renounce idolatry and
take upon them the seven precepts of the Noahites, and then adds—
‫ואם לא השלימו או שהשלימו ולא קבלו שבע מצוות עושין עמהם מלחמה והורגין‬
‫ ובוזזין כל ממונם וטפם ואין הורגין אשה ולא קטן שנאמר‬, ‫כל הזכים הגדולים‬
‫והנשים והטף וכו׳ ׃‬
“But if they will not make peace, or if they will make peace but will
not take upon them the seven commandments, the war is to be
carried on against them, and all the adult males are to be put to
death; and their property and their little ones are to be taken as
plunder. But no woman or male infant is to be put to death, for it is
said, ‘The women and the little ones’ (Deut. xx. 14.), and here little
ones mean male infants.” (Hilchoth Melachim, c. vi. 4.) Now what
difference, we would ask, is there between the conduct here
prescribed, and that actually practised by the Portuguese, at the
period above referred to, and thus described by a Jew:[14]—“At the
expiration of the appointed time, most of the Jews had emigrated,
but many still remained in the country. The King therefore gave
orders to take away from them all their children under fourteen years
of age, to distribute them amongst Christians, to send them to the
newly-discovered islands, and thus to pluck up Judaism by the roots.
Dreadful was the cry of lamentation uttered by the parents, but the
unfortunates found no mercy.” Do you condemn this conduct in the
Portuguese? Be then consistent, and condemn it in the Talmud too.
As for ourselves, we abhor it as much, yea more, in those calling
themselves Christians, We look upon the actors in that transaction
as a disgrace to the Christian name, and the deed itself as a foul blot
upon the history of Christendom. But we cannot help thinking that,
dreadful and detestable as this mode of conversion is, it pleased
God in his providence to suffer wicked men thus to persecute Israel,
that the Jews might have a practical experience of the wickedness of
the oral law, and thus be led to reject such persecuting principles.
The Jewish nation rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, and preferred the
oral law. This law, not dictated by a spirit of retaliation upon the
Portuguese, but invented by the Pharisees centuries before Portugal
was a kingdom, commanded the Jews to convert the heathen by
force, to murder all who would not consent to be thus converted, and
to take away the children. And God suffered them to fall into the
hands of men of similar principles, who took away their children,
attempted to convert themselves by force, and sold for slaves the
Jews who refused to be thus converted; so that the very misfortunes
of the nation testify aloud against those traditions which they
preferred to the Word of God. But perhaps some Jew will say that
this is only a particular command, referring to the nations in the
vicinity of the land of Israel. We reply, that the command to convert
the heathen by force, is not particular, but general, referring to the
whole world. If the Jews had the power, this is the conduct which
they are to pursue towards all the nations of the earth.
‫וכן צוה משה רבינו מפי הגבורה לכוף את כל באי העולם לקבל מצוות שנצטוו בני‬
‫ וכל מי שלא קבל יהרג ׃‬, ‫נח‬
“And thus Moses our master, has commanded us, by Divine
tradition, to compel all that come into the world to take upon
themselves the commandments imposed upon the sons of Noah,
and whosoever will not receive them is to be put to death.” (Hilchoth
Melachim, c. viii. 4.)
Such is the Talmudic system of toleration, and such the means which
it prescribes for the conversion of the world. We acknowledge that
persons calling themselves Christians have had an oral law very
similar in its principles and precepts, but we fearlessly challenge the
whole world to point out anything similar in the doctrines of Jesus
Christ, or in the writings of his apostles. The New Testament does,
indeed, teach us to seek the conversion of the world, not by force of
arms, but by teaching the truth. “Go ye, therefore, and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you.” (Matt. xxviii. 19.) In the
parable of the tares and wheat, Jesus of Nazareth hath expressly
taught us that physical force is not to be employed in order to
remove moral error. The servants are represented as asking the
master of the house, whether they should go and root out the tares
that grew amongst the wheat, but the answer is, “Nay, lest while ye
gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both
grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to
the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in
bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” (Matt. xiii.
24-43.) He tells us expressly to have nothing to do with the sword,
“For all they that take the sword, shall perish with the sword.” (Matt.
xxvi. 52.) And therefore the apostle says, “The weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds.” (2 Cor. x. 4.) Here again, then, there is a great
difference between the oral law and the New Testament. The former
commands that the truth be maintained and propagated by the
sword. The latter tells us that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of God.” Which, then, is most agreeable to the doctrine
of Moses and the prophets? We answer fearlessly, the means
prescribed by the New Testament, for—
1st, No instance can be adduced from the Old Testament, in which
God commanded the propagation of the truth by the power of the
sword. The extirpation of the seven nations of Canaan is not in point,
for the Israelites were not commanded to make them any offer of
mercy on condition of conversion. The measure of their iniquity was
full, and therefore the command to destroy every soul absolute.
Neither in the command referred to by Maimonides is there the least
reference to conversion. It simply says, “When thou comest nigh
unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. And it shall
be if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall
be that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto
thee, and they shall serve thee. And if it will make no peace with
thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it: and
when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt
smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword. But the women
and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all
the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself.” (Deut. xx. 10-14.)
Here is not one word said about conversion, or about the seven
commandments of the sons of Noah. The command itself is
hypothetical, “When thou comest nigh unto a city;” and therefore
gives no colour nor pretext for setting out on a war of conversion, “to
compel all that come into the world.” As it stands, it is a humane and
merciful direction to restrain the horrors of the then prevailing system
of warfare; and beautifully exemplifies the value which God sets
upon the life of man, whatever his nation or his religion. He will not
suffer it to be destroyed unnecessarily; and even in case of
extremity, he commands the lives of the women and the children,
who never bore arms against Israel, to be spared. There is not a
syllable about forcing their consciences: that is all pure gratuitous
addition of the oral law, which turns a merciful command into an
occasion of bigotry and religious tyranny.
2dly, As God has given no command to propagate religion by the
sword, so neither has He given any countenance to such doctrine,
by the instrumentality which He has employed for the preservation of
religion in the world. He did not choose a mighty nation of soldiers as
the depositories of his truth, nor any of the overturners of kingdoms
for his prophets. If it had been his intention to convert the world by
force of arms, Nimrod would have been a more suitable instrument
than Abraham, and the mighty kingdom of Egypt more fitted for the
task than the family of Hebrew captives. But by the very choice He
showed, that truth was to be propagated by Divine power working
conviction in the minds of men, and not by physical strength. It would
have been just as easy for him to have turned every Hebrew captive
in Egypt into a Samson, as to turn the waters into blood; and to have
sent them into the world to overturn idolatry by brute force; but He
preferred to enlighten the minds of men by exhibiting a series of
miracles, calculated to convince them of his eternal power and
Godhead. When the ten tribes revolted, and fell away into idolatry,
He did not employ the sword of Judah, but the voice of his prophets,
to recall them to the truth. He did not compel them, as the oral law
would have done, to an outward profession, but dealt with them as
with rational beings, and left them to the choice of their hearts.
Nineveh was not converted by Jewish soldiers, but by the preaching
of Jonah. So far is God from commanding the propagation of religion
by the sword, that He would not even suffer a man of war to build a
temple for his worship. When David thought of erecting a temple, the
Lord said unto him, “Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast
made great wars; thou shalt not build an house unto my name,
because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth.” (1 Chron. xxii.
8.) Thus hath God shown his abhorrence of compulsory conversion,
and in all his dealings confirmed his Word, “Not by might nor by
power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Zech. iv. 6.)
3dly, God has in his Word promised the conversion of the world, but
not by the means prescribed in the oral law. His promise to Abraham
was, “In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen.
xxii. 18.) Now this can hardly mean that his descendants are to treat
all nations, as the Portuguese treated the Jews. The 72nd Psalm
gives rather a different view of the fulfilment of this promise. It
promises not a victorious soldier like Mahomet, but one “in whose
days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace so long as
the moon endureth.... All nations shall call Him blessed.” The
prophet Isaiah tells us “that out of Zion shall go forth (not conquering
armies to compel, but) the law, and the Word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and rebuke many
people; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their
spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Zechariah says, “He
shall speak peace to the heathen;” and declares that the conversion
of the world will not be the reward of conquest, but the result of
conviction. “In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall
take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, even shall take
hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for
we have heard that God is with you.” (Zech. viii. 23.) Here again,
then, you see that whilst the oral law differs from Moses and the
prophets, the New Testament agrees with them. Account, then, for
this extraordinary fact, that whilst the whole Jewish nation lost the
great and glorious doctrine of liberty of conscience, it has been
preserved for you and for all mankind by Jesus of Nazareth. Just
suppose that the principles of the Talmud had triumphed, either
amongst the Jews or the Portuguese, what would have been the
consequence to the world? If the Talmudists had attained to supreme
power, we should have had to choose between compulsory
conversion and the sword. If the Portuguese had attained to
universal dominion, both you and we should have had the alternative
of compulsory conversion or the fires of the Inquisition. In either
case, the noblest and most precious gift that the God of heaven ever
sent down to earth, liberty of conscience, would have been extinct.
But, thank God, the doctrine of Jesus of Nazareth has triumphed
over the oral laws of both Jews and Portuguese, and the result is,
that both you and we have the liberty of worshipping God according
to the convictions of our understanding and the dictates of our
conscience. Behold, then, how you are indebted to Jesus of
Nazareth. Without him you would not have known religious liberty,
either theoretically or practically. He is right on this all-important
point, whilst those who condemned him to death and rejected his
claims are wrong. If he was not the true Messiah, but only a
pretender, how is it that God has made him and his doctrine the
exclusive channel for preserving the truth of his Word, and
conveying such blessings to you as well as to us Gentiles? If the
Pharisees were right in rejecting him, how is it that God has
rewarded their piety by giving them over to such gross delusions,
and making them the transmitters of doctrines, which would fill the
world with blood and hatred and discord, and make even the truth
odious in the eyes of all mankind? For ourselves we cannot help
coming to the conclusion, that He who has taught us mercy and love
to all men, and delivered both you and us from such horrors—and
who, in doing this, rose above all the doctrines of his nation and his
times, was taught of God, and is, therefore, the true Messiah, the
Saviour of the world.
Certain it is, that this doctrine has already been a blessing to the
world; and that until your nation embrace its principles, at least on
this one point of love and toleration, it is impossible that the
promised glory and pre-eminence of the Jewish nation should come.
With such principles as are inculcated in the oral law, a restoration to
the land of your forefathers would be no blessing. It would only
realize all the legislative and religious speculations of the Talmudists,
and arm them with the power to tyrannize over their more
enlightened brethren. It would be the triumph of tradition over the
Word of God, and that the God of truth will not permit. It would be to
instal the spirit of intolerance and persecution on the throne of love
and charity, and that God will not suffer. The Talmud is, thus, a main
obstacle in the way of God’s fulfilling his promises to the nation,
because it incapacitates Israel for the reception or the right
employment of the promised blessings. Is it not, then, the duty of all
Jews who desire and long for the glory and the happiness which God
has promised, to lift up their voice with power, and to protest against
that system which prevents the fulfilment of God’s promises; and by
all lawful means to endeavour to deliver their brethren from the
bondage of such intolerance?
No. VII.
THE FEAST OF PURIM.
The feast of Purim now at hand, recalls to the Jewish recollection

one of those miraculous deliverances, with which the history of Israel
abounds. The narrative of the institution, as contained in the Bible, is
a signal proof and illustration of the superintending providence of
God, instructive to all the world, but calling peculiarly for the gratitude
and praise of the Jewish nation, whose forefathers were then
delivered. And it is much to the honour of their posterity that they
have not suffered the lapse of more than twenty centuries to wear
out the memory of this great event, but that to this day they observe
its anniversary with alacrity and zeal. If the oral law simply contented
itself with commanding the observance and prescribing the mode of
worship for such an important season, we should have no fault to
find; but the oral law claims for itself Divine origin and authority,
anathematizes any denial of these claims as heresy, and sentences
the heretic to death. We are, therefore, compelled to examine its
pretensions, and to scrutinize its features, in order to see whether
they really bear the stamp of divinity. We have already pointed out
some, that savoured more of earth than heaven: the constitutions for
the feast of Purim may be traced to the same source. The following
law respecting the meal to be provided on this occasion did certainly
not come to man from heaven:—
‫ ושותה יין עד‬, ‫חובת סעודה זו שיאכל בשר ויתקן סעודה נאה כפי אשר תמצא ידו‬
‫שישתכר וירדם בשכרותו ׃‬
“A man’s duty with regard to the feast is, that he should eat meat and
prepare a suitable feast according to his means; and drink wine, until
he be drunk, and fell asleep in his drunkenness.” (Hilchoth Megillah,
c. ii. 15.) The Talmud, however, is not satisfied with so indefinite a
direction, but lays down, with its usual precision, the exact measure
of intoxication required.
‫חייב איניש לבסומי בפוריא עד דלא ידע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי ׃‬
“A man is bound to get so drunk with wine at Purim, as not to know
the difference between Cursed is Haman, and Blessed is Mordecai.”
(Megillah, fol. 7, col. 2.) But perhaps some learned champion of the
Talmud will fly to that sort of refuge for destitute commentators, the
parabolic language of the orient, and tell us that this precept is not to
be understood literally but figuratively; and that so far from
recommending intoxication, it means to inculcate excess of sobriety
or devotion, such abstraction of the senses, from all outward objects,
as not to distinguish between cursed is Haman and blessed is
Mordecai. This sort of defence is neither imaginary nor novel. In this
way Rabbi Eliezer’s permission to split open an unlearned man like a
fish has been made to signify the spiritual opening of the
understanding, and of course the overweening anxiety of the
Rabbies to communicate instruction to the ignorant. But however we
dull Gentiles may be enlightened by such an exposition, we much
doubt whether the greatest amhaaretz in Israel will believe the
interpretation. The great and learned Rabbies Solomon Jarchi and
Moses Maimonides have understood literal drunkenness, and have
named wine as the legitimate liquor. R. Joseph Karo has simply
given the command verbatim as it stands in the Talmud, but a note in
the Orach Chaiim shows, that some of the modern Rabbies were not
able to swallow such a command, and, therefore, say that an
Israelite does his duty, if he only drink a little more than usual. The
Talmud itself admits of no such softening down, nor explaining away,
for immediately after the precept it goes on to propose an example
and to furnish an illustration of its meaning in the following history of
the very Rabbi, on whose authority this traditional command rests;—
‫ איבסום קם רבה שחטיה לרבי‬, ‫רבה ורבי זירא עבדו סעודת פורים בהדי הדדי‬
‫ לשנה אמר ליה ניתי מר ונעביד סעודת פורים‬, ‫זירא למחר בעא רחמי ואחייה‬
‫בהדי הדדי אמר ליה לאו בכל שעתא ושעתא מתרחיש ניסא ׃‬
“Rabba and Rabbi Zira made their Purim entertainment together.
When Rabba got drunk, he arose and killed Rabbi Zira. On the
following day he prayed for mercy, and restored him to life. The
following year Rabba proposed to him again to make their Purim
entertainment together, but he answered, ‘Miracles don’t happen
every day.’” (Talmud, Tr. Megillah, fol. 7, col. 2.) This history of one of
the men who are authorities for the above Talmudic command to get
drunk, plainly illustrates its meaning, and shows that the Talmud
meant and commanded its followers to drink wine to excess on this
occasion. It sets before them the example of one of the greatest
Rabbies committing murder in his drunkenness, and so far from
reprobating this sin, it gravely tells us that God interposed by a
miracle to prevent the ill-consequences; and that the Rabbi, far from
being cured of his propensity, or making any declaration of his
intention to amend, continued in that state of mind, that his colleague
found it imprudent to trust himself at his table. Now every body that
is acquainted with the Jews, knows that they are a temperate and
sober people; and because they are so, we ask them whether the
above command can be from God? and whether they believe that
the Talmud speaks truth in giving the above narrative? It says not
merely that men may get drunk with impunity, but that to get drunk is
an act of piety, and obedience to a command! Here, again, the
Talmud is directly at issue with the New Testament, which says, “Be
not drunk with wine, wherein is excess.” (Ephes. v. 18.) “Take heed
to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with
surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and so that
day come upon you unawares.” (Luke xxi. 34.) The New Testament
holds out to us no hope, that if in our drunkenness, we should
commit murder, a miracle will be wrought in order to deliver us from
the consequences; but tells us, that “neither murderers nor
drunkards shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor. vi. 9, 10.) Now
which of these two doctrines is the most agreeable to the revealed
will of God? How would you desire to meet death, if death should
come upon the feast of Purim? Would you wish the angel of death to
find you, in obedience to the oral law, insensible from overmuch
wine? or in that state of sobriety and thoughtfulness prescribed by
Jesus of Nazareth? Does not the inward tribunal of the heart decide
that Jesus of Nazareth is right, and that the Talmud is wrong? And
does not the Old Testament confirm the sentence? Isaiah says,
“Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may
follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
and the harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine are in their
feasts; but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the
operation of his hands. Therefore my people are gone into captivity,
because they have no knowledge; and their honourable men are
famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.” (Isaiah v. 11-13.)
And so Moses commands the parents that should they have a son “a
glutton and a drunkard,” to bring him to justice, and to have him
stoned. (Deut. xxi. 20.) The Talmud, then, manifestly contradicts the
Old Testament; it therefore cannot speak truth when it narrates that
God wrought a miracle in order to save a drunkard and a murderer
from that punishment, which He had himself commanded to be
visited upon either of these crimes. The story of the miracle is
therefore a palpable falsehood, contradictory to the law of Moses,
and derogatory to the honour of God. How, then, can the Talmud be
of God? If you attempt to distinguish, as some do, between the
Talmud and the oral law, and say that though the Talmud contains
the oral law, yet it is not all inspired, then we ask, how can you rely
upon the testimony of a witness convicted of wilful, gross, and
flagrant falsehood? If you do not believe in the above miracle of the
drunken Rabba, you denounce it as a liar. If it lie, then, upon this
solemn occasion in relating a miracle, in handing down the law of
God, how can you depend upon it at all? If it does not scruple to
forge miracles, what warrant have you for believing that it does not
forge laws also?
But suppose, which is far more probable, that Rabbi Zira, when killed
by Rabba, had not come to life again, would Rabba, in the eye of the
modern Jewish law, be considered as a murderer, and guilty of
death, or as an innocent person, who might safely be permitted to go
at large, and pursue his usual avocations? This is a question well
deserving an answer from some of your learned men, and naturally
suggested by some principles asserted and implied in the following
decisions of the oral law:—
‫ והדברים ידועים שהיא תקנת‬, ‫קריאת המגלה בזנה מצות עשה מדברי סופרים‬
, ‫ אנשים ונשים וגרים ועבדים משוחררים‬, ‫ והכל חייבים בקריאתה‬, ‫הנביאים‬
‫ ואפילו כהנים בעבודמן מבטלין עבודתן ובאין‬, ‫ומחנכין את הקטנים לקריאתה‬
‫ קל וחומר‬, ‫ וכן מבטלין תלמוד תורה לשמוע מקרא מגלה‬, ‫לשמוע מקרא מגלה‬
‫ ואין לך דבר שנדחה‬, ‫לשאר מצוות של תורה שכולן נדחין מפני מקרא מגלה‬
‫מקרא מגלה מפניו חוץ ממה מצוה שאין לו קוברים שהפוגע בו קוברו תחלה ואחר‬
‫כך קורא ׃‬
“The reading of the Megillah (the book of Esther) in its time is an
affirmative precept according to the words of the scribes, and it is
known that this is an ordinance of the Prophets. The obligation to
read it rests upon all, men, women, and proselytes, and manumitted
slaves. Children also are to be accustomed to the reading of it. Even
priests in their service are to neglect their service, and to come to
hear the reading of the Megillah. In like manner the study of the law
is to be omitted, in order to hear the reading of the Megillah, and a
fortiori all the remaining commandments of the law, all of which give
way to the reading of the Megillah: but there is nothing to which the
reading of the Megillah gives way, except that particular class of
dead person called the dead of the commandment, who has none to
bury him. He that happens upon him is first to bury him, and
afterwards to read.” (Hilchoth Megillah, c. i. 1.) On this extract we
have several remarks to make, but at present we request the
attention of our readers to the reason given why the reading of the
Megillah is more important than any of the commandments. It is this.
According to the oral law, “the study of the law is equivalent to all the
commandments, and the other commandments are to give way to
this study.” But according to the passage before us, the study of the
law is to give way to the reading of the Megillah. The reading of the
Megillah, therefore, being greater than the greatest of the
commandments, is of course greater than all the inferior ones. Now
apply this reasoning to the above command to get drunk, and you
will prove that getting drunk at Purim feast is the greatest of all the
commandments. In order to get drunk, it is plain that the study of the
law must give way. The man who cannot distinguish between
“Cursed be Haman and blessed be Mordecai,” certainly cannot
study, neither can he bury the dead. The commandment, therefore,
to which the study of the law and the burying of the dead give way,
must be the greatest of all the commandments; i.e., the getting drunk
on Purim is the greatest of all the commandments. This conclusion,
which inevitably follows upon Talmudic principles, necessarily shows
that those principles are false. But that is not the object for which I
have exhibited this conclusion; it is with reference to the case of
Rabba above-mentioned. Having got drunk according as the oral law
commanded, and having thereby obeyed the greatest of the
commandments, and one to which all others are necessarily in
abeyance, was he guilty or innocent in having murdered R. Zira? It
certainly seems a very hard case to condemn him to death for an
act, which resulted from his obedience to the greatest of all the
commandments. He might urge that he had a great dislike to
drunkenness—that he had overcome his natural aversion simply to
satisfy the Rabbinical requirements—that by the time that he had
arrived at the prescribed incompetency to distinguish between
Haman and Mordecai, he had lost all power of distinguishing
between right and wrong—that, therefore, he had not done it with
malice propense; what sentence, therefore, does the Talmud
pronounce against a murderer of this sort? If Rabba was allowed to
go at large, as would appear from his invitation to Rabbi Zira the
following year, a repetition of the same offence was possible, a
repetition of the miracle in R. Zira’s opinion highly improbable. Thus
Rabba might go on from year to year killing one or more with
impunity, and would be a far more dangerous neighbour than “the ox
that was wont to push with his horn.” If, on the other hand, he is to
be punished capitally, then the oral law is plainly not from God; for
obedience to the greatest of its commandments makes it possible for
a man to commit the greatest of crimes, and to subject himself to the
extremity of punishment. But we object, secondly, to the exaltation of
a mere human ordinance above the Word of God. The reading of the
book of Esther at the feast of Purim, is no doubt a very appropriate,
and may be a very profitable exercise. But it is confessedly of human
appointment. It is of the words of the scribes; the time and the mode
are altogether Rabbinical ordinances. Why, then, “are all the
remaining commandments of the law to give way to the reading of
the Megillah?” The priest was to neglect the service to which God
had appointed him, in order to obey a mere human institution. And
the Israelites to neglect the duties of love and charity, to fulfil a mere
ceremonial commandment. Here is a plain token that the oral law is
not from God, but is the offspring of human invention and
superstition. The human mind exalts ceremonies above moral duties.
God declares that all outward observances are secondary. “I desired
mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt
offerings.” (Hos. vi. 6.) “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good;
and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love
mercy, and to walk numbly with thy God?” (Mic. vi. 8.) And so the
New Testament says in the very same spirit, “The first of all the
commandments is, Hear O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord, and
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, &c. This is the first
commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater
than these.” (Mark. xii. 29-31.) The oral law, on the contrary, tells us
that “all the commandments, except the burying of the dead, are to
give way to the reading of the Megillah,” to a mere ceremony; and
that not even of God’s appointment. God prefers mercy before the
sacrifices which He himself has instituted. The Talmud prefers a
human institution to all God’s commandments. A more striking
instance of genuine superstition, and a stronger proof of the human
origin of the oral law cannot be found.
The book of Esther appears to have been a peculiar favourite of the
Rabbies. The reading of it takes precedence of all other duties but
one, and is considered as obligatory, even upon the women, who are
declared exempt from the study of the law. It is true that it contains a
very notable warning for disobedient wives, and a striking instance of
the deliverance of Israel by the instrumentality of a woman; but when
we consider that the name of God does not occur once in the whole
book, and that the law contains the account of man’s creation and
fall, the ten commandments, the deliverance from Egypt, and all
those events of primary interest to women as well as men, it
becomes of some importance to consider why the women, who are
not bound to study the law of God, are bound to read the book of
Esther. The authors of the oral law appear to have attached
uncommon importance to this book, as appears from this
circumstance, and still more so from the following startling
declaration of Maimonides:—
, ‫כל ספרי הנביאים וכל הכתובים עתידן ליבטל לימות המשיח חוץ ממגלת אסתר‬
‫והרי היא קיימת כחמשה חומשי תורה וכהלכות של תורה שבעל פה שאינן לעולם‬
‫׃‬
“All the books of the prophets, and all the Hagiographa, except the
roll of Esther, will cease in the days of Messiah. But it is perpetual as
the five books of the written law, and the constitutions of the oral law,
which shall never cease.” (Hilchoth Megillah.) Some of the Rabbies
say that this is to be taken conditionally, “although they were all to
cease, yet this would not cease.” But this still attributes a decided
superiority to the book of Esther above all the other books. What
then is there in it, that gives this book such a peculiar favour, and
makes the history of Esther more important than that of the conquest
of Canaan, or of the glory of Solomon, or of the restoration of the
house of the Lord? Is there more devotion and piety to be found in it
than in the Psalms of David? Does it contain more wisdom than the
Proverbs of Solomon? Is there a sublimer flight of Divine poetry, a
more heavenly afflatus than in the visions of Isaiah? A more open
revelation of the mysteries of the Deity than is to be found in Job, or
Daniel, or Ezekiel? Why do the Rabbies pronounce it worthy of
preservation, whilst they contemplate without emotion the loss of all
the other books? We cannot possibly discover, unless it be that it
furnishes more gratification to the spirit of revenge so natural to all
the children of Adam, whether they be Jew or Gentile. To forgive is to
be like God—and God alone can teach forgiveness either
speculatively or practically. But the book of Esther contains an
account of the revenge which the Jews took upon their enemies, not
like the destruction of the Canaanites, fulfilling the commands of God
upon His enemies, but taking personal and individual revenge on
their own. And this very fact may be one reason why God did not
permit his most holy name to occur in the whole book—just as he did
not permit David to build him a temple, so he would not have his
name associated with deeds of personal revenge. But, however that
be, we can discover no other reason for the decided preference
which the oral law gives to the book of Esther. And we think that after
the specimens which we have already given of their spirit towards
idolaters we do them no injustice; especially as, in this particular
case, the oral law breathes this spirit aloud.
‫ ארורים כל‬, ‫ ארורה זרש ברוכה אסתר‬, ‫צריך שיאמר ארור המן ברוך מרדכי‬
‫עכו׳׳ם ברוכים כל ישראל ׃‬
“It is necessary to say, Cursed be Haman, Blessed be Mordecai,
Cursed be Zeresh, Blessed be Esther, Cursed be all idolaters,
Blessed be all Israel.” (Orach Chaiim, sec. 690.) Why this is
necessary, is not told us. It appears not to bring glory to God, nor
any blessing to man. Haman and Zeresh have long since passed
into eternity, and received from the just Judge the reward of their
deeds. Mordecai and Esther have in like manner appeared before
the God of Israel, and received according to their faith. To these,
then, the voice of human praise or reproach is as nothing. But to
curse a dead enemy, to pursue with unrelenting hatred those who
have already fallen into the hands of the living God, is certainly not a
Divine ordinance, and cannot be an acceptable act of worship in
poor sinners, who themselves stand so much in need of forgiveness.
To curse the dead is bad, but to curse the living is, in one sense, still
worse. “Cursed be all idolaters.” According to our calculation, there
are 600 millions of idolaters—according to the Jewish account, there
must be more. Why, then, should they be cursed? That will not
convert them from the error of their ways. It will not make them more
happy, either in this world or in the next. We are not aware, even if
God were to hear this execration and curse the idolatrous world, that
it would be productive of any blessing to Israel. Why make a day of
thanksgiving for mercies received an opportunity of invoking curses
upon the majority of mankind? The Word of God teaches a very
different petition for the heathen. “God, be merciful to us, and bless
us, and cause his face to shine upon us. That thy way may be known
upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people
praise thee, O God; yea, let all the people praise thee.” (Ps. lxvii.)
No. VIII.
RABBINIC CONTEMPT FOR THE SONS OF NOAH.
The noblest inquiry, to which the mental powers can be directed, is,
Which religion comes from God? The most satisfactory mode of
conducting such an inquiry, independently of the external evidence,
is to compare the principles of one system with those of the other,
and both with an acknowledged standard, if such there be, and this
is what we are endeavouring to do in these papers. We by no means
wish to make the modern Jews responsible for the inventions of their
forefathers, but to show them that their traditional argument for
rejecting Christianity, and that is the example of the high priest and
the Sanhedrin, is of no force; inasmuch as these same persons, who
originally rejected Jesus of Nazareth, were in great and grievous
error in the fundamental principles of religion, whilst He who was
rejected taught the truth. To do this we must appeal to the oral law,
and discuss its merits. We have shown already that those persons
did not understand at least one half of the law; that their doctrines
were in the highest degree uncharitable. It has, however, been
replied, that the Talmud is more tolerant than the New Testament, for
it allows “that the pious of the nations of the world may be saved;”
whereas the latter asserts that “whosoever believeth not shall be
damned.” We must, therefore, inquire into the extent of toleration
and charity contained in that Talmudic sentence. The first step in this
inquiry, is to ascertain who are the persons intended in the
expression “The pious of the nations of the world.” The oral law tells
us, as quoted in No. 6, that the Israelites are commanded to compel
all that come into the world to receive the seven commandments of
the sons of Noah, and adds,
‫והמקבל אותם הוא הנקרא גר תושב בכל מקום ׃‬

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Principles of Chemistry The Molecular Science 1st

10.1 Multiple Choice Questions

1) Which of the following statements about gases is false?

3) Of the following, __________ has the odor of rotting eggs.

4) One significant difference between gases and liquids is that __________.

6) Gaseous mixtures __________.

11) Which statement about atmospheric pressure is false?

14) Of the following, __________ is a correct statement of Boyle's law.

15) "Isothermal" means __________.

16) Of the following, __________ is a valid statement of Charles' law.

17) Which one of the following is a valid statement of Avogadro's law?

19) Of the following, only __________ is impossible for an ideal gas.

20) The molar volume of a gas at STP is __________ L.

28) The density of __________ is 0.900 g/L at STP.

44) Which of the following is not part of the kinetic-molecular theory?

46) The root-mean-square speed of H2S at 26.0°C is __________ m/sec.

He, O2, CO2, N2

A) He < N2 < O2 < CO2

Cl2, O2, F2, N2

A) Cl2 < F2 < O2 < N2

57) How much faster does 235UF6 effuse than 238UF6?

10.2 Bimodal Questions

The feast of Purim now at hand, recalls to the Jewish recollection

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