A True Friend

Perambulating the south west corner of Gordon Square, just beyond Euston Church, one comes across the following blue plaque.

Blue plaque dedicated to Rev Robert Travers Herford

The name sounded vaguely familiar. A rummage in the memory bank revealed that his name had appeared in footnotes and end-of-chapter references in books I had read years ago relating to the relationship between the Jewish community and the early Christians in the period around first century Judea. These vague recollections also told me the Rev. Herford was one of that rare breed, an academic deeply committed Christian who was also intensely philosemitic.

My curiosity piqued, I consulted that modern oracle Wikipedia, which was surprisingly parsimonious in its description of the great man. However, a set of external links at the bottom of the page led me to an essay by Travers Herford at Project Gutenberg, entitled “Pharisaism. Its Aims and Its Method.”

Now I don’t know if all Jews react in the same way, but whenever I hear the term “Pharisee”, my blood automatically goes cold and hot at the same time. Cold because I immediately develop a dislike for the person using the term, and hot because I ready myself to provide historical context to defend the honour of Rabbinic Judaism, which is so besmirched in Christian scriptures.

Not everyone is aware of this, but the term “Pharisee” is actually derived from the Hebrew Poresh or Parshan, meaning a Biblical commentator, an exegete or expounder, who interprets the Biblical text at different layers of conceptual meaning using clearly defined rules of interpretation, which have been passed down from generation to generation. What these rules have in common is that they separate out different concepts to use as building blocks for interpretation. Pharisaic Judaism (as distinct from other forms of Judaism in early first century Judea such as the Essenes or the Saducees) is directly contiguous with the Judaism of today, which bases itself on continuous interpretation of the Torah, using the principles defined above.

One of the features that most impressed me and touched me deeply about Travers Herford’s writings is his ability to put himself into the mind of a Torah-observant Jew, and understand the dynamics of the Torah from the inside, despite his being a believing Christian. This is no simple feat; indeed, It is a highly skilful balancing act requiring deep faith and empathy.

Let’s take an example directly from Travers Herford’s writings. The mishnah in Pirkei Avot 1:1, attributed to the Men of the Great Assembly, says: ‘Be deliberate in judgment, make many disciples, and make a hedge for Torah’. The last of these three maxims, points out Travers Herford, Has been much misunderstood by the Christian world.

In Travers Herford’s own words:

It (the concept of a hedge for Torah – Ed) certainly does not imply any intention to make a rigid system of precept in which all the spiritual freedom enjoyed by the enlightened soul in communion with God should be lost. The Talmudic Rabbis, who entirely endorsed the maxim, never read in it any such intention, and never supposed that they suffered any such loss of spiritual freedom. As in fact they did not. The notion that they did is an idea which only exists in the minds of Christians (emphasis is mine – Ed), misreading an experience which, as Christians, they have never known.

Travers Herford proceeds to provide an accurate description of the concept of “a hedge for Torah”, a sensitive and articulate description which sounds instantly familiar to any believing Jew. He was able to inhabit two worlds at the same time, showing depth of understanding of Judaism, explaining it to his fellow Christians, while remaining loyal to his own faith, truly a remarkable achievement.

For those who want to delve further I would recommend reading the chapters entitled “Historical sketch” and “The theory of Torah”, both available in the work “Pharisaism. Its Aims and Its Method”.