His express
commands it would be incumbent upon you to observe them, only, however,
after having sought to understand their meaning. But you know, or ought
to know, that the book was written by a man like yourselves, who was as
liable to err as you are. Many of these commands were excellent at the
time in which they were given, but change of circumstances has made them
absurd."

"What is godly at one time cannot become ungodly at another," said
Bensef, with determined obstinacy.

"No; but what is beautiful and appropriate in one land may become the
reverse in a different country, or at another period. Let us take an
example: It is an oriental custom to wear one's hat or turban as a mark
of respect. In Palestine such a usage is proper and the man who keeps
his head covered before his fellow-men certainly should keep it covered
before God. In America, however, I am considered ill-bred if I keep my
hat on when I am conversing with the humblest of my associates; should I
therefore keep it on when I am addressing my God? Thus, many of your
religious observances take their origin outside of religion and are
appropriate only to the country in which they were conceived."

"But to appear before God bareheaded is surely a sin!" stammered Hirsch
Bensef, who would gladly have ended the conversation then and there.

"Not a sin, simply a novelty," answered Philip.

"But our proverb says: 'Novelty brings calamity.'"

"Proverbs do not always speak the truth," replied the American. Then
after a pause he continued, reflectively: "There is another class of
ceremonials which find their origin in one or the other of the commands
of Moses, and which through the eagerness of the people to observe them
for fear of Divine wrath, have been given an importance out of all
proportion to their original significance. For instance, Moses, for
reasons purely humane, prohibited the cooking of a kid in its mother's
milk, wisely teaching that what nature intended for the preservation of
the animal should not be employed for its destruction. This law has been
so distorted that the eating of meat and milk together was prohibited,
and the severity of the resulting dietary laws makes it necessary to
have two sets of dishes--one for meat, the other for all food prepared
with milk. And so in a thousand cases the original intention of the
command is lost in the mass of foreign matter that has been added to
it."

Philip paused and, toying with his massiv