For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. For the name of God is blasphemed, etc. - In Debarim rabba, sect. 2, fol. 251, it is said: - "The rulers destroy the influence of their own words among the people; and this is done when a rabbin, sitting and teaching in the academy, says, Do not take usury, and himself takes it; do not commit rapine, and himself commits it; do not steal, and himself steals." That they were exceedingly lax in their morals, the following fact proves: - "Rabbi Ilai said, If a man see that his evil propensities are likely to prevail against him, let him go to some place where he is not known, and let him put on black clothes, and cover his head with a black veil; and then let him do whatsoever he pleases, lest the name of God should be publicly profaned." Moed katon, fol. 17. 1. In Sohar Levit. fol. 31, Colossians 122, it is said: - "On three accounts the Jews are obliged to remain in captivity -
1. Because they openly reproach the Shechinah -
2. Because they profane themselves before the Shechinah -
3. Because they turn away their faces from the Shechinah."
But it would be endless to collect from their history the proofs of the charges brought here against them by the apostle. See Whitby, Schoettgen, and others.