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Occasioned by the
Appearance of the Hebrew Review and Magazine of Rabbinical Literature.
By a Christian Lady.*
Byron told Lady Blessington that he could not live
without excitement of some kind or other; but he is not singular in this
respect, for the generality of men crave it as they do their daily food.
The millennium and restoration of the Jews to their ancient territories,
and the most interesting, and with many, the most engrossing topics of
conversation. The extraordinary events now occurring, one following the
other in quick succession, unlooked-for and dissimilar, affect the
imagination of the multitude, and render them prone to superstition and
misguidance. They are constantly perplexing themselves with the
predictions of the ancient Hebrew prophets, and endeavour to trace their
fulfillment in some of the leading moral and physical phenomena of the
day.
The Jews themselves do not partake of this
inquisitive restlessness. "I bide the time," is their motto;
and they look on in quiet. That all this minute and daily investigation
produces a sensation among them, there is no doubt; and that it will
make a strong impression is to be expected: but that they are to rise in
a mass, gather together all their wealth, and set out for Palestine,
they have not the slightest intention, now do the most reflecting of the
Christians credit it.
With the early history of the Jews in our hand
through the day, and near our pillow at night, it should be presumed
that we have a clear insight into the character of this extraordinary
people; but we know them not,—they are as great a mystery to us at
this present moment, as they were to the Egyptians of old. If we might
hazard a conjecture, it is that the Jews throughout Europe, particularly
those of Poland, Germany, Russia, Spain and Portugal, would seize on the
first fair opening to establish an independent government of their own
in Palestine. They are at present in an abject state, being oppressed by
taxes and disabilities, and subject to every species of insult which the
mean spirit of tyranny can inflict. They have likewise an intuitive
feeling that it may be to-morrow what has so often occurred in their
history: an expulsion from the land in which they live, with immense
loss of life and property, and under circumstances the most untoward and
dismaying. Is it any wonder, therefore, that they should cast a longing
eye towards that place of rest from which they shall be expelled no
more?
The Jews in America have prospered openly. From the
day of our own independence they date their likewise, and therefore they
cast aside all fear of being the victims of extortion, barbarity and
contumely. To be called a Jew is no longer a term of reproach; such
revilings being confined exclusively to those, Christians though they
call themselves, whose speech is held in little esteem. The sensible and
well-informed among the Jews are well aware that this amelioration of
their condition has arisen from the prevalence of the Christian
doctrine, which in America exists in a purer form than elsewhere; and in
consequence they really love the land of their birth or adoption with an
enthusiasm equal to what is felt by those who profess the prevailing
religion of the country. They know that as Christians we must believe
that they are under God's particular care, and that He looks with a
jealous eye on all those who persecute his chosen people. The
whole learned, religious world, is now engaged in collecting, comparing,
and expounding the ancient prophecies. So great is the excitement, that
laymen as well as divines, vie with each other in bringing forward
proofs that the millennium is at hand, and that the Jews are to be
restored to the land of their fathers.
The Jews see all this, and make no remark. If we
pave the way for such a jubilee, they certainly have no objection. They
are a sensible, reflecting, yet very submissive people, knowing that if
this splendid phenomenon of the millennium is thus daily, hourly
presented to the people of all nations, that it will come in time to be
the thing most desired, and to obtain which no sacrifice will be too
great. They know, likewise, that their own prospects are so intimately
blended with those of the Christian world, in this theory of the
millennium, should this wonderful event take place, they will be moved
by the mass, without any exertion of their own. That they have been thus
cast down and trodden under foot, they feel to be the punishment due to
their former transgressions, and they humbly submit. But they trust in
the promise of the Lord their God to be restored to their former
birthright and glory, and they wait his time.
They look upon the efforts of enthusiastic
Christians as a signal interposition of God on their behalf. Believing
that the Almighty works through agents, they patiently watch the
progress of events, and foresee—millennium or not—that their estate
is greatly improved by this zealous investigation of their history and
of the ancient prophecies. There are many amongst us who infer that,
because the Jews take no part in our eager inquiries, they are
different; but we little know the deep feeling which lies at the bottom
of this apparent unconcern. Because we are loose in our
interpretations of Scripture, it does not follow that they are
lukewarm or ignorant. This investigating spirit is new in us; we are
just awakened to the desire of forming coincidences; the Old Testament
is now read with a deep inquiring eye, and texts, long forgotten, or but
dimly explained, are now found to predict the very events which have
come to pass before our eyes.
Of
course this is a subject of vital importance to the Jews, but they have
learned by long suffering to subdue all outward signs of emotion. For
hundreds of years they have submitted to the most unjust and cruel
treatment, and without murmuring. Long before the Christian era they
were trampled down as if they contaminated the air, and yet, in one
sense, their spirit was not broken. They felt deeply, to be sure, the
rebuke and chastisement of their God, but they relied implicitly on his
promises of restoration. They shut themselves up in the pride of being
the only chosen of God, who in his good time would make all other
nations succumb to their power.
To
this day they wonder how any Christian can so severely blame them for
their refusal to believe in a plurality of gods, or what is more
complex, the three in one, knowing, as the Christians must know,
that the Jewish religion enforced it upon its followers to acknowledge
no other god than the Eternal their God. It is as certain as that God
created all things, that He never intended the Christians should
persecute the Jews as they have done. In the old dispensation, God, by
the mouth of his prophets, commanded the Israelites to slay the
Canaanites, and take possession of their property. We perceive also that
He personally, or by means of his angels, assisted the Jews to vanquish
their enemies. But when Christ came on earth, all this was done away.
The New Testament will tell you that He came to save life, not to
destroy it. He taught forgiveness of our enemies, and commanded us in no
wise to return evil for evil. Christ is considered as both the Son and
prophet of God, and that it was through the lips of Christ, that the
Father made known to his people that after the time of the dispersion of
the Israelites, He had never seen fit to alter the severity of his laws
concerning them.
Heaven
forbid that we should be considered as apologists for the great and
unpardonable crime of putting an innocent man to death. We wish to bring
the subject before us in this point of view, that all the Jews on earth,
at that time, were not instrumental to the sufferings and death of
Christ, much less were they partakers of the crime,—a great number, in
fact, had never heard of him. Many there were, even amongst those who
witnessed his persecutions, and ignominious death, who would have saved
him had it been in their power, but they were overawed by the vehemence
of numbers.
When
the Saviour said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do," we must believe that the prayer was heard, for could the
Son appeal to his Father in vain? Most assuredly, if the Jews, at the
time of Christ's mission on earth, had believed in his divinity, they
never would have sought his life. It was because they did not
believe, that they crucified him. As Christians, hoping for pardon and
salvation through the mediation of Christ, we never ought to lose sight
of that fact; it should teach us to be merciful and forgiving.
Look
at ourselves at this present moment,—we are fond of being called the
followers of Christ, meaning thereby that we walk in his ways, and
follow his commandments. Yet if the strong arm of the civil law, and the
still stronger arm of public opinion did not hold us back, how
many would disregard the divine laws, how many would lay hold of their
neighbours and incarcerate them for differing on a few religious points!
Yes, even in this enlightened age, enlightened by the mild wisdom of the
Divine founder of our religion, so little do we comprehend his
doctrines, that we think it would be acceptable service to slay or put
to the torture all those who do not embrace our mode of interpreting the
holy Word of God.
If
we still are thus benighted towards our own Christian brethren, what
favour can we hope to obtain for the Jews, although they are expressly
stated to be God's chosen people? If Christians, after the lapse
of eighteen centuries, are still so bitter towards each other, how can
we expect to obtain favour for those who did not believe in Christ at
all? In all our persecutions of the Jews, we never recollected how
grossly ignorant they were at the time of our Saviour's mission. Homer
says, that when the gods design a man for slavery, they give him but
half a soul. The Jews were debased by subjugation, and they groveled in
the dark, being full of superstitions and religious fears. If this were
not true, they would never have done violence to one from whose lips
come such words of peace and good-will towards all. Enslaved as they
were, they could not see the tendency of such wise and mild doctrines.
They could not comprehend that to free the spirit of grossness and
frailty, would free the body also. We have but faint glimmerings of this truth ourselves, and can we
expect that those who so humbly paid tribute to Caesar, and were content
under the yoke, should have had at. that time a clearer perception than
we have even now.
We
must also take into consideration that at the time of Christ's being on
earth. the Jews no longer worshipped idols or false gods, but confined
their homage to the Lord. To fall down and worship another was to sin
against the Holy One of Israel, till their troubles, their unheard-of
miseries, their calamitous sufferings, and their horrible tortures,
arose from their disobedience to God in worshipping idols. When the
Saviour was announced to them as God himself, the Son of God—the long
expected Messiah, and had come on earth to save them from everlasting
punishment, they would not believe it. They looked upon him with horror,
as wanting to share in that homage which they considered as belonging to
the Lord alone.
(To
be continued.) |
