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A new Imperial Ukase, dated 13th
November, 1844, appears to contemplate a species of incorporation of the
Jews in the Russian empire, and the provision of schools subservient to
that end. The ukase contains only the general principles, in accordance
with which the system of organization is to be modelled. Former
ordinances have required the attendance of the Jewish youth at the
general schools; by this decree, schools are to be provided at the
government expense, for their use especially, and to consist of two
classes:—elementary schools, for all practical purposes similar to
those already existing;—and seminaries for the training of Rabbis and
teachers. The Emperor, in signing the ukase, protests that it is bonâ
fide for the advantage of the Jews themselves; and he claims the hearty
co-operation of his Jewish subjects in carrying it into effect.
The
frost leaves us without our Jewish sources of information; and we have
nothing before us but a translation of the ukase itself.* As we have
said elsewhere, if the design be truly what it professes to be (and why
should it not be?—if the Emperor be any thing but a madman, he must
know that it is his interest to
be sincere in this matter:) and
if it be merely some exaggerated, though not unnatural mistrust, which
prevents the co-operation for which he appeals,—then how glorious
would be the privilege of some body of Jewish statesmen who might
interpose, and, obtaining the proper guarantees, enable the Emperor to
become indeed a father to his Jewish subjects; and those subjects to
become the worthiest and most valuable children of his care!
It
will without doubt be remembered by our readers, that an imperial ukase,
dated 26th June, forbids the erection of any synagogue within a
prescribed distance from an orthodox Greek Church. It appears that the
Emperor, in his own hand, has added a clause preventing the application
of this ukase to any synagogue already existing; except in the case of
wooden erections, requiring to be rebuilt.
Another
imperial ukase provides, that in every asylum for children in which
Jewish children are inmates, a religious teacher of that faith, as well
as a Jewish cook, shall be attached thereto.
A correspondent of the A. Z. d. J.,
writing from St. Petersburg, gives a highly interesting account of the
Jewish soldiers and their religious constancy. There are at least 20,000
men of this faith in the Russian army and navy; and their characteristic
devotion to the requirements of their ritual, under the most difficult
and trying circumstances, must be a matter of the utmost surprise to
those who do not know what his religion is to the Jew. The narrator, who
is a Jew himself, writes as if inspired by the spectacle here presented.
“Nothing
can better testify to the strength and constancy of attachment to
Judaism which prevail in Russia, than the conduct of these soldiers. It
is indeed something to move a Jewish soul, and rejoice a Jewish heart,
to witness how religion pierces through every obstacle, and how exalted
is that strength of faith in God, which finds the joy of life in
self-devotion, and the rich reward of a thousand privations, in the
hallowing consciousness of duty fulfilled. It is an ennobling spectacle,
thus almost unconsciously presented by these poor men; for, in despite
of their manifold hindrances, we see the Sabbath—with its peaceful
joys and family ties, conjugal fidelity, paternal and filial love; nay,
even the passion for biblical study, and the absorbing devotion to
ceremonial observance, all upheld with a pride which is priestly and
patriarchal. It is the deep reverence for the past of Judaism; with its
powerful, all-pervading institutions, which thus possesses the heart of
the observer; and the spirit unconsciously asks the question:—Will
reform, with its ceaseless clang, be equally powerful for the
preservation of the religion of our fathers, equally sanctifying,
equally cheering to the soul, as the past, with its peaceful,
restraining tendencies?”
Religious congregations have thus been formed in
the arsenal of Kronstadt, and in the various garrison towns. The
narrator proceeds to give an account of those existing in St.
Petersburg.
One
place of worship is used by the Jews in the various regiments of the
guards. Here, from 400 to 500 men assemble on sacred days. Another is
frequented by the armourers, and accommodates about 200; and a third is
on the opposite side of the Neva (at Wessili-Ostrow), where the
attendance is smaller.
“I
attended, during the last holidays, the prayer meeting of the armourers.
A spacious quadrangular room had been devoted to the purpose since 1837;
the income since then, partly from the sale of מצות,
partly from freewill offerings, has enabled them to give it the
appearance of a proper synagogue. First, they provided an ark; then a בימה
(reading desk), and at last they were able to partition off a place for
the females, (they are nearly all married). Of course they have their ספר
תורה (sacred roll), and they have made a
sufficient number of suspended candlesticks, as also set up the usual
tableaux with various prayers; all being ornamented either with the
Imperial crown or the double eagle. On week days, if their time permit
it, they pray with מנין
(ten male adults); otherwise each performs his devotions alone. The
afternoon service is often protracted, so as to extend to the time of
evening service; as was the case one evening when I joined them in
consequence of having יאהר
צייט (the anniversary of a parent’s
death,) and found a sturdy smith pouring over the cabalistic שער
היראה. On the Sabbath the usual
services are performed, with evidently heartfelt devotion, by an
assemblage dressed in the various uniforms of the soldiery, the
regimental bands, and the hospital service. After the custom of their
homes, according to which no Jew goes to pray without binding on a
girdle, they tie their handkerchiefs over their uniforms. In order that
every one may be called to the reading of the Law as frequently as
possible, three of the sacred rolls are taken out of the ark; one being
read on the בימה,
and the others on side tables: of course different soldiers are called
to each. As it often happens that the ukase obliges some to work as
armourers in the same house on the Sabbath day, they hasten, at the time
when קדושה
is said, to run in to their brethren, even with their black hands and
aprons; and it is a moving spectacle to witness them thus, in their
heartfelt and all-absorbing devotion, joining in the threefold
ascription of holiness to our Almighty Father.”— Voice of Jacob,
No. 93.
In addition to the above we find the subjoined in
No. 97.
“The
narrator of the particulars concerning the Jews in the Russian army and
navy, given in our No. 93, has now concluded his sketch. It includes
some interesting details of the consecration of a ספר
תורה (Pentateuch roll), on the 1st
day of Selichoth. One of the soldiers (a shoemaker) had written it at
Sklow; and another, having learned turning from a German, had made עץ
חיים (the wooden rollers to which the
writing is affixed) for it, ornamenting them with Hebrew letters, neatly
cut in ivory and mother-of-pearl. As the Jews in garrison at Petersburgh
had not elected a Rabbi; they had to send for one to Kronstadt. He is
also a soldier, but is allowed, in respect to his office, to officiate
in the Jewish caftan and fur cap. He
brought with him the Chazan and his assistants. The Synagogue was
brilliantly illuminated, and the sepher laid out, in order that every
one so minded might have the privilege of writing a letter in the few
last lines, left unwritten, as usual, for that purpose. Prayers and
hymns followed, and then the congregation adjourned to a festival, at
the cost of the shoemaker and those who had written in the sepher. The preparatory days thus appropriately commenced,
the usual service was performed at 2 o’clock every morning, until the
New Year festival, when the service was performed by two competent
Chazanim, elected by the soldiery from among themselves. The Kantonists (children, too young for active military service),
were brought during those sacred days from their schools, and allowed to
remain with the soldiers at their own cost. In the ע״י
תשובה (penance days), the hedging
in of the burial-ground was finished, (thanks to the aid of two Jewish
dentists in Petersburgh;) and on the Day of Atonement, offerings were
made to all their humble charities. For the feast of Succoth, they had a
pretty little tabernacle at the canteen. The narrator was present at a
wedding, solemnized most affectingly. The difficulties of courtship and
marriage to these poor people are indeed formidable; and he tells a tale
of a young pair, who had the boldness to petition the Emperor himself,
and obtained his permission. In describing the ceremony, the narrator
hazards an opinion on the ancient custom of leading the bride three
[sic! seven--Webmaster.] times round the bridegroom;—he
attributes it to a desire to disregard the eastern (Gentile) system of
not allowing the husband to see his wife till after the marriage. All these particulars are deeply
interesting, and they exhibit the all-sufficiency of that trust in God,
with which these Jews can obey His ordinances, and even be cheerful
despite their hardships. But after all, the narrator is evidently giving
the bright side of the picture only. That the conscription seizes hold
of all ages, and all ranks, is evidently a great fact, and one painful
to contemplate notwithstanding these consolatory particulars.”
[Hasidic
version of these events.] |
