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Birmingham, England, 2d Dec. [1842] It gives us pleasure to
announce, that the Philosophical faculty of the Protestant University of
Giessen has conferred the dignities of Doctor of Philosophy, and Master
of Arts upon the Rev. Morris Jacob Raphall, Lecturer to the Birmingham
Synagogue, and Head Master of the Hebrew National School there. These
distinctions, conferred upon the Rev. Gentleman unsolicited, and
altogether free of expense, have given great satisfaction, not only to
his own congregation, but to those liberal-minded men of all creeds, who
can recognize talent in those who differ from them. Similar honours have
been conferred, by the same learned body, upon two eminent Unitarian
Divines in this country.
For some time past
the Jewish Gazette has held up to its readers the necessity of founding
an Israelitish hospital at Jerusalem. When we reflect on the misery of
the Israelites of that city, on the yet imperfect state of medicine, and
even of the ordinary rules of health in the East, and lastly on the
efforts of Europeans in favour of the Christians, such an idea merits
all our sympathy. If charity were general for all the unfortunates in
that land, we might be able to confine ourselves to a contribution to
some philanthropic establishment; but since the Jews are forgotten, by
everybody except the missionaries, it is but just that we should recall
to our minds, that they profess our belief, and that they are
unfortunate. If this thought finds an echo in France, the Archives will
open their columns, in order to cause it to arrive at a successful
result.
In imitation of our contemporaries,
we open the Occident for the same beneficial object; and should any
contributions be entrusted to us to further the good work already
commenced by Sir Moses Montefiore, we shall be happy to transmit them to
the proper quarter in England. --ED. OF THE OCCIDENT.
The Leipzig Gazette contains the following:
During the coming
year, the Israelites of Poland will be subject to the military
enlistment law, and will not be able to get clear by the payment of
money. They are already making up the muster-rolls. Men from the age of
eighteen to twenty-five are to be called into service; the Rabbins alone
are to be exempt from this military service, which is to be of ten
years' duration.
Mr. Marx, director of the
Israelitish school at Nancy, has been elected Rabbi of Bayonne.
Mr. Charleville, preacher at Lyons, has been
elected Rabbi of Dijon.
The twelfth volume
of the translation of the Bible by Mr. Cahen has just appeared.
It contains the twelve smaller prophets, and is accompanied by an
inedited commentary of Rabbi Tanhum, with a translation and notes by Mr.
S. Munk.
(We take this opportunity to inform our readers
that for about ten years past, the learned editor of the Archives
Israelites has been engaged in translating the Scriptures into French,
of which we have unfortunately not seen any part as yet, with the single
exception of the introduction (on the Hebrew worship, by Mr. Munk) to
the book of Numbers. We should judge that the whole work will be
completed in eighteen volumes. The thirteenth is now in press. The cost
of each volume on common paper is six francs, and nine on fine paper.-
Ed. Oc.)
At Geneva the Israelites
have addressed a petition to the council of state, to demand the free
exercise of their worship: the council has refused. Let us hope that
this refusal may not be final. Shall a Protestant republic be less
tolerant than the autocrat of Russia? The mind feels an agreeable
sensation in seeing a spirit more in consonance with the times
prevailing at Argau. The journals of this canton give some very
interesting. details concerning the opening of the Jewish school at
Lengau.
Dr. [Louis] Loewe
writes to the Orient that Sir Moses Montefiore had remitted to Col.
Churchill, who has just returned to the East, a small capital, for the
purpose of making loans to the poor Israelites of Palestine, in sums
from five hundred to a thousand piasters, for which they are to pay two
or three per cent, in order to keep the capital entire.
The editor of the Orient observes with reason, on
occasion of the discussion concerning the money which is every year sent
from Europe to the poor of Palestine, that true assistance does not
consist in the distribution of alms, but in giving to the poor the means
of raising themselves. Alms keep up poverty, whilst loans furnish them
with the means of relieving themselves from it.
Alexandrow, a Cossack
village in the Caucasus, is almost entirely inhabited by Jews. Their
language, their exterior, their garments, several of their customs are
Russian: their religion is the Jewish religion. They practice
circumcision, celebrate the Sabbath, and the principal Jewish feasts,
but their Bible is in the ancient Slavonian. Up to this time it has not
been discovered when and in what manner these people have exchanged
Christianity for Judaism. The real Jews despise them, and call them Subbotnics,
Sabbath-people. Having come from various governments of Russia, they
have established themselves at Alexandrow, and up
to 1838 they have been peasants, small burghers and traders. In
that year, Emperor Nicholas, on his return from Georgia, gave, them the
right of Cossacks, Among a population of 130,000 souls which are found
in the Caucasus, there are 1500 of these Subbotnics.
(We were informed in the beginning of last autumn
of the existence of this curious body of men by a native Russian, but
paid very little attention to his narration, believing it almost too
strange to be true; when singular enough, the account is more than
confirmed by the above extract from the latest Jewish Journal which we
think has as yet reached America. ED.)
According to the
last resolution of the burghers of Hamburg, the Israelites can
acquire landed property in all parts of the city and territories. A
violent opposition against this measure has formed itself in and out of
the council, not from religious, political, or scientific motives, but
from motives springing from private interest. It is known that there are
but seven thousand Jews at Hamburg.
They write
from Christiania (Norway) under date of October, 22: Four deputies,
Messrs. Waelstedt, Staf, Ole-Sociberg, and Henry Schmidt, who, during
the last session of the Storthing, (General Assembly of Norway) voted
against the bill for the admission of the Israelites to a residence in
that kingdom, and to enjoy there all the rites of citizenship, have just
published, that one would deceive himself greatly were he to believe
that it is from hatred or prejudice against the Jews that they would
vote in this manner; that, quite on the contrary, they are fully
convinced that the acquisition of good citizens, of whatever religion
they may be, cannot be otherwise than useful to a country as yet so
thinly peopled as Norway; and that the only motive which induced them to
vote against the bill in question is, that it contained only a
half-measure, inasmuch as it suffered to remain in full force that
article of the constitutional charter which interdicts the exercise of
every mode of worship other than that of the state, that is to say,
Christianity according to the Augsburg confession; that they themselves
intend to propose at the next session of the Storthing a bill having for
its object, first to render free the exercise of all religions, and
secondly, to repeal the article of the charter which excludes the Jews
from Norway.
We learn that the Rev.
S. E. Cohen Noot, who lately arrived in the United States from Holland,
was on Sunday last, the second day of Nissan, elected Hazan of the
Congregation "House of Israel" of this city.
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