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Title: Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ
Author: Rev. A. Bernstein, B.D.
Release Date: October 12, 2011 [EBook #37734]
Language: English
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SOME
JEWISH WITNESSES
FOR
CHRIST.
BY
Rev. A. BERNSTEIN, B.D.
_Price One Shilling and Sixpence._
PRINTED AT THE
OPERATIVE JEWISH CONVERTS' INSTITUTION,
PALESTINE HOUSE, BODNEY ROAD, LONDON, N.E.
1909.
PREFACE.
This book has grown very considerably in the making, and what was
expected to form a comparatively small pamphlet has become quite a
substantial volume. It is probable that if still more time could have
been spent upon it, its size would have been greatly increased, for the
fact of the matter is that there have been and are many more Jewish
witnesses for Christ than can readily be enumerated. But the author has
all along been very desirous that his work should appear in the
Centenary Year of the London Society for Promoting Christianity amongst
the Jews, the same year which has seen the production of the History of
that Society written by its gifted and deeply lamented Secretary, the
late Rev. W. T. Gidney. The two books are companion works of reference,
and in relation to Jewish missions they are both of inestimable value.
In some degree the one supplements the other, because the biographies
indicate many of the results of the various missionary enterprises
recorded in the History.
That Hebrew Christians should publish the arguments which have convinced
them that Jesus is the Messiah, not merely for their own vindication,
but rather to lead others to the same conviction, is not at all
surprising. It is, however, peculiarly noteworthy that their literary
efforts have not been limited to those of an apologetic nature, but
that, on the contrary, they have made valuable contributions to almost
all the departments of human knowledge. The learned author has rendered
this one of the most pleasing features of his work, and it has evidently
afforded him no little gratification to exhibit clearly the vast
erudition of his numerous brethren.
The Rev. F. L. Denman, the other Secretary of the Society, has read the
proofs, and has done all in his power to secure accuracy, yet as many
authorities have been consulted, and all are not of equal reliability,
it is probable that some errors have been overlooked, and those to which
readers kindly draw attention will be corrected in any future edition.
H. O. ALLBROOK,
_Principal of the Operative Jewish
Converts' Institution._
JEWISH WITNESSES FOR CHRIST.
INTRODUCTION.
THE history of the Mission to the Jews is coeval with the history of the
Christian Church. The names of Christ's disciples mentioned in the
Gospels are nearly all those of Jews, and in the Epistles a great many
of them are of Jewish converts. But the general reader of the New
Testament does not realize the fact, because it was the fashion among
the Jews at that time to assume Greek names. For instance, several of
St. Paul's relatives bearing Greek names became Christians, but we
should not know that they were Jews if the Apostle had not written,
"Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen." Again, "Lucius, and Jason, and
Sosipater, my kinsmen" (Rom. xvi. 7 and 21). Whilst where we have not
this information with regard to other such names, we take it for granted
that they were Gentiles. For instance, Zenas, mentioned in Titus iii.
13, is naturally taken by the general reader for a Greek, yet scholars
maintain that he had formerly been a Jewish scribe or lawyer.
The aim of this work is to shew that God had at all times in the history
of the Christian Church a considerable number of believing Israelites
who, after their conversion to Christianity, rendered good service to
their fellowmen and to the Church of Christ at large. Out of this
company of "the remnant according to the election of grace," only a very
few comparatively have their names recorded in history. The names of the
great majority are written in the Book of Life alone. But as in the
prophet Ezekiel--Noah, Job and Daniel--and as in the Epistle to the
Hebrews--the short list of the Old Testament saints--are the
representatives of a large number, so may the converts mentioned in this
book be considered as representatives of a vast number of their brethren
who had the courage and the grace given them to take up the cross and
follow Jesus.
Yet, of course, to give a mere nomenclature, or catalogue, of persons
would not signify much unless it were followed by a description of the
life and work of the persons concerned. The material thereto is
abundant--there is a vast literature upon the subject--as will be
presently seen, with the exception of that which refers to Jewish
converts of the Eastern Church. The sublime maxim, "One soweth and
another reapeth," is peculiarly applicable to a biographical writer. He
cannot and must not be original, but has to state the facts in the life
of the person whom he attempts to delineate, just as he finds them
recorded in books, or letters, or as he knows them from personal
observation. But it is obvious that the latter can only be the case when
the subject of a biographer's writing is a contemporary and known to
himself.
The following are the sources from which the writer has immediately
drawn his information:--
(1.) "The Jewish Encyclopædia." Every contributor to this remarkable
work of 12 volumes is well-known in the literary and religious world as
a reliable authority upon the subject of his article.
(2.) "Juden Mission, a history of Protestant Missions among the Jews
since the Reformation," by Pastor de le Roi, well-known and esteemed in
the churches on the Continent and beyond its borders.
(3.) "Christen und Juden," by the late Rev. A. Fürst, D.D., formerly a
Missionary and Pastor at Amsterdam, and well acquainted with Spanish
literature.
(4.) "Jewish Witnesses that Jesus is the Christ," by the Rev. Ridley
Herschell (father of Lord Chancellor Herschell), who gives his
autobiography and the lives of several personal friends.
(5.) "The People, the Land and the Book," by B. A. M. Schahiro, of the
Bible House, New York.
(6.) "The Hebrew Christian Witness," by the Rev. Dr. Moses Margoliouth,
1874-5.
(7.) "Sites and Scenes," by the Rev. W. T. Gidney, M.A.
(8.) "The Talmud," whose testimony is very reliable when it speaks of
Jewish Christians.
Ultimate sources of information, and ulterior literature, to which
nearly all these writers refer, are as follows: "Wolf, Bibliotheca
Hebraica." "Gräetz, Geschichte der Juden." "Hetzel, Gesch. der
Hebraischen Sprache." "Fürst, Bibl. Jud." "Steinschneiders
Bibliographisches Handbuch." "Catalogue Bodl." "Dict. Nat Biog."
"Meyer's Conversations Lexikon." "Da Costa's History of the Jews in
Spain." "Kalkar, Die Mission unter den Juden." "The Jewish Missionary
Intelligence." "The Jewish Missionary Herald." "Saat auf Hoffnung," by
Professor F. Delitzsch, of Leipzig. "Nathanael," by Professor Strack, of
Berlin. Other biographical dictionaries and histories.
CHAPTER I.
APOSTOLIC PERIOD.
The Apostolic Period began on the day of Pentecost when the disciples
who were gathered together were a hundred and twenty in number (Acts i.
15), but were only a section of the 500 brethren who had seen the Lord
after His resurrection (I. Cor. xv. 6). On the same day, as the result
of St. Peter's first missionary sermon, "there were added unto them
about three thousand souls" (Acts ii. 41). A short time afterwards "the
number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great
company of the priests were obedient to the faith" (Acts vi. 7). This
progress continued to such a degree that St. James, after hearing the
interesting missionary report of St. Paul, "about the things which God
had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry," said to him, "Thou
seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe"
(Acts xxi. 20). How glad we should have been if we had some account of,
at least, the more prominent converts of that period, and knew something
of the sufferings that they had to endure for the sake of Christ.
Nevertheless, the Acts of the Apostles, though containing much in
relation to the progress of the Gospel among Jews and Gentiles, gives
but little information with regard to Jewish individual conversions, and
mentions only two Jewish Christian martyrs--namely, St. Stephen and
James the Elder--and is even silent about the exclusion of Jewish
converts from the Temple, which we gather only from the Epistle to the
Hebrews. This fact is to us an evidence that St. Luke, the first
ecclesiastical historian, had no design to shew to the world the
inherent power of the Gospel exemplified by the conversion of many of
the very people who had rejected Christ, and it proves the genuineness
and authenticity of the Acts of the Apostles and the date commonly
assigned, for had it been written later, as some critics maintain, the
author would surely have taken the trouble to give his readers some
detailed information concerning at least one per cent. of that vast
multitude of Jewish converts mentioned by St. James. Such is the method
of the ecclesiastical historian in modern as well as in ancient times,
as the following two examples will shew: Pastor de le Roi, Jewish
missionary historian, has for years not only collected statistics of
Jewish converts in various churches, and summed up the whole number as
being 224,000 in the nineteenth century, but he has also furnished us
with a great deal of information concerning the history of many of these
converts. For, as the Rev. W. T. Gidney rightly says, "Jewish converts
must be weighed as well as counted." The second example is Hegesippus,
who, according to Eusebius, was a Palestinian Hebrew Christian, and
lived in Rome about 150 A.D. He is the father of Church history, and
wrote a book under the title "Hyponeymata Pente," with the special
design to answer the question of the Pharisees, "Have any of the rulers
believed in Him?" and to shew that the Gospel made rapid progress among
the Jews in the first century in spite of great opposition. Of this
opposition the Jewish Liturgy to this day bears witness in the so-called
"Blessing against the heretics," which Samuel the Little composed in the
Synagogue of Yabne, in the presence of Gamaliel the Elder. Justin Martyr
in his Dialogue, Origen in Homily 18, Jerome on Isaiah, complained of
it, and it has, alas, been a source of trouble to the Jews at various
times throughout the Christian ages. Hegesippus supplies information
about a number of Jewish sects, who regarded each other as heretics. It
is a pity that the greater part of his book has been lost, and we have
only a few fragments in "Euseb. History iv.," and an extract in "Photius
Bibliotheca" (page 232). That probably contained detailed information
about the more prominent converts in the Apostolic age. Still, the most
valuable relic for us is his list of Hebrew Christian bishops in regular
succession in the mother Church at Jerusalem. These are as follows:
James, the Lord's brother (Gal. i. 19), of whom Hegesippus states that
he was martyred while praying in the Temple. Symeon about 62 A.D.,
Justus I. 64, Zacchæus 112, Tobias 114, Benjamin 116, Justin 118,
Matthias 120, Philip 122, Seneca 125, Justus II. 126, Levi 128, Ephres
130, Joseph 132, Jude 133. The shortness of their episcopates probably
indicates that it was a time of great tribulation. To this list may
perhaps be added Ananias, who baptized Saul of Tarsus at Damascus, and,
according to tradition, was subsequently bishop there and suffered
martyrdom (See "Schaff. Bible Dictionary"); Crispus, Chief of the Jewish
Synagogue (Acts xviii. 8), who, according to tradition ("Constituit
Apost." vii. 46), was afterwards Bishop of Ægina; Clement, of Rome, who,
according to Bishop Lightfoot, was an Hellenistic Jewish convert or son
of a convert. The bishop came to this conclusion, after weighing much
the internal evidence of his Epistle to the Corinthians.[1]
[1] Rev. Dr. Giles writes: "In the 'Homiles and Recognitiones,' falsely
ascribed to Clement, his father is said to have been one Faustinus,
descended from the family of the Roman Cæsars, and this absurd fable is
copied in the 'Liber Pontificates,' or book of the Roman Pontiffs, and
in the work of Eusebius, Bishop of Lyons." ("Hebrew Records," vol. ii.
294).
Two of the converts of the first century are mentioned in the Talmud and
receive there an excellent testimonial. The first is Nicodemus,
identical, according to the writer in the "Jewish Encyclopædia," with
Nicodemus ben Gorian. He is said to have been a great saint. The other
is Jacob of Kefar Sakanya (Simai). He once met R. Eliezer in the upper
market-place of Sepphoris and asked his opinion on a curious ritualistic
question bearing upon Deut. xxiii. 8. As R. Eliezer declined to give an
opinion, Jacob acquainted him with the interpretation of Jesus derived
from Micah i. 7. R. Eliezer was pleased with the interpretation, and was
consequently suspected of Christian leanings by the governor (Abodah
Zarah, 17. a). On another occasion, Jacob went to heal R. Eleasar ben
Dama of a poisonous bite by a serpent in the name of Jesus, but his
uncle, R. Ishmael, would not allow it. Jacob said to him, Rabbi Ishmael,
my brother, let me heal him, and I will prove to you from the Torah,
that it is allowed, but R. I. was obstinate. In the meantime the patient
died, and his uncle apostrophized the corpse in these words: "Happy art
thou Ben Dama that thy body is pure and thy soul departed in purity, as
thou hast not transgressed the words of thy fellow rabbis" (Abodah
Zarah, 27. b).
CHAPTER II.
SUB-APOSTOLIC OR PATRISTIC PERIOD.
Besides Hegesippus, one reckoned among the church fathers was
Epiphanius, a native Jew of Palestine, who embraced Christianity at
sixteen years of age, and eventually became Bishop of Constantia, and
died at sea (according to Bartolocci) in 403 A.D. He wrote a book
entitled, "Panarion," in which he gives information about eighty
heretical sects, including Jewish; also a treatise on Biblical weights
and measures and on the lives of the Prophets, in which he makes Hebrew
quotations.
Another noted Jewish convert belonging to this period was Joseph, a
physician of Tiberias (called by the Jews "The Apostate"). He had been a
member of the Sanhedrin in his native town, was sent by them as a
delegate to the Jews in Cilicia, where he became acquainted with the
Christian bishop, who gave him a New Testament. According to Milman
(vol. iii., p. 179) he was detected reading it, was hurried to the
synagogue and scourged. The bishop interfered. But he was afterwards
seized again and thrown into the river Cydnus, from which he hardly
escaped with his life, and was baptized. On his return he told his
friends in Palestine that the Gospel made progress among the enlightened
Jews. The Emperor Constantine elevated him to the rank of Comes or Count
of the Empire, and he devoted his life to the building of churches at
Tiberias, Capernaum, Nazareth, and Sepphoris (Dio Cæsarea). It is worth
mentioning in this connection the report of Epiphanius that Hillel, who
succeeded his father Judah II. in the patriarchate of Tiberias, embraced
Christianity and was secretly baptized on his death-bed by a bishop.
Joseph, his physician (says Milman) had witnessed the scene which
wrought strongly upon his mind. The house of Hillel after his death was
kept closely shut up by his suspicious countrymen. Joseph obtained
entrance, and found there the Gospels of St. John and of St. Matthew,
and the Acts in a Hebrew translation.[2]
[2] This is denied by Gräetz. See article in the "Jewish Encyclopædia,"
where it is asserted that this Hillel was honoured by Julian the
Apostate. But we have also the solution of the difficulty there. It is
avowed that there is no clear distinction between Juda II. and Juda III.
Milman says distinctly that this Hillel was the son of Juda II., whereas
Jewish writers make him to be the son of Juda III.
Tabius, of high priestly descent, son of one Anan, probably the one who
was sent on embassy to the Emperor Claudius, is also mentioned by
ecclesiastical writers as having embraced Christianity.
Asher ben Levi, called Abed al Masih, lived in the fourth century in
Sinjar Mesopotamia. His school companions, both Zoroastrian and
Christian, shunned him, but the latter on one occasion baptized him.
Asher's mother hid him from his father, who was a warden of the
synagogue, fearing his anger, but he was eventually killed by him. A
church was built afterwards in his memory. There is a Syriac MS. which
contains this story.
Jacob, of Kefar Neuburaya, another Hebrew Christian of the fourth
century, is mentioned in the Talmud as one whose opinions met with
approval by the rabbis in two instances. One of those may be quoted. In
the School of Cæsarea he interpreted Hab. ii. 19 as being a rebuke of
simony. On the same occasion he indicated Ben Eleazer as being a worthy
candidate for the rabbinate (Yer. Bik. iii. 3. Midr. Shemuél vii.). Isi,
of Cæsarea counts him among the Judæo-Christians, applying to him the
Biblical word sinner (Eccl. R. vii. 47). The appellation Jacob Minah I.
= Jacob the heretic, met with in the Medrashim, may refer to the same
subject of the article in the "Jewish Encyclopædia." As its author is
Dr. Max Seligsohn, the official editor, we may assume that it is now
granted that by the word Minim in the Jewish Liturgy is meant Jewish
Christians. No wonder then that these have always protested, and
sometimes rather too vehemently, against the collect, and wished it to
be expunged.
CHAPTER III.
THE PERIOD OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE TALMUD.
When the Jewish Christians fled to Pella, at the time of the destruction
of Jerusalem, their brethren the rabbinists were very angry with them,
and probably accused them of want of patriotism, as we know they did
afterwards, because they did not enlist in the army of the false
Messiah, Bar-Cochba. However, during the first Christian centuries the
separation between them was not quite so wide and marked as after the
publication of the Talmud. The Talmud itself testifies that asperities
were occasionally smoothed over by continual intercourse and exchange of
thought on religious and other topics. Yes, even friendship was
possible. It is related that a heretic sent once on one of his own
feasts an imperial coin as a present to R. Juda Nasia. (Abodah Zarah
5._b_). The feeling of resentment against Jewish Christians gradually
diminished. This may be seen from the following amusing story. A certain
heretic once annoyed R. Joshua ben Levi whilst he was reading the
Scriptures, probably with questions as to the meaning of a Messianic
prophecy. R. Joshua, believing that there is a certain moment in the day
when God is angry, because it is written, "For His anger endureth but a
moment" (Ps. xxx. 5), and believing too that this moment is indicated
by a curious natural phenomenon, when the comb of a cock gets red, he
tied a cock to the foot of the bed and patiently watched for the sign,
so that he might have a good opportunity of cursing the heretic during
the moment of God's anger. But before that moment came he fell asleep,
and when he awoke he noticed that the cock's comb remained white as
before, so he concluded that it was not right to curse any one, for it
is written "The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all
His works" (Ps. cxlv. 9). Again "Also to punish the just is not good."
(Prov. xvii. 26) (Abodah Zarah 4_h_.)
The two classes used generally to meet in a public library called
[Hebrew: bi avidan] or in another place of assembly called [Hebrew: bi
netzrafi] and we may rightly infer that some, at all events, of the
beautiful sayings in the Talmud which resemble N. T. passages are due to
the influence of the Hebrew Christians upon the rabbis in their
discussions with them during the time when the Talmud as such, or at
least the Gemara, was only in the course of formation. One passage will
suffice to show that the rabbis during this period were well acquainted
with the N. T. There was once a discussion between R. Gamaliel and a
Christian (called a philosopher) with regard to the law of inheritance.
The Christian maintained that inasmuch as a woman is placed on an equality
with a man in the N. T., she has an equal right with her brother to inherit
the parental property. To that Gamaliel replied by quoting Matt. v. 17,
with a very slight alteration to suit his purpose. [Hebrew: ana lo
lemifhat min oryata demoshe etiti velo leosfi al oryata demoshe etiti.]
"I have not come to destroy the law of Moses, nor have I come to add to
the law of Moses" (Shabbath 116 b). Moreover, the fact that some Rabbis
at that time thought that the Evangelium should be burned--and also
Hebrew Christian books generally--proves that they were acquainted with
the contents, but does not shew that they were very bitterly hostile to
their brethren, and they may have even referred to gnostic writings.
Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho, probably R. Tarphon mentioned in
the Talmud, is well known.
It was otherwise after the Babylonian Talmud was finished in the fifth
century. This huge building--which Scribes, Tanas, Amoras, and later
gaons, tosafits, and quite a number of commentators in successive
generations have reared up--was like the Tower of Babel, and brought
confusion within the ranks of the Jews. The following is the language of
one who took a leading part in laying one stone upon another: What is
Babel? R. Johanon said: It is confused in the Scripture, confused in the
Mishnah, and confused in the six orders of the Talmud. "He hath set me
in darkness as they that be dead of old" (Lam. iii. 6). Rav Yirmiah
said: This refers to the Babylonian Talmud. It formed an iron partition
between Judæo-Christians and their brethren. While formerly tradition
was only handed down by word of mouth, and many were liable to forget or
disregard it, when once it was written, codified and taught in the
synagogues and schools to all except women, the poor, unenlightened
people in their joy at being at last able to read the oral law, which
was pretended to have been given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai at the
same time as the written law, clave to it with all the enthusiastic
ardour of their souls, and refused to have anything to do with the
Gospel or the Christian religion.
Milman relates a legend of this time which was current in the sixth
century; though it is in an exaggerated form, yet on the whole it is
quite credible. "While Menas was Bishop of Constantinople, the child of
a Jewish glassblower went to church with the rest and partook of the
sacred elements. The father inquiring the cause of his delay, discovered
what he had done. In his fury he seized him and shut him up in the
blazing furnace. The mother went wandering about the city, wailing and
seeking her lost offspring. The third day she sat down by the door of
the workshop, still weeping, and calling on the name of the child. The
child answered from the furnace. The doors were forced open, and the
child was discovered sitting unhurt amid the red-hot ashes. Subsequently
the mother and child were baptized." (Milman's "History of the Jews,"
vol. iii. p. 230.)
For several centuries we do not hear of many distinguished Jews
embracing Christianity, and though it is asserted that whole
congregations in Candia did so in the seventh century, it is not our
object to investigate this. Undoubtedly, after the rise of
Mohammedanism, the Church had enough to do to stand on her defence
against the new and even more fanatical antagonist, and the Jews were on
the whole neglected. Besides, there were scarcely any Christian teachers
who understood Hebrew, and the N. T. was not yet translated into the
sacred tongue. Yet we find one very distinguished Jewish convert in the
seventh century. This was Julian of Toledo, Primate of Spain, called by
one of his successors, "A rose among thorns." He was baptized in the
cathedral of his native place, became archdeacon in 656, Bishop in 680,
and died in 690. He was President of the Twelfth Council of Toledo when
he urged King Erwig to pass some severe laws against his former
co-religionists, prohibiting them to blaspheme the Trinity and to
possess Christian slaves. Nevertheless, the writer in the "Jewish
Encyclopædia" speaks of him "as a man of great sagacity and discretion,
prudent in judgment, very charitable, and tempering severity with
mildness," and further informs us that he used to associate with the
Jews. Consequently, he could not have been so very hostile against them.
But on this point it is necessary once for all to remark that the severe
opinion that used to be held by the Jews in general about Hebrew
Christians was, to a great extent, owing to the unfair judgment passed
upon them indiscriminately by Jewish historians. It is now acknowledged
that even the modern Gräetz was unfair in this respect. We by no means
want to exonerate the few bigots and fanatics like Nunes Henrique who
acted as spy of the Maranos, or others who agitated for the burning of
the Talmud, and strongly condemn men like Dr. Briman, so-called Justus,
the associate and abettor of the Roman Catholic Theologian Rohling at
Prague, in recent times, but it must be remembered that there is a great
difference between anti-Talmudists and anti-Semites, and that by far the
vast majority of Jewish converts, even in the ages of predominant
bigotry among Christians and Jews, have defended their brethren against
false accusations, as will be seen later on. To return from this
digression to Julian. He wrote, "Historia rebelleonis Pauli," also a
book under the title, "De comprobatione ætatis sextæ contra Judæos." The
work deals with Messianic prophecies of the Bible, in which he adopts
the chronology of the Septuagint, and addresses the Jews with these
words, "Viam perdidisti viam ergo se quere, ut per viam venias ad
salutem."
But even in that age, the eve of the so-called Middle Ages, the age of
the gaons, when there was a Prince of the Captivity in Babylon who
exercised supreme religious authority over the Jews in the East, and so
far as Spain and France, we hear occasionally a voice from the midst of
the Synagogue bearing an unwitting testimony for Christ. Cottan Mather,
in his "Faith of the Fathers," quotes the words of Rabbi Samuel Marachus
(Abbas Samuel Abbu Nasr Ibn) when speaking of the Messiah, as follows:
"The Prophet Amos mentions a fourth crime (ii. 6) of selling the Just
One for silver, for which we have been in our captivity. It manifestly
appears to me that for selling that Just One we are justly punished. It
is now 1000 years and more, and in all this we have made no good hand of
it among the Gentiles, nor is there any likelihood of our ever any more
turning to good. Oh, my God! I am afraid, lest the Jesus, whom the
Christians worship, be the Just One we sold for silver." (See "Lectures
on the Jews," p. 430, Glasgow, 1839.)
CHAPTER IV.
JEWISH CONVERTS IN THE EASTERN CHURCH.
Aleksyeyev, Aleksander (called Wolf Nachlass), born in 1820, at
Nazarevietz, government of Podolsk, of poor Jewish parents. At the age
of ten he was impressed into military service by the press-gang
(poimshchiki) of Nicolas I., and sent away to the distant city of
Volsks, government of Saratov. It was the political and missionary
policy of Nicolas I. to take young boys from their parents and to train
them in military schools, so that after they had completed their service
of twenty-five years, they might return home and act as missionaries to
their parents. Aleksyeyev for a long time resisted Christian teaching,
and the officials considered him a most stubborn subject. However, about
1845, he changed his views entirely, and not only became a member of the
Orthodox Russian Church, but managed to convert about five hundred
Jewish Cantonists, for which he was promoted in 1848 to the rank of a
non-commissioned officer, and was honoured by the Emperor's thanks.
About 1855, Aleksander was so unfortunate as to lose the use of his
legs. He then settled in Novogorod, and during his long illness wrote
the following works on ethnographic and missionary topics:--English
titles: 1. "The Triumph of Christian Teaching over the Talmudic
Teaching, or a Soul-saving Conversation of a Christian and a Jew on the
Coming of the Messiah" (St. Petersburg, 1859); 2. "Religious Service,
Holy Day and Religious Rites of the Jews To-day" (Novogorod, 1861); 3.
"The Public Life of the Jews, their Habits, Customs and Prejudices"
(_ib._ 1868); 4. "Colloquies of an Orthodox Christian with a
Newly-Converted Jew" (St. Petersburg, 1872); 5. "A Former Jew for
Monastries and Monasticism" (Novogorod, 1875); 6. "The Conversion to
Christianity of an Observer of the Jewish Law" (_ib._ 1882); 7. "Do the
Jews use Christian Blood?" (_ib._ 1886), and several others. His works
are interesting, as he was the first Jew in Russia to give a description
of the life and customs of his Jewish brethren. He refuted the absurd
and criminal blood accusation.
Gregory Bar-Hebræus (son of a Hebrew) Abu Ab-Foraj Ibu Harun, Jacobite
Syrian historian, physician, philosopher and theologian; born at
Malatia, Asiatic Turkey, 1226; died at Moragha, Persia, 1286. Gregory
first studied medicine under his father Aaron, who embraced
Christianity, and was probably baptized in his youth. This accounts for
his not being conversant with Hebrew, though he was well acquainted with
Jewish doctrines. He was successively Bishop of Guba (1246), of Lakaba
(1247), and of Aleppo (1253). In 1264 he was named "Mafriana," or
Primate of the Eastern Jacobites, with his seat at Tekrit on the Tigris.
Gregory was a prolific writer on theology, philosophy, ethics, history,
grammar, medicine, mathematics and astronomy. Some of his works were
written in Arabic, but most of them in Syriac. He was the last great
Syriac writer, though he is important rather as a collector than as an
independent writer. He is best known for his Syriac grammar, "Ketaba de
Semhe," his "Chronicle" in two parts, ecclesiastical and political; his
"Menarat Kudshe," a compendium of theology, philosophy, medicine,
physics and metaphysics, and his scholia on the Old and the New
Testament (Auzar Raze). In the last-named he occasionally cites readings
from the Samaritan text; it is interesting to note that in a scholium to
2 Kings xvii. 28, he says: "The Law (_i.e._ text of the Pentateuch) of
the Samaritans does not agree with that of the Jews, but with the
Septuagint." He occasionally cites opinions of the Jews, _e.g._, on Ps.
viii. 2, on the Shem Hamephorash (the name Jehovah). In the introduction
to his commentary on Job he mentions as a writer the priest Asaph
(brother of Ezra the Scribe), who identifies Job with Jobab. In speaking
of the Apocryphal account of the death of Isaiah, he cites "one of the
Hebrew books" as authority. (Nestle Marginalien ii. 48).
Rubinstein Anton Gregryevich (not to be confounded with Josef, also a
Russian great musician), was born 1829, in the village of Wetchwotgretz,
Bessarabia, died at Peterhof, near St. Petersburg, in 1894. His parents
embraced Christianity, and the children were probably baptized when
still young. Anton was first taught music by his mother (Katherina
Khristoferovna, _née_ Lowenstein), and then studied at Moscow. The great
services rendered by him in the advance of music in Russia were
recognized by the Czar, who decorated him with the Vladimir order.
Rubinstein Nikolai, born in Moscow 1835, died in Paris 1881, was the
brother of the above, and was well-known in England.
CHAPTER V.
JEWISH CONVERTS IN THE WESTERN CHURCH.
In giving an account of well-known Jewish converts in the Christian
Church, one is limited to the information which is supplied from sources
generally connected with the Western or Roman Catholic Church. The
subject naturally divides itself into two parts--(_a_) The
pre-reformation period, (_b_) The post-reformation period. In the former
the Roman Church displayed great zeal, though not according to
knowledge, in her energetic missionary enterprise among the Jews. There
was a missionary seminary in Spain in which men studied Hebrew
literature and qualified themselves for carrying on the controversy with
the Jews. Hence we read of frequent disputations which were held by the
Jewish and Gentile missionaries with the most learned rabbis, often in
the presence of bishops, noblemen, and princes. But, alas! the methods
employed were also often those of force and intrigue, and consequently
un-Christian in the extreme, and the converts thus gained were only such
in appearance, and this led as we know to the terrible Inquisition and
to the final expulsion of the Jews from Spain. In the latter period,
after the Reformation and onwards, the Roman Church has apparently
slackened her zeal for the conversion of the Jews. She has no distinct
missionary organization, and we only hear now and then of clandestine
abductions, generally through the instrumentality of domestic servants,
like the famous Mortara case and the Coen case in the time of Pius IX.,
and that of the Jewish girl of Prague, enticed into a nunnery, which
the _Jewish Chronicle_ reported a few years ago.
Nevertheless, among those who have voluntarily joined the Roman Church
in various centuries, we verily believe--on the ground of their social
standing, their public works, published writings and personal
character--that they embraced Christianity out of pure conviction, and
conscientiously discharged their duties according to the light that was
in them at the time.
The following is a list of Jewish Roman Catholic converts, who have
become historical, very often by making a good impression upon their
contemporaries, and having sought the welfare of the people from whom
they sprung. The names are given in alphabetical order, as this method
seems to be the more convenient for the compiler, and the time and
country in which they lived are added. As they all were members of one
Church, it is not very material to follow the centuries in regular
succession, or to treat of the countries they belonged to separately. An
exception is however made with regard to England, in which the "Domus
Conversorum," the house of converts in London, requires a separate
notice.
Abiathar ha Kohen Esther, of Saragossa, Spain, after her baptism, in the
fifteenth century, married Don Alfonso, son of the King of Aragon. Her
sister Leah also embraced Christianity, and married the Marano Martin
Sanchez. From them some of the Spanish nobility are descended.
Abilis, Simon, a convert in Prague. According to the report of the
Jesuit Eder, he was killed by his father, Lazarus, March 21, 1694,
because he refused to renounce Christianity. The father was put in
prison, where he committed suicide by hanging himself with his
phylacteries.
Abner, of Burgos (called also Alfonso of Valladolid), born in 1270, died
in 1348, became a Christian at the age of sixty. He was a physician by
profession, and learned in Talmud, philosophy and astronomy. He wrote
the following works: 1. "Moreh Zedek" (Teacher of Righteousness). 2. "A
Dialogue between a Christian and a Jew." 3. "A Reply to Kimchi's book
and on Wars of the Lord." 4. "Old Testament Foundations for Christian
Doctrines." 5. "Libro des los tres gracias." 6. "The Offering of
Jealousy." 7. "A Reply to Replies." 8. "Igereth hagezerah," in which he
gives reasons for his conversion.
Abraham Beneveniste, senior chief rabbi of Seville, together with his
son and son-in-law, also rabbis joined the Church in 1492, when they
assumed the name of Cosonel.
Abravanel Samuel (one of the three of the same name) was baptized in
1391, when he took the name of Juan de Sevilla.
Aemilius, Paulus, born in Breslau, Germany probably in the first part of
the sixteenth century, died at Rome in 1576. After embracing
Christianity he was appointed Professor of Hebrew at Ingoldstadt in
1547. He was the first Jewish bibliographer.
Alexander de Franciscis Hebraeus. As a Jew he was known as Elisha de
Roma. After his baptism in the sixteenth century he entered the Order
of the Dominican Friars, in which he distinguished himself as an orator.
Pope Clement VIII. appointed him proctor, then vicar-general, and
finally Bishop of Forli. He wrote--1. Hebrew notes on Genesis and
Exodus, with special reference to the text of the Vulgate. 2. A book
entitled "De Tempore et de Sanctis."
Alexanderson (Ben Alexander) Daniel. After embracing Christianity at
Rouen, in France, 1621, he wrote in Syriac or rabbinic an open letter,
giving the reasons for his conversion and calling upon his former
co-religionists to follow his example. The letter was translated into
several European languages, and went through two English editions.
(London, 1688 and 1703.)
Alfonsi Petrus (Moses Sephardi) was born at Huesca, Aragon, in 1062, and
died in 1110. He was physician to King Alfonso VI. After his baptism he
wrote a series of twelve dialogues between Moses and Pedro, _i.e._,
between himself as a Jew and a Christian.
Alonzo de Cartagena, son of Solomon ha Levi, or Paul of Burgos, was born
in Burgos, Spain, in 1385, and was baptized with his father, brothers
and sisters in 1391. After studying philosophy and law, he became deacon
of Santiago and Segovia. He and his brother, called Gonzalo Garcia,
represented Spain at the Council of Basel. Alonzo, who was called "the
joy of Spain and the delight of religion," published several
philosophical and theological works, as well as some erotic poems.
Andreas Johannes, a native of Xativa in the sixteenth century. After his
conversion he wrote a letter to the congregations of Southern France,
exhorting them to accept Christianity (Paris, 1552). His works which
were originally written in Spanish, were translated into Italian by
Domenio Castila (Seville, 1537), and frequently reprinted in Leipzig,
Venice and Utrecht.
Alfonso de Zamora, born about 1474, embraced Christianity in 1506, and
his father Juan did likewise. Alfonso became professor of Oriental
languages at the University of Salamanca. For over fifteen years he
laboured under the auspices of Cardinal Ximenes, in the preparation of
the Complutensian Polyglot. He wrote a number of grammatical and
lexicographical works, an Epistle in Hebrew and Latin to the Jews in
Rome, in which he tried to convince them of the truth of Christianity,
translations of Commentaries on Isaiah and Jeremiah, &c., an
Introduction to the Targum, and a polemical work entitled, "Libro de la
Sabiduria de Dios."
Anacletus II., Pietro Pierleoni Antipope to Innocent II., from 1130 to
1138. It is maintained that he was a very near descendant of one Baruch,
a rich Jew who had joined the Roman Church. There can be no doubt that
he was of Jewish origin, as Bernard of Clairvaux, a supporter of
Innocent, in a letter to Lothair, wrote that "to the shame of Christ a
man of Jewish origin was come to occupy the chair of St. Peter." He was
friendly to the Jews. This is interesting enough, but the more so,
because it gave rise to the legend of a Jewish Pope by the name of
Andreas, discovered among some penitential liturgies issued by Eliezer
Ashkenazi (Frankfurt on Maine, 1854.) In this it is said Andreas had
himself embraced Christianity, and become successively Cardinal and
Pope. In answer to an appeal from the Jews for protection against an
imminent persecution, he not only, by a speech, subdued the popular
passion but also calmed the Jews by sending them a penitential prayer
which had been composed in Hebrew, signed with his name Andreas.
Another legend in circulation among the Jews, varying in the details, is
that this Pope's name was Elhanan, the son of Simon the Great, a rabbi
of Mayence, who was kidnapped when quite a child by a servant, on the
Day of Atonement. And when he became Pope, the story of his origin was
told him by his old Professor of Wurzburg, when he summoned the Jews of
Mayence to send a delegation to Rome, to discuss the question between
Judaism and Christianity with him. Accordingly, his own father appeared
before him, and one evening made himself known to him by his birth-signs
or, as some say, by a peculiar move in chess which he had learned from
him. The result was that the Pope suddenly fled in disguise to Mayence
and returned to Judaism. But his end was either that he was forcibly
burned at the stake or that he committed suicide. (See "Sippurim," by J.
B. Brandeis, Prague) This is the Judea de Monti, whose Jewish name was
Joseph Zarafti, was born at Fez, hence he is sometimes called "Joseph
Moro," died before 1597. After his conversion to Christianity, he
laboured as a missionary to the Jews at Rome. He published the sermons
which he preached to them under the Hebrew title [Hebrew: mevuchat
hayehudim] ("Confusion of the Jews.") The Roman Jews then protested
to the Curia, when he issued a mild letter to them in 1581, under the
title [Hebrew: igeret shalom] ("Lettera de Pace.")
Aquin de Philippe, born at Carpentras about 1578, died in 1650 at Paris.
He was converted to Christianity in Aquino. His Jewish name was
Mordecai. He was a voluminous writer; the following is a list of his
works. 1. "Primigenæ Voces, sui Radices Breves Linguæ Sanctæ" (Paris,
1620). 2. "Pirke Aboth Sententiæ Rabbinarum Hebraices cum Latina
versione" (_ib._ 1620). 3. "Dessertation du Tabernacle et du camp des
Israelites" (_ib._ 1623). 4. "Interpretatio Arboris Cabbalisticae"
(_ib._ 1625). 5. "Behinat Olam" (L'Examen du Monde) of Yedaiah Bedersi,
Hebrew and French (_ib._ 1629). 6. "Ma'arik ha--Maareket, Dictionarum
Hebraicum Chaldaicum, Talmudico-Rabbinicum" (_ib._ 1629). 7. "Kina
Licrimae in Obitum Cardinalis de Berulli," Hebrew and Latin (_ib._
1629). 8. [Hebrew: yud gimel midot] "Veterum Rabbinorum in Exponendo
Pentateucho Modi tredecim" (_ib._ 1620).
Aquinas, Louis Henri de, son of the above, wrote a translation of the
commentary on the book of Esther, by R. Solomon ben Isaac, with extracts
relating thereto from the Talmud and Yalkut (Paris, 1627), and a Latin
translation of the first four chapters of Levi Ben Gerson's commentary
on the book of Job. (_ib._ 1623.)
Aronda, Pedro de, Bishop of Calahisra and President of the Council of
Castile in the latter part of the fifteenth century, was the son of
Gongolo Alonzo, a Hebrew Christian. Aronda's brother, too, was Bishop of
Montreal in Sicily.
Baena, Francisco, and his brother, Juan Alfonso Di, flourished at the
end of the fifteenth century and in the sixteenth century. They were
both Spanish poets.
Baptista, Gioranni Giona Galileo, was born in Safed in 1588, and died in
1668. His Jewish name was Judah Jonah ben Isaac. After travelling on the
Continent, and being assistant rabbi in Hamburg, he embraced
Christianity in Poland in 1625. Then he went to Italy and was appointed
Professor at the University of Pisa, and later as one of the librarians
at the Vatican. He wrote (1.) "A Sermon in Hebrew and Latin on the
Messiah and the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles." (2.)
"Limud hameshehim" (Doctrines of Christianity), a Hebrew translation of
the Italian Catechism of Robert Bellarmin. (3.) "Berith Hahadasha,"[3] a
Hebrew translation of the N. T., with a preface by Clement IX. (4.) A
Hebrew Chaldaic Lexicon. (5.) A Treatise on the name of Jesus, "Hillufin
sheben sheloshah Targumim," a collection of the differences in the
Targums. Some of the works are in MS. in the Vatican library.
[3] According to G. M. Löwen in "Nathanael," 1903, No. 5, the Hebrew
title of this translation is "Arbaá Abne Hagilyonim Mehattorah
Hahadashah, Asher Neetku Milshon romi lilshon ibri al yad Johanan
hatobel Jonah. Weeherim otham Terumah la Kadosh hakohen hagadol
Klimenthi Tisshü."
Baptista, Garvanni Salomo Romano Eliano. He was born at Alexandria and
died in Rome in 1589. He was the grandson of Elijah Levita, the famous
Hebrew grammarian. Hearing that his brother was baptized at Venice, he
hastened there to win him back to Judaism, but became a Christian
himself in 1551. He wrote a catechism in Hebrew and Arabic, and similar
religious books, but gained especial notoriety as an anti-Talmudist, and
used his influence at the Papal Court to have the Talmud and other
rabbinic literature, destroyed altogether. This actually happened in
some places. But Baptista had to suffer for it, and his name, together
with Joseph Moro and Ananel di Folgio, also converts and companions, are
still branded by Jewish writers. When, in 1561, he was sent by Pope Pius
IV. on a mission to Egypt, the Jews of Alexandria bitterly persecuted
him at the instigation of his own mother.
Bernard, Sarah, born in Paris in 1844, of Dutch Jewish parentage. At the
request of her father she was received into the Roman Catholic Church.
Her early years were spent in a convent. Later she studied dramatic art
in the conservatoire, and became famous.
Bauer, Marie-Bernard (Herman Cohen), was born at Budapest in 1829, died
1898. After his conversion to Catholicism he joined the Carmelite order.
He distinguished himself as a preacher, first at Vienna, where he
delivered a series of addresses, which were published (1866) under the
title, "Le Judaisme Comme Preuve du Christianisme." Eventually he
attained to the rank of a bishop. In 1869 he became father confessor to
the Empress Eugenie. On November 17th, 1869, he delivered the dedicatory
address at the opening of the Suez Canal. He also published a book of
sermons, "Le But de la Vie" (1869), and a pamphlet, "Napoléon III, et
l'Europien" (1867).
Caballeria Bonafos, son of Solomon ibn Labe de la Caballeria, was
baptized in the fifteenth century, and eight brothers followed his
example. Notwithstanding this, some members of this large family
suffered much from the Inquisition.
Carben Victor, a convert, living at Cologne between 1442 and 1515, was
the author of the following controversial works: (1). "Opus Aureum ac
Novum in quo Omnes Judaeorum Errores Manifestatur." (2). "Propugnaculum
Fidei Christianæ, Instar Dialogi inter Christianum et Judæum in quo quod
Jesus verus Messias, verus Deus et Homo, Totius que Humani Generis
Salvator."
Canta Joshua Dei, according to Steinschneider, belonged to the family
Cantarini ([Hebrew: mehakhazanim]), and according to Wolf, B. II. i. 131,
he was a convert to Christianity. He, together with Baptista Vittorio
Eliano, denounced the Talmud as containing blasphemies against the
Christian faith, in 1559, and the result was the burning of Hebrew books,
and his own assassination in the streets of Cremona.
Carthagena don Alfonso, son of Paul of Burgos, died at Burgos in 1456.
He was baptized together with his father, brother and sister, in 1391,
and became Archdeacon of Compostella, and then succeeded his father in
the See of Burgos. The writers in the "Jewish Encyclopædia" contradict
each other in ascribing the succession at Burgos to both him and his
brother Alonzo, which cannot be unless one brother succeeded another. In
1431 he was the representative of Castile at the Council of Basel. Pope
Pius II., in his memoirs, called him "An ornament to the prelacy." Pope
Eugenius IV., hearing that the Bishop of Burgos was about to visit Rome,
declared in full conclave, that "in presence of such a man he felt
ashamed to be seated in St. Peter's chair." Among Carthagena's writings,
on history, morals, and other subjects, there is a commentary on the
twenty-sixth Psalm, "Correctus Ludovicius."
Cohen Todoros, a native of France, lived at Florence in the sixteenth
century. After he embraced Christianity, at the age of fifty, at Geneva,
he wrote a book entitled "Maroth Elohim, Liber Visorum Divinum," in
which he relates the history of his conversion, and quotes passages from
the Bible and Kabbalistic works in favour of Christianity. The work,
published in Paris in 1553, was translated into Latin by Angelo Caruni
(Florence, 1554). It is inserted in Johannes Buxtorf's "Synagoga
Judaica."
Cohen, Archbishop of Olmütz, Austria, at the end of the nineteenth
century. He wrote many works on Roman law, notably one entitled, in
German, "The Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire from the
Standpoint of Jurists" (1897).
Coronel, Paul Nunez, born at Segovia, died in 1534. He was a rabbinical
scholar, and after his conversion he was appointed Professor at the
University of Salamanca. Cardinal Ximenes de Cisneros commissioned him
to translate the Bible into Latin. This translation is contained in the
"Complutensian Polyglot" (1541-17). He also wrote "Additiones ad Librum
Nicolai Lirani de Differentiis Translationem (Verborum)," which has not
been printed.
Crescenzi Alexander lived at Rome in the seventeenth century. In 1666 he
translated from the Spanish into Italian Antony Colmenarde Ludesina's
treatise on "Chocolate." Mandosius speaks of him as a mathematician who
became celebrated on account of his report, which he edited with
mathematical notes, on the eruption of Vesuvius in 1660.
Christiani Pablo, a convert of the thirteenth century. After his baptism
he became a member of the Order of the Dominicans. He is notorious as an
over-zealous missionary, who cherished the Boanergian spirit more than
the spirit of Christ towards his brethren, and he is only mentioned here
on account of the famous controversy he held at the palace of King James
with the great Rabbi Nahmonides, when he tried to prove from the Talmud
the truth of Christianity, and Rabbi Nahmonides declared that he did not
believe in the Haggadic stories of the Talmud.
Compiegne de Weil, Ludwig, lived at Paris, and later at Metz, in the
second half of the seventeenth century. He was a descendant of Rabbi
Jacob Weil, of Nuremberg. After embracing Christianity he studied
theology at the Sorbonne. He translated several parts of Maimonides'
"Yad ha Hazakah."
Conrat Mose (Cohen), born in Breslau, 1848, attended there the gymnasium
St. Maria Magdalena, where he probably embraced Christianity. He was a
professor of Roman law at the Universities of Zurich and of Amsterdam.
David Bonet Bonjorn lived in Catalonia in the second half of the
fourteenth century. He is said to have been the son of the astronomer,
Jacob Poel. He was baptized in 1391. He had a friend by the name of
Propiat Duran, who was also baptized, but returned to Judaism. P. D.
tried to persuade him to follow his example, but when he refused, the
other addressed an epistle to him under the title, "Al Tehi Ca
Abothekha," which is considered as a masterpiece of satirical criticism
against Jewish converts to Christianity.
Davilla Diego Arias, minister and confident of King Henry IV. of
Castile, died in 1466. He and his family became Christians when Vincent
Ferrer was preaching special sermons to Jews, and it is recorded that
they were generous towards the Church. His second son, Juan Arias
Davilla, was Bishop of Segovia.
Delegado Gonçalo, a Portuguese convert of the sixteenth century, was a
poet. One poem narrates the circumstances of an English incursion in
1596, during which the town of Faro was stormed and sacked. The poem is
dedicated to Ruy Lourenzo de Tovava.
Deza, Diego de, was not himself a convert, but of Jewish descent. He was
second inquisitor-general, Bishop of Salamanca, Professor of Theology
there, friend and protector of Christopher Columbus, and finally
Archbishop of Seville, in which city he died in 1506.
Diego de Valencia, a satirical Spanish poet in the fifteenth century,
after embracing Christianity, entered the Franciscan Order, and
receiving the degree of doctor of theology, was known among his
contemporaries as a very learned physician, astrologer, and master of
sciences (_gran letrado_, _fisico_, _astrologo é mecanico_). He was one
of the leading Valencian poets, and most of his poems are contained in
the "Cancionero de Baena."
Dominico Irosolimitano, born in Safed, Galilee about 1550, died in Italy
about 1620. He was educated at the rabbinical college in his native
city, studying not only the Talmud, but also medicine. After having
obtained the degree of doctor and the title of Rab, he lectured on
Talmudic law in Safed. His fame as a physician spread far and wide, so
that the Sultan of Turkey summoned him to Constantinople as Court
Physician. Subsequently he embraced Christianity, went to Rome, and was
received at the college of the Neophytes, where he taught Hebrew. He was
then employed as expurgator of Hebrew books. Dominicus was the author of
a Hebrew book entitled, "Ma'ayan Gannim" (Fountain of the Gardens), on
the principles of the Christian faith. He also translated into Hebrew
the whole of the New Testament, and most of the Apocryphal books
(1615-17). He was the compiler of the "Sefer ha Zikuk" (Book of
Expurgation), still in manuscript, one copy of which (in the library of
Cardinal Berberini, Rome), shews revision by him as late as 1619.
Drach David Paul Chevalier, born at Strasburg, in 1791, died in Rome.
Drach was the son of a rabbi, and received a good education from his
father. In 1823 he embraced Christianity together with his two daughters
and his son Paul, who afterwards became a priest and a distinguished
Biblical scholar. Drach senior accepted the position of librarian of the
Propaganda in Rome. His principal works are the following: An edition of
the "Bible de Venice," 27 volumes, with copious and learned notes,
Paris, 1827, 33; "Relation de la Conversion de M. Hyacinthe (Simon)
Deutz, Baptisé à Rome le 3 Février," 1826; "Précédée de Quelques
Considérations sur le Retour d'Israel dans l'Eglise de Dieu," Paris,
1828; "Notice Concernant l'Origine et les Progrès de l'Hospice
Apostolique de St. Michel," Rome, 1842; "De l'Harmonie Entre l'Eglise et
la Synagogue, ou Perpétuité de la Foi de la Réligion Chrétienne," 2
volumes, Paris, 1844; "Lexicon Catholicum Hebraicum et Chaldaicum in V.
T. Libros, hoc est Gulielmi Gesenii Lexicon Manuale Hebræo-Latinum
Ordino Alphabetico Digestum," Paris, 1848; "Le Pieux Hebraisant," a work
containing the principal Christian prayers, and a summary of the
Catholic Catechism in Hebrew and Latin, _ib._ 1853; "Documents Nouveaux
sur les Restes des Anciens Samaritains" (from the Annales de
Philosophic Chrétienne), Nov. 1853, _ib._ 1854.
Eliano, Vittorio, grandson of Elijah Levita, a convert of the sixteenth
century. He became priest and canon. Well versed in Hebrew literature,
he was appointed censor of Hebrew books, first at Cremona, afterwards
(1567), at Venice. In this capacity he permitted (1557) the publication
of the "Zohar," and edited the "Tur" in 1558.
Eskelis, Denis Baron de, and his sister, Countess of Winifen, son and
daughter of Freiherr Von Bernhard Eskelis, Austrian financier, who was
the founder of the Austrian National Bank, embraced Christianity in the
nineteenth century. Denis succeeded his father in the management of the
banking-house.
Felix Pratensis, born at Prato, Italy, in the second half of the
fifteenth century, died at Rome in 1539. In 1518 he embraced
Christianity, then joined the Augustine Order and devoted himself to
missionary work among his brethren. He had a perfect knowledge of three
languages, and displayed such great fervour, though apparently with
little discretion, in his sermons, that he was called "the Jews'
scourge." While still a member of the synagogue, Felix published a Latin
translation of the Psalms, entitled, "Psalterium ex Hebræo ad Verbum
Translatum," Venice 1515. He arranged the Masorah for the "Biblia
Veneta," 1518, published by his disciple Bromberg.
Ferretti Francesco Maria (Abot), whose Jewish name was Sabbathai Nahum,
was a native of Ancona or had been rabbi there, for he calls himself
d'Ancona. He embraced Christianity in 1734. He wrote a book entitled,
"La Verita della Fede Christiana," Venice, 1741. In this book there is a
prayer in Hebrew and Italian which gives us an insight into his
experience and life as a seeker after the truth.
The prayer is as follows:--
"Creator of the worlds, Lord of lords! It is revealed and known before
the Throne of Thy Majesty that for many years my heart is restless and
my spirit is drawn hither and thither, in that the thought occurs to me
to forsake the faith of my fathers and to accept the Christian faith. I
do not, however, know whether this desire is good, a pure effect of the
working of the Holy Spirit, which aims at my salvation, and is
determined before the Throne of Thy Majesty, that Thy will and pleasure
should be accomplished in this faith. It is also known unto Thee that
just when I am in the synagogue or in the houses of study, and even in
the highest festivals when I am engaged in prayer, the desire of
acknowledging the Christian faith inflames my heart and mind to the
utmost. I cannot do otherwise. I must leave my bed in the middle of the
night, and with bitter tears which Thou wilt not disdain, beseech Thee,
that on the ground of Thy thirteen attributes, Thou mayest deliver me
from these inward vexations. Yet they become stronger and more vehement
every day, so that I am powerless to overcome them, and in weariness
repine. No sooner does one thought leave me than another arises; the
one whispers this, the other that. I am dumb and without advice. Thou
knowest also that, after I made an excursion and returned home, I felt a
little easier, but these thoughts took hold of me more mightily, making
me anxious with fear and dread, and giving me not a moment's rest either
day or night. They pursue me while dreaming or awake, on all my ways, so
that life is a misery to me. Therefore, O Lord, Thou God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, who art enthroned over the Cherubim, hear me! O Lord,
hearken unto me! Here I am, here I am! Behold, in fasting and in prayer
I supplicate Thy lovingkindness and grace, that Thou mayest graciously
incline to me from Thy throne of glory and grant my request. O, my God,
teach me to pray humbly and acceptably. Give me a new and pure heart,
and renew my spirit, that I may be enabled to understand the inward
emotions and to perceive the truth. Save me from this tribulation, and
lead me in the right way. If it is determined before the Throne of Thy
Majesty that I should accept the Christian faith, because it is good,
holy, and acceptable to Thee; O, so may it please Thee that I should
walk about in peace, and not depart from Thy way and will. All things
come from Thee, and Thou hast dominion over all, and Thou enlightenest
the eyes of those who love Thee, and Thou accomplishest that which is in
accordance with Thy counsel. When after this month is passed, these
spiritual emotions do not cease, then I will in truth acknowledge that
Thou alone from Thy dwelling place in heaven hast wrought this
restlessness in me, in order to lead me to my soul's salvation. So take
hold of me with Thy right hand, bring my soul near to redemption, and
save me from mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup
runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of
my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Praised be
Thou, O Lord. Teach me Thy statutes. Praised be Thou who hearest prayer.
Amen."
Ferrus, Peter, a Jewish convert to Christianity, lived in Spain in the
fifteenth century. He was a poet of ability, but lacked discretion as
well as charity in his poems with regard to the Jews.
Franchi, Guglielmo Dei, born in Rome, died there about 1660. After
having embraced Christianity he joined the monastic order of
Vallombrosa, and devoted himself to the dissemination of knowledge of
Hebrew among Christians. In 1596 he published, at Rome, a Hebrew
alphabet ("Alphabeticum Hebraicum"), giving the rules for the reading of
Hebrew, and three years later a short Hebrew grammar. (Bergamo, 1599.)
Gonzalo, Garcia De Santa Maria, son of Paul of Burgos, was baptized with
his father in 1379, when he was eleven years old. He was appointed
archdeacon of Briviesca in 1412, and then successively Bishop of
Astorga, of Placentia, and of Siguenza. Besides his ecclesiastical and
historical studies, he made himself familiar with Jewish literature, and
was one of the most learned men of his time in Spain. He was present at
the Council of Basel as a delegate from Aragon.
Forti, Hortensius (Johanan Hazak), Jewish convert to Christianity, lived
in the sixteenth century, born at Gorima, and settled at Prague, under
Maximilian II. He wrote "Dikduk Leshon Kodesh," a Hebrew grammar,
Prague, 1565-66, and "De Mystica Literarum Significatione," in which he
expatiates on the different ways of writing the Holy Name. The latter
work was published by Kircher in his "Oedipus Aegptytiacus ii."
Heydeck, Don Juan, was before his conversion to Christianity a rabbi in
Germany, and afterwards professor of Oriental languages at the
University of Madrid. In 1792 he published a work in three vols.
entitled, "Defense de la religion Christiana," in which he reputed the
errors and attacks of Voltaire and Rousseau. This work next to the Bible
was the means of convincing Dr. Cappadose and Da Costa of the truth of
the Gospel. In 1807 Napoleon convoked a great Jewish Sanhedrin, when
some of the delegate rabbis were exuberant in their flattery of him as
if he had been the Messiah. Thus the Italian Rabbi Segri, in an oration
in honour of Napoleon's birthday said: "Truly a supernatural genius
appeared upon earth, invested with greatness and infinite fame." _Et ecce
cum nubibus coeli quasi Filius hominis veniebat et dedit ei potestatem
et honorem et regnum_ (Dan. vii. 13). R. David Zinsheimer, of
Strassburg, applied to him in a sermon, Isa. xlii. 1, 4, 6. Another
Italian rabbi opened the sitting with a speech in which this passage
occurs in reference to Napoleon. _Le genie createur, qui parmi les
mortels est le mieux formée à l'image de Dieu, en suit les traces
sublime._ It was then that Heydeck wrote to them, "If the Son of Man
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John viii. 36.) (See
"Christen und Juden," by Dr. A. Fürst, p. 202. See also the "Missionary
Journal" of Dr. Joseph Wolf, 1824, containing a letter of Heydeck to a
friend of Wolf in England, in which he expresses great interest in
Wolf's journey to Jerusalem, and asks his correspondent to tell him that
it is his wish that he may become like Joseph in Egypt, a deliverer of
his brethren according to the flesh.)
Henekstein, Alfred Freiherr Von, born at Ober Dobling, Austria, 1810,
died in Vienna, 1882. He was the son of the banker Joseph Von
Henekstein, and embraced Christianity in 1828. Joining the army in the
same year, he was gradually promoted, until in 1869 he was appointed
Chief of the General Staff. As such he acted under Benedek in the
Austro-Prussian war, when the Austrian army, through the blunders of
commanding officers, was defeated, and he and his superior were arrested
to appear before a court-martial. After some time the court was
dismissed without having given judgment. Leaving the army, Henekstein
passed the rest of his life in retirement in Vienna.
Hess, Ernst Friedrich, lived in the sixteenth century. He was the author
of a controversial book entitled, "Neue Juden-geissel," cited as
"Flagellum Judæorum." (Fritzlar, 1589.) (Strack, "Sind die Juden
Verbrecher," p. 7.)
Ibn Vives, Juan, grandson of one of the richest Jews of Valencia, was
the author of a book entitled, "Veritate Fidei Christianæ." It is
asserted in the "Jewish Encyclopædia" that he did this in self-defence,
because he was condemned in 1510 for Judaizing, but no proof is given.
Iolante, a converted Jewess, married Dam Luis, brother of Henry, King of
Portugal, in the sixteenth century.
Isaac Johann Levita, born in Germany 1515, died at Cologne, 1577. At
first he was a rabbi at Wetzler, he was baptized as a Protestant in
1546, but joined the Roman Catholic Church, and was appointed professor
of Hebrew at Cologne, which office he held until his death. He wrote a
Hebrew grammar in 1556. He also edited Maimonides' work on astrology,
and Moses ibn Tibbon's commentary on Aristotle's physics (Cologne,
1555).
Johannes Hispalensis, flourished between 1135 and 1153. He was a native
of Toledo, and hence also was called J. (David) Toletanus. He was one of
the earliest translators from the Arabic. He translated chiefly
astrological and astronomical, but likewise some philosophical, and a
few medical, works, such as "Fons Vitæ," and "Epitome Totius Astrologæ."
Johannes Pauli, born about 1455, died at Thann, 1530. He became a
distinguished preacher of the Franciscan Order at Oppenheim and
Strassburg, at which latter place he took notes of Geiler's Sermons,
which he edited at Schlettstadt, 1517. He is known chiefly, however, for
his collection of jests under the title, "Schimpf und Ernst" (Thann,
1519). Some of his stories were taken over into the "Hundred Merry
Tales" used by Shakespeare.
John, of Capua, an Italian Jewish convert in the thirteenth century. He
translated Rabbi Joel's Hebrew version of "Kallilah wa Dimnah," from
Arabic into Latin, under the title, "Discetorium Vitæ Humane," and his
translation was the source from which that work became so widely spread
in almost all European tongues.
Joshua Halorki was born in Spain in the latter part of the fourteenth
century, at Lorca, in Murcia. He early distinguished himself as a subtle
Talmudist and skilful physician. He was a Jew of the straitest sect. His
scrupulous search for arguments against Christianity was over-ruled to
his discovering that Christianity was founded on the Rock of Ages,
against which the very gates of hell could not prevail. Dr. Joshua de
Lorca then confessed, publicly, that in assaying to convict the Hebrew
Christian, Solomon Halevi, of heresy, he proved himself to be ignorant
of the spirit, and an unbeliever in the letter, of Moses and the
Prophets. He begged for the privilege of being baptized. He assumed the
name, when the sacrament of baptism was administered to him, of Geronymo
à Santa Fé. It was soon made evident that Joshua--or Geronymo, or
Hieronymus, as he is variably known in ecclesiastical history--was a
chosen vessel in the hands of his Redeemer. The new Hebrew Christian
devoted his immense wealth, intellectual and other, towards the
promotion of his Saviour's honour and glory, especially amongst his
Jewish brethren. His extensive acquaintance with Talmudical and other
Jewish lore, enabled him so to expose their false teaching, as to make
their fallacies very evident to such as would not hoodwink their reason
by impervious prejudice. His celebrated work, "Probationes N. T. ex V.
T. per quas doctrina Talmud improbitur, et dicitur liber contra errores
Judæorum," is one of the most decisive testimonies for Christianity, and
against Talmudism, which a Hebrew Christian witness could have borne.
In the year 1413, an ever memorable conference between Jewish and
Christian divines was agreed upon. The meeting was convened at Tortosa,
in Aragon. The Pope-Pretender, Benedict XIII., or Pedro de Luna,
presided. The most renowned and famous Rabbis of the time were ranged on
one side, Geronymo à Santa Fé--assisted by Andreas Baltram, a native of
Valencia, another Hebrew Christian, afterwards Bishop of Barcelona--on
the other side, and they met on the 7th of February, 1413, to discuss
whether "Jesus, called of Nazareth, who was born at Bethlehem in the
latter days of King Herod, seventy years before the destruction of the
second temple, who was crucified, and died at Jerusalem, is really the
true Messiah, foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament." The
discussion lasted till Nov. 12, 1414. It occupied sixty-nine sessions.
It was attended by the grandees of the Church and Synagogue of the day.
The result was wonderful. All the Jewish disputants, with the exception
of two, admitted, and signed a declaration accordingly, that they were
fairly vanquished, and that utterly. Upwards of five thousand Jews made
a public confession of their faith in Christ, and were baptized into the
same.
There is an account of that conference in a parchment MS., consisting of
409 fols., in Sto. Lorenzo del Escorial, entitled, "Hieronymi de Santa
Fide Medici Benedicti XIII. Processus rerum et tractuum et Europæ,
Rabbinorum ex une parte, et Catholicorum ex alia, ad convicendos Judæos
de adventu Messiæ." Contemporary Jewish writers are ominously silent
about it. The story of Joshua Halorki is full of suggestive matter for
serious thought for the Rabbis of modern synagogues, and for Christian
ministers of modern churches.
John, of Valladolid, born 1335. An able speaker and acquainted with
rabbinical literature, he persuaded King Henry of Castile that he could
convince the Jews of the truth of Christianity if they were obliged to
listen to him and to answer his questions. An order was accordingly
issued, compelling the Jews to attend John's lectures in their
synagogues and to discuss them with him. In company with another Jewish
convert, John travelled throughout the Castilian provinces, lectured and
debated in the synagogues, but with lack of success. At Avilla, he
assembled the Jews four times and discussed with them the tenets of
Christianity before numerous Christian and Moslem audiences. At Burgos,
he summoned Moses ha Cohen, of Tordesillas, to a religious controversy
in the presence of Archbishop Gomez, of Toledo, but he made no
impression upon his opponent. Just because he was not content in
bringing arguments from Scripture to prove Christian doctrines, but in
imitation of the rabbinical method, he tried to base a doctrine on the
form of a letter. Thus, for instance, he claimed that the final closed
"mem" in the word [Hebrew: lemarbeh] (Isa. ix. 6), is an allusion to the
immaculate conception.
Levi Barach (Joseph Jean François Elie), born at Hagenau, Elssas, 1721,
embraced Christianity in Paris, 1752. His wife refused to live with him,
and he refused to divorce her according to Jewish law. He obtained from
the Bishops of Verdun and Metz canonical opinions that a baptized Jew
might marry a Christian if his wife refused to be converted with him.
Levi Ben Shem Job, Portuguese convert, lived at the end of the fifteenth
century. He is identified by some scholars with a certain Antonio, who
was chief surgeon of King John II., and who wrote a pamphlet entitled,
"Ajudo da Fé Contra os Judaeos."
Mandl Christof, a Hungarian Jewish convert, baptized in 1534. His
godfather was George, Margrave of Brandenburg, to whom Mandl dedicated
his tract entitled, "Dass Jesus sey das Ewig Wort" (1536). He also wrote
two other tracts on the "Seventy Weeks of Daniel," and "Jesus is the
Messiah" (1552-7).
Margarita Antonius, son of Rabbi Jacob Margoliouth, of Regensburg, was
baptized in 1552, at Wasserburg, Bavaria. He was teacher of Hebrew
successively at Augsberg, Meissen, Zell, Leipzig, and Vienna, where he
died. His book, "Der ganze Jüdische Glaub," &c., contained among some
good things, many bad and foolish things, and caused much harm to the
Jews and to the author himself. His work was variously received. Luther
made use of it in his writings. It was praised by Hoornbeek, B.
Luthenes, and Joseph Muller, while Wagenseil (who, as is well known, was
not very partial to the Jews,) spoke of it less favourably. According to
de le Roi he joined the Roman Church as a Protestant.
Medici Paulus, a Jewish convert of whom the Roman Catholic Church had
reason to be proud, was a learned theologian and a skilful
controversialist against modern Judaism. Of his numerous works may here
be mentioned: 1. "Catalogo de Neofiti" (_illustri_), 1701. 2.
"Promptuarium Biblicorum Textuum ad Catholicum Fidem confirmandam et
Judaeorum informandam perfidiam" (1707). 3. "Dialoghi sacri supra il
vechiv e Nouvo Testamento," 41 parts in 21 vols. (Venice, 1731-35). 4.
"Riti e costumi degli Ebrei confutati" (Fifth edition, Venice, 1557).
This work is partly supplementary and partly antagonistic to a similar
work by the famous Jewish scholar, Leon de Modena.
Mendelson (Sorel) Mendelssohn, youngest daughter of Moses Mendelssohn
the philosopher, joined the Church of Rome at the beginning of the
eighteenth century. She is described as "a woman of broad interests,
clear judgment, and exquisite manners."
Morasini Giulio (Samuel Ben Nahamias, Ben David, B. Isaac, B. David,
Baal Teshubah) was born at Venice, 1612; died in 1687. He was descended
from a wealthy family which traced its ancestry back to Nehemiah. In
1649 he was present at a disputation held in Venice between two Jews
(one of whom was a convert), relating to the "Seventy Weeks of Daniel."
He then, together with his brother Joseph, decided to embrace
Christianity, and was baptized November 22 of the same year, his
godfather being Angelo Morasini, whose name he took. He went to Rome
under Alexander VII., intending to become a Capuchin monk, but was
dissuaded by the Pope. Clement IX. appointed him Hebrew scrittore of the
Vatican library, and he taught Hebrew in the Propaganda. He was the
author of a work entitled, "Derek Emunah" (Way of Faith), Rome, 1683. It
has as a frontispiece a portrait of the author at the age of
seventy-two, and is preceded by a sketch of his life.
Nachman ben Samuel Halevi, Rabbi of Busk, Galicia. When Mikulski, the
administrator of the Archbishopric of Lemberg, invited the
representatives of Judaism to a disputation with the Frankists, July 16,
1759, he was one of the Frankist delegates. He afterwards became a
Christian, and took the name of Pietr Jacobski (Gräetz x., 392).
Nola, Menahem (John Paul Eustatius), born about 1570, died at Rome about
1608. Having instructed Thomas Aldobrandino, brother of the Pope Clement
VIII., in Hebrew, he was influenced by him to become a Christian, and was
baptized in 1568. He was the author of several Italian works, mainly in
defence of Christianity. "Sacro Settenario" (Naples, 1579) is a
compilation of extracts from the Bible, with an explanation of the
ceremony of the opening of the gates in the year of Jubilee. "Salutori
Discorse" (_ib._ 1582) contains nine sermons on various dogmas of
Christianity, including those of the Trinity and the necessity for the
coming of the Messiah. Some of Nola's works are found in the library of
the Vatican, among them being commentaries, in manuscript, on
Lamentations and Ruth. He wrote also a description of the Hebrew
manuscripts in that library.
Nunez, Henrique Judae, Portuguese convert, born in Borba, Portugal, died
in 1524. It is asserted that he acted as a spy against his people, and
in consequence was stabbed by two Maranos, disguised as monks. He had
received the appellation of Firme Fé, was revered as a saint, and people
ascribed marvellous healing power to his tomb.
Vettinger, Edward Maria, born at Breslau, 1808, died at Blaseritz, near
Dresden, 1872. In 1828 he embraced Christianity. He wrote many works,
comprising novels, poems, satires, historical and biographical writings,
a complete list of which may be found in the "Moniteur des Dates," vi.,
83, Dresden, 1868. This work may be mentioned here in particular. It
gives short biographical notes of important men (over 1,000,000 in
number) from the dawn of history to the date of the completion of the
book, including living persons.
Paul de Burgos, called also Santa Maria. His Jewish name was Solomon ha
Levi; born at Burgos 1350, died in 1435. He was the wealthiest and most
prominent Jew of the city, and was thoroughly conversant with the Talmud
and rabbinical literature, and up to his fortieth year he officiated as
Rabbi of Burgos. His scholarship and intelligence, as well as his piety,
won the praise of Isaac ben Sheshet. Abrabanel, in his Commentary on
Isa. xxxiv., calls him a wise man. He embraced Christianity in 1370, in
his native place, after having studied diligently the O. T., especially
Jer. xxxi., the N. T. and the works of Thomas Aquinas. He said later,
_Paulus me ad fidem convertit_. His mother and his children were
baptized with him, but not his wife, who refused, yet was later
reconciled to him and also baptized. After finishing his theological
studies at Paris, he was ordained and appointed Archdeacon of Trevino,
and in 1402 became Bishop of Carthagena. Subsequently he became a member
of the regency of Castile and Archbishop of Burgos. He wrote "Dialogus
Pauli et Sauli Contra Judæos sive Sive Scrutinium Scripturarum," but his
principal work (in 1427) is "Additiones," which consists of addenda and
emendations to Nicolas de Lyra's Postiles on the Bible; also, in his old
age, he composed a "Historia Universal" in Spanish verse. As Jewish
writers assert that ambition and vanity were the motives of his
conversion, I give a short extract from his testament to his son, in
order that the reader may judge whether this charge is justified: "What
wouldest thou, my dearly beloved son, like best that I should give thee
while I am still alive, or leave for thee when I die? What better thing
could it be than the extension of that knowledge which thou hast already
gained from the Holy Scriptures, and which will strengthen thy
well-ordered zeal for the Christian truth?" He then quotes Isa. xxxviii.
19: "The father to the children shall make known Thy truth," and
continues: "I was not learned in my youth, but educated in Jewish
blindness and unbelief. While I learned to know the Holy Scriptures from
unholy teachers, I received the opinions of erring men who obscured the
pure letter of the Scriptures with impure devices. But it pleased Him
whose mercy is infinite to call me out of darkness to light and out of
the pit into the pure air of heaven; so that it appeared to me as if
scales fell from the eyes of my understanding. I began to seek the
truth, and to trust no more in myself, and so with a humble spirit I
prayed to God to shew me what appertained to the salvation of my soul.
Day and night I sought help from Him, and so it happened that my love
for the Christian truth increased, and finally I received strength
publicly to confess the faith which was already in my heart." Then after
telling his son how God had blessed him in raising him to a high
position of usefulness and dignity in the church, and that he had been
on intimate terms with King Henry III. and chancellor of his son, the
Regent of Spain, he intimates to him that, with all this, he had not
accumulated any worldly wealth. _Unum est quod silentio committere non
possumus nobis_ _ex Levitico sanguine descendentibus._ "One
circumstance which I cannot pass over in silence is this: that we are
descendants of Levi, and the promises which were given many centuries
ago have been fulfilled--'Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance
with his brethren, the Lord is his inheritance according as the Lord thy
God promised him' (Deut. x. 9). Truly God Himself is our inheritance.
Christ is our portion. This, my dearly beloved son, is my testament for
thee, and let it also be thine inheritance, that the Law of the Lord may
be thy joy, and that thou shouldest meditate upon His Word day and
night."
Paulus of Prague, Elhanan ben Menahem; born in Chelm, Poland, about
1540; died at Prague about the end of the sixteenth century; baptized at
Nuremberg, 1556. He wrote several works in German, with Latin titles, in
defence of Christianity--1. "Solida et Perspicua Demonstratio de SS.
Trinitate." 2. "Confessio Fidei et Testimonia Scripturæ Sacræ de
Resurrectione Mortuorum." 3. "The Book of Jona," translated in Hebrew,
Greek, Latin and German. 4. "Mysterium Novum," with a preface of a
Hebrew poem consisting of 139 verses, arranged in alphabetical order,
and giving an acrostic of his own name. 5. "Symbolum Apostolicum." It is
asserted that he was twice baptized, or that he relapsed; but as writers
are not in accord with each other, as to dates and places, we may have
our doubts about it.
Pierleoni (of a noble Roman family descended from a Jewish banker of
Rome) was baptized in the first half of the eleventh century, and took
the name of Benedictus Christianus. His son was named Leo, and his
grandson Petrus Leonis. It is from the latter that the family name is
derived. Petrus was prominent in the liberation of Pope Gelasius II.,
and when Petrus died, his son of the same name was Cardinal, and on
several occasions rendered service to the Church. In 1130, this son,
Cardinal Pierleoni was elected Pope under the name of Anacletus II.,
while the counter party chose Innocent II.
Ponte, Lorenzo da (Jeremiah), born at Ceneda, Italy, 1749; died 1837. He
belonged to a well-known Jewish family, which had produced the
Italian-Turkish diplomatist, Dr. Israel Congeliano. He embraced
Christianity, assuming the name of Da Ponte, in honour of a Catholic
bishop who was his protector. At an early age he became professor of
_belles lettres_ at Treviso, and published various poems, including a
political satire, which led to his exile. He went to England and was
secretary to the Italian Opera Company in London. Then he went to
America, where he wrote various plays, sonnets, critical essays, and a
translation of the Psalms. But his best known work is his extremely
interesting "Memoirs," which Zuckerman has compared to Franklin's
Autobiography. They indicate that even in his youth he was proficient in
Hebrew, and the impress of his ancestry and of his early Jewish studies
has been discerned by critics of his works and views.
Raphael, Mark, an Italian Jewish convert, flourished at Venice at the
beginning of the sixteenth century. It is said that he was a rabbi
before his conversion. He was consulted by Henry VIII. on the question
of the legality, according to Jewish law, of his levirate marriage to
Catharine of Braganza, and was invited by him to England. Raphael
accordingly arrived in London on January 28, 1531 (Calendar of State
Papers, Spanish, i. 335). He decided that such marriage was legal, but
suggested that the King might take another wife conjointly with the
first. Later, he reviewed his opinion by pointing to the object of
levirate marriage, and contending that as no children had been the
result of the union, the King must have married his brother's widow
without the intention of continuing his brother's line, and consequently
the marriage was illegitimate and invalid. We have here the picture of a
man whose mind as a Jew was trained in rabbinic quibbles, and as a
Romanist had learned to hold the doctrine of intention.
Raimuch (Remoch) Astruc, physician of Fraga, in the fourteenth century.
As an orthodox Jew he visited Benveniste ibn Laki, of Saragossa, and
other prominent Jews; but in 1391 he embraced Christianity, taking the
name of Francisco Dias Corni, and endeavoured to convert his former
Jewish friends, among them, En Shealticel Bonfos (Gräetz viii. 85).
Ratisbonne Alphonsi Marie, born at Strassburg in 1812, and died at
Jerusalem, 1884. After taking his degree in law he visited Rome, when
probably he met his brother, who won him for the Church. After passing
through the novitiate of the Society of Jesus, he joined the Order of
Notre Dame de Sion. He then went to Jerusalem, founded the Order of the
Sisters of Sion there, had a school for Jewish children, and officiated
there as a priest until his death. He was the author of "Elevations sur
les Litanies de la Sainte Vierge."
Ratisbonne, Marie Thédor, brother of the former, born at Strassburg,
1802; died at Paris, 1884, was also a lawyer before his conversion. He
became successively, Professor in the Petit Seminaire, Assistant Rector
of the Cathedral of Strassburg, and Superior-General of the Order of
Notre Dame de Sion, founded by him in thanksgiving for the conversion of
his brother. Among other works, he published, "Essai sur l'Education
Morale" (Strassburg, 1828). "Histoire de Saint Bernard," 2 vols. (_ib._
1841). "Le Manuel de la Mère Chrétienne" (_ib._ 186). "Questions Juives"
(1868). "Miettes Evangeliques" (_ib._ 1872). "Reponse aux Questions d'un
Israélite de Notre Temps" (_ib._ 1878).
Ricius Augustinus, Jewish convert to Christianity and astronomer of the
fifteenth century. He was a disciple of R. Abraham Zacuto, and wrote a
work on the motion of the eighth sphere, a Latin translation of which
appeared in Paris, 1521. He quotes Ibn Ezra, Abraham ben Hiyya, and
other Jewish authors, and mentions the epoch 1477.
Riccio Paulo, or Paulus Riccius, was born in Germany, and flourished in
the first half of the sixteenth century. After his conversion to
Christianity he became Professor of Philosophy in the University of
Pavia, subsequently he was physician to Maximilian I. He was a friend of
Erasmus, and held a controversy with Eck on astronomical subjects. He
sought the spiritual welfare of his Jewish brethren, and imparted to
Christians much information about Jewish literature. His best known book
is his "De Posta Lucis R. Josephi Gecatilia" (Augsburg, 1616), which is
a free translation of a part of the Kabbalistic work of "Sha'a re Orah,"
by Joseph Gikatila. Jerome Riccio (Hieronymes Riccius), Paulo's son,
sent a copy of the work to Reuchlin, who utilized it in the composition
of his "De Arte Cabbalistica." Riccio relates that he was ordered by the
Emperor Maximilian to prepare a Latin translation of the Talmud. All
that has come down of it are the translations of the tractates of
"Berakhoth, Sanhedrin, and Makkoth" (Augsburg, 1519), which are the
earliest Latin renderings of the "Mishnah" known to bibliographers. The
most important of his works is "De Cælisti Agricultura," a large
religio-philosophical work in four parts, dedicated to the Emperor
Charles and to his brother Ferdinand (Augsburg, 1541, 2nd ed. Basel,
1597). His "Opuscula Varia," which contains a treatise on the 613
commandments, a religio-philosophical and controversial work, aiming to
demonstrate to the Jews the truths of Christianity, and an introduction
to the Kabbalah, followed by a compilation of its rules and dogmas, went
through four editions (Pavia 1510, Augsburg 1515, 1541, and Basel 1597).
Riccio wrote about ten other works, all in Latin, on various religious,
philosophical and Kabbalistic subjects, which appeared in Augsburg in
1546, and were reprinted in Basel in 1599.
Rittangel, Johann Stephanus, controversial writer, born at Forsheim,
near Bamberg; died at Königsberg in 1652. He first became a Roman
Catholic, but when he found out the serious errors of the Roman Catholic
Church he became a Protestant. He was professor of Oriental languages at
Königsberg, and issued a number of translations of Hebrew works: one of
the "Sefer Yezirah" (1642); one of the "Passover Haggadah" (1644); he
published also his "Libra Vertatis" (Fraenker, 1698); and one of the
earliest translations of Jewish prayers, under the title,
"Hochfeyerliche Solentäten, Gebete und Collecten Anstalt der Opfer,
nebst andern Ceremonien so von der Jüdischen Kirchen am Ersten
Neuen-Jahrstag Gebet und Abendgebet werden müssen" (Königsberg, 1653).
His posthumous work, "Biblia Veritatis" was written to substantiate the
claim that the Targums prove the doctrine of the Trinity. This is also
the subject of his "Veritatis Religionis Christianæ."
Rosenthal, David Augustus, German physician and author, born at Neisse,
Silesia, 1812; died at Breslau, 1575. In 1851 he embraced Roman
Catholicism and set about to improve the tone of the Catholic press and
the condition of the Catholics of Silesia. In 1862 he edited the
poetical works of the Roman Catholic mystic, Angelus Silesius, better
known as Johan Scheffler. Between 1869 and 1872, he published his
"Convertetenbilder aus dem neinzehnten Jahrhundert" (4 vols.,
Schaffhausen), or biographical sketches of Jews and Protestants who had
embraced the Roman Catholic faith during the nineteenth century. This
was arranged according to countries. A supplement of the entire work is
found in the last volume. The "Convertetenbilder," which went through
several editions, is a very important contribution to the history of the
Church in the nineteenth century, and supplements de le Roi's work,
"Geschichte der Evangelischen Juden Mission," which treats only of the
Jews who have joined the Protestant Church.
Santangel (Sancto Angelos) Luis (Azorias) De, a convert and learned
jurist of Calatayad, Spain, died before 1459. He was converted by the
sermons of Vincent Ferrer (probably in 1412, when that missionary was
most active) and was made magistrate of the capital of Aragon. One of
his grandsons took part in the discovery of America by lending 17,000
ducats towards the expenses without interest.
Sixtus Sinensis, born at Sienna in 1520; died in 1569. After embracing
Christianity he joined the Franciscan Order. By the order of Paul IV.,
Sixtus and another convert travelled about the Papal States preaching in
the synagogues. He was more favourable to the Zohar than to the Talmud.
Besides homilies and mathematical writings, Sixtus was the author of the
"Bibliotheca Sancta" (Venice, 1566), a Latin work in eight books,
treating of the divisions and authority of the Bible. It contains an
alphabetical index and an alphabetical list of the rabbinical
interpreters of the Bible.
Ugolino Blaisio, an Italian Jewish convert, born about 1700. He is known
for his "Thesaurus Antiquitatum" (34 vols., Venice, 1744-69). In this
work he reprinted most of the seventeenth century treatises on Jewish
antiquities by Bochart, Bonfrère, Buxtrof, Carpzov, Cellarius,
Clavering, Deyling, Goodwin, Hottinger, Huet, Lowth, Opitz, Pfeiffer,
Prideaux, Reland, Rhenferd, Saubertius, Selden, Sigonius, Spencer,
Trigland, Van Til, Wagenseil, and Witsius, besides some from fresh
contributors, and translating much himself from the "Midrashim." He also
himself translated the treatises Menahoth, and Zebahim (vol. xxi.)
Pesahim, Shekalim, Yoma, Succa, Rosh-Hashanah, Tamid, Megilah, Hagigah,
Bezah, Moed Katon, Ma'aseroth, Maaser Sheni, Hallah, Orlah, and Bikkurim
(vols, xvii.-xix.), besides a part of Maimonides' "Yad-Hazakah," and of
Abraham Portaleone's "Shilte ha Gibborim."
Veil, Ludwig Karl de, a native of Metz, whose father and grandfather
were rabbis, the latter an author of Hebrew books, embraced the Roman
Catholic faith at the age of 17, when he was a teacher of Hebrew in
1655. It is said that Louis XIII., King of France, compelled him to be
baptized in Compiègne. At all events, the King and the Queen were his
sponsors. He is also called Compiègne, after the town. He became
afterwards ordinary Royal professor of Oriental languages in the
Sorbonne, Paris. Wagenseil, who made his acquaintance in Paris, praises
him for his modesty as well as for his learning and talents. Ludwig de
Veil translated the first eight tracts of the "Yad-Hazakah" of
Maimonides into Latin, adding notes thereto (Paris, 1662-78); also
"Sefer Hakorbanoth," with Abrabanel's introduction to Leviticus (London,
1683). A separate edition of this introduction appeared under the title
"Hakdamat Abravenl El Sefer Wayikra" (Amsterdam, 1701).
Veit, Johann Emanuel was born in Ruthenplan, in Bohemia, in 1789, died
in Vienna in 1876. He was the son of a rich Jew named Benedict (Boruch).
He studied medicine and philosophy first at Prague and then in Vienna,
in which city he became professor and director in the Veterinary College
in 1819. In the newspaper "Bohemia," he was reported to have given the
reason for his conversion in these words:--"I went through the Old
Testament, and now I must look into the New." And to Döllinger he once
said, "Judaism is the vestibule to the Hall Christianity, and I wanted
to pass from the one to the other." Here are some remarks which he made
occasionally in letters to friends with reference to his spiritual
development and his coming to Christ. Thus he wrote:--"The time past,
the near as well as the remote, lies behind me like a series of
dissolving views. I am not in the state to give chronological data, I
know only that it is a good while ago that a decided direction to the
positive belief took me without my exertion." A deeper view is given to
us in the following letter:--"You do not know the miserable history of
my life, neither the ways by which the Divine Mercy has conducted me,
nor the unutterable distress incumbent upon me. Nobody did know me,
myself the least, but the Lord has helped me wonderfully. What can the
world judge of a poor, contrite old student, full of sinfulness,
craving only God's love, who has finally prostrated himself, in great
anxiety of heart, at the feet of Jesus, the Crucified, crying, 'O Lord,
do not cast away from Thee the poor dog which licks Thy feet, although
it stretches still its nostrils to the hideous savours of this world.'"
Having such a confession before us, we forbear to search after other
influences which may have worked upon his soul. A true Israelite, with
the humility of the woman of Samaria, he found in Jesus Christ the peace
with God which neither Judaism, the modernised as little as the
rabbinical, nor the philosophical systems could give him. Of course, he
desired to confess his belief in Jesus Christ as his Saviour and
Redeemer by baptism, and this he did on May 4th, 1816, in the Church of
St. Carl, Vienna. Eventually Veit was appointed as Cathedral preacher at
St. Stephen's and his fervent eloquence drew large crowds to hear him,
and many on bended knees cried out for pardon of secret sins. When in
1840 the Damascus blood accusation affair took place, Veit stood up in
the pulpit before the whole congregation, lifted up a crucifix, and
swore solemnly that this oft repeated accusation had no foundation
whatever in fact.
Wolken of Ratisbon, a convert to Roman Catholicism in the second half of
the fifteenth century. In contrast to Veit, he was an accuser of his
former co-religionists. Whether this arose from personal spite or from
superstition does not matter. His memory is only here preserved as a
warning to others.
Wolowski, a Polish family in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
directly descended from Osias Tebuat Shor, gave to the Roman Catholic
Church several members, _viz._, a Jewess named Hayya Wolowski (she had
an excellent knowledge of the "Zohar"), Nathan ben Elisha (Michael
Wolowski) and his brother Solomon (Lucas Francis Levi Wolowski). They
were all influenced in favour of Christianity by the Frankist movement.
Some descendants of this family are still living in Galicia.
ADDENDA.
CONVERTS IN THE "DOMUS CONVERSORUM" IN LONDON.
The subject under the above title requires a special paragraph, because
it manifests to us the zeal which English Christians in the Middle Ages
displayed with regard to the conversion of the Jews, and that their
effects were richly blessed.
In an article in the "Hebrew Christian Witness," 1875, by Christopher
Chattoc, of Haye House, Castle Bromwich, Warwickshire, entitled "Traces
of Early Anglo-Hebrew Christians from Authentic Sources," he says:--"All
our best historians allege that, at the expulsion of the Jews from this
country in 1290, about fifteen thousand were expelled. If we compare
this number with the approximate amount of the then population, it is
something considerable, and if we take the present population of the
country and compare the number of converted and unconverted Jews at the
present time, the relative proportion of converted Jews in 1290 would be
at least--say, five hundred. This cannot by any means be considered an
excessive estimate for men, women and children, as the conqueror is said
to have brought over Jews in great numbers, and they were much favoured
by the three first Norman kings. The 'Domus Conversorum,' or home for
converts, was established in 1232 (by order of Henry III.), a private
one in 1213 in London, and one even much earlier still in Oxford." He
then gives a list of three long pages full of names of clergy and
others, in which he traces Jewish names anglicized, and refers to quite
a number of historical works. This cannot for want of space be
reproduced here. I will only mention that Dr. M. Margoliouth said that
there were three Kings in Great Britain by the name of Solomon. But the
article by Rabbi Michael Adler, in the "Jewish Encyclopædia," may be
given in abridged form. "The 'Domus Conversorum' was situated in
Chancery Lane and had a Chapel attached to the buildings.[4] A similar
institution, on a much more modest scale, having been commenced by the
clergy in 1213. A chaplain was appointed to instruct the converts and a
warden to attend to their temporal affairs. Each male inmate received
1-1/2d., equal to about 2s. 6d. of the present currency, and each female
1d. During the fifty years that elapsed from the time of the founding of
the 'Domus' until the year of the great expulsion, about a hundred Jews
in all (?) participated in the benefits of the institution, a small
proportion out of the 1,600 Jews in England. All the expenses of the
'Domus' were borne by the royal treasury, while some of the bishops left
bequests to augment its funds. In addition to these sources of income, a
small poll-tax, called 'the chevage,' was levied upon all Jews, above
the age of twelve, to support their converted brethren. The treasury
grant amounted annually to £202 0s. 4d. (in present currency about
£4,000). At times this contribution was not forthcoming, and the
'converts' were reduced to sore straits of poverty. In 1271 the King
addressed a letter to the Mayor of London, and to the Warden of the
'Domus' complaining of numerous irregularities in the management of the
house; and it was not till the year of 1280, under the custos of John de
St. Denis, that definite regulations for the control of the institution
were drafted. The records of the 'Domus' end at the year 1608. As late
as the year 1717 a London converted Jew petitioned King George I. for a
grant from the funds of the 'Domus.'"
[4] The house was taken from a Jew named Herberton.
In accordance with the method pursued in this work, I give an
alphabetical list of the converts mentioned by name, in the above
article, as converts in the house:--
Arthur Antoc, 1663.
Aseti Briasti and his wife, Perota, of France, in the
14th century.
Belager, a rabbi of Oxford, entered the house in 1281.
Claricia, a Jewess from Exeter, resided there in 1353.
Elizabeth, described as the daughter of Rabbi Moses,
Episcopus Judæorum, joined the converts in 1339.
She remained in the house for seventeen years.
Edward of Westminster lived there from 1461 to
1503.
Edward Scales, from 1503 to 1527.
Elizabeth Ferdinando, admitted in 1603.
Elizabeth Baptista, from 1504 to 1532.
Elizabeth Portugale, from 1492 to 1538.
Fortunati Massa, admitted in 1581.
Henry of Stratford, 1416-41.
John of Castile, admitted in 1366.
John de Sancta Maria of Spain, 1371-1405.
John Durdragt of Dordrecht, Holland, 1425-55.
John Fernando of Spain, 1487-1503.
Katherine Wheteley, admitted in 1532.
Mary Crook, admitted in 1532.
Martin, son of Henry of Woodstock, 1413-1468, the
longest period of residence.
Nathaniel Menda, from the Barbary States, 1578-1608.
He was baptized in London by John
Foxe, the author of "The Book of Martyrs."
Philip Ferdinandus, a learned Polish Jew who had
taught Hebrew at Oxford and Cambridge and
Leyden, resided and died in the 'Domus' in 1600.
Wolfgang, Jacob, from Germany, was admitted in the
year after the Gunpowder Plot.
* * * * *
_To be continued, and the next part will give accounts of Jewish
Converts in the Protestant Churches since the Reformation._
PART II.
CHAPTER VI.
CONVERTS IN THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES.
The Reformation ushered in the time of civil and religious liberty, of
progress in every department of human activity, of thorough
investigation of every branch of learning, of more sympathy with human
suffering, and of more zeal among enlightened Christians for the spread
of the Gospel among all the nations of the earth. The Jews, as a nation,
were certainly not unaffected by it. For as the Reformation purged a
great part of the Western Church from image worship, superstition, false
doctrine and papal supremacy, it at the same time removed some of the
obstacles in their way of entering a Christian Church. They could go
into any of the Reformed Churches and find no images in them, and listen
to the reading of their own Scriptures, to the singing of their own
Psalms, and to sermons which were of a character to awaken and to edify
them. No wonder that Jewish voluntary conversions to Christianity since
the Reformation are more numerous than in all the previous Christian
ages since the time of the Apostles.
In our list we properly place first the name of a Jew who came in
contact with the pious Count Zinzendorf. The story is given by Professor
F. Delitzsch.
ABRAHAM, a rabbi, met the Count at Romseberg, where the latter took
refuge when he was expelled from Saxony. After some conversation they
got attached to each other, so that R. Abraham once invited the Count to
dine with him on the Sabbath. The Count accepted the invitation as
readily as it was given, and, cutting a slice from the loaf said, "Tell
me, Rabbi Abraham, if your hospitality is always so ready; has it never
been abused?" "Never, my lord," answered the rabbi. "I shall not be
tired of giving as long as my hand has something to give. It has been my
custom from my youth up; and even an apple never tastes as good as it
does when I have given a half to one poorer than myself. Besides, the
habit has been of great service to me." He then told him how, one
Sabbath day, a rough-looking man came in and asked for alms. Not daring
to touch money on the Sabbath day, he invited him to dine with the
family. After the meal the man departed with a gruff word of thanks. Not
long afterwards Abraham was passing through a forest, when robbers
seized him and nearly killed him, and, while on his knees recommending
his soul to God, another robber came up and called out, "Rabbi Abraham,
do you not know me? A man who fed me when I was hungry shall not die
thus." And, thrusting a piece of gold into the old man's hand, he drew
his companions away with him into the forest, leaving the rabbi to
pursue his journey. These two tried men became after this even greater
friends than before. The Count, like Philip of old, declared unto him
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Rabbi Abraham became a believer, attended
the services of the Moravian Brethren, but remained still unbaptized.
When he at last lay on his sick bed, Leonard Dober, one of the Count's
assistants, came to visit him. "Welcome, dear brother," said he, "at my
last hour. You sought me for years in the Lord's name, with love and
kind words; and see I have been found. My end is near; so is my
salvation. Will the Lord accept one who comes to Him at the last hour,
even though he approaches His Throne without the sacrament of baptism?"
"Yes," said Dober, "decidedly, as surely as it is written, 'Him that
cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out!'" "Blessed be the Holy One of
Israel for that word," said the dying man. Then he called for his son
Zadok and blessed him; and the last word they heard was, "Hallelujah!"
ABRAHAMS, Rev. George, Minister of the Regent Street Chapel, London, in
the first half of the eighteenth century.
ABRAMSON, a famous medal engraver, born in Potsdam, Prussia, in 1754,
died in 1811. He was a royal medallist and a member of the Academy of
Arts. He wrote on the taste for medals and numismatics, 1801.
ABRAHAMSON, Rev. A. E., B.A., Oxon., Rector of Skilgate, Wiveliscombe. A
convert of the L.J.S., carrying on occasionally a mission to Jews in
Russia by correspondence.
ADAM, Michael, a convert at Zürich, + 1550, translated into Judæo-German
"Josephus' War," the Pentateuch, the five Megilloth, viz., The Song of
Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther. In this work he
was supported by Paulus Fagius.
ADLER, Rev. August Carl, a native of Höchst in Hesse Darmstadt, convert
and missionary of the L.J.S. After special training in the Hebrew
Missionary College, he laboured for a short time at Bucharest and at
Frankfort-on-the-Maine, and after 1872 he had the charge of the mission
at Amsterdam, where he laboured with great ability and success. He died
there September 15, 1907. At his funeral the Mayor of Amsterdam said
that his life left a lustre which would be a guide to many. He testified
that Adler had engraven the truth in the hearts of those who knew him.
ADLER, Rev. J., after his baptism, studied at Basel, then in Operative
Jewish Converts' Institution. He was a devoted missionary of the Mildmay
Mission from its beginning until he died. He was well beloved by all who
came in contact with him. He translated the New Testament into Yiddish.
ADLER, a brother of the above, did for a time evangelistic work among
the Jews in the Baltic Provinces. His daughter is now the wife of a
clergyman in Australia.
ADRIAN, of Emden, embraced Christianity in 1607 at Frankfort. He wrote
an hortatory letter to the Jews of Wittenberg in 1609, exhorting them to
repent and believe in the Saviour.
ADRIANUS, Mathaeus, a convert in Germany, well known to Erasmus. He was
professor of Hebrew, wrote an Introduction to the Hebrew language, and a
prayer entitled, "Hora pro Domino."
AGOSHE, a Falasha convert of the L.J.S. in Abyssinia. He was won to the
Saviour through the instrumentality of Mr. Flad and Mr. Bronkhorst, and
was baptized with 21 others in 1862. During the imprisonment of the
missionaries he ministered to their wants by supplying them secretly at
night with food. After they were released, he went to study at St.
Chrischona, in Basel, but the climate did not agree with him. In 1873 he
returned to Abyssinia and with Samony founded a school at the station of
Asseso, laboured there with great fidelity, and bore testimony for
Christ before all classes. God owned and crowned his labours, for on one
Sunday ten Falashas were baptized, amongst whom were some of his
relations.
ALAMY, or Alomy Debtera, another Abyssinian convert of the L.J.S., had
his sphere of labour at Dagusu.
ALEXANDER, John, an English Jewish convert in the seventeenth century,
wrote after his baptism a book entitled, "Covenant Displayed," in which
he shewed his brethren that the covenant of God with Israel is only
realized in Christ Jesus.
ALEXANDER, John, was for many years an agent of the Bible Society at the
Crystal Palace, and did good work there. He laboured also with the
writer and the late Mr. Mamlock at the Paris Exhibition in 1879. He
accompanied the Rev. Frederick Smith to St Petersburg in 1874, when they
obtained permission to reopen the Mission in Poland. Alexander wrote a
number of articles for the "Scattered Nation" and for "Good Words," and
a book entitled "The Jews, their Past, Present, and Future" (London,
1870).
ALEXANDER, Michael Solomon, first Protestant Bishop in Jerusalem,[5]
was born of Jewish parents in Schönlanke, a small manufacturing town in
the grand duchy of Posen in May 1799. He was trained in the strictest
and straitest principles of rabbinical and orthodox Judaism. At the age
of sixteen he became a teacher of the Talmud and of the German language.
In 1820, when in his twenty-first year, he came to England to engage in
a similar pursuit, and also to perform the duties of a shochet. At that
time, as he said, he had not the slightest acquaintance with
Christianity, and did not even know of the existence of the New
Testament. His knowledge of Christ was limited to strong impressions of
prejudice against the Holy Name. Disappointed of a situation in London,
he settled down as a tutor at Colchester. There the sight of a handbill
of the London Jews' Society, notifying its Annual Meeting, aroused his
curiosity, and he obtained and read the New Testament. Shortly
afterwards he accepted the post of rabbi at Norwich, and subsequently at
Plymouth, and in 1821 he married Miss Levy of that town. He there, in
the providence of God, became acquainted with the Rev. B. B. Golding,
curate of Stonehouse, to whom he gave lessons in Hebrew, and from the
conversations which ensued from time to time, Alexander, after much
inward conflict, almost came to the conviction of the truth of
Christianity. The struggle was now almost heart-rending. He used to
steal silently down to Stonehouse Church on Sunday evenings, and, under
the shadow of its walls, would stand riveted to the spot, while he
listened to the songs of Christian praise, in which he dared not as yet
take part. His congregation, however, soon got to hear of his leanings
to Christianity, and he was suspended from his duties as rabbi. He now
regularly attended Mr. Golding's ministry, and was eventually baptized,
on June 22, 1825, in St. Andrew's Church, Plymouth, in the presence of
1,000 people. His wife, who had been a secret enquirer, unknown to her
husband, was baptized six months later in Exeter. Owing to Alexander's
position, his conversion aroused much interest, and proved a great
encouragement to all workers in the cause. He was ordained deacon in
Dublin, in 1827, by Archbishop Magee, at a time when the ordination of a
Hebrew Christian was of very rare occurrence indeed, and appointed to a
small charge in that city. In December of the same year he was ordained
priest by the Bishop of Kildare, and joined the London Jews' Society,
which he served as missionary, in Danzig, from 1827 to 1830, and in
London from 1830 to 1841.
[5] This and following eleven pages are taken from _Biographies of
Eminent Hebrew Christians_.
One of the most interesting incidents in his work in Prussia was a visit
to his birthplace, and the meeting with his brother, a rabbi to a large
congregation near Posen. We quote the future Bishop's own words, as
shewing his humbleness of mind, and how fully he had left Judaism
behind, and entered into the joys of his new faith.
"I cannot describe my feelings on finding myself now in Posen, my native
country, when I reflect on the wonderful dealings of the Lord with me
since I left this place nine years ago. I was then a wandering sheep
from my Saviour's fold, walking in darkness, and in the shades of death,
ignorant of the Lord that bought me. How did He lead me? the blind by a
way that I knew not. My soul doth magnify the Lord, because my spirit
rejoiceth in my God, as my Saviour, especially when I consider I am now
engaged as an humble, but unworthy, instrument to preach the glad
tidings of salvation, and to declare to my brethren, what the Lord hath
done for my soul. When my prospects of usefulness are dark, I look to my
Lord, and say, 'Thy grace is sufficient for me; Thy strength is made
perfect in my weakness.'
"The Lord gave me another gracious token of His mercy at Posen. I wrote
to my brother, who is rabbi to the large Jewish congregation twelve
miles from Posen, informing him of my arrival, and requesting that we
might have a meeting. I had very faint hopes of his compliance, as he
had been most bitter against me since my baptism. His letter, however,
expressed a wish to meet me half way from Posen. I immediately set off,
and had the unspeakable satisfaction of embracing my brother, not as an
enemy, even for the Gospel's sake, but full of brotherly love and
affection, and even giving me credit for sincerity. I stated to him the
Gospel, and declared also to him an account of the hope that was in me.
He acknowledged that he had not given the subject due consideration, but
he promised he would. He told me what is very important, viz., _that it
is generally expected among the Jews, that the coming generation will
embrace Christianity, and that Judaism is fast dying away_. Time would
not allow him to be much with us, and we parted, praying together that
the Lord would open his eyes to behold His glory, as it shines in the
face of Jesus, and that we may both be united in His love, and become
brothers in Christ."[6]
[6] _Jewish Expositor_, July, 1828, p. 260.
In his work in London, Alexander frequently preached to Jews, and took
an active part in the revision of the New Testament in Hebrew and the
translation of the Liturgy into the same language. He held the post of
Professor of Hebrew and Rabbinical Literature in King's College, London,
from 1832 to 1841. In 1840 Professor Alexander's name appeared at the
head of some sixty names of leading converts from Judaism, who had
subscribed to a formal "protest of Christian Jews in England" against
the Blood Accusation, or charge against the Jews of using Christian
blood in their passover rites. This was a remarkable document, emanating
as it did from so many who were by nationality Jews, and who had lived
to maturity in the faith and practice of modern Judaism.
Just at this juncture an event took place which then and since aroused
considerable commotion in the religious world at home, the establishment
of the Anglican Bishopric at Jerusalem.
Dr. McCaul, to whom the Bishopric was first offered, declined it on the
ground that a Hebrew Christian ought to occupy the position.
Consequently, Alexander was selected and consecrated, as first Bishop
of the new See, on Sunday, November 7, 1841, in Lambeth Palace, by Dr.
Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by Dr. Blomfield, Bishop of
London, Dr. Murray, Bishop of Rochester, and Dr. Selwyn, Bishop of New
Zealand. A distinguished company was present, including his Excellency
the Chevalier Bunsen, as representing the King of Prussia; Sir Stratford
Canning, Her Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary to the Porte; Baron
Schleinitz, Prussian Chargé d'Affaires; the Prussian Consul-General
Hebeler; Lord Ashley; the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone; the Right Hon. Dr.
Nicholl; Sir Robert H. Inglis; Sir Claudius Hunter, and the Rev. Dr.
Abeken, Chaplain to the King of Prussia. The sermon was preached by Dr.
McCaul from the appropriate text of Isa. lii. 7, "How beautiful upon the
mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that
publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth
salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"
The next morning the Holy Communion was celebrated in the Episcopal
Jews' Chapel by the new Bishop, who preached his last sermon before his
departure from England, in the evening, from the appropriate, and, as
subsequent circumstances proved, pathetic words, "And now, behold, I go
bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall
befall me there," &c. (Acts xx. 22-24). On the 13th a farewell meeting
was held, and an address presented to the Bishop, who with Mrs.
Alexander, the Rev. G. Williams, his private chaplain, the Rev. F. C.
and Mrs. Ewald, and Dr. E. Macgowan, sailed from Portsmouth, on December
7. H.M. Steam Frigate "Devastation" was granted for the purpose by the
Government. The party arrived off Beyrout on January 14, 1842, and
reached Jerusalem on January 21.
The entry of the Bishop into Jerusalem was a unique event in the history
of the Holy City, and was thus described by himself:--"On Friday evening
we arrived in the city of our forefathers under circumstances of
peculiar respect and honour.... We formed quite a large body--the
Consul-General (Colonel Rose), with seven or eight of his escort;
Captain Gordon, and six or seven of the officers of the 'Devastation';
Mr. Nicolayson and Mr. Bergheim, who met us at Jaffa, and accompanied
us; Mr. Johns and the American missionaries, with escorts, who came to
meet us about three miles from Jerusalem; and, at last, the chief
officers sent by the Pasha, who had himself come to meet us in the
afternoon, but was obliged to return, as night came on, and it was damp
(we arrived about six o'clock), and a troop of soldiers, headed by Arab
music, which is something like the beating of a tin kettle. Thus we
entered through the Jaffa gate, under the firing of salutes, &c., into
Jerusalem, and were conducted to Mr. Nicolayson's house, where we were
most kindly and hospitably received, and all felt overwhelmed with
gratitude and adoration.... We had service in the temporary chapel on
Sunday last. I preached my first sermon from Isaiah lx. 15; Mr. Williams
preached in the afternoon, and Mr. Nicolayson conducted a German
service in the evening. We had a very good congregation, all our
friends, the Consul-General, Captain Gordon, and the officers, being
present. Our feelings on the occasion can be better imagined than
expressed, as you may easily suppose. We also had the Sacrament, and it
will be pleasing to the ladies of Reading to know, that the handsome
communion-service which they presented to the church was made use of for
the first time by the Bishop of Jerusalem."[7]
[7] _Jewish Intelligence_, 1842, p. 127.
_The Times_ contained a full account of the Bishop's entry, and
concluded with these words:--"The Mission is sure of the firm support of
the British Government and the British Ambassador at the Porte. As
regards Syria, the Consul-General has lent all the force of his official
authority, personal influence, and popularity, to set the undertaking
afloat, while the mild and benevolent character of the Bishop, and the
sound practical sense and valuable local experience of his coadjutor,
Mr. Nicolayson, are sure guarantees that caution, charity, and
conciliation will preside at all their efforts."
In conformity with instructions received from Constantinople,
proclamation was made in the mosques, that "he who touches the Anglican
Bishop will be regarded as touching the apple of the Pasha's eye."
The presence of the Bishop was soon felt in work amongst the Jews in
Jerusalem. The daily services held in the temporary chapel on Mount Zion
were a source of much delight to him, and also the large congregations.
The Bishop thus summed up his episcopal duties for the first year: "We
have had every ordinance of our Church performed in our chapel." The
Bishop had held his first ordination on March 17, had baptized a Jew on
Whitsun Day, and confirmed eight Hebrew Christians; married two
converts; finishing up with the ordination of a Hebrew Christian
missionary. The upper room proved all too small, and the building of the
London Society's permanent church, which was to serve the joint purposes
of a Cathedral, a chapel for British residence, and a mission centre,
was proceeded with, although Alexander did not live to see its
consecration. His episcopate was destined to be a very brief one, but
its three years may well be described as "years of plenty." His letters
shew how ardently he threw himself into his work, and how very near his
heart it was. Outlying districts of his extensive diocese were visited;
and the outlook was bright and promising.
A great blow fell upon the work in the autumn of 1845, in his sudden
death, on Nov. 26, after the short episcopate of four years. The sad
event occurred in the desert at Ras-el-Wady, on his way to visit Egypt,
which formed a part of the diocese of Jerusalem. A pathetic interest
attaches to the Bishop's last annual letter, written before he started
for Cairo, in which, speaking of his arrangements, he alluded to the
"uncertainty of everything."
As to the past he spoke with conscious satisfaction of the Divine
blessing resting upon the work of Jewish converts baptized and
confirmed, and amicable intercourse maintained with Jewish residents and
strangers in Jerusalem, of opportunities at Jaffa, of his visit to
Damascus, and of friendly relations maintained with the different
churches. He thus concluded: "On the whole we have great reason to thank
God and take courage, and to call upon our friends to join with us in
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, on the memorable day, January
21, when we made our first entry into the Holy City. A day which is much
to be remembered, even when the results, which have already followed in
this short period, be alone taken into consideration; but a day which we
trust will yet prove one of the most remarkable in the history of the
Church, when the Lord 'shall build up Zion, and appear in His glory,'
and when all, who now mourn for her, seeing her desolate and trodden
down, shall rejoice for joy with her; and when God's people shall be
delighted with the abundance of her glory."
Mrs. Alexander thus described the Bishop's last days in the desert at
Belveis, Nov. 3, 1845: "On setting out through the desert, each day my
beloved husband and myself rode our own horses; we generally were in
advance of the caravan, and we used regularly to chant some of our
Hebrew chants, and sang the following hymns: 'Children of the Heavenly
King;' 'Long has the Harp of Judah hung;' Psalm cxi.; 'Glorious things
of thee are spoken;' all out of our own hymn-book; and never did his
warm and tender heart overflow so fully, as when he spoke of Israel's
future restoration. When I spoke to him about his duties in England, he
answered, 'I hope, if invited, to preach my first sermon in England at
the Episcopal Jews' Chapel;' and on my asking what subject he would
take, he replied, 'I shall resume the subject I adopted when I last left
that dear congregation;' namely, that none of these trials had moved
him. (Acts xx. 24-28.)"
His chaplain, the Rev. W. D. Veitch, reporting the death, said: "It was
truly a heart-rending scene. In a tent, in the wild sandy desert, no
medical help at hand, to see the widowed wife and fatherless daughter
bending over the lowly pallet, on which were stretched the lifeless
remains."
"The immediate cause of death," wrote Mrs. Leider, who formed one of the
party, "was rupture of one of the largest bloodvessels near the heart;
but the whole of the lungs, liver, and heart, were found in an
exceedingly diseased state, and had been so for a length of time; the
accelerating cause, doubtless, was great and continued anxiety--such as
the Bishopric of Jerusalem and its cares can best account for. I heard
it said on this occasion that had his lordship not come into the East,
he might possibly have lived to a good old age; but the mitre of
Jerusalem, like the wreath of our blessed Lord, has been to him a crown
of thorns."
The body was taken first to Cairo, where Mr. Veitch preached the funeral
sermon from the most appropriate text that could have been chosen--"So
Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab" (Deut.
xxxiv. 5).
On December 6, a mournful caravan set out from Cairo with the Bishop's
remains, recalling the sad procession which returned to the Promised
Land with the bones of Joseph. The cortège arrived at Jerusalem on the
20th of the same month, at seven o'clock in the evening, and proceeded
at once to the English cemetery, where, by torchlight, the remains of
the beloved and venerated prelate were deposited in their last resting
place, the Rev. J. Nicolayson reading the service. Funeral sermons were
preached by him in Jerusalem the next day, and in the Episcopal Jews'
Chapel, London, on December 28, by the Rev. J. B. Cartwright.
A letter of condolence to Mrs. Alexander, signed by thirty-one Jewish
converts at Jerusalem, was the most eloquent testimony to the blessing
which had followed the successful labours of the Bishop. The signatories
said: "Next to yourself and your dear family, we consider ourselves the
chief mourners; for we feel both collectively and individually that we
have lost not only a true Father in Christ, but also a loving brother
and a most kind friend. The suavity and benignity of his manner, which
so greatly endeared him to all, and which gained him the highest and
most entire filial confidence of every one of us, tend much to increase
the keen sense we feel of our loss. The affectionate love he bore to
Israel, which peculiarly characterised him, could not fail to render him
beloved by every one who had the privilege of being acquainted with him:
while his exalted piety, and most exemplary life and conversation,
inspired the highest reverential esteem. He was a burning and a shining
light; and when he was raised to the highest dignity in the Church, he
conferred the most conspicuous honour on our whole nation, but
especially on the little band of Jewish believers. With him captive
Judah's brightest earthly star has set, and the top stone has been taken
away from the rising Hebrew Church."
We do not think that any more expressive words of the sterling quality
of the Bishop's character could have been penned than these. And yet we
should like to supplement them.
Many friends testified their love and esteem for the Bishop by raising a
most gratifying testimonial to his memory, amounting to over £3,000,
which was handed to his widow and family. It is interesting to glance at
the list of contributors after this lapse of time, for it reveals the
fact that the Bishop was highly esteemed by rich and poor alike. Amongst
the former we notice the names of the Dowager Queen Adelaide, the then
Archbishops of Canterbury and Armagh, and the Bishops of London,
Winchester, Ripon, Lichfield, Lincoln, Peterborough, Llandaff, Sodor and
Man, and Madras. The Primate of All England spoke of Alexander having
conducted the affairs of his Church with so much discretion and
prudence, as to give no cause of complaint to the heads of other
communions residing in the same city, and to win their respect and
esteem by his piety and beneficence, and by his persevering yet
temperate zeal in prosecuting the objects of his mission.
He lived and worked in constant dependence upon the Holy Spirit whose
power he conspicuously honoured. It was his invariable practice to
impress upon those whom he was about to teach the absolute impossibility
of their understanding divine things without His aid. This was as
noticeable in his earlier years as missionary, as in his later ones as
bishop. His conciliatory manner in dealing with Jews, his transparent
love for his brethren, his calmness amidst opposition, did much to
disarm the excited assembly at the Conferences in Aldermanbury, and the
violent attitude of the mob when he revisited his Jewish relatives at
Schönlanke. He was bold and fearless in the delivery of his message,
faithful in everything, anxious above all things to bear testimony to
the name and glory of his Master, and to make full proof of his
ministry, whether as missionary or bishop.
His friends, and those who worked under him at Jerusalem, loved him for
his kind nature--for he had an ear, heart, and purse open to all--and
for his simple-hearted piety. He was an Israelite indeed in whom there
was no guile. He had a ripeness of Christian experience, and unaffected
earnestness of purpose. His was a strikingly interesting personality,
rendered doubly so in that he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and in his
episcopal dignity a link with the primitive Hebrew Christian Church in
the Mother City of Christendom.
The Bishop published: "The Hope of Israel," 1831; The "Glory of Mount
Zion," 1839; "The Flower that Fadeth," "Memoir of Sarah Alexander,"
1841.
ALEXANDERSON, Daniel, was baptized in Holland in 1621. He published in
the Syriac (rabbinic) language a confession of faith, to which he
appended an epistle to the dispersed Jews, asking them to accept Jesus
as their Saviour. This was translated into Dutch, German, and French by
Petrus Jacobi, (Amsterdam, 1642).
ALMAN, Rev. S., a minister of the Gospel in New York.
ALTHAUSEN, Dr., son of a well-known rabbi in Russia. After studying
medicine at Lemberg he was appointed as military doctor in Russia. At
the age of 35 he was converted and baptized by Pastor Landesen, in
Charkow, in 1855, and his wife and children followed his example a year
or two afterwards. He then devoted himself to missionary work in St.
Petersburg and in other cities, and did good work, notably in spreading
the New Testament which was plentifully supplied to him by the late Rev.
John Wilkinson, of the Mildmay Mission.
ALTMANN, J., a convert of the L.J.S., baptized by the Rev. F. G.
Kleinhenn, at Bucharest, now labouring for many years as an evangelist
in Transsylvania, Hungary.
ALTSCHILLER, L., son of the Rabbi of Morcompol, had received the tract
"Life of Augusti," which made a great impression upon him. He was
instructed by Goldinger of the L.J.S., and was baptized in Poland in
1848.
AMSDEN, of Vermont, a convert and missionary to the Jews in the United
States about 1850.
ANGEL, Rev. B., convert and missionary to the Jews in New York.
ANTON, Carl (Moses Gershon Cohen), a descendant of Bartenora Hayim
Vital, born in Mitau (Curland), in 1722, of a family called "the Golden
Chains." After studying for seven years at Prague, under Jonathan
Eibenschütz, he travelled in the East and became very ill at
Constantinople. It was there when reading Dan. ix. that he began to
think seriously as to the state of his soul. On his return to Germany he
was baptized at Wolfenbuttel by Pastor Meyers in 1748. The Duke of
Brunswick appointed him Professor of Hebrew at Helmstadt. He wrote a
Latin tract, "The Wandering Jew," entitled "Commentatio Historica de
Judæo Immortali in qua haec Fabula examinatur et confutatur," Helmstadt,
1756; translated Abraham Jaegel's Catechism, "Lekah Tob" (Good
Instruction), Brunswick, 1756; and gave a description of a rare copy of
"Shulhan Aruk Eben haezer," to be found in manuscript in the City
Library, Hamburg. He also wrote "Fabulae Antiquitatum Ebraicum Veterum,"
&c., Brunswick, 1756. Also "Sammlung Einiger Rabbinischer Oden Nebst
Einer Frayen Uebersetzung, Kurzer entworf Jüdescher Gebräuche
Akademischer Vorlesungen entworfen," three parts, Brunswick, 1752-1754.
In the preface to his book, "Wahre Gründe, welche Einen Juden Zur wahren
Bekehrung, oder zum Heilande der welt Jesu Christo führen Können," he
utters the following fervent prayer:
"At the conclusion of my work, I humbly invoke the righteous and
merciful Father, that He may enlighten all Israel with the light from on
high, that they may with a pure heart acknowledge Jesus as the only
means of their future life. O that they might see in the stem of Jesse
the tree of life, and be inflamed with love to Him by the Omnipotent
Spirit! O that they might at last acknowledge the Son of Mary as the
fountain of salvation out of which they can draw grace for grace! O that
they might seek a refuge in the long ago appeared Lion out of the tribe
of Judah, who has destroyed the dominion of Satan and restored eternal
peace! O that they might kiss with lips and heart the glorified Son whom
their fathers so carelessly rejected, but who has become the precious
Cornerstone, who after achieving His triumph ascended to sit at the
right hand of the Father and praised by the whole host of heaven. O
triune God, open thou their eyes, that they may see." ("A Fürst.
Christen und Juden," 163).
Pastor de le Roi mentions a rumour that Anton at last relapsed into
Judaism, but this must have arisen because he defended Jacob Emden and
his former teacher Eibenschutz in their dispute with Waggenseil. Dr. S.
A. Hirsch, Professor in Jews' College, London, who wrote the article in
the "Jewish Encyclopædia" and referred to Grätz, does not give a
syllable about Anton's relapse.
ARGAWI, M., convert and leading missionary of the L.J.S. in Abyssinia.
He has laboured there for many years amidst great hardships and even
amidst martyrdoms of his believing brethren. (See the little tract,
"Martyrs of Jesus.")
ARIAS, E. P., missionary of the L.J.S. at Rome for many years.
ARNHOLD, Siegfried Heinrich, D.Ph., embraced Christianity at Berlin in
1854. He was Professor of the Polytechnic in that city, and died as such
in 1884.
ASSING, David Assur, born at Königsberg, 1787, died 1842, was baptized
in 1815. He was physician and poet; served first in the Russian and then
in the Prussian army. He wrote a treatise entitled, "Materiae
Alimentariae Leneamenta ad leges Chemico-Dynamicas Adumbrata" ("Food and
their Relation to Chemical-Dynamical Laws.") This was published at
Göttingen in 1809.
ASSER, M. E., a convert, councillor at the Ministry of Justice in
Holland.
AUGSBURGER, Emmanuel, baptized by Gottheil at Stuttgart in 1852, a
first-fruit of the mission there. Though only a working weaver by trade,
he accomplished much good by his voluntary testimony and by his
exemplary life. (See _Jewish Herald_, 1853 and 1886).
AUGUST, Jacob Michael, baptized with his wife and children in
Greifswald, Germany, about 1723. He became Lector (reader) of Oriental
languages at the University of Leipzig.
AUGUSTI, Friedrich Albert (Joshua), was born at Frankfort-on-the-Oder,
1691. He was the son of Joshua ben Abraham Eschel and Rebecca Pinto,
descendants of a Venetian family. When he was only seven years old he
shewed already great talents for learning, and delivered a sermonette at
a wedding, so that a savant present remarked: "This boy will be a
teacher in Israel." But as a precocious child he had to be guarded
against mischief. Once he nearly lost his life while bathing. After the
death of his father, Augusti, having read a book which described the
glory of Jerusalem, felt a great desire to go there, and it soon so
happened that a Jerusalem delegate, Aron Bar Jekutiel, arrived at
Frankfort, and offered to take him with him. The mother, after some
resistance to the boy's entreaties, finally gave her consent and parted
with him in sorrow. The two travellers went first to Russia, intending
to go by the Black Sea to Constantinople and then to Jerusalem. In the
Crimea a band of robbers overtook them at a lonely spot, and Augusti was
taken captive, while his companion managed to escape. The robbers
brought him to a town and sold him as a slave for three and a-half
dollars. After severe trials on board a ship, where he was tempted to
embrace Mohammedanism, the slave dealer sold him to a Mohammedan Jew by
the name of Ismael Bathmag, who brought him to Smyrna. Here the Jewish
community purchased his freedom from slavery for 100 dollars, and after
six months sent him home. On his homeward journey he stopped at
Kaminice, where he was dangerously ill with cholera. After his recovery
he eventually came to Cracow, where he remained four years studying
languages. From thence he went to Prague and devoted himself to the
study of Jewish theology under Rabbi Gabriel, who conferred upon him the
title of Morenu, D.D. He then interpreted the famous grammarian, Binyan
Shelomo. Returning to Frankfort, he saw his mother, who desired him to
get married and settle down, but he felt impelled to go to Italy in
order to study Kabbalistic lore there. While living in Sonderhasen, in
1720, he was maltreated by a gang of robbers, who broke into the house
in which he resided, and robbed him and his landlord to the amount of
20,000 dollars. It then so happened that a member of the princely family
of Schwarzburg died, when the Court Jew Wallich, in expressing his
condolence with the reigning prince, used the expression "der hochselige
Prinz" with reference to the deceased. Whereupon the prince charged him
with flattery, as he did not think that the Jews believed that a
Christian could be saved. Wallich then brought Augusti, who proved from
the "Sefer Hasidim" that a pious Christian who keeps the seven Noachian
Commandments has a share in the world to come. This incident was in the
providence of God the first means in Augusti's conversion. On that
occasion Dr. Reinhardt, an evangelical pastor, was present, and they
became acquainted with each other. This led later to discussions about
the interpretation of Isaiah liii. Augusti, after much searching in
Jewish commentaries, was convinced that this chapter speaks of a person
and that Jesus is the one in whom it was fulfilled. Before his baptism
he made an open confession in the synagogue of his faith in Christ, and
he was baptized on Christmas Day, 1722, in the presence of Prince
Gunther and the whole court officials. After his baptism he delivered
an address on Ps. ix. 2, in which he expressed his thanksgiving for
God's wonderful dealing with him. Soon after he began to study theology
at the Seminary of Gotha. In 1727, he went to Jena, and afterward to
Leipzig. He was appointed Assistant Professor of the Gymnasium at Gotha,
in 1729, and in 1734 became minister of the parish of Eschberge, in
which position he remained until his death. The famous theologian,
Johann Christi Wilhelm Augusti, was his grandson. Augusti published
several works in Latin and German, notably "Das Geheimnis des
Sambathian." ("The Mystery of the Sambathian," a fabulous river
mentioned in the Talmud, which casts stones during six days in the week
and rests on the Sabbath.) He also published a work on the Karaites.
BABA, M. D. M., a convert of the L.J.S. in Persia.
BACH, Daniel Friedrich, born in Potsdam, 1756, died in 1830, studied in
the Art Academy of Berlin. The year of his embracing Christianity is not
mentioned. He became a famous painter. (Brockhaus Conv. Lex. I. 99).
BACHERT, Rev. S. T., A.K.C., convert and missionary of the L.J.S. After
his ordination he was curate of St. Matthew's, Marylebone, St. John's,
Kilburn, and St. Michael's and All Angel's, South Hackney, London. He
was appointed as head of the mission in Hamburg in 1874, where he
laboured with evident divine approval for about a quarter of a century.
He was the founder of a home for enquirers, with a workshop, as well as
of a chapel attached to it, where the inmates studied, worked, lodged,
worshipped, and were under a well-organized Christian training. A very
large number found eternal peace there, and quite a considerable number
became ministers and evangelists of the Gospel. Bachert was afterwards
promoted to be the Head of the Missionary Training College in London,
and when this was given up, he was sent to take charge of the mission in
the north of England. The story of his conversion is a very pathetic
one.
BAFFRAL, James, a prolific statistical writer, baptized at Strasburg on
Christmas Day, 1859; his wife (_née Levy_) and five children two years
later. The relations, after the death of the father, tried their utmost
to bring the children back to Judaism, and they appealed to the law of
the land, but failed. One of the daughters afterward became
superintendent of the Deaconesses' Institution.
BALAGHI, F., Professor of Theology in Hungary, was a pupil of Theodor
Meyer when he was stationed at Prague.
BAHN, Martin August, a Berlin Jewish student, embraced Christianity when
he was under the teaching and influence of Schleiermacher, in 1837.
BAHRI, Rev. Joseph, convert of the British Society at Stuttgart;
laboured for several years as missionary of the L.J.S. at Vienna, and
then as curate to Bishop Billing in the Parish Church of Spitalfields,
and then curate of Hoby and Rotherby where he died at the age of 43. He
was a spiritually-minded man and a fervent preacher, and cherished
boundless love for his nation.
BALLIN, Josef, a well-known historical painter, a native of Weener,
Ostfriesland, was baptized by Pauli of the L.J.S. when stationed at
Berlin about 1843.
BARNETT, Henry. The following is his own account of himself:--
"For twenty years I lived with my parents in a small town in Poland,
called Konin. These years were entirely spent in the study of tradition
and religion, as it had been my father's desire to preserve 'law and
religion' for the youngest of his family, the other members following in
the pursuit of business. In those years I knew not the nature of sin.
The New Testament I never saw with my eyes; such words as the 'gospel'
and 'missionary' were not at all in my vocabulary. I was going on with
the religion of my fathers in pride and conceit, yet weeping over sin
and pleading for mercy and pardon, though I did not know how hideous sin
was in the sight of God, neither did it ever enter my mind to ask myself
whether I obtained those things I so earnestly sought for from God.
Satisfied with the religious duties of my life whilst sin was doing its
work, and priding myself in being engaged in a higher capacity than the
mere ordinary trade or business man of the Jewish community. When I was
about twenty-one years of age I left my home to avoid military
conscription. Before I left I prepared myself for occupying a position
among the Jews as a 'slaughterer' in connexion with the synagogue. I did
not succeed in this, not being a good singer for conducting public
prayers. Reaching London, there seemed only one thing to do, viz., to
learn a trade in order to maintain myself. Whilst learning a trade
amongst my Jewish brethren I also learned 'Sabbath-breaking,' gradually
gave up the morning and evening prayers, and went more and more into
sin.
"In a wonderful way the Lord brought me under the influence of the
Gospel. On the voyage from Hamburg to Hull I met with a Jew who
professed Christianity. I met him about six months later in London, and
made occasional calls upon him. While I was doing this my heart went
often up to God to deliver me from taking a wrong step. I only knew then
the opinion of Jews regarding the Jewish missionary and his enterprises.
I felt then that whatever the man himself might be, what he proclaims
was not to be despised, and I attended the Gospel meetings at spare
times with a kind of double feeling. I began to read the New Testament,
and 'faith came by hearing' before two years (1873) expired after my
being under the sound of the Gospel. I knew that I was a sinner,
according to Psalm li. I learned the meaning of Ezekiel xxxiii. 13. I
found the true Messiah of Isaiah liii., and understood that Christ died
_for me_. I 'believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and was saved' (Acts xvi.
31). Since 1882 I have been enabled, like Saul of Tarsus, to cry, 'Lord
what wilt Thou have me to do?' (Acts ix. 6)."
BARON, Rev. David, was likewise for many years in the Mildmay Mission
and companion to Barnett in his travels. He is the founder of the
Mission under the title, "Hebrew Christian Testimony for Israel." He is
known as a good expositor of Scripture and is author of several books
relating to the Jews.
BARTHOLDY, Jacob Levi Salomo, was uncle on the mother's side to Felix
Mendelssohn born, in Berlin, 1779, died in Rome, 1826. He became a
member of the Protestant Church in 1805, and through his influence the
whole Mendelssohn family became Christians. He served as an officer in
the Prussian army, and in 1815 he was appointed consul-general in Rome.
He wrote treatises on modern Greek, a description of the Terolese war,
and "Traits from the life of Cardinal Consalvi." The Berlin Museum
possesses his collection of antiquities, comprising Etruscan vases,
bronzes, ivories, majolicas, etc., which are now displayed in the
National Gallery.
BASEVI, George Joshua, architect, followed the example of his
brother-in-law Isaac Disraeli, in leaving the synagogue in 1817. But it
must be stated that no writer expressly asserts that either of the two
were received into the Church by baptism. This is known, that Basevi
while inspecting the bell-tower of Ely Cathedral fell and was killed
instantly, and then received Christian burial in the chapel at the east
end of the Cathedral.
BASSIN, Eliezer, born about 1840 in the government of Moghilev, Russia.
In 1869 he went to Constantinople, and then after experiencing God's
wonderful dealings with him (so graphically described by Miss Stern in
her book "Eliezer") he made a public confession of his faith in Christ.
He was afterwards a student of the L.J.S. Training College at Palestine
Place, and was sent out as a missionary to Jassy, Roumania, by the same
Society. Later he laboured for some years in Edinburgh, under a Scotch
Society. He was the author of a work entitled, "The Modern Hebrew and
the Hebrew Christian," London, 1882, which contains an autobiography,
relating his experience after deserting from the Russian army, and
information about the Hasidim, especially the sect "Habad." Also "A
Finger-post to the Way of Salvation," 1882. In 1881 he published a
pamphlet entitled "Eintracht" (Harmony), in which he pleaded the cause of
the Jews against the Anti-Semitic agitation in Germany.
BECHAR, J., baptized at Constantinople in 1873, studied at St.
Chrischona, Basel, and was appointed later as City Missionary in
Neuchâtel.
BEHRENS, A. J., convert, student and missionary of L.J.S, was pioneer
Missionary in Safed in the forties of the 18th century and at Jassy in
1850.
BEHRENS, Rev. A. D., son of the former, esteemed of the L.J.S., whom the
writer learned to know and love in 1873 at Breslau, was appointed to the
charge of the Mission at Vienna in 1875. A daughter married the convert
Glück, a physician of high standing in Bucharest. Thus father and child
have made known God's truth in their respective spheres.
BEHRENS, S. J., another Jewish convert, was for twenty years accountant
and collector of the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, an
exemplary Christian, and well beloved by all who came in contact with
him. His life made a salutary impression upon his rich brothers in
Hamburg, who, although they yet remained members of the synagogue,
granted his wife a liberal pension for life.
BELLSON, Rev. R., born in the neighbourhood of Cassel, Germany, in 1805.
L.J.S. missionary from 1831, successor of Pauli in Berlin, 1844. He was
an excellent scholar and was much respected by the cultured Jews. In the
very first year of his activity there, he had the privilege of leading
twenty Jewish souls to the Saviour. One of his converts was the Rev. A.
D. Hefter, another Kappelin. He wrote in "Dibre Emeth," "Blätter für
Israel's Gegenwart und Zukunft."
BELMONTE, E., banker in New York, connected with Rothschild, joined the
Protestant Church, whilst a number of the same family joined the Roman
Church at different times. (See "Jewish Encyclopædia.")
BELMONTE, Hannah, a near relation of Da Costa, and later his wife,
became a Christian in 1822.
BENARY, Franz Ferdinand, born at Cassel in 1805, baptized between
1824-27. He became Professor of Theology in 1831, lectured in Berlin on
Oriental languages and exegesis, published the Old Indian Art poem,
"Naloduza" in 1830, a treatise under the title, "De Leviratu," Hebr.
1835.
BENARY, Karl Albert Agathan, a brother of the former, likewise became a
convert, was teacher at the Gymnasium in Berlin, wrote largely on
Classics, died in 1860.
BENASON, A., after his conversion wrote several Christian hymns. (See
"Saat auf Hoffnung, 1881.")
BENDER, Carl Theodor, born at Berlin in 1818, studied law, and was
baptized in 1837 by Pastor Jonas of the Nikolai Kirche there.
BENDERMAN, Edward, born in Berlin in 1811, son of a banker, embraced
Christianity about 1832. He became a celebrated artist and professor of
art in the Dresden Academy. Some of his pictures are: Boaz and Ruth, The
Jews in Babylon (Ps. cxxxvii.), Jeremiah amidst the ruins of Jerusalem,
The wandering of the Jews into captivity to Babylon, in the Natural
Gallery in Berlin. These pictures exhibit profound religious feeling on
the part of the artist, and sympathy with his Jewish brethren.
BENDIX, Paul, Dr., was born at Rummelsberg in Prussia, Aug. 29, 1823. He
was early sent to a Christian school, where he was often moved to tears
when hearing of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the age of
seventeen he went to Danzig for rabbinical study, and afterwards to the
Berlin University, where he gained the diploma of Ph.D. in 1850.
Subsequently he became rabbi, and worked at Berent and Grandenz. He
disapproved of many of the old Jewish customs, but his congregation
refused to allow the introduction of any reforms. The wardens of the
synagogue at Grandenz, where he officiated from 1854 to 1858, wrote of
him in a testimonial: "The sermons of Dr. Bendix were instructive and
edifying, and owing to his splendid delivery and great oratorical power
they never failed to make a deep impression on his hearers." While at
Grandenz he made the acquaintance of a Christian clergyman, through whom
he was led to study the New Testament. The reading of this deeply
affected him. Later on he went to live in the house of a converted Jew,
which caused many of his hearers to warn him not to hold intercourse
with him on Christianity. But he was now seeking for truth and peace,
and though he avoided conversation, he could not help noticing the
upright and serious life of his landlord, who closed his place of
business on the Lord's Day, held family worship morning and evening, and
took a keen interest in home and foreign missions. All this made an
impression on him, and made him say: "This man, surely, possesses the
peace I am seeking. He asked me one day what took the place of
sacrifices since the Temple was destroyed, what were the essential
contents of the Jewish Prayer Book. I could only say to myself, Where is
the atonement for sin? I began to read the Old Testament with a
terrified conscience, and soon I found that my religious system was
built on the sand." At last he felt that he must give up his position as
rabbi, and he retired, not without much opposition, to Berlin, where he
spent his whole time in the closest study of the Word of God. He became
convinced at last that the old covenant was merely a preparation for the
new one (Jer. xxxi. 31-34). One difficulty was the word "virgin" in Isa.
vii. 14, but when he saw that it was always used in opposition to
married women, he at once accepted Christ as his Saviour, and was
baptized with his wife and children in 1860, in St. Matthew's Church,
Berlin. With a recommendation from Queen Elizabeth of Prussia he came
over to England, and from 1883 worked in connexion with the L.J.S. in
London. He died March 5, 1901, deeply regretted by both Jews and
Christians.
BENFEY, Theodor, born at Nöster, near Göthingen, January 28, 1809,
became a convert to Christianity in 1848, died in 1881, at Göthingen. He
was author of numerous linguistic works on the Sanscrit, Bengali,
Hindustani, Persian, Egyptian, and Semitic languages. His two works in
English must be mentioned here: "A Practical Grammar of the Sanscrit
Language" (Berlin 1863, London 1868), and "A Sanscrit-English
Dictionary" (London 1868). He established a periodical, "Orient and
Occident," in 1862.
BENJAMIN, Selig, a native of Bunzlau, Bohemia, and surgeon by profession
about the middle of last century. Embraced Roman Catholicism, but found
no peace, so he relapsed into Judaism, but remained in the same
condition, wandering about to find satisfaction for his restless soul,
until he came to Weikersheim in Würtemberg, and attended the services of
the court preacher Kern, when he was converted. Whereupon he went to the
synagogue and publicly confessed his evangelical faith before the
congregation.
BENJAMIN, a Dutch Jewish convert. The story of his conversion is a
remarkable one and deserves a place here. Pauli and his assistant Bloch
visited once a Kabbalistic Jew on a very stormy night. The Jewish
neighbours, when hearing of their visit, watched for them outside the
house. They followed them on their way home, and when passing a bridge,
some called out, "Make an end of him (Pauli); throw him into the
water." Whereupon Benjamin, who accompanied his visitors, cried, "Away
with you!" and pushed the assailants aside. "He is a good man. He helped
me to keep the Sabbath properly." They then went away abashed. Benjamin
was afterwards baptized with his whole family in the presence of 3,000
Jews. This was the first entire family which Pauli baptized at
Amsterdam.
BENJAMIN, a Jewish convert in India, baptized by the Rev. ---- Laseron
in 1849.
BENNI, a Jew who first heard the Gospel from Wendt and Hoff in
Königsberg, became a Christian Pastor in Petrekow, later in Radorn, and
through his faithful testimony not a few Jews decided to acknowledge
Jesus as their personal Saviour.
BENOLY, Gabriel, M.D., baptized at Salem, Bromberg, in 1869, was
afterwards for many years medical missionary of the L.J.S., and did good
work in the East End of London.
BEN OLIEL, a well-known family in Oran, North Africa, has given to the
Church three sons about the middle of the eighteenth century, baptized
by the Wesleyans in Gibraltar.
BEN OLIEL, Rev. A., was for many years missionary in Rome, and then at
Jaffa and Jerusalem. He was a true man of God, an ardent lover of his
nation, whose spiritual welfare he endeavoured to promote by word and
pen all through a long life. He died in America towards the close of
last century.
BEN OLIEL, Rev. Maxwell Mochluff, after finishing his theological
course at St. Aidan's, was ordained in 1860, and was curate in several
churches; also domestic chaplain to the Dowager Duchess of
Northumberland, 1864-66; minister of St. Patrick and St. Saviour, South
Kensington, 1878-81; missionary at W. Berkeley, California, 1889-91;
Rector of San Bernadino, Cal., 1891-93. Returning to England, he
conducted a mission to the Jews at Kilburn, by writing and lectures. As
a good preacher and thoroughly conversant with Jewish and Christian
literature, he was gladly heard in the churches and cathedrals of
England. His writings on the Jewish subject are numerous.
BEN OLIEL, Moses, served for many years as Bible agent of the B. &
F.B.S. at Oran.
BEN ZION, Benedix (Baruch), born in Homoslaipolia in the government of
Kiev, Russia, in 1839, was led to become a Christian in a remarkable
manner. Once, when still a little boy in the Heder, he and his
fellow-pupils passed by a Russian Church when they observed the cross
and images. His companions at once repeated Deut. vii. 26, and spat on
the ground. Ben Zion did not like this behaviour, so he made figures and
a cross with his stick on the ground. This was reported to the teacher,
who locked him up and punished him severely for it. The fanaticism of
the Jews in the place was so great that Ben Zion's father lost his
position as Talmud teacher, because his boy had been reading
Mendelssohn's German translation of the Bible. At the age of 13 Ben Zion
began his wandering career, and passing a chapel in a forest, his eyes
met the image of the Madonna and Child. Without the least desire to
render homage to the figure, but only conscious that for its sake he had
already suffered, he took off his hat, knelt down, and in this posture
fell asleep, and was finally awakened by a peasant. These apparently
trifling circumstances caused him later on to think seriously of
Christianity, and to search the Scriptures. He was baptized in Berlin in
1863, then studied medicine and graduated at the University of Würzburg
in 1867. He went to England, and having entered the service of the
British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews, was
sent to Roumania in 1874 as medical missionary. In 1876 he was
transferred to Odessa, where he laboured successfully for ten years.
Then he was for a short time in Constantinople, and since about 1888 he
has been living in the United States and helping in missionary work. He
is the author of "Orah Zedakah," a collection of proverbs and parables
in the style of Ecclesiasticus (Odessa, 1876); "Kol Kore el Beth Israel"
(translated from the English by Dr. Ben Zion, London, 1868); a
translation into Judæo-German of Jos. H. Ingraham's "Prince of the House
of David," under the title of "Tiferet Yisrael" (Odessa, 1883-88), and a
translation into Judæo-German of Silvio Pelier's drama, "Ester
d'Engedé," under the title "Der Falsche Cohengodel."
BERDENBACH, born at Offenbach, in 1809, brother of the great lawyer of
that name in Darmstadt, was baptized by Pastor Schultz in Berlin, in
1839.
BERGER, Rev. S. D., convert and student of the L.J.S., was afterwards
ordained to the Ministry in the Lutheran Church U.S., and was appointed
missionary to the Jews in Chicago about 1885.
BERGHEIM, M., a noble Jewish convert, was sent out by the L.J.S. in 1837
to assist the Rev. Nicolayson in his work in Jerusalem. He was
afterwards a banker and died in 1896 as churchwarden of Christ Church,
Mount Zion. The Jewish traveller, Dr. Ludwig August Frankel, who
published a book on his visit to Jerusalem in 1860 (translated into
Hebrew by M. E. Stern), says he found there 131 Jewish Christians in the
Holy City, nine of whom were of the Bergheim family.
BERGMANN, Marcus S., convert of the L.J.S., is well-known as a
missionary of the L.C.M. and translator of the Bible into Yiddish. A
second edition, with improved translation into simple Jargon, was issued
by him in 1905. In an account of his conversion he thus writes:--
"I was born in Wieruszow, on the borders of Silesia, in the year 1846.
My father (who was of the sect of Chassidim, which is the strictest sect
of the Pharisees, and a great Talmudist) died when I was about a year
old. Of my dear mother I have only a very dim recollection, as she, too,
died when I was but six years old. I had one elder brother and one
sister. My brother was established in a large way of business in Luben,
a town near Breslau, and my sister was brought up in the house of the
Chief Rabbi of Breslau, Rabbi G'dalia Titkin (who was a relative of
ours), whilst I was brought up with my uncle, Woolf Bergmann, a Chassid
like my father, in Wieruszow, under whom I studied much of the Talmudic
and Rabbinical literature.
"When I was fourteen years of age I was sent to Breslau to study under
the chief Rabbi there. I did not like it at first, as I had to change my
Chassidic dress for the German style, but I soon became accustomed to
it. After a residence of three years in Breslau I went to one of my
uncles who was a Rabbi in Frankenstein, under whom I had ample
opportunity to practise for some time. I then went back to live with my
sister in Kalisch, and applied myself more than ever to the study of the
Talmud, believing it to be the most honourable of all employment and
most conducive to the glory of God, and the best mode of making amends
for my sins, which I found clung to me even when engaged in these
religious duties.
"The word of the LORD to Abraham (Gen. xii. 1), 'Get thee out of thy
country and from thy kindred ... unto a land that I will shew thee,'
seemed at that time to be constantly ringing in my ears, and made me so
restless that I could not put my mind to anything. I obeyed that voice,
and in 1866, I left my native country and came to England. Shortly after
my arrival in London I established a small synagogue at which I
gratuitously officiated as minister for nearly two years; my sister from
time to time sending me remittances, as I required, from the portion
which I inherited of my father's property.
"It pleased the Lord at this time to lay His hand upon me, and I was
laid aside for six weeks in the German hospital. When feeling a little
better I began to look into the Hebrew Bible, which was on the shelf in
the ward. As a reader in the synagogue I knew the letter of the whole of
the Pentateuch and other portions of the Old Testament by heart.
"The portion of Scripture that made a great impression on me at the time
of my illness was Daniel ix. Several verses of this chapter (the
confession of Daniel) are repeated each Monday and Thursday by every
Jew; but the latter part of the chapter, which so plainly prophesies the
suffering of the Messiah, is never read--in fact the Rabbis pronounce a
dreadful curse upon any one who investigates the prophecy of these
seventy weeks. They say: 'Their bones shall rot who compute the end of
the time.' Remembering this anathema, it was with fear and trembling
that I read the passage about the seventy weeks, and coming to verse 26,
'Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself'--though we Jews are most
careful not to let a Hebrew book drop to the ground--I threw that Hebrew
Bible out of my hand, thinking in my ignorance that it was one of the
missionaries' Bibles. But although I threw the Bible away, I could not
throw away the words I had just read: 'Messiah shall be cut off, but not
for Himself.' These words sank deeper and deeper into my soul, and
wherever I looked I seemed to see them in flaming Hebrew characters, and
I had no rest for some time. One morning I again took up the Bible, and
without thinking or looking for any particular passage, my eyes were
arrested by these words (also in a chapter which is never read by the
Jews): 'For He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the
transgression of My people was He stricken.' (Isa. liii. 8.)
"This seemed to be the answer to the question I was constantly asking
myself during this time of soul-conflict--'Messiah shall be cut off, but
not for Himself.' For whom then? Here it was plainly revealed to me.
'For the transgression of My people;' and surely I belonged to His
people, therefore Messiah was cut off for me.
"Shortly after this I left the hospital and was again among my Jewish
friends, but I could not banish from my mind these two passages.
"One morning I put on my phylacteries and tallith in order to perform
the prescribed prayers, but I could not utter a single sentence out of
the prayer book before me. One passage (Psalm cxix. 18), 'Open Thou mine
eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law,' came into my
mind, and that I repeated over and over again, and for nearly two hours
that was the cry of my soul. After laying aside the phylacteries and
tallith I left the house without tasting food, and as I walked along the
streets I prayed again in the words of the Psalmist, 'Lead me in Thy
truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation, on Thee do I
wait all the day long.' My heart was burdened with a very great load,
and yet I dared not open my mind to any one. In this state I believe the
Spirit of God led me to Palestine Place. My heart failed me when I
reached the door of the late Rev. Dr. Ewald's house.
"After several vain attempts, I ventured to knock, and was admitted to
see that venerable servant of the Lord. To him I unburdened my soul and
told him all that was in my heart. He asked me whether I was willing to
come into his Home for enquirers in order to be instructed in the truth
as it is in the Lord Jesus. I told him that was just what I needed, and
at once accepted his kindness, and I did not return to my Jewish
friends. This was just one week before the Passover.
"On the first day of the feast several Jews of my congregation, who had
discovered where I was, came and entreated me to leave the missionaries
and go back with them. As I refused to do so, they said they would soon
get me away with disgrace. They left, but only for a short time, and
when they returned they brought a policeman with them and charged me
with being a thief, and as such I was taken to the nearest police
station and locked up. Whilst in the cell I was visited by several Jews
who implored me to return to them, and said that if I promised to do so
they would not appear against me on the morrow, and I would be
liberated. I answered in the words of David, when Gad, the seer, was
sent to give him the choice of his own punishment: 'Let me fall into the
hands of the Lord, for His mercies are great, but into the hands of man
let me not fall;' and I added, 'Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbour.' They left me disappointed. But I never spent a
happier night than in that prison cell, for I felt and fully realized
that the Lord was with me, and it was there that I for the first time
knelt down and prayed to God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Though up to this time I knew very little or nothing of the New
Testament, yet it seemed to me as if the Lord Jesus spoke to me in the
same manner as He did to His disciples. 'They shall put you out of the
synagogues, yea, the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think
that he doeth God service; these things will they do unto you because
they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you,
that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I have told you of
them.' 'And when they bring you unto magistrates, and powers take ye no
thought how or what thing ye shall answer, for the Holy Ghost shall
teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.' Passage after passage
seemed to come before me, as if the Lord Jesus had spoken audibly to me
to encourage me to cling close to Him and not to fear what man could do
unto me.
"The night--though sleepless--I passed joyfully and peacefully. The
morning came, which brought other Jewish visitors with food from their
table, also entreating me to return to my Jewish friends. As I refused,
they told me that they had witnesses to prove the charge against me, and
I should be put into prison for at least three months; but I felt that
the Lord Jesus was my advocate, and that He would plead my cause.
"About 10 o'clock I was taken out of the police cell and led to the
Mansion House (followed by a large number of Jews) to appear before the
Lord Mayor of London. The whole judgment hall was filled with Jews. My
chief accuser swore that I had robbed him, and three others gave their
evidence on oath against me. The Lord Mayor asked me, through an
interpreter (for I could not then speak English), what I had to say in
my defence, and whether I had any witnesses to prove my innocence. I
replied, 'I stand here in this position on account of my faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. I am not only not guilty of the crime which is
imputed to me, but I have left all my valuable things at the house where
I lodged. It is only because I wish to become a Christian that I am
accused.' The Lord Mayor then ordered my chief accuser again into the
witness box, and asked him whether he knew that it was my intention to
become a Christian. The expression which flashed across his angry
countenance and was reflected by the face of the other Jews present,
sufficiently answered the question before he could speak a word.
"On cross-examination they so contradicted each other that they
themselves proved my innocence, and I was at once set at liberty. (I
wish it to be clearly understood that this persecution was not in enmity
to myself personally, but rather in friendship and mistaken zeal. They
wished to save me at any cost from becoming a Christian).
"On leaving the Mansion House I returned to Dr. Ewald, and after being
thoroughly instructed in the Scriptures, I was admitted into the visible
Church of Christ on the 7th of June, 1868, by the rite of baptism.
"After my baptism I was admitted into the Operative Jewish Converts'
Institution, where I stayed nearly two years. In May, 1870, I was
accepted as an agent of the London City Mission, to work among my poor
benighted people in the East of London. During the first few years of my
mission work I had naturally to undergo much persecution, and the work
was most arduous, but by the blessing of God this is in a great measure
changed.
"It is now fully thirty-one years since I became a follower of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and I can look back upon all these years and say that not
one good thing hath failed of all His gracious promises."
BERNAL, Jacob Israel, an English Jew, in the first half of the 19th
century, had his children baptized, only one son, Ralph, remained in
Judaism.
BERNAL, Osborn, M.P., the son of Ralph, embraced Christianity, and his
daughter married the Duke of St. Albans.
BERNARD, D., baptized in Wilna with his wife and daughter in 1818, by
Pastor Nichlous, of the Lutheran Church, is recorded as having lived an
exemplary Christian life. He was first baptized in the Roman Church,
came then in contact with Luther, who had won him for the Evangelical
Truth, and wrote to him a letter with a view to strengthen him in the
faith, and that he should make it known to his brethren.
BERNARD, Herman, born in Southern Russia in 1785, baptized in his youth,
settled in Cambridge as a private teacher in 1830, and was appointed
"Preceptor Linguæ Sacræ" in the University, October 18, 1837. Bernard
published the following works--"The Creed and Ethics of the Jews" in
selections from the "Yad Hahazakah" of Maimonides (1832), and
"Hamenahel" (the Guide of the Hebrew Student), 1839. The "Me Menichoth"
(Still Waters), an easy, practical Hebrew grammar, in two volumes,
appeared during his blindness. His lectures on the book of Job appeared
in one volume in 1864.
BERNARD, Rudolf, a Swiss Jewish convert, published an Epistle to the
Jews in 1705, under the title "Lekah Tob" (good doctrine), in which he
tried to influence them in favour of Christianity.
BERNAYS, Michael, was baptized in the 19th century, date not known. In
1872 and 1873 he taught at the University of Leipzig, and in 1874 he was
appointed extraordinary Professor of Modern German, English and French
Literature, at the University of Munich. He wrote on the poetry of
Goethe, under the title, "Der junge Goethe," Leipzig, 1875.
BERNHARD, a Polish Rabbi, who was baptized by Pastor Storr, in the 18th
century, in Heilbronn, assumed the name of Christoph. David Bernhard. He
was afterwards Reader of Hebrew at Jena, and later at Tübingen. (Wolf,
B. ii. 3, 4.)
BERNHARDY, Dr. Gottfried, born in Landsburg, 1860, died 1875, embraced
Christianity when studying in Berlin. He was a great classical scholar,
and wrote as Professor, "Syntax of the Greek Language," Berlin, 1829.
"Grundriss der Romischen Literatur," 1830. "Grundlinien der Encyclopædia
der Philologie," 1832, &c.
BERNHEIM. We have only his memorial preserved as having been an
associate of Rev. J. Neander, and of another proselyte, Bonhome, in the
evangelization of the Jews in New York, about 1845.
BERNSTEIN, Rev. Aaron, born in Skalat, Galicia, in 1841, received, as an
only son, a good and pious early education, and was when quite young
brought under the influence of the wonder Rabbi of the town, with whose
grandson he learned Talmud at school. At the age of 17 he was assistant
teacher in a town in Moldavia, when the Rev. W. Mayer, L.J.S. missionary
at Jassy, appeared one day in the Synagogue and had a discussion with
the Jews, on which occasion he received a German tract, entitled "The
Righteous shall live by his Faith." This made some impression upon him,
but it passed away, as he was too young to understand it all. A few
years later he went to Jassy, when he met Mr. Mayer again, who gave him
a Hebrew New Testament and the "Old Paths." These were the means under
God of leading him eventually to acknowledge the Saviour. He was
baptized by Dr. Ewald, together with nine other Jews, on November 22,
1863. After being for a short time in the Operative Jewish Converts'
Institution, he went to the United States, and after a year or so of
teaching in a school and privately, he entered a missionary college
which was established by a German missionary, known later as Bishop Auer
of Cape Palmas. He then studied Theology in the General Seminary, New
York, was ordained Deacon in Philadelphia in July 1870, and appointed by
Bishop Stevens as Rector of St. Paul's, Manheim, Pa. In June, 1871, the
L.J.S. sent him as missionary to Jerusalem, where he laboured only
about a year and a-half, as he could not stand the climate. Subsequently
he laboured in Bucharest, Paris, Liverpool, and Frankfort, but the
greater part of his missionary career was in London, with the exception
of an interval of three years, in which he was curate in Hertfordshire.
Bernstein had the honorary degree of M.A. conferred upon him by Columbia
College, New York, in 1873, owing to his taking the Greek Prize at the
Seminary in 1870, and later the Faculty of the Seminary gave him B.D. He
wrote "Sefer Roshey Hatayvoth," "Anglo-Israel Theory," translated
Professor Cassel's "Commentary on the Book of Esther" into English,
together with the "Targum Sheni" from the Original and Appendices (T. &
T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1888). He published "The City of David," "The Book
and the People," and contributed articles to the "Hebrew Christian
Witness," "The Scattered Nation," "The Everlasting Nation," "Jews and
Christians," "The Jewish Missionary Intelligence," and wrote about a
dozen tracts in English, Hebrew and Yiddish, and revised a new edition
of the Hebrew Bible in 1895. Editor of the "Kol M'Bhasser" since 1907.
_Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed nomini Tuo da honorem._
BERNSTEIN, Rev. ----, a congregational minister in North London.
BERNSTEIN, Theodor. Though brief, the information of this convert is
very interesting. He was baptized by the Rev. H. Stewart, in Liverpool,
on the same day that his spiritual teacher, the missionary H. J.
Joseph, was ordained to the ministry of the Church of England, in 1836.
BIESENTHAL, Dr. Joiachim Heinrich--or, to give him his birth-name,
Raphael Hirsch--was born at Lobsens, in the Grand Duchy of Posen, on
December 24th, 1804, of pious and strict Jewish parents. His early
education was chiefly confined to the study of the national law and
tradition; and through much self-denial and sacrifice on the part of his
parents, who intended him for the rabbinate, he was able to have lessons
from the best teachers and most learned Talmudist scholars of the day.
He was what is called a _Bachur_ (_lit_. "young man"), a student of the
Beth Hamidrash, who is intended for the study of the law. The Talmudical
principle, "Know well what to answer an infidel," particularly moved his
father to insist that he should join with the study of Talmud that of
the Holy Scriptures and Jewish poetry. He soon found, however, that as
regards his study of the Bible he was left to his own diligence and
perseverance, for his teachers knew nothing at all about it; and, being
imbued with the Talmudical warning--"Keep your children from the study
of Holy Scripture," they were of opinion that it was not only a useless
study and waste of time, but also a danger to one's piety.
In 1819, when Raphael was fifteen years of age, the town of Lobsens was
destroyed by fire, by which his parents were ruined. His education,
however, had to be completed, and so he entered the famous Jewish school
of Rawitsch, where he received instruction from rabbis, and principally
from Rabbi Herzfeld, of European renown. Deprived of every assistance
from home, young Raphael had to struggle hard during his four year's
residence there. On leaving Rawitsch he went to Mainz, where he received
most kind care and support from the Rabbi of that city, Löb Ellinger,
brother of the renowned Nathan Ellinger, or Nathan Bar Yospa, rabbi of
Bingen, several of whose manuscripts are in the Bodleian.
The celebrated Heidenheim (Wolf Ben Samson) of Rödelheim, the greatest
Jewish critic and grammarian after Ibn-Ezra and David Kimchi, helped him
to the treasures of Jewish literature, lending him the best grammars in
the Hebrew language, so that he was able to acquire, with great
application on his part, a complete mastery of grammatical Hebrew. He
next gave himself up to the study of German history, and Latin and
Greek. His studies threw him into contact with the Rev. Dr. Klee, Roman
Catholic Professor at Bonn, who gave him lessons in Hebrew, and
introduced him to the Duchess of Coburg, the wife of General de
Mensdorff, Governor of the fortress of Mainz. From her, and all the
family, Raphael received many substantial proofs of kindness, and when
he was about to leave Mainz, which he did in 1828, she gave him a
considerable sum of money, and a letter written by herself to Baron de
Rothschild, of Frankfort-on-the-Main, and graciously intimated that she
would be glad to hear how he was getting on in life. Raphael found the
Baron not inclined to assist him when he heard that he meant to finish
his studies at Berlin, because he considered that a dangerous city,
where _all young Jewish students were being converted to Christianity_.
That there was great truth in this statement will appear lower down.
"Keep away from a city where thousands become apostates!" were his
parting words. Baron de Rothschild, however, sent him a letter of
recommendation to Baron de Hägemann, the Chancellor. When Raphael
delivered the letter, the not unnatural remark was, "What is the use of
a recommendation for assistance from Rothschild! Why did he not help you
himself?" So he was obliged to shift for himself at Berlin, and to earn
his living by giving lessons. He employed his leisure time in study. In
the year 1830 he resided for four weeks with a Christian family at
Havelberg, where he learnt for the first time what true Christianity
was, and he determined, as he said, to "search for Christian truth." In
this purpose his intercourse with Christian divines greatly helped him.
He studied theology and philology in the University of Berlin from 1828,
taking his doctor's degree in 1835. He studied under the Oriental
scholar, William Vatke, and his knowledge of the Hebrew grammar was
greatly increased by personal friendly intercourse with Dr. Gesenius,
the distinguished Hebrew scholar, at Halle. Raphael was baptized in 1836
by the Rev. Dr. Kuntze, taking the Christian names of Joiachim Heinrich
and the surname of Biesenthal.
That there was a considerable truth in Baron de Rothschild's observation
given above, is seen from the statistics of Jewish baptisms in those
days.
Dr. Kuntze, who was a resident clergyman at Berlin, was instrumental in
leading many young Jews to Christ. He baptized eighty in eight years
(1829-36), whilst the Society's missionary, the Rev. W. Ayerst, baptized
forty-two adult Jews in three years (1834-7). Altogether, 326 Jewish
baptisms were registered in the Consistory at Berlin during the years
1830-37. A few years later (1844) the Rev. C. W. H. Pauli, the Society's
missionary, reported that there were above 1,000 converts resident in
Berlin; and in 1850, as many as 2,500. They filled all ranks and
stations, and were to be found in all the ministerial departments, and
in the university.
In 1844, Biesenthal placed his services at the disposal of the Society,
and in doing so, wrote: "My Biblical studies led me, after much
searching and wandering for a long time, to find Him of whom Moses and
the Prophets did write. This result, this light which God caused to
shine in my darkness, I deem it my unrelenting duty to communicate to
others yet living in darkness, because the Lord Himself says that we
should not put our light under a bushel. The Apostles, as well as all
the Fathers, were furthered by the same disposition of mind. 'For where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also,' says the Lord. If
Christ be our treasure, our heart must be entirely and undividedly His
own, and all our talents devoted to the glory of His kingdom. Becoming a
missionary seems to me the surest way to fulfil Christ's commands. I
have long considered it both a duty and a privilege to communicate to my
brethren after the flesh the message of salvation, and to employ those
talents which God has given me for their welfare. My predilection for
the above has often seemed to be a token of God's will that I should
shew my brethren from their very literature, as well as from the Bible,
that the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ, and that
we can only know the Father through Him. During the last three years I
have acted upon this conviction, and embraced every opportunity to prove
to my brethren that the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto
salvation, and my anxious desire now is to be enabled to devote all my
time to this pursuit."
These earnest words are an echo of St. Paul's, "My heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved" (Rom. x. 1). With
this spirit and aim, Biesenthal entered upon his long missionary career
of 37 years in connexion with this Society--active laborious years spent
in Berlin (1844-1868) and Leipzig (1868-1881). Eloquent in the
Scriptures, with a perfect command of Hebrew and wide knowledge of
Talmud and rabbinical literature, he was thoroughly furnished for his
life's work. Those who knew him well believed that he had intellectual,
literary and biblical qualifications in a most eminent degree, and that
he was the best Hebrew scholar of their acquaintance. His knowledge of
languages embraced--in addition to his native Polish--Hebrew, Latin,
Greek, Syriac, Chaldee, Arabic, Ethiopic, Samaritan, French, German,
Spanish, Italian and English. Never was missionary more highly gifted
with "tongues"--his equal in this respect is not to be found in the
ranks of the London Jews' Society; whilst with his pen he did even
better service than with his lips in proclaiming "Jesus Christ and Him
crucified" to his brethren after the flesh.
Biesenthal's missionary life commenced on April 1st, 1844, as an
assistant missionary in this Society's mission at Berlin, under the Rev.
C. W. H. Pauli, where he also undertook the editorship of "Records of
Israel's State and Prospects," a monthly periodical designed to promote
the Society's work, to give treatises on Messianic passages of the Old
Testament, to discuss Christian and Jewish doctrines, and to give
attention to Jewish history and literature; he also wrote many articles
for the "Dibre Emeth." He continued to work in this humble capacity
under the Rev. R. Bellson until 1868, when his great abilities found a
recognition, even though tardy, by his appointment to the charge of a
new mission station of the Society at Leipzig. This important city, the
second in Saxony, and the seat of a university, had for many years been
visited by the Society's missionaries from Berlin at the time of the
great fairs, when Jews assembled from all parts, and to whom large
numbers of Old and New Testaments were sold. Biesenthal found some
seventy or eighty Hebrew Christians living there, and subsequently gave
it as his opinion that they might be "numbered by hundreds." There was a
small Jewish community of about 500, who, since 1849, had enjoyed the
rights of citizenship. This may seem to have been but a small field of
work for a man of such attainments, but he was the only missionary to
the Jews throughout the whole kingdom of Saxony; and, moreover, Leipzig
was the resort of many foreign Jews from Poland, Russia, Turkey, Greece,
Persia, and even from America, and thus altogether an important
missionary centre. Apart from the visible results in the form of
baptisms from Biesenthal's labours, the indirect results were great and
far-reaching. As a scholar his name was, for many years, a household
word in Germany, and especially in those circles where the Jewish
mission exerted its influence. His Commentaries on the Gospels and the
Epistles to the Romans and the Hebrews, so eminently useful in mission
work, obtained well-deserved eminence.
The mission field, as time went on, became less promising and fruitful,
the Jews becoming infected with the socialism and rationalism in
Germany, as taught in the universities, churches, schools, and other
institutions. Zeal for missions almost died out; the Jews became the
subject of much Anti-Semitism. The long pent-up enmity against them
burst forth with great virulence. In Leipzig, as in other places,
petitions were sent to the Government urging the withdrawal of their
political rights and privileges. In return, the Jews paid back hatred by
hatred.
This state of things led Dr. Biesenthal to take a gloomy view of the
general position. In his last report but one he said: "Hurricanes of
trouble are blowing from the four quarters of the earth against the
Church and against the Gospel," and added that in such circumstances
his report could not be a joyous one.
Dr. Biesenthal doubtless obtained more satisfaction from his literary
than from his missionary labours; although, in his case, one was the
complement of the other. A scholar he was emphatically, and a brilliant
one withal, as his works abundantly and substantially testify; and as
such he will be principally remembered.
His published works contained the following: "Auszüge aus dem Buche
Sohar, mit Deutscher Uebersetzung" (1837), a proof from Jewish sources
of the doctrine of the Trinity and other Christian verities;
"Hebräisches und Chaldäisches Schulwörterbuch über das A.T." (1836-7);
"David Kimchi's [Hebrew: sefer hashorashim] or Liber Radicum" (1838-48),
in collaboration with F. S. Lebrecht; "The Thirty-nine Articles of the
Church of England" (1840); "The Book of Psalms," Hebrew text and
Commentary (1841); "The Book of Isaiah," Hebrew Text and Commentary
(1841); "Chrestomathia Rabbinica Sive Libri Quatuor, etc." (1844);
"Menachem ben Serug's Hebrew Lexicon" (1847); "Theologisch-Historische
Studien" (1847); "Zur Geschichte der Christlichen Kirche," etc. (1850);
"Das Trostschreiben des Apostels Paulus an die Hebraer" (1878); and a
Hebrew Translation of the Epistles to the "Hebrews and the Romans," with
Commentary (1857-8). He also wrote Commentaries on "St. Matthew's
Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles," an Essay on "The Atonement"; and the
"Life of Gerson."
In 1877, the University of Giessen conferred upon him the degree of
Doctor of Divinity.
In his greatest work, the "History of the Christian Church," intended
for the special use of the Jews, he proved that they stood in close
connexion with the early Church, by bringing prominently forward the
history of Jewish believers who loved their Saviour devotedly and
laboured successfully for the spread of the Gospel at the time of its
first promulgation.
Dr. Isaac Jost (1793-1860), the learned Jewish historian of Frankfort,
in reviewing Dr. Biesenthal's "Commentary on the Epistle to the
Hebrews," referred to it as a masterly composition, and also to the
author's extraordinary command of the Hebrew language, and said it
excelled everything which had ever been written before in the endeavour
to prove, not only that Christianity is to be found in the writings of
almost all the ancient prophets, and that Christ's coming fulfilled the
law, but that the rabbis of almost every age agree with the writers of
the New Testament as to the general character of the Messiah promised,
although they do not admit that Jesus was that Messiah.
Dr. Julius Fürst (1805-1873), another eminent Jewish author, referring
to Biesenthal's Commentaries generally, and the extensive erudition and
thorough knowledge displayed of Jewish literature before and after the
Christian era, bore still higher testimony, and stated that all previous
attempts to translate the New Testament, or parts of it, were exceeded
by the distinguished labours of Dr. Biesenthal, not only on account of
the richness and fulness of matter, extracted with much taste from the
Talmud, Midrash, and Sohar, but also on account of the clearness of
thought with which he penetrated and exhibited the doctrinal teaching of
the Apostles.
It is a matter for deep regret that these valuable Commentaries are out
of print, and consequently out of circulation.
It is an interesting circumstance that Biesenthal also wrote, 1840,
under the pseudonym "Karl Ignaz Corvé," a work entitled "Ueber den
Ursprung die Juden Erhobenen Beschuldigung bei der Feier Ihrer Ostern
sich des Blutes zu bedienen, etc.," in which he defended the Jews from
the Blood Accusation at Damascus.
Dr. Biesenthal retired from active service in 1881, and died at Berlin
on June 25th, 1886, at the advanced age of 82 years.
BINION, Dr. Samuel A., son of Joshua, born in Suwalki, Poland, where he
received a good Hebrew and Talmudic education, and then studied at
Wilna, Breslau and Padua, under great Jewish savants. He then went to
England, about 1864-5, where, like Philip, he found Jesus to be the
Messiah, and he was baptized by the Rev. Dr. Ewald in Palestine Place.
He then attended lectures at King's College, and, probably through the
influence of Dr. Schwarz, he was sent to labour in the Protestant cause
in Spain, where he became superintendent of schools in Seville and in
the Balearic Islands. Thence he went to the United States, where his
linguistic attainments and great learning found free scope and due
acknowledgment. There he largely contributed to current encyclopædias.
He was one of the revisers of the "Century Dictionary of Names," and
wrote the article on the Kabbalah in "Charles Warner's Cyclopædia of the
World's Best Literature." Dr. Binion's master work is "Ancient Egypt,"
two elaborate folio volumes on the art and archæology of Egypt. He is
also the translator of "'Quo Vadis,' with Fire and Sword," Dan Michael,
published in Holiday de Luxe editions, Philadelphia.
BLEIBTREU, Philip Johann, born at Frankfort-on-the-Main, in the middle
of the seventeenth century, died in 1702. He published a work in German,
entitled "Meir Naor" (the enlightened Meir from his Jewish name Meir),
Frankfort, 1787, giving an account of his conversion, notes on the
Jewish festivals, and on some Jewish prayers. The last words he uttered
when dying were, "Ich bleibe treu" ("I remain faithful"), in allusion to
his name, which is equivalent to the English name "Faithful."
BLOCH, Edward, born in 1810. While holding the office of first master in
a Jewish school, was convinced of the truth of the Gospel, and then
baptized by Pastor Kunze, in Breslau, in 1836.
BLOCH, Julius Paul, was born April 16th, 1816 at Jutroschin, in Prussia.
His parents, Simon and Zipporah, brought him up to be, like themselves,
strictly orthodox. Being clever, before he was 13 years old, when he
became "Bar Mitzvah," he had gained a thorough Talmudical education. He
grew up a very strict pious Jew, never missing synagogue either morning
or evening. In his fourteenth year he was apprenticed to a furrier.
Whilst thus earning his living, two missionaries came to Jutroschin.
Their advent caused a great commotion, as the city was then renowned as
one of the strongholds of Judaism. The Jews determined to oppose their
work, and Julius Bloch was one of the foremost to stone them. A year or
two later he had to travel as a journeyman in his trade. This eventually
brought him to Greifswalde, where he found employment with a Mr. Albert,
who, at last, made him foreman in his factory. This man and his wife
were true Christians, and often talked to him about Christ. He noticed,
too, the peace they enjoyed in hours of the greatest adversity, and his
faith in Judaism, as a religion of comfort, was shaken. At last he tried
to turn a deaf ear to all they said, but the seeds of eternal life had
been sown in his heart. He began to feel lonely and unhappy; he could no
longer say the Hebrew prayers, Jewish ceremonies began to lose their
hold, as having no solace for his disturbed mind. Of this time he says:
"I got a Bible, and began to read it. My conscience was awakened, and I
became my accuser. I put the Bible away and determined to remain a good
Jew, but the wounds of my conscience and heart became putrifying sores.
I tried to comfort myself that I had always lived a moral and blameless
life; but it was all in vain." At last his despair nearly drove him to
suicide, from which he was only saved by throwing himself on his knees
in prayer. That night he was "born again," and the next day, May 16,
1839, he openly confessed his newly found faith. The change became known
to the Jews. Arguments and threats, and even the offer from a brother to
establish him in business--all was in vain. The next year he went to
Berlin, and after preparation was received into the Church of Christ, by
Pastor Kuntze, on June 6, 1841. Further trials from his family awaited
him, until he fled to Amsterdam, where Mr. Pauli, the Society's
missionary, asked him to assist in the mission. From that time, 1843,
until May, 1900, when he died, his work was signally blessed, many Jews
through his influence being baptized. He thus passed away "as a shock of
corn cometh in in his season."
BLOCH, Moritz (in Hungarian, Ballage Mór), born in Timova, 1816,
received a Talmudic education, then studied at the University of Pesth,
then Orientalia at Paris. In 1841 he sent a petition to the Hungarian
Parliament, asking for the emancipation of the Jews. He translated the
Pentateuch and Joshua into Hungarian, adding exegetical notes. In 1843
he was baptized in Germany in a Lutheran Church. The next year he was
appointed Professor at the Lyceum in Syarvas, Hungary. He was an author
of several works on educational and theological topics, and edited, in
1840, the "Protestantische Kirchen und Schulbatt."
BOCK, Wilhelm Isaac, a Jewish rabbi, after embracing Christianity,
taught Hebrew in Frankfort on the Oder, and published "Abraham Jugels
Lekah Tob, or Catechism for Jews in German," Leipzig, 1694.
BONAVENTURA, Meyer, a Jewish convert, wrote "Das Judenthum in seinen
Gebeten, Gebrauchen, Gesetzen und Ceremonien," Regensburg, 1843.
BONN, first master in a school, baptized at Königsberg in 19th century,
is recorded to have been very zealous in the work of the German Home
Mission, and preached the Gospel.
BORG, Ernest Maximilian, a Jew who held a similar position to Bock, was
baptized much earlier in Breslau (de le Roi, I. 212).
BÖRLING, Pastor J. Jacob, born in 1802, in Slavito, Russia, five times
experienced as a child God's mercy when he was in danger of being
drowned. He devoted himself diligently to the study of rabbinic and
Kabbalistic lore, until this whole system surfeited him with disgust
when he found that its votaries were far from being the saints they
pretended to be. In 1821, the missionaries Saltet and Betzner visited
Berditscheff, where the family then resided. Börling received a tract
from them, but his mother tore it in pieces. Later the missionary Moritz
arrived there, and as a born Jew he made a great impression upon
Börling, so that he began to search the Scriptures, and at length was
baptized by Saltet, his first missionary acquaintance, in 1823. In 1825
he accompanied Joseph Wolff to Schuster on the Persian border. In 1828
he went alone to Persia, to rescue German subjects who were sold into
slavery, in which self-denying mission he eventually succeeded. He then
studied in the mission house at Basel, and in 1834 he was appointed by
the Berlin Society as their missionary in that city. There he worked
zealously till 1840, when he accepted the call to become pastor of a
Church in Bellowesch, in the government of Tschernigoff. Börling was the
son-in-law of the missionary Goldberg, the brother-in-law of
Hausmeister. The latter wrote, "Leben und Wirken des Pastors J. J.
Börling." (Basel, 1852).
BÖRNE, Karl Ludwig (Loeb Baruch), German political and literary writer,
born 1786 at Frankfort-on-the-Main, died in Paris, 1837. He was baptized
in the Lutheran Church at Rödelheim, by Pastor Bertuah, on June 5th,
1818. In 1819 he became editor of the "Zeitung der Freien Stadt
Frankfurt." Börne was a prolific writer. A complete edition of his
works, in 12 vols., was published at Hamburg in 1862.
BRAHAM, John (Abraham), born in 1774, died 1856, a well-known musician
in London, where he was as a Jew leader of the choir of the Great
Synagogue, and became afterwards, as a Christian, especially popular for
his song, entitled "The Death of Nelson." Of his children, a daughter
became Countess Waldegrave, and later she married Lord Carlingford.
BRANDON, a convert, educated at St. Chrischona, Basel, was sent by the
Scotch Church as missionary to Alexandria, in 1859. In 1862 he went to
Khartum, and after receiving permission from King Theodore, he entered
Abyssinia, and was partner with Flad and Stern in their labours and in
their captivity. After the release of the captives, he was actively
engaged in good work at Beyrout, Syria.
BRANIS, a daughter of Rabbi Kempner, was baptized in 1826, out of pure
conviction. Her old father was also inclined towards Christianity, but
died before he could come to a decision.
BRANISS, Christlieb Julius, born in Breslau, 1792, died 1873. He became
Professor of Philosophy at Breslau in 1833. He was the author of several
works on philosophy and metaphysics. One only requires mentioning here,
"De Notione Philosophiae Christianae."
BRENZ, Victorin Christophorus, was baptized in 1601, together with his
parents and the whole family. His father, Samuel Frederick Brenz, is
known as the author of the "Jüdischer Abgestreifter Schlangenbalg" ("The
Jewish Serpent's Skin Stripped") against which Solomon Zebi Hirsch, of
Aufhausen, wrote "Der Jüdische Theriak" ("The Jewish Theriak or
Antidote") Hanau, 1615. Brenz, junior, after finishing his theological
studies, quietly and patiently, served in 1624 as minister at
Untermichelbach, receiving a stipend of 150 thaler, with which he had to
support his wife and four children. Later he had the care of two
churches, and yet he had to work in the fields as a labourer to earn his
living. Then he had the care of seven parishes, in which he exhausted
his strength, and died at the age of 47, in 1642.
BRILLIANT, a convert, laboured as an Evangelist among the Jews in the
service of the Free Church of Scotland at Amsterdam, in 1866.
BROMET, M. S., a Dutch Jew, baptized in 1855, was very much persecuted
by his brethren. He wrote several tracts, amongst which were--"De
Wederkomst en de regeering van den Heere Jesus Christus," "Kort
Oversicht van eenige gelijkenissen des Heeren," "De erste opstonding in
verband met de Wederkomst des Heeren," "Het National herstel en de
bekeering van Israel," "Elischoa God is miyn heil," Amst. Doct.,
1874-76.
BRONKHORST, S. H. convert, student and missionary of the L.J.S., in
Abyssinia 1859-1862, when he and Flad laboured together in Djenda.
BRÜHL, John Henry, was born in 1823 at Schmiegel (Posen). He was sent to
school at a very early age, and, before he was five years old, was able
to translate the greater part of the Hebrew Pentateuch into German. A
short account of the life of Christ about this time influenced him
greatly. Later on he used, with his father, to visit a Christian family,
and through looking at the pictures in it he became interested in the
Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, though he found the Epistles
beyond his youthful grasp. When about ten years old he was studying
Isaiah, and was struck by the 53rd chapter; that which hitherto had been
a lurking suspicion became an absolute certainty, and the more so as he
saw how the principal Jewish commentators laboured in vain to prove that
this prophecy could not apply to Jesus of Nazareth. His growing
convictions of the truth of Christianity prevented his becoming a rabbi,
which his parents earnestly desired, so he resolved to be a
schoolmaster. During his course at the seminary, owing to the words of
Dr. Zahn, the director, he was convinced of the truth. Through the
London Jews' Society's missionaries at Amsterdam, where he then went,
he decided to be a Christian. He came to London, where he entered the
Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, and eventually was baptized in
1846. Later on he passed through the Society's Missionary College, and
in 1851 went to Baghdad, where he laboured successfully. In 1853 he was
ordained in Jerusalem. On his way back to Baghdad he preached to Jews,
Mohammedans and fire-worshippers, many of whom had never heard the
Gospel before. Many missionary journeys were made by him between 1854
and 1864 through Persia and Kurdistan, leaving large numbers of
believers in almost every place. After visiting England in 1856, when he
received priest's orders and was married, he returned with the Rev. J.
M. Eppstein to Baghdad, where they remained until 1866, when the mission
was given up, but not until there were numerous converts from both Jews
and Mohammedans. The following year he was appointed to Lemberg, and in
1871 to Vienna, and in spite of immense difficulties gained many
faithful believers in both these cities. In 1875 he became Principal of
the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, where he remained for twelve
years, when he retired from active work. During this time 160 Jews
passed through the Institution, 70 of whom he baptized. By his death, in
1893, the Church and the world lost a great linguist, a good historian
and mathematician, but, above all, a thorough and devoted Christian
missionary.
BRUNNER, W., born in Brody, Galicia, in 1822. His parents were in good
circumstances. After the death of his father at the age of 90, he came
to England, where he was converted and baptized by the Rev. Dr. Bailey,
Principal of St. Aidan's College. He was afterwards prepared for
missionary work by the British Society, and laboured at Marseilles and
in Switzerland. He had the privilege of bringing two brothers to the
Saviour. He died in 1890.
BUZIN, Rev. Paul Theodor Ludwig, born in Clecko (Posen), was baptized in
Sagord (Isle of Rügen), by Pastor Ockel. He then studied at Basel, and
eventually became Pastor of a Lutheran Church in the United States.
CACHET, Rev. Lion, a Dutch Jewish merchant, embraced Christianity in
1849, then studied theology and went to South Africa in 1858. He
officiated as pastor in different churches at the Cape and in Natal, and
founded eight new congregations. In 1876 he became pastor of the
Netherland Reformed Church at Velliersdorf. He took a great interest in
missionary work among the Jews, which he promoted through the newspaper,
"Zuid Afrikaanische Stem voor en tot Israel."
CALMAN, Erasmus Scott, born in Lithuania, became a convert to
Christianity early in the nineteenth century. In 1839 he assisted
Nicolayson in his work in Jerusalem, travelling with him all over
Palestine, and being well received by the Jews. Later in life he took up
his residence in London. A friend having left him a large legacy to
enable him to work independently, he availed himself of just so much of
it as would meet the wants of the poorest pauper. He left the money
given him for his own comforts, probably with a large increase through
his savings, to trustees for the support of aged poor Hebrew Christians.
Calman was a learned as well as a good man, and published a treatise
entitled: "Some of the Errors of Modern Judaism contrasted with the Word
of God," and another entitled, "The Morrow of the Sabbath."
CANTONI, Giuseppi (Jacob), a Jew from Trieste, won for Christ by the
Rev. Lewis Way, was baptized in the Chapel of the Dutch Consul at
Smyrna, before a large congregation, in 1832.
CAPADOSE, Dr. Abraham, born at Amsterdam, 1795, of a Portuguese family,
died there December 16th, 1874. Here is his autobiography, which he sent
to his friend, Ridley Herschell, in London:--"I will no longer delay,
dear friends, to comply with your request that I would communicate in
writing the mode in which it pleased God to bring me to the knowledge of
Himself, and to lead me out of darkness into His marvellous light.
"Being deeply sensible that it was not of myself I sought after God, but
that my compassionate Lord came to seek me when I was lost, it would be
false modesty if I were now to withhold an account which, when verbally
communicated, interested and edified many dear friends, who therein
traced the great love of the Saviour towards a poor sinner like me, and
thus were led to ascribe all the glory to Him whose name is blessed for
evermore. May this glory be the only object I shall keep in view in this
account! Such is the sincere desire of my heart; and I ask of God to
guide my pen in truth and sincerity, that I may be kept from all
self-seeking, into which the necessity of speaking of myself might
betray me.
"Although I was by birth a Portuguese Israelite, I was by no means
zealous for the religion of my fathers. My education was rather moral
than religious; and though taught to hate vice, and to love what the
world calls virtue, I owe it entirely to the grace of God that at an
after period I was preserved from open impiety.
"At an early age I was captivated by science and literature. I was fond
of balls, plays, and every worldly amusement; but study afforded me
still greater satisfaction. I became acquainted with the works of
Voltaire and Rousseau at an early period of my life; but their false
principles, and still more, the frightful consequences of their system,
as exhibited before my eyes in the history of the French revolution,
preserved me, by the divine mercy, from their hurtful influence. My
parents having destined me for the medical profession, I considered it
my duty to acquire the knowledge requisite for this calling; but I felt
more inclination for the study of the theoretical sciences, and for
philosophic research.
"My friends were nearly all young men who made an outward profession of
Christianity; but the Lord had given me one friend among my near
relatives.[8] As we were both Israelites, and had been intimate from
childhood, our views on all subjects were very similar. (Dr. Capadose
here proceeds to state their intercourse with Bilderdyk, which is the
same as the account given by Da Costa, see page 172). The religious
element, if I may call it so, had not as yet entered into my soul. In my
early childhood, it is true, I had often felt an undefined need of
prayer; and when about nine years' old, had asked my parents to give me
a book of prayers, either in the French or Dutch language, that I might
understand them better.[9] I strongly urged my younger brothers and
sisters to the same practice; and this was the more remarkable as I had
very seldom seen any one engaged in prayer in my father's house. From
that time, amid all the changes of my outward life, I never omitted the
performance of this duty; and until my conversion to Christianity, it
constituted all my religious worship. The prayer I used ended with these
remarkable words:--'I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord!' I have preserved
the book containing it, and never look upon it without adoring the
goodness of that 'God of my salvation,' who has condescended to bestow
upon me, at a matured age, the blessing that the child of nine years'
old, hardly knowing what he asked, failed not to solicit from Him every
night before he lay down to rest.
[8] M. Da Costa.
[9] It is the general custom of the Jews to use the Hebrew language in
private as well as public prayer.
"During the period in which I was engaged in my studies, I occasionally
experienced very peculiar emotions. A poor woman used to sing psalms in
the street on Saturday evenings, to excite the compassion of the
passengers; and more than once have I left my books to listen to her,
overpowered by emotions which I could neither comprehend nor describe.
At the theatre also, when _Joseph in Egypt_ was represented, my tears
flowed at the sound of the morning prayer, which was imitated from the
Hebrew. At the synagogue, however, which, for the sake of decorum, I
still frequented, nothing had the least power to interest me. On the
contrary, the unmeaning ceremonies which appealed not to the heart, the
want of reverence, the bawling noise, the discordant singing, and
lastly, the employment of a language of which three-fourths of the
congregation did not understand a word, disgusted me so much, that I
ceased to attend it regularly, having always a great aversion to
hypocrisy.
"In the mean time, as if the tempter had foreseen what was afterwards to
take place, he induced my friend and myself to change our mode of life.
We disliked half measures, and could not endure the modern Judaism which
chooses at its pleasure to dispense with the requirements of the Mosaic
law; we therefore resolved to become Israelites indeed, rigidly
observing all the prescriptions of the law, and thus compelling
Christians to entertain a higher respect for the Jewish religion.
National pride was now our ruling motive. In this spirit, and with these
views, we began assiduously to read the Bible. But, oh! the shame and
wretchedness of the unconverted heart! We could not get beyond Genesis.
Constant ridicule and jesting, and oftentimes even blasphemy (Lord,
enter not into judgment with us!) were upon our lips instead of prayer;
so that I at length told my friend it was better to abandon our reading
altogether than to engage in it in such a manner.
"Thus our proposed plan vanished like smoke. My term of study was nearly
completed. This was in 1818. I took my degrees in medicine, left the
university, and returned to my native city Amsterdam, full of bright
prospects for the future. I had an uncle there, one of the first
physicians in Holland, a learned man, and highly esteemed by the
principal families. Having no children, he took me into his house and
adopted me as his son and successor. I was thus introduced at once to an
extensive circle of acquaintance; kind and respectable, it is true, but
with whom Christianity was a mere outward profession accompanied by an
entirely worldly life. None of these ever spoke to me on the subject of
Christianity. I have even heard some of my young friends make a boast of
their infidelity, and speak without reverence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I once expressed my astonishment at this, and said, that though I did
not believe in Jesus, I thought that those who worshipped Him, and did
not consider Him to be God, were mere idolaters. A young physician who
was of the party, who was afterwards savingly converted to God, told me
some years after, how much ashamed he felt at the time, when receiving
such a reproof from an Israelite.
"In the midst of constant occupation, in the diligent pursuit of
scientific knowledge, I yet felt an aching void within. I had been
subject from childhood to an oppression of the chest, which made me pass
many sleepless nights; and in these hours of wakefulness I often
thought, 'Why am I upon the earth? Why was I created a man? Should I not
be a thousand times happier if I were one of the lower animals? I should
not then endure what I now suffer in my body and in my soul.' Often did
I cry out, 'O that this day were my last!' Yet I was not disquieted on
account of my sins, else I should have shuddered at the thought of
death; I was under the burden and curse of sin, without knowing it, or
seeking for the remedy.
"One day I went to pay a visit to my friend who had been lately married.
He had just received a letter from the celebrated professor already
mentioned. 'Would you like me to read it to you,' said he, 'together
with some beautiful verses he has addressed to me?' I gladly assented to
the proposal. The verses, in which he described, with power and feeling,
the glorious hopes of Israel, concluded with the words, 'Friend, be a
Christian, and I die content.' At these words, which he pronounced in an
under tone, my indignation was roused; my friend, it appeared to me, was
less shocked than he ought to have been. 'Take care,' said I, 'there is
a plan laid to seduce us.' I left him immediately.
"This occupied my thoughts all the rest of the day. I could not imagine
how a man of such profound learning could believe the Christian
religion. From that day, however, both my friend and myself began
attentively to examine the Word of God; and when we walked together we
conversed on those passages that had struck us most. Having begun with
the Gospel of Matthew, it was striking to me to perceive, that so far
from seeking to subvert the authority of the Old Testament, he made it
the basis whereon to build the Gospel of Christ.
"My friend and I spent several months in this way, becoming daily more
interested in our researches. At length, with thoughts and feelings very
different from those which formerly possessed us, we again determined to
read the Scriptures together. For this purpose we retired to a room in
my father's house; and I can never think without emotion on these
hallowed hours which we spent together, as in the presence of the God of
our fathers. Our interest increased as we proceeded. My mind, wearied
with vain speculations, now saw a new and boundless field open before
it, towards which it was irresistibly attracted; and thus before I had
ever heard of the electing love of God, I had experienced the power by
which He draws to Christ those souls whom He designs to bless. This
study of the word of God became at length the most urgent desire of my
soul. Merely to know the truth did not satisfy me: I felt that I must
really possess it, and live on its substance. I understood not then the
work that was going on within me; but I occasionally experienced moments
of delight arising from the conviction that divine assistance and
protection accompanied the course I was pursuing.
"One night, when reading the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, I was so
much struck with its resemblance to the account of the sufferings of
Christ which I had read in the Gospels, that I was almost convinced I
had got another Bible instead of my own; being scarcely able to believe
that this chapter, which may be truly entitled an abstract of the
Gospel, was really in the Old Testament. 'How,' thought I, 'can any Jew,
after reading this chapter, doubt that Jesus Christ is the promised
Messiah!' Whence could this strong conviction arise? I had often read
this chapter before; but now I read it with the light of the Spirit of
God. From this moment I recognized Christ as the promised Messiah, and
this gave an entirely new character to our meditations on the Word of
God. It was the dawn of a glorious day to our souls, the light of which
increased more and more, enlightening our minds, warming our hearts, and
even then bestowing upon us unspeakable consolation. Many of the enigmas
of life, which had hitherto puzzled and distressed me, were now
explained; everything seemed to revive around me, and the object and
interest of my life were entirely changed. Happy days, thus gladdened by
a sense of the Master's presence! Never can I forget them!
"I believe it was by divine direction that my friend and I did not
disclose to any one what was passing in our minds; and that we confined
ourselves to the study of God's Word, laying aside all other books
except Heydeck's 'Defence of the Christian Faith.' This learned man had
been a Rabbi in Germany, and having embraced the Romish religion, was
made Professor of Oriental languages at Madrid. This book, written with
great talent, and much knowledge of Scripture, is a defence of
Christianity against Rationalism. Its perusal was useful to us in two
ways; we found that the powerful logic with which he combated the
reasonings of Voltaire and Rousseau, entirely deserted him when he
attempted to defend Popery against the doctrines of the Reformation.
"Whenever I had any leisure in the morning, I used to shut myself up to
read the Word of God, as I dared not peruse it in my uncle's presence.
One day I had been particularly considering the following passage in
Isa. vii. 14, 'Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel.' On going down stairs I found a Jewish
physician, a friend of my uncle's, waiting for him in the ante-room. He
was turning over the leaves of a new edition of the Bible. 'There,' said
he, 'is a fatal passage we cannot easily wrest from the Christians.' It
was the very passage I had been meditating upon. My soul was deeply
moved, and I again perceived the guiding hand of my God. 'Why, then,' I
replied, 'should we not confess the truth?' My uncle now entered, and
enquired what subject we were discussing. The physician informed him;
and knowing my uncle to be deeply versed in the rabbinical writings,
asked him what the Rabbis say on the passage. 'Alas!' said my uncle,
'only a mass of nonsense.' With a beating heart I listened to this
admission; and inwardly thanked God for having permitted me to hear
these words from the lips of one whose rabbinical learning made him to
be considered as an authority by the Jews.
"All these various circumstances convinced me more and more that truth
is to be found in Christianity alone. I could not now be satisfied with
mere knowledge, I longed for love. Then it was that the sun of
righteousness shed abroad in our hearts, not only the light that
illuminates, but the quickening warmth that enables the soul to live the
life of God. I saw that love had led the Saviour to seek me. I perceived
also my own sinful and miserable condition; but this feeling seemed
absorbed in a sense of the divine love. In Christ I found my life,--the
centre of all my thoughts and affections,--the sole object that could
fill the void in my heart,--the key of all mysteries,--the principal of
all true philosophy, yea the _truth_ itself.
"I daily felt more and more the necessity of openly avowing my
sentiments. I can record, to the glory of God, that the certainty of
losing a considerable property, if I declared myself a Christian (which
the event has confirmed), never for a moment entered into the scruples
which made me hesitate. I dreaded the effect of the disclosures on the
kind relative who had treated me as his son; on whose choleric
temperament it might produce an impression that, at his advanced age,
might be fatal. Doubtless, had my faith been stronger, I should have
broken through every obstacle; but I could only suffer in silence, at
the same time earnestly praying to God to come to my aid, and open a way
before me.
"And the God of mercy attended to the voice of my supplication. It was
my uncle's custom to read the newspaper aloud after dinner. One day when
I was sitting opposite to him in a state of great dejection, he read
out the following news from Hamburg:--'We have just witnessed a very
interesting event. A Rabbi, after having announced to his
co-religionists in the synagogue, that an attentive examination of the
prophecies had convinced him that Messiah has already come, and having
made a confession of the Christian faith, was baptized a few days since
in this city, and received as a minister of the gospel.' On reading
this, my uncle said the following words, which the position I was then
in rendered so remarkable: 'If this man has acted from self-interest, he
is worthy of contempt: but if from conviction, he ought to be
respected.' Oh, Christians! You who can sympathize in the feelings of
those like-minded with you, need I describe to you what passed in my
mind at this solemn moment? In a transport of joy I fell on the neck of
the venerable old man, saying, 'Yes, uncle, and it is God who makes you
feel thus; know that he whom you love with the tenderness of a father,
is in the same case with this Rabbi!' I pronounced these words in such
violent agitation, and in a tone so unusual, that my poor uncle thought
I was out of my senses. He left the room for a few minutes, as if to
allow me to recover myself; and at his return began to speak on a
different subject.
"I could see that although my uncle was annoyed at what had passed, he
did not attach to my words the importance they deserved. I therefore
resolved, after having strengthened myself in God, to make the same
declaration to him the following day. He could no longer shut his eyes
to what had taken place; and a heart-rending scene followed. He beat his
breast, lamented that ever he was born, and exclaimed, in the bitterness
of his soul, that I was about to bring his grey hairs with sorrow to the
grave. His reproaches went to my heart; but the Lord strengthened and
comforted me, and enabled me to shew the dear old man such marks of
tenderness as at length somewhat soothed him.
"When the change became known to my family, they first used gentle means
with me, in the hope that these new notions might pass away; but finding
I grew bold, and ventured to preach the gospel to them, they resorted to
harsh treatment. It was a season of deep trial to my soul. This state of
things increased the ardent desire I felt publicly to confess Christ. My
family wished me to go into Germany, or some other country, for this
purpose; but to this I objected, lest it should appear as if I were
ashamed of the step I was about to take. My friend and I at length
decided on Leyden as the place where we should receive the rite of
baptism. The 20th of October, 1822, was the day so ardently desired, on
which we were admitted members of the Church of Christ. Kneeling in the
presence of the congregation, before the God of our fathers, who is the
true God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--we had the unspeakable joy,
unworthy sinners as we were, to confess before the Christian Church, the
blessed name of that great God and Saviour who had come to seek and save
us when we were lost. Glory be to God."
Among Capadose's writings, the most noteworthy are: (1) "Aan mijne
geloofsgenooten in de Ned. Heb. Gem.," The Hague, 1843. (2)
"Overdenkingen over Israel's Roeping en Toekomst," Amsterdam, 1843. (3)
"Rome en Jerusalem," Utrecht, 1851.
CAPLAN, Rev. W. H., was a native of the Baltic provinces. He was
converted to Christianity through the reading of the New Testament,
which he received from a friend at home. He then went to London for the
purpose of being able the more easily to make a public profession of his
faith, and was baptized there about 1876. In 1877 he became assistant to
the Rev. Theodore Meyer, of the Presbyterian Mission in Whitechapel.
After a few years he studied at King's College, and was ordained to the
ministry of the Church of England in 1885. Then he became curate in
several churches in England, and finally emigrated to Canada, where he
is doing good work in the Canadian Church.
CARLTON, Rev. S. J., a native of Silesia, baptized in the Irish
Presbyterian Mission at Hamburg, about 1892. Subsequently he joined the
Church of England, studied at Ayerst Hall, Cambridge, was L.J.S.
missionary curate at St. Benet's, Stepney, then curate at St. Jude's,
Mildmay, 1901-4; St. Peter's, Cricklewood, 1904-6; St. Mary Magdalene,
Peckham, 1906-8; and vicar of All Saints, Camberwell, from 1908.
CARRET, Ludwig, a convert who lived at the beginning of the seventeenth
century, wrote a Hebrew letter giving an account of the history of his
conversion. This letter appeared in the Appendix in Buxtorf's Synagogue
Judaica (de le Roi), but not in all editions.
CARO, Pastor F., convert and missionary of the Berlin Society in 1845-8,
had the privilege of baptizing a Jewish lady in her ninetieth year, in
the presence of all her children, one of whom was the above-named
Branis.
CARO, Regierungsrath in Merseburg, is recorded as having rendered the
Government good service, especially in the educational department, in
the 19th century, and that he was a devoted Christian.
CASPARI, Carl Paul. Norway during the nineteenth century found her most
pre-eminent witness for Christ and defender of Christianity in that son
of Israel whose name is mentioned above. Carl Paul Caspari was born at
Dessau 1814. His parents were orthodox Jews, and his father was a
merchant there. In this city, which through Moses Mendelssohn has become
so celebrated, the Jewish community influenced many of its citizens in a
remarkable manner, on account of their ability and intelligence. They
established a Jewish seminary, which was called after Prince Francis,
"The Francis School." It gained a great reputation, and even attracted
Christian pupils. German services were held in the synagogue, at that
period an unheard-of innovation. The religious instruction in the school
was given in an enlightened spirit. Caspari imbibed this influence, and
when he attended the Gymnasium it obtained complete control over him. In
1834 he went to Leipsig, in order to study Oriental languages. Here he
read the Old Testament diligently, but he found in it only the teaching
he had formerly received. The New Testament he could not accept.
However, he was animated by a strong sense of duty, and he inscribed on
his desk the motto, "Thou canst, therefore thou oughtest." Yet he soon
became convinced that his will was a very feeble instrument. At this
period, Granel, who had formerly been his schoolmate at Dessau, and who
afterwards was so well known as the Superintendent of the Saxon Foreign
Missions, became Caspari's faithful friend and wise counsellor. Granel
persuaded him to carefully read the New Testament. He opened the book at
the Acts of the Apostles and read of Paul's persecution by the Jews. He
was impressed with the truthfulness of the narrative, and so he
concluded to continue his reading. When he reached the Gospels, the
words of Christ and the accounts of His wonderful miracles greatly
affected him. The thought came to him. "Perhaps Jesus can also help me
out of all this misery which I find in my soul," and, as he a year
before his death said, "I came to Him as to my living Saviour--just as
in the days of His flesh men sought comfort from Him." Pastor Wolf, of
Leipsig, and the young theologian, Franz Delitzsch, afterwards the
celebrated professor, together with Granel, dealt with him faithfully in
this time of struggle, and because the young man was sincere the
conflict ended in his victory. At Pentecost, in 1838, he received from
the same Pastor Zehme, in Leipsig, who had previously baptized Freidrich
Adolph Philippi, Holy Baptism. He now discontinued his former studies
and devoted himself to the study of theology, giving especial attention
to the Old Testament. After leaving the university he was at first a
private scholar, and as such wrote an exposition of the prophecy of
Obadiah, and also the first volume of an Arabic grammar, which was
translated into several languages, and is in use to-day. He declined a
call to the Königsberg university, because he wished to work only in a
Lutheran institution. He received a call to such an one in 1847, namely,
to the Norwegian university at Christiania, where he displayed his great
powers as a theologian. He wrote expositions of many books of the Old
Testament, and performed especial service in editing the newly revised
Bible in Norwegian, which is now used in the churches of that country.
The question of the signification of the Apostles' Creed, which through
Grundtvig, had greatly agitated the Northern Evangelical churches, led
him in 1858 to a thorough investigation of this ancient Confession of
Faith. He decided that the Creed undoubtedly had its formation in the
times of the Apostles, that it had become part of the life of the
Church, but that the Holy Scriptures alone had been and must remain the
standard of belief, and to which all the teachers of the Church from its
foundation until Grundtvig had adhered. The Apostles' Creed had not
always had this authority, nor is it the direct word of Jesus Christ,
but it stands for an expression of the primitive faith, and he who
disputes its truth should not be considered a Christian. Caspari
received abundant thanks for his labours. The city of Erlangen bestowed
upon him the title of "Doctor of Theology." Many philosophical societies
elected him to their membership, and Swedish and Norwegian Orders gave
him honors. He ever retained true affection for his own Jewish people,
and often spoke eloquently in behalf of Jewish missions. In 1865 he
became President of the Norwegian Central Committee for Jewish missions,
and later a Director of the Lutheran Central Societies at Leipsic. He
served with especial diligence at the Students' Missionary Association
at Christiania, where a conference was held over Jewish missions. He
divided his discourse into four points, including the following
questions and answers:
I.--Is Jewish mission work necessary? Yes; because without it the
majority of the Jews would never be reached by the preaching of the
Gospel.
II.--How shall they be converted? By establishing in every Church
societies of earnest Christians, who shall support proselytes from
Judaism as missionaries among their own people.
III.--How shall these missionaries carry on their work? Not by dispute
and argument, which create only intellectual knowledge, but through the
promulgation of the way of salvation, must the Jews embrace the truths
of Christianity, through which Christians also are converted.
IV.--How are the converts to be treated? Possibly they might primarily
be organized into circles, in order to serve as leaven among their
friends, but much depends upon their various former environments.
The idea of a Jewish national existence greatly impressed him, and he
clung firmly to this hope for Israel's future. In 1891 he had the
pleasure of appointing the first Norwegian Jewish missionary. After a
remarkable, important and richly blessed activity for the Church of
Christ, he fell asleep in 1892. Professor Bang called him "the Teacher
of all Scandinavia," and testified that his death should be considered
as an historical Church calamity. Caspari himself cherished but one
ambition, to live and die in favour with Christ Jesus, and depended to
the last on the Saviour's word, "Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no
wise cast out."
Some of Caspari's works are as follows:
(1) "Commentar über Obadja," Leipzig, 1842, followed by (2) "Beiträge
zur Einleitung in das Buch Jesaia." (3) "Untersuchungen über den Syrisch
Ephraimitischen Krieg unter Jotham und Ahas," Christiania, 1849. (4)
"Commentar zu Micha," ib., 1852. (5) "Theile des Jesaia seit 1853." (6)
"Zur Einführung in das Buch Daniel," Leipzig, 1869. (7) "Quellen der
Geschichte des Taufsymbols und der Glaubensregel," Christiania, 1868-9.
(8) "Grammatica Arabica," Leipzig, 1842-48; a second edition appeared in
1866.
CASSEL, Paulus (Selig), was one of the most distinguished Hebrew
Christians whom Germany produced during the 19th century, and one of the
most remarkable missionaries ever in the Society's ranks.
Speaking of the necessity of writing a history of converted Jews, the
"Jewish Chronicle" said that the most important chapter of it would be
that which, concerning Germany, contained the lives of such men as
Benfey, Bernhardy, Lehrs, Neander and Veith; and after them should be
mentioned Cassel, who became a pillar of the Reformed Church, and
acknowledged that "a genius like Cassel is always an honour to his
former brethren in the faith," whilst wondering that one who observed
for so many years the Jewish ceremonial laws, ate at the table of Jacob
Joseph Ettinger, the rabbi of Berlin, who was the admirer of Michael
Sachs, and the author of the article, "History of the Jews," in Ersch
and Grüber's great "Encyclopædia of Science," could have embraced the
Christian faith.[10] It was indeed a strange spectacle, and a sorrowful
one withal, for every Jew with any feeling whatever, to see Paulus
Cassel teaching Christianity in the same city of Berlin, where his
brother, David, was a well-known rabbi, training young men for the
Jewish ministry.
[10] "Jewish Chronicle," January 9, 1880.
We must, however, first speak of his early years. Selig Cassel, to give
him his Jewish name, was born at Glogau, in Silesia, on February 27th,
1821, of Jewish parents. He was educated at the Gymnasia of Glogau and
Schweidnitz, and subsequently at the university of Berlin, where he made
a special study of history as a pupil of the famous historian, Dr.
Ranke.
Cassel took his degree at Berlin and Licentiatus Theologiæ in due
course, and received the faculty for headmaster for all classes of the
gymnasium in Latin, Greek, theology, history, geography and German
literature. He then, for a time, was on the journalistic staff of the
"Constitutionelle Zeitung" in Berlin. Afterwards, in 1850, Cassel went
to Erfurt, where he was the editor of the "Erfurter Zeitung" from 1850
to 1856.
His Christian friends, and especially, according to his own statement,
his study of the history of Israel, led him to Christianity, which he
embraced in 1855, being baptized at Büssleben, a village near Erfurt, on
May 28, and receiving the names "Paulus Stephanus." Every year
subsequently he was wont to celebrate this "second birthday," as he
called it, amidst his friends and congregation.
We now come to the second period of Cassel's life, as a renowned
Christian writer, preacher and orator. For a few years Cassel remained
in the town, where the great change in his life had taken place, and
became custodian of the public library and secretary of the "Erfurt
Academy." He was then called to Berlin by the Prime Minister, who
entrusted him with the editorship of the official "Deutsche Reform." He
resigned this post in six months' time to return to his beloved books
and studies at Erfurt.
At this time honours were showered upon him. King Frederick William IV.
of Prussia honoured him with the title of "Professor." The University of
Erlangen conferred on him the degree of "Licentiatus Theologiæ."
Afterwards, in Vienna, Cassel obtained that of "Doctor Theologiæ"
(Doctor of Divinity). In 1859 he returned to Berlin and delivered
public lectures, which were more and more largely attended and
appreciated by both Jews and Gentiles. These lectures made him known
throughout the capital and the country.
Dr. Cassel was elected a member of the "Landtag," the Prussian
Parliament, in 1866, and became a prominent member of the Conservative
party. As this took him too much from his literary work, he soon laid
this mandate down.
In 1868, the third and most famous portion of Cassel's life commenced,
when the Society appointed him their missionary in Berlin and minister
of Christ Church, a stately Gothic building, with over a thousand
sittings, erected by the Society in the Wilhelmstrasse, in 1864.
For twenty-three years many children of Israel heard the Gospel from Dr.
Cassel's lips both in Berlin and other places of Germany, and indeed of
Europe. The good done by means of his sermons and lectures can never be
fully estimated; and, in addition to this, numbers of Jews were
influenced in a Christian direction by his numerous publications.
It would be impossible for us to follow the indefatigable missionary in
his multifarious activities in Berlin and in Germany generally during
these busy years; but we may be allowed to quote from a published letter
which he addressed in 1887 to English friends, entitled, "Thoughts on
the Jewish Mission":
"Invitations came to give lectures in places at a distance. A dear
friend of mine shewed me in 1860 a map of Germany, on which he marked
all the towns in which I have lectured. Since then I have delivered
over a thousand original lectures in Berlin and elsewhere. God's hand
has guided me everywhere. My journeys have extended from Amsterdam to
Buda-Pesth. I always had an attentive audience, and the poorer people in
both large and small towns heard the Word with gladness--nay, even with
enthusiasm.
"During the anti-Semitic agitation, such journeys for the purpose of
delivering lectures were more extensive. I had then become known through
my defence of Gospel charity, even in circles which were not outwardly
known as Christian. The meetings which were held at the period resembled
more nearly the ideal at which I aimed. A considerable number of persons
listened to the lectures, who had completely turned their backs on the
Church."
Speaking of his ministerial and missionary work in Christ Church, the
doctor said:
"The special blessing of the Church consisted in the regular exposition
of the _Old_ Testament. It has been my custom to expound the Old
Testament every Sunday evening, from the first Sunday I came into office
(Jan. 5th, 1868) up to the present time. It was the first time in Berlin
that this was made a practice. There were, therefore, from the very
beginning hearers, consisting of Jews and earnest Christians. Those
expository sermons have been the greatest blessing, and have specially
united me to the congregation."
Professor Cassel baptized 262 Jews in Christ Church; amongst them
doctors, authors, merchants, nearly all educated persons. But, as he
said, "I am not fond of statistics. I sow the seed, but do not stop to
ask how much may be the fruit."
Dr. Cassel was an ardent lover of his own people. "Though he has left
us, he was by no means our enemy. He still fights against those who hate
the Jews," said the "Jewish Chronicle." It was he who raised his voice
against Stöcker in Berlin, and endeavoured by voice and pen to soften
down the excitement and anger of German Protestants, and to secure the
peace of his former brethren in the faith.
In the spring of 1891, when he retired from his duties, Dr. Cassel did
not cease to preach, wherever an occasion offered, and he continued to
write. So great was his love and zeal that he could not forego
instructing and baptizing Jews who wished to become members of the
Church of Christ through his instrumentality. The number of his converts
must exceed some hundreds. Many of them were in high positions, and
residing in various parts of the world.
Dr. Cassel's death took place, after great sufferings, on December 23rd,
1893, his last words being, "Wo ist denn das Himmelreich?" His funeral
was held on December 27th in the afternoon. In Christ Church, where the
coffin had been placed before the communion-table, a funeral sermon was
preached by the Rev. Pastor Weser from St. John i. 12. The Rev. Dr.
Dryander, the General Superintendent of the Lutheran community, also
addressed the congregation. After the service within the sacred edifice
the obsequies were completed, in the presence of a large concourse of
friends, at the old Jerusalem Cemetery, where Dr. Cassel's mortal
remains lie in their last resting-place.
We append a few testimonies to the life, example, and powerful influence
of Dr. Cassel:
Mr. C. Urbschat, of Königsberg, who for several years worked under Dr.
Cassel in Berlin, wrote of his labours:--
"Professer Cassel was a highly educated missionary, and showed
extraordinary ability in influencing the higher classes of Jews in
favour of Christianity by his lectures and by his pleadings on their
behalf. He was a man of profound learning, of great diligence, and of
restless zeal in propagating the Gospel of his Master amongst Jews and
Christians."
The "Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums" said:--"When the anti-Semites
began to show themselves, Cassel remembered his origin, and opposed the
leaders, Stöcker, Wagner, and others with great decision and manliness.
It was this manly action that gives us some satisfaction for his
desertion of the parental religion. We have to judge this apostasy very
differently from that of many others in former and present times, as he
did not forsake his old creed for any worldly reason, or to get honours
and position, but rather because he followed a mystical line of thought.
God alone can judge the veracity and purity of his life; we dare not.
'Peace be to his ashes!'"
Of the two brothers who, though divided in life, died about the same
time, the _Jewish Chronicle_ remarked:--"The deaths of David and Paulus
(formerly Selig) Cassel remove two brothers, both of whom had won a
place for themselves among the honoured names of Jewish scholarship....
Paulus was the greater man of the two, a scholar and writer of a higher
type, and his works will live. He took a worthy part in the struggle
against anti-Semitism. Paulus Cassel was perhaps the first man to
recognise what was really meant by writing a history of the Jews."
One of Dr. Cassel's numerous converts, baptized by him in 1870, sent the
following most touching tribute to his memory:--"There was no way of his
life in which he failed to shine. Study and knowledge sealed in his
heart the great truths of religion. His was the faith which is clothed
in wisdom; his the wisdom which is hallowed by faith. His faith was to
him, as it should be to all of us, an armed angel. His affectionate
heart not only throbbed with love for his own kindred, but was alive to
sympathy with those who needed it. I always found him benevolent and
singularly gentle. He taught the world that the Jew, hitherto despised,
must be despised no more; he conquered a place in society, in the
highest society--the intellectual circle--for the people of his faith.
And this victory he won, not by dint of clamour, or falseness, or
obstrusive self-assertion, but by the force of his own intellectual
powers, his unsullied integrity, his admirable character. Dr. Cassel
gave mankind a useful lesson, a touching example, a glorious spectacle:
he showed how a Christian Jew lives! His knowledge was the altar on
which he stood to worship the great God-man! History confirms the truth,
which the Psalmist, whose music he loved, taught mankind ages ago--that,
'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.'"
The industry of Dr. Cassel was truly prodigious, and was especially
evidenced by the large number and character of his writings.
A complete list of all his books and pamphlets would fill a large space,
so mention can be made only of his more important writings,
namely:--"Juden Geschichte" in Ersch and Grüber (1847), "Magyarische
Altertumer" (1848), "Von Warschau bis Olmutz" (1851), "Thüringische
Ortsnamen" (1856-58), "Eddische Studien" (1856), "Rose und Nachtigall"
(1860), "Weihnachten, Ursprünge, Bräuche und Aberglauben" (1862), "Die
Schwalbe" (1869), "Drachenkämpfe" (1869), "Vom Wege nach Damascus"
(1872), "Name und Beruf" (1874), "Löwenkämpfe von Nemea bis Golgotha"
(1875), "Das Buch Esther" (1878), translated by the Rev. A. Bernstein
into English and published by T. and T. Clark of Edinburgh (1888), "Vom
Nil zum Ganges" (1879), "Christliche Sittenlehre" (1880), "Aus literatur
und Symbolik" (1884), "Sabbatarche Errinerungen," "Die Hochzeit von
Cana" (1884), "Aus Literatur und Geschichte" (1885), "Aus dem Lande des
Sonnenaufgangs" (1885), "Kritische Sendschreiben über die Probebibel"
(1885), "Wie ich über Judenmission denke" (1886), "Das 900 jährige
Jubiläum der russischen Kirche" (1888), "Aletheia, Vorträge" (1890),
"Das 1000 jährige Reich" (1890). For Lange's Bible-Commentary he wrote
the expositions on the books of Judges and Ruth. His works against
anti-Semitism were "Wider Heinrich von Treitschke für die Juden" (1880),
"Die Antisemiten und die Evangelische Kirche" (1881), "Ahasverus"
(1885), and "Der Judengott und Richard Wagner." Dr. Cassel composed many
poems under the title, "Hallelujah," containing 188 hymns, and also some
dramas (Vom Könige, Das neue Schauspiel, Der Weiner Congress, Paulus at
Damascus, Paulus at Cyprus, &c.)
From 1875-91 Dr. Cassel edited and published a weekly paper, "For
Christian life and knowledge," entitled "Sunem."
Such, in conclusion, was this truly wonderful son of Israel, and
follower of Christ. His gigantic intellect, marvellous ability,
persuasive oratory, brilliant pen, were alike consecrated to the service
of his Lord and Master, and to the spiritual welfare of his brethren.
Sage, philosopher, scholar, author, preacher and missionary, he was a
king amongst his fellow-men. His name will live immortal in the annals
of Jewish and Jewish missionary literature.
CERF, Karl Friedrich, born in 1782, died 1845, embraced Christianity.
Friedrich Wilhelm IV. conferred upon him the title of Royal
Commissionsrath for services rendered.
CERF, Friedrich Rudolf, with his wife, Angelica Henrietta, _née_ Israel,
belonging to Mendelssohn's circle, were baptized at Schöneback in 1818,
and their daughter in 1822.
CHERSKIER, a convert in Warsaw, translated the Book of Common Prayer
into Hebrew in 1836, since when 26,000 copies have been issued by the
L.J.S.
CHERSKI, Reuben, a native of Thorn, was brought up in Leipzig. When
quite a youth he entered a Christian Church, for which offence he was
locked up by his father in a cupboard. Sometime after he heard
Biesenthal and Poper speak to the Jews about Christ at the Leipzig book
fair. Then he found a New Testament among his father's books, and read
St. John iii., and was punished by him for doing so, forbidding him to
read it again. After this he received another New Testament from a
colporteur of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and read it with a
pricked conscience for disobeying his father. Then, after he and his
father were saved by Christians from a fire at Eisenach, he, being now
seventeen years of age, left for Frankfort to seek a livelihood there.
Through a paternal friend he got employment in the office of the "Freund
Zeitung." The chief editor, Israel Harsch, one day in a walk pointed out
to him a man in clerical costume, wearing gold spectacles, with a
countenance of great gentleness, by saying, "He is a Meshummad, a
missionary to the Jews." Cherski now recollected that he had seen him
once at Leipzig, and was warned to keep aloof from him. However, from
that time he began to attend Dr. Poper's meetings, at one of which he
met Dr. Biesenthal too, listened to their lectures, and left for Paris
apparently unimpressed. Then he met Poper again, received from him the
tract "Messiah, the Son of David, is also the Son of God," became a
changed man, wrote to his father a confession of his faith in Christ,
returned to Frankfort, where he found that his fiancée, Lydia, had in
the meanwhile also been converted.
CHRISTIAN, Gustav Christopher, baptized at Nüremberg 1719, and died
there about 1735. He was the author of two Judæo-German works--"Yesod
Emunath Yeshua" (The basis of the Faith of Jesus), Berlin, 1712; and
"Die Bekehrung's Israel," Schwabach, 1722.
CHRISTIANI, Friedrich Albrecht, was born in the middle of the
seventeenth century, died at Prostnitz at the beginning of the
eighteenth century. He was baptized in 1674 at Strassburg, having
formerly been the Chazzan (Precentor) at Bruchsal. After having occupied
for twenty years the chair of Semitics at the university of Leipzig, he
retired to Prostnitz. Christiani's works comprise the following, all
published at Leipzig. (1) "Zebah Pesah" (The sacrifice of Easter), an
account of the Jewish celebration of Easter in the time of Jesus, and at
the present. (2) "Seudath Purim" (The meal of Purim), 1677, a
description of Jewish fasting and feasting. (3) "Zahakan Melumad
Umethareth" (The Scholarly Gambler repenting) 1683, a German translation
of the work of Leon of Modena on gambling. (4) "Abravanel's Commentary
on the first prophets, with a Latin index," 1686. (5) "The text of Jonah
with the Targum Massorah and the commentaries of Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Kimchi
and Abravanel, and a Hebrew Latin Vocabulary," 1683. (6) "Iggereth"
(Letter) 1676, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews, translated from
the Greek into Hebrew. (7) "Traktat von dem Glauben und Unglauben der
Juden," 1713.
CHRISTIANI, Moritz Wilhelm, born at Altorf at the end of the seventeenth
century, died at Prague, 1740, probably a member of the Keyser family of
Schleusingen, Bavaria. He claimed to have been a rabbi at Schleusingen
before his baptism in 1715. Christiani wrote: (1) "Kurze Beschreibung
einer Jüdischen Synagogue und eine Beschreibung der Synagogalen
Gebraüche," Regensburg, 1723. (2) "Die Schlacht und Visiterkunst, _ib._,
1724." (3) "Ausgang von dem verstockten Judenthum und Eingang zum wahren
Christenthum," an account of his conversion, his profession of faith,
and several orations, Erfurt, 1720. (4) "Rede zur Einladung für
Rabbinische Studien," written in Hebrew and German, inserted in "Johann
David Köhler's Program," Altorf, 1785. (5) "A German translation of the
Sefer ha Minhagim of Jacob Levi (Matta Ril)," published at Bremen, 1733.
CHRISTIAN, Friedrich Ernest (as a Jewish teacher called Abraham Saul),
was baptized with his wife and two grown-up sons by Pastor Stemnitz in
1772.
CHRISTMANN was baptized in 1775.
CHRISTLIEB, Wilhelm, declared that it was a sermon which he heard
preached to the Jews by Pastor Dekan Soldanus in the town hall of Cassel
which convinced him of the truth of the Gospel. He was baptized in 1785.
CHRISTLIEB, Friedrich Wilhelm, another convert, made himself
particularly obnoxious to the Jews by attacking the Talmud in a bitter
spirit. He wrote: "Greuel der Verwüstung des heiligen Jerusalem durch
den jüdischen Talmud," Cassel, 1681. "Lästerungen der Juden gegen
Christum," _ib._, 1682. A theological treatise: "Jesus Christ und Sohn
Gottes nach Kabbalistischer Art erwiesen," Rinteln, 1697.
CHRISTHOLD, Christian Albert, born in 1687, was baptized when young with
his mother. He had great talents, so that at the age of 23, in 1700, he
was appointed Rector of the Gymnasium in Oettingen, when he wrote a
Latin treatise advocating toleration and liberty to the Jews. He was
afterwards a faithful minister of the Gospel till his death in 1772.
Schulze said of him, "I have hitherto not found anyone like him."
CHRISTHOLD, Christiane Sophie Magdalene (Judith), a relative of the
above, followed his example.
CHRISTFELS, Philipp Ernst (Mordecai), born at Neuhaus, 1671, son of
Moses Shemaja, received a good rabbinic and German education. Being of a
disputatious disposition, he very often in his wanderings disputed with
Christians on religious subjects, amongst whom was the well-known
Wagenseil. A learned rabbi, by the name of Hirsch Froman, once advised
him to read the New Testament. Another Rabbi, Abraham Reviga, Kabbalist,
with whom he studied, intimated to him that under the attribute called
Binah is to be understood the Son of God. This made him restless, but at
the same time enquiring. He was finally, after nine months' instruction,
baptized in 1701. Christfels was the author, before his baptism, of a
book in Hebrew, entitled "Rephuah Hanephesh," "Soul-Medicine," and after
he became a Christian, the Pentateuch with the Targum's and Rashi's
commentaries were printed under his supervision.
CHRISTIAN, Gottlob Meyer (Abraham Meyer), baptized by Schulze (the
celebrated missionary of Callenberg Inst.), in 1769. He afterwards
studied Theology.
CHRISTIANUS, Paulus, embraced Christianity about the beginning of the
eighteenth century, together with his son. The latter suffered martyrdom
(de le Roi, i. 131).
CHRISTLIEB, Johann Ludwig Karl Friedrich (Aaron Mendel), was baptized by
the Court preacher Kern, in the eighteenth century.
COHEN, Dr. Medicinalrath, a convert, at Posen, between 1830-40, took a
lively interest in the evangelization of his brethren, and encouraged
the missionaries Händler and Bellson in their labours.
COHEN, Esther, baptized at Constantinople in 1873, was a deaconess at
Mildmay, and was sent in 1885 to Jaffa as a missionary.
COHEN, Rev. James, was all his life an ardent supporter of missions to
the Jews, and for many years a member of the L.J.S. Committee. As far
back as 1849 he delivered an address to the students in the Hebrew
College. He was for many years Rector of Whitechapel, where he
eloquently preached both by word and pen. Later he was Vicar of Heston.
COHEN, Joseph Philipp, born in Prussia, was converted at Swansea, a
narrative of which he gave in a little tract, entitled "The Sweetness of
Christianity," London, 1845. It was chiefly owing to his being of a
serious turn of mind that he felt the need of redemption from his sins,
and that made him study diligently the Old Testament. Afterward a lady
gave him a New Testament, and the first passage that met his eye was,
"Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest." He was later a missionary of the British Society until 1873.
After that time he continued his calling independently.
COHEN, J. John Baptist, after much suffering on account of his
conversion to Christianity, was employed by Lewis Way as an evangelist
in Smyrna, and remained there when Lewis Way left the station in 1837.
CORAL, J. N., a native of Rhodes, embraced Christianity in Jerusalem
some time between 1860 and 1870. He was a very earnest and loving man,
an acceptable preacher of the Gospel in Judæo-Spanish and in Hebrew to
his Sephardic brethren. He did excellent work when he used to visit with
the writer the towns of Palestine in 1871-2.
CORESH, Daniel, a convert, mentioned in Wolff, Bibliotheca Hebraica 3.
N, published at Amsterdam a Latin treatise in 1727, under the title
"Quinque aperti flores collecti ex horto malogranatorum et in fascicula
digesti." He states there that he had then lived in Amsterdam as a
Christian for fifteen years, so that he must have been baptized in 1712.
DA COSTA, Isaac. Much has been written about this great son of Abraham,
and the following is a short account of his conversion from his own
pen:--
"You request of me, dear brother, some account of my conversion to the
Christian religion, and to the faith in Jesus Christ; and I cannot
refuse to tell the things which the God of our fathers has wrought in my
soul. I will cheerfully join my testimony with that of my brethren, both
by nature and in grace, who endeavour to instruct others and to teach
their hearts by retracing the ways of God towards them in His providence
and His grace.
"To set His dispensations towards me in a clearer light, I must refer to
many long past events. A son of Israel is constantly reminded that his
personal history is closely linked with that of his fathers. I must then
crave indulgence for prefacing my account with some particulars
respecting my parentage, which I derive from one of the Jewish families
that have for several ages dwelt in the Spanish peninsula. Some of my
ancestors in that country professed Catholicism, first by compulsion;
and afterwards (a case by no means uncommon in the history of our people
in Spain and Portugal) from conviction, or, at least, in sincerity.
Humanly speaking, we might still have inhabited that country, and
professed the Romish faith; but one of the members of our family, Canon
Tresonis, of the collegiate church of Oporto, gave up, in consequence of
his doubts on religion, his office and his country to return to the
Synagogue of his ancestors.
"We learn from various biographical works[11] the history of Gabriel
(_Judaic_ Uriel) da Costa (Latin,'a Costa') who with his younger
brothers, was circumcised at Amsterdam, where, after falling into
complete infidelity, he ended his life very unhappily. It is from one of
these younger brothers, Joseph da Costa, that I take my descent, by the
direct male line. My family belonged, during two centuries, to the
Spanish and Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam, where it enjoyed all the
privileges which Holland then presented to my nation in its exile and
tribulation. My father, who shared in the sentiment of devotedness to
the house of Orange, so common amongst the Jews, and who was therefore
very inimical to the revolution, educated me in the same principles. He
was a very upright man, and gifted with a large share of good sense; and
my education was to him an object of the most affectionate care and
solicitude. His religious principles were by no means those of a strict
Jew, although he maintained a decorous respect for the outward
ordinances of religion. My mother was much more inclined to the
religious observances of modern Judaism.
[11] "Exemplar Vitæ Humanæ," printed at the end of the "Colloquy of
Limborch with Prabio"; Bayle, "Dict. Historique," art. A. Costa; Wolff,
"Bib. Rabbin," &c.
"From childhood my mind had been partially influenced by a sort of
religious instinct, a vague desire to know and to serve God, whilst I
was, at the same time, involved in doubt and uncertainty, both as to
Revelation itself, and with regard to the ordinances, and the oral
traditions of the rabbis. At times I strenuously addicted myself to the
devotional use of the prayers, the rites and commandments of my
religion; at others, I relapsed into doubt, and gave way to a distaste
for all these outward observances. The scoffing and irreligious
philosophy of the eighteenth century inspired me with horror; and my
attention was earnestly directed to the acquiring of an intelligent
conviction respecting the existence and government of God, and the
immortality of the soul. But the books I consulted in my search into
these high interests failed to afford me satisfaction. Their arguments
were not of sufficient weight fully to convince me of their truth, nor
did their reasonings fix me in complete incredulity. Materialism
alarmed, distressed, and shocked me. But the subtleties of Plato, of
Mendelssohn, and others, could not reach my heart, nor warm it. My mind
was at that time far from being convinced of the historical fact of
Revelation, or of the veracity of the Old Testament, of Moses, and the
Prophets. And although in the midst of this uncertainty, I still clung
to the great recollections of my nation from a feeling of natural pride,
my commerce with unbelievers, and my study of philosophers, had wrought
in my mind so far as to exclude the idea of an immediate and positive
revelation. I had formed a sort of deistical system, in which were
mingled rabbinical and Mosaic principles. I looked upon Jesus Christ as
a light proceeding from Israel for the illumination of the Gentiles:
meanwhile the vanities of the world and sin ruled in my daily life. Such
was the state of my mind when in the providence of God two events
occurred which had a marked influence on my future course.
"My father, perceiving my inclination for study, destined me to the
career of jurisprudence, a pursuit which, though formerly closed to the
Jews, had been partially opened to them since the revolution of 1795.
From the age of thirteen to fifteen years (1811-1813), having attended
regularly the Latin classes in my native city of Amsterdam, I began a
course of lessons with the Professor of Antiquities and Literature, a
man of learning, and possessed of a highly refined taste. His historical
lectures gave him ample opportunity for asserting and setting in a
conspicuous light the truth and high authority of the writings of Moses,
and he earnestly vindicated those records from the sophisms and
fallacies of Voltaire, and the other sceptics of the age. The idea of a
_positive revelation_ was now awakened in my mind; I began to believe in
the divinity of the Old Testament, and this great truth gradually
developed, was to me as a beacon amidst doubt and obscurity. Revealed
religion, the divine authority of the Bible, is an historical fact.
"My study of the Bible history was soon followed by enquiries which
originated partly, I must own, from national pride. In the midst of the
contempt and dislike of the world for the name of Jew, I had ever
gloried in it. I began, therefore, to study the history of our families,
and of our nation, in Spain and Portugal, in respect to its
theology--its poetry--its attainments in science--its political and
diplomatic position, taking a general review of its prosperity and of
its astonishing calamities. Throughout their history, both ancient and
modern, I perceived something so extraordinary as to be quite
inexplicable, unless we view the Jews as the subjects of remarkable
privileges, and of as remarkable a downfall; of a special election of
God, and of an enormous crime on the part of the elect people. It was
thus that the consideration of Judaism prepared me for the knowledge of
that religion, which alone is the solution and the fulfilment of the
pure and divine Judaism of the Old Testament.
"Another circumstance in my life tended to my further enlightenment. The
perusal of the ancient classics, the political events of 1813 and 1815,
even the study of the history of my fathers according to the flesh,
awakened in my soul the faculties of poetry. As a youthful poet, I was
presented by a learned Hebraist of our nation to the greatest of our
Dutch contemporary poets, the celebrated Bilderdyk, who died at the age
of 75 years in 1831. He was a remarkable man in all respects, and one
whose political and religious convictions, and originality of mind and
character, had armed all this present age, at least in his own country,
against him. Misunderstood, persecuted, banished in 1795, and harassed
by all sorts of misfortunes, he had found from his youth, strength and
consolation in the Gospel of Christ. Attached in heart to the truths of
the confession of the Reformed Churches, he had besides early perceived
the glorious future, announced by the prophets to the ancient people of
God, and how their conversion to the Messiah, crucified by them, would
be one day to the nations at large like life from the dead. From thence
arose a particular attachment to Israel for their fathers' sake, and for
the love of Christ, who sprung from Israel according to the flesh. Very
naturally, I felt strongly drawn towards this extraordinary man, I
became his disciple, and also his intimate friend for eighteen years to
the day of his death. It is to him, under the hand of God, and through
His adorable grace, that I saw the light which led me to the Christian
religion, and to the faith in Jesus, my Saviour, and my God. Not that
Bilderdyk ever sought to make a proselyte of his young disciple. With a
wisdom which I can attribute to nothing but the direction of the
Almighty, he rather endeavoured not to sway my mind by the influence
which his superior intelligence gave him over me. He only endeavoured to
render me more of an Israelite than is consistent with the wisdom of the
present age. He spoke to me of the Old Testament; he directed my
attention to the prophecies, to the promises given to the fathers, to
the portions of revealed truth, preserved even in the traditions of the
Rabbis (Messiah ben David and Messiah ben Joseph, &c.) Especially he
tried to make me feel that the true Christian shares in the hopes of
Israel in regard to a glorious reign of Messiah upon the throne of
David; and that on the other hand (it is thus that he expressed himself
in a piece of poetry which he addressed to me in 1819), the sincere Jew
is a Christian in hope.
"Soon the hand of God led us further on. It was in 1820. Bilderdyk and I
were engaged in a deeply serious conversation on the things of God and
of truth. In the ardour of discourse he happened to say to me, that the
ancient Jews themselves had acknowledged a plurality of persons in the
ineffable unity of God. That God seeing Himself, contemplating Himself,
reflecting Himself, begot His Son from all eternity; and that the Son is
He whom Christians adore in the person of Jesus Christ crucified.
"Then did my eyes perceive the first rays of new light. I began to read
the New Testament; I read that unspeakably sublime and blessed word (St.
John i. 6-14), 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God, and the Word was made flesh.' I began to feel
an abhorrence of sin, for which the Saviour Himself manifested in the
flesh, had suffered the death of the cross. I perceived the fulfilment
of the prophecies of Isaiah, xi., liii., lxi., and in Psalms xxii., cx.,
&c. I adored--I believed, and by degrees this faith operated upon my
conscience and my practice. Religion was no longer merely a sublime
speculation, or a great national interest; I found that I must become
the property of Jesus Christ, that I must live to Him, and by Him.
Twenty years have elapsed since that period. Shame in the sight of God
and before men befits me in recording so holy an obligation. But He who
called me from the midst of darkness is faithful. He will not suffer me
to quit this life without having truly glorified Him with my lips, and
in my life, by the faith which alone saves. During the early days of my
convictions I had, though with some hesitation, opened my mind on the
subject, to my friend Capadose. We soon entered into a full discussion
of it--and our conversations were more and more directed to the great
questions of the truth and salvation; we read and examined together. A
third enquirer into the Scriptures and the truth in Christ, was soon
after joined with us. God gave me, in 1821, a wife whose choice from the
first communication we had together on this all-important subject, was
in accord with my own. By a remarkable providence of God, Hannah
Belmonte, my cousin, betrothed to me in 1820, had been, through a train
of family circumstances, brought up in a school of Christian young
ladies. Having been admitted to share their religious instructions, she
became acquainted with the catechism of Heidelberg, and had heard the
blessed name of Jesus before I did. From the time I imparted to her what
was passing in my own mind, she became to me a beloved sister in Christ,
as well as a faithful companion in the trials of life, and in the search
after eternal life through faith in our great God and Saviour. Together
with our friend Capadose, we were baptized the 20th October, 1822, at
Leyden; and the Lord afterwards added to us three other members of our
family. We kept up a good understanding, and uninterrupted communion of
feeling with my mother-in-law Belmonte, and her eldest daughter, Esther;
though we were far from anticipating the happy change and renewal of
heart and life, which quickly developed itself. By the Divine blessing,
a conversation that my mother-in-law and I had together, one evening,
was made the means of arousing her to a serious concern for the
salvation of her soul, and this example was soon followed by her
daughter. Both displayed great eagerness for Christian instruction, and
shortly after they openly confessed the name of the Lord Jesus, and
were baptized by the venerable and pious Pierre Chevalier (pastor of the
Walloon church in this town)--who is now with them before the throne of
the Lamb.
"Our mother, then aged sixty-eight years, survived her baptism two
years, a period which she devoted almost entirely to prayer and studying
the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, her previous reading
having been confined to the most frivolous publications. Perfect peace
was the portion of her latter days, and her last words were, 'Come, Lord
Jesus!' Her daughter Esther, who afterwards married the worthy son of
the Walloon pastor, our intimate friend and brother, Monsieur J.
Chevalier, after a most edifying course of devotedness to her Lord and
Saviour, died in her confinement in June, 1840. Her soul also reposes in
peace in the bosom of Abraham, and in the full fruition of His presence
who redeemed her with His blood.
"Another member of our family, who had become a disciple of Christ, and
had been baptized some time after us (but quite independently of us),
had preceded our dear sister in death; delivered from the depths of sin
by the healing grace of the Lord, he had found pardon and eternal life
through the new and living way of the blood of Christ. After having
studied theology, he was about to assume the pastoral charge of one of
our churches, when he was called to his rest.
"To God the most holy, be thanksgiving and praise for his unspeakable
mercies in life, in death, and throughout all eternity. Amen."
After Bilderdyk's death Da Costa was generally recognized as his
successor among the Dutch poets. He wrote fifty-three longer and shorter
poems. Amongst his other works are--"Israel en de Volken" (2nd ed.
Haarlem, 1848-49), a survey of the history of the Jews to the nineteenth
century, the third volume dealing with the history of the Spanish and
Portuguese Jews. The work was translated into English under the title,
"Israel and the Gentiles," by Mary Kennedy (London, 1850), and into
German by a friend of God's Word (Miss Thumb), published by K. Mann,
Frankfurt, A/M. 1855. He also wrote two papers, "The Jews in Spain and
Portugal, and the Jews from Spain and Portugal," in 1836; "The Von
Schönberg (Belmonte) family," in the "Jahrbuch für Holland," 1851; and
"The noble families among the Jews" (Navorscher, 1857).
DAHAN, Job, a Jew in Mogador, baptized by the L.J.S. missionary
Ginsburg, about 1872-3, had to experience, like St. Paul, stripes and
imprisonment, yet remained steadfast in the faith and laboured for the
Master.
DANIEL, David, laboured as a pioneer missionary at Safed, in 1849,
amidst great difficulties and personal dangers. As soon as one enquirer
came forth to make a public confession of his faith in Christ, Daniel
was exposed to ill-treatment from his unbelieving brethren, and at last
compelled to return to Jerusalem. Later he laboured among the Jews in
Frankfort, and the rest of his life he spent as a lay-worker at
Wadhurst, in Sussex. He was a true servant of Christ.
DARMON, Solomon, born in Algiers in 1850, baptized by Ginsburg in 1872,
laboured with tokens of Divine approval in Mogador. A Jewish widow, who
had declared that if angels from heaven were to tell her that Jesus is
the Messiah she would not believe, was convinced at length through the
testimony of Darmon. His own wife later followed his example.
DARMSTADT (Rabbi Schittenhoven), was baptized in Switzerland, in 1749,
by Pastor Augusti.
DARMSTADTER, son of a learned Jew, was baptized in Darmstadt, in 1680.
Concerning him, there appeared in Breslau, in 1713, a little book by
Deakonus Caspar, entitled "Geschtillte Sehnsucht eines wahren Israeliten
nach dem himmlischen Jerusalem" ("The longing of a true Israelite after
the heavenly Jerusalem satisfied"). To show the Jews that Christianity
was a matter of deep concern with him he abstained from food for several
days, and by his whole life and conversation he exercised a salutary
influence upon them.
DAVID, Andreas Friedrich, born at Altofen, in 1750, was baptized in
Vienna about 1785. Superintendent Folk reports of him in that year that
he was a sincere man and the first Jewish convert received into the
Evangelical Church in Austria ("Kalkar Israel," 203).
DAVID, Fanta, a Falasha convert in Abyssinia. Concerning him, Argawi
wrote on March 14, 1889, that he had accompanied him on a long journey
on foot to Monkullo, in order to be able to send a letter from there to
their friend, Mr. Flad, in Germany.
DAVID, Ferdinand, born in Hamburg, in 1810, was baptized in Berlin by
Pastor Schultze, in 1828. As a musician and composer he associated with
Mendelssohn. He died at Klosters, in Granbündten. His sister Louise,
born in 1811, also embraced Christianity and died in London as Madam
Dulken, in 1850.
DAVID, Georg Nathan, son of a Jewish merchant, was born at Copenhagen in
1793, and after receiving a good education, embraced Christianity. He
became Professor at the University of Copenhagen, founded the newspaper
"Fäderlandet," which advocated the political rights of the people. He
was also director of a bank. He died in 1874.
DAVID, Hakim, physician and learned Talmudist, was baptized by the
L.J.S. missionaries at Bagdad, in 1850.
DAVID, J., laboured as an evangelist among the Jews in Hamburg and
Holstein about 1875.
DAVIDSON, Benjamin, a native of Posen, embraced Christianity in London,
probably under the ministry of Ridley Herschell, who had known him at
home. In 1843 they both belonged to a Hebrew Christian Prayer Union,
which used to meet once a month for prayer. In 1847 Davidson was
appointed Principal of the Missionary Training College of the British
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews. He also used
to instruct enquirers. He was the author of an "Analytical Hebrew and
Chaldee Lexicon," "Syriac Reading Lessons with Analysis," and "Chaldee
Reading Lessons," an English edition of Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar. He
assisted in the editing of the "Englishman's Hebrew Concordance." His
chief literary work, however, was posthumous--a Concordance of the
Hebrew and Chaldee Scriptures. Davidson was also actively engaged from
time to time in missionary work. In 1866 he laboured in Vienna and had
much intercourse with students. In Bordeaux he stirred up an interest in
the Jews among evangelical Christians, so that they founded the "Societé
d'amis d'Israel." In 1871 he became Superintendent of the Home for Aged
Converts and for Orphans, where he died the same year.
DAVIS, Joseph, a native of Poland, was baptized in 1819, in Edinburgh,
and was probably the first convert of the Edinburgh Jewish Missionary
Society, which was founded the year before. He afterwards laboured as a
missionary among his brethren.
DAVIS, Rev. Nathan, was one of the first missionaries of the Free Church
of Scotland. He was sent to Tunis in 1830, where he raised a spirit of
enquiry amongst the Jews, and baptized some of them. In 1848 he was
transferred to Gibraltar.
DENNIS, Rev. Dr. M. J., worked first as a missionary in Palestine. Later
on he left the Holy Land and joined Mr. Freshman's mission in New York,
but his station was at Boston.
DESAIR, Ludwig (Leopold Dessauer), born in Posen in 1809, embraced
Christianity. He is known as one of the greatest Shakespearian actors of
the nineteenth century.
DETMOND, Johann Hermann, son of the Court physician at Hanover, born in
1787. The whole family embraced Christianity, and Detmond, junior,
became a member of the German Parliament in 1848. ("Jewish
Intelligence," 1856, p. 329).
DEUTSCH, Christian Solomon, born at Temesvar, in Hungary, 1734. Up to
his twentieth year he studied scarcely anything but the Talmud at home
and in Prague. The Bible was a sealed book to him. He had married, as
the custom was then, very young, and had his board and lodging with his
father-in-law, so that he could apply all his energies to Talmudic
study, till he should be a light in Israel. In 1760 his wife died, and
after four months he married the second daughter, and was kept again. In
the same year he received from the Grand Rabbi of Moravia, the title of
Moreinu or D.D. However, he was not happy; he had read a passage in the
Talmud, tract Megillah 24 b, which troubled him. It is thus: "R. Jose
said: I was vexed all my life in not being able to understand the
prophecy in Deut. xxviii. 29. 'Thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind
gropeth in darkness,' until one dark night I met a blind man carrying a
burning torch, and asked him, 'What good is that torch to you?' He
replied, 'Although I cannot myself see, yet others can see and take care
of me that I fall not into a pit or among thorns and briars." This
awakened serious thoughts in Solomon's mind. He felt that he was not
even like the blind man, for he had neglected the Word of God in the Old
Testament, and as for the New, he, living in a Roman Catholic country,
had never heard of it. So he began to practise penitence by wearing a
garment of horsehair over his body, fasting and castigations. At night
he often used to weep over his sins, and his wife could not console him.
Then she reproached him that he had some secret which he kept from her.
To this he replied, "I will confess the truth to you; we must choose
another way and get out of the darkness in which we are living, if we
wish to escape from hell." He had been already meditating about
embracing Christianity, and this he betrayed somewhat by his behaviour,
and the result was that he was compelled by the rabbi to divorce his
wife. When three Roman priests heard of this affair, they visited him,
and one of them assured him that he had prayed to the Virgin for his
conversion, therefore he ought at once to join the Church. But Solomon
refused, and left his home in 1762, praying on the way for guidance in
the name of Jesus. This prayer he records in full in his autobiography.
He came to Prague and then to Saxony, studying the Scriptures on the
way. Here in "a prominent town" (probably Dresden) he visited the rabbi,
and they enjoyed themselves in a discussion over some knotty Talmudic
subtleties. On October 24, he read for the first time Isa. liii. and
asked the rabbi concerning whom the prophet spoke. Then the rabbi
appointed an hour and a private place where he would speak to him about
this chapter. When they met together he was astonished to hear the rabbi
revealing as a secret his belief that the chapter was fulfilled in Jesus
of Nazareth. Thence Solomon went to Leipzig, Berlin, Amsterdam, and at
last to London, where he was very ill. After his recovery in 1763, he
returned to Holland. On his way by ship to Arnheim, he met a Swiss
Christian, who took a great fancy to him, and in a conversation
expressed a wish that the Lord might enlighten his eyes as he did Rabbi
Jechiel Hirschlein who had been baptized at Zurich. In short, after much
instruction, Solomon was baptized at Amsterdam, on June 25, 1767, after
handing in a written confession of his faith under the title, "Jehovah
Glorified through the acknowledgment of the true Messiah Jesus Christ,
proved from the writings of the Prophets, Evangelists, and Apostles,"
consisting of 175 pages, and printed at Amsterdam. He then studied
theology and became Pastor at Mydret in 1777, where he laboured
faithfully till his death in 1797. His chief literary work was,
"Israel's Verlosinge en eeuwige Behoudenis" (Israel's redemption and
eternal salvation), 3 vols., Amsterdam, 1769-93.
DEUTSCH, Ignaz Friedrich Gottlieb, a native of Perskretscham, and
evidently a relative of the next, was baptized in Berlin in 1825.
DEUTSCH, Siegmund Herman, was a remarkable personality. He was born in
Perskretscham, Silesia, in 1791. As usual he had an early Talmudical
education. Then he went to the Gymnasium, and then to the University of
Breslau, where he studied mathematics and astronomy. In 1815 he served
as a soldier in the Prussian army, took part in the war, and was
promoted to be an officer and teacher in the military school in 1817.
Then he had a duel with some one and was imprisoned in a fort. There he
was converted to Christianity, and afterwards served as an artillery
officer in the Greek liberation war.
Returning to Berlin in 1824, where he attended the ministry of the
celebrated Gossner, he associated with the convert Lachs, who was a
teacher in a school for deaf and dumb, sat under the theological
teachings of Neander, and was thus spiritually prepared for being called
to labour for the Master among his own people. This call came from Dr.
McCaul, and after a little more preparation in the Hebrew College in
Palestine Place, he was sent by the L.J.S. as a missionary to Warsaw in
1828, where he laboured (with a short interval at Breslau) till 1833. He
then was stationed in Bavaria. He died in 1864, leaving a MS. (not yet
printed) on the future of Israel.
DISRAELI, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield, born in London, December 21,
1804, died there April 19, 1881. Of this preeminently distinguished man
in the nineteenth century there are many biographies and lasting
monuments. We need only record very briefly here that he was one of
England's greatest sons and statesmen, and the greatest ornament of the
Jewish people in modern times. An ardent lover of his nation, a genuine
English patriot, a friend of his great Queen, a thorough Protestant
Churchman, yet with liberal tendencies, and a true believer in
Christianity, which he regarded as completed Judaism. His works are
these: "Vivian Grey," 1817; "The Infernal Marriage;" "Ixion in Heaven,"
and "Popanilla," 1828; "Contarini Fleming," and "The Wondrous Tale of
Alroy," 1832; "The Young Duke," about that time; "What is he?" 1833;
"Revolutionary Epic," 1834; "Coningsby," 1844; "Tancred," 1847; "Sybil,"
1845; "The rise of Iskander," "Vindication of the British
Constitution," "Venetia," "Henrietta Temple," "The Tragedy of Count
Alarcos," and "Lothair," were all productions of his great intellect at
different seasons. Benjamin's mother, his sister Sarah, born 1802, his
brother Ralph, 1809, and his brother James, 1813, were all Hebrew
Christians.
DISRAELI, Isaac, left the synagogue in 1817. Though we have no definite
information about his baptism, we may reasonably assume that he was a
member of the Church of England. This appears from his having his
children baptized, from his pamphlet, "The Spirit of Judaism," in which
he vindicated himself for the step he had taken, from his articles on
"The Talmud," "Psalm Singing," the Pearl Bibles and six thousand errata
in his "Curiosities of literature," &c., all shewing that he was an
earnest student of religious subjects and of the Scriptures, and that he
endeavoured to spread the light of truth.
DUCAT, H., a native of Warsaw, embraced Christianity, together with his
wife, about the middle of the nineteenth century. He was a saintly
Christian man, laboured as missionary for some time under the British
Society, was one of the founders of the Hebrew Christian Prayer Union
and of a Loan Fund for needy converts. His sons-in-law are the Rev. Dr.
Flecker and the Rev. John Schor.
DUSHAW, Amos I., spent the greater part of his youth in Jerusalem,
Palestine, where he attended the school of the London Jews' Society.
Here the seeds of Christian truth were sown in his young heart. He
afterwards came to London, where he was brought into close connexion
with the members of the above-mentioned society, and the germs of truth
gradually grew, budded, and blossomed into faith in our Lord as his
Messiah.
Dushaw went to America in 1895. The following year he was baptized, upon
confession of his faith in Christ, in the Fourth Congregational Church,
at Hartford, Conn.
He followed Horace Greeley's advice, "Young man, go West." He was
determined to obtain a classical education. After a hard struggle, that
perseverance and determination to conquer all obstacles always a
component of the Jewish character, enabled him, in 1901, to graduate
from Redfield College, South Dakota. He afterwards returned to New York,
and entered the Union Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in
1904. June 12, 1905, he received a preacher's license from the New York
Presbytery.
While pursuing his regular academic course he made a speciality of
sociology, literature and history. Especially was he interested in
Hebrew history and the present social, religious and political status of
Israel. He supplemented this study by personal observation as a worker
on the East Side of New York. This training enabled him to write for
"The People, the Land and the Book" some very choice articles. Several
secular papers quoted from one of his articles, "Moses and Jesus."
The production of this article was due to the following incident. Dushaw
called upon one of the leading reformed rabbis to discuss the general
condition of the Jews in the Ghetto. This rabbi was so much impressed
with his insight into the situation, and also with his information on
many facts pertaining to Israel's development, that he advised him to
return to the Hebrew ranks. Israel, he said, would appreciate his
ability, whereas the Church would simply cast him out, because he was a
member of Israel. He thought Dushaw was foolish to waste his time in the
Church. On separating, the rabbi gave him a lecture, "Moses and Jesus,"
delivered in his temple. Dushaw then decided to write one on the same
subject, from his own point of view. We quote from it.
"If Solon belongs to Athens, Lycurgus to Sparta, Moses belongs to
humanity. He is the greatest among the great, the deliverer of his
people, the world's legislator, and the apostle and prophet of
Monotheism...."
"I wonder how much Jesus, the brother and pupil of Moses, did to make
Moses as popular as he is to-day? It was Jesus who inspired the men to
translate the writings of Moses into so many tongues. Yet this does not
in any way belittle Moses. What if the pupil is greater than the master!
Surely Moses would not envy Jesus if he accomplished more. Moses, the
most unselfish man that ever lived, would be only too glad to see a
brother the Saviour of the world. Did he not wish that all Israel were
prophets? What right has the Jew to reject Jesus? Has he not made Israel
the most known people? What if his followers did persecute Israel?
Persecution is contrary to the spirit of Jesus.
"Jesus has proved Himself to be the greater Moses. He has been a light
to the nations, guiding them to Moses, to the prophets, and unto God.
Wherever Jesus is proclaimed, there the Monotheism of Moses is
established, and the ethic, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,'
is given a wider interpretation."
The article "The Ghetto and Its Relation to Jewish Missions." The
substance of this work was delivered at the "First International Hebrew
Christian Conference," held in Mountain Lake Park, Md., July 28-30,
1903.
The article, "Hebrew Christian Literature," was written at the request
of the editor.
As he came in contact with both cultured and uncultured Christians, and
discovered how little they appreciated the work of Israel, he was led to
write the two articles, "Salvation is of the Jews--Jesus," and "Let
There Be Peace." We quote from the first one:
"I am anxiously awaiting the hour when there will be a new nation--'a
nation born in a day'--when the martyr nation, the suffering nation of
Isaiah, will awake from its cruel slumber and perceive that for the last
nineteen hundred years a fountain of life has been flowing for it from
the heart of one of its own sons--the best son of Israel--Jesus Christ.
What a spiritual revolution will then take place in the world! Heaven
and earth shall resound with joy! For Israel, the Prince of God, shall
clothe himself in robes of righteousness and go forth in the might of
Jehovah to conquer the earth for the Lord--to set up everywhere the
banner of social, political and spiritual freedom. Then, and not till
then--when every one shall serve his brother faithfully; when all
barriers now separating Jew and Gentile shall be no more; when every man
shall dwell unmolested under his fig-tree; when God shall be worshipped
in the Spirit of Jesus; when the old order of things shall pass away and
the whole earth shall be known as the temple of God,--then shall
Israel's mission end. For then there will be no more Jew, but all shall
be called children of God and brothers of Jesus."
DWORKOWITZ, Rev. Paul, a native of Russia, baptized by the L.J.S.
missionary Dr. Klee, in Berlin, about 1864 or 1865. He then studied at
Basle, and laboured as a missionary of the British Society, and Pastor
in Warsaw, the Baltic Provinces, Breslau, Munich and Hamburg, with much
blessing upon his labours. He is a gifted man, and above all, an
"Israelite indeed."
EBERS, George Moritz, born in Berlin, 1837. He became first Professor on
Egyptology in Jena in 1868, and then in Leipzig in 1870. He travelled
for eighteen months in Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Nubia, Arabia Petrea.
The result of his Archæological and scientific investigations he
published in several works--1. "Eine ägyptische Königstochter"
(Stuttgart, 1864), which describes Egyptian life at the time of the
Persian conquest. This was translated into English by Gore (London,
1870). 2. "Disquisitiones de Dynastia xxvi. regum Æg." (Berlin, 1855).
3. "Aegypten und die Bucher Mosis, ein Sachlicher Commentar zu Genesis
und Exodus" (Leipzig, 1868). 4. "Durch Gosen zum Sinai aus dem
Wanderbuche und der Bibliothek" (Leipzig, 1872). 5. "Ueber das alt
aegyptische Schrift System" (1875). 6. "Papyrus Ebers," his chief work,
which is in the University of Leipzig. 7. "Ein hieratisches Handbuch
Altaegyptischer Arznei Kunde," 2 vols. (Leipzig, 1875). 8. "Giarda,"
"Homo Sum," "Josua," "Aegypten in Wort und Bild" (Stuttgart, 1878).
EBERTY, Georg Friedrich Felix, born in Berlin in 1812, studied law, and
in 1851 become Professor at the University of Breslau. He wrote "Die
Gestirne und die Weltgeschichte, Gedanken und Raum, Zeit und Ewigkeit"
(Breslau, 1846-47). This work was translated into English. "Walter
Scott," 1860, also translated into English. "A Biography of Byron"
(Leipzig 1862). "Geschichte des Preussischen Staates," 7 vols. (Breslau,
1866-73).
EDELSTEIN, Rev. S., after finishing his theological course at Leipzig,
went to Canada, and was ordained by Bishop Hellmuth in 1880 and
appointed to a church at Eagle, Ontario.
EDERSHEIM, Rev. Dr. Alfred, born at Vienna, March 7, 1825, died at
Mentone, March 16, 1889. We give the following extract about him from
the Memoir of Dr. Saphir, by Rev. G. Carlyle: "In 1847 young Edersheim
became a student at the University of Buda-Pest. He had been brought up
luxuriously in Vienna, and was one of the leaders of fashion. He was
highly educated, spoke Latin fluently, knew Greek, German, French,
Hebrew, Hungarian and Italian. When Cremieux, the head of the French
bar, paid a visit to Vienna, the synagogue presented him with an
address, and deputed young Edersheim to deliver it. Cremieux was so
pleased with his eloquence that he offered his father to take his son to
Paris, and provide for him for life, but his parents would not give him
up.... Before the winter was over, Edersheim was under the teaching of
the Holy Spirit, and had glorious views of the Deity of Christ. Trusting
in His One Sacrifice, and filled with the peace of God, he gave himself
up to be His servant in any way it might please God to direct him. He
opened a class to teach the students English on the condition that the
Bible should be their only lesson book. Baptized, and now full of life
and vigour, it was resolved that he should go to Edinburgh, to the Rev.
Professor Duncan, to complete his theological studies. Edersheim, after
his ordination, was missionary first in Jassy, Roumania, and then
minister for many years at the Free College Church, Old Aberdeen, and
then at Torquay.... He then joined the Church of England and became
Vicar of Loders in Dorset."
He resigned his living in 1883, and settled at Oxford, where he held the
position of Grinfield Lecturer of the University. He was also Warburton
Lecturer of Lincoln's Inn, and "Select Preacher" of the University of
Oxford.
Dr. Edersheim was a voluminous author, and his works are extremely
valuable from the fact that he was able to deal with his subject both
from the standpoint of a learned Jew and a learned Christian. It may be
as well to state here his total output, from which it will be seen how
wide and extensive was his range of study and scholarship. He was
Translator and Editor of the "History of Speculative Philosophy from
Kant to Hegel, from the German of Dr. Chalybäus, with introduction by
Sir Wm. Hamilton" (Edinburgh); "Kurtz, History of the Old Covenant (vol.
1) with condensed abstract of Kurtz's Bible and Astronomy"; "Lange,
Bible Commentary on St. Matthew" (2 vols.); "Kurtz, History of the
Christian Church, with emendations and additions" (Edinburgh, 1860);
Author of "History of the Jewish Nation from the Destruction of
Jerusalem to the Establishment of Christianity in the Roman Empire" (T.
and T. Clark, 1856. Revised by Rev. H. A. White. Longmans, 1896); "The
Golden Diary of Heart-Converse with Jesus in the Book of Psalms"
(R.T.S.); "Elisha the Prophet, his History and Times" (R.T.S.); "The
Jubilee Rhythm of St. Bernard," and other Hymns, chiefly from the Latin
(J. Nisbet and Co., 1866); "The Temple, its Ministry and Services as
they were at the time of Jesus Christ" (R.T.S., 1874); "Sketches of
Jewish Social Life in the days of Christ" (London, 1876); "Bible
History," 7 vols. (R.T.S.); "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah," 2
vols. (Longmans, 1884; eighth edition, 1894); "Jesus the Messiah," an
abridged edition of the foregoing; "Prophecy and History in relation to
the Messiah, being the Warburton Lectures for 1880-84" (8 vols.,
Longmans, 1885); "Commentary on Ecclesiasticus," in "The Speaker's
Commentary on the Apocrypha" (J. Murray, 1888); "Tohu-va-Vohu (Without
form and void)," a collection of Fragmentary Thoughts and Criticisms,
edited by his daughter (Longmans, 1890), and various articles from time
to time in the "Edinburgh Review." He was also editor of "Israel's
Watchman" in 1877.
EDUARD, Julius Anton, born in Lissa (Posen), in 1785. When still a young
boy he felt drawn towards Christianity. In order to prevent this
tendency developing further, his mother and stepfather, then living at
Breslau, sent him away to relatives at Lissa. But in due time he
embraced Christianity, and friends helped him to study theology at
Berlin, and he was ordained in 1816, and laboured for many years as a
faithful and beloved Pastor at Breslau. His name occurs often in the
reports of the L.J.S. as one who took a great interest in the mission to
the Jews, and as having also accompanied the missionaries on their
journey to Poland.
EGSIABHER, Debtera Gebra, a very learned Falasha convert, labouring
among his brethren in Abyssinia in 1874, when Mr. J. M. Flad met some of
the converts at Kassala.
EHRLICH, Herman, born at Cracow in 1837, of a family locally designated
as Anshey Emeth (men of truth). He was baptized in London by Dr. Ewald
in 1856. After working as a lay-helper for three years, he was appointed
missionary by the London City Mission, under whom he has laboured
faithfully ever since. He was one of the first organisers of Sunday
services in theatres, and he founded the Hebrew Conference Hall, Old
Montague Street, Whitechapel, where he is [1909] doing evangelistic
work.
EISENSTEIN, Ferd. Gotthald Maxim, born in Berlin, 1832, died there 1852.
Though only twenty years old at his death, yet he was a Ph.D. teacher in
the Academy and a notable mathematician.
ELIYAHU, Rabbi Mullah, of Bushire, is recorded, together with Eliyahu of
Bagdad, as having been baptized at Bagdad in 1852. The father of the
latter had lost his occupation among the Jewish community on account of
that, and this Eliyahu afterwards accompanied Stern on his journey to
Mosul and Kurdistan.
ELKANA, Rabbi Paulus, of Prague. Superintendent Olarius, who wrote a
preface to a Hebrew translation of the Augsburg confession prepared by
Philipp Gallus in 1888, reports of the above rabbi who had been his
teacher, that he was converted to the Christian faith through reading a
Hebrew translation of the Gospel by St. Matthew and of the Epistle to
the Romans.
ELVIN, Johannes, carried on missionary work among the Jews in Hamburg in
1850, under great political difficulties.
EMIN, Pasha (Edward Carl Oscar Theodor Schnitzer), born at Oppeln,
Prussian Silesia, in 1840; killed at Kinena Station, Congo Free State,
October 23, 1892. When he was only six years old his parents had him
baptized in the Protestant Church at Neisse. Whether this famous
explorer remained a Christian or not is uncertain, but his parents must
have either embraced Christianity before or at the time of his baptism.
EPPSTEIN, Rev. John Moses (Levi, such was his name at first), was born
at Memel, in Prussia, Feb. 24, 1827, being the son of Elijah Levi and
Rose, his wife (_née_ Eppstein). Soon after his birth his father died,
and he was brought up by his grandfather, Rabbi Benjamin Eppstein, who
retired to Jerusalem when his grandson was nine years old, adopting him
as his son, and making him take the name of Eppstein. Until he was
sixteen years old Moses was taught little else than Hebrew and the
Talmud. About this time several friends of his became Christians. At
first the only effect on him of their conversion was to make him more
bigoted; indeed, he went about with a dagger for some time in the hope
of killing his cousin Lauria, a rabbi who had become a Christian. At
last, through the latter, he was led to study the Prophets, and
eventually the New Testament. After this his eyes began to be opened to
the truth as he saw fact and figure, and type fulfilled in Jesus of
Nazareth, who must have been the promised Messiah. The Talmud was put
aside for the whole written Word of God; this he studied at the risk of
being killed, the reading of even the Old Testament causing suspicion.
He had therefore to resort to all sorts of contrivances to enable him to
search the Scriptures. His own words tell out his feelings at this
time:--"My convictions deepened daily, and I longed to openly confess
the Lord Jesus; but I had not the courage to give up all for Him. All
sorts of thoughts swayed my mind, and often, when my conscience troubled
me, something would whisper to my troubled heart, 'When you grow up and
get your property you will be free to embrace Christianity, now your
wisdom is to hide your convictions.' But I was not happy, and continued
praying, and the Lord heard my prayer, for I was soon compelled to take
refuge with the Society's missionaries. In the house where I lived there
was a small synagogue. I was the only Levite in the congregation, so
that on days when the Law was read I had to read after the priest; as I
was going up to the desk my sash caught, and the tracts I had in it fell
out. The bystanders stepped forward to see what they were; on finding
their contents, 'Apostate,' they yelled, 'with these about you, you
desecrate our place of worship, and dare even to go up to read the Law!'
The whole congregation began beating me, and would probably have
murdered me, had it not been for one of them. As soon as I was free from
my persecutors, my only safety was in flight. I went to my room, and
committed myself in prayer to the Lord, and then went straight to the
house of Mr. Nicolayson." After a course of instruction he was baptized,
July 13, 1844, by Bishop Alexander.
After his baptism he found a situation in Cairo, in which he stayed for
several years, until he felt the missionary call. His employer did his
best to prevent him leaving, even to offering him a share in his
business. But his mind was made up, and he entered the Protestant
College at Malta, as a theological student, spending five years there.
He then offered himself to the Society, and in 1854 entered the Hebrew
College in Palestine Place. In 1857 he was appointed a missionary of
the Society at Bagdad. The results of his work are summed up in his own
words, "The mission was a great success, not from the number of
baptisms, but from the large numbers to whom we preached Christ." In
1867 he commenced his great work at Smyrna, where, through his labours
during eighteen years, many Jews were born again, and were baptized. In
1885 he left Smyrna. One who knew him and his work there wrote after his
death, "Mr. Eppstein will ever be remembered by thousands of Jews living
at Smyrna, and in the interior of Asia Minor. When his death became
known many Jews said, 'He was a good man, and loved our people.' He had
friends amongst the rich as well as the poor, whilst learned and
unlearned looked up to him for his great learning and Talmudical
knowledge."
In 1885, on the death of Dr. Stern, he was appointed head of the
Society's mission in London, a post for which he was singularly fitted.
He knew English, German, French, Hebrew, Yiddish, Spanish, Greek (both
modern and classic), Latin, Syriac, Chaldee, Felachi (the Nestorian
dialect of Chaldee), Persian, Italian, and Turkish. In 1893 he removed
to Bristol, in charge of the "Wanderers' Home." Here his work was
greatly blessed, as many as eighty-two Jews being baptized by him up to
1902. During his missionary career he baptized 262 Jews and Jewesses.
At last, in May, 1903, his call came to higher service. Shortly before
his death, though suffering greatly, he said he was "the happiest man in
the world," and again, "I thank God that He enabled me to lay hold of
the Pearl, and to lay hold of it with both my hands." The Society
suffered a great loss when Mr. Eppstein passed away to his eternal rest.
As a missionary he was to the end most able and faithful, and his life
and life work will ever be remembered with heartfelt gratitude to the
Almighty God for all that he was able to do through a life so fully
dedicated to His service, as was that of the late John Moses Eppstein.
EWALD, Rev. Dr. F. C.[12] In the middle of last century there was no
name more familiar to the friends of Israel than that of Dr. Ferdinand
Christian Ewald; and no missionary to the Jews was more highly honoured
for his work's sake than this distinguished son of Abraham.
[12] "Biographies of Eminent Hebrew Christians," W. T. Gidney.
It is somewhat difficult to write a memoir of one who was too modest and
retiring to say or to write much about himself: and who left but few
materials from which to frame a biography, for it was his express wish
that no lengthened life should be written. He felt that his record was
in Heaven, and that his works would follow him. As he has been at rest
for over thirty years, we think that the time has come when an account
of his life should be added to that of other labourers in the same
field, in which he was by no means the least conspicuous worker.
Ewald was born of Jewish parents, on September 14th, 1801, at the
village of Maroldsweisach, near Bamberg, Bavaria. His parents were poor,
and the education which the village offered was all they could command.
Such, however, was his ability that his friends raised a fund sufficient
to send him and his brother (mentioned on page 215) to a better school,
where he evinced a great aptitude for languages. Later on he entered the
missionary college at Basle. Whilst there he was baptized, in 1824, at
the age of twenty-three, by the Rev. Dr. Von Brunn, adding the name of
Christian to his patronymic. He remained at Basle for a few years
longer, during which the Society paid a part of his training expenses.
He subsequently graduated at the University of Erlangen. In 1829 he was
accepted as a student in the Society's College, and in 1832 he entered
the service of the Society. He took Lutheran orders in the same year,
being ordained at Lörrach, near Basle, by the Decanus Hiltzig. These he
subsequently laid aside, when he was ordained by the Bishop of London,
in 1836.
In the early part of 1832, he visited his native country for the purpose
of seeing his mother, his sister and her husband, who resided at
Bischberg, near Bamberg, and were still of the Jewish faith. His sister
told him, before he parted from her, that she believed that Jesus was
the Messiah and Redeemer. His brother Dr. Paulus Ewald, had already
renounced Judaism, and was Lutheran Pastor at Merkendorf, Bavaria.
Ewald's missionary career naturally falls into three periods: the first,
1832-41, spent in the Barbary States; the second, 1841-1851, in
Jerusalem; and the third and last, 1851-1874, in London. His work was
thus both wide in extent and lengthened in duration.
Ewald commenced his work in Africa on September 17th, 1832, by opening
a mission at Algiers. The Rev. John Nicolayson, of Jerusalem, having
visited that city in the spring of that year, and having met with a
cordial reception, came to the conclusion that the newly-emancipated
Jews (_i.e._, from the Moorish to the French dominion in 1830), were
ripe for a missionary effort. Consequently Ewald was sent out in the
autumn. His reception, however, was chilling in the extreme.
The moment he landed he was told by the Custom House authorities, when
they saw the Bibles which he had brought with him for distribution, "You
have chosen the worst part of the world for your good intentions; there
is nothing to be done in that way here." His answer was, "This book, the
Bible, has already done great things, and I trust the Lord will bless it
also in this country." Discouragement crossed Ewald at every turn, for
he wrote: "All those whom I met with, and to whom I stated the object of
my mission, told me that there was nothing to be done here, because the
people are too bad--that the Jews are the worst set of people that exist
in the world--and that most of the Europeans who have come over are the
outcasts of human society. I believe this to be true, but I think,
because this is true, I am in my proper place; the Gospel of Christ is
able to convert man, to convert even publicans to righteousness."
Ewald commenced to work amongst the Jews speaking to them and selling
his Hebrew Bibles. On one day he sold as many as nineteen copies for
twenty-six francs, a large sum from poor Jews; but they would not take
the New Testament. He also hired a house, intending to have services
there for Jews, when the French Governor-General sent him a letter
forbidding him to preach. This was a great blow, virtually suspending
missionary operations, and Ewald left Algiers.
His next attempt to found a mission in the Barbary States was more
fortunate, and he had the honour of establishing the Society's mission
in Tunis, in 1833, laying the foundation of the extensive and
encouraging work now carried on by the Rev. C. F. W. Flad, the son of
the Society's veteran Abyssinian missionary, Mr. J. Martin Flad.
At the time of Ewald's appointment to Tunis, which was before the days
of the French occupation, the Jews were greatly oppressed by the native
population. Indeed his very first experience, gained before his actual
arrival, gave him an insight into the way in which this persecution was
carried on. At Goletta, the port of Tunis, he met more than 300 Jewish
men, women and children, who were seeing some of their friends off to
Jerusalem. He says:--
"I saw a specimen of the cruel treatment the poor Jews meet with in this
country. Some of those who accompanied their brethren to the Goletta sat
down upon a bank, from which they could look to the ships where they
embarked for Jerusalem; but soon there came a Moor with a stick in his
hand, and drove them away. An old Jew, with a white beard, spoke some
words to the man which I could not hear, as I was standing too far off;
on this the Moor got into a passion, and smote the poor Jew repeatedly
in his face. I cannot express what I felt when seeing this--'O! that the
Salvation of Israel would come out of Zion; O! that the Lord would bring
back the captivity of His people; then,' and only then, 'will Jacob
rejoice, and Israel be glad!' Now poor Israel is oppressed everywhere
more or less."
Ewald made a very successful beginning amongst the Jews of Tunis, and
found an open door in that dark and benighted country. Within three
months he had sold 398 Bibles, New Testaments, and portions in Hebrew,
Arabic, Italian, Greek, Spanish and French, for in so many different
languages had the work to be carried on.
He instituted a service on Sunday, and had much intercourse with Jews,
including several rabbis, one of whom was excommunicated for visiting
him. Ewald used to visit the Jewish quarter with his pockets full of
tracts.
In July of 1834 Ewald visited Monastir and Susa, at both of which places
he was able to proclaim the Gospel to numbers of Jews. He was back at
Tunis in September, and at once resumed his intercourse with Jews. He
says:--"I have from morning till night every possible opportunity for
preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus our Lord to Jews and
Mahometans, sometimes in my own dwelling-place--at other times in their
habitations, or shops, synagogues, or in the market-place. The desire to
read and to possess the Word of God is daily increasing among the
remnant of Israel in this country. Even the very poor save a few
shillings in order to buy the pearl of great price. Others who are even
too poor to follow their example, made an agreement to pay a few pence
every week. Doors have been opened for the circulation of the Scriptures
along the coast and in some places in the interior."
In 1835 Ewald visited the Jews along the northern coast of
Africa--Solimon, Nabal, Hammamet, Susa, Monastir, Medea, El-Djem, Sfax,
Gabes, Menzel, Shara, the Island of Gerba, and Tripoli were visited, and
the Gospel preached to many thousands and thousands of copies of the
Bible were placed in their hands, and tens of thousands of tracts
circulated. Most interesting records of this visit remain, to one of
which we cannot refrain from referring. Ewald was preaching on the wild
shores of Gabes, where the Jews had never so much as heard of Christ,
but where the general cry was, "Give me a Bible; give me a Bible; here
is the money for it!" so that he had none left for other places, at
which the poor Jews cried out for the Word of God, like children
perishing with hunger.
In 1836 Ewald made a visit to England for ordination, but was soon back
at his work again. We cannot follow this devoted and faithful missionary
in his untiring efforts for the lost sheep of Israel in Africa, and must
be content with giving his own summary of his labours. On the last day
of the year 1838, he wrote:--
"I have now been since 1832 on the coast of Africa. It has been my
privilege to proclaim the Gospel of salvation to many thousands of the
sons of Abraham during that period. To thousands I have been permitted
to present the oracles of God, and tens of thousands of tracts have been
put into circulation among the great mass of the Jewish population of
this country. The effect produced by these various means of grace may be
thus described: The greater part of the Jews know now that Christianity
is not a system of idolatry, but a revelation of God built upon the
Scriptures; that the precepts of the Gospel are very good and beneficial
to mankind. They acknowledge, for the most part, that the only
difference which exists between the Christians and the Jews is, that the
former maintain the Messiah is come, and Jesus Christ is the Messiah,
whilst the latter deny both, which may, however, fairly be decided by
the Word of God. They perceive that true Christians are not the enemies
of the Jews, but, on the contrary, their well-wishers, who provide them
with the Scriptures, and pray for their real welfare. The greater part
of them are now acquainted with the written Word of God, and we are able
to appeal with more effect to the testimony of Scripture without being
constantly told, 'These passages do not occur in our Bibles, but are a
fabrication of yours, in order to make us believe that Jesus is the
Messiah.'"
For three years more Ewald carried on the work, and then, owing to
repeated attacks of ophthalmia, he had to return to England in 1841,
after a residence of some eight years in the Barbary States.
He did not, however, long remain idle, for he was within a few months
appointed to assist in the Society's Mission in Jerusalem, and he and
his wife were members of the party which accompanied Dr. Alexander, the
first Anglican Bishop, to the Holy City. They sailed from Portsmouth on
December 7th, 1841, and reached Jerusalem on January 21st--being six
weeks on the journey, which is now accomplished in nine or ten days.
For ten years Ewald laboured earnestly in the work of the conversion of
the Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem, being also chaplain to Bishop
Alexander during that prelate's occupation of the see.
One of the most interesting incidents connected with Ewald's labours in
the Holy City was the instruction and baptism of certain rabbis. Three,
named respectively, Abraham, Benjamin, and Eliezer, had placed
themselves under Christian instruction. A deputation from the Jews of
Tiberias arrived to enquire whether the report was true, that fourteen
rabbis of Jerusalem had embraced Christianity. The Jews of Jerusalem,
very much exasperated on that account, did all in their power to avoid
coming in contact with the missionaries, and removed all the books which
they had previously received through the mission, in order that they
might not be suspected.
Shortly afterwards two of the rabbis, Eliezer and Benjamin, known
henceforth as Christian Lazarus Lauria and John Benjamin Goldberg, were
baptized with two other enquirers, Isaac Paul Hirsch and Simon Peter
Fränkel. The Rev. John Nicolayson, the head of the Society's mission,
referring to the event, wrote: "It is not a small thing, that the
apparently impenetrable phalanx of rabbinism at Jerusalem has thus
actually been broken into; and two Jerusalem rabbis been incorporated
into the restored Hebrew Christian Church on Mount Zion. How sore the
Jews felt on this occasion you can easily conceive. They were, in fact,
after all, taken by surprise, and felt sadly disappointed in having to
yield up at last any lingering hope they might have had of their
return."
Of the third rabbi, Abraham, Mr. Ewald said: "There was, indeed,
something which marred my joy on that occasion, which was the absence of
rabbi Abraham. For years had he been the faithful companion of rabbi
Eliezer and rabbi Benjamin; he had the same convictions, but he could
not leave his wife; the struggles between natural affection and
spiritual blessings were too hard for him, and he returned." Ewald
witnessed other interesting missionary events at Jerusalem, which had a
great bearing upon the subsequent history of the Society; namely, the
baptism of John Moses Eppstein, and the ordination of Messrs.
Tartakover, A. J. Behrens, Sternchuss, Murray Vicars, and Henry Aaron
Stern.
During the early part of his sojourn there, Ewald had the great
misfortune to lose his wife, who died on January 16th, 1844. He brought
his motherless children to London, but returned to Jerusalem in 1846,
just after his second marriage. In the same year he published a "Journal
of Missionary Labours in the City of Jerusalem, during the years
1842-4," which are exceedingly interesting reading, even after this
lapse of time.
It is striking to note that at that time the Jewish population of
Jerusalem was only 6,000, out of a total of 18,000; whereas the Jewish
population now [1909] numbers 60,000, out of a total of 80,000.
Ewald was compelled to leave the East, owing to ill-health, in 1851,
when he became the Society's senior missionary in London. He at once
made his way into the hearts and homes of many Jews, and founded, in
November, 1853, an institution for poor enquiring Jews, called "The
Wanderers' Home." Such was its success that within five years 303 Jews
and Jewesses had availed themselves of its benefits, no less than 150
being baptized; 76 entered the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution,
and six went to the Society's College. In 1858, owing to lack of
financial support, the Home was closed. It was, however, re-opened in
1860, and has, under Dr. Ewald's and successive management, been the
means of influencing large numbers of Jews in a Christian direction.
Ewald's reports of his work are full of encouraging missionary facts. He
was in labours "most abundant," both for the Society and the "Wanderers'
Home." For nineteen years he was at the head of affairs, and at least
forty Jewish families in London were brought through his means to faith
in Christ. He was one of the ablest missionaries who ever served the
Society.
In 1858 Ewald thus wrote of the work: "Certainly, mighty changes have
taken place amongst those Jews to whom the missionary has not been
debarred an access. If you go into their houses, you find on their table
the Bible, the Old and New Testament, just as you see it on the table of
Christians, and I have seen the authorized version of the Bible not only
in private houses, but in the synagogue. When you converse with
intelligent Jews, you soon observe that they have read the New
Testament, and other Christian books and that they know what the
fundamental doctrines of Christianity are, namely: the fall of man; the
redemption of mankind through the Lord Jesus Christ; the atonement; the
Deity of Christ; the doctrine of the Trinity, &c.; and they know also
that every true Christian believes these doctrines. Then, much of the
animosity towards converts has been gradually removed, by the number of
Jews who have embraced Christianity. You cannot meet with many Jewish
families who do not count among their relatives some converts. I have
myself heard Jews defending their friends, not for having embraced
Christianity, but from the alleged imputation of having embraced it
through impure motives. The more Christianity gains ground in the Jewish
community, the more will friendly feelings arise towards those of their
number who conscientiously look upon the Lord Jesus as the Christ.
Amongst fifty thousand Jews in England we reckon three thousand
converts. In London alone there are eleven ministers of the Lord Jesus
Christ who are converted Jews, preaching the Word of Life to perishing
sinners, whose ministry the Lord owns by granting them many souls for
their hire. These thousands of converts are as a salt in the earth, and
through their instrumentality a work is carried on silently and quietly
in this country. They have all acquaintances and friends, to whom they
speak occasionally of the Lord Jesus; and thus true religion is spread
among the Jews."
When, in 1870, Dr. Ewald, owing to increasing years, retired from the
mission, he could thankfully look back upon a successful career, whether
passed in North Africa, Palestine, or London. During his residence in
the metropolis hundreds of Jews were baptized, out of some thousands
instructed by him.
Dr. Ewald died at Gipsy Hill, London, on August 9th, 1874, at the age of
73 years.
Ewald published in 1856 a German translation of "Abodah Zarah"
(Idolatrous Worship), the name of one of the treatises of the Mishnah,
of the Tosefta, and of the Babylonian and the Palestinian Talmud, for
which his University conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy. A distinction which he valued still more highly was the
degree of Bachelor of Divinity, which honour was conferred upon him by
the Patron of the Society, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in
consideration of, as the diploma stated, his proficiency in the study of
divinity, of Hebrew and Oriental languages and literature; and also of
his missionary labours and eminent services in the promotion of
Christianity amongst the Jews.
The then Bishop of Carlisle (Dr. Montagu Villiers) described Dr. Ewald
as a "missionary genius," a description fully deserved for his ability
and devotion to the work to which he gave his life.
EWALD, Dr. Paulus, a brother of the preceding, also embraced
Christianity. He was lecturer at the University of Erlangen, and later
became Pastor of Pappenreuth, Bavaria. He published a translation of the
Talmud tract, "Pirke Aboth" (The Ethics of the Fathers), in 1825.
EZEKIEL, Hakim David, a physician and famous Talmudist at Bagdad, and
son of a rich Jew, was baptized there in 1850, and subsequently laboured
as a colporteur in the mission.
FALK, Max, Hungarian statesman and journalist, born at Budapest in 1828,
became a Christian as a student at the University. He displayed great
talent as a writer and politician. In 1866 he was appointed as
instructor of Hungarian to the Empress Elizabeth. The next year he
became editor-in-chief to the "Pester Lloyd," raising that paper to a
high level of excellence. In 1869 he was elected a member of the
Hungarian House of Representatives. The Emperor of Austria has decorated
him with the Komthur Cross of the Order of St. Stephen.
FANTA, Kendy, together with Beru and I. Jasu, were indefatigable in
proclaiming the Gospel of salvation to their brethren during the
captivity of the missionaries in Abyssinia.
FARO, Aharon Gabai Rodriguez, a rich Portuguese Jew living in Holland in
the seventeenth century, was converted through reading Ragstatt de
Weile's tract, "de Heerlykheyd Jesu Christi," and having heard of an
attempt that was made by a Jewish teacher to murder the author, he
decided to be baptized by him. Ragstatt himself mentioned the case in
the sermon which he preached on the occasion on Ps. ii. 6.
FAUBER, of Gran, a highly respected Jew in Pesth, was baptized in 1847.
FAY, I. L., was won for Christ in 1820 by the L.J.S. missionary L. D.
Mark, who laboured at Offenbach. Fay studied theology and became Pastor
in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland.
FELS, Christian Leberecht, born in 1640, became eventually Rabbi in
Prague. After embracing Christianity at Cöthen, he returned to Prague
and claimed his patrimony, but the Government authorities refused to
sanction it unless he became a Roman Catholic. So he had to seek his
livelihood by teaching Hebrew and rabbinics in various schools and
Universities. To convince his brethren of the truth of Christianity, he
wrote in German a treatise under the title "Hodegus Judæorum" (Frankfort
and Leipzig, 1703), in which he, besides the Scriptures, adduces proofs
from the Targums and the Talmud in favour of Christianity. He published
a Latin Hebrew Grammar under the title "Brevis et perspicua via ad
linguam sanctam" (Sunderhausen, 1696). Also "Brevis et perspicua via ad
accentionem," 1700. No less than 52 Jews were influenced by him to
accept the Gospel. He held a Professorship at Wittenberg, but on account
of war he had to leave, and went to Verden and Lubeck, where he gave
lessons. He died in the faith at Hamburg in 1719.
FERDINAND, Philip: "Hebrew teacher; born in Poland about 1555; died at
Leyden, Holland, 1598. After an adventurous career on the Continent,
during which he became first a Roman Catholic and afterward a
Protestant, he went to Oxford University, and later removed to the
University of Cambridge, where he was matriculated Dec. 16th 1596. He
claimed a pension from the 'Domus Conversorum,' which was paid Feb. 3rd,
1598, and receipted for by him in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek. The same
year he was attracted to Leyden by Joseph Scaliger, who obtained a
professorship for him. Scaliger himself acknowledges having learned much
from Ferdinand, in the short time he was at Leyden. Ferdinand's only
publication was a translation of the six hundred and thirteen
commandments as collected by Abraham ben 'Kattani' in the Bomberg Bible
(Cambridge 1597.)
"The following is a list of his writings: 'Dictionary of National
Biography'; Wood, 'Athenæ Oxnienses,' ed. Bliss, i. 677; Cooper, 'Athenæ
Cantabrigienses,' ii. 239; Scaliger, 'Epistolæ,' pp. 208, 594, Leyden,
1627; 'Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society,' Eng. i.
27."--_Jewish Encyclopædia._
FINKELSTEIN, Rev. A. M., had a school for Jewish children in
Philadelphia in 1885.
FINKELSTEIN, Rev. Samuel, a convert from Russia, emigrated to Australia
and became pastor of a German church at Melbourne, where he also founded
a mission to the Jews in 1868.
FLEGEL, Petrus, a convert, was Professor of Hebrew at the University of
Strassburg in 1564. More is not known of him.
FLEISCHALKER, Rev. J. C, was educated at St. Chrischona College, near
Basle. He laboured for a time as L.J.S. missionary in Jerusalem, where
he was ordained by Bishop Gobat. In 1868 he became pastor of St.
George's Episcopal Chapel, New York. He was a true servant of God.
FORTUNATUS, Wilhelm, a physician, became a convert to Christianity
through the simple reading of the New Testament, and was baptized in
Baden in 1639, (Wolff, Bibliotheca Hebraica 1, p. 564).
FOULD, Achille, French Statesman and Minister of Finance under two
Napoleons, born in Paris in 1800 died in 1867. In the Jewish
Encyclopædia, it is stated that he married into a Protestant family, and
his children were educated in that faith, but he never formally abjured
Judaism, though he was buried with the rites of the Protestant Church.
But de le Roi states that in his ripe age, with full convictions, he
joined the Reformed Church, of which he had always been a true member.
The two statements are easily reconciled. He was a regular attendant at
that Church for many years, but was only baptized in his old age. (See
"Jewish Intelligence," 1868, p. 13.)
FRANCO, Rabbi Solomon, baptized in London in 1670. Wolff in Bib. Heb.
1678 records the fact that he took Ps. lxxxv. 11 as his motto, "Truth
shall spring out of the earth," and tried to convince the Jews that the
earthly promises to Israel have a higher spiritual meaning in their
being realized in Christ Jesus.
FRANCO, Abraham and Jacob, Portuguese Jews, who had once the first city
houses in London. Their posterity have all become Christians, according
to Peixotto.
FRANK, Rev. Arnold, born in Hungary, baptized in 1877 at Hamburg,
studied theology at Belfast, was appointed missionary at Altona in 1884,
where he [1909] still labours faithfully with tokens of divine blessing.
He is the author of a pamphlet entitled "The Jewish Problem and its
Solution" (Belfast, 1883).
FRANKEL, Dr. B., has written his own history entitled, "Das Bekenntniss
des Proselyten, das Unglück der Juden und ihre Emanzipation in
Deutschland" (Elberfeld, 1841).
FRANKEL, Rev. E. B., was first a missionary of the British Society, and
then entered the service of the L.J.S., and laboured successfully at
Jerusalem until 1869, where he had the privilege of baptizing his own
brother. From Jerusalem he was transferred to Damascus, where he
laboured for some years both as a missionary and chaplain to the English
community, holding evening classes and meeting the Jews at the book
depôt; the latter was once set on fire. Then he went to Tunis, and
together with his son-in-law, the Rev. E. H. Archer-Shepherd, laboured
faithfully till he retired to Bournemouth, where he died in the Lord.
FRANKEL, Dr. Ivan, Medical Councillor in Berlin, became, as a convert, a
great friend of the Jewish mission, and attended the Missionary
Conference in 1870.
FRANKHEIM, a convert in Breslau, wrote two books: 1, "Doctrine of
Cohesion" (Breslau, 1835), 2, "Popular Astronomy" (_ib._, 1827 and
1829).
FRAUENSTADT, Christian Martin Julius, German student of philosophy, born
at Boyanawo, Posen, 1813; died at Berlin, 1879. He was educated at the
house of his uncle at Neisse, and embraced Christianity in 1833. He
wrote, "Studien und Kritiken zur Theologie und Philosophie," Berlin,
1840; "Ueber das Wahre Verhältniss der Vernunft zur Offenbahrung,"
Darmstadt, 1898; "Aesthetische Fragen," Dessau, 1853; "Die Natur
wissenschaft in Ihren Einfluss auf Poesie, Religion, Moral, und
Philosophie," _ib._, 1885; "Der Materialismus, seine Wahrheit und sein
Irrthum," _ib._, 1856; "Briefe über die Natürliche Religion," _ib._,
1858; "Lichtstrahlen aus Immanuel Kants Werken," _ib._, 1872. He also
wrote much about Schopenhauer's philosophy, whose works he edited in six
volumes.
FRESHMAN, Rev. Jacob, was the son of a Hungarian Rabbi, who settled in
Quebec, Canada, in 1855. His father officiated in the synagogue there
for three years, and after becoming convinced of the truth of
Christianity together with his wife, four sons and three daughters, were
all baptized by the Rev. J. Elliot, then President of the Montreal
Methodist Conference. Freshman, senior, was soon appointed as a Pastor
among the Germans in the province, and laboured in this office for nine
years. On account of his ability and learning, the degree of D.D. was
conferred upon him. Several Jews were also brought to a knowledge of the
truth through his ministry. He died through an accident in 1875. His son
Jacob was an equally able and zealous man, established a mission to the
Jews in New York City under the name, "Hebrew Christian Work." By his
popular lectures to Christians on Jewish subjects, and by his earnest
addresses to Jews, he won the hearts of both, and glorious results
followed his ministry. Many of the converts became themselves ministers
of the Gospel. Having built a church especially for this work, he
retired from the mission to carry on private ministerial work.
FREY, Rev. (Joseph Samuel) Christian Friedrich, born at Stockheim, near
Wurzburg, in 1771. His father was an assistant rabbi, in good
circumstances, and a distinguished opponent of Christianity, owing to
his wife's brother having become a Christian. The children were early
prejudiced against Christianity by their home teacher, who read to them
the story about Jesus as given in the "Toldoth Yeshu." At the age of
eighteen Frey became a teacher and a precentor in small congregations.
In the course of his wanderings he met a Christian merchant, who induced
him to enquire into Christianity, and this happened repeatedly with
others. He then learned the trade of shoemaking, and was finally
converted in 1798, at Prenzlan, when his master, a worldly man,
dismissed him on account of attending prayer meetings frequently.
Encouraged by Christian friends he went to Berlin, and applied to Pastor
Janicke for admission into his missionary training school in 1800. From
there he went to London. Then, after holding meetings with Jews in Bury
Street, Spitalfields, he wrote a most touching appeal to the Committee
of the L.J.S. (or rather to those earnest Christian men who formed
themselves later into a Committee) in 1801, and thus he gave the first
impulse to the establishment of the London Society for Promoting
Christianity amongst the Jews in 1809. (See "Our Missions," p. 19).
Of Frey's converts at that time an excellent one was Erasmus H. Simon,
who after his baptism studied theology at Edinburgh, and went with
Thelwall to Amsterdam, in 1820, to work in that city amongst the Jews,
as he knew the Dutch language. In 1816 Frey went to America, where he
assisted in the reconstruction of the already existing American Society
for Evangelizing the Jews, under the title of "The Society for
Ameliorating the Condition of the Jews in New York," under which he
laboured for some time.
Frey is the author of a long and learned dialogue, entitled "Joseph and
Benjamin;" also of a Hebrew Dictionary.
FRIEDBERG, Emil Albert von, born in Kanitz, 1837, studied law in Berlin
and Heidelberg, became eventually Professor of Ecclesiastical Law at
Leipzig in 1869, and was ennobled in Wittenberg. His published works on
Church law are too numerous to mention here. (See de le Roi, vol. ii.
230, 231).
FRIEDBERG, Heinrich, born in Friedland, 1813, also a great lawyer,
became, after holding important offices of state, Minister of Justice in
Prussia, and received from the Emperor Frederick the Order of the Black
Eagle.
FRIEDBERG, Eduard, also born in Friedland, in 1827, and evidently a
relative or a brother of the preceding was baptized by Pastor Ideler.
FRIEDENTHAL, Karl Rudolf, embraced Christianity together with his
parents and the whole family. In 1838 the family bought an estate near
Neu Silesia, where they did much in the diffusion and strengthening of
evangelical life in the midst of a Roman Catholic population.
Friedenthal was born in Breslau, 1827, studied law, held offices under
the Government, and then retired to the family estate, devoting his time
to good works. He published a pamphlet in 1864, entitled "Solus
Republicæ Supremæ," in which he strongly advocated the organization of
charity to the poor. He was elected a member of the Reichsrath. During
the Franco-German war he volunteered for the purpose of nursing the
wounded. He died in 1890. A near relative, Major A. D. Friedenthal,
likewise became an evangelical Christian.
FRIEDLANDER, Benjamin, born 1773, the son of David Friedländer, the
friend of Mendelssohn, embraced Christianity at the age of 61, together
with his wife. They, in this respect, followed the example of their
children. The whole family were decided Christians, and one of them, Dr.
Julius Friedländer, wrote a history of the Reformation, and a history of
Numismatics, and other historical works.
FRIEDLANDER, Ludwig, born in Königsberg, 1824. As a Christian he became
Professor of classical Philology and Archæology. He wrote
"Wörterverzeichniss zu Homer," Leipzig, 1860; "Homerische Kritik von
Wolf bis Grote," Berlin, 1853; "Darstellungen aus der Sittengeschichte
Roms," 3 vols., 1862-71, in which his Christian principles especially
appear.
FRIEDLANDER, Rev. Zebi Herman, a native of the Archduchy of Posen, was
baptized by Dr. Ewald, in London, about 1862. By his piety and
affectionate gentle disposition he exercised a salutary influence over
the enquirers, whom, under Dr. Ewald, he also instructed. In 1870 he was
sent by the L.J.S. to Tunis, after having laboured for a short time at
Manchester. In 1873 he was transferred to Jerusalem, where he was
ordained by Bishop Gobat. The Jerusalem Jews revered him more than any
missionary before, because he had manifested to them practical love by
being very charitable to the poor refugees from Russia, in 1885. He was
chiefly instrumental in founding the Jewish agricultural colony at
Artouf. He edited at that time a paper entitled, "Tidings from Zion." He
went later on to New York, where he edited "The Peculiar People." He
died there whilst engaged in prayer on his knees.
FRIEDMAN, Rev. George, a convert of Pastor Faltin, in Kischineff, became
his assistant there about 1885. He then translated the Lutheran
Catechism into Hebrew. Having afterwards sojourned for a time in
Jerusalem, he went from there to London, and was after a while appointed
by the British Society as missionary at Wilna, and he has since been
doing faithful work for the Master in various towns in Russia. In 1895,
the year of the great and horrible pogroms, he rendered great and
immortal service by consoling and supporting the poor suffering Jews.
FRIEDMANN, Paul, born at Berlin about the middle of the nineteenth
century. Although the son of a Jewish convert, he may exceptionally be
mentioned here, as he is a very suitable illustration of the fact that
Christians of Jewish origin cherish in their hearts warm affection to
the people from whom they have sprung. Moved by a feeling of compassion
towards the Jews, who suffered persecution in Russia between 1880-90, he
visited the land of Midian in 1890, with the intention of founding a
colony there. He, after due negotiation with the Egyptian Government,
actually founded one in 1901, on the east side of the Gulf of Akabah,
but the new colony did not last more than two months. Internal
dissensions broke out between the leaders, who were Christians, and the
Jews. Friedmann, who had sunk 170,000 marks in the project, brought a
suit against the Egyptian Government for £25,000. The Russian Consul in
Cairo also opened an investigation, and violent denunciatory articles
appeared in the Egyptian press, especially in connexion with the death
of one of the settlers, who had been forced to leave the encampment
because of insubordination. In connexion with the venture Friedmann
privately published "Das Land Madian," Berlin, 1891.
FRIEDMANN, Rev. Ben Zion, a native of Russia educated in the strictest
school of the Pharisees, emigrated to Palestine between 1870-80, took up
his abode in Safed, where he studied the Talmud with the other disciples
of the Hahamim in the Beit-hamedrash. Whilst there he found Jesus Christ
as his Saviour. In the same place he has been working as a missionary
among his former friends and companions for many years, and is certainly
regarded by them as one who has not, by embracing Christianity,
forfeited a share in the world to come. Mr. Friedmann has been to a
great extent the means of establishing a hospital for the Jews in Safed
and a school for their children. He is the author of a tract, "Or
Haolam" ("The Light of the World"), and he translated "Gideon and the
Angel of the Lord" into Hebrew.
FRIEDRICH, J. C., wrote several works, among which are these--"Die Söhne
Jacobs," "Weissagungs parallelen mit Virgil," Breslau, 1841, "De
Christologia Samaritanum," Leipzig, 1881.
FROHLING, Carline, a Swedish converted Jewess, laboured as assistant
missionary at Stockholm, in 1880-82, by conducting an industrial school
in which poor Jewish children were taught useful work, and by visits
among the resident families, and spreading the Gospel.
FROMMAN, Dr. Heinrich Christian Immanuel, physician and author, was one
of the most distinguished converts in the first half of the eighteenth
century in Germany. He had been studying in Dessau, under rabbi David
Fränkel, when one day he visited a tailor who, on seeing him, began to
weep. Asking for the cause, the tailor said that he was grieved by the
thought that such a nice young man should be lost. Fromman thereupon
rebuked him sharply--but the tailor did not mind it--and offered him a
New Testament, urging him to read it. He went away, but came again
another time and asked for the same Book, but when he saw it was written
in German, which he could not read, he threw it on the table and left
the house. He then went to a bookseller, wishing to buy a Bible, who
demanded a thaler for it, which he could not afford to pay. However, the
tears of the tailor gave him no rest, and at last he bought the German
Old Testament, and spent whole nights in learning to read. Having
acquired this knowledge, he was glad to receive the New Testament and to
study it diligently. He then went to Gotha and confessed his faith in
Christ, and was baptized about 1722 or 1723. During his study of
medicine, he translated the Gospel of St. Luke into Judæo-German, in
1730. Later he translated other parts of the New Testament. Having
written the tract, "Das Licht am Abend" ("Light at Eventide"), which is
still circulated and appreciated among the Jews, he managed to acquire
the art of setting up type and of printing when he was an inmate of the
Callenberg Institute, and produced the work with his own hands as well
as mind. He also wrote and translated other Christian books, and
composed the fundamental part of the rabbinic commentary on St. Luke,
which Dr. Biesenthal perfected and brought to light.
FUERST, Dr. A., a native of Pommern, Germany, when only fourteen years
old, heard the L.J.S. missionary Moritz discussing Christianity with the
Jews in his native town, and received from him a Bible. Another time he
received a tract from the L.J.S. missionary Hartmann, which made a
strong impression upon him. After studying in a seminary for teachers,
in Schneidemuhl (Posen), he went to England, and was instructed and
baptized by the Rev. Ridley Herschell in 1856. Subsequently he was
appointed by the British Society as a missionary in England. From 1867
to 1871 Dr. Fürst laboured among the Jews in Stettin. He then entered
the service of the Free Church of Scotland, and was stationed at Prague,
Amsterdam, and Strasburg, and latterly he retired to Stuttgart, where he
still bore testimony to the Jews of the assured hope of salvation,
through his Master whom he so long and faithfully served. Dr. Fürst was
a fine scholar, and he wrote a book entitled, "Christen und Juden Licht
und Schattenbilder aus Kirche und Synagoge," Strasburg, 1892.
GANS, Eduard, born in Berlin, 1798, studied, and through the influence
of the philosopher Hegel, embraced Christianity in 1825, and in 1828
became professor in the Berlin University. He wrote, among other works,
"Das Erbrecht in Weltgeschichtlicher Entwickelung" (4 vols.), Stuttgart,
1834, which was translated into French by Leoménie, Paris, 1845; "Ein
System des römischen Civil Rechts," Berlin, 1827. He edited Hegel's
"Geschichte der Philosophie," and "Jahrbücher für wissenschaftliche
Kritik." He died as professor in 1839.
GELBFLAUM, Rev. Isidor, was born in the city of Warsaw, in Russian
Poland, in the year 1865, of orthodox Jewish parents. We cull the
following from his autobiography:--"My father was a corn merchant in
very comfortable circumstances. His desire from the day of my birth was
to bring me up in strict adherence with Rabbinical traditions, and I, on
my part, followed dutifully and cheerfully the guidance of my dear
father. But very early in my career, God graciously intervened, and in
1877 I came into contact with a colporteur of the British and Foreign
Bible Society, who sold me a copy of the Hebrew New Testament. Though I
was only then in my thirteenth year, I nevertheless read the
newly-acquired treasure with intense longing to find out whether Jesus
of Nazareth was the Messiah. I used diligently to read the New Testament
whenever the opportunity presented itself. One day my father suddenly
came into the room where I was reading the Acts of the Apostles. He
immediately demanded the production of the book, and I instantly gave it
to him. A few weeks later on I had occasion to be in the market-place,
and I purchased another copy of the same colporteur, which I read with
greater caution. Although I thus read the Book again and again, I could
not understand it, much less could I apply its contents. I was like the
Ethiopian eunuch, and needed some one to explain to me the meaning of
the revelation of God's purpose to mankind. Soon after an event occurred
which contributed greatly to determining my spiritual future. My
parents, noticing the abatement of my zeal for rabbinical Judaism,
decided to send me to a _Yeshiba_, and they determined on Pressburg, in
Hungary. I had not been in Pressburg more than a week, when I was
brought into contact with a Hebrew Christian missionary from Vienna, who
was visiting the place at the time for missionary work. He spent over an
hour with me explaining the things of God, and directing my attention
to the Messiahship of the Lord Jesus. I remained in Pressburg till the
spring of 1881, after which I returned to Warsaw. In 1885 a Protestant
Christian lady in Warsaw became interested in me, and by her advice, and
with a letter of introduction to the late Rev. Dr. Stern, I came to
England in June of that year, only to find that my would-be instructor
had been called home to his rest. I waited till the arrival of the Rev.
J. M. Eppstein, who instructed me and subsequently baptized me in 1886.
I then entered the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, and passed
the following two years there in happy association with other converts
to Christ. In 1888 I offered my services to and was accepted by the
London City Mission, and worked among my brethren in the East End of
London till March, 1893, when I was appointed by the British Society,
and ultimately sent to Leeds. Since coming to that city, I have been the
humble instrument, in God's hand, of leading many of my brethren to
Christ, two of whom have become Christian ministers, one in the west of
England and the other in the United States of America. A third convert
given to me is an earnest Sunday school teacher, and a fourth a local
preacher."
GELLERT, Alexander, was a missionary of the L.J.S., first in England and
then, in 1861, in Roumania, where he had some fruits of his labours, and
died in 1870.
GELLING, Michael, was born 1597, and baptized 1616. He translated in
Hamburg R. Isaac Troki's "Chizzuk Emunah," 1633, into German. Dr. John
Müller made use of this MS. in his "Judaismus detectus," 1694, and it
came into possession of M. Chr. Ziegra. Wolff in his "Bibliotheca
Hebraica," iv. p. 639, gives detailed information about this MS. and a
specimen of Gelling's translation. Bishop Kidder wrote a refutation of
the "Chizzuk Emunah" in his "Demonstration of the Messiah," in 1694.
Jacob Gusset likewise in his "Controversarium adversus Judaeos ternio,"
Dortrecht, 1688. The whole was edited by Arnold Borst, and published in
1712, at Amsterdam, under the title, "Jesu Christi Evangeliique Veritas,
salutifera, demonstrata in confutatione libri Chizzuk Emunah." The Rev.
A. Lukyn Williams is now answering the same in English, and the writer
is translating it into Yiddish.
GERMANUS, Johannes Isaac Levita, having been convinced that Isaiah liii.
was a Messianic prophecy and fulfilled in Jesus, was baptized with his
wife and his son Stephen by Joh. Draconites in 1546. Later he became
professor of Hebrew in London and in Cologne. He wrote a controversial
work entitled: "Defensio veritatis Hebraicae," Cologne, 1558, also a
Hebrew grammar, "Mebo Imre Shofar," which passed through several
editions; a treatise on the book of Ruth; and translated some of the
works of Maimonides and Juda Ibn Tibon into Latin. His son, Stephen, who
was a physician, translated the prophet Malachi into Latin.
GEROLD, Rev. G. L., was a rabbinical student in Breslau, baptized by Dr.
Stern in the year of his death, graduated at Cambridge, was ordained in
1898, and is now Rector of Easthope, Much Wenlock, Salop, in the diocese
of Hereford.
GERSON, Christian ben Meir Biberbach, born at Reeklichhausen, August 1,
1567, received the usual Talmudical education, and was a teacher in
several places. A neighbour, who was a Christian woman, borrowed from
him ten pence, giving him as security a Lutheran New Testament. Curious
to know the source of the Christian errors, he and his two
brothers-in-law read it with much amusement. Yet finding there
quotations from the Old Testament, he continued reading it more
earnestly, comparing Scripture with Scripture, until his conscience was
awakened and felt the need of salvation through Christ. He wrote
afterwards--"I found such light, for which I have to thank the Lord God
all my life." He was baptized by Pastor Silberschlag at Halberstadt,
October 19, 1600. Gerson's son Stephen was baptized years later, but his
wife got a divorce from him. He then taught Hebrew at Copenhagen, and
eventually, after being persuaded by friends, he became a preacher of
the Gospel. Testimony is given him that he heartily loved his people,
and defended them against blood accusations. His works are: "Des
Jüdischer Talmud fürnehmster Inhalt und Widerlegung," Gislav, 1707,
Gera, 1613. A German translation of the eleventh chapter of Tract
Sanhedrin. Gerson died on October 22, 1642, only 47 years old, as a
preacher of the Gospel, in poverty. He was pastor of two parishes,
receiving a stipend of six gulden, and had to work as a farm labourer
for his living. In the Jewish Encyclopædia it is stated that Gerson was
drowned at Roelheim, September 25, 1627. Here is a specimen of the
contradictory statements of historians.
GERSON, Rev. Marks, was born in Kovno, Poland, in 1879. His father died
when he was four, and his mother when he was thirteen. Up to that age he
received the usual Jewish education and his elder brother kept him at
school for another year, but then he had to make a start to earn his own
living. He worked with relatives for five years, and then came to
London, where the "Hebrew Christian Testimony" was instrumental in
leading him to Christ. In 1898 he was admitted into the Operative Jewish
Converts' Institution, and in December of the same year was baptized by
the Rev. G. H. Händler in Christ Church, Stepney. In June, 1899, he was
confirmed by the Bishop of Stepney, and in 1901 he was accepted by the
Church Missionary Society for training first at Clapham Common, then at
Blackheath, and subsequently at the College in Islington. On the 18th of
June, 1905, he was ordained in St. Paul's Cathedral, and since then he
has laboured with good success in India: being stationed at present in
Calcutta.
GERSTMAN, W. A., was a missionary of the L.J.S. at Jerusalem in 1837,
and then on account of illness was transferred to Constantinople in
1840.
GINSBURG, Rev. Dr. Christian David, born at Warsaw, December 25, 1821,
embraced Christianity there in 1846, was missionary of the British
Society in Liverpool till 1863, when he retired in order to devote
himself entirely to literary work. Dr. Ginsburg contributed a
considerable number of valuable articles on Jewish topics to Kitto's
Encyclopædia, published a book on the Karaites and Essenes, and a full
account in English of the Kabbalah, its doctrines, development, and
literature. But he will be especially remembered for his massoretic
studies, and translation of Elias Levita's "Massoreth-ha-Massorah" in
1867, and of Jacob ben Hayim's "Introduction to the Rabbinic Bible,"
published in the same year. He was on the Revision Committee of the Old
Testament. He edited the Massoretic Critical Text of the Hebrew Bible
for the Trinitarian Bible Society, 1894, and also Salkinson's
translation of the New Testament into Hebrew, 1886.
GINSBURG, Rev. J. B. Crighton, was instructed and baptized by the L.J.S.
missionary Hausmeister, at Strasburg. After doing good work in England,
and not without results, he laboured for many years in Algeria. Among
his converts there were Moses Ben Oliel and T. E. Zerbib. He then
laboured faithfully in Mogador, amidst many difficulties and trials, and
lastly he had the charge of the mission at Constantinople from 1886,
till the time of his death there, when he entered into the higher
service of Heaven.
GOLDBERG, Dr. John Benjamin, was one of a number of rabbis and learned
men, who were converted to Christianity in Jerusalem in the first half
of the nineteenth century. He was baptized in Christ Church, Jerusalem
by Nicolayson, in 1843. He had consequently to undergo much persecution
and loss of property. In 1847 we find him as a preacher of the Gospel to
his brethren in Cairo, and then, on account of illness; he was
transferred to Salonica. In 1851 he was appointed as missionary at
Constantinople, and from there he went, in 1860, to Smyrna. Goldberg was
a most spiritually-minded and lovable man. His latter years he spent in
England, and contributed to the "Hebrew Christian Witness," in 1874, two
learned and very valuable and extensive articles on "The Language of
Christ," and on "The Future Division of the Land of Israel."
GOLDBERG, Johann Peter, missionary to the Jews. We give the following
extracts from his life and work, edited by his son-in-law, the Rev. J.
A. Hausmeister:--
"It might appear strange that Goldberg should so soon give up his
acquired profession and become a teacher; but the fact is, that, from
his earliest years, he showed a disposition more for intellectual
employment than for business, for the latter he never displayed any
great talent. At the same time, he did not conceal his religious, or,
rather, anti-Jewish tendencies, as he was always open and
straightforward. These were in his case tolerated, because he was
respected on account of his learning, and in a few years he was duly
appointed as teacher of the whole Jewish community.
"Concerning his conversion, he, in his reminiscences, tells the story
thus: 'On New Year's eve, 1803, I and several Jews went, out of
curiosity, to the Hall, where the congregation of the Moravian brethren
worshipped. Here, I heard, for the first time, of the birth, the
destiny, the suffering, death, and the resurrection of our Saviour, and
seized by a kind of foreboding feeling, my heart was filled with joy and
happiness. Deeply touched, I left that sacred house with the resolve to
visit it often, and the impressions of the love of God to men were so
forcibly within me, that they also accompanied and refreshed me in my
sleep. Yet, alas! this beneficial impression vanished soon, by reason of
the implanted prejudices against Christianity, and of the unbelief which
had already taken root in me, even in the Scriptures of the Old
Testament. But since that night I felt, more and more, a disconsolate
emptiness in my heart, though I continued, at a distance, from the way
of life.' We hear here the knockings of God on the door of an erring
heart, which refused to open itself. How often must the gracious God
visit a man, now with love and then with affliction, before He can gain
admittance into his soul. But a Jew has still more difficulties to
contend against; for the prejudices against Christianity, which he
imbibes from his youth, arise from the natural heart as soon as it has
come under the influence of the truth. He has to contend not only
against the enemy of unbelief, but also against the enemy of
superstition, which bars his way in every direction. Though Goldberg was
surrounded by various Christians at Neuwied, and came, sometimes, in
contact with the Moravian brethren, yet many years passed before he
submitted to the Word of God, and found the peace which the world can
neither give nor take away. It is very telling for the character of
Goldberg that he chose Neuwied for his home. With his former principal
at Hamburg, he continued a friendly correspondence, and received from
him repeated invitations to return to the situation, where every
prospect for his advancement and happiness awaited him. But he was firm,
and felt no matrimonial inclinations for the rich merchant's daughter,
but rather chose for his partner the daughter of Solomon Rubens, the
Jewish butcher at Neuwied. They were married in 1806, and she brought
him something better than money--a true and loving heart; which helped
him to carry his burden, and was ready with him to cast that burden upon
the mighty shoulders of the Saviour, and to participate in his joy and
peace. Nevertheless, many a rivulet flows into the Rhine, and the couple
had to drink much of the bitter waters of Marah, before they tasted of
the cup of salvation. I will only mention a few instances:--
"When Goldberg established his own home, he resumed his connexion with
his family, not only by correspondence but by paying them a visit, which
he had long yearned to do. In the very fruitful year of 1811 he started
upon his journey, in spite of the dissuasion of the Austrian ambassador
at Frankfort, who had told him that he was liable to punishment in his
country, because he had failed to present himself for military service.
Safely arrived at Regensburg, the superintendent of the police refused
at first to give a _visé_ to his passport for Austria, as it had not the
signature of the ambassador, but he and his wife at last prevailed over
the officer. In Vienna, again, the police told him that he would have to
be transported home as a transgressor of the law, but through the
influence of a banker, a cousin of Goldberg, and by means of a bribe, he
was permitted to remain some time in Vienna unmolested. On his return
journey to the Rhine he experienced immediate Divine protection, even in
a more striking manner. He had made this journey on foot, and came one
day very tired to a village and rested a little in an hotel. Black
clouds covered the sky and announced the approach of a storm, when
Goldberg resumed his march, though against the warning of the hostess,
as he was very anxious to see his wife and children as soon as possible.
As soon as he entered a thick forest, the rain came down in torrents,
accompanied by thunder and lightning, and the wanderer had to stop.
There was an open space in the forest with only a few stumps of trees in
it, and he was meditating upon which of the stumps he should sit down.
He decided for the one which stood on the right. Scarcely had he sat
down, when the stump on the left was struck by lightning and shivered to
pieces. He was thus much impressed with the wonderful protecting care of
the providence of God.
"The Jews have many nice customs and rites as well as beautiful prayers.
When the Spirit of God will some day revive this people, then will many
a Jewish form and custom, which is now performed like an empty ceremony,
be exercised in spirit and leave a blessing. One of these customs is,
that after the service on the Sabbath and on feast days, the children
approach the parents, who lay their hands on them and bless them.[13]
Also, when a Jew goes on a journey, the members of his family follow
him and pronounce a blessing. It was so before Goldberg started on his
journey that his mother-in-law laid her hands on his head, blessed him,
and then added: 'Farewell, we shall never see one another again.' Yet
Goldberg could not believe that these parting words would be fulfilled.
When on his journey back he spent a night at Regensburg, and awoke early
in the morning, there suddenly appeared to him near his bed, the form of
a friendly woman, dressed in white, who looked at him complacently. He
recognized her as his mother-in-law, looked at his watch, it was four
o'clock, and was greatly astonished. He rose up and resumed his journey,
and when he arrived at Frankfort, he met a Jew from Neuwied, of whom he
enquired after his family, and was told by him that they were all well,
and at last that his mother-in-law had died. Now he understood the
meaning of the apparition. He used often to refer to this event and say:
'You know that I am no believer in ghost stories, yet I have, myself,
experienced, and am convinced, that spirits can be in communication with
one another.' Deeply moved, he returned to his family, and his arrival
was to them a great comfort.
[13] This custom is very seldom seen nowadays.
"We should have thought that all these experiences would have caused
Goldberg to think right earnestly of making his peace with God, but this
was not yet the case. When a man does not read the Word of God with
prayer, and does not seek the influence of the Holy Spirit, no
conversion can take place in his heart. Goldberg, at this period, had
lost all faith in the Bible. He belonged to a society of so-called
enlightened Jews at Neuwied, who contributed to a periodical entitled
'Measaph.' He, himself, wrote many nice Hebrew articles, with the object
of enlightening his co-religionists, though his own mind was yet
surrounded by darkness. His Jewish friends and some Christians used to
read novels together, and lived according to the pernicious principles
which the frivolous books inculcated. But though he was a member of this
circle, yet the good hand of the invisible God kept him from falling
into gross sins, so that all his experiences of Divine help and
protection contributed, at least, to maintain in him the fear of God. He
used often to speak of this with great thankfulness.
"The Lord had also continually given him a cross to bear, in order to
bend his stiff neck. In those times of dreadful wars, Goldberg, on
account of his knowledge of the Polish and Russian languages, was often
obliged to act as interpreter among the troops of these nations who had
their quarters there.
"In 1814, he was called one evening, very late, to quiet an uproar that
had arisen among the Russian soldiers. This accomplished, he returned
home late in the night, and in the darkness he did not observe a waggon
that stood in the way, and fell over the shaft and broke his leg; and,
consequently, was laid up for several weeks.
"In November, 1815, a daughter was born to him; another, four years of
age, suddenly died on the same day. His wife, likewise, fell into a
dangerous illness, which lasted twenty-four weeks, and from continued
watching by her bedside, he became exhausted and extremely dejected. He
described his experience of that time thus:--'Placed in a condition of
tedious misery and all kinds of sorrow, and not having a single
sympathetic soul to comfort me, I became utterly dejected. I could not
think of God with a feeling heart, and, therefore, suffered
indescribable pangs in body and soul. When once I lay down at midnight,
and placed my miserable condition vividly before me, a feeling of
despair seized me, and I cried out: "Lord, how long?" But immediately
God set me up by instilling a beam of hope within my soul, that He would
soon deliver me out of my trouble. This new hope revived me, and I felt
peace; my wife, also, became better that very night and felt a
refreshing influence. Then I went in a corner, wept and prayed for the
help of God in the sense of Ps. xxxii. and xxxviii., and vowed to the
Lord to read again His Word with reverence, and to place myself entirely
under His guidance, and to be no longer so distrustful. From this moment
another Spirit had the rule over me. Injurious books which had led me to
unbelief were laid aside, and the Bible had a new attraction for me. Now
also a longing after the promised Redeemer revived in me. In this
manner, He who searches the hearts, and is near to them who seek Him in
sincerity, prepared me gradually for the time when He, as the good
Shepherd, would completely open the door to His fold for me, and
translate me out of the darkness into His marvellous light.' So
Goldberg could speak after he had already come to the knowledge of
Jesus; but the way in which this was brought about was, in its
beginning, obscure. He, himself, tells of the first occasion thereto:
"'In August, 1817, a learned Jew, who had recently come from London,
where he was teacher for a long time, sent for me, and told me, in a
cautioning tone, that a certain gentleman had visited him on that day
and put the astonishing question to him whether there were not some Jews
there who would be inclined to read the New Testament in the Hebrew
language; in which case he could supply them with it gratis. Then, he
added, that there is in London a Society for Promoting Christianity
amongst the Jews, having agents abroad of whom this gentleman must be
one, and, therefore, I should beware of coming in contact with him. But
this communication effected a different impression upon me to that which
was intended. The gentleman against whom I was warned was neither a
preacher nor a missionary, but a universally respected merchant, by the
name of Keetman. I had a great desire of becoming acquainted with this
dangerous man, who took so much trouble to visit the Jews and to talk to
them on religious matters, and as I was not in the habit of visiting
people without any occasion, this desire increased the more. At last I
ventured, one Saturday, to go to Mr. Keetman, and say to him that I had
heard that he had Hebrew books, and if he wished me to copy them I
should be ready to do so.' In this manner Goldberg became acquainted
with an earnest and warm friend of Israel, and this acquaintanceship
formed a new chapter in his life, which I cannot better designate than
his awakening."
GOLDENBERG, D., was born in Piatka, Volhynia, in 1805. His father, Hayim
Baruch, was a learned rabbi, and consulted by others on difficult
rabbinic questions. His grandfather was a Zadik or wonder rabbi, and
used to talk to him about the speedy coming of the Messiah. At the age
of 10 his parents found him a bride, and at the age of 17 he was
married, and went to live with his father-in-law in Tschidoroff. Passing
through a severe illness, he began to think earnestly about the state of
his soul before God. He felt the burden of his sins and frequently
prayed for the advent of the Redeemer. His friends advised him to divert
his mind by more diligent study of the Talmud, but he remained restless.
At this time, in 1821, cholera visited the place, and he dreaded to die.
Passing by just then a Christian school, he heard the children pronounce
the ineffable name of Jehovah, which attracted his attention, so he
bought a catechism to see what the Christian doctrine was, but he laid
it aside. Then he received a packet of tracts and a New Testament from
Myerson, who got them from the L.J.S. missionary Moritz when he visited
Berditscheff. He was not long after convinced of the truth of the
Gospel, visited Moritz, and with his friend went to Berlin, where he was
instructed and baptized by Pastor Schultz ("Jewish Intelligence," 1824).
His father came to Berlin and tried to win him back to Judaism, but
when he found that he was thoroughly in earnest and happy in his faith,
he left him in peace in a friendly manner. Goldenberg went then to
London, and was thence sent to Poland, to witness for Christ among his
brethren.
GOLDINGER, Tobias W., was a L.J.S. missionary in Poland in the forties
of the nineteenth century, where he laboured successfully. He was, under
God, the means of the conversion of a number of Jews, one of whom may be
named here. Goldinger had once given the "Life of Friedrich Augusti" to
the son of Rabbi L. Altschiller, of Marronopol, and this led to his
eventual conversion. The case attracted at the time much public
attention, as the young man passed through a great struggle with his
family, but came out triumphant. Goldinger laboured latterly at Breslau,
where the writer had the privilege of making his acquaintance at the end
of 1872, and was very much impressed by his gentle Christian spirit. It
is a pity that Pastor de le Roi, who was at that time his colleague, did
not give us more information about him. It is probably because
Goldinger, like many other Jewish converts, out of modesty was reluctant
to publish to the world his personal history.
GOLDSMID, Frederick, is known to have laboured as a successful
missionary in India.
GOLDSTERN, Israel, a native of Lemberg, Galicia, educated in strict
orthodoxy. Already in his early manhood he became President of a Talmud
Union. Failing in health, he journeyed to the Bath Heines, and on his
way met a Christian merchant who, in a conversation, convinced him that
the Talmud has no Divine authority. This shook his faith in modern
Judaism. For two years he had no peace of mind. His widowed mother, in
order to divert his attention, got him married. But it did not last long
before he came into collision with his family on account of his
religious views, so he left for Constantinople, whither his wife
followed him. Eventually he was baptized by Pastor Bonnet, in Cologne,
in 1875, while his wife still hesitated to take the decisive step. His
father-in-law, when he found out the place of their residence, brought a
suit against him for embezzling his property, because before he left
Lemberg he had pawned his wife's ornaments, which he himself had given
her. However, his friends at Cologne, paid the whole sum. He afterwards
studied theology at Barmen, and became missionary of the Westphalian
Rhenish (now called West German) Society, under which he has been
labouring with much blessing upon his efforts ever since. He succeeded
the writer at Frankfort-on-the-Maine.
GOTTFRIED, Johann Adam (Nathan), born at Altona in 1726, died in 1773.
After losing his father in his youth, his mother sent him to an uncle,
who was a diamond cutter in London, to learn the trade. There he somehow
heard the name of Jesus and got to love it. He soon returned, and his
mother went with him to another relation, Rabbi Koppel Fränkel, at
Fürth, under whose auspices he made rapid progress in Jewish learning,
so that at the age of 17 he was asked to take charge of a school in the
country. Two years before, two rabbis predicted that he would yet become
a Meshummad. The Jews in former days used sometimes to call a sharp boy
Meshummad or ganov (thief). At the age of 21 he passed by an evangelical
church at Sulzberg, and listened to the worship there, and was solemnly
moved. Henceforth he studied the Scriptures, especially Isaiah liii., as
he had heard that Christians refer to it. The result was that he made a
public confession of his faith, and was baptized by Pastor Pfeiffer, at
Erlangen, in 1750. He studied theology, but was too humble and timid to
ascend the pulpit. So he maintained himself by teaching Hebrew, Latin,
Greek, and French, and by writing. One of his works is entitled: "Der
troslose Jude in der letzten Todesstunde." Another is, "Der bussfertige
Sünder Schriftgemässe Vorstellung und freundliche ermahnung an
sämmtliche proselyten der jetzigen Zeit. Vernünftiger Unterricht über
die natürliche Religion und desen Vornehmste Streitigkeiten und über die
Christliche Religion."
GOTTFRIED, Philip Selig, born in 1722 in a little town near Halle. When
ten years old his mother died, and the Jewish authorities would not
allow her to be buried there, because they had heard a rumour that "she
had in her dying hour committed her soul into the hands of Jesus Christ
the Saviour of the world." His father had to take her at night to Halle
for burial. Philip was then sent to a school at Fürth, where he studied
the Talmud diligently. He narrates in his autobiography, 3 volumes,
Leipzig, 1755: "I can, without boasting, say that when I was 13 years
old I could repeat by heart 500 pages of the Talmud without mistake, and
deliver a Derashah (sermon) on a solemn occasion." His father then got a
theological student to instruct him in Latin and German, but made it a
condition that he should not mention the subject of religion to the boy.
However, the teacher and his clever, inquisitive, pupil soon had
disputations together. It happened one day that a Jewish girl passed by
their house, dressed in black and accompanied by a number of Christians
leading her to church to be baptized. A neighbour asked Gottfried
whether he liked the procession, and his reply was that "it looks like
leading a criminal to the place of execution." "Quite right," said the
other, "the girl is led as a sinner to Jesus to have her sins washed
away by the blood which He shed on the cross." Gottfried continued his
disputes about Christianity with his teacher, who sometimes was
perplexed in not knowing how to answer his objections. He brought a
Hebrew scholar to him and they read Isaiah liii. together, Gottfried
quoting the rabbinical interpretations of it, and the other refuting
them. After the debate was over, Gottfried earnestly reflected upon the
subject, and was convinced that the Christians are right. He then bought
a New Testament for 12 groschen, and studied it critically. After a long
inward struggle and earnest prayer, he by the aid of the Holy Spirit
triumphed over his intense prejudices, and applied to a pastor for
Christian instruction. Before his baptism, in 1738, he had to answer 400
questions in his examination. Two sisters followed his example. The
father disinherited them all. The convert Friedrich Augusti was then
very kind to him. In 1788 he published a Kabbalistic work entitled
"Sepher Shimush Tehillim." His chief work was his weekly paper, "Der
Jude," in 9 volumes, Leipzig, 1767-1771.
GOTTHEIL, Rev. Paul Eduard, brother of Rabbi Gustav Gottheil, of the
Temple Emmanuel, New York, born at Franstadt (Germany), April 5, 1818,
died at Stuttgart in 1893. He was one of the most distinguished converts
and missionaries in the nineteenth century. He studied theology at Basel
and then entered the service of the British Society in 1848, in which he
continued all his life. He was for many years minister of the English
Church at Canstadt, and then minister of the Diakonessenhaus at
Stuttgart. In both offices he was very successful. Some of those he
baptized at Nuremberg, Canstadt and Stuttgart, have become ministers of
the Gospel or missionaries to the Jews, like Bahri and Löwen, who both
laboured at Vienna. He published "Blätter für die Evangelische Mission
unter Israel," 1850-1858; "Der Messias Israel's Hoffnung und aller
Völker Verlangen," 1863 (translated into English); "Mishan Lehem,
Lebensbrot für Gottes Volk aus Gotteswort" (Hebrew and German), 1871,
Yiddish and German 1873; "Die Arbeit an den Einzelnen," in "Nathaniel,"
1891, No. 6; an extensive Memoir of Professor Franz Delitzsch in "The
Everlasting Nation," 1890.
GOTTLIEB, K. J., was a native of Sadagora (Bukovina, Austria), a town
which has been the residence of several generations of wonder-working
rabbis for about a hundred years, and has become the Mecca of the
Chassidim. Naturally he was brought up in strict orthodoxy. An elder
brother of his, however, managed to learn German and to study medicine,
and settle as a practitioner in Pesth. At the age of 16 Gottlieb visited
his brother, in whose house he found a Hebrew Bible with a German
translation, which he diligently read, and his brother explained to him
difficult passages, directing his special attention to Messianic
prophecies without at once disclosing his own views. This excited his
interest, and he began to enquire into the subject. He then happened to
meet with a Jewish tract, entitled "Source of Salvation," in which the
year 1864 was assigned for the advent of the Messiah, but in which the
Messiahship of Jesus was distinctly repudiated. This caused him to ask
his brother if he could throw light on the subject, and to his surprise
he found that his brother had long been a baptized Christian, and he
resolved to become one likewise if he should by instruction be
convinced. A place was then found for him as Hebrew teacher in the
Scotch Mission school, and he received Christian instruction from Pastor
König and Pastor Wagner. However, it was found advisable to send him to
Prague, where, after receiving further instruction from Mr. Schönberger,
he was baptized by him in 1876. Gottlieb studied afterwards at Basel,
and for a time was a missionary of the Free Church of Scotland, but most
of his missionary career was in the service of the Berlin Society, in
Berlin, Jassy, Chernowitz, near his home, and lastly in Stanislau. In
all these places he was much beloved for his excellent qualities and
true Christian piety. He died comparatively young, and "the remembrance
of his name is for a blessing."
GREEN, Rev. Samuel J., was baptized in 1859 by the Rev. John Wilkinson,
the founder of the Mildmay Mission to the Jews. He went to Australia and
preached the Gospel to the Jews at Bathurst, where he also built a
church in 1879.
GURLAND, Rev. Rudolf Hermann, born in Wilna, 1836, of a family which
were Spanish Gentile Christians, who became Jews and had fled from the
Inquisition at the beginning of the eighteenth century into Russia. The
father was a strictly orthodox and bigoted Jew, and sent his son to
various yeshivas (rabbinical colleges), so that in 1857 he received the
title of Doctor, and was called to be the President of the Seminary at
Berditscheff, where he remained till 1860. He tried at first to
introduce reform in the Synagogue, and wrote a work under the title "Das
Judenthum und die Reformversuche des 17 und 18 Jahrhundert" (only in
M.S.), but won no sympathy for his attempt. Meeting a traveller in 1862,
he received from him a Hebrew New Testament, and at the same time
learned from him about Pastor Faltin's missionary activity at
Kischineff. He went there and became rabbi of a congregation. One day he
came to Faltin and asked him if he could get him pupils for caligraphy
and drawing, and showed him some specimens of his work. Faltin tried to
do so but failed, and then proposed that they should read the Hebrew
Bible together. Gurland agreed, but made it a condition that the main
issue between Judaism and Christianity should not be introduced. Some
time passed in reading book after book of the Old Testament, and Gurland
gave no sign of any change in him. They were reading Isaiah liii. for
the second time. When Faltin finished, Gurland said, "Read it over
again," but he could not wait till he had done so, because he was
inwardly moved, and went home in silence. Faltin then fell on his knees
and earnestly prayed that God might open the eyes of the rabbi to see
Christ in all His glory. The next time Gurland came, he asked Faltin to
read again the same chapter; and then he could no longer resist the
striving of the spirit within his heart, and exclaimed, "I do not know
what it is, I now find much in the Bible which I have not found before,
although I know it by heart. The chapter must refer to your Jesus, and I
must soon acknowledge that He is the promised Messiah." The result of
this meeting was, that the rabbi became the pupil of the pastor,
receiving frequent instruction from him in the doctrines of the Gospel.
But this frequent intercourse between them could not fail to be observed
by the Jews, yet they at first had not the slightest suspicion of the
rabbi's intention, but on the contrary thought that Faltin was inclined
to embrace Judaism. In fact, one of them told this to one of his
congregation. This man came to the pastor and questioned him about it,
and was assured by him that he would never deny his Saviour, but it was
possible that Gurland might embrace Christianity. Several rabbis came
now to Gurland and, like the Protestant, asked him whether Faltin wished
to become a Ger (proselyte) to Judaism. This brought the matter to a
climax, and he confessed before them all that Jesus was the Messiah and
proved his convictions from the Bible. They cried, "You have a false
Bible," but he answered, "Compare it with your own and see whether it is
false." What he had to suffer afterwards, need not here be described. He
and his wife were baptized on Easter Sunday, 1864, before a large
congregation of Christians and Jews. He then studied theology in Berlin,
returned to Kischineff and became assistant pastor to Faltin, when many
Jewish converts were the result of their labours. Gurland was later
chief pastor at Mitau, working at the same time among the Jews. His
latter years were devoted to spreading the New Testament in Wilna,
Odessa and the Baltic provinces, under the auspices of the Mildmay
Mission to the Jews. Professor Delitzsch called him "A noble soul."
GUTENHAUER, Gutschalk Eduard, after having been won for Christ and
baptized by the Rev. W. Ayerst in Berlin in 1836, studied philosophy and
became Professor at the University of Breslau in 1841. There he
published a work about Leibnitz, and another about Lessing, 1842, 1852.
HALBMILLION, Jacob, a convert of the L.J.S. at Jerusalem, was afterwards
house-father of the Wanderers' Home in London, under Dr. Stern, and then
one of the first missionaries of the Mildmay Mission, zealously
labouring in London and then in North Africa. He died in Morocco in
1888.
HAMBURGER, a convert in Holland, died in 1872. Da Costa delivered an
oration at his funeral.
HÄNDLER, Rev. H. G., born in Warsaw in the thirties of the nineteenth
century. In his youth he became distinguished for his Talmudical
learning, so that the epithet Harif or Nilley (expert) was applied to
him at that time. Gifted with a good memory, he easily acquired a
knowledge of German, Polish, Latin, and Greek, and he compiled a
collection of noble sayings in the Greek Classics. When quite a young
man he came to London, and was converted to Christianity under the
ministry of Dr. McCaul, Reichardt, and others, in Palestine Place. After
four years at the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution he studied in
the L.J.S. Hebrew College, and then laboured as a missionary in Breslau,
and in Tunis. In 1873 he opened a school for Jewish children (mostly
girls) at Cracow, and carried it on successfully for about ten years. In
1883, he was transferred to Vienna, where he had many tokens of Divine
blessing upon his efforts. One of his converts has for many years been a
Chaplain in India, and is still there. Händler assisted Professor
Delitzsch in his translation of the New Testament into Hebrew, and
furnished the abbreviations to Professor Dalman's Chaldaic Dictionary,
revised Biesenthal's rabbinic "Commentar der Romans," wrote several
tracts, and revised the Judæo-German translation of the Bible for the
Trinitarian Bible Society.
HARZUGE, Johannes, brought out a German translation of the New Testament
in Hebrew characters in 1550. Some Hebrew words were retained in this
translation for the purpose of making it more intelligible to the Jewish
readers at that time. A specimen of this translation will be found in
Wolff, (Bibliotheca Hebraica iv. 205).
HAUSMEISTER, Rev. Jacob August, was born in Stuttgart, 1806. His father
was a quiet man, and his mother was rather inclined towards
Christianity, and often ejaculated, "O that my son Jacob might become a
Christian. We Jews cannot keep the commandments and are therefore
without consolation, whilst Christians are saved by grace." Hausmeister
was left an orphan when still young. Left without a guardian, he was
inclined to live a worldly life. Meeting a Christian companion, he
followed him to Church, and listened to the fervent preacher Hofacker.
His uncle, a watchmaker, to whom he was apprenticed, heard of it and was
very angry with him, but he persevered in going to Church. Hausmeister
was baptized by Dekan Heswig in Esslingen in 1825. He then studied at
Basel, and afterwards in the Hebrew College, Palestine Place. In 1832 he
was appointed missionary by the L.J.S., at Strasburg, where he laboured
zealously till the end. Three scores of converts were the fruit of his
labours. Hausmeister did also much literary work. He wrote the tract (1)
"Wörte der Liebe an meine Brüder nach dem Fleisch"; (2) "Gespräch zweier
jüdischen Freunde über das Wort Gottes"; (3) "Winke und Mittheilungen
über die Mission unter Israel"; (4) "Ueber den Unterricht der
Proselyten, Evangelische Mission unter Israel"; also biographies of
Börling and of Goldberg, his near relatives.
HEFTER, Rev. Albert David, born in Dombrowa, Galicia, in 1819. His
father was a well-to-do jeweller. His mother had made a vow that he
should become a rabbi. When he was only four years of age he was
instructed by a Zadik, or wonder working rabbi. Among the books of his
father he found a New Testament, and questioned him as to its contents,
but it was snatched away. Whilst he was in the Yeshiva, his parents
died, and he went to Tarnopol, to live with a married sister, where he
pursued his studies, but took offence at the philosophical opinions
which some of his fellow students entertained. One of them offered to
teach him Science, and he consented with a view of bringing his friend
back to Talmudism. After a time he came to Cracow, where he got
acquainted with the L.J.S. missionary Hoff, who gave him to read "The
Confession of a Proselyte," by Fränkel, and also the New Testament. This
brought him to a knowledge of the Saviour. But it was not thought safe
to baptize him in Galicia, so he was sent to Bellson, in Berlin, who
baptized him in 1846. Hefter was one of a band of noble and most learned
missionaries of the L.J.S. in the nineteenth century. He was stationed
eight years in Jerusalem, then a short time in Pesth, and then in Memel
and Posen, and, lastly, for many years in Frankfort. One of his converts
there is the very able and successful missionary, Rev. M. Kameras, of
the British Society, at Vienna. A blind Jew who was baptized by Hefter,
died on Christmas Day, 1881, and his last words were, "I shall see Him."
HEILBRONNER, Johannes Christlieb (Moses Prager), was baptized in
Heilbronn in 1709, his wife in Pirma in 1716. He taught Hebrew and
Talmud in various universities. He published a tract on Isaiah liii.,
Tübingen, 1710; "Klare Beweisthümer über Jesum Christum, dass Er der
wahre Messias und Sohn Gottes ist, aus dem Alten Testamente, der
Rabbinen und Kabbalisten Schriften, nachgewiesen mit einem Anhang, was
für einen Messias die Juden erwarten," Dresden, 1715; "Eine Widerlegung
der Einwürfe der Juden gegen die Geschlechtsregister Christi, besonders
wider die Schrift Chizzuk Emunah gerichtet," Hamburg, 1718.
HEINERSDORF, Julius Christian, born in Breslau in 1805. When a little
boy at school he had to suffer much persecution from the Christian boys,
and he became a bitter enemy of Christianity, but in riper age he got to
know and esteem true Christians, who read the Old and New Testaments
with him, and through their influence he was baptized in 1826. He then
studied theology, and became a pastor, and later superintendent (equal
to a Bishop or Moderator) near Königsberg. He was a gifted and pious
man, and his ministry was blessed.
HELIC, Lucas, was a member of the Moravian brethren in 1570, when, owing
to his excellent Hebrew scholarship, he was elected as co-translator of
the Kalitzir Bible. He received Moravian ordination, and preached the
Gospel till 1858; also printed his sermons for circulation.
HELLMUTH, Isaac. The fact that the subject of this sketch was one of the
three Hebrew Christian Bishops of the last century--Bishops Alexander
and Schereschewsky being the other two--invests his life and memory with
a special interest for all workers for Israel.
Whilst Alexander spent his life in actively seeking "the lost sheep of
the house of Israel" in various lands of their dispersion, and
Schereschewsky the "other sheep" of the Redeemer's fold in the heathen
Empire of China, Bishop Hellmuth's career was mainly associated with the
promotion of the spiritual and intellectual interests of the sons and
daughters of the Greater Britain beyond the seas.
Isaac Hellmuth was born at Warsaw, Poland, on December 14th, 1820, and
was from early childhood instructed and trained "according to the
perfect manner of the law of his fathers," in Rabbinical schools of high
repute, where he acquired great proficiency in Biblical and Talmudical
learning. His parents gave him a thorough religious and secular
education. He was sent at the age of sixteen to the University of
Breslau, where he continued with success his studies in classical and
Oriental literature. At that time Dr. S. Neumann, a Hebrew Christian,
and a missionary of the London Society for Promoting Christianity
amongst the Jews, was stationed at Breslau. Being also a professor at
that University, he was more especially brought into contact with
learned Jews and students, over whom he exercised great influence. It
was through him that young Hellmuth had his attention drawn to
Christianity. In 1841 he came to England, and was baptized in All
Saints' Church, Liverpool, by the Rev. H. S. Joseph, a missionary of
the same Society. Isaac had two brothers. When he was baptized his
father cut him out of his will altogether. But, on his father's death,
his two brothers, although they themselves remained Jews, generously
restored to their Christian brother his share of their father's
property.
After remaining some three years in England, studying English theology
under Hugh McNeile, Haldane Stewart and others, Hellmuth left for Canada
in 1844, taking with him commendatory letters from many eminent
clergymen, including one from Dr. Sumner, afterwards Archbishop of
Canterbury. Hellmuth's ministerial life was principally spent in Canada,
where he had a distinguished career, for many particulars of which we
are indebted to "Bishops of the Day," which particulars were most likely
furnished by himself. Hellmuth was ordained both deacon and priest in
1846 by Dr. Mountain, Bishop of Quebec. He received the Lambeth degree
of D.D. in 1853, and the honorary degrees of D.C.L. from Trinity
College, Toronto, and D.D. from the University of Lennoxville in 1854.
He spent eight years as rector of Sherbrooke, Quebec, and as professor
of Hebrew and Rabbinical Literature at Bishop's College, Lennoxville, of
which institution he was also vice-principal. His views were strongly
Evangelical. He resigned his posts in Quebec on being made general
superintendent of the Colonial and Continental Church Society in British
North America. The Bishop of Huron, Dr. Cronyn, had been much troubled
about Provost Whitaker, of Trinity College, Toronto, whose teaching he
considered unsound, although the other Bishops of the province, on being
referred to, upheld it. The Bishop, not satisfied, decided to establish
at London, Ontario, a college more under his own control. This resulted
in the formation and partial endowment of Huron College, which was
opened in 1863 under the presidency of Dr. Hellmuth, who was also made
archdeacon of Huron. His educational enthusiasm led him to start a
college for boys, called Hellmuth Boys' College. Recalling his efforts
in its behalf, he said: "Twice I visited England to plead its cause, and
through the liberal gifts of friends in the mother land, the grounds and
buildings for the Divinity College were secured. Amongst the benefactors
of this College, one valued friend, the Rev. Alfred Peache, endowed the
Divinity chair with the munificent sum of £5,000 sterling.
"Huron College faithfully fulfilled its trust and served its designed
end. Over one hundred devoted ministers of Christ's Gospel have been
trained within its walls, the majority of whom are labouring with
success in our own Diocese, while the remainder have been called to
occupy prominent positions in various other parts of our Dominion."
In 1867 Dr. Hellmuth was made rector of St. Paul's Cathedral and Dean of
Huron. He used his large private means unsparingly in advancing the
cause of higher education. In 1869 he launched the Hellmuth Ladies'
College.
The venerable Canon Christopher, rector of St. Aldate's Church, Oxford,
thus alludes to this institution:--"He found that Canadian Protestants
were sending their daughters to convent schools, because they did not
know of any good Protestant ladies' school. He established an excellent
school for young ladies near his own house. I addressed nearly a hundred
young ladies in this school in 1872. Some of these had to travel twelve
days and nights from their homes to their school, in the absence of a
railway from British Columbia."
Dr. Hellmuth was chosen on July 19, 1871, by a large majority of the
diocesan synod to be Bishop Coadjutor of Huron, with the title of Bishop
of Norfolk and the right of succession. Dr. Cronyn died in the following
September, and Dr. Hellmuth became Bishop of Huron. He had been
consecrated in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, Ontario, on August 24,
1871. In 1877 the Bishop formed a scheme for a Western University in
connexion with Huron College, subscribing no less than 10,000 dollars
towards it. In the following year he attended the Lambeth Conference,
and took confirmations for the Bishop of London in Norway, Sweden, and
Denmark. He came to England again, in 1880, to obtain funds for the
Western University, which was opened on October 5, 1881, with a medical
faculty in connexion with it. By 1881 the Bishop's exertions had proved
so successful that the S.P.G. aid was no longer required, and the
diocese could rely on its own resources.
During the Bishop's episcopate, which lasted from 1871 to 1883, great
progress was made in every department of diocesan work. The number of
livings increased from 34 to 65; the number of churches from 149 to 207;
and the clergy from 92 to 135. The Sunday schools rose from 110 to 166;
and the communicants from 4,390 to 8,910. Dr. Langtrey, in his "Colonial
Church Histories,"[14] says that the Bishop "devoted himself with great
earnestness to his work, and soon became very popular throughout the
country." The Rev. Dr. Hurst, a resident of twenty years in Huron, thus
referred to the Bishop's labours:--"I can speak from personal knowledge
of his liberality, zeal, and self-denying efforts to make his diocese an
active mission field, and a model for higher Christian education--much
at his own personal expense--in both of which God greatly blessed his
instrumentality. His indefatigable and successful labours have been
acknowledged by all parties in the Church."[15]
[14] Published by the S.P.C.K. in 1892. (See p. 111.)
[15] "The Greater Britain Messenger," C. and C.C. Society, May, 1896, p.
113.
The Bishop resigned the see of Huron in 1883 under somewhat peculiar
circumstances. The Bishop of Ripon (Dr. Bickersteth) desired to have Dr.
Hellmuth appointed his Suffragan under the Act of Henry VIII. Dr.
Hellmuth, being informed that his title was to be Bishop of Hull, and
that the letters patent could not be executed till he had resigned the
see of Huron, formally resigned that see on March 29, 1883.
In his last charge, delivered before the Synod of the Diocese, the
Bishop's broad and loving sympathies found vent in the following
expressions:--"I am fully persuaded, as I said on a former occasion,
that the glory of the Church is her assimilation to Christ. And never
will her usefulness and her splendour reach their meridian until the
love of a common Saviour shall bind together every heart and unite every
hand. Envy, jealousy, evil surmisings and uncharitableness can only tend
to weaken and scatter the resources of the Church and palsy her
exertions; but, when through the abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit,
arm shall be linked to arm, and heart to heart, and prayer to
prayer,--when to love and serve Christ, and to anticipate heaven, and to
save immortal souls,--when these shall be the grand and all absorbing
terms of Christian communion,--oh, then, what a firm and powerful
phalanx shall go forth from the Church of the living God against the
powers of darkness and the enemies of men! For this ONENESS of aim I
would again repeat, Pray, strive and labour."
The news of the Bishop's resignation was received with great regret
throughout the Dominion, and a service of plate was presented to him
with an address from the standing committee of the diocese.
On March 21, 1883, the Bishop of Ripon issued a Pastoral to his diocese,
in which he formally announced the Royal assent to the appointment of
Dr. Hellmuth as Bishop Suffragan of Hull. In the following May, nearly
two months after Dr. Hellmuth's resignation of the see of Huron, the law
officers of the Crown discovered that the Act of Henry VIII. did not
apply to any one already in Episcopal orders, and that therefore Dr.
Hellmuth could not become Bishop Suffragan of Hull. Bishop Hellmuth, who
was thus placed in an extremely anomalous position, appealed to the then
Governor-General of Canada, Lord Lorne (the present Duke of Argyll), who
made representations to Mr. Gladstone, at that time the Prime Minister.
In reply, Mr. Gladstone pointed out that the Bishop of Ripon still
intended to avail himself of Dr. Hellmuth's services as his Assistant
Bishop or Bishop Coadjutor. Bishop Hellmuth then took up his work in the
diocese of Ripon as Assistant Bishop, although the position was
obviously very different from what he had been led to expect when he
resigned the see of Huron. With the consent of Bishop Bickersteth,
further representations were made to Mr. Gladstone, who replied
expressing regret for the error which had been committed. By the death
of Bishop Bickersteth, in 1884, Dr. Hellmuth's position became still
more trying, for his commission as Bishop Coadjutor ceased, and he made
another appeal to Mr. Gladstone for some suitable preferment, but
without success. He was rector and rural dean of Bridlington from 1885
to 1891, and perpetual curate of Bessingby from 1888 to 1891. In the
latter year the Colonial and Continental Church Society gave him the
chaplaincy of Holy Trinity, Pau, which he held for six years. He was
subsequently rector of Compton-Pauncefoot, Somerset, from 1897 to 1899,
when he retired owing to failing health. He passed away within two
years, on May 28, 1901, at the advanced age of eighty-one.
Bishop Hellmuth was the author of "The Biblical Thesaurus" (1884), a
literal translation and critical analysis of every word in the original
languages of the Old Testament, with explanatory notes and appendices;
and "The Divine Dispensation," a critical commentary on the Hebrew
Scriptures. Amongst his minor contributions to literature may be
mentioned two articles in "The Everlasting Nation"; one on "The
Authenticity and Genuineness of the Pentateuch," (1867) and the other on
"The Spirit of Prophecy," a luminous paper on the allusions in the Old
Testament to the Messiah of his race.
The Bishop married, first, Catherine, daughter of the late General
Thomas Evans, C.B., who died in 1884, and secondly, in 1886, Mary
Louisa, second daughter of Admiral the Hon. Arthur Duncombe, son of the
first Baron Feversham, and widow of the Hon. Ashley Carr Glyn, son of
the first Baron Wolverton.
The Bishop, as was natural, ever evinced hearty and unbounded interest
in the spiritual welfare of his brethren according to the flesh, and on
many occasions advocated, from pulpit and platform, their claims to the
Gospel. In the work of the London Jews' Society he was especially
interested. Towards the end of his life he frequently presided over the
meetings of its Committee, amongst whom he was ever a _persona grata_.
His solid learning, acquaintance with the languages and modes of thought
of his own people, sound common sense, wise and prudent counsels, as
well as his urbanity and courtesy, made him an ideal chairman. He had
unlimited sympathy with those engaged in what he regarded as a great
and important work, for he could enter fully into its arduous character
and numerous difficulties. Many a time did he pay a friendly visit to
the Society's House,--a delightful interlude in official routine--to
encourage and to sympathize; on one occasion narrating the thrilling
story of how, in early youth, he had found Him whom his soul loved. The
Bishop's sterling qualities of heart and mind, his confiding nature and
buoyant temperament, and his bright and happy face, always infused
sunshine wherever he went.
One who knew him writes:--"We cannot forego one personal word in
grateful appreciation and loving remembrance of the charming personality
of one, whom, during the latter period of his long and honoured life, we
were privileged to call our friend. To know him was indeed to love him
as well as to honour and esteem. His sweet and gentle nature, his
amiable disposition, his beautiful character, his fatherly attitude, and
his unfailing tenderness and sympathy, have indelibly associated him in
our mind with the beloved disciple St. John, whose last words would have
been natural indeed upon his lips, 'Little children, love one another.'"
HEYMAN, Heinrich Wilhelm David, son of a shochet (slaughterer) in poor
circumstances. When he was only ten years old, he was obliged to give
lessons to peasant boys in order to help his father. He was fond of
reading, and read Lessing's and Mendelssohn's works, and this caused him
to get new ideas of the world, and to keep aloof from the Talmud. Coming
in contact later on with Dr. Heinrich Ditmar, the author of a universal
history, he learned from him to know the Gospel, and he and his wife and
three children were baptized in 1833. Then his mother and wife refused
to have anything to do with him. Then a son and daughter got very ill,
and he was tempted with the thought that he was punished for his
apostasy, yet he persevered in prayer, and could triumphantly exclaim in
the midst of his troubles, "Lord Jesus, Thou art still my Lord and my
Saviour." At last, in 1844, he was called by the friends of Israel in
Basel, to be the principal of the house for proselytes in that city,
which office he held faithfully, with great ability and usefulness in
many directions, till his death in 1868. One of his sons became pastor
at Altbayern, and the other, Frederick, who was formerly pastor in the
Pfalz, succeeded him as principal and agent of the Basel Mission to the
Jews, and became a professor in the University there.
HERSCHELL, Moses (Christian Moritz), was born at Breslau, September 13,
1754. In 1804 he embraced Christianity, and at his baptism assumed the
name of Christian Moritz. Among his works, the following deserve
mentioning: "Kampf der Jüdischen Hierarchie," Breslau, 1784; "Jüdische
Intoleranz und Fanatismus in Breslau," _ib_. 1789; "Patriotische
Bemerkungen," _ib._ 1790; "Ueber die Allzufrühen Ehen der Jüdischen
Nation," 1790; "Apologie der Menschenrechte," Zurich, 1793; "Biographie
des Jüdischen Gelehrten und Dichters, Ephraim Moses Kuh," _ib._ 1791.
HERSCHELL, Rev. Ridley Hayim, born at Stozelno (Posen), April 7, 1807,
was strictly brought up, together with his four brothers, in Jewish
orthodoxy. When quite young he had a desire to become a rabbi, and left
home seeking to enter some rabbinical school. In his wanderings he was
overtaken by robbers, but escaped. At the age of fourteen, he came to
Rabbi Aron in the town where his grandfather Hillel resided; there he
remained two years among the Chassidim, seeking, after their manner, in
vain to become perfectly righteous before God. How he came to the
knowledge of Him who is the Lord our Righteousness, he has himself
recorded in the following pages:
"Having been favoured by God with pious parents, their great care was to
impress my mind from childhood with a profound reverence for God, and
for the Holy Scriptures. I was taught to repeat the morning and evening
prayers with great solemnity; and on the feast days my attention was
particularly drawn to the impressive confession in our Liturgy, 'It is
because of our sins we are driven away from our land,' &c. On the Day of
Atonement I used to see my devout parents weep when they repeated the
pathetic confession that follows the enumeration of the sacrifices which
were appointed by God to be offered up for the sins of omission; and
many a time I shed sympathetic tears as I joined them in saying, that we
have now no temple, no high priest, no altar, and no sacrifices. As I
advanced in years and understanding, my religious impressions became
stronger; fear and trembling often took hold upon me; and what was then
my refuge,--what the balm for my wounded spirit? Repeating more prayers,
and asking God to accept the calves of my lips. This satisfied my mind
at the time; but the satisfaction arose from ignorance of the character
of God as a holy and a just Being, and of my own state as a guilty
sinner, whose prayers proceeding from unclean lips, could not be
accepted as a sweet savour by the thrice holy Lord God of Sabaoth.
"I continued in this state of mind until I was about sixteen years of
age. During this period of my life, I often spent three sleepless nights
in the week, studying the Talmud, and other Hebrew works. I also
committed to memory several chapters of the prophets every week, in
order that I might become sufficiently familiar with the Hebrew language
to correspond in it. At this period I became acquainted with a Polish
Jew, who had studied several years at the University of Berlin, and
consequently had become acquainted with Gentile literature. He strongly
advised me to give up the study of the Talmud, and devote myself to the
study of German and secular literature. After a hard struggle of mind, I
resolved to follow his advice, and accordingly went to ----. Here there
was not only a change in the character of my studies, but an entire
change in my habits and mode of life. Many things that I formerly
regarded as essential parts of my religion, were considered by my
fellow-students _alt modisch_ (old fashioned), quite unfit for the
_aufgeklärten_ (enlightened). At first my conscience was much disturbed,
and I was often very unhappy; but, after a time, these feelings wore
off; I conformed to the manners of my fellow-students, and I also
'lived like a Christian,' as the Jews in those parts are wont to say of
such of their brethren as have no fear of God before their eyes. I
formed acquaintance with many young Gentiles; and this I could now do
with impunity, as neither they nor I troubled ourselves about each
other's religion; neither of us, in reality, having any, although they
called themselves Christians, and I was a Jew. The only thing that
reminded me what people I belonged to, was the look of contempt I
received now and then from Christians; and the little children in the
streets calling after me, 'Jew, Jew.' Then, indeed, I realized that I
belonged to the people who have become a proverb and a by-word among the
Gentiles.
"I well remember the first time I ever heard of one of my brethren
becoming a convert to Christianity. It was a young Jew, who was
apprenticed to a tradesman in the town where I studied. My idea of
Jewish converts to Christianity was, that they renounced their national
privileges and obligations; that they separated themselves from the
covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and publicly joined
themselves to the ungodly Gentiles, who live without God, and without
hope in the world. Although at this time I had laid aside many of the
outward observances of the Jewish religion, I had still a strong
attachment to the fundamental doctrines of the Jewish faith, because I
believed them to be of Divine origin. The idea of any Jew becoming a
Christian, therefore, seemed to me a dreadful apostasy; and I regarded
the youth above-mentioned with mingled pity and contempt, as one who
had forsaken God, and given up all hope of eternal life.
"I pass over in silence several years of my life, which were devoted to
the world, and the things of the world; during which time I kept up such
a measure of conformity to the customs of my religion as I considered
respectable and consistent; but my early convictions and impressions
were faded and forgotten; and I belonged to that class whom the Psalmist
designates 'men of the world, which have their portion in this life.'
"In process of time the Lord laid His afflicting hand upon me. The death
of my beloved mother, whose tenderness to me I remember to this day with
the deepest gratitude and affection, was a heavy stroke to me, and
plunged me into the utmost grief. I was then visited with sickness, and
my conscience became much disturbed. What I then endured can only be
expressed in the language of the sixth Psalm. I solemnly vowed to become
very religious; I resolved to fast one day in every week, to repeat many
prayers, and show kindness and charity to the poor. But this could not
pacify my guilty conscience, as the study of German literature had
weakened my confidence in religious observances,--had driven me from my
own religion, and given me nothing in its place. One day I was in acute
distress of mind, feeling, as David expresses it, that I had sunk 'in
deep mire, where there is no standing'; that all my own efforts to free
myself were of no avail, my struggles only made me sink deeper and
deeper. For the first time in my life I prayed extempore. I cried out,
'O God! I have no one to help me, and I dare not approach Thee, for I am
guilty; help, O help me, for the sake of my father Abraham, who was
willing to offer up his son Isaac, have mercy upon me, and impute his
righteousness unto me.' But there was no answer from God,--no peace to
my wounded spirit. I felt as if God had forsaken me; as if the Lord had
cast me off for ever, and would be favourable no more. I fully
understood the words of the Psalmist, 'Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs
of my head; therefore my heart faileth me' (Psalm xl. 12); and I felt
that all my devotional exercises were what the prophet Isaiah was
instructed to declare the sacrifices and offerings of the Jews in his
days to be,--vain oblations, an abomination in the sight of God.
"I was far from my home and relatives; and my gay companions, seeing I
was depressed in spirits, though ignorant of the real cause of this
depression, earnestly urged me to frequent the theatres, and other
public amusements, to cheer my mind. At first this partially succeeded;
but the merciful kindness of God left me not thus to my own devices, but
graciously interposed, and again roused me to seek after more solid
happiness.
"God, in his tender mercy, had again disturbed and disquieted my
conscience so much, that I fully realised the words of the Psalmist, 'I
am troubled, I am bowed down greatly, I go mourning all the day long,
for my loins are filled with a loathsome disease, and there is no
soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken; I have roared by
reason of the disquietness of my heart' (Psalm xxxviii. 6-8). I had no
peace nor rest; but wherever I went, or however I was employed, I
carried about with me a sense of misery that was intolerable. I could
say with Job, 'The arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison
whereof drinketh up my spirit' (Job vi. 4).
"One morning I went to purchase an article in a shop, little knowing
that God had there stored up for me the 'pearl of great price,' which He
was about to give me 'without money and without price.' The article I
purchased was wrapped up in a leaf of the Bible, which contained a
portion of the Sermon on the Mount. The shopkeeper was, probably, an
infidel, who thought the Bible merely waste paper; but God over-ruled
the evil for good. As I was walking home my eyes glanced on the words:
'Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.' This
arrested my attention, and I read the whole passage with deep interest.
"'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are
the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed
are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are
persecuted for righteousness' sake, for their's is the kingdom of
heaven.' (St. Matthew v. 3-10.)
"I was much struck with the sentiments contained in this passage, and
felt very desirous to see the book of which it was a portion; I had no
idea what book it was, never having seen a New Testament. A few days
after, God directed my footsteps to the house of an acquaintance, on
whose table lay a copy of the New Testament. Impelled by curiosity I
took it up, and in turning over the leaves beheld the very passage that
had interested me so much. I immediately borrowed it, and began to read
it with great avidity. At first I felt quite bewildered, and was so
shocked by the constant recurrence of the name of Jesus, that I
repeatedly cast the book away. At length I determined to read it
through. When I came to the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of St.
Matthew, I was astonished at the full disclosure of the nature of
Pharisaism, contained in it; and Christ's lamentation over Jerusalem, in
the concluding part: 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the
prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I
have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings, and ye would not!' affected me even to tears.
In reading the account of the crucifixion, the meekness and love of
Jesus of Nazareth astonished me; and the cruel hatred manifested against
Him by the priests and rulers in Israel, excited within me a feeling of
compassion for Him, and of indignation against His murderers. But I did
not as yet see any connexion between the sufferings of Jesus and my
sins."
In 1828 he entered the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, which
was under the superintendence of Erasmus Simon, and was baptized April
14, 1830, when he took the name of his godfather, Rev. Henry Calbone
Ridley. Owing to some scruples, he preferred to enter the nonconformist
ministry, in which he also zealously laboured for the spiritual welfare
of his brethren. He was one of the founders of the British Society.
Among his converts was Dr. A. Fürst, a very able missionary of that
Society. Ridley Herschell edited a periodical under the title, "Voice of
Israel." He wrote also an account of his journey to his home, "A Visit
to my Fatherland"; "Reasons why I am not a Roman Catholic." With the
assistance of Sir Culling Eardley he built Trinity Chapel, Regent
Street, where he was, one might say, a father to the converts in London
in 1845-6, and they reciprocated his love by sixty of them presenting
him with a polyglot Bible, in eight languages, in 1845.
HERSCHELL, Rev. David Abraham, a brother of the above, a very saintly
man, baptized in Basel, 1845, was first his assistant at Trinity Chapel
and afterwards, nearly all his life, minister of the Congregational
Church, Loughborough Park, Brixton.
HERSCHELL, Rev. Louis, another brother, laboured for many years as
missionary and deputation of the British Society, and was a minister at
Ware, and later at Peckham Rye, London. He died in 1890.
HERSCHELL, Rev. Victor, another brother, emigrated to the United States,
was baptized in the Seventh Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and was
ordained to the ministry there.
The son of the fourth brother, who remained in Judaism till late in
life, embraced Christianity in Germany.
HERSCHEL, Sir William, English astronomer, born at Hanover, November 15,
1738, died at Slough, August 22, 1822. His father, Abraham, brought him
up as a musician, and in that capacity he went to England in 1755, in
the band of the Hanoverian guards, and for a considerable time earned
his living as a teacher of music, obtaining a position as organist in
Bath, in 1760. This seems to show, in all probability, that either he
was baptized during this interval of five years in England, or that he
was baptized in Germany. For as a professing Jew he would scarcely have
ventured at that time to apply for the position of an organist, neither
would his services have been accepted. He is known as the founder of
Sidereal Science. His views on the position of the Solar System, in
relation to the Milky Way, still form the central factor in the modern
theory as to the constitution of the universe. He is also known as the
discoverer of the infra-red solar rays.
HERSHON, Paul Isaac, was born in Buczacz (Galicia) in 1818, where he
received an excellent Hebrew and Talmudical education. Going to
Jerusalem he came under the influence of Nicolayson, and was baptized by
him. He then studied in the Jerusalem Missionary College from 1842 to
1846. Afterwards he was appointed principal of the House of Industry,
and then from 1848-55 he laboured as missionary in England. Then he was
appointed as head of the model farm at Jaffa, which office he resigned
on account of illness in 1869, and returned to England. Henceforth he
devoted himself to literary work, and wrote "Extracts from the Talmud,"
1860; "The Pentateuch according to the Talmud," Hebrew, 1874; "A
Talmudical Miscellany," 1880; "Treasures of the Talmud," 1882. He died
in London, 1888.
HERTZ, Henrik, Danish poet, born at Copenhagen, August 25, 1798; died
there February 25, 1870. He embraced Christianity in 1832. His dramatic
works alone comprise eighteen volumes and were published in 1854-73.
HEYNEMANN. From this family in Saxony, whose head was Court
Commissioner, no less than nine persons embraced the Protestant faith
about 1749.
HIERONOMY, David, baptized with his wife and six children in 1676, was
nominated by the King Friedrich of Prussia as Inspector of the
Synagogue. He had to suffer martyrdom.
HIRSCH, Rev. David Jacoby, was born in 1820 at Sandersleben, in the
Duchy of Anhalt. His parents were strict Jews. He received his early
education at a school in Dessau. When he was a young man he came over to
England, and in 1844 got to know the late Dr. Marsh, who first spoke to
him of Christ. This led him to study the Word of God, and to enquire how
he, a sinner, could be saved. Subsequently, Dr. Baylee, of Birkenhead,
took a great interest in him, as he taught his boys German, French,
Latin, and Hebrew. From him he received instruction in the Christian
faith, and at the end of 1845 was baptized by him, and married his
daughter. Later on he was ordained by Bishop Sumner for the German
pastorhood at Liverpool, a post he filled until 1852, when he added to
his pastoral duties missionary work among the Jews, receiving a grant
from the Society for twelve years. He then retired until his death, in
1898, greatly missed by all who knew him.
HIRSCH, Paul Wilhelm, was baptized in 1692, taught Hebrew, and issued a
pamphlet in Berlin, 1717, under the title "Entdeckung der Tekuphath," in
which he exposes the superstition held by rabbinic Jews, and then
published in the calendar, that at the entrance of each of the four
seasons of the year the fluid of the vessels containing water is turned
into blood. This superstition has probably done them much harm.
HIRSCH, Siegfried, born in 1816, studied history under the celebrated
historian Ranke. Through the influence of Neander he became a devoted
Christian. In 1844 he was appointed professor of history in the
University of Berlin, where he was esteemed and beloved by the students.
He was one of the founders of the conservative paper "Kreuz Zeitung." He
died in 1860.
HIRSCH, Theodor, born 1806 in Altschottland, near Danzig, embraced
Christianity through the influence of Schleiermacher. He too became
professor of history, first at Danzig, and later, in 1865, at
Greifswald. In spite of his great learning, it is recorded that he was a
very quiet and humble man. He died in 1881.
HOGA, Stanislaus, a native of Casimir, Russia, was, after embracing
Christianity, a missionary of L.J.S. in London. He was mostly engaged in
literary work, and translated "Songs of Zion," a selection of English
and German Hymns, into Hebrew (1834--with additions, 1842); a
translation of McCaul's "Old Paths" into Hebrew; "Nethivoth Olam," 1851;
a Hebrew grammar of the English language, 1840; "The Controversy of
Zion," a meditation on Judaism and Christianity, 1845; "Halichoth Orah,"
which is a translation of Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress"; "Eldad and
Medad," which is a dialogue contrasting the New Testament and the
Talmud; "Malakh Haberith," a translation of the tract "Angel of the
Covenant." He also, together with Reichardt, revised the old edition of
the Hebrew New Testament.
ILIEWITZ, Alexander, a medical missionary long connected with the
Society's work in Jerusalem. It would not be easy to mention a
missionary who, throughout a long career of labour, had shown more
loving sympathy for his brethren, or more patience and self-denial in
labouring for their good, than he did. He was not a theologian, or a
Talmudical scholar, and was not fitted for carrying on learned
disputations with highly educated Jews. But he had a simple, trustful
faith, which made him never tired of proclaiming the way of salvation. A
learned rabbi, widely celebrated for his profound knowledge of the
Cabbala, complained that he had dared to preach Christ to _him_. "I did
not send for him," said the rabbi indignantly, "to tell me that the
Messiah has come. I sent for him to prescribe for my bad feet." He was
in a special way the friend and helper of the poor and unlearned. He
used to tell a sad story about a young Jew of this kind who died of
cholera in 1865. When dying, this poor lad whispered to Mr. Iliewitz as
he stood by his bedside, "You have often told me to 'kiss the Son lest
He be angry.' He _is_ angry! He _is_ angry!" and so passed away.
His early life was one of continuous trial and struggle. His father died
before he was born. At an early age he left home and became apprentice
in a surgeon's shop at Berditcheff, where he remained three years. He
then removed to Odessa, and afterwards to Galicia, where he stayed eight
years with a surgeon. He entered the college at Lemberg, passed the
examinations, and received his medical diplomas.
The crisis of his life was now approaching. He was taken ill, and this
made him think about his soul. "I knew the Almighty God," he wrote at a
subsequent period, "only from nature. I saw how gracious and merciful He
was towards me, and therefore I lifted up my hands and eyes to Him, and
prayed in my ignorance: O Lord, Thou hast made me so that I could learn
many scientific and useful things, grant me now also opportunity to be
better informed of Thy Holy Name. In this also the Shepherd of Israel
heard me." After his recovery he removed to Pesth, where he met
missionaries; he was taught the way of salvation. In 1845 he was
baptized, and in 1856 he was sent to Bucharest. Two years later he was
transferred to Jerusalem as assistant medical missionary, in which
capacity he laboured until within a year or two of his death. He passed
away on June, 1895, aged 80. Many will rise hereafter and call him
blessed, having received the first seeds of eternal life through him.
IMMANUEL, Siegmund (Salomon Jacob), born in Hamburg, 1792, died at
Minden, 1847. Seeking for true religion, he found it in the Gospel, and
embraced Christianity in 1809. When still a student at the Gymnasium of
Altona he wrote a treatise entitled, "Animadversiones ad Coluthe carmen
de rapta Helena cum specimine Versionis Germanicæ." He then studied
theology at Helmstadt, Göttingen and Leipzig till 1813. After being a
private teacher at the house of the Russian General Berdiageff he, in
1814, became state teacher at Hirschberg, in Silesia, and in 1821 was
appointed Principal of the Gymnasium at Minden, which position he held
until his death. He was the first principal to introduce gymnastics into
the school curriculum (1831), and to divide the Gymnasium into
departments of arts and sciences (1840). Among Immanuel's works may be
mentioned: "Die Anfänge der Reformation und die Gründung des Gymnasium
in Minden" (Minden, 1822), "Declamation Unterricht auf Schulen" (_ib._
1824), "Historischer Unterricht auf Gymnasium" (_ib._ 1827), "Gutachten
über Herrn Lorinser's Schrift zum Schutze der Gesundheit auf Schulen"
(Bieldfeld, 1836).
ISAACS, Rev. Albert Augustus. The cause of missions to Jews possessed a
very intelligent and warm-hearted advocate in the Rev. Albert Augustus
Isaacs, who was himself, as his name indicates, of Jewish parentage, and
who throughout his long life, identified himself with every movement for
the welfare of his brethren according to the flesh.
Mr. Isaacs was born in the island of Jamaica, on January 24th, 1826, at
Berry Hill, a coffee plantation, of which his father was the owner.
Jamaica was at that time one of the most prosperous colonies of Great
Britain. His father, Isaac Isaacs, had become a convert to Christianity
some years previously. We have no authentic particulars of his father's
life, although we have an idea that in the story of "The Star of Peace,"
by "Ben Abram," which ran through the first two volumes of "The
Everlasting Nation," the adventures of Isaac Da Costa, in Jamaica and in
England, were those of his own father.
Albert was his second son, and was sent to England for his education,
which was received at Maze Hill, Greenwich, under Dr. Smithers. The
religious instruction in the school, and preparation for confirmation,
though slight in themselves, led him to serious reflection, and were the
means of deciding him to give his heart to Christ at the age of
fourteen, and they influenced his future career. When he left school
Albert returned to Jamaica for four years, at the expiration of which
time, on the recommendation of Canon Carus, he entered Corpus Christi
College, Cambridge, being a contemporary of one who afterwards became
master, Dr. Perowne, and of Bishop Moule, of Mid-China. Young Isaacs'
residence at Cambridge was marked by a strict adherence to his
collegiate studies, which he commenced daily at five o'clock in the
morning. His religious life was very fruitful, he being a teacher in the
Jesus Lane Sunday School, the founder of the Cambridge University Prayer
Union, and the organizer in his college of successful efforts on behalf
of the Bible Society and the Church Missionary Society. He himself
ardently desired to become a missionary, his sympathies being especially
drawn towards East Africa. The door, however, was not open in that
direction, and so after taking his degree in 1850, he was ordained in
the same year by Dr. Davys, Bishop of Peterborough, and licensed to the
curacy of the parish church in that city, of which the Bishop's son, a
well known evangelical of those days, was the vicar. If our supposition
about "Ben Abram's" story is true, the following information from the
last chapter but one of the "Star of Peace" is interesting. We read
there that Isaac Da Costa (his father) had so arranged his movements as
to be present on an occasion of great interest to himself and others,
and with no little pleasure was looking forward to the opportunity of
witnessing his son's ordination. He had been unable to say what might be
the day of his arrival, as the voyage from Jamaica to New York was made
at irregular intervals, and it would appear that he arrived too late to
witness that rite, for we read, "All was silent as the night in the
little cathedral town in which Da Costa's son had begun his ministerial
work. It was late when the last train arrived from the west, and a cab
containing the father drove to the lodgings of the son. The sound of a
bell vibrated upon the ears of those who were slumbering; but it was not
so loud as to arouse them to consciousness. But early in the morning a
messenger arrived from the chief hotel to announce the arrival of Mr. Da
Costa. Telegrams were not so far available in those days as to enable
him to communicate the fact of his arrival. It was Saturday night, and
Da Costa had calculated on the enjoyment of the services of the Lord's
Day amidst the scenes of his son's labours. As these consisted of four
separate services--in whole or in part--he had the evidence that his lot
was not cast in idle, although it was in pleasant, places."
Mr. Isaacs remained in the curacy at Peterborough for two years,
discharging his ministerial duties with zeal and ability. In 1852 he
became an association secretary of the L.J.S., having charge of the
counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincoln. The following year he was
appointed assistant clerical and association secretary for the north
metropolitan district. Mr. Isaacs had married the eldest daughter of the
Rev. J. M. Johnson, rector of Scoulton, Norfolk, and a niece of Lord
Berners. She was a remarkably clever linguist and a student of Hebrew.
She died in 1856, after a very brief married life. After her death Mr.
Isaacs visited Palestine in the winter of 1856-7, and found the
particulars gleaned during that visit of much subsequent use in his
advocacy of the cause. He gathered the materials for subsequent books,
took numerous views of the country, and bought a property near Jaffa
called "The Model Farm," which, under an edict of the Sublime Porte,
was made over to him as a British subject. He visited Palestine again in
1869, and was a traveller also in various parts of the world.
Mr. Isaacs married, secondly, in 1861, the eldest daughter of the Rev.
S. H. Causton, Vicar of Highgate, and a niece of Lord Lilford, who died
in 1866, leaving two children, Miss Annie Isaacs and the Rev. Wilfrid
Henry Isaacs. Thirty years later, in 1896, Mr. Isaacs married Mrs.
Peppin, the widow of Surgeon-Major Peppin, and daughter of James
Herdman, Esq., of Zion House, co. Tyrone, Ireland, who survived him.
Mr. Isaacs was Jubilee Secretary for the L.J.S. during the year
commencing February 15, 1858, and ending on the same date in 1859, which
post entailed upon him much additional labour, to which he always looked
back with considerable pleasure. He resigned his secretaryship in July,
1859, having served the Society with great acceptance for nearly seven
years.
Mr. Isaacs now went to Jamaica on a short visit to his family, and
improved the occasion by giving lectures, which were attended by crowds,
in order to stir up an interest in the Holy Land. He had given a very
great deal of attention to photography, a difficult pursuit for the
amateur in those days, and was the first to introduce it into his native
country. On his return to England, he occupied successively posts at
Laura Chapel, Bath; in London; at Hanford, in Staffordshire; and at the
Priory Church, Malvern.
In 1866, he was appointed by Lord Berners, vicar of Christ Church,
Leicester, in his old diocese of Peterborough, where for more than 25
years he laboured in season and out of season, carrying on his ministry
on staunch Protestant and evangelical lines, and being surrounded by a
large band of fellow-workers, who heartily appreciated his teaching and
work. The parish was thoroughly re-organized; numerous useful agencies
started; the church restored and its accommodation increased; schools
and other buildings erected. Mr. Isaacs was known as "the Jew of
Leicester," and continued his great interest in all efforts for the
conversion of his brethren to Christianity. He also rendered much and
conspicuous voluntary aid to other Societies, notably the Church
Missionary Society, the Church Pastoral Aid Society, and the Church
Association, as well as to all local institutions and enterprises.
Mr. Isaacs took great interest in elementary education, and was returned
at the head of the poll, by a majority of nearly 4,000 votes over the
second candidate, at the first School Board election in Leicester. He
also greatly interested himself in, and was successful in raising the
tone of the Police Force, the members of which most thoroughly enjoyed
the winter and summer treats which he arranged for them. Mr. Isaacs was
also chaplain of the Leicester gaol, a work in which he took the keenest
interest, and where he was the means of leading many a sin-stricken soul
to the Saviour of sinners; and reforming the lives of those who had been
led astray principally through strong drink. The work at Leicester was
thus of a very arduous character. Notwithstanding the poverty of his
parish, Mr. Isaacs raised as much as £25,000 for various objects during
his incumbency. His whole ministry eloquently testified to the power of
a simple and faithfully proclaimed Gospel.
In 1891 Mr. Isaacs was appointed to the incumbency of St. Augustine's,
Bath, or, as it had long been known, Portland Chapel, which position he
held till 1899. It was a post after his own heart, with its associations
and traditions handed down from a long succession of faithful Protestant
ministers. For a short time he was in charge of Eaton Chapel, in London.
Mr. Isaacs frequently took chaplaincies on the continent, especially in
Holland and Germany, and in 1902 he became resident English chaplain to
Christ Church, Düsseldorf, and ministered to the congregation there up
to the day of his death, on Sunday, November 15, 1903.
His home-call was very sudden, and found him in full work, just as he
would have desired. He had no previous illness.
The funeral took place on Thursday morning, November 19, at the
beautiful Friedhof cemetery at Düsseldorf, where he rests. Amongst the
company present were Mr. Mulvany, the British Consul, with Mrs. and Miss
Mulvany, and about 120 other friends, mostly attendants at the Consulate
Chapel. The memorial sermons were preached on the following Sunday in
the Consulate Chapel by the Rev. T. H. Sparshott. When Mr. Isaacs went
there the congregation numbered only about thirteen persons. He soon
gathered round him, however, an attached people, upon whose affections
he obtained a strong hold, and his ministry was very gratefully
welcomed. Not only did he increase the attendance at the Sunday services
till an excellent congregation was built up, but on Thursday afternoons,
at his own residence, he held Bible readings and social gatherings,
which were warmly appreciated by a large number of young men and women.
Those who understand the intense loneliness of British residents in a
continental city, especially one somewhat off the beaten route of
tourists, will readily comprehend how much such kind hospitality and
friendly intercourse must have meant to strangers in a strange land.
Mr. Isaacs' travels familiarized him with Palestine, and he wrote "The
Dead Sea" (1857); and "A Pictorial Tour in the Holy Land" (1858). He was
also the author of the well-known "Biography of the Rev. Henry Aaron
Stern, D.D." (1886); and the editor of four volumes of "The Everlasting
Nation" (1889-92). Amongst his other publications may be mentioned "Emma
Herdman, Missionary Labours in the Empire of Morocco" (1900); "The
Fountain of Siena, an Episode in the Life of John Ruskin" (1900); "In
the Lord," a series of articles, published in the "English Churchman"
(1901); a series of articles entitled "The Tabernacle and the Temple,"
published in the "Protestant Alliance" magazine (1902); followed by a
second series in the same magazine, (1903), entitled "The Protestants of
the Bible"; and "The New Vicar" (1903), published posthumously.
Besides his literary gifts, Mr. Isaacs possessed considerable gifts and
talents in art and in music, being a keen judge of both. He had some
knowledge of colloquial French, Italian, and German, and not long before
his death gave a short address in German at a mission hall on "I am the
way, the truth and the life," which was listened to with marked
attention. He had promised to give a second address on the Wednesday
which followed his death.
Mr. Isaacs was a man of keen intellect, marked ability, deeply taught by
the Spirit of God, and a faithful servant of Christ during his long
ministerial career of fifty-three years. His Jewish descent, his
acquaintance with the language and customs of the Jews, his sympathy
with them and zeal for their conversion made him a strong and an
acceptable advocate in the cause of Jewish missions. He was a Life
Member of the L.J.S., and frequently attended the meetings of the
Committee, where his long and varied experience, and prudent counsels
were fully appreciated.
It will be easily gathered from the above that Mr. Isaacs' life was
extremely rich in incident and experience. He was blessed with wonderful
strength and health, which he attributed greatly to total abstinence
from alcohol and smoking, and enjoyed the friendship of many prominent
people, amongst whom may be mentioned Prince Münster.
Mr. Isaacs in his own person was a proof of the success of Jewish
evangelization, and of its far-reaching consequences, and we would close
this brief biography of our departed friend with the last words from his
"Star of Peace":--
"When Isaac Da Costa arranged for the baptism of his children he was, in
the providence of God, opening the floodgates of blessing for himself
and family. The consequences were to be widespread as well as important.
Up to that time, not one of his family in any of its branches had ever
been brought out of Judaism into the full revelation in Christ of the
Law and the Prophets. But when he closed his eyes, he left behind him
the record of every member of his family but one, both on his own and on
his wife's side, having embraced the Christian faith, and thus set their
seal to the truth and inspiration of God's Holy Word."
JACOB, John, a Jew from Poland, was baptized in England, in the
seventeenth century. In 1679 he wrote a tract under the title, "The Jew
turned Christian, or The Corner Stone," which was translated into Dutch
and published in Amsterdam, under the title, "Jesus de waare
Hoeckstein." In this he magnifies the grace of God as manifested in and
through Christ Jesus, by which alone fallen man can find acceptance in
God's sight and realize perfect peace and salvation.
JACOBI, B. T., was born in Königsberg, 1807. His father went to England,
and became a Christian there. During his absence his wife, not knowing
at all about her husband's religious change, embraced Christianity, and
was baptized with her four children. Jacobi studied theology, and was
appointed Chaplain, at the George Hospital, Königsberg, having also the
pastoral charge of the Workhouse, and giving religious instruction in a
High School. From 1858 he was also acting as missionary of the British
Society, and quite a number of Jews of the higher class were won by him
for the Saviour. He was permitted to celebrate his ministerial Jubilee
in 1877.
JACOBI, Karl Gustav Jakob, born at Potsdam, 1804, died at Berlin, 1851.
He was a distinguished Professor of Mathematics at the University of
Königsberg and Berlin from 1825, and, together with Abel, made his
epoch-making discoveries in the field of elliptic functions. Most of
Jacobi's papers were published in Crelle's Journal, "Für die Reine und
Angewardte Mathematik," and in the "Monatsberichte" of the Berlin
Academy of Sciences, of which he became a member in 1836. Of his
independent works may be mentioned: "Fundamenta Novæ Theoriæ Functiones
Ellipticorum," Königsberg, 1829; and "Canon Arithmeticus," Berlin, 1839.
Jacobi's lectures on dynamics were published in Berlin in 1866 and 1884.
The Berlin Academy of Sciences published his "Gesammelte Werke," 8
vols., 1881-91.
JACOBI, Heinrich Otto, born at Tutz, West Prussia, and educated in a
Jewish school in Berlin. He was baptized by Pastor Hossbach. After
teaching in several schools, he became Professor of Greek Philology at
the Fried. Wilh. Gymnasium of Berlin in 1860. He wrote several treatises
in the Greek language, and received the degree of D.Ph. from the
University of Königsberg, even without passing an examination. He died
in 1864.
JACOBSOHN, S. S., born in German Ostrowo, 1810. He went to Berlin and
studied painting in the Academy of Arts. After being an earnest enquirer
for a year, he was baptized by Pastor Kunze in 1831. Two years later he
entered the service of the Berlin Jewish Society, and laboured among the
Jews until 1871, with great patience and love toward them, so that many
acknowledged that he was a true Christian. He published a tract
entitled, "Immanuel, die Erscheinung des Messias in Knechtsgestalt,
seine Erlösungsthätigkeit und die Ausbreitung seines Reiches nach
Jesaia" (Berlin).
JACOBSON, Heinrich Friedrich, born in Morenwerder, 1804, died in 1868,
as a true pious Christian, lamented by all who knew him. He became
Ordinary Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Königsberg in
1836. He was author, among other works, of "Geschichte der Quellen des
Katholischen Kirchenrechts der Provinzen Preusen und Posen," (1839);
likewise "Geschichte der Quellen des evangelischen Kirchenrechts," of
the same provinces, (1844). His chief work was, "Das Evangelische
Kirchenrecht des Preusischen Staates und seiner Provinzen," (Halle,
1862-66).
JACOBSON, Jacob, was born at Goldingen, in the province of Courland,
Russia. He tells his own story thus:--
"My parents early taught me to value the precepts, rites, and ordinances
of Judaism, which they most rigidly observed. They therefore early
placed me under the care of a Talmudical tutor, to be instructed in the
Jewish faith, which consisted in the religious observances established
by the authority of the Rabbis, and the promised reward to those who
adhere to them.
"As I grew older, and began to reflect upon the nature and principles of
Judaism as practised in the synagogue, my understanding showed me that
such formal worship could not be in accordance with the will of God,
that something or other was deficient in the system, there being nothing
solid to influence the heart and give vitality to the worshipper. I
could not help experiencing at times something like a vagueness in my
mind with regard to my religious perceptions.
"By the providence of God I was led to leave home; and, although it was
contrary to the wishes of my parents, I set out on my journey, and in
due course arrived in England, in the City of London. After my sojourn
there for some time, I was incidentally brought into contact, for the
first time in my life, with one of those messengers who are sent out by
the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews,
whose work is to disseminate the Word of Life. It was by him that the
Gospel was, in the first instance, proclaimed in my ears. Though some
impression was made on my mind in consequence of his preaching, I
nevertheless resisted it, on account of the deep-rooted prejudice I had
imbibed against the Christian religion, and I refused his kind
invitation to go to his house.
"God, who guides the destiny of men in a most marvellous way did, by His
gracious design, cause me again to meet the same missionary, who once
more entreated me to accept Jesus as the Messiah, and to search into the
truth of the Christian religion. As on the former occasion, I again
resisted with increased strength, and again declined his kind
invitation. Still, the impression which was left on my mind on this
second occasion, led me to reflect upon the question at issue between
Jews and Christians, and whether this Jesus, whom our forefathers had
rejected, was the same who should redeem Israel. Thus I was for some
time perplexed and undecided, and in my perplexity I at length resolved
that I would go to the missionary's house, not with any desire to be
converted, but simply for further information.
"I thus became directed to read the Word of God, in order to verify the
predictions which refer to the Messiah, and their fulfilment in the
Person of Jesus Christ. I then began to read the New Testament, and to
compare this with the Old, and, in course of time, the doing so
terminated in my conviction that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, who gave
Himself a sacrifice for sin, and was cut off but not for Himself. After
some inward struggle of mind, my agitated feelings may be better
conceived than described, and in spite of all hindrances that presented
themselves, I was enabled, by the grace of God and the enlightening
influence of the Holy Spirit to decide for Christ, and He became my Lord
and Saviour. I avowed myself by public baptism a believer in the Triune
God.
"After some years of Christian life, I was called to the service of God,
in making known the same Saviour and the same Gospel I had received to
our benighted Jewish brethren, and, by the grace of God, I have been
engaged in so doing for fifteen years, in Newcastle and the district.
The Lord has graciously blessed my humble efforts, and unto Him I
ascribe the glory."
JACOBY, Dr. Ludwig, was the founder of German Methodism at St. Louis,
Mi., U.S.A., and helped to spread it in Germany, in the latter half of
the 19th century. His biography is found in the Rev. Fr. Kopp's
characteristic pictures from the history of Methodism.
JACOBY, Rev., was one of Dr. McCaul's converts in Warsaw, and missionary
of the Protestant Episcopal Church to the Jews in New York. He became
later on an earnest Army Chaplain in a small-pox hospital during the
Civil War, in Washington, 1864.
JAFFE, Philipp, M.D. and historian, born at Schwersenz, Posen, 1819,
studied under Ranke in Berlin, where he won the history prize. He
published "Monumenta Germaniæ Historica," 1854-63; "Bibliotheca rerum
Germanicarum," 1864; "Regesta pontificum Rom. a Condita Ecclesia ad
Annum post Chr. 1198"; in which work no less than 11,000 papal documents
and letters were investigated, and in consequence received the attention
of Pius IX. These ecclesiastical studies led him finally to embrace
Christianity in 1868.
JAFFE, Philipp, son of Rabbi Baer of Gnesen, Posen, was born in 1824.
Naturally he was brought up in strict orthodoxy and early imbibed
prejudices against Christianity, so that when reading a book in the
school he refused to utter the name of Jesus. His father sent him later
to Wales to learn commerce at the house of a relative. Then a Christian
lady gave him a New Testament which he secretly read, and that became
the means of his conversion. He studied in London, and at the age of
twenty-six he was ordained in the presence of the then Secretary of the
British Society, whose service he afterwards entered and laboured as a
missionary in Bristol and in Birmingham; and then from 1853 till 1857 at
Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Nüremberg and Hamburg. He was instrumental in the
conversion of a number of Jews, among whom was a Jewess 83 years of age,
and also in the conversion of a Roman Catholic priest.
JAIR and JAN, Dr. Aga, two Persian Jews, the latter of whom especially
was under the influence of the C.M.S. missionary, the Rev. Dr. Bruce.
They were baptized by the Armenian Protestant pastor in Hamadan in 1878.
JANASZ, Adolf, proprietor of an estate at Ploch, near Warsaw, having
together with his father embraced Christianity, and then afterwards
married the daughter of the L.J.S. missionary Rosenthal, henceforth
devoted himself to good works and especially to promote Christianity
among the Jews by word and deed. In 1863, after the Polish revolution,
he founded an orphanage on his estate, which he maintained at his own
expense. He also appointed a Bible-woman in Warsaw to visit the Jews,
and always showed sympathy and rendered practical help to the
missionaries, and sent from time to time considerable contributions to
the L.J.S. He published a little excellent work in German, entitled "Die
Zukunft des Volkes Israel," Berlin, 1882.
JANY, a Jewish officer who served in the Prussian army from 1806 to
1815, afterwards embraced Christianity, and then devoted himself
especially, till the age of 90, to the care of the deaf and dumb, and
was one of the presidents of the Deaf and Dumb Institution at
Königsberg.
JASU, was one of the three Falasha converts who carried on the work of
the mission during the imprisonment of the missionaries in Abyssinia.
JEDIDA, Hirsch Leib, Smlinsky, born in Gragewo, Russia, 1847. After
being strictly brought up and becoming Bar Mitzvah (confirmed) at the
age of 13, he studied at several rabbinic schools for five years, and at
last at Plotzk, where he formed a firm friendship with another Bachur
(student), by the name of Samuel Nasielsky, a native of Warsaw. They
both thirsted for knowledge and studied diligently. The other had one
day to return home, on account of the illness of his mother, and Hirsch
soon followed him. In Warsaw they came in contact with the missionary
Ifland, who showed them another source of knowledge besides the Talmud,
and which alone could satisfy not only their minds but also their souls.
Having read the New Testament, they were convinced that Jesus was their
Saviour. They resolved now to go to Germany together. Before doing so
they met with a monk, who tried to win them for the Church of Rome and
as they were not able to answer all his objections to Protestantism, the
result was, that they read the New Testament more diligently and
earnestly. Hirsch was further instructed by Ifland, and was baptized in
the Reformed Church at Warsaw, by Superintendent Splasczynsky in 1864,
when he received the name of Jedida (beloved of the Lord). His fervent
prayer before his baptism is recorded, but it is too long to reproduce
here. His friend, who had hitherto been hindered by his family, now
joined him, and they travelled together to Bromberg, where they were
welcomed by the missionary Koppel into his home at Salem. His parents
came to fetch him home, but he returned. Here Samuel was also further
instructed, but as Jedida got ill, he was sent to the Hospital Bethany
at Berlin, and he followed him there, where he was baptized in 1866, and
received the name of Luria, and very often visited his sick friend, to
whom he was attached, like David to Jonathan. But Jedida's earthly
pilgrimage now drew to a close, yet, before his departure, he composed a
Hebrew prayer as follows:--"O Lord! watch over my bed when my end draws
near and my soul departeth. Stretch Thou forth Thy hands to receive and
to bring it into Thy habitations. Place me among the heirs of Thy
kingdom. Satisfy me with Thy comfort and salvation. Make me to rejoice
in the light of Thy countenance, that I may ever live with Thee. Amen."
The Lord answered his prayer and gave him grace and strength to endure
excruciating bodily pains calmly and resignedly, and took him to
Himself in September, 1867. His friend followed him three years later
and was buried at his side.
JERTES, Dr., known to the Rev. F. W. Becker, laboured with great
blessing as a missionary at Frankfort-on-Main in 1838.
JESAIA, Paul, an educated Jew of Prague, after showing an inclination
towards Christianity at home, went to London on business about the
middle of the seventeenth century, where he came in contact with true
Christians. The Jews being then few in number in the city, intercourse
between them and Christians frequently took place on very friendly
terms. In Bohemia there arose a false Messiah who deceived the people.
On his way to London, a Jesuit at Antwerp tried to convert him to Roman
Catholicism. All this contributed to his searching for the truth, and
when he found it in the English Church, he at once joined it by baptism.
Then he wrote a treatise under the title, "A Vindication of the
Christian's Messiah," London, 1654. (Wolff, Bib. Heb. 4. N. 1811. d.)
JOACHIM, Joseph, born in Kittsee, Hungary, 1831, is known to have
embraced Christianity. He became a famous musician on the violin, and
founded a high school for music at Berlin in 1867.
JOACHIMSTHAL, born in Goldberg, 1818, was baptized by Pastor Schultz in
Berlin, 1842. He became eventually Professor of Mathematics in Berlin
and in Halle. He died in 1861.
JOHN, Evangelist, was one of those Jews baptized at Constantinople about
1827-8, in the time of Wolff, when they were put in prison and
bastinadoed.
JOLBERG, Madam Regine Julie (_née_ Zimmerman), was born at
Frankfort-on-Main in 1801. Her father was a wealthy man, and sent her at
the age of thirteen to a Christian school at Heidelberg, where she
received good impressions. In 1821 she married a Jewish lawyer, named
Dr. Neustetel, and they settled at Hanau. There the seed sown in her
heart at school began to spring forth, her husband too was influenced by
her and by an evangelical pastor who visited him in his sickness, and he
wished to be baptized, but died before he could realise his wish. She
gave him a Christian burial. Subsequently, in 1826, she was baptized
with her children, and married her former teacher, S. Jolberg. Her
second husband died three years later, and soon after the children she
had by him. Then she went to the village of Berg, near Stuttgart, in
1831, with the two children of her first husband, and there her
Christian faith was strengthened and deepened by the circle of Christian
friends around her. In 1841 she took a house at Leutsheim, where she
instructed children in knitting. This school became later an asylum for
poor children. This was four years after enlarged to admit a branch for
the education of teachers. Six years later, in 1851, she hired a small
castle in Nonnenwier, with garden and woods, from Baron Bücklin, because
she had already eighty nurses under her instruction and supervision.
This institution prospered and became well known, so that her example
was followed in different parts of Germany and other countries. After 25
years labour there were 300 Nonnenwier sisters in Germany and abroad,
and 260 nurses for children. She became known in Germany as Mutter
Jolberg, and rightly so, for indeed she was a mother in Israel.
JOSEF, an artist, was baptized in Stockholm, 1832, through the preaching
of the L.J.S. missionary Moritz.
JOSEPH, H. S., was precentor in the synagogue at Bedford, where he heard
the Gospel. In 1829 he resigned his office and went to Norwich, where he
was baptized by the Rev. Samuel Titlow. He wrote afterwards: "Reasons
for Renouncing Judaism and Embracing Christianity," Norwich, 1830. He
studied theology and was ordained in 1836 as minister or curate of St.
Simon's Chapel, Liverpool. With the permission of the Bishop of Chester
he established a Hebrew service. It may be mentioned, too, that on the
day of his ordination in Liverpool, six Jewish souls were baptized by
the Rev. H. Stewart, viz., Theodor Bernstein, and Joshua George Lazarus
with his wife and three children, and twelve others that year. In 1837
Joseph became connected with L.J.S., from whom he received a grant. He
was the first, as far as we know, to open a home for enquirers, of which
he had the charge for many years.
JOSEPHSON, Cornelius, was Flad's companion in the Gospel in Abyssinia.
JOSEPHSON, Karl and Ludwig, two brothers, who were converted in
Westphalia in the first half of the nineteenth century, and have given
to the Church in Germany quite a number of theologians and pastors.
JOSEPHSON, Van Reis, born at Stockholm in 1818, became a Christian
whilst at school. He then studied at the University of Upsala, and
graduated in 1842. Then he applied himself entirely to music, and became
Director of Music at the University. His compositions were popular in
the north, such as: "Vart land," "Rings Drapa," "Islossning." His church
compositions have made him famous, e.g., his "Kyrie," and his "Quando
Corpus."
JOSHUA, was colporteur in Syria and in Asia Minor about 1860.
JULIUS, Henrietta, sister of the physician Nicol Heinrich Julius,
attended the Church of Dr. Routenberg in Hamburg, which caused her to
embrace Christianity, and was baptized in 1820. Her brother became a
Romanist, but lived with her in harmony. She wrote a German biography of
Elizabeth Fry.
KAHN, David Isaac, a physician at Uhlefeld, called afterwards
"Christfreund," received Christian literature from the Mission at Halle,
and this alone was the cause of his and his whole family embracing
Christianity at Cadolzburg in 1739. The eldest son who still hesitated,
was baptized afterwards.
KAHN, Rev. J., L.J.S. convert, graduated at Cambridge. After being
curate in various parishes and then Vicar of Bishopstone, Sussex, he
became Vicar of St. Stephen's, Holloway, in 1884.
KALKAR, Christian Andreas Herman, born November 27th, 1802, at
Stockholm, died at Gladsaxe, February 3rd, 1886. He received his early
education from his father, who was a rabbi and a member of the
consistorium, and at the schools of Copenhagen, where, in 1818, he
became a student of law. In 1823 he embraced the evangelical faith and
studied theology, passing his examination in 1826. After being teacher
at Oldensee, from 1827 to 1841, he travelled in Spain, and was appointed
minister at Gladsaxe and Herloi in 1844. Among Kalkar's many works may
be mentioned--"Evangelische Missionsgeschichte," 1857; "Geschichte der
Römisch-Katholischen Mission," 1862 (German translation, Erlangen,
1869); "Geschichte der Christlichen Mission unter den Heiden," 1877
(German translation, Gütersloh, 1879); "Die Mission unter den Juden,"
1868 (German translation, Hamburg, 1869); "Israel og Kerken,"
Copenhagen, 1881. From 1871 to 1880 Kalkar was editor of the "Theologisk
Tidskrift."
KALORIA, Rev. John B., a native of Jerusalem when he for the first time
heard the Gospel from the L.J.S. missionaries. After his conversion he
studied at Basel, and was then sent out to Uruguay as pastor and teacher
in a German Colony there. About 1887, he assisted Mr. Eppstein in
London, and then went to the United States, where he became engaged in
Ministerial work, contributing valuable articles to the Jewish
Missionary periodical at New York, "The People, the Land and the Book."
KAMERAS, Rev. Nathanael, missionary in Vienna, of the British Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews. The following is an
abridged extract from his autobiography:--
"On the road leading from Russian Lithuania to Russian Poland there
stands a large and lonely inn. It was there that I first saw the light
of day in the year 1862. A clay-floored entrance divides the rooms of
this extensive house into two rows; on one side are the rooms for the
strangers, who lodge here over night, the large tap-room, and the small
rooms belonging to my parents; on the other, a one-windowed chamber,
where our teacher slept, and the hall, a pretty large room, set apart
for prayer and study. It contained long narrow tables and forms, an
ornamented cupboard on the eastern side, in which the Thora-rollen (law
scrolls) were kept, a prayer-desk with a seven-branched brass candelabra
and a hanging lamp. The male members of our family, and Jews from the
neighbouring villages, assembled there for Divine Service, to which the
women listened in an adjoining room. There, too, our teacher instructed
my four brothers and myself in the Hebrew language, and in the Talmud.
As soon as I was five years of age, my parents, wrapping me up in a
Tallith (prayer-mantle), solemnly brought me in there, in order that I
might receive the necessary instruction; so that from that moment I
devoted myself exclusively to study. Every other occupation, every other
employment, every recreation, game, or fun of childhood, all that makes
the heart light and the body strong, was banished from my life. I felt
like a bird imprisoned in a cage, and debarred the free movement of its
limbs; outside, was the world in all its beauty, where numbers of joyous
creatures were flying about in the full enjoyment of their individual
freedom, whilst I, powerless, clung to the bars. Before my eyes lay a
landscape, rich in rural splendour; as far as I could see, village after
village, surrounded by fruit-laden trees, presented a most cheerful
aspect, and from the window I could watch the Christian children at
their play, enjoying the fresh air of freedom in the flowering fields
and sprouting meadows. Amidst the songs of birds, the rustling of leaves
and the roar of the forest, I caught the sound of happy human voices,
whilst I, chained to my books all day and until late at night, was
forced to pore over marriage contracts and divorces and other similar
things, which would have been better kept from my childish reason. 'Oh,
if I were only that poor farm-servant coming home from the fields with
the tired horses, or that ragged boy driving his cows home!' Thus I
sighed. But all my longings and wishings were useless; I had to go over
the same tiresome road that all the Jewish children of orthodox parents
must labour through. The master behind me, drove me on with a volume in
one hand and the rod in the other; my father drove me, my relations
drove me, and thus, without rest or quiet, I was hurried through all
those voluminous works that are of no value for practical existence
whatever, so that the years of my childhood passed by, joyless and
unenjoyed.
"This Jewish elementary school, called Cheder, seemed to me just like a
prison, and the teacher, who bore the title of Melamed, I looked upon as
a jailer, so that when the news reached me of my parents' resolve to
send me to a Yeschiva, I welcomed it with the same joy with which a
convict welcomes his acquittal after long and hard imprisonment.
"It was not difficult to find a suitable Talmud school for me. The
son-in-law of our district Rabbi was Rosh-Yeshiva (professor at a Talmud
college) in a town where an uncle of mine lived. Thither my parents sent
me shortly after I had been confirmed (Bar mitzvah), that is to say,
when I had completed my thirteenth year. There, in his private lodgings,
I visited Rabbi Schimele Wolf, for so the Talmud lecturer was called,
and begged him to accept me as a pupil. At first he received me very
coldly, and with dignity that involuntarily pointed to the importance of
his position, but after I had delivered the recommendations I brought
from his father-in-law, and had told him that his family doctor was my
uncle, the stern look in his coal-black, thoughtful eyes, that shone
like two glowing specks out of his pale face, fringed by a black beard,
relaxed, and with extreme friendliness, he dispensed with the usual
examination on entrance, and ordered his servant to lead me to the
Yeshiva, and assign me a place there. We were still at a considerable
distance from our destination when a great noise of human voices broke
on my ear, and when at last I entered the hall, in which the Yeshiva was
held, I was quite stunned by the terrific noise that was being made
there. More than a hundred boys, youths of about thirteen to twenty
years of age, were assembled, each one screaming and moving about in
unrestrained restlessness. Some of them were sitting round long, narrow
tables, continually swaying the upper part of their bodies backwards
and forwards or from side to side. Others were standing in front of
small portable desks, leaning over them or swaying to and fro with them,
or going round and round them. Each boy had a ponderous volume open
before him, from which he chose a passage, that he quoted at the top of
his voice. One roared like a lion, 'Omar Rabbi Akiwa (Rabbi Akiwa said)
sa......id, sa......id ..Ra......bbi...A......ki......wa..., oi Mamuni
(Oh Mammy) Rabbi, oi Tatutim, (Oh Daddy) Akiwa, oi Ribene schel olam (Oh
Lord of the World) said; said Rabbi Akiwa; what did Rabbi Akiwa say? A
...ki....wa...sa......id...,' and so on for hours. Another sang very
daintily, imitating the voice of the chanter in sad and joyful melodies,
such as had remained in his memory from the various festivals, or he
composed something at will, with the following words; 'According to the
doctrine of Samai it is permitted to eat an egg that has been laid on a
holiday on that same day, whereas according to the doctrine of Hillel,
it is forbidden.' My arrival attracted their attention and had a
subduing effect; there was a lull. Suddenly a voice cried: 'The
Massgiach (overseer) is coming.' This was uttered in the same sing-song
manner, as though the boy were studying some sentence out of the Talmud.
It was repeated by a second, then a third and a fourth in the same
manner, and was the signal for them all of one accord to begin their
lamentations and singing afresh, with increased vigour, endeavouring to
drown each other's voices. It is in this way that these pale boys and
youths prepare for the 'Schir' (lecture), which lasts from two to four
o'clock in the afternoon, taking place daily, and being carried out in
the following manner:--The scholars stood round in a semi-circle at the
feet of the Rabbi, who sat on an elevated chair at a desk. Charging one
pupil to read a certain passage out of the Talmud, he desired another to
read the commentaries to it, and again a third to read and explain the
marginal notes to those commentaries.
"In the quiet cloisters of a large town I met a lonely man, living one
day like another, a quiet and edifying life, to whom I felt particularly
attracted. His head was a real study; a long white beard covered his
breast, and he had a high, broad forehead, a finely arched nose, and
large blue eyes, in which a whole world of goodness lay; over his
features there was an expression of touching humility, as though he
would excuse himself to everyone for daring to breathe the air and to
fill a space in the universe. Hoping that with him I should not fare
badly, I settled down there, and indeed, I did not regret it. From the
beginning he showed me his goodwill in unlimited measure, taking care
that I should receive free board from the prayer-men, who assembled
there three times a day, and in such wise that I boarded with a
different one each day in the week; besides which he contrived to give
me ample pocket-money. I was often allowed to substitute him in reading
'Mischnais for anniversaries' (extracts from the Talmud to be read for
the departed souls on the respective days of their death, which the
relations generally remunerate well). He took me with him wherever he
was called to sing psalms or say prayers, either at the cradle of a
new-born child that had scarcely opened its eyes to the light, or at the
bedside of the dying, closing them to the light, to a wedding-feast or
to a death-watch, and everywhere money poured in. Thus we lived together
day and night in a neighbourly, friendly manner in the cloisters, and
nothing lay further in the recluse's thoughts than that he should rob me
of my peace of mind, which, however, he did without wishing to do so.
His fervent prayers for the redemption of the people of Israel it was
that had such a striking effect on my mind. Years will not efface from
my memory the sight of that old man at midnight, when all around was
quiet, and he thought himself unobserved, taking off his shoes and
seating himself on the floor, imploring the Lord in heartfelt sincerity,
in His mercy to return to Jerusalem and reign there as He had
prophesied. I still hear those heart-rending tones, in which he prayed;
'Stretch out Thy right hand, Oh God! and in mercy redeem the people of
Israel. Oh, that it might soon be announced to the unhappy nation: "Your
Redeemer has come to Zion!"' Every sentence was accompanied by a sigh or
broken by a sob. He imagined me to be asleep, but I heard every word,
and was often moved to tears, involuntarily beginning myself to pray
eagerly and perseveringly that the Messiah might soon come and release
His people from captivity. From henceforth I devoted much thought to the
subject, and, in my childish fancy, pictured to myself how glorious it
would be when the Messiah would come, and, as a child rejoices to greet
its father from afar, I looked forward, daily and hourly, to the advent
of the Redeemer of Israel. On the other hand, the question often worried
me; Why does not God answer such real and fervent prayers? Why does not
the Messiah come to release His people? I did not dare to speak to Rabbi
Todresch, such was the name of the recluse, on the subject, but once
when a Talmudist from some well-known Talmud school came back to his
home in the cloisters, I told him what it was that troubled me so much,
and my astonishment was indeed great when I heard his answer: 'Prayers
such as those will and can never be answered; for the Messiah has come.'
In vain did I beg him to explain it to me, but he purposely avoided all
my questions, telling me only so much that he possessed a book which
explained the question thoroughly, but which he could not entrust to me
for fear of the consequences such a step might have for himself;
besides, it would be of no use to me, as I should have to give up my
present career entirely. 'If you want to know the full truth,' he said
to me, 'you must go abroad, for only there can you search after the
truth freely and independently; whereas here, you must sell your freedom
for your bread.' Tortured by restlessness, despair and longing, and
fearful lest my parents should get ear of the change in my heart, when
they would certainly oppose my plans, I decided to follow his advice at
once and to leave Russia.
"After taking a hearty leave of the recluse, and my new friend, the
Talmud student, I seized my staff and went out into the wide world, a
toy for wind and weather. Like a nomad, I wandered uncertain, for a long
period, from town to town and from village to village. It was quite late
often when I reached a strange place; all the doors and gates were
closed, and I turned my steps to the ever open house of God, entered
upon a 'Kasche' (a Talmudic question of dispute) with any one of those
present, and I immediately felt at home, had my board and lodging, and
the pious prayer-men, who came there daily, openly and secretly pressed
their charitable gifts into my hand. Thus I was enabled to wander
through the whole of Russia to the frontier, which, having no passport,
I could not legally cross, and was therefore forced to smuggle myself
through by giving a man a rouble to conduct me through a wood which led
into Germany. Now that I was in another country, my position became a
different one. On reaching the first German town, I asked as usual for
the 'Beth-Hamedrash' (Jewish prayer and school-house), but to my
greatest dismay no one could give me any information. Only one thing I
was aware of, and that was that I could not make myself understood at
all. It was evening; the first stars, those companions of my wanderings,
began to twinkle in the sky, but into my sad heart no light would enter;
there all was dark and dull. Here I was, standing at the corner of a
street leaning against a post, a little bundle in my hand, without
means, work, knowledge or language; alone, forsaken, not knowing where
to turn. A lady passing by stopped and looked at me inquisitively. The
sight of a slender little lad, clothed in the long wide Kaftan, with a
pale face and sad eyes filled with tears, must have aroused her
sympathy. She addressed me, but finding I did not understand a word she
said, she gave me a few pence and showed me an inn where I could pass
the night. It was certainly a very cheap night's-lodging that I had, but
I was obliged to sleep amongst tipsy room-companions, to whom I was much
too interesting a personage for them to leave in peace. Some would
insist on making a common covering of my long coat; others played
incessantly with my long fore-locks, whilst others again were interested
in my Arba-Kanfoth (a garment with fringe at the ends) and were
continually pulling at them. It was a long, weary night that I passed
there, and as soon as the rising sun shone faintly through the dirty
window-panes I hastened out, and, being once more alone, allowed my
tears to flow. For the first time since my departure home-sickness with
all its overwhelming power quite overcame me, and I felt the seriousness
of life in its full meaning. However, I soon took courage again, laid my
Tephillin (prayer-strap) on and implored the Lord to lend me His
assistance and protection, taking a solemn oath that from henceforth I
would blindly let myself be guided by Him in all things. With this
sacred oath and with the firm conviction that the Lord would carry out
all to His glory, I went on my way. With great difficulty and many
privations I reached Breslau, where I met a man from Russia, who
assisted me in obtaining a place as instructor of the Hebrew language in
a Polish Jew's family. After staying there a few months I seemed,
curiously enough, to be drawn as by an invisible hand towards Vienna.
The money I had earned as a teacher amply sufficed to take me there, and
after a lengthy search, I found inexpensive lodgings in a Jewish family.
(The head of the family is dead, but the wife still lives here, and her
son is now, thanks be to God, a dear believing Protestant Christian.)
Here I became acquainted with a Jewish shoemaker, who was the first to
give me a New Testament in the Hebrew language to read. The very first
sentence in that book was sufficient to draw me to it like a magnet, for
there it was written what that Talmud-scholar had briefly told me,
written clearly and in full, namely, that the Messiah, who until now had
been the object of my prayers, my desires and hopes, had actually been
born. On asking him to tell me something more about the book, the
shoemaker conducted me to the missionary, Herr E. Weiss, who advised me
to go to Pastor Schönberger, preacher at Prague, where I found a very
friendly welcome. I passed the winter there, but, as Pastor Schönberger
was obliged to be away for a year, he took me to his friend, the Rev. D.
A. Hefter, L.J.S. missionary at Frankfort-on-the-Main, who kindly took
me under his paternal care.
"The year 1881 was a decisive one for me. The Word of Life rooted itself
deeper and deeper in my heart; prejudices vanished one by one, and the
love of Jesus took their place. I perceived how deeply my heart had been
wounded by sin; but at the same time I acknowledged the most lovable of
all the children of the earth, the Son of God, who has redeemed me too
through the shedding of His innocent blood, and has healed all my
wounds. On the 14th of August, 1881, I was baptized by the missionary,
Herr Hefter, in the 'Dreikönigskirche' at Frankfort-on-the-Main,
receiving the names Nathanael Karl Albert. At first I learnt the art of
bookbinding in Frankfort, but as the Rev. D. A. Hefter desired me to
become a pupil at the missionary-house in Barmen, I complied with his
desire most willingly, regarding this step as one indicated by the Lord.
One year I passed in the preparatory-school of the missionary-house, and
four years in the seminary itself. During these years I received
abundant blessings from the Lord. I was led deeper and deeper into the
Spirit of the Word of God, and guided to more independent search by
teachers endowed with truly divine minds, and treated with the greatest
affection by a friendly circle of brethren, among whom I was permitted,
thanks be to God, to grow stronger in faith, more fervent in love, and
riper in understanding. To serve the Lord in His empire, and to win
souls for Him out of His ancient people of the covenant, was my most
coveted desire, and this too the Lord has granted me in His endless
goodness and mercy. At the end of the year 1887 I passed my final
examinations, and at the beginning of 1888, in answer to the proposal of
the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews, I
was permitted to begin my active duty among Israel in Vienna. Three
years later, in 1891, I received my ordination from the celebrated
theologian of Würtemberg, Dr. Burk, in Stuttgart.
"One incontestible certainty has been proved to me both in the wonderful
guidance of my life as also in my profession, which I now hold for more
than sixteen years, that of myself I can do nothing, not even the
slightest thing, and imbued with the conviction of my powerlessness and
utter helplessness, of my own poverty and wretchedness, I have learnt to
make use of the sweetest privilege of our life, namely, the subjection
of my own will to the will of my Saviour, Jesus Christ."
KAUFMANN, Rev. Moritz, T.C.D., a native of Germany, convert and student
of the L.J.S. about 1860, was ordained Deacon in London, 1865; priest in
the diocese of Meath, 1869. He held two livings in Ireland, was
Lecturer, Tutor, and Assistant Chaplain of St. Aidan's College,
Birkenhead, from 1877 to 1883. In 1884 he was appointed Vicar of
Erpingham, and afterward Rector of Ingworth, Norfolk. Dr. Kaufmann
obtained the prize for Hebrew, Chaldaic and Syriac, and is the author of
the following works: "Socialism, its Nature, its Dangers, and its
Remedies Considered," 1874; "Utopias, or Schemes for Social Improvement
from Sir Thomas More to Karl Marx," 1879; "Christian Socialism," 1888;
"Charles Kingsley, Christian Socialist and Reformer," 1892; "Socialism
and Modern Thought," 1895.
KAUTZ, Christian Friedrich, baptized in Berlin, 1702, published in 1703
"Des 12 jährigen Jesu vom Nazareth Verstand im Fragen und antworten,
darüber sich die juden verwundern," also "Erkannte Göttliche Wahrheit
aus der Schrift Alten und Neuen Testamentes," Waldenburg, 1716, and a
"Catechismus für Juden," 1720.
KEYPER, a native of Prague, was Rabbi in Schleusinger, where he was
converted and baptized by Superintendent Friedrich Ernest Weis in 1715.
He afterwards was lecturer on Jewish antiquities in Altorf and in
Regensburg. Later he gave lessons in Talmud and Rabbinics at Bremen.
Wolff in Bib. Heb. 3, 4, N. 1356 b. speaks of him as a learned, upright
and sincere man.
KIEL, a physician from Roumania, made, as a pious Jew a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem, thinking that in the Holy City he would find spiritual
satisfaction and peace, but he did not find it in the Judaism that he
found there, but in the Gospel which was preached by the missionaries.
He and his wife were baptized by Bishop Alexander in 1844, and he
laboured afterwards as a medical missionary in Safed.
KLEIN, Julius Leopold, a native of Hungary, born at Nocskolez, 1810,
died in Berlin, 1810. He was a physician, poet and writer. His works
appeared in seven volumes, under the title "Dramatische werke," Leipsic,
1871-2.
KÖBNER, Pastor Julius, was born in Denmark in 1806. Was by profession an
optician like Spinoza, but God vouchsafed to him greater spiritual sight
than to the philosopher. He embraced Christian faith in the Lutheran
Church of which he became a minister, but afterwards joined the
Baptists. Endowed with spiritual and mental gifts, he henceforth
laboured with great zeal in Copenhagen, where he built the Christian
Chapel, and also in many other parts. Later he laboured in Berlin, where
he died 1884. His notable writings are, "Das Lied von Gott," an epic
poem from the creation to the redemption of the world. "Die Waldenser,"
a dramatic poem with notes, "Die Neue Erde." On his hundredth birthday,
1906, appeared a hundred of his choicest sermons in the press, under the
title "Lebens Wasser."
KOFLER, Carl, born in Lemberg, 1820, was baptized with his parents at
Breslau in 1822, graduated at the University there, and was appointed
Vicar in Bad Lardeck in Silesia in 1851. He is recorded to have been a
gifted preacher of the Gospel and a conscientious pastor. He died in
1877.
KOPPEL, Dr. J., born in the Archduchy of Posen in 1830. He began to
learn Hebrew when he was three years old. Afterwards he attended a Roman
Catholic school, where he was badly treated, and he imbibed strong
prejudices against Christianity. In 1846 he entered a Jewish seminary
for teachers at Bromberg, and when he finished his studies, he was
appointed teacher by the Government in a town near the Russian border,
and also interpreter. At that time he realised that there was a great
contrast between the Bible and the Talmud, but he had no inclination
towards Christianity whatever. Coming to Berlin, he made the
acquaintance of Dr. Jaffe, whose brother was a missionary of the British
Society, and he advised him to go to him for Christian instruction. The
result was that he was baptized by Jaffe. In 1860, Koppel entered the
service of the British Society, and laboured at first in England. In
Bristol he became acquainted with George Müller and with his
institution, which served him to good purpose in his future activity.
Returning the same year to Bromberg, it happened that one day a pair of
boots were stolen from him, and a poor beggar boy was suspected of the
theft. This incident awakened in Koppel's heart deep compassion towards
the poor neglected boys, and he applied to the municipal authorities for
permission to found a Home or Ragged School for them where they might
receive Christian training. This permission was, after some hesitation,
granted, and the Home was opened in 1864, which served at the same time
as a refuge for gutter children, orphans, Jewish enquirers and converts.
Koppel then displayed great activity together with Dr. Ben Zion, Dr.
Mossa and other friends whom he gathered around him. They instructed the
children, visited the prisons, preached to the Jews, of whom thirty-five
were converted there. Koppel laboured in faith, and the means of support
were not wanting. A waiter sent him 200 thaler and rich people helped
him liberally. In 1866 there were seventy inmates in the "Home" at
Salem. In 1869 Koppel, not feeling strong enough to carry on the work,
delivered it to others and went to London, where he did similar work and
was well known at the Mildmay Conference Hall. Subsequently he went to
Texas to found a colony there.
KRONHEIM, Joseph Nathaniel, a native of Magdeburg and son of wealthy
parents. In his youth he led a restless life, served as a soldier under
Napoleon I. in his Russian campaign, and then was schoolmaster in
Magdeburg, where he bought a New Testament, to teach moral principles
from it. The rabbi, on hearing of this, dissolved the school. He then
came to England and made the acquaintance of Bishop Alexander, who
preached the Gospel to him. He then took more time to investigate the
question at issue between Judaism and Christianity, travelling in the
country to sell optical instruments, till he came to the Rev. Wyndham
Madden, of Woodhouse Parsonage, near Huddersfield, by whom he was
further instructed and baptized in 1832. In 1835 he settled as optician
in Belfast. A year later the friends of the Jews there, observing his
Christian character, ability, and great Biblical knowledge, asked him to
give up his business and become an agent of the Belfast Auxiliary
Society, which he did, though he was then sixty years old. Through him a
lively interest was awakened in Ireland for the cause of missions among
the Jews. He laboured there for seventeen years, and died in 1852.
KRÖNIG, Rev. Joshua Charles Solomon, heard the Gospel in Paris from the
L.J.S. missionary Markheim, and was baptized by him in 1857, in the
chapel of Lewis Way, when Lord Shaftesbury was one of the sponsors.
After doing good work in London as a city missionary, he studied
theology at King's College, was ordained by the Archbishop of York,
1871-1872, and was appointed by trustees to the Vicarage of St.
Barnabas, Hull, where he laboured for the rest of his life as a faithful
minister of the Gospel to his congregation and missionary to his own
people, esteemed and beloved by them both. In 1875 he opened a
reading-room for Jews, which he called a "Beth hamedrash," in which he
placed one of his own converts as house-father. In 1881 he bought a
house for this purpose, on which he placed the inscription, "The doors
of Zion, house for studying God's Word." In 1884, he told a pathetic
story of a Jew who was a blasphemer, but whom the power of the Gospel
converted and regenerated, so that he became his assistant in the work
of the mission. Krönig was much sought after as a deputation.
KROPVELD, Rev. E., Pastor at Ablasserdam in Holland and Secretary of the
Dutch Reformed Church Mission to the Jews. He was brought up in strict
Jewish orthodoxy. Starting in life in a merchant's office and living
carelessly, he one day had a conversation with a Christian peasant, who
assured him that he was certain of entering at last into the heavenly
Canaan. This made a deep impression upon him, and he began to live in
stricter conformity with Judaism. At the age of seventeen he heard the
L.J.S. missionary Pauli preach, and felt the power of the Gospel
message, which led to his being baptized. He then became a colporteur of
religious books, when he suffered much from his friends, yet lived so
economically that he managed to save sufficient money to enable him to
study for the ministry. He then became Pastor in Rundem, Minnertsga,
and at last in Ablasserdam. He wrote several books in relation to the
Jews.
KUH, Christian Daniel, a merchant in Breslau, having been convinced of
the truth of Christianity, was baptized in the Evangelical Church at
Breslau in 1805. The result was that his wife and three children, his
brother-in-law Hans August Fisher, and his fiancée followed his example.
KUNERT, Rev. Karl, was born on May 25th, 1870, at Krotoschin, in Posen,
one of the Prussian provinces. Of his history he says:--"My father was a
furrier, who, in the family of his grandfather, a rabbi at Breslau,
received not only the usual superficial knowledge of Judaism, but at the
same time a truly orthodox education, and, as a pious Jew, he took good
care that the laws of his people should be strictly kept by his whole
family.
"I was named Karl, after this great grandfather, and I was expected to
follow his profession likewise. As far as I can remember, I assisted at
Divine service every morning and evening from about the third year of my
life, and from the age of four I joined in the prayers whenever they
were offered. Nor were the other branches of my education in any way
neglected. Being able to read and write when quite a little boy of five,
I became well versed in the history of my people and country. When nine
years of age I was sent to the college of my native town, and later on,
when my parents removed to Breslau, I visited the Catholic college of
that town, but at the same time the Jewish school. It was at this
period of my life that I got a very strong antipathy to Christ and His
adherents. Is that to be wondered at? All I saw was the thoughtless
worship of Popish idols. And then, the greater evil to my young soul was
wrought by my fellow-pupils, who, though educated in the Catholic faith,
nevertheless found much pleasure in laughing at each new thought or
religious exercise, and spent much time in reading all kinds of immoral
books.
"I was very fond of reading, and in the memorable year 1885, the Lord
led me to purchase the New Testament. There was a certain sacristan at
Breslau who sold the books and tracts of the British and Foreign Bible
Society, and often on Sundays, about dinner time, I went to see him and
to buy books to read. In this way I came into possession of the New
Testament in Greek, German and French. But the sacristan never uttered a
word in favour of the Gospel, and I thought him a very greedy man who
sold Christian books for the only purpose of gaining money. Such
behaviour in a professing Christian, together with the sad experiences
in my school-time, made me an embittered enemy of Christ and His Church.
During my time at college I visited the University and the Rabbinic
Seminary, in order to prepare myself for the chosen profession of a
Rabbi. The bitter hatred of all who confessed Christ grew more and more
intense, and at last, I triumphantly delivered a public lecture at
Berlin against Christianity.
"But already, at the time of my visiting the Rabbinic Seminary, I felt
an inner restlessness, and even when I changed theological studies for
other pursuits, this uneasiness would not quit me. I used to perform the
Jewish law with a still greater zeal, notwithstanding that the inner
voice told me most distinctly that I was wrong and would never find true
happiness in this way. I could speak to no one about this conflict of my
soul. The Jews did not understand me, and Christian people I most
heartily despised.
"I then resolved to go to Paris, firmly believing that new surroundings
would restore my peace of mind, and I felt I must conquer the heartfelt
unrest at any rate. But on the very day of my arrival in Paris I took
the train for Antwerp, and the next morning found me wandering about the
streets of that town in dread despair. At length I resolved to return
home, and that once more at Berlin I would seek rest in work. But in
vain. I wandered under the old trees of the Tiergarten for long hours
wrestling with my God, whom I was willing to serve, but after my own
fashion as a Jew. I would not yield, and though I was hardly able to
bear this inward conflict longer, I still went on with praying in public
on the Day of Atonement.
"At the close of November, 1898, my anxiety grew so strong that I
resolved to start for Altona, in order to be thoroughly instructed about
Christianity, in a mission house. Nobody had told me of such an
institution, but by chance I learned of its existence from one of its
former inmates. The 26th of November, 1898, found me at Hamburg. But
still the old Adam would not yield, and I never entered the mission
house till the utmost need forced me to go and see the Rev. A. Frank. He
received me most kindly, and was willing to give me shelter in the
house, but told me that, like all other inmates, I would have to engage
in manual labour. I most gladly agreed to this, and I became a pupil of
the mission on December 1st.
"Far from the noise and influence of the world I first met my Saviour in
all His glory. There was no question now about justification by
performing Moses' laws; His light made me see my sins in all their
awfulness, and I broke down crying, 'My punishment is greater than I can
bear' (Gen. iv. 13). But soon Divine love made me sing, 'My life is
preserved' (Gen. xxxii. 30), and all my heart went out to my Saviour who
had done so much for me. I was baptized on April 23rd by Pastor Aston.
For a short time after I stayed at Hamburg as a private teacher, and the
Lord's blessing was with me; but I was soon asked by our dear Pastor
Dworkowicz if I would be willing to work as missionary to the Jews, and
he felt I might be of service at Königsberg. Circumstances at the
beginning of 1901 made my way clear. I knew then that it was after my
Saviour's will that I should enter upon this work; so I applied to the
British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews, and I
was accepted on June 9th, on the recommendation of Pastors Dworkowicz,
Aston and Frank, of Hamburg. I commenced work there under the direction
of the first named, but on March 15, 1902, I started for Königsberg, in
order to labour in that city for the glory of God my Saviour. 'The Lord
hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad' (Ps. cxxvi. 3)."
LANDSMAN, Daniel, was living in Jerusalem about 1870, maintaining
himself by his handiwork as a strict, pious Jew. Whenever the L.J.S.
missionary Stern met him he used to preach Christ crucified to him, so
that at last he, in a passion, assaulted Stern violently, but at length
was conquered by the Gospel, and then became his best friend. After his
baptism in the Holy City he witnessed for Christ there before the Jews
for some time. Then a position as assistant missionary was offered him
in the Scotch Presbyterian mission at Constantinople, where he zealously
laboured for seventeen years, and Bassin, afterward a missionary was one
of those in whose conversion he was instrumental. He then emigrated to
the United States, and was appointed by the Lutheran Synod at Missouri
as missionary in New York about 1883, where he was blessed in his
efforts to win souls for the Kingdom of God. He wrote the following
tracts, partly in Hebrew and Yiddish, "Jeshua Sar ha Panim"; "Jeshua ha
Nozri ist der Messiah Emeth," "Memra," "Shabbath Feiertage und
Beschneidung"; "Was sagen die Rabbinere über Maschiah"; "Was sagt die
Kabbalah, &c., über die Dreieinigkeit Gottes," 1888.
LASERON, Dr. Michael Maximilian August Heinrich, born in Königsberg,
1819, died in London, 1894. His father was a rabbi, but died on the same
day, as his mother, when he was only seven years old. Laseron was then
brought up by bigoted relations, who were not very kind to him. Owing to
this he had no great love for the Jews, but rather sought after
Christians, from whom he learned to know the Lord Jesus as his Saviour.
He did not conceal his convictions, but told his relatives that he had a
desire to become a Christian. Thereupon they so illtreated him that his
life was in danger; so when he was seventeen, he escaped on foot to
Frankfort, enduring great hardship on the way. Then he was instructed
and baptized by Pastor Keimers, but he could not remain in Frankfort on
account of persecution by the Jews, so he went to Basel. Scarcely had he
arrived there, when he got very ill, and the wife of the missionary, a
lady by the name of Haslen, nursed him till he recovered. Friends in
Switzerland recommended him to the L.J.S., and he was for a time in the
Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, Palestine Place. Then he entered
as a student the newly-founded Missionary Training College of the
British Jews' Society, and remained there over two years. However,
though he was interested in the Jewish mission, and took practical part
in the same, yet he felt that he was called to be a medical man, and the
Committee allowed him to leave in 1849. Thereupon he went to Erlangen
and studied medicine, and at the same time practised homoeopathy
privately. Laseron then returned to London, and was a successful
practitioner. Settling at Edmonton in 1854, he there lost his eldest
child. This was the occasion for a call to a great enterprise of faith
which bore glorious fruit. The bereaved parents noticing in the street
poor, half-starved children, resorted to prayer and then resolved to
establish an asylum for poor children where they could receive a good
education. An Irish lady hearing of it, sent him £3; with this
encouragement he hired a house, appointed a teacher, and opened the
school in 1856, having sixteen scholars on the fore-noon of the first
day and more in the afternoon. He also built a chapel. In a few months
the school was so full that he could not admit any more children. Then
he opened evening classes and services on Sunday, which were attended by
150 persons, who seldom went to a place of worship. In answer to earnest
prayer Dr. Laseron received small and large, and even very large, gifts
of money for his work in a most remarkable manner, often from people who
were entire strangers to him, notably the brothers Samuel and John
Morley supported him very generously, so that he was enabled to
establish the Evangelical Protestant Deaconesses' Training Institution
at Tottenham, now called The Prince of Wales's General Hospital. Dr.
Laseron reached the age of 75, and before his departure he asked a
friend to write to his children in Australia--"I thank God that I am
surrounded by such as love me and Him."
LASERON, Rev. David, came to Edinburgh from Germany, and maintained
himself there by giving lessons in German and in Hebrew. He had also
Christian pupils who visited him when he was sick and from whose young
lips he first heard of the great Physician of souls. After his baptism
in 1844 he was sent as a missionary to Cochin, where he established
schools for heathen and Jewish children. In 1852, these schools were
attended by 16 white Jewish boys, 112 black Jewish boys and 24 girls.
Laseron baptized one Jew there by the name of Jehil Benjamin, in 1849.
He was recalled home in 1855, owing to some disagreement with his
colleague.
LASSON, Adolf, born in Alt Strelitz, 1859, embraced Christianity while
he was tutor of Philosophy in the University of Berlin. He wrote the
following works: "Fichte über das Verhältniss von Staat und Kirche,"
Berlin, 1863; "Meister Eckhardt der Mystiker," 1878; "Das Cultur ideal
und der Krieg," 1868; "Principien der Zukunft des Volkesrechts," 1871.
In reference to religion, he belonged to the evangelical party in the
German Church. The year of his baptism is not known.
LAUB, P. B., born in the Bukowina, Austria, and received a strictly
orthodox Jewish education. Receiving a New Testament from some one, he
became convinced of the truth of Christianity, and then went to London,
where he came in contact with the writer, who recommended him to the
Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, but he soon left for Stuttgart,
and was baptized by Gottheil there. He then studied at Basel, but
wishing to devote his life to the Jewish Mission, he went to the
Institutum Delitzschianum, in Leipzig, to prepare himself for future
work. In 1889, he went to assist Mr. Flad in Tunis, and then was called
by the French, and afterwards by the Swiss Missionary Society to be
their missionary in Alsace.
LAURIA, Rabbi Elieser, was one of several Rabbis who became Christians
in Jerusalem in the first half of the nineteenth century. He was
baptized by Bishop Alexander in 1843, whereupon he was forced by the
Jewish authorities to divorce his wife, who was sent by them back to
Russia. She, however, returned to him in 1846, and in the next year she
too made a public confession of her faith in our Saviour. Henceforth she
assisted her husband in winning souls, and they laboured together at
Cairo, until her death of cholera in 1849. Lauria opened a mission
school there in 1850. He was much esteemed, even by the rabbis, and he
circulated the Scriptures as far as Arabia, and the mission was not
without results.
LAZARUS, Joshua George, was baptized with his wife and two children in
Liverpool, under the ministry of Rev. H. S. Joseph. In 1842, he became
his assistant there and in Manchester. In 1851, Lazarus reported that
sixty-eight Jews had been baptized since he entered upon his labours in
the two cities. He retired on account of feeble health in 1853, and died
in 1869.
LEBERT, Herman, M.D. (Levy), born 1813, died 1878. He as a Christian
doctor was very distinguished. Friedrich Wilhelm IV. bestowed upon him
the gold medal for Art and Science. He became Professor of Medicine in
Breslau, 1859. His literary works are: "Anatomie Pathologique générale
et speciale," 2 vols., 1854-62, for which the Parisian Academy gave him
the prize. "Handbuch der Practischen Medicin," 2 vols., 1859.
LEBRECHT, Abraham (Herz), born at Gross-Glogau Germany, 1706. At the age
of seventeen both his parents died, and his relatives sent him to a
Jewish high school at Prague. In 1739, he was a teacher at Belgrade, and
when the Turks captured the city, they sold him and Newman, son of a
Lutheran pastor, with many others, as slaves. The master tempted Newman
to sin, but he resisted, and was cruelly beaten. The master then tried
to make him yield through the medium of Herz, but Newman said to him: "I
cannot offend my Lord Jesus, and would rather die than commit sin." This
made a strong impression upon the young Jew, and henceforth he became
very anxious about the state of his soul, and the other preached to him
the good tidings of salvation through Christ. Newman died from the
stripes he had received, and Herz was sold to Hadshi Mustapha, who
brought him to Smyrna in 1741. There the Jewish community bought his
release, presented him with sixteen ducats, and sent him to
Constantinople, whence he made his way back to Germany, where in various
ways he experienced the lovingkindness of God. Twice when he was in
great despair, and was about to commit suicide, he was providentially
saved and brought to his senses by Christians, who had come to him at
the right moment. In his wanderings he visited Friedrich Augusti, the
well-known convert, who had had similar trials. Finally, he was baptized
on Whitsunday, 1744, when he assumed the name of Lebrecht (Live right),
and refused to receive a present from his sponsors, which it was the
custom to give. He then lived as a consistent Christian to the age of
70, and died in 1776. This extract is taken by Pastor de le Roi from
Lebrecht's autobiography, which closes with a prayer for the conversion
of Israel.
LEDERER, Gideon R., born in 1804. As the son of a rabbi he was educated
in strict rabbinical orthodoxy, and for a time was a rabbi himself. He
and his wife were converted under the ministry of the early Scotch
missionaries, and afterwards assisted them to spread the Gospel in
Hungary. In 1853, he came to London, but soon after went to New York,
where he laboured for the rest of his days, as a humble city missionary,
with much blessing. He edited a periodical entitled, "The Israelite
Indeed," and the writer knew him as such an one himself.
LEENER, de Louis, a Dutch convert of the nineteenth century, was a
respected author. Among his works are these--(1) "Ben Onie, Tafereelen
uit het dagboek van een tot het Christendom bekeerden Israelit," (2) "De
waarde vrouw in Israel," (3) "De Nederlandsche jood," (4) "Ons Pascha,"
Amsterdam, 1865-70.
LEHRS, Karl, was born in Königsberg in 1802, and died 1878. It is
recorded that while studying in Berlin he became a Christian from
conviction, and was baptized in 1822. A number of his relatives were
influenced by him for Christianity. He was a classical teacher in
several schools, and then Professor at the University of Königsberg. He
published a book of considerable merit under the title, "De Aristarchi
Studiis Homericis," 1833; "Questiones Epicae," 1837; "Pindars-scholien,"
1873.
LEIBNISTH, Samuel, born 1823, was a Jewish teacher, and after his
conversion, about 1868, devoted his leisure to voluntary missionary work
among the Jews in Germany. In 1874, he was appointed missionary at
Elberfeld, where he died in 1882.
LEITNER, H. C., was won for the Master by the Rev. C. A. Schönberger. He
laboured at Constantinople as a very able teacher in the Scotch mission
schools for many years.
LEITNER, Dr. M., born at Pesth in 1800, studied medicine and settled as
a practitioner at Broussa in Turkey. Having come into possession of a
New Testament, he read it carefully, and was converted and baptized in
1844. He then gave up his lucrative position and devoted his life to
missionary work. He was the L.J.S. medical missionary at Constantinople
from 1853 to 1861, when he died of fever.
LEO, Dr., a physician in Warsaw, after having had intercourse with the
L.J.S. missionaries for eight years, became fully convinced of the truth
of the Gospel, and was baptized with his family in 1831.
LEONHARD, Friedrich Conrad, a convert in the latter half of the
eighteenth century, published a dialogue under the title, "Erweis dass
die Rabbinen Schnurstracks wider dass Gesetz Moses lehren, Aus den
Kirchengesetzbüchern der heutigen Juden geführt," with a preface by
Pastor Siegmund Mörl, Nürnberg, 1781.
LESSMAN, Daniel, was born in Soldin (Brandenburg), 1794, studied
medicine in Berlin, was wounded in the war, baptized in 1824, he became
a great author, novelist, biographer and poet.
LEVI, Jacob, a native of Smyrna, according to the report of Dr.
Buchanan, heard the Gospel from a C.M.S. missionary. He then bought a
New Testament and studied it with the intention of refuting the
arguments of the missionary, and for this purpose he translated it into
Hebrew, but the result was that he became a believer and preached Christ
to Jews, Mohammedans and Christians.
LEVI, Jacob, baptized by the missionaries Lewis and Hartley at Athens,
about 1840-1. Was cast into prison by the Rabbis ten times. In the
prison at Casanegra, he was bastinadoed and kept six months, but he
declared if he was there a thousand years he would still confess that
Jesus was the true Messiah.
LEVI, Dr. Leone, was born in Ancona, 1802, and settled in England. An
article of his in the "Liverpool Album," in 1849, occasioned the
establishment of the Chamber of Commerce, of which he became secretary.
He joined the Presbyterian Church, was author of "Commercial Laws, their
Principles and Administration," 1850-52; "Wages and Earnings of the
Working Classes," 1867; "History of British Commerce and of the Economic
Progress of the British Nation," 1863-70. He became professor of
political economy at King's College in 1862; barrister in Lincoln's Inn,
1859; D.L. of Tübingen, 1861: and died in 1888.
LEVIEN, Edward, was born in 1818, of highly respectable Jewish parents,
nearly related to the distinguished Goldsmids. His parents returned to
the true faith, and were baptized and admitted into the Church of
England, with their children, when the latter were yet of tender age. He
was educated at Shrewsbury Grammar School, under Drs. Butler and
Kennedy, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he took honours in
classics. In that department he filled a professor's chair at Glasgow.
His great skill in ancient manuscripts, and intimate acquaintance with
historical lore commended him, in 1850, to an important post in the MSS.
department of the British Museum. This post he held for nearly a quarter
of a century, with advantage to the public and credit to himself. He was
also honorary secretary of the British Archæological Association, to
which he rendered essential service in promoting its prosperity, in
various ways, literary and otherwise. His loss to that Association was
as keenly felt by their Committee as by his most intimate friends. The
catalogue of the British Museum has several pages devoted to his
literary productions.
LEVINSOHN, Hessel, a brother of the next named, who together with his
parents had anathematized Isaac on account of his supposed apostasy, was
in the first place influenced by him through correspondence, not to pass
such a harsh judgment upon himself. Then, when he came to England, he
was gradually won by him and other Hebrew Christians to read the New
Testament, and to search the Scriptures earnestly, until he too could
publicly confess that Jesus was his own Redeemer. He afterward became a
missionary of the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
amongst the Jews.
LEVINSON, Rev. Isaac, was born in Kovno (Russia), in 1855. His father
was a pious man, and used to fast every Monday and Thursday. When Isaac
was five years old, his father himself taught him Hebrew, and then sent
him to school, where he made rapid progress in learning, so that at the
age of eight he could read the Pentateuch with the Targum and Rashi's
commentary. Henceforth he studied mostly the Talmud, in which he felt no
delight nor even satisfaction, especially when at thirteen years of age
he became bar mitsvah (confirmed), and began to realize responsibility
for his sins. This caused him to lay aside the doctrines of men, and to
study more diligently the Word of God. In 1871 he took leave of his
parents, and after much hardship and God's loving care on the journey,
arrived in London, September 19th, with the intention to go from there
to America or Australia. But just as he landed he was robbed of the
little baggage he possessed, and a kind Jew took him to his house, with
whom he spent the Day of Atonement. Subsequently he once passed by the
L.J.S. Chapel at Palestine Place, and noticed a Hebrew inscription on
the front. Thinking it was a synagogue he entered, and was surprised to
find that it was a Christian place of worship, where the prayers were
said in Hebrew. He listened to the service, and after it was over, a
Hebrew Christian spoke to him, and told him that he had found peace in
believing in Jesus as the Messiah. This was exactly what Isaac was
searching for. He then made the acquaintance of Dr. Stern, was
instructed and baptized by him, and entered the Operative Jewish
Converts' Institution. After a time Levinson was for some years a clerk
in the R.T.S., where he made good use of his time in preparing himself
for studying in Spurgeon's College. He was then ordained to the Baptist
ministry, and was engaged by the British Society as deputational
secretary, in which capacity he laboured zealously and ably for some
years, until he was called to succeed the late Rev. John Dunlop, as
chief secretary of the same Society.
LEVY, Benjamin, was the son of Moses Levy, one of a well-known firm of
shipowners in London. When he was quite a young man he set up in
business as a clothier and draper in Holborn. Subsequently he removed to
Sunderland, where he spent the last forty-two years of his life; and so
greatly did he prosper that he opened branches of his business in
Shields, Stockton, Middlesborough, West Hartlepool and Barrow in
Furness. His admission by baptism into the Church of Christ took place
when he was twenty-six years old. Before then he had drifted away from
the moorings of the synagogue, and then soon followed his total neglect
of all religious observance, and all belief in the Bible. It was at this
crisis in his religious life that he was brought under decidedly
Christian influences. He came in contact with a clergyman of the Church
of England, who led him to accept Christ and Him crucified; after which
he ever remained a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus, and a promoter
of Christian work. He became Warden of St. Thomas', Sunderland, for
which Church he did a great deal. He was elected member of the Town
Council of Bishopwearmouth in 1861, and in 1871 he was made Alderman of
the Sunderland Ward; had he lived longer, he would have attained the
chief civil dignity there. His funeral was attended by the whole Town
Council in its official capacity. He left a family of four sons and five
daughters, all of whom were doing well at that time.
LEVY, Philip, was converted in England, at the beginning of the
eighteenth century. He published an English, Hebrew, and Chaldee Grammar
in 1705, at Oxford.
LEWALD, Fanny, daughter of a Jewish banker at Königsberg, and born 1811,
became a member of the Evangelical Church by baptism in 1828. She is
distinguished as a great authoress. Her works comprise twelve vols., six
of them under the title, "Meine Lebens Geschichte" (Autobiography),
Berlin, 1871-75. She died at the age of 78, in 1889.
LEWIS, Dr. de Leno, was editor of "Israel's Watchman," at Baltimore,
1888.
LICHTENSTEIN, George Philipp (Susskind Mayer), was born at Frankfort in
1606, and became a Christian through intercourse with pious Christians,
and through hearing Christian hymns.
LICHTENSTEIN, Jacob, the brother of the above, born in 1826, became a
more famous pastor and theologian. He published "Das Leben unsers
Herrn," Erlangen, 1855; "Prüfet alles und das Gute behaltet," 1870. He
died in 1875.
LICHTENSTEIN, Jehiel Zebi (Hershensohn), was born at Jassy, in 1831, and
brought up in Bessarabia, among the Chassidim and Kabbalists. Having
received a New Testament at Jassy, he studied it diligently, and being
convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, he baptized himself in a river in
1855. In 1868, he published a Kabbalistic book, entitled, "Limude
hanebiim," in which he tried to show that the teaching of the Kabbalah
and of the New Testament are identical. In 1872, he came to London and
was baptized by Dr. Stern. He then assisted for a short time Mr.
Dworkowicz in Warsaw and Pastor Weber in Neudeklslau. From 1874 to 1879
he laboured as a missionary of the Berlin Society in Berlin. He then was
for a time in Russia, whence he went to Leipzig in 1885, where he was
afterwards appointed to be one of the tutors at the Institutum
Delitzschianum. He is the author, besides the above-mentioned, of the
following Hebrew works:--"Chizzuk Emunah Emeth" (A defence of
Christianity against the Jewish book "Chizzuk Emunah,") 1879; "Toldoth
Jeshua," a refutation of the book under that name, 1883; "A Short
Rabbinic Commentary on the whole of the New Testament," published
gradually. Lichtenstein also translated the whole of the Old Testament
into Yiddish for the British and Foreign Bible Society, of which parts
have appeared.
LICHTENSTEIN, Johann Daniel, son of the above, who was baptized in his
youth, became afterwards a very devoted Pastor in Frankfort. It is
recorded that he displayed self-sacrificing activity, especially among
the sick and the prisoners. He died in 1862, and in allusion to his name
"Lightstone," the people said of him that "he was a light which consumed
itself."
LICHTENSTEIN, Moritz, born 1824, embraced Christianity in 1842 together
with his mother and brothers and sisters. Moritz became a preacher of
the Gospel in 1855, and died 1876.
LICHTENSTEIN, Rabbi J., is one of the most remarkable converts to
Christianity in the nineteenth century. The story is briefly this:
Finding one day a New Testament in the school under his charge, he took
it away, and hid it in his library. Then during an anti-Semitic
agitation in Hungary he, thinking that there must be something in the
teaching of the New Testament, which excited enmity against the Jews,
examined it carefully, and was convinced of the contrary, and more, he
began to admire and to love the Lord Jesus, and gradually to quote
passages from the New Testament in his sermons in the synagogue of Tapio
Szele, of which he had been minister for forty years. He also wrote
three pamphlets--"Der Talmud auf der Anklage Bank," Budapesth, 1866;
"Mein Zeugniss," 1886; "Die Liebe und die Bekehrung, ein sehr ernstes
wort zu sehr ernster Zeit." At last some of his congregation accused him
to the chief rabbi of Budapest of heterodoxy. Rabbi Lichtenstein then
confessed his faith in Jesus Christ crucified. The result was that he
had to resign his office, and to the end of his life he lived as a
Christian, constantly preaching the Gospel in Pesth though not
baptized. He died in the Lord in 1908.
LIPSCHITZ, Benjamin, a convert to Christianity, died 1876, in Vienna,
leaving to the inhabitants of his birthplace, Kriegshaber, near
Augsburg, 70,000 gulden, to be equally divided between Jews and
Christians. Besides this he bequeathed 35,000 gulden to the Jewish
Congregation of Augsburg, 100,000 gulden for the Jewish Home at Munich,
and 100,000 gulden for the Jewish Home at Vienna.
LIPSHYTZ, Christlieb T., Director of the Barbican Mission to the Jews,
London. Born in 1858 at Warsaw, the capital of Poland, he was brought up
in strict Judaism, according to the principles of his orthodox Jewish
parents. It was essential that he should undergo a Talmudical Jewish
training, and in addition he was given a thorough secular education.
When he was five years of age, his eldest sister became a Christian, and
for this she endured severe persecution. Her testimony made a deep
impression on the mind of her brother, and awakened a desire in his
heart to know what it was that Christianity really taught. So strong was
this desire that while at the secular high school in his native city, he
embraced every possible opportunity of listening to the religious
instruction given to the Gentile pupils. For this he was chastised by
his father, but the severe punishment inflicted was of no avail, for the
Spirit of God had directed the message of the Gospel home to his heart,
and within a short time he surrendered to the Lord. The bitter
persecution through which his sister had passed was a vivid and painful
memory, and it is not surprising that Lipshytz hesitated to incur the
same suffering by making a public confession in his native place.
Eventually he went away to Königsberg. Here, after a course of
instruction by a missionary of the London Jews' Society (Mr. Skolkowski)
and the Rev. Konsistorialrath Dr. Kahle, he was baptized on the 19th
October, 1878. After further study and preparation he worked under the
auspices of the home mission in the North of Germany, and afterwards in
connexion with the mission among Jews in the West of Germany. Coming to
England, Mr. Lipshytz was for some time superintendent of the Wanderers'
Home, under the direction of the late Rev. J. M. Eppstein. At the close
of 1887 he became assistant missionary to the Rev. Paul Warschawski.
When the latter relinquished the mission on account of failing health,
the work was in danger of coming to an untimely end. At this crisis
Prebendary Gordon Calthrop, who became the first President, called
together a number of friends, with the result that Mr. Lipshytz was
asked to undertake the re-organization of the work. After prayerful
consideration, the invitation was accepted. For two years and a-half the
mission was housed in London Wall, thence a removal was made to larger
premises in Finsbury Square, which were occupied for seven years. From
the first, Mr. Lipshytz exercised remarkable tact and ability, and it
became increasingly evident that under his able direction the mission
was destined to become a powerful agency in proclaiming the Gospel to
the Jews and winning their allegiance to Christ. Prebendary Gordon
Calthrop had now passed to his rest, and Archdeacon Sinclair succeeded
as President, to be followed after a time by Prebendary H. W.
Webb-Peploe, a life-long friend of Israel. With his unfailing energy and
enthusiasm, Mr. Lipshytz set about raising a memorial to the memory of
the first President of the mission, and in this he had from the first
the hearty co-operation of the devoted men who formed his council. The
outcome was the erection of the perfectly equipped and commodious
headquarters of the Barbican Mission situated on the main thoroughfare
of Whitechapel, and known as "The Gordon Calthrop Memorial," which was
dedicated and opened in the spring of 1901. Besides the mission house
and church, the property includes a spacious open-air preaching ground,
with a stone pulpit. The entire scheme involved an outlay of £13,000,
the whole of which sum was soon raised. Having succeeded in this matter,
Mr. Lipshytz realized the necessity for providing a Home for Converts
and Enquirers, and a permanent residence for the head of the mission.
This he was also able to accomplish, and the Home at Mitcham, which cost
£3,500, was soon freed from debt. With all his undertakings Mr. Lipshytz
was careful to see that the spiritual work of the mission was not
neglected. "First things" were given first place: hence the mission
abundantly prospered in his hands.
LÖBEL, Carl Friedrich Raphael, a native of Lissa, in Prussian Poland,
was baptized by Pastor Hasselman in Soran, in 1825. He studied
Pedagogy, became a very effective schoolmaster, and wrote:--"Gebete für
die Schule," 1836; "Erklärungen der Episteln," 1859. He founded a Rescue
Home, and died in 1869.
LOBGOTT, Abraham Meyer (sometimes called Gottlob), a native of Posen,
was instructed and baptized by Pastor Schultz in Berlin in 1769. He
studied theology in Halle. He translated Elias Levita's "Massoreth ha
Massorah," which Dr. Semler published in 1773. He also translated the
first three chapters of Mendelssohn's Judæo-German Pentateuch into
German, Erlangen, 1786. He published in 1775, during the time of his
studies, "Sententiae Rabb. de successione ab intestato et testimentaria
collectae a R. Joseph Karo" (Schulchan Aruch).
LOPES, Sir Manasseh Massey, Bart., was born in Jamaica in 1755, and died
1838. He belonged to the Sephardim Jews. Both he and his father Mordecai
Rodriguez Lopes embraced Christianity in 1802. In that year Manasseh was
returned to Parliament as member for New Romney and was created a
baronet in 1805. At the next election, he was returned as member for
Barnstaple, and lastly, for Westbury, where he held also the office of
Recorder, in addition to being a magistrate for two counties.
LOTKA, Rev. J., a native of Russian Poland, where he was brought up by
his parents in strict orthodoxy, but as he arrived at the age of
discretion, he somehow managed to study, besides Hebrew and the Talmud,
the Polish and the German languages. Becoming acquainted with much
Christian literature he had a great desire to read the New Testament,
and this led him to give up the position of a Jewish teacher and to come
to London for the purpose of receiving further Christian instruction by
Dr. Ewald, who baptized him on November 22, 1863. About two years later
he went from the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution to Basel,
studied theology, and was sent out to labour as a Pastor among the
Germans in Illinois, U.S.A. In 1879 he was appointed Professor of Hebrew
in an Episcopal Seminary near Chicago, where he did also missionary work
among the Jews. In 1872, he joined the L.J.S. and was sent to Lemberg,
where he laboured for ten years, and visited many towns in Galicia. In
1881, after he had been on a tour of enquiry with the Rev. Frederick
Smith in the Crimea, he was sent to Persia, where he remained from two
to three years, and laid, so to speak, a solid foundation for the
revived mission there. He subsequently laboured for a few years at Posen
and Bucharest, and much longer in Birmingham, and then succeeded the
Rev. J. C. S. Kroenig at Hull. He was the author of several tracts.
LÖWE, H. G. F., a Hebrew Christian living in Hamburg. With a view to
make known, both to Jews, and Christians, the nature of rabbinic
Judaism, he wrote the following works:--1. A translation of the first
chapter of Berachoth (Benedictions), with preface, introduction, and
three appendices, 1836. 2. A translation of four parts of the Shulchan
Aruch Aben Ezra, Hoshen Hamishpat, Orach Hayim and Yoreh Deah,
1836-1840.
LÖWEN, Moses Gotthold (Pseudon, Hananiah Berliner), was born August 8,
1859, just at the time when his father, dressed in mourning, was sitting
on the floor in the synagogue, bewailing the destruction of Jerusalem.
When the father returned home, a near relative presented him with his
firstborn son. His parents educated him after the manner of orthodox
Jews, and he studied diligently the Talmud and the "Shulchan Aruch," but
very little the Old Testament. When the boy was fifteen years of age, he
was employed by the rabbi of Sombar, in Galicia, as a copyist, and for
this he received from him instruction in rabbinical writings, in the
Bible, and in religious philological literature. This distinguished
savant, Joshua Hullas by name, was liberal-minded and exercised a
salutary influence upon the boy. Later on he perceived the untenableness
of the rabbinic views of the world, and gave up the idea of becoming a
rabbi as his parents wished. He then devoted himself to commerce, but
found no pleasure in it. Then he met the Rev. J. Lotka, missionary of
the L.J.S. at Lemberg, and for the first time learned to know the New
Testament and other Christian literature; and after an inward struggle,
lasting ten years, in which the late Professor Franz Delitzsch
encouraged him to persevere, he threw himself at the feet of Jesus, and
became His faithful disciple. He was admitted into the Church of Christ
by baptism, by the Rev. P. E. Gottheil, in Stuttgart, in 1886. Two
years later he entered the service of the Berlin Society for Promoting
Christianity among the Jews, under whom for years he laboured with great
blessing upon his efforts. Löwen's work was mostly of a literary
character. In 1888, he wrote a useful booklet in Yiddish, entitled
"Siach l'Elohim," through which he introduced the jargon of the Eastern
Jews into Christian literature. A year later he joined Chr. Theophilus
Lucky, in editing the Hebrew monthly periodical, "Eduth l'Israel." This
was and remained the first Jewish Christian periodical in the sacred
language. He worked at this difficult post for only two years, but
continued in co-operation with Professor Dalman for fifteen years in the
publication of his monthly Yiddish periodical, "Berith Am." He also
contributed numerous articles, poems, narratives, etc., to "Nathanael"
and to "Messiasbote," publications of the Berlin Society. On Löwen's
suggestion, the International Jewish Missionary Conference at Leipzig in
1897, resolved to offer a prize for a life of Christ in Yiddish. Amongst
the competitors was the well-known Joseph Rabinowitz, but the umpires,
Professor Strack and the Rev. A. Bernstein, adjudged the prize to
Löwen's work, which is entitled "Podeh Umazil," which has found great
acceptance among the Jews. In 1901 a collection of essays appeared from
his pen, under the title, "Brod und Salz" (bread and salt), which was
gladly read. He also brought out a series of booklets entitled "Orchim,"
which was of the greatest missionary value. Löwen was stationed in
Berlin, Lemberg, Posen, and Vienna, where he continued to testify to
the Jews of the unsearchable riches of Christ, and the Lord crowned his
work with success, in that he was permitted to witness a spirit of
enquiry among the Jews, not a few of whom acknowledged Him as their Lord
and Saviour through his labours.
LÖWENTHAL, Rev. Isidor, a native of Posen, where he received a liberal
education, finishing his studies at the Gymnasium at the age of
seventeen. His father wished him to enter into business, but he had no
taste for such a life. With companions of the same age, he founded a
liberal political union, and owing to a poem of a radical character,
which he recited in public, he was arrested by the police. For this
reason he emigrated to New York in 1846. On his arrival he tried to get
employment, but failed. He was then obliged to become a pedlar. One cold
November day he offered his goods to the Rev. S. M. Gayley, of
Wilmington, Delaware, who, noticing his poor plight, invited him to his
house, where in conversation he soon learned that Löwenthal was well
educated. He then offered him hospitality until he should find a
situation as teacher of German and French. This he procured for him in
Fayette College at Easton, Pa., in 1847. There Löwenthal was
indefatigable in his studies of the English language and literature. His
iron will and his excellent memory enabled him soon to overcome all
difficulties. Hitherto he had not revealed to Mr. Gayley his Jewish
nationality, but now he not only did this but also told him that the
family prayers and the services which he had attended had led him to
study the Scriptures, and that he was convinced of the truth of
Christianity. He was then baptized by Mr. Gayley in the Presbyterian
Church. In 1848 he became teacher of languages at Mount Holly Collegiate
School, where he remained several years. Mr. Philipps, of the First
Presbyterian Church, New York, advised him to study for the ministry,
and he entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey in
1852. During his course there he contributed articles to the "Biblical
Repository." When about to leave the Seminary, he gave a lecture on
Indian missions and then offered his services to the Board of Foreign
Missions. The Board sent him in 1856 to Afghanistan. He acquired the
language in one year, so that he could preach in it fluently; but he was
only permitted to labour there seven years. During this short time he
translated the whole of the New Testament in Pushtu and printed it, and
compiled a dictionary of that language which he left in manuscript. He
preached easily in five languages, and none knew the East better than he
did. He possessed the largest collection of Asiatic MSS. and rare books
that ever was the lot of a European. He was beloved by the natives and
Europeans alike. Sir John Lawrence, especially during the mutiny,
consulted him as a friend. He preached uninterruptedly in Afghanistan
and in the Khyber Pass. At the last, he was shot dead by his own
servant, it is said through a mistake, who, seeing him walking on the
roof at night, took him for a thief. This was in 1864, when he was only
thirty-eight.
LOWITZ, Rev. J., laboured for years as a missionary of the British
Society at Algiers, where he also acted as agent for the British and
Foreign Bible Society. In 1872 he succeeded Davidsohn as principal of
the British Society's Home for Converts and Enquirers, at 28, Alfred
Place, Bedford Square, London.
LUCKY, Rev. C. Theophilus, a native of Tisminitz, in Galicia, and a most
remarkable convert to Christianity in the nineteenth century. He was
known not only as a great Hebrew scholar, writing Hebrew in classical
style as a living language, and as thoroughly conversant with the whole
range of Jewish literature, but also as possessing a wide knowledge of
Christian literature. Having studied at the Berlin University and High
School for the knowledge of Judaism, and making researches in
philosophical and religious subjects, he was led to become a believer.
Lucky received Evangelical ordination in New York. In 1887 he first
published a Hebrew periodical, "Eduth le Israel," which he continued for
some years, when he returned to Galicia and took up his residence in
Stanislau. There he lived and laboured among his brethren, preaching by
the written and spoken word, but above all by his example, scarcely
receiving any help from men. He was a living illustration of a Hebrew
Christian of the first century; though thoroughly Orthodox as to the
cardinal doctrines of Christianity, yet he believed that it was
incumbent upon him to observe the Jewish Sabbath and all other Jewish
festivals and the dietary laws, not for the sake of being justified by
the works of the law, but for the sake of satisfying his own conscience,
and that he might be more useful as an evangelist amongst his brethren
in Galicia.
MAAS, Dr. M., was a teacher at Breslau in the nineteenth century, and
wrote the following works, advocating amalgamation of the Jews with
Christians: "Die Sociale Stellung der Juden in Deutschland und das
Ceremonial Gesetz," Löbau, 1876; "Die Mischehe das Einzig wirksame
mittel einer dauernden Vereinigung zwischen der jüdischen und
christlichen Bevölkerung Deutschland's," ib.
MACKHAN, Beatus Christian (Nehemiah Cohen), after having travelled in
three continents, and held the office of Rabbi at Avignon embraced
Christianity, in the Baltic Provinces in 1672. In 1690 he published in
the German language: "Schriftmässiger Jesus--Palmbaum oder Klarer
Beweissthum wider die Juden, dass Jesus der wahre Messias sei" (Riga),
Wolf, Bibliotheca Hebraica 3. N., 1648.
MAGATH, Rev. Julius, some time after his baptism became Professor in the
Wesleyan College in Oxford (Georgia, U.S.A.) Later on he was requested
by the Conference to do missionary work among the Jews. In 1886 he
published a periodical entitled, "The Hebrew Missionary," and this was
changed in 1888 to "The Hebrew Messenger." He also translated a
treatise, written by the Roman Catholic Jewish convert M. M. Leman,
entitled, "Jesus before the Sanhedrin," 1887.
MAIMUNY, Rabbi Mordecai, was born at Bona, Algeria, in 1817. His father
was a well-to-do goldsmith, who had settled in Tunis in 1823, where
Maimuny received a strict rabbinical education. When Dr. Ewald was
stationed at Tunis, Maimuny was his great opponent and used to blaspheme
the name of Jesus. Later on he went to Jerusalem, where his fanaticism
became more excited when he observed the activity of Bishop Alexander.
However, the bishop's calm and gentle disposition made a great
impression upon him, and he received a Hebrew New Testament, which he
studied diligently and became a changed man. His wife seeing that he
visited Nicolayson and the other missionaries was very angry with him.
To pacify her, and in the hope that she would change her mind, he left
Jerusalem with her, and they wandered through Asia, North Africa, and
Europe, and then returned to Jerusalem, where he had to undergo great
persecution, and was obliged to return to his native place. Finally, in
1853, he was baptized by the Scotch missionary, the Rev. Benjamin Weiss.
MAMLOCK, L. C, a native of Kalisch, was instructed and baptized by Dr.
Ewald in 1863. After being in the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution
for some considerable time, Dr. Ewald employed him as his assistant, and
he became a parochial lay reader. Subsequently he was appointed by the
L.J.S. as missionary in Manchester, and was transferred to Paris after
the Franco-German war. There he laboured faithfully the rest of his
life, spreading the Gospel far and wide during several exhibitions, and
had the privilege to see many sons and daughters trusting in the Lord
Jesus Christ for their salvation.
MARCUS, Moses, born in London, 1701, was sent by his father to Hamburg
for his education. There he had intercourse with Christians, read the
New Testament, and came to a saving knowledge of the truth. In 1721 his
father returned to England from India, where he had amassed a fortune,
and summoned him to come home. Marcus then told his father of his
religious convictions, when the latter was shocked, and threatened to
disinherit him if he should be baptized; he once even threw a long knife
at him. Marcus, however, persevered and was baptized in 1723. In 1724 he
wrote a pamphlet entitled, "Principal Motives to leave the Jewish
Faith." In defence of Christianity, against the then prevalent
rationalism, he translated into English the second part of Dr. J.
Gottlob Carpzov's "Critica Sacra," adding his own notes (London, 1729).
MARCUSOHN, Rev. J. W., was sent by the Scotch Church as a missionary to
Constantinople, at the request of the American Board of Missions, in
1859. He subsequently preached the Gospel to the Jews in the United
States of America.
MARGOLIOUTH, Ezekiel, was a very remarkable man, a typical Jew, and a
typical convert to Christianity. As an Hebraist he was equal to any of
his day. He had a profound knowledge of the Talmud, rare even amongst
Talmudists. It was, however, in the composition of modern Hebrew that
his chief talent lay, and competent scholars often spoke
enthusiastically of the elegance of his rabbinic writings. Like his
namesake, Dr. Moses Margoliouth, he was a native of Suwalki in Poland,
where he was born in November 1816. His father, Abraham, had been
thirty-three years chief rabbi of the town, and his mother could trace
twelve rabbis amongst her ancestors. It was natural that Ezekiel should
study the Talmud and practise all the precepts of the rabbis with the
utmost vigour. After he had become bar mitzvah, he studied with his
father, and later on went to Brody, in order to perfect himself in
rabbinic lore. There he met enlightened Jews, and often disputed with R.
Solomon Kluger. He began to study the Bible, and philosophical works in
Hebrew, like those of Maimonides; his desire for knowledge being
fostered under Michael Perl of Tarnopol, the first Jewish reformer in
Galicia. Later on he went to the rabbinical seminary at Warsaw, where he
first met missionaries of the L.J. Society, through whom he was
irresistibly drawn to Christ, His Person, and His teachings. At the age
of twenty-seven he confessed faith in Christ as his Saviour, though his
wife, whom he had married the previous year, for a long time refused to
become a Christian. He then came over to England, where she afterwards
joined him, and in 1848, also became a Christian. In the same year he
entered the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution to learn bookbinding.
In 1852 he was appointed a missionary of the L.J.S. in London, and
worked as such almost to the end of his life. It was not as a popular
preacher that he excelled, though his faith in, and knowledge of, the
Word of God always profoundly attracted his audiences. His chief labours
were literary, and in these he had no rival. His "Derech Emunah" and
"Nethivoth Olam," in Hebrew, are masterpieces. His greatest work was the
revision of the New Testament in Hebrew in 1865. On May 2, 1894, he
passed away in a gentle and peaceful death, greatly mourned both for
himself and for the loss of his learning and piety. His son is the Rev.
Professor David S. Margoliouth, D.Lit., Laudian Professor of Arabic at
Oxford University, and examining chaplain to the Bishop of Liverpool.
MARGOLIOUTH, Rev. George, a nephew of Dr. Moses Margoliouth, was
converted to Christianity at Strassburg. He studied philology at the
University of Bonn, and theology at Cuddesdon College, was ordained in
1881-1883, held the curacy of St. Thomas', Leeds, when he was also
missionary of the Parochial Missions to the Jews; then at Carleton,
Yorks., 1883-84; then again missionary curate of Holy Trinity, Stepney,
1884-87; then at St. Mary the Less, Cambridge, 1887-89; St. Botolph,
Cambridge, 1889-91, when he took his degree in Semitic languages, at
Queen's College. He is the author of "Descriptive List of the Hebrew and
Samaritan MSS. in the British Museum," 1893; "The Superlinear
Punctuation," 1893; "The Liturgy of the Nile, Palestinian, Syriac and
English," 1896; "The Palestinian Syriac Version of Holy Scripture, four
recently Discovered Portions," 1896. He also contributed valuable
articles to the "Jewish Quarterly Review."
MARGOLIOUTH, Rev. Dr. Moses, was born at Suwalki in 1820, and died in
London, 1881. He was no relation to Ezekiel Margoliouth, though from the
same town. Coming to Liverpool in 1837 he met the missionaries of the
L.J.S., Lazarus and Rev. H. S. Joseph, and as a result of intercourse
with them he was baptized in 1838. He entered Trinity College, Dublin,
in 1840, and became curate of St. Augustine, Liverpool, January 30,
1844. Much later he was curate of St. Paul's, Onslow Square, London, and
lastly, Vicar of Little Limford, Buckinghamshire. He took the degree of
Ph.D. at Erlangen in 1857. In 1847 he started a Hebrew Christian monthly
magazine entitled, "The Star of Jacob." In the seventies he was editor
of "The Hebrew Christian Witness." He also wrote the following works,
all published in London: "Modern Judaism" (1843), "The History of the
Jews of Great Britain" (1851), "A Pilgrimage to the Land of my Fathers"
(1855), "The Curates of Riverdale"(1860), "The Spirit of Prophecy"
(1864), "The Poetry of the Hebrew Pentateuch" (1871). Margoliouth was
one of the revisers of the English version of the Old Testament. He
wrote also a considerable number of minor works.
MARGOLIOUTH, Naphtali, baptized in 1603 under the name of Konrad Otto,
became professor of Hebrew in Altorf. He wrote "Grammatica Hebraica"
(Nurnberg, 1605), a part of a "Dictionarium radicale" of rabbinic and
Talmudic words, "Gale Razia or Revelatio arcanorum ex Daniel ii. 29," in
Latin and German.
MARKHEIM, H. A., was one of the most gifted missionaries of the L.J.S.
in the nineteenth century. As a great linguist he suitably occupied the
following stations: In 1840, he succeeded Lewis at Smyrna; in 1850, he
laboured at Oran and Tangier; in 1860, at Gibraltar; in 1863, at Turin;
from 1861-63, at Marseilles, and then until the siege of Paris by the
Germans, he laboured there. He died in 1889.
MARIA was born of English Jewish parents, in affluent circumstances.
When yet a child she fell down a steep flight of stairs and seriously
injured her spine, so that she became a permanent invalid. A Christian
lady used to visit her, and got permission to read to her the Psalms.
She asked her father to buy her a Bible, who instead of doing so bought
her some narratives, but seeing her disappointment, complied with her
request. From this Bible, which contained the New Testament, she learned
to know and to love the Saviour, believing that Jesus made a perfect
atonement for her sins. Becoming gradually feebler and losing her sight,
she said to Miss P. that she enjoyed great tranquillity of mind, and had
learned to understand Isaiah xxvi. 3, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect
peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee." Prayer was never a weariness to
her. She influenced her sister to read to her the Bible. She then bore
witness from her sick bed to the faith which was the source of her calm
resignation and happiness before those friends, both Jews and Gentiles,
who visited her. When her life drew to a close, she said to her father:
"Dear father, I have one request to make; remember! it is my dying
request, the last favour I shall ever ask you, father." With much
kindness he enquired, "What is it, my dear?" "It is, father, that you
will consent to my baptism." "No, Maria, I cannot do that, you were born
a Jewess and you must die one." "Father! that is impossible, for I am a
Christian. I believe that Jesus is the Saviour and without Him we should
perish everlastingly." She then explained that by being a Christian she
had not ceased to be a Jewess. She was then permitted to receive both
sacraments from the curate of the parish. Before her death she said to
her brother: "My dear brother, be good, and never, never despise the
Messiah Jesus Christ. I am going to heaven, and may I not hope to meet
you there? I have prayed for you and all my family, and it is my belief
the Lord will answer my prayers, and shew His salvation to you all."
(_Jewish Intelligence_, October, 1841).
MARKS, J. D., a convert was at first in 1819. It was owing to his
influence that a missionary society in Switzerland was founded. This is
emphasized in a letter from Basel to the L.J.S. in 1820, whose
missionary he then was. At that time there seems to have been an
important movement among the Jews of Frankfort and its neighbourhood
towards Christianity, in which he was to some extent instrumental, and
the result was that in three years ninety Jews embraced Christianity. He
died as missionary at Offenbach in 1841.
MARKS, Rev. John Ebenezer, D.D., of Canterbury, 1879, laboured as a
missionary at Moulmein, India, 1863-67; as Chaplain at Rangoon,
1867-68; Irrawaddy, 1869 and 1876-83; Mandalay, 1869-76; Tavoy and
Mergui, 1883; as missionary of the S.P.G. and Principal of St. John's
College, Rangoon, from 1876-96.
MARX, Adolf Bernard, was born in Halle in 1779. From his youth he was
very fond of music, and Handel's "Messiah" led him to become a
Christian. His father, though indifferent to religion, was very angry
with him, and he was obliged to prosecute his studies of law and music
under great deprivations. He finally became a judge at Wittemberg, but
he had more taste for music than for the law. He then relinquished his
office and went to Berlin, and devoted himself entirely to the study of
music. He made there the acquaintance of the English musician Logier,
and got from him some new ideas, which he was not slow to put into
practice. In 1837, he published a work on the principles of harmony. He
did much for the proper understanding of Beethoven, Sebastian Bach, and
Glück. He is said to have been the founder of modern musical literature.
He died in 1866.
MARX, Karl, born at Treves, in 1818. He was baptized with his father,
his brother, and five sisters in 1824. In 1842, he became editor of
"Reinische Zeitung für Politik, Handel, und Gewerbe." In 1843, he
published at Paris, "Zür Kritik der Hegelschen Rechts Philosophie." In
1848 he edited the "Neue Rheinische Zeitung." He is known as the founder
of the political theory called Socialism, and on account of that he came
in conflict with several governments, and he sought refuge in England.
He married the sister of the minister, von Westphal. She died in 1881,
and he also passed away in 1883, in London.
MASSENA. All that is known about him is a tract, published at
Strassburg, in 1859, entitled "Massena ein Wahrer Israelite oder die
Kraft Gottes."
MASSIAH, Rev. J. P., was curate of Holy Trinity, Stepney, in 1883, when
he received some Jews into the Church.
MATHAI (Shimon), Adam Rudolf George Christoph, was born at Fürth,
Germany in 1715, and was instructed in the Talmud by his father Jaidel,
a teacher in the Beth-hamedrash there. At the age of sixteen, he went to
Prague to continue his studies, and on returning home he, too, became a
Talmudic teacher. Just then he narrates, in the preface of his
"Description of the Jewish Sabbath": "When I considered the corruption
among my people, doubts arose in my mind about the rabbinic system of
religion, and I began to study its doctrines, rites and ceremonies, and
found that they did not agree with the Word of God." The name Jeshua sar
happanim, in the service for the New Year, struck him as very
mysterious, and he began to enquire as to which of the angels this name
referred. At last, after long enquiry, he became convinced of the divine
origin of Christianity and applied to a pastor in Fürth for baptism in
1748. However, on account of the commotion created among the Jews, he
went to Nürnberg, where he was baptized the same year.
MATTHEWS, Rev. Aaron, after embracing Christianity with his wife, was
appointed a missionary of the British Society in London in 1867, where
he laboured successfully for some years. Then he accepted a call to be
minister of a Baptist Chapel in Liverpool, which position he only held
for a few years. Then he opened a mission to the Jews at
Newcastle-on-Tyne, and afterwards laboured amongst them in Glasgow with
considerable blessing on his labours, attracting the Jews by his fervent
and devotional spirit as well as his Hebrew learning.
MAYER, Samuel Morum, was born in 1797 at Friedenthal; and died in 1862.
His father was a rabbi, his grandfather was appointed by King Friedrich
grand rabbi, who gave the grandson a good Jewish education, so that at
the age of ten he could repeat the Psalter in Hebrew with Mendelssohn's
translation. A pastor also privately taught him classics. He was then
sent to a Talmud School, but the Talmud did not satisfy his thirst for
useful, solid knowledge, so he sent a petition to the King asking for
permission to enter the Gymnasium. This was granted in 1815. He studied
there and subsequently became a celebrated lawyer. Government offices
were offered him on condition of his embracing Christianity, which he
repeatedly refused, but held a professorship unconditionally. However,
he investigated the doctrines of Christianity himself, and was baptized
in 1834. He was then persecuted by his relations, but he rendered them
good for evil. The following is a list of his works in their
chronological order; with one exception they were published at Nürnberg.
"Beschreibung des Jüdischen Sabbath,"
1750; "Die Verderbniss des heutigen Judenthums," 1752; "Beschreibung des
Jüdischen Neujahrfestes," 1755; "Beschreibung des Jüdischen
Purimfestes," 1758; "Beschreibung des Jüdischen Yom Kippur," 1760;
"Sammlung Talmudisches Lehrsätze," Schwabach, 1763; "Abhandlung von der
Verleumdung," 1765; "Sendschreiben an Rabbi Peloni aus der Stadt
Lo-Theda," 1766; "Kurzgefaste Talmudische Lehrsätze von der
Nothwendigkeit sich in den Ehestand zu begeben," no date; "Beweis von
der Uebereinstimmung der alten Israelitischen Kabbalah mit der Lehre des
Apostel Paulus," no date; "Beweisgrunde von der Uebereinstimmung der
Altjüdischen Lehre mit der Lehre der Christen," 1770; "Kristliche
gesinnte Erklärung der Kabbalisten über das Hohelied," 1776.
MAYER, Rev. W., was educated both in the school and college of the
L.J.S. in London. In 1855, he succeeded his brother-in-law, the Rev. A.
I. Behrens, at Jassy, where he was assistant missionary for some time
previously. He had there a most flourishing school, containing about 300
scholars. Mayer, who was a very intellectual man, was somewhat affected
by the criticism on the Bible by Bishop Colenso, and he also was of the
opinion that the Jews ought to have their own Christian Church. This led
to his severance from the Society. He, however, remained in Jassy all
his life, and revised the Roumanian Bible for the British and Foreign
Bible Society.
MENDELSSOHN, Abraham, second son of Moses Mendelssohn the philosopher,
was born in Berlin in 1779. In 1804, he married Leah, a sister of Jacob
Levi Solomon Bartholdi. The latter having become a Protestant Christian
in 1805, influenced his sister and brother-in-law to follow his example.
Whilst his father had resisted the arguments and persuasion of Lavater
to take this step, he declared:--"Formerly I was the son of my father,
now I am the father of my son." Accordingly, he had his children--Felix,
Fanny, Rebecca, and Paul--baptized in the Evangelical Church, under the
additional name of Bartholdi.
MENDELSSOHN, Dorothea, a daughter of the philosopher Felix, became a
Protestant in Paris in 1802.
MENDELSSOHN, Felix Bartholdi, was born at Hamburg, February 3, 1809, and
died 1857. When he was four years old his parents removed to Berlin. His
father at once procured teachers in music for him, as he had begun thus
early to show great talent in that direction. His teachers on the piano
were Louis Bezer, and Zelter, the friend of Goethe. The chapel
choirmaster, Mr. Hennings, gave him instruction on the violin. The
father of the poet, Paul Heyse, who later became the celebrated
philologist, was his private tutor in the home of the Mendelssohns,
where the intellectual aristocracy of Berlin frequently assembled. When
Felix was nine years old he appeared for the first time at a public
concert, where his remarkable performances won him great applause. Two
years later, we find him in a Berlin Musical Academy, where he studied
church music under Zelter's direction. When he was twelve years old,
Zelter placed him in the Olympic in Weimar, where he made remarkable
progress. When he was fourteen, we find him a guest at Goethe's house,
and his host wrote thus to Zelter:--"Felix's productions astonish
everybody." No one was more delighted at the boy's success than his
father, who took pride in gratifying his son's every wish regarding his
musical education, and the latter's diligence amply rewarded any outlay.
Before Felix was out of his teens he had written four operas. His father
accompanied him to Paris, where he had the education of the best
teachers of the time. Soon after he went to London, where he wrote an
original overture founded upon Shakespere's "Midsummer Night's Dream,"
which attracted the attention of the celebrated singer, Henrietta
Sonntag, and won a great triumph for its composer--he was then twenty
years old. He became a member of a Philharmonic Society. He spent some
time in Rome, where he composed "Die Walpinges nacht," and arranged the
one hundred and fifteenth psalm to music. He also visited Naples. This
Italian town made a lasting impression upon his mind. He played before
many of the crowned heads of Europe. King Frederick William IV. of
Prussia was greatly interested in the young composer, and employed him
to write the music for the "Tragedy of Sophocles." His success greatly
excited the jealousy of the older musicians, but the King became his
dearest friend. Mendelssohn played in 1841 before Queen Victoria. He
thus described the occasion in a letter to his "dear little mother." "I
asked Prince Albert, the Queen's husband, to play something on the organ
for me. He complied. His playing--so beautiful and perfect--many an
organist might have envied him. Then I played and sang my chorus from
"St. Paul," "How beautiful are the messengers." When I had finished the
first stanza, the Queen and Prince Albert joined in the singing. The
Queen asked if I had any new compositions; if so, she would gladly have
them printed. We went into her salon, where there was a piano. I played
and sang again. She praised my playing and singing, and when I bade them
adieu said: 'I hope you will soon visit us in England again.'" This
brilliant career was speedily cut short. The death of his dearly beloved
sister Fanny, in the spring of 1847, affected him seriously. All his
compositions thereafter were melancholy. He became nervous and
irritable. He could not apply himself to his work, but would sit for
hours with his hands folded. After a brief illness he died on November
4, 1857, when he was only thirty-six. Three days after, he was carried
to his grave by the side of his sister Fanny Hensel, in Trinity
Cemetery, Berlin. Felix Mendelssohn was a favourite of the German
people--a musical genius like Weber and Schubert. He put his whole life
and soul into his work. His early death confirms Neander's words--also a
Hebrew Christian--"Whom the gods love die young." God gave him a musical
gift, which he delighted to use for His glory.
MENDELSSOHN, Henrietta, daughter of the banker, Alexander Mendelssohn,
was baptized in Berlin in 1822.
MENDELSSOHN, Nathan, the third son of Moses Mendelssohn, was born in
1782. In 1809, he was baptized by the Reformed Pastor Petiscus,
assuming the name of Carl Theodor Nathanael Mendelssohn. He became a
mechanic by profession, and was at the head of a large industry in
Silesia. He was a sincere Christian, and took an interest in missionary
work among the Jews. He requested the missionaries of the L.J.S. in 1826
to supply him with Bibles for distribution among his workmen. He died in
Berlin in 1852.
MENSOR, Rev. Dr. Meyer, studied theology in Berlin, where he received
the degree of D.D. in 1846. He was subsequently chief rabbi of Chicago.
After embracing Christianity, he was ordained by the Archbishop of York
in 1861-2. After holding several curacies in the North of England, he
was appointed Vicar of Stoke Mandeville in 1879, where he preached the
Gospel for many years, and took a great interest in missions to the
Jews.
MEYER, Friedrich Christian, born in Hamburg in the second half of the
seventeenth century, died in Belgium about 1738. After having been
baptized at Bremen, he became a missionary and travelled for thirty
years. He was the author of the following works: (1) "Licht zu
Erleuchten die Juden," exalting the glory of Christ (Leipzig, 1711). (2)
"Meirath Enayim," a pamphlet written in German, in which the author drew
a parallel between Moses and Christ, shewing the supremacy of the latter
(Amsterdam, 1713). (3) "Der Abscheuliche Mord Christi," in which he
endeavoured to demonstrate that the duration of the exile of the Jews
can be attributed only to the Crucifixion of our Lord, Hamburg, 1719.
(4) "Vera Immanuelis Generatio," written in Hebrew, and demonstrating
the Deity of Jesus from the prophets, especially from Isaiah vii. 14.
MEYER, Hermann Edward, was born in Gross Glogau in Germany, 1796, and
converted in 1817; he studied in Halle, and became professor of law and
philology in Greifswald and in Halle. He wrote mostly about Greek laws,
"Attischen Process," Halle, 1824. In 1828 he became editor of the
"Allgemeine Literatur Zeitung," and especially contributed to the
"Allgemeine Encyklopædie" of Ersch and Grüber. He died in 1855.
MEYER, Rev. Jonas Theodor, was born in Crivitz, a small town in
Mecklenberg, January 30, 1819, and died in New Jersey, March 14, 1896.
His early Hebrew education he received from a Polish Jew in the Cheder,
and then he was sent to relatives in Schwerin, where he studied in the
Gymnasium, so that at the age of fifteen he was in the first class. As
far as religion is concerned, he was taught to fear God, but he knew
very little of the love of God, so that he only lived to appease the
divine wrath by ascetic practices and good works. This did not satisfy
his soul, and he resorted to worldly pleasures, but neither did he find
satisfaction in them. At this juncture he met with the writings of R. S.
Hirsch, the then leader of orthodoxy, and with those of mystic Plessner,
which awakened him somewhat from his spiritual slumber. He then began to
study the Scriptures, and trusted to God's grace and mercy for the
pardon of his sins, yet he found no peace. Thereupon he came in contact
with Dr. Holdheimer, the leader of the Reformed Jews, and by him was
appointed teacher in Schwerin, in 1841, and subsequently recommended as
Reformed rabbi to a congregation in Butzow. But the Reform movement at
that time went to extremes. The rabbis denied the belief in the Messiah
at a congress, from which Meyer dissented. He was placed in a
predicament between the extremes of Orthodoxy and Reform, in neither of
which he could observe vital religion, so he began to study the New
Testament. At first only its sublime ethics attracted him, but by and by
it was the Person and life of Christ which drew him by the Holy Spirit
to Himself. Then he met the missionary Dr. Schwarz, and from him he
heard the Gospel, and attended the lectures of Neander on Galatians, and
those of Hengstenberg, on the history of the kingdom of God, on the Old
Testament, and on its Christology, and was baptized by Dr. Schwarz, July
18, 1847. In 1848 he left the University of Berlin and went to Scotland,
and studied theology at the College of the Free Church at Aberdeen.
Afterwards he became assistant Professor of Hebrew to Dr. Duncan in New
College, Edinburgh. In 1857 he was ordained by Dr. Candish to do
ministerial work among the Germans in Edinburgh. In 1858 he was sent as
a missionary to the Jews in Galatz, Roumania, whence he was transferred
in 1862 to Ancona, Italy. From there he was sent in 1867 to Amsterdam,
to succeed Dr. Schwarz, who went to London. In 1871 he was requested by
the English Presbyterians to take charge of their mission in London, in
which he laboured ardently and successfully until his retirement in
1894.
MOLLIS, Rev. M. L., thus writes of himself:--"I was born in Russia of
Jewish parents, and in the heart of Talmudical study, zeal for
traditional observances, and great orthodoxy. My education was therefore
thoroughly Jewish, and I sincerely and firmly believed in all I was
taught, both at home and in school, as being the commandments of God,
and that in the keeping of them there was great reward.
"Thus far a good foundation was laid, in which I gloried and thanked God
that I was born a Jew and well brought up and instructed in the holy law
of God and the prophets, and, moreover, in the Oral Law and the teaching
of the wise men in Israel.
"I may also add here that I was likewise taught several modern
languages, and received a fair secular education. For this I have to
thank several members of my family at home, who cherished some higher
plans in reference to my future career. My father and mother were dead,
and it had been their desire that I should learn the banking business
when I was old enough. This was not to my taste, and after trying it for
awhile, I left home, and went first to Odessa and then to Roumania to
visit my uncle. I did not stop very long with him, but left the country
and went eastward.
"It was during my travels abroad that I first came into contact with
Jewish missionaries, and heard of Jesus Christ. I had not read the New
Testament before, or even heard of such a book, as far as I can now
remember. I was therefore perfectly ignorant of Christianity, and knew
nothing of the Gospel. Of course, I heard at home of Russian and Roman
Catholic Christianity, but I was a Jew and forbidden to enquire into
their religion, or to read their books. One thing, however, I remember,
made some impression upon me, and that occurred when I was in Odessa. I
saw there some Germans who were Lutherans, and noticed how different
they were in their lives and manners from other people around them, but
I never enquired where the change came from. And so it was at first when
I heard of the missionaries, for I really did not quite know their
religion and what they were teaching. I went one day out of curiosity to
hear one of them read and expound some chapters on Isaiah the prophet.
But when the reader asserted that Jesus Christ was the true Messiah, I
felt indignant and strongly opposed him. It was an insult, I thought, to
suppose that the Jews were in error in regard to Jesus of Nazareth, that
the Christians were right, and that our holy religion was inferior to
Christianity. I visited, however, the missionary several times
afterwards, and argued with him. In the meantime the New Testament was
put into my hands, and I was requested to read it. I did so, but I did
not relish it, because of the Deity ascribed therein to Jesus Christ.
This was the crucial point with me at the time. Still, I continued to
read the New Testament; but, I confess it with shame, I often threw the
book away from me, or dropped it down on the ground.
"Thus for two years the struggle went on, but I searched the Scriptures
earnestly and diligently, and besought the Lord to help me, until, by
the grace of God, I found the truth, and Jesus Christ was revealed unto
me as the suffering, despised and crucified Messiah, who endured all for
my sins, for the sins of my nation and of the whole world. The change
that came upon me was indeed great; my pride vanished, my dislike of
Christ disappeared, all opposition to the truth ceased, and I felt a
wonderful love to Him who first loved me, and who gave Himself for me.
"I can only speak of it now as a new creation. But it was the view of
Jesus Christ upon the Cross which melted my heart. I cannot explain it
in words, but it was a reality, and held me fast and absorbed all my
thoughts until I could almost realize the words of the prophet
Zechariah, 'And they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced and
mourn.' And I did mourn too!
"This was no doubt the most remarkable incident in my conversion, and,
like Paul of old, I 'determined not to know anything among men, save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified.'
"After my baptism, I wrote home and told them of my conversion, and my
faith in Jesus Christ. There was no answer for some time, but it came at
length couched in rather mild terms, and expressing a hope that I knew
best what I had done, and had taken the step after being fully convinced
that it was the right one. But I could read between the lines that they
were grieved at home in that I had left Judaism and embraced
Christianity, and thus, according to their notion, had become 'a
Meshumed.' Still, my joy in the Lord increased daily, for I knew in whom
I had believed.
"As to my future calling, I was uncertain for some time, although it was
in my heart to preach the Gospel to my brethren, but the Lord opened a
door for me, and I was thankful to realize that it was His doing and not
mine.
"After three years' training in a college, I was appointed to labour
first in England among the Jews, and then I went abroad and preached the
Gospel to Jews and Gentiles in lands beyond the seas. Whilst abroad I
was greatly blessed in my labours, and in one place I officiated in a
church and dispensed the Word of Life to Jews and Gentiles for several
years.
"Since my return to England, I have spent all my time in missionary
operations among my Jewish brethren in various towns of this realm, and
have sought, by the grace of God, to lead them to Jesus Christ, the true
Messiah and Redeemer.
"It has been my privilege to preach the Gospel to a very large number of
Jews and Jewesses during my missionary career, and the good Lord has
been pleased to grant me tokens of His favour and approbation in souls
of the House of Israel, whom I have led to the Good Shepherd, the Lord
Jesus Christ. I rejoice to know that I have spiritual children who are
walking worthy of their high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Some of
them are in the ministry, and others following honest callings and
leading quiet Christian and useful lives to the honour and praise of
God. And I may be permitted to add that many others perhaps, though
unknown to me at present, have been led to believe in Jesus Christ
through my humble instrumentality, and who are known of God."
MONTEFIORE, Lydia, was born a Jewess, and was the aunt of Sir Moses
Montefiore, Bart. Her parents were orthodox Jews, and she was taught
strictly to observe the Sabbath as a sacred day, as well as the feasts
and fasts, and other ceremonies prescribed by the law of Moses. Early in
life she was instructed in the duties enjoined by the rabbis on Jewish
women. At the same time she had instilled into her youthful mind the
lofty idea of the Unity of God, and the pre-eminence of the Jews.
After the death of her parents she visited America, and some of the
countries of Europe, but finally took up her abode in Marseilles, where
she remained until her death. "In March 1854," writes Mr. J. P. Cohen,
"I arrived in Marseilles as missionary under the auspices of the British
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews, and in the
following month I was introduced to Miss Montefiore by a lady who felt a
deep interest in her spiritual welfare, but before doing so she said,
'You will find her an out-and-out Jewess, and a great bigot.'
"On entering her house the lady said, 'I have brought an Israelite, Mr.
Cohen, and his wife to see you.' She received us very kindly, and after
the ladies had had some conversation, observing the Bible on a small
table by her side, I said, 'You read your Bible, I see.' 'Yes,' she
replied, 'it is my greatest comfort.' I took the sacred volume and read
Isaiah liii., and at the close asked her what she thought of that
wondrous chapter. 'I should like to hear your opinion upon it,' replied
Miss Montefiore. I told her I could unhesitatingly say that it referred
to the life and death of the Messiah; and that it had been literally
accomplished in the person of Jesus, whom I believed to be the promised
Messiah. 'Then you are a Christian,' she said. 'I am happy to say I am,'
was my reply. 'God has graciously opened my eyes to behold in Jesus my
promised Redeemer.' Turning to the lady who had introduced us, she
angrily said, 'I thought you told me they were Israelites?' 'So they
are, true Israelites,' replied the lady. A short pause ensued, and from
the quivering of Miss Montefiore's lips and flushed cheeks, I could
plainly see that her Jewish pride was roused, and with much vehemence
she said, 'I think it is most insulting to call on people, and try to
convert them from the faith of their fathers. Why not let every one
remain in the religion in which they were born? I must tell you I am a
thorough Jewess: I was born a Jewess, and I have lived eighty-three
years as a Jewess, and hope I shall die a Jewess.' But quickly
recovering her composure she said, 'I repeatedly hear Christians say
that they love the God of Abraham. I cannot conceive how they can do
that, and not keep the law which He gave to His servant Moses. If Christ
has done away with the law of Moses, how can He be the Messiah?' I
replied that this was one of the many erroneous ideas the Jews have of
Christ. He did not come to destroy the law, or the prophets, as the Jews
seemed to think, but to fulfil all that the law and the prophets wrote
concerning Him. It was He who made known the true meaning of all the
Mosaic ordinances and institutions. He explained their righteous
precepts, the latter of which at the time of His coming the scribes and
Pharisees had rendered of none effect through their traditions. Besides,
I told her that God had promised to make a new covenant with us, and to
write His law in our hearts. Here she rather abruptly interrupted, and
asked where that new covenant was to be found. 'It is not in my Bible,'
she said. 'Pardon me, it is in your Bible,' and I shewed her Jer. xxxi.
31-33, which she read with evident surprise.
"We conversed for a long time; Miss Montefiore shewing great interest in
all I said, and as we were about to leave she pleasantly remarked, 'I
cannot understand how a Jew who believes in Jesus can still be an
Israelite.' I told her not to think I ceased to be a Jew because I
believed in the Lord Jesus, far from it; He was a Jew Himself; all His
first disciples were Jews; He personally preached only to Jews; and it
was not till the Jews refused to listen that His apostles were sent to
the Gentiles. She seemed much pleased with this piece of Scriptural
truth, and on bidding her adieu, she asked us to call again, and said,
'I shall be pleased to see you at any time, except on the Saturday,
which day I set apart for prayer and Bible reading.'
"I soon paid her another visit, and after a little talk about passing
events our conversation turned on repentance, which appeared to be her
favourite topic. I said, 'What we want most is to have our sins
forgiven; not always to be repenting of them, but to forsake them
altogether. God did not say to our fathers when in Egypt, "When I hear
you repenting I will save you," but He says, "When I see the blood I
will pass over you" (Exod. xii. 13). The blood was Israel's security
then, and it is the blood now that makes atonement for the soul (Lev.
xvii. 11). 'And without shedding of _blood_ there is no remission.'
"After a little hesitation she said: 'We have no priest, no temple; the
place appointed where alone it was lawful to offer sacrifice is
inaccessible to us (Jews). Surely the Almighty will not require of us
that which we cannot perform; He will mercifully accept our prayers, our
fastings, our observance of the Sabbath, and the reading of the law, as
I do daily, as a substitute for performing the law.' 'Dear madam,' I
said, 'let me beg of you not to rely on such bruised reeds, nor build
your soul's salvation on such sinking sand; they are but vain excuses;
they may quiet your conscience, calm your fears, and lull you into a
false security, which you may only discover when too late.'
"The following will shew her idea of repentance. In writing to a friend
in March 1853 on this subject, she said: 'You say repentance is not
sufficient for forgiveness of sins. Then why did King David say to God,
"Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it; Thou delightest not
in burnt offerings; the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken
and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise!" Let us follow God's
commandments, and do unto others as we would they should do unto us, and
be patient under all adversities. But the last, I fear, I am deficient
in, for I am often very irritable and impatient.'
"It was wonderful to see how her views of the Messiahship of Jesus
became daily more distinct.
"I have just returned from a visit to our aged friend, Miss Montefiore,
after having had a most interesting conversation, or rather, I might
say, a Bible reading with her. I was greatly pleased to observe that her
tone, when speaking of the Saviour, was much milder than in any of my
former visits; and her anxiety for the truth was so great that it gave
me real pleasure to be with her. She said: 'All I want to know is the
truth. I shall receive nothing, unless I see it plainly revealed in my
Bible.' She expressed a wish to read the New Testament, and asked where
she could procure one. I told her I daily expected some Bibles and
Testaments from London, and that as soon as they arrived I should be
most happy to supply her with one.
"About this time the cholera was raging in Marseilles, and hundreds were
daily cut down by this most painful epidemic; and not feeling well
myself, our friends strongly advised us to leave the town for a few
weeks. During our absence the Spirit of God worked mightily in this
lady's soul.
"On our return we heard she had frequently enquired after us, and often
said, 'I miss them much, I hope they will soon return.' Accordingly
Mrs. Cohen did not lose any time, but called upon her at once, and was
received by Miss Montefiore with great affection. Having been reminded
of the near approach of the Day of Atonement, and 'without shedding of
blood there is no remission of sin,' she said, 'Yes, I know it, and feel
it more than ever. I once kept the Day of Atonement with fasting and
prayer, in the vain hope of making propitiation for my sins, but I am
beginning to feel I want something better than the blood of bulls and
goats to atone for them. I often repeat those words, "Lord, I believe,
help Thou mine unbelief." 'Unbelief,' she said, 'has been, and still is,
our sin; the veil is still over our people's eyes; but it shall be
removed, for God has promised it. They will not search the Scriptures as
I do.' With clasped hands and uplifted eyes she said, 'I'll tell you
what I say to the Anointed One (Jesus, I mean), "If I have done or said
anything against Thee, pardon, oh pardon me, for I did it in
ignorance."' This was indeed good news to us, and we earnestly prayed
God to deepen these convictions, to teach her by His Spirit, and give
her much grace to impart them to her Jewish friends and relatives. The
New Testament which I promised, but was unable to give her on account of
our sudden and unexpected departure, was supplied her by a friend during
our absence, the reading of which proved a great blessing to her.
"A few days before _Yom Kippur_ she said, 'The more I read my Bible, the
more I am beginning to feel my being born a Jewess can never save me; I
must have something better than my fastings and prayers.' Every visit I
paid her I could see a considerable change in her sentiments respecting
the Lord Jesus. It was pleasing to me, who had prayerfully watched her
for so many months, to observe how gradually her Jewish prejudices
disappeared, her views of the Gospel becoming more and more clear, and
her love for Jesus increasing daily. It was in the beginning of October
1854, she expressed a wish to be baptized, provided it could be done
very secretly, on account of her position. She said, 'I should not even
like my servant to know of it' (who had lived in her service four
years). I told her to remember that 'the fear of man bringeth a snare,'
and that Jesus Christ tells us that, 'Whosoever shall deny Me before
men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in Heaven'; I also
advised her to read the tenth chapter of St. Matthew, at the same time
to make it a matter of serious prayer before God, and I would do the
same, and that we would converse more on this subject at another time.
"Let me here remark that Miss Montefiore had a niece in England, who had
already embraced Christianity, and her heart's desire and prayer to God
for her aunt was, that she might be saved. Every letter she sent her
aunt contained some exhortation to search the Scriptures; she also
forwarded her religious books; but the contents of the letters were soon
forgotten; nevertheless, I believe that the first link in the chain of
human agency in Miss Montefiore's conversion was to be found in this
niece's persevering prayers for her aged relative. Not having heard from
her aunt for a year, and knowing nothing of our Christian intercourse,
the lady was surprised and thankful to receive the following letter:--
"'_October_, 1854.
"'DEAR L.,--I have at last taken courage to reply to some of your
letters, dates _n'importe_. I have read "The Book and its Story,"
the missionary's aid for converting the blind and the stupid. I read
it with much interest, and I pray ardently it may bring the whole
world to believe, as I now do, that Jesus Christ, God's only
begotten Son, was ordained to be crucified to take away all our
sins; and that by believing in Him we shall be saved. Madame R. lent
me the Old and New Testament bound together. The Old Testament I
almost knew by heart, but the New I had never before read. I have
studied it closely during many evenings, which has sorely pained my
eyes; but, oh, how plainly and typically the Bible shews the coming
of Messiah! I have thought so long since, before you endeavoured to
bring me to believe. Oh, my dear L., had God so ordered your abode
close to me, I should have listened better than by your letters, and
perhaps been baptized ere now. Pray keep _very secret_ the words of
this letter. I cannot say more. My heart is too full.
"'My country residence of ten weeks did not improve my health. The
fatigue was too much for me at my time of life. I continue very
feeble. The Lord's will be done! If He heals me, I shall be healed;
if He saves me, I shall be saved. Thanks to our Heavenly Father the
cholera is over at Marseilles. I have lost my poor landlady, she
died in the country, leaving Marseilles to escape the cholera. I
went with regret, as I was not afraid. I completed last week my
eighty-first year, so excuse the defects, for my age's sake. "He is
in the Father, and the Father is in Him." Amen.--Your truly
affectionate,
"'LYDIA MONTEFIORE.'"
"'What word can express my surprise,' writes that lady, 'at the
declaration contained in the former part of this letter! An actual
declaration in the belief of a crucified Redeemer! Over and over again
did I read the words, "And I pray ardently that the whole world may
believe, as I do now, that Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, was
ordained to be crucified to take away all our sins, and that by
believing in Him we shall be saved." Could this be from one of whom it
was said only two years before, "She is an out-and-out Jewess?" The Lord
did at last convince her that Jesus was the Messiah of whom Isaiah spoke
in his liii. chapter, as he writes: "He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of
our peace was upon Him; and by His stripes we are healed. He was cut off
out of the land of the living."' Her desire for immediate baptism daily
increased; and she frequently made it a subject of conversation with her
Christian friends. At a subsequent visit she said to me, 'The Lord has
given me a deep sense of my former sins, but I have rolled them all on
Jesus for pardon, and now I shall not be happy until I am baptized.' I
again told her seriously to consider the step she was about to take, in
declaring she was not ashamed of Jesus; and asked her whether she had
made up her mind to endure persecution for Christ's sake. She said, 'My
confidence is in God; He will not lay more upon me than I am able to
bear.' The conversation that day was more about faith in God, and less
of man, which I was very glad to hear. At another visit, when speaking
about baptism, I said, 'Now, suppose you are baptized, and your friends
should ask you whether it was true,--what would you say?' She said, 'I
would tell them it was quite true, and that I felt assured, if they
searched the Scriptures prayerfully, as I had done, God would remove the
veil from their eyes, as it has pleased Him to remove it from mine; and
then they would also believe in Jesus, the true Messiah, and in the
power of His resurrection, as I have done.' It was truly delightful to
see how gradually the fear of man subsided, and her confidence in God
daily grew stronger. I accordingly introduced the Rev. J. Monod, who
very kindly visited her several times; his visits were much blessed to
her; and having been satisfied with her faith in Christ, he baptized her
on Thursday, January 18th, 1855.
"We spent the previous evening with her, and I read St. Paul's
conversion, and the sufferings of our Saviour, which affected her much,
and I earnestly asked God to be with us on the following day. She said:
'How thankful do I feel that the fear of man is entirely removed from my
mind, so much so that I have not only told my intentions to my servant,
but have given her leave to publish it abroad, and told her, should she
meet my relations, how to tell them of it; in fact, I wish all my
relations to know it, and I pray God they may be brought to the
knowledge of truth ere they die."
MORITZ, (Moses) Johann Christian, was one of the most distinguished of
the early missionaries of the L.J.S. He was born at Bernstein
(Pomerania) in 1786. His mother died when he was only four years of age.
Before she expired she blessed him, and said, "You will live to see the
advent of the Messiah. Remain steadfastly in the faith of your fathers,
that you may have a rich share in their Kingdom." These words made a
strong impression upon the child and were realized by him in a different
manner than the mother expected. Moritz received a Talmudic education
from private teachers, but modern literature attracted him most. His
father and his teacher warned him against it, and indeed they had reason
for doing so, for he began to express his doubts about the divine origin
of the Talmud, and one rabbi declared that his mind was deranged and
that he would eventually become a Meshummad. On account of his
disagreement with his stepmother, Moritz left his home at the age of 16
and went to Berlin to an uncle. At that time Prussia had suffered much
from the war with Napoleon, and Moritz went to London in 1807, and
brought a recommendation to the rabbi Dr. Herschell. The rabbi received
him in a friendly manner, and warned him to beware of the missionary
Frey, yet he did not regard it. The quiet Sunday in England impressed
him, and enquiring of Jews for the cause of it, they said, "If we Jews
should keep the Sabbath holy, as the Christians here do their Sunday,
the Messiah would soon come." This utterance he considered as a hint to
him for seeking to become acquainted with Christianity. He then got a
New Testament and read day and night, comparing it with the Old. He felt
his sins and took refuge in Jesus by faith, which he at once confessed
before the Jews. His father was informed of his son's intention to
become a Christian, and he came to London and tried his best to win him
back to Judaism, but had at last to leave him with imprecations and the
assurance that he would never get anything of his property. Moritz went
then to the German Pastor, Dr. Steinkopf, by whom he was instructed and
baptized. In 1811, he went to Gottenburg, Sweden, where he maintained
himself by giving lessons and selling books. In 1817 he was introduced
by Lewis Way to the mission, and having received a special call from the
Czar Alexander he went to Russia that year and laboured till 1825. At
that time he wrote two letters to the Jews, based on Jer. xxxi. 31-34.
(Elberfeld, 1820.) In 1825, after being in the Missionary College, he
entered the service of the L.J.S., and was sent to Hamburg, where he at
once formed a Prayer Union. From Hamburg he itinerated to Sweden,
Denmark, Russia, Bavaria, Würtemberg, receiving God's smile and blessing
upon his efforts wherever he went. In 1843, he returned to Gottenburg
where he testified to his brethren of the truth of the Gospel till 1868,
when he died in the Lord, after 42 years service under the L.J.S. It may
be mentioned that his wife, a Swedish lady, who shared his toils and
hopes with him for fifty years, died in 1864, and after her death he
gave all her savings to the L.J.S.
MOSSA, Nathaniel Immanuel, gives the following particulars of
himself:--"I was born on October 29th, 1833, at Friedland, near Beskow.
My father was a Jewish merchant, first in that town, and later in
Spandau, where I passed my boyhood. When I had completed my studies at
the Werder Gymnasium in Berlin I entered the University in order to
study medicine. I graduated in 1858, and the next year passed the State
Examination. I then entered the army for one year as a volunteer doctor,
and was sent to Spandau, and then to Jüterberg. Here, in the hospitable
house of Dr. Gross (later in Barmen), I learned Hahnemann's method of
treatment. After having finished my military year's practice, I settled
in Bromberg, and soon found a promising sphere of activity. This,
however, was interrupted by my participating in the military expeditions
of 1864 and 1866. Also in 1870 I was called to serve in the army as
physician, and took part in the siege of Strassburg, and likewise of
Belfort, and returned home with the decoration of the Iron Cross. I then
renewed my medical work at Bromberg, and continued it for twenty years,
and was also a contributor to the 'General Homoeopathic Periodical.'
Owing to the precarious health of my only child, I was at length
obliged to exchange the northern cold climate for that of the south, and
hence settled in 1883 at Stuttgart. In 1894, in addition to my medical
work, I undertook in 1894 the editorship of the above-named journal. I
have also for some years acted as President of the Committee of the
Society of Homoeopathic Physicians at Würtemberg.
"As for the story of my spiritual life, I may say, with all humility,
that our gracious Lord favoured me early in my youth. Already as a
school-boy I had the opportunity of learning the Gospel, since the Bible
was our book for reading in my first Christian school. I was at that
time much attracted by the works and utterances of Jesus, and deeply
touched by His death, and impressions perseveringly strong were made
upon my mind. The instruction and earnest converse I had with two
fellow-workers of the British Society, Dr. Koppel and Dr. Fürst, helped
me."
This short extract from Dr. Nathaniel Immanuel Mossa's autobiography is
supplemented by the information supplied by Pastor de le Roi concerning
him:--
"One day a Jewish Rabbi of his town asked him to give an address to
Jewish prisoners, and he took for his text: 'Seek ye the Lord while He
is to be found, call ye upon Him while He is near,' and he illustrated
the text by the example of the prodigal son. This was the turning point
in his life. He himself began to seek Him until He found Him or was
found by Him. He afterwards went to Bromberg, where he heard Koppel
giving an exposition on Isa. liii. and he joined in his labours as a
doctor in the Institution at Salem. Koppel recommended him for baptism
to the L.J.S. missionary Bellson, in Berlin. Later in life he settled in
Stuttgart, where he was a great comfort and support to Gottheil, and
after his death, he himself acted as missionary of the British Society
there till he was called home."
MYERS, Rev. Dr. Alfred Moritz, was born in Breslau, of strict orthodox
parents. At the age of twelve his teacher was a famous Talmud rabbi, and
he lived and moved and had his being in the Talmud and in nothing else.
Consequently he became disgusted with it, and when he heard that two
missionaries had arrived in Breslau, he visited them and received tracts
from them. For this he was punished, and when his mother died, he left
his home for London in 1830, and then went to Liverpool, where he heard
the Gospel from the Rev. H. S. Joseph, and after many inward struggles
was baptized in 1839. He studied theology, and became a clergyman of the
Church of England, and a famous preacher. He was Vicar at Barnet, and
afterward of All Saints, Dalston. He wrote an autobiography, "Both one
in Christ," London and Liverpool, 1839, "The History of a young Jew,"
Chester, 1840. "The Jew" translated into German, 1856. He wrote also for
children--"The Peep of Day," "The Night of Trial," upon the first
missionary at Southsea, "Line upon Line," "Reading Disentangled." He
died in 1880.
NACHIM, Rev. M., born in the town of Odessa in 1836. He writes:--
"I was initiated into the covenant on the eighth day (according to the
Jewish rite), and I received the name of Reuben, after my grandfather,
who had been chief rabbi. I do not know the time when I began to learn
Hebrew, but I do remember I was not quite eight years old when I
commenced to study the Talmud.
"In the year 1854, I started on a journey to Palestine. When in
Constantinople I met a Hebrew Christian colporteur named Solomon, who
offered me a New Testament.
"Up to this period of my life I had never heard there was such a book in
existence! That dear Christian man induced me to visit the London Jews'
Society's missionary (the Rev. Dr. Stern). Space does not permit me to
go into detail, but that memorable visit, which lasted several hours,
thanks be to our Heavenly Father, changed my future life. It was then
for the first time I heard that Christianity was not, as I had been led
to believe, a system of idolatry, but based on Moses and the Prophets,
and I left Dr. Stern's house with a burning desire to hear more, and
learn more about it. For two years I visited Dr. Stern constantly, and
the more I learned of the saving truth as it is in Jesus, the more
agonized was my struggle; but at last, though my pillow was oft bedewed
with tears, as I realized fully what decision for Christ would involve,
I was enabled by Divine grace to say, 'I count all things but loss, for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things;' and on September 16, 1856, I was
baptized in Constantinople by my beloved spiritual father, Dr. Stern,
and I then received the name of Michael (who is like unto God). From
that time I had an earnest desire to witness for Christ amongst my
brethren; and in 1860 I entered the mission field in connexion with the
London Jews' Society, with whom I remained till November, 1869, and then
I commenced my missionary labours with the British Society.
"In closing this brief outline of my life, I desire to express my deep
gratitude to our gracious Lord, who has permitted me to preach the
Gospel of Jesus Christ in Russia, Roumania, Austria, Germany, France,
Italy, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey and Bulgaria, and has blessed the
message to many a Jewish heart, and to the salvation of many souls. I
have also been privileged to preach the Gospel to many members of my own
family, holding influential positions in Russia, and I am thankful so
say that nine of my cousins have been baptized.
"My future is in God's hands, and my earnest prayer is, that the
remainder of my life may be more fully dedicated to His service and for
His glory."
NAPHTHALI, Israel, was one of the earliest missionaries of the British
Society. He was appointed in 1842, and laboured mostly in Manchester. In
1851 he could report twenty-three converts as the fruit of his labours.
In 1870, it was recorded that through his instrumentality fifty Jews
acknowledged Jesus as their Saviour, amongst whom was Aaron Sternberg,
who afterwards became an earnest missionary of the same Society.
Naphthali was an earnest, spiritually-minded Christian; who reached the
age of 86, and died in the Home for Aged Israelites in 1886.
NATHANIEL, (Julla), a North African Jew, was one of the earliest Jewish
converts in England after the Reformation. He was baptized in the parish
church of All Hallows, Lombard Street, London on April 1, 1577, by the
Rev. John Fox, who preached a sermon on that occasion on Rom. xi. in
Latin. That sermon was published in English by James Bell in 1587.
Nathaniel, too, gave an address to the congregation after his baptism.
("Jewish Intelligence," 1827, pp. 28, 321, 406, 445.)
NAVORSKY, son of Moses bar Hayim, who lived in the Archduchy of Posen in
the seventeenth century. His father was a tenant farmer, and when he
died the Polish nobleman, to whom the farm belonged, after demanding
from the widow the payment of false debts, which she refused to pay,
drove her away from the farm, seized her son and had him forcibly
baptized in the Roman Catholic Church. When the Saxons invaded Poland,
one of their officers gave the nobleman a dog for him in exchange. This
officer, being a Christian man and a member of the Moravian brethren,
treated him kindly and instructed him in the truth of the Gospel, of
which he had hitherto been in total ignorance. Later he joined the
Lutheran Church and lived a pious Christian life. He died in 1750.
NEANDER, Auguste. [16] On the 17th of July in the year 1850, an imposing
funeral _cortège_ slowly wended its way through the streets of Berlin,
attended by a Royal carriage and by numerous Government officials,
clergymen, professors and students of the Universities of Berlin and
Halle, assembled to pay their last tokens of respect and esteem to the
distinguished man who was being carried to his final resting-place.
Along the whole route from the residence of the deceased to the
cemetery, a distance of two miles, immense crowds of people thronged the
streets, filling all windows, doors, and available places of
observation. Before the hearse were carried the Bible and Greek
Testament of the man who had done more than any of his contemporaries to
keep alight in Germany the torch of pure and undiluted Christianity. The
whole scene was a striking tribute to the worth and work of the eminent
professor and Church historian, Auguste Neander, who for thirty-eight
years had exercised unbounded influence in the domain of theology, not
only in the University of which he was a distinguished ornament, but
also throughout Europe. And this man was a Christian Jew, whose
conversion and devotion to Christianity were destined to be fruitful in
great results, the end of which we have hardly seen to-day.
[16] Biographies of Eminent Hebrew Christians, by the Rev. W. T. Gidney.
David Mendel, to give him his original name, was born at Göttingen of
poor Jewish parents on January 10th, 1789. He was a scion of the famous
Mendel family, connected by descent with the great Jewish reformer
Moses Mendelssohn, whose successful efforts to elevate and uplift his
then degraded race ended in all his descendants eventually embracing the
Christian faith. In the words of a modern Jewish historian, whose love
of truth led her to place on record what must have cost many a regret to
avow:--"As we read the story of the wise and liberal philosopher, who
broke through the barriers and let in the light of learning and of
social countenance on mediæval benighted Judaism, we shall see that the
very children of the emancipator were dazzled by the unaccustomed rays,
that his sons wavered and his daughters apostatized, and that in the
third generation--only the third--the fetters which degraded were called
degrading, and the grandchildren of Moses Mendelssohn, the typical Jew,
were Jews no longer."[17]
[17] Lady Magnus, "Outlines of Jewish History," ch. xxxvi. p. 284.
Young David Mendel received his early education at the gymnasium or
public school at Hamburg, it being his parents' intention to bring him
up in the legal profession, in which, there is very little doubt, he
would have become distinguished. In 1806, however, having, through the
influence of two fellow-students, Chamisso the poet and another named
Neumann, embraced the Christian faith, he determined to devote himself
to the study of theology, and thenceforth the whole course of his life
was altered. At his baptism he had taken the Christian names of Johann
Auguste Wilhelm, after those of his two friends, to which he added a
new surname, Neander, or the "new man," and the new aims of his life
were thus expressed in a letter which he wrote to the pastor who had
baptized him: "My reception into the holy covenant of the higher life is
to me the greatest thing for which I have to thank you, and I can only
prove my gratitude by striving to let the outward sign of baptism unto a
new life become, indeed, the mark of the new life proclaiming the
reality of the new birth."
Auguste Neander, as he was thereafter known, now entered the University
of Halle, where he studied Christian dogmatics under the celebrated
Professor Schleiermacher, whose speculations in doctrinal theology
verged very closely upon heterodoxy, and who is pronounced by an
authority to have been "the greatest theological writer that Germany has
produced since Luther, and, indeed, he may be called the founder of
modern rationalism on its better side."[18] Intercourse with this
erratic and brilliant genius produced no perceptible taint of
rationalism in the mind or scholarship of the scarcely less brilliant
pupil, whose public teaching contrasted so powerfully with that of his
erstwhile master. "It was a sad and singular sight," wrote the
biographer of Neander, "to behold his former teacher, Schleiermacher, a
Christian by birth, inculcating in one lecture-room, with all the power
of his mighty genius, those doctrines which lead to the denial of the
Evangelical attributes of Jesus Christ, whilst in another his pupil
Neander, by birth a Jew, preached and taught salvation through faith in
Christ the Son of God alone."[19]
[18] Peter Lombard, in "Church Times" of Nov. 21, 1902.
[19] "Memoir of the Life and Writings of Dr. Neander," prefixed to the
English translation of his "General History of the Christian Religion
and Church."
When Neander left Halle he repaired to his birthplace, Göttingen, to
pursue his theological studies in the university of which Planck was at
that time the leading spirit. It was there that Neander acquired the
practice, so conspicuous in his writings, of taking nothing for granted
and digging deep to the very _origines_ of things. It was this
invariable reliance solely on first hand and primitive information which
makes his literary work so valuable. In 1811 Neander became a private
"coach" at Heidelberg, in the university of which he was appointed a
professor of theology in the following year. Youthful as he still was,
his fame had by this time spread far and wide, and within a few months
he was elected to a similar position in the recently founded University
of Berlin, which the King of Prussia desired to elevate to the foremost
rank among the sister universities of his kingdom, and to make a great
centre for the teaching of theology. There Neander remained till the day
of his death, fully justifying his selection as one of the leading
lecturers in that seat of learning.
The foregoing are the chief events in an otherwise uneventful career,
entirely passed as scholar and tutor within the sheltered seclusion of
university life. It has been said that such an atmosphere makes for
self-indulgence. Of course, it may easily degenerate into this state.
And yet how many university dons could we name, whose saintly and
scholarly lives, long hours spent in teaching, and nightly burnings of
the midnight oil give the lie to such a sweeping assertion! That it was
far from being the case with Neander the following slight sketch of the
man himself, his labours and his writings, will abundantly demonstrate.
Neander was of an exceedingly lovable disposition, humble-minded,
retiring, pious and zealous. He was as simple as a child in the ordinary
and every-day concerns of life, eccentric and singular beyond
description, absent-minded to the last degree, and generous to a fault.
His charity was unbounded. His wants being few, he could give the bulk
of his income to others. The proceeds from the sale of his numerous
works were devoted to philanthropic and missionary purposes. He could
never keep any loose cash in his pocket, or turn away his face from any
poor man. If he did not part with the well-worn coat off his back it was
because he preferred to bestow the new one hanging in his wardrobe.
His industry was prodigious. Being a single man, for he never married,
he could devote all his time and energies to his calling--which was that
of scholar, writer, and lecturer. He was never ordained, and so never
preached in the ministerial sense of the word; but he never lectured
without teaching Christianity in its practical as well as doctrinal and
historical aspect. Religion was never obscured by theology. His lectures
were attended not merely by under-graduates and students, but also by
leading professors of his own and other universities--Protestants and
Romanists alike sitting at his feet. Three lectures a day he invariably
gave, and those on different subjects. To the students he was a father
and a counsellor, ever ready to bestow, though never eager to thrust,
his advice upon all who sought it. He was universally beloved for his
kindness of heart and his gentleness, and respected and admired for his
talents, scholarship, and teaching powers.
The supreme object of Neander's life, studies, and labours, is thus
concisely stated by himself in the preface of the first edition of his
_magnum opus_:[20] "To exhibit the history of the Church of Christ as a
living witness of the Divine power of Christianity, as a school of
Christian experience, a voice sounding through the ages, of instruction,
of doctrine and of reproof, for all who are disposed to listen." Neander
was not merely the historian of the dead past or _laudator temporis
acti_. To him the past was indeed great, eloquent, and glorious, but he
regarded it chiefly as the beginning of a greater present and a more
glorious future, and as the foundation of the stately building of the
Church that is being reared throughout the ages. He had unquenchable
faith in the abiding presence of Christ in His Church, and of its
consequent power to mould and transform the world. The parables of the
leaven and of the mustard seed were pregnant with meaning to him, and in
his history he elaborately traced the process of development in the
past centuries--a process which amounted to a steady and ever forward
progress, even furthered by all attempts to hinder it. And this, because
Christianity is a Divine power which descended from heaven at the
Incarnation of Christ, and gave a new character to the life of the human
race.
[20] "General History of the Christian Religion and Church."
We can well understand how exhilarating and energising such teaching as
this must have been when directed, as it was of set purpose, to
counteract the then new-fangled doctrines of Schleiermacher, and more
especially of Strauss, who in his "Life of Christ" had sought to
eliminate from Christianity all that was Divine, and therefore to
destroy its regenerative power on the hearts and lives of mankind.
To Neander, then, a Christian Jew, an immense debt of gratitude is due
from all who hold the Catholic faith undefiled. He stemmed for a time
the tide of Rationalism which threatened to engulf in its turbid waters
not only Germany, but the whole of Christendom. His aid was expressly
chartered to undo the harm caused by the speculative teaching of
Strauss. When others would have suppressed the latter's work by force,
Neander, discountenancing such carnal weapons, boldly and mercilessly
met his heresies by the issue of his own "Life of Christ."
We have already dwelt upon his two greatest works. We can only barely
mention the others. They were, to give them their titles in
English--"The History of the Planting and Training of the Christian
Church by the Apostles," "Biographies of Julian the Apostate, St.
Bernard and St. Chrysostom," "Anti-Gnostikus, Development of the Gnostic
System," "Memorabilia from the History of the Christian Life," "Unity
and Variety of the Christian Life," numerous essays contributed to
religious periodicals, and "Memoirs of the Proceedings of the Berlin
Royal Academy of Sciences."
Neander's restless activity doubtless shortened his life, and death
overtook him before the work which he had set himself to do was done. He
had completed his "General History" only to the middle of the fourteenth
century. He died whilst dictating a page of this unfinished history,
with the words, "I am weary; I must sleep; good night;" upon his lips.
To another famous historian, Bede, it was granted to see, but only just
to see, the completion of his labours. When dying, the amanuensis who
wrote for him his translation into Saxon of the Gospel according to St.
John, said: "Master, there is but one sentence wanting." Bede answered:
"Write quickly!" and when the sentence was written, he replied: "Thou
hast the truth--_consummatum est_," and with the _Gloria Patri_ upon his
lips, he breathed his last. Neander's work is like a broken column, and
yet who shall say it had been better otherwise? Surely not those who
believe that "man is immortal, until his work is done."
NEANDER, Rev. John, thus wrote of his conversion to a sincere
acquaintance:--"My dear friend,--Cheerfully do I respond to your call,
and as briefly as possible will I relate to you, how wonderfully God
has dealt with me; how He, the Almighty God, looked down upon me while I
was yet deeply sunk; how He called me, and lifted me up from the dust;
and how He brought me out of darkness into His marvellous light; praised
be His name. Amen.
"I was born in the year 1811 at Neubrûck, in the province of Posen. My
parents were strict Talmudical Jews, my father especially, a zealous,
learned Talmudist. They had consecrated me to the office of a rabbi,
even while I was at my mother's breast; which office being considered
then, as it still is, a most holy vocation. On my having attained my
eighth year, and being able to read Hebrew, my father engaged for me a
teacher of the Talmud, who resided in the house, and from early in the
morning until late at night he laboured with me in the Talmud; now and
then he also read the Pentateuch and Jarchi's Commentary with me.
"Until I was twenty-three years old, I studied at different Talmudical
schools in Posen, and having attained to that degree which qualified me
for the office of a rabbi, I returned to my father's house, where I
devoted myself entirely to the study of the Talmud. You are well
acquainted with the course of life led at rabbinical schools; I have
therefore no occasion to give you here an account thereof. I lived
earnestly engaged in this study, because it was my parents' warmest
wish; and I moreover hoped thereby to attain to a high position amongst
my nation, and flattered myself that I should hereby be qualified for
the community of the Chassidim, and consequently to reach the presence
of God.
"I plunged myself into the deep labyrinth of rabbinical subtleties and
sophistry; entangled myself in a chain, composed of thousands of links
of trivialities; exhausted myself in endeavouring to be enlightened on
this, or on that matter; but I only got deeper and deeper into the
labyrinth; not a ray of light penetrated its dark recesses. At length
the employment became exceedingly disagreeable to me; the zeal which was
so ardent in my youth (alas! it was a blind zeal), cooled more and more
in proportion as it became clearer to me that the words of the different
rabbis, the former and latter, are truly not agreeable to God's most
Holy Word; and I discovered, that the persuasion that their ways lead to
the truth is a vain persuasion.
"I was about twenty-five when with a painful heart I perceived this. I
had no firm foundation to rest upon; nothing on which to lay hold. I
stood as on broken ground; my heart torn, and nigh to perish with
anguish. About this time I was teacher in a town in Germany, where I had
above twenty pupils, whom I had to educate, and bring up as men and
Israelites; and every Saturday I had to deliver a public lecture on
portions of the Old Testament. All this placed me in a terrible
condition; I had to preach up and defend that, against which my heart
revolted; dissemble I would not, yea, I could not.
"In the early period of my life as a teacher, I was zealous for the
rabbinical Judaism of the present day. I tormented and exhausted myself
endeavouring, by the works of the law, to lead a life pure and holy
before my God; for even when a child I conceived sin to be an abhorrence
to God; the thunders of Sinai sounded and resounded in my heart; the
mighty word proceeding out of the mouth of the Almighty God, 'cursed is
he who does not keep my law,' pressed me down to the ground at that
early period of my life; as with flaming letters it was written in my
heart, 'God is a holy God! God is a righteous God! who abhors sin; in
whose presence, none but those who are pure, and free from sin, and who
live for him only, can abide.' From all my toil, however, I found no
peace; far, far from me was the rest for which I so much longed.
"I had intercourse with a few individuals who called themselves
Christians. I sought them out for the purpose of discussing with them
scientific subjects, and now and then to study the Old Testament with
them; of these some were students in theology, and others teachers; they
used to assail the revealed word of God most terribly. Through them I
became acquainted with the criticisms of de Wette, Eichhorn, Dinter, and
others, and it was not long that I stood up a zealous defender of modern
Judaism; I became a rationalist. We are deceived! exclaimed I to my
community, terribly deceived! the Talmud and the Psakim are a tissue of
errors, and so forth. Still the storm in my heart did not subside; it
continued to roar and to rage; I was not free; before it was chains of
superstition that shackled my heart, now those of unbelief; chains
forged by profane hands, by such fools as say, 'There is no God.'
"As I looked on these contradictions, and on this work of ungodly men, I
trembled, and entered the field against these impudent deniers of God;
but with weapons, alas! I knew not at that time, and so I was in a
terrible condition. I felt as if closed in by a wall; I panted after the
breath of life; I longed after liberty, and hoped that the enigma would
solve itself; but far off appeared to me the hand which should lead me
into the haven of peace; and the light which I searched after in all the
writings of men, proved but darkness; they were broken cisterns, and my
soul, which was languishing and nigh to perishing, did not find the
water of life. I lay at times the whole night on the hard floor,
chastised my body, yearned and cried aloud. The old Jews, to whose
knowledge these austerities came, held me for a saint; and the modern
Jews said to me: 'Don't be a fool.' Oh! these were years of anguish and
terror; I was often nigh to despair. The compassion and grace of God,
whom I did not know at that time, alone held me up; the hand of the
mighty covenanted God of my forefathers covered me, and it was His
eternal love that preserved me from sinking.
"I tore myself with force from the circle of those who surrounded me,
and I was chiefly alone and secluded. I betook myself, as it were, to a
desert of books. Alas! the speculations of men only filled my head,
while my heart remained empty. My thirst after the truth, after God's
truth, was not quenched; I read now and then in the Pentateuch; but the
books of the Old Testament were locked up to me, and the old and new
commentaries of the rabbis did not satisfy me. That the New Testament is
a key to the Old I had not the least conception at that time; and, as I
was then an enemy to Christianity, I never read the New Testament.
"At this time of severe struggle, I received a visit from my father, to
whom I communicated my distress of mind; it pained him deeply, and he
pressed me to return home with him immediately. To my question, 'What
shall I do then?' he replied, 'You shall do nothing else but learn the
Torah, you have no occasion to trouble yourself about earthly things,
and as soon as you shall be seated in the circle of the Chassidim and
students of the law, it will be well with you.' Family matters obliged
my father to return quickly, and I begged him to allow me to remain for
a short time longer in Germany, until I should be enlightened on that
which distressed me so much. Shortly after that I was sent for by a
Jewish community, in the north of Germany. I hurried thither with joy,
where I took possession of a very pleasant post.
"My heart, however, remained wounded, and peace was far from me. The
Jews of that place were very indifferent about religion, and it was not
required that I should deliver a public lecture on the Sabbath. I looked
for religious men, but amongst the Jews there was not one in whom there
was a striving after the only good; my exhortation to them to elevate
themselves to the fulness which cometh from God, and my admonitions,
were all in vain; nevertheless, the pupils clung to me with much love;
and they listened to me attentively when I related to them the history
of the kingdom of God in the time of the Old Testament dispensation.
"But my heart continued cold even here; the great deeds of God filled me
with awe, and the history of our people, as well as my own course of
life, only opened more the wounds of my heart. 'The Balm of Gilead' I
knew not, and the instruction I imparted was only mechanical, without
life, and without warmth.
"I visited the clergymen of this town, and I found some of them
different from any I had seen before; they talked of the revealed word
of the Old Testament, with warmth of heart and enthusiasm, and I heard
for the first time a powerful testimony to the Christian doctrine; my
whole heart was stirred up against it, the ground burned under my feet,
and I hurried away purposing never to return again.
"Still there remained a thorn in my heart. The fifty-third chapter of
Isaiah as well others in the Old Testament, to which my attention was
drawn, were too strong for me; doubt raged in me, and the questions,
What if it be really true? What if the Christians are right? left me no
peace.
"A few weeks elapsed, and I could no longer endure my trouble; I greatly
desired to be enlightened, and that, by means of the common medium of
all truth, Holy Writ alone.
"I began to read the New Testament, and to compare it with the Old, and
it wonderfully unfolded itself to me; more and more I discovered the
great mystery of redemption. In the Old Testament, in all God's
contrivances, a voice called to me, and I heard the voice of God,
through Moses and the prophets, saying: Jesus Christ the crucified, is
the true Messiah, the true Saviour, whose name is Jehovah Tsidkenu, the
Lord our Righteousness. I was roused especially by the ninth chapter of
the Acts; I was made acquainted, after much wrestling and fervent
prayer, that Jesus is the source of salvation, and of eternal life to
all, who, by the efficacy of His blood, are cleansed from the guilt and
pollution of sin, and through Him can call God, Abba, Father. I
perceived that faith in the triune God is the victory which vanquishes
the world.
"I could not remain silent about this; my heart was filled with it; I
tasted the friendship of God, I rejoiced and was constrained to exclaim,
'My Redeemer liveth;' and this I announced to my pupils, talked of it in
the circles of Jewish families, and publicly and aloud gloried in the
ground of my hope in the rich promise vouchsafed to me, by the mouth of
a mighty covenant God: Be comforted, all thy sins are forgiven thee, thy
debt is paid and annulled, through the great and only atoning sacrifice,
through 'the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.'
"There was a tremendous tumult among the Jews; some of them came to me,
and gave themselves much trouble by various means to turn me away from
the Lord, mine and my father's God. The community wrote all about it to
my father, from whom I received a letter which placed me in a most
painful position. He prayed and cried, 'Come to us, and remain a Jew.'
My mother received from this news a severe blow, and she was laid on a
bed of sickness, and great were her sufferings; my sisters, brothers,
and relatives mourned in secret. It was a hard struggle--life and death
depended on my decision.
"I cried and wept bitterly, and riveted myself firmly to the word of
life, that alone should be my guide, my stay, and my staff; and praised
be God, the Sun of Righteousness lighted me, and His beams fell warm and
full of life on my heart.
"'Whoso loveth father and mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me.'
This was spoken by Him who has power to save and to condemn. I could not
do otherwise than obey Him, who once said to the patriarch Abraham, 'Get
thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's
house, unto a land that I will show thee.' I was obliged to tear asunder
the ties which bound me to my beloved relatives, who still remain dear
to me; painful as it is to flesh and blood, I was constrained to do so
for the Lord's sake; and I exclaimed aloud in the presence of the Jews
who at this time surrounded me, and who, not knowing what they did,
endeavoured to hurl me down to the abyss of destruction: 'I cannot do
otherwise, I must acknowledge Him, I must believe on Him, who is my
Redeemer and Saviour; His name is Jesus Jehovah; I cannot do otherwise,
should they on account of it cut me in pieces. Woe unto me, if I deny
Him, the Lord Jesus; therefore it is well with me, that I perceived
through the grace of God, that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and
the life, praised be His name. Amen.'
"Now was I able to rejoice, and with David to exclaim, 'Bless the Lord,
O my soul, and forget not all His benefits' (Psalm ciii. 2).
"After I had been duly instructed in the saving truth of the Gospel, I
was publicly baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, on
December 9th, 1839, by the Rev. Mr. Müller."
NEUMAN, Rabbi, was converted through his intercourse with a Christian
merchant in Leeuwarden, Holland. He afterwards translated the tract,
"Light at Eventide," into Dutch. ("Jewish Intelligence," 1855.)
NEUMAN, Dr. R., was born at Brody in 1788. His father was a rabbi and
gave him a Talmudical education. In 1807 he came to Dessau in Germany,
where he wrote a Commentary on Amos, Nahum and Malachi, and became a
director of a free school for poor children at Breslau. Through his
intercourse with two Christian professors, and especially with the
L.J.S. missionaries McCaul and Becker in 1823, he learned to know Jesus
as his Saviour, and was baptized there, together with his wife and three
sons, by Professor Scheibel, in the Elizabeth Church. A Dr. Cohen, who
was a teacher under him, followed his example. Subsequently he rendered
service to the L.J.S. by revising the text of the Hebrew New Testament.
He died in 1865.
NEUMANN, Karl Friedrich, was born in Reichmansdorf in 1793, studied at
Heidelberg and Munich, and was baptized at Munich in the Evangelical
Church in 1818. Subsequently he went to Venice and studied Armenian. In
1828 he went to Paris, and in 1829 to London, and from there to China.
There he collected several thousand volumes of all branches of
literature, which are now in the library of the Munich University. He
became professor in 1833, M.P. in 1848. In 1863 he retired to Berlin,
when he died in 1870. Some of his works are the following:--"Die Völker
des südlichen Russlands" (Leipzig, 1847.) "Geschichte des Englischen
Reiches in Asien"; "Geschichte der Afghanen"; "Geschichte Oestreichs";
"Geschichte der Vereinigten Staaten." A translation of Gützlaff's
"History of the Chinese Empire"; "Geschichte der Armenischen
Literature," Leipzig, 1834, and English translations of Armenian
Chronicles.
NEWMAN, Rev. C. S., was first in the service of the Scotch Church and
laboured at Jassy and at Constantinople. In 1855 he resigned, and after
joining the Church of England was sent by the L.J.S. to Constantinople,
where he laboured successfully until he was called to higher service.
NEWMAN, Rev. Louis, a convert and student of the L.J.S., was ordained in
the American Episcopal Church, and laboured among the Jews in
Philadelphia with blessed results all his life. He was a great Hebrew
scholar.
NURNBERG, Rev. Nahum, was born in Russia, his father dying very early.
His mother and her children then went to live with her father, who was a
strict Jew, and as such Nahum was brought up. When about nine years old
an uncle adopted him and took him to Breslau to be educated. He became a
favourite with the proctor of the University there and at Berlin, and
through them he obtained a good deal of tuition. He also did
journalistic work, and in 1851 he came over to England to report on the
Great Exhibition. He stayed on in Hull as a correspondent. Whilst there
he came under the influence of the Rev. John Deck, by whom he was
eventually baptized. Later on he was, after finishing his course at the
L.J.S. missionary college, appointed a missionary of that Society, first
in England, and then in Roumania, but returned to this country as his
real home after a year's work, owing to the death of his wife. Soon
after he took orders, and engaged in parochial work, until 1879, after
which he retired, until his much lamented death on January 30th, 1904.
OCZERET, Rev. Leo, a native of Tarnopol, Galicia, was converted in
Jerusalem, and studied afterwards at the college of the L.J.S. in
London. His Jewish _fiancée_ also became a Christian. After being
stationed in Paris for about two years he was sent to Jerusalem and was
ordained by Bishop Hannington. In 1884 he was sent to reopen the mission
at Safed, and at first he had trouble with the spirit of fanaticism
which had ever existed among the Jews there; but gradually, by patience
and love, he won the hearts of many, so that when he became ill they
came to visit and console him. One old man even assured him that during
a whole fortnight he recited fifty Psalms (according to the custom of
pious Jews during illness) for his recovery. Oczeret went at last to a
hospital in Vienna, whence he wrote to the Committee, "Let the Lord's
will be done! Pray for us all. I do not give up every hope yet to work
for my Lord and Master, and to serve faithfully the Committee, to whom I
am wont to look as to a father." But though still young, he had finished
his course, and went to receive the crown of glory.
PALGRAVE (Cohen), Sir Francis, born in London, July 1788, died there
July 6th, 1861, son of Mayer Cohen, a member of the London Stock
Exchange. He was an infant prodigy. At the age of eight he made a
translation of Homer's "Battle of the Frogs" into French, which was
published by his father (London, 1796). He embraced Christianity, and
married a daughter of Dawson Turner, the historian. He was called to the
bar in 1827, devoting himself to pedigree cases. In 1832 he published
"The Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth," which is generally
regarded as the earliest important study of English constitutional
history founded on the records. He was knighted in that year, and became
deputy-keeper of Her Majesty's records, in which capacity he issued
twenty-two annual reports of great historic value. His most important
work is "A History of Normandy and England," 4 vols., London, 1851-63.
Palgrave had four sons each of whom attained distinction of various
kinds.
PALGRAVE, Francis Turner (1824-1902), editor of the "Golden Treasury of
English Songs and Lyrics," Professor at Oxford.
PALGRAVE, Robert Harry Inglis (born 1827), editor of "The Dictionary of
Political Economy."
PALGRAVE, Sir Reginald Francis Dunce (1829-1903), Clerk of the House of
Commons.
PALGRAVE, William Gifford (1826-88), Eastern traveller and author of "A
Year's Journey through Central and Eastern Arabia" (London, 1865) and
other works.
PALOTTA, Professor C. W., a native of Hungary, by birth and education a
gentleman. Coming to England early in the sixties of the nineteenth
century he was induced by a friend to attend the lectures and classes of
Dr. Ewald, and after due instruction was baptized in the Jews' Chapel,
Palestine Place. Not long after, he was sent by L.J.S. as missionary
assistant to the Rev. F. G. Kleinhenn, at Bucharest, whose daughter he
married. From 1866 he laboured for two years itinerating through Servia
and Bosnia. He was the first missionary who took the Gospel to the Jews
in those countries. In 1868 he was stationed at Jassy, where he laboured
until 1871, when he settled at Vienna as a professor of languages.
Palotta was a gifted man and zealous missionary, and throughout his
Christian life he took a great interest in the mission to the Jews, and
voluntarily helped them in Vienna and also in Paris during the
exhibition in 1879.
PAULI, Rev. C. W. H., was born in Breslau in 1800 and was named Zebi
Nasi Hirsch Prince. His father who was a rabbi, gave him a thorough
rabbinic education. Already at the age of 21, being then a religious
teacher, he published "Sermons for Pious Israelites," in which he
emphasized the teaching of the Bible rather than that of the Talmud.
Whilst thus endeavouring to teach pure Mosaism he came in contact with
the L.J.S. missionary, C. G. Petri of Detmold, and received from him a
New Testament, of which he began to make use in his teaching. The Jews
then declared him crazy, and he resigned his office and went to Detmold.
From there he was sent to Minden, where he was baptized December 21st,
1823. His sponsors were Baron Blomberg and Major Grabowski. The former,
who through the influence of the L.J.S. founded the mission at Detmold,
then recommended Pauli as a missionary to the Posen Society. A year
later he went with Petri to England and studied at Cambridge. From there
he was called to be Lecturer of Hebrew at Oxford. In this capacity he
laboured there for thirteen years, during which time he wrote various
books, his "Analecta Hebraica" deserving special mention. In 1840 he
received a call from the L.J.S. to go as a missionary to Berlin, where,
by his learning and piety and loving disposition, he made a salutary
impression upon the Jews. In 1844 he was transferred to Amsterdam, and
laboured there till 1874. The results of his activity there appeared
from time to time in the "Jewish Intelligence." He then retired to
Luton, where he died in 1877, with the words upon his lips: "Into Thy
hands, O God, I commend my spirit. My Saviour is near."
PAULY, a Jewish savant, was baptized at Hamburg in 1810. He lived with
an unbelieving brother in Berlin, at the time when Pauli was stationed
there, who had the privilege of administering the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper to him on his dying bed when he was eighty years of age
(Annual Report, 1843, p. 60).
PHILIPPI, Dr. Friedrich Adolf, was born in Berlin in 1809. His father
was a banker and belonged to the circle of the Mendelssohns. Philippi
received Christian impressions at school, and in riper years he received
from a fellow student a treatise entitled "Glocktöne," by Court Chaplain
Strauss, which caused him to attend his sermons. His uncle Jakobi, the
mathematician, had at that time become an Evangelical Christian. This
event, too, caused him to seek for the truth until he found it for
himself and was then baptized by Pastor Zehme in Grossstädtel, near
Leipzig, in 1829. Later on he studied theology under Hengstenberg, and
became professor at Dorpat and later at Rostock. He was the author of
the following works:--"Die Lehre von dem thätigen Gehorsam Christi,"
1841; "Glauben's Lehre," 1853; a posthumous work, published by his son,
"On the Epistle to the Galatians and the Synoptics." He died on August
29, 1882.
PICK, Aaron, Biblical scholar, was born at Prague, where he was
converted to Christianity and lectured on Hebrew at the University. He
lived in England during the first half of the nineteenth century, and
was the author of translations and commentaries of various books of the
Bible. His works comprised a literal translation from the Hebrew of the
twelve Minor Prophets (1833), of Obadiah (1834), and of the seventh
chapter of Amos, with a commentary. In 1837 he produced a treatise on
the Hebrew accents, and in 1845 he published, "The Bible Student's
Concordance." He was besides the author of a work entitled, "The
Gathering of Israel or the Patriarchal Blessing as contained in the
Forty-ninth chapter of Genesis. Being the Revelation of God concerning
the twelve Tribes of Israel, and their ultimate Restoration."
PICK, Abraham, a native of Senftenberg, Bohemia, was influenced by his
brother Israel to examine the evidences of Christianity, and then had
intercourse with a Scotch missionary, the Rev. Daniel Edward, in 1866,
and at last was brought to the Lord by the Rev. Abraham Herschell, who
also baptized him in 1869 at Stuttgart together with his wife. His
daughter Catharine was already baptized through Edward, at Breslau in
1857. His daughters, Rosie and Philippine, were baptized at Kaiserswerth
by the Scotch Free Church missionary, Van Andel, and his daughter Regina
and his son Joseph were baptized at Kornthal in 1878. His daughters
Charlotte and Therese were baptized in Switzerland by Pastor Bernoulli,
and Elizabeth was baptized by Pastor Axenfeld in Cologne. The whole
family became in various ways useful workers in the service of the
Master, and in 1879 they had the joy of knowing that seven of their
relatives had confessed Christ in baptism. Abraham Pick became
afterwards the agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society at
Lemberg, where he laboured for many years in spreading the Word of God
in Galicia and in the Bukowina, where he and his family were almost the
only sympathizing friends of the L.J.S. missionaries.
PICK, Israel, a brother of the above, had received a strict Talmudical
education. When he came to the age of discretion he began to waver
between rabbinic orthodoxy and freethought, but he felt an inward call
to do something great for the emancipation of his brethren and for
restoring the Jewish kingdom. At first he was engaged in journalistic
work at Vienna, and then he became a preacher and teacher in a synagogue
at Bucharest, where he endeavoured to infuse vital religion into the
congregation, but had to leave them disappointed. His enthusiasm for the
temporal and spiritual welfare of his people caused him to correspond
with missionaries and to lay before them a plan for the establishment of
a Hebrew Christian National Church. He also addressed a letter to that
effect to the Jews in Amsterdam in 1853, but received no encouragement
anywhere. At last he embraced Christianity and was baptized by Daniel
Edward at Breslau in 1854. On this occasion he wrote: "A Word to my
People," afterwards "The Star of Jacob," "Kol nidre night," "Is there no
Physician there?" In all these writings he displayed almost a
prophetical spirit, speaking from the fulness of a heart inflamed with
love to his people, and no less to his Saviour. This enthusiasm led him
eventually in 1859 to Jerusalem, and then he was heard of no more. The
probability is that he was killed somewhere in Palestine.
PICK, Joseph, after studying in Basel and in the L.J.S. College, was
appointed missionary at Strassburg in 1877, and in 1888 he was
transferred to Cracow. He was a gifted and an energetic man and laboured
in both places under peculiar difficulties. In 1897 he visited London,
and on his return died rather suddenly, his loss being deeply felt by
all who knew him.
PICK, Rev. Dr. Bernard, was baptized in Berlin in 1861. Later he went to
the United States, where he studied theology and was appointed to a
church at Rochester, New York. He was a prolific writer. The following
were from his pen: "The Mission among the Jews," in the Encyclopædia of
Biblical, theological and ecclesiastical literature (New York, 1881, pp.
166-177). "The Talmud, what it is and what it knows about Jesus and His
followers" (New York, 1887). "Luther as a Hymnist," 1888. "Historical
Sketch of the Jews since the destruction of Jerusalem," 1887.
PIERITZ, G. Wildon, born at Klecko in Posen, in 1808, baptized 1835,
laboured as a missionary of the L.J.S. in the forties of the nineteenth
century at Jerusalem, in Damascus, and subsequently settled at Oxford,
where he was engaged in teaching. He was a learned and spiritually-minded
man, as his articles in the "Hebrew Christian Witness, 1874-5," testify.
He was the author of "The Gospels from the Rabbinical Point of View,"
London and Oxford, 1873.
PIERITZ, Rev. Joseph Abraham, was a missionary of the L.J.S., stationed
at Bristol in 1844, and laboured amongst the Jews generally in the West
of England, also in Dublin and other places. He afterwards went out to
British Guiana, and became rector of the parish of St. Patrick, Berbice,
where he died in 1869, aged sixty-five, as the result of a carriage
accident. His funeral was taken by the Bishop, and was attended by over
2,000 persons.
POLAN, Rev. Mark, was born at Wilna, a town known as the "Jerusalem of
Lithuania," where a high type of Judaism prevailed and where Rabbinical
learning flourished, and where also the Greek churches mostly
represented a sensuous and ritualistic Christianity. At Wilna there is a
flourishing trade in cereal products, and Mark's father was a corn
merchant. His parents gave him a rigorous religious training. His mother
could speak Hebrew well, and the boy was instructed in the Talmud and
other Rabbinical writings. As an illustration of the sectarian rigour of
the Jews at Wilna, it may be mentioned that a law having been passed
compelling education in the Russian language, the Jews proclaimed a Fast
and made provision for the private tuition of their children.
Young Polan left his native place in 1872 intending to proceed to
Australia and join a relative there. A change of plan, under pressure
from home, led him to linger first at Königsberg and then in London. In
London he soon came in contact with missionaries. His aim, however, was
not enquiry but opposition. Rumours then reached his friends that he had
become a Meshummad, but careful enquiries satisfied them that their
suspicions were mistaken and he was left unmolested.
But the living God was also watching and guiding. Gradually his attitude
to Christianity began to change. For one thing, the absence of images in
the English churches made an impression upon him. The first Christian
book that he read was the "Pilgrim's Progress" in Hebrew. Then there
came eager readings of Commentaries written on St. Luke, Acts, Romans
and Hebrews by Dr. Biesenthal, once a rabbinical Jew; he was thus led to
a careful study of the New Testament. In the Rev. Theodore Meyer the
enquirer at last found a wise and loving instructor and friend. From the
first, Mr. Meyer's erudition and sincerity drew forth the confidence and
interest of the young Jew.
After four years' instruction, Mr. Polan came forward for baptism, and
it was arranged to take place in Park Church, Highbury. An incident,
however, happened which led to its postponement. On the eve of his
proposed baptism he had a dream which led him to withdraw, and was the
cause of severe and protracted mental struggles. It is said by the
rabbins, and believed by the Jews, that in Paradise a dark veil is made
to hang before the parent whose child has become an "apostate." In his
dream Polan saw his mother in Paradise behind the dark curtain. The
effect upon his mind was such that he could not face baptism; nor did
he, until nearly a year afterwards. It may have been that the first
decision was resting mainly upon mental conviction of the truth. At any
rate, there followed more serious consideration and prayerful searching
of the Scriptures, with the result that a certain word of the Lord
reached his heart and touched it with signal power. The word was: "Let
not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me."
Under the power of this word this earnest seeker emerged into the light.
Ultimately, in 1878, he openly confessed Christ by baptism, the
ordinance being administered by Mr. Meyer in Park Church, Highbury.
The inevitable ostracism and persecution, with their attendant
sufferings, followed. It was a welcome mitigation to the new convert's
trials that his father did not entirely cast him off. And the spirit in
which he suffered may be gathered from the reply he sent to his brothers
and sisters, when, at his father's death, they hurled over him their
anathemas, telling him that his name had been expunged from the family
register. "It has caused me great pain," he wrote to a friend, "but
though my name is not now in the family tree, it can be found in the
Lamb's Book of Life."
In those days Mr. Polan was a member of Park Church, Highbury. The
pastor at the time was Dr. Edmond, who, with Mr. Meyer, proved a
spiritual father to the young Hebrew Christian. There he was surrounded
by strong missionary influences, and through the Fellowship Association
which supported two foreign missionaries, a desire in him was awakened
to become a messenger of the Cross in the foreign field.
In 1878 Mr. Meyer wanted a helper in his mission to the Jews, and Mr.
Polan was invited to take up the work. In this opening he recognised a
call of God to give his life to testifying for Christ to his Jewish
brethren. For twelve years he served as a valued helper of Mr. Meyer,
like a son with a father, busily engaged in district visitation and
taking part in the services. Personal studies also occupied his
attention, and he found time to his great joy and profit to attend the
course of lectures on "Systematic Theology" delivered at Queen's Square
by the Rev. Principal Dykes.
On the retirement of Mr. Meyer, Mr. Mark Polan succeeded to the headship
of the Mission to the Jews in East London. In 1888 he became an elder in
the John Knox Church, Stepney.
POPER, Rev. Heinrich, D.D., was born at Breidenbach, Germany, in 1813.
His father died before his birth, and his mother went back to her home
at Hildesheim. There he prepared himself to be a teacher, and began to
give lessons to Jewish and Christian children at the age of fourteen.
Later he came to the conviction that the Talmud was not in accord with
the Bible, and after three years inward struggle, he came to England and
was baptized by Reichardt in 1839. He was for a time in the Operative
Jewish Converts' Institution, and then in the Hebrew Missionary College,
and in 1844 he was sent as missionary to Frankfort-on-the-Main, where
he laboured with great efficiency until his departure in 1870. In 1859
Dr. Poper reported that there probably were from five hundred to a
thousand proselytes in the district. (See "At Home and Abroad," by the
Rev. W. T. Gidney, 1900.)
POSNER, Sigismund August (Löbel), was born in 1804, of wealthy parents
at Auras in Silesia who gave their children a strict orthodox education;
he was well instructed in the Bible. When studying at Berlin, Mr. Lachs,
Director of the Deaf and Dumb Institution, sowed in his heart the seed
of the Gospel, which took root and led eventually to his conversion, and
he was baptized by Pastor Schultze in 1828. His father was at first
grieved, but became afterward friendly to him. He studied theology and
became a very earnest preacher of the Gospel, so that only decided
Christians liked to hear him. He died in 1849. His biography was
published by Professor Tholuck for Sunday reading.
RABINOWITZ, Joseph, was born at Resina on the Dniester, September 23,
1837, and died at Kischineff, 1899. He was the son of David ben Ephraim,
and belonged to a rabbinic family. On the early death of his mother, her
father Nathan Neta took him to be educated at his house. When he was six
years of age he could repeat the Song of Solomon by heart. He remained
with his grandfather till 1848, when he went to other relations. At the
age of thirteen they betrothed him. Being compelled by an imperial ukase
to acquire the Russian language, his eyes were opened to a new world of
literature, and he began to think for himself. In 1855 Jehiel
Hershensohn (Lichtenstein), his future brother-in-law, gave him a L.J.S.
New Testament in Hebrew, declaring at the same time that possibly Jesus
of Nazareth might be the true Messiah, at which news he was very much
surprised. However, the immediate effect was that he left the Chassidim
and went back to Orgeyev to his grandfather, and studied the Bible more
and Russian law, so that he could act as a solicitor among his people.
In 1856, he was married, and was then regarded as an influential citizen
of the town, especially when it was seen that he took an active interest
in the education of children and that he contributed important articles
to the Jewish newspapers, and gave lectures at Kischineff, in which he
advocated the principles of reform and progress. In 1878 he wrote an
article in the Hebrew paper, "Haboker Or," in which he requested the
Rabbis to work for the improvement of the condition of the Russian Jews
by teaching them the necessity of becoming gradually an agricultural
people, and he showed this by his own example in cultivating his garden
himself. Not long afterward persecutions broke out in Russia, and he
went to Palestine on a mission of enquiry with a view of establishing a
Jewish colony there. But when he arrived in Jerusalem and became
acquainted with the sad temporal and spiritual condition of the Jews
there, his heart sank within him, and he was about to leave the Holy
City in despair, but before doing so he went to the Mount of Olives.
There he sat down in deep meditation, and reviewing the sad history of
his unfortunate people, the thought came to him as an inspiration: "The
key to the Holy Land is in the hands of our brother Jesus." This thought
he made then the matter and basis of his future work. Returning to
Kischineff, he drew up thirteen theses, the substance of which was that
Jesus is the only Saviour of Israel as well as of the whole world. With
great courage and enthusiasm he then endeavoured by word and pen to
propagate his conviction, and gained in a short time many adherents both
at Kischineff and in other towns of Bessarabia. Having in 1885 published
his "Symbol of the Israelites of the New Covenant" in seven articles,
Professor F. Delitzsch and the Rev. John Wilkinson encouraged him, and
in Glasgow an association was formed in 1887 for the support of his
movement. Rabinowitz was baptized in Berlin by Professor Mead, of
Andover U.S.A., in 1885, and henceforth his mission work took a more
decisive but also perhaps a more restrictive character. He was asked by
Provost Faltin, pastor of the Lutheran Church at Kischineff, to join
that Church, but for good reasons he declined to do so, as neither he
nor his adherents who had just come out from the synagogue could worship
in a church where there was a crucifix. For still stronger reasons he
could not join the Russian Church as he was asked to do by the highest
authorities. Consequently he had to build a hall, in which he preached
the pure Gospel as long as he lived. The result of this movement was
that not only Rabinowitz, and his wife and seven children with his
brother and family, and other individual Jews who heard the Gospel from
his lips publicly confessed Christ as their Saviour, but also that the
attitude of the Jews in general toward the person of our Lord has since
then changed for the better.
RAGSTATT, Friedrich de Weile, was born at Metz in 1648. His father David
was a teacher in several congregations, and naturally gave him a good
Jewish education. At the Jewish school, he learned from the Talmud the
old tradition that the Messiah was to come after 4,000 years had elapsed
since the Creation. This led him to enquire, and eventually he was
instructed by Dr. J. Alex. Neuspitzer, pastor of the Reformed Church at
Cleves, in 1671. In 1672 he entered the University of Leyden, and in
1677 he became pastor at Assenen; and then in 1680 at Spyk, in South
Holland, where he officiated till he died. Ragstatt was the author of
the following works:--(1) "Jefeh Maréh" (Amsterdam, 1671), written in
Latin, in which he endeavoured to prove, as against the Jewish
controversialists, especially Lipman of Mülhausen, the Messianic mission
of Jesus. A Dutch translation of this work, which contains also an
account of Shabbathai Zebi, was published at Amsterdam, in 1683. (2)
"Viytmunden--de Liefde Jesu tot de zeelen," _ib._ 1678. (3) "Van het
gnaden Verbond," _ib._ 1613. (4) "Two homilies on Gen. xlix. 10, and
Mal. iii.," The Hague, 1684. (5) "Noach's prophetie van Bekeering der
Heyden," Amsterdam, 1688. (6) "An Address delivered on the occasion of
the baptism of the Portuguese Jew, Abraham Gabai Faro," _ib._ 1688. (7)
"Brostwepen des Geloofs," _ib._ 1689. (8) "Jesus Nazerenus Sions König
on Ps. ii. 6," Amsterdam, 1688.
RAPOPORT, the well-known banker in Paris, was baptized with his wife,
two sons and four daughters, by Pastor Abric at Passy in 1879.
RICARDO, David, was born in London 1772, of a Portuguese family, and
died in 1823, at Gatcomb Park, Gloucestershire. He embraced Christianity
in his youth (see Brockhaus, 12, 523) and was therefore forsaken by his
father. He entered the Stock Exchange with little means and amassed a
fortune. He was the author of "Principles of Political Economy and
Taxation," 1817. In 1819 Ricardo entered the House of Commons for
Portarlington. Nearly all his brothers became Christians. To his memory
there is a professorship at the London University by the name of
Ricardo.
RICIO, Peter, son of a Jewish jeweller, was born at Berlin in 1809, and
died in 1879; he distinguished himself as a Christian in his
investigations in physical science. Amongst other works, his "Lehre von
der Rechnungs elementale," became epoch-making and secured for him the
membership of the academies at Petersburg, Göttingen and Munich, and the
degree of Doctor from Paris.
ROHOLD, S. B. The story of his conversion is thus told by himself:--
"It was in the well-beloved city of Jerusalem that I was born, and there
also my early days were spent. More than half the inhabitants of
Jerusalem are Jews, and mostly very pious, having come from all parts
of the world to be buried in the Holy City when they die. The belief
amongst these Jews is that when Messiah comes there will be the
resurrection, and the bodies of those who were buried beyond Jerusalem
will have to suffer much rolling until they reach the city. Thus to
prevent this they have their burying place in the ancient city, being
zealous for their religion, without enquiring as to whether they are
really right in doing so. My father's family was very well known,
belonging to one of the most pious sects of Jews in Jerusalem. It was
the great delight of my father to speak of his ancestors, who were great
rabbis; and for half a century he occupied an honoured rabbinical
position himself in Jerusalem (Rosh Hashochatim). My dear mother also,
whose ancestors were leading Jews amongst the rabbis, was fond of
telling us wonderful stories of her grandfather, who was a famous
disciple of the great Geonim of Wilna. Needless to say, both my parents
were careful to train their children in the religion of their
forefathers. Being the youngest son of the family, I was much petted,
and they did their utmost to bring me up in the fear of God, and in all
the customs, rites, and rabbinical traditions, whilst they taught me to
look upon Christianity as idolatry. Truly my parents loved me very much,
and did all in their power to educate me in what they believed to be
right, and their one desire was that I might occupy the seat of my dear
father, to which all my teachers gave them full hope. Thus the early
part of my life was spent in study within the home circle. It was in
the year 1893 that I had conversation for the first time with
Christians.
"In that beautiful spot, the so-called Garden of Gethsemane, I one
evening met two servants of God, who began speaking to me. At the time
it seemed that I had gone into the Garden merely by accident, but now,
as one looks back over the past, it can be clearly seen that a loving
unseen hand was guiding me. These two Christians explained to me from
the Scriptures how that Jesus of Nazareth is in very deed the promised
Messiah, Israel's greatest hope. As they reasoned with me, there was one
passage of Scripture which I could not get over, that 'the sceptre shall
not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until
Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.'
"With this new light upon the Word of God I was given to understand that
the promises regarding the coming One told not only of His glory and
majesty, but also of His suffering and death (Isaiah liii. and Psalm
xxii.).
"Slowly I began to see how great and true Jehovah is, and how that His
divine word regarding the Messiah has been literally fulfilled in Jesus
Christ. I saw my helpless condition, and realized as never before that
my own righteousness was as filthy rags. And oh, what joy came to me,
when the gracious promise of God was fulfilled, a promise which came to
me now with such a new meaning. 'A new heart also will I give you, and a
new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart
out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put
My spirit within you.' (Ezekiel xxxvi. 26, 27).
"Having then accepted Jesus Christ as my own personal Saviour, I began
to wish that my own loved ones might know Him, whom to know is life
eternal. But I feared to tell them of my new-found treasure, and it is
impossible for me to describe the unrest and agony of soul that I passed
through in consequence. It was only at the Throne of Grace that comfort
could be found, and there I sought the strength and help I so much
needed. After this it seemed very clear that the Lord was speaking to me
through His Word, and was thus answering my prayer for guidance. The
word which came to me was that given to Abram of old--'Get thee out of
thy country, and from thy kindred and from thy father's house, unto the
land that I will shew thee.' (Genesis xii. 1).
"To leave those who are dear to one, the relations and friends, yes,
even to leave all for Christ's sake, is not easy; yet I knew it would be
best to do what appeared to be the only right thing. It was a hard
command to obey, but still I had the Lord's promises to take with
me,--'Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world' (St.
Matthew xxviii. 20). 'If ye shall ask anything of the Father in My name,
He will give it you' (St. John xvi. 23). Trusting therefore in God
alone, and persuading myself that He would be faithful in fulfilling His
promises, I started on my journey. And by the help of Almighty God I
came to England, arriving here as a perfect stranger, not knowing the
language, and without an earthly friend. It was a time of great
temptation, but the God of my fathers kept me. Letters came from my
friends and relations in Jerusalem, trying to persuade me to go back,
and my dear father said it would bring down his grey hairs in sorrow to
the grave if I did not return. Truly I felt the presence of my Redeemer,
and realized that He had called me. This joy filled my heart, and the
peace which passeth understanding was my portion. I praise God for those
Christians who have learned to sympathize with His ancient people. The
Lord raised up kind friends who helped me through my difficulties, and
daily I learned more of my Saviour's love, and found that 'His goodness
faileth never.' His word says, 'They who put their trust in Him will
never be put to shame,' and as I trusted, so I proved the truth of it.
After spending some time in England, the way opened for me to enter the
Bible Training Institute, Glasgow.
"Here I had opportunity of studying the Word of God, for which I was
very thankful. At length a call came for me to enter active service in
the vineyard of the Lord at the Bonar Memorial Mission to the Jews of
Glasgow. On this work the Lord was pleased to set His seal, sending
friends to encourage me, and in other ways blessing me abundantly."
ROMANN, Nathaniel, was born at Kobylin, Posen, in 1819, and was educated
in the rabbinic schools of Lissa and Breslau, attending also at the
latter place lectures at the University. From the reformed rabbi, Dr.
Geiger, he learned to reject the Talmud, and from the missionaries
Teichler, Caro, and Cerf, he learned to accept the Gospel, and to become
a whole-hearted Christian. He then became a teacher in a Christian
school at Zieginhals. In 1851 he was accepted by the L.J.S. as a
candidate for missionary work, and after preparing himself in their
college, he was sent to labour in Breslau and Berlin, where he
discharged his duties faithfully, becoming a blessing to many Jews, till
his death in Berlin in 1871.
RONKEL, Philipp Samuel Van, was born at Groningen, Holland, in 1819. His
father was a teacher in a Jewish school, and when Pauli visited him, he
shewed him a New Testament, which he often read, but concealed it from
his son. Pauli said to him, "You may hide the New Testament from your
son, but you cannot thereby frustrate the counsel of God." Philipp was
well educated in rabbinic law, but he found no pleasure therein, nor did
the services in the synagogue attract him. He was brooding upon
something which his parents could not find out. At the age of nineteen
he entered the academy of Groningen, and studied classics. A professor
there drew his attention to the influence which Jesus exercises upon
thinking humanity. From that time the personality of the Saviour
occupied his mind, and he began to read with delight the poems of Da
Costa. Just then he was requested by the Jewish congregation at Leerdam
to deliver a sermon at the dedication of a new synagogue, and he took
for his text Haggai ii. 10, and manifested in his sermon that he was
inclined towards Christianity. It then happened that a Christian pastor
visited a poor sick woman, but she refused to have his services. Ronkel
then tried to see what he could do with her, and succeeded in getting an
attentive hearing from her to his stories about good women of the Old
Testament. She then asked him to read the Bible, but he had not one with
him, and her own Bible she had torn to pieces when the pastor visited
her. Then she asked him to pray, but he had never offered up an
extempore prayer. In this perplexity he thought he could repeat the
Lord's prayer in Dutch, which he had learned in Greek. He then repeated
it with such fervour that the woman shed tears. This was the turning
point in Ronkel's life. He took now the decisive step, and was baptized
on Christmas Day, 1856, Da Costa being one of the witnesses. He became a
true Christian, according to the testimony of his own father. Later he
became one of the most eloquent preachers in Holland, and the Lord
prospered the work which He had committed to his hands.
ROSENBERG, Rev. L., wrote the following brief sketch of himself shortly
before he died:--"My parents were by birth Austrian Jews. By occupation
my father was a landed proprietor and my mother carried on a drapery
business. There were four children of the marriage, three boys and one
girl. I was born on April 5th, 1828. My mother and three children died
at a time when I was too young to remember them. My father was baptized
into the Christian Church. I received a good secular and religious
education, enough to lead me to avoid bad company; not so much to honour
God as to honour myself in order to be respected and esteemed so as to
mix with the best society.
"Ignorant of and prejudiced against Christianity, how wonderful were the
dealings of the Lord with me will be seen from the following
record:--About 1841 I visited Constantinople. Here a young Jewish friend
persuaded me, after much effort, to go with him to a Mission House,
where we heard a godly sermon preached before a gathering of young
Israelites, by the Rev. Dr. Schwartz, who, later on, was Pastor of
Trinity Chapel, Edgware Road, West London, and also a member of the
Committee of the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among
the Jews. His Scriptural discourse awakened in me a desire to know more
about Christianity, and I often went to hear him preach at the Chapel of
the Prussian Embassy on the fore-noons of the Lord's Day.
"Having for a few years been convinced of the truth of Christianity, I
studied the Old and New Testament together, praying morning and evening
for light.
"About 1844 I again visited Constantinople on my way to Asia Minor for
hunting, with a view to becoming a naturalist by profession, collecting
wild animals, birds, and insects of all sorts for the museum. It was
whilst hunting on the top of Mount Olympus that the glorious scenery and
the power of God's Word, created as it were, a voice within me, ordering
me to leave all things, and I returned to Constantinople, and was
baptized by Mr. Allen, son-in-law of Dr. Duncan, the well-known 'rabbi
Duncan' of Edinburgh.
"Again I returned to Broussa, and on my own account I preached the
Gospel for a whole year to Jews, Armenians, and Greeks, from among whom
many, through Divine grace, were converted.
"Thus encouraged I went to Malta, where for about six years I studied
literature and theology in the Protestant College there, and in return I
gave lessons to boys in different classes, four hours a day. To complete
my preparations for the ministry of the Church I studied both in London
and Edinburgh.
"The Jewish Committee of the Established Church of Scotland engaged me
for about seven years, during which time I laboured as one of their
missionaries at the stations of Salonica and Smyrna, with encouraging
results, through the Divine blessing resting upon the Jews, Armenians
and Greeks. After this, on my resignation, I returned to Edinburgh and
London.
"Whilst in London the Committee of the Malta Protestant College, to whom
I was well known, and amongst whom were the late Lords Shaftesbury,
Calthorpe and Kinnaird, engaged me, and I went to the East to establish
British Schools for boys in all the principal towns bordering on the
Mediterranean and Black Seas. I established in Cairo a large boarding
and day school, and for over two years I worked on until my health
completely broke down, and, acting upon medical advice, I resigned and
came to London.
"On August 21st, 1865, I was engaged by the Committee of the British
Society, and ever since then I have been labouring, in Adrianople,
chiefly among the Jews, but also among the Armenians and the Greeks.
During the first ten years I baptized forty Jews, whilst other enquirers
of mine have been baptized in Constantinople, Smyrna, Jerusalem and
London. Many unbaptized Jews, Armenians and Greeks, have also been led
to believe in Jesus as the Saviour of their souls." He died in 1905
after more than forty years missionary work in Adrianople.
ROSENBERG, Samuel, M.D., was baptized at Constantinople about 1873. He
accompanied General Hicks on his compaign in the Soudan, where he lost
his life with the rest of the expedition.
ROSENBOHM, a Jewish convert in Sweden, was tutor of Hebrew at the
University of Upsala, in 1720. At the Coronation of King Friedrich, he
delivered a rabbinic oration, and likewise at the conclusion of peace
between the Kings of England, Denmark, and Prussia. (Wolff Bib. Heb. 3
N, 2138 a).
ROSENFELD, J. F. (Asriel), was born in 1807. His parents brought him up
piously, and married him at the age of fourteen. Coming in contact in
Berditsheff with a Scotchman, he received from him a New Testament. He
then went to Warsaw, became an inmate in the House of Industry, and
learned the trade of bookbinding, was baptized in 1828, and afterwards
laboured zealously as a missionary in Poland until his death in 1853.
ROSENSTRAUCH, Max, was born at Lemberg, on September 1, 1837. His
parents Moses and Scheindell, were strictly orthodox, and brought him up
in the straitest customs of strict Judaism. As he grew up, they were
proud of his Talmudical knowledge, their intention being that he should
become a rabbi. When seventeen years old, family circumstances compelled
him, however, to go into business, and he was apprenticed to a merchant,
with whom he remained ten years. In 1865, he accepted the post of a
schoolmaster in Jassy. Whilst there he heard of the Hebrew learning of
the Rev. W. Mayer, one of the L.J.S. missionaries, and formerly a
scholar in their mission schools in London. From him he received a New
Testament, which he read with eagerness, leading him to take Christian
instruction for eighteen months. Soon after this a strange event took
place in his life. He had left Jassy, and was on a steamer going to
Odessa, when the engine broke down. There being danger, the Captain
called upon all the passengers to pray. This Max Rosenstrauch felt he
could not do in the Name of Jesus Christ; all he could say was--"Lord,
teach us to pray." Later on the captain gave an earnest address to the
passengers on St. John iii. 14, 15; this he did not fully understand, but
what he did made a lasting impression upon him. In 1867 he was in
Kischineff, and of this period he says, "It only awakens in me painful
reminiscences. My Talmudical supports had been broken by the instruction
received at Jassy, and I fell altogether into unbelief. I could perform
neither Jewish nor Christian prayers. I did not even believe in the
existence of God. I sometimes disputed with the Scotch missionary, Mr.
Tomory, and Mr. Daniel Landsmann, and they knew me as a thorough
infidel Jew. At Odessa I lived as an atheist, and I had no intercourse
with any Christian. I was busy the whole day at a boarding-school, under
Mr. Trübitsch. At Kischineff my slumbering conscience was aroused, and
an unspeakable struggle agitated my heart, until the Lord opened my
eyes, and in every page of the Bible I saw the glory of Him who said, 'I
am the Light of the World.' In His Name I was baptized on Easter Day,
1868." After some years of missionary work with continental societies,
he joined the London Society for Promoting Christianity amongst the
Jews, in which he remained till his death, November 3, 1900. The
"Prayer-book for Jewesses" and his "Catechism for Jews," which he wrote,
have been most useful in his work, and in that of the above Society
generally.
ROSENTHAL, Rev. Michael, Vicar of St. Mark's, Whitechapel, who died at
the age of 63, was a converted Jewish rabbi, who for thirty years
carried on an earnest missionary work among the Jews of East London. The
story of his conversion is a remarkable one. Young rabbi Rosenthal, a
Hebrew of German extraction, was a profound Talmudist, and as strict and
zealous a Jew as was Saul of Tarsus before the journey to Damascus.
Rosenthal was sent on missions in connexion with the faith of his
fathers to Asia Minor, to North Africa and other countries, and finally
to England. On a steamboat he met a very learned and able man, who he
believed was a Jesuit. The man was certainly a Roman Catholic, and he
possessed a good deal of rabbinical lore. Rosenthal, as a strict Jew,
observed all the dietary and other laws of his people, and took his
meals separately. The supposed Jesuit ridiculed his scruples, and one
day, when the young rabbi was dining alone, touched his bottle of
claret, thereby, of course, rendering it defiled. Rosenthal was angry,
and the man saw this and taxed him with over-niceness in ceremonial
observance. "Do you really think," he asked, "that God is pleased by
your rejecting things that are good enough for the captain and other
people on the ship, and that you really serve Him by making yourself so
different from anybody else?" They had some conversation, which left a
great impression on the young rabbi's mind. One argument used by the
supposed priest had considerable effect. The Jews in the course of their
history during the last nineteen hundred years have acknowledged no
fewer than twenty-four Messiahs, all of whom have turned out to be
false, either impostors or self-deluded fanatics. Can a nation that has
made the gigantic mistake of accepting twenty-four false Messiahs claim
to be infallible in rejecting a twenty-fifth? All these false Messiahs
have appeared and been accepted since our Lord lived on earth except
"Judas of Galilee," who was a contemporary of Jesus Christ. Some time
after his arrival in England Rosenthal became acquainted with Dr.
Wilkinson, then rector of St. Peter's, Eaton Square. The young rabbi was
tremendously impressed by Dr. Wilkinson's great abilities and spiritual
earnestness. "Here is a Christian," he said to himself, "who is
absolutely sincere and of great intellectual power. Can Christianity be
merely a modern form of Paganism when such noble souls as these profess
it?" He listened to Dr. Wilkinson, and was on the way to conversion when
the good rector advised him to have recourse to the learned Dr. Ewald, a
celebrated Jewish missionary of the L.J.S., for the solution of
difficulties which only a Hebraist could deal with successfully.
Rosenthal was eventually baptized by Ewald. He took orders in the
English Church, being ordained deacon by Dr. Jackson, Bishop of London,
in 1877. Four years later he was admitted to the priesthood, and he
served for thirteen years as curate to the Rev. S. J. Stone, author of
"The Church's One Foundation," at St. Paul's, Haggerston, devoting
himself chiefly to mission work among the East-end Jews. He organized
the East London Mission to the Jews, which first came under regular
diocesan management when the present Bishop of London was Bishop of
Stepney. In 1899 Bishop Creighton presented Mr. Rosenthal to St. Mark's,
Whitechapel, a parish which is inhabited almost entirely by Jews. He met
with a good deal of hostility from the Jews in the first years, but he
talked straight to them and gradually the opposition died down, and he
steadily pursued his mission work among them. His labours were attended
with considerable success. He said that he had himself baptized over six
hundred Jews and Jewesses.
ROSENTHAL, Wildan Charles (Simeon), a learned Jew in Jerusalem, was
baptized with his wife, son and daughter by Nicolayson in 1839. This
family were the firstfruits of the L.J.S. mission in the Holy City. His
daughter became the wife of Mr. Bergheim, the banker, a Jewish convert.
ROSSVALLY, Dr. Max L., an American Jewish convert in the latter half of
the nineteenth century. He had been an actor, and after his conversion
became well-known as a lecturer in America and in England. He displayed
great zeal in his endeavours to form a Hebrew Christian Union, and in
1877 it is recorded that two hundred converts were united together and
held monthly meetings in New York and in Brooklyn. Rossvally wrote "The
Dying Trumpeter and his Experience," a German version of which appeared
in Hamburg, in 1891.
RUBEN, Maurice, was born in Prussia, in 1856. His people were typical
Jews, strict in their customs and in the observance of Jewish laws and
traditions. He came to the United States when he was sixteen years of
age. In 1895 he had the position of department manager in one of
Pittsburg's largest stores. His brother was half owner of this
enterprise. Plans were under way to admit him into a partnership in the
firm, which would have made him to-day--had he chosen "the way of the
world"--a man of wealth, with an annual income of 15,000 dollars.
Just prior to this he had married a charming and accomplished Jewess. In
the matter of religion he had wandered from Judaism to infidelity. Being
dissatisfied with unbelief, he began to "search the Scriptures"--both
the Old and New Testament--which resulted in the opening of his eyes;
he began to appreciate his own sinfulness, and was thoroughly convicted
of sin, the need of repentance, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. His
conversion took place on March 19th, 1895, and resulted in a most
striking change of both conduct and thought.
He continued to engage in earnest studies and to make it known to his
friends and acquaintances that he had found Him of whom Moses and the
prophets wrote, even the Messiah. Some months later he felt called upon
to announce his determination to forsake business and become a servant
of the Lord among his own people, believing he was being led by God even
as his forefathers Abraham and Moses.
As a result of his decision he was baptized, and set out to illumine the
spiritual darkness of "his brethren according to the flesh."
The Jews were very greatly disturbed at this conduct of one of their
prominent young men, and here the trials and troubles of Maurice Ruben
began. They made repeated efforts to induce him to forsake his "change
of life," but their efforts were futile. His wife ostensibly left their
comfortable home with her mother to visit friends in the West.
On a Sunday evening in August, subsequent to his conversion, he was
awakened from his slumber by the ringing of the door-bell. Responding
thereto he found himself face to face with two policemen. He was placed
under arrest and taken to the police station without a warrant of law.
He was given no explanation as to the charge which had been preferred
against him, and neither on Sunday nor Monday did a magistrate appear to
give him a hearing. He was, however, visited twice by two physicians,
who conversed with him in a mysterious manner. They introduced
themselves as insanity experts. Two days and two nights in a felon's
cell, with worse than a criminal's treatment, was a most trying
circumstance. Yet God was there to minister strength unto him. (St. Luke
x. 19.) He was visited on the second day by his wealthy brother, who
kindly informed him that he had been crazed by religion and was to be
sent for treatment to a sanatorium. He was taken that evening by
officers of the law to an asylum for the insane.
In the course of a few days he was pronounced by the superintendent of
the institution to be a perfectly sane man, but he was unable to release
him. His Christian friends endeavoured to intercede for him, but without
avail, and consequently this tried child of God was called upon to
endure the humiliation of five weeks' confinement in a mad-house, and
given the same treatment accorded to hundreds of demented folk in the
institution.
He was visited several times by his wealthy brother who offered him his
liberty if he would leave Pittsburg and go West, but he took a firm
stand and gladly refused to do anything except to remain in the city and
preach the Gospel of the Son of God to his brethren. A man of
considerable business interests in the city, Mr. J. B. Corey, finally
heard of him through the daily papers, and was led to call upon him in
company with a number of the officials of the institution. Mr. Corey and
the gentlemen found Mr. Ruben in his little room reading the Bible. A
short conversation satisfied the visitors that steps must be taken to
obtain the freedom of this man. Mr. Corey then instituted _habeas
corpus_ proceedings before the late Judge White.
At the close the judge frankly informed the wealthy brother and the
insanity experts that they and all connected with this outrageous infamy
ought to be sent to prison, and that the alleged demented man was saner
than those who had pronounced him insane.
Mr. Ruben at once began to prepare himself for his missionary work, and
sometime later opened up headquarters in Congress Street--the centre of
the Jewish Ghetto--and suffered much persecution. For the first few
years he was interfered with and maligned in every way imaginable. His
street meetings were frequently broken up, and he was hooted and stoned
by the Jewish element. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall
suffer persecution." God, however, led him safely through all his
difficulties and trials, and enabled him to found the New Covenant
Mission, Pittsburg, Pa.[21]
[21] "The People, the Land and the Book," New York, January, 1906.
RUBINO, Dr. Joseph Karl Friedrich, was born at Wetzlar in 1799. He
became professor at Marberg in 1831. His intercourse with earnest
Christians at Cassel, and especially with a converted Jewess, known in
Germany as Mother Jolberg, led him to investigate the question at issue
between Judaism and Christianity for himself, and being convinced of the
truth of the latter, he made a public confession of it by baptism at
Cassel in 1842, and lived a consistent life. On the evening before his
death he said to friends, "No other foundation can any man lay than that
is laid, even Jesus Christ."
RUNHOLD, Karl Wilhelm (Zacharia Lehman), Ph.D., was born at Hamburg in
1777. His father was a silk merchant there. At the age of twenty-two he
became an evangelical Christian, graduated at Rostok in 1812, and
distinguished himself afterwards as a writer. He edited the
"Gemein-nützigen Unterhaltungs blätter," the "Allgemeine Theater
Zeitung," and the "Archive für Theater und Literatur" in Hamburg. He
died in 1841.
SACHS, Marcus, was born of wealthy parents in 1812, at Inowrallan in
Posen. His father sent him to an uncle to study at the Gymnasium and
afterwards at the University there. During his studies he lost his faith
in Judaism and became a follower of Voltaire. In 1842 he went to
Edinburgh and became acquainted with the professor of theology, Dr. John
Brown, who made an effort to win him for Christianity, and gave him to
read the well-known book of Abbot Guenée "Lettres de quelques Juifs
Portugais, Allemands et Polonais à M. Voltaire." After he returned it
Dr. Brown asked him whether he would like to read a book which defended
the Christian religion? and on his affirmative reply he gave him
Limbroch's "Amica Collatio cum erudito Judæo." These two books removed
his prejudices, and he then began to read the New Testament, and after
months of enquiry, deliberation and prayer he decided to accept
Christianity by faith, and was baptized by Dr. Brown, April 5th, 1843.
He then studied under Dr. Chalmers, and was licensed to preach, and
became tutor of Hebrew in the Seminary of the Free Church at Aberdeen.
He is described as a most humble and loving Christian man by Dr. Saphir
and others who knew him. He died there on September 29th, 1869, passing
away with the leaves of autumn, a ripe sheaf into the garner of God.
SALKINSON, Isaac Edward, was born at Wilna, and died at Vienna, June
5th, 1883. According to some, his father's name was Solomon Salkind. As
a youth he set out for America with the intention of entering a
rabbinical seminary there; but whilst in London he was met by agents of
the L.J.S., from whom he heard the Gospel and was converted and
baptized. His first appointment as a missionary to the Jews was at
Edinburgh, where he became a student in the Divinity Hall. He was
ordained a minister of the Presbyterian Church at Glasgow, in 1859. He
was then a missionary of the British Society in various towns, including
Pressburg, and finally settled in Vienna (1876). Salkinson translated
"Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation" under the title "Sod ha-Jeshu'ah"
(Altona, 1858); "Milton's Paradise Lost," under the title "Wa Yegaresh
et haadam" (Vienna, 1871); Shakespeare's "Othello" and "Romeo and
Juliet," under the titles "Itiel ha kushi" (_ib._, 1874; preface by P.
Smolensky); and "Ram we-Yael" (_ib._, 1878); Tiedge's "Urania," under
the title "Ben Koheleth" (_ib._, 1876, revised); and the New Testament
under the title "Haberith Hahadasha." The last mentioned translation was
undertaken for the British Society in 1887; it was published
posthumously under the supervision of Dr. C. D. Ginsburg at Vienna in
1886.
SALVADOR, Yonkheer Moses, flourished at Amsterdam in the middle of the
nineteenth century. One of his ancestors built the Salvador house near
the Bank of England. It is said that the Salvadors were direct
descendants of the Maccabees, the Saviours of Israel, hence the name
Salvador, meaning Saviour. Moses Salvador was intimately acquainted with
Pauli and welcomed him to his house, where they discussed the subject of
Christianity. The result was that he joined the French Reformed Church,
at Haarlem in 1852. For a long time after his conversion he used to give
Thursday evening lectures on Christianity, which were attended by
Christians and Jews.
SAMANY, a native of Assesso in Abyssinia, was one of Flad's early
converts there. He had to undergo bitter reproaches from his mother and
relations on account of his becoming a Christian, but his reply to his
mother was that he loved her now better than before, and that he would
take care of her. Working on his weaver's stool he at the same time used
to speak to his two sisters of the "pearl of great price" that he had
found, and they too became Christians. During the imprisonment of the
missionaries, he attached himself to Waldemayer, who was free. After
the arrival of the English expedition he went to the coast, where he and
his companion Petrus were met by the Jewish traveller Halevy, who gave
them some money and promised to take them to Paris. Not perceiving at
once his intention, they accepted the money, but they brought it back to
him the next morning, and as he refused to take it back, they threw it
into the sea, although they suffered hunger at the time. Then they went
to Magdala, and afterwards with Flad to Europe, and were placed in the
training school at St. Chrischona, near Basle. But as Samany could not
stand the climate there, Flad took him to his own house at Kornthal, and
was then obliged to send him back to Abyssinia. On his return he and
Agashe preached the Gospel earnestly to the Falashas. Samany continued
to do so even from his sick bed. Conscious that the time of his
departure had come, he asked that the coffin which he had before
prepared for himself should be placed before him, then saying, "Father,
into Thy hands I commend my spirit," he entered into rest.
SAMSON, Lewis Paul, was an English Jew by birth, the son of a Dutch
"sopher" (writer of scrolls of the law and of phylacteries). When a boy
he used to hear Dr. McNeile at St. Jude's, Liverpool, and in other ways
came in contact with Christian influences. When he became forty years
old he was asked by his children to hear them repeat a portion of
Scripture which they had been taught at school. It happened to be Isaiah
liii., and it proved to be the turning point in his life. Like many
another Jew, he could not believe at first that it was a part of the Old
Testament, but it led eventually to his baptism by a Hebrew Christian,
who was one of the Society's missionaries.
His public profession of Christianity made him an object of abhorrence
to his brothers and sisters, though later on they learned to respect him
for his simple, unswerving faith, and some of them, it is believed,
became Christians. He continued his occupation, but at the same time was
an active worker in St. Jude's parish, until his appointment under the
Society. He was a man of one book and that book the Bible, which he knew
almost by heart. Many a Jew was struck by his intimate knowledge of the
Word of God, and none ever doubted his being a true believer, however
much they disliked his invariably holding up Christ before them. Many of
the poor Jews, both converted and unconverted, missed him, after his
death, as a friend in need, who often used to minister to their
necessities out of his scanty earnings. At one time, he was known to
have lived for weeks on sixpence a day, to save up the money which he
had borrowed and advanced to a Jew who either could not, or would not,
repay. No wonder that so many Christians learned to love and respect him
as "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile."
SAPHIR, Rev. Adolph, D.D. We learn from him the story of his conversion
in one short sentence: "I, at that time, a lad in my twelfth year, was
the first of our family to accept the Gospel." Mr. Wingate, who gives
an account of the event, says that the Jews testified to Adolph's being
born again from on high. "We heard that the Jews were saying that the
Holy Ghost had fallen on Saphir's son, and that he expounded the
Scripture as they had never heard it before." In the autumn of 1843,
Adolph went to Dr. Duncan in Edinburgh, that he might perfect his
knowledge of English, where he remained six months, and then went to
Berlin, and studied at the Gymnasium from 1844 to 1848, acquiring a
thorough knowledge not only of German literature, but also of German
philosophy. In 1848-49, he was tutor in the family of Mr. William Brown
in Aberdeen. In 1854, after finishing his theological studies, he was
ordained to the Presbyterian ministry, and licensed as a preacher in
Belfast. He then laboured as a missionary to the Jews in Hamburg for one
year. Then he had the charge of a church in South Shields, and in 1861
he received a call to Greenwich, where people from various churches
flocked to hear him. In 1872 a church was purchased for him at Notting
Hill, where his ministry was always attended by all sorts of earnest
Christians, especially his Thursday morning lectures. This was also the
case wherever he went to preach. Saphir's love and devotion to his
people and to the cause of missions was boundless. He died April 4,
1891, a few days after his wife. His last sermon was on the text, "And
Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him." The following
are some of Saphir's works: (1) "Who is a Jew?"; (2) "Who is an
Apostate?"; (3) "Expository Lectures on the Epistle to the Hebrews";
(4) "The Hidden Life"; (5) "Our Life Day"; (6) "Found by the Good
Shepherd"; (7) "Life of Faith"; (8) "The Compassion of Jesus"; (9) "The
Everlasting Nation"; (10) "Christian Perfection"; (11) "The Unity of the
Scriptures"; (12) "Christ and the Scriptures"; (13) "The Lord's Prayer";
(14) "Israel's Present and Future"; and (15) "All Israel shall be
Saved."
SAPHIR, Israel, brother of the famous satirist at Vienna, was living in
Pesth in the first half of the nineteenth century, where, owing to his
erudition and character, he exercised great influence upon the Jewish
community, and was regarded by them as another Gamaliel. Coming in
contact with the Scotch missionaries, Dr. Duncan, Mr. Wingate, Mr. Smith
and Dr. Schwartz, he heard the Gospel from them, and when convinced of
its truth he did not hesitate to embrace it. This is described by his
son in a few words: "Through the instrumentality of the Scotch
missionaries my father saw the truth as it is in Jesus, and was received
into the Christian Church in 1843 at the age of sixty-three years."
SAPHIR, Philipp, an elder brother of Adolph, was rather inclined to
worldliness, but became serious when there was an inundation in Pesth,
and he had tried to save life. In 1842 Rev. Dr. Schwartz passed through
Pesth on his way to Constantinople, and Philipp heard his addresses to
Jews, and was impressed, becoming conscious of sin and the need of
pardon. He was baptized in the Calvinistic Church of Pesth, in 1843, by
Superintendent Paul Török. He wrote afterwards to Mr. Schwartz: "I was
admitted into the Church of Christ. I cannot describe my feelings to
you. Ah! the infinite love of God! He has given me much peace, nothing
will deprive me of it. I am happy, joyful; my soul is with God. I praise
Christ every hour." He then, being nineteen years of age, went to
Carlsruhe to be trained as a teacher, and on his return to Pesth in
1845, at once set to work and organized a Y.M.C.A. Becoming ill, he
taught poor Christian and Jewish children gratis from his sick bed "The
Evangelical doctrine as he found it in the Word of God." He died
September 27, 1849, whilst his father knelt by his side with two friends
engaged in prayer. The daughters of Israel Saphir all became devoted
Christians. One was married to Rev. Dr. Schwartz, and the other to Rev.
C. A. Schönberger, both well known in the Christian Church.
SAUL, Aaron, was baptized by the L.J.S. missionaries in 1812. Lewis Way
took him to his Seminary. He however did not become at once a
missionary, but engaged in business and held the office of Clerk in
Palestine Place Chapel, and taught in the Sunday School for twenty-seven
years. He devoted himself especially to the care of enquirers and to the
circulation of the "Old Paths" and other missionary literature among the
Jews in London. From 1841 to 1843, he laboured as missionary at
Brussels, and died in London, Jews following his funeral.
SARGON, Michael, was born of Jewish parents at Cochin in 1795, and died
about 1855. He was converted in 1818, through the preaching of J.
Jarrett of Madras, and became the first missionary of the L.J.S. to the
Jews in India. In 1820 Sargon visited his parents at Cochin, who
received him kindly, and for a time the Jews there seemed to have no
objection to discussing with him his new faith. A local committee was
found in Madras with Sargon as the representative missionary. Madras
became the centre of the Society's work in India. In 1822 Sargon had 116
Jewish children under his charge at Cochin, but in 1824 he was
transferred to Bombay, where he opened, under the auspices of the
L.J.S., a school exclusively for Jews. In Cochin Sargon baptized a Jew
and two Jewesses in 1828. He and his brother Abraham continued their
educational activity for nearly thirty-nine years after the Society had
ceased to give a grant to the Bombay mission. (Report of L.J.S., 1821.)
SCHAPIRO, B. A. M. One summer morning in the year 1890 there visited the
reading room of the Hebrew Christian Mission, 17, St. Mark's Place, New
York, a Hebrew lad of nineteen years, with bright eyes and curly black
hair. He had just arrived there from Germany, although he was a native
of Poland. The boy's keen, intelligent countenance attracted the
attention of the Rev. Jacob Freshman, Superintendent of the mission, and
as several Jewish men were having a lesson in English, that gentleman
suggested that the young Jew should become a member of the class. The
stranger knew no English, the teacher had no knowledge of Polish or
Russian, consequently their conversation was carried on mainly by
pantomime, and with the help of one of the scholars, who acted as
interpreter. Jews are naturally fine students, grasping knowledge with
avidity. The new arrival proved no exception to the rule, and so before
the forenoon ended he had learned the English names of the articles of
furniture in the room, the days of the week, the numerals from one to
ten, and also how to write his name, "Benjamin Aaron Moses Alexander
Schapiro", in English script. Long after, when he had learned to speak
English with ease, we asked: "Why did your parents burden you with such
a number of names?" "Because," was his answer, "they hoped and wished
that I might combine in my character, when I came to manhood, the
qualities of patriarch, priest, prophet and king." He was a fine Hebrew
scholar, and carefully followed in a Hebrew Bible the Psalms which the
other pupils read in English. We found at our next visit the new pupil
awaiting our coming. His countenance glowed with pleasure, as he
cordially grasped our hand and proceeded to dispose of our satchel and
umbrella. That morning he read several pages in an English primer. When
we went again we found that Benjamin had taken his departure, though
urged by the superintendent and his kind wife, for they both had become
greatly interested in him, to make their house his home for an unlimited
period. His proud, ambitious spirit chafed at the thought of becoming a
burden on the hands of strangers, so he started out to earn his own
living, an entirely new experience in his case. Hitherto he had never
been called upon to solve the three vital problems: "What to eat,"
"What to drink," "Wherewithal to be clothed." His brief stay at the
mission proved, however, a very important epoch in this young life. The
seeds of Gospel truth were sown in his heart, and afterwards quickened
by the Holy Spirit, sprang up, budded, blossomed, and ultimately bore
the fruitage of earnest work for the Master. Two years had elapsed since
our first meeting. One evening, at the close of the service in a Hebrew
Christian Church, we were cordially greeted by a young man. The native
dress had been changed for American, the hair arranged in a different
style, etc. So great was the transformation that at the first glance we
failed to recognize our quondam pupil and friend. He then told us what
had befallen him since we last met. He had, soon after leaving the
mission, found employment with Mr. Benjamin Clayton, a butcher at
Jamaica, L. I. Imagine, if you can, what a trial it must have been to
one brought up to a strict observance of the tenets of orthodox Judaism
to have to handle "Gentile" meat, especially the abhorred pork. A
Christian man who dealt at the shop became interested in the young
stranger, seeing him to be the possessor of talents which ought to be
improved and developed. This kind friend placed him under Christian
tutors.
Eventually Mr. Schapiro was converted, and publicly confessed Christ,
and united with a church in Brooklyn. Soon after taking this important
and decisive step he was convinced that it was his bounden duty and
glorious privilege to tell the story of a Redeemer's love to his own
people. Very visionary seemed the project. How could he, a youth who had
not yet attained his majority, a stranger, a foreigner, a "despised"
Jew, without means, with few friends, accomplish this mighty
undertaking? Faith laughs at impossibilities. Enthusiasm is ever
contagious. A few friends became interested, amongst others Mr. Horatio
S. Stewart, the gentleman who had previously provided him with a
scholarship at Pennington Seminary. The first Jewish mission work in
Brooklyn was inaugurated in that part of the Twenty-sixth Ward known
commonly as "Brownsville." Here a colony of Polish and Russian Jews had
taken up their abode. A small hall was hired and services held on
Saturday afternoon. Great was the excitement, tremendous the opposition.
Jews gathered in crowds, anxious to hear what the youth might have to
say concerning his apostasy from the faith of his fathers. Men thrice
his age plied him with questions regarding Christianity, quibbles
mostly; occasionally, perhaps, an enquirer might have been moved with a
genuine desire to know the truth. The young missionary, however, was
enabled to possess his soul in patience, and with quiet dignity to repel
their attacks. The following incidents will serve as representative
specimens of these interruptions: Once, when the missionary was giving a
brief exposition of the first chapter of St. John's Gospel--"In the
beginning was the Word," etc., "'Logos' as 'word' here is in the Greek
synonymous with 'Memrah' in the Rabbinical writings," he remarked. A Jew
sprang to his feet in a second. "You cunning Mr. Missionary!" he
shouted--"trying to prove your statements from the Talmud, which you
profess to disbelieve, because you cannot prove them from the Old
Testament!" Quick as a flash came the rejoinder: "David, in the
thirty-third Psalm, sixth verse, says: 'By the "word" of the Lord were
the heavens established.'" The assailant was effectually silenced, but
so angry was he at having been outwitted in public by one so much
younger than himself that whenever he chanced to see the missionary
approaching he would quickly cross to the other side of the street.
On another occasion a Jew said: "You know perfectly well how wrong and
wicked it is for a man to desert the religion of his fathers. Why, even
the Gentiles despise those who are guilty of such an act!" "What do you
mean by the religion of our fathers?" was asked in return. "Why, of
course, I mean the religion of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," the Jew
answered. "But Abraham departed from the faith of his fathers. This
'apostasy' was imputed unto him for righteousness. You reproach me
because I have departed from the religion of my fathers, which you claim
to be the 'true religion.' Listen for a moment to the witness borne by
Moses and the prophets concerning the religion of our fathers. Moses,
our great lawgiver, says: 'Understand, therefore, that the Lord thy God
giveth thee not the good land to possess for thy righteousness; for thou
art a stiffnecked people.' 'You have been rebellious against the Lord
from the day that I knew you.' Isaiah the evangelist, says of our
fathers: 'From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no
soundness in it, but wounds and bruises, and putrifying sores.' 'Ah!
sinful nation!' and mark the expression: 'A seed of evil-doers, children
that are corrupters.' In another place the same prophet says: 'Woe is
me, for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in
the midst of a people of unclean lips.' Jeremiah says: 'Can the
Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do
good that are accustomed to do evil.' The weeping prophet declares: 'All
these nations are uncircumcised, and the house of Israel is
uncircumcised.' Jehovah himself says to Ezekiel: 'Son of man, I send
thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath
rebelled against me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me
to this very day. For they are impudent children and hard-hearted.' The
suffering prophet again says: 'Thou art not sent to a people of a
strange speech, and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; not
to many people of a strange speech, and of an hard language, whose words
thou canst not understand; surely had I sent thee to them, they would
have hearkened unto thee. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto
thee; for they will not hearken unto Me, for all the house of Israel are
impudent and hard-hearted.' Jesus the great teacher, said: 'Ye are of
your father, the devil.' Now, in view of all these assertions, can you
still insist upon my still adhering to the 'religion of my fathers.'
You say: 'The Gentiles despise those who have departed from the religion
of their ancestors.' That statement can be easily disproved from
history. Jesus, Paul and the other founders of the Christian Church all
apostasized from the faith of their fathers. Luther, a Roman Catholic,
became the leader of the Reformation. Neander, Edersheim, Saphir and a
host of other converted Jews have been indeed 'the glory of Israel, and
lights to lighten the Gentiles.'"
These Saturday services were continued for more than two years. An
evening school, where Jewish people, employed during the day, could
receive gratuitous instruction in English, was carried on with a great
degree of success. A protracted strike among the tailors, cloak-makers
and operators on men's clothing, the principal industries of this
settlement, reduced the people to the direst poverty; hundreds were on
the verge of starvation. In this, the time of their need, Mr. Schapiro,
at his own expense, opened a soup-kitchen in his rooms, himself serving
the tables, and for more than two weeks scores were fed. That no offence
might be given to their prejudices, the meat was "Kosher," that is,
bought at a Jewish butcher's, and prepared by a Jewish cook. This kind,
thoughtful treatment did much to disarm their repugnance against him as
a Christian. The missionary also opened a similar mission in the
Sixteenth Ward, Eastern District, where there is a Jewish population of
50,000, and for nearly a year carried on the two stations, holding a
service at Brownsville on Saturday morning, and a second one in the new
mission in the afternoon. Finally his committee deemed it best to
confine his labours entirely to the Eastern District station, as they
considered it the more hopeful field, on account of the large number of
Jews in the vicinity. Meanwhile a denominational mission had been
established in Brownsville. The Brooklyn Christian Mission to the Jews
has from the outset been interdenominational. This work in the Eastern
District was not inaugurated without opposition. The missionary and the
men who assisted him in the distribution of the notices for the services
and tracts were targets for the stones of crowds of Jewish boys. The
older people greeted them with sneers, derision, offensive epithets, and
sometimes with curses. Among the Jewish boys, Samuel ----, acted as
leader and instigator in the attacks. After a while he ventured into the
mission, intending to create a disturbance, and, if possible, break up
the services, but the story of a Saviour's love fell upon his ears, and
as has many times happened in the history of missions, he who "came to
mock remained to pray." Samuel was convinced, converted, and for two
years has been a consistent member of a church in this city.
After seven years of mission work, owing to the combined labour of
carrying on the service and collecting funds for the maintenance of the
mission, his health broke down and he gave up the work.
In June, 1900, Mr. Schapiro published the first number of "The People,
the Land and the Book." He had a theory that much of the variance
existing between Jews and Christians had its foundation in mutual
ignorance and misapprehension of their different religious beliefs. He
designed to reach both parties in a spirit of love.
Mr. Schapiro for eleven years had no home, no intercourse with his own
family. Having become an "apostate," he was worse than dead to them. All
his overtures for reconciliation were scornfully rejected. To be cut off
from all one's relatives, to have no home life, is ever a great
affliction, particularly to a Jew, for the Jewish attachment and
devotion to home and family are proverbial. A Jew who has embraced
Christianity can sing in all sincerity, "Jesus, I my cross have taken,
all to leave and follow Thee," for it is his veritable experience.
One day he chanced to meet a fellow-townsman, who, to his great
surprise, told Mr. Schapiro of the latter's cousin, who lived in New
York. Of course he lost no time in hunting up this relative. At first he
was greeted with sharp, bitter reproach, for his change of faith, but
when it was manifest that his love for Christ had not obliterated, but
rather intensified, his love of kindred, speedy reconciliation followed.
Mr. Schapiro learned that his father had lost his property, and also
that his eldest son had died. Letters were exchanged, and complete
reconciliation ensued.
The painful situation of the Jews in Russia made Mr. Schapiro anxious on
his family's behalf. Through the assistance of kind friends he was
enabled to bring over two of his sisters. They reached there one
Thursday, and a week later found employment. There were still eight
remaining at home, father, mother, brothers and sisters. Through the
efforts of the once deemed lost brother "Joseph" they were enabled to
go, and are now comfortably situated in their own home in New York.
Mr. Schapiro's life is not lacking in romance. Some years ago, while he
was conducting the mission in Boerum Street, a pretty Jewish girl of
thirteen, whose parents lived opposite, frequently attended the
services. After a while the family moved and Mr. Schapiro lost sight of
his little friend. After he had left the mission, and was conducting the
magazine, they chanced to meet again. Their renewed acquaintance ripened
into love, and a year after they were married. Mrs. Schapiro is a
charming little woman, bright and attractive. Their union has been
blessed with a darling little daughter, Beatrice Sylvia, now nineteen
months old. The former homeless wanderer rejoices in a pleasant,
tastefully arranged home, and a wife who delights to minister to his
comfort, and is hospitable in the extreme, always welcoming his friends,
and leaving nothing undone which can minister to their comfort.
This paper has already far exceeded the limits originally intended;
still it seems impossible to close it without some slight character
delineations. Mr. Schapiro, so the Jews who come from his native place
tell us, is of a good family; his father was a man of wealth and
position, and was noted for his rigid adherence to the tenets of
orthodox Judaism. One can easily understand how sore a trial it must
have been for such a Jewish father to have his son embrace Christianity,
and what in his opinion was still more disgraceful, to have that son
become a missionary of the Cross among his own people. Mr. Schapiro is
intensely fond of books, is a good student, ambitious to be thoroughly
educated, and is already quite a forcible speaker. Fearlessness forms
one of the strong points of his character. He is positive, liberal,
without being a radical, conservative, yet not bigoted. He has what is
an absolute requisite to all who undertake leadership of any kind--good
executive ability. Naturally sensitive, as a missionary among the Jews
he has had many a fiery ordeal to pass through and many hard reproofs to
bear. But to his credit, be it said, he has been enabled to retain his
patience and to exhibit a forgiving disposition. He had a very correct
idea of the propriety and reverence with which all religious services
should be conducted. Never using cant expressions, and although gifted
with a keen sense of the humorous, he never stooped to ridiculous
illustrations, which, though they create laughter, leave no lasting
impression for good. He has never sought notoriety. Mr. Schapiro is
still a young man, and like all young people, has much to learn, but if
health and strength are granted, he bids fair to become an able advocate
of the Messiah among his own brethren after the flesh, the Jews.[22]
[22] "The People, the Land and the Book," Miss Mary C. Sherburne. July,
1905.
SCHERESCHEWSKY, Dr. Samuel Isaac Joseph, from 1877 to 1883 missionary
bishop of the American Church in China. He was born at Tanroggen, in
Russian Lithuania, in the year 1831, and brought up in the religion and
learning of the Jews, graduating from the University of Breslau. The
reading of the New Testament in a Hebrew translation, which had fallen
into his hands, convinced him of the truth of Christianity. This must
have been the Society's version, as at that time Professor Delitzsch's
and Salkinson's versions were not in existence; and, therefore, the
Society was the first agent in the Bishop's conversion. Soon after his
confession of Christ he went to the United States. He acquired his
knowledge of Greek in the Theological Seminary at New York, which he
entered in 1857. The Christians with whom he first came into contact
belonged to the Baptist and the Presbyterian denominations; he was
baptized by a minister of the former, and studied theology in a seminary
of the latter body. But before he had finished his studies, he had
learned and acknowledged the position of the Episcopal Church, and was
admitted a candidate for holy orders under the Bishop of Maryland. In
1859 he was ordained deacon in St. George's Church, New York, and in the
following year was advanced to the priesthood in China, whither he had
accompanied the elder Bishop Boon on his return from a home visit.
In the autumn of 1861, Schereschewsky made a translation of the Psalms
into the colloquial. This was his first work. In 1863 he moved to Pekin
and began, with Bishop Burdon of Hong Kong, the translation of the
first Mandarin Prayer Book. The main part of this book, viz., Morning
and Evening Prayer, the Collects, and the Psalter, were his work; Bishop
Burdon taking the remainder of the Book. This was completed in 1864. In
1865 a committee of five leading Chinese scholars, Dr. Edkins, Dr.
Martin, Dr. Blodgett, Bishop Burdon and himself, undertook the
translation of the New Testament into Mandarin. This is still in use
generally throughout the Empire. The only other Mandarin version in
existence at that time was Dr. Medhurst's "Mandarin," which was based on
the so-called "Delegates' Version" in Wen-li. The Bishop began the
translation of the Old Testament himself into Mandarin, in the autumn of
1865, and finished this colossal undertaking at the end of eight years.
This, with the Mandarin Testament mentioned above, forms the ordinary
Chinese Bible in general use by Christians in China, and is read at
every service from the lecterns in the China Mission of the American
Episcopal Church, as mentioned in the organ of the Domestic and Foreign
Missionary Society of the American Church.
In 1875, Dr. Channing Moore Williams, the American Bishop for China and
Japan, having been assigned to the work in Japan alone, Dr.
Schereschewsky was elected Bishop of Shanghai. With great modesty and
self-distrust he declined the office; but being again chosen in 1877, he
was persuaded that it was his duty to undertake its labours and
responsibility. He returned as Bishop to Shanghai in the autumn of
1878, and, in the course of the year 1879, translated the whole Prayer
Book into Wen-li, or classic style, blending with it as much as possible
the English and American Prayer Books, with the hope that all missions
of the Anglican communion might use it in China. Although this hope was
not gratified, the book was for many years the only one in use in all
the American missions, and formed the basis of the colloquial versions
which have since superseded it. In 1879 the Bishop went up the river to
Wuchang, and began the translation of the Apocrypha. He had only
completed one book when he was smitten down during the intense heat of
the summer of 1881, and his physicians ordered his removal to Europe,
whither he went the following spring. He was under treatment from 1882
to 1886, at Geneva in Switzerland. In 1883 Bishop Schereschewsky,
unwilling to retain an office whose duties he could not discharge,
resigned his Bishopric.
With wonderful perseverance he now devoted all his energies of mind,
which remained unimpaired, to the work of bringing the Scriptures within
the reach of the Chinese nation. Fully acquainted with their language in
its different forms, and being not only a skilful Sinologist, but one of
the most learned Orientalists in the world--and that by the testimony of
Professor Max Müller--using a pen as long as he could hold a pen, and
then, owing to paralysis, working on a typewriter with the two fingers
which he could control, he translated the Old Testament from the
original Hebrew into the Mandarin dialect, leaving to a secretary only
the reduction of the typewritten words into the Chinese character. For
twenty years, day after day, in China, and for a while in Massachusetts,
and more recently in Japan, when he was near a printing-press which he
could use, he worked under disadvantages which would have put an end to
the courage and the labours of almost any other man. Not long before his
death he completed his greatest work, the translation of the whole
Bible, including the Apocrypha, into the Wen-li dialect. He also wrote
Chinese grammars and dictionaries, and translated the Gospels into
Mongolian, preparing also a dictionary of that language. He died at
Tokyo, on October 15th, 1906.
We may add the following extract from the Bible Society's memoir of the
Bishop, written by the Rev. Crayden Edmunds, M.A.:
"His early training, whereby he came to know Hebrew better than any
other language, specially fitted him to become a translator of the Old
Testament. This peculiar fitness was soon recognised by his missionary
colleagues, who about 1865 entrusted him with the translation of the Old
Testament into Northern Mandarin. He also worked on the Peking Committee
as a translator of the New Testament. His version of the Old Testament,
first published by the American Bible Society in 1875, has since been
repeatedly issued by both the A.B.S. and the B.F.B.S. A revised edition
appeared in 1899. But a still greater work was his translation of the
whole Bible into Easy Wenli; he added the New Testament in this case,
in order to secure uniformity; both Burdon and Blodgett's, and Griffith
John's versions of the New Testament being in a somewhat different
style. This Bible the A.B.S. published in 1902.
"The significance of Bishop Schereschewsky's achievements, however, lies
not so much in their extent and scholarship as in their testimony to the
indomitable courage of the man and his devotion to his work. Six years
after his consecration as Bishop he became paralysed, and had to resign
his episcopal jurisdiction. His malady increased till it left him with
the use of only the middle finger of each hand. Fortunately his
intellect remained unimpaired, and with these two fingers he was able to
type out his MSS., which were afterwards rewritten in Chinese characters
by his secretary.
"But the toil was well worth while. To this man alone has it been
granted to give to the two hundred and fifty million Mandarin-speaking
Chinese, as well as to the mass of readers in China, the Oracles of God
as found in the Old Testament. Reviewing, therefore, his life in the
light of these facts, we may surely trace the divine purpose in taking
him from one task, for which a successor would without difficulty be
found, and setting him free for another, for which his whole previous
life had been a unique preparation. As a translator his influence has
been far wider than it could have been as a Bishop, and Chinese
Christians will ever remember, with gratitude to God, the great scholar
who out of weakness was made strong--who laid so well and so truly the
foundations of the Bible in their greatest vernacular, and in the more
popular form of their written language."
SCHLOCHOW, Rev. Emmanuel, was born at Wingiz in Silesia. His father
being indifferent to religion, he had no religious education, and became
only aware that he was a Jew when his fellow-Christian scholars
mockingly reminded him of it at school. This he could not endure, and
his father advised him to go to a Roman Catholic priest and be baptized.
However, he was then a thorough infidel, and at one time, on account of
some disappointment that he had met with, he bought a pistol and was
about to commit suicide, when the Scotch missionary Cerf knocked at the
door of his room, and not only rescued him from taking away his life,
but by God's help enabled him to devote that life to His service. He was
converted and baptized in 1848. In 1851 he became connected with the
L.J.S., and was sent as a missionary in 1853 to Jassy, where he remained
three years. In 1856 he was appointed to Alsace, and had his station at
Strassburg, whence he itinerated to France and the Rhine provinces, and
met everywhere acceptance among Jews and Christians. In 1874 he went
with the Rev. A. Bernstein on visits to several rabbis in Alsace and
Lorraine, when they were cordially received and had profitable
conversations. He then was transferred to Crefeld, but much suffering
from asthma obliged him to retire to Worthing, where he died in 1876,
and upon his tombstone in the churchyard there can be read the words in
Hebrew, "I know that my Redeemer liveth," so that he still preaches to
Jewish visitors.
SCHÖNBERGER, Rev. C. A., after embracing Christianity, studied at Pesth
and Basle and Leipzig, laboured for some time as a Scotch Free Church
missionary at Pesth, where many Jews attended his lectures. He was
ordained in Stuttgart in 1867, laboured then at Prague till 1872, when
he entered the service of the British Society, and was sent back to
Prague, and from there he was transferred to Vienna, where he was very
efficient and realized the fulness of blessing upon his ministry. Some
of his converts became preachers of the Gospel among Jews and
Christians. About 1892 he returned to England, and on account of illness
resigned his office. After the death of his brother-in-law, Dr. Saphir,
he felt that he was called to supply in some measure his influence on
behalf of the Jews, and he connected himself with the work carried on by
Rabbi Lichtenstein at Pesth, and joining the Rev. David Baron, they both
founded a mission in East London, under the name of the "Hebrew
Christian Testimony to Israel," where a great work has been going on
ever since in their own mission-house in Whitechapel Road, whence the
Gospel has been carried by word and literature to Hungary, the Danubian
Principalities, and Russia.
SCIALITTI, Rabbi Moses, an Italian Jew, was baptized on Trinity Sunday,
1663 by Dr. Warmestre, Dean of Worcester, at the Church of St. Margaret,
when the Bishop of Chester, Dr. Samuel Collins, the Countess Lucy of
Huntingdon, and other persons of high standing were sponsors by proxy.
Scialitti subsequently addressed a letter in Italian and English to the
Jews, stating the grounds for his embracing Christianity, and exhorting
them to go and do likewise.
SCHUFFAMER, Rabbi Elisha, came from Salonica to Jerusalem, and was
through the preaching of Dr. Ewald converted to Christianity and
baptized in 1848. He then returned to Salonica to fetch his family, but
four of his children had died, yet his wife followed him to Jerusalem.
There he was employed for a time as layreader, and was afterwards
transferred to Cairo, where he had a Bible depôt.
SCHULHOF, Dr. M., a Jewish convert, was a medical missionary of the
British Society. In 1854 he published: "Notes on Diseases in Turkey in
reference to European troops and Memoir of the remittant fever of the
Levant."
SCHWARTZ, Rev. Dr. Karl (Solomon), was born at Meseritz in Posen in
1817. His father, Isaac Schwartz was a merchant, and gave him a strict
rabbinic education, cherishing the hope that he would one day become a
teacher in Israel. To this end he was sent to Berlin in 1832 to study at
the rabbinic Seminary there. In the lectures the professors occasionally
compared Judaism with Christianity, to the disadvantage, of course, of
the latter. This excited in Schwartz a desire to examine Christianity
for himself, so he took the first step by exchanging the Seminary for
the Gymnasium. During the course of his studies he was instructed in
Christianity and baptized October 18, 1837. He then studied theology for
a year at Halle, under Tholuck, and then under Neander, Hengstenberg,
and Twesten, for four years at Berlin. At that time he used to give
lessons in foreign languages to the inmates of the Berlin House for
foreign missions, when his landlady said to him once, "It is all very
nice for you to teach these young men foreign languages in order that
they may be qualified to preach the Gospel to the heathen. Have you at
all thought of your own brethren who live in your own neighbourhood
without the light of the Gospel?" This was a word in season. Thereupon
he entered into correspondence with the L.J.S., joined the Church of
England, and was ordained deacon by the Bishop of London on March 20,
1842, and was sent by the Society to Constantinople. On his way there he
sojourned for awhile at Pesth, where his lectures on Isaiah liii. bore
good fruit, and it seems that he then got engaged to Maria Dorothea, a
daughter of Israel Saphir. He did not remain very long in
Constantinople, because his connexion with the Scotch Mission at Pesth
caused him to join the Free Church of Scotland, and he was sent by that
Church to Berlin, where he was stationed from 1844 to 1849, and he went
then to Prague, but settled in the same year at Amsterdam. There he
found that the Dutch Jews were not so accessible as the Jews in Hungary,
Turkey, and Germany, so he adopted the method of preaching special
sermons in churches and inviting the Jews through advertisements to
attend them. In 1850 he issued a Dutch paper, giving expositions of
Messianic prophecy and the like, for circulation among the Jews. This he
edited for several years. In 1856 a mission church was built for him,
and his first sermon then was on Zech. iv. 6. In that church he baptized
quite a number of Jews. On Sunday, August 1, 1858, Schwartz ascended the
pulpit to preach to a congregation of 1,200, on St. John xii. 26, and
while bowing down to offer up prayer, a young Jew quietly crept up the
steps and stabbed him with a dagger in the left shoulder so that he was
saturated with blood, and had to be carried home in a fainting
condition. The attempted assassin was put into prison, where Schwartz,
after his recovery, visited him but did not succeed in bringing him to a
better mind. However, a near relation of his became a Christian after
that event; and a Jewess, too, was thereby induced to come to Schwartz
for instruction and baptism. After fifteen years' arduous labours in
Holland, Schwartz accepted a call in 1864 from the congregation of
Trinity Chapel, Newnham Street, London, to succeed Ridley Herschell. In
London he founded a home for enquirers; and edited a periodical
entitled, "The Scattered Nation." In 1866 he founded "The Hebrew
Christian Alliance," and delivered lectures, besides preaching twice
every Sunday. In this good work he continued till August 24, 1870, when
he died on his knees at the age of fifty-three, and was buried near his
friend, Ridley Herschell.
SCHWARZENBERG, Rabbi Abraham, lived in the little town of Kasimir in
Poland, and was employed by a Jewish merchant who at last became a
bankrupt, yet on account of his Talmudic learning was chosen as rabbi at
Lublin. Schwarzenberg, who was an upright, conscientious man, knowing
that his master had deceived many poor people, took offence thereat, and
reproached the Jews for not acting according to the law in this matter.
After this some one gave him a New Testament which missionaries had left
in the town. After reading it he persuaded others also to read it, and
exposed himself to persecution. He then went in search of the
missionaries, and coming to a Roman Catholic priest he expressed a wish
to be instructed and baptized, but the priest told him that he must
first of all lay aside the New Testament. Schwarzenberg concluded that
he was not a missionary, and went to Lublin, where he had heard there
was an Evangelical minister. This worthy man looked upon him with
suspicion and received him coldly, so he went to a river and dipped
himself three times in the name of the Holy Trinity. At last he heard
that the missionaries resided in Warsaw, so he tramped at once to
Warsaw, where Dr. McCaul instructed and baptized him in 1828, in his
65th year. In spite of his age Schwarzenberg began to learn German in
order that he might intelligently take part in the services of the
Church of England. His mode of life was quite that of a Polish Jew, with
long fore-locks and dressed in a long kaftan with girdle. He used to say
that a converted Jew must have a changed heart, but not a change of
dress. He maintained himself by selling fruit in the street, and also
worked voluntarily as a missionary. The police had an order to protect
him against the Jews, though when he was in a lonely street he was often
stoned by them. In this manner he ran the Christian race until 1842,
when he departed at the age of eighty to be with Christ.
SEGALL, Rev. Joseph F., a native of Piatra (Moldavia), came with a
number of young friends into possession of missionary literature which a
colporteur from Bucharest had left in the town in 1874. This they
studied secretly in rotation. After being solemnly impressed by the
truth, they wrote a letter to the Rev. F. G. Kleinhenn, asking for
admission to some institution in which they might learn more of the
Gospel. Mr. Kleinhenn replied that he had no such home, and could not
encourage anyone to come to him except on his own means and on his own
responsibility. However, one day Segall and his friend Suffrin appeared
at Mr. Kleinhenn's house, and he had to take them in. They were then
instructed by Mr. Kleinhenn and Mr. Bernstein for some considerable
time, and then baptized. The history of the two runs to some extent
together. The relations of each tried their utmost to win them back to
Judaism, but they had grace given to them not to yield. In the same year
Mr. Bernstein, then stationed at Strasburg, was the medium of their
being admitted by Dr. Heman, at Basel, into his home for proselytes, to
be trained for future usefulness. After finishing their course of study
they applied to the L.J.S., passed through its missionary college, and
were appointed missionaries. Segall was stationed at Birmingham, and
ordained by the Bishop of Worcester in 1877-8 to the curacy of St.
Martin. Subsequently he was appointed to the charge of the mission at
Damascus, where he also acted as chaplain to the English colony there.
SIMON, Erasmus, was one of the earliest converts of the L.J.S. This
excellent man seems to have been a native of Holland. In London he made
the acquaintance of J. Frey, and heard the Gospel from him and was
baptized. In 1820 he was appointed to work under the Rev. A. S. Thelwall
at Amsterdam. In 1829 he formed a society called the "Friends of the
Hebrew Nation," under the patronage of the Bishop of London. This
society rented three houses in Camden Town for Jewish enquirers, and
started the "Operative Jewish Converts' Institution." Amongst its
inmates were the future founder of the British Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews, Ridley Herschell, and
Wertheimer, the future well-known bookseller. The former was one of
twelve candidates for baptism presented by Simon to Bishop Blomfield,
who baptized them in St. James', Piccadilly.
SIMSON, Martin Eduard, son of a banker, German jurist and statesman,
born Nov. 10, 1810, at Königsberg, and died at Berlin, May 22, 1899. He
embraced Christianity as a young man, studied law, and in 1833 he became
professor of Roman law, and three years later a judge. In 1848 he
received the title of "Rath" in the higher court. In 1848 he was sent
as a deputy from Königsberg to the National Congress at Frankfurt, and
was soon raised to be its president, and had the honour to offer the
crown of the German Empire to King Frederick William IV. of Prussia.
Subsequently he held high offices of state, and in 1879 he was appointed
first president of the German Supreme Court at Leipzig; in 1888 he
received the decoration of the Black Eagle of Prussia and was ennobled.
In 1892 he retired to private life. He was the author of "Geschichte des
Königsberger Ober Tribunals." Of his three baptized brothers, one became
professor of Oriental languages at Königsberg, and the other two lawyers
at Berlin.
SKOLKOWSKI, J., was a native of Calwary in Russian Poland, baptized at
Königsberg, and then studied at the L.J.S. Missionary Training College
in London. In 1849 he laboured as a missionary in London, Cairo, Lublin,
Gnesen, and Posen, and then, in 1869, at Königsberg. "His annual
reports," says the Rev. W. T. Gidney, "supplied most interesting details
of mission service, together with glimpses of the social condition,
pursuits, and religious opinions of Jews, among whom he devotedly
carried on the work of preaching Christ and Him crucified, until his
retirement in the beginning of 1888, after a long service of very nearly
forty years."
SOBERNHEIM, Dr. Joseph Friedrich, an earnest convert in Berlin in the
middle of the nineteenth century. The history of his conversion is as
follows. A student had pawned a New Testament with a Jew for a paltry
sum of money, and when he came to redeem it, the pawnbroker, having in
the meantime read it and become a Christian, gave the student a hundred
Louis d'or as a token of gratitude because he had through this book come
to a saving knowledge of Christ. This Jewish convert was instrumental in
the conversion of nine other Jews, among whom was Dr. Sobernheim and his
father. He was esteemed as an author of medical works. He wrote:
"Handbuch der Praktischen Arzenimittelehre" (Berlin, 1844), "Beiträge
zur Phänomenologie des Lebens," _ib._, 1841. He died in 1846. ("Jewish
Intelligence," December, 1864.)
SOLOMON, Rev. Benjamin Nehemiah, was born at Lemberg in 1791, and in due
time became a rabbi. In 1814 he came to London, and through the
instrumentality of J. Frey became a Christian, and was ordained in 1817.
He then accompanied Lewis Way on his missionary journey through Holland,
Germany and Russia, both preaching the Gospel to the Jews everywhere.
Lewis Way having obtained for him permission from the Emperor Alexander
to work in Poland, he first of all translated the New Testament into
Yiddish, for the use of Polish Jews. In 1821 he accompanied McCaul to
Warsaw, but from Amsterdam he wrote to Thelwall that the condition of
his wife and children in Galicia obliged him to return home. His own
father declared to the missionary Smith, in 1827, that he was living as
a Christian.
STAHL, Friedrich Julius, son of a banker, jurist and publicist, was born
at Munich, January 16, 1802, and died at Bruckenau, Aug. 10, 1861. He
became a Christian in his eighteenth year, and was baptized at Erlangen
in 1819. Already at the age of fourteen he discussed religious topics
with his fellow scholars. The writings of Thiersch had a great influence
upon him. After he had become a Christian, he acted as a missionary to
his own family and brought his parents and brothers and sisters to the
Saviour. He studied law at the Universities of Wurzburg, Erlangen, and
Heidelberg. In 1834 he represented the University of Erlangen in the
Bavarian Parliament. In 1840 he became professor of law at the
University of Berlin, where his lectures drew an audience of all
classes. His idea of Christianity was that it should pervade the whole
life and also the State. According to Lord Acton, Stahl had a more
predominant influence and shewed more political ability than Lord
Beaconsfield (Acton, Letters to Mary Gladstone, p. 103, London, 1904).
His writings are as follows, "Die Philosophie des Rechts nach
Geschichtlicher Ansicht," 2 vols. (Heidelberg, 1830-37); "Ueber die
Kirchenzucht" (1845-58); "Das Monarchische Princip" (Heidelberg, 1845);
"Der Christliche Staat" (_ib._, 1847-8); "Die Revolution und die
Constitutionelle Monarchie" (1848-9); "Was ist Revolution?" (_ib._,
1852), of which three editions were issued; "Der Protestantismus als
Politisches Princip" (_ib._, 1853-4); "Die Katholische Widerlegungen"
(_ib._, 1854); "Wider Bunsen" (1856); "Die Lutherische Kirche und die
Union" (1859-60). After his death were published, "Siebenzehn
Parlamentarishen Reden" (1862), and "Die Gegenwärtigen Partien in Staat
und Kirche" (1868).
STEINHARDT, son of the landlord for many years of the L.J.S. schools at
Bucharest naturally came in contact with the mission there, but no one
of the family shewed any inclination towards Christianity, yet the seed
sown in the son's heart bore fruit in time. He went to Constantinople
and was baptized there. Then he became a city missionary in New York,
studied theology, and became, in 1871, pastor of a Swiss congregation in
Fountain City, Wisconsin, and in 1882 at Louisville, Ky.
STERN, Dr. Henry A., was born of Jewish parents on April 11, 1820, at
Unterreichenbach, in the Duchy of Hesse Cassel. Subsequently the family
removed to Frankfort-on-the-Main, where they resided in the quaint old
"Judengasse," now a thing of the past. Though educated in this town with
a view to the medical profession, Stern, when about seventeen years of
age, decided to follow commerce, and to that end repaired to Hamburg. It
was there, in the providence of God, that his attention was first drawn
to Christianity, by noticing some Christian literature in a glass case
near the house of the London Jews' Society's missionary, Mr. J. C.
Moritz. The impression subsequently obtained by its perusal was
increased when, on arrival in London, in 1839, Stern was induced by a
fellow-lodger to attend a Sunday afternoon Hebrew service in Palestine
Place, conducted by Dr. Alexander McCaul. Thoroughly awakened, Stern
sought the missionary the next day, and, indeed, for many days, until he
became a recognized enquirer, and was eventually admitted into the
Operative Jewish Converts' Institution. There he was further carefully
prepared in Christianity, and baptized on March 15, 1840. For two years
longer he remained in the Institution, working at his trade, but it was
very evident that Stern, by his learning and gifts, was eminently fitted
to be a missionary, and consequently he was taken into the Society's
College for a further term of two years.
In 1844 Stern received his first missionary post, and was sent to
Bagdad. He left London under the direction of the Rev. Murray Vickers,
accompanied by three other young missionaries. They broke their journey
at Jerusalem, where Stern was ordained deacon by Bishop Alexander, on
July 14 of the same year. Arriving at Bagdad, Stern threw himself into
his work with great zeal and ardour.
The Jewish population of Bagdad then consisted of about 16,000 souls.
The whole trade of the town was in their hands, and they were supposed
to be the most wealthy class of the community. They manifested the
greatest anxiety to obtain the books published by the Society. Day after
day the house of the missionaries was filled to overflowing with Jews of
all ages, ranks and stations, and the streets near were crowded all day
by numbers of Jews, Stern being constantly stopped as he walked along
them. The bazaars, khans, and the Beth Hamedrash, were visited, and
supplied frequent opportunities for proclaiming the Gospel.
The eagerness manifested by the Jews of Bagdad to enter into discussion
on the subject of Christianity, and more especially the application of
two enquirers for regular instruction, stirred up active opposition on
the part of the rabbis, and an excommunication was issued against all
who should have intercourse with the missionaries. This had the desired
effect. For six or seven months no Jew was seen in the mission house.
Then, gradually, some ventured to come by stealth; and, soon, from
twelve to twenty again visited the missionaries on Saturdays, several of
whom were of the most respectable Jewish families in Bagdad. The Jewish
authorities, however, did not relax their vigilance, but threatened to
repeat the anathema.
In the winter of 1844 Stern made a journey to certain places on the
banks of the Euphrates, going to Hillah, where he visited the synagogue
and Jewish schools; the tomb of Ezekiel, greatly venerated by the Jews;
Meshed-Ali, a Moslem town with a few Jews; Cufa; the tower of Belus
(Babel) or Birs Nimroud; and the ruins of Babylon. In 1845 Stern and a
fellow-labourer, the Rev. P. H. Sternchuss, improved the time during
which missionary operations in Bagdad were suspended, in consequence of
the _cherem_ mentioned above, in making a missionary journey into the
interior of Persia. They held much interesting intercourse with the Jews
of Kermanshah and Hamadan. On November 21 of the same year, the two
missionaries embarked on the Tigris for the purpose of undertaking a
second journey in Persia. They visited Bussorah, Bushire, Shiraz, and
several other places where Jews resided. Both in synagogues and Jewish
schools, and also at their lodgings, they proclaimed the unsearchable
riches of Christ to considerable numbers of their Jewish brethren.
The deadly scourge of cholera prevailed in Bagdad to an alarming extent
in 1846, and in a very few weeks several thousands were suddenly taken
off by it, and missionary work was consequently suspended. The Jews
thought the visitation was owing to the fact that many of their brethren
had imbibed the doctrines of Christianity, and their opposition became
most violent. A second _cherem_ was pronounced in the synagogues against
the missionaries and all holding intercourse with them.
Notwithstanding the violence of the rabbis and the ignorance which
prevailed, especially amongst Jewesses, the missionaries met with many
to whom they were able to declare the love of the Redeemer, and several
received regular instruction. Of the Bagdad Jews in general they
said:--"A spirit of enquiry pervades all classes of Jews in Bagdad The
rabbis are fully sensible of it, and endeavour to do everything in their
power to check this extraordinary movement."
In 1847 a temporary retreat to Persia was thought advisable, during
which Stern preached the Gospel to many hundreds of Jews, both in
Chaldæa and Persia, and extensively circulated the Scriptures in the
Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Armenian languages. This
was a great achievement in a region hitherto noted for intolerance,
bigotry, poverty, fanaticism, and superstition.
On the arrival from home of fresh supplies of books, the lodgings of the
missionaries were crowded for days together, from morning till evening,
with eager applicants for the sacred treasure. The missionaries were now
well known to many of the Jews in the surrounding countries, from the
journeys which they undertook from time to time. They sent the Word of
God to the wilds of Kurdistan, the deserts of Khorasan and Turkistan.
They were privileged to admit two Israelites, one of Bagdad and the
other from Bushire, into the Church of Christ by baptism. Others
received instruction from them for a longer or a shorter period.
On their return to Bagdad, a room belonging to the mission was fitted up
for Divine Service, and usually from twelve to fifteen Jews attended the
daily morning service, at dawn of day; the instruction of enquirers
taking place immediately afterwards. An English service was held on
Sunday morning, and a Hebrew service in the afternoon during winter. An
operative converts' institution was opened.
In August, 1850, a Jewish doctor was baptized, which incident produced
another severe anathema from the rabbis against all who should have any
intercourse with the missionaries. "In order to make the interdict more
impressive," wrote Stern, "the horn was blown, and all the books of the
law unrolled." This was repeated several days. Jews, in large numbers,
however, began to call at the depôt which Stern opened; and he affirmed
that there were many who had learned the Truth from reading the New
Testament. In 1851 and 1853 two other baptisms were recorded. After
eight or nine years spent in Mesopotamia, where Mrs. Stern's health had
greatly suffered from an attack of cholera, Stern was transferred to
Constantinople in 1853.
There he found a larger and even more important sphere of work--totally
different, as he had now to deal with Spanish instead of Eastern Jews.
They were down-trodden and oppressed, and their pitiable state was not
improved by the extensive conflagrations, which periodically devastated
their quarter. Numbers, however, became enquirers, notwithstanding
severe persecution, and some were baptized. The mission schools were
well attended, and the medical mission, conducted by Dr. Leitner, did
excellent service. Stern visited Adrianople, Salonica, and other towns
with large Jewish populations.
The year 1856 was signalized by a visit to the Karaites and other Jews
in the Crimea. At Baktchi-Serai, Stern was surrounded by Jews, "all
anxious to buy Gospels," and was the guest of the chief rabbi, who
shewed him the cemetery of the Karaites--strangely called "The Valley of
Jehoshaphat"--with its 40,000 sculptured tombs, and in which myriads more
had been interred, to whose memory poverty or indifference had raised no
monument. At Simpheropol, Stern preached in the synagogue and sold a
number of New Testaments and Pentateuchs. On one occasion he had the
privilege of addressing British troops in their quarters in the Crimea.
Stern made a second journey in the same year--to Arabia.
The space at our command is totally inadequate to describe the incidents
of that romantic and perilous journey, in the wake of Joseph Wolff who,
just forty years before, had engaged in the same pioneer work. Stern had
to take precautions for his safety, adopting native dress and passing as
the "Dervish Abdallah." At Safon, a beautiful mountain town, the report
that a man who spoke Hebrew, and yet was no Jew, dressed like a
Mohammedan and yet ignored the Koran, caused much sensation amongst the
Jews, who flocked to see him, and to whom he preached in a synagogue.
This was repeated at other places. At Sanaa he was occupied for twelve
days, with very little rest at night, preaching to the multitudes who
congregated wherever he went. The last day of his visit there he
characterized as "the happiest of my life, the happiest of my missionary
career."
After a visit to England in 1857, Stern returned to Constantinople,
taking up again the threads of his settled missionary work there.
In 1859 Stern embarked on the first of his most memorable journeys to
Abyssinia. Mr. J. M. Flad had been working in that country as one of the
"Pilgrim Missionaries" from St. Chrischona. More Christian labourers,
however, were needed; and so Stern was despatched from Constantinople to
found an English mission, if possible, amongst the Falashas--some
thousands of Jews dwelling in the highlands of the interior. Flad now
joined Stern, and the two worked hand-in-hand together. The results of
this preliminary visit were thus summed up by Stern, who, having
accomplished his purpose, repaired to England in 1861:--"I visited, in
company with Mr. Flad, the Bishop of Jerusalem's Scripture Reader,
upwards of thirty Falasha settlements, and saw the priests, and all
those that could read, from more than fifty-five other places. The
desire to obtain the Word of God exceeds all description; young and old,
the man standing on the verge of the grave, and the youth just rushing
into life's happiest whirl, heedless and indifferent to the pain and
difficulties of the road, followed us for days and days, till we yielded
to their unwearied entreaties, and from our scanty stock supplied their
communities with copies of the sacred volume."
Speaking in Exeter Hall in May of the next year, Stern said, "During my
stay in that country, I was amazed at the excitement created by our
preaching through the various provinces we visited. Frequently, hundreds
of Christians and Jews would meet together near our tent with the Word
of God in their hands, converse and investigate those truths which we
had been preaching."
Flad and a fellow-labourer named Bronkhörst, who had joined him,
continued to carry on the work with much success, and on July 21, 1861,
the first fruits of the mission were gathered in, twenty-two Falashas
receiving Holy Baptism. On August 4, nineteen more were baptized. This
encouraging success led to Stern going out again to Abyssinia in
September, 1862, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rosenthal. We cannot
follow the details of the work for the next two years, but must sum them
up in Stern's own words:--"We have in the course of two years, without
being allowed to form a separate community, rescued a considerable
number of Falashas from their unbelief, and nominally, but not
virtually, united them as a living, active and spiritual element, to the
dead Church of the Amharas. We have circulated about one thousand whole
copies and portions of Scriptures; we have given an impulse to the study
of the written vernacular; and we have stirred up a spirit of enquiry
among Jews and Amharas, which must either terminate in a spontaneous
reform, or lead (which is far more probable) to our expulsion and a
relentless persecution." The latter surmise proved to be only too true.
The following circumstances eventually led to the imprisonment of the
missionaries. King Theodore had despatched to the Queen of England, by
Consul Cameron, a letter, to which, from some strange reason, no reply
was vouchsafed. A similar letter to Napoleon III. was indeed answered,
but the verbal message accompanying it gave dire offence. Theodore
resolved to be revenged on all Europeans, and to "humble the pride of
Europe," as he said, meaning England and France.
Some expressions in Stern's book, "Wanderings among the Falashas in
Abyssinia," as to Theodore's humble origin, also gave offence to the
dusky monarch. When Stern paid him a visit, in order to ask permission
to return home, the opportunity thus offered for revenge was seized.
Stern had with him two servants. The hour of the visit was unfortunately
ill chosen, and his servants' knowledge of Arabic so limited, as to
render their mode of interpreting so offensive to the King, that he
ordered them to be beaten,--an order so effectually obeyed, that they
died in the night. Stern, unable to endure the scene, turned round, and
in his nervousness _bit his finger_,--unaware, or forgetful, that such a
gesture was in Abyssinia indicative of _revenge_. At first, the King
seemed inclined to overlook the matter, but subsequently, urged on by
those around him, Stern was struck down insensible, and, on recovery,
bound hand to foot and consigned to prison.
For four and a-half years Stern remained a prisoner. It is impossible to
describe his terrible sufferings and perilous position during that long
protracted "period of heart-rending and heart-breaking martyrdom."
Rosenthal was the next victim; subsequently Consul Cameron, Flad and his
wife, Mrs. Rosenthal, Consul Rassam, Lieutenant Prideaux, Blanc, Kerans,
and others, were in turn imprisoned. Flad was shortly afterwards
released, in order to be sent to England on an embassy to Queen
Victoria, his wife and children being held as hostages for his return.
The prisoners remained in captivity--with a slight interval of freedom
in the spring of 1866--first in one place, then in another, and
subsequently at Magdala--until Easter, 1868. An English expeditionary
force, under Sir Robert Napier, had arrived to effect their deliverance.
In answer to the demand of the English General, and perhaps in order to
propitiate him, Theodore ordered the release of his prisoners. This
tardy act of justice did not save him. A battle was fought on Good
Friday between the English army and the hosts of Theodore, who was
decisively beaten. On Easter Monday the stronghold of Magdala was
stormed and captured, and Theodore fell by his own hand. Most graphic
accounts of these stirring days were sent home by Stern and Flad, the
latter of whom prefaced his remarks with the appropriate words, "The
Lord has turned our captivity: we are like unto them that dream. Our
mouth is filled with laughter, and our tongue with praise. We say, The
Lord has done great things for us! The Lord has done great things,
whereof we are glad."
The release of the missionaries by the military expedition sent out to
vindicate the honour of the British nation, and to recover the person of
its official representatives, was a wonderful answer to believing and
persevering prayer. The missionaries returned to England in June, 1868;
and, on July 3, a special meeting for prayer and thanksgiving was held
at the Freemasons' Hall, the Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G., in the chair,
when all the released missionaries, with their wives, were present, and
in a few words told of their wonderful deliverance, and the Almighty arm
which had wrought it.
It may here be mentioned that though since 1869, no European missionary
has been allowed in Abyssinia, the London Society's mission has never
once been suspended, notwithstanding overwhelming odds and almost
insuperable obstacles! Other missions have been given up for a time when
dangers threatened--this has held on its way through the fostering care
of Mr. J. M. Flad, who has supervised it from a distance, and the
indomitable courage of the native missionaries. Like the early
Christians, they have overcome by "the blood of the Lamb, and by the
word of their testimony: and they loved not their lives unto the death"
(Rev. xii. 11). Famine, war, bloodshed, imprisonment, ecclesiastical
jealousy, civil strife, the Dervish invasion, the coming of the
Italians, have been potent enemies--powerful enough to harass and to
impede, but not to stop the work. Indeed, it has flourished beyond
expectation, and, in spite of ignorance and want of freedom, the Gospel
has spread amongst the Falashas, 2,000 of whom have been baptized.
We now come to the last period of Stern's life (1870-1885) which, though
free from stirring adventures and dangerous situations, was none the
less active and full.
For some time after his return Stern was incessantly and altogether
engaged in narrating his experiences to crowded audiences in every part
of the country, who hung, with breathless interest, upon the terrible
yet fascinating story of the Abyssinian mission. In subsequent years
Stern could very rarely be persuaded to recount the horrors of the past.
On one occasion, and that only, in response to the persuasive entreaty
of friends in a south-coast town, did he ever tell the wonderful story
of his sufferings and achievements in that far-off land. Either the
innate humility and modesty of the man, or painful memories, made it
most distasteful to unlock the door of the past.
In 1870 Dr. Ewald resigned his work as senior missionary in London. It
was no easy matter to find a man qualified to succeed him. Only one
seemed possible, and that was Stern, whose health, undermined by his
unparalleled sufferings in Abyssinia, no longer permitted him to serve
the Society in the East. He was appointed Ewald's successor from the 1st
of January, 1871, and brought to his new sphere a ripe and unrivalled
experience in Jewish missionary work, gained, as we have seen, in
Persia, Turkey, Arabia, and Abyssinia; and an acquaintance with a dozen
or more languages, an invaluable possession for a missionary in the
metropolis, who has by personal intercourse and correspondence to deal
with Jews of different nationalities. Though Stern missed in England the
refined courtesy of the German, and the religious gravity of the
Oriental Jew, and consequently those winning qualities which helped on
friendly intercourse and mutual interchange of convictions between
missionary and Jew, he yet found that most of the Jews in England were
able to discuss religious questions calmly and dispassionately. The
three chief means which Stern relied upon to win his way amongst the
Jews were circulation of tracts, domiciliary visitation, and special
sermons in Spitalfields and Whitechapel. The last were highly
successful. Jews attended in large numbers, attracted by the fame of the
preacher, and the glowing and burning eloquence which flowed from his
lips as he pointed them to the Messiah. An attendance of from 400 to 500
Jews was of frequent occurrence. A German prayer meeting was substituted
for the service hitherto held on Friday evenings, in order to draw
together some of the 2,000 proselytes, and numerous enquirers then in
London. This paved the way for the establishment, later on, of the
"Hebrew Christian Prayer Union."
Thousands of Jews were addressed in public and in private, in streets,
houses, shops, churches and mission halls.
A mission hall, situated in Whitechapel, was made a useful centre, where
meetings on Saturdays and other days were generally well attended. There
was a daily Bible Class held for Jews. Conversions and baptisms were
numerous; but, as Stern said in 1876, when speaking of results, and his
words are true for all time, and in every place as well as
London:--"Conversions, however few or many they may be, are not the
gauge by which the progress of mission work amongst the Jews can be
ascertained. A man may be thoroughly convinced of the truth of the
Gospel, and yet hesitate to take the final and decisive step. He may
shrink from the persecution, the trials, the troubles, and the
sacrifices a public profession of his faith would entail. Of course no
one, who is truly concerned for his soul's eternal welfare, should be
ashamed to avow his convictions. Nevertheless, a strong faith and ardent
love are indispensably necessary to enable a catechumen to break through
the ties of cherished affection and friendship for the Gospel's sake.
That all are not destitute of these heavenly gifts, ever-recurring
instances testify. The greater majority, however, prefer to conceal
their religious sentiments. They go to church, join in the services, and
even contribute to missionary societies, and yet nominally profess to be
Jews."
Stern not only worked in London, but also held special services for Jews
in many other towns. He combined with his mission work the supervision
of the "Wanderers' Home," a most useful institution for the reception of
converts and enquirers.
In 1874, on the thirtieth anniversary of his ordination, his Hebrew
Christian and other friends presented him with a testimonial--a silver
tea and coffee service--as a slight token of their esteem; and in 1881
the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of
Divinity. In 1884 he was elected a member of the Committee of the
L.J.S., where his vast and varied experience was of the utmost use; and
he was also elected an Associate of the Victoria Institute.
Stern's work in London was carried on to the time of his death, which
occurred, after much suffering, on May 13, 1885. The funeral service was
held in the Episcopal Jews' Chapel, Palestine Place, on May 18, in the
presence of a large and sorrowing congregation, and his mortal remains
laid to rest in Ilford Cemetery. He was twice married: first, in 1850,
to Miss Charlotte Elizabeth Purday, who died in 1874; and secondly, in
1883, to Miss Rebecca Goff, daughter of S. D. Goff, Esq., of Horetown,
Co. Wexford.
As a preacher Stern was eloquence itself; as a writer he had a most
charming and picturesque diction. His published journals and books, like
those of Dr. Wolff, are full of the most romantic incidents of
missionary experience. His published works were: "Dawning of Light in
the East" (1854), being an account of his work in Persia, Kurdistan and
Mesopotamia; "Wanderings amongst the Falashas in Abyssinia" (1862); and
"The Captive Missionary" (1868), both narratives of his Abyssinian
experiences.
That he was of the spirit of which martyrs are made, the following
extracts from his letters, written during the long and dreary days of
his captivity in Abyssinia, clearly demonstrate:--
"Thank God, in the midst of my troubles, cares and anxieties, I enjoy
the profoundest calm and resignation. It is true there are days when the
heart pulsates with gratitude and joy, and there are days when it throbs
beneath the mortifying agonies of despondency. Sometimes I feel as if I
could not endure another week the fetters which encircle my limbs, and
confine me in painful inactivity to this desolate rock. Such rebellious
sentiments I generally try to suppress, and if this is impossible, I
seek comfort in the thought, that all is ordered in wisdom and infinite
love. Our heavenly Father hath, no doubt, an object in this protracted
captivity, and when once the veil of mystery is lifted up, every
incident and circumstance which hath wrung a prayer or extorted a groan
from the grieved soul, will prove to have been in harmony with the
designs of a gracious Providence, and fraught with inestimable
blessings."
And again, "Our nerves were horrible shattered, and our minds, too,
would have been unhinged, had not religion, with her solacing influence,
soothed the asperities and hardships of our existence. The Bible,
prayers, and a morning and evening exposition of an appropriate passage
were the exercises in which we regularly engaged. No bitter gibes, no
harsh expressions, no unbecoming word characterised our intercourse;
religion formed a wonderful bond of harmony, and when I looked on the
devout countenances that there hung over the inspired page, as I
commented on the selected text, I cherished the pleasing hope that the
clouds, so big with wrath, had been charged with showers of everlasting
mercy. At such a period--I say it solemnly--the punctured head, the
riven side, the pierced feet, and the heavy cross of redeeming love, is
a sight that nerves and supports the drooping and desponding spirit. In
my distress and sorrow, I threw myself on the bosom of a sympathizing
Saviour, and if I was not happy, I was at least resigned."
No one can estimate the abundance of spiritual harvest from the long
life of toil and labour which Stern spent to the honour and glory of his
Master. He sowed in tears, he led captivity captive, he turned many to
righteousness, and of him it may confidently be said, that he will shine
as a _star_ for ever and ever.[23]
[23] W. T. Gidney, "Biographies of Eminent Hebrew Christians," 1906.
STERN, Herman, gives the following sketch of his history:--"My father
was a rabbi and teacher of the Talmud at Prague, at Strakenitz, and
somewhat later at Bamberg. I had the happiness to be instructed by him
in the Bible and in the Talmud, from my tenth to my twenty-first year,
and during this period of eleven years, I also attended some Christian
schools. On the decease of my father, who died in his seventy-sixth
year, duty no longer demanded my residence at Bamberg, and having
applied to the then 'Court Commission' (Hofcommission) at Würzburg, for
the situation of Jewish teacher at Höchburg, which was at that time
vacant, I obtained it. The Jewish inhabitants of Höchburg were pious,
and previous to my coming there the children of the rich had been
instructed by private tutors. But as the former had been unwilling that
the children of the less fortunate Jewish parents should share this
instruction, these felt themselves obliged to petition the authorities
for the appointment of a public teacher, which was answered, quite
unexpectedly to the rich, by my installation. It was, therefore, to be
expected that the wealthier Jews would not be pleased with the new
school; and when at last the authorities would no longer suffer the
private tutors to remain at Höchburg, obliging the rich Jews to send
their children to the public school, the latter became to them an
object of hatred. This hatred to the school was now transferred to me,
and I was persecuted in every possible way. The wealthier Jews
complained of me, because I permitted the boys to sit bare-headed;
because I kept no wash-basin in the school-room, and what gave me most
trouble, though it was not raised into a point of accusation, because I
had often inculcated the duty of love to Christians, whom the 'Shulchan
Aruch,' denominated idolaters.
"I endeavoured to conform in my religious instruction to the letter and
spirit of the Holy Scriptures, and could not avoid alluding to the
defectiveness and emptiness of the synagogue ceremonial, as taught in
the Talmud and the Jewish code 'Shulchan Aruch.'
"This course was complained of before the chief rabbi of the district;
and for my own security, I requested the Government that the rabbi be
instructed to superintend the religious instruction of my school, and to
subject it to one or two examinations annually. Mr. Bing, the chief
rabbi, however, begged to be excused from doing so, stating that my
religious instruction did not please him. The Government then demanded
of the rabbi either to propose one of the existing religious compendiums
as a text-book for schools, or else to write one himself.
"The rabbi offered to do the latter. In the third year of my public
services, the Government sent me to the town of Heidingsfeld, and before
leaving Höchburg, I received a testimonial from the royal
school-inspector of the district, expressing the satisfaction my labours
had given to the Government.
"I had been nearly two years in the school at Höchburg, when the
Government sent me, and all other Jewish teachers of the kingdom, the
new text-book of the Mosaic religion which the rabbinical candidate, Dr.
Alexander Behr, had written, under the surveillance and direction of the
chief rabbi, Mr. Abraham Bing, and which the rabbi at Fürth, and many
other influential Jewish ecclesiastics, had adopted; Government
signifying at the same time that it was the desire of His Majesty the
King to have this book introduced in all Jewish schools. I received
joyfully this book, which promised to meet the urgent necessities of the
schools. But I was doomed to severe disappointment; the 160 octavo pages
which this volume contains, were almost entirely filled with ceremonial
laws, treating of phylacteries, inscriptions, fringes, circumcisions,
meats, the prohibition of shaving, the creed, &c. Not a word, and much
less an exposition of morality, of conscience, of virtue, of holiness,
of the condition and destiny of man.
"In that portion of the book which treats of God, there was an entire
omission of His power, His wisdom, His goodness, His mercy and holiness,
and of all the lessons derived from these attributes and perfections.
Not even the Decalogue found a place in this work.
"The Messiah (as well as many other similar predictions) it explained to
signify a period of time when all men should know God and serve Him.
"I directed the attention of the Government to this dead skeleton,
shewing that I could not receive this book as my guide in religious
instruction. I prayed for permission to follow my own course of
instruction, and pledged myself to have my lessons printed and submitted
to the chief rabbi.
"My petition was granted; and this was the beginning of trouble. My book
on the 'Confirmation of Israelites' followed in 1829. It was the more
gladly received by the public, since I confirmed all my positions by
quotations from the Talmud, which I translated literally. The second
volume, which I published in 1835, under the title of the 'Tree of
Life,' was as kindly received. Both these books continue as standards in
many schools of various countries, and prove that even the Talmudists of
the third, fourth, and fifth centuries drank from the evangelical source
of life. In like manner also, 'The Confession of Faith of the
Israelites,' as delineated in my works, the 'Confirmation,' pages
140-46, and the 'Tree of Life,' pages 226-243, remain in full credit
among the Jews to this day, nor have the rabbis ventured to say ought
against it, although it refers to the New Testament both in the text
itself and in the notes.
"Five-and-twenty years have I been openly inculcating these principles
in my schools and in the synagogues, and never have either the Jewish
deputies delegated by the Government to attend my public examinations,
nor the great number of Jews who assisted on such occasions, uttered an
objection; this is a proof that my religious principles were not a
baseless fabric, or, as is too often the case in the statements of our
rabbis, the result of mere whim or conjecture.
"The kindly, but often misconstrued feelings of His Majesty, Ludovic I.,
towards the Jews of his realm, which had been manifested by his
establishment of national schools for them, by the appointment of
regularly educated rabbis, the free admission of the Jews to all the
existing Christian scholastic institutions, and the manifold favours
enjoyed by Jewish mechanics, &c., were again shewn in the year 1836, by
his convoking of Jewish committees.
"These consisted of rabbis, Jewish teachers, and delegates of
communities. They met in all the provincial capitals of the kingdom in
the public edifices, where they held regular sessions, under the
presidency of a royal commissary, to solve such questions in
theological, scholastic, and social matters, as had arisen during the
then contemplated Jewish emancipation; and to give the Government their
advice.
"One of the questions before the Committee at Würzburg was--Whether the
Jewish doctrines acknowledge or reject the belief in the Trinity, as
contained in the Old Testament. The rabbis consulted on this weighty
point in private sessions, which I attended, having been chosen by a
majority of votes as one of the referees; and they thereupon declared in
the public session briefly that the doctrine of the Trinity is not
contained in the Old Testament, on which account also the Jews did not
acknowledge this doctrine.
"The president then demanded that every one agreeing with the
declaration of the rabbis should rise. All the rabbis, all the teachers,
and all the delegates (116 individuals) arose. I only remained sitting,
and then handed to the president a written notice, stating that I should
beg the rabbis, in a circular which should be printed, to give me an
explanation of various difficulties that I entertained on this point,
before I could accede to the declaration made by them.
"My circular, entitled 'Israelitism in its Excellency and its Burden'
('Israelitenthum in seiner Würde und Bürde) was printed during these
sessions (which lasted six weeks), and produced a universal sensation.
The rabbis took it very ill that I had ventured on this step,
notwithstanding I had been shewn, as in a camera obscura, in glaring
colours, my prospective misery; but they did not answer my circular.
Only Dr. Romann, the chief rabbi at Cassel, and Mr. J. Heidegger, a
teacher of the Talmud at Fürth, wrote each one a pamphlet against me.
Both of them, however, scarcely touched upon the point, and were
contented with abuse, cursing, and persecution.
"My school at Heidingsfeld was advised to institute a complaint against
me, as having, through my circular, shaken the basis of my religion, and
to found thereon a request for my removal. The Government, however,
declined entertaining the complaint; since, by issuing my circular, I
had adopted the very course which the rabbis themselves had pointed out
when asked how a Jew should proceed in case that religious doubts
should arise; since there was no supreme religious tribunal in existence
to whom the case might be referred; the rabbis having declared that in
such an event a circular letter stating the question should be addressed
by the enquirer to all Jewish theologians.
"These reasons were too weighty to encourage an appeal to the royal
'Ministerium,' although my opponents anticipated a favourable decision
from this event for themselves, notwithstanding their unholy aim.
"They, however, preferred to accuse me anew as having transgressed my
religion, namely, by having taught in my schools that in case of
necessity the Jews were permitted to break the laws relating to the
Sabbath in order to relieve a fellow-man.
"I was cited and heard, and having confessed the truth of the charge,
the royal 'Ministerium' resolved on my penal removal to the school at
Main-Stockheim.
"This severe penalty could not have been inflicted, if the rabbis had
not represented that Jews were not permitted to violate the Sabbatical
laws in order to relieve a fellow-man.
"I was therefore obliged to leave a town where so many persons and
objects were dear to me, and where I had enjoyed that rare happiness of
teachers--to instruct the children of my former pupils. I was forced to
leave two pretty little gardens which I had gradually raised on desert
spots, and the trees which I had planted at the birth of each of my
children.
"I departed; my wife and children followed me weeping, and the tears of
many others comforted me.
"In November, 1837, I arrived in the village of Main-Stockheim, the
place of destination, as the appointed Jewish teacher of religion. The
Jewish community belonged to the orthodox or pious class. I was shewn to
three small rooms as my residence, and their gloomy appearance was
little calculated to cheer my mind.
"I observed that this dwelling could not accommodate myself and family;
and begged the Jewish School-Community (Schulgemeinde) to grant me other
rooms, or else to enlarge these; but it was in vain. I was obliged to
convert the lobby into a dormitory for my children. The little rooms,
owing to their disproportionate loftiness, were cold and uncomfortable,
and so damp that we had thick ice within, near the windows. My wife and
some of my children fell sick; and I felt myself obliged, and in duty
bound, to petition the royal land-tribunal for the enlargement of my
dwelling, and my petition was shortly granted.
"But the Jewish Warden appealed to a higher tribunal, the Government;
and when the former decision was confirmed, they appealed to the
Ministerium. Much time was thus lost, and I obtained at last an
additional room and a cellar.
"My salary was so small that I had to live partly on my own means; and
yet the Jewish School-Community withheld from me part of the amount of
firewood granted me by law. Out of love of peace, I offered to
relinquish part of the withheld quantity of wood, if they would but
give the rest, so as to obviate the necessity of complaining to the
Government; but I was forced to complain.
"The suit passed again all the various Courts as before, and was decided
in my favour; the lawful quantity of wood was to be given me, and for
that which had been unjustly withheld I was to be indemnified. Although
I had declined to accept the indemnification granted me by law--a
refusal very cheerfully accepted by my rich community--yet they did not
neglect to avenge themselves upon me on the grounds of piety; being
aware that this was the likeliest way to compass their end. I was
accused of the following sins, which I had actually committed.
"1. That I had not only permitted my female scholars to come to the
synagogue on Saturdays, but had commanded them to do so, in order to
attend to the religious instructions which I there imparted.
"2. That I had cut my beard in Omer.[24]
"3. That, on one occasion, being called up to the reading of the Torah,
I had appeared with gloves on.
"4. That I kept a Christian servant.
"5. That on the anniversaries of my parents' death, I did not lead the
synagogue service: and,
"6. That, although I would not allow my wife to use the 'dipping bath'
(Tauchbad), I would persist in giving her my arm.
[24] The period between the Passover and the Feast of Weeks.
"They stated that they could no longer suffer a man among them who was
so immoral, so irreligious, and who excited so much scandal; and since
no Christian court could decide on these Jewish sins, it was requested
that the chief rabbi should be heard, and that I should be discharged. I
replied: and respecting the last two points on which most stress seemed
to be laid, I observed first, that it had been my father's dying request
that I should neither fast nor lead the synagogue service on the
anniversaries of my parents' death, as the custom had originated in a
superstition; and, secondly, that according to a medical testimonial
which I laid before the court, my sick wife had been prohibited from
using the 'dipping bath;' but the decision of the chief rabbi was, that
as I had confessed my wife neglected the bath, while, at the time, it
was proved that she had taken my arm in walking, I was worthy of death
according to Levit. xx. 18, and must be discharged from my office
forthwith. I protested against this barbarous decision, and prayed to
submit it to another Rabbinat. My petition was granted, but the rabbi of
the district, Mr. L. B. Bamberger, of Würzburg, declared that he fully
agreed with the chief rabbi, and added that my wife also was worthy of
death.
"In consequence, I was discharged, lost the salary yet due to me, though
the Government had approved of my official labours, and I was adjudged
as having forfeited even my claim upon the States Institution for the
Relief of Orphans and Widows of German School Teachers, as well as my
right to the 133 florins which I had already paid into that Institution.
With this bitter experience, and provided with most satisfactory
testimonials from my immediate superiors, I left my native country, and
went with my wife and children to the free town of Frankfort, where I
enjoyed perfect peace in the capacity of a private tutor. From this
brief sketch it will sufficiently appear that the rabbinical Jewish
religion leads to and justifies the most revolting injustice and
cruelty, a reproach which cannot be brought against Christianity."
STERN, Joseph Paul, a native of Hungary, where he had been a teacher and
then a merchant, came to Jerusalem in 1851, at the age of thirty-five.
Becoming ill he was admitted on application to the L.J.S. hospital,
where, one may say, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was truly
converted, and was baptized on Good Friday of that year. Henceforth he
devoted his life to preach the grace of God as manifested in Christ
Jesus, to his brethren in season and out of season. He was only a
Scripture reader, but few could resist his entreaties to accept
salvation through Christ, and the Jews feared him as well as respected
him, for he often rewarded them good for evil. In 1860 he visited his
relatives in Hungary, when he preached Christ to them, and escaped being
poisoned. In 1872, when the Rev. A. Bernstein visited him in his
sickness and administered the Holy Communion to him, he asked to be
dressed in his best clothes, for he expected to go to the marriage of
the Lamb. But he lingered yet for a while and died in 1873, uttering
with his last breath--"Christ is all."
STERN, Maximilian Christian Heinrich, was baptized by Dr. Poper at
Frankfurt, in 1846, when two of his brothers became Christian preachers
in America. He was then fifty-two years old. His family followed his
example two years later. In 1856 he published "Die Jüdische
Zeitrechnung." He died in 1861. (See "Jewish Missionary Intelligence,"
1846, page 123).
STERNCHUSS, Rev. P. H., after a course of preparation in the L.J.S.
Missionary Training College, was sent, together with A. J. Behrens, to
open a mission at Safed in 1843, where they held a daily service and
tried to have intercourse with the fanatical Jews, but were boycotted by
them. In 1844, they were both ordained in Jerusalem, and Sternchuss
accompanied Stern to Bagdad, whence he itinerated to Mesopotamia,
visiting Hillah and Ezekiel's tomb twice, he also visited Persia. The
trying climate, the galling reproaches and persecutions, and the
hardships which those early missionaries in the East endured, soon told
upon Sternchuss, so that he had to resign on account of ill-health in
1850, but continued still for a short time to labour for the Society in
the West of England.
TARTAKOVER, Rev. E. M. Very little information can be obtained about
this servant of Christ, but that little is most interesting, inasmuch as
it embraces a reflective comment on a long period of Church history in
which Palestine and the Jewish residents there had no Hebrew Christian
minister of the Gospel. On October 30th, 1842, Tartakover was ordained
in Jerusalem by Bishop Alexander. Such an event as the ordination of a
Jewish convert had not been witnessed in the Holy City since Apostolic
times.
TOMORY, Rev. A., after finishing his theological studies at Edinburgh,
was appointed by the Free Church of Scotland as a missionary at Pesth in
1853. In 1864 he was transferred to Constantinople, where he carried on
a most faithful and fruitful work, both evangelistic and educational,
during the remainder of his earthly pilgrimage, and left a worthy
memorial in the home for enquiring Jews which he founded at Galata.
TREMELLIUS, John Immanuel, was born at Ferrara in 1510; and died at
Sedan, October 9th, 1580. He was educated at the University of Padua,
and baptized in the Roman Catholic Church about 1540, through the
influence of Cardinal Pole, but embraced Protestantism in the following
year, and went to Strasburg to teach Hebrew. Owing to the wars of the
Reformation in Germany, he was compelled to seek refuge in England,
where he resided at Lambeth Palace with Archbishop Cranmer in 1547. In
1549 he succeeded Paul Fagius as Regius Professor of Hebrew at
Cambridge. On the death of Edward VI. he revisited Germany, and, after
some vicissitudes, became Professor of the Old Testament at Heidelberg
in 1561. He ultimately found a home in the College of Sedan, where he
died. His chief literary work was a Latin translation of the Bible from
the Hebrew and Syriac. The five parts relating to the Old Testament were
published at Frankfurt between 1575 and 1579; in London in 1580, and in
numerous later editions. Tremellius also translated into Hebrew Calvin's
Catechism (Paris, 1551), and wrote a Chaldaic and Syriac grammar (Paris,
1569).
TURCKHEIM, Rev. Ernest Julius, had been, at the age of twenty-one,
master of a Jewish school at West Hartlepool, where he gave great
satisfaction to the parents of the children, so that they wished him to
become their minister. In order that he should be able conscientiously
to discharge his duties, Turckheim applied himself to a diligent study
of the Old Testament. This in itself made him more serious than he had
been before. Meeting with Mr. J. Alexander, then agent of the British
and Foreign Bible Society at the Crystal Palace, he received from him a
New Testament, and through reading it earnestly he became convinced of
the truth of Christianity, and was baptized in 1873. He then studied at
the London College of Divinity, and was ordained at York in 1875-6 to
the curacy of St. Thomas there. In 1878 he was curate of All Saints',
Derby. In 1879 he became curate of All Souls', Langham Place, London. In
1882 he was appointed to the living of Hale Magna, in Lincolnshire,
where he did good work until his death in 1907.
Speaking at the L.J.S. anniversary meeting in 1893, he said:--"A Jew by
birth, a Jew by training and practice till I was twenty-four years old;
a Jew still by every feeling of national loyalty and sympathy, I thank
God that I can say, nevertheless I am also a Christian. And it is as a
Jew and a Christian I have responded to your invitation, and am standing
here to-day and make this solemn confession of my faith. It is due to
the grace of God, it is due to the power of His Word, which is the power
of God unto salvation, unto every one that believeth--to the Jew first.
It is due, I must add, to the patience and forbearance, to the love and
labours, to the life and death, to the mediation and sufferings for me
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is due to the prayers of God's
people, it is due to this Society. It is due to all of you who labour
and pray, and make substantial sacrifices for the promotion of
Christianity amongst the Jews. It is due that we Christian Jews who
have, by the grace of God, been brought out of Jewish darkness into the
blessed and happy position of pardoned sinners by the blood of the
Cross, that we should fearlessly declare with no uncertain sound, that
whilst we are Christians by grace, we are still Jews by nature, by race,
and by sympathy, and thus take a humble part in testifying to the
blessed and everlasting truth that God has not cast away His people,
that there is still a remnant according to the election of grace. It is
twenty years since I ventured my eternal welfare with Jesus of Nazareth.
After twenty years of mature deliberation and trial, I once more take my
stand beside the Ethiopian eunuch, and declare to-day, with my heart
full of thankful gladness and humble faith, 'I believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God.' Twenty years, we must observe, is a period wherein a
man can make a test of a step that he has taken, and I never, never, for
one moment, have wavered in my conviction that 'there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved,' than the name of
Jesus Christ."
VAMBREY, Hermann, was born in 1832 at Szerdahely, on the Island Schütt,
Hungary. He studied at Pressburg, especially modern languages, and
became a member of the Reformed Church after his baptism. At the age of
twenty-two he became tutor in a Turkish family in Constantinople, and
later he travelled through Asia Minor, Armenia, Persia, Turkestan,
Bokhara, Samarkand and the regions of the Oxus. Dressed as a dervish he
passed through all these countries unhurt, but was often in danger. He
then published his experiences and acquisitions in these journeys, in
the following works: "German-Turkish Dictionary" (Constantinople, 1858).
"Dsagataic Dictionary" (Hungarian), (Pesth, 1861). "An Etymological
Dictionary of Torkatartaric Languages" (Leipzig, 1877). "The Russian
Power in Asia" (_ib_., 1871). "Central Asia" and "Anglo-Russian
Relations" (_ib_. 1873). "Travels in Central Asia" (_ib_., 1865).
"Sketches from Central Asia" (_ib_. 1868). "Wanderings and Experience in
Persia" (1867). "Niguric Linguistic Documents" (Innsbruck, 1870).
"History of Bokhara" (Stuttgart, 1872). "Islam in the 19th Century"
(Leipzig, 1875). "Moral Pictures from the East" (Berlin, 1876); and a
number of other works. He wrote his autobiography under the titles,
"Arminius Vambrey, His Life and Adventures" (London, 1883), and
"Struggles of my Life" (_ib_., 1894).
VANORDEN, Rev. E., a Dutch Jew, who was baptized by Dr. Ewald in 1863.
He afterwards studied for the ministry in America and was sent as a
missionary to Brazil, where he laboured at San Paulo for many years.
VENETIANER, Pastor A., son of a Jewish rabbi, was converted through the
preaching of the Rev. C. A. Schönberger. He afterward studied theology
in Serftom. In 1879 he became Pastor in Panseora, Hungary, and
afterwards in Trieste, where he wrote a book entitled: "Die Evangelische
reformite Kirche Cristo Salvatore zu Triest" (Trieste and Leipzig,
1887); and also an epistle to Rabbi J. Lichtenstein in Tapio Szele,
entitled "Zum Zeugniss" (Vienna, 1886). Later on he became Pastor at
Rohrbach, South Russia, where he supported the movement of Rabinowitz.
VICARS, Mrs. Murray, was the daughter of a wealthy Jewish merchant, and
was brought to a knowledge of the Saviour through her intercourse with a
Christian nurse. Her father, when attending the dedication of a new
synagogue, took cold and became dangerously ill. His Jewish friends of
the synagogue came to visit him, but were afraid to tell him that he was
on the brink of the grave, and he died soon after. This brought her
serious thoughts and led her to question the reason why the Jews shrink
from mentioning the subject of death to a sick man. She had afterward to
appear before a Court in reference to the property which her father had
left and to take an oath before the magistrate. An Old Testament was
then handed to her for that purpose, when she exclaimed before the whole
assembly of Jews and Christians: "The New Testament is for me." This
raised a great commotion, but having taken this decisive step, she did
not hesitate to become a member of the Church by baptism. She afterward
married the Rev. Murray Vicars, and went with him to Bagdad to labour
amongst the Jews there. On their journey back to England on account of
ill-health, her husband died at Marseilles, in 1850, and she settled at
Brighton, where she founded a school for ragged children. It must be
added that her sister, too, embraced Christianity, and she left three
sons, clergymen of the Church of England, two of them are especially
well known--the Rev. Charles Neil and the Rev. James Neil. The latter
was incumbent of Christ Church, Mount Zion, from 1871-74.
The maiden name of Mrs. Murray Vicars was Fanny Phillips; her brother
Samuel was a distinguished man of letters.
WALLFISCH, Rev. J. H., was brought to a knowledge of Christ by Professor
Cassel at Breslau, and after his baptism there he was for a time in the
service of the Free Church of Scotland. He emigrated to the United
States and, joining the Methodist Episcopal Church, became secretary of
the Jewish mission of that body, founded an "Institutum Judaicum"
amongst the students of the Anglo-German College at Golena, and received
from Milton College the degree of Doctor of Music.
WEISS, Edward, was converted through the instrumentality of Dr.
Zuckerkandl at Rustschuk, Bulgaria, in 1869, where he was for some time
teacher in the mission school. On account of the Russo-Turkish war, he
was removed by the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
amongst the Jews to Vienna, and assisted Salkinson. At least thirty of
his enquirers were baptized there. The rest of his life was spent in
preaching the Gospel at Pressburg, where he had frequent intercourse
with the students of the Rabbinic Seminary there. He died in 1905.
WOLF, Philipp, D.D., was baptized in 1554. He wrote "Spiegel der Juden,"
in which he brings proofs from Moses and the prophets that Jesus is the
Messiah, and gives information concerning the Jewish prayers, some of
which he quotes in German, and also in reference to the "Shem
Hamphorath," or ineffable name of God. (Wolff, Bib. Heb. 3 N. 1830 c.)
WOLFF, Joseph. The two great missionary explorers of the nineteenth
century were David Livingstone and Joseph Wolff. The labours of the
former were chiefly confined to Negro races of the "Dark Continent";
whereas the latter made most extensive journeys amongst the various
remnants of the tribes of Israel scattered throughout Africa and Asia.
The lives of both these great men touch upon all that is romantic and of
thrilling interest in the wide range of exploration, and none the less
so because they consecrated themselves to their Master's service, and,
with a consuming zeal for souls, went forth to seek and to save the
lost.
Joseph Wolff was the pioneer missionary to Jews in the Orient. Like St.
Paul, he, too, was "in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils
of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen,
in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness." His almost
superhuman efforts in the third and fourth decades of last century cast
a halo of romance around Jewish missions, and laid the foundation for
much subsequent work. Within the short period of sixteen years we find
him visiting Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Asiatic Turkey,
Persia, India, Bokhara, Abyssinia and Arabia--and some of these
countries more than once. Verily, he compassed sea and land to make
proselytes to the faith, of which he became such a doughty champion.
The life of this remarkable man naturally falls into three periods--his
early years as a Jew; his missionary efforts amongst his brethren; and
his last years quietly and uneventfully passed in country parishes in
England. Our chief concern is with the middle period, to which, however,
we can do but scant justice, as its constant and restless action and
stirring adventures overwhelm us with an embarrassment of riches.
"Wolff," as he was simply called, after his grandfather, was born at
Weilersbach, a small Bavarian village, in 1795, or 1796,[25] of Jewish
parents, his father, whose name was David, belonging to the tribe of
Levi. He was the rabbi of the small Jewish community of the place,
numbering fifteen families, but soon after the birth of his son he
removed to Halle. In his very early years the boy received a strict
Jewish education, and at the age of six recited the Hebrew prayer-book
every day. He was then sent to a Christian school, but apparently only
to learn German. When Wolff was eleven years old he was placed at the
Protestant Lyceum at Stuttgart, but growing dissatisfied with it, he
went to reside with his cousin, Moses Cohen, at Bamberg, and entered the
Roman Catholic Lyceum of that place. He there made up his mind to become
a Christian and a missionary like Francis Xavier. But he was unsettled
in the extreme in his search after the truth, and wandered to Würzburg,
Frankfort-on-the-Main, Halle, Prague, Vienna, Pressburg, back again to
Vienna, Mölk, Munich, Anspach, Saxe Weimar, Heidelberg, Soleure, and
finally arrived at Prague. There he was baptized by the Abbot of the
Benedictine Monastery Emaus, in the year 1812, at the age of seventeen,
receiving the name of "Joseph." At his confirmation shortly afterwards
he received the two further names of "Stanilaus Wenceslaus," which,
however, he never used.
[25] Wolff himself is responsible for this uncertainty, having supplied
these two different dates. "Travels and Adventures," vol. 1, p. 2, and
"Missionary Journal and Memoir," p. 1.
Joseph Wolff was by this time proficient in the Latin, Persian,
Chaldean, and Syriac languages, and entered the University of Vienna to
study Arabic, Ecclesiastical History, and Divinity. There he remained
two years. In 1814 he resided with Count Stollberg, and, like every one
else, was much exercised at Napoleon's escape from Elba. In 1815 Wolff
entered the Lutheran University of Tübingen to pursue his studies in
Oriental languages and theology; but he left the next year on a
pilgrimage to Rome, travelling on foot through Switzerland and Italy
until he reached the Eternal City. Being introduced to Pope Pius VII.,
he shewed him a Hebrew Bible which had been the companion of his
travels. Wolff entered the Collegio Romano, and in 1817 the Propaganda,
from which his Protestant leanings, and neglect of scholastic divinity
for the Bible, caused his expulsion in 1818. Wolff now returned to
Vienna, lamenting that his missionary aspirations had been frustrated.
In his distress of mind he wrote to Hoffbauer, Vicar-General of the
Liguorians, who received him into his monastery. Wolff was not happy
there for more than a few months, and leaving Vienna, travelled through
Austria to the Benedictine monastery of Krems-Münster, where he was well
received by the monks. Too restless to remain long in any place, Wolff
travelled through Bavaria, Switzerland, and France, entering first this
monastery and then that. At Paris he met with Robert Haldane, who
exercised a powerful religious influence over him; and with whom he
journeyed to London.
We naturally find our interest in this talented and eager youth
increasing on his arrival in England, in 1819, at the age of
twenty-four, when he came under the notice of Mr. Henry Drummond, the
Rev. Charles Simeon, the Rev. Lewis Way, and other well-known friends of
Israel. Wolff made his way, as almost every baptized or enquiring Jew
did when first arriving in this country, to "Palestine Place," the
missionary headquarters of the London Society for Promoting Christianity
amongst the Jews, where all were sure of a hearty welcome. He attended
the service in the Episcopal Jews' Chapel, conducted by the chaplain,
the Rev. Charles Sleech Hawtrey, and, to use his own words, was
"enchanted with the devotion and beauty of the ritual." Henceforth he
considered himself a member of the Church of England. The Society sent
him to Cambridge to be trained as a missionary, and to study theology
under Simeon (himself of Jewish extraction), and other Oriental
languages under Professor Lee. Two years' residence there, and a short
course at the London Society's Seminary in Sussex, were sufficient for
the zealous young convert who was longing for active missionary service
abroad. Mr. Drummond sent him forth on his career. His feverish anxiety
to be thus employed is seen in his selection of the words of Francis
Xavier, "Who would not travel over land and sea to be instrumental in
the salvation of one soul?" as the motto for the title page of his
"Travels." Wolff left England in April, 1821, and with passing calls at
Gibraltar, and Malta (where he baptized a Jew) in due time he reached
Alexandria. He spent three months amongst the Jews of that city and of
Cairo, preaching in their synagogues, and distributing New Testaments. A
visit which he paid to the Convent of St. Catherine, Mount Sinai, is
interesting from the fact that the monks promised to pray for the
conversion of the Jews.
Wolff's eyes, however, were fixed on the Holy City, and his work in
Egypt was regarded by himself as a "preparation for preaching the Gospel
of Christ at Jerusalem." He did so first in the synagogue of the
Karaites; and afterwards made daily efforts for three or four months to
reach the Sephardim, Ashkenazim and Chassidim, both by word of mouth and
circulation of the Holy Scriptures.
Towards the end of 1822, Wolff visited Antioch and Aleppo, just before
the terrible earthquake visitation of the latter city, when hundreds of
Jews confessed that the truth of the Gospel could not be denied. In the
spring of 1823 he was again in Egypt following up his previous work, and
going on to Jerusalem for Easter. His three months' labour there amongst
the Jews, thus described by himself, "I lodged among them, and was
engaged in preaching the Gospel from morning to night, and often all
night," cleared the way for subsequent efforts.
In the same year Wolff visited Damascus, where the Jews eagerly accepted
the Arabic Bibles which he had with him, and Aleppo, where he was again
well received.
Wolff's account of his visit to Bagdad in 1824, and other cities of
Mesopotamia, is most interesting reading. He seems to have visited the
scattered communities of Jews, amongst all of whom he had easy access.
At Mosul he was shewn a Hebrew translation of the New Testament which
had been made by a rabbi a hundred years previously. Left as a precious
heirloom to the rabbinical college, it had remained neglected until
Wolff pointed out its priceless value. At Orfa, the ancient "Ur of the
Chaldees," Wolff found about fifty Jewish families, and some Jacobites,
or Syrian Christians, claiming to be lineally descended from Jews who
received Christianity through the preaching of St. James at Jerusalem.
Their peculiar ceremonies, as also their features, gave colour to their
claim to be literal as well as spiritual children of Abraham.
In 1825 Wolff visited the various Jewish communities of Persia, who,
perhaps, have better grounds than any other people to be regarded as
descendants of the "Lost Ten Tribes." In 1827 and 1828 Wolff visited the
Ionian Islands and Asia Minor. At Smyrna he awakened, as indeed he did
everywhere, a widespread enquiry into Christianity on the part of the
Jews.
Probably the most romantic and thrilling of all Wolff's experiences were
those which he encountered at Bokhara in 1832. "Adventures to the
adventurous" is a truism, and Wolff was bold and daring to the last
degree, otherwise he would not have accomplished his purpose. He dressed
as a Turkoman, and so obtained an audience of the king, when he was
denounced as a Russian spy by the Jews. By his wonderful adroitness he
overcame all opposition, and received permission to evangelize the Jews,
but was forbidden to hold religious converse with Moslems. He took
lodgings at the house of a Jew, and was visited by his brethren, who
asserted that their forefathers had been carried from Samaria by the
Kings of Assyria and brought to Haran (Isa. xxxvii. 12), _i.e._,
Bokhara. The three months spent there by Wolff, especially amongst the
learned class, were fruitful, and he baptized as many as twenty. These
men had all remained faithful when he visited Bokhara again in 1844.
That second visit, more hazardous even than the first, was made with the
purpose of ascertaining the fate of Colonel Stoddart and Captain
Conolly,--two Englishmen, who, as subsequently transpired, had been
murdered. Wolff's arrival in the city was witnessed by 20,000 persons
shouting "welcome" to the enterprising traveller, whose costume--gown,
hood, and shovel-hat--roused no small astonishment. Wolff obtained
permission from the king for the Jews to repair their ancient
synagogue.[26]
[26] "Narrative of a Mission to Bokhara."
In 1833 we find Wolff in India, visiting the white and the black Jews of
Cochin, and the Beni-Israel of Poona, Calcutta and Bombay. This was not
an unexplored field, as the L.J.S. missionaries had been working there
from 1820 to 1830. Wolff found plenty to do, and at Calcutta, for six
successive days, talked twelve hours on end to all who came to his
"retreat."
Hitherto Asia had been the principal scene of Wolff's labours, but in
1835 he was in Abyssinia and in 1836 in Arabia, visiting the Yemen. At
Sanaa he expounded Isaiah liii. to the Jews, and subsequently baptized
four with their families. The Jews were polygamists, but apparently
dissatisfied with the state of things thus entailed.
Lack of space prohibits us from enlarging on Wolff's labours in the
East. His own descriptions remain to this day the most entertaining of
missionary annals, and bear witness to the wonderful activity of the man
whose striking personality, not unmixed with a harmless and naive
egotism, carried him through numberless dangers, and extricated him from
perilous situations. The restlessness of his nature, which in early life
impelled him to wander over Europe in search of light and learning,
developed in succeeding years into that consecrated fiery energy and
impulse which made him so peculiarly fitted to play the _rôle_ of
pioneer missionary. Many of his friends, as he said, "believed him to be
Elijah," though he archly added, "he always believed himself to be
Joseph Wolff!" But a pioneer he was in every sense of the word, and as
such rendered yeoman service to a cause, which more than all others,
perhaps, needs all the glamour and romance it can call to its aid. So
great was his dramatic power in describing his travels that Archbishop
Whately proclaimed him to be "a missionary Shakespeare."
Wolff had an iron constitution and a powerful frame, absolutely
impervious to matters of climate, and privations, however severe and
enduring. He records that, when travelling in India in 1832, he was
stripped of everything, and in danger of being "made into sausages," and
"had to walk without a rag of clothing on for 600 miles from the Hindu
Koosh to the Punjaub, through storms and snow!" He was relieved and
clothed at Cabul by Lieutenant Burnes. Wolff's character, wonderful
activity, and resources, were thus caustically summed up by one who
knew him:--
"He appears to me to be a comet without any perihelion, and capable of
setting a whole system on fire. When I should have addressed him in
Syria, I heard of him at Malta, and when I supposed he was gone to
England, he was riding like a ruling angel in the whirlwinds of Antioch,
or standing unappalled among the crumbling towers of Aleppo. A man who
at Rome calls the Pope 'the dust of the earth,' and at Jerusalem tells
the Jews that the 'Gemara is a lie'; who passes his days in disputation,
and his nights in digging in the Talmud; to whom a floor of brick is a
feather-bed and a box is a bolster; who makes or finds a friend alike in
the persecutor of his former or of his present faith; who can conciliate
a Pasha or confute a patriarch; who travels without a guide, speaks
without an interpreter, can live without food, and pay without money,
forgiving all the insults he meets with, and forgetting all the flattery
he receives; who knows little of worldly conduct, and yet accommodates
himself to all men without giving offence to any--such a man (and such
and more is Wolff) must excite no ordinary degree of attention in a
country and among a people whose monotony of manners and habits has
remained undisturbed for centuries. As a pioneer I deem him matchless,
_aut inveniet viam, aut faciet_; but, if order is to be established or
arrangements made, trouble not Wolff. He knows of no church but his
heart, no calling but that of zeal, no dispensation but that of
preaching. He is devoid of enmity towards man, and full of the love of
God. By such an instrument, whom no school hath taught, whom no college
could hold, is the way of the Judæan wilderness preparing.... Thus are
his brethren provoked to emulation and stirred up to inquiry. They all
perceive, as everyone must, that whatever he is, he is in earnest; they
acknowledge him to be a sincere believer in Jesus of Nazareth, and that
is a great point gained with them, for the mass of the ignorant and
unconverted Jews deny the possibility of real conversion from
Judaism."[27]
[27] The Rev. Lewis Way, quoted in "Travels and Adventures of Dr.
Wolff," vol. i., p. 287.
General Sir Charles Napier said that Wolff had "worked harder for
religion, and had gone through more dangers for it, with a brave heart,
than any man living."
Of his life in England as a parochial clergyman, but little can be said
in this biography. He married, when a young man, the daughter of the
Earl of Orford, Lady Georgiana Walpole, with whom he lived happily for
thirty years, and whose son was Sir Henry Drummond Wolff. When he
settled in England, he became vicar of Linthwaite, a small village in
Yorkshire. His friend, Henry Drummond, after whom he had named his son,
wrote, "Your call is to be an evangelist for all the nations of the
earth, and for this you are fit; but, to use your own simile, you are as
fit for a parish priest as I am for a dancing-master." Wolff shortly
afterwards removed, on account of his wife's health, to the sole charge
of High Hoyland, another Yorkshire village, with about 120 souls. There,
too, he must have felt like a lion in a cage; and when, five years
later, he resigned his charge on the ground of not being able to meet
his expenses, and undertook his second journey to Bokhara, he must
indeed have rejoiced in an aftermath of the freedom and action of his
earlier career. One little incident is too good to be omitted. Before
Wolff entered upon the curacy, his predecessor, doubting the sentiments
of his successor, preached his farewell sermon from the text, "After my
departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you." Wolff remarks,
"However, he was very merciful, and made no allusion to the coming
'Wolff' in his sermon!"
On his return from Bokhara, Wolff was appointed to the living of
Isle-Brewers, in Somersetshire, with a population of 300, amongst whom
were two farmers, all the rest being peasants. There Wolff remained for
the remainder of his life, his talents and brilliant gifts being wasted
in such retirement, but his energy knowing no diminution. He built a new
parsonage and schools, defraying a portion of the expense from the
proceeds of his works and lectures; and erected a new church, for the
cost of which he laid all his numerous friends and everybody else, under
contribution by incessant correspondence and personal applications. He
was a father to his poor, and every winter supported thirty-five
families with the necessities of life. Wolff was the neighbour and firm
friend of George Anthony Denison, "dearer to him than any," although
theologically in the opposite camp. Amongst Wolff's other numerous
friends and acquaintances, we may mention the names of Sir Walter Scott,
Dean Stanley, Dean Hook, Alfred Tennyson, and Alfred and Margaret Gatty.
Wolff died in 1862, at the age of 66 or 67 years--a long life, when the
restless activity of brain and body is taken into account, and a full
life, in every sense of the word. He exemplified in his person the
saying, "It is better to wear out than to rust out." And his epitaph
might well have been, "The zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up."
WOLFF, Oscar Ludwig Bernard, was born in Altona, 1799. After embracing
Christianity (the date uncertain) he held the professorship of modern
languages and literature successively at Weimar and at Jena, where he
died in 1851. His literary works appeared at Jena in 1841-43 in fourteen
volumes. The best known of his works are "Poetischer Hausschatz des
Deutschen Volkes" (Leipzig, 1839); "Hausschatz Deutscher Prosa" (_ib._,
1855) and "Geschichte des Deutschen Romans," Jena 1843.
WOLKENBERG, Rev. Marcus. Mordecai Wolkenberg (for such was his Jewish
name) was born in 1834 in Russian Poland. When quite young he was
smuggled over the border into Galicia (Austrian Poland) to avoid being
Christianized and trained for military service, it often being the
custom in the time of the Emperor Nicholas I. to seize Jewish lads for
those ends. Mordecai was placed by his parents with pious and orthodox
relatives at Brody, where he gained the interest of the famous rabbi of
the town, Salomon Kluger, and through his teaching soon acquired a good
Hebrew and Talmudical education. When quite a young man he was appointed
tutor in the home of the rich banker Cahner at Jassy, where he remained
about two years. During his stay there he made the acquaintance of the
Rev. W. Mayer, the L.J.S. missionary. After a time of great
heart-searching and deep spiritual experience, he was led to embrace the
Christian faith, and was baptized. Thereupon he had to pass through a
period of bitter trial and persecution, instigated chiefly by his
employer. His occupation had brought him in contact with many people.
All these forsook him when he made his public confession of
Christianity. At length he had to leave Jassy, and, after a while,
Marcus (as his name now was) went to the Malta Protestant College; later
on he came to London, when he read theology with the Rev. A. S.
Thelwall. In 1863 he was appointed an assistant missionary at Jassy.
This was a great trial to his feelings and faith, for it was there that
he first found Christ, and there, in consequence, that he had first
tasted the venom of religious hatred. Here, however, to his surprise, he
was sought for and visited by numbers of his former acquaintances. A
wide door, and effectual, was thus opened to him, one result of years of
patient school and other missionary work by those who had long laboured
in Jassy. Of this circumstance he says: "Most of these visitors were
teachers, some merchants, and others near relatives of one of the
wealthiest Jews here. Nor has the bold proclamation of the truth, on my
part, deterred them from continuing their intercourse with me." For
seven years he thus worked in Jassy and in Bacau for Christ, and with
much blessing. In 1870, owing to the illness of his wife, he had to
return to England; where he laboured successively in London, Manchester,
Birmingham, and lastly in Liverpool, where he died April 17th, 1900,
very much regretted by all who knew him, and not least by many Jews, who
spoke in the highest terms of his goodness, piety, and scholarship.
XERES, Jonah ben Jacob, was a native of North Africa, where he came in
contact with English Christian merchants and learned the truth as it is
in Jesus from them. In 1707 he came to London and was instructed and
baptized by Dr. Allix in 1709. He then wrote an "Address to the Jews,"
containing his reasons for leaving the Jewish and embracing the
Christian religion. (See Wolff Bib. Heb., 14, N. 823.)
The book is dedicated to the then Archbishop of York (in 1709), and
prefaced by an attestation to the respectability of the author by seven
London merchants, and another by the learned Dr. Allix.
"We, whose names are underwritten, merchants trading into Barbary in
Africa, do hereby certify, all whom it may concern, that we, each of us,
having formerly lived for several years in those parts, did then, as we
do now, personally know Jonah ben Jacob Xeres, who was born in Saphia, a
sea-port town on that coast. His parents, being Hebrews, were reputed
to be honest and substantial people; who employed much care in educating
this their son, Jonah, in the Jewish religion, and no less expense in
instructing him in the Hebrew, Arabic, and Chaldean tongues. He the said
Jonah lived in that country a professed Jew, till the age of five and
twenty, or thereabouts; and always behaved himself sober in his
conversation, and no less just in his dealing, as some of us have
experienced, having had occasion to employ him on several accounts,
whereby, amongst other conversation, he had an opportunity of
discoursing with some in our factory about matters of religion; and, as
he now informs us, was thereby possessed with some notion, that the
Messiah had already come; whereby, being uneasy under such a weighty
doubt, he came over to England about eighteen months ago, in order to
acquire a full satisfaction. After some time here, he applied himself to
some of us to recommend him to some learned Divine for information;
whereupon he was sent to the Rev. Dr. Allix, on whom some of us have
since waited, who, requesting of us a character of the said Jonah, is
the occasion of this paper, which we do in all respects believe to be
true, and have a very good opinion of the probity and sincerity of the
above-mentioned Jonah; and that we trust upon his examination, he will
prove to the judgment of the Most Reverend the Archbishops, the Right
Reverend the Bishops, the Reverend the Clergy, and all other pious
Christians, to whom we recommend him, &c.
"Done at London, this eight and twentieth day of May, one thousand
seven hundred and nine.
"Peter Fleuriot, Samuel Robinson, John Lodington, John Adams, Val.
Norton, Robert Colmore, Thomas Coleman."
"These are to certify, that upon several discourses had with the
aforementioned Jonah ben Jacob Xeres, I have found him very well
acquainted with the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, and all
other Jewish and particularly Talmudical learning; so that he was
very ready, upon the chief objections that Jews make to the
doctrine, deity, and office of our Saviour. But, as he is endowed
with very good natural and acquired parts, I was the more able to
satisfy and convince him of the truth; so that, after having
examined by Scripture all the most material controversies, he hath
freely declared to myself, and his other friends, his desire to
renounce the errors and prejudices of his education in the Jewish
religion, and to embrace and profess the Christian faith.
"Witness my hand this 30th day of July, 1709.
"Peter Allix, D.D."
ZABANSKI, J., was born at Minsk in Lithuania. His father, a bigoted
Talmudist, sent him once on an errand to a Christian nobleman, who made
him a present of a Hebrew New Testament which, on coming home, he
innocently enough shewed his father, and was peremptorily told to take
it back. This excited in him the curiosity to know the contents of the
book, and he soon procured one. Detected in reading it, he was punished
by his father more than once, and at last the father got the police to
give him twenty-five strokes with a rod for disobedience. The
consequence was that he got ill and had to be taken to a hospital. After
being there nine weeks, he ran away, obtained a situation as a teacher
in a family for three years, where he got possession of a German New
Testament and Dr. McCaul's "Old Paths." He then returned to his father
and asked his permission to go abroad. As this was not granted, he again
ran away, and this time to Constantinople, where he heard the Gospel
from a missionary named Goldberg. Thence he went to Jerusalem, and was
admitted by Hershon into the House of Industry. His countrymen there,
who knew his father as a learned Talmudist, tried every means to snatch
him away from the Mission. They even went to Rachel's grave to pray for
his return to Judaism, and finally sent two Jews to his father to come
and fetch him, but Zabanski became a Christian and laboured afterwards
as a missionary of the L.J.S. from 1864 to 1867, and for a long period
as an agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, in Bulgaria.
ZECKHAUSEN, Rev. Leopold. The following is from his own pen:--
"I was born in December, 1862, at Kovno in Russia, of strictly orthodox
Jewish parents, and, with the rest of my brothers, I got the usual
education of rabbinical Jews. My mother, like so many mothers in Israel,
would fain have seen me devoting myself entirely to the Talmud. I was to
be the rabbi of the family. My inclinations, however, were in the
direction of secular knowledge, and my father was broad-minded enough
not to insist upon an exclusively rabbinical training. At the age of
eleven I was accordingly sent to the local Gymnasium, or grammar school.
After a stay of six years at this school I left Russia with the
intention of studying medicine at the University of Koenigsberg in
Prussia. But six months later financial difficulties, in which my father
found himself, necessitated my dropping the studies and accepting a post
offered me in an office (July, 1881.)
"Once in business I threw myself heart and soul into my new vocation,
and kept on rising steadily. At the end of ten years spent in business
houses in Koenigsberg, Frankfort and Amsterdam, I was offered a
partnership at Libau in Russia. I declined it, however, after some
deliberation, and decided to leave business for good (1891).
"That step was the outcome of another and a more important one, which I
had taken three years previously, and which proved to be the turning
point of my life. While still at my father's house I had begun to get
weary of the endless, and often meaningless ceremonies of rabbinical
Judaism. In Germany and Holland, surrounded by general religious
indifference and rampant scepticism, my faith in Judaism waned more and
more. I tried to make myself acquainted with Christianity, assayed to
study the New Testament, but not with the hope of finding in it truth
and peace. My studies were mostly of a critical nature. My Jewish
prejudices, though largely toned down by frequent intercourse with
Christians, were still potent enough to prevent an impartial
investigation. The difficulties of the Gospels seemed to me insuperable.
So I continued to drift further and further away from religious
influences, until at Amsterdam I found myself at a boarding house
in the company of some earnest Christian young men. They were
schoolmasters--intelligent, idealistic, eager to learn and to exchange
thoughts with others, and before very long we were on friendly terms.
Through their intercourse, the almost extinguished interest for
religious thought once more revived in me. Not that we ever went in for
regular theological discussions--mere politeness forbade that--but
Dante's 'Inferno,' Milton's 'Paradise Lost,' and other literary
productions with a religious basis, were often talked over among us, and
I could not help being impressed by the true, though unobtrusive,
religious fervour of those educated young men.
"I decided to look for a person competent to deal with my prejudices and
willing to assist me to a spiritual understanding of Christianity. An
Encyclopædia helped to the address of the London Society for Promoting
Christianity amongst the Jews, and a letter from the Secretary
introduced me to the Society's missionary at Amsterdam, the Rev. A. C.
Adler. I told that gentleman, on my first visit to him, that it was not
so much the history of Christ and Christianity as the spiritual element
of the New Testament that baffled me, and that I should feel obliged to
him for some light upon the subject. I did not pretend to any desire of
embracing Christianity, nor did Mr. Adler, on his part, so much as hint
at that eventuality. He most readily acceded to my request for
enlightenment, and suggested that we should read together the Gospel of
St. John. For some seven weeks I had the little expected pleasure of
listening to a masterly exposition of a book that had been till then the
least intelligible one to me in the New Testament. I shall never forget
the impression Mr. Adler's intelligent interpretation of that Gospel
produced upon my mind and heart. I felt myself literally introduced into
a new world--into that spiritual world of which the carnal mind and the
materialist know nothing. The person of Christ kept on growing before
and within me until I could think of nothing else. But I was not to
yield myself to Him without a struggle.
"Mr. Adler, with an unerring tact, restricted himself conscientiously to
the task of instruction. He asked no questions, nor did he invite me to
a confession of faith. Had he done so, I fear he had but succeeded in
repelling me, at least for a time.
"When I found myself face to face with the question:--'What think you
_now_ of Christ?'--pride of reason and lingering prejudice seemed to
assert themselves more. I at once suddenly ceased visiting Mr. Adler and
thought of getting Christianity out of my head entirely. I cannot tell
whether Mr. Adler still entertained the hope of ever seeing me again in
his study; I certainly intended that it should not be the case.
"The Lord Jesus, however, had become too strong for me to resist Him
successfully for any length of time. My peace of mind was clean gone,
and I had, for my own part, experienced the truth of our Lord's words,
'No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me, draw him.'
"After a time I was again at Mr. Adler's. When, in answer to my knock
there came his Dutch 'Binnen!' ('Come in!'), and I stepped into the
room, Mr. Adler came hurriedly up to meet me, and, taking both my hands,
exclaimed joyfully, 'You have come again. Then all is right. I knew you
would not come unless your doubts were conquered. I have been praying
for that.'
"A few days after this episode I received a telegraphic message
necessitating my immediate return to Germany. I took at once a train to
Zandvoort, a seaside place near Amsterdam, where Mr. Adler was at the
time with his family for their summer holiday. I told him I had to leave
Holland without delay and requested, as a special favour, that he would
admit me into the Church of Christ by baptism the very next day. Mr.
Adler looked rather perplexed. He was, on principle, he told me, opposed
to doing things in a hurry, and especially when baptism was under
consideration. But my case was so exceptional that he thought he saw in
it the Lord's doing, and could not therefore refuse my request.
"The following morning, Sunday, August 12th, 1888, Mr. Adler was in the
pulpit of his church, after explaining the reason of his unexpected
return to Amsterdam, he invited the congregation to be present at my
baptism that afternoon. Saintly old Mr. Bloch, late missionary of the
L.J.S., and the beadle of the church, acted as witnesses to my public
declaration of faith in Christ crucified.
"On the day following my baptism I had already left Holland, and was on
my way back to Koenigsberg. There I spent another three years, following
my commercial vocation and keeping up all along a pretty regular
correspondence with Mr. Adler, to whose instruction I owed so much. In
those letters he frequently reminded me of my Christian duty toward my
Jewish brethren, and invited me to offer myself for missionary training.
I doubted my qualifications for such a calling, questioned the
advisability of going back to college after an interval of ten years
spent in commercial pursuits, but at last I decided to follow the call,
and sent an application to London for admission into the London Jews'
Society's Missionary College. I was admitted there in December, 1891,
and remained associated with the Institution for three years and a-half,
till July, 1895.
"Having completed the course of my studies, I was attached to the staff
of the London Mission, thence I was transferred to work at Manchester in
1896, and exactly three years later to Jerusalem. Here I was ordained
deacon at Christmas, 1900, and priest on Trinity Sunday, 1902, by the
Bishop of the Church of England in Jerusalem and the East, Dr. Blyth.
Here also I was married to Miss Sara Jane Ellison, daughter of the late
Dean Ellison, of Shillelagh, County Wicklow, Ireland, April, 1901.
"I may be allowed to mention in conclusion that the decision to give up
my business prospects, in order to become a missionary to the Jews, was
soon amply rewarded by the Lord. My elder brother, with whom I had
exchanged many letters on the subject of Christianity ever since I had
embraced it myself, without apparently making much impression on him,
wrote to me now--having heard of the step I had taken--to express his
appreciation of what I had done. 'Whatsoever people may think of your
motives or your actions, there is probably no one that can put them down
at their proper value better than myself,' ran his note. 'I have seen
you during the last ten years steadily climbing the ladder of commercial
success, gaining in experience and reputation, and about to earn the
fruit of much labour, and then to throw it all deliberately over in
order to become a missionary! I cannot help admiring you. You have done
the right and proper thing. Though we differ in our religious opinions,
we do not on the point of principle. You have acted as I should have
expected an honest man, with soul above £ s. d. to act. It is refreshing
to find enthusiasm for ideal goods in our sordid age of materialism.'
"This brother of mine is now, I am grateful to say, himself a worker in
the Lord's vineyard, labouring with marked success as a medical
missionary amongst the Jews of New York, faithfully assisted by his
wife--also a convert from Judaism."
In 1902 the Rev. L. and Mrs. Zeckhausen were transferred from Jerusalem
to Cracow; and in 1908, on the death of his spiritual father, the Rev.
A. C. Adler, he succeeded to the headship of the L.J.S. mission at
Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
ZUCKERKANDLE, Dr., and his wife were converted and baptized in Pesth
through the instrumentality of the Rev. William Wingate. He was
afterwards a missionary of the L.J.S. in Bucharest, and later on he
entered the service of the British Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel among the Jews and conducted a school at Rustschuk in Bulgaria,
where he died in 1874. The widow came then to London, and laboured
amongst the Jewesses in Spitalfields for many years with great blessing
upon her work of love. She was probably the first to organize a Jewish
mothers' meeting.
ZUCKERTORT, G. J., father of the famous chessplayer, was won for Christ
through the preaching of the L.J.S. missionary Wendt, and was baptized
by him in 1831. In 1836 he was appointed assistant missionary at Lublin,
where he preached the Gospel to his own relations, one of whom, a
thriving medical doctor of the same name, confessed Christ and was
baptized with his four children in 1845, and his wife later, in 1849.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
Inconsistencies in spelling have been resolved in cases where it was
possible to divine the author's intent with a reasonable degree of
certainty. Otherwise variable spellings (such as Leipzig, Leipsig and
Leipsic) have been retained.
Page 118 There is a discrepancy in date of birth.
Quote: _Bernhardy, Dr. Gottfried, born in Landsburg, 1860, died 1875
... wrote "Syntax of the Greek Language," Berlin, 1829. "Grundriss der
Romischen Literatur," 1830. "Grundlinien der Encyclopaedia der
Philologie," 1832, &c._
Other sources say he was born March 20, 1800.
Page 406 Replaced "when" with "where". "In 1863 he retired to Berlin,
when he died in 1870."
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