THE JEWS OF JEROUSALEM. UNKNOWN Land.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 226, 29 October 1887, Page 4

THE JEWS OF JEROUSALEM. UNKNOWN Land.

The Talmudic and frabbinic Jews of Ea*t_ crn Europe have a longing for the land Of their fathers, of which fcho Israelites of Western Europe and of -America know almost nothing. Trained in the traditions o f centuries, they believe that God is especially present in the Holy Land ; that the Jew who <lies within the sacred borders goes directly into tocaven, while those of other lands must first pass the purgatory of Gehinnom. Tho Messiah will first appear in Palestine, and the dead of that country , shall rise first, and only they will receive again the spiritual body which was lost in Adam's fall. Such faith and hope, augmented also by the persecution oftheirpcople in Russia, Roumelia and elsewhere, hav c diiven thousands and thousands of Abraham's children to Jerusalem, theie to end their days and bo interred in the sacred soil. The result of these causes is, that at no time since the expulsion of the Jews from Palestine by fcho Emperor Hadrian, 130-140 a. p., ha? the number of these people _in Jerusalem been as large as it is now. For many decades no Jew was allowed to set his foot on the sacied soil. Benjamin of Tmteln, in 1170, reports only 200 Jewish families in Jeiusalem, 70 in Tiberias, 30 in Ramie. In 1525 there \\exe 300 families in Jerusalem, 10 in Hebron, 300 in .Saphed. Only in the present century has the immigration increased to a notable extent. In 1858 there were 6,000 Jews in Jerusalem, and at present 14,000, about one-half of all the inhabitants of the city. The Jews of Palestine, like all tlu»fc are scattered over the globe, are divided into two classes -the Sophardim, or Spanish, and the Ashkenim, or German Jews. To the former belong all from the Orient, North Afiica, Italy. France and Holland. They are so called because Spain, under the Moorish rule and later, v.as for a long time their second home until expelled by the ruler ot the land 400 yeais ago. The Spanish Jewi.-h dialect still betray s their lonic lesidencc on the peninsula. The Ashkenim embraces all the Jews in and fiom Central and E istcrn Eiuope. Originally their chief seat-, wcos in Germany, from whence they emigrated to Poland, Galicia, Ru-*ia and otlvev Eastern lands. The Jewish-Gexman jargon 5s a sadly mixed language, although it ts used tor liteiary purposes quite extensively. I'cpresentatives of the Sephardim Jev>s have been in Palestine for centime? ; but the Ashkcnims found their uay thither only dining the present centmy. h\ language, tradition, histoxy, character aaid foini oi worship, tho two classes arc -ro different that they do not associate v, ith each other. Each party has its own synogogue. In Jerusalem the Sephardims have nine houses of worship, their rivals only t\so, but both very pietensious building. Each congregation has a separate organisation ; but the upper nibbi of the Sephaixiim, beintr recognised by the Turki.-h Government as the "Cacham Ba^hi," is al-o the authorised le-pre-entative of the Ashkemm. In addition to these synagogues, there affie also about sixty prayer or study-rooms in the city foxworship. The "learned men" (Chaehamins-) of the Sephardim, who devote thear whole time to the study of law, about, two -hundred and ninety families in all, are supported by the collections sent from Western Europe, North Africa and the Orient The others, with the exception of about two hundred and fifty who live by begging, are guidesmen or working men. The Sephardim congregations number 7.260 souls. The Ashkenim, forming a total of about six thousand six hundred and sixty souls, are supported by the so-called " Chaluka," or collections raised among the Jews of Eastern Europe. This money is divided among all, clergy and laymen, but the 255 teachers' families recehe larger portions. According to a Jewish writer of pronaanonce. L. A. Frankl, the sums that were Kent, to Jerusalem in 1885 were about £10,000 for the Sephardim and £7,600 for the Ashkenim. > The report of the. Berlin meeting of the Alliance Israelitique for 1885 .«ays that nearly 2,000,000f. arc now sent there annually. This money is distributed by the rabbi?, who use none of it for the permanent X>hysical, mental or moral improvement of their people, but divide it according to the needs of the moment. Their control of it enables them to exercise a tyrannical sway over all who must look to them for their daily bread. Some enterprising Western Jews, with enlightened view?, ha* c laboured for the permanent improvement of their co-religionists in Palestine. M *ie Rothschild has erected a home for the poor ; Sir Moses Montefiore has done a similar work ; two hospitals have been established, endowed, and well equipped. But all this does not suffice for the wants of theas people. Especially are the sanitary arrangements in the Jewish quarter in a terrible condition. Thus, in a single year, the Jewish hospitals had 1,143 patients, and medicine 'was given in no less than 29,095 cases. Philanthropic enterprise hae also within the past years established agricultural colonies in order to offer work and the means of support to the thousands who have by persecution been driven from Russia and elsewhere. Down to 1885 seven such -colonies had been established, with a total membership of thirteen thousand to fourteen thousand. The leading colonies are those of Saphed, El-Bukaiah, Akko and Nazareth. The first of the kind was that of Joppa, established by the alliance in 1870. The leader in these enterprises was the venerable Sir Moses Montefiore. Some efforts made in this direction by Christian missionaries have not - proved successful The opposition of the rabbis to this work, their hold on the people through their control of the money, as also the fact that the Jews of Jerusalem are Talmudic to the core and have steeled their souls against all influences from non-Jewish sources, make missionary work among them a task of stupendous difficulty. About two years ago Christian charity established the colony of Artuf, half way between Jerusalem and Joppa ; but as soon as the beneficiaircs of this charity could find an abiding place eluewhere they departed. At present Artuf is almost depopulated, and yet missionary zeal does not languish. The first to undertake such a work was the American Board in 1822, but tho opposition of the Roman and the Greek Catholics induced them to withdraw their men to Beirut. About the same time the London Society began oper < ations, at its head the energetic Lewis Way. As early as 1824-27 there were Protestant missionaries in Palestine, but permanent settlements were made only in 1833. The Anglo-Prussian Bishopric of Jerusalem aided the cause considerably. Especially is this true of the regime" of Bishop Gobat, who had himself for several docadea been a missionary in Abyssinia. At present the London Society has twenty-four missionaries at work in Jerusalem, Joppa and Saphed, under the direction of Rev. A. H, Kelk. '