JEWS. 



371 



Israel, the enlightenment of the masses. Let us hope 

 so. But the fact remains unaltered, that at present 

 education is regarded by most Israelites as chimerical, 

 at least in its connection with commercial work and 

 progress. 



It is also apparent that union, for the purpose of ad- 

 vancing the religious and moral progress of our people 

 in America, is regarded with disfavor by those who 

 should be among the foremost in advocating, encoura- 

 ging, and cementing such a bond. If the wisdom of 

 the leading men among American Israelites incline 

 toward the principle ot independence in congrega- 

 tional affairs, this idea should not be carried to such 

 an extent as to discountenance the combination of 

 means and strength for the promotion of other than 

 purely ecclesiastical interests. 



A Rabbinical Conference of "Reformed 

 Jews," those who favor religious progress, was 

 held in Philadelphia in November. Its spirit 

 and the character of its proceedings are best 

 illustrated in the account of it which was 

 given by Rabbi Wise, of Cincinnati, to his con- 

 gregation after the adjournment: 



The principles which the conference authoritatively 

 declared, he said, were precisely the same which for 

 the last twenty years were advancedj expounded, and 

 defended by all liberal Israelites in America and 

 Europe. That the Israelite of the nineteenth century 

 expects not to return to Palestine, and construct a 

 new Government under a Messiah, Prince of the 

 house of David, as the sovereignty of freedom and 

 the supremacy of justice are .the very realization of 

 the sublime ideals connected with the Messianic 

 doctrine of the fathers ; that the dispersion of Israel 

 was not a punishment, divine retribution being 

 threatened only to the third and fourth generations ; it 

 was the object of Providence that the children of 

 Israel carry the pure word of God to all climes and 

 generations ; that it is not a people whose redemption 

 and salvation the Lord has ordained it is the whole 



the resurrection of the human body 

 hopes centre it is the immortality of the soul, and 

 God's grace and justice to His image, which is our 

 work of salvation ; that, although it is our duty to 

 maintain the Hebrew language, in which the divine 

 treasures were intrusted to our care, nevertheless, 

 many Israelites not being sufficiently conversant 

 with the holy tongue^ it is necessary that the vernac- 

 ular be introduced in the synagogues as much as 

 possible. 



The resolutions were chiefly limited to the laws of 

 marriage and divorce, some of which had come in 

 conflict with the modern laws of civilized nations. 

 These resolutions were based on the principle that it 

 is every Israelite's religious duty to obey the laws of 

 the land ; that the synagogue therefore acknowledges 

 no marriage lawful which has not the sanction of the 

 law of the land ; that it acknowledges the verdict of 

 the public law in cases of divorce as final and binding, 

 and abolishes the ancient rabbinical form of divorce ; 

 that it considers all laws, concerning the deceased 

 brother's wife and concerning the sons of Aaron, as 

 binding no longer. But that in all cases of marriage 

 or divorce, in any State or Territory not having reached 

 the height of the Biblical morals, the synagogue 

 must adhere to the moral law of the Bible, and the 

 rabbisj before solemnizing the marriage of a divorced 

 party, must investigate into the causes on which the 

 divorce was granted, and none must solemnize a mar- 

 riage contrary to the provisions of the Bible. Man 

 and woman, according to the spirit of the Scriptures, 

 are perfectly equal before God. Therefore, in the 

 covenant of matrimony, husband and wife have equal 

 duties, claims, rights, and privileges, which are to be 

 symbolically expressed by the exchange of rings, and 

 the proper formula of marriage. Although this is in 



advance of the laws of many countries, nevertheless 

 it is in the spirit of the sacred Scriptures, and bind- 

 ing upon all Israelites. 



In regard to circumcision, it was declared as being 

 an acknowledged law in Israel that the offspring of u 

 Jewish mother is by virtue of its birth one of Israel, 

 with or without circumcision. In all these matters 

 the conference only declared authoritatively that 

 which was acknowledged by all American Israelites, 

 and again has the only merit of giving it authority. 



The Hebrew free-school organization of the 

 city of New York have four free schools under 

 their charge ; the design of them is to counteract 

 the efforts of what are called " Christian Jews," 

 who have also organized free schools, and teach 

 doctrines which are regarded as opposed to 

 the tenets of Judaism. The association now 

 numbers over six hundred members, each pay- 

 ing an annual contribution of five dollars, out 

 of which sum, and from donations received from 

 various sources, the expenses of the schools are 

 supported. The Board of Directors have it in 

 view to abandon the instruction in the common 

 English branches, as a good deal of opposition 

 has been shown among the Jews of the city 

 against it, since they claim that in the public 

 schools, free to all, these are taught to better 

 advantage, and that to maintain it in a distinctly 

 Hebrew school might give rise to a charge that 

 the Jews are opposed to the public-school sys- 

 tem, while they are its earnest friends. Heed 

 is to be given to this objection, and these He- 

 brew free schools will probably, hereafter, be 

 continued only for free religious instruction, 

 and for maintaining the Hebrew language among 

 the "rising generation." 



The Universal Israelitish Alliance, of Paris, 

 has now in operation thirteen schools six in 

 Morocco, three in Turkey, two in Palestine, one 

 in Syria, and one in Asia Minor, besides the 

 normal school in Paris. The schools in Morocco 

 are in a flourishing condition, encouraging the 

 establishment of others in the Orient. The 

 preparatory school in Paris is also prosperous, 

 and is giving instruction to scholars preparing 

 to become teachers, natives of Poland, Hun- 

 gary, Turkey, Palestine, Syria, Morocco, and 

 Abyssinia. 



Monsieur Joseph Halevy, who had under- 

 taken a mission to the Falasha Jews of Abys- 

 sinia on behalf of the Universal Israelitish Al- 

 liance, presented a report of his proceedings 

 and the result of his investigations to the gen- 

 eral committee of that association. It leaves no 

 doubt as to the Judaism of the Falashas. Iso- 

 lated locally, and even physically, from their 

 coreligionists for these Israelites dwell in a 

 remote and little-known region they remain 

 faithful to the law of Sinai; and the civil- 

 ized Jew, coming to them from a refined 

 capital of the Western world, found him- 

 self in the midst of brethren. They testi- 

 fied their anxiety to rivet the link of brother- 

 hood by confiding to M. Halevy a young mem- 

 ber of their community, as an ambassador 

 from them to the Alliance. Their complexion 

 is more or less black, but they have not the 



