THE PRESERVATION OF THE JEWS. 



I6 5 



will say that, " it signifies not what a 

 man's religion may be, if he is only sin- 

 cere in it." Is it a feeling, or a know- 

 ledge, of religion that leads a Jewish 

 child, almost the moment it can speak, 

 to say that it is a Jew ? It is simply the 

 workings of the phenomena of race that 

 account for this ; the religion peculiar to 

 Jews having been introduced among 

 them centuries after their existence as a 

 people. Being exclusively theirs in its 

 very nature, they naturally follow it, as 

 other people do theirs ; but although, 

 from the nature of its origin, it presents 

 infinitely greater claims upon their in- 

 telligent belief and obedience, they have 

 yielded no greater submission to its 

 spirit and morals, or even to its forms, 

 than many other people have done to 

 their religion, made up, as that has 

 been, of the most fabulous superstition, 

 on the principle, doubtless, that 



"The zealous crowds in ignorance adore, 

 And still, the less they know, they fear 

 the more."* 



The Jews being a people before they re- 

 ceived the religion by which they are dis- 

 tinguished, it follows that the religion, 

 in itself, occupies a position of secondary 

 importance, although the profession of 

 it acts and reacts upon the people, in 

 keeping them separate from others. 

 The most, then, that can be said of the 

 religion of the Jews is, that, following 

 in the wake of their history as a people, 

 it is only one of the pillars by which the 

 building is supported.! If inquiry is 



* The following extract from Leaves 

 from the Diary of a Jewish Minister, 

 published in the 'Je^uish Messenger, on 

 the 4th April, 1862, may not be uninter- 

 esting to the Christian reader: 



" In our day, the conscience of Israel 

 is seldom troubled ; it is of so elastic a 

 character, that, like gutta percha [india- 

 rubber?], it stretches and is compressed, 

 according to the desire of its owner. We 

 seldom hear of a troubled conscience. 

 . . . . Not that we would assert that 

 our people are without a conscience ; we 

 merely state that we seldom hear of its 

 troubles. It is more than probable, that 

 when the latent feeling is aroused on 

 matters of religion, and for a moment 

 they have an idea that ' their soul is not 

 well,' they take a homoeopathic dose of 

 spiritual medicine, and then feel quite 

 convalescent" (p. 503). 



f The only part of the religion of the 

 jfu\vs having an origin prior to the estab- 



made of Jewish converts to Christianity, 

 we will find that, notwithstanding their 

 having separated from their brethren, 

 on points of creed, they hold themselves 

 as much Jews as before. But the con- 

 versions of Jews are, 



" Like angels' visits, few and far between." 



In the case of individuals forsaking the 

 Jewish, and joining the Christian, 

 Church, that is, believing in the Messiah 

 having come, instead of to come, it is 

 natural, I may say inevitable, for them 

 to hold themselves Jews. They have 

 feelings which the world cannot under- 

 stand. But beyond the nationality, 

 physiognomy, and feelings of Jews, 

 there are no points of difference, and 

 there ought to be no grounds of offence, 

 between them and the ordinary inhab- 

 itants (p. 473). 



Substitute the language and signs of 

 the Gipsies for the religion of the Jews, 

 and we find that the rearing of the 

 Gipsies is almost identical with that of 

 the Jews ; and in the same manner do 

 they hold themselves to be Gipsies. 

 But the one can be Gipsies, though 

 ignorant of their language and signs, 

 and the other, Jews, though ignorant 

 of their religion ; the mere sense of 

 tribe and community being sufficient to 

 constitute them members of their respec- 

 tive nationalities (p. 475). 



But how different is the posititn 

 which the Jews occupy towards the rest 

 of the world ! They are certainly quiet 

 and inoffensive enough as individuals, 

 or as a community; whence, then, 

 arises the dislike which most people 

 have for them ? The Gipsies may be 

 said to be, in a sense, strangers amongst 



lishment of the Mosaic law was circum- 

 cision, which was ..termed the covenant 

 made by God with Abraham and his seed 

 (Gen. xvii. 10-14). The abolition of idols, 

 and the worship of God alone, are pre- 

 sumed, although not expressed. The 

 Jews lapsed into gross idolatry while in 

 Egypt, but were not likely to neglect cir- 

 cumcision, as that was necessary to 

 maintain a physical uniformity among the 

 race, but did not enter into the wants, 

 and hopes, and fears inherent in the hu- 

 man breast, and stimulated by the daily 

 exhibition of the phenomena of its ex- 

 istence. The second table of the moral 

 law was, of course, written upon the 

 hearts of the Jews, in common with those 

 of the Gentiles (Rom. ii. 14, 15). (P. 474.) 



