J E W. Si 1 
tone of the-parent, the lord chancellor on complaint may 
make fuch order therein as he lhall fee proper. See i P. 
IVms. 524. 2 Eq. Ab. 513, c. 2. 
. Of all thedlates of Europe, Holland is the one where 
the Jews have, for a long time back, been admitted to a 
civil exillence ; they are divided, as elfewhere, into Ger¬ 
man and Portuguese Jews. The latter are the richeft ; 
their manners are more p.olilhed, and they are farther re¬ 
moved than .the Germans from the vices and cuftoms 
with which this nation is reproached in certain parts of 
Europe. By a decree palled in 1796, the Jews, like the 
Catholics, acquired certain political rights. Virtues and 
talents generally follow in the train of liberty; and this 
is the reafon why the Jewilh communities in Holland have 
produced fo many enlightened men ; even now we find 
many fuch among them; fuch as Cappadoce, a phyfi- 
cian ; d’Acofta, who was prefident of the Batavian legif- 
lative aflembly; Affer, and feveral others, of Amlterdam, 
who are eminent lawyers; De Solla and Bel-Infante at the 
Hague, See. 
Formerly the Portuguele and German Jews detefted the 
(Karaites, and mutually hated each other. In the laft cen¬ 
tury, a Pruffian Jewel's having married a Portuguefe phy- 
fician, her relations put on mourning as if : fire had been 
dead. A Caraite, having come to Frankfort, would have 
been murdered there, if Ludolp had not laved him from 
the fury of the fynagogue. A rabbi had'previoufiy given 
it as his decided opinion, that, if a Caraite and a Chriftian 
were drowning at the fame infant, the rabbinical Jew 
ought to make a bridge of the body of the Caraite for the 
purpofe of faving the Chrilfian. Their ideas, however, 
have undergone a confiderable change in that refpedft. 
For feme years palf a fpirit of reform has rnanifefted it- 
felf among the Jews of Leghorn, who,in 1796, made fome 
alterations in their religious rites ; among thofe fettled at 
Amflerdam, four or five hundred of whom have eltablilhed 
a feparate fynagogue ; among thofe of Berlin, the greater 
part of whom no longer attend their fynagogue, and fome 
of whom, ten years ago, addrelfed a celebrated letter to 
the protellant pallor Tellier. They offered to join the 
protellant church, without believing its doctrines ; for 
they reduced their fymbol to four or five inlignificant and 
abllraft propofitions, which do not indicate any fymptom 
of Chriftianity. 
The progrefs of mental-improvement among the Jews 
is however molt oblervable in Germany ; where feveral 
men of learning are earneltly endeavouring to improve the 
mode of education. The Jews have had a lliare in this 
moral revolution. Mendelfohn, a creative genius, raifed 
himfelf to a high rank among philofophers ; and his re¬ 
nown was the eleftric fpark which kindled the genius of 
the Hebrews. Mendelfohn had for contemporaries or 
fucce-lfors men of diftinguilhed reputation, fome of them 
now no more, fuch as Bloch, Herz, Maimon, Hartevig, 
Vezelize, &c. others ltill living, fuch as Friedlander, un¬ 
cle and nephew, Wolfsfohn, Fraenkel, Schottlander, &c. 
but in particular Bendavid, prelident of the Society of 
Friends of Humanity at Berlin, and author of feveral pro¬ 
found works, who has ehdeavoured to- apply algebra to 
the theory of talfe in the arts. Several times the Berlin 
Academy of'Sciences had exprelfed a wilh that Mendel¬ 
fohn might be appointed one of their affociates; but Fre¬ 
deric, who has been called the Great, refufed his affent, 
becaule he would not have in the lift of members the name 
of a jew joined to that of Catharine II. of Ruffia! 
The Pruffian Jews had, during the laft ten years, pub- 
lilhed a Journal in Hebrew, in which they attacked with 
argument and ridicule the reveries of the Talmud. This 
periodical work is to be revived at Delian under a new 
form, and the title of the Sulamite, or a Journal for the 
Diffusion of Knowledge among the Jews, by MM. Frsen- 
kel, Wolf, and Rundel. 
The Jews have been reproached for undervaluing the 
female lex. In the daily prayers of the men is the fol¬ 
lowing palfage ; “ Bleffed be the Creator of Heaven and 
Earth for not having made me a woman;” whilft the wo¬ 
man was taught to fay with humility, “ Blefied be thy 
name for having made me as I am.” They begin to re¬ 
pair this injury, efpecially at Berlin and at Hamburg, 
where there are many Jewelfes whole education has been 
conducted with the greateft care, and who are diftinguilhed 
by an union of virtue and learning. In Michael Berr’s 
Appeal to the Juftice of Nations, there are fome curious 
notes relative to this fubjeft. 
Some enlightened Jews do not approve of having fchoob 
exclulively appropriated to the children of their nation. 
It would undoubtedly be a powerful means towards effect¬ 
ing a complete political union, if they all frequented the 1 
fchools and univerfities of the Chriftians ; but the preju¬ 
dices of the latter, by rejecting them, or at leaft attaching- 
a kind of ftigma to Judaifm, induced them to eltablilh 
feparate fchools in different towns and cities of Germany, 
at Nuremberg, Furth, Breflau, Koniglberg, See. They 
have likewife fuch fchools at Berlin, Frankfort-on-the- 
Mayne, Deffau, Seezen, in particular, for the education of 
poor children. They are almolt all fupported by volun¬ 
tary contributions. The regulations of thefe fchools, 
and feveral elementary works, exprefsly written for their 
ufe, have been printed. At Frankfort-on-the-Mayne, M, 
Giefenheimer, uniting malic with poetry, has printed for 
the fcholars a colleflion of pieces in every way calculated 
to infpire virtuous fentiments. 
In 1795, a fociety of Jews, for the molt part young- 
men, founded at Deffau a feparate fchool for the children 
of their nation. They had to contend againft a multi¬ 
tude of obftacles; but the protection of the governments 
which approved of the ftatutes of that fchool, the fuccefs 
attending their mode of inftruftion, and the public and 
folemn examinations, caufed the eftablilhments to profper. 
The founders addrelfed themlelves to the benevolence of 
perfons in ealy circumftances, and received abundant fuc- 
cours, by means of which they were enabled to enlarge 
their plan. They have accordingly increafed the number 
of mailers and of pupils, whofe number now amounts to- 
about one hundred. 
At Seezen, a town fituate between Brunfwick and Got¬ 
tingen, a college was founded in 1801 for the children 
of the Jews, by M. Jacobfohn, who filled a high office in 
the fervice of the duke of Brunfwick, and enjoyed the 
efteem -of all ranks. He confided' the direction of it to a 
man of learning and zeal, M. Schottlander, codhfellor to 
the landgrave of Heffe-Darmftadt, who is engaged in 
writing a Hiltory of his Nation. There are ten profeffors, 
and the numberof lludents daily increafes. The arrange¬ 
ment of the building and adminiftration of the eftablilh" 
ment may ferve as models. There, as well as at Delfau, 
the children are diftinguilhed by neatnefs and clennlinefs, 
by good order, and an air of health and content. The 
poor are admitted gratis, and the others pay in proportion 
to their ability. They are taught the German, French, 
Hebrew, and Latin, languages ; geography, hiltory, de¬ 
clamation, natural hiftory, mathematics, technology, &c_ 
At Seezen they add to the above the Greek language and 
mufic ; and it is intended loon to eftablilh a fchool of in- 
duftry. Each Undent has a fmall plot of ground allotted, 
to him, which he cultivates with his own hands ; and -it 
is part of the plan of this fchool to wean them from- com¬ 
merce, the fpirit of which js fo deeply rooted among the 
Jews. 
In Germany the moll happy effefts are expended to re- 
fult from thefe fchools of the jews. They are unwearied 
in their endeavour to merit admiffion to a full participa¬ 
tion of all civil rights. This- has been granted them al¬ 
ready in France. But on the other fide of the P.hine they 
have not been able to obtain the objefl of their wilhes, 
notwithftanding the efforts of the learned and refpectable 
M. Dohm. There feems to be, however, a gradual ap¬ 
proximation towards a better order of things. Already, 
through the zeal of Meffiy. j i.cobfohn and Breitenbach, 
twenty-fix German princes have repaired an outrage done 
i&r 
