FROM

THE

E V A N G E L I S T .

To him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God even to his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever--AMEN. Revelations, chap. 1.
NO. 10.	CINCINNATI, OCTOBER 1, 1832.	VOL. I.

      From the reign of Adrian, emperor of Rome, to the present day, the people of the Jewish nation have often been the dupes of some pretender to Messiahship, who has risen up to promise them that restoration of their former dignity and importance, from which they have been driven by the imperious decrees of righteous providence; it appears that about twenty-four false Christs have at various times excited the hopes and disappointed the expectations of this credulous and superstitious people. The most important of these Messiah's was one Zabathai Izevi, who in the year 1666, a year of great expectation by many, made a considerable noise at Smyrna and other places. He was a man of much learning, and promised fairly to realize their expectations of being restored to their former inheritances, and of becoming once more a great and prosperous nation. Thousands of the Jews listened to his pretensions: but all his schemes were rendered abortive by an unfortunate difference that arose between him and one Nehemiah, who pretending to be the son of Ephraim, and whom he said was to be a kind of secondary Messiah--reproved his superior in the office of Messiahship, Zabathai, for his too great forwardness in appearing as the son of David, before the son of Ephraim had led him the way. Zabathai could not brook this doctrine, and therefore excluded his officious forerunner from any part or share in the matter. Nehemiah, mortified at his degradation, reported Zabathai to the grand seignior at Adrianople, as a person dangerous to the government. Zabathai, dejected and fearful, appeared according to a summons for that purpose, before the grand seignior, who requiring a miracle, which was that the pretended Messiah should be stripped naked, and set as a mark for the archers to shoot at; and if the arrows did not pierce his flesh, he would own [230] him to be the true Messiah. Zabathai's faith failed him; he sacrificed his pretensions to his life; and preferring the faith of the Musselmen to the arrows of the executioners, he furnished his disappointed followers with another proof of their foolish credulity, and the christian prophecies with additional confirmation. The last of the pretended Christs, that made any considerable number of converts, was one Rabbe Mordechai, a Jew of Germany. He made his appearance in the year 1682. It was not long before he was found out to be an impostor, and was obliged to fly from Italy to Poland to save his life. What became of him afterwards is not known. After this the most intelligent among the Jews seem to have turned their expectations rather towards a moral and political regeneration, than to their restoration, as a people, to the city of Jerusalem, and to the actual repossession of Palestine as their inheritance, though there are doubtless multitudes among them who still expect even this local restoration, and live constantly looking for some person to be raised up as their king and deliverer. Whatever may be the ideas of the Israelites in this country, it is certain, their brethren on the continent look up to the French Emperor as their great promised deliverer and saviour. "The time of our trial," say they, "is expired, the period of our calamities is ended! All the persecutions we have sustained have only tended to unite us the more closely together; we have at all times remained faithful to the commandments of the Lord our God; for our recompense he has determined in his wisdom that we shall be received into the bosom of the nations, to enjoy the happiness of our forefathers: but to fulfil this object, it was necessary to find a man whose virtues, whose valor and wisdom should exceed every thing which had been before admired by mortals! Napoleon appeared! and God Almighty immediately supported him with the arm of his power. He recalled him from Egypt, while he subjugated the tempestuous ocean to his divine laws; he set his angels to guide his steps, and to watch over his precious life; his divine spirit inspired this hero in the field of battle as in the midst of his palace; from the summit of the hills and mountains he showed him his enemies dispersed in the plains of Austerlitz and Jena." Thus are the riches and fire of oriental genius, conjoined with the warmth of adulation peculiar to the French people, made to express the hopes and enjoyments of the children of Israel! This is an epoch in the Jewish history deserving a more minute detail, and worthy of being preserved from the perishing annals of newspapers and pamphlets. Posterity will see how far these flattering prospects have been built on a permanent or sandy foundation. In May 1806, was issued by the French Emperor the following, very extraordinary decree concerning the Jews. [231]

      'Accounts having reached us that in some of the northern departments of our empire, certain Jews, not exercising any other profession than that of usury, have, by extorting an enormous interest, reduced a number of farmers to very great distress; we have conceived it our duty to succour such of our subjects as have been reduced to these sorrowful extremes by an unjustifiable avarice. These circumstances have, at the same time, furnished us with an opportunity of knowing the urgent necessity of re-animating the sentiments of civil morality among those persons, who profess the Jewish religion in the countries under our jurisdiction; sentiments which unhappily have been extinguished among a great number of them in consequence of the state of debasement under which they have long languished, which it has never entered into my views either to maintain or renew. For the accomplishment of this design, we have resolved to collect the principal persons among the Jews in an assembly; and then, through the means of Commissioners, whom we shall nominate for the purpose, to communicate our intentions; and who will at the same time learn their wishes in respect to such manner as they may deem most expedient to awaken among their brethren the exercise of the arts and useful professions of life, in order that an honest industry may take the place of those scandalous resources to which many persons among the Jews have given themselves up, from the father to the son, for several years past. To this end, and upon the report of our Grand Judge, Minister of Justice, our minister of the interior, our council of State, &c. We declare as follows: '1st. The execution of all contracts or actions against farmers, not merchants, shall be suspended for one year, reckoning from the date of the present decree, simple conservatory acts excepted: such farmers belonging to the departments of Le Larre, Roen, Mont Tonnere, Haut, and Bas Rhin, Rhin, and Moselle, Moselle, and Vosgis, in cases when they have been granted in favour of the Jews. 2nd. On the 13th. of July next an assembly of individuals professing the Jewish Religion shall be held in our good city of Paris. This assembly is to be formed of those Jews only who inhabit the French Territory; 3dly. The members shall be regulated according to the table hereunto annexed, taken from the various departments, and selected by the prefects from among the Rabbins, proprietors of land, and other Jews, the most distinguished by their probity and intelligence. 4ly. In the other departments of our empire, not named in the annexed table, should any individuals be found professing the Jewish Religion, to the number of one hundred and less [232] than five hundred, the prefect shall select a deputy for five hundred; and above that number to one thousand, two deputies; and so on in proportion. 5th. The deputies chosen shall be at Paris before the 10th of July; and shall announce their arrival and their place of residence, to the secretary of our Minister of the interior who shall inform them of the place, the day, and the hour when the assembly shall meet. Our minister of the interior is charged with the execution of the present decree. Here follows a list of the deputies, being seventy four in number. These deputies accordingly assembled at Paris on July the 15th, 1806, and were met by the Emperor's commissioners. At their second sitting the commissioners put several questions to them, relative to the internal economy of the Jewish nation, and their ideas of the allegiance due from the Jews to the French government. The questions were generally answered in favour of the French. At this meeting a letter was read from Mr. Jacobsohn, agent of the finances at the court of Brunswick addressed to Bonaparte. This letter was expressive of the gratification he felt in the interest which the emperor of the French had shown towards the people of the Jews in France, and praying his Imperial Majesty to extend the like favor and indulgence to the Israelites inhabiting the countries adjoining the French Empire, and in particular to those of Germany.

[The Evangelist 1 (October 1832): 230-233.]

      Robert Richardson's "Communicated--By Dr. Richardson" was first published in The Evangelist, Vol. 1, No. 10, October 1832. The electronic version of this essay has been produced from the College Press reprint (1980) of The Evangelist, ed. Walter Scott (Cincinnati, OH: Walter Scott, 1832), pp. 230-233. The text has been scanned by Colvil Smith and formatted by Ernie Stefanik.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page. Inconsistencies in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and typography have been retained; however, corrections have been offered for misspellings and other accidental corruptions. Emendations are as follows:

 Page       Printed Text [ Electronic Text
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 p. 230:    It appears [ it appears
            csnsiderable noise [ considerable noise
            Ephriam, [ Ephraim,
 p. 231:    of the Israelits [ of the Israelites
 p. 232:    that that of usury, [ than that of usury,
            3dly [ 3dly.
 

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Created 5 September 2000.