The Jewish advance., August 16, 1878, Page 3, Image 3

About The Jewish advance. (Chicago, Ill.) 1878-1881

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Doml and Domestic
Kansas City, Mo.—Rev. Dr. T. Gross
man, formerly of N. Y. lias been elected
minister of the B’nai Jehudah congre
gation.
Cincinnati.—Isaac Monheimer has
donated $100 to the Jewish hospital in
memory of his son Henry, who died on
the 12th of last month, at the age of 33
years. The name of the deceased will
be engrossed upon the memorial tablets
of the hospital building.
Peoria, III.—The Austai Ernieth
Congregation has elected Rev. David
Stern, of Omaha, to fill its pulpit. Mr.
Stern is a native of England, and is quite
a young man yet of no mean abilities.
The son of a synagogual functionary,
his primary Hebrew education has not
been neglected. We congratulate the
•congregation upon this choice. They have
secured the services of an honest and
promising man. '
New York—The Y. M. H. A., of
Harlem is about to organize as a branch
of the Y. M. H. A., which is located in
the city of N. Y—The library of the
latter association will be increased at
the opening of the season in the fall.
—The first excursion of the poor Hebrew
free-school children took place last Mon
day. The second excursion for poor
Jewish sick children will take place next
Wednesday. This is a truly good work
of which the charitable people of New
York may be proud. Is there any pros
pect in view that Chicago Israelites will
emulate the good example of their New
York brethren ?
—The Maimoniles Library will reopen
this week. It has been enlarged to a
considerable extent. During the ensu
ing season a course of six entertainments
will be given.
We are heartily thankful to our re
spected contemporaries of here and a
broad for the kind notices, which they
have given us. The temptation was
great to copy some of these notices, such
for instance as we have received from
the Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums,
and others of Europe and from some of
•our kind contemporaries of this country.
The honored editor of the Deborah, who
has been in this city last week, called at
our office, thus giving us a mark of re
cognition in propria persona. We shall
•endeavor to convince you by our work,
gentlemen, that your confidence in the
-Jewish Advance is not misplaced,
your hopes for its utility shall not be
•disappointed. We shall never let our
personal dislikes or predilection inter
fere with tl^ wrork of “truth, justice and
peace,” and you shall always find us
ready to further the holy cause of ad
vancement and Judaism.
It was not without sincere regret that
the “Surgeon’s Knife” has been applied
to the work of a man who stands high
in the estimation of those who know
him as a scholar. But the Jewish
Advance is determined to work for the
cause of American Judaism. To con
nive at the mistakes of authors of prom
inence, would be a cowardly swerving
from doing our duty.
is wliat the voice of justice calls
to every worker in the good cause. It
is high time that the German scholars
of this country with their thoroughness
and great abilities make up their minds
that they work for. a rising American
generation in whom the future of Ameri
can Judaism reposes, a generation which
is not inferior to any in intellectual
qualification. It is time that such schol
ars keep more in view the end to be
achieved with their work, than the ideals
of their own youthful impressions —
that their work be more prospective
than retrospective.
TEMPORA MUTANTUR.
Among the ancient literature regard
ing Cyprus, which the English have
raked out of comparative obscurity, is
the Cosmographie of Peter Heylyn,
published in 1652, in which the island is
called ‘‘hot and swelthry, the soyle
moystened with some few brooks,” yet
so often dried up that “in the reign of
Constantine the Great this island was
for thirty-six years together utterly for
saken, no rain falling all that time.”
Yet it is stored with “ plenty of all
things — wine, oil, corn, sugar, cotton
honey, wool, turpentine, alum, verdigris^
all sorts of metals, store of salt, grog
rams, and other commodities, whereupon
this island was called Macaria, i. e.,
happy.” The following is one of the
most noteworthy of the old chronicle :
“The people hereof are warlike, strong
and nimble ; of great civility, hospitality
to their neighbors, and love to strangers
of all nations, Jewes only excepted. For
in the Empire of Trajan the Jewes in
habiting Egypt and the adjoining coun
treys drew themselves together, and
chose one Alexander for their Cap
tein, under whose conduct they entered
into this island, and laid it desolate, kill
ing in it 240,000 persons of all sexes and
ages: not without much bloodshed van
quished and slain by Lucius, the Emper
or’s lieutenant. Since which time the
Cypriots permit no Jew to enter into
the island: but come he hither voluntar
ily, or by foree of tempest, they lay
hands on him, and lead him presently to
execution. A hated nation, that neither
innocence can protect, or equity reprieve
from that cruel custome.”
Now behold the son of a Jew as the
instrument for bringing Cyprus into a
new civilization “ Jewes only excepted ”
will not henceforth be the record.
A Relic of the Good Old Times.
The oldest journal of a Parisian citi
zen has just been found in the British
Museum, by Mr. Leopold Delisle. It is
a part of the chronicle of Williatfl, the
Briton. The author was a contemporary
of St. Louis, who had noted down all the
principal occurrences which he had wit
nessed. Here is an extract of some passa
ges from the manuscript which Mr. Leo
pold Delisle has communicated to the
"Academic des inscriptions et belles
letters
“In the year of our Lord 1268, on
Christmas Eve an accursed Jew has
been arrested. He had been a Christian
for twenty years, had married according
to the Christian law, and had begottom
Christian children. Subsequently hP
had caused his two sons to be circum
cised. On the Sunday preceeding St.
Vincent, the Jew had been disgraced by
the Bishop and delivered to the arms of
the law in the presence of many good
people who had received the indulgence
of the Bishop to be present at that cer
emony. The Jew having declared that
he would rather be burned than return
to Christianity, and that all the wood in
the city of Paris, were it piled up and
set on fire in one heap, could not con
sume him—he was conducted the next
Friday to the hog-market. Arrived there,
he was tied by a butcher, who had been
prepared for the occasion, and burned so
completely, that no vestige either of his
corpse or any of his members was left.
His ashes were scattered on the neigh
boring fields”
‘’On the Palm-Sunday of the same
year the gibbet of Paris had been thrown
over in the night by a strong wind.”
“In the year of the Lord, 1269, a broth
er of the Order of “Fraternity of Preach
ers” has arrived toward the feast of
Pentecost. He came from Lombard,
and was of Jewish origin. He was ex
cellently versed in the Mosaic law and
in our own. He preached publicly to
the Jews in the King’s palace at Paris,
and in the convent of the “Fraternity of
Preachers.” The Jews came to hear
his sermons by the order of the King.
The preacher demonstrated that their
religion was of no value and that,
besides this, not only do they not observe
it since a long time, but even violate
every article thereof.”
“In the same year, on the Friday after
the translation of St. Martin or on the
succeeding Friday, by an order of the
King, under the provost Barbou, the
Jews of Paris have been marked with
round patches of felt (rouelle defeutre)
in front and behind of each garment
they wore.”—From the Archives Isr. of
July 15.
Marriage Customs in India.
Marriage customs and Marriage man
tras differ in some respects in different
parts of the country. Thus at the mar
riage of His Highness the Maharajah of
Mysore the following pretty recitation
formed a portion of the ritual uttered
by the bridegroom in musical Sanskrit:
“The bridegroom replies : ‘Well be it,’
and recites the following :
“Who gave her?
To whom did he give her?
Love gave her.
To love he gave her.
Love was the giver.
Love was the taker.
Love ! may this be thine.
With love may I enjoy her!
Love has pervaded the ocean.
With lave I accept her!
Love ! may this be thine.”
Soon after this the bride and bride
groom proceed one or two steps forward,
and the bride is thus addressed by the
bridegroom :
“May the rigions of space, may air,
the sun and fire dispel that anxiety
which thou feelest in thy mind and turn
thy heart to me. Be gentle in thy as
pect and loyal to thy husband ; be fort
unate in cattle, amiable in thy mind
and beautiful in thy person ; mother of
valiant sons ; be fond of delights; be
cheerful and bring prosperity to our bi.
peds and quadrupeds. Soma first re
ceived thee ; the Sun next obtained
thee ; the regent of fire was thy fourth
“Soma gave her to the Sun ; the Sun
gave her to the regent of fire ; Fire gave
her to me. With her he has given me
wealth and male offspring. May she,
most suspicious cause of prosperity,
never desert me.”
These and many others, which were
recited, contain much of exquisite poetry
in them. They are, to quote Max Muel
ler, the simplest child-like prayers on
record.
Loreign Zntelligence.
Paris.—At the recent inauguration
of the new Portugeese synagogue, one
of the chandeliers fell down, during the
performance of the cermonies. Happily
no one was hurt. As the other chande
liers seem to be unsafe in their position»
an order was issued that the ceiling he
exanined by a good architect.
Vienna.—Hugo Spitzer, a student of
jurisprudence, was decorated with a sil
ver medal of honer from the Emperor
for a brave deed. He saved the life of
a girl who had thrown herself into the
Hanau. The order of honor was handed
to the brave juris studiosns by the Dean
of the Law College. This was the first
Jnstance of an Emperial decoration com
ing through the hands of the Dean.
Bucherest.— The Roumaniens are
becoming reconciled to the idea of giv
ing up Bessarabia in exchange for Dob
rudscha ; but they cannot yet think of
yielding to the clause of Jewish tolera
tion. Almost every- piece of ground of
this city is mortgaged to Jews, and the
best Roumanian families owe great sums
of money to Jews. Now, if the Jews
should be permitted to have a voice in
the courts, in the juries, and in munici
pal and political affairs, the danger is
threatening that they might in a short
time rise to power and influence above
many of their oppressors. If one likes
to see a Roumanian excited, he needs
only to open a conversation on the Jew
ish question.
Krotoschin. — The rabbinical con
ference of the province of Posen, lately
held at Krotoschin, resolved to exert
itself to obtain funds for salarying an
efficient Jewish teacher at some semi
nary for the training of teachers, and to
pay subsidies to qualified Jewish stu
dents to be trained for the scholastic pro
fession, the object being the education
of efficient teachers of religion. A con
siderable number of congregations as
well as private individuals, have sub
scribed towards the fund to be created,
and the scheme will be carried out at
once. It was further resolved to peti
tion the ministry to place the rabbis on
a par with the clergy of the general pop
ulation, the law treating the former as
simple private individuals, and accord
ingly withholding them as well as the
synagogues, the privileges accorded to
the officials of other creeds and to the
churches. A committee was therefore
appointed, commissioned to bring about
amicable settlements in case of disputes
between the congregations and rabbis.
The conference will meet next year in
Posen.
Wanted More.—The old saying that
some men would want more if they had
a billion was exemplified yesterday,
when a Windsorite and a Detroiter got
into a dispute at the ferry dock. Said
the Canadian :
“You ought to he well pounded, and
I’m the man who can do it. However,
I don’t understand the laws over here
and don’t want to be locked up. If you
will come over to Canada I’ll pay your
fare both ways on the boat, buy your
dinner, treat you to cigars, lick you till
you can’t squeal, and send you home with
beef on your eyes.” „ , .
The American thought of the proposal
a while and then asked:
“If I go over with you will you buy
me a new overcoat ?”
“I—I—yes, by thunder, I will ! replied
the mad Windsorite.
“And a suit of clothes? „
“No I won’t. That’s asking too much.
“Well, those are the only terms I was
ever licked on,” calmly replied the other ;
“and your rejection of them ^sliows that
you are all blow and no fight.”
They took it out in jawing. — tree
Press.