חיתה פער גלר ומערגן ען גלר בשנת תקצח JEWISH MISSIONARY. "To-day I have money, In the (Jewish) year 5098." 391 The Jews here, in gaining their livelihood, are employed by persons of all religious persuasions, so that they do not depend on their brethren for supply of work. Perhaps nine out of every ten carpenters are Jews; and no questions are asked in employing them, except regarding their capacity as workmen. This is a most important fact, which would remove entirely the difficulty so often felt by Jewish missionaries in the support of inquirers and converts. The Consul was of opinion that a missionary in Bucharest would require 250l. a-year. He must have a house with four rooms, which would cost 251. or 301. of rent. He must maintain several servants, for each will do only his own peculiar work; and the state of the streets is such in winter, that he must keep a carriage and two horses, as every respectable person does. Provisions are cheap; a lamb may be got for two shillings, a sheep for four shillings and sixpence, and an oke of meat (that is 2 lbs.) for one piastre, that is about twopence. But firewood is very dear. A large family often pay 50%. a-year for this article alone. The expense of travelling from England to Bucharest, the Consul estimated at 307. As to the prospects of success, he thought that any direct attempt to convert the Greeks would be immediately fatal to any mission. A Jewish missionary must confine his labours to the Jews, and not interfere with the natives. The light will spread indirectly. The only danger to a mission is, that the priesthood, fearing its indirect influence, might bring in the arm of Russia to put it down: and Russia could easily do this in their own secret way if they had the will. (Sept. 10.) In the forenoon, we set out to call on Samuel Hillel, a Jewish banker, who was to introduce us to Rabbi Bibas of Corfu. By mistake we were led to the house of a wealthy Spanish Jew, and ushered into a fine suite of apartments. Several Jewish ladies came in fully dressed for the festival of the season. They received us very politely, and after discovering our mistake, directed us to the banker's house. He was not at home, but we found his son (who said that he had seen us at the synagogue), and his three daughters, richly attired, wearing diamonds on their head-for the daughters of Judah, 392 BUCHAREST-INTERVIEW WITH RABBI BIBAS. even in their captivity, have the same love for gay apparel that they had in the days of Isaiah.* In conversation with the son, we soon discovered that he was one of those Jews who care little about Palestine, and do not expect a Messiah, believing that education and civilization alone can exalt the Jews; to which he added,-" a knowledge of arms, that they may defend their land when they get possession of it." We afterwards saw his father, who conducted us to the house where the rabbi of Corfu was lodging. Rabbi Bibas received us politely. He spoke English with great fluency, told us he was a native of Gibraltar, and was proud of being a British subject. He has a congregation of 4000 under his care in Corfu. On our entrance, he excused himself for not rising, a slight indisposition and the fatigue of travelling obliging him to lie on the sofa. We said, "The Eastern manner became one of his nation." He replied, "No! no! the Jews are not Easterns." We said, "Abraham came from the distant East." "True; but you are not to reckon a nation by their first parent.” Immediately he began to speak of the situation of the Promised Land, asking us to say, Why God chose Israel for his peculiar people, and that portion of the earth as their land? Much conversation arose on these points, and as often as we tried to break off and introduce something more directly bearing on our object, he stopped us by affecting great logical accuracy, and holding us to the point, if we had any pretensions to the charac ter of logical reasoners. He denied that God ever meant the Jews to be a people separate from other nations, asserting that He intended them to enlighten all the earth, a duty which they must still perform whenever it shall be in their power. If they had means like the English they ought to send out missionaries. When we gave this reason why God chose Israel to be his peculiar people, "that the Lord wished to show that he was a sovereign God," he disputed this, because His sovereignty was already known to the heathen. He thought we must be content to reckon it among the secret things that belong to God. He then suddenly started another speculative question, "Where Eden was, and how four such streams as Moses described could have existed, since they are now nowhere to be found." On this point he at length rested satisfied with the remark, that it must be true, because declared in the Word of God. Af Isa. iii. 18-24. RABBI BIBAS-CHURCH OF THE METROPOL. 393 ter this he signified to us that it was the hour of prayer, and we must excuse him from further conversation at present. He showed great craftiness and skill in keeping the conversation from turning upon matters of experimental religion; for that was evidently his aim. On our rising to take leave, and mentioning that love to Israel had brought us to visit him, he declared that he loved Christians exceedingly, and that no Christian loved the Jews more than he did the Christians. He said that he was travelling for the sake of his degraded brethren, to see what might be done for them; and was anxious to meet with Sir Moses Montefiore on his return from the Holy Land. He disliked our reference to Scripture. Thus, on his remarking that the Jews must have been a very holy people since God so preserved them, we replied in the words of Ezekiel, “Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you."* But he hastily changed to another topic. (Sept. 11.) In the morning we went to the church of the Metropol, to witness the Féte of the Prince of Wallachia, on occasion of his birthday. It is a splendid building, and the walls very showy within, being covered with gilding, and paintings of apostles and saints without number, with a rich silver chandelier suspended from the roof. The splendid pulpit, which had the appearance of being seldom or never occupied, was adorned with gorgeous gilding,-a poor substitute for "the words of eternal life." The Prince himself was not present, being unwell: but all the principal Boyards of Wallachia were present, and also Milosh, the exiled Prince of Servia, a man of dull, heavy-looking aspect, dressed in a rich purple uniform, with a costly diamond girdle. His son stood by his side. Consuls of different nations stood around, wearing their respective uniforms; and an immense crowd of well-dressed people, all standing, filled the church. The priests, arrayed in beautiful robes, surrounded the table. The Bishop wore a splendid mitre, with a diamond cross on the top, and his garments were stiff with gold embroidery. He is said to be an amiable man; and we could not but honour him for this, that he has permitted the free circulation of the Holy Scriptures in Wallachia. The service consisted chiefly of prayers for the Prince; followed by the responsive chanting *Ezek. xxxvi. 32. 394 SUPERSTITIOUS WORSHIP OF THE GREEK CHURCH. of men and boys, not very melodious. At the end, the Prince and Nobles came forward to the Bishop, kissed a cross in his left hand, the Bible on the table, and the Bishop's hand, receiving from him a small piece of bread. This seemed to be the sacramental bread,-a miserable profanation of the holy ordinance of the Supper. When the pageant was done, and most had withdrawn, we remained behind to see the rest go through their devotions. In different parts of the church the worshippers were choosing out the picture of their favourite saint, and after many crossings and prostrations on the ground, they kissed the feet and hands of the picture. In one corner an open coffin was exhibited, containing, we were told, the remains of St. Demetrius, the patron saint of the Prince. A frank Wallachian who was with us said, somewhat archly, "This was not the old St. Demetrius, but a new one." The body was buried in the channel of a river, and the spot was disclosed to a pious young woman, before whom the waters of the river were miraculously divided. The coffin was highly ornamented with silver, and the dead body wrapped in cloth of silver and gold. A shrivelled hand was all that was left exposed; and this was the great object of attraction. The worshippers approached in great numbers, men and women, rich and poor, officers and soldiers. First they kneeled to the ground three times, crossing themselves and kissing the pavement. Then they drew near, and reverently kissed the withered hand and a cross that lay beside it, dropping a piece of money into a little plate which lay at the feet. The priest touched their forehead with a little cross in his hand, and muttered some parting blessing. With three prostrations more the worshipper retired. One poor boy, more intense in his devotions than the rest, made about twenty prostrations, being often disturbed by the crowd; and we could not see that after all he ever got a kiss of the skinny fingers. A rustic, with long uncombed hair, and his wife, brought their little baby in their arms to be blessed beside the holy coffin. The priest laid the crucifix upon its brow. It was altogether a scene of the grossest idolatry, and it was melancholy to see so many respectable, intelligentlooking people engaged in it. What a stumbling-block are such Christians in the way of the conversion of the Jews! And yet there are about 200 Jews in Bucharest SECOND INTERVIEW WITH RABBI BIBAS. 395 who have been baptized into the Greek Church. But of these we were told that only three had made the change from any real concern about their soul. We visited again our friend Rabbi Bibas, and resolved this time to take the start of him in the topics of conversation. Mr. Calman at once began by shewing the wickedness and folly of several things taught in the Talmud. The rabbi's first answer was, that the Talmud was written by those who composed the Sanhedrim, and that God commanded us to bow to their decision on pain of death. Then he explained away its apparently immoral precepts; but, in defending its errors in history and geography, plunged into gross absurdities, by endeavouring to prove from the Bible that the Holy Land was of immense extent, and that Jerusalem once contained many millions of people. In proof of the latter point he referred to a passage, where so many thousands are said to have been "at Jerusalem;" but he insisted that must be rendered "in Jerusalem." He wished to shew us that Messiah must be a mere man; and directed us to the description of Ezekiel's temple, where "the Prince and his sons" are mentioned. We explained that Messiah was not there spoken of, but the Prince over Israel under him. His only remark to this was, "Oh, then, you give us two rulers!" He admitted the state of his people at present to be most wretched. In Poland especially, he said, they were grossly superstitious, for they understood every thing in the Talmud literally. Indeed, he had not gone to speak with the Polish rabbi, believing that it would be useless on account of his ignorance. The first remedy was to remove their ignorance. He would have the Jews gathered and educated in schools, where they should read and learn the Bible till ten years of age; the Mishna from ten to fifteen, and the Talmud from fifteen to twenty. He thought that the collections for the Holy Land ought to be given up, and that the Jews there ought to be obliged to work even were it by the bayonet. Sir Moses Montefiore's plan of purchasing land for them in Palestine he considered useless, as long as there is no security for property there. The people must first be educated and * Deut. xvii. 11, 12. The precise passage has escaped our memory; but it was some such passage as Judg. i. 8, all Judah fighting in Jerusalem. Ezek. xlvi. 16. |