On This Day In Messianic Jewish History

Born in France in 1509, theologian/ecclesiastical statesman John Calvin was Martin Luther’s successor as the preeminent Protestant theologian. Calvin made a powerful impact on the fundamental doctrines of Protestantism, and is widely credited as the most important figure in the second generation of the Protestant Reformation. He died in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1564. [Biography.com]

Background

Born on July 10, 1509, in Noyon, Picardy, France, John Calvin was a law student at the University of Orléans when he first joined the cause of the Reformation. In 1536, he published the landmark text Institutes of the Christian Religion, an early attempt to standardize the theories of Protestantism. Calvin’s religious teachings emphasized the sovereignty of the scriptures and divine predestination—a doctrine holding that God chooses a select few to enter Heaven, regardless of their good works or their faith.

Leading Figure of Reformation

Calvin lived in Geneva briefly, until anti-Protestant authorities in 1538 forced him to leave. He was invited back again in 1541, and upon his return from Germany, where he had been living, he became an important spiritual and political leader. Calvin used Protestant principles to establish a religious government; and in 1555, he was given absolute supremacy as leader in Geneva.

As Martin Luther’s successor as the preeminent Protestant theologian, Calvin was known for an intellectual, unemotional approach to faith that provided Protestantism’s theological underpinnings, whereas Luther brought passion and populism to his religious cause.

While instituting many positive policies, Calvin’s government also punished “impiety” and dissent against his particularly spare vision of Christianity with execution. In the first five years of his rule in Geneva, 58 people were executed and 76 exiled for their religious beliefs. Calvin allowed no art other than music, and even that could not involve instruments. Under his rule, Geneva became the center of Protestantism, and sent out pastors to the rest of Europe, creating Presbyterianism in Scotland, the Puritan Movement in England and the Reformed Church in the Netherlands.

Death and Legacy

Calvin died on May 27, 1564, in Geneva, Switzerland. It is unknown where he is buried. Today, Calvin remains widely credited as the most important figure in the second generation of the Protestant Reformation.

Calvin “generally had a more benevolent view of the Jews” than did other Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther. However, his views are somewhat inconsistent, and the subject of continuing debate.

“Although at times his remarks could be acerbic, he nevertheless taught that the Bible indicated a time when Israel would be restored by coming to faith in their Messiah. “ In speaking about the Jews, Calvin said, “I extend the word Israel to all the people of God, according to this meaning, ­When the Gentiles shall come in, the Jews also shall return from their defection to the obedience of faith; and thus shall be completed the salvation of the whole Israel of God, which must be gathered from both; and yet in such a way that the Jews shall obtain the first place, being as it were the first born in God’s family.”

“As Jews are the firstborn, what the Prophet declares must be fulfilled, especially in them: for that scripture calls all the people of God Israelites, it is to be ascribed to the pre-eminence of that nation, who God had preferred to all other nations…God distinctly claims for himself a certain seed, so that his redemption may be effectual in his elect and peculiar nation…God was not unmindful of the covenant which he had made with their fathers, and by which he testified that according to his eternal purpose he loved that nation: and this he confirms by this remarkable declaration, ­that the grace of the divine calling cannot be made void.”

One of the issues confronting Christians was the determination of the proper age for Baptism. Calvin believed in the baptism of infants. He saw baptism as analogous to circumcision – a rite by which the child is sealed in the faith of his fathers. Since God had ordained circumcision for Jewish infants, it was obvious that He intended for Christian to undergo their version of the ritual as infants as well.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the life, work and legacy of this great Protestant Reformer. Help us to make use of his contribution as he sought to explain the nature of the Church and Israel, and develop his thought further where necessary. In Yeshua’s name we pray. Amen.

Please see Mary Potter Engel’s excellent study for more material, and R K Soulen’s important work “The God of Israel and Christian Theology” to set Calvin in his place in Christian thought on Israel.

Michael Vlach writes:

John Calvin’s views on Israel also appear to evidence a rejection/acceptance tension. According to Willem VanGemeren, “Some have seen the utter rejection of Israel in Calvin’s writing, whereas others have also viewed the hope for national Israel.”57 Williamson, for example, believes there is a tension in Calvin’s writings on this issue when he states, “On the one hand, Calvin strongly insisted that God’s promise to and covenant with the people Israel was unconditional, unbreakable, and gracious. . . . On the other hand, Calvin often makes statements exactly opposing the above.”58

At times, Calvin made statements consistent with supersessionism. For him, the “all Israel” who will be saved in Rom 11:26 is a reference to the church composed of Jews and Gentiles.59 He also took the interpretation that the “Israel of God” in Gal 6:16 refers to “all believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, who were united into one church.”60 At other times, though, Calvin made statements that seem to indicate he believed in some form of a future for the Jewish people. For example, in his commentary on Isa 59:20, he stated,

Paul quotes this passage, (Rom. xi. 26,) in order to shew that there is still some remaining hope among the Jews; although from their unconquerable obstinacy it might be inferred that they were altogether cast off and doomed to eternal death. But because God is continually mindful of his covenant, and “his gifts and calling are without repentance” (Rom. xi. 29), Paul justly concludes that it is impossible that there shall not at length be some remnant that come to Christ, and obtain that salvation which he has procured. Thus the Jews must at length be collected along with the Gentiles that out of both “there may be one fold” under Christ. (John x. 16). . . . Hence we have said that Paul infers that he [Christ] could not be the redeemer of the world, without belonging to some Jews, whose fathers he had chosen, and to whom this promise was directly addressed.61

http://www.reformedinstitute.org/documents/GSPak.pdf

http://pdf.ptsem.edu/digital/journal.aspx?id=PSB1990Sup1&div=dmd011

http://www.biography.com/people/john-calvin-9235788

http://www.tms.edu/m/tmsj20d.pdf

John Calvin and the Jews: His Exegetical Legacy

by G. Sujin Pak

The topic of Calvin and the Jews is a much-debated topic within scholarship. Indeed, the lack of consensus in scholarship on Calvin’s place in the history of Christian-Jewish relations ranges from seeing Calvin as one of the least anti-Judaic figures of his time1 to one holding typical sixteenth-century views of Jews and Judaism2 to being a firm antagonist of Jews and Judaism.3 Achim Detmers’s book Reformation und Judentum is the most thorough recent account on the topic of Calvin and the Jews, and in it he distinguishes between a first and a second way in which Calvin teaches about “Israel.” The first way concerns biblical Jews and Judaism, whereas the second way concerns contemporary Jews and Judaism. Indeed, Detmers rightly points out that a key cause of the discrepancies in scholarship on the topic of Calvin and the Jews is that “Calvin’s theological statements regarding biblical Judaism and his statements about contemporary Judaism have not been clearly enough distinguished.”5 Detmers also appropriately calls attention to the fact that the history of Calvin’s actual contacts with Jews has not been adequately investigated. Indeed, Detmers

provides one of the most thorough accounts available of what we can know about Calvin’s contacts with Jews.6

The Persecutions of 1391

On July 9, 1391, the community of Valencia was attacked and destroyed by rioters who arrived from Castile and soldiers who were stationed in the port from where they were due to sail for Sicily with the infante Martín. [Jewish Encyclopedia]

In this assault 250 Jews died, while the remainder agreed to convert to Christianity or found refuge in the houses of the townspeople. Isaac b. Sheshet Perfet was among those who fled. Those who converted included distinguished personalities such as Don Samuel Abravalia (who took the name Alfonso Fernández de Villanova after his apostasy), the king’s physician Omar Tahuel, who ranked among the muqaddimūn, and his relative Isaac Tahuel. According to some documents, it seems that R. Isaac b. Sheshet was also among the forcibly converted, before he fled. On July 16 the king ordered that Jews who had hidden in the houses of Christians should not be compelled to convert, but be taken to a place of safety. He also prohibited the conversion of synagogues into churches. However, on September 22 the king instructed that a list of the property of the Jews who had perished should be drawn up, in order to have it transferred to him. In November a pardon was granted to the Christian inhabitants of Valencia for the attack because, according to the city elders, the town was being emptied of its inhabitants who were fleeing in every direction. None of the synagogues of Valencia survived the 1391 massacres. The Jewish market, the zoco, which was just outside the Jewish quarter, was in Gallinas Street, at the beginning of Mar Street. The Jewish cemetery was outside the Jewish quarter but within the walls of the city. At the expulsion it was given by Ferdinand to the Dominicans. In its place today stands the El Corte Inglés department store.

After this destruction, the community proved unable to recover, even though in 1393 the king and the queen entrusted Ḥasdai Crescas and the delegates of the communities of Saragossa and *Calatayud with the task of choosing 60 families who would settle in Barcelona and Valencia. A year later John I ordered that their cemetery should be restored to the Jews of Valencia. A small community may have been reconstituted, because, according to Simeon b. Ẓemaḥ *Duran, there were Jews living in Valencia at the close of the century (Responsa, Yakhin u-Vo’az, pt. 2, paras. 14–15).

In 1413 Vicente *Ferrer is known to have endeavored to convert Jews in Valencia, but these may have been concentrated in localities in the vicinity. Only Jewish merchants continued to visit the town. In 1483 King *Ferdinand canceled the permission given to the Jews for prolonged stays in Valencia. He also abolished the privilege exempting Jews who came there from wearing a distinctive *badge.

Prayer: Lord, again we read of the terrible treatment Jews and Jewish Christians received at the hands of so-called Christians. Father, forgive, they know not what they do. In Yeshua’s name. Amen.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0020_0_20291.html

In 1810 Shelley wrote a poem in four cantos with the title The Wandering Jew but it remained unpublished until 1877.

1. The Wandering Jew, A Poem in Four Cantos by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Written in 1810, published posthumously for the Shelley Society by Reeves and Turner, London 1877.

Is it the Eternal Triune, is it He

Who dares arrest the wheels of destiny

And plunge me in the lowest Hell of Hells?

Will not the lightning’s blast destroy my frame?

Will not steel drink the blood-life where it swells?

No—let me hie where dark Destruction dwells,

To rouse her from her deeply caverned lair,

And, taunting her cursed sluggishness to ire,

Light long Oblivion’s death-torch at its flame

And calmly mount Annihilation’s pyre.

Tyrant of Earth! pale Misery’s jackal Thou!

Are there no stores of vengeful violent fate

Within the magazines of Thy fierce hate?

No poison in the clouds to bathe a brow

That lowers on Thee with desperate contempt?

Where is the noonday Pestilence that slew

The myriad sons of Israel’s favoured nation?

Where the destroying Minister that flew

Pouring the fiery tide of desolation

Upon the leagued Assyrian’s attempt?

Where the dark Earthquake-daemon who engorged

At the dread word Korah’s unconscious crew?

Or the Angel’s two-edged sword of fire that urged

Our primal parents from their bower of bliss

(Reared by Thine hand) for errors not their own

By Thine omniscient mind foredoomed, foreknown?

Yes! I would court a ruin such as this,

Almighty Tyrant! and give thanks to Thee—

Drink deeply—drain the cup of hate; remit this—I may die.

Reflection: For all his creativity and genius, Shelley still used popular themes that captured contemporary imagination. He repeats stereotypes, augmenting them with poetic license. In today’s world of political correctness it would be difficult to publish such a poem with such a title, but the poem stands as an indicator of the two thousand year prejudice against Jews and Judaism.

https://jewinthepew.org/2015/04/22/22-april-1774-wandering-jew-of-medieval-myth-arrives-in-brussels-otdimjh/

https://archive.org/details/wanderingjewpoem00shelrich

https://archive.org/details/wanderingjewpoem00shelrich

https://archive.org/stream/wanderingjewpoem00shelrich/wanderingjewpoem00shelrich_djvu.txt

Percy Bysshe Shelley (4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets, and is regarded by some as among the finest lyric, as well as epic, poets in the English language. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not see fame during his lifetime, but recognition for his poetry grew steadily following his death. Shelley was a key member of a close circle of visionary poets and writers that included Lord Byron; Leigh Hunt; Thomas Love Peacock; and his own second wife, Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.

Shelley is perhaps best known for such classic poems as Ozymandias, Ode to the West Wind, To a Skylark, Music, When Soft Voices Die, The Cloud and The Masque of Anarchy. His other major works include a groundbreaking verse drama The Cenci (1819) and long, visionary poems such as Queen Mab (later reworked as The Daemon of the World), Alastor, The Revolt of Islam, Adonaïs, Prometheus Unbound (1820) – widely considered to be his masterpiece – and his final, unfinished work The Triumph of Life (1822).

Shelley’s close circle of friends included some of the most important progressive thinkers of the day, including his father-in-law, the philosopher William Godwin and Leigh Hunt. Though Shelley’s poetry and prose output remained steady throughout his life, most publishers and journals declined to publish his work for fear of being arrested for either blasphemy or sedition. Shelley’s poetry sometimes had only an underground readership during his day, but his poetic achievements are widely recognized today, and his advanced political and social thought impacted the Chartist and other movements in England, and reach down to the present day. Shelley’s theories of economics and morality, for example, had a profound influence on Karl Marx; his early – and perhaps first – writings on nonviolent resistance influenced both Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi.

Shelley became a lodestar to the subsequent three or four generations of poets, including important Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite poets such as Robert Browning and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. He was admired by Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy, George Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, W. B. Yeats, Upton Sinclair and Isadora Duncan. Henry David Thoreau’s civil disobedience was apparently influenced by Shelley’s non-violence in protest and political action. Shelley’s popularity and influence has continued to grow in contemporary poetry circles.

Lauria, Rabbi Elieser, was one of several Rabbis who became Christians in Jerusalem in the first half of the nineteenth century. [Bernstein] He was baptized by Bishop [Rabbi Michael Solomon] Alexander in 1843, whereupon he was forced by the Jewish authorities to divorce his wife, who was sent by them back to Russia. She, however, returned to him in 1846, and in the next year she too made a public confession of her faith in our Saviour. Henceforth she assisted her husband in winning souls, and they laboured together at Cairo, until her death of cholera in 1849. Lauria opened a mission school there in 1850. He was much esteemed, even by the rabbis, and he circulated the Scriptures as far as Arabia, and the mission was not without results.

Also from Bernstein:

One of the most interesting incidents connected with Ewald’s labours in the Holy City was the instruction and baptism of certain rabbis. Three, named respectively, Abraham, Benjamin, and Eliezer, had placed themselves under Christian instruction. A deputation from the Jews of Tiberias arrived to enquire whether the report was true, that fourteen rabbis of Jerusalem had embraced Christianity. The Jews of Jerusalem, very much exasperated on that account, did all in their power to avoid coming in contact with the missionaries, and removed all the books which they had previously received through the mission, in order that they might not be suspected.

Shortly afterwards two of the rabbis, Eliezer and Benjamin, known henceforth as Christian Lazarus Lauria and John Benjamin Goldberg, were baptized with two other enquirers, Isaac Paul Hirsch and Simon Peter Fränkel. The Rev. John Nicolayson, the head of the Society’s mission, referring to the [211] event, wrote: “It is not a small thing, that the apparently impenetrable phalanx of rabbinism at Jerusalem has thus actually been broken into; and two Jerusalem rabbis been incorporated into the restored Hebrew Christian Church on Mount Zion. How sore the Jews felt on this occasion you can easily conceive. They were, in fact, after all, taken by surprise, and felt sadly disappointed in having to yield up at last any lingering hope they might have had of their return.”

Gidney gives more details:

The other event was the admission to Holy Orders, on July 7th, 1850, of the Rev. Christian Lazarus Lauria. The fact that he had been a rabbi invested his ordination with a great deal of interest Since his conversion, of which we have spoken on page 237, he had received missionary training in the Jerusalem College.

Much commotion was caused at this time at Jerusalem by the fact that three rabbis, Abraham, Benjamin, and Eliezer, had placed themselves under Christian instruction. Mr. Ewald wrote home :   “A deputation from the Jews of Tiberias arrived here, to enquire whether the report they had heard was true, viz., that fourteen rabbis of Jerusalem had embraced Christianity. The Jews of this place are very much exasperated on that account, and do all in their power to avoid coming in contact with us, and have removed all the books which they had previously received through the mission, in order that they might not be suspected.”

Shortly afterward, two of the rabbis, Eliezer and Benjamin, [237] known henceforth as Christian Lazarus Lauria and John Benjamin Goldberg, were baptized with two other enquirers, Isaac Paul Hirsch and Simon Peter Friinkel. Mr Nicolayson, referring to the event, said:   “It is not a small thing, that the apparently impenetrable phalanx of Rabbinism at Jerusalem has thus actually been broken into ; and two Jerusalem rabbis been incorporated into the restored Hebrew Christian Church on Mount Zion. How sore the Jews felt on this occasion you can easily conceive. They were, in fact, after all, taken by surprise, and felt sadly disappointed in having to yield up at last any lingering hope they might have had of their return.”

Of the third rabbi, Abraham, Mr. Ewald said :   “There was, indeed, something which marred my joy on that occasion, which was the absence of Rabbi Abraham. For years had he been the faithful companion of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Benjamin ; he had the same convictions, but he could not leave his wife ; the struggles between natural affection and spiritual blessings were too hard for him, and he returned.”

Lauria’s ministry

Lauria was able to preach to great numbers of Jews, both at his and their houses. On their Sabbath he was almost always fully occupied, from morning until sometimes late in the evening. Several Jews expressed a desire to become Christians, but foreseeing the overwhelming struggles they would meet with, and the abject and utter destitution to which they must be reduced, they shrank back and suppressed their convictions. The chief rabbi, alarmed at the progress of Christianity, procured controversial books from Jerusalem to counteract the new doctrines. Lauria made a missionary journey to Alexandria, Rosetta, Damietta, and other places in the Delta, where Jews resided. At Alexandria he found the Jews most accessible, not residing in any particular quarter of the city, but mixing with Christians. They did not bear such hatred against Christianity as did their Hebrew brethren at Cairo. He had conversations with them and their rabbis, distributing literature amongst them.   In October 1849 Bishop Gobat visited Cairo, and, with his ardent missionary spirit evinced a very lively interest in and satisfaction with the Society’s work there. Lauria took him to the houses of Jews. In accordance with the Bishop’s recommendation, Lauria was shortly afterward ordained at Jerusalem, visiting the Jews of Alexandria and Damietta on his way, and Mr. J. Skolkowski was appointed to assist him in his work ; but the latter did not remain long, being transferred to Lublin.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the life, faith and work of Rabbi Eliezer Lauria. Help us to count the cost of becoming your disciples, and may our people Israel recognize your love in those who affirm you as Messiah, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Sir Francis Palgrave, FRS, born Francis Ephraim Cohen, (July 1788 – 6 July 1861) was an English archivist and historian. He is best known for his work at the Public Record Office and his numerous publications.

Bernstein notes:

Palgrave (Cohen), Sir Francis, born in London, July 1788, died there July 6th, 1861, son of Mayer Cohen, a member of the London Stock Exchange. He was an infant prodigy. At the age of eight he made a translation of Homer’s “Battle of the Frogs” into French, which was published by his father (London, 1796). He embraced Christianity, and married a daughter of Dawson Turner, the historian. He was called to the bar in 1827, devoting himself to pedigree cases. In 1832 he published “The Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth,” which is generally regarded as the earliest important study of English constitutional history founded on the records. He was knighted in that year, and became deputy-keeper of Her Majesty’s records, in which capacity he issued twenty-two annual reports of great historic value. His most important work is “A History of Normandy and England,” 4 vols., London, 1851-63. Palgrave had four sons each of whom attained distinction of various kinds.[409]

Palgrave, Francis Turner (1824-1902), editor of the “Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics,” Professor at Oxford.

Palgrave, Robert Harry Inglis (born 1827), editor of “The Dictionary of Political Economy.”

Palgrave, Sir Reginald Francis Dunce (1829-1903), Clerk of the House of Commons.

Palgrave, William Gifford (1826-88), Eastern traveller and author of “A Year’s Journey through Central and Eastern Arabia” (London, 1865) and other works.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the wisdom, scholarship and contribution to public life of Francis Cohen and the Palgrave family. You alone know the secrets of our hearts and the true nature of our faith, and all of us depend on your mercy and forgiveness. Renew us, O Lord, and strengthen our faith in you. In Yeshua’s name we pray. Amen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Palgrave

http://www.bartleby.com/224/0210.html

PALGRAVE (COHEN), SIR FRANCIS:

(Redirected from COHEN, FRANCIS.)

English historian; born in London July, 1788; died there July 6, 1861; son of Meyer Cohen, a member of the London Stock Exchange. He was an infant prodigy. At the age of eight he made a translation of Homer’s “Battle of the Frogs” into French, which was published by his father (London, 1796). In 1823 he changed his name, by royal permission, to Palgrave, and married a daughter of Dawson Turner, the historian. He was trained as a solicitor, but, having embraced Christianity, was called to the bar in 1827, devoting himself to pedigree cases. He had previously shown great interest in the records, drawing up an elaborate plan for their publication; this was approved by the Royal Commission, for which he edited many volumes of records during the decade 1827-37. In 1832 he published “The Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth,” which is generally regarded as the earliest important study of English constitutional history founded on the records. He was knighted in that year, and in 1838 became deputy keeper of Her Majesty’s records, in which capacity he issued twenty-two annual reports of great historic value. His most important work is “A History of Normandy and England,” 4 vols., London, 1851-63.

Palgrave had four sons, each of whom attained distinction of various kinds: Francis Turner Palgrave (1824-1902), editor of “Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics,” and professor of poetry at Oxford; William Gifford Palgrave(1826-88), Eastern traveler, and author of “A Year’s Journey Through Central and Eastern Arabia” (London, 1865), and other works; Robert Harry Inglis Palgrave (b. 1827), editor of “The Dictionary of Political Economy”; and Sir Reginald Francis Douce Palgrave (1829-1903), clerk of the House of Commons.

Bibliography:

• Gentleman’s Magazine, 1861, part ii., pp. 441-445;
• Nat. Biog.

“That he had become estranged from the ceremonial observance of Judaism was generally known, but nothing of his previous career, nor indeed anything in his life after baptism, would have led any one to believe that he had become a Christian.” (Jewish Encyclopedia)

German political and literary writer; born May 6, 1786, at Frankfort-on-the-Main; died in Paris Feb. 12, 1837. The family name was Baruch, and he received the name of Loeb, both of which he afterward changed. Both his grandfather and his father, Jacob Baruch, were engaged in business, and employed as fiscal and purchasing agents for the government. Loeb and his two brothers were taught at home by a private tutor, one Jacob Sachs. When Sachs had done what he could for young Börne, the latter came directly under the private tuition of Rector Mosche of the gymnasium. (Jewish Encyclopedia)

Early Years.

At fourteen years of age Börne went to the newly established institute of Professor Hetzel in Giessen, with the idea of preparing for a medical course, and remained there about a year. His father arranged with Dr. Marcus Herz, the celebrated physician in Berlin, whose home was an intellectual center that attracted such men as Humboldt and Schlegel, to receive Börne as a resident pupil, and to guide him in his studies at the clinics. The youth of sixteen fell in love with Henriette Herz, then in her thirty-eighth year, in the fulness of her beauty and the ripeness of her intellectual power. When her husband, the doctor, died in 1803, Börne told her the story of his love; but, with the wisdom that was characteristic of her, she quieted his passion and soothed his anguish, and soon after he went to the University of Halle, where she secured for him a home in the household of Professor Reil, whose lectures he attended, as well as those of F. A. Wolf, Steffens, and notably Schleiermacher. The letters which Börne wrote from Halle to Henriette Herz, together with selections from his diary relating to his association with her, were published as “Briefe des Jungen Börne an Henriette Herz,” 1861. The insight into the higher intellectual life of Berlin and Halle diverted him from his medical studies, and as the loss of its rights as a free city by Frankfort and its domination by the French had resulted in securing civil rights for the Jews, Börne announced (1807) his intention to follow a public career.

Therefore he entered upon a course of legal, political, financial, and administrative studies at the University of Heidelberg. The result of his labors was that he secured in 1811 a clerical position in the police bureau in his native city, but not before he had gone once again to Giessen to secure his degree as doctor of philosophy (Aug. 8, 1809); his dissertation, “Ueber die Geometrische Vertheilung der Staatsgebiete,” being published shortly afterward in Professor Crome’s “Germanien” (vol. iii.). In Hart’s periodical, “Der Cameral-Correspondent,” there appeared in 1809 an article by Börne, entitled “Von dem Gelde.”

During the period of his service in the ducal police bureau, he delivered a course of lectures in the Jewish lodge of Freemasons at Frankfort, under the title “Zur Aufgehenden Morgenröthe,” and began his journalistic career, in its political phase, by contributing a series of short anonymous articles to the “Frankfurter Journal,” in which he sought to arouse the Germans to a sense of the ignominy of submitting to the French invasion, and by this means helped in awakening the old Teutonic spirit. In 1815, after the downfall of Napoleon, there set in that long night of political reaction in Germany,which continued until dawn began to break in 1848—that epochal year ushered in by “Young Germany” which was the fruit of the toils of Börne and Heine.

“Young Germany.”

These thirty-three years were indeed years of political torpor and of domination of bureaucratic tyranny. Patriots like Moritz Arndt and Otto Jahn were indicted for high treason; those who had most capably labored for the reorganization of Prussia were no longer heeded or needed in the service of the state; university students were imprisoned en masse for the most trivial offenses; all of the writings of Heine were interdicted; scholars like the brothers Grimm, Gervinus, and Dahlmann were dismissed from their chairs in the university; and the censor was the most potent influence in literature.

When the Jews of Frankfort were relegated to the “Judengasse,” the difficult problem was presented of what was to be done with Börne, the only Jewish official in the service. Every trick and device was resorted to in order to induce him to resign, but he refused; so at last but one course remained open, and he was dismissed. What Börne felt at this time can be well discerned from a perusal of the satirical sketch “Jews in the Free City of Frankfort” in “Fragmente und Aphorismen” (“Gesammelte Schriften,” ed. 1840, vol. iii.). At the request of the Frankfort congregation he prepared a monograph entitled “Aktenmässige Darstellung des Bürgerrechts der Israeliten in Frankfurt,” and two pamphlets, “Für die Juden” and “Die Juden und Ihre Gegner,” the latter of which was written at the suggestion of his father, by whom, however, it was suppressed on account of its bitterness.

His Baptism.

And yet on June 5, 1818, Loeb Baruch went to Rödelheim and was baptized by Pastor Bertuch as a convert to the Lutheran Church; assuming the name of “Karl Ludwig Börne.” That he had become estranged from the ceremonial observance of Judaism was generally known, but nothing of his previous career, nor indeed anything in his life after baptism, would have led any one to believe that he had become a Christian.

In 1818 he began the publication of the periodical “Die Wage,” which at once elicited wide-spread attention and admiration. He contributed articles of the most diversified character on literature, art, society, the drama, and, of course, politics. His dramatic criticisms, however, created the greatest sensation. An echo of the consideration given to the magazine by the learned circles is recorded in a letter by Rachel, in which the writer can hardly find adequate terms in which to express her appreciation. She afterward became a contributor to “Die Waage.” In 1819 Börne also assumed editorial charge of the “Zeitung der Freien Stadt Frankfurt.” His experiences with the censor were, however, of such a constantly unpleasant nature that he gave up the struggle after four months of endurance. He took his revenge, however, on his antagonist by writing his “Denkwürdigkeiten der Frankfurter Censur.”

It was about this period that there began the platonic relations of Börne with Madame Wohl, with whom he had become acquainted several years before, which continued until his death. She aided, encouraged, and inspired him in his work; nursed and tended him during the years preceding his death.

Relations with Jeanne Wohl.

In 1840 Heine, in his post-mortem criticism “Ueber Ludwig Börne,” referred insinuatingly to the relations that subsisted between the departed and Madame Wohl, who in the mean time had married one Solomon Strauss. The latter challenged the poet, and after the duel Heine sent a letter to Dr. Wertheim, which was published in the “Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung,” in which he retracted the insinuations and declared them to be based on erroneous and groundless assumptions. This letter is to be found as a prefatory note to the Börne monograph in Heine’s works.

Before leaving Frankfort for Paris in 1821, Börne wrote his celebrated “Monographie der Deutschen Postschnecke.” This is one of the finest specimens of sustained humor in the German language, and with his “Esskünstler” indicates the high-water mark of his work in this direction. The letters which he wrote during this period (1819 to 1822) constitute the bulk of the publication “Nachgelassene Schriften,” Mannheim, 1844-50.

It was at about this time that his father, solicitous as ever for his son’s welfare, used his influence with the high officials in Vienna to secure for Börne the appointment as imperial councilor, a sinecure without conditions or obligations, but with reasonable emoluments. Börne, however, would not accept the position. It is probable that the unpleasantness occasioned by this refusal led to his trip to Paris, where he remained but a short time, leaving there in the summer of 1822 to go to Heidelberg. At the latter place occurred the first of the hemorrhages that marked the beginning of the disease that was so soon to cut short his career.

His Peregrinations.

It was not until 1826 that he was actively at work again in Frankfort. He was now a regular contributor to Menzel’s “Literatur-Blatt” and Berty’s “Iris.” To this time belongs his splendid eulogium. upon Henriette Sontag, the great opera singer, and the magnificent memorial address on Jean Paul Richter, delivered by Börne in the Museum in Frankfort Dec. 2, 1825, and which is considered by many to be his masterpiece: it is certainly the ablest of his contributions to serious literary criticism.

The winter of 1827 was spent in Berlin. In the following year Börne went to Hamburg, and while there arranged with Campe for the publication of a collected edition of his writings, which thereafter appeared in eight volumes (1829-34).

All this time, however, Börne was gradually getting worse in health. Trying one after another of the various resorts, he finally spent the summer of 1830 in Bad Soden, where there came to him the tidings from Paris of the Revolution of July. This fired his heart, and nothing would do but he must go to Paris himself to witness the realization of his dreams of liberty and republicanism.

“Briefe aus Paris.”

Here, besides his articles in French contributed to the “Reformateur,” edited by Raspail, and editinga periodical of his own, “La Balance,” he began the publication of his famous “Briefe aus Paris.” Like almost everything that Börne wrote, these letters are still of vital interest, even though they are almost exclusively political. They are dominated, however, by the main object of preaching the doctrine of human liberty, the theory of human equality before the law, and the divine right of the republican form of government. In these letters, though they bristle with wit and teem with humorous touches, his powers of invective, of pathos, of persuasion, are at their very highest. He lays bare with unsparing skill the manifold stupidities and tyrannies of the governing classes in the German fatherland that is so dear to him, and revels in the delights of the freedom to be enjoyed in France. The ideal that he strives for is a united Germany, freed from the bonds and shackles of medieval kingships, princeships, and lordships, living in close bonds of amity with France; and he vindicates violent revolution to secure the rights of the people.

It is easy to understand, considering conditions in Germany even to-day, seventy years later, what a furor these letters created. Periodicals were filled with controversial writings, and pamphlets and works were issued in quick succession controverting or defending the ideas of Börne; the most important being those of Meyer and Wurms of Hamburg, and Willibald Alexis, the novelist of Berlin.

One of the bitterest of Börne’s critics, however, was the historian Menzel, who appealed to the baser sentiments of his readers by denouncing Börne as unpatriotic, as being more of a Frenchman than a German, and as loving France better than Germany. To him Börne addressed the last work that he produced, the virulent controversial treatise “Menzel, der Franzosen-Fresser, Paris, 1836.”

The long and severe illness of which he was the victim at last overcame him, and he died, as stated, on Feb. 12, 1837. He was buried at Père Lachaise, Wenedey and Raspail pronouncing the last words over his grave. The spot is marked by a statue executed by the sculptor David, which, besides the head of Börne, bears a relief representing France and Germany extending their hands to each other under the blessing of Freedom. The best portrait of him is that by Moritz Oppenheim. The house in which he was born bore, until it was demolished, a memorial tablet. In 1842 there appeared in Paris “Fragments Politiques et Littéraires” from Börne’s writings, with a prefatory note by M. de Cormenin. As late as 1862 there was published at Hamburg a new complete edition of his works in twelve volumes.

Prayer: Like so many of his time, the motivation for baptism was more for public life than personal faith, it seems. Help us Lord to be people of integrity in both our inner and outer selves, regardless of context, cost and considerations of worldly gain, we pray. In Yeshua’s name, Amen.

(Jewish Encyclopedia)

Bibliography:

Gutzkow, Börne’s Leben, 1840;

Heine, Ueber Börne, 1840;

Riesser, Börne und die Juden, Altenburg, 1831;

Holzmann, L. B. (1888);

Joh. Proelsz, Das Junge Deutschland, 1892.

Karl Ludwig Börne (born “Loeb Baruch”; 6 May 1786 – 12 February 1837) was a German-Jewish political writer and satirist, who is considered part of the Young Germany movement.

The Crusaders conquered Jerusalem on July 4, 1099. In celebration of the event, they took all of the Jews in Jerusalem (estimates vary from 900-3,000), gathered them in all the main synagogues and burned them down, thereby destroying the Jewish population in Jerusalem. (article from Jewish History website)

The First Crusade

The major watershed of Jewish history in the medieval world is the First Crusade. The Crusades changed all of Jewish life in Europe. It changed the attitude of Christians towards Jews and Jews toward Christians… and even Jews towards Jews.

The Schism

In the year 1054, there was a major split in the Christian world between the Church of Rome and the Eastern Orthodox Church, which was then centered in what is called today Istanbul, or then Byzantium, the famous city at the Straits of Bosporus and the Dardanelles.

The Greek Orthodox Church had always been a separate Church from the Roman Catholic Church, but the two had not really split. Now, in 1054, the Greek Orthodox Church severed all relations with the Western Church.

However, the Greek Orthodox Church was soon threatened by the Muslims. The Muslims were in Turkey, and were pressing in what is today Albania and Bulgaria — the whole southern rim of the Balkan states. To relieve the pressure the Greek Orthodox Church was willing to cut a treaty with the Roman Catholic Church. They sent a message to the Pope saying to send an army to Turkey to help them fight the Muslims.

Meanwhile, the old Pope died and the new Pope, Urban II, saw a golden opportunity. He realized that he could now reconcile the Greek Orthodox Church with the Roman Catholic Church. His idea was to raise a Christian army that would be under the command of the Pope. The Pope would send the army first to Turkey to defeat the Muslims and then onward to Jerusalem to capture the holy places from the Muslims and make Palestine a Christian country.

The Nightmare of the Knights

Generally, the population in Europe during the Middle Ages was divided into castes, or as it was called in France, “estates.” The first estate was knighthood, the noblemen. The second estate was the clergy. The third estate was the commoners, and then there were the peasants or serfs who were not even an estate.

The knights were trained for war. Therefore, they could not exist in a time of peace. They were completely non-productive unless they were fighting. Consequently, Europe was in a constant state of war. These wars had nothing to do with the public good, logic or even money. The phenomenon of ever-warring knights had taken on a life of its own. Besides needing war, every knight needed horses, servants, pages, squires… and had to throw a banquet virtually every night. It was its own self-perpetuating industry.

The constant wars sunk Europe into the throes of virtual chaos. Villages were regularly sacked. The men were killed, the women were raped, the children were sold into slavery and all the plunder that could be taken was taken.

That is one of the reasons that a Crusade was such a good idea. The Pope wanted to get the knights out of Europe. It was essential to move them away somewhere. The Crusades was a perfect answer. It solved so many needs at one time.

The Ticket out of Hell

In the Middle Ages, people were always wondering why there was so much trouble in the world. A preacher named Peter the Hermit said that all the troubles were rooted in the fact that the Holy Land was in the hands of non-believers, the Muslims. If somehow that situation could be rectified the world would settle into peace and tranquility. Therefore, he preached the Crusades and the Pope gave it his blessing.

Although he got everyone’s attention, it was not enough. The Pope had to sweeten the ante. And he did.

The Pope said, “Anyone who goes on the Crusades is granted forgiveness for his sins.”

Of course, the elements this attracted were the criminals, sadists, etc. – all the people who had no other way to get into Heaven. Therefore, to go on its holiest mission the Church sent its unholiest clientele.

Destroying Non-Believers… of All Persuasions

In the year 1095, the Crusade was preached by Pope Urban II and Peter the Hermit. The estimates are that over 60,000 men took up the call. However, only 15,000 survived the trek and reached Jerusalem. It was a long, dangerous journey in a time of plague, hunger and war. Most simply did not make it.

Nevertheless, they did wreak much havoc along the way and the main reason is because the Crusades marked the first time in the history of Europe that an army was assembled for a purely religious reason. That is vital to understand. That is the turning point here. The word “crusade” means to take the cross; all the soldiers put on a tunic or mantle that had a cross on it.

Therefore, even as the invaders headed out they thought to themselves that if they were going on a religious crusade against the non-believers, why wait until Turkey or Palestine? There were non-believers in their midst: the Jews, who killed Jesus, and who refused to adopt Christianity and whose beliefs.

There is a book entitled, Europe and the Jews. It was written by a Roman Catholic Priest, Xavier Malcolm Haye. It is subtitled, The Pressure of Christendom on the Jewish People for 1900 Years and documents Christian anti-Semitism over the years. It is powerful beyond words. Here is an example from it about a sermon preached on the eve of the Crusades by one of the leading cardinals of France:

The Jews are slayers of the Lord, murderers of the prophets, adversaries of God, haters of God, men who show contempt for the law, foes of greats, enemies of their father’s faith, advocates of the devil, brood of vipers, slanderers, scoffers, men whose minds are in darkness, leaven of the Pharisees, assemblies of demons, sinners, wicked men, stoners, haters of righteousness.

In this climate of hatred stirred by the people who could offer salvation, it is not hard to imagine the mood of the mob. It caused a series of pogroms unmatched in the previous history of Europe. All told, there were perhaps 25,000 Jews killed.

In our time, it may not seem like a lot. Auschwitz, at its height, could do that in two or three days. But you need to remember that everyone had to be killed by hand in the Middle Ages. After a while one’s arm gets tired. There is a physical limit to how many people one can kill, unlike the modern world. We have unlimited possibilities because of technology.

The First Crusade was almost exclusively French. In fact, they were called the Frankish knights. They despoiled the great Jewish communities of Speyers, Worms and Mainz. Besides the thousands of Jews killed, others thousands were forcibly converted.

It was the first time in Europe that there was a mass forcible conversion of Jews. This would also set the stage for the Spanish Inquisition. The choice was given to a Jew to convert or be martyred.

The Church itself viewed the matter ambivalently. It really depended on the local bishop or cardinal. Some of them, such as in the city of Cologne, tried to protect the Jews. Some bishops were killed because they protected the Jews. However, some clergy looked the other way or even extorted money from the Jews on the premise of promising protection — and upon receiving the money gave them up to the mob.

The Crusades Come to Town

It took two years for the Crusaders to reach the Holy Land.

In 1098, we find them in Turkey. They made an alliance with the Greek Orthodox and fought the Muslims in a number of places — and were successful. They defeated the Turks and Muslims, and created a kingdom called Edessa. This kingdom was mainly Armenian Christians who lived in Turkey. Godfrey of Boullion’s brother became the king of Edessa.

Then the Crusaders turned to south, to Antioch, the famous port in Syria (still today). They conquered it and created the Kingdom of Antioch.

Further south they conquered Tripoli (today northern Lebanon; not the Tripoli in today’s Libya), and made the Kingdom of Tripoli.

Then they came all the way south into Palestine, and conquered Jerusalem on July 4, 1099. In celebration of the event, they took all of the Jews in Jerusalem (estimates vary from 900-3,000), gathered them in all the main synagogues and burned them down, thereby destroying the Jewish population in Jerusalem.

The Aftermath

When Godfrey of Boullion declared himself King of Jerusalem the First Crusade officially ended. It was a tremendous success from the Christian point of view. The Dome of the Rock, the mosque on the Temple Mount, which had been built in the ninth century, was converted into a Church. Christians came from all over Europe to celebrate their victory and the rededication of Jerusalem.

After the First Crusade there were not more than 3-4,000 European Christians who actually lived in Palestine. However, they converted many Arabs to Christianity, giving them the choice of conversion or death. That was the beginning of the Christian Arab population, which exists still today in Palestine, Lebanon and the Middle East. That also explains blue-eyed, blond hair Arabs.

One of the strangest things in history is that as the Christians came to settle in Palestine, Jews came to reestablish the presence of Jews there with them! This was because the Christian crusaders were completely dependent upon supplies and merchandise reaching them from Europe — and the Jews were in that business.

It was a terrible paradox: the Christian kingdom was in effect supported and aided by the Jews, who were its lifeline!

After their victory, the Christians set about fortifying their gains and building the land. They took over the seacoast of Israel and the Galilee. Then they tried to extend their gains by capturing Damascus and other cities that were far from the seacoast, but they failed. They were far from their line of support, and this courted disaster.

In addition, they were not very diplomatic with the Arabs. The Christians misgauged very badly what their effect on the Arabs would be.

The Arab Empire Strikes Back

As a result, the Arabs united under Nur ad-Din. He was the first one to raise the banner of Jihad, a “holy war.”

The Jihad against the Christians sought to drive them from Jerusalem, Palestine and the entire Middle East. The Christians responded by proclaiming the Second Crusade. Just as in the First Crusade, they stopped and destroyed many Jewish communities on the way to save the Christian empire from Jihad. This time they also destroyed Greek Orthodox communities because they were non-believers.

The invaders were so tired by the time they came to the Middle East that they could not be successful against the Muslims.

After Nur ad-Din died, Saladin, the famous Muslim warrior (which means “successful judgment”) became the sultan in Cairo, Egypt. He was the sultan that Maimonides served under as his doctor and that is why he had a very benevolent attitude toward Jews.

Saladin was a great warrior, but even a greater diplomat. He pulled together the Arabs and made all the fragile alliances work. He isolated the Crusaders and exploited their own quarrels.

Finally, in 1187, near Tiberius in present day Israel, at a place called Karnei Hittim (meaning “Horns of Hittim” because the double hill looks like horns) an epic battle took place. It had been a famous battlefield in the days of Joshua, King David, the Maccabees, Herod and the Romans. Now, it was the battlefield of the Crusades.

For some unexplainable reason, the Crusader army left the safety of the castle of Tiberius on a hot day. Carrying 60 pounds of armor, they walked 18 miles to the battlefield and arrived at the valley while Saladin’s army stood well-rested and strategically located at the top of the hill. They were completely wiped out. Saladin captured Jerusalem, took the Temple Mount and made it a mosque again.

Of the three French generals, one was killed, one was ransomed, and the third was forced to convert to Islam. That was the beginning of the end of the Crusaders. They never recovered from it.

Prayer: Father, have mercy – heal and renew, reconcile and forgive, we pray. In Yeshua’s name. Amen.

http://www.jewishhistory.org/the-first-crusade/

http://deremilitari.org/2013/11/the-battle-for-antioch-in-the-first-crusade-1097-98-according-to-peter-tudebode/

After the body of a two year old girl found in Velress (Vaucluse), France, was used as an excuse for plundering the surrounding area (March 27), Pope Innocent IV (who was semi-retired by Emperor Frederick II) issued the Papal Bull Lacrimabilem Judaeorum against blood libels and sent it throughout Germany and France.

»Lacrimabilem Judaeorum Alamanniae recepimus questionem, quod nonnulli tam ecclesiastici, quam saeculares principes ac alii nobiles et potentes vestrarum civitatum et diocesum, ut eorum bona injuste dirpiant et usurpent, adversus ipsos impia consilia cogitantes et fingentes occasiones varias et diversas, non considerato prudenter, quod quasi ex archivio eorum christianae fidei testimonia prodierunt, scriptura divina inter alia mandata legis dicente «non occides», ac prohibente illos in solemnitate poschali quicquam morticinium ,non contingere, falso imponunt eisdem, quod in ipsa solemnitate se corde pueri communicant interfecti, credendo, id ipsam legem praecipere, cum sit legi contrarium manifeste, ac eis malitiose objiciunt hominis cadaver mortui, si contigerit illud alicubi reperiri. Et per hoc et alia quamplura figmenta saevientes in ipsos, eos super his non accusatos, non confessos, nec convictos, contra privilegia illis ab apostolica sede clementer indulta spoliant contra Deum et justitiam omnibus bonis suis, et inedia, carceribus ac tot molestiis tantisque gravaminibus premunt ipsos, diversis poenarum afligendo generibus et morte turpissima eorum quamplurimos condemnando, quod iidem Judaei, quasi existentes sub praedictorum principum, nobilium et potentum dominio doterioris conditionis, quam eorum patres sub Pharaone fuerint in Aegypto, coguntur de locis inhabitatis ab eis et suis antecessoribus a tompore, cujus non exstat memoria, miserabiliter exulare; unde suum exterminium metuentes duxerunt ad apostolicae sedis providentiam recurrendum. Nolentes igitur praefatos Judaeos injuste vexari, quorum conversionem Dominus miseratus exspectat, cum testante propheta credantur reliquiae salvae fieri eorundem, mandamus, quatenus eis vos exhibentes favorabiles et bonignos, quicquid super praemissis contra eosdem Judaeos per praedictos praelatos, nobiles et potentes inveneritis temere attemptatum in statum debitum legitime revocato, non permittatis ipsos de caetero super his vet similibus ab aliquibus indebite molestari; molestatoros hujusmodi per censuram ecclesiasticam appelatione postposita composcendo. Dat. Lugduni III. non Jul. anno V-o.»

Prayer: Lord, have mercy upon your church, and upon those who have falsely accused your people Israel over the centuries of terrible crimes. In Yeshua’s name. Amen.

Full translation to follow – no time to correct »From the Jews of Germany we have received the tearful question that some men who are of the church, which the secular authority and the mighty men, and others of the nobility of your cities, and dioceses, and to usurp their goods unjustly tear down, the inventors were against the consuls themselves, thinking and impious counsels of the opportunities that were speckled and diverse, in light of their prudence, that your They went out of their Christian testimony to the faith as it were by the archive and, among other things, the commandments of the divine law, which says the scripture, “You shall not kill,”, and opposition of any of them, in the feast of poschali died of itself, did not happened, a false, and seizing the same, that in the very heart of a child in common with the solemnity of the slain himself, by believing it, that the Law itself, and to command, since it is clearly contrary to the law, and object to them, maliciously, lying in a dead body, if it happens that it in some place on the subject. And in this way also and very much else in the fictions, being enraged at them, his anger is not upon them those accused, but not after they had confessed, and convicted of, contrary to the privileges granted to them, deprive them of their power with God and with clemency and justice, from the apostolic see all his good things, and let hunger, prisons and so many troubles and so great sufferings they pinch, them, and that many of them suffered divers punishments afligendo condemning the kinds of shameful death, and that these persons do the Jews, as it were, those living at the above-mentioned principle, nobles, and the dominion of the powerful doterioris that you were created, they were under Pharaoh in Egypt, and their fathers, they are obliged by their predecessors, out of them, and out of that place inhabited by a tompore , but I could not out of mind, is miserably in exile; Hence his fear led to the destruction of the Apostolic See for recourse. Therefore, the aforementioned Jews wishing to unjustly harassed, whose conversion Lord pity expects the same to happen with the testimony of the Prophet believed to be a remnant, we order you to pay significant and bonignos, all on the same premises against the Jews by the above-mentioned prelates, famous and powerful men have found random attempted in the state the debt has been called up, does not permit them for the rest of his Vet similar molested by some; molestatores caught behind appeal by ecclesiastical censure composcendo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Innocent_IV

http://skepticism.org/timeline/july-history/7083-pope-innocent-iv-issues-encyclical-condemning-blood-libels-against-jews.html

A good example of the rights and limitations given to the Jews in medieval Europe is given here – worth reading in full!

Inasmuch as the Jews, during the Middle Ages, were looked upon as a distinct racial and religious group who could not and should not be subject to the same laws as Christians, they were given special charters by which they were governed. The most famous of these is that granted by Frederick the Belligerent in July, 1244 to the Jews of his duchy of Austria. This document is important because it was soon adopted, with some changes, by most East European countries to which the masses of Jews finally drifted: Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, Silesia, and Lithuania. This charter-a very favorable one-was issued to encourage money-lending among the Austrian Jews and probably also to attract moneyed Jews to migrate to this outlying German state which was in need of ready credit. Every effort is therefore made in this Latin constitution to grant the Jews ample opportunity to sell their wares and, above all, to lend money. They were given adequate protection: they were subject to the direct jurisdiction of the Duke who guaranteed them safety of life and limb. The right of the Jews to govern themselves in communal and religious matters was not specified by the Duke, but this was taken for granted. We may assume, indeed, that the Jews of Austria enjoyed extensive political autonomy under this pact.

Frederick, by the grace of God Duke of Austria and Styria and lord of Carniola, offers greetings at all times to all who will read this letter in the future. Inasmuch as we desire that men of all classes dwelling in our land should share our favor and good will, we do therefore decree that these laws, devised for all Jews found in the land of Austria, shall be observed by them without violation.

1. We decree, therefore, first, that in cases involving money, or immovable property, or a criminal complaint touching the person or property of a Jew, no Christian shall be admitted as a witness against a Jew unless there is a Jewish witness together with the Christian. [The Jewish witness was a guarantee of fair play.]
2. Likewise, if a Christian should bring suit against a Jew, asserting that he had pawned his pledges with him and the Jew should deny this, and then if the Christian should not wish to accord any belief in the mere statement of the Jew, the Jew may prove his contention by taking an oath upon an object equivalent in value to that which was brought to him, and shall then go forth free. [Money-lending on pledges was the leading Jewish business at this time.]

III. Likewise, if a Christian has deposited a pledge with a Jew, stating that he had left it with the Jew for a smaller sum than the Jew admits, the Jew shall then take an oath upon the pledge pawned with him, and the Christian must not refuse to pay the amount that the Jew has proved through his oath.

1. Likewise, if a Jew says that he returned the Christian’s pledge as a loan to the Christian, without, however, the presence of witnesses, and if the Christian deny this, then the Christian is able to clear himself in this matter through the oath of himself alone.
2. Likewise, a Jew is allowed to receive all things as pledges which may be pawned with him-no matter what they are called without making any investigation about them, except bloody and wet clothes which he shall under no circumstances accept. [Such garments presuppose murder and theft.]
3. Likewise, if a Christian charges that the pledge which a Jew has, was taken from him by theft or robbery, the Jew must swear on that pledge that when he received it he did not know that it had been removed by theft or robbery. In this oath the amount for which the pledge was pawned to him shall also be included. Then, inasmuch as the Jew has brought his proof, the Christian shall pay him the capital and the interest that has accrued in the meantime. [Then the Christian takes back his property.]

VII. Likewise, if a Jew, through the accident of fire or through theft or violence, should lose his [own] goods, together with the pledges pawned with him, and this is established, yet the Christian who has pledged something with him nevertheless brings suit against him, the Jew may free himself merely by his own oath. [TheJew loses the money advanced and the Christian, his pledge.]

VIII. Likewise, if the Jews engage in quarreling or actually fight among themselves, the judge of our city shall claim no jurisdiction over them; only the Duke alone or the chief official of his land shall exercise jurisdiction. If, however, the accusation touches the person, this case shall be reserved for the Duke alone for judgment. [Important criminal cases are to be decided not by the Jewish court, but by the Duke.]

1. Likewise, if a Christian should inflict any sort of a wound upon a Jew, the accused shall pay to the Duke twelve marks of gold which are to be turned in to the treasury. He must also pay, to the person who has been injured, twelve marks of silver and the expenses incurred for the medicine needed in his cure.
2. Likewise, if a Christian should kill a Jew he shall be punished with the proper sentence, death, and all his movable and immovable property shall pass into the power of the Duke.
3. Likewise, if a Christian strikes a Jew, without, however, having spilt his blood, he shall pay to the Duke four marks of gold, and to the man lie struck four marks of silver. If he has no money, he shall offer satisfaction for the crime committed by the loss of his hand.

XII. Likewise, wherever a Jew shall pass through our territory no one shall offer any hindrance to him or molest or trouble him. [The Jew is to pay no road-fees in all Austrian lands.] If, however, he should be carrying any goods or other things for which he must pay duty at all custom offices, he shall pay only the prescribed duty which a citizen of that town, in which the Jew is then dwelling, pays.

XIII. Likewise, if the Jews, as is their custom, should transport any of their dead either from city to city, or from province to province, or from one Austrian land into another, we do not wish anything to be demanded of them by our customs officers. [Heavy road-fees were often imposed on Jewish corpses in transit.] If, however, a customs officer should extort anything, then he is to be punished for praedatio mortui, which means, in common language, robbery of the dead.

XIV. Likewise, if a Christian, moved by insolence, shall break into ordevastate the cemetery of the Jews, he shall die, as the court determines, and all his property, whatever it may be, shall be forfeited to the treasury of the Duke.

1. Likewise, if any one wickedly throw something at the synagogues of the Jews we order that he pay two talents to the judge of the Jews. [This judge was a Christian who looked after the interests of the Jews.]

XV1. Likewise, if a Jew be condemned by his judge to a money penalty, which is called wandel (“fine”), he shall pay only twelve dinars to him.

XVII. Likewise, if a Jew is summoned to court by order of his judge, but does not come the first or second time, he must pay the judge four dinars for each time. If he does not come at the third summons he shall pay thirty-six dinars to the judge mentioned. [Fines were a source of income to the judge.]

XVIII. Likewise, if a Jew has wounded another Jew he may not refuse to pay a penalty of two talents, which is called wandel, to his judge.

XIX. Likewise, we decree that no Jew shall take an oath on the Torah unless he has been summoned to our [the Duke’s] presence. [This happened only in important cases.]

1. Likewise, if a Jew was secretly murdered, and if through the testimony it cannot be determined by his friends who murdered him, yet if after an investigation has been made the Jews begin to suspect some one, we are willing to supply the Jews with a champion against this suspect. [The champion fought the suspect and God gave victory to the right.]

XXI. Likewise, if a Christian raises his hand in violence against a Jewess, we order that the hand of that person be cut off.

XXXII. Likewise, the [Christian] judge of the Jews shall bring no case that has arisen among the Jews before his court, unless he be invited due to a complaint. [Civil suits between Jews were settled by the Jews themselves.]

XXIII. Likewise, if a Christian has redeemed his pledge from a Jew but has not paid the interest, the interest due shall become compounded if it is not paid within a month.

XXIV. Likewise, we do not wish any one to seek quarters in a Jewish house. [Forced entertainment of officials was considered a burden.]

XXV. Likewise, if a Jew has lent money to a magnate of the country on his possessions or on a note and proves this documentarily, we will assign the pledged possessions to the Jew and defend them for him against violence. [In this way Jews acquired estates, which they farmed.]

XXVI. Likewise, if any man or woman should kidnap a Jewish child we wish that he be punished as a thief [by death].

XXVII. Likewise, if a Jew has held in his possession, for a year, a pledge received from a Christian, and if the value of the pledge does not exceed the money lent together with the interest, the Jew may show the pledge to his judge and shall then have the right to sell it. If any pledge shall remain for a “year and a day” [really, a year, six weeks, and three days] with a Jew, he shall not have to account for it afterwards to any one.

XXVIII. Likewise, whatever Christian shall take his pledge away from a Jew by force or shall exercise violence in the Jew’s home shall be severely punished as a plunderer of our treasury. [The Duke felt that the wealth of the Jews practically belonged to him.]

XXIX. Likewise, one shall in no place proceed in judgment against a Jew except in front of his synagogues, saving ourselves who have the power to summon them to our presence. [Court was held for the Jews in the yards in front of their synagogues.]

XXX. Likewise, we decree that Jews shall indeed receive only eight dinars a week interest on the talent. . . . [This was 173.33 per cent annual interest. Such a high rate was not unusual because of the insecurity of the times.]

Given at Starkenberg, in the year of the incarnation of the Lord, 1244, on the first of July.

Prayer: Lord, this charter reminds us of the semi-freedom of other oppressed peoples – help us to recognise your divine image in all of your creatures, especially those of difference ethnicity, religion and life-styles, and respond as you would have us respond to all, with love and acceptance. In Yeshua’s name we pray. Amen.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

REFERENCES TO TEXTBOOKS
Elbogen, pp. 67-77; Roth, pp. 195-197-

READINGS FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS
Graetz, III, pp. 567-569; Graetz-Rhine, III, pp. 338-340; Margolis and Marx, pp. 376-378.

Dubnow, S. M., History of the Jews in Russia and Poland, 1, pp. 43-54. A discussion of the Boleslav and Casimir charters, variations of the 1244 Austrian charter.

Grunwald, M., Vienna (Jewish Communities Series), pp. iff.

Kisch, G., “Research in Medieval Legal History of the Jews,” in Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, VI (1934-1935), and “The Jewry-Law of the Medieval German Law-Books,” in Proceedings, VII (1935-1936). Both of these essays throw great light on the relation of the Jew and the Jewish community to the medieval state.

JE, “Austria”; “Kammerknechtschaft.”

ADDITIONAL SOURCE MATERIALS IN ENGLISH
“The Bishop of Speyer Gives the Jews of His City a Charter, io84,” Oliver. J. Thatcher and E. H. McNeal, A Source Book for Mediaeval History, pp. 577-578

“The Privilege of Frederick I for the Jews, 1157,” Thatcher and McNeal, pp. 573-577. This is a confirmation of the charter granted the Jews of Worms, Germany, about 1090, by Emperor Henry IV. It is the opinion of some scholars that both the Speyer and Worms charters are based on a ninth century Carolingian formula-prototype. The charter of 1244 is very probably a development of these early charters.

Jacobs, J., The Jews of Angevin England, Documents and Records, etc., is a very useful source book for the period in England. It also contains, p. 134 and P. 212, charters granted Jews by Richard the Lion-Hearted and his brother, John Lackland.

R,adin, M., “A Charter of Privileges of the Jews in Ancona of the Year 1535,” JQR, N.S., IV (1913-1914), particularly pp. 240ff.

The “Raffelstettener Zollordnung” (a catalogue of customs and tax rules) documents the presence of Jewish merchants in Austria in the 10th century. The Judengasse (“Jew′s Alley”) in Salzburg is documented in the 12th century (note that Salzburg was not part of Austria until 1816). In 1244 Jews were granted certain rights by the Duke of Austria, Emperor Friedrich II later granted formal rights to Jews in 1338. In the same year, there were riots aimed at Jews in Pulkau; as a response, the Viennese Jews lowered interests for loans in order to prevent similar actions against their own community.

During the reign of Emperor Friedrich III, many pogroms disrupted or extinguished Jewish life in the Holy Roman Empire

The old synagogue of Salzburg in the Judengasse was first documented in 1370 as a house of prayer. With the increasing power of reformist movements and the related loss of power for the Catholic Church, hostility against Jews increased; being non-Catholic, they were often seen as collaborators of anti-imperial, protestant forces. In the course of the Hussite Wars (named after the Bohemian reformist Jan Hus), many Jews were expelled from Austria in 1420 and 1421.

In Salzburg, which was non-secular and ruled by a Catholic Prince-Archbishop not overly pleased about non-Catholic residents of any kind, Jews were expelled in 1492 and prevented from permanent settlement until the 19th century. Emperor Maximilian I banned Jews from Styria and Carinthia on request of local guilds in 1496 and relocated to the Eastern edge of the Empire in Zistersdorf near Eisenstadt.

From 1551, Jews had to wear a yellow spot on their clothing every time they entered market towns or cities. Over the course of the 16th century, the number of Jews in Vienna consistently increased and a new cemetery was built in today′s 9th district. In 1624, they were allowed to settle in the area of today′s Leopoldstadt under the rule of Emperor Ferdinand II. They were expelled again in 1669/70, but only ten years later individuals were granted permission to settle again: Samuel Oppenheimer and Samson Wertheimer acted as Court Jew (“Hofjuden”) and gained influential positions and significant privileges.

“Toleranzpatente” of the Enlightenment

With the end of the counter-revolution and the gradual settling of religious wars between Catholic-Imperial and Protestant-Federalist forces, the situation for non-Catholic people in Austria gradually improved. The spreading ideas of enlightenment helped to secure basic rights for Jews. The “Toleranzpatente” of Emperor Joseph II in the 1780ies mark the first formal basis for basic religious freedom.

Emperor Joseph II granted civil rights to Protestants, Orthodox Christians and Jews in order to integrate them into the Austrian society as ‘useful’ citizens

By then, the segregated Jewish districts of the Habsburg Empire (called “ghettos”) hosted 1,5 million Jews. The “Toleranzpatente” were mostly issued for the sake of Protestants and Greek-Orthodox Christians (about one third of the Empire’s population), but Jews were also admitted to public schools (compulsory education was introduced by Empress Maria Theresia, Joseph′s mother), universities, the military and all crafts and agriculture.

The declared aim of this was to increase the contribution of Jews to the public. However, they faced strong opposition from the traditional guilds that fought this new competition. Jews remained active primarily in trade, the slow acquisition of capital led later to significant success of Jewish investors in the cloth- and cotton industries of Bohemia and Moravia. Established Jewish bankers (such as the originally Viennese Rothschild family) used the new freedom to expand their business into other sectors. Immigration and ownership of land or realities remained prohibited for Jews. This and other constraints prevented Jews from having full citizen rights.

The district of Unterberg in Eisenstadt was home to a vibrant Jewish community – there is still a Jewish Museum in the former ghetto

Nevertheless, based on their new rights and assimilation (which was later accelerated through the spreading ideas of the French Revolution and the following Napoleonic Wars), several Jewish families in Vienna acquired significant wealth and politically influential positions. Not surprisingly, many of them promoted progressive ideas of equality and enlightenment. That didn′t really help to foster appreciation for Jews: Since the Catholic Habsburgs ruled as absolute monarchs over a multiethnic empire, they were not very fond of any nationalist, republican, libertarian or anti-clerical ideas of the French Revolution.

Many Jews were progressive freemasons, which fostered hostilities from military, nobility and clerics even more. The Jew Johann Emanuel Veith converted to Catholicism and became court preacher in Vienna′s Stephansdom cathedral. He maintained close ties with the Jewish community and actively fought anti-Semitic actions.

Increase of Jewish culture in public life: 1800-1867

Especially in cities of the Habsburg Empire, the Jewish population steadily increased. Prague′s community consisted of 8,500 in 1800, which was more then 10 percent of the total population and 11,700 in 1848. Vienna had a much smaller community (immigration of poor Jews from Galicia and other eastern parts of the Empire was prohibited): About 500 to 600 (about 0.25 percent) in 1800, mostly relatively well assimilated, wealthy families. By 1848, their number had risen to 4,000 (about 0.8 percent of the total population). In this year, the revolution broke out and many Jewish intellectuals joined the revolutionary forces (consisting mostly of liberal students and nationalists).

Not terribly fond of potentially revolutionary non-Catholics: Emperor Franz Joseph I

The “Pillersdorf constitution” of 1848 granted full civil rights and religious freedom to all religious groups of the Empire. After the revolution was crushed and Franz Joseph I installed as a new Emperor, many of these rights were taken back. This included some rights for Jews: Jewish civil servants were inaugurated to prove their loyalty to Austria (1851); they were excluded from the possession of land (1853); and they were excluded from certain profession such as soliciting or teaching (1855).

Many intellectual Jews went into publishing, which they were allowed to. This led to a division of the press into a “old order” branch (pro Habsburg, Catholicism, monarchy) and a “progressive” branch (anti-Habsburg, secular, republican); the first one anti-Semitic, the latter one influenced by the many Jewish journalists.

It seems that at this time the Jewish culture in Vienna started to bloom and develop its own identity. The traditional Ashkenazi rite to celebrate a service was adapted in Vienna to a “Wiener Ritus” (Viennese rite), which spread over the Empire to Bohemia and Galicia.

As a supporter of the 19th century’s increasing nationalism, Theodor Herzl founded the Zionist movement in Vienna

Yiddish lost importance in Vienna, partly also in Bohemia and Moravia, and was increasingly replaced by German. Did the Austrian Jews turn into Jewish Austrians? I always find it interesting to see how many Jews especially in the second half of the 19th century chose to give their children typically Austrian names rather than traditional, Hebrew ones.

In 1858, the Stadttempel synagogue of Vienna was built, one of the most elaborate in Europe. With the “Ausgleich” between Austria and Hungary in 1867, Jews finally gained full citizen rights. Vienna was now the city in the Habsburg Empire with the biggest Jewish community (40,000 or 6,6 percent). Most of the Viennese Jews were of Bohemian, Moravian and Hungarian origin. Fewer were from the poor area of Galicia. Jewish communities in other parts of the Empire now developed, even in cities that have not had any for a long time, such as Salzburg (part of Austria since 1816).

The Jewish Telegraph Agency reported on the unfortunate and embarrassing refusal of burial for Malvern Jacobs, a well-known and much loved Messianic Jewish leader in Canada. I met him several times in the 1980s and 1990s.

TORONTO (Jun. 29)

Forty years after Malvern Jacobs spurned his Jewish roots by adopting a belief in Jesus as the Messiah, a hearse carrying the body of the 71-year-old Christian minister and a procession of 400 of his mourners were barred from entering a Toronto-area Jewish cemetery.

After waiting two hours outside the locked gates of Pardes Shalom, a large cemetery several miles north of Toronto, Jacobs’ son told the procession to return to the funeral parlor.

“This should not happen to anyone,” Les Jacobs said. “This is a violation of the freedom of rights. My father was born a Jew, he lived as a Jew and he will die as a Jew.”

Both major rabbinical associations in Toronto — the Orthodox Va’ad Harabonim and the Toronto Board of Rabbis, which represents the Conservative and Reform movements — agreed with the decision to bar Jacobs’ body from the cemetery.

Born to Jewish parents, Jacobs had been ordained a Christian minister. He devoted much time and energy to proselytizing and converting Jews to Christianity.

He was a dean of the Jewish studies program at the Canada Christian College, a pastor of the Japanese Gospel Church, a secretary of the Messianic Jewish Alliance of Canada, and a former secretary of the Toronto branch of the Hebrew- Christian Alliance of America. He was also a deacon of the Anglican Church of Canada.

“Someone who has publicly eschewed the tenets of Judaism and has made it his life’s work to proselytize Jews to Christianity has placed himself outside of the Jewish community, and has thereby forfeited the right to be buried in a Jewish cemetery,” said Keith Landy, chairman of the Ontario region of the Canadian Jewish Congress and spokesman for the two rabbinical associations.

“It’s regrettable that this incident occurred,” he said. “As far as we’re concerned, Dr. Jacobs was a Christian and should have sought burial in a Christian cemetery.”

The younger Jacobs, who has also been active in proselytizing Jews to Christianity, said he will pursue the matter in the courts.

“I want my father to have the right, as a human being and as a Canadian and a proud Jew, to be buried in the right manner,” he said.

“There’s been no violation of any law,” Landy said. “The cemetery associations have bylaws indicating who can and who can’t be buried there.”

Prayer: Father, forgive our “hatreds without cause” that divide your people Israel, especially that long-standing division between Jewish believers in Yeshua and others. How understandable it is, in the light of the painful controversies and persecutions of the centuries, and how regrettable, in the light of your love for Israel, the nations and all creation! In Yeshua’s name we pray. Amen.

http://www.jta.org/1999/06/30/archive/cemetery-refuses-to-allow-burial-of-jewish-born-christian-minister-2