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Rabbi Mendel sent for me while I conversed with rabbi Solomon. I went to him; he was already waiting for me at the door of his room.

Rabbi Mendel. I am grieved to see a Jew who has left the law of our ancestors; and every Jew must be grieved.

I. I have not left Moses and the Prophets, but the tradition of the elders only; I believe in the Messiah of Israel, in Jesus of Nazareth! no worldly view has induced me to embrace that belief.

Rabbi Mendel. We Jews in Poland have a proverb; The wicked one draws a Jew after him to London, but as soon as the Jew is arrived in London, the Jew draws the wicked one after him.

I. The Jews have many friends among the Gentiles in London.

Rabbi Mendel Those marks of friendship are only nets to catch poor Israel. Solomon (peace be unto him!) said, (Eccl. xii. 11.) "The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one Shepherd," and this verse is most exactly explained (rabbi Mendel took forth the Talmud) in the first chapter of the Gemarah of Hagiga: there it is said, 'Why are the words of the Torah compared to a goad, which directs an ox upon his way?' (the Gemarah understands by, not goad, but an instrument by which an ox is directed upon his way.) The Torah leads us from the way of death to the way of life; and the Torah is compared to branches, (for the rabbies translate again, 22, not nails, but branches,) which bring forth fruits and multiply them; for the disciples of the wise, the rabbies, sit down together, and are labouring very hard indeed about the sense of the Torah: These are saying, It is not permitted: and others again, It is permitted. Those say, It is false; and the others say, It is right. But all that is planted from one Shepherd, from one Father; from the mouth of the Lord are all works, blessed be he! For it is written, "And the Lord spake all these words," Incline thine

"It

ear and heart to obey the words of those who say, is unclean," and the words of those who say, "It is clean," and the words of those who say, "It is not permitted," and the words of those who say, "It is permitted," and the words of those who say, "It is false," and the words of those who say, "It is right."

And (rabbi Mendel continued) what great wisdom is to be found in the Talmud! They know well the works of the Lord, the nature of the sun and the stars, which we must well know, for it is written, "They regard not the works of the Lord, neither consider the operations of his hands," Isaiah v. 12. The rabbies taught us, that we must exclaim, at such and such hour of the sun rising, "Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord!" and the rabbies have taught us to exclaim, at the time of the going down of the sun, "Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord!"

My heart does not permit to write down the blasphemies which Rabbi Mendel after this speech spoke of Jesus Christ, who is, in despite of all the rabbinical subtleties, the Son of the living God. Rabbi Mendel has not yet looked into the New Testament.

I asked

him, by what signs will you know that the Messiah, whom you expect, will be the true one? Rabbi Mendel said, Not by his working miracles; but we shall see that he will build us a temple, and observe the law of Moses and our traditions. He then confessed, during our conversation, that the Talmudists do not agree with each other in respect to the Messiah Ben Joseph; some say that no Messiah at all will be killed, but the devil; and that God has, some centuries ago, killed the devil or bad principle, in the city of Jerusalem; but the consequence has been, that not one single egg was brought forth by the hens, and God did, therefore, raise again the devil from the dead; for he saw that the world could not exist without the bad principle; for joy and intercourse between husband and wife would cease if the bad principle no longer existed. I confessed candidly to Rabbi Mendel, that there is so much nonsense in the Talmud, that no reasonable man will ever accept its authority.

And that we must believe in the Son of God, is clear, from Psalm ii. "Thou art my Son; "Kiss the Son;" "Blessed are those who trust in him!" But Rabbi Mendel has the fault of always interrupting me, espe cially when persons are present.

Solomon Ben Abraham, an old Jew, (not the abovementioned Solomon,) entered the room, and said in a rough and angry manner to rabbi Mendel, that he should not speak with me, for I came here to dissuade the Jews from keeping their law. Rabbi Mendel told me, that I should not take notice of that gentleman's words. I shall go to rabbi Mendel the day after to-morrow, and show him by Exod. xiv. 21, to the end, and by 1 Kings xviii. 39, that God persuades men by miracles of the divine message of the servant of God; and that the Messiah was to do miracles, I shall show rabbi Mendel, by Isa. xxxv. 5, 6.

April 13.-Went to the holy sepulchre. Oh, what gross idolatry and imposture is practised near that place where thou didst say to the woman, "Why seek ye him who liveth, among the dead ?"

April 14.-The Polish Jews residing in Jerusalem, are subdivided into three parties; 1. Into Polish Jews, who acknowledge over them the authority of a rabbi, who resides in Poland. 2. Into Pharisees, who have separated themselves from those of their Polish brethren, who acknowledge the rabbi in Poland; and every one of these considers himself a rabbi, and rabbi Mendel as their great rabbi. 3. Into Hasidim, who pretend to be in continual communion with God, and live a very strict life. The emuity between these parties is so great, that the Pharisee strives to prevent the settlement of the Polish party in Jerusalem; and the Polish that of the Pharisees; and they even accuse each other to the Turkish governor.

[Here follows a list of names of Pharisees, Polish Jews, and Hasidim, residing in Jerusalem, who are supported by their relatives in Poland; and also of some of the most opulent and learned Spanish Jews.]

No Jew lived at Jerusalem in the time of the Crusa

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ders. It is the general belief among the Rabbinists, that the Caraites are the decendants of the disciples of Sadok and Baytus, viz. the descendants of the Sadducees mentioned in the Gospel. And this was likewise the belief of the ancient rabbies. See rabbi Jehuda Ben Saul, in the book of Kozri composed by rabbi Isaac Sengri, and Jehuda Levi. The Caraites protest against it, and consider themselves as disciples of Anan. Rabbi Mendel mentioned to me the history of the conversion of a Polish Count, Podozky by name; he turned Jew, and was committed to the flames by the inquisition in Wilna.

But

Josephus the Jewish historian, does not stand in credit with the Jews at Jerusalem; they consider him a man of the world, who held with all parties and sects. rabbi Mendel observed, that his brother Boni Ben Gorioni (for so they call Josephus the son of Gorion) was so great a saint, that they called him Nakdimin, for the sun stood still one day at his prayer.

April 15.-I laid before rabbi Mendel Exod. xiv. 21-31. and 1 Kings xviii. 39, to convince him that miracles have been wrought by God to persuade the people of God that it was the Lord's work; farther, Isaiah xxxv, 5, 6, to prove to him that the Messiah was to work miracles. And to prove to him that the Messiah was predicted to be a person equal with God, I shewed to him Zech. xiii. 7; and that he was to be born at Bethlehem, laid before him Micah v. 1.

Rabbi Mendel. Four things are to be observed in expounding the Scripture.

1. The plain meaning of every verse.

2. Upon every letter, the Torah must be preached. 3. By one word many things are hinted at.

4. The Cabbala.

Rabbi Mendel replied to Exod. xiv. 21-31. The Jews did only believe for that moment; but they said afterwards, Moses may perhaps have bewitched us; for they said, Exodus xviii. 7, "Is the Lord among us or not?" And the Lord himself descended from heaven, in order that they might be convinced that Moses did

not do that miracle by witchcraft; and that they may believe for ever.

Rabbi Mendel went on, 1 Kings xviii. 39. Elijah said twice, "Hear me, O Lord, hear me." The first "hear me," indicates the prayer, that God may perform a miracle; and the second exclamation of "hear me," signifies the prayer of Elijah to God, that God may incline the heart of Israel to believe that that miracle was not done by witchcraft, but by the hand of the Lord.

I. It is sorrowful, rabbi Mendel, to hear you so dreadfully perverting the text, the clear text of the word of God.

Rabbi Mendel. We must accept likewise for our guide the unwritten word of God.

I. There is not in the written word of God one single allusion to an unwritten word of God; and Deut. iv. 2. proves that there cannot exist another Torah besides the Torah written down.

Rabbi Mendel. It is alluded to in Exodus xxxiv. 27. "after the tenor," (literally, after the mouth.)

I. It is there said, "WRITE THOU THESE WORDS; for after the tenor of THESE WORDS (which I have commanded thee To WRITE) I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel."

Rabbi Mendel gave no answer to it, and replied to Zech. xiii. 7, " Israel is called the fellow of God, which is clear by Psalm cxxii. 8, For my brethren and companions' sake."

I. David said this, rabbi Mendel. You pervert the Torah with your Talmudical kuowledge; and the rabbies in the time of Jesus Christ did the same, and he speaks on this account so strongly against the Pharisees. Moses and the prophets are turned into ridicule by these horrible perversions of the text. How clear and consistent with the Torah are the words of the New Testament; read it, and you shall find in it wisdom above all wisdom.

April 16.-Rabbi Reuben, of the sect of the Hasidim, a gentleman thirty-six years of age, born at Mohilev, and rabbi Abraham Ben David Izkowish, called on me

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