Simson, Martin Eduard, son of a banker, German jurist and statesman, born Nov. 10, 1810, at Königsberg, and died at Berlin, May 22, 1899. He embraced Christianity as a young man, studied law, and in 1833 he became professor of Roman law, and three years later a judge. In 1848 he received the title of "Rath" in the higher court. In 1848 he was sentas a deputy from Königsberg to the National Congress at Frankfurt, and was soon raised to be its president, and had the honour to offer the crown of the German Empire to King Frederick William IV. of Prussia. Subsequently he held high offices of state, and in 1879 he was appointed first president of the German Supreme Court at Leipzig; in 1888 he received the decoration of the Black Eagle of Prussia and was ennobled. In 1892 he retired to private life. He was the author of "Geschichte des Königsberger Ober Tribunals." Of his three baptized brothers, one became professor of Oriental languages at Königsberg, and the other two lawyers at Berlin.
Skolkowski, J., was a native of Calwary in Russian Poland, baptized at Königsberg, and then studied at the L.J.S. Missionary Training College in London. In 1849 he laboured as a missionary in London, Cairo, Lublin, Gnesen, and Posen, and then, in 1869, at Königsberg. "His annual reports," says the Rev. W. T. Gidney, "supplied most interesting details of mission service, together with glimpses of the social condition, pursuits, and religious opinions of Jews, among whom he devotedly carried on the work of preaching Christ and Him crucified, until his retirement in the beginning of 1888, after a long service of very nearly forty years."
Sobernheim, Dr. Joseph Friedrich, an earnest convert in Berlin in the middle of the nineteenth century. The history of his conversion is as follows. A student had pawned a New Testament with a Jew for a paltry sum of money, and when he came toredeem it, the pawnbroker, having in the meantime read it and become a Christian, gave the student a hundred Louis d'or as a token of gratitude because he had through this book come to a saving knowledge of Christ. This Jewish convert was instrumental in the conversion of nine other Jews, among whom was Dr. Sobernheim and his father. He was esteemed as an author of medical works. He wrote: "Handbuch der Praktischen Arzenimittelehre" (Berlin, 1844), "Beiträge zur Phänomenologie des Lebens,"ib., 1841. He died in 1846. ("Jewish Intelligence," December, 1864.)
Solomon, Rev. Benjamin Nehemiah, was born at Lemberg in 1791, and in due time became a rabbi. In 1814 he came to London, and through the instrumentality of J. Frey became a Christian, and was ordained in 1817. He then accompanied Lewis Way on his missionary journey through Holland, Germany and Russia, both preaching the Gospel to the Jews everywhere. Lewis Way having obtained for him permission from the Emperor Alexander to work in Poland, he first of all translated the New Testament into Yiddish, for the use of Polish Jews. In 1821 he accompanied McCaul to Warsaw, but from Amsterdam he wrote to Thelwall that the condition of his wife and children in Galicia obliged him to return home. His own father declared to the missionary Smith, in 1827, that he was living as a Christian.
Stahl, Friedrich Julius, son of a banker, jurist and publicist, was born at Munich, January 16, 1802, and died at Bruckenau, Aug. 10, 1861. He became a Christian inhis eighteenth year, and was baptized at Erlangen in 1819. Already at the age of fourteen he discussed religious topics with his fellow scholars. The writings of Thiersch had a great influence upon him. After he had become a Christian, he acted as a missionary to his own family and brought his parents and brothers and sisters to the Saviour. He studied law at the Universities of Wurzburg, Erlangen, and Heidelberg. In 1834 he represented the University of Erlangen in the Bavarian Parliament. In 1840 he became professor of law at the University of Berlin, where his lectures drew an audience of all classes. His idea of Christianity was that it should pervade the whole life and also the State. According to Lord Acton, Stahl had a more predominant influence and shewed more political ability than Lord Beaconsfield (Acton, Letters to Mary Gladstone, p. 103, London, 1904). His writings are as follows, "Die Philosophie des Rechts nach Geschichtlicher Ansicht," 2 vols. (Heidelberg, 1830-37); "Ueber die Kirchenzucht" (1845-58); "Das Monarchische Princip" (Heidelberg, 1845); "Der Christliche Staat" (ib., 1847-8); "Die Revolution und die Constitutionelle Monarchie" (1848-9); "Was ist Revolution?" (ib., 1852), of which three editions were issued; "Der Protestantismus als Politisches Princip" (ib., 1853-4); "Die Katholische Widerlegungen" (ib., 1854); "Wider Bunsen" (1856); "Die Lutherische Kirche und die Union" (1859-60). After his death were published, "Siebenzehn Parlamentarishen Reden" (1862), and "Die Gegenwärtigen Partien in Staat und Kirche" (1868).
Steinhardt, son of the landlord for many years of the L.J.S. schools at Bucharest naturally came in contact with the mission there, but no one of the family shewed any inclination towards Christianity, yet the seed sown in the son's heart bore fruit in time. He went to Constantinople and was baptized there. Then he became a city missionary in New York, studied theology, and became, in 1871, pastor of a Swiss congregation in Fountain City, Wisconsin, and in 1882 at Louisville, Ky.
Stern, Dr. Henry A., was born of Jewish parents on April 11, 1820, at Unterreichenbach, in the Duchy of Hesse Cassel. Subsequently the family removed to Frankfort-on-the-Main, where they resided in the quaint old "Judengasse," now a thing of the past. Though educated in this town with a view to the medical profession, Stern, when about seventeen years of age, decided to follow commerce, and to that end repaired to Hamburg. It was there, in the providence of God, that his attention was first drawn to Christianity, by noticing some Christian literature in a glass case near the house of the London Jews' Society's missionary, Mr. J. C. Moritz. The impression subsequently obtained by its perusal was increased when, on arrival in London, in 1839, Stern was induced by a fellow-lodger to attend a Sunday afternoon Hebrew service in Palestine Place, conducted by Dr. Alexander McCaul. Thoroughly awakened, Stern sought the missionary the next day, and, indeed, for many days, until he became a recognized enquirer, and was eventually admittedinto the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution. There he was further carefully prepared in Christianity, and baptized on March 15, 1840. For two years longer he remained in the Institution, working at his trade, but it was very evident that Stern, by his learning and gifts, was eminently fitted to be a missionary, and consequently he was taken into the Society's College for a further term of two years.
In 1844 Stern received his first missionary post, and was sent to Bagdad. He left London under the direction of the Rev. Murray Vickers, accompanied by three other young missionaries. They broke their journey at Jerusalem, where Stern was ordained deacon by Bishop Alexander, on July 14 of the same year. Arriving at Bagdad, Stern threw himself into his work with great zeal and ardour.
The Jewish population of Bagdad then consisted of about 16,000 souls. The whole trade of the town was in their hands, and they were supposed to be the most wealthy class of the community. They manifested the greatest anxiety to obtain the books published by the Society. Day after day the house of the missionaries was filled to overflowing with Jews of all ages, ranks and stations, and the streets near were crowded all day by numbers of Jews, Stern being constantly stopped as he walked along them. The bazaars, khans, and the Beth Hamedrash, were visited, and supplied frequent opportunities for proclaiming the Gospel.
The eagerness manifested by the Jews of Bagdad to enter into discussion on the subject of Christianity, and more especially the application of two enquirers for regular instruction, stirred up active opposition on the part of the rabbis, and an excommunication was issued against all who should have intercourse with the missionaries. This had the desired effect. For six or seven months no Jew was seen in the mission house. Then, gradually, some ventured to come by stealth; and, soon, from twelve to twenty again visited the missionaries on Saturdays, several of whom were of the most respectable Jewish families in Bagdad. The Jewish authorities, however, did not relax their vigilance, but threatened to repeat the anathema.
In the winter of 1844 Stern made a journey to certain places on the banks of the Euphrates, going to Hillah, where he visited the synagogue and Jewish schools; the tomb of Ezekiel, greatly venerated by the Jews; Meshed-Ali, a Moslem town with a few Jews; Cufa; the tower of Belus (Babel) or Birs Nimroud; and the ruins of Babylon. In 1845 Stern and a fellow-labourer, the Rev. P. H. Sternchuss, improved the time during which missionary operations in Bagdad were suspended, in consequence of thecheremmentioned above, in making a missionary journey into the interior of Persia. They held much interesting intercourse with the Jews of Kermanshah and Hamadan. On November 21 of the same year, the two missionaries embarked on the Tigris for the purpose of undertaking a secondjourney in Persia. They visited Bussorah, Bushire, Shiraz, and several other places where Jews resided. Both in synagogues and Jewish schools, and also at their lodgings, they proclaimed the unsearchable riches of Christ to considerable numbers of their Jewish brethren.
The deadly scourge of cholera prevailed in Bagdad to an alarming extent in 1846, and in a very few weeks several thousands were suddenly taken off by it, and missionary work was consequently suspended. The Jews thought the visitation was owing to the fact that many of their brethren had imbibed the doctrines of Christianity, and their opposition became most violent. A secondcheremwas pronounced in the synagogues against the missionaries and all holding intercourse with them.
Notwithstanding the violence of the rabbis and the ignorance which prevailed, especially amongst Jewesses, the missionaries met with many to whom they were able to declare the love of the Redeemer, and several received regular instruction. Of the Bagdad Jews in general they said:—"A spirit of enquiry pervades all classes of Jews in Bagdad The rabbis are fully sensible of it, and endeavour to do everything in their power to check this extraordinary movement."
In 1847 a temporary retreat to Persia was thought advisable, during which Stern preached the Gospel to many hundreds of Jews, both in Chaldæa and Persia, and extensively circulated the Scriptures in the Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, andArmenian languages. This was a great achievement in a region hitherto noted for intolerance, bigotry, poverty, fanaticism, and superstition.
On the arrival from home of fresh supplies of books, the lodgings of the missionaries were crowded for days together, from morning till evening, with eager applicants for the sacred treasure. The missionaries were now well known to many of the Jews in the surrounding countries, from the journeys which they undertook from time to time. They sent the Word of God to the wilds of Kurdistan, the deserts of Khorasan and Turkistan. They were privileged to admit two Israelites, one of Bagdad and the other from Bushire, into the Church of Christ by baptism. Others received instruction from them for a longer or a shorter period.
On their return to Bagdad, a room belonging to the mission was fitted up for Divine Service, and usually from twelve to fifteen Jews attended the daily morning service, at dawn of day; the instruction of enquirers taking place immediately afterwards. An English service was held on Sunday morning, and a Hebrew service in the afternoon during winter. An operative converts' institution was opened.
In August, 1850, a Jewish doctor was baptized, which incident produced another severe anathema from the rabbis against all who should have any intercourse with the missionaries. "In order to make the interdict more impressive," wrote Stern, "the horn was blown, and all the books of the law unrolled." This was repeated several days. Jews, in largenumbers, however, began to call at the depôt which Stern opened; and he affirmed that there were many who had learned the Truth from reading the New Testament. In 1851 and 1853 two other baptisms were recorded. After eight or nine years spent in Mesopotamia, where Mrs. Stern's health had greatly suffered from an attack of cholera, Stern was transferred to Constantinople in 1853.
There he found a larger and even more important sphere of work—totally different, as he had now to deal with Spanish instead of Eastern Jews. They were down-trodden and oppressed, and their pitiable state was not improved by the extensive conflagrations, which periodically devastated their quarter. Numbers, however, became enquirers, notwithstanding severe persecution, and some were baptized. The mission schools were well attended, and the medical mission, conducted by Dr. Leitner, did excellent service. Stern visited Adrianople, Salonica, and other towns with large Jewish populations.
The year 1856 was signalized by a visit to the Karaites and other Jews in the Crimea. At Baktchi-Serai, Stern was surrounded by Jews, "all anxious to buy Gospels," and was the guest of the chief rabbi, who shewed him the cemetery of the Karaites—strangely called "The Valley of Jehoshaphat"—with its 40,000 sculptured tombs, and in which myriads more had been interred, to whose memory poverty or indifference had raised no monument. At Simpheropol, Stern preached in the synagogue and sold a number of New Testaments and Pentateuchs. Onone occasion he had the privilege of addressing British troops in their quarters in the Crimea.
Stern made a second journey in the same year—to Arabia.
The space at our command is totally inadequate to describe the incidents of that romantic and perilous journey, in the wake of Joseph Wolff who, just forty years before, had engaged in the same pioneer work. Stern had to take precautions for his safety, adopting native dress and passing as the "Dervish Abdallah." At Safon, a beautiful mountain town, the report that a man who spoke Hebrew, and yet was no Jew, dressed like a Mohammedan and yet ignored the Koran, caused much sensation amongst the Jews, who flocked to see him, and to whom he preached in a synagogue. This was repeated at other places. At Sanaa he was occupied for twelve days, with very little rest at night, preaching to the multitudes who congregated wherever he went. The last day of his visit there he characterized as "the happiest of my life, the happiest of my missionary career."
After a visit to England in 1857, Stern returned to Constantinople, taking up again the threads of his settled missionary work there.
In 1859 Stern embarked on the first of his most memorable journeys to Abyssinia. Mr. J. M. Flad had been working in that country as one of the "Pilgrim Missionaries" from St. Chrischona. More Christian labourers, however, were needed; and so Stern was despatched from Constantinople to found an English mission, if possible, amongst the Falashas—some thousands of Jews dwelling in the highlands of the interior. Flad now joined Stern, and the two worked hand-in-hand together. The results of this preliminary visit were thus summed up by Stern, who, having accomplished his purpose, repaired to England in 1861:—"I visited, in company with Mr. Flad, the Bishop of Jerusalem's Scripture Reader, upwards of thirty Falasha settlements, and saw the priests, and all those that could read, from more than fifty-five other places. The desire to obtain the Word of God exceeds all description; young and old, the man standing on the verge of the grave, and the youth just rushing into life's happiest whirl, heedless and indifferent to the pain and difficulties of the road, followed us for days and days, till we yielded to their unwearied entreaties, and from our scanty stock supplied their communities with copies of the sacred volume."
Speaking in Exeter Hall in May of the next year, Stern said, "During my stay in that country, I was amazed at the excitement created by our preaching through the various provinces we visited. Frequently, hundreds of Christians and Jews would meet together near our tent with the Word of God in their hands, converse and investigate those truths which we had been preaching."
Flad and a fellow-labourer named Bronkhörst, who had joined him, continued to carry on the work with much success, and on July 21, 1861, the first fruits of the mission were gathered in, twenty-two Falashas receiving Holy Baptism. On August 4, nineteenmore were baptized. This encouraging success led to Stern going out again to Abyssinia in September, 1862, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rosenthal. We cannot follow the details of the work for the next two years, but must sum them up in Stern's own words:—"We have in the course of two years, without being allowed to form a separate community, rescued a considerable number of Falashas from their unbelief, and nominally, but not virtually, united them as a living, active and spiritual element, to the dead Church of the Amharas. We have circulated about one thousand whole copies and portions of Scriptures; we have given an impulse to the study of the written vernacular; and we have stirred up a spirit of enquiry among Jews and Amharas, which must either terminate in a spontaneous reform, or lead (which is far more probable) to our expulsion and a relentless persecution." The latter surmise proved to be only too true.
The following circumstances eventually led to the imprisonment of the missionaries. King Theodore had despatched to the Queen of England, by Consul Cameron, a letter, to which, from some strange reason, no reply was vouchsafed. A similar letter to Napoleon III. was indeed answered, but the verbal message accompanying it gave dire offence. Theodore resolved to be revenged on all Europeans, and to "humble the pride of Europe," as he said, meaning England and France.
Some expressions in Stern's book, "Wanderings among the Falashas in Abyssinia," as to Theodore'shumble origin, also gave offence to the dusky monarch. When Stern paid him a visit, in order to ask permission to return home, the opportunity thus offered for revenge was seized. Stern had with him two servants. The hour of the visit was unfortunately ill chosen, and his servants' knowledge of Arabic so limited, as to render their mode of interpreting so offensive to the King, that he ordered them to be beaten,—an order so effectually obeyed, that they died in the night. Stern, unable to endure the scene, turned round, and in his nervousnessbit his finger,—unaware, or forgetful, that such a gesture was in Abyssinia indicative ofrevenge. At first, the King seemed inclined to overlook the matter, but subsequently, urged on by those around him, Stern was struck down insensible, and, on recovery, bound hand to foot and consigned to prison.
For four and a-half years Stern remained a prisoner. It is impossible to describe his terrible sufferings and perilous position during that long protracted "period of heart-rending and heart-breaking martyrdom."
Rosenthal was the next victim; subsequently Consul Cameron, Flad and his wife, Mrs. Rosenthal, Consul Rassam, Lieutenant Prideaux, Blanc, Kerans, and others, were in turn imprisoned. Flad was shortly afterwards released, in order to be sent to England on an embassy to Queen Victoria, his wife and children being held as hostages for his return.
The prisoners remained in captivity—with a slight interval of freedom in the spring of 1866—first in one place, then in another, and subsequently at Magdala—until Easter, 1868. An English expeditionary force, under Sir Robert Napier, had arrived to effect their deliverance. In answer to the demand of the English General, and perhaps in order to propitiate him, Theodore ordered the release of his prisoners. This tardy act of justice did not save him. A battle was fought on Good Friday between the English army and the hosts of Theodore, who was decisively beaten. On Easter Monday the stronghold of Magdala was stormed and captured, and Theodore fell by his own hand. Most graphic accounts of these stirring days were sent home by Stern and Flad, the latter of whom prefaced his remarks with the appropriate words, "The Lord has turned our captivity: we are like unto them that dream. Our mouth is filled with laughter, and our tongue with praise. We say, The Lord has done great things for us! The Lord has done great things, whereof we are glad."
The release of the missionaries by the military expedition sent out to vindicate the honour of the British nation, and to recover the person of its official representatives, was a wonderful answer to believing and persevering prayer. The missionaries returned to England in June, 1868; and, on July 3, a special meeting for prayer and thanksgiving was held at the Freemasons' Hall, the Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G., in the chair, when all the released missionaries, with their wives, were present, and in a few words told of their wonderful deliverance, and the Almighty arm which had wrought it.
It may here be mentioned that though since 1869, no European missionary has been allowed inAbyssinia, the London Society's mission has never once been suspended, notwithstanding overwhelming odds and almost insuperable obstacles! Other missions have been given up for a time when dangers threatened—this has held on its way through the fostering care of Mr. J. M. Flad, who has supervised it from a distance, and the indomitable courage of the native missionaries. Like the early Christians, they have overcome by "the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony: and they loved not their lives unto the death" (Rev. xii. 11). Famine, war, bloodshed, imprisonment, ecclesiastical jealousy, civil strife, the Dervish invasion, the coming of the Italians, have been potent enemies—powerful enough to harass and to impede, but not to stop the work. Indeed, it has flourished beyond expectation, and, in spite of ignorance and want of freedom, the Gospel has spread amongst the Falashas, 2,000 of whom have been baptized.
We now come to the last period of Stern's life (1870-1885) which, though free from stirring adventures and dangerous situations, was none the less active and full.
For some time after his return Stern was incessantly and altogether engaged in narrating his experiences to crowded audiences in every part of the country, who hung, with breathless interest, upon the terrible yet fascinating story of the Abyssinian mission. In subsequent years Stern could very rarely be persuaded to recount the horrors of the past. On one occasion, and that only, in response tothe persuasive entreaty of friends in a south-coast town, did he ever tell the wonderful story of his sufferings and achievements in that far-off land. Either the innate humility and modesty of the man, or painful memories, made it most distasteful to unlock the door of the past.
In 1870 Dr. Ewald resigned his work as senior missionary in London. It was no easy matter to find a man qualified to succeed him. Only one seemed possible, and that was Stern, whose health, undermined by his unparalleled sufferings in Abyssinia, no longer permitted him to serve the Society in the East. He was appointed Ewald's successor from the 1st of January, 1871, and brought to his new sphere a ripe and unrivalled experience in Jewish missionary work, gained, as we have seen, in Persia, Turkey, Arabia, and Abyssinia; and an acquaintance with a dozen or more languages, an invaluable possession for a missionary in the metropolis, who has by personal intercourse and correspondence to deal with Jews of different nationalities. Though Stern missed in England the refined courtesy of the German, and the religious gravity of the Oriental Jew, and consequently those winning qualities which helped on friendly intercourse and mutual interchange of convictions between missionary and Jew, he yet found that most of the Jews in England were able to discuss religious questions calmly and dispassionately. The three chief means which Stern relied upon to win his way amongst the Jews were circulation of tracts, domiciliary visitation, and special sermons inSpitalfields and Whitechapel. The last were highly successful. Jews attended in large numbers, attracted by the fame of the preacher, and the glowing and burning eloquence which flowed from his lips as he pointed them to the Messiah. An attendance of from 400 to 500 Jews was of frequent occurrence. A German prayer meeting was substituted for the service hitherto held on Friday evenings, in order to draw together some of the 2,000 proselytes, and numerous enquirers then in London. This paved the way for the establishment, later on, of the "Hebrew Christian Prayer Union."
Thousands of Jews were addressed in public and in private, in streets, houses, shops, churches and mission halls.
A mission hall, situated in Whitechapel, was made a useful centre, where meetings on Saturdays and other days were generally well attended. There was a daily Bible Class held for Jews. Conversions and baptisms were numerous; but, as Stern said in 1876, when speaking of results, and his words are true for all time, and in every place as well as London:—"Conversions, however few or many they may be, are not the gauge by which the progress of mission work amongst the Jews can be ascertained. A man may be thoroughly convinced of the truth of the Gospel, and yet hesitate to take the final and decisive step. He may shrink from the persecution, the trials, the troubles, and the sacrifices a public profession of his faith would entail. Of course no one, who is truly concerned for his soul's eternal welfare, should beashamed to avow his convictions. Nevertheless, a strong faith and ardent love are indispensably necessary to enable a catechumen to break through the ties of cherished affection and friendship for the Gospel's sake. That all are not destitute of these heavenly gifts, ever-recurring instances testify. The greater majority, however, prefer to conceal their religious sentiments. They go to church, join in the services, and even contribute to missionary societies, and yet nominally profess to be Jews."
Stern not only worked in London, but also held special services for Jews in many other towns. He combined with his mission work the supervision of the "Wanderers' Home," a most useful institution for the reception of converts and enquirers.
In 1874, on the thirtieth anniversary of his ordination, his Hebrew Christian and other friends presented him with a testimonial—a silver tea and coffee service—as a slight token of their esteem; and in 1881 the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 1884 he was elected a member of the Committee of the L.J.S., where his vast and varied experience was of the utmost use; and he was also elected an Associate of the Victoria Institute.
Stern's work in London was carried on to the time of his death, which occurred, after much suffering, on May 13, 1885. The funeral service was held in the Episcopal Jews' Chapel, Palestine Place, on May 18, in the presence of a large and sorrowing congregation, and his mortal remains laid to rest in Ilford Cemetery.He was twice married: first, in 1850, to Miss Charlotte Elizabeth Purday, who died in 1874; and secondly, in 1883, to Miss Rebecca Goff, daughter of S. D. Goff, Esq., of Horetown, Co. Wexford.
As a preacher Stern was eloquence itself; as a writer he had a most charming and picturesque diction. His published journals and books, like those of Dr. Wolff, are full of the most romantic incidents of missionary experience. His published works were: "Dawning of Light in the East" (1854), being an account of his work in Persia, Kurdistan and Mesopotamia; "Wanderings amongst the Falashas in Abyssinia" (1862); and "The Captive Missionary" (1868), both narratives of his Abyssinian experiences.
That he was of the spirit of which martyrs are made, the following extracts from his letters, written during the long and dreary days of his captivity in Abyssinia, clearly demonstrate:—
"Thank God, in the midst of my troubles, cares and anxieties, I enjoy the profoundest calm and resignation. It is true there are days when the heart pulsates with gratitude and joy, and there are days when it throbs beneath the mortifying agonies of despondency. Sometimes I feel as if I could not endure another week the fetters which encircle my limbs, and confine me in painful inactivity to this desolate rock. Such rebellious sentiments I generally try to suppress, and if this is impossible, I seek comfort in the thought, that all is ordered in wisdom and infinite love. Our heavenly Father hath, no doubt, an object in this protracted captivity, andwhen once the veil of mystery is lifted up, every incident and circumstance which hath wrung a prayer or extorted a groan from the grieved soul, will prove to have been in harmony with the designs of a gracious Providence, and fraught with inestimable blessings."
And again, "Our nerves were horrible shattered, and our minds, too, would have been unhinged, had not religion, with her solacing influence, soothed the asperities and hardships of our existence. The Bible, prayers, and a morning and evening exposition of an appropriate passage were the exercises in which we regularly engaged. No bitter gibes, no harsh expressions, no unbecoming word characterised our intercourse; religion formed a wonderful bond of harmony, and when I looked on the devout countenances that there hung over the inspired page, as I commented on the selected text, I cherished the pleasing hope that the clouds, so big with wrath, had been charged with showers of everlasting mercy. At such a period—I say it solemnly—the punctured head, the riven side, the pierced feet, and the heavy cross of redeeming love, is a sight that nerves and supports the drooping and desponding spirit. In my distress and sorrow, I threw myself on the bosom of a sympathizing Saviour, and if I was not happy, I was at least resigned."
No one can estimate the abundance of spiritual harvest from the long life of toil and labour which Stern spent to the honour and glory of his Master. He sowed in tears, he led captivity captive, he turnedmany to righteousness, and of him it may confidently be said, that he will shine as astarfor ever and ever.[23]
Stern, Herman, gives the following sketch of his history:—"My father was a rabbi and teacher of the Talmud at Prague, at Strakenitz, and somewhat later at Bamberg. I had the happiness to be instructed by him in the Bible and in the Talmud, from my tenth to my twenty-first year, and during this period of eleven years, I also attended some Christian schools. On the decease of my father, who died in his seventy-sixth year, duty no longer demanded my residence at Bamberg, and having applied to the then 'Court Commission' (Hofcommission) at Würzburg, for the situation of Jewish teacher at Höchburg, which was at that time vacant, I obtained it. The Jewish inhabitants of Höchburg were pious, and previous to my coming there the children of the rich had been instructed by private tutors. But as the former had been unwilling that the children of the less fortunate Jewish parents should share this instruction, these felt themselves obliged to petition the authorities for the appointment of a public teacher, which was answered, quite unexpectedly to the rich, by my installation. It was, therefore, to be expected that the wealthier Jews would not be pleased with the new school; and when at last the authorities would no longer suffer the private tutors to remain at Höchburg, obliging the rich Jews to send their childrento the public school, the latter became to them an object of hatred. This hatred to the school was now transferred to me, and I was persecuted in every possible way. The wealthier Jews complained of me, because I permitted the boys to sit bare-headed; because I kept no wash-basin in the school-room, and what gave me most trouble, though it was not raised into a point of accusation, because I had often inculcated the duty of love to Christians, whom the 'Shulchan Aruch,' denominated idolaters.
"I endeavoured to conform in my religious instruction to the letter and spirit of the Holy Scriptures, and could not avoid alluding to the defectiveness and emptiness of the synagogue ceremonial, as taught in the Talmud and the Jewish code 'Shulchan Aruch.'
"This course was complained of before the chief rabbi of the district; and for my own security, I requested the Government that the rabbi be instructed to superintend the religious instruction of my school, and to subject it to one or two examinations annually. Mr. Bing, the chief rabbi, however, begged to be excused from doing so, stating that my religious instruction did not please him. The Government then demanded of the rabbi either to propose one of the existing religious compendiums as a text-book for schools, or else to write one himself.
"The rabbi offered to do the latter. In the third year of my public services, the Government sent me to the town of Heidingsfeld, and before leaving Höchburg, I received a testimonial from the royalschool-inspector of the district, expressing the satisfaction my labours had given to the Government.
"I had been nearly two years in the school at Höchburg, when the Government sent me, and all other Jewish teachers of the kingdom, the new text-book of the Mosaic religion which the rabbinical candidate, Dr. Alexander Behr, had written, under the surveillance and direction of the chief rabbi, Mr. Abraham Bing, and which the rabbi at Fürth, and many other influential Jewish ecclesiastics, had adopted; Government signifying at the same time that it was the desire of His Majesty the King to have this book introduced in all Jewish schools. I received joyfully this book, which promised to meet the urgent necessities of the schools. But I was doomed to severe disappointment; the 160 octavo pages which this volume contains, were almost entirely filled with ceremonial laws, treating of phylacteries, inscriptions, fringes, circumcisions, meats, the prohibition of shaving, the creed, &c. Not a word, and much less an exposition of morality, of conscience, of virtue, of holiness, of the condition and destiny of man.
"In that portion of the book which treats of God, there was an entire omission of His power, His wisdom, His goodness, His mercy and holiness, and of all the lessons derived from these attributes and perfections. Not even the Decalogue found a place in this work.
"The Messiah (as well as many other similar predictions) it explained to signify a period of time when all men should know God and serve Him.
"I directed the attention of the Government to this dead skeleton, shewing that I could not receive this book as my guide in religious instruction. I prayed for permission to follow my own course of instruction, and pledged myself to have my lessons printed and submitted to the chief rabbi.
"My petition was granted; and this was the beginning of trouble. My book on the 'Confirmation of Israelites' followed in 1829. It was the more gladly received by the public, since I confirmed all my positions by quotations from the Talmud, which I translated literally. The second volume, which I published in 1835, under the title of the 'Tree of Life,' was as kindly received. Both these books continue as standards in many schools of various countries, and prove that even the Talmudists of the third, fourth, and fifth centuries drank from the evangelical source of life. In like manner also, 'The Confession of Faith of the Israelites,' as delineated in my works, the 'Confirmation,' pages 140-46, and the 'Tree of Life,' pages 226-243, remain in full credit among the Jews to this day, nor have the rabbis ventured to say ought against it, although it refers to the New Testament both in the text itself and in the notes.
"Five-and-twenty years have I been openly inculcating these principles in my schools and in the synagogues, and never have either the Jewish deputies delegated by the Government to attend my public examinations, nor the great number of Jews who assisted on such occasions, uttered an objection; this is a proof that my religious principles were not abaseless fabric, or, as is too often the case in the statements of our rabbis, the result of mere whim or conjecture.
"The kindly, but often misconstrued feelings of His Majesty, Ludovic I., towards the Jews of his realm, which had been manifested by his establishment of national schools for them, by the appointment of regularly educated rabbis, the free admission of the Jews to all the existing Christian scholastic institutions, and the manifold favours enjoyed by Jewish mechanics, &c., were again shewn in the year 1836, by his convoking of Jewish committees.
"These consisted of rabbis, Jewish teachers, and delegates of communities. They met in all the provincial capitals of the kingdom in the public edifices, where they held regular sessions, under the presidency of a royal commissary, to solve such questions in theological, scholastic, and social matters, as had arisen during the then contemplated Jewish emancipation; and to give the Government their advice.
"One of the questions before the Committee at Würzburg was—Whether the Jewish doctrines acknowledge or reject the belief in the Trinity, as contained in the Old Testament. The rabbis consulted on this weighty point in private sessions, which I attended, having been chosen by a majority of votes as one of the referees; and they thereupon declared in the public session briefly that the doctrine of the Trinity is not contained in the Old Testament, on which account also the Jews did not acknowledge this doctrine.
"The president then demanded that every one agreeing with the declaration of the rabbis should rise. All the rabbis, all the teachers, and all the delegates (116 individuals) arose. I only remained sitting, and then handed to the president a written notice, stating that I should beg the rabbis, in a circular which should be printed, to give me an explanation of various difficulties that I entertained on this point, before I could accede to the declaration made by them.
"My circular, entitled 'Israelitism in its Excellency and its Burden' ('Israelitenthum in seiner Würde und Bürde) was printed during these sessions (which lasted six weeks), and produced a universal sensation. The rabbis took it very ill that I had ventured on this step, notwithstanding I had been shewn, as in a camera obscura, in glaring colours, my prospective misery; but they did not answer my circular. Only Dr. Romann, the chief rabbi at Cassel, and Mr. J. Heidegger, a teacher of the Talmud at Fürth, wrote each one a pamphlet against me. Both of them, however, scarcely touched upon the point, and were contented with abuse, cursing, and persecution.
"My school at Heidingsfeld was advised to institute a complaint against me, as having, through my circular, shaken the basis of my religion, and to found thereon a request for my removal. The Government, however, declined entertaining the complaint; since, by issuing my circular, I had adopted the very course which the rabbis themselves had pointed out whenasked how a Jew should proceed in case that religious doubts should arise; since there was no supreme religious tribunal in existence to whom the case might be referred; the rabbis having declared that in such an event a circular letter stating the question should be addressed by the enquirer to all Jewish theologians.
"These reasons were too weighty to encourage an appeal to the royal 'Ministerium,' although my opponents anticipated a favourable decision from this event for themselves, notwithstanding their unholy aim.
"They, however, preferred to accuse me anew as having transgressed my religion, namely, by having taught in my schools that in case of necessity the Jews were permitted to break the laws relating to the Sabbath in order to relieve a fellow-man.
"I was cited and heard, and having confessed the truth of the charge, the royal 'Ministerium' resolved on my penal removal to the school at Main-Stockheim.
"This severe penalty could not have been inflicted, if the rabbis had not represented that Jews were not permitted to violate the Sabbatical laws in order to relieve a fellow-man.
"I was therefore obliged to leave a town where so many persons and objects were dear to me, and where I had enjoyed that rare happiness of teachers—to instruct the children of my former pupils. I was forced to leave two pretty little gardens which I had gradually raised on desert spots, and the trees which I had planted at the birth of each of my children.
"I departed; my wife and children followed me weeping, and the tears of many others comforted me.
"In November, 1837, I arrived in the village of Main-Stockheim, the place of destination, as the appointed Jewish teacher of religion. The Jewish community belonged to the orthodox or pious class. I was shewn to three small rooms as my residence, and their gloomy appearance was little calculated to cheer my mind.
"I observed that this dwelling could not accommodate myself and family; and begged the Jewish School-Community (Schulgemeinde) to grant me other rooms, or else to enlarge these; but it was in vain. I was obliged to convert the lobby into a dormitory for my children. The little rooms, owing to their disproportionate loftiness, were cold and uncomfortable, and so damp that we had thick ice within, near the windows. My wife and some of my children fell sick; and I felt myself obliged, and in duty bound, to petition the royal land-tribunal for the enlargement of my dwelling, and my petition was shortly granted.
"But the Jewish Warden appealed to a higher tribunal, the Government; and when the former decision was confirmed, they appealed to the Ministerium. Much time was thus lost, and I obtained at last an additional room and a cellar.
"My salary was so small that I had to live partly on my own means; and yet the Jewish School-Community withheld from me part of the amount of firewood granted me by law. Out of love of peace, I offered to relinquish part of the withheld quantity ofwood, if they would but give the rest, so as to obviate the necessity of complaining to the Government; but I was forced to complain.
"The suit passed again all the various Courts as before, and was decided in my favour; the lawful quantity of wood was to be given me, and for that which had been unjustly withheld I was to be indemnified. Although I had declined to accept the indemnification granted me by law—a refusal very cheerfully accepted by my rich community—yet they did not neglect to avenge themselves upon me on the grounds of piety; being aware that this was the likeliest way to compass their end. I was accused of the following sins, which I had actually committed.
"1. That I had not only permitted my female scholars to come to the synagogue on Saturdays, but had commanded them to do so, in order to attend to the religious instructions which I there imparted.
"2. That I had cut my beard in Omer.[24]
"3. That, on one occasion, being called up to the reading of the Torah, I had appeared with gloves on.
"4. That I kept a Christian servant.
"5. That on the anniversaries of my parents' death, I did not lead the synagogue service: and,
"6. That, although I would not allow my wife to use the 'dipping bath' (Tauchbad), I would persist in giving her my arm.
"They stated that they could no longer suffer a man among them who was so immoral, so irreligious,and who excited so much scandal; and since no Christian court could decide on these Jewish sins, it was requested that the chief rabbi should be heard, and that I should be discharged. I replied: and respecting the last two points on which most stress seemed to be laid, I observed first, that it had been my father's dying request that I should neither fast nor lead the synagogue service on the anniversaries of my parents' death, as the custom had originated in a superstition; and, secondly, that according to a medical testimonial which I laid before the court, my sick wife had been prohibited from using the 'dipping bath;' but the decision of the chief rabbi was, that as I had confessed my wife neglected the bath, while, at the time, it was proved that she had taken my arm in walking, I was worthy of death according to Levit. xx. 18, and must be discharged from my office forthwith. I protested against this barbarous decision, and prayed to submit it to another Rabbinat. My petition was granted, but the rabbi of the district, Mr. L. B. Bamberger, of Würzburg, declared that he fully agreed with the chief rabbi, and added that my wife also was worthy of death.
"In consequence, I was discharged, lost the salary yet due to me, though the Government had approved of my official labours, and I was adjudged as having forfeited even my claim upon the States Institution for the Relief of Orphans and Widows of German School Teachers, as well as my right to the 133 florins which I had already paid into that Institution. With this bitter experience, and provided with most satisfactorytestimonials from my immediate superiors, I left my native country, and went with my wife and children to the free town of Frankfort, where I enjoyed perfect peace in the capacity of a private tutor. From this brief sketch it will sufficiently appear that the rabbinical Jewish religion leads to and justifies the most revolting injustice and cruelty, a reproach which cannot be brought against Christianity."
Stern, Joseph Paul, a native of Hungary, where he had been a teacher and then a merchant, came to Jerusalem in 1851, at the age of thirty-five. Becoming ill he was admitted on application to the L.J.S. hospital, where, one may say, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was truly converted, and was baptized on Good Friday of that year. Henceforth he devoted his life to preach the grace of God as manifested in Christ Jesus, to his brethren in season and out of season. He was only a Scripture reader, but few could resist his entreaties to accept salvation through Christ, and the Jews feared him as well as respected him, for he often rewarded them good for evil. In 1860 he visited his relatives in Hungary, when he preached Christ to them, and escaped being poisoned. In 1872, when the Rev. A. Bernstein visited him in his sickness and administered the Holy Communion to him, he asked to be dressed in his best clothes, for he expected to go to the marriage of the Lamb. But he lingered yet for a while and died in 1873, uttering with his last breath—"Christ is all."
Stern, Maximilian Christian Heinrich, was baptized by Dr. Poper at Frankfurt, in 1846, when two of hisbrothers became Christian preachers in America. He was then fifty-two years old. His family followed his example two years later. In 1856 he published "Die Jüdische Zeitrechnung." He died in 1861. (See "Jewish Missionary Intelligence," 1846, page 123).
Sternchuss, Rev. P. H., after a course of preparation in the L.J.S. Missionary Training College, was sent, together with A. J. Behrens, to open a mission at Safed in 1843, where they held a daily service and tried to have intercourse with the fanatical Jews, but were boycotted by them. In 1844, they were both ordained in Jerusalem, and Sternchuss accompanied Stern to Bagdad, whence he itinerated to Mesopotamia, visiting Hillah and Ezekiel's tomb twice, he also visited Persia. The trying climate, the galling reproaches and persecutions, and the hardships which those early missionaries in the East endured, soon told upon Sternchuss, so that he had to resign on account of ill-health in 1850, but continued still for a short time to labour for the Society in the West of England.
Tartakover, Rev. E. M. Very little information can be obtained about this servant of Christ, but that little is most interesting, inasmuch as it embraces a reflective comment on a long period of Church history in which Palestine and the Jewish residents there had no Hebrew Christian minister of the Gospel. On October 30th, 1842, Tartakover was ordained in Jerusalem by Bishop Alexander. Such an event as the ordination of a Jewish convert had not been witnessed in the Holy City since Apostolic times.
Tomory, Rev. A., after finishing his theological studies at Edinburgh, was appointed by the Free Church of Scotland as a missionary at Pesth in 1853. In 1864 he was transferred to Constantinople, where he carried on a most faithful and fruitful work, both evangelistic and educational, during the remainder of his earthly pilgrimage, and left a worthy memorial in the home for enquiring Jews which he founded at Galata.
Tremellius, John Immanuel, was born at Ferrara in 1510; and died at Sedan, October 9th, 1580. He was educated at the University of Padua, and baptized in the Roman Catholic Church about 1540, through the influence of Cardinal Pole, but embraced Protestantism in the following year, and went to Strasburg to teach Hebrew. Owing to the wars of the Reformation in Germany, he was compelled to seek refuge in England, where he resided at Lambeth Palace with Archbishop Cranmer in 1547. In 1549 he succeeded Paul Fagius as Regius Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge. On the death of Edward VI. he revisited Germany, and, after some vicissitudes, became Professor of the Old Testament at Heidelberg in 1561. He ultimately found a home in the College of Sedan, where he died. His chief literary work was a Latin translation of the Bible from the Hebrew and Syriac. The five parts relating to the Old Testament were published at Frankfurt between 1575 and 1579; in London in 1580, and in numerous later editions. Tremellius also translated into Hebrew Calvin's Catechism (Paris, 1551), and wrote a Chaldaic and Syriac grammar (Paris, 1569).
Turckheim, Rev. Ernest Julius, had been, at the age of twenty-one, master of a Jewish school at West Hartlepool, where he gave great satisfaction to the parents of the children, so that they wished him to become their minister. In order that he should be able conscientiously to discharge his duties, Turckheim applied himself to a diligent study of the Old Testament. This in itself made him more serious than he had been before. Meeting with Mr. J. Alexander, then agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society at the Crystal Palace, he received from him a New Testament, and through reading it earnestly he became convinced of the truth of Christianity, and was baptized in 1873. He then studied at the London College of Divinity, and was ordained at York in 1875-6 to the curacy of St. Thomas there. In 1878 he was curate of All Saints', Derby. In 1879 he became curate of All Souls', Langham Place, London. In 1882 he was appointed to the living of Hale Magna, in Lincolnshire, where he did good work until his death in 1907.
Speaking at the L.J.S. anniversary meeting in 1893, he said:—"A Jew by birth, a Jew by training and practice till I was twenty-four years old; a Jew still by every feeling of national loyalty and sympathy, I thank God that I can say, nevertheless I am also a Christian. And it is as a Jew and a Christian I have responded to your invitation, and am standing here to-day and make this solemn confession of my faith. It is due to the grace of God, it is due to the power of His Word, which is the power of God unto salvation,unto every one that believeth—to the Jew first. It is due, I must add, to the patience and forbearance, to the love and labours, to the life and death, to the mediation and sufferings for me of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is due to the prayers of God's people, it is due to this Society. It is due to all of you who labour and pray, and make substantial sacrifices for the promotion of Christianity amongst the Jews. It is due that we Christian Jews who have, by the grace of God, been brought out of Jewish darkness into the blessed and happy position of pardoned sinners by the blood of the Cross, that we should fearlessly declare with no uncertain sound, that whilst we are Christians by grace, we are still Jews by nature, by race, and by sympathy, and thus take a humble part in testifying to the blessed and everlasting truth that God has not cast away His people, that there is still a remnant according to the election of grace. It is twenty years since I ventured my eternal welfare with Jesus of Nazareth. After twenty years of mature deliberation and trial, I once more take my stand beside the Ethiopian eunuch, and declare to-day, with my heart full of thankful gladness and humble faith, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' Twenty years, we must observe, is a period wherein a man can make a test of a step that he has taken, and I never, never, for one moment, have wavered in my conviction that 'there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved,' than the name of Jesus Christ."
Vambrey, Hermann, was born in 1832 at Szerdahely, on the Island Schütt, Hungary. He studied at Pressburg, especially modern languages, and became a member of the Reformed Church after his baptism. At the age of twenty-two he became tutor in a Turkish family in Constantinople, and later he travelled through Asia Minor, Armenia, Persia, Turkestan, Bokhara, Samarkand and the regions of the Oxus. Dressed as a dervish he passed through all these countries unhurt, but was often in danger. He then published his experiences and acquisitions in these journeys, in the following works: "German-Turkish Dictionary" (Constantinople, 1858). "Dsagataic Dictionary" (Hungarian), (Pesth, 1861). "An Etymological Dictionary of Torkatartaric Languages" (Leipzig, 1877). "The Russian Power in Asia" (ib., 1871). "Central Asia" and "Anglo-Russian Relations" (ib. 1873). "Travels in Central Asia" (ib., 1865). "Sketches from Central Asia" (ib. 1868). "Wanderings and Experience in Persia" (1867). "Niguric Linguistic Documents" (Innsbruck, 1870). "History of Bokhara" (Stuttgart, 1872). "Islam in the 19th Century" (Leipzig, 1875). "Moral Pictures from the East" (Berlin, 1876); and a number of other works. He wrote his autobiography under the titles, "Arminius Vambrey, His Life and Adventures" (London, 1883), and "Struggles of my Life" (ib., 1894).
Vanorden, Rev. E., a Dutch Jew, who was baptized by Dr. Ewald in 1863. He afterwards studied for the ministry in America and was sent as a missionary to Brazil, where he laboured at San Paulo for many years.
Venetianer, Pastor A., son of a Jewish rabbi, was converted through the preaching of the Rev. C. A. Schönberger. He afterward studied theology in Serftom. In 1879 he became Pastor in Panseora, Hungary, and afterwards in Trieste, where he wrote a book entitled: "Die Evangelische reformite Kirche Cristo Salvatore zu Triest" (Trieste and Leipzig, 1887); and also an epistle to Rabbi J. Lichtenstein in Tapio Szele, entitled "Zum Zeugniss" (Vienna, 1886). Later on he became Pastor at Rohrbach, South Russia, where he supported the movement of Rabinowitz.
Vicars, Mrs. Murray, was the daughter of a wealthy Jewish merchant, and was brought to a knowledge of the Saviour through her intercourse with a Christian nurse. Her father, when attending the dedication of a new synagogue, took cold and became dangerously ill. His Jewish friends of the synagogue came to visit him, but were afraid to tell him that he was on the brink of the grave, and he died soon after. This brought her serious thoughts and led her to question the reason why the Jews shrink from mentioning the subject of death to a sick man. She had afterward to appear before a Court in reference to the property which her father had left and to take an oath before the magistrate. An Old Testament was then handed to her for that purpose, when she exclaimed before the whole assembly of Jews and Christians: "The New Testament is for me." This raised a great commotion, but having taken this decisive step, she did not hesitate to become a member of the Church by baptism. She afterward married the Rev.Murray Vicars, and went with him to Bagdad to labour amongst the Jews there. On their journey back to England on account of ill-health, her husband died at Marseilles, in 1850, and she settled at Brighton, where she founded a school for ragged children. It must be added that her sister, too, embraced Christianity, and she left three sons, clergymen of the Church of England, two of them are especially well known—the Rev. Charles Neil and the Rev. James Neil. The latter was incumbent of Christ Church, Mount Zion, from 1871-74.
The maiden name of Mrs. Murray Vicars was Fanny Phillips; her brother Samuel was a distinguished man of letters.
Wallfisch, Rev. J. H., was brought to a knowledge of Christ by Professor Cassel at Breslau, and after his baptism there he was for a time in the service of the Free Church of Scotland. He emigrated to the United States and, joining the Methodist Episcopal Church, became secretary of the Jewish mission of that body, founded an "Institutum Judaicum" amongst the students of the Anglo-German College at Golena, and received from Milton College the degree of Doctor of Music.
Weiss, Edward, was converted through the instrumentality of Dr. Zuckerkandl at Rustschuk, Bulgaria, in 1869, where he was for some time teacher in the mission school. On account of the Russo-Turkish war, he was removed by the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel amongst the Jews to Vienna, and assisted Salkinson. At least thirty ofhis enquirers were baptized there. The rest of his life was spent in preaching the Gospel at Pressburg, where he had frequent intercourse with the students of the Rabbinic Seminary there. He died in 1905.
Wolf, Philipp, D.D., was baptized in 1554. He wrote "Spiegel der Juden," in which he brings proofs from Moses and the prophets that Jesus is the Messiah, and gives information concerning the Jewish prayers, some of which he quotes in German, and also in reference to the "Shem Hamphorath," or ineffable name of God. (Wolff, Bib. Heb. 3 N. 1830 c.)
Wolff, Joseph. The two great missionary explorers of the nineteenth century were David Livingstone and Joseph Wolff. The labours of the former were chiefly confined to Negro races of the "Dark Continent"; whereas the latter made most extensive journeys amongst the various remnants of the tribes of Israel scattered throughout Africa and Asia. The lives of both these great men touch upon all that is romantic and of thrilling interest in the wide range of exploration, and none the less so because they consecrated themselves to their Master's service, and, with a consuming zeal for souls, went forth to seek and to save the lost.
Joseph Wolff was the pioneer missionary to Jews in the Orient. Like St. Paul, he, too, was "in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness." His almost superhuman efforts in the third and fourth decades of last century cast a haloof romance around Jewish missions, and laid the foundation for much subsequent work. Within the short period of sixteen years we find him visiting Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Asiatic Turkey, Persia, India, Bokhara, Abyssinia and Arabia—and some of these countries more than once. Verily, he compassed sea and land to make proselytes to the faith, of which he became such a doughty champion.
The life of this remarkable man naturally falls into three periods—his early years as a Jew; his missionary efforts amongst his brethren; and his last years quietly and uneventfully passed in country parishes in England. Our chief concern is with the middle period, to which, however, we can do but scant justice, as its constant and restless action and stirring adventures overwhelm us with an embarrassment of riches.
"Wolff," as he was simply called, after his grandfather, was born at Weilersbach, a small Bavarian village, in 1795, or 1796,[25]of Jewish parents, his father, whose name was David, belonging to the tribe of Levi. He was the rabbi of the small Jewish community of the place, numbering fifteen families, but soon after the birth of his son he removed to Halle. In his very early years the boy received a strict Jewish education, and at the age of six recited the Hebrew prayer-book every day. He was then sent to a Christian school, but apparentlyonly to learn German. When Wolff was eleven years old he was placed at the Protestant Lyceum at Stuttgart, but growing dissatisfied with it, he went to reside with his cousin, Moses Cohen, at Bamberg, and entered the Roman Catholic Lyceum of that place. He there made up his mind to become a Christian and a missionary like Francis Xavier. But he was unsettled in the extreme in his search after the truth, and wandered to Würzburg, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Halle, Prague, Vienna, Pressburg, back again to Vienna, Mölk, Munich, Anspach, Saxe Weimar, Heidelberg, Soleure, and finally arrived at Prague. There he was baptized by the Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery Emaus, in the year 1812, at the age of seventeen, receiving the name of "Joseph." At his confirmation shortly afterwards he received the two further names of "Stanilaus Wenceslaus," which, however, he never used.
Joseph Wolff was by this time proficient in the Latin, Persian, Chaldean, and Syriac languages, and entered the University of Vienna to study Arabic, Ecclesiastical History, and Divinity. There he remained two years. In 1814 he resided with Count Stollberg, and, like every one else, was much exercised at Napoleon's escape from Elba. In 1815 Wolff entered the Lutheran University of Tübingen to pursue his studies in Oriental languages and theology; but he left the next year on a pilgrimage to Rome, travelling on foot through Switzerland and Italy until he reached the Eternal City. Beingintroduced to Pope Pius VII., he shewed him a Hebrew Bible which had been the companion of his travels. Wolff entered the Collegio Romano, and in 1817 the Propaganda, from which his Protestant leanings, and neglect of scholastic divinity for the Bible, caused his expulsion in 1818. Wolff now returned to Vienna, lamenting that his missionary aspirations had been frustrated. In his distress of mind he wrote to Hoffbauer, Vicar-General of the Liguorians, who received him into his monastery. Wolff was not happy there for more than a few months, and leaving Vienna, travelled through Austria to the Benedictine monastery of Krems-Münster, where he was well received by the monks. Too restless to remain long in any place, Wolff travelled through Bavaria, Switzerland, and France, entering first this monastery and then that. At Paris he met with Robert Haldane, who exercised a powerful religious influence over him; and with whom he journeyed to London.
We naturally find our interest in this talented and eager youth increasing on his arrival in England, in 1819, at the age of twenty-four, when he came under the notice of Mr. Henry Drummond, the Rev. Charles Simeon, the Rev. Lewis Way, and other well-known friends of Israel. Wolff made his way, as almost every baptized or enquiring Jew did when first arriving in this country, to "Palestine Place," the missionary headquarters of the London Society for Promoting Christianity amongst the Jews, where all were sure of a hearty welcome. He attended theservice in the Episcopal Jews' Chapel, conducted by the chaplain, the Rev. Charles Sleech Hawtrey, and, to use his own words, was "enchanted with the devotion and beauty of the ritual." Henceforth he considered himself a member of the Church of England. The Society sent him to Cambridge to be trained as a missionary, and to study theology under Simeon (himself of Jewish extraction), and other Oriental languages under Professor Lee. Two years' residence there, and a short course at the London Society's Seminary in Sussex, were sufficient for the zealous young convert who was longing for active missionary service abroad. Mr. Drummond sent him forth on his career. His feverish anxiety to be thus employed is seen in his selection of the words of Francis Xavier, "Who would not travel over land and sea to be instrumental in the salvation of one soul?" as the motto for the title page of his "Travels." Wolff left England in April, 1821, and with passing calls at Gibraltar, and Malta (where he baptized a Jew) in due time he reached Alexandria. He spent three months amongst the Jews of that city and of Cairo, preaching in their synagogues, and distributing New Testaments. A visit which he paid to the Convent of St. Catherine, Mount Sinai, is interesting from the fact that the monks promised to pray for the conversion of the Jews.
Wolff's eyes, however, were fixed on the Holy City, and his work in Egypt was regarded by himself as a "preparation for preaching the Gospel of Christ at Jerusalem." He did so first in the synagogue ofthe Karaites; and afterwards made daily efforts for three or four months to reach the Sephardim, Ashkenazim and Chassidim, both by word of mouth and circulation of the Holy Scriptures.
Towards the end of 1822, Wolff visited Antioch and Aleppo, just before the terrible earthquake visitation of the latter city, when hundreds of Jews confessed that the truth of the Gospel could not be denied. In the spring of 1823 he was again in Egypt following up his previous work, and going on to Jerusalem for Easter. His three months' labour there amongst the Jews, thus described by himself, "I lodged among them, and was engaged in preaching the Gospel from morning to night, and often all night," cleared the way for subsequent efforts.
In the same year Wolff visited Damascus, where the Jews eagerly accepted the Arabic Bibles which he had with him, and Aleppo, where he was again well received.
Wolff's account of his visit to Bagdad in 1824, and other cities of Mesopotamia, is most interesting reading. He seems to have visited the scattered communities of Jews, amongst all of whom he had easy access. At Mosul he was shewn a Hebrew translation of the New Testament which had been made by a rabbi a hundred years previously. Left as a precious heirloom to the rabbinical college, it had remained neglected until Wolff pointed out its priceless value. At Orfa, the ancient "Ur of the Chaldees," Wolff found about fifty Jewish families,and some Jacobites, or Syrian Christians, claiming to be lineally descended from Jews who received Christianity through the preaching of St. James at Jerusalem. Their peculiar ceremonies, as also their features, gave colour to their claim to be literal as well as spiritual children of Abraham.
In 1825 Wolff visited the various Jewish communities of Persia, who, perhaps, have better grounds than any other people to be regarded as descendants of the "Lost Ten Tribes." In 1827 and 1828 Wolff visited the Ionian Islands and Asia Minor. At Smyrna he awakened, as indeed he did everywhere, a widespread enquiry into Christianity on the part of the Jews.
Probably the most romantic and thrilling of all Wolff's experiences were those which he encountered at Bokhara in 1832. "Adventures to the adventurous" is a truism, and Wolff was bold and daring to the last degree, otherwise he would not have accomplished his purpose. He dressed as a Turkoman, and so obtained an audience of the king, when he was denounced as a Russian spy by the Jews. By his wonderful adroitness he overcame all opposition, and received permission to evangelize the Jews, but was forbidden to hold religious converse with Moslems. He took lodgings at the house of a Jew, and was visited by his brethren, who asserted that their forefathers had been carried from Samaria by the Kings of Assyria and brought to Haran (Isa. xxxvii. 12),i.e., Bokhara. The three months spent there by Wolff, especially amongst the learnedclass, were fruitful, and he baptized as many as twenty. These men had all remained faithful when he visited Bokhara again in 1844. That second visit, more hazardous even than the first, was made with the purpose of ascertaining the fate of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly,—two Englishmen, who, as subsequently transpired, had been murdered. Wolff's arrival in the city was witnessed by 20,000 persons shouting "welcome" to the enterprising traveller, whose costume—gown, hood, and shovel-hat—roused no small astonishment. Wolff obtained permission from the king for the Jews to repair their ancient synagogue.[26]
In 1833 we find Wolff in India, visiting the white and the black Jews of Cochin, and the Beni-Israel of Poona, Calcutta and Bombay. This was not an unexplored field, as the L.J.S. missionaries had been working there from 1820 to 1830. Wolff found plenty to do, and at Calcutta, for six successive days, talked twelve hours on end to all who came to his "retreat."
Hitherto Asia had been the principal scene of Wolff's labours, but in 1835 he was in Abyssinia and in 1836 in Arabia, visiting the Yemen. At Sanaa he expounded Isaiah liii. to the Jews, and subsequently baptized four with their families. The Jews were polygamists, but apparently dissatisfied with the state of things thus entailed.
Lack of space prohibits us from enlarging on Wolff's labours in the East. His own descriptionsremain to this day the most entertaining of missionary annals, and bear witness to the wonderful activity of the man whose striking personality, not unmixed with a harmless and naive egotism, carried him through numberless dangers, and extricated him from perilous situations. The restlessness of his nature, which in early life impelled him to wander over Europe in search of light and learning, developed in succeeding years into that consecrated fiery energy and impulse which made him so peculiarly fitted to play therôleof pioneer missionary. Many of his friends, as he said, "believed him to be Elijah," though he archly added, "he always believed himself to be Joseph Wolff!" But a pioneer he was in every sense of the word, and as such rendered yeoman service to a cause, which more than all others, perhaps, needs all the glamour and romance it can call to its aid. So great was his dramatic power in describing his travels that Archbishop Whately proclaimed him to be "a missionary Shakespeare."