TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Candidus asks too many questions. He has read No. 7. only. Will he peruse the former numbers, and then ask? With Candidus, Jews believe God is not partial, nor a respecter of persons, and that the righteous of the people of the world, of every nation, inherit everlasting life. In the language of the Rabbins, "the just men of the nations of the world have their portions in the world to come."

In the course of the work, all the questions stated by Candidus will be considered, and, we trust, satisfactorily answered.

Friend to Truth.-True, it is a pity; and a pity it is true. However, we dare not be personal.

Tobit, is requested to keep his temper, and not insult a falling man.

An Inquirer requests an answer. He will please to recollect he has not as yet stated any question. When he thinks proper to send a communication, it will be considered.

N. and O. are received. One or both will appear in our next.

Published by L. EMANUEL, No. 265 Broadway, New-York.

BEING A DEFENCE OF JUDAISM AGAINST ALL ADVERSARIES, AND PARTICULARLY AGAINST THE

INSIDIOUS ATTACKS OF

ISRAEL'S ADVOCATE.

יחן רשע בל למד צדק בארץ נכחות יעול ובל יראה גאות ה':

"Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord."-Isiah xxvi. 10.

Vol. I. 1st day of the 9th month, KISLOV, Nov. 5584. No. 9.

4

It is about fourteen centuries since the Gentiles have undertaken to convert the Jews to ......ianity; and which they have continued to the present day without success. No possible method however cruel, impolitic, or destructive to morality, has been neglected; all means, however wicked and impious, have been resorted to, to produce the nefarious purpose. Mulks, robberies, assassinations, persecutions, massacres, martyrdoms, exilings, alienations, inquisitions, tortures, flatteries, persuasions, and bribes, have been used at various times, without producing the desired effect. Arguments have always been resorted to as an assistant mean of conviction, and invariably addressed conjointly with some of the above enumerated methods; but then these arguments have invariably been addressed to the Jews, they being first bound not to answer under the penalty of being accounted guilty of blasphemy.

The Jews, on the other hand, thus cruelly treated, have never gainsayed their opposers and persecutors, although their mouths were stopped from defending either themselves, or the cause of truth, for which they were suffering; they still treasured up their arguments, and whenever they perceived the least enlargement from oppression, have invariably answered their persecutors, who as invariably condemned and consigned those answers, as well as the writers (when they could lay hands on them) to the flames.

We however, yet have the writings of a Rabbi Isaac, the son of Abraham, and his disciples, of blessed memory;* we yet possess the work of Rabbi Lipman, to whom be peace of the Lord, and whose memory be held in reverence.† And besides many others destroyed by the enemy and oppressor, there yet remains to count, those of Saul Levy Mortera,‡ Isaac Orobio de Castro,§ and latterly David Levy, to all of whom be peace, and may our souls be bound with theirs in the book of life, to the resurrection of the just, together with all the righteous of the world-Amen. And, praises be to God, the God of spirits, we have his unerring word of prophecy preserved pure to us and our children evermore.

This then is the state of the question between the ......ians and the Jews at this day. On the one hand the arguments are published in all the living and polite languages, encouraged and sought after, they meeting and fitting the prejudices of the world. On the other, published principally in the learned languages, and only sought after by the Gentiles, to be deposited in secret places, or destroyed, (excepting only the writings of David Levy.) It is no wonder then that......ians have accused the Jews of being stubborn, stiff-necked, hardened, and blinded to the light of truth; and have followed the writer of St. Mark by applying to them the 13th verse of the 29th

* Chizuk, Amuna, or Buttress of Faith. Muniem Fedei. (Unanswered.) In Basnage it is thus noticed :

"It must not be denied but that they had their defenders, at the head of whom we may rank Rabbi Isaac, the son of Abraham. This man declares that he spent his life in the courts of Germany, near princes, who often gave him marks of dictinction. He had frequent conferences with Luther's disciples, and it was against them he composed his Buttress of Faith. It must be confessed this book is one of the most dangerous that has been produced against ......ianity. The author runs through the whole gospel, and dwells upon all the passages of the sacred story that can furnish him with any objections; he enforces them briskly, and at the same time refutes the ......ian's answers. This book is translated into Latin, under the title of Munumor Fedei. It were to be wished," adds Mr. Basnage, "the learned translator had followed this author step by step, and confuted him." Hist. of the Jews, B. 7. C. 30.

Rabbi Isaac did not finish the work; he began it, and while in progress, he entered into peace, leaving command with his disciples, who completed it.

E. J.

Syphur Nythsachun. The book of Irrefutable Arguments. The second edition lays now before me, was printed in Amsterdam, 115 years ago. (Unanswered.) E. J. The famous Tratado, de la Verdad de la Ley, in Spanish.

Prevencionis, Devinas Contra la Vana. Ido latria de las gentes, of whom Basnage makes mention in his history of the Jews, B. 7. C. 30.

"This learned person had a famous controversy with Limberch, concerning the ......ian religion, which is published in Latin, but I very much doubt if the arguments on his side be fairly represented." He suffered martyrdom in Lisbon.

D. L.

chapter of Isaiah "This people honoureth me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Howbeit in vain do they honour me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men."* With all the above considered, it is no wonder that they charge the Jews with being judicially blinded; that whenever Moses and the Prophets are read, they (the Jews) have a veil before their eyes, as Moses had over his face, that the children of Israel should not see the glory of his countenance; with the author of the epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. Cor. iii. 13, 14, 15. Herefrom ......ians take their position that the veil is on the hearts of the Jews, when the Old Testament is read, to this day. That there is blindness somewhere, is acknowledged by both parties; each accusing the other of mental darkness; that it is judicial is also allowed; but who is the party blinded is the question we shall now examine; in doing which, we shall take the text as it stands, (and not as the writer of St. Mark has been pleased to misquote it, in order the better to accommodate it to his purpose,) and explain it literally, according to the context of the whole prophecy, of which it only is a part.

We will begin with the 1st verse of chap. xxix-Text. "Wo Ariel, Ariel! the city where David dwelt. Let them add year to year, destroying the festivals." Ariel is in the text explained to mean the city of David, to wit, Zion, the city of our solemnities. The spirit is introduced moaning for Zion, in order to confort her, saying, “Let them, (i. e. the destroyers of Zion,) add year to year, let the time go on year after year, let them destroy the festivals, let them change times and laws according to their intent, to destroy the Jewish festivals.

Text 2.—“ And I will distress Ariel, and there shall be (instead

* Mark, c. vi. v. 7.

"And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart.

Judicial blindness is not without a natural cause, which being removed, the blind will see, and the deaf hear.

& The English bible has translated'op' 'Chagim yinkofu, Let them kill sacrifices, but wherefore I cannot comprehend. D'an Chagim, will not be disputed to signify festivals, and 15p♪ Yenkofu. is from p3 Nakaf, to cut off, to destroy.

thereof) loud and low mourning, and it shall be unto me as Ariel." The festival being taken away by the destruction of Ariel, is a distress brought thereon, instead of Ariel, it being destroyed, there will be instituted fasts instead of sacrifices of the festivals, instead of rejoicings loud and heavy moanings. The fast of the 9th day of Ab, the 17th day of Tamus, the 3d day of Tishree, and the 10th day of Tivath, these are the loud and low moanings, or, as the English Bible has translated it, heaviness and sorrow; "And this shall be accepted by me as Ariel," the same as if the festival service was performed in Zion.*

Verse 3.-" And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay seige against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.

Verse 4.-" And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

Verse 5. Moreover, the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.

Verse 6." Thou shalt be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire."

The seige and destruction here spoken of, must be that of the Romans, for in the former desolation by the Babylonians, there was no thunder, earthquake, or devouring fire, which are all recorded to have taken place under the Romans, who, at one time, undertook to build a temple on the site of the old temple, when the materials, as well as the workmen, were destroyed by earthquakes, tempest, and fire.†

The fasts were instituted on the destruction of the first temple by Nebuchadnezzar, and on the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, after the second temple was built, it became a question whether it was necessary to fast and mourn for the destruction of the first; as recorded in Zech. c. vii. and viii. The answer was given by the prophet. The fasts have continued to be observed; the promise was, that on certain events happening, these days of fasting would become days of rejoicing; a proof this that the return from Babylon was not a perfect return, otherwise these fasts would have been abolished.

The distressing of Ariel, spoken of in verse 2, is no doubt the destruction of Jerualem by Nebuchadnezzar, on which the fasts were instituted; but the 4th, 5th, & 6th verses treat of the destruction by the Romans.