New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-03-06

uueDCe oil their pioeyf suoh ia tuo COuISC Va =
single generation, there were several synsgogues
erected in Prague.
The q" Altneusckal" as it is called. is the Oldest
svpseoeue in the quarter. FOR many centuries it
was entirely choked up and buried in the earth,
and only discovered and exhumed in the time of
Wsllepstein A stone stairway leads downward
10 its entrance, as to vault; the interior is built
in the old Judean style OF architecture. Pillars,
ceilings, walls and galleries are as black as coal
This fact has no ordinary significance. The syn
seogue remains to this day place of wonder,
since it is reported to have given, in the early
times of the settlers, regular intelligence of the
fate of their home in Palestine. When Titus led
bis legions against the City of David, the pillars
of the synagogue according to the old legend
began to tremble; the doors Of the Ark few open
with q sound of lamentation, and the holy parch
ment upon which the Books of Moses were in.
scribed, unrolled of itself until the Chapter of
blessings and curses was visible. Then arose
great weeping and lament among the old men and
children. The young men, however, armed them
selves, and set out to the of the Holy City
with a warlike young Rabbi at their head
Scarcely had they passed without the gate Of
their city when the knees Of their leader began to
tremble, and his feet were rooted to the earth.
81 am like the ass of Balaam," he cried !
81 see warning visons-they come up from
the earth and down out OF the Clouds and
beckon me to return" Then exclaimed sew
eral "Thou hast not repeated thy morning
prayer with due devotion, or hast omitted
sentence therefrom. Let US choose another
leader, who is unde6led." But it happened to all
as to the young Rabbi, so they turned sorrowfully
homeward, and Jerusalem was lost.
When the eventful day came when Zion fell
and Jerusalem was destroyed, the synagogue was
suddenly filled with thick Egyptian darkness.
The congregation fed in terror from the temple,
but lo the sky was as blue and clear as ever.
Sbuddering, they comprehended the meaning ofthe
sign they commenced fast rent their best gar.
ments, and strewed the ashes of deaolation upon
their heads After seven days the mysterious
darkness disappeared from the synagogue, but the
white walls remained as black as the chaTed &C.
dar joists of the Temple of Jerusalem. The night
Of that exile which was thenceforth the doom of
the scattered Children of Israel, remains as per-
petual admontion upon the walls. Their black
ness is holy; no human hand dares to remove it;
the basphemous finger would wither, that dared
to scratch thereon. But on the Day of Redemp-
tiop the stain will disappear Of itself, and the
walls of the consecrated edifce suddenly beam
with diamond luster, like the gates Of Heaven.
Since the fall of Jerusalem; therefore, the curse
in common use among the Jews Of Prague is; Be
you blackenedP
Any change in the structure and decoration of
this half subteranean temple is forbidden. Dur
ing the last century, sexton ventured to at
tempt driving nail into the walls The ladder
on which he had assembled tumbled down, ham.
mer and nails fell out of his hands, and he re.
manned whole hour hanging dead in the air. At
last he was gradually lowered to the earth by in.
visible spirits and only came to life again after
he had been dressed in the garments of the grave.
This man, on whose .countenance smile
never afterward seen, saw and heard all that was
passing around him while he lay in the trance
the lamentations of his children, the voices of his
friends and acquaintances, and even the tears and
kisses of his wife which he felt like melted lead
on his face, without being able to move. While
hanging in the air, he beheld terrible sights with
the inward eye What they were, he confded
10 no one. except the celebrated Hoch Reb
Lob" most wise and powerful Rabbi, to whom
he confessed.
Near the graveyard which stands in the middle
of the Ghetto, the residence of the great Rabbi
is still pointed out and the garnet where he passed
long Summer Gays and Winter nights in cabalistic
studies Here be was waited upon by Golem,"
slave made of clay, to whom, with the assist
ance of the Msgi, he had given life In order that
no one born of woman, no being darkened bythe
breath of earthly passion, might approach him
So holy was the Rabbi, that even in the distance,
the guilty and impure were troubled by his
glance. A look of his eye compelled liars and
sanderers to speak out their most secret thoughts
and criminate themselves The Pous Empress,
Maria Therese, once came to Prague and deter
mined to drive the Jews ont of the land. Mighty
advocates, high officials, even Catholic Priests,
won by precious gold, endeavored in vain to soften
her heart. When "Hoch Reb Lob heard this,
he took the huge Chaldaic folio in which he had
been reading and set out to visit the Empress. he
crossed the bridge, and when he had reached the
CITY ON the other side great crowd OF curious
Christians collected around him, and cries OF con-
tempt arose on all sides he smiled and passed
| on. The gided stage-carriage OF the Empress
/ drawn By six horses came at full speed down
the hill from the Palace of the Hradschin.-
"Hoch Reb Lob" stationed himself at the foot of
the hill, and lifting his arm, cried in a loud voice
Halt ~ This holiness exasperated the crowd
to fury, and women and children pelted him with
mud and stones. Butthe stones turned into cher
ry.blossoms and the mud fell like rain Of apple
blossoms on his furrowed brow, his silver beard
and bis broad shoulders. The carriage stood sud
denly still in the midst of the descenti the six
horses tossed their names, champed their foam
ing bits, struck out wildly with their hoOfs, threw
their heads nearly to the earth in terror, then