The Nevada journal., 1857-02-27
The Present Condition of the Jews.

not been efaced since their overthrow
as nation, have within the last halt
century greatly advanced in their social
position. The increasing liberality OF
the age has relieved them from many of
the disabilities under which they have
labored for ages. In England, jew is
another person from what he was in the
time of Richard the First, or even
George the First. The Lord Mayor of
London is a jew, and so are some of the
members of Parliament In 1888 the
first Jewish lawyer, named Goldsmid,
was admitted to the English bar, and in
New York there is quite a number in
the profession. The Rothchilds are pro-
fessedly the greatest stock gamblers in
Europe, and the best friends of kingly
borrowers. In Germany all the highest
walks in literature and philosophy arc
filed with Jews, and tn this country we
find them in our colleges and schools Of
learning, and in the Senate of the United
States. They excel in many of the fine
arts, and as composers, musicians and
actors, they are remarkable for their ex-
cellence. We need not look farther
than our own theatres to observe their
predominant tastes. They tread the
stage as performers, or fill the boxes OF
the academy as patrons of the lyric art
The greatest actress in the world is a
Jewess, Rachel; the most popular bal
lad singer of the day is a jew, Russell
The composers of some of the most sci
entifc and classical operas are Jews
In business none are more keen, though
others NAV be more scrupulous. They
occupy whole streets in Europe; they
are beginning 20 do so in this country
In this city, and even in Albany, there
are parts of the town where they mon
opolize their peculiar branches of trade
MANY of them do not hesitate to keep
their shops open on the Christian Sab
bath as well as their own, and we have
heard this complained of by other
tradesmen as a great advantage taken
of those who observe at least one day in
the week.
The peculiarities of the Jewish char
acter are thought to consist in the sin
Gle mindedness with which each indi-
vidual follows his peculiar profession
A contemporary says of them, that"they
have the power of seizing the strong
points of whatever they attempt to do,
beyond any other nation, and develop
ing them with unsurpassed energy and
enterprise" Nothing is allowed to stand
in the way of their projects, and thus
they appear selfish in everything they
undertake. But they are devoted to
each other, and are capable of the most
generous actions.
1t is difficult to say, what at this time
are the real tenets of the Jews. The
old distinction of Sadducees and Phara-
sees is prerty much gone the latter
prevailing in the synagogues, and every
where in the ascendant In Africa it is
said some of the former may yet be
found, wdo deny the resurrection of the
body. Much inidelity, according to
their own Rabbis, prevails among them
everywhere, and the lower classes are
very ignorant and poorly informed as to
the exact nature of their faith. The
more learned are subtle and able in
support of their opinions, and are diff
cult to overcome in argument 1t is a
common opinion among these that the
Socinians of modern times assimilate
closely in their belief, and would become
Jews if it was not for the 1ite of circum-
cision!
The Synagogues in this city are nu-
m9rous, and several of them are very
elegant in their interior. The service
is solemn and curious, and the zeal with
which some of the prayers are recited
is remarkable. We have seen tears
coursing down the cheeks of men of ma
ture age as they uttered their heartfelt
invocations to the God of their fathers.
The rites of their religion are very scru-
pulously followed in this city by large
number of the faithful, and some of their
ceremonies are singular enough.
The feast of Tabernacles was observ-
ed by some of the most strict, by their
actually living out of their houses, in
their gardens the allotted period; and
even the little boys of that persuasion
might have been seen sitting on dry
goods boxes, at shop doors, with green
branches over their heads in playful re-
membrance of the feast.
The Jewish population of this city is
estimated as high as $4,000. 1t is utter
ly impossible to say what their numbers
are in the whole world. A recent esti-
mate gives the total at ten millions,
which is three times and third more
than it was when they were in Canaan.
Others suppose that the extent is six
millions. Their dispersion over the
earth is remarkable fulfilment of the
predictions of their own prophets: but
their final restoration to their own home
is fully believed in. The period of this
return is fixed by some commentators at
1866, to be preceded first by the fall of
the Turkish empire. As we walk up
Chatham street however, we see no
particular preparation nor much anxiety
for such an event as trip to Palestine.
N V Hobre,r ,a1por