Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-04-11
THE PASSOVER.
The suGerings and EIeroism of the
Jews,

Jews.
The Jewish Passover ended Thursday
evening at six O'Clock. Ii is an eteht-tlay
Passover. Almost the whole world has
passed 1t over without ! notice, but a few
dark-eye3 men in every city on the globe
hafe observed its eccentric ceremonies and
customs with rigid devotion. This Pass
over is surrounded with a halo Of antiani'r;
for about il cluster the memories Of four
Thousand wears. Il carries ms back to the
banks a the Jordan and the Euphrates and
the Nile, to the days Of Abraham and Moses
and Ezra. Aud now that this solemn fes-
tiyal has been celebrated again, it may be
appropriately supplemented with : Sketch
Of the "chosen pSopien for whom its
annual return possesses so peculiar an
interest. The Roman Catholic Church
justly claims great antiquity. But two
thousand years before the cock crew twice
On that memorable morning the religion of
the Hebrew dRelt on the plains of the
East. The Hebrew in the dawn of history
had the language, the literature and the
customs Of a sacred nation. Gel in tla fire,
and the cload, and tho thicG darkness on
the mountain, ana Moses buried nOiselessly
by the angels in a vale in the land of Moab
aud Abraham, with the knife and the fire
in hand, and Isaac bound by the altar. on
that mountain in the land &C McIiah-all
lend 4 certain atci6nt flavor and conse-
quent beauty and interest TO the Feast Oe
the Passover just closed. But a new order
OF things was inauguTated nearly nineteen
hundred years ago. The landed, rich,
patriarchal Jew had ohly been smoothing
the path fer The naked feet of the new Cos
pei Since the Sermon on the Mount the
Jew has been prescribed in almost every
city on the earth, but he is found Ii them
ali. He has fought with the Roman and
the Assyrian, with the BabylOnian and the
Egyptian, and has been nearly extermin-
abed by each, but has survived them all.
He has been prescribed by the Catholics in
Spain, by the P-otestsnis il Norway, by
the Greek in MhscoTy; has been treated as
an cHtcast among Pagans, MOhammedans
and Christians; but neither war, nor perse-
%cution, nor ostTacisIn, has removed his faith
from among men. There is manv a town,
and village and street In which he is for
hidden &c live, but he is found still the
world over. For thousand of years pre-
viOus to the present century. Jewish history
has been a mOnOtonous series Of bitter per-
Secutions and patient sUfteringss In early
ages oppressed ard mastered by Pagan en-
peT0rs, sold into slavery or driven into ex-
tic, they still maintained their purity as a
race and their peculiar characteristics as an
organization. Knocked. tortured. prosecuted
in all times, the Hebrews still ever firmly
adhered to the tencts Of their faith, preserv-
ing their religion with atenacity that deied
exile, tyranny and time.
The Mohammedans, though they Dor
rowed many of the tenets of their religion
from the Jews, have been the most cruel
oPpTessOrs af the Jewish people, regarding
them as "unclean," and only TO be tolerated
on account of their knowledge of the arts,
and their utility in the various professions
and trades. Their laws subject Jews to
the severest penalties and humili-
atiOns, and resistance to their en-
forcement is frequently punished with
death. Jerusalem at the present day
is chiefly inhabited by Mohammedans and
a very small number of Christians, while
the Jewish popu lation occupy a little more
than a twentieth part of the city Their
condition, in n sense, is pItiable in the
extreme; they behold their once glorious
city garrisoned by infidel soldiers, and its
sacred places covered by barracks. mosques
and converts, while they themselves are
penned up in barrow and miserable quar-
With what longing must they look
forward to the day when 'the city shall
he built unto the Lord" and cit shall net
be plucked up nor thrown down any more
forever"
In spite of adverse circumstances, learn
ing fourishes in Jerusalem, the Jews, as a
rule, in that city, devoting themselves 10
the study of Hebrew literature, in the
t~hirty-siX colleges maintained for the pur-
pose by contributions from all parts of the
world.
The line Of distinction between Gentle
and jew is most rigidly defined in Poland,
there being 10 association whatever among
them with people of other faiths. OPP
pressed in the most cruel manner by Rus |
sian rule, they cling together in closest
sympathy, the glorious promises of their
religion aifOrding them their greatest con-
ISOLATION. With the knout and Siberia ever
threatening him for any failure in duty or
respect 10 the Russian Government, what
wonder that the Polish jew has become
the most cunning and timeServing of his
race? Notwithstanding the tyrannies of
her rulers, Poland has produced minds of
the highest order of culture, furnishing
for the ~synagogues of Europe and
America. In her territory the study and
practice of orthodox Judaism is the learn
Hebrews chief delight, and nowhere
are the essential principles of the faith
so well understood, or the various religious
ieasts and fasts so scrupulously observed.
Judaism in France is rapidly declining
partly through the influence of Roma