The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-02-26

I know the king and the princes, what
can l do fol- you" and her answer is that
of Israel throughout the ages, 1 am Will
my people / need nothing The Jewish
ethics are, that the giver is blessed far
more than the recipient; that If he has
been permitted by Providence or fortune
to enrich himself 1t is his bounden duty
to give a share of his income 10 the POOR
and the unfortunate, and that instead OF
being obligated to the giver. the giver him
self should thank God for the means given
him to be just and generous, and thus dis
charge his duty and obligation.
THE kissing of the 'Messuzah' on she
doorpost is strictly Jewish. is practiced to-
day by a majority of the Jews of the
world, and is a recognition of the sacred
comma ndments of God, and testifying by
the kiss the love of aud for law and order,
thus teaching by example. From time i'm
memorial, the Jew in all parts of the
world has been among the foremost in
recognizing law, and stimulating by his
conduct the friends of order. What a
lesson is taught in the play by the pedtier
VINO comes with bent head aId loaded
down with the wares of his trade, when
asked as to the marriage law and its con-
struction. how erect he becomes and how
his eyes flash with knowledge and the i'm
portance of his position. and when he
says. II ne law lne law! ne gives vent W
the Ghetto condition, evidencing thereby
that although but a peddler by profession,
ne is well versed in the ethics of his faith,
and that the narrow and close confinement
within the walls of his prison house has
not deadened his ambition for the law of
his faith
The Christian woman who comes on
the stage to extinguish the fire and TO trim
the lights, and finally to put than out is
a faithful reproduction of Jewish Ghetto
life, and of orthodox Jewish life today.
The food necessary TO the eaten on Sab
bath and on the holy days is prepared on
the previous day, so as not to entail on
the day of rest any work whatsoever and
whatever manual labor had to be YER
formed was ordered the day prior and
thus the Christian servant knew in ad-
vance what her duty was, ana. of course,
faithfully discharged it. The wearing of
the handkerchief around the body was also
a ritual observance. as he was not to carry
anything no matter how trifiing. To many
this may seem laughahle but to the pious,
strictly observing Jew, it was part of his
life, and the rabbis taught that all these
things were part of the whole, and that an
abridgment or abandonment of one les
sened the whole chain of faith, and CON
trit uted TO the downfall of the Boly
Scriptures.
THE Jew is not a Puritan, nor a fanatic
in the matter OF social enjoyment on tte
day of Sabbath, and the love of the sociai
and personal liberty has grown that indie
pendent and fearless spirit for right and
liberty that has survived all the persecu-
tion of the centuries. The marriage cere-
mony and the divorce granted by Rev.
and the claim that Cohen
being priest OF the Temple cannot marry
a divorced woman, are somewhat tradi-
tional and hay. In Russia today the rabbi
has absolute sway and control OF the mar
riage relations, and divorce granted by
him is binding upon the conscience of the
Jew, and very naturally so.
Where he has no voice in the making of
the Jaw of the land, he must cling to the
law of his faith and thus has grown up a
fanaticism among the Russian Jews which
Is repellant and contrary to the genius of
our modern institutions, and the best
friends of the Jews in this country are
working day and night TO create a healthier
mental and moral condition among the per-
secuted refugees, and to plant in their
hearts and in their brain love of and for
the laws of the United States, and that
getting divorce from a rabbi is insult
fcient, Illegal. and contrary to the laws of
the land. II, of course, takes time and pa
thence, but the new conditions and the
new generation will bring about results
hat will aid all the friends of good gov
and the true friends Of the Jew.
Patriotism and NaIOr of the Race.
you will thus see that the Children Of
he Ghetto IN its broad and comprehen-
;ive term, brings within the focus OF our
observation much that is instructive and
historical. Mr.. Zangwill could have elab-
,rated more fully the Passover festival, in
which the Jew celebrates his freedom and
glorifies he spirit of emancipation, that
made it possible for him to flee from the
.errors AID inhumanities of Egypt, and he
could have shown the spirit of hospitality
for which the Jews of all ages have been
famous, by reproducing the scene where
the head OF the house has on the night of
the Passover festival two cups. out OF one
Of which he drinks to the health of the
family and as part of the ritual, while the
other cup is reserved, and the door left
open, for the prophet Elijah, or, in fact,
he stranger who may enter his household,
10 drink from, giving an object lesson of
good cheer of kindness, and Of human
which has aided in the elevation
md salvation of the Jews character.
I'm Russia, in Germany, and in Austria
he Jew is permitted to fight and to die for
the Emperor without wearing any of its
lOuDTS+ lldiN lutSt were
PLY changed under the wise administration
Of Cavour In England. from the days OF
Macaulay, the Jews attained equal recog-
milton some of the brightest statesmen of
that country having Jewish blood in their
veins. In France, from the days of Ma
poeon up to this, the jew has been recog-
nized in all the walks of life, even in the
and today there are, according TO
an author of recent date. 1000 Jewish Of
icers in the army, and, with the single ex-
,eption of the terrible crime of 1894. and
re- enacted a few months ago al Rennes.
France has ever shown a broad and liberal
spirit in behalf of her Jewish citizens. but
1 is here in these United States that the
Children of the Ghetto, the Jews, are
most happy, and where the broadcast and
widest possibilities are extended to them.
at is here where they show the highest
development of modern civilization, and
rom the days of the Revolution up to the
present. the Jew has. as I have time and
again stated. come TO the forefront. de-
tending the flag uphoiding the institu-
lions, and showing by word and deed. by
self-sacrifice of life his part of the duty
he owes TO the Republic, and IL is here
where all the questions OF the destiny of
the Jew in other lands will finally be
solved
Lincoln said, for every urop OF blood
drawn by the lash there will be an equal
number, II not more, drawn by the sword,
and so ] appeal TO you and ask you If you
have trodden under foot by unwise or I'M
Just personal legislation and treatment
The Children of the Ghetto, what else
can you expect at their hands but a lack
and sitting Of those principles OF justice
for which man should ever aspire? When
YOU find a Jew in this deplorable condi
ton blame yourself. not him. Give him
an equal chance and equal rights and he
will come up 10 the highest standard of
your demands, and yet Notwithstanding |
MS treatment, the Jew is never revenge