The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-11-21

grade, the Influence of Juda-
 ism Carried the People Through Their Difficulties.
 (By the Rev. Harry s. Lewis, of
 Manchester, England.)
 ''It Is a boast of the Jews that they support their own poor everywhere and alwavs'' said MT Lewis ''In modern times this claim cannot be en-
 tirely substantiated. Jewish charities
 cover a wide field, but many services requisite for the relief of distress are no longer rendered on denomination al lines. In the middle ages, on the other hand, Jewish communities throughout the world were set in an environment, indifferent at best and often actively hostile. Their members had to rely upon one another for mu- tua1 assistance, given either by fndi- vidua1 benefattors or by organized was nob1y rendered not only to the local poor but also to corelig1onists whC arrived from other parts of the world. The sense of solidarity in Is rae1 was strengthened by persecution, so prevalent in the Middle Ages and not extinct even now.
 One of the chief forms of med1aeval charity was the ransom of capttves. We after our ability said Nehemiah, have redeemed our brethren the Jews who were sold to the neathen,' In or der to work off unpaid debts. So to act was considered as the fulf1lnent of a most sacred duty, for slavery is worse than death When Jew, cap tured as a prisoner of war or as victim of the pirates, who long in- fested the Mediterranean, was sold in the slave market, his co-rel1gionists
 Is l. might be set free. Such deeds of mercy were especially frequent in the dread seasons when Isreal had to flee in haste before the prosecutions of Cross or Crescent and to take refuge in semi-savage lands where slavery prevailed.
 -'Nor was less regard paid to indi- vtdua1 sufferers, such as those who languished in prison for conscience sake So great was the generosity displayed to captives that it became necessary to make communal regula.- tons for the limitation of the amounts to be paid, lest interruptions rulers should seize unoffendingt persons in order to hold them for ransom. The same consideration was often shown (and in those days rightly to actual criminals; it was felt that they must other barbarities characteristic of a mediaeva1 dungeon.
 Hospitality to strangers is another form of practical benevolence the need for which has been accentuated by the circumstances Of Jewish his tory. The wandering Jew has been and still is 8 typical figure. Some times he has been a travelling Schol- ar, open eyed. and impecunious; some times he has left his home in quest the victim of persecution, fleeing alone or in company with others to seek for an asylum in distant lands.
 Whatever the circumstances of the medieval wanderer he seldom lacked ed good cheer in the houses of his CO., the poor man stood at their gate, God was his right hand. The host was enjoined to receive his guests with a pleasant countenance, and not to tell them his own troubles, lest they should suspect that he was not glad to see them. He entertained them with the best fare at his dis poSal, and provided them with a com fortab1e bed. On their departure, he escorted them on their way, and gave them food for the next stage at the journey. When the number of stran- gers requiring shelter was such as to overtax the resources of private hos pitality, there was provided a guest house or Jews Tnn,' where bed and board were furnished at the expense or the community.
 f'T11e visitation of the sick in their homes was regarded as an important act of personal service. The sight of a friends face, say the rabbis, re- moves one-sixtieth part of a disease. Special houses for the sick were pro vided only occasionally in the Middle Ages; more commonly the invalid stranger was accommodated in gen eral hospitals. Medical attendance was provided gratuitous1y by many Jewish doctors, and was, in other cases, paid for by the holy society," which exist ed in every community to discharge pious duties to the sick, the dying, and the dead.
 After discussing the educational charities of the mediaeva1 Jews and some of their minor benefactio1s, such as the provision of dowries for poor girls, Rabbi Lewis proceeded to ex- plain how the funds, required for the purposes of relief. were raised. An assessment was imposed by the over seers of the poor upon the Well-to-do members of the community. Origin ally, payment was made. in kind, but later it was made in money, and a distraint was levied upon the proper ty of defaulters. The fines imposed upon offenders against congregational regulations were also added to the charity fund; while damages, awarded to a complainant for the injuries which he had sustained, were often devoted by him to the same good pur- pose. In addition to the compuI- sory payments, made to the charity fund, there were many voluntary do- nations. It was customary to make memorial offerings for the dead on the High Holidays, and to give money to the poor-box upon every occasion of domestic joy.
 The Jews of the Middle Ages were and accepted charity with reluctance. It was not until the second half of the seven nteenth century that the problem presented by itinerant beggars became insistent. At this period, there was large of emigration from Poland towards the south and welt of Europe in consequence of the Cosasck rising. A large proportion of the Polish Jews