CHAPTER XX.
1839.
RECEPTION AT SAFED--SAD CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE--SIR MOSES' PROJECT FOR THE CULTIVATION OF THE LAND IN PALESTINE BY THE JEWS--DEATH OF THE CHIEF RABBI OF THE GERMAN CONGREGATION IN JERUSALEM--TIBERIAS.
After four hours' ride we met two of the chiefs of the Portuguese community, sent to escort us as a guard of honour. On reaching half-way up the mountain, the ecclesiastical chief of the German Hebrew community, accompanied by many of his congregation, came to welcome us. He is an old man of benevolent countenance. I dismounted, giving the chief my horse to ride. This special mark of respect I showed to him in commemoration of the holy resignation manifested by the venerable chief only a year before on the occasion of the revolt of the Druses against Mohhammad Ali. These marauders, having pillaged and maltreated the whole community, wished to enforce from them an additional sum of five hundred Turkish purses or L2500, a sum which of course the Hebrews could not produce. The Druses thereupon bound the aged chief hand and foot, and laying the edge of a naked sword upon his neck, threatened to instantly sever his head if the demanded sum were not handed over without delay. The good man did not ask them to spare his life, which he would willingly sacrifice to save his community; all he requested of them was to allow a little clean water to be poured over his hands, that he might recite a prayer and acknowledge the justice of God in all His ways. At this a heartrending cry burst from all present, and even the Druses themselves appear to have been touched. They withdrew the sword and entered upon some arrangements with the community, who had to borrow the required amount from some of the convents. I had been to see him the day after this occurrence, and found him reciting his morning prayers as calmly as if nothing had happened.
Sir Moses in his description of the journey continues--"As we were descending the mountain a man, who had been placed there to give notice to the inhabitants of our approach, fired a musket, and the salute was answered by our party, who discharged their guns and pistols. Our firing had a cheerful effect, as the echo was taken up by the distant hills. We were soon met by Signor Mirrachi (ecclesiastical chief of the Portuguese community) with a great number of his congregation. He expressed his regret that I would not accept the house he had prepared for us. The scene became most interesting. Men, women, and children covered the sides and top of the hill as well as the roofs of all houses; but I was nearly dead with fatigue."
As soon as Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore reached their apartments, preparations were made for the Sabbath, but Sir Moses had not the strength to walk to Synagogue. He had for some time expressed uneasiness lest we should not reach the town before sunset, yet he had the happiness of seeing the sun above the horizon, after we had entered our house.
By special invitation ten gentlemen were soon with him in his room, and the evening service was commenced, but he could scarcely stand, and as soon as prayers were ended he retired. The following day Sir Moses being still too unwell to leave his bed, numbers of visitors called to enquire after his health, all expressing their regret at his indisposition.
During the next two days, on which the festival of Pentecost was celebrated, Sir Moses recovered sufficiently to accompany Lady Montefiore to the Portuguese Synagogue, where a sacred scroll of great antiquity is preserved. On Sir Moses being called to the rostrum to pronounce the blessing, the portion of the day was read to him out of the above scroll.
On the following day, Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore received visits from the governor, judge, and all other dignitaries of the place. Some of the Druses also intimated their desire to come and pay their respects, but upon my suggestion this was declined, it being considered undesirable to encourage their presence in Safed.
Having been amongst the sufferers at the time of their invasion of this place the year before, I surmised the object they had in view, in seeking to come with their friends to see the English pilgrims.
_Tuesday, May 21st._--Sir Moses now occupied himself in obtaining information as to the actual state of the Jews in this city, as well as the probable prospect of success for his project, viz., to encourage the Jews and enable them to gain a livelihood by the cultivation of the land. They had frequent interviews with T. and N. Drucker, two clever and enterprising men, father and son, who had come originally from Poland, and had possessed a handsome fortune. They had brought with them a printing press, and had printed prayer-books. They had also begun to print a Bible, when the Druses came, destroyed their press, robbed them of all their property, and beat them most unmercifully, breaking the father's thigh, so that he barely escaped with his life.
_Wednesday, May 22nd._--All the afternoon was spent both by Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore in seeing people, in listening to their complaints and sorrows, and also in obtaining information respecting the cultivation of land. The German and Portuguese Chief Rabbis came, and after some conversation, Sir Moses decided to distribute personally the money he had brought for the relief of the sufferers by the earthquake, according to the number of souls. A Spanish dollar was given to every man, woman, and child over thirteen, while two dollars were given to the blind, and no distinction was made between Portuguese and German. The money sent from London soon after the earthquake had been distributed by the Portuguese, who gave the greatest part to those learned in our Holy Law, leaving but little for all the other sufferers, which Sir Moses considered unjust. The spiritual head of the German congregation, the Rev. A. Dob, said that the money was divided amongst their congregation according to the amount of loss sustained by each individual. Nor did the German committee ever retain one penny more for themselves than for the other members of the congregation. "This," said Sir Moses, "appears to me the most honest way of acting."
The Portuguese gentlemen, however, in justification of their own course of action in this matter, explained that those who are engaged in imparting religious instruction to the community, taking charge of all their institutions, devoting their time to the interest of the rising generation, having no business or occupation that would adequately secure their maintenance, ought naturally to have some additional share in the offerings of their wealthier brethren abroad, offerings intended not only for the relief of distress, but also for the preservation of a religious community. The same, they said, would be done in Europe, where the teachers in schools and colleges, or the managers of communal institutions, happen to be without income or salary for their maintenance.
Sir Moses having inspected the new buildings, regretted to find that most of them were but poor miserable hovels, built over the ruins of the old ones, high up the hill, close to the edge of the mountain, so that the slightest shock of earthquake would bury the inhabitants one above the other without hope of escape. The houses were built on the side of the mountain, row above row. On inquiring the reason of this, he was informed that by building over the old houses they were saved the expense of making excavations, these being already there; they had no fear of earthquakes, all they dreaded being the Mooslemin inhabitants and the visits of the Druses.
_Thursday, May 23rd._--At ten we rode to Djermek, a village two hours distant, to the farm of Israel Drucker, one of his tenants having a son who was to be received that day into the covenant of Abraham. Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore had been invited to act as god-parents to the child.
On reaching the house Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore were most respectfully saluted, and the ceremony was immediately performed. We then sat down for a short time to partake of some refreshment; and, having offered presents and congratulations to the parents of the infant, we descended the mountain, to visit the tomb of R. Simeon ben Yokhai, in Miroon. There we were met by the principal inhabitants of Safed.
We then visited the tomb of Hillel, celebrated in Jewish history for his great learning and for his noble character and humility. "One of the most interesting sights," says Sir Moses, "I have seen in the Holy Land. There is one cave within the other, a spring of the clearest water flowing through both; it appears to spring from the spot where the mortal remains of Hillel repose. In the vicinity of the tomb we saw a splendid marble portal of a Synagogue now in ruins; the marble was handsomely carved, and many of the stones adjoining the portal were still standing, all of them being of great size."
_Friday, May 24th._--Sir Moses was again engaged from nine to six with the distribution of the money. He also gave special donations to the heads of schools and colleges, and endeavoured to alleviate the distress among the poor of all non-Israelitish communities. Sir Moses found his brethren most anxious to be employed and to earn their own bread. They appeared to prefer the cultivation of land as the most likely means to raise them from their present destitute condition. There were a few Jews who had some interest with Mussulmans in cultivating some small farms about three or four hours from Safed, but their means were so limited that they could ill afford to keep a pair of oxen to till the ground. There was no lack of spirit, and Sir Moses thought that some trifling assistance from the proper persons in Europe would speedily restore health and plenty, should such be the will of Heaven.
On the same day we received the sad tidings of the death of the Rev. Israel, Chief Rabbi of the German congregation in Jerusalem, which had taken place at Tiberias on the 22nd inst. It had been his intention to come to Sir Moses to welcome him and Lady Montefiore on their entry into the Holy Land. He was renowned for his great learning and noble character, which he had so often manifested in the performance of his official duties, as spiritual guide of the community; and being a disciple of the celebrated Rabbi Eliahu Wilna, he was held in high esteem by all the congregations in the four holy cities. Both Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore were much affected by the mournful event, and lost no time in considering what steps should be taken to evince their sympathy with the bereaved family.
The following day being Sabbath, they attended divine service, afterwards receiving numerous visits from the inhabitants of the place. One gentleman from Tiberias gave a most melancholy account of the state of the country; he assured them that the roads to Jerusalem were very unsafe, and the plague actually in the city. Only a few days before the holidays the son-in-law of the late Rev. Israel, and his servant, had died of it.
The visits they received from the Druses caused us much uneasiness, as we apprehended an attack from their body to plunder not only us, but all Jews in the town; and we should have proceeded early the next morning to Tiberias had we not feared such a course would give the appearance of flight.
The heads of the Portuguese and German congregations came to pay their respects to Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore. Two of these gentlemen, the Rev. Abraham Shoshana and Samuel Aboo, were land owners in a neighbouring village, and gave their opinion on the subject of agriculture. Sir Moses, referring in his diary, to their conversation, says:
"From all information I have been able to gather, the land in this neighbourhood appears to be particularly favourable for agricultural speculation. There are groves of olive trees, I should think, more than five hundred years old, vineyards, much pasture, plenty of wells and abundance of excellent water; also fig trees, walnuts, almonds, mulberries, &c., and rich fields of wheat, barley, and lentils; in fact it is a land that would produce almost everything in abundance, with very little skill and labour. I am sure if the plan I have in contemplation should succeed, it will be the means of introducing happiness and plenty into the Holy Land. In the first instance, I shall apply to Mohhammad Ali for a grant of land for fifty years; some one or two hundred villages; giving him an increased rent of from ten to twenty per cent., and paying the whole in money annually at Alexandria, but the land and villages to be free, during the whole term, from every tax or rate either of Pasha or governor of the several districts; and liberty being accorded to dispose of the produce in any quarter of the globe. This grant obtained, I shall, please Heaven, on my return to England, form a company for the cultivation of the land and the encouragement of our brethren in Europe to return to Palestine. Many Jews now emigrate to New South Wales, Canada, &c.; but in the Holy Land they would find a greater certainty of success; here they will find wells already dug, olives and vines already planted, and a land so rich as to require little manure. By degrees I hope to induce the return of thousands of our brethren to the Land of Israel. I am sure they would be happy in the enjoyment of the observance of our holy religion, in a manner which is impossible in Europe."
The scene we witnessed yesterday amply repaid us for the fatigues of the journey. We saw nearly every individual inhabitant of Safed. Sir Moses gave to each at least one Spanish dollar, and some fathers of families received eight or ten dollars. To those persons who came to meet him and Lady Montefiore at Nahr el Rasmiyah, fifteen hours' journey from Safed, and who, when invited to sleep in the tent, preferred, from their intense love to the country, to sleep in the open air of the Holy Land, he made handsome presents. "I hope," said Sir Moses in the course of conversation, "that the money I have had the pleasure of distributing yesterday, will produce some comfort and give assistance to the Jews in Safed, especially in their present forlorn situation. Their sufferings during the last five years must have been truly deplorable. First the plundering of the inhabitants, then the earthquake, and finally the attack by the Druses, to fill the cup of their misfortune. At the present moment the ruins of the town present an awful spectacle of destruction; the few miserable hovels they have erected are for the most part little better than caves, more fit for the beast of the field than for human beings. Many are merely four mud walls, with a mat for a roof. I think the poverty of the Jews in Safed to be great beyond anything that can be imagined either in England or on the Continent of Europe; it must be seen to be credited. I am informed, and do believe, that many are actually starving, and that great numbers died last year of hunger. Nearly all are stamped with want and wretchedness, though many of them are tall men and have handsome features. The women are very pretty; they have large black eyes, are of refined manners, and exhibit much intelligence in their conversation. I have found all the men anxious to be employed in agriculture."
_Monday, May 27th._--We repaired early in the morning to the house of the spiritual head of the German congregation, where we attended divine service. His wife, who had prepared quite a treat for us, consisting of coffee, sweetmeats, wine and cakes, gave us a most hearty welcome. In the presence of the reverend gentleman Sir Moses engaged one of the scribes to write a scroll of the Pentateuch for his Synagogue at Ramsgate. The first sheet of the parchment was at once prepared, and he had the happiness of writing the first three words. Sir Moses on his return affixed his signature to an Arabic letter, which he had requested me to prepare at the urgent entreaties of all the inhabitants, praying the Governor of St Jean d'Acre to send them some soldiers for their protection.
On the same day at half-past twelve we set out on our way to Tiberias. In spite of Sir Moses' entreaties for them to return, we were accompanied for about half-an-hour by the principal authorities and most of the people of the town, who, in taking leave, called down upon Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore all the blessings of heaven.
We passed through a beautiful country, a very long descent, winding round hills covered with olives, figs, and pomegranates. In the plain we saw the richest land imaginable, though but a very small part of it was under cultivation, large fields being covered with thistles five and six feet high. The path was rocky and difficult. After riding three hours we reached the plain, and dismounting near a stream of water reposed for an hour. Our road then lay near the foot of the mountains; it was one continual ascent and descent. When we were about two hours' ride from Tiberias, while saying the afternoon prayers, we heard the sound of the darabuca (Turkish drum), with shouts of joy, and soon beheld a large party coming to meet us, dancing and singing. They joined us in prayer, and when we had finished, the head of the German congregation bade us welcome in glowing terms. We then proceeded on our way, the people dancing and running before us, playing on the drum and fife, and singing in Hebrew in a general chorus. The spiritual heads of both German and Portuguese communities and the principal representatives of all scholastic and charitable institutions of the town now joined our cavalcade. They were all singing in Arabic and Hebrew, to express their delight at our visit to their city. We had gone but a short distance when we were met by the Mooselim or Governor, well mounted and armed, and attended by about a dozen officers and servants. He told Sir Moses he came to offer him his services and to do him honour, and that in this Holy Land he respected persons of all religions. He directed his soldiers to skirmish up and down the sides of the mountain, charging and retreating for our amusement. The Cadi (Judge) and his son also joined our party, paying Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore many compliments.
"The evening," says Lady Montefiore, "was beautiful, and the gaiety of the scene beyond my feeble powers of description; the music, singing, and dancing of the people, the firing of guns, the horsemen at full gallop up and down the steep sides of the mountain, discharging their pistols, throwing the jareed, stopping their horses when at full speed, and then riding round our party; and now, as we approached the town, the moon shone brightly on the lake; it was a complete fairy scene. At a short distance from the town we were met by a great concourse of people, men, women, and children, many bearing large torches. They formed, as it were, a lane on either side for us to pass through, the same merriment, music, singing, and dancing continuing. We found the whole town illuminated, it was as light as in the day; we were saluted on all sides with expressions of joy and heartfelt wishes. Not only were the streets crowded, but even the roofs of houses were covered with gaily-attired females. All cheered us as we passed, joining in the chorus, 'They are come, they are come, our happiness is come.' Never will the scene be effaced from our memory."
We proceeded to the house of Rev. H. N. Abu-el-afia, which he had prepared for our reception. Here the Governor and good people took their leave, thinking we must need repose after so much fatigue. All appeared greatly pleased, Mussulmans as well as Jews. The house looked very clean and comfortable, with good sized rooms neatly furnished in the Turkish style. Mrs Abu-el-afia, a pretty and clever woman, made us partake of some coffee and sherbet, which was soon followed by a good supper.