Part 1

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SUGGESTIONS TO THE JEWS, FOR IMPROVEMENT IN REFERENCE TO THEIR CHARITIES, EDUCATION, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

BY A JEW.

LONDON: PRINTED BY JOHN WERTHEIMER AND CO., CIRCUS PLACE, FINSBURY CIRCUS AND MAY BE HAD OF G. GALABIN, 91, BARTHOLOMEW CLOSE. 1844.

SUGGESTIONS,

ETC.

"As the twelve tribes had many interests in common, and, in some respects, formed but one political body, the magistrates of all the tribes met in general assemblies to consult for the good of the nation." _Jahn's History of the Hebrew Commonwealth._

Whoever regards the state of our community in this country, must come to the conclusion, that we have arrived at an important period, when we can no longer defer the consideration of matters of vital interest, if we would escape the well merited condemnation of the world at large, or the just reproaches of conscience in ourselves. We stand in a position where the past, the present, and the probable future are alike presented to our view; the first to instruct and warn us, and the two latter to furnish us with every motive to exertion which can be gathered from the impulses of hope and fear, from a perception of our own best interests and of those of our posterity. That the honour and reputation of the Jewish body are and have been at stake, must be granted by those who admit, as facts, the circumstances to which it is the aim of this Pamphlet to draw the public attention. The great majority of our poor are uneducated in the holy tenets of our creed--in their duties as citizens--in the proper arts of life; while poverty and distress abound in the dwellings of vast numbers of our brethren, partially mitigated, indeed, not permanently provided for, by the many excellent and worthy charitable societies which surround us. These are truths which painfully arrest the attention of individuals; and it becomes the duty of the whole, to seek the means of meeting the difficulties of the case. In the ensuing pages I venture to suggest some propositions for the purpose.

In all well constituted societies, it has been found necessary to have a head, from which all government, laws and regulations, have emanated. These governments have been formed either of one person or more, the object being, "a means to an end," or more fully speaking, "the production of the greatest possible amount of human happiness." This fact is so universally admitted, that associations for every object, whether religious or political, scientific or trading, have recourse to a governing body for carrying out their particular views; and, perhaps, I am not far wrong in stating, that the only exception in Great Britain of an extensive religious community being without a government is to be found amongst the Jews, not because the exigency is less, but because, from their first establishment in this kingdom, the want was never so much felt as at the present moment; their position has now become matter of inquiry to every enlightened mind, and many circumstances have recently shewn the disadvantages which a want of system has entailed upon those who profess the Jewish religion in this country--disadvantages which will be particularised as we proceed.

In the peculiar position of the Jewish people, I cannot find a term by which to distinguish them, and must therefore apologise for adopting those terms which are already in use. They are called _a nation_; and I avail myself of the word: but in what consists their nationality? They are termed _a body_: in what do they assimilate? They are designated _the British Jews_: how are they identified with the title? The phrase, "Members of a certain Synagogue," conveys to the mind the only idea to which we can find any corresponding reality; for, in truth, beyond what _it_ implies, the Jews are _not united_ for any definite design or purpose; and while it would have been reasonable to expect, _à priori_, that the votaries of a faith set apart from all others, should have had some common bond of union in their affairs, we are startled by the consideration that there exist at this moment in London alone, a number of distinct Jewish Congregations, _independent_ of each other, with separate wants and interests, having nothing in common but their religion: and all the great and noble advantages to be obtained by numbers, having a unity of purpose, are either unrecognised, or merged and lost in that separation of interests which makes the respective pecuniary benefit of each Congregation the greatest, if not the only object of its existence.

The provincial Congregations are precisely in the same injurious position, and sensibly feel the want of a defined and constituted authority--to decide upon many differences that arise--to interfere for the extinction of animosities (trifling in themselves, but made gigantic by continued contest) easy to be reconciled by a power to which all would feel compelled to bow--yet as pregnant with important consequences, if unchecked, as those causes which led for a period to the downfall of monarchy in these realms. The evil appears, so far as regards the Metropolitan Congregations, to have originated at, and been continued from, the period of the second settlement of the Israelites in this country. To the rapid increase of numbers and wealth, during the absence of one efficient regulating power, we can trace the successive formation of so many distinct communities.

To those elements which ought to have contributed to our strength, we thus owe our weakness, and that disorganisation and separation of interests which characterises the various proceedings of our body, in the formation of the necessary places of worship, and in other affairs. Had our ancestors provided a government at the outset, or placed us under the control of an adequate authority, no material disagreements would have taken place. But the narrow policy which led to the formation of parties, compelled them to _take_ what might have been wisely and nobly given,--created feelings of aversion where the affection of parent and offspring ought to have existed. The wealth of the newer branches generated, on their part, a feeling of pride equally to be deplored; and in losing sight of the necessity for general co-operation, and for one common fund, every kindly feeling gave way to mutual jealousy. The example once set, was soon followed, and continues to be so on every opportunity: we blindly press onward in the same irrational course, without staying to consider that we impoverish the source, by continually increasing the number of the streams.

The same spirit of division (it cannot be called independence) enters into the details of all the affairs of the Israelites in their respective undertakings: it marks their general social position, and leads to a universal separation of interests. Every charity is encountered by another for similar purposes, in the east or west, as the case may be, to be supported by private exertion, and by opposing parties. One counteracts the other; both contend with all the force and feelings of competitors for public favour. The strength which would be tenfold if united, is wasted in petty rivalries, and in endeavours after show, instead of being employed in seeking the advantage of the objects to be benefited. Yet views of charity and religion, which the Jews entertain in common, and the sympathy that unites them, as it does individuals of every class possessing a similarity of belief or feeling, render it desirable to resort to a plan of centralisation and union, by which not alone the wholesome _regulation_ of _charitable institutions would be effected_, but the _education of the poor_, and the _intellectual advancement_ of the _entire community_, would be accomplished.

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The anxiety of the poor Jews for instruction,--of the trading classes for moral improvement,--of the wealthy for a removal of civil disabilities,--of the religious for some _alteration_ in the mode of worship,--in short, of every portion and member of the Jewish community, for an amendment of its social position, is so evident, that the following suggestions are put forth in the hope and belief that they contain the elements of a plan, which, if boldly and fully carried out, will tend to elevate the Jews from their present degraded and certainly unmerited position; and while it would improve _them_, it would enable the Christian world to do that justice to their talents and probity, for which at present, in an ignorance of their true characteristics, little credit is given to them; not because Englishmen are _now_ indisposed to act fairly or kindly to their countrymen of a different religion, or from their indifference to the wants of our co-religionists, but because (in the fear of thrusting themselves before the public, where insult and contumely have too frequently awaited them) the Jews have not collectively manifested any desire for intellectual culture, nor attempted to disabuse the minds of their neighbours from the prejudices of what, _as towards the Jews_, may be termed _an illiberal and bigoted education_. As, however, it forms no part of my plan to recapitulate the oppression of the one party, or the quiet suffering of the other, nor to analyse the causes, but to take the Jews as I find them, I will leave to others the task of commenting upon the past, nor will I, by any invidious remarks, prove that they have always been an ill-used body; yet I cannot refrain from stating, that in no similar number of men in Great Britain, labouring under the same social and political disadvantages with themselves (unprovided for by the government, uninstructed, and with very few attempts made, until recently, by their brethren, to instruct them), will be found more humanity, kindness, honesty, and a disinclination to heinous crimes, than in the body hitherto scornfully designated _Jews_.

Attempts at _extensive improvements_ are always _termed visionary_; and every effort towards advancement has been always met by the clamours of the ignorant and the interested. The general spread of knowledge has had to contend with the opposition of party and personal feelings; but these have never been enabled to stem the onward progress of enlightenment with any strength: I would, therefore, entreat those who with myself are seeking to carry out this scheme, and to arrive at a better state of things, to persevere, nothing daunted at the first repulse, but to continue their course, rising superior to the paltry prejudices that may and will assail them, until they have succeeded in procuring for their brethren, a name and a station worthy of them in the ranks of society--

"For freedom's battle once begun, Bequeath'd by _suff'ring_ sire to son, Though baffl'd oft, is ever won!"

Let us not forget, therefore, that it is our duty to enlist the earnest co-operation of every individual that is to be benefited, and in that designation is comprised every member of the community. As a crime committed by a Jew, an illegal act, even an examination before a magistrate upon suspicion, is made a disgrace to the race, and reflects discredit upon the whole, the entire body--the very religion--suffers from it. Every living Jew--the very memory of the dead--demands justice; and as _individuals_ have it in their power to contribute to the general _honour_ or _disgrace_, it is our duty to implant the purpose that animates us in the hearts and understandings of all our brethren.

In a subsequent part of this pamphlet will be found, in brief detail, a plan, which the necessity of the case itself seems to suggest as the best means for ameliorating the condition of the Jewish body; and I only refer to it shortly here, in order to state succinctly the objects to be attained, and previously to an attempt, to show our brethren of all classes and of every grade, how intimately the interest of each is bound up with that of the whole. It is clearly admitted that the children of the poor are not sufficiently educated, or sufficiently instructed in the means of procuring their subsistence, an evil which not only affects the present generation, but spreads its baneful influence wide and deep into the future, and may affect all the interests of our posterity. One great portion of the plan, therefore, is to provide the means of education, to be governed and guided according to rules which experience and observation have proved to be the best, as selected from various institutions and from Schools of Industry in this country. Another principal feature of it is, to enlarge and strengthen the power of the numerous charitable societies in existence, by providing a building adapted to the whole, and which, by creating a unity of purpose and management among the various administrations, will give a much larger scope of action to the respective charities. A third portion of the plan regards an adequate provision for an Anglo-Jewish press, which will be found not only subsidiary to the objects already alluded to, by publishing to our brethren every thing connected with those objects, but will be seen to be in itself a most powerful instrument for our mental advancement; and as it is requisite that such great and important ends as these should be guided and controlled by one power, so that each portion of this plan should lend to, and receive mutual assistance from, the others, so that no differences of view should intercept or mar the common benefit, it has been considered requisite to provide for the constituting of a supervising committee or central council, who would have the superintendence of all matters not _ecclesiastical_.

Let us contrast in our minds, for one moment, the present state of things, with what an advantageous position we should hold, as a community, if a plan like the above were in full and fair operation. Let us "look upon this picture, and on that;" and who is there among us that will not say, in the communings of his own soul, "This is a concern in which it behoves me to exert every energy and power which the Divine Author of our faith has bestowed upon me"? And while all can bring their meed of power and energy to the task, to each, according to his views, his feelings, or his rank in life, some peculiar inducement appears for taking part in so laudable an undertaking.

I would ask the religious man, be he Jew or not, Is not a proper observance of religion to be expected rather from the instructed than the debased mind? Putting aside every high command to assist the needy, is it not a duty to improve the worldly welfare of your fellow man, giving him, at the same time, means which will develop his mental faculties, and induce him to join you in prayer, and lead him to the better observance of all his religious duties? To you, then, worshipper of the Supreme Being, I appeal to join in this undertaking: your future hopes, as well as your worldly welfare, are linked with the fate of the poor and unenlightened Jews. Assist them--instruct them--extend the provision for them in old age--let not the prejudices which spring from worldly differences, or the rancour of sectarian feeling, blind you to the great good you may achieve. Join early in the glorious work--come even singly to combat with darkness and disgrace. Every man may be the vanquisher of one illiterate spirit, and bear him from ignorance and evil to knowledge and the brightness of everlasting good. It is your duty especially, preachers of the word of truth, to disseminate these principles from your high places; for by opening the minds of the ignorant you teach them to laugh to scorn the sophisms of conversionists, and enable them to judge better of their religion and THEMSELVES. Unite yourselves then, ye pastors; cry aloud, "There is a feeling of hope stirring among the Jews--they seek for instruction, let us help them!" Address your exertions to inform those who know less than yourselves--and you will have the inestimable satisfaction of perceiving that the precepts of morality and virtue will make their way with redoubled force to the hearts and understandings of your hearers; that you will be enabled to impart to all, whatever religion affords of hope and consolation and gladness; cheering the afflicted in the hour of his adversity--proving to the doubting spirit that "truth and good are one," and, in the exercise of your sacred functions on _unclouded_ minds,

"Allure to brighter worlds and lead the way."

In the prosecution of this scheme many advantages are offered, which to the trader and mere man of the world are of considerable importance, by bringing all our charities to a focus. Setting aside the _great saving that could and would_ be effected _in the management_ by united efforts, a much larger sum might be given to the legitimate object of each charity, and a systematic and efficient check upon each person receiving relief could be accomplished.

The vast sums annually given to established charities and benevolent institutions, form but a small item in the sum total of expenditure for charity. Tradesmen, and indeed individuals of every class, are in the habit of making continual donations to persons unknown, and frequently unworthy. To those, then, whom these considerations principally affect, I would say,--Put all your charities under a salutary control, and, under a united management, sink for once the mere desire to be chairman, committee-men, and managers. Act with others, and not as if you only were _patrons_ and _founders_ of the institutions you wish to see flourish. Unite for the purpose of doing good, not for granting patronage. Assist in educating the poor and needy, whether orphans or otherwise, and in afterwards placing them as apprentices. As the honesty of their character, and the diligence with which they exercise their calling become developed and known, so will your reputation as honourable tradesmen increase. As _they_ will have received the advantage of an education, in which religion and morality will have been combined with whatever is necessary for their support through life, no imputation of chicanery--no supposition of dishonesty will attach itself to them, and _your_ word will be taken. When _their religious_ observances are known, they will be appreciated; and _your_ pledge of _honour_ as a _Jew_ will be guarantee for the quality of your commodity. Thus everything is to be gained, and the accomplishment is within your own power. Will you quietly sit by and hear vituperation heaped upon your creed and upon yourselves, without being roused to the slightest effort? I will readily admit that it is only the prejudices of the ignorant and vulgar which draw the distinction between yourself and the Christian: enlighten _him_ therefore where requisite; associate as much as possible with him; let your press address _him_; prove by _your_ acts, _your_ words and dealings, the falseness of his assertions against you, and his sneer loses all its sting from its inapplicability. Let the phrase, "_He is a Jew in his dealings_," be an _honourable testimonial_, equally as desirable to you as that "_He acts like a Christian_," is to our fellow-citizens of the faith alluded to: and let those who think that the only worth of the Jewish religion is to be measured by the purchase-money offered for apostasy from it, find that the price they pay is only a bribe for _seeming assent_ from the outcasts of society, and that the very worst and lowest Jew is sufficiently informed to know that he will not be raised by becoming a bad Christian, or an infidel. It is equally clear that a bad Jew will never make a good Christian: and I am not quite sure if we ought not to be thankful for the removal of such an excrescence from our body.

In turning to those who are sometimes termed our aristocracy, that is to say--the wealthy portion of the Jewish community, I would ask, Are you contented that the stigma which unjustly presses on the Jewish name should longer continue? I am free to admit that the Christians rather than the Jews require to be enlightened upon this point; but have you attempted this? What has been done by you for the elevation of your brethren? But let all that is practicable in this respect be attained, and you will ascend with them; as the majority become refined in their manners, talented in their professions, known in their dealings, so will you, always the most conspicuous, be exalted with them. Honour will emanate from the people and be reflected upon the leaders. Every onward movement of the middle and lower orders must press you, the more advanced, into higher eminence: and it is therefore necessary on your parts to procure for the body of which you are a portion, the means of making its members of every class useful and excellent citizens. While the poor are left to obloquy--no matter who the rich may be--all will be designated by one common term of reproach.

While the great mass of the population is progressing in intellectual power, the Jews cannot stand still and be at the same time respected. The aristocratic class of the Jews is formed of men of wealth--of wealth honourably acquired, and thus open to every man: but unless the strictest regard be had to the education of our co-religionists, we shall have that class, noted only for its money and its ignorance, shamed into an unenviable notoriety by an indifference to the wants of the majority, and dragged downwards with them into one general obscurity. As wealth is within the attainment of poorer orders, the requisite education should be at once provided for them--the characters of all formed upon honest principles--the minds of all cultivated and embued with useful knowledge--and the manners, so far as is practicable, trained with a view to what is decorous and proper in social life. Punish by your frowns, by public scorn and private avoidance, the wretch who would cast dishonour on you by the dishonesty of his dealings. The poorest youth of character may justly aspire in this country to the honours of every station, and he will be the more honoured and sought as his fair fame expands itself--an example to his fellows--an ornament to his friends--an honour to his country. One false step in early life (which, had he possessed that education we contend for, might have been avoided), and he not only closes the portals of distinction on himself--not to be reopened by golden keys--but he becomes a source of injury to all his race.