GIFT OF Class of 1887 JUDAISM AND ITS TRADITIONS CONVERSION of A HEBREW RABBI EX-RABBI JOSEPH GOLDMAN EX-RABBI JOSEPH GOLDMAN ^UMntllilHIIHMIIilMUIllillllinHHIlliUIIIIIIUHilillllilliUIMnillllUIIUIIIIIilllilllllliilllUlllllllllilllllilllllllllllillllllilllllillltl^ i i JUDAISM AND ITS TRADITIONS Conversion of a Hebrew Rabbi B? Ex-Rabbi Joseph Goldman (Copyright applied for) Pnce 50 Cents I Published ttf J. F. ROWNY PRESS Los Angeles 1919 .MIIUIIIIIillllUlllllillilllllMHIIIIIUIIllllllllinillMllllllhlllllllUllllllllllllUlllilllllillillllllllllUltlllUllllllllllllhllllllllMIIHhi A 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Foreword My Life Till Twenty-eight Years of Age 5 Judaism Under Christianity 7 My First Congregation and My First Public Lecture 10 The Duties of a Rabbi Under the Eabbinical Law 12 Sabbath (Saturday) 14 The Hebrew's Prayer 16 The Hebrew New Year and Atonement Day 19 Easter, Whitsen and Tent (Sukes) Day 22 The Hebrews' Funerals, Weddings and Circum- cision , 28 The Hebrew Charity Institution and Philan- thropists 36 Tradition 38 The Hebrew School ... 42 The Chasidrm- .,, _ , 47 The Hebrew fitttoher* \\ .:.;/'. ; . W. 50 The Synag-ogue. ,; y.. : : < *. .;.;. . . /> / 1 \ 54 The Hope of 'Isfa^f:: /.v.-. ? /::- .\: 56 The Jewish Missionary Work Among the Jews . . 58 My Conversion and Persecution 62 FOREWORD People have asked me many titnsc to tell them -of my conversion and the history of Judaism ; and I have had so many applications for this, that I could not refuse any longer to write it. This is my first testimony in the five years that I have been in America. I do not mean in sending this testimony of my conversion into the world to convert, or to be honored by it. God forbid! I am sending this to the world because the world needs it. Christianity stands upon testimony, evidence; for Christ Jesus was a testimony, an evidence to the world, sent by His Father to the people. Paul was an evidence for Jesus when, on the way to Damascus, Christ spoke to him and sent him to become the first missionary for Christ. Every prophet was sent by God as an evidence and testimony to the people and kings. They passed through persecutions ; they could not help it. It was God who sent them to go through all this trouble. God has never changed His way and order. His program must continue till the world will know all. The same God sent me in 1913, on the 16th day of December, from my Orthodox Hebrew Synagogue to preach the gospel of Christ. It was not I who went ; it was He (Christ) who sent me to do the will of His Father. Can you imagine a man, a Rabbi over the Syna- gogue, Beit Jacove (The House of Jacob), a four- thousand-member congregation of Jews, a large in- come monthly, a law-writer and law-giver to the Or- 3 845750 4 JUDAISM tbcdox Jewish community, a Father, a Brother, a King over his congregation, honored by all, from the younges.t to the oldest 5 crowned by all, Rabbi, with the -greatest title of the Hebrew nation, respected by Jew and Gentile, who would change his belief and religion and follow Jesus Christ and become a curse to his nation, persecuted and condemned by his wife and children, driven out from his home, and compelled to lose all? Was it I who did it ? No ! Could I help it and not follow Christ? Have I or any other man the power to say "No," to say, "I won't follow Him"? Can any Jew or Gentile condemn me for doing the will of the unseeable God (Christ)? Could Paul say, "I won't do it"? "What shall I do, Lord?" says Paul, without any hesitation, when Jesus spoke to Him on the way to Damascus. It is the same Christ, the same God over all now, as in the day of Paul. The conversion of a Hebrew Rabbi will open the eyes and mind of many people, and I will give myself over to my Maker, Lord and Master, to judge me according to my testimony. JOSEPH GOLDMAN. My Life Till 28 Years of Age I was born in Kishenof, state of Baserabia, Eussia, in the year 1865. In my sixth year I was engaged to be married to a young lady aged four. My father made up the contract with the girl's father, that on my eighteenth birthday I should be married to his daughter, according to the law, and my father-in-law must give me the education and pay for my schooling in the Hebrew University. I was sent to the Hebrew University in Valosnia until my eighth year and stu- died the Talmud until my eighteenth year, when I was called home by my parents and was married to my engaged young girl. I was sent back to school seven days after my marriage day and studied till I was twenty-eight years of age and went through the examination for a Eabbi. It is very hard to tell all a Jewish scholar has to go through to study for a Rabbi, especially in Eussia. There is no pleasure, or joy, or fun, or play, or recre- ation. "We have no billiard rooms or pool halls or auto rides, no theatres, picture shows, or dance halls. We have no girls to walk around with till 1 :00 o'clock in the morning, no love affairs, nor any time wasted. We have only one duty, and that is study, study and study, and this is Talmud, Misne, Ezra, Schulcton, Oroch, Prophecy, law, traditions and commandments. The Hebrew literature is the largest the world has. The Talmud is a study of the Babylonic law and Jerusalem law and ideals from the Eabbinical mind. To know Talmud one must be taught from child- hood, his mind developed and trained until he be- 5 6 JUDAISM come an habitual Talmudist. There are many boys and men, great Talmud scholars, who could not un- derstand the Old Testament or its prophecy. It is because they begin the Talmud before the Bible. Many of the scholars are beginning the Bible in the Uni- versity when they are 18 or 19 years old. So the Hebrew student has all his time occupied and has to work sometimes 24 hours through the day before he gets a good sleep or a full meal. The most of the scholars are from poor parents and have to be kept by the community. Someone gives them a place to sleep, someone gives them one day in a week to eat, and the teacher goes around in town to get for the new student seven days in different homes where he may go to have his meals. There are many times when they have nowhere to sleep and have to lie down in the school on the floor with their coats as pillows and overcoats as blankets, and at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning they have to be up, be- cause the people then begin to come for morning prayer. Every Synagogue has a spare box where money is collected to keep up the Hebrew University ; but this money does not cover all the expenses and the scholars have to suffer. Fortunately, I had all the conveniences. My father- in-law was well-to-do and he sent me money to live comfortably. My teachers labored more with me than with the others, because I was a rich man's son and my father-in-law sent them money regularly every month, and they tried hard to get me through the examinations. On my 28th birthday I became a Rabbi with a diploma authorizing me to occupy the Rabbinical chair. Judaism Under Christianity The Jewish nation is not prejudiced against Chris- tianity ; in fact, the Jewish people like to see Gentiles Christianized, for self-protection. A Christian does not condemn or hate a Jew. The Gentiles do. The so-called Christians are the ones who condemn the Jew. The early Catholic Church has brought shame upon Christianity. Judaism has suffered more under Christianity than it ever did before Christ; has suf- fered more than under Babylon, Rome, or Egypt. The Jew will never forget Austria and Germany in the years of the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth cen- turies. The Spanish Inquisition, under Torquemada and the driving out of the Jews from Portugal are still with blood engraved in the heart of the Jew. The Germans and Austrians have burned thousands of families on Sata De Fe. These nations have been conducted under the so-called Christian Church. The history will tell you all. Even England had a Jew- ish Ghetto, where every Jew had to wear a yellow rag on his coat as a symbol that he was a Jew. It is not very long since the Jew became an honor- able citizen, when America had opened the doors for all men, and the Jew was the first to look here for a land of freedom, and made himself useful to this land in politics and commercialism. How can I forget Kishenof? Oh, Protestants! In the years 1902 and 1903, when Judaism was trodden to death, thousands in a day, men, women and chil- dren, crucified and torn in half under the crucifix and the New Testament ! The Greek Catholic Church, 7 8 JUDAISM with the Czar as the head of the church, has killed so many innocent little ones! "And God said, I will curse them that curseth thee" (Genesis 12 :3) . Where is the Czar today ? Where is the Russian government today f Where is the whole Romanoff family ? They are blotted from this earth. The Greek Church is falling with the Romanoff family. The Hapsburgs (Austria), the Hohenzollerns (Germany) and the Ro- man Empire, all are coming to an end. But Judaism will live to see the freedom of Christ, in love, in for- giveness, in joy, in humanity and in brotherly love to all mankind. We are asking one another, Why doesn't the Jew believe in Christ? It is written in the prophets, in the Psalms, in the five books of Moses. Why, then, does he not believe ? And I say to you all, as a Hebrew and also a fol- lower of Christ, the Son of God, Judaism will never receive Christ and Christianity till condemnations and persecutions shall be blotted out in the so-called Chris- tianity. Jesus forgave the Jews. The Christians do not forgive. There remains still in the memory of the so-called Christians the words ' c Crucify Him ! Crucify Him!'' and they forget that through His crucifixion we were saved. Instead of loving the Jewish people, they condemn them. Every Christian loves a Jew, and, if he does not love a Jew, he is not a Christian. The Jew loves to see a Gentile Christianized and loves a good Christian. He feels that the Christian loves him. But the Jew will hate a Jew who becomes a Chris- tian. The Jews do not believe that it is possible for a Jew to be converted after so many years' suffering JUDAISM 9 under Christianity. It must be explained to him that Christ is love, not hate; Christ is life, not death; Christ did not come to destroy, but to create, and all the good there was in Jesus, that good must be pro- nounced to every man that every man may live Christ. My First Congregation and My First Public Lectures in the Synagogue The town was all in the greatest excitement on a Wednesday. Mr. Glixstein's son-in-law is coming home as a Rabbi and will take our old Rabbi's place. Old Rabbi Samuel was 82 years old and was 56 years on the job. He was all the city had. All he had he gave to the poor. The people called him Angel Ga- briel. He always had a smile on his glorious face; all soul, all heart, all spirit, all man. Every broken heart he healed and mended with a smile and cheer- ful hope. He was loved and respected by every Rus- sian and by every Jew honored. "When he walked through the street on his way home from the Syna- gogue, hundreds of little children were all around him and he in the middle. With his long silk robe and white beard, his usual smile on his face and his top hat on his head, he looked like a prophet. Men and women came out of the doorway and looked upon him with pride, he bowing his head to everybody with a blessing on his lips. The children used to sing all together: "There goes the Rabbi! There goes the Rabbi! God bless the Rabbi ! God bless the Rabbi ! Long live the Rabbi ! Long live the Rabbi !" "This is my breakfast, " he used to say to 1 everybody he met, meaning the chil- dren. "God of Israel blessed me with many angels (children). God of Israel, how I bless Thee!" he used to murmur till he came to his home. He came to meet me on my entering the town. He 10 JUDAISM 11 took me in his arms and kissed me and pressed me to his bosom, wept and said: "Son, take my place, and do the will of Jehovah. " He could not say any more, as his tears were choking him. He got in his buggy and we all went to my father-in-law's house. It was on a Friday. Every family was busy pre- paring the Sabbath meals, in order to attend the evening service when I (the Rabbi) would give my first lecture to the congregation. The Synagogue was packed with Gentiles and Jews. My father and my father-in-law, with pride in their faces, brought me into the Synagogue and took me up to Rabbi Samuel's place. I could feel the eyes of the people fixed on me. I could feel a load on my shoulders, and fear came on me, and a prayer came out from my soul, "God of Israel, help me, give me knowledge and wisdom in my first lecture to my new congregation as a new and young leader for my people." ,The time came when I was called upon in the pulpit to speak. Like a young lion I ran up in my holy robe, opened a Bible and quoted scripture and lec- tured from the Talmud, Bible, Misne, and many other Rabbinical books, close to two hours. When I fin- ished, Rabbi Samuel came up first and kissed me (this was his habit, kissing), and everybody shook hands and congratulated me. My father took me by my hand, and with tears said : ' ' Son ! This is all I can say. Can you understand?" I said, "Yes, father, I do!" and we fell on each other's shoulders. The Duties of a Rabbi Under the Rabbinical Law The Christians are mistaken in believing that the Jew and the Hebrew are one. A man may be a Jew and not a Hebrew. He (the Jew) may read the Hebrew but not understand it. A Hebrew Rabbi may not be a reformer, or a Jewish Eabbi, of whom we have so many in the United States. The Jews are divided into four sects: Chasidim, Misnagdim, Pe- rushim, and Ashkanasim. The holiest of all these four is the Chasidim, and a number of the Perushim. The Chasidim are great traditionalists and follow the Mosaic law, the Rabbinical law and its 613 traditions. The Misnagdim are the reform Jews and belong to one nation. They are not against Judaism, but much against tradition. They have no Synagogue, but have a Temple. The Temple is more like a Protestant church, with an organ and a girls' choir, while the Hebrew Synagogue has no music, as it is strictly for- bidden by the Rabbinical law. It will take a reform Rabbi six years, in an Ameri- can University in Cincinnati, to become a Rabbi, or a Doctor, but a Hebrew Rabbi in Russia will spend twenty years to become a Rabbi over a congregation. The Reformer knows very little of the Talmudical law or Dinnim, because he doesn't need it. A Hebrew Rabbi must know every tradition or law that is writ- ten in the Hebrew of Chaldean literature. The majority of the American Jews are doing busi- ness on Saturday. At the same time it is written, 12 JUDAISM 13 "Thou shalt keep the Sabbath Day holy," and the Russian Hebrew will give his life first before he will break this law of the Sabbath. A Hebrew Rabbi doesn't visit his congregation. The congregation comes to the Rabbi. Whenever there is trouble between two Jews, the Rabbi has to make it right and try to satisfy both parties. All the Synagogue's affairs go through the Rabbi's hands, and the little time he has left he studies more law from his great library at home. SABBATH (SATURDAY) The majority of the Hebrews in Poland, or Russia, are making their living from the peasant in the coun- try. Many are selling needles, cotton, combs and brushes and dresses for children. Sunday morning he is ready to go out with a large pack on his back and a cane in his hand, to lean upon when tired, and begin his long journey of thirty, forty or fifty miles. His family is left to eat on credit till he returns on Friday. All his work and worry is for the Sabbath, that he may have on the holy day plenty to eat with his family. All the week his family lived on black bread, salted herring and skimmed milk. On Thursday the wife will get white flour and many other things from the store, having it ready for Friday to bake and to cook when he comes home. Friday before noon many of them come into town with a heavy load on their backs. The Hebrew has sold his needles, his combs and dresses. He brings home, in exchange, eggs, butter, rags, bones, copper, and hair. It is not possible to believe that one can carry such a load of hundreds of pounds for thirty 14 JUDAISM miles or more. But he can do it. The desire to live and to provide for his family give him the strength to do it. The wife helps him to take off his load from his shoulders. She sorts out everything and gives it to the storekeeper, and pays her debts and gets a ruble (fifty cents) for beef and fish and wine, and something for a smoke for him, and to get a Russian Turkish bath, and the storekeeper holds two rubles for a new stock for next week. Friday evening the room is clean, the table covered with a white tablecloth, four candlesticks and candles burning. The room is warm, the children clean and washed, plenty of food cooked for tonight and to- morrow. The family of six or seven are waiting for Father to come home from the Synagogue. Till then, Mother tells the children stories. How glad we ought to be that God has given us a Sab- bath, that all the trouble and sorrow from the week are forgotten, and we must be happy today. God wants us to rejoice this day. Mother tells the children that God has punished Israel to live amongst the Chris- tians ; how the Christians kill the Jews, but God will punish the Christians (meaning the Russians) and will bring us home to Jerusalem soon. Father comes in looking like a prophet, his long beard combed clean, wearing his silk robe and slippers, a smile on his face. He takes the baby on his arm and the other children holding his robe. He walks up and down the room many times over. He is no more the same man of this morning with a heavy load on his back, bent with the burden. No more the suffering Jew, no more the slave. He is king today. It is Sabbath. He is praising God and God wants him to praise. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall JUDAISM 15 not want." He washes his hands, and the boys are following Father, doing the same thing. He sits down by the table and praises God with a sweet mel- ody, all the children singing: "We thank the Father Jehovah for giving us the Sabbath, one day in the week to praise the holy name. ' ' After supper the children go joyfully to sleep, and Father is left by the table to read the Bible and the Sabbath law, a duty which every Hebrew must per- form. When the day breaks, everybody gets up happy and joyfully. Mother gets the tea ready, which is kept in the hot stove during the night. After tea every- body goes to the Synagogue. Mother, with the girls, and Father with the boys. The women are not sitting with the men in the Syn- agogue. The women have a gallery with a curtain before them, that no man may see them. She can see and hear the prayer and singing from the Rabbi, and can see the man, but the man cannot see the woman. After the ceremony the husbands meet their families and each one takes his own family home for dinner. The Sabbath day is very holy to the Hebrew. He must not carry anything in his pockets. He must not smoke. He must not talk week-days ' talk or walk out of town. He must pray and bless God all day. He must forget his trouble and sorrow. This day is holy to the Lord God. Father takes a nap after din- ner for two hours, and goes to the Synagogue again at four o'clock to hear the Rabbi lecture. Every Sat- urday afternoon the Rabbi lectures for his congrega- tion till sundown, when he is ready to give the second prayer and ready to eat the third meal. Every Hebrew must eat three meals on Saturday, 16 JUDAISM the first one Friday night, the second Saturday noon, the third Saturday before sunset. The last meal! What a change it is from the first meal on Friday night to the last meal on Saturday morning! No more singing, no more joyful talks, no more food as much or as good as last night or this morning. Every- thing is cold, the food, the home, the hearth, and the spirit. Everybody is so sad and lonesome. Every- one feels something different, that something will hap- pen. Every eye is fixed upon Father. Father's face doesn't look the same as this morning. He is thinking of tomorrow. Tomorrow ! When the heavy load will bend his back for another forty miles to bring home something to eat for the little ones; and, maybe, he will never come home again and will never see them again. "God of Israel, bring me home safely again, to keep thy commandments, ' ' he prays. The wife and the children are sitting in silence and everybody, even the youngest, feels the sorrow that is to come for the coming week. Monday morning the army of men with their packs on their backs are marching through the street on the way to the country in different directions. God of Israel, help us! THE HEBREW'S PRAYER I have never believed, as I grew up, that people might be free to do all they wanted. I believed, first, that God does not permit freedom; and second, that the Government of Russia would not allow it, and that especially the Jews had to suffer for the sins of their fathers. When I was thirteen years of age I began to follow the 613 traditions and tried not to miss one if pos- sible. For instance, the first tradition. As soon as I JUDAISM 17 opened my eyes in the morning, I tried not to put my feet on the floor till my eyes were washed and my fingernails were washed clean. The fingernails must be washed, because Satan was resting through the night under my fingernails ; and the most of the holy Hebrews kept by their bedside a jar of water with a handle (it must have a handle), and, when awake, he must pour three times over each hand and pray. Next come the eyes and face and another prayer. Next comes the cleaning of the inside body. He will walk arouund the room for so long, until he is ready for cleaning. Then comes the morning prayer, which must be prayed before nine o'clock. After nine o'clock the morning prayer could not be performed. It must be prayed in the presence of ten men at home or in the Synagogue. Everybody goes to the Synagogue. If there were nine men and a boy under thirteen years, the prayer could not be performed. When there are nine men and a boy of thirteen or over, the prayer goes on. If there are nine men and a woman or ten women, or more, it could not be prayed, because a woman counts not. The woman has her own law to perform, with which the man has nothing to do. The women need not pray even in the morning, after or evening. After the morning prayer, he goes home for break- fast. His hands must be washed again, using a cup vrith a handle on it, and also three times pouring water on each hand. Then more prayer, and blessings to God. The Hebrew will bless God after his meal and will thank God for feeding him, after the meal. Be- fore, he will bless God for preparing him the food. Three prayers through the day must be performed 18 JUDAISM and, God forbid, it must not be neglected ; in the morn- ing before nine o'clock, in the afternoon, any time before sunset, and in the evening when stars can be seen in the skies. Many times a Hebrew is busy all day on the road or in the street, and people are not surprised to see him standing on the sidewalk with his face to the east and praying, because before he may reach home or the Synagogue the sun may go down and he may lose a prayer. The third prayer may be prayed any time after dark. Before going to bed he prays and gives his soul to God to take care of till he awakes. After giving his soul to God, he must not speak to anyone, but close his eyes and wait till sleep comes. The Hebrew New Year and Atonement Day Not many Christians have witnessed a Hebrew New Year or Atonement (Fast Day) in the Hebrew ortho- dox life. It is very secret and holy. The year begins in October (Ellel) and lasts two days. It is permitted to cook the food but not to do anything else but pray. The morning prayer lasts till one o'clock and at 2:30 everybody must be in the Synagogue again for pray- ing and reading the holy words written by the great Rabbis of old. The afternoon and evening prayer are a continuance with a fifteen-minute interval. At eight o'clock in the evening everybody is going home for the second meal. On these two days the prayer is for a good new year for himself and all the Jews. In fact, the Jew always prays for the nation of Israel, for every Jew all over the world, wherever he may be, asking God to forgive him his sins. At half-past three p. m., the Jewish people, from every Synagogue, march to the water front with their prayer books, and many groups are there, all praying to God, that the sins they have done through this year may fall into the water and stay there. After this prayer they lift up the two corners of the robe and shake off the sins from the body into the water, and everybody goes home more relieved and satisfied, and all go back to the Syna- gogue. This is tradition and has been kept up for over two thousand years. Hebrewism has never changed. But 19 20 JUDAISM this does not include the Jews of America. These Jews in America are not Jews and not Christians. They are more Americans than anything else Amer- ican with a Jewish face. That is all that is left of the old Judaism the face. The morning after the two days of performance is Gedalje. Gedalje was a great Hebrew and made many traditions, and was tortured to death, and was brought on stretchers into the Synagogue on New Year's Day, and with his mangled body he gave out a great prayer to Jehovah and every Jew who prays this wonderful prayer weeps and mourns : "This New Year's, Father, thou hast written, And Atonement day thou hast sealed ; Some one shall be lost and many shall be born ; Some shall live and some shall die ; Some shall have a short end and some shall live long ; Some shall die on water and some shall die by fire ; Some shall die by knife and some shall die by the rope." And all the Jews are weeping because millions of them have known torturing in many countries and in Eussia. This Gedalji day is a fasting day and begins the morning after New Year's. Ten days after New Year's comes Atonement day. This day is the greatest day and the holiest day in the year, even holier than Sabbath. No person must wear shoes on their feet. Nobody over thirteen years old must eat or drink for twenty-four hours. The body must be punished because it has sinned and the soul must be washed in prayer to be clean. If any Christians could come on that day into a Hebrew Synagogue in Poland and see the tears on JUDAISM 21 the cheeks of the suffering Israel, hear the broken- hearted cry, see the hundreds of burning candles, and every candle stands for a lost soul, not by natural death but by the hand of a murderer from the Greek Catholic Church, you would all weep and cry to- gether with the broken-hearted Israel. Many have lost their husbands, going out with a heavy load on his back for Saturday in the country for a living. You will find hundreds of little can- dles burning which stand for children, and mothers are fainting and praying for these, little lost souls. Oh, Christians! help me to cry, help me to mourn for the suffering Israel. I have no more tears in my own eyes to shed. I myself have left all the tears I aad on the three hundred little graves I have buried in one day. I have left my tears on the grave of my own six children, murdered by Cossacks in the Kish- enof Pogram. I have no more. All is dry in me except one drop of blood which keeps me alive, and this is Christ. Atonement day, fasting and praying day for nine- teen hundred years, every year the same, and the same desire : Jehovah, bring us home again to Jeru- salem, and we will sin no more. But Israel's prayer has been answered, and he is going hjme once more to his Mother Zion, and no one shall trouble him any more. Many are praying all night, and many are going home to lay down for two or three hours' sleep, and to take care of the little ones at home. Early in the morning everybody is in the Syna- gogue, young and old. Everybody is praying. Many of the Jews are punishing themselves by staying on their feet for twenty-four hours with peas in their 22 JUDAISM stockings, and standing through the day till night comes. Every Hebrew wears a Kittel (a long white robe), a symbol of death and purity, because, if a Hebrew dies, he is buried in this kind of a robe. It looks like a long night shirt, and this is the only costume he is buried in. The wife goes home, one hour before it is finished/ to prepare a meal for the man and children coming home from the twenty- four hours' fasting and pray- ing. Everybody is so satisfied and relieved after the day of fasting, that he feels like a little child just born. No more sin in him. God has answered his prayer, and he is young again, and eats and drinks, and is happy. EASTER, WHITSEN AND TENT (SUKES) DAY. THREE MORE HEBREW HOLIDAYS The Hebrew has five holidays in a year, namely, New Year (Kosh Hoshona), Atonement day (Jorn Ceepur), Easter (Pasach), and "Whitsen (Showues), and Tent day (Sukes). Every holiday has different traditions and performances. Every holiday comes from the Bible, commanded from God to Moses. It is interesting- to see, that every holiday has been transformed by the Rabbinical law, and they are no more the same today as two thousand years ago. For instance, the Atonement day in the Temple. When Judaism was in full glory and power, hundreds of thousands of Jews came to Jerusalem, every one with a gift and a present from all over Palestine and Judea. Jerusalem was the center for joy, love and spiritual enjoyment. Girls and boys used to get mar- ried on Atonement day. The Levites used to play on JUDAISM 23 instruments and sing, dancing and singing in the Gar- den of the Temple, kissing, loving and hugging each other. The priest alone used to go into the holy of holies and pray for six hours, and the nation patiently wait- ing for the priest to come out and to hear God's ver- dict, "Your sins are forgiven." This was all the priest said. Then dancing, singing, playing and hollering begin. For eight days happy Israel used to live in this joy in Jerusalem. Then came the destruction of the Temple and the taking away of the Jews from Palestine into the cap- tivity; and Atonement day became a fasting and a weeping day. Since the nation has been driven out of Palestine, the Jew has never had a peaceful day or a joyful day. The nations walked over him, and millions have been trampled to death. He has the desire to return home again to see his holy land where he used to live in happiness and comfort. He longs for freedom, for mother love, for home and country ; and today he can see Zion stretch- ing out her arms to Israel, saying: "Come, my wan- dering boy, thy mother is still living. I will take care of you. Father blessed me and kept me alive to see my boy in the old days of my life. Home ! How God keeps His promises ! ' ' But ! "Will Israel know how to rule his land ? Will Israelites know how to live peacefully amongst them- selves? Will Israel know how to live in friendship with the other nations? Will he remember the two thousand years of trouble and forgive his oppressors ? If Israel will do all the good there is in Israel, surely God will help him. 24 JUDAISM Easter is a great and noble holiday. Moses took the children of Israel out from Egypt. And this is Independence week. The happiest of all holidays is Easter. Six weeks before the holiday, everybody tries to get his Passover cakes (Mazes) ready. Three months before, every poor man in Poland works very hard to make this holiday a success, to have plenty of everything. He knows he will have eight days* rest and must have plenty to eat. In this eight days he could not beg nor buy anything. It must be all in the house. This is the day when the children are getting new clothes, and the wife a new skirt and apron, and he himself a new pair of boots and hat. When the children are in need of shoes or pants through the year, the mother will tell them to wait for Easter and father will have plenty of money. There is not a Jew in the world who has no Mazes on Easter. Every large city where there are many Jewish communities has special clubs where every Jew who has no money to buy Mazes is provided with every- thing he needs. He gets from the Society Club eggs, beef, sugar, horseradish, potatoes, Mazes, and Maze flour, and many other things the household needs. Even in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul and many other large cities in the United States, the poon Jews are looked after for this special holiday, because the community is responsible for them, know- ing that every Jew must keep it. In Russia there is a special committee sent out through the city to find poor Jews who haven't the necessities for this Holy week, and every Jew is pro- vided for. There are many poor Jews who used to be well to do, once upon a time, and they are ashamed to ask. JUDAISM 25 These Jews are especially provided for by the Maze Club, and everything is sent to them secretly. The bakers are busy for six weeks beforehand in baking Passover cakes, and a day before the holiday the home is full of fish, beef, potatoes, vegetables, fruit and nuts for eight days. No leaven bread or other bread must be used, even new dishes must be pro- vided. Most of the Jewish families are using the last year's Easter dishes they have stored away to save the expense of buying new ones. The old dishes which are used through the year are stored away for eight days, and are in use again as soon as the holiday is over. A Gentile must not come, with bread in his hands, into a Jewish home on Pa- sach, and a Jewish child must not come in contact with a Gentile's child for fear the child will bring in the house a piece of bread and thus the house become unclean. The Eussian Gentiles try to disturb the Jewish people often by throwing a piece of bread through the window, and the Jew has to go to the Rabbi for consolation over this matter. Passover week is a happy holiday. The poor for- get their troubles and eight days are spent in eating, sleeping and joyful praying. Every Jewish house- hold makes its own wine from raisins and Mad, from honey and hops, and it is the popular drink through Passover week. The drinks are bottled up air-tight and presented to Gentile friends, as sent by many of the Jewish population. Six weeks after the Passover, Whitsun (Sawoves) is coming on. This is a holiday when God has given the ten commandments from Mount Sinai, and also a memorial day of King David. The first day of these 26 JUDAISM two days David died, and the first night is kept very holy by the Jews. All men are going to the Syna- gogue, for the whole night and singing David 's Psalms and burning candles in the Synagogue as a memorial to his soul. As soon as day breaks, the morning prayer is per- formed, and eight or nine o'clock every Jew goes home and has his breakfast, and goes to bed and sleeps till two o'clock, when the holiday dinner is ready on the table. These two days are joyful days and resting days. There are no more holidays till July (Ov). The ninth of "Ov" is the day of fasting and weeping, and sackcloth and ashes are used. This is the day when Jerusalem has been destroyed by Titus and the Jews have been taken into captivity. The day is like Atone- ment day, but with less prayer. Three days after Atonement day and thirteen days after New Year's day comes Tent (Sukes) day. This holiday lasts eight days, and the Jewish people must live outdoors. The Tent is built in the back yard with boards of four walls, ten to fifteen feet square. The roof is cov- ered with branches of pine trees, and the leaves from other trees. A long table is made in the middle of the Tent, and long seats from boards are fixed around for seats. The food is cooked indoors and the wife brings it for the man in the Tent. Sometimes there are four or five families together, and each family has different food, each one better than the other ; and, in a case like this, jealousy arises amongst them, espe- cially among the children, for the reason that every woman tries her best to make better food than the rest JUDAISM 27 of the women, and this is the day when the husband has the benefit of it. Much syrup is used for this holiday, a symbol of having a sweet year. "Sukes" is eight days in all. The first two days and the last two days are the prin- cipal holidays. The four days between he may work to make his living, but must eat every meal in the Tent. This concludes the five Jewish holidays. The Hebrews' Funerals, Weddings and Circumcision I am much interested to see the Christian funerals, and it reminds me of thousands of years ago, when we (the Hebrews) used to have the same ceremonies as the Christians are performing today. This may be a surprise to the Christians, but in fact it is so. You are making a Jewish funeral, with flowers on the coffin, and silk in the coffin, belong to the Jew. Christianity came and began to perform the funeral in the same manner as the Jew, in a decorated coffin. The Rabbinical law made a change and forbids the Tews to follow the Christians, and, since then, the Jews are making their own funerals according to law, as follows: The dead body must be taken out of the bed fifteen minutes after giving up his soul, and, as soon as the body is cold, he is placed on the floor with his feet facing the door. Several straws must be placed un- der the body, and a black cloth covers the whole body. A burning candle must stay by his head. The bo$v mvst be buried in twenty- four hours from the hour of his death. Every Jewish community has a Holy chib for thfe purpose, composed of men and women, who volun- teer. There are from twenty to thirty in the club. The men perform these duties for a man, and the women for women. As soon as the body is on the floor, one of the mem- bers of the club must watch the body until he is taken 28 JUDAISM 29 out. It is unlawful to leave the body alone. Then comes the women and the sewing performance begins, to make the one-piece suit from white linen, and it must be stitched by hand. At the same time the body is taken in another room for cleaning. All the men from this Holy club must be present. The body must be cleaned inside thoroughly, and washed with warm water outside. Then the one-piece suit is taken in and is placed on him and tied up over the shoulders, with his head out. He is placed in the coffin and is taken to the ceme- tery. In; the cemetery the body is taken out from the coffin and put into the grave on a boarded floor and with a sand pillow under his head. The sand in the pillow comes from Jerusalem, and every Hebrew pre- pares it himself when alive, because by Eabbinical law he must lay his head on the ground of Palestine when he dies, to be resurrected when Messiah will come. Close by his head is a board ,and also by his feet, and two boards are placed on the little side boards, which makes a coffin in the ground, and then earth is thrown on top of the boards. All this cere- mony must be done in twenty-four hours. Coming home, the relatives, sons, daughters, wife, brothers, sisters, must take off their shoes and sit on the floor or on a footstool for seven days, and a lamp must burn all the time, and a glass of water is placed next to the lamp. The fire stands for the soul, and the water is for the baptism of the soul. The relatives must not eat at the table for seven days, but may sleep in bed through the night. If there is a son living, he must pray, specially three times a day for a whole year, for the blessing of his 30 JUDAISM father's soul. If there is no son or brother, a prayer must be hired. A well-known holy Hebrew prays for his soul, and gets paid for the prayer. Every year there is a memorial day to keep, the same day on which the person died, and a candle or lamp keeps burning for twenty-four hours. The most of the reform Jews are keeping memorial day, and the reform son has to go to the Synagogue to say "Kadesh," a prayer for the soul. THE HEBREW WEDDING Let us turn to happier days. A wedding ! It is a happy moment, the wedding day, for both parties. The young couple are not together the day before the wedding. Many girls in Poland have never seen their future husbands until the day of the wedding, and the young man never sees his future wife until this day. In the orthodox life, the daughter or the son must not interfere with the engagement which the two fathers have made between themselvs. The boy may study for a Eabbi. He is in the uni- versity. The boy's father is looking for a rich girl for his son. There is an orthodox rich Jew who looks for an honorable son-in-law. He (the son's father) comes to the rich man and says : * * I have a son, a well learned boy, and a Hebrew. He is studying for a Rabbi. What is your price to have him for your son- in-law?" The price for a Rabbi is very high. It may be as much as ten thousand rubles (50 cents a ruble). A poor cobbler will not marry a girl until he gets three hundred rubles. A tailor gets five hundred rubles. A good carpenter gets five hundred to six hundred rubles. A Jewish lawyer gets two thousand rubles. JUDAISM 31 A doctor must get five thousand to six thousand rubles. A Rabbi sometimes is priceless. The rich man and the religious man will spend his last ruble to get a Rabbi. For two reasons : first, he is an educated He- brew ; second, when the Messiah comes, the father-in- law will sit next to his son-in-law, the son-in-law will sit next to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will sit next to Jehovah. So he (the father-in-law), will be amongst the royal family. For this reason every rich Hebrew buys an everlasting seat in Heaven. My father-in-law, it seems to me, did not get a great bargain in me, or a seat in Heaven. He is dead now, and I don't know where he sits, because his son- in-law, the Rabbi, became a Christian. But never mind, his intentions were good. It is a rule, that every Jewish girl must have money to get a husband, and when she is poor she has to work very hard to get two hundred or three hundred rubles, and to get any man, even a widower, with three or four children, because it is the law, that she must be married, and it is a disgrace, if she is not married. A girl of twenty-five years of age is counted old, as usually the girls get married young sixteen, seventeen or eighteen years of age is the girl's time to be married. The boy must keep up the law or tradi- tion. The law says "At eighteen years thy son must be married," and, when the boy is studying for a Rabbi, he must fulfill this law, and, when he breaks this law, he cannot become a Rabbi. The lower class of Jews do not always keep the law, and get married any time, whenever the man can find a girl with plenty of money. 32 JUDAISM But I am writing of the Hebrew law. The Jewish wedding lasts for seven days, with sing- ing, dancing, drinking and eating. The young couple may not be present, but the guests are there just the same, and the music is there and the dancing goes on all the time. If the girl's father is well to do, he keeps the couple for a year or two in his home and provides them with food and clothing. The reason is that he or the mother is to take care of them and show them how to live and to obey one another. And sometimes it is made up between the two fathers that the girl's father shall feed them and keep them for two years and take the son-in-law into business and make him a useful husband. The marriage ceremony is written and conducted by the Rabbi in the presence of four witnesses, and is per- pormed in the Synagogue before the whole congrega- tion. The bridegroom is taken under a canopy. Then the bride and her parents and her relations come in and walk around the bridegroom seven times. After this, the Rabbi reads the contract, and the duty he (the bridegroom) has to perform to his wife. Then the Rabbi takes a glass of wine and blesses it, and drinks a little, and gives it also to the bridegroom and to the bride under her heavy veil. Then the Rabbi places the glass on the floor and tells the bridegroom to stand upon it and break it with his foot, and, after all this, the congregation repeats aloud, "Mazel, Tow, Mazel Tow" (good luck, good luck) . Then the music plays a happy march through the streets, bride and bridegroom walking side by side, and the crowd following, until they reach the home where the wedding is to take place. Many women meet the bride and bridegroom with long loaves of bread, dancing before them with the I6aves JUDAISM 33 held high in their hands, as a symbol that bread shall always be before them in full measure. Long tables are set, and everybody sits down, the bride and groom on the front seats, the Rabbi beside them as a guest of honor. After twelve o 'clock at night the dancing begins. The girls dance with the girls, and the men with the men, and the musicians get ten kopike (five cents) for every person who wants to dance. Every morning at six o'clock through the seven days of the wedding, the musicians go to every one of the guests who are invited to the wedding to play for them under the window a happy march. The whole town, if it isn 't very large, knows the wedding is still on. Strangers are invited to eat and drink, no matter whether Jew or Gentile. All are welcome. The bride and groom are in hiding, and nobody knows where they are. A company of young men try to find them, and, after they are found, they are brought back to the dance hall, where they have to kiss one another in the presence of all. The bride and groom are blush- ing terribly and ashamed, and everybody is laughing heartily and having a good time. This wedding ceremony is still performed by the Jews in Poland, or by the 1 1 Chasidim, ' ' the holy He- brews in Russia. CIMCUMCISION Not many Christians know the meaning of this great commandment which God has made an everlasting covenant to Abraham. There is a question by many people, " Could not God have made some other cove- nant than circumcision ? " It was greatly necessary for that time and climate to be operated on, and even today wa-will find that the Jewish nation are the healthiest 34 JUDAISM and strongest in the body, soul and spirit. In five thousand years hundreds of nations have died out com- pletly from diseases, sickness, and many nations from the cholera epidemic. The Jew walked among them, worked among them, and buried them, and escaped from the epidemics, and has been left untouched. The Egyptian epidemics in Moses ' time are taken for miracles, but it was the Abrahamic covenant which saved them from the great epidemics. "One drop of blood for my sake," circumcision. The Jewish nation never had thirteen million people since the nation has been in existence. Today they have thirteen million living all over the world, stronger and healthier than ever before. Thousands are getting killed and ten thousand ar e born in their place. The man who doesn't believe H&God could not understand the covenant with Abraham^ I could not explain to you the great meaning and benefit to man of circumcision? I may explain to any man privately, or by mai] , if required. One thing you may know, it is absolutely painless and harmless, if the operator is a specialist. Moses circumcized his two sons with a sharp stone he found in the wilderness. Abraham circumcized Ishmael when thirteen years of age. The children of Israel kept the commandment in Egyptian slavery, and even today every reform Jew is keeping this special commandment, circumcision. In Poland, this circumcision day with the Hebrew people is greater than a wedding day, because every- body will see a wonderful guest coming. This is Elijah, the Prophet, and a chair is especially prepared for him next to the "Sandek" (the man who has the honor to hold the baby on his knees when circumcised) . No one must sit on this seat of Elijah ; it is holy. The mother JUDAISM 35 dresses the baby specially for this occasion. The women prepare the baby for the man. When they are ready and everybody present, the baby is brought in on a soft pillow with roses all around, and is ilanded over to the Rabbi. As usual he is the ' ' Sandek. ' ' The "Mohel" (operator) begins the ceremony with a prayer. The father is asked, if he gives over his child according to the law and covenant of God and Abra- ham, and he says, "Yes, I do." The "Mohel" takes the operation knife, which is sharper than a razor, and with his left hand finger and thumb takes gently the foreskin (according to the size) and says, "I circum- cize you as God has commanded our father Abraham to do in his name, ' ' and all say, ' ' Amen, ' ' and it is over. By law he must suck the ]$bod out of the wound and a special powder is put onjjV, and the baby is given over to the mother again. The men in the other room are eating, drinking and singing at the same time, until late at night. My circumcision was on Atonement day, and I was brought into the Synagogue, and the circumcision was performed there for the whole congregation on this holy day. It must be performed on the eighth day and put over one day longer, except the baby is not well. Three days later the baby is well and the wound can be washed. There is no conversion in becoming a Jew - except circumcision. If a man is a Jew and not cir- cumcized, he is not counted in the Jewish nation, even if he is in the Jewish religion and keeps the command- ments and traditions. The foundation of Judaism is circumcision. The holiest and most honored command- ment over all commandments is this covenant to the seed of Abraham. I know many Jews in Poland who 36 JUDAISM are not circumcized, but they are counted very little in the Jewish community. I remember the circumcision party of my brother. I was only a boy of six years. When my father came to mother's bed after the party left, he took in his arms the baby and tears were streaming on his cheeks, and he said, ' ' My son ! today you became a Jew. There is a long and thorny road before you, persecutions, con- demnations and torture, and death will face you on every footstep of thy way. Remember, thou art the son of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Thy faith is trou- ble, sorrow and persecution. Be strong and faithful for our Father's sake." And he kissed the baby, and Mother wept half the day, and I cried. THE HEBREW CHARITY INSTITUTIONS AND PHILANTHROPISTS The Jewish nation is protected by two great powers, by unity and by faith; and, for this reason, you will not find many tramps or beggars. Every Jewish com- munity has a charity club. When a Jew comes in a town and is penniless, he goes to this institution and must prove that he is a Jew, and will get food and room for three days, and must look out for a job in this time. If he finds work, it is all right. If not, he gets a train ticket to go and find work elsewhere. New York has the largest Hebrew charity institution in the world. Thousands of poor Jews are provided with food, fuel, and even rent, free hospitals and free medical attention, even free laying-in hospitals for women, and the poor women are provided with baby clothes and four weeks' medical attention. There are free soup kitchens through the cold winter and free bread for the poor. JUDAISM 37 The Hebrew community in every large city has a free loan office, where every poor Jew can get $50 to $100 to make a start in life when he is down and out. He gets two or three securities, and he pays so much a week or a month back on the money he took without any interest. Thousands of Jews have become rich through this "Gemilas Chasadim" (Charity Loan Office), and to- day this poor man who got rich is a first-class member to this charity. The Hebrew believes in charity. This is his princi- pal religion. "Zidoca, Tazil, Mimoves" (Charity will save you from death). The Hebrew must not refuse even a Gentile, if he ask him for bread and bread for his children. The Hebrew charity organizations have taken care of every poor Jew in town and will not per- mit him (the Jew) to ask from the Christian Charity Institutions. The Hebrew has a free school in every large city for studying the Hebrew Bible and the Hebrew prayers, and, in the little towns, the Eabbi gives lessons to the Jewish children in Hebrew. For this reason the nation is still living and united together more than ever be- fore. The Hebrew is democratic through and through and loves freedom and peace, and, through this alone, he has shown himself patriotic in the United States by giving 65,000 young men to the army and has paid close to a billion dollars for Liberty Bonds. He loves a nation of freedom and will give all he has, if neces- sary, to protect democracy. The greatest philanthropist amongst the Jews is Jacob Schiff. Millions of dollars have been sent by him and through him for the suffering Jews in Poland, and, 38 JUDAISM even today, he is the head of the Jewish Charity organ- ization in the United States. The late Baron Hirsch from Frankfurt has left his entire fortune, forty million dollars, for the Jewish Colonization in Palestine, and for this money twenty- two colonies had been established in Palestine before the war broke out, and these colonists prospered in agriculture until the Turks came and destroyed it all lately and killed many of the Jewish families in the last Palestine drive. Rice Bros., in St. Louis, two influential Jewish cloth- ing manufacturers, have given $160,000.00 for the Jewish relief in Poland, to save their brethren there from starvation. The Jews in 4:he United States have sent seven million dollars to the suffering Jews in Rus- sia in the four years' war, and the Zionists in the United States are on a drive for a billion dollars to take all the Jews out from the persecuted countries, when Palestine opens its doors for them. Through their faith, love, and charity, the Jewish nation will bloom again. Through their charities and brotherly love, they will come home again, and God will punish the oppressors who oppressed Israel, and Israel will see the mistakes they have made in re- jecting their Messiah. TRADITIONS The Jew has ten commandments to keep, and 613 traditions from the Rabbinical law. Many of the read- ers will say, " Where does he get all these traditions from the Bible ?" It is not the Bible alone which is holy to the Jewish nation. It is every book printed in the Hebrew language, such book is just as holy as the Bible. The traditionalist said that on every Monday and Tuesday every man must fast, and on these two JUDAISM 39 days they are fasting. "Why? Because Monday is holy. It is the third day from Saturday. Thursday is the third day from Monday and Jehovah is three, and that three is holy. TheJHebrew must not cut his finger-nails on Thurs- day because they will begin to grow on the third day, which is Saturday, and Saturday is holy. Nothing must grow this day. So he cuts them on Friday. The finger-nails must not be thrown away on the floor or in the street. They must be placed in a paper, every bit of it, and when it is all finished, he must take three little pieces of wood, mix them up amongst the nails and throw them in the fire. Why ? Because the nails are connected to the body which belongs to God, and when the Angel in the grave will ask him before the resurrection, " Where is thy finger-nails? What have you done with them ? " he will call the three pieces of wood as witnesses that he has burned them in the fire. But, if he did not put in wood and wasted some of the nails on the floor or in the street, then the Angel may tell him to go and find them and not to come back till he has found them, and it may take thousands of years to find them. This is tradition, and he could not be resurrected until he brought the nails to the Angel. You must not touch the candle-stick on the table on Saturday. Why? Because ,if you won't touch the candlestick, you will not touch the candle, and, if you do not touch the candle, you will not light the candle. And it is written ' ' Thou shalt not make a fire on Sab- bath Day. ' ' To protect you from making a fire, tradi- tion made this command not to touch the candlestick. It is lawful to sit by the table wtih three men at every meal. A woman doesn 't count. Two men and a 40 JUDAISM boy of 13 years of age is counted. Two men and a boy under 13 years of age is not counted. Every Hebrew boy becomes a man when 13, and he (the boy) has to perform all the 613 laws and traditions, as in fasting and praying amongst the older people. It is unlawful to eat beef and to drink milk to- gether or soon after the beef meal. The party must wait six hours after a beef dinner to drink milk or use butter. And one hour from a milk dinner to use beef, because it takes six hours to digest the beef and one hour to digest the milk. This is a Mosaic law, covered with a tradition. ' ' Thou shalt not cook a little goat in his mother's milk." Before finishing his morning prayer, he must spit out three times on the floor, or pretend to spit, that all evil may go out from him. Every Hebrew must have a piece of parchment nailed to the door post and a Hebrew scripture must be written on it. This is to keep Satan out of the room; and no Hebrew will pass over a door-step, if one of these parchments is not on his door post. When a woman is married, she must have her hair cut off close to her scalp and put on a wig of false hair ; and, on her marriage day this haircut is performed, because long hair is the beauty of a woman and by cut- ting it off her head she loses her beauty. It is written "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife." It is lawful for every Hebrew to be punished and strapped for his sins which he has done through the year. Atonement Eve will show us how it is done. Before having his last fasting meal on Atonement Eve, he goes to the Synagogue for prayer. In the corridor of the Synagogue, before entering into the Auditorium, there are four or five men in waiting with long black JUDAISM 41 straps for anyone who wishes to be strapped, thirty- nine straps to be slashed on his back when he lays with his face to the floor, and every strapper gets paid more or less from the man he straps. It is necessary that some one must suffer and pay with his life for the sins of the body. For this reason everybody provides himself with a rooster for a man and a hen for a woman on Atonement Eve. And this is how it is done : Father gets together his boys and holds a big white rooster by his feet. All heads are close together and father holds the rooster over every head and says, "All the sins I have done this year, and my children's sins, and the sins from all Israel, shall go in the rooster, and thy life shall be sacrified, to die for us and for our sins. ' ' And the wife does the same with a hen for her girls. Then comes the killer and kills the birds, and the wife takes off the feathers and cleans it and cooks it, and they eat it all back again the rooster, the hen and the sins. (Tradition.) It is unlawful for men and women to eat together at one table. During eating time at the table nothing must be spoken but Hebrew, law and the scriptures, in Hebrew. You must not blow out a candle on Saturday or make a fire this day or cook food or carry around anything in your pocket, or talk business or make long walks, or break anything. For this day is holy. Honor to parents and older people is the greatest law of the Hebrew. To honor thy father and mother is the greatest commandment of the Hebrew. I know an old man 70 years of age. He had a son 50 years old, and that 50-year-old man had a son 30 years old, and the grandfather came to visit his son, and the grandson gave the old man a chair to sit down. The father called 42 JUDAISM his son "Murderer" and hit him in the face and said: "You have robbed me of a duty and a commandment. It was my duty to give my father a chair, not you." And the father of the young son wept and prayed to God for forgiveness. It shows how loyal the Hebrews are to keep the law and commandments. A Hebrew will never stand with a bare head before a man, not even for a king. He may take off his hat, but will still have another little cap on top of his head (and many Jews have lost their lives through this tra- dition). The Hebrew must not kneel down and pray to God without a hat or cap on his head. It is unlawful to do this. God is his father and he must not take off his hat for his father. Every Hebrew must be baptized before the morning prayer. THE HEBREW SCHOOL Every boy, when three or four years old, begins to go to "Chaider" (School). Every community has a teacher. He (the teacher) rents a room for 12 or 15 children to be present. There is one long table in the middle of the room with benches around three parts of the table and one chair at one end, which is for the teacher. The first time the child is brought in Chaider it is very interesting and comical. The child is wrapped in the holy robe and carried by the father into Chaider. The old teacher (generally the teacher is an old man), with his long white beard and holy robe, takes the child on his knee with a kind and gentle smile to get the confidence of the child, then opens the Hebrew Prayer Book to show him the alphabet, and he tells the child all kinds of jokes and fairy stories. The child becomes used to the old man and begins to love the teacher. The first lesson begins. " Now, little boy, " JUDAISM 43 says teacher, "do you know that the angels are on the top of the roof and are looking down through this hole?" (and he shows him a hole in the ceiling). The boy looks up and sees the hole and says, "Yes, I can see it. ' ' " You see, ' ' says the teacher, ' ' if you will be a good boy and learn the holy words, he (the angel) will give you many good things through this little hole. Now say 'Alef (a)." The boys say "Alef." "Can you see how the Alef looks, and will you not forget it ? " 1 ' Say it again, ' ' and the boy says it again and again, and a big bag of candy falls on the top of the book. The child blushes and the teacher looks innocently up to the hole in the ceiling and the boy looks up to the ceil- ing with his little heart beating fast, and the teacher says : ' l The angels have thrown this to you from this little hole. ' ' And the child wonders how a big bag of candy can go through this little hole, but it is all possi- ble, for angels, but in fact father has thrown this from behind the teacher. The child will come home with the greatest desire to go back and get more candy, and every time he knows the lesson he gets candy, and something more than that. After he is in school for six months and can read Hebrew, everything changes. Teacher is no more kind to him. He must go on, and on, to know and fulfill the teacher's command. Father has nothing to do with the boys when in school. All is left to the teacher. The boy is not afraid of any man in his town but his teacher. The least mistake he makes at home, in the street or in school, he will get punished by the teacher, and father must not interfere as long as the boy is un- der the control of the teacher. School time is from 9 :00 a. m. till 12 :00 noon, and he has one hour for lunch or play, and again from 44 JUDAISM 1.00 p.m. till 7 :30 or 8 :00 o'clock in the evening. The boy studies very hard, and he must know his lesson, and nobody must help him. He studies in the presence of the teacher, and, if he makes a mistake, he (the teacher) will twist his ears and make a corkscrew out of them. The boy cannot go out and play in school time. He brings a sandwich from home for the after- noon school, and eats his supper when he comes home late. Friday is a half day school, but there is plenty to do at home. He must go through the songs of Solomon. He must sing over the Bible Lesson from the whole week study. (The Hebrew doesn't read the Bible; he sings the Bible. ) Every word in the Hebrew Bible has a singing note, and the teacher studies the melody with the boy at the same time when reading. When the boy has all finished the Friday afternoon reading, he has to go to the Synagogue because it is Sabbath evening. The teacher is in the Synagogue, and the boy has to be- have. "How was my boy last week, teacher?" asks father in the presence of the boy. The boy is waiting for his verdict, and with a pitiful smile he looks up on the teacher and both pair of eyes are meeting. If the teacher is in a good humor, he will say, "Well ! he was not so bad!" And if the teacher says, "Bad; very bad!" God have mercy on that poor boy. He will have to go to bed without supper, and get a good thrashing besides. The children are brought up very strictly, and under so-called German discipline but they are not Germans, thank God. Teacher, father, mother, and God, all four are very highly respected (especially teacher). The Christians think the Jew has only to study the Old Testament and Talmud. The Old Testament is the JUDAISM 45 easiest book for the boy to study. The principle thing is Talmud. The Talmud is not one book. It is a whole libary. It contains 24 text-books, each 16 by 8 inches. The books are printed in the Chaldean and Aramaic languages. First, he has to translate into Hebrew and Jewish, and study the meaning of the old Eabbinical mind. It has hundreds of commentaries from many Eabbis who do not agree with the questions and answers of the Rabbis of old. And then comes a discussion of 20 pages to go through to study the arguments of both parties, the Talmudical and Rabbinical, and he (the student) has to find out which party is right, or which one agrees with the teacher's judgment. The Talmud could not be translated in any language because it is all mind training. It may take three months to get the right result on one chapter. When 13 years of age, the boy is brought in the Syn- agogue and taken on the pulpit and must give his Tal- mudical lecture (Drosche), and then he is a Hebrew in full and is counted among the grown-up men. If the boy is well learned and he knows more than an old He- brew, everybody will give him the greatest respect, and he will be called Rabbi, even if he is not. I know a man, a great Talmudist, and the greatest Hebrew scholar in his time. His name is Rabbi Katz. I remember, when he was a boy of 15 years of age, his father used to call him Rabbi ; and his father used to stand up when talking to him. I remember when he used to pass through the aisles in the Synagogue to go, to the front seat where it was his place to go, everybody in the Synagogue used to stand up before him till he came to his seat and sat down. 46 JUDAISM The Hebrew doesn't respect and honor the man, but the knowledge and wisdom and the holiness of the Hebrew within the man. Every man who knows the Talmud is provided for and protected by the Jewish nation forever. The Chasidim This is a sect in the Jewish nation who are called the Chasidim (the select). They have a Eabbi out of their own people and he is very holy and is the in- tercessor for his sect to God, like the Pope to the Catholics. Not many of the Misnagdim (liberal Jews) have the honor to speak to him or see him. This Rabbi has so many assistants that they could not be counted. Before you can see the Rabbi you have to go through the army of these assistants, and every one of them wants to live, and every one ex- pects something from you. And besides, the Rabbi himself wants to live, and all are getting l f Nedoves ' ' (gifts). The first time I came to the Rabbi before I left for the University for a blessing, my father, also a "Chasid" and well known by the Rabbi's Schama- ism (assistants), took me straight in to him. My father was left on the other side of the door and I went in. I found the Rabbi talking and swimming with his hands in the air, but did not see any strang- ers in the room, only himself. He stood up and took out a book from his library and ran with the book to the table, opened it, and said, "You see! There it is. And you cannot argue with me. You have to discuss this matter over with 'Ha Scham Jesborach' (God), and He will tell you that I am right." After fifteen minutes standing in the corner and my heart beating fast in me for fear, and realizing that I was in his presence and he was talking to the Angels having a great argument with the "Schich- 47 48 JUDAISM imo," I lost control. "What do you want, son of Benzion (my father's name)?" I heard a heavy baritone voice saying, meaning me. "What do you want? Don't come close to me. Say, what do you want?" "Holy Rabbi," said I, "my father sent me to get blessed before I leave town," said I, with a trem- bling voice. "Where are you going, my son?" said his holiness. "I am going to study to become a Rabbi," said I. "God will bless you, and you will become all you have desired. Take this 'Cameia' and it will give you all the blessing God has pre- pared for you," and he handed me a three-cornered piece of parchment with a little hole in one corner, meaning I should carry this around my neck all my life. I ran out into the corridor, which was full of people waiting to see him and be blessed. I showed the Cameia to father and to many others and was sure that I would become a Rabbi, and all the people were sure that Benzoin's son would become a Rabbi that I went on a solid foundation to my new Rab- binical job. (My father paid the Rabbi 50 rubles for this Cameia.) \ The Chasidisher Rabbi is the greatest power "among the Chasidim. He is not elected by the con- gregation and does not have to go through a Hebrew schooling. The title is handed down from father to son, and the first-born son of a Rabbi inherits the position. If there is no son, the Rabbi's brother gets the crown. If there is no brother, a new Rabbi is elected from the congregation. There are close to two million Chasidim in the Jewish nation and there are many Rabbis of this kind. JUDAISM 49 Every large city and large Chasidim community has a Rabbi. The greatest Eabbi is the Bardichuwer. (Baridchux is a large Russian town with a large Jewish population.) He has 750,000 followers, and people say he is the richest man among all the Jews, and his followers are the poorest people of all the Jewis. A "Chasid" will sell his horse or cow and will go to the Rabbi once a year to give him a "pidion" (purse). A Chasid will save every penny from the daily food for his Rabbi, because he will surely be blessed by him, and the blessing comes from God to the Rabbi. When a Chasid is sick, he goes to the Rabbi for healing. When a woman is childless, she goes to the Rabbi for a blessing that she may be fruitful. (Hun- dreds of the women come to the Rabbi daily with this complaint.) When a Chasid has to leave town because he can- not make a living, he goes to the Rabbi for advice where to go and what to do. When a husband can- not live happily with his wife and they cannot agree, he goes to the Rabbi and asks him to make her obey him. (By law the woman must obey the hus- band.) And every time you come to the Rabbi, you will find him arguing with the Angels over some- thing or having a gentle conversation with His Holy Name Jehovah, personally. The " Chasidim" have their own synagogue, and the people who don't know the ways of a Chasid, and come into the synagogue the first time might think that it is a lunatic asylum. Everybody is run- ning around, one past the other with a push. Every- body is praying at the same time. Everybody is hollering and singing and lifting their hands up in 50 JUDAISM the air, pulling the hair from the head and jumping in every direction. He stands with his face to the wall for a moment and will make all kinds of move- ments, at the same time swinging his body in differ- ent directions. After two hours ' exercising, one man will stand up on a seat and will say : ' t Has anyone a memorial day today ?" One will say: "I," and he is taken from the midst of the crowd and lifted on a table, and the crowd will holler, "A drink of whiskey! let him give a drink of whiskey ! ' ' and he will send for a bottle of whiskey and a little glass, and everybody has a drop with a piece of cake, as drinking "Lechaim" means "We shall live." The Chasid wears a long silk robe, long silk stock- ing and no pants. He wears slippers and a belt around his waist. He is in the buying and selling business, and very seldom you will find a Chasid a tradesman. It is a shame for him to give his daugh- ter to a shoemaker or a tailor, and he lives solely by faith, and God always provides for him. THE HEBREW BUTCHER The Jewish people have their own butcher, and a butcher cannot be anyone who wants to open a butcher shop. He must have permission from the Rabbi, and the Rabbi has to know him to be a trust- worthy Jew who will not break the law in "Schchito" (killing the cattle). There are over fifty laws to follow in killing and preparing the beef until it comes to the butcher, and, even after the women have brought the beef home, they have to prepare it by law before they can place it in the pot for cooking. The cow must be tied with all four legs together, JUDAISM 51 with a rope, and she must not be handled rough. The cow is thrown on the floor or the ground and her head is turned with her throat up. The Rabbi has a "Chalef" (a blade) from eight to nine inches long with a short handle. This knife is sharper than a razor and is especially manufactured for this pur- pose. The Eabbi who kills must be a well-known Hebrew, and must study the killing law for many years until he gets permission from the congrega- tional Rabbi stating that he is in good standing to take care of this work; and the killer gets for a wage the engagements by any large community. Before killing, the "Chalef" must be examined and prepared. He holds tight with his left hand the cow's throat and goes gently over that place with the ' * Chalef , ' ' and the whole throat of the cow must be cut through from ear to ear. The man who holds the head holds it until all the blood has run out and there is no more life left. The cow is cut open and the lungs are taken out and brought into a room and placed on a table, where a man blows up through the esophagus until the lungs cannot become any larger ; then the killer examines the lungs all around the corners. If the corners are blistered, or bubbles are formed, then the cow cannot be used for the Jewish butcher, because the cow has been sick or has had a disease. Any other trouble can be detected in this way. If the lungs do not blister at the corners, then the cow is "kosher," clean to eat. Many times the Jews have to kill three or four cows to get one good one which is fit to eat, and in Poland in a little town where on Friday there is only one cow killed to get meat for Saturday, if a cow is "traife" or unclean, then all the Jews from this town have to be without 52 JUDAISM meat on Saturday and the Hebrew must have beef on Sabbath by law. The cattle can only be used to the end of the ribs, that is, the upper half. The lower half is sold to the Gentiles. The reason is, the Jew must not eat the veins, and in the upper half of the cow the veins are exposed so that they can be taken out easily, and there is a special man who knows where every vein is placed. But the bottom or lower half is nearly all veins, and it is hard to take them out, and for this reason the Hebrew leaves it alone and doesn't use it. He may use the lower half, if all the veins are taken out. The lungs, the liver, the head and the four feet are used by the Jew when the cow is clean and well. The Jewish women in Eussia make the finest meal out of the feet. The poor families are provided with meat on Saturday. Each family gets one foot and pays 15 "copikes" (71/> cents) for it, and the whole family has plenty to eat. The butcher has to pay to the congregation so much a year for a permit to open a butcher shop. There are many permits from the Rabbi to many religious Jewish butchers, and there are many appli- cations for a Jewish butcher shop, and the one who pays the most to the congregation gets the butcher shop, because there must be only one butcher shop to a community. "When a woman brings home the beef from the butcher, she must place it in water for one hour. At the end of the hour she puts it on a salt board and sprinkles much salt over it, and it must remain under the salt for thirty minutes. Then she puts it in the water and washes and cleans it, ready for cooking. JUDAISM 53 This shows us that the Jew does not use blood. Every drop of blood is taken out before it can be used for the Jewish table. Blood is strictly forbid- den by the law, and even when the cattle are clean and the meat is clean, the blood is unclean. In the year 1500 many thousands of Jews were put to death in "Teso Eslar," Greece, when the Greek Catholics had accused the Jewish population that they were using blood from Christian children for Passover cakes; and, on Passover Day, it hav- ing been found in the Jewish neighborhood, a Chris- tian child died the day before Easter, that the Chris- tians gave out the report that the Jews had killed the child and used its blood for the Easter holiday. Twelve thousand Jews were brought to death in one week as a result of the false accusation, and the Jewish Eabbi and the prominent Jews from the Syn- agogues were brought before the judges and were found guilty and burned in the market place. Not long ago you will all remember the case of Mendel Bailes, in Russia, and his great trial, having been accused of killing a Russian boy thirteen years of age and using his blood for Passover cakes. Fin- ally it was proven that the boy's own mother had killed him and placed the blame on the Jews for the sake of revenge, because of her hatred of them. Blood is forbidden for use under any circumstances by the Talmudical and Rabinnical law, and for this alone the blood accusations against the Jews are much against the fairness of Christianity. The Synagogues The Jew in Poland has two prayer houses one is for Saturday and holidays only, called the Syna- gogue, and the other for week days, called "Bit Hamedrosh" (the House of Study). This Bit Hame- drosh is always full of people, and there you will find young men studying the Talmud and Misne, These young men are preparing for the University for special training as teacher, or a "Socet" (who kills the cattle), or sometimes for getting a rich father-in-law. The Bit Hamedrosh never closes its doors. If a poor stranger comes into town during the night, he goes in Bit Hamedrosh and is protected from cold and rain, and will always get a meal from the " shames " (housekeeper) and a pillow for his head. Every Jew finds himself at home where there is the melody from different voices, some one praying, some one singing psalms, and some one making the melody of study. When the child is sick, the father goes in Bit Hamedrosh and opens the ark where the Pentateuch is and weeps and cries to God for healing, and many Jews in Bit Hamedrosh are joining him in his prayer, and the psalmist becomes the Great Doctor. And when the wife or husband is sick, ten men are called by the Rabbi, and the Rabbi, as a leader, all going along with their holy robes, open the ark and begin prayer in a loud voice, while money is offered to the poor and needy. In Bit Hamedrosh are conducted all the business 54 JUDAISM 55 affairs of the Jews, and all the elections for the year of high officials. For the election of a President, "Gabe," second a "Sames" (the caretaker over both houses), or a "mohel," a circumciser. The "Gabe" is picked out as the richest Jew in town, that he may have money enough to pay the debts when behind in collections. The "Gabe" pays the Rabbi his salary, and the poor are dependent upon the "Gabe" in the community for charity, and the "Gabe" has to be responsible for the orphans and to keep the widows and old men, and for the Hebrew free school (Talmud Tora). All belong to him to be taken care of. And this is the reason a rich man is elected for the job. Saturday morning the business begins in the pres- ence of the Holy Pentateuch (Tora). The Penta- teuch is taken out from the ark and placed on the pulpit. The Hebrew pulpit stands in the middle of the auditorium. The Rabbi goes around the pulpit with the Pentateuch on his arms and sings, and - Ui . w ^ g 65 'M P Vi 1 ii i n t v~~i- V V^ -___ REC'D LD LD 21A-40m-4,'63 (D6471slO)476B General Library University of California Berkeley 71* -T3W fl&JD^ %3n/irr7t:^^U4i__ Photomount Pamphlet Binder Gaylord Bros., Inc. Makers Stockton, Calif. FAT. JAN. 21. 1908 845750 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY